Three Days of Organizational Bliss

You know your middle name is Martha when you lay out your plans for the next 72 hours and instead of planning a quick get-away you think, "I could clean all of the closets and go through those boxes." It may not be life changing, but it will be nice to start 2011 with some refreshing of the organization around here.

Mind you, I didn't wake up early to start this endeavor (there has to be some easing into the day, no need to rush). However, I now have what may be the cleanest fridge we've ever had and I even pulled it out and scrubbed the floor behind it. Yikes.

Off to the closets. Watch out Goodwill/Library/Recycling/Trash there's like to be something headed your way. Should you need any new reading material or miscellaneous kitchen items, just call, I am likely to have something to fit the bill.

Lacking Motivat...

Seriously, after demonstrating hyper productivity to prep and execute the holiday celebrations of the past weekend, I've hit a rut. Sure, I could lament some of the week being hijacked by actual work, work, but really let's be honest. I'm the picture of inertia at the moment. The boxes and paperwork are not going to sort themselves. I'd rather blog about a lack of productivity than say, be productive. With any luck, I will rediscover my sorting mojo and the house will enter 2011 clutter free.

These Teeth Were Made for Walking

Happily after my dedicated six month routine of flossing daily and more focused tooth brushing I have returned from the dentist cavity free. I'm sure cutting down on sugary drinks and general bad for you and your teeth stuff didn't hurt either.

However, my enthusiasm for no fillings is tempered by the fact that I'm breaking up with my dentist. No longer will the proximity to my office hold me hostage. For three years I've felt odd every time I sat in the chair. Perhaps I was spoiled by the brilliant dentists at the UMKC dental school we went to for three years. Perhaps it's the dentist we went to in Alexandria for more nearly eight years before we moved.

Hustling your patients to add on additional procedures, changing your answers when questioned and having no regard for their insurance coverage is not a way to keep patients/clients. This is a customer service business as much as retail or any other service-tied industry. If I don't trust you or don't like how I feel after interacting with you-- I'm not going to come back.

Mindful living means eliminating unnecessary negative experiences. So adieu dentist. I'll be taking my teeth and dental coverage elsewhere.

Beating Up Breakfast

Mornings and I are not friends. This is a long standing feud. Rare is the day that I don't feel like the sun rudely barged in on my pleasant night's sleep. Subsequently, my morning routine is anything but leisurely. Start to finish it's a 45 minute brisk rush.

Weekday breakfast as a result has been a long suffering step-meal. More days than not, I've skipped the "most important meal of the day." Often, when I toss something in my bag and eat it early in the day, I end up complaining that I'm hungry way before lunch. Whiny McWhine.

So, my recent meal planning has expanded to include more than just things DH will eat for breakfast, but items I am actually going to consume. I feel like I'm going into a fight with breakfast and it's going to give me a black eye and maybe a broken nose, but I'm going in swinging anyway. 

The first step has been the versatile apple. Also making an appearance are raspberries (when on sale), and clementines. I'm trying to steer clear of the nutrigrain bar, oats n' honey nature valley granola bar line of thinking because I've been down that road a lot and it never sticks. So, instant oatmeal has been purchased with the idea that I can eat it at home or work and dress it up a bit with the apple bits and raisins (a la MickeyD's but healthier).

Other quick morning breakfast options welcome, but let's be honest it involves cooking something on the stove in the AM, it's not happening.

Barefoot Brilliance

Start to finish dinner on the table in 45 minutes. Two new Barefoot Contessa recipes tried and devoured.  The pine nut couscous makes a lot, so I would half it or be prepared to have it for several days. For a veggie, I just chopped up green zucchini and cooked it with a little olive oil.

Of course, I packed up leftovers for lunch tomorrow before it occurred to me to take a picture. Trust me, it even looks good. An easy to impress the company kind of recipe. 

Barefoot Contessa Panko-Crusted Salmon (from her new book How Easy Is That?)

2/3 cup panko bread crumbs

2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1 tsp grated lemon zest
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp good olive oil
4 (6–8 oz) salmon fillets, skin on
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
Lemon wedges for serving

Preheat oven to 425°F.

In a small bowl, mix together panko, parsley, lemon zest, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and stir until crumbs are evenly coated. Set aside.

Place salmon fillets, skin-side-down, on a board. Generously brush tops of fillets with Dijon mustard and then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Press panko mixture thickly on top of the mustard on each salmon fillet.

Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or large, heavy, ovenproof pan. When oil is very hot, add salmon fillets, skin-side-down, and sear for 3 to 4 minutes, without turning, to brown the skin.

Transfer pan to hot oven for 5 to 7 minutes until salmon is almost cooked and panko is browned. Remove from oven, cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges.

Things Unsaid

You know the drive you have home after you've gone to visit family? The inevitable recap of the good, the crazy and the infuriating moments of the trip. Ritualistic therapy we all engage in, whether it lasts 15 minutes or 3 hours. A lot passes between spouses and siblings that you wouldn't dream of saying out loud to others and certainly not in mixed company. It's a relief, it makes us feel safe, it builds trust. After the venting we go on, no malice intended, no ill will meant.

The holidays are prime time for gathering together and letting many things go unsaid. Even I find myself tongue-tied in an effort to be polite. Perhaps it is an inevitable cycle that is we perpetuate through inertia of thought. Perhaps it's for the best.

I'm not proposing we go on a mass sharing bender this holiday season, offending your family left and right, but perhaps we could all be a little more adult. Stopping making excuses for those who are perfectly capable of being spoken to directly. Stop living in fear that saying what you truthfully feel out loud will cause the tides to flow in the opposite direction.

Maybe it's something uncomfortable, but maybe it's joyful.

One Less Gift

After the multi-month purge of our unused, not needed household belongings I thought for sure we'd be in good shape for the holidays. Yet as I scurried about the house the other night picking up the obscene amount of paper we seem to pile up week-to-week I looked around and suddenly saw at least 100 more things we don't need. Why is that one drawer still so full? Oh right, because I have a dozen versions of a spatula shoved in there.

The poor sagging bookshelves that are way past their prime, weighed down by books that we have no intention of reading again and frankly don't even pass the "hey they are smart, look at the books they have" test that we all pretend we don't do, but totally do.

I have two silver plated beverage buckets that are great for holding beverages at a party for 30. They've been in a box for going on five years now. So either I need to throw more parties or perhaps their peak usage during our 20s has past.

How is it that when I finished my last trip to Goodwill in September, I thought I had checked every corner, given away anything that wasn't necessary. Suddenly, my house once again seems overrun, full of the Crate & Barrel empire I thought I had at least thinned.

This was top of mind when we were asked about Christmas lists. For the first time, we can really say, we don't "need" anything. Seriously, enough with the stuff. We love you and we're sure it (whatever it is) is lovely, but really we'd rather just see you and not have one more thing to dust. Or as DH wisely said, add it to our down payment fund.

I've also been struck by how much we focus on filling up our trees and stockings with gifts for the pleasure of watching each other open them. Even if we know half the items will be abandoned or broken within the next year, we want to make sure we "buy enough."

So here's an idea. What if we each put one beautifully wrapped box under the tree that represented the gift not given to each other. Instead of buying one more toy or pair of cashmere socks, we instead donate that value, whether it's $5 or $100, to a family in need or charity that serves them in your local area. That box could be opened and used as a moment to remember how lucky we all are to have a tree and stockings to open on Christmas morning. Maybe it becomes an annual tradition and you can recall together who the box helped each year.

If we can spend the energy moving an elf from shelf to shelf for an entire month, the effort required to do a little less and help someone a little more is surely worthwhile.

P.S. My brilliant friend Danielle is tackling this same idea through her very cool project TooMuchToDo.

More On the Floor

After the last post on the frustrations of floor cleaning peaked an interesting discussion, I've been looking for a better solution. I still don't have a good definitive answer, but I am working through the suggestions in this book.

What I appreciate about this handy reference guide is it's practical and yet slightly neurotic. They suggest using murphy's soap up to twice a year year mixed with water to keep up the condition of the floor, with a good old fashioned hand washing. Argh, I just can't escape scrubbing the floor on my hands and knees.

But, more interestingly, they propose that any mild soap (sans any bleaching agent) mixed with water is likely the best weekly cleaner for your hardwood, whether real or laminate.

So, I'm working my way through the various options I already have on hand. Right now the Seventh Generation liquid dish soap is up. I'm still using just elbow grease as I haven't found a good mop I like, but the rubbermaid remains a contender. Anyone else had any further luck?

Welcome Winter

Dear Mother Nature,

We really loved the snow this last year. 

Let's go for just enough this season, okay?

P.S. Love your work.