Faschnauts!

Ok, so this mornings' blog is about these yummy little donuts that I love so much!  They come out only during the lenten season and I look forward to them every year! They are soo good!

Those of you who know me on a personal level, know that I love to cook and bake and I love to make treats that are celebrations of the seasons. This particular little donut looks like a little rectangle, deep fried and covered in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar. 

Traditionally, they were made on Fat Tuesday, the day before lent starts as a way to empty the cupboards of lard, sugar and butter.  Thank god for tradition I say!

As for me, the tradition started when I was in my twenties and I dated a guy whose Mom would make them herself from scratch.  That was my first experience with them and I have been hooked ever since!

I know, for a girl who works out at the gym five times a week and is a healthy eater, blogging about a fatty donut.  Well, all I have to say is that I also really enjoy my life and I splurge on occassion, especially during holiday seasons.

 After all, life is meant to be savored and enjoyed and what better way to do it than through food!

I highly recommend you seek out a bakery in your area and try these little treats - they are yummy!

Happy Eating!

Kimberley

Missing Dear Friends....

And those friends are you my blog readers!

 I haven't written a blog in quite awhile and I am so missing all of you so much.  Fortunately for me, God/The Universe, whatever you call the Higher Power you believe in, has answered some of my deepest prayers and those answers have occupied my time over the last few weeks. 

They are presents that have seemed to arrive at just the right time.  As they always do. 

And when I take a step back to reflect after the events of these weeks, I ask myself - why do I become so fearful and so distraught with worry, when I know that truly "life has a way of taking care of itself." I guess I just need to keep learning this until it seeps into the depths of my being.

"Trusting the process of life and knowing that all of our needs are met and we are safe" is now one of my life mantras from Louise Hay.  One of my life's teachers.

I look forward to talking with all of you more this week and hearing how your lives are going.

With Love and Much Happiness,

Kimberley

A Fresh Piece of Basil

I walked through the grocery store tonight, after a long day, just yearning to go home and crawl under the covers. It was cold outside and I hadn't slept much last night.  I was hungry but knew there was no way I was going to cook when I got home.  As always, I spend most of my time in the fruit and vegetable aisle. I was looking at all the colors displayed in the Wegmans produce section.  The bright oranges, the reds of the apples, the green celery, the blue berries.  I found myself yearning for spring and summer and all the special salads and fruit pies.  It feels so good to eat well.

I strolled through the aisle soaking it all in and remembering the delicious sweetango apples my friend grows in his farm in Kendall, NY.  I wait for them each year now. And those delicious donut peaches! Yum!

I bumped right into the tomatoes and saw one of my most favorite herbs - Basil!!!!!!!!  I love italian cooking and italian food and caprese salad is just heaven for me!  The basil plants were sitting there amongst the tomatoes and I just had to pick off a piece and start smelling that little basil leaf! 

I know some people don't appreciate the sensuousness (is that a word? lol!) of food but I sure do!  I took that little basil leaf and rubbed it and smelled it all through my trip to Wegmans.  I closed my eyes and thought about that caprese salad with fresh slices of the summers tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella, drizzled with balsamic dressing.  My mouth is watering as I write this.

So, a little bit of summer on a very, crisp, cold winter night! 

And what of the basil leaf?  Hahaha.  I ate it as I bumped into a dear friend in the fresh bread section! Nothing like a sandwich tomorrow with basil, mozzarella, proscuitto and tomatoes on fresh italian, crusty bread!  I am truly a food lover! 

Kimberley

A Random Act of Kindness, Taking in the Garbage Can

I am so touched by this that I had to share it with my blog readers.  Some of you know me on a very personal level, others not.  For those of you who do, you know that one of my least favorite things in life to do is take the garbage out and bring the can in from the street after they pick up the garbage.  Don't ask me why, its such a little thing actually - its just one of those things for me.  It's one of life's little things for me I guess, like changing light bulbs.

Two weeks ago, I drove into my driveway on a cold, Monday night after my workout at the gym to discover that someone had taken my garbage can in for me? I thought perhaps my neighbor had done it - sometimes in the summer he would do it after he cut my lawn. I made a mental note to thank him the next time I saw him outside.

This week, I discovered that it wasn't my neighbor - but a dear friend who was my "garbage can angel."  I was pulling out of my driveway, on my way to the gym and there he was, my dear friend who stopped on his way home from work to take my garbage can in for me.  He knew how much I hated this chore!

I was at the end of my driveway, knowing that if I stopped the car I would be late to meet my trainer.  I did anyway!  I got out of the car, walked up to my friend and gave him the biggest hug I could and said "thank you."  Because really, what else describes the gratitude I felt and how much my heart wanted to cry just knowing this person went out of their way for me, "just because."

The tears well up in my eyes as I write this because in this crazy world where people oftentimes do not remember that we are all still people - with the same heart, lungs, hands, feet as each other - we are no different than one another - just each on our own journeys.  We all need to be loved and to love no matter who we are or what our occupation in life is. 

I would encourage all of my readers to do some random act of kindness for someone, no matter how small - like taking in the garbage can.  You will have no idea how much you will have touched someones life!

With Gratitude and Love,

Kimberley

The Birthing of a Dream

Today, I took another step in my journey to share my first novel with the world.  I submitted the manuscript to Createspace and Amazon, who are sponsoring the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awared. This opportunity gives a writer a chance to win one of two $15,000 publishing contracts with Penguin USA and distribution of their novel on Amazon.com.

Writers had to submit a 300- word pitch for their entry. I was so excited about this opportunity and when I went to sign on this morning and submit my work, I discovered I was too late to submit for the general fiction category, 5000 entries had already gotten in.  However, I never, ever, ever give up and I submitted into the second category - Young Adult fiction and found a spot to write in a special request for consideration to Amazon.  So, who knows how this will all turn out, the Universe/God whatever you call the Higher Power that operates in the world, will take it from here, I did what I could. 

I thought I would share my pitch with my readers, here it is, let me know what you think:

Sometimes it takes nine months and sometimes it takes nine years. Sometimes, it is effortless  and sometimes it is a struggle.  But in the end, the birthing of a new creation, whether it is a brand new baby boy, a work of art like that of MichelAngelo, or a novel , it is all worth it!  I am mindful of something that  Steve Jobs says in an interview with he and Bill Gates:

                People say you have to have a lot of passion for what you’re doing, its totally true, and the reason is because its so hard that if you don’t any rational person would give up! It’s really hard , you have to do it over a sustained period of time, if you don’t love it and your not having fun doing it, your going to give up and that’s what happens to most people actually if you look at the ones that ended up being successful in the eyes of society..oftentimes the ones that are successful, love what they did so they would persevere when it got really tough and the ones that didn’t love it – Quit!, because they are sane right?

I began the journey of creating this novel in August of 2005 and finished the last sentence in July 2010.  Through unemployment, a mother diagnosed with breast cancer, a challenging new job, and a house fire, I never gave up.  This book became my solace during the storms of life.  I never stopped writing and I never stopped dreaming of a published work.

The Miracle of a Broken Heart, through a fictional character inspires women to be true to themselves and follow their dreams! “  Again,  I quote Steve Jobs as he cites lyrics in a Beatles song about his relationship with Bill Gates

“You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.”   

It is my sincere desire that I will say this about the relationship that was formed with CreateSpace, Amazon, Penguin Publishing and Kimberley Barker Nightingale.

Would love to know your thoughts,

Kimberley

Thoughts of Springtime...

I pulled out of the driveway on my way to the office yesterday morning and what did I see? ...






But the snowdrops peeking out of the ground!!!  I was sooooo excited, the first flowers of spring! That makes my heart sing!  I love the springtime!  It is such a time of hope and promise and a time for life to start anew!  The thaw of the ground brings to us the promise of daffodils and hyacinth and the yellows and pinks of the stately tulips!

Spring... a time for us to come out of our winter hybernation and stretch our arms and legs and wake up to the endless possibilities that life holds for us!

The garden and seed catalogs are arriving as did my Pottery Barn spring catalog!  Such a delight to sit down in my cozy overstuffed white chairs, look out the window at the barren trees, with the catalogs on my lap and dream of the beauty of this special time of awakening sipping my cup of coffee.

Love and Light to you my friends,

Kimberley