February 3, 2026
Welcome celebrants!
It is indeed a festive time of year as you well know:
·
If you are like many of us, you have recently
woken from your post-Groundhog Day hangover.
Perhaps you have seen your shadow and it scared you back to bed? I feel you.
·
Superbowl is this Sunday! I will be attending a Superbowl party with
family and friends. It should be fun,
although I am guessing the other guests will be unimpressed by my contribution
to the potluck, as usual. In addition to
my questionable taste in recipes, I have recently read most of a book called Superlife
that has got me thinking that a delicious quinoa casserole is in order. More on this later.
·
Year of the Fire Horse is just a couple weeks
away! So awesome! Who can restrain the power of the fire horse? Neeighh! No need to retort, 'twas a rhetorical question.
So, I thank you for taking a bit of time off from your partying so you can check in with me. Here are a few things I’ve been doing/considering these days:
So apparently the groundhog saw his shadow. I am not surprised by this since there was a magnificent Super Groundhog Moon shining as I awoke and pedaled off into the sunrise on that glorious occasion.
So, even if the ‘hog was up early, he likely would have been startled to see his moonshadow lying threateningly on the ground near his home. Also known as the Snow Moon, here you can read all about the significance of this event.
Since we all know astrology holds intense truths, not to mention truisms, I felt this was very compelling reading. We must be bold and not dim ourselves! That is good to hear since I will soon be boldly switching jobs! I know, that is intense! I will be switching to a different company and getting a different job description, etc. I haven’t had a new job for around 12 to 15 years, depending on how you want to allocate the time off I had to try to become a middle school teacher (Ouch! My soul hurts just thinking about it! Thank you to all educators, especially middle school teachers!) So, I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop about how this works out.
Although I recently
predicted that the Superbowl would feature Bob Weir’s two favoured contenders
(i.e., Bears and ‘Niners) I was obviously wrong about that. However, as I mentioned earlier, I do think
that the Superbowl will be a great place for me to provide my friends and
family with a somewhat healthy quinoa casserole. Let me tell you about a great book my friend
Todd lent me: Superlife. It was written by Darin Olien, a superfood
hunter, and it basically tells you a lot of truths about nutrition in a “hey
bro, let’s not bullshit” kind of way. In addition to the book, he's got some blog entries here: https://superlife.com/blogs/ So, I am now pretty inspired by these ideas, to the extent that I
recently ate some oatmeal WITHOUT BROWN SUGAR!
I know! I was freaking out
too! However much I didn’t appreciate
that, I think our tastes can adapt to healthier eating - next time I may sweeten it up with more berries and/or raisins. One of my main takeaways from the book is
there’s too much sugar in our diets and I’m afraid that includes most breads
and pasta!? Now please join me in a moment of silence .... I am now crying
inconsolably, as you may be too (virtual hug)!
However, I think there is still hope, although you may not be feeling it
in this moment. Here are some things to
consider:
·
Ezekiel bread (not sure exactly what this is yet) might
still be pretty healthy
·
Everyone is aware of the Sourdough Cult. Although not mentioned in Superlife, I think
this is probably still pretty healthy and I’m not just typing that to avoid
angering the Sourdough Cult.
·
I think some nutritious things can still be
delicious. Like that black bean soup I
made a couple weeks ago. My coworkers
made some great soups too, like a spicy ramen (with tofu) and a hearty minestrone.
·
Here is “the best a quinoa casserole”
recipe. I
think I will try this one (or similar).
So, as you can tell, I
am getting amped about Superlife and Superbowl!
I will also have a few days off while I decompress between jobs and I
intend to make the most of it by tormenting blessing my family with a
healthy recipe or two and getting out on some hikes to break in my new Keen hiking boots. I've only worn them once so far, so I don't have a fair review to proffer. Also, I personally guarantee the Seahawks will
win this game (by more than 4 1/2 points). How do I know? Well, it’s because I have enjoyed myself a
lot whenever I’m in Seattle. New England
is great too, but they’ve already won a bunch of Superbowls. The good news is that, when the Patriots
lose, they can still win by treating themselves to a delicious quinoa
casserole! You can find Tom Brady’s
favourite quinoa casserole recipe, the Brady Bowl in his book – The TB12 Method
(which, to judge a book by its cover, seems suspiciously similar to Superlife):
So are you ready for The
Fire Horse?! In the spirit of being
prepared, here are a few things to be aware of when the fire horse rears up in
front of us:
· The fire horse rewards those who act decisively with discipline and clarity rather than impulse.
· Here is some good background on the fire horse:
Fire horses are also popular in Pokemon (please add accent!).
Well, I guess I’ll let you get back to your festivities now so you can prepare with the intensity of the Quinoa Bowl / Year of the Fire Horse!
To your health!
