Tomato Salads

Posted under Recipes

 

Tomato - Cucumber Salad

Cut up slices of tomato and cucumber.

Sprinkle with Italian Dressing or Vinaigrette.

Add crushed Black pepper.

Let sit covered in the fridge until well chilled -

a couple of hours to blend flavors.

 

The Italian Version -

Cut up tomatoes and onions

Sprinkle with olive oil and vinegar

mixed with a little garlic and oregano.

No sitting time required. Eat up!

 

Create your own version. Want cucumbers and onions?

Like basil better than oregano?

Is red wine vinaigrette your favorite dressing?

Make it your way!

 

(recipes taken from Carole’s Cookbook)

 

Tuna Stuffed Tomatoes

Posted under Recipes

 

4 very large ripe tomatoes

2 cans (6 oz. ea.) solid white tuna in water, drained

¼ cup lite mayonnaise

2 green onions, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 

In a medium bowl, flake tuna.

 

Add remaining ingredients (except tomatoes), mix well.

 

Cut each tomato into 6 attached wedges (do not cut all the way through)

 

Spoon ¼ of the tuna mixture into the center of each tomato.

 

Serve.

 

(recipes taken from Carole’s Cookbook)

 

Where’s Mother?

Posted under Misc. Thoughts

 

OK, I’ve been missing in action here for a few days – buried in life responsibilities. Actually, job responsibilities.

 

If you think I never get overloaded and overwhelmed, you’re wrong.

 

At work we have one of our biggest promotions of the year – the suit sale. It goes on for a few weeks, but if you don’t get in within the first week, all the best sizes are gone. So the first few days are pretty chaotic.

 

So when I get home, I don’t have much energy for shopping, cooking, walking the dog, and forget the beach right now!

 

And I have a business to run. I have my biggest project, which is fixing the category listings and some other design problems here.

 

But then, I had a couple of new students sign up for Whole Life Overhaul, which really needs an overhaul itself. So I’ve bought the software, actually paid to have it installed for me, and started working on that…

 

But then, I have an opportunity to rub elbows with some very influential ladies next week. That means I’ve got to get new business cards, pronto. So I started working on the design, but you know me and technology. Nothing works the way I think it should.

 

And, if I go to this event and pass out cool new business cards, then this site needs to be up to par. Full circle, ey?

 

But I don’t want to forget about you either!

 

Last night I was heading home. I knew there wasn’t much in the house since I haven’t had time to do any shopping, so I was flipping the fast food choices over in my head. Nothing sounded very appealing. But, I was not going to shop, and then cook. Not today. Then I remembered, I had tuna, lettuce and cantaloupe. Problem solved. Tuna salad with cheese and lettuce, and cantaloupe. It was perfect.

 

I was also thinking about what to make over the next few days since it’s supposed to be really hot!

 

Well, there’s one thing that’s really abundant right now that will add great flavors to almost anything you put out – Tomatoes! So I’m going to make it a point to get to the farmstand today. I’ll post some tomato recipes for you in just a little while. But they taste so good, you really don’t have to do more than just clean ‘em, slice ‘em and put ‘em out!

 

And while you’re running your shopping errands, don’t forget to include the farmstand, or farmers markets. The food is grown locally, usually without all the unsavory chemical cocktails you get with your grocery store varieties, and you support your local economy. Oh, and they taste waaaaay better!

 

OK, I’ve got a lot to get done today. See you later…

 

 

Carole

The ‘Last Lecture’ is officially over

Posted under inspiration

 

Today was a strange day.

 

The traffic reporter on the radio this morning seemed confounded. There was hardly any traffic. And low and behold, when I pulled out to go to work – it was eerily quiet.

 

Even the mall was deadly quiet this morning.

 

The day just seemed to go on forever. There was no reason that I could see. It was a beautiful day.

 

When I left work, the quietness was shattered by the Nostalgia McDonalds blasting 50s music. Fun stuff. If I had jeans on, I would have headed over – but then there’s the dog who’s been in the house all day…

 

It was still beautiful and quiet when I took the dog out. Normally, I would have enjoyed it – but today I was antsy. Even the dog wasn’t interested in taking a long walk. Now that’s strange.

 

I sat down to check email and watch the sunset. But there wasn’t a normal sunset tonight. There was a little cloud cover, and instead of your typical reds, or oranges and sunset colors – the sky and the air were shades of lavender and periwinkle.

 

I later came to find out that Randy Pausch had died today.

 

I didn’t recognize the name at first, until a link took me to ‘The Last Lecture’. If you haven’t seen it – you should take 11 minutes and watch it. He has touched a lot of lives since he was diagnosed.

 

I had to wonder, was there a connection between the oddness of today and Randy’s passing?

 

In any event, Randy makes you stop and think about what’s really important in life. His passing is a great loss to mankind.

 

Carole

 

Using Rituals to Survive Daily Chaos

Posted under time management

 

Even though I write to you a lot, I still have a lot of people who are in awe and wonder how the heck I can keep up with so much. I’m about to reveal a secret here, so listen up.

 

I survive through ritual.

 

That sounds really boring, doesn’t it?

 

Maybe so, but it’s a lifesaver.

 

My kitchen and bathroom are always clean because I clean them every night. Because I stay on top of it, it only takes about 15 minutes total. I have a whole system to keep the house clean in little spurts. I don’t have hours to spend cleaning house. Do you?

 

I keep my health and energy up by eating right. I make sure to get 2 or 3 veggies and a fruit in at dinner. I drink orange juice and cranberry juice every day. I take my vitamins. And too much more to go into in this post. I have a whole different philosophy on eating healthy.

 

I walk the dog 2 miles most days. Some days only one mile. We both get exercise, and it lets me clear out my mind and blow off some steam, and run into friends, or talk with my daughter when she goes with… Exercise doesn’t have to be painful. It just has to be consistent.

 

I try to write something useful here most weekdays.

 

I try to do at least 2 things to move my business forward every day – no matter how little those tasks might be. Those little things add up over time.

 

I try to get a decent amount of sleep every night.

 

I make time for recreation.

 

I spend quality time with my daughter.

 

You probably have rituals at work. You arrive at a certain time. You do tasks at set times, or within deadlines. Without these rituals, not much would get done when it’s supposed to.

 

Now, if you run your whole life this way, you actually end up with more done AND more free time.

 

I have a favorite quote that I used to use to close my old ezine –

 

In my youth, I stressed freedom, and in my old age
I stress order. I have made the great discovery that
liberty is a product of order.

-Will Durant

 

And it’s true. When you’re looking at piles of housework – I’m ready to play.

 

 

 

When you’re too tired to do anything other than stare at your TV, I’m out walking the dog, or talking to friends, or working on my business, or taking my daughter out for ice cream.

 

Yes, rituals seem painful sometimes. There are days when I have to force myself to do the things I require of myself. I worked an hour later tonight than usual, so I didn’t feel like making dinner, or walking the dog 2 miles. But I did. Now I’m glad I did – but it took some self-talk to get me to do it.

 

I listened to a training video and actually applied a couple of little things. The dishes are done – kitchen is cleaned. And soon I’ll be off to bed. I can end my day feeling satisfied – instead of being under the weight of things left undone.

 

And the extra bonus is – it’s rubbing of on my daughter

 

OK, OK, I didn’t get that load of laundry in. Hey, I never claimed to be perfect!

 

You can start small. The next time you’re about to put something on the table to put away later – just put it away. When you do the dishes, take 2 extra minutes and wipe down the stove and counters.

 

Some people like to make their lunch the night before. I like mine as fresh as possible – so I don’t, but a lot of people do.

 

Some people like to lay their clothes out the night before. That one doesn’t work for me either. I never seem to feel like wearing that outfit when I get up the next day.

 

The point here is - you can find the rituals that work for you.

 

We’re all given the same 1440 minutes a day. Use them wisely.

 

Carole