UPDATE!

So it is pretty obvious that I have not been keeping up with this food blog; and while no apologies are forthcoming, I do think that maybe you would like to know what I have been up to; if so than read on Sometimes life is all consuming and sometimes far more important than writing it down for others to read is just living it and being in the moment of it.

When I last posted I had moved to Ocala Florida; well, that was a short-lived under a year trip and nowI am back! Florida was an experience but basically the same small town mentality and atmosphere as Holden Beach but without the beach and without my children who I missed dearly for the 10 months I was away.  So I figured that since the adventure did not work out like I had planned I would rather be back in my own small town with my own small town mentality with the people I knew and loved.  At the end of the day the "non-risk-taker" took a risk and it turned out to be exciting in the beginning, normal in the middle, a bit of a challenge towards the end but all in all by the time it was all said and done I was ready to come home, with absolutely no regrets.  My only regret would have been not taking the risk and always wondering about a missed opportunity.  I have been back home in North Carolina for about 4 months and keeping to myself for the most part, I have spoiled my two teens rotten with different food experiments, late night french toast, early morning taco omelets, and I have been dedicated in working out 3 to 4 times a week.  I have reconnected with old friends and met a few new ones.  All in all, nothing exciting, just life in general which is a great thing in and of itself.

I have learned a lot since I have been back; I have learned to love grapefruit. I hired a personally trainer briefly, thinking that maybe I could get a little bit more of an edge to my existing workout and eating habits (aka diet) only to discover that everything I was being told I was already doing or already knew.  The one thing I did take from it is to stop second guessing yourself and your knowledge, have a little more faith, try some new things and oh, I now LOVE grapefruit thanks to the trainers advice to eat 1/2 a grapefruit in the morning.  But it has to be red grapefruit!  I learned to drink green tea with honey and I am averaging about 2 cups a day, as someone has been smart enough to make a  Chai Green tea and there is nothing I love more than chai tea!  I still have not made macarons and I have the almond flour in the freezer, my fear of messing it up is overriding my desire to conquer the task, however, I felt that way about cream puffs and when I made the pate a choux and discovered how easy it was I could have kicked myself for not doing it sooner!  I have learned that you can literally make any thing you can think of in a crock pot and pinterest will have a recipe for it!  It really helped in those randomly cold winter days like today where my kids have off of school.  I made "award winning chilli" which I had to tweak because it was absolutely devoid of heat.   Thank God for Siracha and McCormicks Southwest No Salt Spice!!!  The best part was that my kids had no idea I made it with ground turkey and I am taking my secret to the grave!

I recently discovered a new fitness place in town, right across frommy development.  One thing about living in a small town is that they sometimes do not have the "new" ideas when it comes to fitness and I am not driving an hour to Wilmington OR Myrtle Beach.  I have always been curious about meditation and chakra balancing; their blog is quite informative.  They teach a yoga class called Buti Yoga which looks really intense when I watched the YouTube video from the creator. They also teach a Piloxing class which mixes one of my favorite sports, boxing, with Pilates, cardio, some dance moves and floor work and the class is an hour long which means I do not have to spend 30 minutes on the gerbil-mobile!  They have more than one type of yoga class, which I find amazing since I only thought there was one and now we are in the age where there is gentle yoga, power yoga, Buti Yoga, hot yoga.  I am really excited that something like this is right across the street from my development and cannot wait to go try it out.  Oh and the best part? They offer a class on Samurai Swords every other Saturday....WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT???? Yeah you heard me! Unbelievable! Now I need to get a sword, or in my case a plastic stick that I can't accidentally poke someone's eye out with! 

Alright, you have been updated and may now go on about your day doing random acts of kindness, eating good food and drinking something warm and cozy until this weather warms up!