send a card of yourself

little seed in my mind's eye

The Daily Doodle: Hello Spring! This doodle was inspired by Synergy Kombucha's new flavor and my all-time favorite beverage name: Third Eye Chai. But I am not here to talk chai, instead I've got CHIA on the brain, I before A. This little seed has been in my mind's eye as J likes to add it to fresh juiced apples, my pregnant friend loves herself a mamachia, and I enjoy its tapioca-like properties in sweetened almond milk.  The newest experiment, Chocolate Chia Mousse Cake, was a success, so I simply must share.

Chocolate Chia Mousse Cake
adapted from The Chia Company

1/2 rounded cup Chia Seeds
1 cup water
1 1/4 cup chocolate chips
-dark or milk
1/2 cup butter
-and a dash of salt if the butter has none

1/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup sweetener 

-sugar, agave, maple syrup...

5 eggs, separated
2 cups almond meal

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F.
2. Soak chia seeds in water for 15min.
3. Melt butter and chocolate.
-Set aside to cool.
4. Beat egg-whites and 1/3 cup sugar until soft peaks form.
- Use your arm power if you're a bad-ass!
5. Beat sweetener of choice into egg yolks.
- In a big bowl.
- Until pale and creamy.
6. Fold in chocolate and yolk mixtures.
7. Fold in almond meal.
- Or try ground hazelnuts!
8. Fold in egg whites.
- Gently, now.
9. Pour into a greased/lined pan.
- I used a bread loaf pan.
- A spring form would be classic.
- A bundt would work...
10. Bake about 50 minutes.
- Use a toothpick to check sooner.

Enjoy! Try not to eat too much; from personal experience the chia seeds expand in your stomach like flax-meal, bulk-fiber style. Woah.

Project for School

The Daily Doodle: Helping the hubby bring in the A's. I'm always available for a good old fashioned art project. The assignment: "artwork that portrays how you feel about your internship experience"... Maybe it is meant to be a stress reliever, but all I know is the last thing these Law Students need is more crap to do, so ... Daily Doodler to the rescue!

Legal stuff: Commissioning others to do your homework is not necessarily kosher. The above is Garfield copyrighted work, tweaked by the artist, but by no means an Astrid Kirschenbaum original. 

red cabbage is hot pink

The Daily Doodle: Electric Pink Lemonade without the food coloring: in fact it's organic and super good for you instead. And it's HOT PINK!

Electric Lemonade

1. Squeeze or juice lemons, meyer lemons, limes (all in season in winter). 2. Water down.

3. Add juiced RED CABBAGE, as much as desired.

The red cabbage juice will give you a true and beautiful PINK, from light to fuschia depending on how much you add, I recommend about a quarter head for every liter. 

4. Sweeten with agave or stevia to taste.

This lemonade is GORGEOUS.

and unto dust you shall return

The Daily Doodle: Man is dust, and unto dust you shall return. I am born Christian, my hubby is of Jewish descent and our household combines the two faiths with other beliefs and traditions mixed in.* Above all, we are yogis! These next 40 days of Lent are a season of penance, reflection and fasting. Lent is an opportunity to develop a spirit of humility and sacrifice. Christian or not, for the next six weeks let's impose a personal penance. A penance should require a little deprivation, but nothing that hinders us from our duties. Lent is a time for self-scrutinization and healing.

Uttana Shishosana: Extended Puppy Pose or Puppy Bow

In this pose, drop your heart to the earth. This is the pose dogs use when they want to play!

*"Other beliefs and traditions mixed in": The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Ronpoche is a favorite in our household

beautiful nightwear makes a point

The Daily Doodle: Forgo sweats and bring back the nightgown. Or here's a thought: nightgown over sweats! The impeccable Blair steals my heart (as always) in her two piece burnt orange silk nightgown set. From the 2012 Valentine's Day episode of Gossip Girl. 

Today is Fat Tuesday, so have your fun and then meditate on how you may want to pare down for the next 40 days of Lent beginning tomorrow...

Dirty Soap

The Daily Doodle: Get clean for Spring: spottless house, new clothes, pure body!

Not-so spring-like or squeaky clean: I've been watching 2011 re-runs of E's Dirty Soap.

30 days until Spring

The Daily Doodle: Countdown to Spring: 30 days (and every second a little less!)

Ustrasana: Camel Pose

Ustra: Camel

Press your hips forward in this pose so they remain in line with or even slightly forward of your knees to protect your low back. Always protect that low back! Also, see if you can relax your head backwards while keeping your breath steady and remaining calm. This pose is meant to be uncomfortable.* Ustrasana induces a fight-or-flight response: by breathing through and relaxing into this asana in a controlled yogic environment we are practicing to breathe through and relax in life's unpredictable and unavoidable sticky situations.

*uncomfortable, not painful!

put on your Monday Best

The Daily Doodle: There is no substitute for practice. I have been yogiing on my own rather than in a studio for the last eight weeks or so which means I have been stretching, breathing and meditating in short bouts no where near an hour or an hour and a half at a time. I will incorporate my trusty at-home podcasts for added structure and discipline – tapas – but it is likely time to step back into the classroom. Argh, do I have to???

That being said, please recall yoga can be done ANYWHERE!

1. Basalt, CO 2. Moab, UT 3. Hana, HI 4. Pacific Beach, CA 5. Cote D'azur, FR 6. Palm Beach, FL 7. and 8. Aspen, CO

the Good Behavior Board and what I learned

The Daily Doodle: Because so many of you seemed to enjoy the Good Behavior Board –and you all made your own versions, right?– I thought I would do a follow-up. The results surprised me. For example, I clean the house every morning without exception, the perpetually dehydrated old me had no trouble picking up better H2O habits, and I rise before 8AM without trying. The board reaffirmed that I am a morning person, so if I want something done I better plan on doing it before lunch. 

The areas of difficulty were also a revelation. The changes I would like to see are: more yoga (always more yoga!!!), more weight lifting, and more at-home spa treatments. By seeing it all on one big sheet of paper I was also able to create a plan to painlessly add the items that are important to me, but are apparently a constant struggle to complete: On weeknights if J and I are watching a show or movie before bed I will lift weights or do a mask during the TV viewing to curb snacking. Oh, and more yoga. That's all. When you write down what you want to do versus what you do for one week it really is that simple.

I didn't extend the board longer than one week because I learned what I needed to, but I will likely be repeating it in the future.

California Valentine

The Daily Doodle: Pleasure is about being and feeling over having. Sharpen your senses to make your every moment fuller. Really smell, touch, taste, see, and hear to get the most out of everyday experiences. Pampering does not have to do with decadence nor is self-punishment a path to well-being. –abridged thoughts from Mireille Guiliano

Share your love

Who would choose petty, acidic, life-deteriorating competition for an illusionary spot on an illusionary hierarchy over freely conducting love and joy with our fellow man?

The Daily Doodle: Open your heart this February! Urdhva Dhanurasana, Wheel Pose.

Urdhva: Upward 

Dhanu: Bow

Share your love and organize a yoga session with friends. No mats necessary.