Where I Belong

In an idyllic town where the white steeple of my childhood church rises above the trees tops, where the pastures feed cows, sheep, and flocks of deer, where the world’s largest, fully-steerable telescopes juts upward from the base of the Appalachian Mountains, and where the snow pours down on a majestic ski resort, is a place I will forever call “home.”

Driving through my home town one would imagine it on the cover of Ideal Magazine and upon seeing a photo of its natural beauty assume it to be nestled in the iconic, northern mountains of New England.

It’s not. It’s nowhere near New England and can be barely classified as north, except maybe by those fleeing the winter storms to sunny weather in Florida. It’s the town, unincorporated mind you, of Green Bank, WV located in Pocahontas County, one of the most rural counties in WV.

It is the town, community, and environment that has influenced, guided, shaped, and balanced my life. I, of course, must credit my family with building the foundation of beliefs and values I navigate life with, but where I was raised reinforced all those important values: a passion for outdoor recreation; conservation of natural resources, animals, and land; being a genuine, enthusiastic, hard-working person; and living a simple, fulfilling life.

I’ll never forget the many times I have realized and unfortunately learned the hard way that many people do not share my utopian view of West Virginia. One of those times was when my college roommate, of Oakland Maryland and now a dear friend, imparted the information that when her teachers found out her potential roommate was from Pocahontas County, WV they collectively agreed, “Those people are backwards.”

Those words are seared into my brain as if some branded my skin. I have no adversarial, gut-wrenching story to tell - luckily my life was pleasantly mundane, but I was labeled. Labeled by people who didn’t know a true West Virginian. It frustrated and angered me to be judged, but more importantly, it motivated me. The lesson I take from these “outsiders” is not to care what others think of me. The bigger picture is I take the lessons of a true West Virginian  with me everywhere. I take the time to chat, wave at each car that passes, and most importantly I appreciate the hard work and sacrifices people make in this life to benefit myself and others.

I’ve lived in the metro area of Knoxville, TN, Seattle, WA, and even did time on the rock people call Maui. I’ve seen and appreciated the natural beauty and man-made wonders, experienced and even enjoyed the cover of anonymity that city-life provides. I am grateful for all the adventure my travels have led me to and hope to find many more. But most of all I am thankful for that winding, switchback-riddled, route called 92 that takes me home to West Virginia after each adventure - where I belong.

Mission Statement

To live each day with enthusiasm, confidence, and integrity.

Recipe: Crispy Pretzel Crust for Fish (Healthy!)

I love perch and recently purchased some and realized, the reason I adore perch is from those famous Lake Erie Fish Fry's that I am used to on Fridays in the summer.

Well, the perch I purchased wasn't fried, it was frozen and I wanted it to be a healthy dinner. So with some guidance from several recipes I simplified and came up with a great crust:

Crsipy Healthy Fried Pretzel Crust
 * Great for any white fish or chicken

Photo Source: Kitchen Trial and Error 

Ingredients:
2 eggs (yoke optional)
canola oil
1 c crushed pretzels - I crush mine in a ziploc bag by hand
3/4 c all purpose flour
1 t pepper
6 small pieces of perch

1. Beat eggs and place in shallow bowl
2. Mix flour and pepper in another shallow bowl or plate
3. Put crushed pretzels on another plate
4. Heat enough Canola oil to cover the entire bottom on a skillet on medium high heat (7 on my stove works well)
5. Dredge fish in flour, dip in egg until well covered, and then dredge in crushed pretzels for an even thick coating
6. Place in warm skillet - turn after 3 minutes or desired doneness
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for all fish pieces

I paired the fish with fresh bicolored corn and fried zuchini for a truly down home meal. :)

Music: A Mental Bitch Slap

Yesterday, as I traveled to my favorite trail run location i.e. driving too fast and listening to my music too loud, I checked my iPod battery a little too far into my trip to turn around and charge it. A completely dead battery and instantly put out that I wouldn't have Audio Slave pushing my through my run, I ripped my arm band off and tossed my iPod into my trunk.

I set my watch and was off. Between humming a Madonna song I had been listening to in my car it's a quarter to two And I'm done I'm hanging up on you and thinking about the past week's events, I realized I was running a slightly slower pace than I run with my music. Namely the same trail that I pushed myself through in 27 minutes up hill and in intense heat, just this past Monday.

As I struggled up the same hill and in the same heat this time, I realized simply that my music listening is the "mental bitch slap" I need to get through these tough hill runs. I use to rely simply on my own mentality and started to scold myself for depending on music to distract me from my shin splints, loud breathing, and sweat stinging eyes, and then I thought, No! Music is so accessible and my iPod is so light, there is nothing wrong with listening to my music, making my trail runs more enjoyable therefore significantly more successful by relying on such technology.

Granted with anything, when you fail to charge the batteries or technology glitches as it does so often, you will have to grit your teeth and rely on older/more innovative options to get through whatever task it is technology would make more enjoyable or perceivably, more simple.

So, while I had to settle with walking about a half mile of trail to calm my burning lungs, I will still pleased with my end run time and congratulated myself that all my mental toughness isn't completely gone.

However, my iPod is charged, ready, and waiting for my run this evening. I plan on upping the pace tonight.

Simple Pleasure: Hiking

Views and climbs from my hike in the Roanoke Area today. This is called Dragon's Tooth and is apart of the Appalachian Trail System. It is intense and definitely a new favorite trail.

Unstoppable

It’s the small daily victories that we should celebrate consistently. A step in the right direction is progress…

I’ve seen a change in myself that nothing could have brought on except the continuation of time. With each challenge, victory, tear, and smile I have grown, changed, and improved myself more than the day before.

It’s with this knowledge that I embrace everyday knowing, that it is not just a day older, but a day happier, better, more fulfilled. Everyday is a step toward my dreams, building bigger and better ones as I reach each goal I set for myself.

This moment is especially exciting for me because I feel so damn good about the move I made. I quit my job in the face of a bad economy and made the move back to the dreary east coast from Maui.

And guess what? It wasn’t easy, cheap, nor all that fun to make those big decisions to quit and move on, but I am happy. I am not merely content. I am tackling life with humor, excitement, and tenacity; doing what I need to do to be the professional, the woman, I want to be.

The biggest improvement in my life is spending more time on what I care about and less about what others think about me. I know I am moral person and successful at what I do. I can’t please everyone and that’s ok, this is great realization for me.

Sure, not everyday is as motivating and successful as today, but that makes me appreciate these days when I am on top of the world, unstoppable. 

Being a West Virginian

If you were born and raised in West Virginia or even spent some time here, or love a West Virginian, read this phenomenal post by Michael Powelson. This is going on my "About Me" page permanently.

Miner's Lady; Stranger to Blue Water

It's a good day to be a Mountaineer, for two reasons. First, Huggy Bear (WVU Basketball Coach Bob Huggins) led our gritty, scrappy men's basketball team to their first post season win this year, hopefully on 5 more! How would National Champs be after a Final Four run last year?! Unfathomable for myself and all my fellow fans, it would certainly become a state holiday!

Yes, Jones, we are excited too! 

Secondly, it's good to be a Mountaineer because of this little film project called Angel's Perch. Yes, I know people that are related to this guy, no I don't know him, and no, I am not related, and yes, we have all our teeth. Do you sense the restlessness of the tired jokes? If not, you don't understand what it's like to be West Virginian. We are either relentlessly teased or assumed we are a region of Virginia, written off and nonexistent. 


Of the two, I think I get more angry about the latter, if someone is making fun of me, at least they know I grew up in an actual state. The standard reply on the West Coast/Pacific Islands (which I have lived for 2 + years now) is "Oh yea! I have friends in Richmond." I don't respond when it gets to that point as the ignorance is overbearing. Heck, Richmond isn't even near the region of Western Virginia, so if we were going for that argument even that would fail. 


Alas, let me step off my soap box, and true supporters of West Virginia and our culture of proud, hard working, kind people step up and make a contribution to the Angel's Perch film program on Kick Starter. It's about time we have a positive spin on the people of good ol'West Virginia. 

Green Sea Turtles of Maui

This clip is of several endangered Green Sea Turtles that we snorkeled with off of the Olowalu coast this weekend in Maui. These guys are docile and very used to human with weird masks and fins swimming around them all day. One turtle had several bulbous white growths on his fins and eye lids, he looked quite pitiful and as it turns out the growths are tumors caused by the virus fibropapilloma. Here is a good, quick synopsis of the life of a sea turtle and the problems they are facing. 

Goal: New Recipe a Week

Since cooking is something that I notoriously "hated" so shortly ago and now love with equal fervor I have decided to learn more recipes and cooking techniques.

My latest goal is to make at least one new recipe a week to add to my repertoire of foods I can make and to save Chad and I, both from getting bored with the everyday grind of making meals. I also hope to learn new ways to cook and how to make things even healthier.

I am focusing on dinners right now but may shift to breakfast as toast, eggs over easy, and oatmeal is getting pretty dang old!

I am currently leafing through my own cook books, those borrowed from the public library and my go to recipe site to find some good new recipes and meal ideas. I promise to post any new recipes that I try and find to be delicious!

Quote of the Day

“Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

~Calvin Coolidge

Favorites- John Katz - Author

The Fear Inducing Media

This guy says what I think with such prose, eloquence, and intention. 

He's good and I love his stories. 

Inspiration: Free and Sweet Valentine Idea

I was looking through the Real Simple website and found this fun way to tell friends, family, and significant others you love them: create a crossword of all the things that mean something in your relationship. It's perfect for all those inside jokes, sweet feelings, and downright funny moments you have shared.

Farmers Market - Grade 2

As I was shopping at the local farmers stand the lady waiting on me was concerned about how the zucchini and cucumbers looked. She explained that because these two vegetables are so expensive at this time of year, she orders/picks 'grade two' cucumbers and zucchini from the farm in UpCountry Maui. She said because they don't look perfect she able to keep her costs down and transfer the savings to her customers. Personally, I had never thought about it, but now that I do I think that's great. Often time things that look perfect have lost taste or nutritional value. I do, however, need to think about eating vegetables that are out of season.

Based on some quick research cucumbers and zucchini can be found year-round, like most veggies and fruits these days but their true season is May through August. 

I am pretty good at buying local, living Maui does have its limitations to local produce, now the second part of the equation is to buy in season. 

Recipe: Smothered Enchiladas from Southern Living

In the past year I have really taken up a love for cooking. I like to try new recipes and place my own healthy twist to them. I'll share one with my edits to make it healthier 


Smothered Enchiladas
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Yield: Makes 8 servings

Ingredients

• 2  pounds  ground beef - use 93/7 ground beef
• 1  (1 1/4-ounce) package mild taco seasoning mix
• 1  (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, divided
• 2  (10 3/4-ounce) cans cream of chicken soup - use low fat cream of chicken, helpful hint use low fat it has less sodium then "less sodium" , however I am sure this depends on the brand so check labels 
• 1  (16-ounce) container sour cream - use fat free
• 8  (8-inch) flour tortillas - you can use whole wheat, I don't like whole wheat tortillas so I use regular flour tortillas 
• 2  cups  (8 ounces) shredded Cheddar cheese - use 2% milk fat cheese 
• Garnishes: Homemade Salsa, sour cream, green onion curls, chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Brown ground beef in a large skillet, stirring until it crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Stir in taco seasoning mix and half of chopped green chiles; set aside.

Stir together remaining green chiles, soup, and sour cream. Pour half of soup mixture into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

Spoon beef mixture evenly down centers of tortillas; roll up. Place, seam sides down, over soup mixture in baking dish; top evenly with remaining soup mixture and cheese.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Garnish, if desired.

This is super creamy, tasty and quick. My co-worker who promised herself she would cook more in 2011 loved this recipe because it was easy and her family enjoyed it. I was pleased that I inspired her to cook.