Sun Wu Kung Temple in Garigliano, porta sul retro.

clic here to watch the video

“Estoy bloqueado”
Acaso soy un cable
pisado?
“No se que me pasa”
Pasa algo?
Estás loco?
“No me encuentro”
No te ves?
Que tocas?
“No puedo”
Estas enfermo?
No existís?
“Me quiero morir”
Es grave?
Es vida?
Ese algo, que impide
Que pica
Que lija
Que destruye
No lo conoces?
No lo podes parar?
Mira
Mira adentro
Y mátalo.

La luz mojada
Se cierra, se abre
Está vez
Caen
No hay fuerza
Nadie te ve
Salen
Respiran
Recorren
Mueren los peces.
Por dentro
Por fuera
Una cloaca
Sin manta
Sin dientes
Una expresión
Un desagrado
Sin dolor
Con vergüenza
Pero
Sin dolor
Venus
Agua bendita
De a poco
Resucita
Sosiego
De un necio
De un trapo
Los peces siguen
Su tramo
Y vos ya sos
Una persona
De este planeta

Nadie ve que estoy llorando
No tengo manos para un abrazo
Tengo culpa sin certeza
Una cabeza que no piensa
Un amor por la supervivencia
Nada es propio, excepto mi enojo
En mi mordisco se pierde un hijo
Y ni pena puedo sentir
Río solo
Cuando hay sol sin presa
Cuando escapan y me liberan
Cuando creo no ser yo
En sueños mis parpados se abren
Camino, no arrastro el hambre
Zigzagueó por cuerdas musicales
Donde el alargado llanto cae
Caigo,
Siempre me soy infiel
En cada traje seré igual
Mi saliva no cambiará
Mi función de lastimar
De lastimarme y nunca sanar.

I first started making pierogi at a very young age — I would say I was 4 years old, or possibly even younger.  Anna, a woman from Poland that lived in our house and cared for my sister and me, would cook pierogi at least twice per month and, of course, I insisted on ‘helping’ her in the kitchen.  (I really just had a raw dough obsession, like Hadley’s). 

I would watch carefully as Anna made the dough and filling, and help out with the rolling and smashing as needed.  Thinking back, this is actually one of my favorite pastimes.  Anna’s recipe for dough included white flour with an egg or two, some water, and just a dash of vanilla.  I obviously can’t quite remember her specific proportions, and am not even sure that she precisely measured, but I remember the dough was always delicious!  The insides were filled with a variety of things, usually white or red potatoes (because we children liked them most), but also with cheese, mushrooms, and other heavy, hearty fillings. 

My husband and I both come from Slavic backgrounds, and the pierogi dish represents your typical, Eastern European hearty food, highly based on starch, very filling, and very comforting.  My husband especially loves pierogi (at least he tells me so whenever I make them for him!) They are the perfect non-meat option for his carnivorous tendencies, so during the periods during the year when we fast from meat for religious observances, I often make a big batch of 50 or so pierogi, which I freeze and use as a quick non-meat dinner. 

I have recently been seeking ways to make Jeff’s treasured hearty-food favorites a bit more nutritious, since he genearlly avoids vegetables, grains and fruits in his diet.  One vegetable he does love (and very much so, I might add) are sweet potatoes.  Filled with many vitamins, including A and C, they are far more nutritious than the ordinary potato typically used in pierogi filling.  I decided to move forward with an experimental recipe for sweet potato pierogi, which I am sharing here. 

The fundamental differences are the replacement of white flour with a combination of wheat flour and flax seeds for the dough, Greek yogurt for the filling (instead of sour cream), sweet potatoes in place of white potatoes, and part-skim ricotta cheese in place of ordinary ricotta. 

Filling

2 sweet potatoes (or a winter squash of your choice), peeled and cubed
1/2 cup fresh, part-skim ricotta cheese (avoid store brands with lots of preservatives, get a fresh-made variety, which you can tell is as such because it should expire quickly)
1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt, like Fage or Oikos
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp ground flax seeds

Dough
1 egg
4 cups of whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
1 tbsp olive oil

Filling: 

Bring water to a boil and drop in peeled potatoes, allowing them to cook until softened.  Remove, strain, and put into a bowl.  (If you prefer a saltier taste in your food, you may salt your potates lightly with kosher or sea salt at this time, though I do not do this).  Use a masher to mash until soft but pasty.  Add ricotta cheese, greek yogurt, and flax seeks and combine with a spatula.  Add honey and cinnamon for sweetness; for a more savory taste, you may leave out. 

Dough: 

Combine the dough ingredients in a large bowl, working with your hands.  The dough should stick together but not stick to other surfaces.  Adjust with more flour and water as needed.  Roll out the dough on a flat surface using a rolling pin, and use a glass or cookie cutter about 3-4 inches in diameter to cut out circles. 

Making your pierogi

Bring a fresh pot of water to a boil.  Take a circle of dough and fill with a teaspoon of the filling.  Fold over and pinch using your fingers (or the end of a fork is sometimes helpful for making sure the dough sticks together).  Note that wheat dough combined with flax seed make the dough harder to work than dough made with white flour.  Just be gentle and try not to pull too hard when folding over your pierogi.  Drop the pierogi (a few at a time) in the water and keep them in there until they float to the top, removing with a strainer. 

After your pierogi have boiled, you may also then transfer them to a pan, where you can sautee vegetables of your choosing (such as onions and mushrooms), along with your pierogi. 

My husband still enjoys his with a side of the tried-and-true sour cream, which is very typically served with pierogi, but I choose to use organic applesauce as my side of choice, and also sometimes garnish with beets.  Hopefully this hearty, comfort-food alternative is as pleasing to you as it is to us!  Enjoy!

Further to my post about my first Bikram yoga experience, I am providing some tips for those who wish to try Bikram yoga for the first time.  As with any new experience, you may have questions, fears, or other reasons for delaying in beginning your practice.  These tips that I learned from my first class (and subsequent ones) will hopefully bring further clarity about what to expect.  I wish I had these available to me my first time around! 

Your first Bikram yoga experience can certainly be daunting.  And chances are, while there will be other beginners and first-timers around, there will also be many tried-and-true followers of Bikram yoga in your first class…so, it can be a bit intimidating. 

To be more prepared, look to these basics of what to do, what to bring, and what to expect when you enter a Bikram yoga studio. 

• Arrive 10 minutes early to class.  This allows you to secure a spot, warm up and focus, and is courteous to your instructor and fellow class-takers. 
• Do not eat too close to the time of your class.  You should arrive on a mostly-empty stomach. 
• Dress minimally.  It gets hot, and you will certainly sweat within 5 minutes of class.  Most women wear sports bras and shorts or bathing suit bottoms.  Men in shorts only.  (I prefer to sweat a bit more, so I often wear long sleeves and pants, though you should check with your instructor first, since some do not allow long sleeves/pants). 
• No shoes or socks are allowed in the studio.  Typically, there is a locker room where you can leave everything.  Bring only yourself, your mat, towels and water into the studio. 
• There will be a mirror at the front (and sometimes the sides) of the room, and lines on the carpeting on the floor.  (See photo above).  Find a place on the floor so that the vertical center of your mat rests on one of these lines.  This allows for optimal placing of all participants and maximizes space in the room. 
• Your instructor will likely recommend that more seasoned practitioners sit in the front of the room toward the mirror, while beginniners stick in the back. 
• Bring water, but no other liquids into the room, and do not bring glass containers.  While I like to bring my SIGG, it can sometimes get a bit too hot to actually pick up with my hands.  Take sips only between poses, not during. 
• Bring your own yoga mat and two towels.  Most studios provide both, typically with a charge of $1 each. 
• Don’t be self-conscious!  While you think that everyone around you might be staring (and trust me, some of these classes can get pretty crowded), the reality is that others are so focused on their own practice and on themselves that they don’t notice what you are doing.  So, do not be afraid to move and practice the poses freely! 
• Breathe!  The breath is a huge part of Bikram yoga, as with other yoga and exercise.  Breathing allows you to bring oxygen to your muscles and organs that are working for you, and also helps with detox.  Your instructor will remind you of the breath during your practice, and will instruct you on proper breathing technique at the beginning of the practice. 
• Do not talk in the studio before, during, or after class.  This is courteous to your fellow classmates and helps to maintain your own focus and concentration. 

Buz Dansı’nda Gwendal Peizerat ile 2002 Kış Olimpiyatlarında altın madalya kazanan Marina Anissina, ikinci çocuğuna hamile…

Marina Anissina ve kocası sinema oyuncusu Nikita Djigurda, ikinci çocuklarının Fransa’nın Biarritz kentinde doğacağını açıkladı.

Çiftin Mik-Angel Krist adını verdikleri bir oğlan çocukları daha var.

Bu defa, 34 yaşındaki Anissina ve 48 yaşındaki kocasının kız çocukları olacağı belirtildi.

2010 Ocak ayında doğması beklenen bebeğe Eva adı verilecek.

Djigurada’nın iki eski karısından üç çocuğu daha var…

Anissina ce Djigurda 23 İŞubat 2008′de evlenmişti.

Tatiana Totmianina da hamile…

Öte yandan, Maxim Marinin ile Çiftlerde 2006 Kış Olimpiyatlarında altın madalya kazanan Tatiana Totmianina da hamile…

Totmianina’nın birkaç haftaya kadar doğum yapması bekleniyor.

Çocuğun babası, 2002 Kış Olimpiyatları şampiyonu Alexei Yagudin…

Yagudin ve Totmianina, kızlarının doğumundan sonra evlenecek.

Bebeğin adı Liza olacak.

For many years, I was a ballet dancer, training 5 days per week during elementary, middle, and high school.  I vividly remember several of my ballet instructors not allowing the air conditioning to go on in the studio during the warmer months, despite the massive amounts of sweat rolling down the backs and faces of us dancers partaking in class. 

Something about “not good for the muscles…” is all I can remember hearing as their explanations.  While I resented it then and wish that I could have been cooler and more comfortable, I know now that these ruthless ballet masters had the right thing in mind! 

Following my years of dance, after stopping mid-high school, I began to practice yoga.  After a few years of intermittent practice of Vinyasa and Ashtanga yoga (which I still love and practice), I stumbled upon a specific type of yoga that was new to me, Bikram Yoga, founded by Yogiraj Bikram Choudhury. 

This stumbling happened during a business trip to San Antonio, Texas, where I was spending week after week in the same hotel, forced to exercise in the same boring and limited gym.  Entirely bored and stuck in a rut, I decided to explore other workout options in the area.  Some googling lead me to Bikram Yoga, San Antonio - and this, surely, proved to be different! 

How is it different? 

• Heated Studio:  Tying back to my point about the lack of air conditioning in ballet class, Bikram Yoga also heeds the notion of exercising in a warmer space.  Except ‘warm’ is probably a bit of an understatement.  To be precise about the degree of warmth, Bikram Yoga studios are ideally heated to the temperature of 105 degrees farenheit, with 40% humidity.  Why?? 
  • It prevents the body from overheating
  • Protects the muscles for a deeper stretch
  • Allows for detox of the body (opening the pores to let toxins out)
  • Thinning of the blood to clear the circulatory system
  • Increasing heartrate, contributing to your cardiovascular workout
  • Improving strength by putting muscle tissue in the optimal state for reorganization
  • Reorganizing the lipids (fat) in the muscular structur

• Series of poses:  Bikram Yoga consists of a series of 26 poses that are practiced in the same order each class.  Classes last for 1.5 hours.  If you have taken other yoga classes before, you may notice that with each instructor and each class, the series of poses can vary.  The sequence of poses in Bikram Yoga were created by Bikram to allow for the maximum oxygenation of  your blood so that it reaches every last organ of your body allowing for restoration and detoxification. 

My Experience

Since taking my first Bikram Yoga class, and several thereafter, it has become one of my favorite forms of exercise.  The heated room truly helped me to make the most of my practice, and the full 90-minute class allowed for total focus, a complete body workout, and the thorough warming and cleansing of the muscles, body, and mind. 

After my first class, I expected to be sweaty, gross, and exhausted.  And while the first two were true, the last was certainly not!  I had a heightened sense of calm, an awakened mind, and a body grateful for everything I put it through. 

While my first class was a bit of an uphill battle due to my being out of shape, it allowed me to reach for new challenges, and gradually grow into my practice and improved fitness at my own pace.  Another beauty of Bikram yoga – it can be practiced at any level! 

I encourage you to give this a shot, if you have not done so already; I can assure you that you will realize these benefits, and many more! 

• Improved clarity of mind
• Weight loss
• Improved muscle tone
• Increased flexibility
• Detoxification of the liver
• Improved complexion
• Vibrancy, sense of well-being

If you seek a new, different workout experience and a safe, effective way to improve your body and mind in so many ways,  look no further.  This exercise is appropriate for individuals of all fitness levels.  Seek out studios in your area today – you won’t regret it!

gjett hva….?

dagen i dag var HERLIG!

det er nettopp fordi da skolen sluttet i dag skulle Danby, Jonas, Tobias, Tatiana og jeg finne på noe, men neeida, jeg måtte til legen. Så… jeg dro til legen…. og blabla det var ikke noe galt/noe han kunne gjøre noe med osv. gøygøygøy

 Som om det ikke var nok har jeg nettopp fått vite hva de andre gjorde!

stakkras dem…de dro på oslo city…. hvor de møtte Jenny Skavland….. som intervjuet dem…. og de kommer på torsdag kveld fra Nydalen…
for en kjedelig dag for dem sier jeg bare!
Jeg har sittet her hjemme og kost meg med te og tv! oh yeah! blir ikke bedre enn det…  not jealous at all sier jeg bare.

…

kjedelig smmendrag av den kjedelige dagen deres finner du på denne kjedelige siden… www.danbychoi.com

vil legge med noen morsomme bilder fra min morsomme dag… men har ingen og orker heller ikke… så her har du Tobias sin msn som klikker.. enjoy

MMmmm…. nå sitter jeg og koser meg med litt reker… <3
Elsker det! Bortsett fra at det er helt forferdelig å skrelle….  men du vet hva man sier!
No pain, no reke.

Okei! bursdag i dag.. woho……..
Uansett! Da jeg sto opp i dag fikk jeg gave av pappa – Nikon D90!
E-l-s-k-e-r det! skjermen er skikkelig bra, den har live view, og kan filme i HD… yeah

menmen! morroa startet vel egentlig på skolen! Jeg fikk maaange ballonger av Tatiana – hver eneste hadde også et bilde eller en hilsen på seg. Jeg fikk også en liten krone som jeg gikk med nesten hele dagen, og et par gaver av Jonas, Tobias og Tatiana. Haha, det var en koselig dag!
Har ikke bilde ennå! Men får det nok mest sannsynlig på torsdag, så det får holde med en tegning så lenge

Og hva skjer i morgen..? Jeg og noen andre fra klassen skal ikke på skolen! HVA ER DET VI SKAL?!?!?!?!?!

The cold weather and winter season are quickly closing in on the Northeast, and this means that colds, germs, and illnesses affecting the immune system will be in full bloom among us.

When I was growing up, my grandmother, a registered nurse anesthetist, advised me to avoid medication as much as possible; only if I was on my deathbed was I to resort to prescriptions, painkillers or pills of any kind – she advised that there was always a natural way of helping our bodies get through it.  Even though she was in the field of ‘modern’ medicine, she still heeded the holistic, natural remedies of her own childhood. 

Whenever she visited our house around the holidays and noticed any of her grandchildren getting sick, she would have us take a steamy shower, followed by cup of warm herbal tea, which we used to swallow a clove of (raw) chopped garlic (drenched in honey to help it go down). 

To me, she was just my crazy Grandmother doing another one of her crazy things.  Turns out that she had something here!

This seemingly unconventional treatment actually makes sense according to various health-expert sources, including Dr. Andrew Weil, and a recent study mentioned in the New York Times. 

Garlic has shown to be a powerful natural therapeutic herb.  In addition to its ability to help lower cholesterol and high blood pressure and preventing heart attacks, it also has antibacterial and antiviral properties that make it a viable choice for treating the onset of a cold!

Garlic’s natural disease-fighting capabilities are attributable to allicin, a compound found in highest concentration in garlic, and in lesser concentration in other white vegetables (like onion).  (Allicin is also responsible for garlic’s pungent smell).  Note that garlic must be chopped and exposed to air for at least several minutes in order for allincin to be present and effective when the garlic is eaten.

I encourage you to try my grandmother’s method.  (She is still going at age 86, so she must have done something right!)

• The next time you feel a cold coming on, think twice before you pop a pill.  First try garlic.
• Chop up a clove or two of organic garlic and swallow when the onset of a cold first appears (using honey – trust me, you won’t taste a thing); alternatively, you can chop it up even more and add it to your foods.
• Just make sure it is eaten raw; garlic loses its medicinal value when cooked.

Warning:  The pungent smell of garlic can come through your pores and breath and cause unpleasant odor.  If you expect to be in public, plan to wait at least 12 – 24 hours before going out, and definitely try to work out, sweat, and shower before doing so.  Also, eating parsley can naturally mitigate any bad breath caused by the garlic.