Stress, Hearing Problems and TMJ

For anyone out there who has TMJ, or temporal mandibular joint disorder, you know how frustrating the symptoms can be. TMJ is related to head and neck aches, teeth grinding, clenching and jaw soreness or stiffness, as well as hearing problems. Until about 3 months ago, having TMJ had not really affected my life.

In August I noticed that I couldn't hear out of my left ear, so after 3 weeks of hearing issues I went to see my doctor. The doctor removed some wax and told me that I had fluid in my eustachian tubes, which was causing my hearing issues. She kindly prescribed me sudafed and sent me on my merry way. What I didn't know was sudafed has side effects such as increased anxiety and insomnia, which were already problems of mine given I was starting a PhD program at the same time this was all happening. Regardless of side effects, I took sudafed for two weeks until I had purchased the legal limit for a one month period. At that point I called my doctor and she prescribed me Nasonex. I took the Nasonex, side-effect free, for two weeks. At the end of two weeks I had not noticed any improvement so I went to a new doctor on campus who, to my dismay, proclaimed me to be completely healthy. As I was still having hearing loss symptoms, he gave me a referral for an Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. Again when I went to the ENT, I was proclaimed to be perfectly normal and healthy. However, what I did learn was that my hearing issues are symptoms of TMJ. I had never heard of TMJ causing hearing problems. The ENT explained to me that TMJ can cause a feeling of fullness in your ears, which people perceive to be hearing loss, however, according to the tests I had just taken, my hearing was completely normal. He also informed me that in adult patients complaining of hearing loss, the most common cause of the problem is TMJ. His recommendation was to get a good dentist.

I still have not gone to a dentist about my TMJ issues, but I have consulted with a very good friend of mine who is a dental hygienist. She suggested that I wear a mouth guard to help with the teeth grinding. (I am not wearing a mouth guard because I don't seem to be grinding my teeth anymore.)

Through all of this I have not found anything that makes my hearing improve, other than running. For me running is a huge stress reliever, AND, when I run I relax my jaw muscles, which gives them a chance to stop being so tense and stop causing jaw pain and headaches.

I had never really stopped to consider the effect of all the stress in my life caused by quitting my job, moving to a new state, and starting a PhD program. I guess I had always thought of myself as stressed out but didn't think about the detrimental effect that stress could be having on my life and my health.

Now that I have pinpointed the cause of my head and neck aches, jaw pain, hearing problems to TMJ and I have linked my TMJ "flare-up" to stress I am making a renewed effort to change some aspects of my life to manage my stress.

A few tips I can offer anyone experiencing the same TMJ symptoms:
1. Do jaw stretches/exercises daily if not twice daily. Click here to check out the stretches that I love.
2. Spend at least 5-10 minutes a day doing breathing exercises in which you breath in through your nose and breathe out through your mouth. This seems to help your jaw muscles to relax.
3. Do whatever it is that reduces your stress. For me this means running. I have committed to running 2 or 3 times a week to try to keep my stress in check and to help me stay in shape.

4. Finally be sure to remember to be present in the here and now. You probably won't enjoy every minute of your life, but try really hard to enjoy as much as you can. If you focus on here and now you won't be focusing on what you have to do next or later and it will help you to manage stress and be more productive.

I Love This Place

The Norwottuck Rail Trail is an 11 mile trail that goes from Northampton all the way to UMass. The trail has a bit of a bad reputation because the materials used to make it include an under layer of recycled glass. As time has gone on and the path has broken down some of the glass has started to work its way to the surface, resulting in more than a few flat bike tires. As soon as you get on this path you can actually see that it shimmers in the sunlight from all of the glass pieces. Despite the glass, I have ridden on the trial several times with no flat tire to report. The Norwottuck trial has more to offer than just the risk of a flat tire, about 2 miles from my house is this amazing bridge across the Connecticut River. The bridge goes from one side of the river, to an island in the middle of the river then to the other side.  I must say that there is something about running, biking or even walking across this bridge that appeals to my inner being. I love the vines and branches that offer partial shade, I love the the river, I love the peace and tranquility of this place.

The Foundry

So it's true, Northampton does have some good coffee places and the Foundry is one of them. Until now my coffee experiences here have been limited to Starbucks and Sam's Pizza and Cafe. Now, I will say that Starbucks offers the comfort of familiarity but I wouldn't call it good coffee. I'm pretty sure that the name Sam's Pizza and Cafe should tell you everything you need to know. The latte I had there was mediocre at best.

The second coffee hurdle that I had to surmount was the fact that I really only speak Starbuck-ese. I like my coffee sweet and creamy and every time I try to go to a "real" coffee house I end up ordering who knows what because I am too ashamed to ask what the difference between plain coffee and an americano is, not to mention the other 12 coffee variations listed.

Well my friends the good news is that if you don't speak coffee, the wonderful people at the Foundry would be more than happy to translate for you. I was greeted by two wonderful baristas who walked me through the difference between a latte and an americano and a dirty chai, etc etc. Not surprisingly I ended up getting a maple latte. It was sweet, frothy and delicious. The Foundry also has a great Burlington-esque vibe and for late night they have a pretty nice beer menu. Overall, the Foundry has been my favorite Northampton location yet.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

If you are like me and do not like pumpkin pie, this time of year and the holidays can be a bit disappointing in terms of sweets. Something strange happened the other day...for some reason I got a craving for a fall flavored sweet and decided to try to make pumpkin cupcakes for the first time ever.

This recipe ROCKS! And the maple is a wonderful addition to the cream cheese frosting. As a warning the cupcake recipe makes about 12 cupcakes, but the frosting is enough for 24. :)

Ingredients for the Cupcakes

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin purée (15 ounces), not pie filling

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Ingredients for Frosting

8oz of cream cheese

3 tablespoons of butter at room temperature

3 tablespoons of maple syrup

1-2 cups of powdered sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Into a medium bowl mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin purée, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vegetable oil. Add the flour mixture and stir until combined.

3. Divide the batter among the prepared tins  and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.

4. make frosting: Combine cream cheese, butter and  maple syrup in mixer. I used a whisk to make the frosting more whipped. Next add powdered sugar 1/4 cup at a time until you reach the desired sweetness and thickness.

Frost cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting.

Pad Siew, aka the best Thai Dish EVER!

Ingredients: 

1 Crown of broccoli

1 Package of rice noodles (I got the wide flat triangular shapped ones from Asia Market 99 in the North End of Burlington)

1 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce - also purchased at Asia Market 99

2 Tablespoons Lite soy sauce (normal soy sauce)

2 Cloves of garlic - minced

2 Tablespoons of sugar

1/2 Cup of thinly sliced pork

1 Egg

Boil a pot of water, once boiling pour the water and uncooked rice noodles into a large bowl, let sit while you prep everything else. Drain before adding to the meal. 

Cut the broccoli into small pieces, the pieces in the photo are too large and didn't quite cook enough for my liking.

Heat a large pot-pan to medium heat then add 2 tablespoons of oil, the minced garlic and the pork. When pork is almost done add the rice noodles and stir to break them up a bit. Then add dark soy sauce, lite soy sauce and sugar. Stir to coat the rice noodles with sauce.

Make a hole in the center of your noodles and break you egg into the empty space. Scramble the egg in the area until it is cooked through. Once the egg is cooked, stir the entire pot-pan to mix everything together. 

Add the broccoli and mix well. Cover to help the broccoli cook through. Once the broccoli is cooked, remove your pot-pan from the heat and serve immediately. 

I have to say that this was one of the most delicious and easy recipes that I have ever made at home, and I can't believe how much it looked exactly liked and tasted exactly like Tiny Thai!

Happy cooking! 

Couches by Jess

Today was a marvelous day, because I finished the couch. Actually reflecting back it was a huge pain in the butt to complete this project. I thought it would be easy to finish the cording and to put the bottom fabric back on, but of course I was incorrect. I made the cording, which is a pretty simple process. Then I had to attach the cording to the entire bottom of the couch. Unfortunately the staple gun was having a rough time. I think there were so many layers of stuff that the staples had to penetrate that it just wasn't working. About 1 out of every 12 times I pulled the trigger a staple would actually come out. I got really frustrated and dug out my upholstery tacks, which are essentially tiny nails with very sharp ends and flat heads. I started tacking the welting cord on but realized that I had to conserve my tacks because I only had about 30, which was not going to be enough for the cord and the bottom fabric. After a while I decided to give my staple gun another shot. With a lot of effort pushing the staple gun into the couch and a little bit of hoping, wishing and praying I was able to get both the cording and the bottom attached. I used all my tacks and got enough staples in so that I am willing to proclaim the couch a finished masterpiece. 

Completed bottom of the couch

Reflecting back on this whole adventure I can't believe I actually did this! This couch is a wonderful place to sit, study, nap etc, but it is also a piece of art and a huge source of pride for me. :) I feel very accomplished. There is also something very appealing to me about being able to do all of these things that are no longer being done. The "old arts" if you will. I think my grandmother would be very proud of me. :)

The finished product

Close up of the cording I added today

Childs Park

Across the street from my house is a park called Childs Park. All I can see from my house is a row of HUGE pine trees, maybe 30 - 50 feet tall. I always knew that the park was big, but I guess I assumed it was just a big park full of pine trees. Needless to say I was so wrong. The park is absolutely amazing. There are flower gardens, including a rose garden, ponds paved and un-paved trails, pine trees...yes, but there are also countless other types of trees. The best part of the park is that there is a huge meadow on the side by my house and for the most part it always seems to be empty. People are usually on the other side of the park. I guess this is going to be my personal section of the park. :) 

I'm totally thrilled that I live where I do, even if I take the bus for an hour each day. 

Almost Done Upholstering The Couch

Before

After!

Back of the couch - DONE!!

So today after I studied statistics forever I decided to take a break and finish upholstering the sides and the back of the couch. See above, I finished the second outside arm and then did the back. The outside arms were pretty easy to do, but the back was surprisingly difficult. The curves on the top, outside of the back were almost impossible. I improvised and decided that it didn't really matter if I got them exactly right because that part of the couch is against the wall anyway.  Another big landmark today, I have officially used 1000 staples in the reupholstery project, AND I'm not even done yet. I still have to put the cording on the bottom and put the gauze type stuff (which by the way is the official name) on the bottom. I think there is about 1 hour of work left to finish this project.

Right now this is what the couch looks like.

I'll keep you all posted with a final picture once I get up the motivation to complete the upholstery at long last! :)

Upholstering the Infamous Couch

Over the course of 3 days I have successfully upholstered the couch enough so that I can sit on it! :) The first part that has to be upholstered is the seat, but doing this requires a sewing machine, and I accidentally forgot Dana's sewing machine in Burlington. I had to hope and pray that my sewing machine would work and would have a zipperfoot attachment if I wanted to use it. Luckily something finally went right with this project and I was able to repair my sewing machine, AAAANNNDDD there was a zipperfoot attachment in my book of sewing machine supplies! I was able to move on with the project as hoped. If you look carefully at the picture you might be able to see that the seat cover has a seam about 3 inches back from the front edge, well this had to be handsewn, which was a process but after that it move along quite quickly. I finished the handsewing and got to use my staple gun. As a side note, when I was removing staples I was cursing whomever had assembled this couch and decided to use so many staples, but I must say that it is really easy to get staple happy when you have that gun in your hand! 

The next part of the couch that gets completed are the two arms. Completing the first arm required quite a learning curve and a lot of undoing and redoing. After about 4 hours I finally completed the first arm.

Completing arm 2 and the back of the sofa only took about 2 hours and the best part is that the couch is now upholstered enough to sit on it! I even took a nap on it already. I can't continue the project anymore until some additional supplies arrive, but all that is left are the outsides of the two arms and the back. Then I will add cording to the bottom edge and but the cover on the bottom!

Un-upholstery (I Hate Staples)

Lets just say that in order to make the couch look like this: 

I had to remove all of this from the frame.

As usual I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I took on this upholstery project, but it seemed like a great idea. I spent some amount of time for each of 5 days working on removing staples. I am very glad that I spent the extra money to buy the staple remover! I can't imagine how long removing all of those would have taken if I had not bought the staple remover. I also used needle nose pliers and a lot of gusto. There were two days that I had to stop because my hands hurt and at least 1 day that I had to stop because my arms were tired. At the very end I just couldn't go on any longer, so I counted to see how many staples were left, thinking that if I knew how many there were left I might keep going.  There were exactly 28 staples left and it took a full hour break before I could muster up the strength to pull them all out. Once the staples were all out I took a nap! :)

Re-upholstery Project (2)

To prepare for this project I bought the following supplies:

1. the book Reupholstering At Home by Peter Nesovich

2. chalk to mark your fabric

3. welting cord

4. zipper-foot attachment for sewing machine

5. #16 sewing machine needles - jean/upholstery weight

6. zipper for the cushion - 45" long

7. 10 yards of upholstery fabric

8. upholstery strength thread to match your fabric

9. large sketch pad and pen - to draw a paper plan

10. 4" polyfoam to replace the old foam that the cat peed on

Now...please recall the planning fallacy concept that I explained in my last blog. Well I started on my project by marking the pieces for the cushion in chalk. I cut out the boxing (side pieces) and was preparing to sew in the zipper. I dug out my aunt's sewing machine, changed the needle, threaded the machine, wound the bobbin (20 minutes) then I got ready to switch the foot to the zipper foot. That didn't really go as planned. The regular foot attached with a screw that goes sideways through the leg. Well my zipperfoot needs to attach front and back through the leg so I had to get a screw driver and remove the cover to the sewing machine then loosen another screw that releases the leg so that it can be rotated and the hole will then run front to back instead of side to side. I turn the leg, tighten the screw, return the cover to the machine and tighten that screw and THEN find out that the leg isn't high enough to attach my zipper foot. Redo, loosen screw and remove cover, loosen leg screw, raise the leg up higher and retighten the screw, replace cover (I don't know why I hadn't yet figured out that I should leave the cover alone until everything was all set). At this point all I need to do is to attach the zipper foot attachment, but I can't because the screw isn't long enough!!!!!!!!

I had to get up and walk away from the table because I was soooo frustrated. After a few minutes I returned to the table and configured my aunts sewing machine back to it's original state and put it in the closet. New plan....go to Dana's house and use her newer sewing machine that would clearly work with my zipper foot attachment. 

Today I got up a bit earlier and went for a walk so that I could get to Dana's house early and work on the much anticipated cushion upholstery project. I got to her house and decided I would be smart and figure out the zipper foot attachment before anything else. Needless to say that my zipper foot again didn't fit her sewing machine!!!!!! To my amazement, Dana's machine has it's own zipper foot and I managed to get that to work properly. Once I had the foot all set I plugged the sewing machine in and threaded it. I then went to put the bobbin in the bobbin holder. Surprise, surprise, it didn't fit. I grabbed one of Dana's bobbins and used the thread off my already full bobbin to wind the new bobbin. I finished winding the bobbin and went to put it in the bobbin holder. Guess what!?! It didn't fit. 

At this point I am again frustrated with this project, so I took a break and calmed down. I then went through all of the empty bobbins until I found a bobbin that fit in the bobbin holder, then I wound the bobbin and then magically it fit in the bobbin holder! Hooray! At long, long last I could actually work on sewing. 

I spent the next few hours sewing. And probably 15 minutes later on in a match of Jess versus polyfoam, in which I tried with all my might to get the foam into the case. I can tell you that this was not only hilarious but it was quite a work out AAAANNNNNDDDD, as you probably guess I eventually overcame the polyfoam with my willpower and got the stupid stuff zipped into my cushion. Below is the final cushion for my couch. 

I am just saying that I will never get rid of this couch because of our history. (Love you couch)

Re-upholstery Project (1)

At long last the upholstery project has begun. Before I being the story I would like to tell you about a new concept I learned. There is this idea called the planning fallacy which basically says that when we plan for large projects we don't leave time for unexpected problems. When I read about this concept I thought to myself, yep, that is the story of my life! Every project I undertake ends up taking two or three times longer than I expected.

Back to the story of my sad couch and it's makeover. Below is a photo of the couch in question. I got it for free from Johnson Lambert two years ago. Dana helped me carry the couch from the office on St. Paul Street to my apartment approximately 3.5 blocks away. We looked completely ridiculous carrying a small couch through down town!

The best part wasn't even that we carried the couch through downtown but that when we got to my apartment the couch barely fit through the front door, didn't fit through the second and third door so we had to take them off their hinges and then we couldn't get it into my living room. I was so sick of the couch at that point that I used a hammer to break off the back legs (partially). We were able to get it into the living room and I let poor Dana leave. I promptly went to Lowes and bought a jig saw and legs that I could attach to replace the now jagged broken legs. I successfully removed what remained of the old legs and attached two new back legs.

At that point I also decided to make a slip-type cover for the couch, which was fine in my Church St. apartment, but was rather abused by the cats. When I moved out of Church St. I left this couch on the street for a whole day hoping that someone would take it. To my dismay no one wanted my old couch so I loaded it into my car and brought it to my aunt's house.

During the 8 week stay at my aunt's house I cleaned the upholstery on the couch and it actually came quite clean. Fast forward to moving day...the couch is loaded into the moving truck and we are ready to go, but wait! The cushion...don't forget the cushion! I ran back inside to grab the cushion and noticed that it REEKED of cat pee. My best guess is that my aunt's cat decided to tag my couch before it left. This is the moment that I decided to re-upholster my couch. As you can see it fits exactly into my apartment and this couch and I have some history!

Grilled Portobellos with Bruschetta

On Wednesday I tried this new recipe with Anna and we both agreed it was great. Emily also endorsed this recipe and she only got to eat leftovers!

Ingredients:
 - 4 portobello mushrooms
 - 2 medium red tomatoes
 - 2 medium yellow heirloom tomatoes
 - 2 cloves of garlic
 - 1/2 lb of fresh mozzarella
 - olive oil
 - around 1/2 cup of fresh basil

Preparation: 
- It is best to prepare the bruschetta mix first so the flavors have some time to combine. Mince two cloves of garlic and add to a medium sized bowl. Then add between 3 and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. The olive oil quickly picks up the garlic flavor.
- Chop all four tomatoes and the mozzarella into 1/2 inch cubes. (I am considering making this with grape or cherry tomatoes next time so the prep is a little easier.) Add to the garlic mixture.
- Chop the basil and add to the garlic tomato mixture
- Next remove the stems from the portobellos and scrape the gills out with a spoon. Either grill or cook in a frying pan for 4-5 minutes on each side.
- Top the protobellos with a large scoop of the bruschetta mixture.

When I had finished eating my mushroom and bruschetta I had a lot of delicious juices left on my plate, I think this would be perfect to have with a baguette that has been toasted or grilled!

I hope your taste buds enjoy this as much as mine did.

Brunch at the Inn at Shelburne Farms

After spending two great days at Camp I had the pleasure of having brunch with my two favorite people (Dana and Brian, as if you didn't know) at the Inn at Shelburne Farms.  Dana ordered a popover with lemon blueberry curd and it was amazing! Brian and I both ordered the eggs benedict with heirloom tomatoes and a side of home fries. The heirloom tomato was my favorite part and a great addition to eggs benedict. I highly recommend that everyone try the Inn at Shelburne Farms, the food is great, the building and grounds are amazing and it isn't too expensive.

Camp

What can I say, my mom is pretty much awesome. I was able to spend two days at Camp this weekend and it was jam packed with good food, good people and a few adventures! Mom cooked a ton of delicious food in the oven, which as you can see has progressed amazingly! The first thing we made was pizza, then cinnamon rolls, rye bread, ribs, mac and cheese and chocolate chip cookies. Mom's cooking has always been good, but I must say the oven adds a whole other level to her skills. Thanks for all the delicious food Mom.

Doesn't the pizza look good!

Amid the food frenzy we squeezed in a four wheeler ride with the neighbors, Mike and Krystal.

And of course no summer trip to Camp would be complete without a camp fire. This weekend's fire was interesting because we had 4 kids under 4 that were little fire bugs. They all wanted to help gather sticks to start the fire and once it was going the wanted to keep adding wood as fast as they could collect it. The only way to stop the fire building was to distract them with s'mores. Caleb couldn't be deterred for long though! I'm convinced he would have hung out by the fire all night long.

Mom and Caleb hanging out by the fire

Chocolate Creme Pie

This was my first attempt at making a chocolate creme pie from scratch (well at least the filling) and I'd say it was a huge success!

Ingredients:
1 pre-made Oreo pie crust
Whipped cream
Pie filling
 - 1 cup of sugar
 - 3/4 cup of heavy cream
 - 3/4 cup of buttermilk
 - 3 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch
 - Pinch of salt
 - 4 egg yolks
 - 4 ounces of Ghirardelli semisweet chocolate chips
 - 1 tablespoon of butter
 - 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for pie filling:
 - In a small saucepan combine sugar, heavy cream, buttermilk, cornstarch and salt. Whisk until smooth and then place over medium high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking from time to time (about 5 minutes). Continue cooking at a low boil for an additional 5 minutes while whisking constantly.

 - In a mixing bowl, beat the egg yolks lightly. Pour 1/2 cup of the hot mixture into the egg yolks and whisk thoroughly. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan and whisk over hear until thoroughly combined and very thick, 1 to 2 minutes.

 - Pour the mixture into a mixing bowl, whisk in the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Again, continue to whisk until thoroughly combined. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap that is placed directly on the surface and refrigerate until cooled to room temperature, about 35 minutes.

 - Once cooled, put mixture into pie crust and smooth the top. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

 - Top with whipped cream and enjoy!

Amy's Bridal Shower

Amy's bridal shower was on Saturday and we could not have asked for a better location or a better day. The Inn at Shelburne Farms is absolutely gorgeous. The food was fantastic and most importantly Amy was thrilled. She managed to keep herself together while looking at the photo album that Dana put together for her, but when the cucumber tea sandwiches came out she shed a few tears. Amy had forgotten that she requested them at her bridal shower and was so ecstatic that we had remembered.

Amy crying over cucumber tea sandwiches

Cucumber tea sandwiches

The perfect brunch buffet

Gifts for Amy

Mother-of-the Bride, her sister Kelly and the Bride-to-be, Amy

Home Sweet Studio Apartment

Before

During the big move

After!

After 3 full days of moving in 90 degree heat, my new place is finally put together. This is a photo of my cute little living room and a little bit of my bedroom. :) I am so excited to be able to go home next time and not have to do any cleaning or unpacking!

I would just like to point out that the very nice light fixture that now lights my kitchen was installed by yours truly! Doesn't it look pretty! :)

Thanks Mom, Timmy, Aunt Jeanine, Brian, Linda and George for helping me move and thanks to Jenn for hosting us all at her house. I appreciate all of your contributions to my move.

A Slice of Heaven

I used to think that I loved slices because of pizza, but in reality I love slices of food in general. For example, a slice of greek pizza and a slice of blueberry pie make up my favorite dinner and dessert! See below for recipes.

I made these two pies during one long hot cooking session. First start with your pizza crust then make your pie crust.

Pizza crust:
1. 1 1/2 cups of flour
2. a pinch of salt
3. 1 packet of instant yeast
4. 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
5. 1/2 cup of hot water
6. Mix
7. Cover and let rise while you make your pie

Mom's never fail pie crust recipe:
1.  4 cups of flour
2. 1 teaspoon of baking powder
3. 1 teaspoon of salt
4. 1 tablespoon sugar
5. 1 3/4 cup Crisco
6. 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
7. 1 egg
8. 1/2 cup of cold water
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

Mix together the dry ingredients then cut in the Crisco. Don't substitute store brand shortening for the Crisco, it might be more expensive but it is totally worth it. Mix together the cold water and apple cider vinegar, then whisk in the egg.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until your pie crust forms a large ball. Separate into 3 equal parts. Each 1/3 is a double pie crust. My mom uses this crust for sweet and savory pies, so I recommend dusting with cinnamon and sugar if it is a sweet pie!

Rollout a top and a bottom for the pie. Put the bottom crust in your pie plate and set the top aside for a few minutes.

The next step is to make the pie filling. For a blueberry pie mix 4 cups of blueberries, 1/2 - 3/4 cups of sugar and 1/4 cup of cornstarch together. As a side note, blueberry pies call for more cornstarch than a berry berry pie, which only uses about 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.

Put your pie filling in your pie crust and put your top crust over the berries. Use your fingers to close the two crusts together. Make sure that the top is firmly attached to the bottom crust to avoid any blueberry juice from spilling out into your oven.

Sprinkle the top of your pie with cinnamon and sugar and cover with foil. Cook your pie for 25 minutes with the foil on and then cook for an additional 30 minutes without the foil. Let your pie rest overnight or until it comes to room temperature, before you cut into it. Enjoy!

Now that you are salivating over pie and cannot control your appetite anylonger, make your pizza!

Greek Pizza - inspired by pizza eaten with Anna Kovaliv on the island of Santorini!
1. Press out your pizza dough onto a pizza stone or baking sheet.
2. Coat your crust with a thin layer of olive oil. The olive oil traps the heat from below down to your crust so your crust is nice and crisp and brown! This makes a big difference in how your crust cooks.
3. Use your favorite red sauce. For this recipe I like red sauce with garlic.
4. Top with feta, halved grape tomatoes, onion, green pepper and kalamata olives if the mood strikes.
5. Cook at 425 degrees for 15 - 25 minutes depending on your oven. My old oven only took 15 minutes to make my pizza, but my aunt's oven takes almost 25 minutes to cook the same pizza!

Enjoy!!!

My Happy Place - Peak's Island

After driving 4 hours and waiting 2 or 3 more hours for the car ferry I finally arrive at my happy place. As soon as I see this sign I turn my cell phone off and can feel the effects of being on Island time. I am calm, relaxed and giddy about the fact that I am not going to get a single phone call, e-mail, facebook message or text message for one whole week.  This is the one week a year that I unplug and it is well deserved after the last 6 months of work.

This year the crew included: Mom and Timmy, Mike and Dawn, Meg, Corey and Owen, Aaron and myself. I can honestly say that we didn't do a whole lot, a few walks and runs, a ton of eating, some drinking and mostly reading, sleeping and sun bathing.

To conclude such a fabulous week I decided to take on a challenge: 2 scoops of ice cream, which was really more like 4 scoops. 1/2 Maine Blueberry, 1/2 Deer Tracks. While I am disappointed to say I did not finish all the ice cream, I did eat the whole cone.

Happy June 29th (aka June 30th, aka last day of busy season)

Happy End of Busy Season! I have to say that this has been one of the best and worst busy seasons ever. It was nice to know that this would be my last busy season at JLCo, but it was hard being on a new team with a much different operating structure. While I am excited to move on to the next chapter, JLCo has been a huge part of my life and I will miss it. Photo above is Emily, Me and Julia at Breakwaters. Photo below is Elena and Michelle at RiRa's. 

On a closing note WAAAaaaaHooooooo, I Made It!!!!!!!! :)