Also, don’t you just LOVE these new movie posters?

So why the sudden post?  After 17 years of living in the same cute little older place, I’ve moved to a old/newerish townhouse.  It was a scary and exciting change and I still am not sure what to think of it.  I like some of the new things but I still miss lots about the old place.  It definitely has given me a new outlook on my day and my life.  The main reason for this is my house is completely ABOVE ground.  My old place was more at garden level so the house stayed cool and darker most the time.  The coolness was wonderful in the warm summer months because it wasn’t too hard to keep the house temp down (unless it was near 100º during the day).  It was also mostly North/South facing so I didn’t get much sun except for a little in the morning in one kitchen window that faced East.  The new place gets all kinds of sun during the day.  My bedroom windows are upstairs and EAST facing.  I am woken up almost every morning with bright warm sun.  If I feel like sleeping in it is really difficult with the sun glaring in your eyes at 6 AM.  It makes getting up for work easier since there is no sense in fighting the sun.  I’m probably going to have to get some black-out curtains for those rare occasions when I can sleep in on a weekend or holiday.  Downstairs, I open the blinds on the sliding glass back door and living room window and between 10 and noon the sun starts to pour in, showering the carpet and room with beautiful sunshine.  Rocco is in heaven on the weekends.  He spends hours playing and sunning himself on the soft, warm carpet.  It is actually adorable and I feel like I can see a smile on his face while he suns.  All this sunshine in my house makes it easier to wake up with a smile and a good outlook on the day.  I’m not saying I didn’t like my old house, I’m just saying I feel different when I wake up at my new place.  I can’t wait till maintenance gets screens put in our windows so we can let the fresh air in also.  It is starting to warm up and I can feel spring in the air.  It is time to pull out the capris, flip flops and open the windows.  Time to put away the heavy coats and gloves and just grab a light jacket “just in case”.  Time to spend time outside soaking up the sun, having friends over and firing up the BBQ.

I just had to share my new feelings and my new outlook on my day.  I have enjoyed getting up early and getting my day rolling early with the sun pouring in my room.  Here’s to MANY more sunny days full of smiles and great feelings.

Turkey & Pesto Ravioli with Fresh Tomato Sauce

The only thing I would have changed on the recipe was the sauce seemed a little thin to me.  I did double the recipe since I had the kids but I’ll tell you, it was really unnecessary.  There would have been plenty if I made just a single batch.  Since I doubled it, I think I did not put enough grape tomatoes in the pan so that may have contributed to the thin sauce.  I did cut back a little on the garlic in the sauce since we don’t like much garlic.  It was still VERY tasty it was just pretty thin.  I think next time I’m going to try to thicken the sauce with something before I add the ravioli to it.  I was surprised very much by the wine in the sauce.   I don’t usually cook with wine and the sauce had a fair amount in it.  I wasn’t sure how this was going to affect the taste but it was amazing.  I think I’m going to have to try to cook with wine more often.  I could see this simple sauce being used with linguine or some other pasta/meat dishes.  An adventure I will have to try soon since I still have some wine left.

Hope you try the recipe and like it as much as we did.   If you try it, let me know what you think.  I’d love to hear about changes you might have made in the preparation.

So after my latest karate competition this weekend I got to thinking about a fortune I got last week in my fortune cookie at dinner and how it applied to me.  Most the time my fortunes seem silly, meaningless and out of the box but this one was different to me.

A little over a year ago I decided to take up a new “sport”.  A new direction in my life.  It was scary and I was sure that people would laugh at me but that didn’t stop me.  I had been coming to my boys karate classes for a couple months and loved their instructor, Mrs. Cupples.  I loved her encouraging and positive way of dealing with the kids.  She has a great outlook on life and pushes the kids to do the best THEY can not what everyone else can do.  When she decided that she wanted to offer the same training for adults, I thought sure, I’ll give it a try.  What was the worst that was going to happen?  I would do it for a couple months and decide it wasn’t for me?  Or better yet, try it and love it and continue on for as long as the journey will take me?  Well that is exactly what happened but the journey is not over yet.  It’s only just begun.  Despite the occasional laugh or “why are you doing THAT?” comments I’ve gotten, I’ve stuck with it.  Now look at me.  I’ve made it all the way to green belt (the first novice belt), won several medals and just today started helping Mrs. Cupples teach in her 5 year old class.  I’m proud to say that I train in karate and it has become a VERY important part of my life.

So I’ll bet you are wondering what my fortune was that night at dinner.  Here is what it said . . . “All personal breakthroughs begin with a change in beliefs”.  I was immediately taken by that comment because it is so true.  Because of Mrs. Cupples, Community Karate Clubs, Family Karate Center, Kyoshi Haynes and my new karate family, I believe more in myself than I ever have.  I believe that I can do things that before I couldn’t.  I have an amazing positive support system around me that encourages me to do MY very best in EVERYTHING I do.  It is much easier most days for me to let things go and realize there are more important things in life to worry about.  Don’t get me wrong though, I still have my days but then I think about my new journey and it helps me put my life back in perspective.  I can not thank Mrs. Cupples enough for believing in me and seeing things in me that I don’t always see at first.  Some days she is that positive strength in my life that I need.  It is her belief in me that helped me come to the realization that “I CAN do this” or “I AM that tough”.  Mostly that I don’t need to be pushed around by anybody.

She has helped Rob and I see strength in each other too.  I have the chance to get to train with him each and every week.  It makes my day on Monday and Wednesday to get to share that time with him.  Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better than that, a few months ago Mrs. Cupples decided to change the adult only class to a family class.  It is wonderful because now I get to not only train with my sweetheart but also get to train next to my own kids.  This is one of the things that CKC is all about . . . family.  I am honored everyday that I get to train with my sweetie and my boys and be taught by someone that I look up to as a mentor and great friend.  I hope someday that I am able to pass on what she has taught me to others either by helping her in her school or by having a school of my own.  I can’t wait till the day that I am able to join the ranks of my fellow black belt friends and say with honor that I trained under Mrs. Cupples.  She is an amazing teacher and a strong woman.  If the day comes in the future, it will be fun to compete against her at a tournament.  She will be a tough opponent but I have faith in my training that I will do the very best that I can do because of the positive and supportive training that I received from such a wonderful mentor.

Thank you Mrs. Cupples for making our community better.  Thank you for believing in us all.  Thank you for showing us how the little things can make such a difference in someones day.   You know exactly when to give us positive words of encouragement and praise to brighten our day.  Thank you for caring for each an every one of us.  I am proud to say I am a Community Karate Club student.  Thank you to all my new friends that I have made this past year, young and old.  You teach me something every time we compete and train together and working with my new littlest friends is going to show me a whole new side to something I already love.  Thank you Rob for joining me on this new journey in my life.  I couldn’t think of someone I’d rather share it with that with you.  Thank you to my boys for being so supportive and encouraging also.  It is fun to have something that we can both learn together and teach each other new things along the way.  I love learning from you. Finally, I also would like to thank Mr. Cupples for all he does for CKC.  You are a great teacher.  I love learning from you.  It is fun to have a different perspective on things and it I feel honored when I get to have you judge me at competitions or when you get to come watch us take our belt tests.

My personal breakthroughs have most certainly began with a change in believing in myself.  Here’s to a long journey on this wonderful road of life.

OK.  So I admit I may be a little slow at getting with the times but now that I have been reading the Twilight books I’m completely hooked.  I never got to see the movie in the theaters even though I always wanted to and hadn’t read the books either.  For Valentine’s Day, Rob thought it would be a good idea for me to read the first of the Twilight books before the movie release at the end of March.  Little did he or I know that once I started reading, I wouldn’t be able to put it down.  It took me a couple weeks to pick the book up and get started but in just a week and a half, I was done and wanting more.  For my birthday, Rob got me the entire boxed set (yes, now I have two copies of the first book) and in less than a week I’ve finished another one.  I get started and just can’t stop.  I sneak off all the time to catch just a page or two and before I know it I’ve read an entire chapter.  This weekend I will start Eclipse, the third book and try desperately to slow down so I don’t finish it too quickly.

Now that I’m hooked, I just can’t get enough.  I have Twilight wall papers on my computer, cell phone and iPod Touch.  I got Twilight key chains a couple nights ago and almost bought a shirt.  The craziest thing though is I’m actually going to a midnight release party tomorrow (3/20/09) at Border’s in the mall so I can be one of the first to get a DVD.  I didn’t plan ahead though and forgot to reserve a copy so I may have to wait till I can find it elsewhere tomorrow but its OK.  It’ll be fun to play trivia games and such and see how much I really know about the series.  I’ve never gone to anything like this before.  Never done a midnight book/DVD release.  Never gone to see the midnight showing of a movie.  Never…. although that will change when Transformers comes out this summer (Rob’s obsessive movie).  Rob is so patient when it comes to the Twilight stuff now.  I just explain it to him that it is my Transformers . . . lol

Just one last thing . . . I only hope this poster is a good representation of the movie.  I love Edward’s eyes in this photo.  I only hope they are this beautiful and golden in the movie.  They are just like I pictured them when I was reading the book even before I saw this photo.

Autumn is here
It has arrived
And everyone is outside
I hear crunch, crunch, crunch
Under my feet
And people are jumping in piles of leaves
I hear the pitter patter under my feet when I run
The ground is colorful
Yellow, red, orange
But rarely green
Unique, Magical
Dried leaves crunching
Everywhere I step

By:  Tyler Carroll, Age 9

Now that the snow is flying here at least once a week (it doesn’t stick around long), I thought it would be fun to share this funny video. I personally love the snow (for now) and really don’t mind clearing the car in the morning but I know there are lots of people out there who hate it. There have been a few days though that I think how nice it would be to have a semi-heated garage so I could just zip out without that extra 10 to 15 minutes. My tune may change if the snow ever starts getting heavy here in Colorado Springs but for now though, keep the snow coming. I want a white Christmas . . . and some good skiing after the holidays.