GOOD HAIR DAY

One of my great pleasures over the last six months has been rediscovering Sesame Street, a show that absolutely captivates my 2 year old and gets me laughing out loud at least once an episode.  Plus it's available to stream instantly on Netflix.  Holla!

Apparently this video made the Facebook rounds a few years ago, but I'd never seen it and fell in love instantly.  It's amazing to watch the hilarious physicality of all the puppets, and this girl's confidence when she throws back her hair and belts out those high notes really makes my heart sing.  Just like her hair, I love it and I have to share...

MORE SPINACH PLEASE

I'm traveling for work this week so I spent some time on Sunday getting a bit of food prepped for my little love bug to eat while I'm gone.  Since we're still trying to follow the GAPS Diet in an effort to control her epilepsy, making sure we had the right foods stocked was an essential before leaving town.  One of the super rad residents of the AYAVA House made this spinach dish at a community dinner this spring and I watched in wonder as my child ate almost an entire plate of spinach right in front of my eyes.  Since then it's been a staple at our house, and a few weeks ago I made it as a side dish for a brunch and it went over really well.  A dear friend requested the recipe, so I'm listing the original (with a few tiny adjustments) and our GAPS modifications for any and all who may be interested.  It's a delicious way to get your greens, though I realize the pound of cheese involved may be daunting for super healthy types.  In true optimist fashion (notice I'm leaving out the skinny here), I'm choosing to ignore the calories and embrace the calcium.  Life is short.  Live well!

oh how i love spinach


SPINACH SQUARES

  Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose flour (our substitute:  1/2 cup almond flour and 1/2 cup coconut flour)
• 1 cup milk (our substitute: 1 cup unsweetened coconut milk)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound shredded Cheddar cheese (we also use Gouda and/or Monterey Jack)
• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach (or fresh spinach cooked just to the point of wilting)
• 1 onion
• 2 gloves garlic (we use 4 or 5)



eating spinach and cannot contain my delight

 Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Place butter or margarine in a 9x13 inch baking dish and melt butter in oven. Remove when melted.
3. In large mixing bowl, beat eggs well. Mix in flour, milk and baking powder. When the dough is well combined, mix in cheese, spinach, and onion. Add melted butter. Spoon mixture into the greased baking dish. 
4. Bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned.

RISE TO THE SUN

Do you ever have one of those weeks where you could swear enough work, sweat, and tears have been crammed into a few days to last you the whole week?  When Tuesday feels like it should really be Friday, and your weekend plans should be up next on your agenda, rather than a big, fat Wednesday staring you down?  It's one of those weeks around here, and I can't figure out if I want to wallow in everything that isn't working out or hurry up and wish tomorrow were here so we could just get this freaking show on the road.

Since this whole blog is an experiment in optimism (hence the name), and seeing as how I really do think there's something to looking on the bright side of life, I'm taking the opportunity to share one of my bright spots over the past few months.  The Alabama Shakes were THE band to watch this year at SXSW, which kind of made me suspicious at first even though deep down I swelled with pride at these four amazing musicians from north Alabama (dreamy, nostalgic sigh) who have sent the indie rock world into a frenzy.  I had my hands full at the time, and didn't get around to checking out their spring release until this summer.  And it f------ rocks.

The lead singer Brittany is definitely hero material.  She seems so chill and down to earth and blessedly her self, despite her new status as rock goddess.  Seriously, here is a hilarious comment that one of their fans left on You Tube about the "official video" for Hold On, a signature song off their recent album:

                                this band is tough mudder TOUGH!!!! Let the Southern Rock 
                                Gods bless you with all their might!!!! praise the lord

Thank you, texasgod915.  At any rate, while drinking a beer and debating the essence of life tonight, I wanted to share these guys jamming at Seattle's fabulous KEXP.  It's absolutely one of my favorite songs and I hope you enjoy. May the sun rise on you tomorrow, and may the day warm you anew.

MAY I RECOMMEND-

If you're looking for a little fun this week and don't know what to do, or can't find a babysitter, may I humbly recommend-

Sitting on your sofa while sipping wine and watching Olympic athletes kick ass.

Seriously, I haven't had this much fun in a while.  At least not on a consistent basis.  I'm supposed to be training for this triathlon but instead I've spent multiple nights drinking with my husband on the couch, watching people who are incredibly fit work hard to achieve THEIR life goals.  Ah, the irony.

At any rate, who knew the Olympics could be so entertaining?  I don't think I watched a single event in 2008, so my excitement this year really caught me off guard.  Maybe it's becoming a mom, or becoming the mom of a kid with specific challenges, but some nights I can't keep back the tears with all of NBC's emotional side stories.  It's like one big inspiration-fest.

And then there's the humor of it all.  Here's a short list of the highlights we've witnessed in our haphazard, flip the T.V. on whenever we have time kind of way:

-Ryan Seacrest as an Olympic commentator.  WTF?  This is the man who produces the Kardashian's show.  And that makes him credentialed how?  The circus of media broadcast is

entertainment in and of itself.

-Danell Leyva's bronze medal.  He came back from a seemingly impossible situation to win the bronze, and it was fun to watch.  But even more fun was watching Danell Leyva with his Towlie.  What's a Towlie, you might ask?  Well, here's the original:

Towelie was this random character from Southpark that I know about primarily through my husband, who is a huge fan of the show.  And I have to hand it to them, as offensive as Southpark can be (and they can be offensive on an epic scale) they are still, often, funny as hell.  Towelie was this sort of imaginary friend character who popped up spontaneously and then developed a crack addiction at some point (random, but this is all I can really remember) then remained an occasional sidekick to the Southpark kids after they helped him "get clean" as it were (ironic for a Towel, right?).

So Danell Leyva has his own Towelie.  And this lucky towel has literally developed a life of it's own.  The towel has it's own Twitter account, for Lawd's sake. Watch the Olympics, people.  It rarely gets better than this.