Life in the key of E flat minor

This picture is a beautiful as the ginger, honey and lemongrass smell (I wish I had any star anise) As many of you may know, I’m working on getting my fitness levels back to where they were in 2010 just in time for my 40th birthday. I know, at 40 the body turns to shit anyway - we start to lose our muscle mass, the dreaded prostate exams start, etc. So why care? So I can still live a good and happy life until I’m ready to call it quits. I want to be able to walk when I’m 90 and avoid diabetes. You know, that stuff. Therefore, I googled “healthy ethnic cuisine” to find a new recipe for my Around the World in a Pot! The CNN Health article I found named Vietnamese as one of the ten healthiest cuisines. I was determined to find a Vietnamese meal that I could make in the slow cooker. I searched the web and found Vietnamese inspired slow cooker recipes, but nothing very authentic. (Not that what I cook is authentic, but it’s close.) In the comments of the open forum boards that ...

I was in New York City for about 14 hours on July 24, but I was able to get this picture while I was running to Pret a Manger for lunch while getting in the spirit of London's hosting of the (then) upcoming Olympics. I never realized that Mercury/Hermes was on the top of Grand Central Station.  It makes sense, but I never really looked at the piece before. I was lucky to get a clear shot at Mercury and get the top of the Chrysler Building in the picture too.

Technically this is not a picture I took at all with my iPhone therefore it bucks the theme. However, I did have to search for this image and adapt it to the format I use in my blog’s myPic meme. I saw this image yesterday during the Olympics coverage – it’s from the United Kingdom’s first gold medal ceremony of the Olympics for the women’s double scull. I saw the Union Jack rise and heard the crowd singing “God Save the Queen” at full volume. (It recalled the 2000 Sydney Olympics when the crowd would sing “Advance Australia Fair.”) As I relive the Sydney memories, a flag with the Union Jack in the upper right hoist flies upward; it’s Australia. Then other… it’s New Zealand. It is simply a striking image to me – one for what should be a very proud host nation. Britannia’s athletes trained rigorous hard to success and they get to revel in their triumph, sharing the podium with two of her strongest Commonwealth Realms. (I’m sure the Aussies and the Kiwis might think differentl...