Long Hollow

September Sweetness

September 1, 2013

September has always been one of my favorite months.

The air feels a little drier, crisper…summer temperatures begin their slow (and short, in Texas) descent into winter…the sky sheds its faded denim and dresses in vibrant azure. I'm eager to spend every minute of September outside, enjoying it all.

But there are other reasons I love September…

I first met Tom on a September evening, thirty-two years ago. We spent the last week of that month getting to know each other and falling in love.

It was in September fourteen years ago that I first gathered a group of other exhausted moms for what became an annual retreat in Port Aransas. September is the sound of waves washing onto a sandy beach, the last kiss of summer sun on my skin, hours of reading or wandering with my camera, four days of laughter and a night of dancing with girlfriends.

When I was growing up, school didn't start until after Labor Day and three months of summer…enough free time to grow weary of the same neighborhood friends and Monopoly games that last for days…so September meant new clothes, new friends, and new beginnings.

Now that I'm in a state of reinvention as a real estate agent, September is still a time for new beginnings and new friends. Every day I'm pulling on seldom worn 'nice' clothes, attending classes and training, and meeting so many people, both newbies like me and experienced agents, willing to help me along this path.

It's just making Septembers even sweeter.

Here are a few sweet! moments I noted from the past week. Please be sure to add yours in the comments!

Monday: a pond full of Snow-On-the-Prairie; your husband's help getting your puppy into the car for her check-up; people who are willing to share their methods of success; the comfort of friends when you hear of another friend's death

Tuesday: continuing to learn new things when you're 54; krispy kreme donuts; offers of help in your new career

Wednesday: helpful salesmen; your very own laptop; the arrival of your official real estate license; potential clients; spotting a bunny on your evening walk; your puppy not spotting the bunny

Thursday: the glint of morning sunlight on a dove's wing; meeting new people; cake and cookies and learning; friends who help you mourn the deaths of a two friends in one week; a letter in the mail

Friday: soft gray mornings; your old puppy running and playing with his puppy; your son sending you marketing tips for your new real estate business; spotting a creative sign while you're stuck in traffic; new purple flowers

Saturday: a long overdue haircut by Michael; walking at dusk with your puppy; making progress on your real estate to-do list, even if it feels like you're crawling along; nagging checking up on a longtime friend with some help issues; reconnecting with two old friends on Facebook, one from your chemical plant days and another from high school

Sunday: attending Mass with your husband and 1/2 of your kids; homilies that touch on things that have been on your mind the past week; being able to delegate puppy care when you have tons of stuff to do

I hope this September overflows in sweetness for you!

"The happiness of life is
made up of minute fractions – the little, soon-forgotten charities of a kiss or
a smile, a kind look, a heartfelt compliment, and the countless infinitesimals
of pleasurable and genial feeling."

~Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Healthy, but Hearty!

August 29, 2013

For years, my family ate a lot of pasta and noodles. Especially lasagna, after my brother-in-law pointed out to me the no-boil recipe on the side of the box.

So easy!

And then my family got sick of lasagna.

So for the past few years, especially once it was just me and Tom, we've mainly had grilled chicken or pork and a big, colorful salad.

But that can get old, too, and sometimes you just crave something a little more substantial. So that's why I'm grateful I was able to participate in this Healthy Choice review and try out some of their frozen entrees.

Yes, this is another review, and here's the disclosure: I was lucky enough to be chosen as a participant in Vibrant Influencer Network Healthy Choice campaign, which means I was sent coupons for free products and will be paid to express my honest opinions about them.

Rest assured I am giving you my own opinion.

I signed up for this review because, especially as I've gotten older, I focus on nutrition when making food choices and am always on the lookout for new, healthy products.

Now, on to my experience with the Healthy Choice Baked Entrees...

I was still a little concerned about the amount of sodium…

…but honestly, take a look at the ingredients. For the most part, and especially at the beginning of the list where it's most important, they are all recognizable and real food! And less than 300 calories!

That doesn't happen very often.

They were easy to prepare. Just cut a little slit in the film covering the tray, pop in the microwave for 5 or 6 minutes, let stand a couple more, stir, and enjoy!

You can see there's a lot of broccoli, in good sized chunks, not just little sprinklings.

This may not look like a lot of lasagna, but it was just the right size! And less than 300 calories! (Did I already mention that?)

Plus it tasted good!

The Chicken Alfredo was creamy and cheesy, and I was impressed by the amount of broccoli in it. The lasagna was a little spicy, which I liked…very meaty and flavorful.

YUM!

These are perfect for empty nesters who are craving something with noodles and yummy sauce, but aren't in the mood to go out or have the noodles and yummy sauce as leftovers for days and days.

I'll be stocking our freezer with a few, that's for sure. There are plenty to choose from:

·         Four Cheese Ziti Marinara:Freshly-made ziti pasta tossed with classic marinara and topped with a blend of fine Italian cheeses; Parmesan, Romano, Asiago and mozzarella.

·         Roasted Chicken and Potatoes:Savory slices of chicken breast with red skin potatoes, crisp carrots, and tender pearl onions in a light chicken and herb sauce.

·         Fettuccini Alfredo Bake:A classic combination of freshly-made fettuccini pasta and rich Parmesan Alfredo sauce with crisp broccoli and topped with seasoned bread crumbs.

·         Italian Sausage Pasta Bake:Freshly-made whole grain rotini pasta paired with juicy Italian sausage, tossed in a rich garlic marinara together with bubbling mozzarella cheese.

·         Lasagna with Meat Sauce:Three rich layers of freshly-made pasta, hearty meat sauce, and ricotta cheese topped with mozzarella for perfection.

·         Chicken & Rice Cheddar Bake:Whole grain brown & wild rice pilaf with crisp broccoli and sliced chicken breast in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce.

·         Chicken & Spinach Alfredo:Freshly-made whole grain penne pasta tossed with sliced chicken breast, spinach and tomatoes in a creamy Alfredo sauce.

·         Chicken Enchilada Bake:A full-flavored chicken enchilada over cilantro rice and topped with corn, black beans and a decadent queso sauce.

·         Ravioli Marinara Bake:Rich ricotta and spinach filled al dente ravioli tossed in a tomato basil sauce and topped with fresh mozzarella cheese.

·         Slow Roasted Turkey Bake:Slow roasted turkey breast accompanied by potatoes, butternut squash and crisp green beans topped with classical gravy and crispy onions.

Ah, it makes me hungry just reading the list! If you try any of these, let me know what your favorites are!
A Letter in the Mailbox

August 27, 2013

I got a letter this past weekend. A real letter, written just to say hi, how are you, I'm thinking of you, and catch me up on the doings of my friend's life. What he's working on, what he's reading, what he's thinking about. It wasn't a required letter – a thank you or a filler around something he needed to send me.

It was just a letter.

Once upon a time, I wrote letters like that. And received them. Lots of them. It was how I kept in touch with my cousin, my grandmother, the teacher who left mid-year to move to the Dominican Republic, the boys I met at Garner State Park, the friends who went off to college…

I loved getting letters, so I wrote letters. Sometimes on pretty stationery, but more often on plain notepaper, because I could write pages and pages and pages!

Now, after just a few lines my hand and fingers are tired.

I never had great handwriting (I specifically remember getting a 'B' in 4th grade, Ms. Haygood!) but at least it was legible. Now, even before my hand gets tired, I have limited control of the pen or pencil; it'll go zigzagging off on its own wild adventure across the page.

The letter was from a writer friend. He has decided too much time on the internet has made him lose focus and it has affected his work. He's getting back to plain old paper, for his writing, communication (when possible), and for leisure, as in reading books with pages of paper.

Perhaps tonight I'll pull out some paper and re-train my fingers to hold a pen, to tame it to create legible words on a page once again.

What about you? Do you write letters the old-fashioned way? When was the last time you received one?

*******************************************************

Before I could publish this post, I received a phone call that required me to add a little bit here on the end.

My friend's letter mentioned a plan to get together with Joe, a classmate of ours from high school who was visiting Los Angeles. Joe, too, had sent me a Facebook message letting me know he'd be seeing my friend. I told him to tell him hi for me.

That evening Joe posted a photo of them on our class Facebook page, smiling, toasting their friendship and life.

The next morning, Joe died of a massive heart attack.

What's the moral of this story? I'm not sure.

I know I'm grateful for all of the ways I've been able to stay in touch with my longtime friends and get to know some of those faces from my past as adults. I'm grateful for letters, for email, for Facebook, and for phone calls that draw us together in times of joy and sorrow.

Perhaps the moral has something to do with living each day to the fullest, for not letting opportunities slip by to spend time with a friend or loved one.

Maybe it's to present a smile to the world at all times, like Joe did, no matter what's going on in your life, and in that way inspire others to find a way to smile, too.

I don't know. But I do know I'll miss seeing that smile.

Rest in peace, Joe.

“My
friends have made the story of my life. In a thousand ways they have turned my
limitations into beautiful privileges.”

~Helen Keller
Saving Roadrunners and other sweet!s of the week

August 25, 2013

I was walking up our front path to my car one morning this week when I heard a banging noise coming from a camper shell sitting to one side of the driveway/parking area at the top of the walkway.

The shell mostly rests on the ground, but one side of it projects over a small rock retaining wall. Somehow a roadrunner had found a way in, probably chasing after some delicious wild tidbit that ran in trying to escape it.

Unfortunately, the roadrunner couldn't find a way out! It was trying, though…flying up and hitting the roof then the sides, over and over and over.

I set my bags on the ground and leaned all my weight on the edge of the shell hanging over the wall. It took a couple of tries, but it finally raised up enough on the other side for the roadrunner to dash out and disappear into the woods.

Now that was sweet!

Here are a few more sweet!s from the past week. Be sure to add yours in the comments!

Monday: participating in the jury system…even though you're relieved you weren't picked for this particular jury; old courthouses; walking in downtown Austin near the Capital; remembering a friend's birthday without a Facebook reminder; spotting a hummingbird flying nearby

Tuesday: finding an agency that fits just right with your real estate career goals; dinner and a movie with friends

Wednesday: prayers for you as you take your real estate state exam; passing!; learning how to use mapquest on your phone; finding the Vitamin K1 serum you won on a friend's blog in your mailbox

Thursday: your puppies safe and sound after a night of howling coyotes too close for comfort; signing with the agency you visited on Tuesday

Friday: a road trip with your daughter; hugs from your Mama, Daddy, and sister; reading in bed with your daughter before going to sleep; a friend placing a Silpada order from you

Saturday: breakfast with friends at a hometown restaurant (photo by TG); visiting with your brother and sister-in-law; being able to help your parents; a letter from a friend

Sunday: sleeping in and going to late Mass for the first time in ages; a report that the dead deer by the creek is picked clean, thanks to nature's teamwork of coyotes and vultures, so you and your husband don't have to figure out what to do with it

I hope the coming week is full of opportunities for you to help those in need, time with family and friends, and quick and easy solutions to your problems!

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the
things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.

~Epictetus
Five on Friday: Give me peace for the moment…

August 23, 2013

1.

I had to report for jury duty on Monday. It was in the old Travis County Courthouse, which to me is what a courthouse and jury room should look like…straight out of an old Perry Mason episode.

It was a wonderful process. The judge was very passionate and took lots of time explaining the process to us. I didn't really want to get picked (I'm in the middle of the whole real estate license thing and need to start making money!) but I decided to just be honest and see what happened.

I didn't get picked. Maybe I was too honest.

I was relieved in a way…but by then I was involved and interested in the case, so I also felt rejected!

2.

But since I didn't get picked for jury duty, I was free to take the State Exam for real estate on Wednesday.

I passed! I barely crossed the line on one part, but what matters is I did cross it. Whew! Now the real education begins, so I kept the momentum going and signed with an agency yesterday. Training begins next week.

I'm ready to hit the ground running!

3a.

There's a dead deer lying half in, half out of our creek, with a huge chunk of its rear-end missing. I'll spare you the photo of it I took to send to Tom.

Well, I'm not sure how much of the deer is still down there, actually. For the past two days coyotes have been fighting over it all night, yapping and yapping and making our poor puppies feel obligated to bark at them from our back deck.

I'm glad they don't feel obligated to run down there!

During the day, vultures circle round and round, so close to the house that I hear the whoosh-whoosh of their wings. They glide down under the trees to where the deer is (I can't see it from the house, thank goodness) and then I hear a lot more loud noises.

Of course, the puppies feel obligated to bark at them, too.

3b.

I've taken a lot of photos of "interesting" scat on our road lately (scat = poop). There's a great site I discovered where you can identify what animal it came from. I'll spare you those photos, too. You'll just have to trust me that we've had coyote and fox and owl…and something much larger…crossing our road lately.

…Which makes me very nervous for Max with his wobbly hips and legs, poor old puppy, what with the dead (full-sized antlered) deer down there by the creek .

4.

In honor of its 75th anniversary, our local electricity co-op is sponsoring a photography contest for members with the theme: My life in Central Texas.

I chose a photo of a morning walk with the puppies from several years ago, back when Belle really was a puppy and Frankie, our late guinea fowl, thought he was one, too.

Click HERE to see my submission page. Voting begins on August 26th and I would appreciate yours…and your friends' vote, too! There are some cash prizes!

It was tough narrowing it down to one photo, and there were some size requirements, too. But I had fun going back through all of the memories with that funny little bird.

I'm posting most of them over on Confessions in three posts, starting with THIS ONE, if you feel like looking at tons of photos of a precocious guinea fowl.

Rest in peace, Frankie bird. I miss you peering in the window at me while I work.

5.

Do you get songs stuck in your head? I have one running right now, and I'm grateful for it.

It's "Help Me Find It" by Sidewalk Prophets. Here are some of the lyrics playing in my head…very reassuring and calming in these days when there are so many things going on and decisions need to be made…

If there's a road I should walk
Help me find it.

If I need to be still
Give me peace for the moment.

And here's the song itself, below. If you're feeling stressed and /or need help figuring out what direction to head, I recommend it!

I hope you have a wonderful Friday and a beautiful weekend!

(Linking up with Nancy at A Rural Journal's Random 5 Friday)
Another Healthy Choice

August 22, 2013

When I was growing up, one of my favorite meals was the Swanson sliced roast beef frozen dinner. We called them TV dinners back then. I believe it came with corn, mashed potatoes, and some kind of yummy crumbly berry dessert, all tucked into separate compartments of the aluminum foil tray.

My mother kept those and a supply of Banquet Chicken Pot Pies in the freezer for us to heat up for lunch during the summer while she was at work.

But years later, I stocked up on Lean Cuisine frozen dinners to eat at work at the chemical plant. I ate so many that eventually just the smell of them cooking made me sick. Despite my previous love affair with them, I've avoided frozen dinners ever since.

So I admit it was with a little trepidation that I agreed to try Healthy Choice's Cafe Steamers.

(Yes, this is another review, and here's the disclosure: I was lucky enough to be chosen as a participant in the Vibrant Influencer Network Healthy Choice campaign, which means I was sent coupons for free products and will be paid to express my honest opinions about them.

Rest assured I am giving you my own opinion.

I signed up for this review because, especially as I've gotten older, I focus on nutrition when making food choices and am always on the lookout for new, healthy products.

Now, on to my experience with the Cafe Steamers…)

I chose the Kung Pao Chicken and Roasted Chicken Marsala because they each had less than 300 calories, whole grain, and lots of veggies.

The "wine sauce" on the Chicken Marsala sounded pretty tempting, too!

Scoping out the nutrition panel, I was a little concerned about the amount of sodium – both of them over 500 mg. But at least the top ingredients were real food. They use chicken tenderloin and real veggies.

TG agreed to be my assistant and share them with me, so I could try both in one sitting.

They were very easy to prepare – pop in the microwave for about 4 minutes, carefully peel back the film on top, pull the steamer basket insert up out of the bigger bowl, dump the contents into the bowl (which contains the sauce), stir, and enjoy!

She and I both decided the Kung Pao Chicken was our favorite…sweet and spicy and the chicken was very tender.

I'm addicted to a certain restaurant's Orange Chicken and I have to say, this would satisfy my craving in a pinch.

The Chicken Marsala also featured tender chunks of chicken tenderloin and real veggies, as well as whole wheat ziti pasta. It was good, but I think the powerful flavors of the Kung Pao Chicken put it at an unfair advantage with my taste buds; it seemed a little bland.

The serving sizes of these were just right. While I wouldn't eat them every day (never again!) I'm going to stock a few to be on hand for a quick lunch.

Here are some of the vegetarian varieties they offer:

Portabella Marsala Pasta: Freshly made whole wheat pasta and rich crimini mushrooms, tossed with a savory Marsala wine sauce and topped with rich fontina cheese.

Pumpkin Squash Ravioli: Tender pumpkin-stuffed ravioli with crisp green beans, sweet butternut squash, and juicy Granny Smith apples, topped with a tasty butter-sage sauce.

Tortellini Primavera Pasta: Four-cheese-stuffed tortellini featuring whole-grain pasta, julienne carrots, and red pepper strips and now includes more tortellini and sauce.

Asian Potstickers: Vegetarian dish served on a bed of rice and covered with a sweet Asian-style sauce. We’ve also added more potstickers and sauce, while making it less spicy, per consumer feedback.

Portabella Spinach Parmesan: Freshly-made whole wheat pasta, and now featuring even more baby portabella mushrooms, red peppers, tomatoes and spinach.

Yum, right?

If you try (or have already tried) any of these, let me know what you think!
The Power of a Summer Song

August 19, 2013

…Love, love is the answer, whoo-hoo
And that's all right
So don't you give up now, whoo-hoo
It's so easy to find
Just look to your soul (Look to your soul)
And open your mind

Crystal blue persuasion…

It was 1969. I was ten and having the time of my life, because my sister was a lifeguard and she often let me tag along with her to work. Those days were spent swimming (of course) and then resting in the basket area (because I had privileges) watching old Shirley Temple movies.

Crystal Blue Persuasion was the song of the summer. We sang along to it on the way to the pool and on the way home, and any time I hear it now, I'm ten, once again, riding shotgun in Brenda's VW bug.

I can smell the chlorine, feel the cool of the breeze in the shade of the basket room, hear the splashes and the chatter coming from the pool.

It's 1969, I'm ten, ignorant and innocent, and all is right with my world.

***********************************************

It drifted out to me from the winery bistro kitchen's radio…Black Land Farmer, sung by Frankie Miller. Although it had been years since I heard it, with the first whistle I was swept out of that restaurant to Garner State Park, two-stepping around a rock pavilion with a gangly teenage boy under a star-studded night sky.

It's just a twangy country song, with a steady slow beat, but from the first time I heard it blasting out of that old juke box full of 45s, it became my Garner theme song.

Every summer from sixth grade to my senior year of high school – except one when the Frio River flooded and we had to pack up and leave in the middle of the night – I spent at least a week in that pavilion under the stars, caught up in innocent summer romances.

I tried to go back with my kids years ago, but it wasn't the same. It never is, is it?

The Frio River and the towering Cypress trees were still beautiful, and the kids got to climb the same trails to the same little caves I loved to explore, but the quiet dirt roads had been asphalted and the dances were so crowded that you could barely breathe, much less spin around the dance floor.

I took a photo of the pavilion before we left the park, just so I'd have an image of that great CCC stonework.

But my kids had fun, anyway. They didn't know what they were missing, of course. I'm just grateful that, with the first whistle of Black Land Farmer, I can go back to my Garner.

**********************************************************

The Beach Boys were my favorite band when I was five. I already had a crush on Dennis Wilson. (Maybe that's why I always wanted to play the drums!)

I would sit in a chair near our console stereo and listen to this whole album, over and over and over.

Once I got my driver's license, I spent every free minute in Galveston, soaking up the sun. The Beach Boys were still my favorite soundtrack in those sandy summer days. And talk about dreams come true…in May of 1975 I finally heard them in person.

Their songs, any and all of them, still make me want to jump in my car and head for the beach…

So tell me, what songs take you back to summer?

This is a Generation Fabulous Blog Hop. Click on the links below to see what songs say summer to others.

http://www.linkytools.com/thumbnail_linky_include.aspx?id=207880
At long last, we meet again…

August 18, 2013

They were waiting for me in the mailbox yesterday evening.

Ah, Mark and Debbie…you haven't aged a bit since I last saw you forty-one years ago!

I don't remember when the book first appeared in our home, but I know I had discovered it by the time I was in 4th grade and spent a week at home with chicken pox, reading and sipping on bottles of cold Coca-Cola.

(Chicken pox that first time was actually quite pleasant. Twenty years later I had it again – not pleasant at all!)

By the time I was in 7th grade and Cousins was snatched from my school locker, I had read the book at least a dozen times. I mourned its loss, but years passed before I began searching for it… scanning the titles of books in every antique store I entered, recruiting friends and even my kids to keep an eye out for it.

Often, in the middle of some writing project, I would think of it and do a quick Google search, only a fraction of a glimmer of hope driving me on.

It didn't help that I couldn't remember the author, and that there were quite a few famous books with the same title.

But then…a couple of weeks ago I was ordering a book about real estate a friend had recommended, on an online site she had also recommended because of the cheap prices.

Out of habit, and still hanging on to that tattered bit of hope, I typed in Cousins. The usuals popped up, but I was able to narrow the search to 'old children's books' and then…there it was. I couldn't believe it!

However, the books offered weren't cheap. Over the years Cousins had become a collector's item, it seemed. Who knew? I thought I was the only one who remembered it.

My kids told me I should just splurge and get it, but I remembered we were broke and resigned myself to having to wait a little longer to actually hold it in my hands.

Besides, I was happy just knowing the author's name and that several copies were still out there.

But my sweet, book-loving, employed son told me he would pay for it. An early Christmas present.

It was in my shopping cart before he finished talking, and within minutes, it was mine.

Of course, I had to wait for it to be shipped, but what's a couple of weeks after forty-one years?

Their search for Felicity begins (again), but hallelujah! my search for them has ended.

Sweet!

And here are a few other sweet!s from the past week…

Monday: your Hollow dotted with yellow flowers; spending the day at your church…and getting paid for it

Tuesday: rising while it's still dark to lay on your car with your daughter, staring up at the sky, watching meteors and fire balls shoot across the sky; thinking back to your wedding day, 31 years ago; visiting a real estate agency and deciding it's a good fit

Wednesday: roasted veggies a la Jessie; facing your new adventure, head-on; a movie with your daughter

Thursday: your puppy running for joy; friendly people who put you at ease when taking your fingerprints; phone calls from your mom; finally making it to the grocery store

Friday: pink prickly pear fruit; a day at home for to-do lists; laughing over an episode of Dark Shadows with your son

Saturday: a free lunch; learning more about real estate; seeing your son and daughter-in-law's new home; surprises in your mail box; studying real estate on the back porch until the sun drops too low to read

Sunday: empty toll roads when you're running late; another free lunch; doing better on your practice real estate exam than you thought you were; hearing that your dad didn't hurt himself in his latest fall; unpacking forgotten books from boxes; identifying weird scat with your son via an online site (coyote, not mountain lion, we think – I'll spare you the photo)

What were some of your sweet! surprises this week? Share!

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the
more there is in life to celebrate."

~ Oprah Winfrey
Jumping the Chasm

August 16, 2013

I hung up my waiter apron on Wednesday.

Well, technically, I just added it to the to-be-washed pile of laundry at the winery, instead of bringing it home with me like I have for the past two years.

It was a bittersweet moment. Even though being a waiter wasn't what I wanted to be when I grew up…or even use as a tagline under my name…I've spent most of my weekends there for the past two years, and even some weekdays for the last few months.

It's such a beautiful place, like being in Italy. I had never been a waiter before and enjoyed the adventure of learning something new, meeting people, tasting amazing food, and enjoying a glass of wine at the end of many shifts.

When I started there, it was a breath of fresh air, such a contrast from my weekday job stuck at a computer in front of three monitors for seven hours, with only two other people to talk to and very little conversation.

But lately, by the end of the day (and sometimes for days afterward) my knees and back have ached, because it's a job where I was on my feet for six to seven hours, where the only chance to sit down was a quick bathroom break, and where I wasn't making nearly enough money to make a dent in our debt.

Still…it was tough to let go of a paycheck, however small, when I may be facing several dry months as a newbie realtor trying to find my footing in the real estate world.

But that meant I would have to commit to a work schedule a month or two ahead of time, and even though I don't know much about the world of real estate yet, I do know that, to be successful, I'll need to remain flexible with my time, able to meet a client at a moment's notice.

That for-sure paycheck would probably cost me more money in the long run because of missed opportunities.

So Wednesday was it.

I asked Jessie, the sous chef, for one last (free) roasted veggie platter…

…said my goodbyes and thank-yous when the work day was done, indulged in one last (free) glass of wine, dropped my apron in the basket…

…and faced my new adventure with an added incentive to be successful in a hurry.

I can't afford to be anything less.

"Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated. You can't cross a chasm in two small steps."

~David Lloyd George, former Prime Minister of England

Have you crossed any chasms lately?

Or is one looming ahead of you, but you're afraid to take that big leap?
A Healthy Choice on a Hot Day

August 15, 2013

Stumbling into the house, weighed down by five overloaded grocery bags to avoid a second trip uphill to my car, and sweating from the heat of this Texas summer, all I could think about was breaking into one of the Healthy Choice Greek Frozen Yogurts buried in one of the bags.

You've probably guessed this is going to be a review, so here's the disclosure: I was lucky enough to be chosen as a participant in the Vibrant Influencer Network Healthy Choice campaign, which means I was sent coupons for free products and will be paid to express my honest opinions about them.

Rest assured I am giving you my own opinion.

I signed up for this review because, especially as I've gotten older, I focus on nutrition when making food choices and am always on the lookout for new, healthy products, especially snacks.

So as soon as the groceries were put away, I pulled out one of the blueberry-flavored frozen yogurts. They come packaged in three 100-calorie servings.

Now, I'm a sucker for fortune-cookie fortunes and quippy quotes, so the top of the container caught my eye and I had to take a picture before diving in.

Cute, huh? Later, I snapped one of the strawberry-flavored container tops.

But the review was for the yogurt and I wanted to eat it while it was still frozen, so I peeled back the cute top and dove in.

It really was very smooth and creamy…and very refreshing after being out in the heat. There weren't any whole blueberries in it, just chips blended in, but the flavor was rich and sweet.

Actually, almost too sweet for me, since I have cut way back on my sugar intake. So the serving size was perfect.

The only frozen yogurt I've eaten before this was at one of the soft-serve yogurt shops, where it tastes more like ice cream than yogurt. This definitely retains the tart yogurt flavor, so if you're expecting an ice-cream-taste experience, you may be disappointed.

But, if like me you enjoy traditional yogurt, I think you would enjoy it as an occasional treat…especially after a trip to the grocery store on a hot August afternoon.

(Next time, I'm going to try the Dark Fudge Swirl, winner of the "Best Night Bite" in Shape Magazine's 2013 Snack Award.)

If you decide to give it a try, click HERE to save a dollar off your purchase.

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