Zoom!

I had my teeth cleaned last week, and I was so excited to finally get my teeth whitened. On Tuesday I went back and had Zoom Whitening at my dentist's office. It wasn't completely painless, but I was completely back to normal by the next morning. I'm really pleased with the results and they told me they would get even whiter if I use the take home gel. Next month I'm getting the composites on the sides of my 4 front teeth replaced. They need to be replaced and the new ones will match my new whiter teeth.

The before photo:

The during photo:The after photo:
The staff was very impressed with my results, and now that my teeth don't hurt I'm very happy.

Elvis Costello at Wolf Trap

On Wednesday night I saw Elvis at Wolf Trap for the third time. Wolf Trap is my favorite venue. It's really hard to explain it to people. It is covered, but open to the air on the sides and back. There's nothing like being distracted by a firefly instead of drunk people. I had a great seat--a front row box seat! Well, my seat was actually in the second row, but the usher told me I could sit in the front row until someone came and no one ever came to kick me out.

I didn't get any good photos because the lighting on stage was very bright. It must have been hot under those lights, poor Elvis's suit was soaked.

The show was also on the Revolver Tour, even though it didn't say so on the T-shirts or on the website. The wheel had different songs on it, and wedges that said Joker. The best part of the show was when a girl named Roxanne went up on stage. She got to choose the song and she picked I Want You. That is one of my favorite Elvis songs. When he started playing though, it wasn't I Want You, it was Roxanne. After one verse he switched over to I Want You. Seamless.

It was a great show. Oh, and the response to Elvis's two acoustic songs was a standing ovation rather than booing. That's more like it. And I just remembered. He also sang Purple Rain. I've been thinking about it and I don't know what my favorite Elvis song is. I feel like need to figure it out. Like it should be a set answer that I don't have to think about.

First Fruits

Bailey chewed on my jalapeno plants and one of them didn't survive. I bought another one, and well, she promptly chewed that one up too. I caught her and she acted like she hadn't done anything, but her slobber all over the leaves told a different story. I just picked my first jalapeno and there are about 5 other ones starting to grow and about a dozen flowers. I'm excited. I'll be able to make some yummy guacamole.

Mudra Monday

I am very interested in mudras--symbolic hand gestures. I bought a set of cards that has a different yoga mudra on each one. This is the courage mudra. I often look down and notice that my hands are curled up in this position. I find it very comforting, which makes sense because it is an anti-panic mudra. I thought that maybe there was some kind of trigger point on my fingers, but I've looked at all sorts of acupuncture maps, and I really haven't found anything.

Kirtan Kriya

One of the last times I was at yoga--which sadly, was a long time ago--Nancy introduced us to the Kirtan Kriya. She's been reading books by Dr. Daniel Amen. Dr. Amen recommends the Kirtan Kriya in his book Making a Good Brain Great. The Kirtan Kriya is a Kundalini yoga meditation that combines mantras (words) and mudras (hand positions.)

I'm not good at meditation. My mind wanders, and usually it wanders in a negative downward spiral. I think the combination of mantra and mudra works for me. I was able to concentrate on that and not get lost in negative or random thoughts.

To practice the Kirtan Kriya touch each of the fingers consecutively to the thumb while saying the matching word--as shown below. Envision the sound coming down through the top of your head and out through your third eye. Repeat starting with the pointer finger. When you are done open the hands and say Aaaah. Detailed instructions for the 12 minute version are available here.

The sounds are based on the five primal sounds. Saa means birth or infinity, Taa means life, Naa means death or completion, and Maa means rebirth.

Cucumber Mint Soda

Last night and this morning I went through a bunch of old Bon Apetit magazines. I used to keep them all, but I don't anymore. Half of the magazines were still in the plastic wrapper, which is why I stopped subscribing (but they keep sending them.) In one of the more recent issues I found a recipe for Cucumber Mint Basil Soda. I had all the ingredients, so I decided to try it. Like Ross says, I never met a recipe I liked, so I decided to change it up. I left out the basil and added some alcohol.

Cucumber Mint Fizz

1 c sugar

1 c water

mint

thinly sliced cucumber

ice

club soda

your alcohol of choice

1. Bring sugar and water to a boil in a small heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves.

2. Add mint and cucumber slices to simple syrup and steep for at least 30 minutes.

3. Strain the syrup.

4. Fill a glass with ice.

5. Add 2 Tbl. syrup to the glass.

6. Add 1-2 oz. alcohol to the glass. --I chose Tanqueray Rangpur and Ross chose white rum.

7. Top off glass with club soda and garnish with mint and cucumber.
I only put one ounce (2 Tbl.) of booze in my drink. It was nice and refreshing. Of course there's a lot of leftover simple syrup. I might have to try it in some iced tea tomorrow.

One More Pair

My mom gave me this pair of earrings the last time I was in Texas. I found them in the car today and realized they weren't in yesterday's photo.