Hot child, summer in the city...

Well, Minneapolis doesn't seem to qualify as a city- at least where I live- in that it's mostly clean, relatively crime-free, and there's minimal honking. I do get at least one ambulance every night, usually around 4 a.m. Why they need a wailing siren and horn blasts at that time of morning is beyond me; Hennepin is dead after 2 or 3.

And the title of this post is also a misnomer because it's not very hot yet. I've started eating breakfast on my new, non-flexible balcony, and it's still a goose-bump cold. By 3 p.m., the sun pushes through and tans my clavicle while I run to Northeast Minneapolis, but it hasn't managed to be uncomfortably hot as yet.


If you're reading this and wondering where I've been for the past two months, this is what I'd tell you: I'm writing off that time as a 6-week course in trusting my instincts and knowing the difference between a good man and a good time. I ended up resenting the professor, who unwittingly revealed all the exam answers to me earlier than expected, but, to continue to analogy, I learned so much... it's always the toughest classes that you end up feeling grateful for. And despite the fact that it ended badly, I still got good marks, including that I'm "too idealistic." Bring it. Hopefulness as an insult? I'll take that as a compliment.

So as I sit here on my structurally sound little porch, watching my multi-colored Mexican fiesta flags blow in the wind from the city, I'm looking forward to a peaceful day. I'm going to wash dishes, fold and put away laundry, vacuum, fashion a chic City Breathing nightdress from an oversized t-shirt, and then spend all afternoon with my littlest cousins. She's got a hurt toe, so I'll be pulling her in a red wagon to and from the lake- an excellent workout. I think we might make banana oat muffins, too, which I will put on my new recipe blog as soon as I take photos. With that segue, I may also spend more time on my cookbook project: I want to make a mini healthy life book for busy working girls like myself who want easy deliciousness with creativity and without guilt. I'm more than excited about the potential. I'm going to pitch it with photos, so I will by necessity need to make everything this summer. Yum.

Sneak preview: the blueberry breakfast bowl!
1/4 cup fat-free sugar-free blueberry frozen yogurt
1/2 cup fat-free greek yogurt (self-sweetened with Splenda)
handful of fresh-picked blueberries
handful of Special K Fruit and Yogurt

It tastes like (what I imagine) a fresh, farm breakfast could be, with the different blueberry and yogurt flavors and textures having a subtle nuance on my tongue. Excellent side-dish: open-faced breakfast sandwich on farmer's market sunflower flax bread (top with butter, fresh-picked mixed greens, sliced cherry tomatoes, and fat-free feta crumbles!