Feb

5

Too Warm, Too Sleepy

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The day is dragging and it’s pulling me along with it. I am experiencing a lull of energy right at the moment. It’s also not helping that the area around out little cube-farm is too warm. That’s just making me even more sleepy—and I’ve found that sleepy is dangerous.

My typical reaction to when I start dozing off during a time when I should be fully aware of my surroundings (like being at work) is to start eating. And eating. And eating. It’s the ultimate snack attack. I think my body equates munching on food as a method of stay awake. It doesn’t. Getting cooler would help me be more alert, not eating.

Although I know this mentally, when I’m this warm, all willpower seems to evaporate and my hands start reaching for any bit of “food” to put into my mouth. Today has not been very successful in preventing the snacking. If I can make it through the next one and a half hours ’til the end of the day without doing more damage to my food intake, I’ll be doing good.

I think it’s time to take another walk to another section of the building where it’s a bit cooler. Maybe getting a glass of cold water with ice too. I need to put a stop to the munching I’ve been doing.

Jan

29

Learning The Ropes

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I finally did it! I managed to do 2,500 jumps in 15 minutes! Goal achieved!

This is a far cry from where I started way back in August of last year when I began the Peak Condition Project. On Day 1 of the program, I had to do five sets of 50 jumps. I was lucky if I could do 5 jumps without the Implement of Torture jumprope tripping me. By the time I had completed the whole 250 jumps, I was red-faced, wheezing, and pretty certain I was going to drop dead.

Almost each day afterward there would be an increase in the number of jumps that had to be accomplished. I huffed and puffed and sweated through each routine. I suffered through extreme knee pain and minor foot surgery. By mid-point in the project, I was up to 1,500 jumps. It may have taken me at least a half-hour with breaks every 100 jumps, but I did it. Then the routine switched to timed jumps.

First it was seven sets of 2-minute jumps. Then it increased to six sets of 3-minute jumps. By the end of the program it was up to two sets of 9-minute jumps. The grand finale was when Patrick mentioned that I should keep jumping either 10-minutes or 1,500 jumps—my choice. Shortly thereafter I got the maintenance program sheets and each day it listed 15-minutes of jumprope. If one could do 1,500 jumps in a 10-minute period, how many jumps in 15?

My first attempts at this standard weren’t exactly the best. 1,500 jumps took me quite a bit longer than 10-minutes. Not as long as the half-hour during mid-program and certainly with less breaks, but still more than 10-minutes. I kept jumping.

Eventually I was able to accomplish 100 jumps per minute with just a tiny little break in between. That was 1,500 jumps in 15-minutes. But Patrick had say 1,500 jumps or 10-minutes. That meant I still had to push a bit more.

I slowly grew into doing the jumps in groups of 200, then 300, and eventually 500 with little break inbetween sets. My 1,500 jumps began drawing closer to the 10-minute time period with somewhere between 2,000 and 2,300 jumps in 15-minutes, depending on whether or not I took short 10-second breaks between the 500’s. (Yes, I was managing to do 15-minutes without any breaks. It just depended on how energetic my legs felt that day.)

I don’t know how it started, but somehow I figured that if I could do 1,500 jumps in 10-minutes that I should be able to do 2,500 jumps in 15-minutes. That became the next challenge.

Periodically I would reach the 1,500/10-minute mark, but I would always fall short of the 2,500/15-minute mark. Then there was the moment when I hit the 2,400/15-minute mark. The 2,500 goal was so close I could taste it. Little did I know, though, that it would evade me over a month.

That is, until today. 2,500 jumps in 15-minutes without a break. I totally rocked it, baby!

Jan

28

The Blizzard of ‘77

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The cold grey sky combine with the wind whipping the snow past the window has put my co-workers and I in the mood to talk about snow storms. What we’re getting here is mild compared to the experience the people north of us are having, but there have been periods where the falling snow and blowing wind have been enough to prevent us from seeing the building across the parking lot. Ah, to be a kid again praying for a snow day!

Somewhere along the way, our conversation turned to the Blizzard of ‘77. Although most of the people I work with have heard of it, very few of them experienced it and I had that momentary feeling of a tribal elder telling a story of long ago to wide-eyed children hearing it for the first time. There are two simple factors as to why my co-workers and I didn’t share the same memories: The first being that some of them are younger than I am, and the second is the fact that I grew up in a town that was much closer to where the storm hit than where I am currently residing.

I grew up in a small, rural town and my brother and I were at school the day the storm hit. Yeah, snow was falling and the wind was blowing it around, but that was typical for the area in Western New York State. It got worse and worse as the day went by, and I don’t think anyone really realized the magnitude of it until it was too late to do anything.

It was around one or two in the afternoon when the principal made the announcement over the intercom that school would be closing early because of the storm. Being kids, we were totally thrilled to leave the establishment of education and head home to start the weekend early. We were told to stay in our classrooms until the buses arrived to take us home. I was in seventh-grade at the time and our teachers had to shuffle us around a bit as our lockers were located in our homerooms. (The high school kids could stay in their classrooms because their lockers were in the hallway, and the elementary kids didn’t have to move around because they were always in the same classroom.)

Eagerly we waited for the announcement that the buses were there and we’d soon be on our way. At first the time seemed to drag because we were just anxious to be gone, but as the minutes grew longer a sense of trepidation started to fill us. It shouldn’t take the buses to go from the garage to the school. It was only down the street—approximately a football field and baseball field away. The more minutes that passed, the more we got worried.

Suddenly, the intercom came to life and the principal addressed the students and teachers. The blizzard hit so hard and quick that the bus drivers were having a hard time getting the vehicles out and the roads were treacherous because the snowplows weren’t able to keep the road clear for any length of time.

Two buses had managed to reach the school and they were quickly trying to rearrange to routes to get as many kids home as fast as possible. They started loading the buses with the students who lived the furthest away from the school. My heart sank a bit. I wasn’t one of those students. With my parents house only three miles from the school, I was considered to live closest which meant I’d be stuck in the classroom for a while.

Time passed. More buses managed to make it out of the garage and more students were on their way home. Eventually the whole fleet was out on the almost impassable roads, but there were still many kids left in the school. (On an average day, there would two bus runs—an early one for the high school students and a later one for the elementary students. We had enough buses for that usual routine. However, there just weren’t enough buses to take everyone home at once if the situation arose, which it did that day.)

My homeroom teacher did her best to keep us entertained while we waited for the buses to return and take us home. One or two would come back to the school, the principal would announce who should get on the bus, and off they would go again. The room started emptying out as my classmates left to go home.

It wasn’t until around 5pm that the principal announce there was a bus ready for our street. I quickly grabbed my things, bundled up, said goodbye to the few remaining classmates left in our homeroom, and headed for the driveway circle where the bus was waiting. I climbed aboard and took a seat on the nearly packed vehicle and looked around for my brother. He wasn’t there yet. Anxiously I waited for him, afraid that the bus was going to leave without him being on it. A few minutes later, one of the elementary school teachers led some children through the harsh winds and blowing snow to the bus and my brother got on. Once everyone had a seat, the driver closed the door and we were on our way.

On a normal day, the trip from the school to my parents house only took a little over five minutes. On that day it was almost a half-hour of travel on extremely nasty roads with practically zero visibility with nighttime starting to fall. Our bus driver made sure to drop every kid off at the end of their driveways. (Many times during better weather, my brother and I and our neighbors would get off at one drop-off point and walk across the yards to get to our houses. This was not one of those times.)

We entered my parents house all covered in snow even though our driveway was not that long. My mom was anxiously waiting for us and quickly made some hot chocolate to warm us up. My dad still wasn’t home yet. It was going to be another two hours of nervous waiting before he made it home.

My mom kept herself busy during that time by making and feeding us dinner. That’s when I learned that my brother was pissed off that they forced him to leave school and get on the bus. It seems that the cafeteria staff stayed to make dinner for the students who were still at school. (I think some of them didn’t leave until 6:30 or 7pm that day.) Dinner was going to be pizza and my brother didn’t want to leave school because of that.

Eventually dad made it home and we were all safe and sound inside the house will the blizzard raged outside. That would be a good ending to the story, wouldn’t it? Unfortunately, it didn’t happen that way. Some time during the middle of the night the storm knock out the power. We had no lights and we had no heat for the four-to-five day duration of the storm. (It was actually seven days before we got power back to the house.)

Luckily for us, we loved to go camping! Our stove/oven was gas so we could still cook food and we periodically used it to heat the house. Even though the refrigerator wasn’t working, we had lots of ice chests so all the perishable food went into them and outside in a snowbank to stay cold. We had lots of candles and flashlights and lanterns to use for light. We took our sleeping bags and put them under the sheets, blankets, and comforters on our beds. (Mom had lots of those.) We had a battery radio for music and news and lots of games and books for entertainment. All-in-all, we had a blast waiting out the storm!

My co-workers were amazed by my story of the blizzard and began searching online for more pictures and information about it. That was when one of them made a startling discovery. The Blizzard of ‘77 began it’s fury on January 28. That was today’s date. It seemed to be a strange coincidence to have a minor snowstorm which prompted me to tell my experience of the Blizzard on the anniversary date of its occurrence. Just weird.

Happy 33rd anniversary Blizzard of ‘77 survivors!

Jan

24

Soufflé au Chocolat

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Today I wanted to try something different, something more challenging, something I had never done before. I saw this recipe and immediately knew that this was exactly what I was looking for! Soufflé au Chocolate from Julia Child’s book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

To be honest, I have never made a soufflé in my life. I have seen many skits about the process in sitcoms on network television, but in almost every case it goes badly. Soufflés are probably the most delicate dishes I have ever seen, if those TV shows are to be believed. Once it goes into the oven, everyone in the house needs to whisper and tip-toe around because the slightest disturbance will make it deflate and thereby end all chances of accomplishing something amazing. So it was with a bit of trepidation that I attempted this dish.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

That was pretty easy, so I was on my way.

Step 2:

  • 1/2 Tbsp softened butter
  • A 6-cup soufflé mold
  • 2 to 3 Tbsp cake flour

Butter the soufflé mold and roll cake flour in it rather than sugar; knock out excess. Measure out your ingredients.

Yes, I went out and hunted everywhere for cake flour because I thought it was vital to the recipe. (It’s not an inexpensive item.) When I realized that all I was using it for was to “butter and flour” the mold, I wasn’t exactly a happy camper. I’m sure regular all-purpose flour will be able to do the same job.

Step 3:

  • 3 1/2 ounces or squares of semisweet baking chocolate
  • 2 Tbsp strong coffee
  • A small saucepan set over almost simmering water

Stir the chocolate and coffee over the almost simmering water until chocolate is melted and smooth. Remove from stove and keep over hot water until ready to use.

Whenever I need chocolate, my preference is for something from the Ghiradelli line. It’s a superb product! On the other hand, I have not a clue when it comes to coffee. I don’t drink the stuff. Even more confusing, Julia’s recipe doesn’t indicate if it’s liquid, drinkable coffee or ground coffee. I had to make an intuitive guess. From my experience, when you add water to melted chocolate, it makes the it go all funky and it becomes pretty unusable. So I decided to use instant coffee grounds instead. That would have a better chance of blending in with the rest of the ingredients. (Note: the instant coffee grounds worked, but 2 Tbsps was a bit much. If I use this method again, I’ll reduce the measurement.)

The “small saucepan set over almost simmering water” is, in essence, a double-boiler. Another method that works quite well is melting the chocolate in a microwave at 30 second bursts. (Make sure it’s in a microwavable bowl.) The nice thing about the double-boiler method is that once it is removed from the heat source, the hot water will keep the chocolate melted for a while.

Step 4:

  • A wire whip
  • 2 Tbsp potato starch/flour, OR 2 1/2 Tbsp rice starch/flour, OR 3 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 1 cup milk
  • A 4-cup saucepan
  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar

Beat the starch and 3 tablespoons of the milk in the saucepan until blended and smooth. Beat in the rest of the milk, and the sugar. Stir over moderate heat until the boil is reached. Boil and stir 3 seconds; this will be very gluey, especially if you use potato starch. Off heat, beat in the hot melted chocolate until well blended.

I didn’t have a wire whisk, so I used a silicon plastic one instead. (It handles the high temperatures quite well.) As for the choice of starch, I selected cornstarch as it was what I had in the house. It took the milk and cornstarch a while to reach boiling, but when it did, it went to “gluey” almost immediately!

Step 5:

  • A rubber spatula
  • 2 Tbsp softened butter

Clean off the sides of the saucepan and divide the butter over the sauce. Allow it to cool until it is tepid.

The instructions are a little vague here. “Divide the butter over the sauce”—and then what? The butter just sits on top of the chocolate? Not having a clue what was being said, I cut the butter into two 1 Tbsp squares and stirred it into the chocolate.

Step 6:

  • 5 egg whites
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 Tbsp granulated sugar

Beat the egg whites and salt together in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.

I decided to do this by hand. I eventually managed to get both the soft peaks and stiff peaks to form. Next time, I’m going to use an egg beater. (Julia includes a helpful guide about making the peaks, but they’re on a totally different page. If you don’t know how to make soft or stiff peaks from egg whites, read it ahead of time, preferably before starting this recipe. It’s next to impossible to read it while you’re beating the eggs!)

Step 7:

  • A 3-quart mixing bowl
  • A rubber scraper
  • 3 egg yolks

Scrape the chocolate sauce into the mixing bowl. Beat in the three egg yolks, which may be added all at once. Stir in one fourth of the egg whites; delicately fold in the rest. Turn the soufflé into the prepared mold, leaving at least 1 1/4 inches between the top of the soufflé and the rim of the mold.

Pretty simple stuff here. I even know what is meant by “folding”. What I didn’t know was how to “turn the soufflé”. Turn it? Turn it how? So what I ended up doing was pretty much pouring the soufflé mixture into the mold.

Step 8:

  • Powdered sugar in a shaker

Bake in the middle level of preheated oven. In about 35 minutes, or when soufflé has risen about an inch over the top of the mold, rapidly sprinkle top with powdered sugar. Bake another 10 minutes, making about 45 minutes in all. Soufflé is done when a straw or knife, plunged into the side of the puff, comes out clean.

At 35 minutes I opened the oven and sprinkled the powdered sugar on the soufflé. It had risen a little over the top of the mold, but nowhere near an inch. I gently slid it back into the oven and let it cook for 10 minutes more. At about 45 mintues, it was done. The knife came out clean.

The result

Although I didn’t totally understand all of the instructions given, I was able to make a tasty soufflé. Julia managed to teach me a new dish—one that I plan on making again in the relatively near future.

Jan

23

Potage Parmentier

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I tried a new recipe today from Julia Child’s book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I kind of got on this kick to attempt some of her recipes after watching the movie Julie & Julia. The first recipe I attempted was Boeuf à la Bourguignonne for dinner on Christmas Day, mainly because that’s the one that is mentioned quite a bit in the movie. I am told that it came out quite well. (I didn’t have any of it because I’m vegetarian, so the whole dish was placed on the faith that Julia Child’s recipe was accurate. I shan’t doubt her again!)

Today’s recipe was Potage Parmentier (Leek or Onion and Potato Soup). According to Julia, this simple dish is a versatile base for other kinds of soup, and she gives a list of other ingredients that can be added to it for different flavors. I just went for the basic soup.

Step 1:

  • A 3- to 4-quart saucepan or pressure cooker
  • 3 to 4 cups or 1 lb. peeled potatoes, sliced or diced
  • 3 cups or 1 lb. thinly sliced leeks, including the tender green; or yellow onions
  • 2 quarts water
  • 1 Tbsp salt

Either simmer the vegetables, water, and salt together, partially covered, for 40 to 50 minutes until the vegetables are tender; or cook under 15 pounds pressure for 5 minutes, release pressure, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

In my mind, simmer means to cook it on low heat. That’s what I normally do when the recipe indicates a “simmer”. So I tried it. 50 minutes later, the vegetables were not tender. Heck, the water was barely tepid. I think there is a step that is missing here. It probably should say to “bring it to a boil and reduce the temperature to simmer.” The trick to this method is that you’ll need to keep your eye on the vegetables as they will cook in less than than the 40 to 50 minutes Julia indicates.

Step 2:

Mash the vegetables in the soup with a fork or pass the soup through a food mill. Correct seasoning.

(*) Set aside uncovered until just before serving, then reheat to the simmer.

I don’t own a food mill and I wasn’t about to mash it by hand, so I pureed the whole thing in my food processor. It probably came out a bit finer than Julia was intending.

Step 3:

  • 4 to 6 Tbsp whipping cream or 2 to 3 Tbsp softened butter
  • 2 to 3 Tbsp minced parsley or chives

    Off heat and just before serving, stir in the cream or butter by spoonfuls. Pour into a tureen and soup cups and decorate with the herbs.

The instructions are once again a little vague here. Do you just put spoonfuls of cream or butter and just let it sit on top, or do you mix it in the soup? I mixed it in because dollops of butter on top just didn’t look as good. (In this version, I used butter and chives.)

The result:

Probably if I had used cream, the end product would have had more of a milky color to it. However, the recipe is pretty easy to follow and relatively quick to make, as long as you bring it to a boil then turn it down to simmer. It will be interesting to try this as a base for other soups—something other than just plain old broth. All-in-all, I think it was a success. That’s two for Julia!

Jan

22

Compassion

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While surfing the net, I happened to find this quote:

One of the main characteristics of the Buddha, and one which we have present in all of us, is compassion. Compassion is often wrongly associated with being nice to people. In fact, there are times when it is not at all compassionate to be nice to someone because it just encourages them in their delusion.

Which is why I say to you, with the deepest compassion, the you are a complete dingbat….

Yes, the quote is funny and it brought a smile to my face. At the same time it made me think about the concept behind the word “compassion”. Like the speaker says, I think many people do equate “compassion” with “kindness”. After all, when we are showing compassion towards someone, aren’t we really being kind to them? Not really.

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word compassion comes from mid-14th century Old French compassion, from Late Latin compassionem (nominative compassio) “sympathy,” from compassus, past participle of compati “to feel pity,” from com- “together” + pati “to suffer”. Meanwhile, The Oxford Essential Dictionary: American Edition defines compassion as: “pity inclining one to be merciful.”

Compassion isn’t really about trying to be kind to people; it’s about feeling pity and showing mercy. Realizing this equation helps to understand this quote from Buddha: “Have compassion for all beings, rich and poor alike; each has their suffering.”

You can’t substitute the word “kindness” in that sentence, because it doesn’t make sense. How does “kindness” counterbalance “suffering”? It doesn’t. If fact, sometimes kindness can cause suffering. Think about it. Have you ever had a time where you were feeling down in the dumps and had a friend try to show you a little kindness? How did that make you feel? I know for myself that many times their little act of kindness actually made me feel worse that before. Kindness doesn’t offset suffering.

On the other hand, if you use the word “mercy” in place of “compassion” the phrase balances out. If something is suffering, we can take pity on it and show it mercy. It is through mercy that we can the appropriate action, like showing kindness, or help shoulder the weight, or provide comfort, or even admonishment (though calling a person a “dingbat” may not be the best approach if you want them to see the error of their ways).

Of course, compassion isn’t only something that you do for others. Sometimes you need to perform a little compassion on yourself. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Don’t be harsh on yourself if you’re feeling depressed. Let yourself be imperfect. We all have flaws. As the Dalai Lama says: “If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”

Jan

21

Sleep Interrupted

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For some reason, Mr. Sandman has been avoiding me the past few nights. My strength exercising has ramped up a bit over the past few days and I have felt a good burn which is followed a wonderful tired feeling. You know, the kind where you will zonk out once you head hits the pillow and you’ll wake up the next morning fully rested and energized. After putting my muscles through their paces, I usually have a light dinner, take a couple or so hours to wind down, and then hit the hay. Unfortunately, just as I’m about to get to that sleepy point, my body suddenly gets a second wind and I’m awake for a few hours more.

Sleep is very important to a healthy body, at least 8 hours minimum. Yeah, I know a person can still function with less. Heck, for years I existed on minimal hours of true sleep—but there’s a big difference between existing and living, and without the 8 hours of pure rest, ya just ain’t living!

Sleep deprivation can cause all sorts of problems. Everything from a little grogginess and problems with attention right up to car accidents and death. I’m not sure about the rest of the world, but Americans try to pack so much into their day that a good night’s sleep has fallen to the wayside. This is a shame because more sleep helps you become more productive. Less sleep actually makes you less productive.

I know, this is the kind of stuff that you hear from doctors all the time. But did you know that sleep is also a great way to help you build muscle and lose weight? It’s true. When you exercise and push your muscles, you cause microscopic tears in all that connective tissue. When you sleep, your body goes into “repair mode” and creates new, thicker, stronger fibers to close those tears. In order for the body to do this effectively, it needs complete rest for 8 or more hours.

If you don’t get enough rest, then your body won’t be able to strengthen and repair itself. Amazingly enough, if you push your muscles hard and don’t sleep as much as you should, your body will get weaker over time. Remember, when you exercise, you cause tears in the muscles. No sleep means the tears won’t be fixed. Too many tears and your muscles won’t be able to do the work that healthy muscles can.

So, it’s time for me to try and catch a few zzzzz’s. I think I’ll try to tempt Mr. Sandman with some warm milk. He usually likes that.

Jan

20

Being Alive

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My thighs were killing me today. Of course, I shouldn’t have expected anything different. It had been weeks since I had incorporated leg exercises in my routine. That was because the last time I did the leg workout I managed to make myself nauseous after doing floor jumps. It seems that losing weight has managed to drop my blood pressure down from the high end of normal to where it is now. I guess low blood pressure is okay, but man do I need to be careful when I stand up from a squat position!

After the nausea episode, I backed away from the leg exercises. I figured that my usual morning routine of jump ropes would be enough to keep my legs in good shape. Well, part of my theory was true. It kept my calves in good shape, but my thighs began to lose the definition they once had, so I had to add some of the leg exercises back in to the program. Lunges, squats, and pistol squats were back in but anything that had me close to a squat position for a longer period of time (like the floor jumps and the “creep”) were out.

After only one day, I could see the muscle tone returning to my thighs. Of course, it also meant there would be some soreness from working them after weeks of inactivity, but it felt fantastic! I was energized and so alive! And I couldn’t wait to leave work and get home to do it all over again. I think Patrick has turned me into an exercise junkie.

So a bit of advice: don’t let your muscles rest for more than a few days. If you take a brief break from working out, your muscles will quickly recover. Yeah, you probably won’t be exactly at the peak you were before the break, but you’ll recover in just a few days with little soreness. If you ignore a muscle group for weeks, it will take a bit more work to get back to the shape you were in, and you will definitely feel the ache a bit longer.

Still, I think my thighs are thanking me for finally paying attention to them. And it’s a good feeling.

Jan

19

Back Into The Swing Of Things

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Tonight was good, but tiring. I jumped right back into my full exercise regimen after a week or so hiatus. I had meet some important deadlines at work which, of course, meant that it was an opportune time for me to catch a cold. There was absolutely no way I could take time off from my job, so I had to cut back on something else in order to allow my body to recover. That meant backing off the exercising for a bit.

I feel a bit out of sorts when I don’t work out. I had been part of a rigorous regimen during the months of August, September, and October as I participated in a wellness program called the The Peak Condition Project. Basically, this program is:

“a 90 day plan that gets participants into the best shape of their lives. Using the simplest of materials, adherence to diet, classic kung-fu training techniques, and the power of social networking, PCPers achieve the physiques they’ve always dreamed of, while gaining the knowledge to maintain their success long into the future.”

Although I “graduated” from the program back in October, the things I learned during that time haven’t left. After 90 days it became a part of me and my day-to-day life, like breathing. If I skip a day of exercising, or I don’t eating the properly, or I fail to write a blog entry I feel out of kilter—that something is missing. I don’t like that feeling.

Back to the cold. At first I tried to keep up with my exercise regimen. The first day I managed to complete the whole routine and I ended up really exhausted. The second day I tried cutting back a little, but my body needed more rest that I was giving it. Finally I ended up with jumping rope and ab exercises in the morning for about a half hour. And that’s the way it stayed until tonight. My cold is nearing the end, my deadlines have passed, and I just had far too much energy that needed to be expended.

My exercises are done, I’ve rebalanced my food intake, and I’ve completed my blog entry. There’s only one thing left to do to make it perfect day—get to bed! Sleep is very important for a healthy body and it’s time for me to get my dose of zzzzzz’s.

Jan

18

In Which The Universe Provides A Reboot

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I just spent the weekend recreating my blog after most of the information was lost when I transferred my domain name from one host to another. Yeah, I really should have backed-up everything but a person tends to trust a company when it says that all your files will move over to the new one. So basically I was starting from scratch.

But that was okay. I wasn’t satisfied with my blog the way it was previously. There was just something that felt off about it and I couldn’t point my finger to exactly what was causing that feeling. By some serendipitous moment, everything disappeared and I suddenly had a blank slate and needed to start over. Gotta love it when the Universe steps in!

So here I am, back at the beginning and feeling a bit more confident that I did the first time around! This down-time allowed me to learn about the programs and control panels I’m using to manage this website, so all-in-all the disappearing act that my files performed was a benefit instead of a hindrance. Sometimes personal growth needs a catalyst to start the chain reaction of events which will encourage development of something better.

Thus begins a new chapter in the life of this blog. Welcome!