Posted by missjunebug on Wednesday July 28th, 2010
missjunebug has been busy lately reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. Being a true-blue fan of self-help books, mjb was happy to pick up The Happiness Project having read a one-page preview of its precepts early on in Real Simple magazine (one of mjb’s favs). She’s even sent copies to her two sons ElderJB and TinyJB and she’s discussed some of its precepts with Mr.JB.
missjunebug is certain that the erudite yet down-to-earth Gretchen is on to something! Inspired by a couple of old school guys Ben Franklin and Samuel Johnson as well as the happy and holy Thérèse of Lisieux, Gretchen charts a course for a year, month by month to work on very specific goals to increase her happiness quotient. Part of her thinking is to perfect her ability to experience happiness now in preparation for the guaranteed tough times ahead. Having recently gone through some tough times herself missjunebug can fully appreciate this a-good-offense-is-the-best-defense strategy when facing the inevitable vicissitudes of life.
To give you a better idea of Gretchen’s approach, let missjunebug fill you in on her plan for November. That’s the next to last chapter that missjunebug is in the middle of right now and very close to the final page of the book. The theme for November’s happiness pursuit is Keep a Contented Heart and missjunebug definitely hearts that idea!
Gretchen hopes to meet these happiness “challenges” in November: Laugh out loud. Use good manners. Give positive reviews. Find an area of refuge. Neat ideas, Gretchen! In the course of the chapter, she learns to listen fully and engage in a full belly-laugh response when the joke is deserving instead of rushing to do the talking. She begins to value kindness and being kinder especially in her conversational style which at times can be a bit peremptory and one-ups man. She also comes to terms with the dark desire of humans to play constant critic, instead of doing the braver thing: to embrace joy. Her Barry Manilow example is well worth the price of the book. She finishes off the chapter with her very helpful idea of seeking out mental areas of refuge that can be as simple as mentally visiting a few things, people, and places that never fail to provide little packets of joy.
missjunebug thinks these very personal but powerful connections are the perfect push toward greater happiness in a rough and tumble world. And this terrific book looks at such connections to happiness in each of its other month-entitled chapters, January through December, all chock full of happiness wisdom earned the hard way by Ms. Rubin’s own personal trial and error. And believe missjunebug when she says, if Gretchen doesn’t get happy doing the particular happiness activity or process she sets for herself, she’s the first to jettison it and move on. Smart move, G.
The secret to missjunebug’s happiness in reading this very savvy, atypical, and highly recommended self-help book The Happiness Project is that she will be able to share her takeaways from it with the three shiny, happy people in her blessed life: Mr.JB, ElderJB, and TinyJB!
Posted by missjunebug on Monday July 26th, 2010
mjb says "Thanks, TJ's" for this awesome bread! Photo by mjb2010
Perhaps the title to this blog is a bit much, but missjunebug can’t say enough good things about this good bread! Trader Joe’s Tuscan Pane “A Stone Hearth Oven-Baked Classic Italian Bread” lives up to its name: It is a classic! And squisito! And missjunebug hearts it big time!
Perfect for toast, even more perfect for grilled cheese! Believe her when she says you should swing by your local T.J.’s and pick up a loaf today! The “crisp crust” and “chewy interior” will not disappoint!
missjunebug owes her friend and neighbor M. who brought a loaf to her a while back as a little get well gift (along with soup and super treats, too) a big THANKS for introducing her to this lovely loaf!
Oh. my. yes. Delicious for Toast & the Perfect Grilled Cheese! Photo by mjb2010
Posted by missjunebug on Friday July 23rd, 2010
Lemony x 10! Photo by mjb2010
missjunebug loves muffins and occasionally indulges in the semi-healthy mega-delicious varieties. The missjunebug Lemony Good Sour Cream Muffin recipe definitely qualifies for that designation. For all health foodies out there, please feel free to adapt away with whole wheat flour and less sugar and no butter, but for missjunebug, she’ll keep the white ingredients and only eat these delicious lemony treats every once in a while! The perfect compromise for optimal eating! And missjunebug can’t think of a better spring or summer breakfast treat served along side a slab o’ slices of Farmer John’s Classic Bacon, cooked up crisp-delicious! (jk, health foodies!)
missjunebug’s Lemony Good Sour Cream Muffins
(adapted from 1-2-3 Bake in Parade July 11, 2010)
2 cups King Arthur unbleached white flour or white whole wheat flour (for your h.f’s out there)
2/3 cup C & H sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. Kosher salt
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3/4 cup Daisy or TJ’s sour cream
2 large organic eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 stick butter, melted
India Tree Sparkling Sugar-Bright White (optional)
Prep dry ingredients first: Mix together with a whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.
Prep wet ingredients next: Mix together lemon juice, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and lemon extracts, and melted butter.
Prep dry and wet ingredients separately! Photo by mjb2010
Mix the dry and the wet ingredients together. Stir in a kind and gentle way, just enough to combine. Don’t worry about any tiny lumps!
Mix Gently! Tiny Lumps Allowed! Photo by mjb2010
Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin tin. Sprinkle with India Tree Sparkling Sugar-Bright White for a bakery finish! Bake 20-22 minutes at 350 degrees. Let rest five minutes before sampling! Enjoy!
Any Old Muffin Tin Will Do!! Photo by mjb2010
Let rest five minutes before sampling! Enjoy!
The Perfect Summer Muffin! Photo by mjb2010
Posted by missjunebug on Wednesday July 21st, 2010
missjunebug between bouts of various and heinous medical interventions has still managed to have some fun with her p.i.c. doing some fairly vigorous retail therapy. There’s nothing like the approaching end of summer to bring on the heavy discounts: Nordstrom It’s Our Anniversary Sale! Banana Republic Many Percent Off Everything Sale! JCrew A Few Really Fine Things on Sale Sale! What fun!
missjunebug and her dear p.i.c. are devoted to improving their look as well as giving a much needed shot in the arm to the local economy. And speaking of arms, yes, they both bought pieces that actually reveal some arm and even a little leg. This time next year they will be sailing the high seas to exotic ports of call baring trim and firm extremities! Where does such inspiration and motivation come from? That’s right: Retail Therapy. The most affordable and accessible therapy out there for the not-getting-any-younger set.
missjunebug knows what you are thinking: How do you know the pieces you buy today will still be in style a year from today!? First off, what’s a year in the fashion industry? No biggie. You didn’t really fall for all that Devil Wears Prada nonsense, did you, dear reader? mjb and her p.i.c. can easily spot the lasting trends, grab the classics, and skip the gnarly fads that fade like cheap jeans after a hot wash. Okay, maybe no one will still be wearing sequins on their JCrew t-shirts next year, but missjunebug doubtless will be! She’ll just refer to what she’s wearing as vintage! Yeah, that’ll work!
Secondly, it doesn’t matter what mjb and her p.i.c. wear because nobody’s looking! It’s as if Harry Potter’s cloak of invisibility has settled gently on their shoulders and they can do whatever they want: wear red hats! don purple clothing! squeeze into blue thongs! expose bare arms! Believe missjunebug when she says no one cares! And, yes, there was a time a long day ago when both of them turned a few heads but, alas, those days are done. Those days are most definitely gone. Hey, you can’t look at what you can’t see!
Still, missjunebug and her p.i.c. didn’t dwell on time passing but kept a clear-eyed focus on their potent purchases filled with therapy and possibility and fun!
Holland America! Disney Cruise! Here they come!
Posted by missjunebug on Sunday July 18th, 2010
Tiny Pancakes for Le Petit Dejeuner! Get it??? Photo by mjb2010
missjunebug made pancakes this morning, nice and thin like her dear JBGranny used to make a long, long day ago. JBG always used Bisquick, but missjunebug prefers the efficacy of Krusteaz Pancake Mix! Still, it didn’t take long before mjb got a little silly doing it. JBGranny’s were always silver dollar sized and she and her JBBro just loved them with the Log Cabin! But missjunebug did JBG one better and made pancakes that fit right in with her Tiny Things Collection–remember Petite Pirate, Nifty Ninja, Small Ball, and the World’s Tiniest Pencil?
If these little pancakes were a constellation they’d look a little like the Pleiades viewed from Earth, of course, to approximate the tininess of them!
Sometimes when the larger things in life get too serious and too complicated, it’s good to get a little silly and go really, really tiny. It never fails to bring a tiny smile to missjunebug’s face!
Posted by missjunebug on Tuesday July 13th, 2010
missjunebug and her Mr.JB have recently returned from their little trip to French Polynesia. Fun times! Papeete provided great food in town and at the Sofitel, fun shopping at the awesome Marketplace and some nifty museums sprinkled around Tahiti as well. Moorea, just a half-hour ferry ride from Tahiti, was Snorkel Central for the junebugs. mjb squealed with delight watching her Mr.JB hand feed some very friendly stingrays. She even managed to pat a few on the their sleek and curious flappy bodies and was reminded of a gray cashmere sweater she wears in the fall and winter. Yes, seriously, that’s what they felt like! Who knew??? A few sharks cut through nearby waters, but missjunebug and her Mr.JB maintained a reasonable distance. A highlight of the trip for sure, only to be topped by the Total Solar Eclipse viewed by the junebugs on the Hao Atoll, a slim strip of land in the middle of Ocean Central! Lucky bugs to not get clouded out. Three minutes and change felt like 8 seconds (as all eclipse chasers know!) but they savored every single second of darkness, shimmering corona, and yelps of the Hao locals and the e-chasers livin’ the dream! Next? Queensland Australia 2012, birthplace of the Spoonbug. Too bad she can’t come along to eclipse chase, too.
Posted by missjunebug on Sunday July 4th, 2010
Photo by mjb2010
Happy Birthday USA!
missjunebug loves being an American junebug. And she really loves a Fourth of July Parade! This year she had to go no further than her own block to see one. The First Annual Presilla Tractor Parade on her very own street! What fun! Mr.JB was outside in their backyard, heard some patriotic music and looked over their fence to see a line of tractors decked out in sparkles and bangles and banners and flags heading up the hill! He ran in the house to tell missjunebug the good news. They changed into their patriotic t-shirts, grabbed their dog Spoonbug, put the roof down on the car, and made a dash around the block to catch the parade at the top of the hill! What followed was a wave fest, happy Fourth of July greetings, and an invitation to join the parade! Lucky junebugs! Of course, they wasted no time u-turning to take their place in the tractor line-up for the rest of the route!
missjunebug managed to take lots of pictures and say big hellos to her tractored-up west-end neighbors, some for the first time. The junebugs felt a part of the vast web of Fourth of July Parades taking place all across America to celebrate this great country. How lucky for them that one took place right on their own street!
Happy Fourth of July!
Photo by mjb2010
Photo by mjb2010
Photo by mjb2010
Photo by mjb2010
Photo by mjb2010
Photo by mjb2010
Photo by mjb2010
Photo by mjb2010
Photo by mjb2010
Photo by mjb2010
Mr.JB Flips a U-ie to Join the Fun! Photo by mjb2010
Happy Fourth of July, America!! Photo by mjb2010
Posted by missjunebug on Sunday June 27th, 2010
missjunebug loves to learn about all sorts of things online, no doubt just like her readers do. This weekend she hit the motherload! She read an article in her local Sunday paper that lead her straight to one of the coolest online teachers she’s run across, and believe her when she says she’s done her share of online learning from the videos at lynda.com for techy stuff to the weighty academicearth.org for lectures from the hallowed halls of our most esteemed universities.
But the one she discovered this weekend sets itself apart by being so fully engaging and captivating that missjunebug can’t wait to work her way through the more than 1500 lessons online in subjects including math (not missjunebug’s fav), economics, chemistry, physics, history, current financial topics, and many others. The eponymous online site www.khanacademy.org translates Sal Khan’s love of learning into an open academy for the whole planet. missjunebug enjoyed his lively instruction about the French Revolution (Part I & II), making her way all the way through the Reign of Terror in one short evening! She can hardly wait to get to the lesson featuring that rascal Napoleon Bonaparte!
According to the news article missjunebug read, Sal just wants to teach the way he himself would like to be taught. A simple, but brilliant idea, Mr. Khan! missjunebug would expect nothing less coming from an M.I.T. graduate in Computer Science with an M.B.A. from Harvard. (Smarty pants!) Keep up the good work and think about branching out to literature study, one of missjunebug’s personal favs. If you can explain those pesky word problems, no doubt you’ll have no problem analyzing great literature!!
Posted by missjunebug on Wednesday June 23rd, 2010
missjunebug recently mentioned the sad red tag affixed to their gate by the local fire department. Bummer x 10. The junebugs failed their weed abatement test, but they are getting closer to the all clear. missjunebug had an epiphany while rolling a gianormous weed bale down a hill. Take pictures of the results! Why? To remember in detail why she does not want to do this next year. Yes, it was good exercise. Yes, it saved some money. Yes, the weather was great, not too hot, not too cold, just right while she and Mr.JB continued the endless whacking and stacking.
But do it again next year? Not a chance. She can appreciate first hand how hard the life of manual labor is and she gives all kudos to those who do this kind of work five days a week, week after week. Truly admirable. But once a year is enough and she would prefer nonce.
She did learn one more thing while she was taking pictures for this little Weed Abatement Photo Essay: She loves everything about where she and Mr.JB live, yes, even the weeds. Really? Really? you say. Okay, maybe not the weeds. But the weeds whacked and stacked. That she loves.
Not Quite Monet: Stacks of Pampas Grass Detritus. Photo by mjb2010
Hey What's That Coming in for a Landing? Weedy UFO? Photo by mjb2010
Creepy Close-Up of Weed Stack! Do you see a face? Photo by mjb2010
Why the junebugs Live Here: the View! Photo by mjb2010
Holy Relic from Holey Barn? Photo by mjb2010
missjunebug's Arty Shot of the Day. Can You Spot the Moon? Photo by mjb2010
Posted by missjunebug on Tuesday June 22nd, 2010
Mr.JB's Happy Licorice People Right Before...You Know! Photo by mjb2010
Mr.JB and missjunebug have been married a really, really long time and have no plans of walking the sad path recently taken by Al and Tipper and some other long marrieds-soon divorced that they know. Is it something in the water? missjunebug isn’t sure. What she is sure of is that over time she and her Mr.JB are becoming more and more alike which turns out not to be a bad thing since they started out many, many years ago as complete opposites. He’s science-y; she’s word-y. He’s a relentless perfectionistic; she’s lives by the 80%/20% rule: that is, 80% is plenty good enough in most things most of the time. He’s methodical, always; she’s haphazard, on a good day. He loves licorice like no other; she couldn’t stand the stuff.
Yes, that’s right. missjunebug once hated licorice with all her little bug heart. When she was an itty bitty bug, she could never have imagined digging into a bag of licorice All Sorts or Harry & David Tuxedos or multi-colored Licorice Snaps or black as night Scottie Dogs, not to mention eating pink and white Mike and Ike’s. The idea revolted her. Now missjunebug could fall back on her De gustibus non es disputandum motto here very easily, but the fact is that even though one cannot account for taste, missjunebug has learned that tastes do change over time. How does this happen? missjunebug has no idea. But there it is. missjunebug over the past couple of years has developed a deep and abiding love for licorice.
She suspects that it originally had to do with scarcity. She’d run out of everything fun and sweet to eat that she favored (Junior Mints, Kit Kat Bars, M&M’s Peanut, Reese’s Pieces, Cherry Sours–the list goes on and on) and resorted to trying “just one, please” piece of licorice that Mr.JB had methodically rationed to himself for an after dinner treat. It was not love at first bite. But it was sweet enough to be interesting and not nearly as revolting as missjunebug remembered from her childhood. This little scenario replayed itself enough times that missjunebug eventually acquired a taste for what was once the untasteable.
And really, really liked it. Maybe missjunebug was able to set aside her deep and abiding childhood loathing of licorice just long enough to give it a try and another try, and then another. Now she and Mr.JB delight in sharing the enjoyment of a sweet treat they both find tasty.
Things can change. Tastes can change. And yes, marriages break up, even 30 or 40 year ones. But sometimes marriages of opposites can celebrate all the ways in which a couple have come to reside happily in the ”if ever two were one, then surely we” category!
Now, Mr.JB, hand missjunebug that bag of Scottie Dogs, pronto!
