H.A. Larson's Blog, page 76

Milestones

Here it is, another Monday, and the start of another work week. I have my coffee, and I'm ready to work. I hope everyone had a good weekend. As for myself, I traveled up North with my kids, to my hometown, for my folk's 25th Wedding Anniversary. They served cake and other goodies after church service, and the other girls and I helped serve and clean up. Afterwards, we all went out for pizza buffet, sat around talking for awhile, and then made our goodbyes. I went out to my folk's house for about an hour or so afterwards, and I was the first one to arrive as my kids rode with my parents and then made a pit stop.
My dad's house is out in the country, and now that it's early June everything was in full bloom. I walked around the yard for awhile, admiring things here and there that I hadn't seen in years. My favorite part of the yard is the tree-lined driveway. Big trees stand diligently along both sides of the road, and provide cover from the elements. 
My dad bought that house 25 years ago, right before he got married to my stepmom. There weren't a lot of trees on the property, and my dad set to remedy that by planting several, including the ones that line the drive. I can remember when he planted them, they were all just little saplings, no more than a few feet high. 
It struck me then, as I gazed at these trees, now magnificent in size, that they were a metaphor for my dad's marriage. The seeds were planted 25 years ago, and, over that time, so much has happened, so much has grown. The house transformed and grew over the years, as an addition was built, decks were added, a few re-paintings occurred, and the landscaping changed.  Three children grew up, moved out, went to school, got married, and had children. Over the years, grandchildren have turned from babies to big kids to teenagers, spending time visiting grandma and grandpa along the way.
As the years have gone by, the love has grown deeper between two people. While it may seem like it's reached its peak, there is still room for growth. Like our blended family, the trees saw their biggest growth over these 25 years, and even though they don't grow as fast as they did before, they still get a bit taller every year. Our family has grown taller every year, and the change is just as magnificent as the trees that line the driveway of my dad's house.
If there's anything we can take away from this, it's that there are milestones in life. Milestones mark the distance between two places, and in life, we use these to mark significant events. There's a deeper meaning to be gained from these events, and it's that the people you care about give your life such meaning, indeed they are a part of your personal story. Milestones we mark means we made it. Through the trials & tribulations of our lives, we made it! We have progressed in life, and we can look forward to more. It means that we can learn to dream big, or believe in something we never thought possible.
Happy Anniversary you two!  We all love you very much, and we can't wait for the next 25 years.  I wonder what the trees will look like then.

Chickpea Omelette/Denver Hash Brown Mashup!

As most of you know, I am a vegan. (For more on that, stay tuned for an upcoming post.) When I was making the transition from carnivore to vegan, the two things that prevented me from making the full change were eggs and cheese.  It was difficult to give up my morning two-egg omelette filled with a good amount of meat, cheese, and some veggies, and not being able to eat cheese on everything.  I really loved a good tofu scramble, but, honestly, a tofu scramble can take some time, and when I'm really hungry in the morning, I just want to eat and eat quickly.  I had heard for a quite some time about using chickpea flour to make 'eggs' but I took forever in trying it.  I can't believe I waited so long!  The chickpea egg is the bomb! I eat them almost daily, and the other day I was craving Denver-style hash browns so I thought, "Why not put them together?" Best idea ever!  It was so delicious that I wolfed it down. Without further ado then, here's the recipe.

Denver Chickpea Omelette Hash Brown
Ingredients:
3/4 c. chickpea (aka garbanzo bean) flour*1/8 teaspoon baking powder1/8 teaspoon turmeric1/2 teaspoon each: Mrs. Dash (or any other salt-free herb blend), garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper1 T. nutritional yeast1 T. flax meal1/2 c. + 1 T. warm water1/2 medium potato, grated1/8 c. each diced onion, green pepper, and jalapeno pepper3 T. cooking oil, use your favorite1/3 c. vegan cheese, grated (I love cheddar Daiya on this one!)
Instructions:
1.  Mix together the first 8 ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2.  Warm up the cooking oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat
3.  Add the grated potato and diced vegetables to the chickpea mixture and incorporate just until mixed.
4.  When the oil in the pan is rippling, add the full mixture to the frying pan.
5.  Fry until the edges are golden brown, and the center looks dry.  If you flip too soon the omelette will fall apart, so give it some time!
6.  After flipping the omelette, add the grated cheese to half of the top.  When the bottom is done, which doesn't take more than a couple of minutes, fold half of it over the half with cheese.
7.  Serve immediately. Serves two.
Notes:
Denver hash browns are usually made with red bell pepper, green bell pepper, and onion. I prefer to use a seeded and stemmed jalapeno in place of the red bell pepper. When you seed and stem a jalapeno, it has just a light kick, and a delicious flavor, but you're welcome to used whichever you'd prefer.  This omelette serves two (in my house it serves one, lol), but can easily be doubled (which is a given in my house considering the half a grated potato), or quadrupled.  I serve with toast or bagels, and some cold vegan milk to wash it all down.  Enjoy!
*You can also use the mix recipe I have listed in the Cooking & Recipes tab here.  Just mix 3/4 c. mix with 3/4 c. warm water then add the potatoes and veggies.  

Strawberry Moon

I'm sure at least some of you saw the images floating around recently, on various media sites, about the strawberry moon that was to occur on June 2. I saw it, and since I love that kind of thing, I decided that I would view it. So many times I see some notification about some cool moon happening, and I either forget or fall asleep too early!  Not this time!  
I went to visit a friend and her baby in the hospital, and, as such, I arrived back home around 11:30 pm.  I then logged onto facebook and saw the image about the strawberry moon (so yeah, I did forget), and so I grabbed my kids and we drove out to where we could get a better view of the moon-my town is a tree town, and sometimes it's really hard to see celestial objects.  We didn't see a pink-colored, strawberry moon, but we did see a large, bright moon!  
Usually, when I try and take a picture of the moon on my camera, it's just a pin prick on a field of black. Here are the three pictures I took, the first is larger than my regular pin prick photos, and the other two are different stages of zoom.  Not strawberry, but still cool!  We enjoyed it, and it was fun to get outside with the kids at midnight.  
The next day, I did read a friend's posting about it, where it was discussed that when the moon first hit the sky, it had a pink hue.  Oh well, it was cool anyway!

Time

I was raised by a single father, and I can remember, growing up, how we always did something on the weekends. Whether we camped, hiked, fished, took a road trip, went on vacation, went shopping, visited friends, or just played games, my dad always made sure we spent time together. I always, always , remember those times with fondness.

But, it was more than just doing something, it was bonding. We had the best conversations, I gained respect for nature, and I learned many things from my dad, who was seemingly an endless fountain of knowledge. I learned what plants were poisonous, how to float in the water, the importance of being prepared, and so many other things. Most of all, I spent quality time with the person I loved most: my dad.

Now that I'm grown, I strive to do the same thing with my own children. Whether we pack up some food and hit the trails, grab blankets for free movie night in the park, have a slumber party in the living room, or make homemade pizzas together, we make the most of our time together. What could be more fun or important than that?

Your children will not remember that thing you bought them 15 years ago, but they will remember that time you went camping, it rained, and you made light of it by whipping out a pack of cards to play a game in the tent.

Someday, all too soon, your children will leave the house and start their own lives. They will have their own families and their priorities will shift to them. You will always be important to them, but it won't be the same. So, instead of letting time slip through your fingers, build memories that they will cherish forever, and I guarantee they will do the same with their own children.

Children are a gift, don't take it for granted, and time is a gift, so use it wisely.
Enjoy your day,

H.A. Larson

Negativity

I want to talk about a topic that affects a lot of people, and one that has affected my own life a lot recently: negativity. Negativity is that one-sided friendship that always takes, never gives, and even though you know you should let it go, you just can't. Is it because we truly want to be negative?

It's so easy for us to get caught up in feelings of negativity, and I'm no exception. You know what though? I'm tired of it, I truly am. Does negativity do anything for me? Does it enrich my life? More importantly, does it really SOLVE anything? The answer to these questions is 'NO!' Why then is it so hard to be positive?
Positivity is encouraged by many, but not always practiced. Furthermore, I see many people just downright hate people who are positive people. They dismiss positive expression as silly, stupid, or even pointless. Positivity is none of those things. 
The truth is this: there is nothing to be gained from being negative, and it will hold you back in so many ways. Negativity starts out innocently enough, but snowballs until the purveyor eventually becomes bitter, angry, and disillusioned. They begin to blame all the unpleasant things in their lives on other people.
Being positive isn't hard, and there is so much to be gained from it. Ask yourself: is this really worth being negative or angry over? Can I just recognize it for what it is and move on? Can I put a positive spin on this and walk away happy with the knowledge that I can gain something from a negative situation?  The answer to these questions is 'YES!' 
Being positive has so many benefits. You smile more, you laugh more, you are more productive, you are friendlier, and you find that life has meaning. Being positive also means being healthier. Negative people suffer from health problems related to negativity.  Don't believe me?  Read here.
Today, I issue you a challenge.  Every time you feel yourself start to be negative about something, tell yourself it's not worth it and then put a positive spin on it.  If you find yourself surrounded by negative people and negative things, take a step back, put them in a mental time-out, take a deep breath, and remember the positive things in your life.
I hope you have a fantastic, productive, and, yes, positive day!  

H.A. Larson

A Little Road Trip

The other day, I was feeling cooped up like I do about the middle of every week.  I work from home and as a result, I'm home A LOT!  I find it good for my soul to get out to nature during the week to recharge my batteries.  Since I love taking pictures and playing around with photography, it was also a good chance to indulge in one of my hobbies as well.  Enjoy!

Update!

Hello dear readers!  I realized this morning I haven't blogged as much lately, but to be fair, I've been pretty busy.  I've been doing my usual social media self-promotion, and I've nearly completed Chapter 6 of "The Station."  I've also been working from home for the past month, and I have to admit, I really enjoy it!  However, it does not leave as much time for blogging as I'd like...not that I ever blogged much in the first place, but I think you catch my drift.  ;)

The kids are out of school now, and honestly I'm thrilled!  It means I don't have to get anyone up and ready for a few months.  Those of you who are parents know what I'm talking about!  That morning hustle can get really stressful sometimes.  Now, I can relax and linger over my coffee a little longer, or I can start working earlier so I can be done earlier!  Either way, it's a win win.

Next week, look for a new teaser from "The Station"!  I'm really loving the book so far, and I have to admit that I can see my own growth in my writing ability.  I can't wait for your feedback!

Have a great day,

H.A.

Vegan Cookbook

Yep, you read that right:  Vegan Cookbook.  As you know already from the delish vegan recipes I've posted here on this blog, I like cooking vegan food!  And to that end, I decided I wanted to write a simple, quick, and easy cookbook.  It will showcase some regular vegan comfort food that anyone can make, particularly those new to the lifestyle.  It will be a take on old classics, but with a vegan twist!  I'm excited to dive into this project!  I love to write, and I love vegan comfort food, so how can I go wrong?  I'll keep you posted.

In other writing news, I have started Chapter 4 of my book "The Station".  I'm moving right along!

Sky

My folks are visiting from out-of-town this weekend, and yesterday we wandered around doing various things.  We started off by going to a festival that was going on downtown, and, man, the sky looked gorgeous.  I snapped some interesting object-against-the-sky photos, edited them some, and came up with this result.  I call it simply, "Sky".

My New Youtube Channel!

I finally got my Youtube channel up and running!  Yay me!  I spent a good chunk of time making a video trailer for my book "The Melody."  I'd love to say that it all went smoothly and I looked fabulous while doing so, but actually, I cursed a lot!  *laugh*  It took me a long time to make it, but I think I did pretty good for a newbie!  Check out the video trailer:



And please, please, please subscribe to my channel here!  I will be making videos on a semi-regular basis about all kinds of things...like my blog!


I hope you like the trailer and subscribe to my channel.  If you really like it, like it and leave a good comment.  ;)


Have a great day,

H.A.