The Beauty (?) of Broccoli

I have come to the conclusion that my parents are psychic. That may sound silly, but here's why. They always told me to eat my vegetables, especially my broccoli....and now I see why.

I know my parents weren't the only ones out there to make that common threat at the dinner table, you know the "no-dessert-till-you-eat-your-broccoli" threat. It didn't matter if you had chopped it up into tiny little pieces and spread it around the plate, trying to hide it in the little bits of other food you left. Oh no, they had broccoli-sensing radar. Don't misunderstand me, I loved some vegetables. I would eat an entire box of spinach at the dear old age of 2. And butternut squash or asparagus - bring it on! But broccoli...the moldy-sock, sweaty-foot smell of it overcooked and simmering still makes my stomach turn when it's oozing through the halls at school.

We live in the age of genetically-altered everything. Turkeys that are raised to have more white meat for Thanksgiving, oranges that have no seeds, corn that is able to withstand pests better than it should. Scientists, here's your project for that Nobel Prize you're trying to win: infuse the goodness of broccoli into yummy-tasting vegetables (or anything, really) so I don't have to eat it, but can still avoid cancer, arthritis, and prescription medication for stomach infections.

Run, Edison, Run!

Just found this article on CNN. How is it I had no idea a Chilean miner was running in the NYC marathon?

What an uplifting story for anyone who ever feels like life has gotten in the way of their plans! I can't imagine what it must have been like to have been trapped in a mine for 69 days with all those other men, initially not even knowing if you were ever going to get out alive. And here's this guy, running every day to keep his spirits up, determined to beat the mine and the crappy hand he was being dealt at the time.

My favorite quote from the article: "I told the mine, 'I'm gonna outrun you. I'm gonna run till you're tired and bored of me.'" Next time something in your life has gone completely opposite of how you were planning, run till it's tired and bored of you! If Edison can do it trapped almost 1/2 mile underground, you can do it on land (or on water if you happen to be at sea for quite some time).

Julie, Julia, Lisa

I just finished watching Julie & Julia. I know, I should be writing about what I read and not what I watch, but someone had to write the screenplay, and the movie was based on a book, and really, what good is having a Netflix subscription if you can't use it?

That being said, what a cute movie (and so related to this whole blogging thing). So here's my blog to blogging. I'm right there with you Amy Adams, is anyone even reading this? It's funny how writing to the invisible someone out there can help you find yourself, and lose yourself, and find yourself all over again. While I doubt this blog will lead to a book deal (especially since my books are children's books and not necessarily related to my blog), if anyone has a dear friend Avis, or any other literary guru, let me know!

But back to why I love the movie - I love how it emphasizes the journey and not the destination. It's those little moments where the characters are smearing chocolate cake all over their faces or dressing up like Julia Child at a birthday dinner. Those are the moments that matter in life; they're the ones we remember and make us who we are. So here's to smearing chocolate all over your face at your next dinner, birthday party, or dessert tasting! (A lesson, I find, that we're learning over and over again because we never seem to get it right.)