Sept. 9: Nourishing the Soul.... and Stomach

Today was a bit of a rough day at work. I looked forward to checking out a support group after work, a free drop-in group for friends and family of cancer patients at Providence. The group started at 5:00 and I had a 4:00 meeting with my supervisor, who just returned from a two-week vacation. Not surprising, our meeting went all the way to 5:00 and I missed the group. I still drove over there so at least I could see where it was and where to park so I can get there easily next week. The hospital was surprisingly quiet and there is a cancer wing, where the support group is held. As I was walking down the hall, and into the Cancer Center Lobby as announced by a huge sign and fountain, tears welled up in my eyes. Just walking into the lobby and seeing the sign! I think that means I waited too long. I'm sure I'll be a blubbery mess next week, but hopefully it'll be a nice place to get support, validation, and learn to cope as best as is possible. Oh, and it's free. :-)

So I came home and made this delicious pasta salad, a modified version of a tasty pasta salad I've gotten at Whole Foods. Cooking is another way to nourish my soul, and my stomach. It's whole wheat pasta, spinach, roasted red pepper, and cubes of smoked mozzarella. The dressing is mayo, white wine vinegar, garlic, italian flat leaf parsley, grated parmesan, and a dash of cayenne. It's simply delicious, this picture doesn't do it justice.

I've noticed that a lot of my posts and photos revolve around food. I guess that's because I love it so much! And the more I cook tasty things, the less I am tempted to eat out. So far it's looking like another week of bringing my lunch to work every single day. That's success.