Valkyrie’s Log – How to avoid a Pizza Coma

Cauliflower Pizza Base

Location: Home, Colorado.
Status: Cooking.

October in Colorado is not like October anywhere I have every been. We are in the middle of an Indian Summer. Whether this is a normal occurrence or an anomaly will remain to be seen, but with temperatures of 28ºC/82ºF during the day, I am not complaining! So sunny, dry and warm are the days that we hardly notice that night temps are around 3ºC/37ºF! In fact we open the windows in the morning to let the cool in before the thermometer rockets to the sky!

Today was Day 2 of Time4Learning Supervision. Our daughter set to work, knocking out her entire 25 left over Mathematics modules in one day. Some sets she flew through independently, some required a little explanation… some a little more. But she did it. Unfortunately she had lost two days to one subject so was not finished in time for a movie, but we did take time for pizza and a work out before bed.

Pizza and work-out may not seem to go hand in hand, but when you have cauliflower pizza, the post dinner coma is a thing of the past. Now I’m not going to pretend to be any kind of foodie blogger, so here is a link to the recipe I used. I’ll just say, the first attempt I made cauliflower puree instead of cauliflower rice. Then I used frozen cauliflower rice but didn’t thaw and squeeze it. This time I thawed it, squeezed a LOT of liquid out of it and I think it would have been perfect had I had the right amount of Parmesan and not used grated cheese as a substitute. It tasted great but had a more rubbery texture than it would have. So there are my tips, here is the recipe. Bon appetite!

Grateful for:

  1. The weather! When you have the sun everyday, it becomes easy to take for granted! Talking to friend back in Ireland has reminded me to appreciate it!
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGOzGScB97W/?igshid=lkfo6jhkmtas

Valkyrie’s Log – What to do when your husband deploys

The Mountains are Calling

Location: Colorado, USA.
Status: Floundering.

As we find ourselves in strange new lands, our native guide, captain of our ship and rock of our family departed for 3 month work rotation in lands far away, it is time to Valkyrie Up! and take the helm.

The temptation to linger in the doldrums caused by the huge hole left in our apartment by is fairly strong. But I have the ability to steer our ship into sunny, happy currents and, right now, just enough inclination to do so.

The day started with an attempt to “Keep calm and carry on… as normal” which failed fairly obviously as the remaining skeleton crew started snipping at each other, losing their tempers and all patience jumped overboard.

We indulged in a mid morning dark chocolate treat to signify acceptance that trying to carry on as normal wasn’t working and to admit that everything isn’t ok and we are allowed to feel sad.

But! Onwards and Upwards!

Our missions, over this next 3 months, are as follows:-

  1. Keep a daily log
  2. Teach Mia the Yoga dog to be calmer on walks
  3. Adhere as closely as possible to a healthy daily structure
Mia’s version of Supta Parivrtta Garudasana/Eagle Twist

So yes, my husband has gone back to work. Yes, we are displaced in a new country with no family and only a few (albeit absolutely lovely) brand new friends nearby. But we are Valkyries. So we will conquer this new land, discover its treasures and sail (metaphorically) it’s fair winds and unfamiliar seas (mountains) until we love it as much, if not more, than the native who brought us here loves it.

Read more about how we ended up in Colorado here.

Grateful for:

  1. A husband I love being with so much
  2. Dark chocolate with salt