Create

I loooove a vision board! But we get very few paper and ink items in the mail anymore. The only magazines we get are for the kids and honestly, how many pictures of cute, exotic animals does one person need on a vision board. So instead of paper and glue I now use Canva. They have loads of photo collage templates and I just copy and paste my images from google searches. That way I can find a pic of anything I want. If you need inspiration here are mine from the last few years – 2023, 2022, 2021. Side Note: One additional Canva thing I geeked out on this week – graphs and charts! They have a whole thing! I made some pie charts showing my voice over work from 2023 just for fun!

Read

The New York Times is running a Seven Day Happiness Challenge. The daily reads are quick and the exercises are simple: a quiz, an 8 minute phone call, chit chat with a stranger, etc. Apparently there is ample research to suggest that happiness is directly linked to relationships and connection to other people. Hell yes it is! Connection is at the heart of everything I do – it’s why working in a booth the size of an airplane bathroom is tough for me. Thus – this newsletter, my accountability group, social media, hourly walk around with my kids – the list goes on. If you take the challenge and you are looking for someone to have an 8 minute chat with, I’m available.

Eat

I have a new favorite recipe – it is the exact opposite of the Buche de Noel I posted in December. Indian Dal Tadka – don’t panic! It’s so easy, requires only things you already have (except yellow lentils – I had to buy some), and takes 9.5 minutes of hands on time to make. Yes! Nine and a half minutes! Yeah I clocked myself – doesn’t everyone do that? It’s an instant pot recipe so if you don’t have one of these amazing kitchen appliances…go get one! This recipe is pot in pot – so the dal cooks on the bottom of the pot and then you put a trivet with a little bowl on top of the dal and the rice cooks at the same time! So it literally took me nine and a half minutes to get it all in the pot and push the button. Then 20 minutes later we had dinner. Did I mention it took me nine and a half minutes! The very best bit of this recipe is how damn delicious it is. I mean – lick the bowl good. In case you decide to make it (like right now, today) here are my notes:

    • I made it with olive oil not ghee – because ghee is not a thing I typically have around
    • I used a Serrano chili but a jalapeño works too
    • I did have cumin seeds on hand because I love Indian food – but if you don’t just use ground cumin
    • I used a teaspoon of curry powder in place of the 6 curry leaves
    • I used a can of diced tomatoes instead of a whole tomato
    • I used plain old chili powder not the fancy stuff she calls for
    • I left out the Asafetida

You will make this and then you will love me for telling you about it.


 

What’s bringing you joy this week? Shoot me an email and let me know.
For real! Is there a thing? Share the joy.

 


It never hurts to keep looking for sunshine.
– Eeyore