Comments (1)

By meredith, August 1, 2011 1:43 pm

I spent this past weekend in Tiverton, RI,  an area that is full of little markets and farm stands of fresh produce and other tasty delights! I picked up a small container of medium sized red tomatoes and one yellow, to mix up the color and the flavor a bit…Side note: even those that do not like red tomatoes might enjoy yellow ones! Feel free to experiment with different types of tomatoes. Half of the fun is heading out ‘market hopping’ to look for different kinds!

Continue reading 'The Versatility of a Tasty Summer Tomato'»

Comments (0)

By meredith, July 29, 2011 9:15 am

So I love walking Cassie twice a day, mainly because it’s our time to get outside and play. We bond when we jog across the street at our crosswalk in step with each other and then synchrojump up onto the stone wall. Then we walk up our grassy, tree-lined parkway, where she does her biz, and then we make time to play. We will do a wind sprint together, or I will throw sticks for her so she can run and frolic, footloose and fancy free.

It also means that I get out and walk twice a day for a total of 40 minutes minimum, which I really enjoy, especially on nice days.

But I realized again yesterday that walking twice a day also reconnects me with our neighborhood, with our community. I get to walk by Tom, our neighbor who sits out on his front steps reading the paper and drinking coffee every morning and night, or see him chatting with Franco, across the way on his front steps, some nights.

Lately I have been stopping to let kiddos or other people pet the dog, and they so enjoy it.

Continue reading 'The Less Obvious Benefits of Daily Dog Walks'»

Comments (0)

By meredith, July 29, 2011 8:46 am

So yesterday I had another FABULOUS morning. I was up really early, sort of anxious about job searching before heading on a walk with Nicole at 8, after which I grabbed some breakfast with Diana, who’s visiting from Lima. By the afternoon, I had settled into my outdoor office on our deck with some water, raring to go….only, I realized, I had one problem: I didn’t know what to do next. Then I started to panic…

Continue reading 'Universal Interventions at Life’s Roadblocks'»

Comments (99)

By meredith, July 18, 2011 10:14 am

I look up at the trees from my back deck and think about how the relationships in my life may not be exactly where I want them to be…I am reminded, though, of their potential for growth. This great oak didn’t go from straight sapling to tremendous tree. It took it’s time, collected rainwater and sunlight, let creatures build their homes on its branches. Now it’s big and beautiful and contains enough pollywogs to make noses for every kiddo in the city of Boston… Continue reading 'I’m a Little Tree-pot'»

Comments (134)

By meredith, June 27, 2011 1:01 pm

This stir fry includes only five or six ingredients. It’s easy, low cost, healthy, and most importantly, deeLIGHTfully delicous!

Add sesame oil and chopped garlic to a fry pan over the stove.

Saute in Stop n’ Shop Frozen Stir Fry Vegetables until warm.

Add frozen mixed seafood from Trader Joe’s for three minutes, or as directed.

Mix in Trader Joe’s General Tsao’s Stir Fry Sauce until it bubbles and coats everything.

Feel free to mix with brown rice. You can even buy the frozen packets from Trader Joe’s which take only 3 minutes per bag to cook.

Mix well, eat, and enjoy!

Comments (95)

By meredith, June 27, 2011 12:52 pm

“When you are content to be simply yourself and don’t compare or compete, everybody will respect you.”
— Lao Tzu
This quote is so simple and yet so true: my favorite kind. While it seems like it should be clear from the day we are born, oftentimes we feel jealousy because of someone else’s accomplishments. And yet, someone will always be smarter than ourselves; funnier than ourselves; better at playing guitar than ourselves; this list could go on forever, but you get the idea.

Continue reading 'Jealousy No More!'»

Comments (108)

By meredith, June 23, 2011 7:07 pm

Dating all the way back in time, people have used symbolism to represent their beliefs, ideas and values; to serve as good luck; and to share their views with others. Recently, symbols have popped up a great deal in my life, and they have brought snippets of reassurance to my days of job searching and wedding planning. Right now, I am experiencing the best moments of my life, and yet it is challenging because that is how transition goes. Change happens all the time, and yet can be difficult to adjust to.

Continue reading 'Tree Poses and Other Symbols'»

Comments (55)

By meredith, June 7, 2011 8:23 am

My first couple of weeks here in Peru have absolutely flown by (flew by!!), so much so that I can truly say I will be one of those people that others have told me about that start crying because they are so sad to leave a place. Peruvians have opened up their hearts, homes, and their country to me, reminding me to walk safely, and sharing with me the delicacies of their food and the nuances of their beautiful language: Castellano.

I spent the past week in the jungle, or the selva, and the word that comes to mind is spirit. The second I tasted the air in Lima again I missed the fresh sweetness of the jungle air. If only I could bottle it and bring it with me wherever I go.

There were so many beautiful moments I spent in San Martin that at times I became so overwhelmed with gratitude that I could feel it well up in my heart and in my body, and flow up through my eyes to be released as lagrimas (tears.)

Continue reading 'El Espiritu'»

Comments (95)

By meredith, January 23, 2011 8:19 am

So yesterday I finished packing around 2 o’clock-yes it took a while to determine which hoodies I had to eliminate-rather tragic-and I decided to go for my last run in JP, until May. Not ten minutes into the run I bump into this woman on a side street all decked out in her ski gear. And what was she wearing for a hat? A wool, Peruvian hat with little llamas knitted into it. If THAT’S not a sign of good things to come…Yes, I do clearly ‘look for signs’, as my friends tell me, but it’s usually subconscious, and it makes life much more fun!

Something else super reassuring happened too, but I waited too long to write this post, so of course it’s slipped my mind…but I will say that while I was flying between Boston and Fort Lauderdale, Mike came across Peruvian fair trade coffee at our local JP Licks. Hows about that? It was their special coffee of the day. Ironically, I most likely won’t get to try it until I get home, as most people here in Peru keep instant coffee in the casa. Go figure.

Then during my 3 hour layover in FLL, before I fell asleep (again), a Peruvian woman spoke to me in Spanish, and I just started speaking back, like nothing doing. Besides the woman at NB I befriended who would limpia los banos, I haven’t practiced my Spanish conversationally with a native speaker in ages. Probably since I was in Spain back in college! But alas, it was FINE. And she even borrowed my cell phone to call her son in Nor-tay Caro-leena. She spoke really loudly for a person in an airport, which actually may have helped my cause in retrospect. Good karma galore! Lima here I come!

I arrived late last night to Diana, just  home from a wedding, ready to walk the streets for a couple of hours. I couldn’t fall asleep until after 2 a.m., and now I’m awake at 7:30 a.m. Looks like SOMEbodies excited!! More later. Ciao for now!

Comments (53)

By meredith, November 20, 2010 9:06 am

Yesterday I was sitting in my Community Organizing & Political Strategies class when I noticed a poster on the door that read:

Help Cut Down on Wasted Energy

CLOSE

UNPLUG

TURN OFF

This poster was for the college community, and it is supposed to serve as a reminder to help the campus conserve energy by turning out the light switches, closing down computers, and, unplugging any appliances when they’re not in use.  So I at least try to do all of those things every single day. I unplug my coffee maker when I leave the house, turn off all the lights even when I’m just taking the dog for a quick walk, and leave my computer in ‘sleep’ mode whenever I’m not using it.

But that’s NOT how I read this poster. Granted, I awake until 2 a.m. the night before working on the 2 presentations I had starting at 8 a.m. that morning. Then I’d woken up at 6 a.m. so I could get to school on time to rehearse one presentation, set everything up, and then rock it. By now, it was the second half of my second class, after which I would work until 5, so I had sleepy, drained, tired feeling on the brain. Not just from lack of sleep but from engaging my brain so much.

So when I read the poster, it was time for ME to cut back on wasted energy. Time for me to close the door, un plug from electronics and my cell phone and computer, and unplug for a little while.

Sometimes we just want to do, do, do, so we can get to the end of the to-do list and then take a break. And there’s something to be said for accomplishment. But sometimes we also need to take a break, shut down, and then recharge those batteries so we can be back to our fully charged selves again, energized and ready to go.

And after I’ve unplugged, what are some of the ways I like to re-charge?

-slow mornings with French press coffee

-yoga classes, maybe after sleeping an extra hour

-getting take-out for dinner

-sitting still, taking in a few deep breaths

-enjoying the view of the city from my back porch

-watching a couple of shows (Lost or Modern Family with my boyfriend, and Glee with girlfriends or by myself, or the Office any time I want some quick and easy laughs.)

-going out to dinner with friends

-going for a hike

-playing outside

-being outdoors

How about you?