The Sea

Today I decided to get out of the house and take a walk down the road to check out the ocean. I had yet to walk down there, which is kind of ridiculous, considering I've been living a stones throw away from the waves for two weeks now. I walked down to the end of the road and found some steps, which went right down to...(wait for it)...a BEACH!!!!!! I have never been so excited in my life! I ran down the stairs like a kid and on to the sand. The ocean was spraying in my face and I closed my eyes and had some crazy nostalgia for my Florida days. The beach is beautiful (once again, pics to come haha) and the ocean smelled great. I have no idea if I can swim in it or not but its still too cold right now anyways. I am definitely going to walk down there everyday from now on. The crazy big trees, the beach, palm trees, ocean, its all so beautiful and refreshing. After being in Toronto for 6 months I was so happy to get to Budapest to see my parents and their view of the Danube and all the green in Buda, but this really topped that. Concrete jungle aint got nothin on the real thang ;)
So last night turned out to be a real horror fest. We ended up watching Case 39, a Renee Zellwegger flick (I'm not such a fan), but it was kinda creepy, then we turned on the tv to Sky movies and Silence of the Lambs was on! Such a great movie. I had no idea that Catherine Martin (The girl who buffalo bill is keeping in the hole) is actually Dr. Erica Hahn from Greys Anatomy (if you are a greys fan its kinda cool). I always see so many grey's actors in all kinds of movies and other shows, the cast is totally awesome. Anyways, tonight I'm gonna try out "Australia" (which I hear has amazing visuals) and another book I've read that turned in to a movie "The Lovely Bones". Being sick has some perks, like watching all these movies. Downside? I really miss my running and yoga. But I must admit that movies definitely do help to relax and de-stress. You can kind of zone out and you don't really have to put in the same amount of energy or thought in to movies as you do with books. I find with books that I'm reading, a movie kinda plays in my head, and I get so involved. Movies I just sit back and watch, no real focus needed. My mom loves comedies for this reason, whenever she is stressed or upset she throws on Mamma Mia (its her fave) and just zones out. I was trying to put together a list of my favorite feel good movies but I think its something that I totally have to rack my brain more to come up with. I came up with a lot but the list could go on and on so I won't list all of them.
Today while I was on my walk I got to thinking about nostalgia and memories. This was probably because of being on the beach and thinking about Florida, as well as other times and places(my stream of consciousness moves fast). Everyone always says that when it comes to memories the old adage "Don't cry because its over, smile because it happened" is the best way to approach/deal with emotions that come in to play. For as long as I can remember, I've been a person who has lived in the past. I always think things were "so much better back then" or I always wish that I was still living in that time/place/circumstance. I miss the past a lot sometimes. I'm not quite sure how healthy this is but I don't think its something that only I struggle with. Lately, I've been trying to use the "smile because it happened" thing. I guess its true, we wouldn't have these beautiful memories at all without these experiences and there is a reason I hang on to the past so much. But this should also teach me something about the present and the future, most importantly, that I guarantee in the future I will look back at this past (which is now my present) and think about how lovely it was and how much I wish I was back there again. Usually while things are happening I tend not to think they are "sooo great". But truth is, they probably are. So, that being said, carpe diem! New motto for the week. Also, I will stop dwelling on the past, and I will smile because it happened, smile because I was able to live through something so profound that I still think about it to this day, and then move on to getting excited about the NOW. Living in the moment, baby, that's how you gotta be.

Tonight I'm making myself some more chicken soup (MUCH NEEDED) and I marinated some chicken for the boy. I don't usually eat chicken (or any animal) but he definitely needs the protein and loves this recipe. If you are looking for a simple chicken recipe, that's super tender and tasty, try this.
What you need:
Chicken (breasts work best with this recipe)
olive oil
paprika powder
Himalayan salt
pepper
rosemary
Get out a bowl that you can put the chicken in, so that you can store it in the fridge throughout the day while its marinating. I recommend doing this in the morning or at night so that the chicken has at least a day to marinate. Throw some olive oil in the the bowl (BE generous, olive oil is needed here to make sure the chicken stays moist while cooking as well as gives it a crispy outer coating, also, the taste is great).
Put the chickens in to the bowl and with your hands make sure the olive oil is spread all over the outer parts of the chickens (I find kneading the oil in to the chickens is good and helps it turn out great while you cook)
Next, put the salt, pepper, paprika, and rosemary all on one side of the chickens. Don't go nuts with the paprika you only need a little bit of this.
With your hands, knead the spices in to the chickens, just like with the oil.
Turn the chickens over and repeat on the other side.
Then, get some tin foil or saran wrap and put it over the dish as a cover and put the chickens in to the fridge for at least 6 hours.
Cooking: I usually use the grill in the oven. I keep it on the 5th rack (So, lower part of the oven)
I cook the chickens at 180-200 (depending on oven strength and thickness of the chicken pieces) for about 30 minutes. This usually makes sure they come out tender but crisp and very moist. The olive oil is what is important in this process as it keeps the moisture in the chickens. Another way to keep moisture in meats while cooking is to cover them in bacon strips (but that's for another post haha).
This is a great dish when paired with a green salad OR on top of quinoa, the ancient super grain, and the topic of a coming-soon blog post. That being said, I'm off to make some tea and watch movies! xJ