Sunday, December 25, 2011

Joy To The World


Tis the season, but what is the reason? 

My prayer is that the sentiment evoked by the season becomes more of a reason.

SPREAD A LITTLE JOY! Everyday!

A few musical joy bites for you to keep the pray going. enJoy!

Three Dog Night - Joy To The World Click here

Three Dog Night not really a traditional Christmas song but I hope you get the message.

Below - A favorite memory of Christmas

lil drummer boy click here

A new favorite memory from this years gathering was our own little drummer boy beating his new Christmas drum with both stix in hand and stopping for the appropriate drummer applause after his solo.

The best!


The Gift
Bow and ribbon,
Love and glitter
Cover the gift as curiosities flitter
Of what wonders could come inside
And what this eve has been supplied
By family, friend and stranger, too
Saying with the gift,
"I Love You"
Bow and ribbon
Love and glitter 
Will never make a soul grow bitter
For no matter what the gift may or may not hold
The giving is as pure as gold.


The gift of love is the best gift, bow optional!

Soul Bites -






Gumbo, Pecan filled Dates rolled in sugar, Family, Music, Laughter, Joy!

I miss you fam!

one last lil bite... she knows why!




Angels we have heard on high,
Singing sweetly through the night,
And the mountains in reply
Echoing their brave delight.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

Shepherds, why this jubilee?
Why these songs of happy cheer?
What great brightness did you see?
What glad tiding did you hear?
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Come to Bethlehem and see
Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee
Christ, the Lord, the new-born King.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.

See him in a manger laid
Whom the angels praise above;
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
While we raise our hearts in love.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.
Gloria in excelsis Deo.


Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Tweets and Treats

When watching a Friday night web cast of @Oprah "Life Class" I was compelled to comment during the show. 

In order to comment you had to have a Face book or Twitter account. I have never had a Face book page and I could not remember the Twitter log in I set up last year where I started to follow 2 celebs and 2 family members and sent a whopping 4 tweets.

Since I needed one of them to comment during the @Oprah web cast, I reactivated my Twitter account and am now following 91 twitter accounts and sent over 100 tweets.

I am loving "the twitter" as I jokingly tell my daughter and she laughs and says it not " the twitter", it's just Twitter. I know that but I like the way "the twitter" sounds and because it irks her a little. She says saying it that way makes me sound old. I'm cool with that. She said not just old but real old, still cool with that.

Being connected to the "Twitter Sphere", is like plugging into the "Matrix". Once you swallow the blue pill, it's a whole new perspective.

Much like my take on the intended outcome of the "Life Class" sessions with @Oprah, a whole new perspective can be a life changing event. I really enJoyed watching the series and learned that I too know something for sure and also believe that love of self and others is the best, well truly, the only way to create more Joy in your life.

We all want love, we all want validation, we all want to be heard and accepted. @Oprah she just plain gets it and gives it well!

Now with that accolade for sister @Oprah I must confess. I have issues with the institution of “mega rich celebrity” and the …. Well let me just say I have issues and am working at keeping my posts as breezy and free of the finger pointing demon that is being abated by following @thedalailama. Amen.

My favorite Life Class was the one with the famous movie producer that gained a whole new perspective of everything after an accident.

His story is an amazing one on how life can change, when you change how you look at life. If you are not aware of the story. Check out the documentary "I AM" Click here

Having your "eyes" opened to a new way of thinking or doing is very profound and can be overwhelming. It can also makes thing easier, simpler and thoughts or ideas clearer.

A 160 character limit per tweet forces simplicity in though or at least comment of thought. I love this!

I am all for the "less is more" frame of thought. Tweeting is such a treat in a smorgasbord of information and social minutia.

Thank you @Oprah for being the driving force for me connecting to "the twitter"! It has changed me.

A bit of dialog from an old perspective -

Cousin -

OMG I’m addicted to twitter. I sleep with my phone.

Me -

" I will never join the twitter!" ~  I said this just a few short "old perspectives" ago.

HA! Never say never because you can always change the way you look at things.

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” ~ Wayne Dyer

If you do not know him- you should first watch more PBS and second Click below.
Dr Wayne Dyer - The Power of Intention Click here

I called it manifestation before I knew "The Power of Intention". A powerful perspective. I encourage you to look at Dr. Dyer's work. It was a treat for me to learn from him. Oh Wow! I wonder if he is on the twitter.

Now that would be a treat if he tweeted.

Everyday is a new opportunity to gain a new perspective. Life is a class. It helps to show up, take notes, and get rest and study. Oh and if you want to comment - get a twitter account! @soulfullbites

A little Tweet for you! enJoy!
Best Friend by Tweet ft. Bilal Click here Dedicate to my BFF.

Before "the twitter" Tweet was my favorite Tweet!

Next a Treat! Oh my so sweet!

Tank - Please Don't Go Click here Dedicated to my BFF.


Tweet!

Tweet - Call Me Click here

Treat!

I am always asked to make this; I hope you find it sweet and simple!


Peach Cobbler -The Best Recipe!


Ingredients

1 large bag fresh frozen sliced unsweetened peaches (thawed)
1 cup white sugar
1cup light brown sugar
2 tbs real vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1 box rolled pie crust (2 inside box)
1/4 cup corn starch



Prep

Pre heat oven to 375.

In large deep skillet melt butter on low heat.

Add all ingredients except crust into skillet and stir while cooking over med heat for 10 min to blend all ingredients evenly.

Grease 9x12 baking dish.

Pour peach mixture into greased pan.

Use 1 roll of pie crust for dumplings for inside cobbler.  Pinch quarter size dumpling off rolled crust and place dumplings across peaches, push down under peach with finger.

Cover pan with second crust by unrolling across pan. Pinch crust around pan and place slit in middle of crust for venting.




Cook Time

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until crust lightly browned. Fresh peaches will be more firm than can peaches even after baking. If you want softer peaches cook 15 minutes in skillet before baking.

Pic



Sent with a "K.I.S.S - Keep It Sweet and Simple!

EnJoy!

Monday, November 21, 2011

"IF" The" Bread" of Life.

IF.....

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!  ~ by R. Kipling



This poem makes me think about one my Mothers favorite bands. Bread.Their catalog of music was as much of a staple as the band name in our house. "If" you don't know Bread "IF" Click here 

Mom loved great bands of the 70's.

Here are a few more favorites -
Chicago (the band) Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? Click here

Three Dog Night Joy To The World, Click here

Yes  Respect Greatness! This..I..Just..the words will make you out~n~out Click here
Roundabout Lyrics Click here 

Someone in my house loved Roundabout, played it all the time..um...

Fleetwood Mac ~ if you don't know Stevie well..., Bee Gee's   AND The Ohio Player, E.W.F, Heatwave and KC and The Sunshine Band Shake Your Booty Click here are among others I have named in other post. 


Nothing like a band.


It's Sunday!  I hope you had time to reset!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Sunday, Sunday, bah da bah da da da..

Sunday!

It's my favorite day of the week! Sunday means family, good food, relaxation, laughing and smiling.

Things I love about Sunday -

  • A Big Sunday Breakfast!
  • A Big Sunday Dinner!
  • No Traffic!
Except the "Sunday Drivers". And on Sunday, I don't mind a bit the "lil old whom ever" cruising below the speed limit in the far left lane. No traffic makes going around them a simple notion. Usually I would shout "Jesus"! then groan out something like "why do people drive like they got their license out of a "Cracker Jack" box". But not on Sunday.

Easy Like Sunday Morning. Click here


Sunday we have -
  • Gospel Radio and Sports!
I must confess I am a fan of sporting events, not a Sports Fan. I love sports for their entertainment value. A live venue is my favorite way to watch sports. My first trip to a professional sporting event was to "Wrigley Field". It was a Sunday. I am so thankful it is still called "Wrigley Field".

No value in History makes me sad.

But not on Sunday! On Sunday I Smile :-)

Smile - GP are you with me? Click here

It's the God in me. Mary Mary

Those two songs are from a short list of Contemporary Spiritual/Gospel music I enJoy! Coming from a rich Louisiana Baptist background practically everything other than those old moaning and whaling hymns of my youth are contemporary.

EnJoy! The Gospel of my youth.

Mahalia Jackson - Move on up a little higher. Click here
Mahalia Jackson-Move on up a little higher lyrics. Click here

We did not have "the greatest gospel singer of all time" in our Sunday services at "Greater King Solomon" or "Jackson Chapel", but the Sunday music rotation in our home made her number one on the Sunday playlist. My NOLA Grandmother was a total Mahalia groupie. Truly Mahalia was loved by the people in New Orleans, Chicago and all over the world. There is a video on line that shows her singing "The Lords Prayer" and the audience giving her the standing ovation is all white. I love that.

Wikipedia says-

Born as Mahala Jackson and nicknamed "Halie", Jackson grew up in the Black Pearl section of the Carrollton neighborhood of Uptown New Orleans, Louisiana. When she was born Halie suffered from genu varum, or "bowed legs". The doctors wanted to perform surgery by breaking Halie's legs, but one of the resident aunts opposed it. In 1927, at the age of sixteen, Jackson moved from the south to Chicago, Illinois, in the midst of the Great Migration.

Possessing a powerful contralto voice, she was referred to as "The Queen of Gospel". Jackson became one of the most influential gospel singers in the world, and was heralded internationally as a singer and civil rights activist; entertainer Harry Belafonte called her "the single most powerful black woman in the United States".



Mahalia Jackson died in Chicago on January 27, 1972.

I was six years old and will never forget that day. My school announced her passing over the loud speaker which could be heard in the school courtyard where we were halted to listen. When I close my eyes and remember this day, I am taken back to that courtyard and can still smell the pinto bean aroma in the air from our lunch menu.

Mahalia had funeral services in Chicago and New Orleans. It was a true media sensation.

Instead of the sweet sounds of Mahalia in service, our service was more...
It goes a lil something like this... and a 1 and a 2...Click here

The unison clapping, stomping, rocking rhythmic melding of voice and spirits soothed my soul. It was as though someone hit the reset button on life and everything was made new again.

"Rocking was a term first used by gospel singers in the American South to mean something akin to spiritual rapture". - By Dr. Frank Hoffmann

Even without regular Sunday service and certainly no music like this. I still love Sunday for family, for music, for food, for Joy!

Sunday, Reset!

Now for Monday....
Monday, Monday bah da bah da da da..

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Delight In the Little Things

Once a month I cook breakfast for women and children at a shelter program in a suburban town outside of Chicago. A longtime family friend and I arrive at 2:45 am and stay until breakfast has been served assisting with clean up prior to departing around 6:45 am. This program runs from October - April each year. I have volunteered for the program before but this was the first time for my friend. When I asked my friend if he would consider volunteering with me he immediately said yes. I was impressed. It is one thing to be able to help others; it is quite another thing to be willing to do so. I believe most of us have more to give than we realize.

More of a blessing than the abundance itself is to realize abundance in your life and want to share that abundance with others freely. When I say abundance you may immediately think wealth or excess, when I simply mean enough to share. The caveat of that thought is "what is enough"?

We run on empty with our busy lives filled with chores and errands and activities required of us to be considered active, engaged, connected. But when is enough, enough?

There are multitudes of regurgitated hypotheses written on the topic of satisfaction. The elusive condition we all seem to crave. We want satisfaction in our relationships or our work, but for some great mystery or some great UN achievable process, we the masses, still "can't get no satisfaction".

Mick Jagger Break
The Rolling Stones - Satisfaction Click here

After all, what is a blog about life, love and music with out a nod to The Rolling Stones? Maroon 5 know a great recipe for a hit song. Lie about your moves, add one of the best voices in the world, mix in clips of the funkiest front man of the best known band, stir or is that a shake, bake until the world believes you got moves. No M5 video posted as to not insult T.R.S. The M5 dude barley moves - really people?

I refer in previous post to the Bible series "Reaching Your Financial Destiny" as the spark to my current condition of thought and activity. In the study, I re learned that satisfaction is not about achieving more. It is about being happy or content with what you have now. If we looked at what we already have as abundant or enough, what would that do for our lives?

Have we stopped counting our blessing- daily? Is counting our blessings a falsehood to the reality of our lives today? Do we really feel blessed? Perhaps if we felt we had more, we would find that we could share more. More time, more love, more understanding, more patience, more Joy.

Last week at the shelter program I shared, along with my time, an easy bake apple pancake. I can tell you the women, children and my co-volunteers seemed to be delighted and it was enough.

2 recipes for your enjoyment- The first, THERE IS JOY AND SATISFACTION IN THE LITTLE THINGS! Try that recipe and the one below.

Easy Bake Apple Pancake

Ingredients

Complete Pancake Mix
2 Eggs
4 Granny Smith Apples
1 TBS Cinnamon
4 TBS Granulated Sugar
4 TBS Butter

Prep

Peel, core and slice apples to 1/4 inch thick slices
Mix sugar, cinnamon and apples together until apples are coated with sugar mixture
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Mix pancake mix to directions on package for 6 - 10 pancakes, beat in two eggs into batter (set aside)
In 9 inch oven ready pan/skillet (cast iron is best) on stove top melt butter in pan over med high heat (turn off heat when butter is melted)
Place apple mixture evenly on bottom of pan and return heat to med high
When apples bubbles pour pancake batter over apples, spread batter evenly remove from heat and place in preheated oven

Cook Time

Bake pancake 20 - 25 minutes until pancake lightly brown or tooth pick removes clean. Turn over onto serving plate warm from oven.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving.


Pic


This is not the traditional "German Apple Pancake" but a simpler version. If you want to have a batter closer to the German styles try 2 additional eggs in pancake batter.

I ate this mini version pictured for dinner all by myself. Joy!

The Children's Song by Rudyard Kipling

To All Our Veterans

I sing to thee a poem -

Land of our Birth, we pledge to thee
Our love and toil in the years to be;
When we are grown and take our place
As men and women with our race.

Father in Heaven who lovest all,
Oh, help Thy children when they call;
That they may build from age to age
An undefiled heritage.

Teach us to bear the yoke in youth,
With steadfastness and careful truth;
That, in our time, Thy Grace may give
The Truth whereby the Nations live.

Teach us to rule ourselves alway,
Controlled and cleanly night and day;
That we may bring, if need arise,
No maimed or worthless sacrifice.

Teach us to look in all our ends
On Thee for judge, and not our friends;
That we, with Thee, may walk uncowed
By fear or favour of the crowd.

Teach us the Strength that cannot seek,
By deed or thought, to hurt the weak;
That, under Thee, we may possess
Man's strength to comfort man's distress.

Teach us Delight in simple things,
And Mirth that has no bitter springs;
Forgiveness free of evil done,
And Love to all men 'neath the sun!

If you have checked my profile, you know I do not have favorite books. I do have favorite Poems and Poets and Authors.

Rudyard Kipling (Born December 30, 1865, Died January 18, 1936) for one.

If you are interested in learning about Mr. Kipling and his work check out this site -http://www.poetryloverspage.com/poets/kipling/kipling_ind.html


The last stanza of this poem is a life creed I live by. What a world this could be if more people adopt and live that as truth. My next post is dedicated to this poem.

Thursday, November 3, 2011

Going Home- Birthday Joy - I Will

I Like to Dance! Are you ready? Yeah!
A few days ago, my BFF from childhood celebrated a Birthday at a local night club here in the "Chi" and it was truly "Old Home Day." BFF and I were super close through high school and we remain close. She is my Sister from another Mother.

When I got the text that she was having a party in a night club I thought it was a joke. Really I did, because BFF is not the clubbing kind at all. I would be hard pressed to remember the last time we went out to a club together, if ever. Eventho' I'm no longer the party animal I once was; I had to go just to see it for myself.

Plus, I LOVE Birthdays!!! "Two most important days in your life are: the day you were born, and the day when you find out why." - Mark Twain

The two most important days in my life, were the day my Daughter was born and the day she gave birth to her son- Ultimate Joy! I know now this is why I was born.

The day you were born impresses me as the only real holiday in ones life. The one true celebration of life should be the celebration of your life, for without your life does any other day matter?

In New Orleans every reason and none were justification to put on a pot of something, crank up the tunes and pour out a lil' liquor. OK who am I kidding, a lot of liquor. Did I say every reason and no reason in NOLA we party? Death is reason to celebrate where I'm from. "Second Lines" would assemble at the church and dance your soul to the hereafter. Never mind the after party.

Want to see what a Second Line is? Click here This is the best way to celebrate a life in death.

But until my birthdays end, I want to party a little bit every day. I think everyone should bust a lil" shuffle everyday just like the tune below which plays every time a get a text or voicemail on my cell phone.

Put on some socks, go in the kitchen and shuffle baby.

Party Rock Click here Oooooooooo that's my jam!

If not to that one then...everybody on the floor and represent for the "dirty south" Cupid Shuffle or walk it by yo'self! I do!

As I walked into the club for BFF's Birthday bash the cupid shuffle was playing, I think it is always playing and almost immediately I was whisked away to the dance floor in my spiky slingback pumps. Joy! and Pain.

There were friends at the party I have not seen in years and thought I might never see again - Joy! We took a few pictures and reminisced about the good ol' days. It was good to see everyone and shake a tail feather.

I did not let the excuse of being tired or not wanting to get dressed stop me from going and I am so happy I went. It reminded me to keep dancing on the Joy list and get out a bit more. Until the next night out I can party a lil' bit everyday!

I will "bust a move" even if just in my car "dance driving", and be grateful for every birthday I get to share, mine or others.

I will have more Joy! I will, until I go home.

Monday, October 31, 2011

The Gift of Giving and the Joy of Cooking

The new reflection on my life brings to light a need to do more with my life and have more of an impact on others. I am searching for new ways  to use my "gifts" to bring more joy to others and in turn more joy for myself.

Although I recently re-committed my time to a local shelter program for women and children, I found through journaling for the Bible series I can do more.

One of my "gifts" is Cooking. More of a blessing handed down by the best cooks in the world, My Grandmother, Aunts and Cousins. I have a true feeling of joy when cooking. I am a "foodie" and like all foodies, I love to eat. This is quite natural coming from New Orleans. Although I have met many a New Orleanian that can not cook, I never met one that did not like to eat. I am so thankful the "no cooking" part was not true for my family.

My love of cooking started with my Grandmother in NOLA. As a girl I would go "make groceries" with her and plan the daily meal. This often meant we were having what she or I wanted to eat that day. Oh Joy!
My Grandmothers reputation as a cook and joy of giving kept a crowd in her kitchen from morning to night. It was mostly our immediate and "extended family" there, but that extension was a cord at least 50 miles long.

"Grandmother" and "Pawpa" were from rural Louisiana and moved to New Orleans to raise their family.
My Grandfather was a man of few words and when he spoke it often sounded like Paw bear from Hillbilly Bears.
Hillbilly Bear Throwback  Don't sleep on the premise. Nothing like hanging with Dad, even in "toonville".

Our "Pawpa" was not going to repeat himself so you had to pay close attention when he was speaking. I loved his way. In every right my Grandfather was also a great cook. He cooked the best skillet scrambled eggs in the world, often the one making breakfast for himself and the family before going off to work during the week. Weekend breakfast was a larger affair and more collaborative effort. As a child and young man living in the "Country",  my Grandfather routinely hunted or fished for his family meals. Later in his life, living in New Orleans he took our family on many trips out to the "Country" where my Grandfather would get with his peeps to hunt or fish and my Grandmother would get with her peeps and cook, it was the Always The Best Time in My Life!

My Grandmother was purely and simply love personified tending to her family with the love, care and wisdom of a family laureate. She was my Hero as a girl and my Hero still from the hereafter.

Most of my Grandmother and Grandfather's family were still in the "Country" and I can remember asking to go to the" Country" for weekend visits. When we did it was a party. Food, lots of food, Music,  lots of music, Family, lots of family and Drink, lots of drink. The city cousins kissed the country cousins and caught up with each others lives. Do not let the "Country" fool you those "Country" cousins had it going on with college degrees and were very active in the community. City cousins - not so much. What we truly shared were family ties. But the overwhelming feeling was a sense of Joy and Love. Love for each other, for our lives and Joy in the world we lived in. Al Green - Let's Stay Together A family anthem! I wish I had video of my family singing this back in the day.

Sundays were the best days and because of the wonderful times we had on Sunday I still hold that day as a sacred time for family. Life now in Chicago, family day may be a Wednesday but the theme is always the same, love. We have less family members gathering with less food and less music and much less drink but the love is still the same and we still like to eat.

Those of you that have seen the movie Soul Food or the BET series by the same name depicting family gatherings around a large meal will understand what Sunday mealtime can be in a afro centric household.

Kitchen time in my Grandmother's house hold many memories for me. There were several kitchens in different homes over the years,  painted yellow and always in the back of those "shot gun" houses, famous in New Orleans. The women of the family would gather with the radio always on but the music will never be the same.

Let me take you back if you were there and if not let me" hip" you to it. Click the song title!

Slippin Into darkness - WAR If your going to listen to WAR then you must play All Day Music, it even has the vinyl touch. All day one of my all time jamzzz. My Uncles would play this in the park and jam with it on their bongos. The best days ever!
Zoom - Do I have to say?
I'd Rather Be With You- Bootsy
A Family Affair - Sly Stone This is Church!

I got to stop now, I'm hurting myself, too much music for one post!

Words of wisdom were shared as we snapped, picked, peeled, sliced and diced culinary delight and our family bond grew stronger with every pear we pared.

Whether in the City or the Country, meals with my NOLA family (especially on Sunday) were superb! These were true moment of Joy, times I try to recreate now with every pot of red beans I make, every pot of gumbo, every pot of greens, every pan of dressing, bowl of potato salad... oh I could go on forever.

And now this gift of cooking which is really more of a blessing that came with words of wisdom handed down from those wonderful women, is a gift I always love to share with family and friends.  Some recipes have been slightly altered for heart health, but none lack Full Soul Flavor.

Part of my new found commitment to joy is to share this gift of cooking with more people. I am starting with a special friend who is also a great cook which makes this just "that" much more special. As a cook, the best thing in the world is when someone cooks for you and it's good! Her Pot of Beans are in the Crock Pot now smellin good! The recipe is below - my gift to you!

Beans take a lot of time to cook right so plan to be home or use the Crock Pot and double the Cook Time.
Either way, pour yourself a favorite drink, turn on the "radio", pullout the chopping board and EnJoy!

Red Beans with Smoked Turkey Tails

Ingredients

1lb. pkg of dried red kidney beans
4 large smoked turkey tails
4 large bay leaves
1 medium white onion
1 large green pepper
4 cloves fresh garlic
1 Tb spoon season salt
1 Tb spoon cayenne pepper
Regular salt and black pepper "to taste" at the end of cooking
4 scallion tops diced for garnish

Prep

Soak beans overnight then rinse and drain.

Fill 8 quart pot with water and boil turkey tails until "fork" tender - about 5 hours, depending on size. Allow tails to cool to touch and remove from water, leave water from turkey tail boil in pot. Pull meat from tail bone and skin. Discard bone and skin. Set meat aside.

Dice onion, green pepper and garlic.

Cook Time

Leave remaining water from tail boil in pot and add water to 3/4 full line in pot. Add beans, turkey meat, onion, green pepper and garlic, bay leaves, season salt and cayenne to water. Cover pot and boil on med high flame for 3 hours. Lower flame to med low and boil additional 1 to 1 and 1/2 hours or until beans are "finger" soft. Add additional water to pot to half full if goes below half line during cooking.

Taste after 3 hours and add regular salt and black pepper to taste before finishing cook time. Serve over rice. Top with scallions at serving.

If you are not familiar with bay leaves, please do not eat the leaf, remove at serving.

Pic
When your beans turn out right - true Joy!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

"A Letter To My Brother" Ode' to Music

Part of the Bible series "Reaching Your Financial Destiny" encourages you to reach out to family and friends with simple acts of kindness. The series asks that we use our "gifts" of cooking, singing, writing or whatever those gifts or talents may be, to help someone else. The thought being that in giving you receive.

The first thing I did was send an email to my Brother who lives out of state. After recent calls and multiple texts not returned, I decided to send the email.

The email in a nutshell went something like "I love you. It will be OK, hold on to your family, I am here for you". He replied something like "thank you for the kind words, I will be OK, working it out the best I can right now, I love you".

I cried reading his reply.

My Brother and I are our parent's only children and for the first 15 years of my life he was the closest person to me. We shared everything including our bedroom until around age 13 when he moved into the basement with the hopping spiders.

Bro and I also shared our parents, primarily our Mother's love for music, he more so than I and became a musician. Garage Band, Music Conservatory, Paying Gigs, Studio Owner Musician.

Our Mother, who has an appreciation of all thing music, introduced us to a vast array of music genres.  Bro however loved everything rock, mostly metal and punk as a teen and young adult. I had to be "Gene" when he and the boys did air guitar "Kiss" concerts, because my tongue fit the bill and they were short of boys in the neighborhood that wanted the Gene role. All the boys wanted to be Paul or Ace. I just wanted to "hang" with the boys and was glad I had "gene"tically fit the bill.

Great song by KISS click link below. Everyone especially my Brother should pay close attention to the lyrics. Nothing happens before you can believe in "I".

I - by KISS Click Here

My Mother sings like Barbara Streisand or she used to, now it's more like Leontyne Price and as I reflect, also favored Barbara's look back in the 70's but with a tan. Growing up, music was a major part of our everyday life and often my saving grace. When the music played there was singing which was so much better than the crying or the cursing my Mother could also perform with the same volume and vigor as her stage rendition of "Memory".

Like to hear it? Here it go..
Memory - Barbara Streisand

"And what can I do"? you may ask. Well, I can sing - a little, sang in a couple of choirs, my first solo was "Memory" by Babs. I also love to dance. My girls and I went out dancing a lot back in the day and I was picked out the crowd to be a video dancer several times but decided not to make the casting couch auditions required.

Music Saved My Life - Lil Louis Click Here It saved my life and my soul! I worship Lil' Louis.

My family listened to every kind of music, something I truly appreciate in my adult life. I have found that I know the words to almost every elevator tune, TV commercial sample and oldie but goody.  Maybe I can go on that lyric show and make some dough!

Music was the tie that bound our family together in joy. Some of the best memories of my life are singing and dancing at home with my family. My new joy with music is singing and dancing with the new love of my life. A fav tune of his is "Party in My Tummy" and his new groove is the alphabet song with India Arie and Elmo. It is good to see the appreciation of good music still runs in the family.

India and Elmo sing ABC's click here Now that is good music!

A part of creating more moments of joy in my life will be to spend more time listening, singing and dancing to music. Going to load up my play list with some new tunes.

I miss my Brother.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Reaching Your Financial Destiny

A major catalyst to starting this blog is the recent opportunity to write a daily journal for a financial Bible series I am leading at a Church in suburban IL. Before starting this Bible series and doing the recommended journal, my writing lately has been limited to the occasional email to family and friends.

In my early life I wrote a lot. Writing was a true joy for me and was often well received. In addition to writing for school, I wrote short stories for fun and poems for love. I used to write letters, real "in the mail letters" to people until I realized they served mostly to make people feel bad about not writing back.

When I was thirteen I wrote in a diary. It was short lived and mostly used to document the hurt and confusion growing up can bring. Writing in my diary then offered little more than proof to my Mother and Brother - the lock was easy to pick - that I had issues and at thirteen who does not have issues, right?

The Bible series I am leading is the title of this post and has really brought a new level of reflection on purpose and potential to my life. Not just from the aspect of money but for everything I have done and am doing with my life now.

Leading a group in a Church setting is a new journey for me. I do not attend Church regularly for many reasons. The main reason I have not attended is because my idea of "Church" has been hard to find, another but far lesser reason is I usually work weekends and evenings.

I intentionally do not wish my postings to be religious in content as my belief system is to allow everyone their beliefs, but for the purpose of this post on how blogging has come into my life and the intended purpose of blogging, I have to include it.

As a girl in New Orleans I attended church All the time and loved it. It was a great sense of Joy, Community and Love in my life. After moving to IL I sporadically attended Church as a teen and young adult finding Church to be not at all like the "Church" experience of my youth.  Instead I found it to be superficial and petty, centering on the Pastor instead of the parishioners. Even in my later attempts to find a Church home, it has been lacking in the congregational connection and community impact that feels right to me.
With that, it was unlikely for me to be in Church leading a Bible series of any kind. It was listening to the "Dave Ramsey" (highly recognized financial guru) radio broadcast that got me to thinking about my feelings and dealings with money and got this ball rolling. I started listening to Dave on my way to work to gain perspective of other views about money. This was in effort to begin a dialog with the man I live with about money, mostly the lack of and use of his money. The attempt to talk about budget, saving and revenue generation ideas for us to try resulted in many long night conversations, a few shed tears and no change at home to our financial "one-ness". For me, listening to Dave helped to gain a new take on my own views abut money and what I have done and can do financially in my life for myself and my family.

As a career corporate educator I have learned by teaching and thought a great way to begin to make these new revelations come to life for me would be to teach the "Dave Ramsey" principles to others. After mentioning this idea to a few people, a Church found their own Bible centered financial series they wanted to offer to their congregation and asked me to lead it.

That is how "Reaching Your Financial Destiny" came into my life and has opened up new and old thoughts and feelings about me and my life. The Bible study teaches what it means to be Christian and how to use your life and money for the advancement of the "Kingdom of God". It also touches on budget and material possession obsession, living with less etc., something I think we all can reflect on with the current state of our economy.

What leading this Bible study has really done for me is affording the time and opportunity to do something I love - Learning and Teaching! It has been a wonderful opportunity to spend time with family and friends and meet new people. It has also allowed me time to be reflective of my life. Sharing my financial journal in the Bible series reminded me how much I loved to write while also making me aware of how my thoughts and feelings can impact others.

With the journaling I began asking questions like "Where am I" and "Where do I want to be"? "Is this enough"? "What more can I do to have a better life"?

To better understand the first question "Where am I?" I begin by reflecting on how I got here. Part of that reflection has led me back to a first love - writing. It has been a long time since the teenage diary days, school papers and prose posing poetry to long lost loves, but the joy I remember having from writing then is the joy I crave more of now in my life.

Blogging, I hope, will help bring back the joy of writing to my life.
Unlocked.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

My First Post "Who am I? Why blog? Why now?

This blog will be about life, joy, food, raising children and grandchildren, love, sex and music with a focus on food, family and music. An uplifting blog filled with reflections and focus on the best things in life all to better appreciate and create better life experiences.

The posts will not be from the perspective of an expert, but more of a "sharing my experiences" journal with the hope of helping me and others to be more reflective of life in effort to receive greater joy moments.

I thought about starting a blog four years ago. I was not working and online all the time looking for work. I also did surveys for cash, products and discounts on stuff. The surveys were a great way to keep me online with easy cash, deodorant and coupons flowing into my mailbox and inbox. There were some great companies four years ago offering this kind of work. On average I earned $25.00 cash per week with very little effort. Not to mention the other benefits of free products and discounts on everything from travel to movie passes. A little online research was all it took for me to get started. I am not doing the online work currently as my life, time and circumstances have changed. Online surveys can also be very time consuming to be of any value.

 Fortunately I found work and made some life changes so the blog never happened until now.

Ah now... it is the last line of a great song from the best band ever.

The song truly captures why I am blogging and what my hope is for this new aspect of my life.

Truth Hits Everybody - The Police Click Here

Truth Hits Everybody by The Police

Sleep lay behind me like a broken ocean
Strange waking dreams before my eyes unfold
You lay there sleeping like an open doorway
I stepped outside myself and felt so cold
Take a look at my new toy
It'll blow your head in two, oh boy

Truth hits everybody, truth hits everyone
Truth hits everybody, truth hits everyone
Truth hits everybody, truth hits everyone

I thought about it and my dream was broken
I clutch at images like dying breath
And I don't want to make a fuss about it
The only certain thing in life is death
Take a look at my new toy
It'll blow your head in two, oh boy
Truth hits everybody, truth hits everyone
Truth hits everybody, truth hits everyone
Truth hits everybody, truth hits everyone

Where you want to be, won't you ever see?
......... Ah now.

Music is poetry to me. You will see a lot of music referenced in my posts. Yes, I will also share recipes for some good ol' soul food to eat and for thought.

In search of greater truth about me, my life and what I want for myself now, I will be writing and sharing my thoughts on love. Love of music, family and food with the hopes of helping anyone and myself along the way to the next joy moment.