Life Through Music: "My Hands" by Jewel

My summer vacation Part 3...lost but found again.

Let's see where do I start? Well, maybe I should start with why I even began to plan my summer vacation in the first place. For that I will have to take it back a bit further to my close friend and cousin, Jason Heine. Jason is part of the online Youtube video game community. Which led him into being a part of a video game podcast which he does with three other well known Youtube video game popcasters (Podcasti? Podcasties? Podcastellites?) . So I guess I should introduce them so you know who I am talking about. First, there is Johnny Millennium, who does a channel on Youtube called “The Happy Console Gamer”. Second is Pete Dorr, who does a channel on Youtube called “Pete’s Gameroom”, then there is John, who’s channel (the first of his many channels) on Youtube is called  “Gamster81”. Last but not least Jason Heine who’s channel on Youtube is called “The Emulator Review”. All powers combined they become the “All Gen Gamers Podcast”, which you can find on iTunes under video game podcasts. (plug plug plug!) =). So how does this all tie in together with my vacation? Well, they have been doing the podcast for over a year now and, way back when, they started talking about meeting up at a video game convention called PAX Prime. Which at the time I had no idea what PAX Prime was. All the guys that are on the podcast, live in all different areas of the world. So they thought this would be an awesome way to meet up with each other. One of the guys actually lives outside of the country in Canada and not only was this an awesome event to go to, it was the first time all four would be together. The location of PAX Prime is in Seattle Washington, only a few hours from where I live. My cousin Jason lives in Arizona, very close to John, but I didn’t get to see Jason as much since he left Oregon a few years ago. So I thought there is no reason I can’t take a few days off and travel up north to be a part of this video game idea. So that is what I did. I bought my tickets for PAX Prime back in March or April for the event that was happening in the end of August. On the podcast, they talked about it about every episode and told everyone to buy tickets before they sold out, they eventually do. Apparently they have a set amount that they sell regardless, I had the tickets and I would figure the rest out later. My arrangements changed a few times over the next couple of months. I actually talked my coworker/friend Austin into going with his girlfriend. The three of us also ended up staying together while we were up in Washington. I also talked my brother into going. Although by the time he had money to go, he ended up getting tickets through a friend of his that was selling them. My brother also arrived separately with his good friend Jason (Not my cousin!). My cousin and the other guys of the podcast went up individually as well. I know all that may sound confusing, but the point is it actually turned into a fantastic event. 

Picture of Downtown Seattle just outside the convention center where PAX Prime is held.

Lets fast forward to the end of part two of my vacation. I spent a good portion of the afternoon having conversations with J’Anne. When Austin called we decided to meet at the Fred Meyers near J’Anne’s house, which by the way, is invisible to any navigation device....EVER! We (Austin, Christine, and myself) showed up at our hotel outside of Seattle in Bellevue Washington. We had decided to stay outside of Seattle because it was about $100 less per day than staying by the convention center where PAX was being held. It was a pretty nice hotel that Austin Picked out and, the best part for me, was that there was a Whole Foods store diagonally across form the hotel we stayed at. We are talking like a 5 minute walk and most of that time was waiting for the light to change to cross the street. LOL. Now why is this so important for me to bring up? Eating while on vacation with my limitations can be a hard thing for me and having a Whole Foods near by was like being right next door to my work. I loved it. We ate there pretty much every day, no joke. It was my first time in a Whole Foods. It’s not just because it’s my companies competition, it’s that there is no need for me to go into a store when I can get all the same things at my work with a 20% discount. LOL. Anyway, kudos to Austin for hooking that up, it worked out really good for me. I will say their customer service is NOTHING compared to ours PERIOD.  

So instead of driving to Seattle and pay for parking we decided to take public transportation. It actually worked really well. Each of us had passes to go all three days of the event.  Looking back now I’m very glad that we did. So early Friday morning we made our way to downtown Seattle. There were a few groups of people at our hotel that were there for PAX also. You can spot some of them from a mile away, even if they weren’t wearing lanyards with their PAX passes attached. LOL. We arrived at the convention center which was a little confusing on where exactly we needed to go. Eventually we made our way into some very long lines. Glad we left early and next time we will leave even earlier. They mashed all of us in this huge room where we got a bag of goodies. Then stood in line till it was 10 o’clock. Then in a somewhat controlled manner we all rushed into the main floor area. Now here is where it gets interesting. There was so much stuff to look at right from the get go and you never have a down moment the whole time I was at PAX. To start things off I made my way to the Battlefield 3 booth. That was the main thing I wanted to experience and was willing to wait in line for. There is so many things to see at PAX, you almost feel overwhelmed and it took some time to locate the Battlefield 3 booth. I first followed Austin and Christine to the OnLive booth before they let us through the doors. They announced that they were handing out free OnLive consoles (that normally retail at around $99) at the OnLive booth. So of course everyone and their mom headed to their booth to get one. I followed them, but decided when I saw how long the line was that I was not interested. I instead played the demo for the new Zelda game coming out in November called Skyward Sword which was right next to the OnLive booth. It was pretty dope and then I resumed my hunt for the Battlefield 3 booth. I eventually found it in a back corner with a big hummer all decked out, military style, parked outside of the booth. I immediately got in line and didn’t look back. After waiting in line for about an hour maybe hour and half, I got my chance to play. My game froze while playing and the guy that I was playing co-op with bailed after just playing a few minutes. Thank god he did because they paired me up with another guy who was a lot more fun to play with. We actually talk to each other and worked together. Awesome. That is exactly how that game is supposed to be played, team work. Here is the best part when waiting in line they asked you for what name you want on the custom dog tags they make you. Of course I put my gamer tag XgS.Dirty Dongles on there and was super stoked about it. What an ingenious idea! I wore those dog tags all three days.  

The rest of the day I played a few more games, but the first day was about going around to all the booths and getting what we all called “Gamer Swag”. What do I mean by "Gamer Swag"? Almost all the booths were handing something out from T-shirts, posters, jackets to key chains and all sorts of stuff. So awesome, I think I ended up with 5 shirts for free and one more later on that I paid for. TONS of cool stuff. Really it was a gamers paradise. Anything and everything relating to games was there. We aren’t just talking about video games here, we are talking board games, D & D, and Magic cards on top of all the video game stuff. For the first day we were there from 9-5pm. Austin and Christine were a bit tired and burnt out in the afternoon and when they asked me if I wanted to go back to the hotel with them I actually said, "Yes". Because honestly it was all a bit much, I really didn’t think that I would say that, but it definitely was and this was only the first day. That is a short version of day one. Just so much going on, including the fact that I missed the All Gen Gamers podcast met up outside of the convention center where PAX was being held. I went into some detail for the first day because of just the raw feeling of experience of going to PAX Prime. The next two days was a lot more of the same and more exploring, trying to get things in I didn’t the day before. As a gamer it was just an awesome experience. 

So just a few of the highlights. Over the other two days.

Second day I got to meet up with Jason and my brother and experience more of PAX together. Telling each other what “Gamer Swag” we got and what games we played and tried out. Just some awesome video game talk. 

That gamer swag.

I met two of the other three podcast guys while walking around with Jason. Both of them were really down to earth, nice guys. It was very cool to see them in real life. Pete Dorr was the only one I missed.... and I’m still angry about it. LOL. 

There was a very cool moment we had when we were exploring the upper level of this event. We came across a room where they had pretty much popular video game consoles and they had libraries of games you could play for certain amount of time. I was with my cousin Jason and my brother Justin. We glanced at the list of games, but yet again we were a bit overwhelmed. Lucky for us John Gamester81 was already in there playing a game. So we walked over and joined him. He was playing a newer game that had just came out call Katherine. Very weird Japanese puzzle game, but like with any game my gamer buddies and I play we can make anything fun and funny. So there we were, all four of us lined up in a row, passing the controller to the next person when the other one fails. The on lookers trying to help and joke around when not playing. That is what I love about playing games and that is how it use to be for my generation of gamers. Before the days of the internet you actually had to go to other peoples houses and sit together while playing games. I was passing out the bunny fruit snacks that I love so much, and those make an appearance at all the game nights I have at my place. 

Those were just a few of the many things that happened over the course of the three days. Now I want to talk about just my overall thoughts on PAX Prime, and video games in general. So much went through my head when looking around PAX. Just so overwhelming to experience what this form of media has done and what it is doing to my generation and generations to come. Looking at all the booths and seeing how much money big companies are investing in the gaming industry. One of the big things that I noticed was just how diverse video games have become. How much mainstream video games have become. It isn’t just something that nerds geek out to in their moms basement. Video games are now something that everyone plays. Don’t get me wrong there is still a big group of people there that it may have been their first time out of their moms basement to attend the event, but mass majority of people were people of all walks of life. Awesome. Someone said that they sell like 70,000 tickets for PAX Prime. Well, I am not sure if that is true but what I do know is, Saturday and Sunday were crazy busy compared to Friday. I think often about what I will look back on in my life and think about when I am older. This was definitely one of those experiences. Video games are a huge part of the culture of my generation and definitely our form of art. There is so much that goes into each game. I have already seen the generations below me take it for granted. Back in the day we were lucky to get one game and you played the hell out of it. Because thats all the money your parents may have had for video games back then. Now days kids finish games within days and then move on to something else. Some don’t even explore the whole game. From the music, images, and even down to the coding of these games there are many people out there putting in a lot work to make something to be enjoyed by so many. From someone that actually knows people that work in that industry take sometime to read the credits. Take time to take in the full experience of the game. Explore the whole experience and even if you don’t I will.

Oh and that dark haired girl with the Star Wars shirt & cute skirt on, that I had a moment with in passing between the two main floors at PAX and I will admit I did a double take.... I will never forget you. Thank god beautiful women are on board the video game wagon too. LOL. I love it! 

With love and pure D-lite. =)

Just thought this would be interesting to post. Check out how much different I look in the same shirt in not even a year past....

Oh yeah.... someone is putting in WORK!

From My Kitchen: Date night with my grandmother.

I finally got my dinner date with my grandma. See for a long time coming I have been trying to make this happen. With my busy work schedule and school schedule I haven't had the right about of time to have dinner with my grandma. I never gave up no matter how many times we had to push the date back. Everything happens when it is suppose to right? Well, It may have taken sometime to come together, but it was more than worth it.

She arrived at my place around 3pm and for the most part I was ready. By that I mean my morning didn't quite go how I had planned and much of my prep work for our meal didn't get done. I did at least get my entrée in the crockpot before she arrived. The rest was made as we began to talk. I love talking to my grandma. I have always liked talking to both of my grandmas. We began chatting away as I prepared dessert and the rest of the side dishes. 

The kitchen for me has always been a great place to gather. My kitchen in my apartment is rather small, but I dream of the day I have a bigger kitchen in a house. When that day comes the kitchen will definitely be the focal point in my house. 

So, what was it I made my grandmother for dinner?  Well, it's a dish I have made a lot over the last year. It's a very basic dish that I found in my crockpot cookbook, but I have definitely tweaked it over the months I have made it. 

Here is the recipe:

Greek Chicken 

1 1/2 lbs of chicken (breast or thighs) 

1 lemon (I juice it and use whatever amount of juice it yields. You could even save some of the lemon to use as a garnish when you put the chicken on the plate.) 

1/4 Kalamata olives 

1/2 tsp of dried oregano 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 tsp pepper 

1/2 chicken stock

1-3 cloves of garlic

For this batch I added: 

1 cup more of chicken stock

1/4 cup more of the Kalamata olives

2 cups of button mushrooms

There are a few things I need to mention when making this dish. I usually use chicken beats because there is less fat to trim off of the chicken. However, if you use chicken breast the cook time is much shorter and you may dry out the chicken if you're not careful. When using chicken thighs you can let them cook longer, but I would monitor them as well. The amount of time the recipe in the crockpot book says is 5 to 6 hours on low. I have found it doesn't take that long to cook this dish. I usually let it cook on low for 1 to 2 hours. Again when using chicken breast I go closer to the 1 hour mark. Either way 5 or 6 hours is far too long I think. You could also cook in a regular pan with a lid on low if you don't have a crockpot. 

Also, I wanted to mention the chicken should be browned on both sides before putting in the crockpot. How you do this is by putting about 2 tbs of oil in a pan on high heat. You can test to see if the pan his hot enough by flicking a little water off your finger into the pan if the oil pops it's definitely ready.  This process of browning the chicken is very quick when the pan is hot. Really your main focus with this part is just get a nice brown on both sides then putting that browned chicken into the crockpot. Please note that when browning the chicken it does not need to be cooked all the way through. The crockpot will have plenty of time to do that. 

Lastly, for the batch I made for this dinner I added more chicken stock for a couple of reasons. The first being I was adding mushrooms and  more olives than normal. The other reason being that I wanted extra both left over to add to other dishes. Sometimes I even put it on my breakfast pile of veggies. 

When served I usually put the chicken over plain quinoa. You could use pasta or rice as well. I just happen to love quinoa. I would even go as far as to just put it over some sautéed greens as well if you need to skip some calories and carbs for that day. 

Sides for this dinner are not as complicated, but just as good! Steamed green beans and some sautéed greens & red onions. Got to get my greens! 

So, after we enjoyed dinner we talked some more. I asked lots if questions about my grandmothers family history and various other things. I think it's very important to know information about your family's history. 

It was getting late and she reminded me we still had dessert to try. Why yes! How could I forget. Yes, I said "try"  because it was my first time making this dessert. I normally don't test dishes out on my guests, but when I saw the name of this recipe I wasn't too worried. Besides it takes a lot to turn a way a dessert. 

The dessert is called "Pistachio-Cherry Crumble" and oh boy did I find a gem here. With a few changes to the original recipe I made it gluten free and dairy free. I have become very good at doing this to recipes I find and I love the challenge! 

Pistachio-Cherry Crumble

Coconut butter to grease the pan

5 cups of cherries (2 lbs cherries or 1 1/2 lbs if they're pitted) 

1/2 cup sugar (I used coconut sugar) 

1 tbs fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup of rice flour

1/2 cup of shelled pistachios 

1/3 cup of quinoa flakes(it's a basically quinoa hot cearal. Like oatmeal) 

4 shelled walnuts 

1/4 tsp of cardamom

1/4 tspsalt

4 tbs of coconut butter

So, for the prep for this dish I chose to pit and cut up my own cherries. Not hard to do when you have a wonderful grandma to talk to while you do it, but there are many other options out there if you don't want to do it yourself. When the cherries are cut put them in a bowl. Then stir in 2 tbs of sugar and 1 tbs of fresh lemon juice. Then add to the greased pan. 

Then put all the remaining dry ingredients  in a food processor (leaving out the butter). Mix in the food processor for a minute or so. Then stir in butter by hand. Pour this mixture evenly over the top of the cherries. Put the pan in oven set at 350° for 25 minutes. 

When the crumble is done either serve hot or wait till it cools. You can really put this crumble over anything you think that would work, but I chose vanilla almond milk ice cream. 

We both took this new dessert on bravely and I think the verdict is that it was quite D-lish! Success. BOOM! That's how it's done my friends. It's never to late to experiment in the kitchen. Keep it wholesome and fresh because the food is the reward! 

Not only was I blessed with a wonderful guest, but I had great food to go along with my guest as well. I can never say it enough, but I'm truly so blessed. Moments like this just help to remind me. I cannot wait till next time I get to share another meal with my grandmother.  

Hmmm... What to make next? 

From my kitchen with so much love and pure D-lite. = ) 

Life Through Music: “Limit To Your Love” by Fiest

Yes, recently the feeling of fall has definitely crept in as summer is winding down. This cloudy rainy weather that I woke up to this morning is definitely reminding me of this. Truthfully I felt fall though almost a month earlier around the beginning of August. I didn’t say anything because its a bitter sweet feeling for me. As I get older I become very connected to the passing of each season. It’s definitely true that as you get older life only seems to go faster and faster. I know fall is inevitable and yet I still have a hard time letting summer go. I like the warmth and the sun that summer brings to the pacific northwest. The changing of the seasons is one of many things that is out of my control so I will just have to let this passage of summer into fall go through, but not without taking a moment to reflect. 

The song I picked for my song of the week doesn’t have to do with this transition from summer to fall directly. The song I picked for this week is a song that I’ve been listening to a lot over the last week. In efforts to switch up my music selection at my house I was going through my CDs and found a CD that my coworker burned for me. I put the CD in and let it play. When it got to the song I picked I had to play it on repeat a few times to really let it soak in. It’s the tempo and sound of the song that really fit me this week. With the intro of fall entering my life I always feel like life is slowing down. 

This feeling of the year coming to an end is very appropriate in a way because there really is only 4 months left of the year. I can’t believe that 2013 is almost done already. I have to say in many ways so far 2013 has been a great year for me. I seem to do better on the odd number years. You would think with it being “13” it would be an unlucky year, but it’s been a good year overall for me. Lots of growth, lots of change, and lots of movement going forward. 

I guess the part of fall that I have such a hard time with is I tend to become very reflective. I tend to go back through the current year and all the years before it and really dig through where I’m at with my life. Fall just doesn’t have the brightness and openness that spring has for me. The death of the world around me as nature prepares to hideout till next spring is beautiful and sad for me. 

I don’t at all mean to be a Debbie downer and put a big damper on the coming season of fall for there are many great things I have to look forward to during fall. There is many holidays on the horizon that I will get to spend more time with my family. The football season is upon us as well. Also, the Timbers are doing well and have a great chance to do well in the playoffs so that is very exciting as well. Fall term starts soon and who knows what that will bring. The reality is that whether you like to acknowledge it or not the ending of 2013 is approaching. 

So lets get back to the song at hand. The song I picked this week is a song by Fiest called “Limit To Your Love”. The heavy deep piano and the slow tempo definitely fit my mood of late. I have spent much of the summer trying to be as busy as I can be and now I feel myself slowing down a bit. 

Summer is definitely not over yet and I’m on the last day of work before I take my last vacation of the summer. Two days from now I will be on my way up to see my second family in Seattle area again. I will also be attend the video game convention called PAX Prime. Much fun will be had and it will be nice to take one last break from work before I dive back into school again. I’m very proud of the effort I made to really enjoy summer this year and I think that I really made the best of what I could. Can’t wait till next summer!

There is a second connection to this song I picked this week. That connection is the feeling of realizing there is definitely a limit to my love. Limit to your love? I have always looked at love as limitless. Well, love is limitless that is for sure and unconditional as well. However, what I mean by saying there is a limit to my love is I have started to realize that I give much myself to the world. I’m a very loving person and I care a lot. Many people have used that against me. By that I mean many people have stopped by in my life to just take my love and compassion that they may be lacking in there own life. Which is fine because to a certain degree because sharing my love and compassion is part of who I am, but there is a limit to this love. Love needs to be reciprocated to be truly used correctly. There are have been a few people that have not quite given back as   much as I have given. Without going into detail of who I’m taking about my overall point is that there is definitely a “limit to my love” these days. I’m learning how much to give and understanding how to love without having to devote serious energy as well. The tank of love that I have can be drained. There have been many times with past girlfriends especially that I have been more than drained of that precious love I have. I give a lot of love and I deserve just as much love in return. 

Just so there is no confusion 95% of the people in my life give me so much love back. I’m a VERY lucky guy and truly blessed. The ones that have really pushed me have been taken out of my life over time. I still have love for them, but they will no longer call on me to fill their life with love they cannot find themselves. It’s funny the people who try to step in and destroy the person I have become. I’m truly the happiest and healthiest I have ever been in my entire life and it’s only getting better for myself the more work I do. Some people whether they realize it or not have a hard time with this because they lack the same thing in their own life. Message I’m sending to the universe these days is I will no longer be your love refueling station. 

"The Limit To Your Love"

Clouds part

Just to give us a little sun

There's a limit to your love

Like a waterfall in slow motion

Like a map with no ocean

There's a limit to your love

There's a limit to you care

So carelessly there

Is it truth or dare

There's a limit to your care

I love I love I love

This dream of going upstream

I love I love I love

The trouble that you give me

I know I know I know

That only I can save me

I'll go I'll go I'll go

Right down the road

There's a limit to your love

Like a waterfall in slow motion

Like a map with no ocean

There's a limit to your love

Your love your love your love

I can't read your smile

It should be written on your face

I'm piecing it together

There's something out of place

Oh

I love I love I love

This dream of going upstream

I love I love I love

All the trouble that you give me

I know I know I know

That only I can save me

I'll go I'll go I'll go

Out on the road

Because there is no limit

There's no limit

No limit no limit no limit

Limit to my love

I think the lyrics speak for themselves. It’s a really pretty song and with some powerful messages. I think is a perfect fit for the season on the way, but lets make the most of what is left of summer. 

As always I send this with so much love and pure D-lite. = )

From My Kitchen: Mostly the same with a few new items.

This morning's breakfast or what I call "my pile of veggies" is basically the usual veggies I normally post pictures of. However, this pile of veggies are a bit different than my regular showing. Here is a list of what I had on my plate this morning.

1 cup steamed kale

1 cup steamed red chard

1 cup steamed sweet potato

2 link of Applegate chicken sage sausage

1 1/2 slices of white onion (chopped) 

10 black olives (sliced by me) 

2 tbs nutritional yeast

The one ingredient that I didn't list up above is the difference maker. That ingredient is actually a mixture of half an avocado, two tablespoons of lemon juice, and salt & pepper to taste. Basically a simple guacamole when those ingredients are mixed together. The avocado is a normal addition to my pile of veggies for breakfast. In fact I get annoyed when I don't have any avocado to add to my breakfast. The biggest difference I tasted when adding this avocado mixture to my breakfast this morning was that the tanginess of the lemon juice was a nice addition. I will have to do this again very soon. 

The other new addition to my breakfast is the plate that my pile of veggies is sitting on. I took a trip to Ikea recently and for the first time I bought my own set of dishes. When I decided to finally get a new set of dishes I was sure that I was probably going to get a dish set in some shade of blue. Because I was usually drawn more to the blue sets I had seen when window shopping for dishes over the years. Even at Ikea I was torn between the blue set and the green set of dishes they had. I thought to myself you always go blue so let's change it up. I have had a few meals now on the green plates and I have to say I think I made the right choice. At first I thought that since I eat a lot of green food already that having green on the plate too would wash those beautiful greens out. So far it hasn't. 

It's the little things in life that can really help keep things fresh. 

From my kitchen with love and pure D-lite. = ) 

From My Kitchen: GF & DF Chocolate Chip Banana pancakes

I love pancakes. I really do. Not only eating them, but cooking them as well. What I like about pancakes is that they are so open ended. You can do pretty much anything you want to them. I have tried so many different variations and love trying to find the next great pancake. This morning I thought I would try out a new brand of gluten free, soy free, dairy free, and nut free pancake mix I bought a few weeks ago. Here is what I made.

This morning I decided I would combine two different kinds of pancakes I have had before, but never had together. I thought I would combine banana pancakes (one of my favorites) and chocolate chip pancakes. Banana pancakes use to be a frequent breakfast dish for me many years ago. Chocolate chip pancakes I have done only a few times. This combination I realize isn't revolutionary by any means, but sometimes it's the classic combinations that create some of the best creations. 

Recipe: 

1/2 cup Pancake mix (Which makes about 2-3 good size pancakes.) 

1/2 to 1 medium banana 

2 tbs mini chocolate chips 

1/2 to 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk (adjust depending on how thick you want the pancakes) 

1 egg

1 tbs of cooking oil. 

It's really not hard to make. Place everything (except the banana and chocolate chips) in a bowl. Stir till the batter is thoroughly mixed (meaning without lumps). I suggest putting in the chocolate  

chips and banana pieces last after the mix is well stirred and just before you add to the pan. I cut the banana into small pieces, but you can do larger pieces if you prefer.  Now you are ready to make some d-lish pancakes. 

Over the years of learning how to cook on my own and without going to a cooking school I have learned quite a few things. One of those things is when making pancakes it's all about the skillet you use. I remember my uncle Nelson saying the same thing. You want to get the skillet just right so the pancake doesn't cook to fast or too slow. I usually always use my cast iron skillet to cook pancakes and have the process down to perfection. What I like about the cast iron skillet is once it gets warm enough it takes very little heat to keep it warm. In fact when heating up my cast iron skillet I only set the burner to 3 1/2. It takes about 15-20 minutes to get it right at the perfect temp. Then I usually turn the burner down to 3 while cooking the pancakes. 

Before you place the pancake batter in the pan make sure you put enough oil in the pan to coat the whole surface (usually 1-2 tbs). Make sure you have either a ladle or a mixing bowl with a spout to place the pancake mix evenly in the pan. Once on the skillet you have about 30 seconds to shape the pancake if you care about making it a perfect circle or some other fun shape. But remember life isn't always perfect so it's about how they taste in the end more than how they look. The more you make them the better you will get at it as well. Flip the pancake when the pancake has had bubbles appear on the top evenly over the top of the pancake. Make sure when flipping the pancake it separates completely from the skillet on the bottom of the pancake. That's about it and the rest is just practice. 

How to eat those d-lish pancakes you just made? Very easy. Add maple syrup, butter, honey, jam or syrup. Cut into pieces. Insert into mouth. Chew. Swallow. Repeat until full. 

With the pancakes I made this morning I added a little bit of maple syrup on the first two, but the last one I ate plain. Between the banana and chocolate chips they are definitely sweet enough by themselves. I just love sugar so I tend to eat things sweeter than most people. Hey go easy on me sugar is my only vice.  

So, there is what I was cooking this morning and hopefully you got some helpful tips on how to make pancakes. Such a easy and fun thing to make. What kind of pancake will I make next time?  Who knows. Remember to all those watching what they eat pancakes are definitely not and everyday eat (unless you're working out for 8 hours a day and burning 12,000 calories like the gold medalist Michael Phelps). Pancakes are high in carbs and calories especially if you add syrup and such on top. Pancakes definitely are a fun thing to treat yourself to if you have been really good about your eating. Don't forget to treat yourself! 

From my kitchen with love and pure D-lite. = ) 

Life Through Music: “Off the wall” by Michael Jackson

*Takes a deep breath...*

That deep breath was taken for a couple reasons. First reason being I had kind of a bit of a scare a few days ago. I lost my Michael Jackson Essentials CDs. I woke up a few mornings ago looking to get back in my groove with changing up the music selection I had been playing. If you read my last blog you know that I really had been listening to Nelly Furtado’s album called Loose A LOT. So in effort to switch things up and back into an uplifting beat I went right to the music that always does that for me. Only to find when I went to find the CDs in the last place I remembered putting them they were not there. I tried not to panic. So, I calmly moved over to my CD collection that is fairly organized and alphabetized. Nope not in the M’s section. At this point I’m a little nervous. I check the area of my CD racks that has CDs I haven’t added to the collection yet. Still no luck. Now I’m frustrated because nothing bothers me more than losing something. I frantically went through the video tape in my head trying to figure out what the hell I could have done with it. I check a few other places in my house I might have moved it to. In my desperation I text my friend who was the last person that touched my CD collection besides myself to see if she had moved it around or (and I really doubted it) taken it with her when she left. Neither. Damn it. So, I thought to myself let it go and try again later. Give it time to surface again. I put other music in and enjoyed it a well, but my mind was still on thinking about where my CDs had gone. 

Few days past and I do the same thing as I did a few days ago only this time go through my CDs one at a time. Found it! Thank god. It was in fact there the whole time. I just must have looked right at it several time. Regardless it is back in rotation and leads me right back into my song of the week. The last two songs have been some heavy hitters and so I wanted to lighten up the mood a bit this week. Music doesn’t always have to help me work through some healing it can also just be fun. This weeks song of the week is “Off The Wall” by Michael Jackson. It’s got a very refreshing message of just letting go and feeling the groove. That is exactly how I feel these days. I have to give my sometime to breathe after doing some serious healing. I need to reward myself for doing the work because I really have been. Proud of myself and happy as hell. I’m feeling lighter and lighter with each day. 

So the second reason is for all the hard work and healing I have been doing. Time to take a moment to appreciate where I am at now. Feels good. 

Most of the lyrics speak for themselves, but I will point out a few that really stood out to me. 

"Off The Wall"

[1st Verse]

When The World Is On Your Shoulder

Gotta Straighten Up Your Act And Boogie Down

If You Can't Hang With The Feeling

Then There Ain't No Room For You This Part Of Town

'Cause We're The Party People Night And Day

Livin' Crazy That's The Only Way

[Chorus]

So Tonight Gotta Leave That Nine To Five Upon The Shelf

And Just Enjoy Yourself

Groove, Let The Madness In The Music Get To You

Life Ain't So Bad At All

(These lyrics probably speak to me the most.)

If You Live It Off The Wall

Life Ain't So Bad At All (Live Life Off The Wall)

Live Your Life Off The Wall (Live It Off The Wall)

[2nd Verse]

You Can Shout Out All You Want To

'Cause There Ain't No Sin In Folks All Getting Loud

If You Take The Chance And Do It

Then There Ain't No One Who's Gonna Put You Down

'Cause We're The Party People Night And Day

Livin' Crazy That's The Only Way

[Chorus]

So Tonight Gotta Leave That Nine To Five Upon The Shelf

And Just Enjoy Yourself

C'mon And Groove, And Let The Madness In The Music Get To You

Life Ain't So Bad At All

If You Live It Off The Wall

Life Ain't So Bad At All (Live Life Off The Wall)

Live Your Life Off The Wall (Live It Off The Wall)

[Bridge]

Do What You Want To Do

There Ain't No Rules It's Up To You (Ain't No Rules It's All Up To You)

(Do what you want to do and love to do.)

It's Time To Come Alive

And Party On Right Through The Night (All Right)

[3rd Verse]

Gotta Hide Your Inhibitions

Gotta Let That Fool Loose Deep Inside Your Soul

(So true you got to let loose deep down inside your soul.)

Want To See An Exhibition

Better Do It Now Before You Get To Old

'Cause We're The Party People Night And Day

Livin' Crazy That's The Only Way

[Chorus]

So Tonight Gotta Leave That Nine To Five Upon The Shelf 

And Just Enjoy Yourself 

C'mon And Groove (Yeah) Let The Madness In The Music Get To You

Life Ain't So Bad At All If You Live It Off The Wall

Life Ain't So Bad At All (Live Life Off The Wall)

Live Your Life Off The Wall (Live It Off The Wall)

[Chorus]

So Tonight Gotta Leave That Nine To Five Upon The Shelf 

And Just Enjoy Yourself 

C'mon And Groove (Yeah) Let The Madness In The Music Get To You

Life Ain't So Bad At All If You Live It Off The Wall

Life Ain't So Bad At All (Live Life Off The Wall)

Live Your Life Off The Wall (Live It Off The Wall)

We all are hard at work trying to work through this thing called life. Take those moments to really appreciate the work you do in all phases of your life. So let go and ENJOY YOURSELF. 

*dances back to my kitchen dance floor*

As always I bring this to you with so much love and pure D-lite. = )

Life Through Music: "In God's Hands" by Nelly Furtado

I have rewritten this entry both in my head and on paper several times already and erased them. I have had a hard time focusing my thoughts so that my message is clear. So here it goes...

At the beginning of this year I really took steps to let go of someone that was a real negative force in my life. I truly felt then that I was a hundred percent finished with that person. Through situations I’m not going to bring up here I had to go revisit somethings with that situation. This came very apparent when I heard the first song that I’m going to be talking about in this entry. It is the song “Holy Grail” by Jay-Z featuring Justing Timberlake. The part that I’m talking about in the song that really spoke to me is the part that Justin sings. 

[Verse 1: Justin Timberlake]

You take the clothes off my back

And I let you

You'd steal the food right out my mouth

And I watch you eat it

I still don't know why

Why I love you so much

Oh

You curse my name

In spite to put me to shame

Have my laundry in the streets

Dirty or clean

Give it up for fame

But I still don't know why

Why I love it so much

Yeah

[Hook]

And baby

It's amazing I'm in this maze with you

I just can't crack your code

One day you screaming you love me loud

The next day you're so cold

One day you're here, one day you're there, one day you care

You're so unfair sipping from your cup

Till it runneth over, Holy Grail

These lyrics spoke right to my feeling of what it was like to love someone that gives nothing back. You want to know what it’s like to love or be with an alcoholic? They can be so selfish and loveless. Now I don’t want to paint the picture that I don’t have my moments of being selfish myself because I have plenty of selfishness. This selfishness is so very different. So, as I looked back at the situation with the new person I am now and since I had really removed myself from that situation at the beginning of the year. What I saw was what it always was and what it would ALWAYS be. The first part of those lyrics represents how I use to be with her and the second part is me understanding what it always was. Take take take from me till your cup is runneth over and then toss me aside. Well, *smiles* not anymore. Oh no you won’t. I’m not that person anymore. 

Now that I have explained that part of the situation we can move on to the part that to me is such a beautiful part of life. That feeling of such emotion that moves you beyond anything else. The first song hit me around the first part of July, but the song that I’m about to talk about hit me two weeks ago on my day off. 

Let’s go back to Monday two weeks ago. Mondays are usually my errands day and so I spend most of the day getting around town for my many appointments. During that time I’m usually listening to music on my phone with the play selection on shuffle. I like to see what music comes to me. Well, it wasn’t till I got home that my phone really hit me with something special. I had gone to lay down on my bed and rest from all my traveling that day. That’s when it happened. It was a song that I have heard many times before. Especially since I got the album few summers ago. The song that I’m talking about is the song “In God’s Hands” by Nelly Furtado. I wasn’t really thinking about Laura at any point during that day and yet as soon as this song came on it pulled me right back into all of it, but this was different from any thoughts I have had about her before. I had mentioned that I spent a lot of time really trying to let go of her at the beginning of the year and thought that I really had. I’m finding with myself that there is much I hold on to that I don’t even realize till situations like this one. The song played and it walked me right through the emotions I still hadn’t felt or dealt with yet. With Nelly’s soft voice I seemed to hear the message more clearly than I had before. Lets go to the lyrics to really understand some of the connections I made when hearing this song. 

"In God's Hands"

I looked at your face I saw that all the love had died

I saw that we had forgotten to take the time

(I think the words speak for themselves, but it’s so true that all the love had died between us. I didn’t forget to take the time, but she never once took the time to take care of our love.)

I, I saw that you couldn't care less about what you do

Couldn't care less about the lies

You couldn't find the time to cry

(In the beginning of talking with her it always seemed like she cared more than she really did, but each time we tried to reconnect it became apparent very quickly that she doesn’t. She always becomes selfish and cold. The last time I said bye to her she was so dry with me that you would have had to of thrown water on her face to see any emotion or tears. Truly she never cried for me. She cried because I always called her on her shit.)

We forgot about love

We forgot about faith

We forgot about trust

We forgot about us

( Very true. Except I would change the lyrics to “she” instead of “We”) 

Now our love's floating out the window

Our love's floating out the back door

Our love's floating up in the sky in heaven

Where it began back in God's hands

(This is the part of the song that hit me the hardest in the song and means the most to me. It was the final part of letting go for myself. I literally during this song gave her back to god. This is the release that I have needed with her for so long. The tears flowed so hard from my eyes and I truly with all my heart let her go. It was such a weird experience because there was so many emotions I felt at once, but the biggest one I felt was just letting go. I really needed that and I didn’t really know how much I did till that moment.)

You said that you had said all that you had to say

(We both finally ran out of things to say and so with that everything else went bad as well. Which might not make sense to most of you, but her and I have always had so much to say to each other.) 

You said baby it's the end of the day

And we gave a lot but it wasn't enough

We got so tired that we just gave up

(Correction. “I” gave a lot and “I” finally I realized what it was and then gave up.)

We didn't respect it

We went and neglected it

We didn't deserve it

But I never expected this

(Again I would say “she” never respected me. She neglected me. She didn’t deserve me. I never expected that when I asked for her number many years ago it would have become all this. I believe that we live many lives. I without a doubt have know her from a past life that is for sure. I was told by a woman that could see more than I can that I have tried to be with here before and last time I tried so hard I lost my life in my efforts. This time will not be the same.) 

Our love floated out the window

Our love floated out the back door

Our love floated up in the sky to heaven

It's part of a plan

It's back in God's hands

Back in God's hands

(I really can’t explain how much relief I got in this moment of listening to this song. In fact it affected me so much for the next couple of days this song was the only song I listen to. I really wanted to solidify this feeling and really make sure I was done.)

It didn't last

It's a thing of the past

(I finally feel that I can put it in the past. It took me a long time, but I have said before there was much karmic energy between us that I had to work through.) 

Oh we didn't understand

(Well, I know that I get it now. Finally.)

Just what we had

Oh I want it back

Just what we had

Oh I want it back

Oh just what we had

(These last parts of the song are in a way a test for me. As if to see one last time if there is any part left that wants it back still? I had to laugh at these lines. Have what back? What did she ever give me? Through all the years she really gave me nothing but negative energy. Even the brief so call “good moments” we had during all those years DO NOT make up for all the other bad stuff she put me through. )

What I was still holding onto even after my efforts at the beginning of the year to let go of her was the hopefulness in myself. I’m reminded of the Great Gatsby movie that I watched over this summer when Mr. Gatsby was talked about as being the most hopeful person he had ever met. I’m guilty of that at times myself. I always want to believe that people can be the greatest versions of themselves. This is not to say that when someone isn’t the greatest version of themselves they are a lost cause, but it’s in those moments we must be careful how we interact with them. We all are a work in progress, but it’s understanding when you can be a part of that process or not. 

This moment I had with this song is the reason I love music so much. The kind of emotion a song can evoke from the soul. This song was one of those great moments and gave me something I needed so bad. Now I have room in this big heart for something worth so much more. It warms my heart to think of what I could actually find out there for myself as a partner in life. This is also proof that as big and great as my heart is, it too has it’s limits. I wish that I had figured out this release many years ago, but everything happens exactly how it’s supposed to. When you break up with someone especially when you are this invested it’s a lot like dealing with someone’s death. When someone dies you never lose that person all at once. You instead lose them in pieces. Those pieces will come to you at different times. Each piece you will have to work through. I encourage you to feel and understand each piece. For they will help you so much along the path of healing. Take care of yourself. 

As always I bring this to you with much love and pure D-lite. = )