October 25th Triumphs

Today's triumphs:

1. Unexpected three-hour midday break during which I landed five great finds at a nearby Goodwill (jeans, grey dressy pants, and three cute tops for winter)!
2. Impending snowstorm!
3. I wrote the end of my "children's book" that I've been brewing for a few years.  Haven't written the beginning or middle, but I'm sure excited about the end!
4. Signed up for Pinterest, which is great, because I really needed another internet time-suck.

Here's a picture of what I hope to wake up to tomorrow...

Here's hoping!

Poison Control Triumph

I almost forgot a huge triumph today!  I am a survivor of cyanide poisoning!  So here's the story.

I cut open a peach today and the pit split in half.  I was THRILLED to be seeing the inside of a peach pit because this is something I've never seen before.  To my surprise, there was a nut inside that looked JUST like an almond.  (By the way, all of this may very well be common knowledge, but it was new to me, so humor me.)   It didn't have much of a smell, so naturally I wanted to taste it to see if it tasted like an almond!  I bit in and chewed it up just enough to realize it was atrociously bitter and spit it out.  The weird thing was that the after taste was very reminiscent of almond extract.  I consulted the internet to learn about this mysterious nut, and it turns out that 1) peaches and almonds are indeed related, and 2) the nut inside of a peach pit has cyanide in it!  Yikes!  That's the last time I bite into something without knowing what it is!

(Of course, the amount of cyanide in that nut is not enough to hurt me, and the bitterness prevented me from actually ingesting it, but I can't help it if it makes me feel triumphant to think that I survived cyanide poisoning.)

Zumba Triumph

Uh oh!  I've discovered Zumba videos on YouTube!  They are SUPER fun and I plan to utilize them to the fullest.

I was hoping that my chocolate chip cookies made with applesauce as a butter/oil substitute would be today's triumph, but since I didn't think they weren't that tasty, Zumba YouTube it is!

Here's one to get you started ;-)

I'm pretty sure I'll have that lady's abs in no time, but that's a triumph for another day...

August 5, 2011 Triple Triumph

August 5,  2011 was a day of many triumphs!  Most importantly, it marked four years since the day Josh and I first (and finally) got together!  It's been a magical four years, but the funny thing is, knowing now that we'll be together our whole lives and celebrating so many higher numbers, four seems so puny!  But we know that it is a triumph, especially considering the distance that separated us for so much of that time.  I hung up a bunch of pictures in the bathroom to surprise Josh and it was a wonder to go through all of them and think of all the fun we've shared :-)

For our anniversary, Josh had not only left flowers to greet me in the morning but had also planned a PERFECT evening.  We started with an Irish dinner and drinks at Ri Ra, an Irish pub, enjoying the sounds of a live Irish trad!  Without going too far into it, this is more or less how our whole relationship began, so it was perfect ;-)  From there we walked down the street to The Palace, a beautiful old Louisville theater, to watch Jimmy Stewart in the 1950 classic, "Harvey."

I can't say enough good things about this experience.  The theater was stunning, the movie was everything a good old movie should be, and it was such a rare joy to enjoy that film as part of an audience that is so engaged in the movie.  Because of the sound and the layout of the theater, we felt especially connected to the audience.  The laughs were so loud, and the audience cheered more than once for Jimmy Stewart, which just made me so happy.  Here's a wonderful clip if you are a "Harvey" fan or if you've never seen it.

The movie is so clever and has such a beautiful sentiment behind it, and Friday night sealed it into my Top 10.  The Palace is showing Jimmy Stewart movies all summer, so we're planning on seeing "Rear Window" next weekend.  What a great Louisville discovery!

The other August 5, 2011 triumph, to go along with the anniversary and the movie experience, was that it was the halfway mark of my first clinical!  Things are going great and I feel lucky to be working with such a great staff, even if it's only temporary.  I've certainly had ups and downs, but the important thing is that I'm learning, I'm meeting great people, and I'm enjoying the work I do every day.

Health Fair Triumph

This weekend's triumph is having a body that does what it's supposed to do, with working parts and systems that generally keep me running with little difficulty.  Josh and I stumbled upon a tiny health fair in the parking lot of a church not far from our house, so we decided to check it out.  First of all, the people were so kind and for some reason just tickled that we are engaged.  For the 20 minutes we were there it felt like we were all great friends.  Anyway, Josh and I got our blood pressure and blood sugar taken and then stepped on a magic scale that read your muscle mass, water percentage, bone mass, daily caloric intake, and next year's horoscope.  Okay maybe not the last one.   The one that really baffled me was the daily caloric intake - how does that scale know that?  I was a little skeptical.  But all in all, what I'm really writing to report is that Josh and I had healthy to normal levels of all the measures taken!  Hooray!  

Josh and I both spend a lot of time around people whose levels are all out of whack, whether because they've made poor health choices or simply because they were dealt a raw hand.  It seems that almost everyone who comes into the rehab center is Diabetic and on blood pressure medication, so we know we need to be careful to take care of ourselves.  But it's nice to know that for now, at 26 and 27, we have healthy levels and our bodies are working the way they are supposed to be working.  Not everyone can say that.

In addition, today marks the first day I started taking my Calcium and Vitamin D pills regularly!  Josh has been bugging me about this and he's right, I need to take them.  So I started today and I intend to make it another healthy habit...With daily reminders from Josh.  ;-)

A Triumphant Return

So, it turns out I'm a horrible blogger!  I haven't posted anything for several weeks, and although I have excuses, none of them are good ones.  So I'm back with renewed commitment to blog my Daily Triumphs as often as I can.  To get myself back in the game, I'm going with a recap of some of the past few weeks' triumphs:

1.  I've had a couple successful culinary creations!  First was a concoction of sauteed spinach, mushrooms, and garlic, garbanzo beans, quinoa, and...goat cheese!  The goat cheese definitely put it over the edge and it tasted delicious.  The second was something I've been meaning to try for a while and a veggie-crazy co-worker's birthday presented the perfect opportunity: beet chocolate cake!  The texture of the cake was absolutely perfect, and although it could have stood a touch more chocolate, I thought it was fantastic.  I made a peanut butter frosting that was fluffy and delicious and I was quite proud of the end product :-)

2.  Progress at work!  Although a handful of my days at fieldwork have felt woefully absent of any triumphs at all, I'm trying to stay true to the spirit of my blog and focus on the successes.  And I feel myself making progress.   The biggest triumph has been forging a positive relationship with a very difficult patient who never wants to do therapy.  I haven't had to cancel any sessions with her which feels like a miracle, so that's definitely a triumph.  Also, after a particularly lousy day I initiated a meeting with my supervisor to talk about the things I'd like to work on, and I consider that another good triumph.

3. I remembered to send my sister a present for her 30th birthday!  It's in the mail!  I am horrible about these kinds of things so I'm pretty impressed with myself on this one.

If I can keep this going, I'd like to make my big brother's awesome twitter idea a reality so other people can start sharing their own daily triumphs, but first I think I need to really get on the ball with the blog.  In the meantime, do any of you have a daily triumph you'd like to share with me?  I'd love to hear!

Meta Triumph

I was planning to share that today's Daily Triumph was choosing to have a bowl of fruit instead of a brownie and ice cream for dessert, but after I finished the bowl of fruit I promptly rinsed out the bowl and filled it with the brownie and ice cream I had wanted in the first place.  So nevermind.  Then I thought maybe I should share a triumph from clinicals, but although I feel that my clinical is going really well so far, I don't think I've done anything really noteworthy yet.  I worried that maybe I'd be stuck for today, but then my brother-in-law Rich came to the rescue!

I called up Em and Rich to wish them a Happy 2-Year Anniversary tonight (congratulations!) and Rich shared something with me that made my day - Rich told me that he had his own Daily Triumph the other day!  Rich was suffering the aggravation of a troublesome fly who would not leave him alone.  After three hours of this torment, Rich finally got the sucker!  In the glow of his victory, he thought to himself, "this is my Daily Triumph."  Knowing that this thought actually went through Rich's head put a huge grin on my face and ended up being my own Daily Triumph today.  Thanks, Rich!  And Happy Anniversary to you both :-)

The Sneaky Triumph of a Well-Timed Lesson

June 24, 2011

Every so often the universe conspires to teach you a lesson just when you need it.  I had this experience at a slightly unusual yoga class I attended the other day.  After a brief beginning stretch, the teacher instructed us all to gather round for the yoga lesson of the day.  The seven or so students all sat around just like grade-schoolers, ready to absorb the lesson - it was odd, but no harm in learning something new, right?  The lesson was about the concept of asteya, resisting the desire for that which is not yours.  While this is not a new idea to me (Ten Commandments?), it is not something I had thought much about previously. However, I am preparing to start my clinicals on Monday and I think that asteya is going to be important to me.

I think the thing I'm most at risk of coveting (besides of course an adorable house that I can decorate all my own) is ability.  I need to remember that I am a student, here to learn.  I will not be able to do all of the things that those around me can do, and I won't know all of the things they know.  I fear that I may find myself desiring something that is not mine - the skill and ability of therapists with years of experience.  I can get pretty angry when I embarrass myself by not knowing something that I ought to know or can't do something that I ought to be able to do.  The trouble there is that dwelling on things like that can stunt what could be a moment for growth.  I must find a way to have high expectations of myself and strive to do my best, while also being gentle with myself when I make mistakes, which will inevitably happen, and open myself up to the lessons that lie therein.

The yoga instructor clarified that asteya is easier to achieve when you focus on what you have and give thanks for your own abilities, and more difficult to achieve when you compare yourself to others.  Something tells me that this unexpected reminder not to compare myself to others - a weakness, I must admit - may have been particularly well-timed for the beginning of my fieldwork.  Sneaky triumph for the universe :-)

Telecommunications Triumph

June 24, 2011

Background: The other day I was stuck at the mall for about a hundred hours waiting for the folks at Sears to fix my car.  To while away the time, I picked up The Girls from Ames (Jeffrey Zaslow) from the sale rack at Borders, and I've since been thinking a lot about the friendships that have beautified my life.  The book is about a group of 11 girls who became friends throughout their youth and have remained close into their 40's.  I am about halfway into the book and, as far as I can tell, there is little that is truly remarkable or unique about their story.  However, as I read, I can't help but reflect on the memories and idiosyncracies of my own friendships, and damned if I don't feel that they are each remarkable in their own way.  This leads me to conclude that friendship is remarkable enough it and of itself, no matter how ordinary the history or the circumstances of any given friendship.

So, thinking about my friends scattered across the globe naturally led me to marvel at the rapidly changing way in which we all stay connected to one another.  As cliche as this is, I am deeply grateful to be living in an age where talking to friends halfway across the country (or world), and even seeing them!, is free and easy.  This leads me to today's triumph:

If it's a little hard to discern what's happening here, I'll explain:  This is a zoomed-in screen shot of a (complicated) video chat that I recently enjoyed with Kate and Kathryn, two of my best friends.  I (in Louisville) am video-chatting with Kate in Seattle, who is Facetiming with Kathryn in Camden and holding up her iPhone so that I can also video chat with Kathryn in Camden, through Kate in Seattle!  Incredible!

Healthy Habits Triumph

Today, I remembered to apply sunscreen before going outside for a walk!  Take that, UV rays!

Matrilineal Triumph

June 23, 2011

Today's triumph is something that I had nothing to do with, and yet means the world to me: being Laurie Thede's daughter.  My mother is the wisest woman I know and today is her birthday.  It is appropriate that I finished reading The Red Tent (Anita Diamant) today, a book about the wisdom of women and the incredible power of a mother's love.  At the beginning of her tale, the narrator Dinah says:

"If you want to understand any woman you must first ask about her mother and then listen carefully."

The idea that you must first understand my mother to understand me resonates strongly with me.  For as long as I can remember, I have understood, accepted, and embraced the fact that I am very similar to my mother.  Women joke about "turning into their mothers," but for me this has never applied, as I have been just like my mother from the beginning.  True, I have inherited Mom's loose joints, easily bruising skin, headaches, and sometimes opinionated nature.  But these traits are a price I'm happy to pay for the gifts she has given me: love of nature and music, enthusiasm for learning, the desire to be constantly improving myself and my surroundings, respect for my history and heritage, an appreciation for beauty, an eye for bargains, and the enjoyment of hearing other people's stories. 

Dinah speaks often of her role as the heir of her mothers' memories and honors her place in the line of women that came before her.  I am blessed to be one of the heirs of my mother's wisdom and the wisdom she inherited from the mothers before her.  Happy birthday, Mom.     

  

Me at graduation with the two great teachers of my life, Mom and Dad.

Legume Triumph

Although I am not a vegetarian, more often than not I do cook like one.  The latest example is today's culinary experiment, vegetarian meatloaf!  Meatless meatloaf?  What?  Stay with me.

This meatloaf uses mashed up lentils in place of ground beef, and everything else is just the same as regular meatloaf.  It turned out to be delicious!  Tasted pretty much like meatloaf, honest!  I gave it an 8 out of 10, which in my eyes is definitely a triumph.  The recipe is at the bottom if you're intrigued enough to try this yourself ;-)

In case you didn't know, lentils are super healthy - full of protein, fiber, and iron.  In fact, Health magazine has named lentils one of the world's top five healthiest foods.  Plus, the oats, egg, and garlic add extra nutrition to this dish.  Interestingly, while learning about lentils on the internet I found out that the Old Testament has a story about Jacob purchasing the birthright from Esau with lentils.  I happen to be reading The Red Tent right now, which is about Dinah, Jacob's daughter, and includes stories about Jacob and Esau!  I wonder if reading about that region is what gave me the notion that I needed to make something with lentils.  I do get pretty engrossed in whatever I'm reading/watching at any given time.

Recipe:

1. Cook 1 cup of lentils in 2 cups of water.  Let it cook for at least 30 minutes, more like 40-45, so that the lentils are quite soft.

2. Drain (although there won't be much water left), allow to cool slightly, then mash up the lentils in a mixing bowl.  They don't have to be completely mashed, just give 'em a good smashing.  

3. Add one cup of quick-dry oats, 3/4 cup shredded cheese of your choosing (cheddar, swiss, jack, American), and 1 small diced onion.  I also added some minced fresh garlic at this point - up to you. 

4. Add in one egg, 4.5 ounces of tomato sauce or spaghetti sauce (I used spaghetti sauce but later wished I had used plain tomato sauce), and whatever spices/herbs you want.  I used garlic powder, salt and pepper, parsley, and a little cayenne pepper.  I also added a bit of olive oil thanks to a recommendation from one of the recipe's reviewers who said it was a little dry.

5. Mix well and spoon into a loaf pan or a casserole dish.  Smooth out the top.  Cook at 350 for about 30 minutes. 

6. When the top is starting to look like it's getting dry and cooked, take it out of the oven and top it with a glaze of ketchup, a little Worcestershire sauce, and a little brown sugar.  Yum!

7. Let cook a little while longer and then enjoy!

Also, here is the recipe I used if you'd like to check it out yourself.  I used some of the reader comments - I ALWAYS read those because they are often VERY helpful - so check those out too.  Happy lentil-ing!

Food Triumph Number One: Cutting a Mango

Sunday, June 19, 2011

I expect to have several posts about new recipes or foods that I have discovered, because I get very excited, and feel very proud, any time I try a new recipe or food that turns out to be delicious.  My first food-related triumph on this blog is cutting a mango!

Previously, all of my attempts to cut a mango resulted in an incredible mess that was more like juicing the mango and slurping it off my fingers, rather than cutting it up to actually eat.  I didn't grow up eating mangoes so I never knew that there was a better way.  Then, this morning, it occurred to me to consult the all-knowing Youtube.

Here's what I found:
How to Cut a Mango

I tried it today and it works so well!  Unfortunately, the mango itself was not such a triumph.  I had let it get too ripe and it tasted like rotten fruit with Pine-Sol poured over it.  Nonetheless, I consider this a triumph not only for my future enjoyment of mangoes, but also a triumph for Youtube instructional videos, from which I look forward to learning many new skills!

Father's Day Triumph: Cleaning the Drain!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Happy Father's Day!  My dad can do everything.  Our old family letters include ridiculous accounts of his weekends, which typically went something like "fixed the sprinklers, took down the wallpaper in the bathroom, painted the kitchen, and finished up our taxes," usually all before dinner.  In his honor, today's triumph is something I did a couple of days ago, with his help.

The bathroom sink was draining slowly, so I thought I'd get some Drano and take care of it.  Father knew better, though, and told me the best way to fix the problem was to get in there and clean it out myself.  Dad talked me through the process:

1. Clear out all the stuff under the pipes under the sink.
2. Place a bucket under the pipes, because they will drain water when you disconnect them (this seems so obvious, but I tell you I never would have thought of that).
3. Unscrew the pipe at the two places they connect (the uneven tops of the "U") and remove the U shaped pipe.
4. Hold your breath or plug your nose, it's stinky!
5. Shove a paper towel through the pipe to clean it out as best you can, and claw out anything that might be clogging the pipes.
6. Also remove the metal basin stopper to clean that up.
7. Replace all parts of sink, empty out bucket, and marvel at how quickly your sink drains!

I'll also throw in a lesson from my vinegar-loving mother here (second vinegar mention on this young blog): I soaked the U pipe and the metal stopper in white vinegar and water for a while to make them easier to clean.

So next time your sinks are clogging up, roll up your sleeves and attack the pipes.  It's free, easy, effective, and strangely satisfying!

For good measure, here is a picture of my dad with one of his many Daily Triumphs, a fence he recently built at our cabin up in the mountains:

Nature's Triumph: Louisville Sunset

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Although this wasn't a personal triumph, per se, I never hesitate to celebrate nature's triumphs.  Below is a picture of an enchanting sunset over Louisville, captured from our second story balcony.

Thrift Store Triumph

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

One of the many passions I have inherited from my mother is an enthusiasm for "thrifting."  A couple weeks ago I spotted a set of dishes that I liked while searching for a stand for our kitchen at the local Goodwill.  I didn't purchase them, but when I told my mom about this she commanded me to buy them.  I was out of town at the time, so I called Josh and commanded him to return to the Goodwill to get them.  When I saw them, they were priced at $30, but by the time Josh got there the teacups had been sold and the price was reduced to $21.  All in all, we ended up with:

7 dinner plates
7 salad plates
15 (!) bread and butter plates
9 cereal bowls
9 dessert bowls
Gravy boat and plate (LOVE THIS)
Butter plate and cover
Creamer (LOVE THIS TOO)
Salt and pepper shakers
Vegetable server with lid (LOVE THIS TOO)

The bottoms say "Johnson Brothers Made in England."  I loved the pattern, so I hit the internet to find out more about it.  Turns out it is Johnson Brothers Heritage pattern, white.  My dad and I both found this website, which lists prices for individual pieces: www.replacements.com.  According to the website, our dishes add up to over $1100!!!!  It's not a complete set, and they aren't in perfect condition, but they are in pretty darn good shape and we can complete the set through this website if we want.  I love the dishes and the amazing bargain was a thrift store triumph indeed!!!

Pictures:

Today's Triumph: Homemade fly traps!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

To our great consternation, Josh and I discovered that this apartment seems to attract hordes of pesky little fruit flies.  Even after taking out the trash and cleaning extensively, the flies still congregate in the kitchen and bathroom, so a few days ago we set out to annihilate them :)  I remembered reading about using Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) to catch flies, so I constructed a mini-science project to test this theory.  Lessons learned:

1. Use pure ACV, it attracts far more flies than diluted ACV.
2. Be patient.  The traps will attract flies almost immediately, but you may have to wait a while for the flies to actually enter the trap before you can celebrate their capture.
3. The two methods we used worked equally well.  The first method is to pour a little ACV into a glass, then cover it with saran wrap and use a fork to poke holes in the plastic wrap.  The flies will crawl in but not be able to crawl out.  The second method is to pour some ACV into a glass, then cut a small hole in the center of a coffee filter and fit it nicely into a glass.  Again, the flies will crawl in but don't seem to be able to get out.  I don't understand this, but I'm not going to ask questions about it.  Both methods are pictured below.

Coffee filter method:

See all the little dead flies in there?!

Saran wrap method (pictures don't adequately show the success of this method, but it did work quite well):

I must admit I was delighted to see so many dead flies gather in our traps.  I was also quite proud to witness the superiority of the ACV traps over the store-bought fly paper, which we had put up right next to our traps in the name of scientific experimentation.

Success!

Inauguration.

Welcome to my blog, The Daily Triumph.  I have spent a fair amount of time thinking about, or rather worrying about, success, and what it means to me to be successful.  I know I am not the only one who has asked myself whether I feel successful and what it will take for me to feel successful.  I am slowly letting go of the impulse to measure my success by anyone else's standard, a liberating but at times tricky endeavor.

My blog adopts a definition of success that includes everyday triumphs; it is a celebration of victories both large and small.  In addition, it is a venue to share things that I have learned that may be useful to others. Whether it is learning a new skill, crossing something off a long to-do list, or discovering something unexpected about the world or myself, I intend to find a success in every day, no matter how seemingly insignificant.   Then, when I lay my head down at night, I hope not to fret over the day's regrets, but rather delight in the day's triumphs.  I hope that this blog inspires you to do the same.