Sweet Dreams

Last year, we decided to get a king size bed after 27 years of sleeping on a queen. (I love it. I'm no longer kept awake when my husband tosses and turns, although he's a little far away to nudge when he's snoring.) We briefly considered getting a tempur-pedic mattress, but the price kept us away. So we opted for a traditional mattress. It's been okay, but nothing to write home about.

I noticed several months ago that you can get a memory foam mattress topper for under $200. After reading some reviews online, I decided we had to have one. (I haven't slept well since I made that decision.) I finally picked one up this weekend. It is heaven. When you first lie down, you sink into the mattress. The first night, I slept like a dead man. I remember hitting the snooze button once, but apparently I turned it off three times. I don't seem to move all night long.

If I had been sleeping this well for the past 30 years, who knows what incredible things I might have achieved. Maybe I would have been the one to invent the internet.

Or better yet, Velcro.

The American Gardener

Okay, so I'm not really a gardener. I have some patio plants. I love to grow basil, oregano, thyme, parsley, rosemary, and this year, I've added two tomato plants. There is nothing like fresh herbs in recipes. For the past few years, I've added any extra herbs to a container of kosher salt. As the herbs dry out, they season the salt and I use it in all my recipes. I've also scooped it into cute little jars and given it to family and friends for Christmas. (My sister-in-law returned the jar for a refill.) They make great gifts. I usually plant more basil as the summer wears on. That way I can keep it going well into fall. Recipes with the fresh herbs will follow in the weeks to come.

Hot Mama

The heat has arrived in Muskegon, Michigan. I had forgotten how hot weather makes exercise more difficult. I sweat more, my heart rate is higher, and every step is miserable. It's called "heat stress". There are more variables than just the air temperature in heat stress. The humidity, air velocity, and the amount of thermal radiation also must be taken into account. Exercising on a warm, sunny day with calm winds is more difficult than exercising in the same air temperature with cloud cover and a slight breeze. Also, the sweat that forms during light sweating contains less sodium and chloride than when the sweating rate increases. A high sweating rate decreases blood volume which reduces performance. Unfortunately, I am a heavy sweater. Even my hands and the inside of my ears sweat. (I can't wear earbuds for my Ipod because the sweat makes them fall out.) I have one sports bra that shows the sweat more than others and for some reason, it seems to collect in two spots on my chest. That bra has gone to Goodwill.

The good news is that we can acclimatize to exercise in the heat. After exercising for an hour or more each day for 5 to 10 days, cardiovascular changes, as well as changes in our sweating mechanism will occur. Could I possibly start to sweat like a normal person after just 10 days of training? Maybe I should have kept that sports bra.

Weekend in Philadelphia

We just got back from a great weekend in Philadelphia visiting our son, Dave. He just finished his first year of law school and now has time for company. Our daughter, Katie, took the bus down from Boston, so we got to see two of our three children.

The great thing about city living is all the walking you end up doing. I wore my trusty pedometer everyday, even though my family made fun of me. (One of the kids asked why I didn't march in place to get a few extra steps in, when we happened to be standing still for a few minutes.) We did, however, walked over 22,000 steps in one day alone. That's over eleven miles (and my husband complained every step of the way). Living in the city makes walking part of life instead of having to eke out time to walk. Also, Philadelphia has a great walking/biking trail along the Schuylkill River. I wanted to rent bikes and ride it, but we ran out of time. It's something to look forward to next time.

New Zucchini Recipe

I made up a new recipe today. I had some zucchini to use up and didn't want to repeat the recipe we had on Saturday. So try this and see what you think. (Sorry I didn't take a picture. My husband was hungry and couldn't wait.)

Italian Zucchini Saute

4 zucchini, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 T. olive oil

1 c. grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 c shredded mozzarella cheese

2 T. chopped fresh basil

2 T. Parmesan cheese

Cook squash in hot oil on medium heat for 3 minutes. Add garlic and tomatoes. Cook 3 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in mozzarella and basil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Yummy Rice

Whenever we have tilapia for our main entree, I try to have a side dish that is a little more substantial. Tonight we had a rice dish that I hadn't made in quite some time and I had forgotten how good it is. It looks like a lot of ingredients, but it really is quite easy to make. I cut the recipe in half for just my husband and me.

Rice with Spinach and Feta Cheese

4 - 6 servings

1/4 c. olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/4 c. long-grain rice

2 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. dry white wine

2 10-ounce packages fresh spinach

1 c. chopped tomatoes

1 c. crumbled feta cheese

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is tender. Add rice and stir until rice is translucent, about 2 minutes. Add broth and wine and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook until rice is almost tender, about 15 minutes. Mix in spinach. Cover and cook until rice and spinach are tender and all liquid is absorbed, about 8 minutes longer. Mix in tomatoes and cheese.

Birthdays

Twenty six years ago today, my husband and I welcomed our first and only son into the world. It was a relatively easy labor (only 40 minutes were difficult). I had taken Castor Oil to induce contractions (with the permission of my doctor--she was going out of town and I wanted her to deliver my baby). I took the Castor Oil at 10:00 p.m. and started having contractions 45 minutes later. They were fairly mild until my doctor broke my water at 7:00 a.m. Dave was born at 7:41. When our 14 month old daughter, Annie, saw Dave for the first time, she pushed on his nose and said "beep". Thankfully, he doesn't remember that. Even though it's Dave's birthday today, I always celebrate the day, too. As a mother, I always remember all the details of my children's birthdays. It's such a special memory. Happy 26th Birthday, Dave. I love you.