Mother’s Day 2024

May 13, 2024creelight3720 2 Comments

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve blogged and I picked a lovely occasion to jump right back into it. I had planned to blog earlier in the day, but the day just kept getting away from me. I enjoyed being in the moment.

I’m grateful for another beautiful Mother’s Day in the books. Bryan, our children, and my young sister in law, who now lives with us temporarily, surprised me (which is not easy to do). The overall theme was pampering and relaxation. It’s also my sister in law’s birthday. She turned the same age as my son, Caleb…twenty three years old. Caleb had a double shift at the restaurant where he works so he wasn’t able to celebrate with us. He wrote me a thoughtful note, which made me smile. We’ve been connecting more over the past few months and his note reflected that.

Our morning started off with church at LifeFamily where we were blessed with a message from Lisa Bevere. This petite woman delivered a soul stirring and powerful message. I wasn’t expecting that loud voice out of such a tiny person. She reminded me that mothers are warriors, prayer warriors for our children in this crazy world. It definitely got me fired up.

This is a photo I took during Lisa’s sermon. Afterward, our pastor asked all the mothers to approach the stage where he poured into us more and prayed over us. The sanctuary was decorated beautifully. We took photos, ate macaroons, grabbed our thoughtful gifts, and chatted with some people.

We had given my sister in law our gifts before church and when we returned from church, they flooded me with gifts, which was sweet. I hadn’t planned on doing anything today, but once we got home, I decided to cook a side for Bryan’s barbecue. Since my mom passed away nearly 7 years ago, Mother’s day has been sad. I know many people can relate and my heart goes out to them. With each passing year, the pain isn’t so sharp, but the void is forever there. I wanted her near so I decided to cook something she taught me how to make. Cooking always makes me feel closer to her. I made rice and peas. Everyone in the house loves my rice and beans. I can make it with any type of bean and today I chose lima beans. I took no pictures this time. I was hurrying along to make the massage appointment Bryan gifted me.

My daughter, Elise, made this birthday cake last night. It was a boxed cake from Trader Joe’s and quite tasty. She made two mini two layer cakes. She insisted that I have my own cake for Mother’s Day.

After I got the rice and beans going, I jetted out to attend my massage appointment at 3:00 pm. The check in felt a little chaotic, but the massage itself was divine and couldn’t come at a better time. The lady said it’s been busy all day and I could tell they were frazzled, but not me. I floated away to my car and back home.

When I returned from my massage, I ate a delicious homecooked dinner and had pleasant conversations over the phone with my two sisters and my niece. It’s so great to catch up.

Cheers to a beautiful Mother’s Day, which set the tone for my week. I hope all the mom’s out there feel cherished and loved every single day!

Health update: Living with MS

March 12, 2024creelight3720 Leave a comment

It occurred to me yesterday that it is almost the 1 year anniversary of my doctor telling me over the phone that I have multiple sclerosis (MS). It was on March 31, 2023 and it was a shock. I just recently learned that March is MS Awareness Month, and this is MS Awareness Week.

MS is difficult for me to talk and blog about. I don’t know if it’s because the symptoms of the disease are invisible, meaning I look normal, but my body knows differently. Maybe it’s because this is a disappointment, considering I’ve already survived breast cancer. Maybe it’s because most people don’t know about the disease. Maybe it’s because I’m focused on healing and want to preserve my energy from explaining what is difficult to explain. Maybe it’s a combination of all the above.

Whatever the reason, March is the most appropriate time to share an update on my MS journey.

“You’re a very strong woman who’s been managing it all these years but then something BROKE.” Those were the words my MS neurologist said to me last week toward the end of our appointment, and my eyes tear up every time I replay it in my head.

For the past 12 months, I have been focused on treatment and recovery. I attacked this thing like I do with any challenge. I immersed myself with research and information. I coordinated and attended all my doctor appointments. I’ve prayed. I restructured my life a bit. I’ve moved forward.

For the past 12 months, I’ve seen these specialists: neurologist, pulmonolgist, urologist, neuro ophthalmologist, nutritionist, and oncologist. In addition to seeing my optometrist, primary care physician, and dentist. I most recently completed physical therapy in February and need to schedule another type of physical therapy in the near future.

I’ve been my own social worker coordinating care, submitting appropriate documents, calling my insurance to verify coverage, and asking the right questions.

Some successes are that in January, I completed my second infusion dose in one session. I completed 7 physical therapy sessions. My lungs are clear. My bladder is on her way to healing. My vision hasn’t changed much. Most importantly, my MS neurologist also told me in the visit last week, after she told me how strong I was, that I’ve been working hard and have changed the course of my illness to see positive results for the next 50 years.

I’ll take it.

In support of MS research and a cure, I’ll be participating in Walk MS and have started a fundraiser, which you can find here:
https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participant/433279

Please help support me in this cause. Any amount helps!

Prompt V.2 – Favorite people

February 20, 2024creelight3720 Leave a comment

Who are your favorite people to be around?

My favorite people to be around are my family and friends. They make my life worth living. Here are just a few photos from recent months. These don’t capture everyone.

Food Chronicles: Prep, Store, and Save

February 18, 2024creelight3720 Leave a comment

One thing I’ve learned over the years as a homecook is that fresh herbs are an essential component to making delicious meals. A bonus is that herbs are not overly expensive. For a few extra dollars, they provide a little extra touch that gives maximum impact. They make a simple meal feel and taste luxurious.

The ones I keep in rotation are parsley, cilantro, and green onions. The cover shows some freshly washed fennel (for a broth) and dill (for my fresh hummus and tzaziki sauce). Growing up in Chicago, the parsley my mummy always bought was curly leaf parsley. I didn’t learn that there were other kinds of parsley until I expanded my pallet and learned from watching various cooking shows. I prefer flat leaf parsley.

This is flat leaf parsley, one of my favorite herb staples.

My parsley is properly cleaned and stored in a glass jar with filtered water just like I would do a bouquet of flowers. The only difference is that I store this glass in the refrigerator. Sometimes, I also store my parsley in a large storage bag with a paper towel if I’m low on space in the fridge.

My mummy taught me to always wash my produce and herbs, but instead of rinsing the herbs as my mummy taught me to do, I soak my herbs and produce in water and vinegar, even if organic. I find that with herbs and other lettuces and leafy vegetables, that soaking, even for 15 minutes, allows any dirt and sand to release to the bottom of the bowl. It’s so satisfying to see.

I like to soak and walk away to do other things so the soaking can be anywhere from 10 minutes to a couple of hours. Be mindful of what produce you’re soaking because if you soak some for too long, they can start to yellow and you don’t want that. However, for some like leeks, it’s best to soak a long while because leeks tend to have a lot of sand and dirt in the layers.

Various herbs in trays (cilantro and thyme) ready to be frozen with extra virginia olive oil to extend their shelf life.

For Thanksgiving, I had several bushes of herbs that I bought for the season and didn’t want to waste: thyme, sage, and rosemary. I decided to freeze them so I could enjoy anytime after the holiday season to add extra flavor to any of my meals. The first step is fine chopping them, then adding to an ice cube tray with an oil of your choice. I sometimes add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the trays.

This was the rosemary tray that I let dethaw a little too much. However, once I let the tray freeze for a day or two, I scooped the cubes from the tray and lay flat on parchment paper.

Rosemary cubes frozen with extra virgin olive oil. Once I layed the frozen cubes on the parchment paper, I folded it over and tucked into a labeled freezer bag, and put it back in the freezer. I pull a couple of cubes out of the bag any time I want to add extra flavor to a dish. This is February, and I still have some from the holidays.

This takes time and attention but allows me to add something special to my meals and saves me from wasting food.

Twenty three years ago…

February 12, 2024creelight3720 Leave a comment

I gave birth to my firstborn on February 6th. We celebrated last week, so I’m a little late with my post. When your babies are little and as they grow, your mind doesn’t imagine them as adults. At least, mine didn’t. I hope that means I was in the moment. So much has transpired in 23 years that I can hardly believe I’m a mom to this handsome young adult. I’m grateful to have taken so many pictures over the years to remind me because the time goes by so fast, and my memory can get fuzzy.

I can hear my daughter, Elise, complaining , “How come there aren’t as many pictures of me when I was little?” Well, any mom of multiple children know why. However, the tables have turned because whilst I have many solo pictures of Caleb from baby through toddler years, I now mostly have pictures with and of Elise because she entertains my love of pictures (to a point), but Caleb hasn’t liked taking Caleb pictures for years.

When the radiologist told us we were having a boy, I remember fear jolting inside of me because I only imagined my first child being a girl. I didn’t know if I would be a great boy mom, mostly because there weren’t a lot of men in my family. I was surrounded by girls.

Caleb made being his mom easy. He was so sweet and clingy as a baby initially. Oh, and he was 12.2 pounds at birth, so he was also heavy. He’s always been gentle natured with a kind spirit. I’m pleasantly surprised that he’s turned out to be a diligent, thoughtful, practical, insightful young man who loves to cook. In fact, cooking has been his profession at a fine dining restaurant for a year. I have no doubt in my mind where he gets it. He had 2 beautiful grandmothers who cooked exceptionally. Naturally, my mom passed it on to me.

Being a mom to an adult has been an adjustment for both of us, especially me. He’s still trying to figure out what direction he wants to go in, and I respect that. My husband, Bryan, and I have shared our different paths, and even though the paths had some bumps in the road, look at us now. I believe most parents don’t want their children to suffer unnecessarily. We paved the way for better, so we think, but they need to do things their way to a point because it’s their life.

I am intentional about being a “coach” for my son because as your children go through the different phases in life, parents need to adjust their parenting, However, being a coach to my own child is not intuitive for me. I’m grateful for my older friend reminding me that boys take a little longer, so give them time. I hold onto that, and I do see his progress. I will always be that nurturing coach for my babe.

With that, here are some of my favorite photos of my favorite firstborn throughout his life. Happy birthday, son!

❤️

Deep clean

February 5, 2024creelight3720 Leave a comment

This past weekend, even though I needed to be resting after my physical therapy session Friday afternoon, I woke up Saturday morning in the mood to deep clean my bedroom. After all, it’s my safe haven. In my previous post, I blogged about the yummy brunch I made with an idea to repurpose a food item after I had been tinkering around in the morning. Well, this post is about the tinkering around, and the theme is still about saving money, which is a goal for 2024.

We’ve been tweaking some decor after being in what was our new home for almost 3 years now. We purchased some new furniture in 2021, but we also used what we had, so our home is a mixture of new and old furnishings.

We decided to keep our 20+ year old bedroom furniture, which is likely outdated. Sleigh beds were a thing in the early 2000s. I follow lots of design content on Youtube and am an avid lover of shows on the Home and Garden channel. After some thought, I got my husband, Bryan, to remove the mirror that came with the dresser to spruce up our bedroom and to make it look less matchy matchy.

So this weekend, I did a deep clean of our bedroom by washing the bedding including pillows, sprinkling baking soda on the mattress and vacuuming it, polishing the wood bedframe and dressers, vacuuming corners, dusting, and polishing the mirrors.

Sometimes, to curb the desire of wanting something new, all you need to do is clean up what you already have to unveil its beauty and charm. Also, you can repurpose how you use certain items in your home and move them around. Now, that’s a way to save money.

In the following photos, you’ll see some of that work, but know that it’s not magazine perfect and that I’m not a decorator or designer (that probably doesn’t need to be typed because you can see…ha!). I just want my home to be comfortable for my family and I.

There was a large mirror where the lower round basket is now. Since the ceiling is tall, we wanted to fill the space, so we hung the baskets that were previously in different areas in the room. One day, I may replace the baskets with artwork or add more decor. It’s so easy for me to keep my most used purses hanging from the corner of the bed, but it’s not the most esthetically pleasing.

I have several comforters and switched to our warm white cotton set for a lighter feel in the room. Changing the bedding is another way to make your space feel fresh and new. Bryan has the right side of the bed as you can see some of his clutter.

There are other areas of my life where I’m applying the “deep clean” mindset. I’ll be sharing that soon.

Food chronicles: Less Waste

February 3, 2024creelight3720 2 Comments

I actually got some decent sleep last night after a week of sporadic sleeping, so when I woke up this morning, I was ready to get on with my day. I’ve spent the morning doing laundry, tending to my plants, conversating with my husband, and overall tinkering around. Next thing you know, hunger hit me like a brick at around 10:30 am.

Groceries have gotten really expensive over the last couple of years, and the grocery budget is where I still believe we can cut our costs. We’ve tended to go over our budget in this category time and again. I already stated my plan to save money in 2024, which is what prompted me to kick 2024 off with a “no spend” January, which you can read about in my previous post.

Part of cutting costs means using what we have and avoiding wasting food at all costs. I plan to be vigilant about monitoring the food we have so we aren’t throwing it away because of carelessness and poor planning.

I can eat potatoes for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. In the spirit of using what we already have, I decided to repurpose mashed potatoes I cooked days ago into my eggs. Sure, I’d eat hashbrowns or breakfast potatoes for breakfast, but I had neither…only garlicky, buttery, fluffy mashed potatoes.

I sauteed yellow & green onions first in a little butter and olive oil, scrambled 2 eggs in a bowl with black pepper, then poured the eggs in the pan. After microwaving the premade mash potatoes until warm, I added them on top of the eggs before the egg mixture set completely, sprinkled with parsley & salt, & folded over.

Egg and mashed potato scramble with bacon.

Yum!

Prompt V.1 – This is on my to-do list but never gets done…

February 3, 2024creelight3720 Leave a comment

Something on your “to-do list” that never gets done.

Since we’ve been in our home for almost 3 years, it has been on my never-ending to-do list to organize the probably hundreds of personal photos I’ve collected over the years.

I love capturing memories through photos, and I think this seed was planted almost 30 years ago when my boyfriend, now husband, Bryan, took me to visit his mom for the first time. She invented the “wall gallery” in the design world as far as I’m concerned. She had family photos covering the walls in the living room. It was a masterpiece. I loved that idea and loved seeing her add photos of Bryan and I, and eventually, our little family as we grew over the years.

When we moved to Texas, I knew this was life changing and that I’d miss my family and friends tremendously. I used photos as a way to be reminded of them always. I wanted to fill my house with images of the people I loved the most and I did.

As our family expanded with children and our nieces and nephew grew up, we acquired many photos that I would buy picture frames for and display on the walls. Many of them were collage frames.

After recently searching for some curtains in a box in my garage, it became apparent to me that not only did I love displaying photos, but it became an obsession for me in collecting photo frames. I asked Bryan the other day where did I keep all of these photos in our first house…? I found 2 boxes with even more old frames. Three years ago, in a garage sale, I had already given away so many.

I’ve spent lots of time getting photos developed at my local Walgreens. I have boxes and boxes of photos. All nieces and nephews and children of friends are grown. My children are 22 and 18 years old. What to do with all the photos collected for almost 30 years?

It’s been my plan to organize them in some way. Some ideas are by year or by family. This is going to be a daunting task, considering I have 30 years of memories in photos from my own family and our family and friends from all over. The thousands of photos stored on my phone are a whole other issue. This is precisely why I keep avoiding it. Oy vey!

One thing for sure is that time is flying by. I want to leave some memories for my children and their families, but in an organized way. There will likely be many photos that need to be purged, too. This is a job that I will need to tackle in phases because the thought of the full project is overwhelming. I’ll keep you posted.

Bloganuary is over and what’s next

February 2, 2024creelight3720 5 Comments

Hello February! I managed to blog on at least 15 topics offered through the Bloganuary prompts in January. Even though I’ve been blogging for years, I’ve found participating in these prompts as a great way to practice writing on the fly, share thoughts, build support for my blog, learn about other perspectives and blogs, interact with other bloggers, and all around harness the blogging habit.

I haven’t officially confirmed, but this might be my third year. I didn’t blog on every topic, and with 15 Bloganuary posts, this might be the least I’ve done for January since I’ve participated. Between the “daily” prompts and Bloganuary, the topics can be similar or just don’t appeal to me. Also, after participating for years, I’ve answered the prompts at some point, so it becomes repetitive.

Last year, traffic on my blog increased substantially, which I attribute to engaging through the “prompt” platforms. I’m grateful for all the likes and comments, and I love connecting with people.

Now that Bloganuary has ended, I’m returning to my favorite topics, such as blogging about my self-care tips and activities, providing health updates, sharing healthy foods I cook, lessons I’m learning in my day to day life, and all the photos I take.

So, if you’re reading this, I hope you stick around.

Bloganuary V.15 – Afraid

January 31, 2024creelight3720 4 Comments

What’s the thing you’re most scared to do? What would it take to get you to do it?

I am very afraid of the ocean and what lies underneath. Despite how beautiful coral reefs may be, you will not find me snorkeling, swimming, or any other activity like water skiing having to do with the ocean or any large body of water.

I might (not totally convinced yet) get on a cruise ship one day as I’ve been entertaining the idea more over the years. However, I will jump out of an airplane or even parasail before I do anything in the ocean. The thought of flying is more thrilling to me than being contained in a heavy body suit with gear covering my face under water. The thought sounds confining to me, and I can get claustrophobic, which is an odd thought because I know the ocean is vast.

I don’t think anything can convince me to do those types of activities either. And I’m ok with that.

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LIGHT saving lessons on self-care

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