Abraham Lincoln.Just because.

Or some things never get old or outdated.
Abraham Lincoln is one of them.
Along with his face,they should put this quote of him of
on the back of the 5 dollar bill…Or in every school…
So inspiring.And true…
And written centuries ago…
But that’s the magic of the genius…Timelesness…

”Respected Teacher,

My son will have to learn I know that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for ever scoundrel there is a hero; that for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader. Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend.
It will take time, I know; but teach him, if you can, that a dollar earned is far more valuable than five found.
Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy winning.
Steer him away from envy, if you can.
Teach him the secret of quite laughter. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to tick.
Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books.. but also give him quiet time to ponder over the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on a green hill –side.
In school teach him it is far more honourable to fail than to cheat.
Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tells him they are wrong.
Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough.
Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when every one is getting on the bandwagon.
Teach him to listen to all men but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.
Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sad. Teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness.
Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders; but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul.
Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob… and to stand and fight if he thinks he’s right.
Treat him gently; but do not cuddle him because only the test of fire makes fine steel.
Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind.
This is a big order; but see what you can do. He is such a fine little fellow, my son.”

Abraham Lincoln letter to his son’s teacher.

Pink bling-thing in the city or I was born this way

Of Glendale…
Or what not to wear at a job interview…
Supposedly for a creative,self-standing entrepreneurial kind of job…
Which required a no jeans,smart attire…
And apparently reading from a script…
So there for the creative spirit and input…
Needless to say, I didn’t get the job and felt as useless as an ashtray on a motorbike,just standing there, being me…
Being you is not so highly rated at a certain circles…
Then again,I was born this way!
Meanwhile the other candidates showed up in jeans!!Even though the instructions were not to.
So they got the job.
And I got a nice day,horsing pinking around in the city.
Ce la vie, as they say…

Horsing around in pink

Bow your face in shame,you naughty boy…Showing off in the middle of a serious business district…Anatomically correct too.In the middle of the day!!!

The spirit of pink

Pink above the highway

They say, if you stand long enough on the bridge,the body of your enemy will  float drive past…Eventually…Still waiting…

Pinking the concrete jungle

Street style…

Pink is the new gold

Glendale, I love you this much!!

Outfit and belt-made by me.

Go-to-fitness meal for a dollar or bang for the buck

Yes,you can have it all.For dinner.
High protein,low-carb,delicious,nutritious chicken amaze-burger with cauliflower ”rice”.Paleo too.
For a dollar!!!

Chicken amaze-burgers with cauliflower rice

My biggest challenge lately is keep my level of fitness and killer nutrition on a shoe string budget.You don’t have to resort to eating junk, just because is cheaper and more convenient in a times.Rough financial times call for even better eating habits,since you need all the vital energy for overcoming the temporary curve balls life trows every now and then.So I quickly became somewhat of a whiz-cuisine-whip-it-for a dollar chef-cook.All you need is research and maths.And imagination.As you can see, fitness meal doesn’t have to mean expensive protein bars,shakes,man made in a lab concoctions with sky high prices.
I like to keep it simple.Primal.Essential.
No bull.For a dollar.

Here is the breakdown of my shopping list for this dinner
0.20 cents cauliflower !                 1 cauliflower head head-1 $ -my local grocery store- yields 5 portions
0.40 cents minced chicken –        1 lb minced 2.78 $ local grocery store-yields 7 portions
0.10 cents worth of onion –           3 big bunches spring onions – 1 $ local grocery store-yields 10 portions for different uses
0.10 cents worth of cillantro-       4 bunches cillantro – 1 $ local grocery store-yields many portions for future uses
0.20 cents 2 eggs
2-4 tbsp old fashioned oats

Total $ 1 per portion.Bang for the buck!

Before

For the chicken amaze-burgers:
In a bowl combine the
5 chopped spring onions
1 lb minced chicken
2 eggs
chopped cillantro
2 tbsp oats
salt,pepper,cayenne pepper,cumin and lime juice to taste(1-2 tbsp)
Form patties and bake in oven on 400.

During

It came out as total of 7 patties 6 perfect (amazeburgers) and 1 odd shaped,shown here:

After

On the right is my cauliflower rice with turmeric.
Easy breazy to make,low carb,low calorie and tasty,even for anti-cauliflower-er like me.I never liked the stuff.Till this concoction came out.
In a powerful blender toss the roughly chopped cauliflower and pulse till grain consistence.
Heat some coconut oil and fry some spring onions with salt,pepper,turmeric,cayenne.
Add the cauliflower rice, and stir fry for 10 min or so.At the end add more chopped cilantro for taste.

Serve with some chopped veggies,like tomatoes,or cucumber.
Easy.Breazy.For a dollar.
Now that’s a true dollar value meal.

Lets Not Let It End or the daily picture

I’ve been to the end…

The end of the road

Of my rope…
Of the road…
Of my tether…(Story of my life)
And I stopped.
At the no stopping at any time sign.
And I thought:
End is where one  wants to end UP.

The end

So stop.
And go.
And keep pushing.
And see the big picture.
Beyond the End sign…

Stay inspired…
And let’s not let it end…
Unless You want to…

Show your support to the US car industry or cross fit to a new level

Aaand here is how I do it

Supporting the US car industry with my bare hands

Still loyal to the Chrysler Sebring family…We also had it in Holland,so once a fan,always a fan…

Which is not to say that this baby is flawless…As seen here, it needed some needed TLC from a pro.And up lifting and support from me-Ha!

Support the US car industry

Lately I’ve been ob.se.ssed. with power lifting,so it was only natural to take it to a higher-literally level.
Damn I am strong!
Take that cross-fitters with your tyres flipping-schmipping!!
I got the tires and the car-HA!
Just love them Mustang-wheels….
Gah!

Decadent raw chocolate bliss to chase the monday blues

Decadent and bliss are not normally associated with mondays,but that’s  why I am bringing you this raw creation.
Beat the monday blues and that afternoon slump with this Oh-so-sweet chocolate mousse/icecream/froyo concoction.
With all natural,guilt free ingredients…And the ONLY time you will catch me eating bananas!

Raw vegan chocolate dessert

Rich, and gooey and chocolately…Just the right afternoon snack.

Raw vegan chocolate bliss

Very simple.Time saving.Easy.Breazy to do.

Bananas and perssimons

Main ingredients-well ripe(with brown spots)frozen or normal bananas and big juicy perssimon(mine was frozen too.).Side note-Bananas for bananas I am not and can’t be caught dead eating them yellow suckers,so that’s the only time I declare peace with the enemy bananas.And that’s saying something about that(recipe).

Raw chocolate bliss recipe

In a high powered(3HP) blender,put a bit of water (half cup)and add unsweetened shredded coconut with a big heap of unsweetened cocoa(mine is from Trader Joe).Then just add the bananas and the perssimon and blend your way to a chocolate heaven…If you are a cinnamon addict like me, you can drown sprinkle that in too…Pop in freezer so it sets and becomes more gooey and froyoey…

Go ahead.Chase the monday blues with my choco-coco-bliss!
Mmmm, good.
No sugar added.
Raw.Full of healthy goodness.
Guilt free.Good stuff.
Easybreazy.

Well,hello queen Maxima or I found the Dutch Queen in L.A.grocery store

In case you wondering where is the Dutch queen Maxima at the moment…

Me and Queen  Maxima in Vons

I found her at the checkout line at Vons in Los Angeles.
Gracing the cover of the ”Hello” magazine in spanish.
Well, hello Queen Maxima!!!
Or Hola!!!!!

Goodbuy Amsterdam,Hello Uncle Sam or new life in America

The aftermath or
What a year it has been!!!
Turbulent doesn’t even begin to describe it!
As stated in my previous entry,we moved house across the ocean(make that oceans) and starting a new life in California.
With no rich uncle to fall on,or any friends.
Then again,this is how we do it.
No fear.Head on.
Since july 2013 it has been go,go,go.
Do.Do.Do.
Hurry,hurry,hurry.
Paperwork.Legwork.
Cleaning all junk from our home.
Giving staff away to charities,to neighbours,to Johan the fruit guy…

Out with the old…

It’s amazing how much useful staff junk was lurking around the house…

Shoes-goodbye old friends

It pained me to part with my shoes,but I had to make a wise choice what to take  and what to leave…Aaahh..

Wires,wires,wires

My husbands old friends also had to go…

In six short months,we put our Dutch house for sale,quit a cushy job and easy life and moved to USA.
Goodbuy Amsterdam…Hello, Uncle Sam…

Goodbye Amsterdam

Goodbuy Rijksmuseum

Amsterdam

Amsterdam,Museumplein and me

Sunflowers and Amsterdam

Just the 2 of us,followed by a 7 cubic meter container with all our (O.K.mostly mine 98 %) crap possessions.

Living in a box

Our life in boxes…

Best way to pack for transatlantic journey

69 of them, to be precise…

Best way to pack for transatlantic journey

We try to use some highly scientific method with paper tape on the floor to figure out the cubic meter size of the container needed,which of course didn’t quite pan out, so we ended up miscalculating.So 5 cubic meter turned out to be 7, and big pain in the …wallet.

Best way to pack for transatlantic journey

Note to all would be movers in another continent-when shipping stuff across continents,use plastic storage boxes and drawers,instead of paper.It’s more sturdy and rain-proof-as tested by us during our container loading day.It was freezing cold and rained cats and dogs. And boy, were we happy that we used plastic…

And here is my favorite moment of our journey to America.Trying so see the unknown.So full of hope.So full of promise.So full of the excitement.

Though the looking glass or the future is 15 hours away….in L.A.

Would it be turbulent.Or rough.Or smooth?!…As the saying goes:
”One day can make your life.One day can break your life.
All life is, is four or five days that change everything”  (Drew Barrymore,from Riding in cars with boys)
And that was THAT day.

On a wing and a prayer…

Giddy with excitement…
Future,here we come…
And that was the 2013 most defining moment…