A Quiet Moment on the Journey - Week 9

"Snow falling soundlessly in the middle of the night will always fill my heart with sweet clarity"
                                                                                                          ~Novala Takemoto, Missin'

There is something magical about standing in the heart of the woods in the gray morning light, a blanket of freshly fallen snow all around you. The only sound you hear is the squeaky crunch of your boots walking on that beautiful snow. The quiet of the woods envelopes you as you head down the trail, your footprints the lone ones.

I had one of those magical moments last weekend when we were in Marquette visiting our daughter at college. We were out at Presque Isle Park at a reasonable morning hour by my standards (early by college student standards). Glen and Mallory had ventured over to the icy, snowy rocks along the edge of Lake Superior. I continued along the trail by myself with my camera in hand. Nobody had snow shoed or skied on this section of the park yet and there was a fresh blanket of snow from the night before covering everything.

The quiet was priceless.

Maribeth, my personal trainer has me working on stepping back and observing myself in my life. You would think that as a writer and photographer I would already do that, but I don't, not really. I need to observe how I interact with others and my environment. One thing I always knew but became even more aware of doing this exercise is that I need periods of quiet. There is already so much going on in my head that with constant noise around me as well, eventually I become overwhelmed and cranky from too much noise.

So I am working on creating more periods of quiet in my day, and more walks in the woods.

SELF-PORTRAITS
This week's theme at 52 of You was Eyes. It is very hard to hold the camera pointed at yourself and get it to focus on your eyes. My theme should have been eyebrows, since the camera seemed to find them without a problem. Which just drew attention to the fact that they desperately need to be waxed. I will be calling Nicole on Monday to set up an appointment for a brow waxing asap.

WEIGHT

This week I lost: 0 lbs.

Total Weight Loss: 6.5 lbs.

I am happy with this, since we were traveling last weekend and dining at our favorite Marquette restaurants. 

EXERCISE

Things are going well at the gym. We have narrowed it down to the fact that I really need to work on strengthening my lower back muscles and my gluts. My arms and legs are fairly strong, they are over compensating for my weak low back.

I discovered these great bars this week. Just to be clear they are not candy bars and they don't taste like them. They do fill you up and give you needed energy between meals. I have one packed in my camera  bag and one in the car. Just in case I am out somewhere longer than anticipated.

FOOD

I made one of my favorite soups this week.

SAUSAGE TOMATO SOUP

1/2 lb. bulk Italian sausage

1/2 lb. lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1 small green pepper, chopped

1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (14-1/2 oz.) beef broth

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1/2 cup picante sauce

1-1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

In a large saucepan, cook the sausage, beef, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomatoes, broth, tomato sauce, picante sauce, sugar, basil and oregano. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Nutritional information: 1 cup serving (prepared with turkey sausage and reduced sodium broth equals 161 calories.

**Note: I usually double the recipe, then I have extra to put in the freezer.