I saw the quote ‘The Only Way to Fail in Life is to Abstain’ recently on Pinterest and thought it a perfect title for this post as I was planning on writing about shaking life up and trying new things. We all tend to get stuck in our day-to-day ruts and it’s difficult and a bit scary to break out of them and do something entirely different. I’m here to say, confront your fear and go for it!
In my quest to open myself up to life, one new thing I have recently done is to join Meet Up which is an online service that matches you up with different local groups of people with interests that range anywhere from hiking to learning French. You can check out different groups and join the ones you are attracted to. Once you are part of a group you are then notified of upcoming events that the group is having and then you can choose those you would like to participate in. I joined Meet Up to get myself out there and to meet new people and do new things, because I’ve been stuck in the ‘mom, work, mom, work, mom, work’ rut for over 20 years now and thought it was about time.
I had signed up for a Tarot Reading class about a month ago. I’ve always dabbled a bit with Tarot Cards, but have never really learned the correct way to read them. For those who are not familiar with Tarot Cards, they are a set of 78 cards that are used to guide people spiritually by being a vessel to help us understand the subtle energies the universe sends us. To give you an idea, before I started writing this post, I shuffled my Tarot deck and asked for a card to provide inspiration for this post and I turned over The Moon card. Though I have not reached this level in my new class, here are some snippets from my Tarot book that explains what the Moon Card means: “When the Moon card appears in your spread, it indicates this is a period of change and fluctuation; nothing remains stable or certain for long. The Moon calls on you to accept change and the cycles of life” It also went on to say “The Moon is a fortuitous card for writers and artists. It indicates bringing ideas from the subconscious to manifest as works of fiction, poetry, paintings, and sculpture” It always amazes me how intuitive the Tarot can be. My whole thought for this post was about trying new things, which of course is change.
Back to my Tarot class: I had actually forgotten about the class when I received a reminder in my email about it. To be honest, I didn’t even remember signing up for the class, just joining the group. I decided I was going to go and thought it would be fun and interesting. But as the date of the class got closer, I started questioning my decision; arguing with myself whether it was a good idea or not. I continued to argue up until the day of my class where I found myself in my car driving to a stranger’s house where I was going to meet a bunch of other strangers, and then I got really nervous. I almost turned the car around and said forget it. Instead, I took a deep breath, continued on my way while listening to that exasperating voice of my GPS and purposefully turned my nervous and negative thoughts into positive ones: It’s going to be fine. I’m going to meet some great people. I’m going to learn something I’ve wanted to learn for years. I kept up the optimistic litany until I arrived at the teacher’s door along with all the other members of the group who arrived at the same time. It turned out to be a wonderful class filled with kindhearted women. We sat there for almost three hours learning, chatting and sharing life stories. The whole experience was amazing and I’m so glad that I stepped out of my comfort zone and got my butt off the couch to experience it. I will continue to go to her class and am so enthusiastic about it, I may host one at my house in the future.
Life has so much to give us if we only reach out and grab it. I could have very easily turned around and went home, all the while making excuses to myself that it was probably for the best. Good thing I didn’t because I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the class and left feeling full of good energy. I’m proud of myself for conquering my fear through redirecting my nervous thoughts into positive affirmations which gave me the strength to face the unknown with an open heart. Sometimes we are our own worst barrier. We put up walls thinking that they will keep us safe, when in actuality all they are doing is keeping us separated from a better life. Now, go break down some walls and have some fun!
Recipe of the Day
Portobello Pleasures (One place where I’m always trying something new is the kitchen. I made this recipe up last night and it was delicious.)
Ingredients:
- 4 Portobello mushrooms
- 4 Chicken thighs
- 8 cloves of garlic
- 1 bunch of flat (Italian) parsley
- ¾ cup of Olive Oil (the good stuff)
- 2 Cups of grated mozzarella cheese
- 1 Cups of Gruyere cheese
- 1 Cup of grated parmesan cheese
- 2 Leeks sliced thinly
- 1 yellow bell pepper diced
- 1 TBS butter
- 2 TSP of salt
- 2 TSP of Lemon Pepper
- 1 TBS of Cumin
- 2 TSP garlic powder
- 1 TSP of salt
- 1 TSP of pepper
- ¼ Cup of White Wine (Sauvignon or Fume Blanc preferred)
- 1 Baguette
-Combine the salt, lemon pepper, cumin and garlic powder in a small bowl and mix well
-Season both sides of the chicken pieces with the season combination reserving a about a TSP to be used later.
-In a food processor (or get your workout on and mince yourself) combine garlic and parsley and chop until fine
-Combine the garlic, parsley and olive oil and the rest of the chicken seasoning in a large bowl or shallow pan and mix well
-Clean the Portobello mushrooms (take off stems and scrape the dark underside out and clean with dry paper towel…never use water to clean mushrooms)
-Using a flexible spatula scoop some of the garlic/parsley mixture and put into the middle of the mushrooms spreading it inside to coat and also coat the outside of the mushrooms and let them lay in the mixture.
-Fry your seasoned chicken in a combination of olive oil and a TBS of butter until its brown and done and set aside to cool.
-In the same oil that you cooked the chicken in (you might need to add a little more olive oil) sauté your leeks & bell pepper with a TSP of salt & pepper until cooked through but not mushy
-Grate your cheeses and mix them together
-In a ceramic or glass oven safe shallow pan take some of the garlic/parsley mixture and spread on the bottom of the pan
-Place your mushrooms in the pan open side up
-If you have some leftover garlic/parsley mixture in your bowl, add the grated cheese to it and mix
-Chop up your chicken and mix it with the cooked leeks & bell pepper and add a cup of your cheese mixture to it and mix well
-Portion out your chicken/leek/bell pepper/cheese mix and fill each mushroom evenly
-Top the mushrooms with the remaining cheese
-Pour ¼ cup of white wine to coat the bottom of the pan – do not pour over mushrooms, pour through the middle.
-Cook at 350 for 30 – 45 minutes or until the cheese is golden
Serve with some French bread, because that sauce in the bottom is worth soaking up!
In the Pan
On the Plate
