Soup, Bangs, and Howard Hughes.

Yesterday I made some of my new favorite soup ever, and am sharing the recipe with you today! 
Here we go:


 Curried Red Pepper , Sweet Potato and whatever other veg you have lying around Soup:

Get a bigass stock pot. Chop an onion and saute in olive oil until  tender-ish. I like mine browned a LITTLE. 

Throw in some carrots. 

WARNING-this will make the soup VERY carroty. 

Dice one or two red bell peppers. The husb likes them, so I used two. 

Can you tell that this soup really needs no measurements?

Ignore the can of cat food on my counter. 

Smash up some garlic. These cloves were tiny so I used four. 

Throw it all in there...getting steamy and brown. You may need to increase the heat if you want some browned bits. 

I sweet potato what I sweet potato.

Peel.

Cut them up into uniform-sized chunks. You will be pureeing the soup later, so it doesn't mater WHAT size, just as long as they are similar. So they cook evenly. 

Mmmm...see that brown on the bottom? Flavor-m-f-ing-TOWN. 

Add more water than this. More than you think you need, really. The taters will thicken the soup considerably.

I used some chicken stock concentrate. Veggies, ignore this part. You could use veggie stock or just water. Add some salt to taste if you just use water. 

Also, please ignore my man hands and chipped nail polish. 

Curry powder!!! You could also use curry paste which I just now realized is what I used last time-the paste is more intense than the powder. You can always add more and heat up the soup in the stove-I think I'ma do that. I used like...oh my...a lot. Like...probably almost 1/4 cup. Keep tasting. 

Boil it up till your potatoes are tender. 

Let the soup cool a wee bit and puree in batches in a blender; or all at once if you have one of those immersion dealies. I forgot to take pics of the end result. Oops. 

Feed the cats. Watch child imitate cats. 

This one kicks me out of bed so that he can get in there. Little asshole. He makes me grouchy sometimes. 

Stupid face. New bangs. 

See that?!?! It is my WASITLINE!!!!

Glad to see you back around, friend. And I just cleaned that damn mirror...

Watched The Aviator last night on IFC (LOVE that channel). 

Howard Hughes was brilliant and interesting, and his sad story makes me cry. That plane crash scene was AMAZING. 

Way to be, Scorsese. Way.To.Be. 

Mind Body Connection, and TANGENT TIME!!!

First off, let it be said that I feel like a Hebrew slave. That was meant as a joke, not any sort of religious or racial bashing. Haha, get it...there's a Pharaoh...and then there's me...oh weeehooohahahaaa. 
Right then. 


I've been stupidly too exhausted to work out for the past 2 weeks. It shames me to admit this. Inherent laziness is a part of me; I fight it constantly. 
I cannot avoid the connection between that and the fact that I feel like ass. Achy. Tired. Bloated. Out of touch. 


That being said; and me having been up now since 5:34 am, I am going to go do Jillian's Yoga Meltdown. 
Sun salutations make me emotional. You should try it. Do at least 2 in a row, quickly. Good stuff. That and the Warrior pose will help me feel like a well-working machine again. God didn't give us all these damn muscles to sit around. 


Tangent Time!!!
Although I suppose this entire blog is a tangent in one way or another. 
So, I admit this: I watch the Real Housewives shows. When I can, which is usually the day of the finale, when Bravo reruns the entire season. 
Last night I got to see the RH of D.C. finale (which is NOT to be confused with the REUNION SHOW, which is totes NOT the same), and it was PRETTY GOOD!
I really like Cat-she's got the balls I wish I had. The Salahis or WHOEVER THE fuck THEY ARE ...are like the weirdest people ever. That woman is a robot. 




One last thing: Lush has fragrances. Perfumes. Fragrances...?Perfumes. Perfumes. 
Run, do not walk, to your nearest store and find one for yourself.  I think I found mine, and it is NOT the one I thought. 

A Request For WIllpower

My sister got married recently, but this post is not about her or her wedding. 
It is about my left shoulder.
Really. 
During Megan's wedding weekend, I experienced major pain in/around my left shoulder. I'm not incredibly familiar with anatomy, so the issue may not be my actual shoulder , but a tendon or a ligament or some fricken thing. 
I visited my primary care doctor, who sent me for x-rays and suggested physical therapy in the future, if it didn't get better. She prescribed me an anti-inflammatory (which I stopped taking because it didn't help) and some painkillers. 
Then last night, when I picked Milo up to soothe his post-nap tantrum...something popped. The pain was enough to send me to the floor in a cold sweat. I moaned and groaned and massaged. 
Then it was fine.
Cut to my bed at 11 p.m. that night. Spooning the husb. Rolling over because I sleep on my back. More excruciating pain. More massaging and stretching. Then sleeping. 
And this morning I cannot lift a coffee cup.
I am very frustrated with my body. I want it to take care of ME like it did in my early 20s. 
I want to be able to binge a little. Wait, lets be honest here: I want to be able to binge a LOT. It doesn't help that Mr. Smith has the metabolism of a hummingbird. Last night I watched him eat a bowl of cereal and TWO bowls of my favorite chips. 
And here I am ...stuck at 160 pounds. Yeah. No progress, and now my shit is jacked so all I am going to ever eat again is veggie quinoa salad because I have no willpower. 
So, if you have any extra, send it on over. 
thanks

Self Improvesies

I may have found the cure to my hair A.D.D.(period).
InStyle.com has this makeover thingamajigger that I spent WAAAAAY too much time on yesterday.

Please to be ignoring the weird bit of hair sticking out of my head there. This is Posh's old bob, darkened, with Angelina's makeup from somethingsomething.

Pink blush! Who knew????

STRANGELY enough...Rihanna's hairdos ALL looked pretty good on me. 

But I doubt I will be doing the cockatiel thing anytime soon.

OR WILL I?????

Grow hair, grow!!!!

I also apparently need black liquid eyeliner every day of my life.

On the reals, though...I can't seem to shake these last 5 to 7 pounds. I get all snacky at the end of the day which is THE WORSTEST time to snack. Doubleyouteeeff.

I'll have to eventually resort to duct tape over the old mouthahontas. Stupid willpower and me not having any. Boo. 

Um...also...Amanda Palmer has recently put out an album of Radiohead covers. ON HER UKELELE. 

I want. Badly. 

http://music.amandapalmer.net/album/amanda-palmer-performs-the-popular-hits-of-radiohead-on-her-magical-ukulele

Go. Now. Listen. 

Screamy-good.  

Last night at work, I couldn't sell a DAMN thang...I had enthusiastic customers, I demoed my face off, and still...no one bought. Even the woman who wanted our most expensive moisturizer, and the one who was pissed off at Oak Brook for lying to her (sorry to trash another store, but y'all gave that lady WORNG INFO). I was trying SO HARD to impress my new bosslady-who has purple hair and a Vonnegut quote tattoo (swoon). 

But then. THEN. Another co-worker paid me the SWEETEST compliment. She said that the first time she met me she thought I looked like a 50s pinup girl. 

I almost made out with her right there. Not really, but I DID give her a big hug. Planning to file that one away for my less-than-loving-myself moments. 

Time to go sweat to the oldies. Kidding. Jillian and I are hanging out again. She's got a big butt. 

Here We Go!!!!!

My guess is that if I document this online, I will stick with it. No excuses. 
Here we go:
-I am not technically overweight. I am on the BMI cusp of being overweight. 
-I have some cute clothes left that I would like to fit into someday. 
-I am sick of being grossed out by my own body. 


After my sister's wedding, I had some intense pain in my left collarbone. Clavicle, to you medically schooled homies. It hurt so that I couldn't lift my arm and didn't want to wear a brassiere (which IS necessary at this point in my life). 


So I went to my friendly PCP and she told me to take some prescription Aleve and some prednisone. Generic, of course. The anti-inflammatory made it worse in a completely different way. So I stopped taking it. 


Needless to say, I have not done Ms. Michaels' Shred in almost a month. I have gained back everything I lost while exercising. My doc advised against arm exercise with weights. Plus I got lazy. 


My best friend Dana has MUCH stronger resolve than me. She's lost a Thanksgiving turkey. Well, not literally. The equivalent of one, at least. She looks amazing and has a goal and is sticking to it. 


I should too. 
SO. I guess I should MAKE a goal. 
Here we go...
I now weigh (o lord) 162.5 pounds. I am not making excuses and not apologizing or really opening this matter up for any kind of discussion. 
Let us say that a decent weight for me would be 150 pounds. That would get me safely into the 'normal' realm. And perhaps have me looking svelte by the time our NEW FLOOR FINALLY party happens. 
Lets see if I can do it. 12 pounds @ 2 pounds a week: 
AT THE END OF SEPTEMBER I ALTHEA JAINE SMITH WILL WEIGH ONLY 150 POUNDS
Wish me luck?
Here we go?