Well, today’s been a productive day – didn’t DO much – but I had a paper to write – so I spent the majority of the day knocking that out.   It’s hard to put into words what I do for a living every day (justifying EHRs and detailing what the benefits of them are).

The weather is pretty crappy tonight.  There’s a cold front coming through, and it’s raining cats and dogs.  Thankfully it held off for the morning – Charles had some errands to run while I was working on my homework – and it turns out that today is the Krispy Kreme Challenge – which while I don’t run – I know folks that do.  (Although the rain tonight would go far towards removing what the runners deposited on the road on the way BACK from the donut shop to the bell tower – UGH).

Tomorrow, I want to do some creating – I have to do my monthly projects and catch up on project life, so I’ll be doing lots of printing and organizing my scrappy stuff on the dining room table.  Afterwards, I want to go upstairs and work on some valentines.  I have some really cute ideas – I just need to make it happen – and I think doing some creating will help me get my mind back into the creative routine.   It should also be helpful in reducing my stress levels while thinking about work!

Haven’t picked out a recipe to try this week – not quite sure what I want to do yet – but I do know that I want to do something.  I’ll figure it out in the next few days and post what I decide to do.

Going to go read a bit – and figure out why Phin is digging for gold in his toy chest.

Much love!

35/366

YAY – Back to the gym today!  I’m glad I went.  Still a little sore from it – but hey, it means I did something active, and heaven’s knows I need it!

Today’s WOD (is it really a WOD?) was a circuit of sorts.

• 3 minutes on recumbent bike
• 15 squats x3
• 15 kettle swings x 3
• 3 box steps with 10lb ball
• 15 bar presses (30 lb bar)
• 10 side lunges
• 10 weighted steps (2 18lb bells)
• 10 sledgehammer swings – 8 lb sledgehammer

Best part of the entire WOD was that sledgehammer.  I have been dealing with some things at work that have me extremely frustrated.  However, swinging a hammer and imagining the topic of my frustration on that tractor tire just does amazing things to my mood.  I am seriously going to recommend having a sledge hammer and tire in our ‘fun room’ during software releases…although, perhaps it could be construed as a weapon – not sure…hrmm.

This weekend will have me doing homework – my first position paper is due next week – so I’ll be working on that.  I also have to do some reading and prep for some other assignments.  (I want to make sure I’m as ahead as possible before we head to Panama).  I was going to do some work on the training activities I have for this release – but I think I’ll take care of my personal things – part of me does not want to build up a precedent – however there is just so much that needs to be done – I want to make sure that everything the team needs is ready to go.

Watching the tail end of the second season of Downton Abbey – I absolutely LOVE this show – and I wish that I had found it a while ago!   So fun Oh, to live in the days of high society and fancy frufru.  (Perhaps this is why I love dressing for dinner on cruises!)

Off to fold laundry! (Woohoo!)

Much Love!!

34/366

Okay, Puxatawney Phil does not have a clue – really.  6 more weeks of winter – and the weather for the past few weeks has been absolutely SPRING like.  Crazy!  But if this is what we’ll have 6 more weeks of, I promise I won’t complain too much.  However, if this winter turns out to be anything like the winters that I had up north where January and February were warm – the end of February and March will be doozies.

I’m still not able to get on board with the rumor of global warming.  Not yet anyway.

Tonight, Charles and I took a night out and went to BigAl’s BBQ and Catering for dinner.  It’s in a local shopping center near the Lowes Foods we used to shop at.  (Forrestville and 401).  It was a VERY yummy dinner.  I didn’t take my phone with me, so I wasn’t able to get any photos of the food or the restaurant, but I think we’ve found a place that we’ll be going back to.  Honestly, it’s the best BBQ that I’ve had – even compared to the Pit and Smithfields.  Now, granted, it’s just a small little place, but it’s local – not a chain – the meats are smoked right there on site, and it’s just plain good.  Charles was in Brisket Heaven – which if the smile on his face was any indication, was a good place to be

Tonight, while I was working through a few things – I had Netflix on, and watched a movie called Dive.  It’s really got me thinking.  Apparently, most major grocery store chains, including Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, just throw away the food that is within a day or so of the ‘use by’ date.  They haven’t been able to find out exactly why it gets thrown away – and not donated on a regular basis to food pantries and other charities in the area, but it just gets tossed.  And the person who made the movie, and a number of his friends, make a habit of dumpster diving to pull out the salvageable goods – for their own use, or to donate to people who need it more than they do.

Now, while I don’t think I could ever see myself doing dumpster diving for groceries – Charles and I have both noted that we would waste more food than was necessary – and have made a very conscious effort to buy only what we need, and to use only what we buy.  If we have leftovers – we plan on eating them – we do what we can to make good use of the food we buy and make.

Tonight we wandered around Lowe’s foods (Needed some milk and didn’t want to run to Whole Foods).  There is just SO much there.  What happens when it’s ‘expired’?  I’ve heard from numerous sources that the food is still good – those dates are so exaggerated in order to prevent lawsuits – but stuff is still edible.  What happens to all the hot foods on buffets – and the salads in deli counters?  Where does it all go?  From what I’ve learned – it goes into the dumpsters – and then to the landfill.

It’s such a waste.  It’s not only a waste of food – it’s also a waste of the work and effort that it took to grow it, to harvest it, to process, pack and ship it.  Just a waste all around of so many things.  And when there are so many people who are hungry, eating ‘junk’ because that’s all they can afford, and basically living hand to mouth because the economy is in the crapper – we’re just throwing food away.  It’s sad.

I am tempted to write to the managers of the local Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s stores to see what they do with their overages – or to contact the local food banks to see if they even know that they can contact the stores to get what gets thrown away.  I know, I’m late to this game – and it’s probably already been done – but I am just sick over something that seems to be a really easy problem to address.  Food that people won’t buy – give to people who can’t buy it – but still need to eat.  It’s pretty simple math in my head.  (And hey, I SUCK at math folks!)

We’ve been watching a lot of movies like this, and reading a lot of books about how the food industry is just a mess.  We’re in a castle on stilts, and eventually, those stilts are going to break and things are going to fall apart.  There is some wisdom in the people who build stock piles of dried foods or other healthy foods to be able to feed their families in times of crisis.  I don’t believe that Charles and I are at ‘THAT POINT’ yet – but I can see us stocking up on a few staples that we use frequently – as a just in case.  (It’s a little harder when we’re trying to eat healthy and not use processed foods).

Called the Vet today and made a Camp Appointment for Phin for the week we’re away.  I swear, the goober knows exactly what I told Ms Erin when I called – because he was stuck to my side before the phone call – and after I got off the phone, he wouldn’t talk to me at all!  No pets, wouldn’t look at me, wouldn’t come anywhere near.  I know he doesn’t like Camp all that much – but it’s good for him.  Hopefully he’ll eventually be enough of a good boy to be able to stay home with his Sisters – but the fact that he doesn’t like many other people – well, that doesn’t help a whole lot.

Going to wrap this up for the night – I think this is the longest post I’ve written for a while – just have a lot on my mind – Which is never a bad thing.

Much love.

33/366

Wow, it’s going to be a little more difficult to count days now that the month has changed!  Just a quick one tonight, I’m not feeling all that good and just want to go lay down.  (Missed CrossFit today because I pretty much feel like crap on a cracker).

More tomorrow.

32/366

Well, it sure is hard to believe that the first month of the year is gone.  It went so fast!  Of course, I didn’t get anything close to everything done that I wanted to do (decluttering)  – but then again, I started and am continuing a few things I didn’t think I would ever do  (going to see a new surgeon and going to CrossFit and LOVING IT).  So, I think it all tends to even out on the other side of things.

I have a few plans for what I want to get accomplished in February – but first off, I want to figure out how I’m going to tackle them – and once I do that, then at the end of the month, I’ll let you know what I was planning on doing and how it all went.   I have two vacations this month – Panama, and a girl’s weekend in Vegas, so I’m excited about that.  It will be great to see my extended in law family again, as well as finally get together with the BuxBabes.  (I’m holding out hope that Steph can still make it with us!)

Since today was the last day of the month, I figured I’d hop on the scale and see how things worked out.  And oh my goodness was I surprised.  I know what I weighed when I first jumped on the scale at Dr. DeMaria’s office on the 18th, and even taking into account what I weighed here at home that morning (subtracting clothes and normal ‘daily weight’) I’ve lost 6 pounds since the 18th – 9 if you subtract my clothes.  (I was in my jammies this morning – definitely not when I was at the office then. )  I’m happy about that.  I’m also happy about the fact that I’m starting to identify things that I can do from our workouts that I can do in Panama and Vegas.  The last thing I want to do is get out of the routine!  (Thankfully both vacations will be with active people).

Tried a new recipe tonight – it will be a keeper for us – and I was actually able to do it with all locally sourced or home made things – the only thing that was processed was the hoop cheese  – and well, we don’t have a cow in our backyard yet

Cheddar and Cracker Chicken (adapted from What’s Cookin Chicago)

• 3/4 c crushed cracker crumbs (from Charles’ recent batch of crackers)
• 6 ounces shredded hoop cheese
• 1 clove garlic
• 1t minced onion
• kosher salt
• black pepper
• 5 boneless skinless chicken thighs (freezer fodder from Whole Foods)
• 4 T unsalted butter – melted

Heat oven to 350F.  In a bowl, combine the crackers, cheese, garlic, onions and 1/4 t salt and pepper.  Pound the chicken if needed to make it 1/2 inch thickness with a meat mallet.  Dip the pounded chicken in the butter, then in the cracker mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere and place on a foil-lined baking sheet.  Sprinkle any remaining cracker mixture on the chicken and drizzle with any remaining butter.   Bake until the chicken is golden brown and cooked through – about 20-25 minutes.

One good thing about this recipe is that you can make it ahead of time.  Prepare it like above.  After it’s coated in the cracker mixture, place it in a gallon sized bag, seal and freeze flat.  When ready to prepare, place on a baking sheet and drizzle with melted butter – back from frozen until cooked through – 30-35 minutes.   Another thing that I think I could do to make it lower carb is to use almond meal instead of the crackers (but Charles’s crackers are SO yummy!)  Will be one to play with!

Well, I’m going to go read a little bit tonight – turning my brain off is a good thing

31/366

This morning started off pretty rough.  I didn’t sleep very well last night – I couldn’t fall asleep, and once I did, I had horrible dreams.  I dreamt that I drove my car off a cliff during some funky multi stage rock concert.  I know that it’s a sign that I don’t feel in control of my life – but it still sucks.   This stress has to give sooner or later.  I’m trying to make a conscious decision to not worry about the things I can’t control, but yet again – here I am.

Oh well – at least today’s over – and we’re a little bit closer to getting the answers we need to the questions that we have.

I had a pretty productive meeting this morning for a training class that I’m putting together.  This one I feel really good about and I think that the team will get a lot out of it. (I can’t say they’ll ‘enjoy’ it – but it will be beneficial to them – at least I hope so!)

Today was gym day.  WOOT!  It was sorely needed – because well, see above.  I was stressy – and knew that it would be a good thing for me to do – so off I went.  Instead of hiding from the gym and burying myself in a bag of potato chips like I would have in the past.  (I think I’m making some headway here).

Here’s the list of what I did at the gym today:

Big ole brain jumble going on lately.  Not quite sure why it’s so scattered between my ears – but it sure is.

Charles and I are trying to get ready for the trip to Panama – but it’s turning out to be more and more stressful – and I just hate the feeling.  We’re both very concerned about the fact that Air Panama has some pretty strict weight restrictions – not only on luggage, but on people.  The luggage stuff is clearly defined – but the weights for people – definitely not defined anywhere.  And well, that’s rather unfortunate -because it really stresses me out.  Add in that I’m not sure I can fit all the stuff I need to take with me in the 30 pounds that we’re allowed to take with us – and well, it’s getting a little crazy trying to figure out what I can do.

This is one of those times that I wish I was tall, thin, gorgeous, and could just snap my fingers and go anywhere. UGH.  It absolutely sucks – and right now, I feel like more of a failure than I should – but I really can’t help it.  It’s a constant reminder – and knowing that Charles is stressing out too – well, that doesn’t help any   I want to go along on our family vacation – and we’ve really been looking forward to it – but right now, we’ve got SO many questions that we’re not sure what to do.  It will all work itself out – that we know – we just need to be patient.

Homework was my big ‘activity’ for the weekend – I swear it feels like the only thing that I did – and I did a lot of it.  This class has a lot of reading and ‘hands on’ activities to it – I’m glad that I haven’t decided to take on more than one at a time – I don’t think I’d be able to do it very well!  I’m learning a lot – which is all that matters.

This was my 5 minute Stream of Consciousness Sunday post. It’s five minutes of your time and a brain dump. Want to try it? Here are the rules…

• Set a timer and write for 5 minutes.
• Write an intro to the post if you want but don’t edit the post. No proofreading or spellchecking. This is writing in the raw.
• Publish it somewhere. Anywhere. The back door to your blog if you want. But make it accessible.
• Add the Stream of Consciousness Sunday badge to your post.
• Link up your post below.
• Visit your fellow bloggers and show some love.

Now…

1. Grab the button

(it’s over at Fadra’s place!)

2. Write your post.

3. Link up at Fadra’s place.

29/366

Ahh, what a day!

I had lots and lots and lots of homework to do today.  So, I spent the day listening to this week’s lecture, writing a recap paper on that lecture, doing the assignments due tomorrow, and getting a few other things ready for tomorrow.  Tomorrow, I will read the readings for Monday’s class, and work on some work projects a little bit.  While I’m working on that, I’ll work on laundry and straighten up things around the house.  Charles and I were thinking about going to the Farmer’s market as well – we have some things we want to pick up (of course, things we decided on AFTER we went to Whole Foods tonight!)

Am kind of out of words today – read a bunch and wrote a bunch more.

Have a great day.

28/366

Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders, seize the opportunity to change things for the better.  – Harry S. Truman

This is a quote from a training session I had today, and man, it really made me think.  A lot of the situations that I’m in right now, are because I’m seizing opportunities for change – and well, there are growing pains involved.  A little stretching and pulling – aches and pains, and some bruising and scars.   But in the end, it’s going to be worth it.  I just know it, it’s going to be worth it.  As long as I keep the right things in focus – and take things one day at a time – I’ll get where I really want to be.

Katie, Kris and I made plans for lunch today.   We went to Aladdin’s Eatery for lunch.  We haven’t been able to spend a lot of time together, and it was just great getting to spend a bit of time with them.  The place was really busy too – which is great – it used to be a quiet place – so I’m glad to see that business has picked up (Usually a sign that things will stick around for a while!)  I had a yummy salad, and a little baklava cheesecake.  (I know, it was bad, not the best choice, but it was my birthday!)

Work was crazy busy today, which is how it is most likely going to be for a while.   One step at a time…and look forward to CrossFit!  Which today, I really was looking forward to it.  I had plenty of things that could keep me at the office, and for a few minutes, I actually considered not going – but then I packed up – headed out the door, and to the gym.   Quick change later – and whoo, off we went!  I know I’m new – but this continues to just blow my mind – I not only am working out – I am having LOTS of fun doing it!

• 3 minutes on the recumbent bike
• 15 squats (and OMG they hurt like hell)
• 20 ring rows
• 15 leaning pushups
• 4 sled pulls with 40 pounds
• 2 reverse sled pulls with 40 pounds
• 5 per side deadlifts with 18 pound kettlebell
• 10 press lifts (empty bar, but it wasn’t light!)
• 10 butterflies – 10lb dumb bells

See, I CAN do the hard things!  (WOOT!)

The weekend has homework and housework on the menu – (And of course, neither of them are the same thing!)  I’ll be busy – but it’s good stuff

27/366

Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEEE!

41 years.  Woah.  That’s really hard to wrap my brain around – and honestly – it feels like I need to ‘grow’ up now – but I really don’t want to   I’ve just got Peter Pan syndrome today – must be lack of birthday candles and fairy dust!  (We need to fix that soon!)

I don’t usually work on my birthday – (We usually travel), so I took the day off to be ‘me’.  Charles woke me up with a birthday wish this morning (Happy BearDay!) so I got up with him.  He headed off to work, and I started puttering around.   I checked my email, decided that there just really wasn’t much I wanted to do on the computer for the day, so I got up and headed out.

To the library – I took our books back and got a replacement for my missing library card.  Then, it was off to the bank, and then to Michael’s to get the things I was needing for the crafts that I wanted to do today.   I then went to Starbucks for my daily Iced coffee.  I mentioned to the barrista that it was my birthday, and she gave me an upsize in my coffee (SCORE) and on top of that, I got a discount on a bag of Willow Tree blend beans.  WOOT!

I had thought, since it was my ‘special’ day, I would treat myself to lunch out and about somewhere.  Well, while I was out there – nothing even remotely looked appetizing.  I wasn’t really hungry, and I knew there was a special dinner coming later tonight, so I just packed it up and came home.  Now, I can’t say that this is a groundbreaking thing – heck- people make good choices all the time – but for me, it was reinforcing the fact that the choices and decisions that we’re making with regards to our food, are starting to be habits – and good habits at that.

So, once I got home, I started working on my projects.  I wanted to make a Yarn Wreath – which was part of my 12 in 12 goal for the year.    I don’t have a photo of it yet, but once I have everything all organized the way I want it to be, I’ll post it here. (And in my 12 in 12 group!)   I spent a few hours wrapping the yarn around the form, and then I pinned in the origami hearts I made last night.  It actually turned out pretty cute.  I am planning on making one for St. Patrick’s Day, and one for Easter too.  Not sure if I’ll continue it through ALL the holidays – but I’ll figure something out

After the wreath was done, I worked on heart tags for the hall tree, and some cards.  (I’d picked up a chandelier stamp at Michael’s, and saw a pretty card that I wanted to duplicate – (it turned out pretty cute too!)  There will be photos of those posted tomorrow too when the sun is up and I can get a better photo of them.

Charles came home a little earlier than he normally does – and he gave me what turned out to make my birthday just perfect.  He knows I love daisies, so he stopped and picked up a bunch of purple and white ones for me – because he just wanted me to have daisies for my birthday.  You know, that means more to me than just about anything else!  (And is just yet another reason why I LOVE my husband!)

Our plan was to go to Lumiere’s for dinner tonight.   We headed off to dinner, and enjoyed a nice and quiet dinner together.  And OH MY GOODNESS it was delicious.  Charles had a flank steak with portobello mushrooms.  I had a strip steak with an awesome pan sauce.  Just fabulous.  And of course, it was entirely TOO MUCH for us to eat.  So, instead of stuffing ourselves, we packed things up and brought half of it home with us – so we have dinner for tomorrow night as well

Now we’re home – more quiet time together – which is a nice end to a great day

Here’s to another awesome trip around the sun!

26/366