2 Women Who Inspire Me

A few tidbits tonight come to mind as I enjoy the smell of roasting garlic with my fresh cauliflower in the oven...

Sesame oil.  Hatsie, as you know, is blogging about cooking.  She is having the time of her life experimenting, sharing, researching and creating.  Along the way, she’s teaching me a thing or two as I read what she’s tried this week, so today when she gushed about sesame oil in her Tuesday night asian noodle dish, it made me a crazy lady.  I will own some sesame oil soon, folks.  I particularly loved this description, 

“It's nutty and rich and smells like peanut butter but with class.  I was blown away by the flavor it imparted.”

Huh?  Huh?  Besides how well she writes, (sorry for the obnoxious mama bear bragging!) doesn’t that make you want to own some?  For the recipe that she used, go here:   http://tworecipes.blogspot.com

Another thing.  I have an old friend that I’ve reunited with on Facebook.  My only real connection to her is that she married one of my childhood friends from the ‘hood, who was one of my brother’s best friends.  But that’s just where it starts.  I connect with her on so many levels apart from that:  she loves her kids as much as I love mine (definitely my kind of people,) she loves Glee and kids and musicals and creativity expressed in ways like drama and dance, she grew up around ranches and hunting and calls the Hill Country home (it touches my nostalgic nerve every time she talks about it as I think back to Bandera, Texas and the ranch) and most importantly, she wants to be on Oprah as bad as I do.  

Hello?  If you’ve been around me longer than 5 minutes, you’ve heard me raise that eyebrow and lock that jaw and say Oprah doesn’t even know how bad she needs me on her show!  (Huge, knee slapping, never-gonna-happen dream of mine.)  

But this ferociously tenacious woman has graciously included me (and anyone else devoted to reading her blogs) in an amazing journey as she’s lost OVER 120 POUNDS.   She’s done it the old fashioned way:  eat less, eat right, and exercise her booty off.  

I asked for her permission to link her blog to share with you, dear friends, for inspiration the next time you think whatever task before you is too great.  The next time you want to say, “I can’t...it’s too much,” go here:   http://shrinkingviolettheblog.blogspot.com/2011/03/abracadabra.html

I think I’ll close with that.  I have more tidbits to share, but I don’t want to water down the impact that I believe you’ll feel after reading a few of her posts....

And watch for her on Oprah!  She, in direct contrast to me, has a real shot!