Making it Monday...

A couple of practice pieces.  Two-tone chain maille bracelets.  Very elementary for a beginner. 

Terrible lighting in the photos...the bracelets look to have a very dull finish, but they really don't. 

We have been having a thunderstorm tonight (nice!), so didn't want to turn the computer on earlier.  But now that the storm has moved off, I thought I'd post.  

And since the lightning has stopped, I guess I can go shower now without feeling paranoid about all that random high voltage flying around.

Just one more, I promise...

I know, I know...enough about the jars of salad!

But I wanted you to see what a massive amount of salad fits in just one quart jar!

Yeah.  That's a LOT of salad.  Not to be confused with a salad plate...the plate above is a full size dinner plate.

The sheer volume surprises me every time I plate it up.

An apple a day...

I haven't been writing much, because I have been tired...exhausted...fatigued...pooped!  All week last week, I came home from work, went directly into the bath tub, and then straight to bed.  My previous weekend of non-stop cleaning and bargain hunting just about did me in.  (I've said it before, and I'll say it again..."Housework [not to mention tax season] is hazardous to your health!")  Anyway, I was feeling so awful, that I made an appointment to see my doctor.  She will, of course, tell me that I need to lose weight.  Duh.

So Sunday, when I finally started feeling better, I decided to spend some of my energy stocking up on healthy foods.  

What better way to start the week than with an apple a day.  Yes, I hear you.  "Why do you have a rubber band around your apple, Kathleen?"  Well, it's an awesome little tip I came across...probably on Pinterest...and thought worthy of sharing.

I'm always looking for ways to eliminate morning tasks.  If I try to add one little thing to my morning routine, it WILL be skipped in favor of one more slap to the snooze button.  Therefore, I am ALWAYS looking for ways to do things the night before.

Take breakfast for example.  I'm not really a breakfast person, but I like an apple with almond butter once I get to work.  Kind of hard to eat a whole apple at my desk...and REALLY messy to try to dip it in almond butter.

Enter my trusty apple slicer...

Sunday night, I sliced my apple, but instead of taking it apart, just kept it together and slid a rubber band around it.  I popped the whole thing into a ziplock baggie, and then into my lunchbox in the refrigerator.

Ta-da!  This is how it looked when I got to work this morning...hardly any browning at all.  Crisp and perfect slices for dipping.

The salad in a jar I posted about a couple of weeks ago worked great.  Sunday, I also made up enough to last me through another week.  This week's salad didn't look as pretty in the jar...not colorful enough.  The tomatoes are hiding in the bottom, and all the other ingredients...baby corn cobs, celery, mushrooms, roasted chicken, lettuce mix...all kind of blend into one another colorwise.  (Good move, Kath, forgot to put in the shredded carrot and radish...sheesh.)

As for the doctor, I will keep my Friday appointment.  I will take my lecture.  I will ask about a sleep study.  I will discuss rescheduling some tests.  I will act on her advice.

I've got pieces of April...

Not sure what the title has to do with the post, but I have been humming that song every morning  so far this month.

I had plans for today away from home, so I nearly killed myself yesterday trying to get a weekend's worth of work done in one day: vacuuming the entire house...baseboards and windowsills included, dusting, cleaning bathrooms, loading and unloading the dishwasher, LAUNDRY, changing the bed, putting away the Easter straggler decorations and rearranging the mantle with non-holiday objects.

I started relatively early, but I kept taking breaks to rest my back and knees which were feeling achy before I even got started, and I didn't want to incapacitate them entirely.  When I thought my legs would fall off, I took a long hot soak in the tub.  By the time I finally got to bed, it was 2:30 a.m.  

I had to be up by 6:30 to meet my friend Pam.  I was sure I would back out, but I didn't.  

The weather was perfect for some auction action...cloudy but no rain...not to hot...not too cool.  The only hard part was all the standing, because there was tons of stuff up for bid outside on tables...TONS.  My poor knees and feet, so tired from all the work yesterday, complained all day.

But I won the bid on a vintage toleware wastebasket...

...and a reproduction toleware tray... 

                                     

I didn't win the bid on the box lot these three floral frogs were in.  But a few minutes later I bumped into the woman who had purchased the lot, and I asked her if she might consider selling me the frogs if they weren't what she had wanted the box for.  She didn't want them at all, and was very happy to sell them to me at the price I offered.  They were the only things in the entire lot that I had wanted, so we were both happy.

I did not bid on this pink Atlas sewing machine, but it did make me think of Michelle.   

And the main reason I drug myself out of my nice comfy bed this morning was because they had this beauty up for bid...almost new, and my husband has been shopping for one.  Happy Anniversary, honey!  You can pick it up yourself on Wednesday.  :)

Now, I think I will call it an early night.  A girl's gotta work tomorrow.

Bluebonnets

Spring is definitely here.  The bluebonnets are not as abundant as they were last year, but we did find a patch big enough to get a photo.  Poor little things.  I should have turned them around so the sun wasn't in their eyes.

In the land of chalk drawings...

This is the result of my spending this afternoon in Kasey's dining room.  You might remember the Give Thanks that I put up here in November.  

The main part of this design is from a printable that I saw somewhere, but I printed it out with the intent of framing it, and I didn't save the source.  So big apologies to the original artist for the lack of attribution.  

The chalkboard art is so fun to do.  I had an audience this time who all had suggestions.  :)  The boys thought I needed to add a serrated edge to the knife...Oi!  Beau's suggestion was to add the grace around the border, and I decided that was actually a great idea.

I have a spot in my house that I think might be yearning to be painted black just so I can play.  

What am I reading Wednesday...

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James

Ghost hunters circa 1920.  Good entertainment.  I think I shall turn in and read.  They are forecasting a stormy commute in the morning;  I'll need my rest.  Hope I can go to sleep after reading about an angry ghost!

I have reached a jarring conclusion...

This is the first week at my latest attempt at a healthier lifestyle.  I found this idea for salad in a jar on Pinterest.  Supposedly it stays fresh all week.  You put the dressing in the bottom of a wide-mouth quart jar first.  Then you add layers; first the things that won't get soggy while sitting in the dressing (cherry tomatoes, radishes, celery, cucumbers?), then the meat and/or cheese, and last the greens.  Then when you're ready to eat it, just shake it up to distribute the dressing, and pour it into a bowl.  I'll let you know how it works out.

Since going back to working full time, my schedule is really out of whack.  I usually don't get home until 7:30 pm at the earliest, so I either end up grabbing dinner for us out, or throwing something really quick together.  The slow cooker comes in really handy, and the guys have been helping out, but even if I am ready to eat the moment I walk through the door, that still puts it very near bedtime.  Then I don't sleep well.  And all those calories consumed right before a prolonged period of inactivity are probably contributing to my weight gain.  :(

So I'm thinking that I will eat a good lunch, either out or leftovers from home, and then right before I leave work at 6:00, I will eat one of my jars of salad for my dinner.  Being consumed earlier than my arrival home and being fresh fruit and vegetables should be healthier all around.

It seems very logical...I hope it keeps well, and helps my situation.

2013 Goals, March progress...

PERSONAL MONTHLY GOALS

• Lose 2 pounds
• GAINED!!!  HAVE TO, HAVE TO, HAVE TO GET THIS IN HAND
• Turn computer off by 9:00 pm on work nights
• Easy to do without working computer!  :)
• Begin bedtime routine by 9:15 pm on work nights
• More often than not...even on NON-work nights.
• Get back to a more Paleo eating plan
• Miserable FAIL...and boy can I feel it!
• Make my iced coffees instead of buying them 4 times a week...I only drink coffee on my way to work, and I only work 4 days a week (gave up iced coffee)
• Take my lunch to work twice a week
• 2/12
• Cook twenty meals at home per month   (not counting breakfast/lunch)
• Well, I didn't, but the family helped out...so maybe.
• Cook / freeze two meals per month
• 0 / 2
• Stretch for ten minutes 15 times a month
• miserable fail
• Walk for fifteen minutes 15 times a month
• miserable fail
• Visit one new church a month until we find a new church home
• miserable fail
• blog 20 times a month
• 5 / 20
• have one or more of the kidlets overnight once a month
• 0 / 1

PERSONAL ANNUAL GOALS

• Lose 25 pounds
• Complete one Bible study
• Organize home office / craft room
• Organize photos
• Paint cabinets in guest powder room
• Reorganize laundry room
• Paint laundry room cabinets
• Complete the 2013 Reading Challenge
• 4  / 12

GIVING GOALS (for the year)

• Knit 12 hats to donate
• Donate 12 boxfuls of household goods / clothes to Goodwill
• 4 / 12
• Donate 12 books to the library
• 15 / 12
• Donate to two good causes

FINANCIAL GOALS (for the year)

• Be more deliberately mindful of finances
• Contribute maximum to our IRAs
• Contributed 2012 max to Carey's before filing taxes this month
• Add $100 to each of the five college funds
• Build / finish the garage apartment
• Price / plan future kitchen remodel

CREATIVE GOALS (for the year)

• Hand quilt Rita May's quilt top
• Make 52 cards 6 / 52
• Knit 6 dishcloths 4 / 6
• Sew 2 hot pads
• Knit 1 cowl
• Make 6 Pinterest projects   2 / 6