Running!

I did it! I finally got up off of my butt and committed myself to start running. I meant to last week. I meant to in April. I meant to start during spring break. I meant to on January first. I meant to last November. I meant to. But I just didn't. Today, that changed.

I have several reasons why I'm running.

Mental health - The proverbial 'They' aren't kidding when they say exercise makes you happy. I will mentally benefit from this because I do suffer from depression. Running in the past, I know I felt very happy. I am hoping this works for me again.

Physical health - I am not the healthiest of people. My weight has been going up and down, but mostly up. I know that running will help maintain my weight, if not decrease it. I am also hoping this will help with pain I have in general. I have scoliosis and deal with back pain and muscle spasms daily. I also have arthritis in my knees. Again, when I ran in the past, I was not suffering any pain. I really don't know how it's possible, but running helped!

Awareness - I am running for my aunt who is battling breast cancer. I dedicated my Color Run in April to her. There are other health concerns I am running for, too. Heart disease, diabetes, and anything else I believe is an important health concern. I want my runs to be charitable, to profit someone who needs it. The Color Run, while a for-profit organization, donates to causes such as the American Heart Association.

Couch to 5K - I walked a 5K four years ago for the local zoo. I didn't participate in any more running events because I was pregnant and life got busy. Once I found out about The Color Run, I signed up to be notified when the registration opened for the local event date. I signed up and participated and had so much fun. Life is still busy but I am making time for running. I signed up for The Color Run in November. Since TheThree-year-old seemed to like the finish party, I plan on taking her with me - especially since her birthday will be right around the corner. It will be like a giant birthday party!

Goals - I have a list of goals I want to complete (it needs to be revised) and I think doing a marathon is on that list. So, shortest of the long-term goals is to participate in more 5Ks. The next goal would be to fully run a 5K. Next would be to run a half marathon. And then the longest long-term running goal would be to run a marathon.

There you go! I hope you're in for the long haul with me!

Run for My Life!

I'm all over the place today!

It is a good morning. Is it going to be a good day? I'm in a good mood right now and I hope it sticks around. I know I'm in a good mood because I am planning. Excited planning! I'm feeling motivated. It all started last night. My only complaint is that I'm in some pain - neck and back.

• I cleaned - I just haven't been motivated (I'm taking that as a sign of a low). But I did all the dishes, cooked dinner, put all my clothes away, made the bed, did laundry and vacuumed. And, I'm planning a thorough cleaning either this weekend or during next week.
• I'm starting to plan for the annual girls' beach weekend with my girlfriends. I play host/chef/bartender. I really want to do some more recipes and some "activities".
• I'm really wanting to run. I participated in The Color Run 5K and I've signed up for the fall run. I need to get back into running. I ran a few years ago and that was the best I have ever felt - physically and emotionally. I was rarely even in any pain. I have also done some side research about being physically active and depression - I know I will only benefit from it. Plus, I would really like to start doing 5Ks on a regular basis.
• Vlogging - I know I'm not great at it. And I really dislike sitting around editing clips. I would love to just sit and do a one-take kind of thing. I have some ideas.

Another cycle

I cannot figure out what may have brought this on, but I am experiencing another mood swing down. Teeth clenched and scowling. I woke up like this. I would have thought that taking a half day and being away from work would benefit my brain, but no.

Because it is just sitting there in my brain, I am going to get this out there. I am not exceptional at anything. I'm okay at things, but not extremely talented. I live in the real world, okay? I have realistic expectations of myself. I've said that if I had tried harder, I would be taller. What am I good at? Mediocrity. I feel bad about this. I tend to make a joke out of it, but I really do wish that I had been really great at something. Dance? Flute? Cooking? Sewing?

I want to run. I'm stuck in this rut of feeling lack of motivation. And I feel ashamed that I am placing the blame on my mental instability. There are days that I want to just stay in bed. For months. However I know that if I actually got off my lazy, unmotivated, depressed ass, it just may help my brain. Is this to be my motivation? Run for my sanity? It certainly couldn't hurt.

Should I plow into the running scene with my mediocre gusto?

Stupid, but interesting dream...

Aliens (Giger's aliens) were taking over the universe. Earth as we know it is still green, rock, water and humanoid races living in houses. Technology is upped - hellooww flying cars! And I was piloting an awesome jet-car that looked like Batman's rambler. Monsters big and small walked peacefully among us, but were rare. I was stealing money and guns. I absorbed my loved ones, changed shape and could fly. At the end of this dream, the aliens were infecting humanoids and it came down to a complete shooting fest at my deceased aunt's house and I was wearing some weird prison/space suit. Saving the planet while simultaneously evading the law... WAKEUPTIME!

They're just getting progressively more vivid and strange.

Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday Here We Go!

We have been pretty consistent with our weekly menus. Husband is in on the action and helps me plan for the week. Surprisingly, we don't have any Pinterest recipes this week. I am getting back into couponing and saving money where I can. Our favored market had a BOGO deal on two types of meat - pork loin and ground beef. So I got in on those deals. I had to repackage all that meat because it's just too much for 2.5 people. So in essence, I picked up about 10 meals for pretty cheap. Our menu this week features two of those meats. This week's BOGO was on chicken tenders. We eat mostly chicken so we saved for those dinners too.

Sunday - Chicken with couscous
Monday - Pizza
Tuesday - Tacos
Wednesday - Chicken parmesan with penne pasta
Thursday - LOs
Friday - Honey Apple Porkloin
Saturday - LOs

Tacos this week feature a non-packaged taco seasoning that is laden with extra chemicals or preservatives. I made my season myself. It's a recipe I've used before when I taught culinary arts. It was a success so I saved it. Look for that recipe here soon. Honey Apple Porkloin is a recipe that Husband found. There will most likely be a post on that later too.

The Color Run FUN!

So you read the story, now here are the pictures.

(The official starting line)

(After I stopped running the first time)

(The first color: Yellow!)

(After orange, they spayed us with purple)

(You can't really see it but there are a TON of people in the background. High-fives the entire length of this!)

(For Aunt Wanda)

(The colors are amazing!)

(A better side?)

(Another stretch of oncoming traffic. More High-fives!)

(Awyeeeah!)

(Blue haze - people were crazy here!)

(More art.)

(Fat Amy quote!! XD - Finish line home stretch)

(At the finish line!)

(Claiming my finish line medal!)

(She went into the paint pit with me and threw my yellow pigment.)

 One of the best times of my life!

Happiest 5K

They don't boast about it for nothing. It is the freaking happiest 5k on the planet.

Rewind! Prior to my last post, I had really considered transferring my registration to someone else. I didn't know who but I knew it would be troublesome. I made the promise to my aunt that I was doing this in honor of her. I can't not keep a promise. The day before the race, I felt better. The day of the race, I wasn't thinking at all. Autopilot. Eat. Dress. Get out of the door. Get to the race on time. Try not to be too cold.

There were a few completely unnecessary frustrations before getting out of the car. But once I got into the crowd, I only thought of the journey - just a short distance of 3.3 miles - and why it was so meaningful. As the sun grew higher into the sky and the upbeat music pulsed, it hit me that I was alone in this. Yes, I was walking and running with so many other people, but I had no one to personally share this experience with. And this is a reflection of my depression. Sure, there are people with me, but really, I experience this alone. But it is something I can do. I thought of giving up, quitting and losing interest. But I can't do that. I have to fight.

Our wave was ushered through the start and I just started jogging. I did pretty well for not having run in a while - about 125 yards. However, my legs were already sore and I decided to walk most of the race. The first color I received was yellow, followed by orange. I was not impressed with the lacked amount of paint I received. Then I walked to a sprayer and got purple. Then, the length of the course was about a mile of white going and coming. It was amazing to see so many people doing this! I veered to the inside lane and started high-fiving on-coming racers - and a happy birthday shout-out.

The next color was pink. I skipped through to get my honorary color for Aunt Wanda. As I got my pink, I had special healing thoughts for my sweet aunt winning her own battle. And then blue. Another course of high-fives, especially for the kiddos doing the race. I got so much blue. There was a thick, blue haze and it was amazing. It is my favorite color.

The finish line was a short distance away and we heard encouraging words to finish with. Green was then sprayed. Before I crossed the finish line, I met up with my husband and he gave me my color packet. Ivy climbed through the partition and I picked her up and carried her through with me. I opened my pigment packet (yellow) and she got to throw it multiple times. She also put her little handprint on people's shirts. She had a bit of color run fun too.

I vowed to fully take her through the course in November for her 4th birthday. Oh I am already planning this out. Im going to be more involved in the fun aspect of it all - and more prepared.

But look at this. I think I am really happy here. This was just before going through the finish line. Yes, the sun was shining in our eyes. But that smile. Can't beat it. And that was how it was for the rest of the day. Achy but happy.

I told myself I would train so I could run this race. Oops, I didn't train. But now I intend to train. I want to do more 5Ks.

Challenges

I have been thinking lately about dedicating a blog or possibly a vlog about depression or being so pessimistic. Maybe even include some morbid junk to liven things up a bit.

This week has been super challenging and I cannot fathom why. I have some good hunches but I am not an optimistic person to begin with so I don't know if those would actually be valid. One thing is for sure, I miss my family terribly. It is completely tragic that the area formerly known as out hometown is such a lack-luster area or I am sure we would move back. I know our marriage would survive it at this point. However, this is not what I wanted to talk about.

I have been having daily headaches. That's all they are, are headaches. They aren't debilitating or nauseating, so I know it isn't a migraine, but the sure are annoying. Maybe it is a fluctuation in my brain chemicals or hormones. Who knows? I sure have been terribly low this week. I passed over a train track yesterday at the same point the train was passing me in the underpass. I thought that would have been awfully convenient. It is very difficult to accept all of this. These are the lowest points I have ever been. My doctor has said there would be days like this, but that doesn't make it any easier.

Today was a tad better though. I didn't have to force myself to smile today. I was actually pretty chipper.

Another thought... Ryan asked me if I was still planning on running/walking my 5k this weekend - The Color Run. I signed up for it as soon as the Dallas date had opened registration. I had been planning on doing this for at least a year. I will be pushing through my anxiety and depression to do this. I dedicated it to my dear aunt who is battling cancer. Hell, if she can do what she is doing, I am going to battle too. For her. For my mind.

I picked up my race packet and bib this evening. I even got a few other things. As well. Ivy came into the store with me and saw someone donning the head of a unicorn costume. She needed a picture with the unicorn. Whatever Lola wants, I guess. Oh and the shirt I was wearing had unicorns on it too.

Today was a better day.

Pinterest Kitchen

This post has been sitting as a draft since February. Apparently I was using my phone to write this post and it never published. Well, I'll be!

The story behind this recipe. Of course, I was on Pinterest again and it was originally posted as a lower fat recipe for the health conscious of a certain dietary following. Not naming names here but my inner fat child was poo-pooing to low fat suggestions and said just make what I have. 

A former student was coming over to discuss her future career and education options because she is interested in becoming a teacher. And as my husband and I are both educators, we had a lot of information for her. I decided to cook that evening for all of us. 

The culinary and food science teacher in me was strangling my neck because we all know that you're supposed to test a recipe before feeding it to <s>the animals</s> guests. I have grown rather confident with the recipes I had been finding on Pinterest and just went with it. And it was another success.

The below recipe provided enough to feed 3 people and offer 2-3 more leftover meals. Even the baby enjoyed it. Not gonna lie, it was an involved recipe but I'm sure it would be easy enough if some things were leftovers from previous meals. But it is rich and yummy. 

Cheddar Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb penne pasta
• 4 slices bacon, diced
• 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 1 lg chicken breast, boneless & skinless, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 Tbsp all purpose flour
• 1/2 pkg ranch dressing mix (1/2 oz)
• 1 c fmilk
• 1/2 c  shredded cheddar cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions in boiling salted water; drain, return to pot, and keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Drain all but 1/2 tablespoon of bacon drippings from the pan.
3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add the butter to the reserved bacon drippings, then add the chicken to the same skillet. Cook until tender, no longer pink, and slightly browned
4. Sprinkle the flour and ranch dressing mix over the chicken, stirring to coat evenly. Stir in the milk, and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and bubbly. Stir in the cheddar cheese and half of the reserved bacon; cook and stir until the cheese is melted. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.
5. Serve each plate of pasta with more bacon sprinkled over the top.

Nesting?

I swear one would think that I'm nesting. I promise I'm not pregnant. I think. No, really I'm not. I've been cleaning and picking up stuff like I'm nesting... or it's a new hobby. I see a mess, WHAM! It's gone. I finally tired myself of looking at a cluttered pantry. Straightened that up. Many times before bed, I get Ivy in on the act. She's more cooperative of it. Her room is still messy. But at least I can walk into the living room without stepping on the equivalent of a six-inch spike of a high heel that fits one of her many nude Barbie dolls. As I'm cooking, I'm cleaning. Most mornings, the bed gets made. Is the dishwasher full? Get it going! Is the laundry basket full? Start a load. And so forth.

Ryan has begged me to stop cleaning so much. I feel the need to analyze why I'm cleaning. Is it medication? I'm more focused? I have more energy? I get things done? I'm bored? I'm frustrated? I hate the way things look when it's cluttered? I'm ashamed? I see something that needs to be done and instead of procrastinating I just do it? It makes my mind less cluttered if my environment is less cluttered? I feel more comfortable when things a clean?I want Ivy to grow up knowing how to do these things so that she is capable later in life? These all seem pretty valid to me. I'm fairly certain this list could go on. But I'm tired. Maybe it's all the cleaning I do. Or maybe it's allergy bull-malarky.

Cooking via Pinterest and MPM

I've been cooking like crazy. I think I took an unofficial week off two weeks ago. I've just been researching and enjoying Pinterest so much. How sad is that? But seriously? Everything I have re-pinned and cooked from Pinterest have been delicious. I have also gotten quite good at using leftovers and extras. For instance, I made my own "cream-of"soup for one recipe and then used the remainder for another recipe. I've done that a couple times now.

I cleaned out and organized the freezer and I have been cooking main courses from the freezer. I am also trying to use leftovers like crazy. There's no reason to not eat them. On top of all that, I recently re-organized and cleaned the pantry. It looks much nicer in there! And I am more inclined to use what is in there for our meals. For instance, tonight's meal was not purchased during our weekly grocery shopping. Broiled tilapia with a parmesan sauce (thank you Pinterest) and parmesan flavored couscous.

Here's this week's Menu Plan Monday

Sunday - Hot wings (but we ate fried chicken instead)
Monday - Chicken pot pie
Tuesday - Tilapia and couscous
Wednesday - Hot links and leftover sides
Thursday - Pizza
Friday - Chicken, bacon, ranch pasta
Saturday - Hot wings

Yummy food!

Loafing Meat

I went for a foo flashback for supper tonight. I had a pound of ground beef in the fridge and a box of scalloped potatoes - not my finest moment, but it did the job. Talkin about the potatoes, folks! I had planned taco soup but this week hasn't been the best. Plus, we went to Cici's on a whim last night. I just haven't been feeling the cooking bug this week. Instead of being willing to try something new, I made something with what we had that we would both like.

Meat Loaf

1 pound ground beef - mine was lean, get one with a higher fat content
1 egg
1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste (about a half teaspoon of each)
Dash of red pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F. Mix all ingredients by hand. Squeeze the living day lights out of it. Like you want to squeeze someone's little neck. Iiiiiiii might be kidding on that one. Have a sip of vodka and pipe the [expletive deleted] down. And that's a YouTube reference. I am a loser. It might be helpful to let the meat sit out so your arthritis in your hand isn't flared up and splitting your knuckles apart due to the freezing temperature of the meat.

Get back on track, Lena.

Mix the meat and egg and all the other stuff together. Make sure the egg is entirely mixed... You don't really want egg whites hanging out on or in your loaf like a giant, uh nevermind.

Once everything is mixed together, slap that lump of meat in a glass loaf pan, pat it down and bake it at 400 for about 45 minutes.

Metal loaf pan? Lower temp to about 350.

What am I thinking? I haven't made this in a long time. Tonight I had the temp too low or didn't cook it long enough at first then bumped up the temp way too much. But it came out juuuuust fine.

Love Locks

Another topic I had been debating on whether or not to "put out there" is about one of my family members. My mother is part of a very large family. She is child number 10 of 15. And we are all fairly close. I mean, the majority of us all lived in the same local area during my childhood. Several of us cousins (my mom's nieces and nephews) all grew up together in batches. We have a yearly family tradition: Christmas party slash family reunion and every year, we have an updated phonebook. I was thumbing through it this year and kept asking Mom, "Well, who is this?" It's that large... This is strange to me. Growing up together, but not knowing further extensions of the family and the 4th or 5th generation. I wouldn't know quite a few of them on sight alone.

A portion of our family has started a little tradition of their own. Every Sunday, they get together and cook lunch or supper. My mom goes. Two of my aunts are there. A few cousins and their kids. When I'm in town on Sundays, I make a point for me and Ivy to go and visit. This is precious time for us. After one of my aunts had passed away, I realized that I needed to make an effort for us to spend more time with family.

We decided on a whim to visit family for the three day weekend. We always tell Ivy who we are going to see and she is excited. And as per usual, we attended the Sunday lunch. Ivy was excited to see Aunt Wanda, Aunt Sandra, BJ and her kiddos, baby cousin Bentley, Uncle Chuck and of course, NaNa and Pops. I am so glad we can sit and visit. It almost feels like the "old times."

Facebook keeps me updated on what is going on in my family. I recently found out (within the past 6 months) that Aunt Wanda has breast cancer. She had surgery to remove the mass. She went through chemo and radiation. They found two more masses. She is currently on her third round of chemo I think. And her hair has fallen out.

While we were there today, Ivy and Aunt Wanda were outside. I suppose Aunt Wanda took off her hat to show Ivy because they came in and my aunt told me that my darling little child wanted to cut off her hair and give it to her Aunt Wanda. My sweet, thoughtful, generous three-year-old baby wants to donate her thick, strawberry blonde, straight-with-a-luscious-curl-at-the-end hair that was dark brown at birth to our precious aunt.

We will, Ivy. We will both grow our hair out and donate it.

Italian Lemon Shrimp

In my last post, I linked a recipe to a shrimp dish from Pinterest. I found the recipe!

1 1/2 lb shrimp shelled deveined 
1 stick butter melted 
1 lemon, sliced thin 
1 package dry italian seasoning packet 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking pan with foil. Layer lemon slices and shrimp. Sprinkle with Italian dressing mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, until light golden brown.

This is such an easy recipe! Surprisingly sweet and tangy and a tiny bit spicy. It was very yummy. I paired that with smashe baby red potatoes. 

We decided that with the three day weekend, we would travel to visit family again. Christmas was so wonderful and I am still feeling very homesick. It will be so nice to see everyone again.

My head is exhausted. It is the end of the first semester and all I have been doing is grading work. It's one of the only things I loathe about teaching. I hate grading papers. 

I'm tired.

Brought to You by Pinterest

This week is the end of my first semester teaching at the middle school. We will have two days of reviews (of which I need to plan) and three days of semester exams (of which I still need to make).

Today we went to see Les Miserables. I got our babysitter who Ivy loves. She is a former student of mine and such a sweet girl! The movie was in one of those dine-in movie theaters with comfy chairs. Every time we have the opportunity, we see movies at that theater. Spoiled. The movie was long. I'd heard bad and good things about the movie. I've never seen the musical on stage. I had no idea about the story.

Man is imprisoned for stealing bread. Is given parole. "Jumps" parole and somehow gets his third chance at life. Creates a new identity, saves and adopts a former-employee-turned-prostitute's child. Citizens start a revolution. Boy falls in love with the child and she with him. Okay... long story short. A ton of singing and a lot of separate story lines that make my eyeballs cross. It's depressing. Anne and Amanda's singing is beautiful. Everyone else, not-so-much. For not having seen the musical or knowing the story beforehand, I would say it was good. Not the best movie ever.

That's pretty much what is floating around in my head. I need to really buckle down and do some actual work.

This week's Menu Plan Monday is compiled entirely by various Pinterest Pins that I have... pinned.

Sunday - Chicken Spaghetti made with homemade cream of chicken soup
Monday - LO Chicken Spaghetti and crack potatoes
Tuesday - Shrimp - I don't know what it's called. It's a dead link (photo only) - I need to find the original recipe.
Wednesday - Crock Pot Taco Soup
Thursday - LO Soup
Friday - Breakfast. I have a lot of breakfast pins with hash browns so I'm gonna find something to try.
Saturday - It's up in the air. Clear out the fridge?

Forced Procrastination

I really needed and wanted to be productive and get some work done this evening at home. I don't have what I need and that bothers me. So I have to hurry in the morning at work to make a quiz and print and copy it. I am not amused.

I wrote on Facebook "Today, I miss our families." With the piling amount of personal events going on in our families, I find myself wishing we could pack up and spend a lot more time with them all. I want to help my mom. I want to hug the necks of my aunts and uncles. I want to snuggle the new family members. I want to hold their hands, comfort them, listen to them and be there. I feel like we are a million miles away. I've considered... hey, let's finish this year and move back to be closer to family. But there are fewer opportunities. Could all the dead space between our two regions disappear?

I can only imagine how our lives would be different if we had not moved so I could attend graduate school. It's something that I don't want to dwell on. I know the decision to move was preferable to staying in what would be a dead end for us. I love Dallas and the suburbs. So much culture and so many activities. A diverse mix of, well, everything.

But the one thing that pulls me back is our families. I love them all. If you see this, I love you all.

MPM and Other Things Including Decisions

So, Christmas and New Year... We decided to spend the entirety of our vacation with family. It was very nice being able to spend all that time together. A couple of my mom's sisters have made a new tradition... Every Sunday, they will all get together and cook and eat a lunch/supper. Whenever we are in town, I always make an effort to go. Since Aunt Carol died, I've been trying to get Ivy to spend more time with some of my relatives.

I have jumped on the hipster train. Lord help us all. It first started when I went to my mom's shop and got new glasses. A pair of retro-ish sunglasses. Then I decided to go ahead and get regular prescription lenses in the same frames. Retro/nerdy glasses! I was hesitant to wear them, but once I put them on, I haven't worn any other glasses since! And everyone has been complimenting them. Next, I got a couple pairs of skinny jeans with Christmas gift money. I wore them with my TOMS, and it didn't look bad. Then, I ordered myself some fake Uggs. Fuggs. Soooo comfy! Combine all that together with a flannel/plaid shirt and BLAMO! I'm a hipster.

We went back to work yesterday. Boooo! I just want to stay home and snuggle with Ivy and sleep. And drink hot cocoa and eat cutout cookies. And clean, clean, clean. I have really gotten my act together about keeping things clean and organized.

And speaking of organizing... Menu Plan Monday!

Sunday - Baked potato soup
Monday - LO soup
Tuesday - Appetizers
Wednesday - Appetizers
Thursday - Pizza
Friday - Pizza or Chicken pot pie
Saturday - Chicken salad

I received an email from one of my students the day before we went back to work. My sweet little rat friend that I had the pleasure of visiting my classroom for two weeks straight had died. I do miss the sweet little ball of fur racing to sleep on my neck. Before I had the opportunity, I never knew that rats could have so much personality and love the way they do. Everyone could tell she loved me. I know that sounds narcissistic but it's true... she would push away hands that grabbed at her when she would cuddle on me and she would find her way and race towards me when I was nearby. I do intend on having my own pet rat in the future. One for Ivy, one for me ;).

Today, we all took a break from our day to honor a local soldier who was killed in Afganistan on Christmas Eve. All of the students were lined up along the road in front of the school. Everyone was silent as the motorcade drove by. It is difficult for me to express my feelings on this. I am honored to witness the somber occasion. To all of the current and former military personnel, thank you for your service.

Stupid Dreams

Winter vacation ends in about 30 minutes. Gone will be the long, quiet days that I can take naps and sleep late. Gone are the days that I don't have to get dressed or really worry about showering or fixing my hair. Don't judge, it's winter. It's not like I'm sweating and getting into messes. Sheesh.

Ivy has been learning some manners. Yes ma'am and no ma'am have been coming out of her mouth at all times. Potty training is complete. Well, except accidents when she is having a tantrum/fit and bedtime. That's next... maybe a little later bedtime and taking away beverages after dinner.

I'm doing a Sunday Spa night just to take care of myself and get ready and relaxed for the work week. I would like to stick with it. Today was my first one and I almost didn't do it because I've been cleaning so much.

I was planning on writing a whole post about last night's dream. It is still pretty vivid but I want to go to bed early. I hope you can figure this out ;)
Hawaii, Christmas, dark, small island, cliffs, deep water, sharks? Diamond Head, eruption? Family (Ryan's), who is Marshall? cats, Ryan, whiney, ornament/gift/music box, run away, friend and kids, vomit, kidnapping, cop, family (mine), uncle, "arrest" 18-wheeler, sushi restaurant, huge, 4 tiny snakes, bite, storm (?)

Anyway, I've been having pretty vivid dreams and if I remember them, I may start a series of posts on them.
Other things I want to write about
- goals for this year (gala darling inspo)
- Cleaning like nobody's business

I just needed to get this out of my head.
Goodnight!

I'm considering leaving this blank

A very boring topic indeed. But this is how I rang in the new year.

I made plans to spend time with my relatives. And offered to bring a dish. My mom decided to bring several dishes but also had to work. I offered to cook her dishes for her and to watch my nephew while she was at work. So I made two things at her house. Pack the little man up, hung out with my mom at work for a bit and finished cooking the other two dishes at my in-law's house. In all, I made deviled eggs, Oreo cheesecake, pigs-in-a-blanket, and "crack" potatoes. 

When mom got off work, we all headed on out to my aunt's house. While we were there, I continued cooking (or helped cooking). I made pimento dip, chicken salad, and egg salad for sandwiches and I cannot recall what else. I think I just cut an onion for my cousin. And we all just hung out. The kids played. My cousin manned the computer and became YouTube DJ as usual and we had a mini dance party/dance-off. Her two kids and I were serving or challenging each other to crazy dance moves. And we ate and as soon as it was dark, we started having some tasty beverages. More people came over and I snuggled my cousin's one-month-old baby. This little boy is a cuddle bug! Anyway, I spent a good two hours rocking, cooing, feeding and burping him. Another cousin's husband commented that I was good at "that." And you know what? I am! Ain't gonna lie! Although he did assume that I was the mommy at one point - uh, nope! 

Ready for a tangent? I have a huge family. Enormous. Gargantuan. There are always new babies. Multiple babies every year. I think we had about 6 this year. Whenever I was younger, I never wanted anything to do with the babies. Never wanted to touch or be near their screaming, messy butts. The Plague, I tell you! But now, since Ivy, I love babies! And I'm excellent with them. 

Returning back from the ADD train, the rest of the evening went as follows… I returned to my in-law's house and rung in the new year with my husband. A quiet evening enjoying another tasty beverage and the distant cracks of fireworks that were being (illegally?) shot within the neighborhood.

...

We got back home on Wednesday we took it pretty easy: unpacking most stuff, picking up dinner and relaxing. Thursday was a major errand day. Ivy had a doctor's appointment so we headed out early to one of our preferred breakfast joints for Austin style breakfast tacos. Ivy's doctor reported that we have a perfect child ;). THREE years old, THREE feet tall and THREE-zero (read:30) pounds. A well-rounded child indeed! She did have to have two needle sticks. All was forgotten once we went to Chuck-E-Cheese! 

We all ran around playing games, winning tickets, riding rides and picking out prizes. Ryan wanted to stop by JC Penny's to look for a certain type of shirt. Apparently IZOD took over and his favorite brand is gone. After that disappointment, we headed on over to Central Market for grocery-getting stop #1 and picked up Five Guys for lunch (per usual after a CM stop) and hung out at home for a little while.

Once we had rested up, I finished unpacking the cars and put more things away. Ryan hooked up our new speakers. Ivy played and  ate supper then we all went to Market Street for grocery-getting stop #2. Back home, we gave Ivy a bath and put her to bed. I took down 90% of the Christmas decorations while Ryan tried for grocery-getting stop #3 at Wal-Mart - which is NEVER a good idea.

It should be mentioned here... How many married women out there work at cleaning and organizing and maintaining a home have a husband that says "Stop, let me do something, let me help!" I'm guessing that not too many. I have gotten really into maintaining my home. I don't mind doing everything that it entails. I'm not complaining that I need help or anything like that. I'm just doing what I think needs to be (and what I want) done. 

And now, here I sit. I am exhausted. Not only was today very busy, but I also didn't sleep very well last night. And tomorrow is going to be busy again! Carpet cleaners, a second attempt at Wal-Mart, something fun for Ivy, run to the bank, maybe some other random shopping. Who knows?

Menu Plan Monday

I am including this Friday and Saturday because we returned home mid-week and, well, we planned it!

Friday - Appetizers (crab rolls, smashed potatoes)

Saturday - Nachos

Sunday - Baked potato soup (crock pot)

Monday - LO soup

Tuesday - LO soup

Wednesday - Pizza

Thursday - LO pizza

Friday - Chicken pot pie

Saturday - Chicken salad sandwiches

Happy (?) New Year

I cannot recollect correctly - say that five times fast - but is there a New Year's superstition that says 'the first day of the year predicts the rest of the year'? Because if so, I'm already screwed. Cat piss, TMI ladies, and back spasms that keep me in bed all day are what I'll be looking forward to this year. Oh hooray (bitter taste of sarcasm).

I went to bed physically fine last night (after all the fireworks stopped) and woke up a few times to my back hurting. And by the time Ivy got up, it was worse so I took a muscle relaxer. After that wore out of my system, the pain was worse so I took a heavy pain killer which knocked me out until 2pm. It was getting so close to being on the verge of an unwanted trip to the ER. And it still hurts.

Then we decided to go out to eat for 'one last meal' for just the two of us. So I got dressed and headed to put on my jacked and shoes to find that one of the cats had pissed on my pile of stuff. How excellent. So those things got put into the wash. I really don't remember putting my jacket on the floor. But whatever.

And at dinner tonight, we decided to go to the local hibachi grill slash Japanese sushi and steakhouse. We opted for the grill and were alone for some time until three middle aged, Real Housewives wannabes were seated with us. I really did not need to know the following things: Why one was dumped by her date 2 hours before it happened, cervix widths, a husbands sleep apnea/thyroid issues, d&c miscarriage details, why one can get pregnant but not stay pregnant (progesterone levels), and birth control methods. Oh, let's not forget the special, expensive handbag that was ordered and ruined in one day with a pumpkin spice latte and how hot the UPS man was.

Stay classy!