E47: I Missed You!

Episode 47 explains my surprise break, catches up on life, and shares our new-new favorite black eyed pea recipe because we are unstoppable pea machines 😆

❍ ❍ Click here for the full transcript ❍ ❍

Handy links this episode
📌 Five Favorites for National Wine Day
📌 So I Bought…an Electric Bike
📌 Recipes in show notes
📌Ladyjupiter.com/Podcast
📌 www.ladyjupiterpodcast.wordpress.com

Transcript

E47: I Missed You!

Welcome back everybody!

Lady Jupiter Podcast is the audio accompaniment to LadyJupiter.com a lifestyle blog where I write about my family’s military life, our home life, casual fashion, and travel when possible. I’m happy that you’re here with me. In this episode I’ll share an update on our life as affected by the U.S. military, continue with a blog update, then wrap up with my most recent domestic diversion. 

Today I must preface with an apology! I am sorry that I have provided neither new episodes nor an explanation for any of you lately. Truth is I just got busy, and needed to set aside all nonessential tasks. So nothing bad, just normal life.

Today in our military-affected lives I have nothing significant to update.

In our section of the military world, we are watching our friends move all over the planet, while we blissfully stay put. And we have had the honor of watching friends take command of squadrons all over the country. 

I am really enjoying the ceremonies being broadcast on Facebook, because I love watching in the comfort of my home with my personal circus. We do things in person too - in the past two years Kid Jupiter has attended a few ceremonies in person (two Change of Command, one promotion) and he’s even watched about four graduations online, plus another Change of Command - from the dining room where he was able to play freely and do toddler stuff…like press the angry reaction face during a ceremony because that was the only icon he could reach. That was fun.

For today’s LadyJupiter.com update…I have written a handful of new posts since we last spoke. Including Five Favorites for National Wine Day, and a little post titled “So I Bought...an Electric Bike.”

Both of those are a direct reflection of what I am medium focusing on right now. I found an annual food and drink holiday calendar online, and I want to write more silly little posts about these food and drinks. 

Having them on my personal calendar is oddly motivating; I enjoy seeing food holidays coming up, and that gives me a little casual guidance for writing - this is perfect for those moments that I want to write, but don’t have a particular goal or purpose in mind. But if I miss the holiday this year, I’ll try to get it next year…no big deal, so it’s a soft goal that’s fun to meet and not a disaster if I don’t have time.

Speaking of writing goals, the other post I mentioned - “So I Bought...an Electric Bike” is the first in a new series that I’ve been wanting to start since last year. Each blog post with that particular intro will be a miniature showcase about something interesting that I wanted to talk about. 

It’s not a comparison, it’s not sponsored content, it’s just me talking about something that I have, and I think is interesting. So this first post is about my personal electric bike…specifically my first one; a Rad City Step Thru version three. 

I will write a little something later about my smaller folding bike, then later later I will write about my most recent electric bike that has not arrived yet. So the first one has the power I need to pull a child trailer up hills, the second bike folds and fits in my car, and the third bike should be the perfect combination that I need; powerful enough for our hills, and foldable so I can load it into my Prius. This is especially important right now because Kid Jupiter is obsessed with riding in his trailer, and our neighborhood is getting boring for me. Hopefully this 750w folding bike will be the perfect one, and I can sell the other two instead of having a personal fleet. Whether it meets or exceeds my expectations has yet to be seen, but rest assured - I will write about it eventually!

📌 Five Favorites for National Wine Day
📌 So I Bought…an Electric Bike
📌 Pending post about my folding 350w ebike
📌 Pending post about my folding 750w ebike

And now for my most recent domestic diversion

I have been a little better about folding the clean laundry! Remember how I just took a surprise break from podcasting? It was because I was getting crushed by my to-do list. 

So I did four things to get out of that invisible vice. 

First - I got a hotel room for two nights so I could get some digital tasks complete without worrying or tending to anything at home. I didn’t get as much done as I wanted, but I enjoyed the time alone to just work, plus I really enjoyed having BiteSquad deliver my dinner to me at the hotel bar.

Second - I decided to put LadyJupiter.com on the back burner again. When I dropped the self-imposed obligation to write, I felt lighter and happier once it really sunk in. So now when I only have the Kid’s nap time to work I have the time I need to cook and clean because my MacBook isn’t calling me. Distancing myself from this actual machine is making me feel better about everything because I can work on tangible tasks that often are more fulfilling anyway.

Third - We hired a new nanny! Our last one quit after she recovered from COVID-19, so were nanny-less for many months. As usual it wasn’t *BAD*, it was just impossible for me to get anything done, and that wears on me. But now that we found a fantastic new nanny, we are all happier. Kid Jupiter loves hanging out with her, and I’m amazed at how many little errands I can run in the morning without a toddler. Just last week Mister Jupiter and I ran errands for two hours one day, then the next day we had brunch before he went to work. Having an extra adult is such a huge help for folks like us who don’t live near our families.

And fourth - we finally got Kid Jupiter into a regular out-of-the-house schedule, and that’s one of the reasons that I can bring the podcast back. So now we drive to a different suburb that’s 30 minutes away, then he plays with his new friends for 30 minutes, we get back into the car and go home or run errands. So this commute gives me time to listen to podcasts while he watches other highway drivers, and when he has his play date that’s time that I have to read, listen, or maybe record in my car like I am right now!

Our simple four step program took about two months to get together, and it has been worth it! I don’t feel like I’m being pulled in too many directions, I mostly walked away from my invisible mountain of digital tasks (but am happy to chip away at the mountain when I truly want to), and now I have the time to do things that we can see - such as folding the laundry, donating bedding to the animal shelter, and taking Kid Jupiter out for bike rides when the weather permits.

Oh! And before I let you go today, I wanted to share another recipe so I can easily look it up in my show notes blog - it’s our new new favorite way to prepare black eyed peas and the entire Jupiter House loves it. I love it because it’s super easy to prepare and tastes great, Mister Jupiter loves it because it’s savory and tomatoe-y, and Kid Jupiter loves it because he has great taste and loves black eyed peas! One of the reasons this recipe is so simple is because it’s almost all just one thing. I’ll give the quick rundown here, and the full write-up will be in the show notes that you can easily search too.

Black Eyed Peas with Sausage
[ recipe posted here the Show Notes Blog ]

In your Instant Pot sauté onion in olive oil until translucent. Add sausage and cook thoroughly. Add peas, tomatoes, broth paste, water, and paprika. Stir to combine, then cook on high pressure for 17 minutes and give time for natural pressure release. Serve hot with crusty bread, or steamed white rice, or pack it up and take to a potluck.

Not only is this quick, easy, and delicious - it’s easy to modify. For example I prefer to use a mild Italian seasoned sausage that’s easily available in the southern United States (it’s actually the only conventional meat that I buy!), but this is good with beef kielbasa if you don’t eat pork, and perfect for andouille if you need more spices. Garlic and other spices can easily jump in - Mister Jupiter likes when I make this with fennel seeds, and the paprika can easily be doubled. Any way you make it - it’s simple, warm, and filling whole foods. If you use a 14oz can of crushed tomatoes this recipe yields four cups of good food - you can easily stretch this into a savory soup with a 28oz can of tomatoes, or tip toe into Goulash territory with more broth and adding cooked macaroni just before serving. Yum.

📌 Recipes in show notes

And that’s it for today! 

Show notes and transcript will be available on LadyJupiter.com/podcast - scroll down to the link for Episode 47: I Missed You! -

📌Ladyjupiter.com/Podcast

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I’ll talk to you when I can - hopefully just next week! Bye!