Since I've been completely neglecting this baby blog boo boo lately...
I decided to get jazzy and post a little video. Enjoy :)
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Monday, March 17, 2014
spring rolls: 1, Ashley:0
I do grocery shopping on Sundays and each week I find it challenging to come up with new things for dinner. But yesterday while I was at the farmer's market, I remembered a recipe for chicken springs rolls I came across on one of my favorite blogs, The Diva Dish.
I'll have to try again and practice my rolling technique for these babes.
Side note: I'm not the biggest fan of cilantro but know it's really good for you, so I've been trying to eat it more often. Another reason this recipe was a good one to try!
Mike and I made them for dinner yesterday with a few variations. Like using peanut butter instead of almond because it's what we had... These springs rolls are certainly delicious and definitely recommend buuuttt my execution needs work.
Please see my rolls compared to Ari's (the diva of The Diva Dish) below:
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| Ari's |
 |
| Mine |
I'll have to try again and practice my rolling technique for these babes.
Tips and tricks are welcome ;)
Love almost always,
Ashley
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU
Sometimes I wonder why I have a blog. I don't know if many people read it and even if they do, I'm not sure my content is relatable or if it's like there she goes talking about balance and shit again... Occasionally I think about nixing this baby because, really I already have two Facebook accounts, a Twitter, Tumblr, an About Me, and an Instagram - do I really need another place to spew my thoughts and pictures on the web?
Maybe not... but then I remember stories like the one I am about to write about and understand the reason for my blog. It's not just a place for me to tell my four friends who read this sucker about DELICIOUS Greek tacos I made last weekend (which I will be posting about soon by the way!) - it's a place to write the stories that are supposed to be written and not just spoken; the stories that offer too many opportunities for descriptions so good you feel like you were there yourself; the stories that are supposed to be shared with not just your friends but their friends too; the stories that offer a deeper than surface level glance at life and interactions; the stories like this one...
From ages 18 to 23 I lived on a tiny little dead end street with my mom and her finance. Our house is all the way at the end, nestled and safe behind a long driveway. Our house is quaint and warm and wonderful. My mom's finance, Andy, took his first steps in our house. His old room became mine. He knows all the neighbors on the street, growing up with their kids and now, visiting their parents in their retirement. My favorite couple comes with a side of four sisters. We call them the five Cuban sisters and they are rambunctious, sassy, and beautiful. They demonstrate the definition of sisterhood - womanhood - in the flesh.
Also, they make the most delicious food you will ever have in your life.
Andy, my mom, and I are invited over to their house for dinner often. I don't live in the little house way at the end of the dead end street anymore so I don't go every time, but when I do - it's love.
I can only imagine the sisters spending the day together in the kitchen, cooking, drinking wine (at least this is what I would do...) and reminiscing on their days in Cuba. I can hear their stories and see their laughter -- bent over, hugging bellies, tears streaming down cheeks.
When we arrive the house smells more amazing than you can imagine. You are greeted with a hug and one kiss, two, from each sister and Esperanza's - the baby sister whose home we all gather in - husbands strong handshake. They lead you through the house to a back room with chairs, a tiki bar, and a giant table to soon feast at. You feel like you are on an island.
While is food is finishing simmering, I ask every time if I can see Esperanza's garden. I walk outside and know I have been transported to a special kind of place. The flowers and plants intermingle with each other, flirting under the moonlight. I walk the paths and breathe in the grass. I take my shoes off so my toes can feel the earth. I promise to do yoga here.
The food is ready soon and we are ushered to line up and serve ourselves an abundant amount of rice, chicken, peppers, and corn.
"Would you like a Coke?" someone asks and I say yes, even though I don't normally drink soda.
We sit and eat and talk and laugh and eat. ..And eat.
"More, more." One of the sisters will instruct after you're so full you feel you may burst.
And then, when you've convinced them you've had more than enough, there is dessert. Esperanza gets up to grab it out of the kitchen. Her sisters follow her to help and minutes later they are making their way back with a giant bowl of rice pudding. My mom's favorite. They form a line and one starts singing Happy Birthday.
"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday Dear ..." they burst out laughing. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"
"Who's birthday is it?" I ask, glancing around trying to pin-point the receiver of the song.
Simultaneously giggling and serving up rice pudding, Esperanza tells me "no ones and everyone's." She shrugs and passes out forks.
No ones and everyone's.
What does that mean? I make a mental note to decode the meaning later and sit back to sip my icy cold Coke that tastes good only here.
I still don't know what her response means and I can almost guarantee I'm not supposed to. The moment wan't about singing to someone for some occasion - the moment was about singing with someone for no occasion.
I don't know if the sisters would remember this story if I told them today. They might snicker in Spanish and then, remembering I don't speak their native tongue, translate to English - probably saying something just as profound as the original sentence that made me ponder deeper things; that made me write this post; and that reminded me why I keep on blogging.
...Or they could be like, "yeah. duh - we knew the whole time that singing happy birthday to no one and everyone would shed light on a life lesson. You want a Coke?"
LOVE ALMOST ALWAYS,*
-Ashley
*I'll explain why I titled my blog Almost Always in a post coming soon! ...to a computer near you ;)
ox
Maybe not... but then I remember stories like the one I am about to write about and understand the reason for my blog. It's not just a place for me to tell my four friends who read this sucker about DELICIOUS Greek tacos I made last weekend (which I will be posting about soon by the way!) - it's a place to write the stories that are supposed to be written and not just spoken; the stories that offer too many opportunities for descriptions so good you feel like you were there yourself; the stories that are supposed to be shared with not just your friends but their friends too; the stories that offer a deeper than surface level glance at life and interactions; the stories like this one...
From ages 18 to 23 I lived on a tiny little dead end street with my mom and her finance. Our house is all the way at the end, nestled and safe behind a long driveway. Our house is quaint and warm and wonderful. My mom's finance, Andy, took his first steps in our house. His old room became mine. He knows all the neighbors on the street, growing up with their kids and now, visiting their parents in their retirement. My favorite couple comes with a side of four sisters. We call them the five Cuban sisters and they are rambunctious, sassy, and beautiful. They demonstrate the definition of sisterhood - womanhood - in the flesh.
Also, they make the most delicious food you will ever have in your life.Andy, my mom, and I are invited over to their house for dinner often. I don't live in the little house way at the end of the dead end street anymore so I don't go every time, but when I do - it's love.
I can only imagine the sisters spending the day together in the kitchen, cooking, drinking wine (at least this is what I would do...) and reminiscing on their days in Cuba. I can hear their stories and see their laughter -- bent over, hugging bellies, tears streaming down cheeks.When we arrive the house smells more amazing than you can imagine. You are greeted with a hug and one kiss, two, from each sister and Esperanza's - the baby sister whose home we all gather in - husbands strong handshake. They lead you through the house to a back room with chairs, a tiki bar, and a giant table to soon feast at. You feel like you are on an island.
While is food is finishing simmering, I ask every time if I can see Esperanza's garden. I walk outside and know I have been transported to a special kind of place. The flowers and plants intermingle with each other, flirting under the moonlight. I walk the paths and breathe in the grass. I take my shoes off so my toes can feel the earth. I promise to do yoga here.
The food is ready soon and we are ushered to line up and serve ourselves an abundant amount of rice, chicken, peppers, and corn.
"Would you like a Coke?" someone asks and I say yes, even though I don't normally drink soda.
We sit and eat and talk and laugh and eat. ..And eat.
"More, more." One of the sisters will instruct after you're so full you feel you may burst.
And then, when you've convinced them you've had more than enough, there is dessert. Esperanza gets up to grab it out of the kitchen. Her sisters follow her to help and minutes later they are making their way back with a giant bowl of rice pudding. My mom's favorite. They form a line and one starts singing Happy Birthday.
"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday Dear ..." they burst out laughing. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!"
"Who's birthday is it?" I ask, glancing around trying to pin-point the receiver of the song.
Simultaneously giggling and serving up rice pudding, Esperanza tells me "no ones and everyone's." She shrugs and passes out forks.
No ones and everyone's.
What does that mean? I make a mental note to decode the meaning later and sit back to sip my icy cold Coke that tastes good only here.
I still don't know what her response means and I can almost guarantee I'm not supposed to. The moment wan't about singing to someone for some occasion - the moment was about singing with someone for no occasion.
I don't know if the sisters would remember this story if I told them today. They might snicker in Spanish and then, remembering I don't speak their native tongue, translate to English - probably saying something just as profound as the original sentence that made me ponder deeper things; that made me write this post; and that reminded me why I keep on blogging.
...Or they could be like, "yeah. duh - we knew the whole time that singing happy birthday to no one and everyone would shed light on a life lesson. You want a Coke?"
LOVE ALMOST ALWAYS,*
-Ashley
*I'll explain why I titled my blog Almost Always in a post coming soon! ...to a computer near you ;)
ox
Thursday, February 27, 2014
What's a girl gotta do to go viral around here?
I've been blogging for some time and almost every time I hit the orange "publish" button after writing, reading and editing a post, I'm hoping that this will be the.one.to.go viral. (...It's okay if mental fireworks explode in your head at the mention of that word. It happens to me too...)
When I first started blogging in 2012, I wanted to be this super bad ass blogger that everyone poured over. My reasons have slightly changed now having published my first book. Now I want to be a super bad ass blogger and author that everyone pours over. (But mostly an author because hello,royalties it's my true passion.) So, as much as I love my blogs - after all they my main vessels to spew my thoughts and opinions onto the internet and into my friends pockets nationwide - I really just want a following of peeps who will read my stories.
(Is this so wrong?!)
Don't let me fool you, I love writing about sweet potatoes and shit but really, I just want to be on Jimmy Kimmel already! (Or Fallon...)
Off the top of my head I can think of 2 posts that skyrocketed 2 blog's popularity. One was titled the time I almost killed my son (you can read it here but be sure to come back after, ok?) and the other The 2014 VS Catalog: A Mom's Buying Guide After reading both of these, I immediately scrolled down to find out more about the author. Then I liked their Facebook pages. I wanted to learn more - I had to know more - about them. And apparently so did a lot of other people.
I only know these posts greatly influenced the impact these bloggers have in cyber space because they both wrote about it after. And, again, in the spirit of not fooling you, I am deeply, desperately, jealous of all their blog-love. I want someone other than myself to share my posts with their FBFs (Facebook Friends). I want the Huffington post to feature an interview on me. I WANT TO BE ON JIMMY FALLON! (Or Kimmel...)
..........but why? Can I sum it up to my instant-gratification generation? Meh, I think it goes deeper than that. What about our celeb crazed culture? Maybe, but there's always been the rich and the famous... How about the social media mania that consumes me. Probably closer to the mark... Social media makes me feel special. Plain and simple. When people "like" my rants about my hair color or dig my duck-lip selfies, I'm stoked. People are noticing me. However, truer and stronger than generation-blaming or our obsessive nature with celebrities/social media is the fact that we all want to be influential. We want people to listen - and to give a damn - about what we think, feel, act and say. I want to be on late-night TV to tell the behind the scenes of writing my book because just having people read it just isn't enough anymore..
I want to be noticed. I want to feel the comfort and confidence that comes from my words reaching others. Ideally, my words will someday grace bookshelves across the world but for now, a blog gone viral will suffice.
Love almost always,
Ashley
Ps. An alternate title for this post; Any of the Jimmy's Will Do - preferences?
When I first started blogging in 2012, I wanted to be this super bad ass blogger that everyone poured over. My reasons have slightly changed now having published my first book. Now I want to be a super bad ass blogger and author that everyone pours over. (But mostly an author because hello,
(Is this so wrong?!)
Don't let me fool you, I love writing about sweet potatoes and shit but really, I just want to be on Jimmy Kimmel already! (Or Fallon...)
Off the top of my head I can think of 2 posts that skyrocketed 2 blog's popularity. One was titled the time I almost killed my son (you can read it here but be sure to come back after, ok?) and the other The 2014 VS Catalog: A Mom's Buying Guide After reading both of these, I immediately scrolled down to find out more about the author. Then I liked their Facebook pages. I wanted to learn more - I had to know more - about them. And apparently so did a lot of other people.
I only know these posts greatly influenced the impact these bloggers have in cyber space because they both wrote about it after. And, again, in the spirit of not fooling you, I am deeply, desperately, jealous of all their blog-love. I want someone other than myself to share my posts with their FBFs (Facebook Friends). I want the Huffington post to feature an interview on me. I WANT TO BE ON JIMMY FALLON! (Or Kimmel...)
..........but why? Can I sum it up to my instant-gratification generation? Meh, I think it goes deeper than that. What about our celeb crazed culture? Maybe, but there's always been the rich and the famous... How about the social media mania that consumes me. Probably closer to the mark... Social media makes me feel special. Plain and simple. When people "like" my rants about my hair color or dig my duck-lip selfies, I'm stoked. People are noticing me. However, truer and stronger than generation-blaming or our obsessive nature with celebrities/social media is the fact that we all want to be influential. We want people to listen - and to give a damn - about what we think, feel, act and say. I want to be on late-night TV to tell the behind the scenes of writing my book because just having people read it just isn't enough anymore.. I want to be noticed. I want to feel the comfort and confidence that comes from my words reaching others. Ideally, my words will someday grace bookshelves across the world but for now, a blog gone viral will suffice.
Love almost always,
Ashley
Ps. An alternate title for this post; Any of the Jimmy's Will Do - preferences?
 |
| Another gem I shared with the Facebook community |
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Paleo, Vegan, Vegetarian, Oh my!
I'm Ashley and I'm on a Paleo,
vegan,
and vegetarian diet.
(Hiiiii, Ashley)
There is an overwhelming amount of contradicting information about what to eat and what diet to follow out there. I've read claims that both paleo and vegan diets are how our ancestors ate/what our bodies are used to. Apparently both diets prevent and cause cancer. Of course it depends which diet is friend and which is foe depending on what book you're reading ...or who it's written by or what site you're on or what friend you're listening to or... well, I think you get my point. And if you don't; I'm saying it's all subjective. There are studies to prove this diet is better than that one for both meat eaters and non-meat or animal byproduct eaters alike.
One of my favorite pieces of "food advise" comes from the book Skinny Bitch. (This book promotes a vegan lifestyle - which I don't live by 100% of the time but can still talk on some really good points the authors mention.) In Skinny Bitch they advise DO NOT TRUST ANYONE. My interpretation of this four-word gem is that no one really knows how/what you should eat because no one really knows your body ... except for, well, YOU.
I have friends that are on the paleo diet and I have friends who are vegan and vegetarian. Each of them have their own reason for eating the way they do and more power to them. I personally don't understand how a predominantly soy-based diet (soy based meat, soy cheese, soy milk, soy tofu.. jk I know it's just tofu) is better for you than just eating a piece of chicken or having a splash of animals milk* in your coffee. But that's just me and remember you shouldn't trust anyone but yourself!
I've found combining all three paleo, vegan and vegetarian diets into one magically, balanced diet works best for ne. Sometimes I have strictly vegan meals - or days - and other times I eat meat at every meal... Admittedly this isn't often but there are times when one piece of bacon just doesn't cut it...
Today is a perfect example of my paleo/vegan/vegetarian balanced diet:
My breakfast consisted of 2 eggs and 1 egg white, a small apple,
and a giant americano with organic half & half.
My vegan buddies are crying at the thought of so many animal byproducts in one day;
let alone one meal.
For a hearty snack I had a quinoa and sweet potato patty with an avocado chopped on top.
Sorry, paleo friends but grains are this girls friends. ;)
For lunch I had a salad with
spinach
kidney beans
mushrooms
olives
and sunflower seeds
The vegans are crying happy tears now!
It's about to be dinner and my VBF (Vegan Best Friend)
is coming over to celebrate National Wine Drinking Day.
She's making vegan polenta "lasagna" but I will probably add organic chicken.
And, of course, there will be wine!
Today it just worked out that I didn't have any gluten but that doesn't mean I don't eat wheat. However, in line with my consumption of meat and dairy, I don't go overboard with it; I try not to exceed 1 serving of wheat/1-2 animal byproducts in a day. But some days I do and that's life. Eating is all about balance; EXCEPT when it comes to veggies....
Another favorite piece of food advise that speaks to me is to EAT PLANTS NOT THINGS THAT ARE MADE IN PLANTS. THIS, I think, is the fundamental "diet" which everyone should live (and eat) by. Meat eater or non-meat eater, cheese lover or soy-cheese connoisseur, you need to eat your plants! ...Trust me.
TELL ME YOUR FAVORITE FOOD ADVISE!
Love almost always,
Ashley
PS
I also had 2 mini Hershey chocolate bars after lunch
because (as much as I hate it and wish it wasn't true)
the manufactured food has a (small) place in my diet too.
*well, dairy is actually an entirely different conversation but we'll save that for another post..
Monday, February 10, 2014
Cyber crush
It happened to me again today.
But with someone new.
This person is not the first person this kind of thing has happened with...
And this probably won't be the last time it happens...
 |
| I'm Ashley and I have a cyber crush on you ..so.. wanna like blog about each other or something? |
Today I developed a crush.
...A cyber crush.
I've had a few since I've started blogging. They have all been on girls and have always started innocently.
One day you're googling "how to make quinoa" and then - over a year later and many quinoa skills mastered - you're still checking in to see what your cyber crush is up to.
There's a familiarity and almost a sense of reminiscence when you visit an old crush's page. Like you've been there and then you've been away and now it's really nice to be back; checking in to see how things have been, what's changed and what's still the same, whose grown and whose changed their hair color...
But nothing beats a new cyber crush... The plethora of new things to pour over... Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, oh my! The different videos posted and blogs written. An all access pass to this person's interpretation of life. ...It has taken hours of my life.
Though I've found that you can't go searching for a new cyber crush. It just doesn't work like that. You can't force interest into someone else's life. It has to happen organically - originally - like the Internet Gods destined one click to lead to another and then suddenly *BAM* you've found your next cyber crush. Almost like a soul mate but more ...one sided.
Clicking around a bit you find you really like this girls hair color and her bedspread is super cute. You dig her fancy drop-down menu and icons directing you to other showcases of her life. All the links with all the fascinating information about ..a stranger.
It's time consuming and weird if you think about it long enough. But it's probably also normal. With so much personal information readily available on the internet, I don't think it's dramatic to feel like I know some of my cyber crushes without ever meeting them. I don't think it's crazy to feel like I can be friends with someone because they post a lot of shit I "like." If I'm entertained by your life from freakin' post-it sized pictures I scroll through on my phone... you must be a bad ass.
Occasionally I am envious of my cyber crushes.
They have how many followers?
I'm that funny too! ...after a glass of wine shot of tequila.
That is literally the best sentence I have ever read
in the history of all of the sentences in the world.
Wait, is her blog better than mine?
Yep! My iPhone 3 will never take the pictures her camera can.
Maybe I should put Adobe Photoshop on my Christmas list this year..?
But most of the time I'm just like girl, go on with your bad self. Which is really what cyber crushing should be all about anyway...
LOVE almost always,
Ashley
PS.
I thought it would be interesting for you to know who my cyber crushes are sooo, drum roll please...
1. The Diva Dish
Ari was my first cyber crush and I still love checking out what's new with her and what healthy cooking she is doing for her family.
 |
| She even replied to a comment I left and it was pretty much the highlight of my day |
2. Laci Green
I stumbled across Laci's YouTube channel and pretty much agree with everything that comes out of her mouth. :)
3. Hannah Brencher
This girl is founded The World Needs More Love Letters and I seriously hope to meet her one day.
4. Kaleigh Somers
I've exchanged a few emailed with Kaleigh and actually wrote for her website but just recently discovered how interesting her life via Instagram is ;)
5. Natalie C.
I've actually met Natalie but fact: feel like I know her more than I actually do because of the amount of time I spend on her blog. #obsessed
6. Ms. Morgan Wright
This is more of a real life girl crush since she is one of my actual best friends but because I am so excited for her new blog.. I figured I would add her to the list!
7. Melissa K.
This is also a real life crush but I am blown away every time I read her blog. Highly recommended!
Monday, February 3, 2014
Sunday vs. Monday SUPER BOWL EDITION
SUNDAY:
This past Sunday was super bowl Sunday which meant self-control succumbed to pizza, beer, CRONUTS (yeah, you read that right!), chips and guac.. omg.. especially the chips and guac! Oh, savory guacamole.. I'm salivating just thinking of you.. (If you don't know how much I love savory food read this post.)
Breakfast - around 8:30am:
I woke up unusually starving so had a corn tortilla with hummus*, half an apple and a cup of tea
around 11:30am (and a crazy long wait at a restaurant my mom has been wanting to try for breakfast):
I split an American breakfast that consisted on scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and home fries.
Lunch/ Super Bowl Nomz - from 2:30pm - 6:30pm:
I started the afternoon with a TON of chips and guac. (Chip to guac ratio = 1 chip : a heaping amount of guacamole.. like a mini Everest of avocado, tomato, onions and cilantro)
I think I ended up having 3 slices of pizza - though they were relatively small slices..
I had half of a cronut, some apple slices dipped in caramel, whiskey infused popcorn, veggies and hummus, crackers, meat and cheese and oh yeah, some more guacamole.
(For this party, I did eat a lot but not a lot of everything... if you don't count the pizza and guac. anyway....)
Dinner - around 7:30pm:
I finished of the day with half of a leftover Hawaiian burger because apparently I hadn't had enough red meat and carbohydrates for the day...
MONDAY:
Breakfast - around 9am
I woke up and wasn't too hungry so just had coffee before getting to the office. I brought a pack of organic oatmeal with flax seeds and an organic pear to eat once settled in.
Lunch - around 1pm
one pita with hummus, cucumber and carrot slices and a side of potato salad
Afternoon snack - around 4:30pm
A few dried peaches and pistachio almond clusters
Dinner - around 7:30pm
Whole wheat pasta with chard, scallops, tomato, onions, garlic, olive oil and parm.
Dessert - right after dinner
a chocolate chip cookie and peppermint tea
Monday clearly made up for what Sunday lacked in nutrients and homemade nomz. However, as mentioned, Sunday's food consumption was about a lot of variety but not a total loss of control... It was the Super Bowl, who doesn't splurge a little bit? So, sorry I'm not sorry about it.
;)
OX
-a
*Mike says this is the weirdest combination he's heard of.. I thought it was pretty good. What are your thoughts?
This past Sunday was super bowl Sunday which meant self-control succumbed to pizza, beer, CRONUTS (yeah, you read that right!), chips and guac.. omg.. especially the chips and guac! Oh, savory guacamole.. I'm salivating just thinking of you.. (If you don't know how much I love savory food read this post.)
Breakfast - around 8:30am:
.JPG) |
| The after shot |
around 11:30am (and a crazy long wait at a restaurant my mom has been wanting to try for breakfast):
I split an American breakfast that consisted on scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon and home fries.
Lunch/ Super Bowl Nomz - from 2:30pm - 6:30pm:
.JPG) |
| The spread |
I think I ended up having 3 slices of pizza - though they were relatively small slices..
I had half of a cronut, some apple slices dipped in caramel, whiskey infused popcorn, veggies and hummus, crackers, meat and cheese and oh yeah, some more guacamole.
(For this party, I did eat a lot but not a lot of everything... if you don't count the pizza and guac. anyway....)
Dinner - around 7:30pm:
I finished of the day with half of a leftover Hawaiian burger because apparently I hadn't had enough red meat and carbohydrates for the day...
MONDAY:
Breakfast - around 9am
I woke up and wasn't too hungry so just had coffee before getting to the office. I brought a pack of organic oatmeal with flax seeds and an organic pear to eat once settled in.
Lunch - around 1pm
one pita with hummus, cucumber and carrot slices and a side of potato salad
Afternoon snack - around 4:30pm
A few dried peaches and pistachio almond clusters
.JPG) |
| VEGGIES.. it's whats for dinner. |
Whole wheat pasta with chard, scallops, tomato, onions, garlic, olive oil and parm.
Dessert - right after dinner
a chocolate chip cookie and peppermint tea
Monday clearly made up for what Sunday lacked in nutrients and homemade nomz. However, as mentioned, Sunday's food consumption was about a lot of variety but not a total loss of control... It was the Super Bowl, who doesn't splurge a little bit? So, sorry I'm not sorry about it.
;)
OX
-a
*Mike says this is the weirdest combination he's heard of.. I thought it was pretty good. What are your thoughts?
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