Breakfast: Noon Style

We are not early risers.  Not even close...so on the weekends 11am is when we usually get up and for some reason I had been dreaming all night of steel cut oats.  Even though they take a long time to cook and it was already close to noon when I started making them I just had to do it.  And people..I really outdid myself.

I didn't take pictures throughout because honestly I didn't know if it would be good...I apologize for that lameness.


PB& B. & J Steel Cut Oats

1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
3 cups milk
3 cups water
dash of salt

Mix milk, water and salt bring to boil.  Throw in oats.

Boil for 12 mins.  You will pretty much have to stir constantly at this point.

Then turn it down to a simmer for 20 minutes.  You only have to stir every couple of mins at this point.

Then add:
             -cranberries, whatever amount looks good.  I probably added around 1/2 cup.
             -2 thinly sliced bananas (this way they kind of melt into the oats....)

Simmer for 10 more minutes or until it tastes good to you.  This amount of time will leave a little crunch to your oats but let it cook longer if you want them really smooth and creamy.

Turn off the heat and then stir in some peanut butter..I probably added a half cup.  You could really use any nut butter you liked.  If it is a smooth one I would throw in some crushed peanuts or almonds to add some texture.  I had some crunchy peanut butter that did the trick.

Then add 3 tbs. of chia seeds (this is optional) and stir it all together.

When you dish it into the bowls I added some cinnamon and jelly on top.

YUM!

Should make at least 4 servings and to be honest the original recipe said it made six...though it never has in our household..

Also you can double the batch and it cooks in the same amount of time.  I usually do that on the weekends and then put into individual servings in the fridge for the work week.

Enjoy!

Lacy

importance.

Bad times have a scientific value. These are occasions a good learner would not miss.~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

A major event took place in my life a couple of months ago that left me slightly reeling.  I felt that the base of my support/identity/etc had been blasted away.  I had moments where I cried, was angry, and honestly overwhelmed.  

And now there is today.

I honestly can say this time and time again but when you are living during shitty times it is hard to remember:  

Everything happens for a reason. 

Everything.

Bad or Good.

It is a lesson I must keep repeating and still when I am stressed, or have some seemingly horrible thing happen I still doubt it.

If I had not lost my job I would never had realized how much greater I am than a title, or one mission.  

The world did not end, I woke up the next morning, I continue to take breath.  

I realized that I have so many things I want to accomplish and work at...it is too soon in my life to narrow my interests.  

I realized that I have a fan-freakin--tastic partner who believed in me when I didn't and works his ass off so I can go after my dreams.  

Before this I always complained to him that I worried what would happen in tough times because honestly we had not had any.  I don't say this to gloat or to show off, no and honestly this was nothing as compared to some.  I wondered what would happen if something bad happened, bad/stressed times tend to bring out the worst in people and I worried if my worst, or his worst would be too much for the other. 

I was so stupid.

I should of never wasted time doubting.  I should of trusted my man enough to know when he gives his word its a done deal.  

What a gift. 

Another great thing that I realized is that I was no longer happy at my previous place.  We had grown up together and sadly grown apart.  It is crazy how a non-supportive, not happy environment can affect your whole self and your self-esteem. 

It has taken a few months for me to heal.  For me to accept that these things happen and it is okay.  Some things are meant to end and honestly should of ended sooner.  I didn't have the courage this time but I bet next time I will.   

Everything happens for a reason.  

What I am doing now feels so right.  Not just professionally but also in my community, with my loved ones, with my whole life.  

I feel whole and while at times I feel scared and overwhelmed so far the universe has shown me that this is the right path.  

I don't know where this path will end up nor do I want to say that I have a dream job/life that I love every single moment of...no...everything has its downsides but what I am gonna do is enjoy the moments. 

Sit with the lessons I have learned, and am still learning. 

Listen to my loved ones and believe in myself as much as they do.

Thank my lucky stars for finding such an amazing partner who respects me as a professional and can see what I need even before I realize it.

And the next time I have doubt, or begin to struggle I hope to recall this lesson and plow through it. 

Lacy  

 

Not for the faint of heart.

This is going to be a post that makes me cringe later.....the kind where I should do research, attend some lectures, or at least ask some folks but it is past 10 o'clock and I have a million things to do yet this topic has been nagging at me for awhile......

But it is so big and I know so little that I just ignore it but again was reminded that even though I ignore it doesn't mean it will go away.

The Topic: Sex Trafficking of Minors.

A couple of years ago I attended a presentation given by fellow students who had their internship at a site that worked with young girls who had been victims of this horrible crime.  I kept waiting to hear what third world country they had gone to and for how long...only to almost die when they stated it was a MAJOR deal here in Portland.

Here?!!? Where we have sewer systems, public assistance, and free education?!!!??

I was even more surprised (I was, am, so ignorant...) that it was not just low income girls getting abducted...oh no.....every class can be a victim of this crime.



300,000 American Children are at risk of being victims of Sex trafficking EVERY YEAR.



My next question was: How does this happen?!!?

And here is some facts I know (and there is probably much better sites out there to learn more):

Many times the pimp will woo the young teen: so be aware if your child starts coming home with new clothes, bag, shoes, whatever!.  These pimps are super psychologically savvy and use this time to convince the teen that they love them and will take care of them.  Once the teen has bought these lines and runs away the pimp will pump them full of drugs, separate them from all human contact and break them down.

....................................


Only to rebuild them up with the believes that no one will love them anymore now that they are dirty, that if they bring in enough money the pimp will choose him/her (the lie of eternal love), and with a drug addiction so fierce that the teen doesn't know up from down and is constantly looking to get their next fix.



Now imagine all of that happening to a 12 year old you love.



Heart wrenching.




The hardest part is that the pimps constantly move these young teens around so it is almost impossible to find them.  Once they are found they are so brainwashed that they will run from cops, refuse treatment and even break out of treatment/family homes once back.

The reason this topic is so heavy on my heart is easy.  I was once a 12 year old girl.  I know many young kids and I feel that many parents don't know the signs and are not aware how dangerous it is here, in our hometown, in our neighborhoods.

There is a screening of a movie that hopefully will enlighten and educate many on this subject  on April 8th.

PlayGround

Click the link for more info.

The worst of some of my exploring the internet for more information was a line that Ashley Judd, who is their spokesperson, asks:


"Who are these men who buy children for sex?" asks Judd. "They are our fathers, they are our brothers, our husbands, uncles, cousins, and friends...it is so common."


Horrifying and haunting.  


So no I don't have a happy ending, or some "make it good" statement.  Personally I need to gather more knowledge and look around to see what I can do.


Though tonight I can do this and hopefully you too can start to investigate.  


Lacy 

FU Daylight Savings.

Dear Daylight Savings,


How I feel when you come around:

I know that it is only an hour and I know that I should be happy to have sun later in the day but I am NOT!  I woke up this morning feeling like I had been run over by a truck...My body was too smart to actually go to sleep when the clock said 11...it knew that it was only 10....just like it knew that it wasn't 7 when I got up so my REM cycle is clearly all sorts of whack....

LAME.

So then I sludge my way downstairs to wait for a plumber because a pipe had burst so instead of spending money on fun things: soil, seeds, garden art!, some curtains..... no no it was spent on a lame piece of piping that will most likely not impress the neighbors...

"oh and over here we just installed a new 2100 model fitting for our garden hose...I hear Laura Bush has the same model"......

thankfully the guy was only 20 minutes late (what is with service people and their whole 2 hour windows? that they don't even hit usually?) (wouldn't be awesome if we could all function like that?)

"Oh yeah I will get to work between 9-11ish....emphasis on the ish......"

seriously that would be the business...I guess I shouldn't hate just because they thought of it first....

anyhoo.

So the guy comes and is fixing stuff while I try to get ready for my day, feeling like a kid the day after their 21st birthday party, when my dog decides to vomit on the couch.  

AWESOME.

But because we have pets and because I am a sane, rational person in the morning I just smile...make that curse (sailors would of been impressed)...and then go to to the sink to start to clean it up to realize OH THATS RIGHT we have no water.......for another hour...........

so now I am about an hour later than I would like to be, still at home, out $200, feeling like how I imagine Charlie Sheen feels most mornings & to top it all off have a couch covered in vomit. 

Sooo you know what Daylight Savings you can suck it. You can take your "extra" hour of sunlight at the end of my day and shove it where the sun don't shine even with your special "help"........

Sincerely,

Lacy 

blah!!!

You know when you have a million things to do and you don't do them all and instead watch tv and look at websites while you feel your mind slowly dying because none of it is stimulating...............


Yup I am there. And for some reason I can't stop inputing crap and starting doing stuff....


Also I am really craving ice-cream.......

And Chocolate........

BLAH!

What I am watching.......Please don't....it is sooo stupid that I keep watching just to see what new levels of stupid arises.......

Oy.  

fleeting moments.

I really don't want to be gushy but I am in one of those moments where I am so goddamn thankful.  It seems I have these small bursts of insight where I realize that all the petty garbage that I usually bitch about means NOTHING. 

I have breath, I have love & I have direction. 

I try to hold on to this insight but usually a dog destroying something or me bitching to the Mister that computer games cannot replace human interaction breaks the spell like trance I have and sadly the insight feels less like reality than all the static white noise of my day to day life.  

It is so easy to focus on what we don't have than to actually be thankful for what we have...to focus on the areas that are less than perfect than rewarding ourself for the areas we have grown in & for us to own the moment we are in.

It is so easy to look at those around us and think "they have it sooo much better because X, Y, Z" and yet so many times I am reminded that pretenses can be so deceiving.  I don't know why I have to relearn this lesson day after day after day...

So until I lose this moment I am going to savor it.