quickie update

Tags

divorce, getting healthy, goals, health, life, limits, love, moods, motivation, not gonna go there anymore, recipes, smoothie recipe, stress

Josh has known about this blog for a very long time but, I had thought, didn’t read it unless I asked him to. Apparently since I kicked him out he’s been reading. Last night I got a super nasty little text from him about some things I said in last night’s post. (immediately after one where he sent me a text kiss) Anyway, because of that there will be no more talk of him. No sense adding fuel to the fire.

Moving on…

Day three of getting up and on the treadmill and I’m drinking a healthy little smoothie for breakfast. Here’s my standard recipe:

• 1 C frozen fruit
• 1 single serving container of yogurt, I tend to go for either Greek or low carb in a flavor that goes well with the fruit
• 1 C lowfat milk, you could use a non-dairy milk if you prefer

Toss all of that in a blender and kill it. This makes the perfect size serving for me and in this terrible heat we’re having right now it’s a lovely light way to start the day.

What’s your favorite quick healthy breakfast?

 

the best laid plans of Mama OR why Tuesday kind of sucked as bad as Monday, but maybe only on the level of sucking tadpole nuts

Tags

adventures in cooking, bipolar disorder, crochet, getting creative, getting healthy, goals, health, husbands are like large children who still don't listen, life, limits, meds, mental health, mental illness, moods, projects, random shit that falls out of my brain, recipes, skin conditions, stress, stress management, the world is full of fucking idiots

Holy fucking flying squirrels, TIME OUT!

I will spare you some of the gory details because I’m polite like that, but dammit, what a day. Josh still doesn’t have everything taken care of for his pre-op crap and somehow that was my fault, even though I’ve been nagging him about it since we found out it needed to be done. Evidently I was supposed to completely plan out all of it to ensure that he got to class, got the supplies he needs for class (that place closes at 5pm and is on the other side of town), got all of his homework done on time, and got the pre-op stuff done (had to be at the doc’s office before 6pm) AND all of this had to be done this week.

Needless to say he’s at home today because the goddamn EKG didn’t go well and this way he not only gets a day off work but can do all of that other shit plus have time to fuck around. Apparently life is good when you’re an idiot.

I met with shrinky-poo yesterday and that, fortunately, went really well. I mentioned to her this glorious rash I developed after setting up the garden with Mom a few weeks ago and evidently, get this, I am ALLERGIC TO THE SUN. Long term lithium usage apparently makes you sensitive to natural sunlight so it’s likely that any time I’m outside for any length of time I’ll turn bright red, bumpy/blistery, and itch like mad. Ah yes, you’re jealous, I get it.

Last night after all the excitement I though to myself, “self, we should totally work on that crocheted vest. Fucking thing is damn near done. Let’s get on that right now!” And so I did. Then this happened…

that’s one of the “sleeves” and there is a 360 degree twist in it

that’s what it looks like all laid out; notice how incredibly ruffly the sleeve bits are? ick

and that is one of my man-hands laying on top of it to show how ridiculously too fucking big it is

I put it in time out and started working on the knit shrug instead while I decided the fate of this monstrosity. The yarn is phenomenal and it deserves to be turned into something truly lovely. So I really think that it’s going to be frogged (ripped out so that the yarn can be reused, for those of you who aren’t knitters/crocheters). Right now I just can’t hardly bear to look at it.

One of the other things I decided to do last night was try some new recipes involving chia seeds. (yes, I am 100% jumping on the healthy hipster food bandwagon and I apparently like torturing myself) I made a really good smoothie that I will absolutely make again, probably tonight. And then I decided to try this breakfast thing. Kind of like oatmeal but made with the seeds. The recipe looked easy, sounded tasty, so off I went.

fish eyes, yummy!

surely adding more milk will help, right?

the rest of that bottle of milk PLUS some frozen blueberries! surely this is all it really needs, right?

So now I’m sitting next to a bowl of what looks remarkably like fish eyes with rabbit turds floating in it, hoping like hell that the blueberries defrost and I can maybe eat this shit. The flavor isn’t bad, honestly, it’s the texture that’s a little strange. And I’m really thinking that I may need to put a safety belt on the toilet later.

One of these days I’ll learn.

what the hell man?

Tags

building a life worth living, goals, health, life, limits, mental health, mental illness, moods, motivation, projects, random shit that falls out of my brain, recipes, school, stress, stress management

So evidently I went and blew off my own damn drawing challenge. And no one noticed. Or gave a fuck. Hard to tell.

I’m also not making the progress that I had hoped on my 28 day challenge. I’ve made some progress, just not the kind I know I’m actually capable of. Additionally I have apparently blown off most, if not all, of my weekly goals.

In summation, I suck.

However, in my defense, Josh started back to school this week and is in class 3 nights. Like out of the house from 5pm until 10:30pm. It’s sort of glorious but it’ll take some getting used to again. Last night I drove home planning to get all kinds of shit done and when I got there the only thing that really happened was an amazing impersonation of a slug.

I’ve been trying to be a good kid, really I have. And I’ll keep trying. I get that the only person imposing any sort of strict anything on me is, well, me. And, while I haven’t necessarily completed the things I had originally set out to do, I have done some other really interesting things. Like I tried using coconut oil as an overnight conditioner on my hair. (it’s awesome) I used it to cook some shrimp to accompany an Asian coleslaw. (the oil and a little soy sauce made delicious shrimp) And I made fudge with coconut oil. (totally not sharing it, get your own, bitches)

I’ve been taking better care of my skin, and I walked 4 of the 5 days so far, and I’ve eaten mostly reasonable most of the time.

So really, not too fucking shabby.

On an only slightly unrelated note, if anyone is interested in any of the recipes I’ve mentioned or in the recipe I use for my special salt scrub to deal with rough heels, just holler.

my day in a nutshell

Tags

Evie Cat, getting creative, goals, life, lizard love, moods, music, my day in pictures, projects, random shit that falls out of my brain, recipes, school, skin conditions, stress

This is my newest drawing as it looked this afternoon. The outlining is done and all she needs is some color. My intention is to do that shortly. She’s not perfect, but I think she’s beautiful.

I actually started my day feeling pretty decent, except for my legs. I’m very doubtful that I’ll get on the treadmill at all because both of them have cysts that are actively draining and they really rather hurt like hell. Fortunately I picked up two new pair of my special under-pants things this weekend so I’m prepared.

On my drive in to work I heard one of my all time favorite feel good songs…

I do love a little Mercury poisoning first thing in the morning. ❤

Work was good, I got to help Miss K with a consultation, one of my very favorite things to do. We’ll be helping a faculty member with an exciting project in the coming months. And in general it was just a really productive day and that always helps the mood.

Class was an exercise in patience. The assignment we had to turn in today had unclear directions, so we’re not sure if any of us did it right. I know for sure that I completely forgot to do a chunk of it. Fortunately she’s about the progress so she’ll pass our stuff back the following week with comments and such and then if we want to do a revision we can and get full points for it, provided it gets turned in the following week. So I should be just fine. I checked my grades after I got home and, if I’m reading things right, it looks like I’ve only missed ONE point so far. I won’t bitch.

And then, on the commute home, I got to listen to this…

This another of my favs, particularly at the end of a long day. In my humble opinion it’s a toss up as to who played piano better, Warren or Billy Joel. But I digress.

So if anyone saw the post last night about the recipes and wondered, “what does that meatball soup look like anyway?” Well, here ya go.

I made a pot for dinner tonight. Very yummy and I don’t know that food that’s worth eating gets much easier than this. It’s guaranteed to bring out a little of this…

After dinner I started my usual routine of taking care of shit so that the morning will hopefully go a little smoother. In an attempt to do that, I lit this wonderful candle that a certain Bear sent me.

It’s delightful smelling. Then I figured I’d get a sweater out since it’s going to be beyond cold tomorrow. I keep my sweaters in the cedar chest Mom and Dad got me when I turned 16 because it’s the best place I know of for them. Apparently it’s fascinating to Evie.

That’s been my exciting day. Hope y’all had a good day, too!

overdue recipes

Tags

recipes

Sorry kids, I know these are tardy but better late than never, right?

Meatball and Veggie Soup with Pasta

Serves 6, prep 20 minutes, cook 10 minutes

64 oz beef broth

1 15 oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano – undrained

1 12-16 oz pkg frozen cooked meatballs (I use Italian style)

1 10 oz pkg frozen mixed veggies (I use just green beans)

1 C dried small pasta (I use orzo)

Dump everything but the pasta in a 4-quart Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, return to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook uncovered about 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.

 

Lemon-Butter Chicken Breasts

Serves 6, start to finish 30 minutes

(I fudge the hell out of this one – I only use 3 chicken breasts but keep everything else the same)

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

½ C all-purpose flour

½ tsp salt

2 tsp lemon-pepper seasoning

1/3 C butter

2 lemons, sliced (sometimes 3, who’s counting?)

Put the chicken breasts in a heavy plastic zip bag, one at a time. Pound viciously with the flat side of a meat mallet until about ¼” thick. Mix flour and salt; dip chicken in, turning to coat. Sprinkle with lemon-pepper seasoning. Melt butter in a large skillet and add chicken. Allow to cook at least 6 minutes, turning once. (I leave mine in there a hell of lot longer than 6 minutes!) Once browned, top with lemon slices and reduce heat to low. Cover and allow to hang out until the rest of dinner is done. (may I suggest a nice rice pilaf?)

 

Rice Pilaf

Serves 4, ready in 50 minutes (time consuming at the start, but worth it)

2 Tbsp butter

½ C orzo pasta

½ C diced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ C uncooked white rice

2 C chicken broth

½ C frozen peas

1 tsp salt

1 tsp Penzey’s Shallot Pepper

Melt butter in lidded skillet over medium-low heat. Cook and stir orzo until golden brown. Stir in onion and cook until it becomes translucent; add garlic and cook another minute. Add in the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until rice is tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to stand another 5 minutes.

 

Bacon Alfredo

Serves 4, start to finish about 35 minutes

1 lb thick cut bacon, roughly chopped (get the good stuff)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced

8 oz dried pasta

1 14.5 oz can chicken broth

1 C water

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp coarse ground black pepper

1 C frozen peas

½ C whipping cream (or half & half, I’ve used both)

Parmesan cheese

In a very large skillet cook the bacon until crispy. Add the onion and garlic and allow to cook until tender. Remove bacon, onion, and garlic from pan and drain on paper towels. Drain bacon grease from pan. Add broth, water, salt, pepper, peas and pasta; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer; cover and cook 12 – 15 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring once. Stir in cream and Parmesan cheese. (that cheese will turn into a globby mess if you add it all at once so do it bit at a time and stir like crazy in between! It’s best to have a friend help with this. And you can’t have too much cheese.) Add the bacon mix back in.

 

Nutella Pie

Serves 6

1 13 oz jar Nutella

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese, softened

1 8 oz container Cool Whip, thawed

Prepared Oreo crust

Spread ¼ C of the Nutella over the bottom of the crust. Beat remaining Nutella and cream cheese together until smooth. Fold Cool Whip in. Pour mix into the crust and spread evenly. Allow to chill at least 4 hours.

meatball soup recipe

Tags

recipes

I mentioned the other day (yesterday?) that I made a very easy and very tasty soup the other night. I was supposed to email it to Somber Scribbler, but my brain is mush, and then Mer asked about it so I’m just going to post it here in case anyone else is interested.

Meatball Soup

2 – 32oz cartons of beef stock

1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can chopped tomatoes, not drained

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp dried basil

1 1/2 C frozen green beans (or mixed veggies if you prefer)

16oz frozen meatballs

1 C small pasta (I used orzo)

Dump everything except the pasta in a large Dutch oven or soup pot, bring to a boil. Add the pasta, lower heat to a simmer, cook 10 minutes.

DONE!

if you see a little bunny and his nose is green and runny don’t think it’s funny cuz it’s snot

Tags

doodles, drawing will save my life, getting creative, goals, life, mental illness, motivation, my salmon and noodle casserole is the shit, random shit that falls out of my brain, recipes, school, zentangle doodles

That is sooo much funnier when you say it out loud to a little kid.

I am STILL fighting with the cold/flu/black plague that I caught over the holiday break. I haven’t had to take a decongestant more than a few times, and always at night, but I’m still running the humidifier by the bed and every morning in the shower I expectorate crap from my lungs. Before you blame my filthy little smoking habit you should know that it is a rare day indeed that I smoke more than 6 cigarettes. The worst part of all this is the utter lack of energy. By the time I get home from work and take care of the little household bits I’m pretty well spent. This is making getting homework and projects done quite difficult.

Doodling got me through class last night. That woman is pushing the limits of my meds, as they all seem to. Fortunately the little notebook I’m using has a light pattern of large diamonds on the pages that made a lovely backdrop for a little zentangle-ing. That and writing shitty notes to the prof in my notebook will get me through this. Well, that and the nice gal who sits next to me and the hip young gal that I smoke with.

I got the heart doodle outlines finished last night, but I had already turned off my phone so I didn’t take a pic. (does anyone else actually turn their phone off at night or am I the only one?) I thought maybe I’d start going over the outlines with black marker but by then my hands were not at all steady. Maybe tonight. I’m thinking it’s going to be amazing for on a t-shirt or something. And Mom wants it, too. It’s probably just me but I think it’s pretty fucking awesome.

And now for something completely different…

I’m still working on the whole simplifying business. I think I have entirely too many clothes. Josh argues that I am a woman who works in a professional field so I need a lot of clothes. I call bullshit on that. But right now doesn’t seem like a great time of year to be making too many decisions because the weather around here is utterly ridiculous. (but really, what the fuck does that have to do with anything?) I don’t want to get rid of things I’ll need when it really warms up but I don’t want to keep a bunch of shit I’ll never wear.

Stuck.

I’ve been reading all sorts of articles about people paring down and that inspires me but I’m still feeling the pull of consumerism. I still want to buy stuff even though I know that won’t make me happy and will likely make things even worse. And then I read this post this morning and was comforted to know I’m not alone.

Is anyone else trying to pare down or simplify this year? How’s it going for you? Do you have any tips or suggestions to share with the class?

And here’s where I change direction entirely. The recipe I mentioned the other day…

Salmon Noodle Casserole

4 C wide egg noodles

2 cans boneless/skinless salmon

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 C half & half

1 Tbsp dried minced onion

1 tsp seasoned salt

1/8 tsp coarse ground black pepper

1 1/2 C frozen peas

French Fried onions

Boil the noodles until tender, adding the peas during the last minute. Drain the salmon and flake. Combine all other ingredients except FF onions in a large covered casserole dish. Drain the noodles well when done boiling and add to the casserole along with the salmon. Stir well until everything is combined. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover, top with onions, and bake another 5 minutes.

ETA:  I forgot about the peas!!!

what the fuck? a USEFUL post? no way!

Tags

budget, cooking, food, meal planning, recipes

Don’t get your knickers in a knot, I used to do this shit all the time. And now I feel like doing it again. It’s my damn blog and I’ll write about whatever I want. Or in this case, whatever someone sort of half-assed requests.

My new pal Sian (I apologize that my keyboard is a racist bastard and won’t make the correct bits above your A) over at My Purse is Closed and I were talking this morning about being broke. For some reason I mentioned making killer Eggplant Lasagna last night and we started talking food and food tips.

Incredibly ugly, but really very tasty. If anyone is actually interested, I’ll type up the recipe. And then translate it for you. My grandma wrote pieces of it down before I was born, and then I went and fucked around with it. But I digress, the idea was inexpensive food that doesn’t taste like turds. I think several folks are searching for tips on that right now.

So here are some of my tips for keeping the food costs on the down-low:

• Keep staple items like rice, potatoes, ground beef, broth or stock (chicken and beef if possible), milk, and the cheese you like on hand.
• Buy meat when it’s on sale and then buy as much as you can comfortably afford AND have room for in the freezer. We buy in bulk and then portion it out at home.
• If your area does grocery ads for the different stores, look through those to see what’s on sale each week. Then…
• Make a weekly menu based on what you already have on hand and what you can get on sale that week. Your grocery list should be based on the bits you’re missing for your menu plus the minor household junk we all end up needing each week.
• Cook seasonally, and by that I mean, certain foods tend to be cheaper during certain times of year. Take advantage of that.
• Some things are better cooked BIG. If you’re going to take the time to make spaghetti sauce, you might as well make extra and freeze it. Later all you’ll have to do is defrost it in the microwave and boil some noodles. Soups that don’t have noodles in them are another perfect food to make in quantity and then freeze.
• Don’t go overboard on convenience foods. I prefer to buy the little envelopes to make my peach tea than to buy individual bottles of it. It’s cheaper that way, and better for the environment. I mix my 2 quarts of tea in recycled 2 quart bottles that once held fruit juice.
• Speaking of convenience, it’s actually way more convenient to buy your snacks for work at the grocery store than to get them out of the vending machine. I’m quite fortunate in that I’ve got a mini-fridge in my office for beverages and left-overs and a file cabinet that is affectionately known as The Snack Cubby. I keep crackers, cookies, extra fruit cups, Ramen noodles, etc in there so I really never have an excuse to order delivery.
• Don’t think that every dinner has to be gourmet. It’s not uncommon for us to have sausages cooked on the stove, a veggie out of the freezer, such as green beans or broccoli, and either a pouch of noodles or instant mashed potatoes. It’s nutritional, fast, and still fairly tasty. I like easy food that tastes good.
• If you have a BBQ grill, learn to make that thing your bitch. In the heat of the summer, nothing is nicer than not having to heat up the whole fucking house making dinner. We grill a ton. I do chicken, sausages, burgers, salmon, kebobs, pork steaks, and lots of veggies. We even do a sausage/potato/onion/red pepper thing on the grill in an aluminum pan. Works beautifully.

Wow, I kind of went overboard with that…

in other news…

Tags

coolest aunt ever, Evie Cat, kids, life, limits, mental health, mental illness, moods, projects, random shit that falls out of my brain, recipes, stress

I had a relatively boring day, which was incredibly lovely. No one yelled at me, no one made unreasonable demands, I was able to resolve some issues for folks, I had a wonderful lunch that was last night’s left-over dinner (recipe below), and I made a lovely little sketch at lunch. AND, (pardon me for the TMI here) I had normal potty happenings. It’s been grand. Perhaps the best part of all is that today is Tuesday, and Tuesday is a school day.

So I have already washed the detestable undergarments, filled both of Evie’s water glasses, selected tomorrow’s outfit, and dealt with my lunch dishes. And now… Now we relax.

Wanna see my pictures? They’re kind of cool.

This is a peacock I drew, and a little poem he inspired. The drawing was based on this necklace I have.

Not quite identical, but I think he’s nifty. He’s actually the reason I went and got my very own set of colored pencils. I felt like he deserved LOTS of shades of blue.

This little guy was today’s attempt. The silver squirrel was my inspiration. I did this at lunch, while talking to Josh, and it took about 10 minutes. I think he’s a fairly realistic representation of the original and I’m quite proud of him. I’m not sure if I’ll add the color tonight or wait until later. For now I’m still trying to stick with recreating things I can look at. Pulling images entirely out of my imagination still feels entirely too uncomfortable. And no, I still haven’t gotten to my CCC entry for this week. I’m sure y’all have figured out it’ll be a pic of Evie Cat. I just need to select the perfect picture to draw from.

Ok, on to the recipe! I used to share recipes on this blog on a sort of regular basis, and then for some reason I stopped. Anyway, this is totally easy and turns out entirely lovely.

Mama’s Sausage and Potato Bake

• 6 sausages – the ones that are like slightly fat hot dogs but made of real meat, I usually go with the Smoked Brat flavor of Johnsonville sausages but any nice sausage will do
• 1 medium onion
• 1 red bell pepper
• 5 medium white potatoes
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• Lawry’s Season Salt, or any seasoning of your choosing

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. (this can also be done on a grill over medium-ish heat) I usually do this in a disposable aluminum pan because I don’t like to wash pans. Cut the sausages into 1/2″ or so thick slices, cut the onion into slivers, cut the pepper into smallish chunks, cut the potatoes into 1/2″ or so chunks – throw all of that into the pan. Put the seasoning into the butter and then dump it into the pan. Stir it all well to coat. Toss it into the oven, stirring now and again, about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are as tender as you prefer.

That was what was left for my lunch today, so I’d say it serves about 4 people. And, it reheats in the microwave beautifully.

In case you were wondering, the Coolest Aunt Ever made an appearance again this weekend.

It’s the finger nails you’re supposed to be looking at. That’s what happens when you let a 6 year old dolly talk you into a manicure. PS – that beautiful peacock green does not come off well.

I’ll leave you with the mandatory “Mama Feels Better, Look, There’s a Kitty” picture.

“What? I don’t have thumbs to pick this fucking thing up with! How about instead of taking a picture you go get me some that’s cold, eh?”

per your request

Tags

recipes

Peach Rice Pudding

3 C cooked rice (cooked it in milk last time, turned out creamier – 1 C white rice + 2 C milk + 1 Tbsp butter)
1 ½ C evaporated milk
1 14oz can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
2/3 C brown sugar
3 Tbsp soft butter
2 tsp vanilla – must be REAL, none of that imitation shit
1 tsp nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
2 C finely chopped canned peaches

Combine it all and dump into a well-buttered crock pot – I mean it, really lube that puppy up. Cook on high for 1 – 2 hours or low for 4 – 6 hours, stirring once during the first 30 minutes.