Pfunksfoolosophy

Still have insomnia. Yep, it’s that good old friend of mine. I’ve since stopped trying to fight it. Here’s what I do: I sit up and write. Oh, the writing is crap, but it’s something to do.

Might as well do something pro-active since my subconscious isn’t speaking to my conscious mind right now. I guess they’re having a quarrel. Who am I to get between them?
Life is funny. Not ha-ha, but it’s funny. There’s a lesson in this somewhere. Until I can figure it out, I’m going to go with the flow. Maybe I’ll trick myself back into my normal sleep routine.

I’m going to pretend that this is perfectly normal. See how my subconscious likes THAT.

Ha! That’ll learn it.

Yep, I’m slap happy. It goes with the territory. Warm milk makes me shudder so, I might have to cave in and take a pill. Pray that it doesn’t come to that because I don’t want to be a low rent ‘Valley of the Dolls’…I don’t think I could take Susan Hayward yellin’ at me.

Top 10 Ways to Make Yourself Feel Great

Since we could all use a pick me up, I thought I’d write something that would make you smile. Who doesn’t want to feel great?

10. Take a good long look at yourself. You’re pretty groovy. Smile. At yourself.

9. Remember the last time you did something that didn’t cost you a cent and how much fun you had. It could be driving with the radio blaring and singing at the top of your lungs or it could be that walk you took with a loved one…remember that feeling.

8. Put on your favorite ‘guilty pleasure’ song. Sing it at the top of your lungs and dance around with your hairbrush as your microphone. You rock like Pat Benatar never could.

7. Go looking for four leaf clovers with your kids. Do it by yourself.  You might just find one.

6. Appreciate the fact that while something is bound to happen that will nut you up, you’ll get through it because you CAN. You’ve got everything you need…sometimes you just don’t know it.

5. Call your best friend and talk about absolutely nothing.

4. Do a puzzle…but don’t finish it. If you have kids and they want to help, hide the last piece.

3. Forget where you’ve hidden it. Hours of delight in that one.

2. Laugh until whatever you’re drinking comes out of your nose.

1. Belch long and loud and clear….ah, wasn’t that liberating?

Now, if you don’t have kids that’s okay. Maybe you can borrow one for the day and get them hopped up on sugar. Return them to their parents. THAT is splendid.

Get out there and live, babies!

Maybe it’s the heat, maybe it’s the changes in my life…I can’t seem to get to sleep until after four in the morning.

Yikes, right? Yep, I am wide eyed and bushytailed at that time. My body KNOWS it needs rest yet I am awake, tossing and turning the better part of the night/morning.
What’s keeping me awake? Am I giving over to my subconscious mind? Is the committee taking over finally?
I have no bloody idea. To be sure, I’ve got a lot on my mind, but that’s nothing new. My concerns and challenges seldom change very much. Family, money, career…those are always up there, but I’ve been able to get to sleep before the crack of dawn.

Hmmm…let’s see…am I eating before bed? Nope.
Drinking alcohol? Nope.

SOMETHING is on my mind and I’ve got to let it go. I refuse to take any medications to get me to sleep. I’m not a pill popper. As a matter of fact, I’ve still got painkillers from my knee thing. Meditation…that’s got to be reintroduced into my daily routine.

Maybe I’m not getting back to my center. MAYBE? heh…yeah…it’s time to be a little more self aware. I’m not a machine.
All of this is making me wonder about why women feel the need to put ourselves last.

You know, it’s not just moms who do this…I think some women have the mindset that refuses to see how valuable constructive selfishness can be to our souls. I’m a prime example of that. The needs of others come before ours and we end up shortchanging ourselves because we feel ’selfish’ for caring and nurturing ourselves.

So, before you become the insomniac I’ve become, take some time for yourself. Learn to relax. Breathe through each moment. Apparently, I am writing this because I need to see it for myself. I need to hear myself. I have to give myself permission to think about myself.

That’s crazy, isn’t it? What’s more important than your health? So, gang…I’m off to make myself well. (Remember that line from the movie ‘Mask’? “Make yourself  well, baby.”)

For me, that means getting rest, eating well and moving. Movement is good. Growth is good. Time for me to listen to my own advice.

Can we commit to changing  the routine for ourselves? Let’s see how well we can take care of ourselves. 
Today, I charge you to do one thing for yourself that you wouldn’t normally do-just because you know that it’s good for you.

Here are a couple of examples:
Take some quiet time for yourself where you don’t think about what you have to do that day or the next day. Get a journal and write.

Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee and sit someplace with a magazine.
Take a walk. Exercise is something your body needs. Keep doing it.

Don’t treat yourself to food if you’ve got food related issues. I know, I know…coming from a foodie, that sounds crazy, but consider this: If you already have a deep relationship with food and you’re trying to lose weight, it’s not a good idea to use food as a reward or a means of providing comfort.

Try treating yourself to healthier choices instead. Instead of getting fast food, how about you decide to utilize a healthier alternative.

Wear makeup today if you normally don’t. Even if you’re not going to leave the house. Pretty yourself up.

If you’re a guy reading this…really take some pride in your hair, your nails and your face. If your facial hair could use a good grooming…dude, get ‘er done.

If you replace one negative activity with a positive one, you’ll probably find yourself feeling better every day.

I know  I feel better already. Let’s see if we can’t all make it home okay.

Hey, when you think of some…shoot me an email.

NO…I’m joking.

10. You’ve found that you’re still alive. This is a bonus. Get up and boogie.

9. There is bound to be someone who is worse off than you. This is an opportunity to seek them out and give them a hand.

8. There’s a very good chance that you’ll forget that your purpose today was to help someone less fortunate. Take it upon yourself to consider yourself less fortunate. Get ice cream.

7. It’s a brand new day to make some money!

6. There’s got to be someone with whom you click humor-wise. Get in touch with them. You have the opportunity to LAUGH today.

5. Iced coffee. Can’t stress that enough.

4. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Okay, that’s three…but it’s still food…Counts as one thing.

3. People watching. If you work in an office, that’s gotta be prime real estate for goofing.

2. Free samples SOMEWHERE. Costco, Sam’s…the department store.

1. You get to read my blog!

Okay, that one wasn’t so groovy…but it’s a reason to get out of bed for me…

Okay, I have to admit it…I watch this show. Gordon Ramsay is a horse’s arse. I think I should try out for the show because I think I’m the one person to cause him to have a stroke.

“La la la…” chopping veg.

Him: WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU GREAT COW?

Me: Hmmm…oh, getting my mise en place ready. No worries, guv’nuh!
Him: We’re minutes from SERVICE!
Me: Uh-huh…gotcha.

His head would be swirling like a top, poor guy.

I can’t wait for this week’s episode, although I don’t particularly care who wins. The whining ‘nanny’ is a bore, the unfortunate chinned gal, too…blech, and of course, the angry black man who really isn’t angry, he’s just male and black so any sign of emotion causes confusion and heartache…eh. He does nothing for me.

So,  I’m watching just to make fun of Ramsay. Man is he hard to look at. Remember ‘Coffee Cake” from ‘A Bronx Tale’? He’s his cousin.

Watch my column for my rundown on tonight’s episode.

Looks like my kid (the laddie boy) is turning a corner. After struggling with his ‘friends’ and their unseemly influence on him, it looks like he’s getting his arse out of his head.

Just spoke with him and he sounds like his old self. Funny, inspired and optimistic. It’s a rollercoaster ride when your kids are a certain age and I don’t envy anyone with toddlers or school age children. Still, once your kids have passed the adolescent craziness, you’ve got young adulthood,which is no walk in the park. Remember when you thought you knew everything? Yeah, the twenties. No one knows more than you. You’re ‘grown’ as they like to tell you. Hell to the NO, Bobby Brown! You don’t know jack doodly squat. You’re still finding out that life does not go your way sometimes, no matter how hard you work and no matter how positive you are…sometimes you’ve got to just slog through with your head held high. This is what I’ve imparted to my kids. We’re all gonna screw up, but it’s how we grow from those challenges.
You can raise your children the same way, with the same values and one of ‘em’s gonna think they know it all and they’re gonna screw it up. It’s their experience to experience.

Being a parent is tough because you’ve got to be mentally and spiritually strong enough to let go. This past month has been a real trial for me due to that fact. I’ve finally let go of the reins. The inclination to pick ‘em back up is powerful, believe me. Very powerful.

With so much happening in my life I can’t stand still. My feet need to keep moving me forward. My soul craves growth, so I can’t deny it. The lad understands that and he’s doing his best to learn to respect himself and others in a different way. He’s growing. I just need to keep adding water.

As you all probably know, I hate the heat. I love the autumn and winter because the air seems cleaner and you can always put on more clothes. In the summer when it’s hotter than Hades, I’m at a loss. You can only take off but so much, so I wilt like an orchid. It’s not a pretty picture.

SO, when I have to leave my air cooled room, I take precautions to prevent overheating.

What do I do? My good pal Elaine turned me on to a cheap way to stay cool. Get the absorbent ‘filling’ from a diaper and sew it into a bandana. Soak it in some nice ice cold water and wear that bad boy around your neck. It’s loverly.

Try it…you might like it.

Yep, I made a promise. Here it is. I can’t believe I didn’t post it already. Life grows exceeding strange, these days.

 CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon light corn syrup
• 8 oz. chopped, semi-sweet chocolate (use good quality. I use Lindt)+ 6 oz. for dipping
• about 1/2 cup Dutch-process cocoa powder, sifted
•  1 teaspoon good quality vanilla extract

 Mix the cream, butter and corn syrup together in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and bring to a full boil. Turn off heat. 

Add 8 ounces of the chopped chocolate, and gently swirl the pan. Do not stir. Allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Seriously, do not stir the mixture.
 After 5 minutes, whisk slowly to combine. 

Transfer the mixture to a bowl and refrigerate for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. In the meantime, line baking sheets with parchment paper.

After 45 minutes, the mixture will start to thicken quickly, keep refrigerated another 11 to 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. 
Using a mini ice cream scoop or two spoons, form the mixture into 1-inch balls and and place on the prepared sheets.

Chill until firm, about 10-15 minutes. While the balls are chilling, melt the remaining 6 ounces of chocolate. After it is completely melted, allow to cool slightly before continuing. 
Place cocoa in small bowl. Remove the balls from the refrigerator. Using one hand, dip the balls into the melted chocolate. Roll it around in your hand, allow the excess to drip back into the bowl. Place the truffle in the cocoa. With your clean hand, cover the truffle with cocoa.

Lift it out and place on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining truffles. Place back in the refrigerator for 5-8 minutes to set.

May be stored up to one week in an airtight container.

I keep them in the freezer, wrapping each truffle in waxed paper and then storing in an airtight container.

Not the kind of day where you want to shoot your face off, but the kinda day where you’re just feeling ‘tepid’? Yeah, I’m in that space. Not to say that I don’t get flashes of wanting to shoot my face off, but I’m not particularly depressed…just feeling like I’m underwater. There’s a ton of work for me to get done today, but I’m not motivated enough to do it, SO I’m going to get up, take a shower at nearly two in the afternoon, and I’m going to make something positive happen today.
Very often, we get so bound  up by our thoughts that we are immobile. If we remain in that state for very long, it becomes our ‘norm’. Can’t let that happen. So, I’m gonna crank up some tunes, get my laundry together and hustle down to the 24 hour place around the corner. Clean clothes. That’s a good start.

Funny thing happened last evening: the little old lady, Ms. Margie, who lives in my building was downstairs on the stoop, cooling off in the early evening twilight and as I stopped to talk to her she mentioned that she had to go downtown to recertify for some Senior Citizen thing. She was reluctant to go because the bus takes forever and since she’s disabled, the subway is a big game of ‘chicken’ for her. Anyway, she made this comment:

“I’m 84 years old. I am a SENIOR senior citizen. Why I gotta go down there to recertify? It ain’t like I’m getting YOUNGER. I’m OLD.”
I laughed and asked her if she had thought about the Para-transit program.

Guess what? She’d never even heard of it. THAT makes me nuts. So I went back upstairs, got online and came back down with the info. She thanked me profusely but I shrugged it off. She’s an elder and I love her to bits. The thing is, her daughter knew about it and did nothing? What’s the deal with that? Me no understandee.

Maybe her daughter didn’t know the right agency to contact or maybe she wasn’t motivated. Ms. Margie is a great lady and a total crack up. I love sitting with her and talking. She’s wise and sweet and swears like a sailor on liberty.

Hey, maybe just remembering her laughter and her comments has brought me around to feeling better. Talking/writing it out always helps.

If you’re having ‘one of those days’ of the tepid variety, maybe if you can think of something that brings a smile to your face and you can get out of your own way, your day will get better.

We all have choices. Let’s choose to be happy, joyous and free.

I’d love to take the credit for this blog looking so super keen, but it’s my good friend Sassy and her hubby who did all the work.

After holding my breath for a couple of weeks finally…my own little bit of blog heaven! Well, gang I can’t tell you how excited I am to have this site and how blessed I am to have the kinda friends who stick by me when times are hard…and new friends at that. Could be ’cause I’m cheating with her husband, but that Sassy Southerner really came through for me. It’s not too girly as my good pal and the new Mrs. H, Angie commented.

So far, so good. Looks like we’re starting things off right.

Now, just keep on coming over and we’ll have a party.

Recipes are coming tomorrow…I promise.