Saturday, February 28, 2015

Sweet & Sour: Saying Goodbye and Worthy Causes


Sweet & Sour is a weekly feature where I talk about one "sweet" thing that happened - and one "sour" thing. Because life throws us lemons and cookies! But because bad news should always come first, we're doing this in reverse order!

The Sour

Our dog Jamie had to be put down Tuesday. It totally sucked and my family is feeling the pain of it still. But she did live a long and healthy life, and she's no longer in pain. Still, it sucks. Anyone who has had beloved pets understands. Even when you try to see the positive in it, there's no ignoring the pain.

The Sweet

I got into contact with the local pro-life group and I can finally start doing something worthy. I've always wanted to get involved in a pro-life group, but didn't really know how to get into contact with the local one until now. It was a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to getting more involved.

Friday, February 27, 2015

Quote Wall #3

Quote Wall is for everyone to comment and share their favorite quotes of the week. Be it from a book, movie, other people - whatever you like! Share them in the comments and I'll put them up on the Quote Wall page!

"Every grain of experience is food for the greedy growing soul of the artist." - Anthony Burgess

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Day #6: Step Back and Breathe

Yesterday I almost had a panic attack because I realized how much I have going in the next few weeks and my brain wanted to think about it ALL AT ONCE!!!!

Whoever doesn't get comfort out of making lists has never really been stressed out. As soon as I got home from work, I got out my planner, my phone, and a bunch of highlighters and sticky notes. I sat down and outlined the next few weeks, made grocery shopping lists for all the meetings and movie nights I'm in charge of, and a budgeting plan for my trip to Seattle Swing (that's the highlight of March; real big event).

I felt immensely better afterward. Call me OCD or uptight or whatever, but knowing exactly what's going on and what I need to prepare for it makes me feel so, so, so much better. I don't have to think about it anymore because I know I have a list that I can consult when the time is necessary. Schedules and highlighters and sticky notes and bullet points are my friends. In fact, I'd be a little lost without my phone.

After I did all of that, I got down to my nightly routine of prepping anything I need to prep for the next day (like more bread dough for garlic knots), cleaned my hedgehog's cage, laid out my clothes, and settled down to watch Grantchester with my parents. And I actually went to bed at a very decent hour (something I plan on doing on a regular basis), so I woke up not tired at all today!

I love life when it's in order. Tomorrow I attend my first ever pro-life meeting with a local group, and I'm so excited. I've wanted to get involved in a "worthy cause" for a long time and I look forward to delving into it now!

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Day #5: Forced Shut Down

My body decided that enough was enough, and it forced me to rest. Sunday morning, I woke up full of energy - which was good, because I had a long day ahead of me. I had work, Book Club, archery practice, and then a night out to the cinema with some friends. Halfway through the day, I got a funny tickle in my throat that didn't go away.

It turned into a full-fledged chest cold towards the end of the day. I woke up Monday completely ill; I had stern orders from my boss to not even try and work. So I spent Monday in bed, sleeping, watching chick-flicks, eating yogurt pretzels, and reading. The rest did wonders for me; I can't deny it.

Tuesday morning I was feeling a lot better, but still took it easy. Did more reading and writing. Then dolled myself up to go swing dancing, even though I probably should have stayed home. By that time, though, I was showing hardly any symptoms. No stuffy nose, surprisingly no cough, and just a bit of a sore throat. But I never miss swing, not for anything. I've got the dancing bug bad. ;-)

Of course, yesterday was also tinged with sorrow. We had to put our dog Jamie down. She had bone and lung cancer, and it was just no longer possible to keep her alive and comfortable. So there was that cloud, and I imagine that it's going to hang over the rest of the week. But I try to find the positive even in this. Jamie lived a long and good life, brought a lot of joy to my family, and she's now no longer suffering. It always sucks to lose someone - family member, pet - but it does happen eventually.

The rest of this week is promising to be a little less crazy. I'm back to getting up at eight; it lets me get so much done. I was able to record all of my Youtube videos for the end of the month, and if I get to bed early enough, I shouldn't be as tired. I may even start running in the mornings. Or at least walking. Or both. I'm going to enjoy this week as much as I can, though, because this coming week is going to be crazy again. And March is just. . . .wow. Busy, busy, busy, busy!!

Monday, February 23, 2015

Garlic Knots

This recipe is courtesy of My Life of Travels & Adventures!


I was surprised at how quick and easy these were - and how downright fun! I mean, being able to tie bread dough into knots? That's fun and bloody awesome! These are perfect for any Italian dinner, just on their own, or even for pizza fondu.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 tbsp. maple syrup (I used the expensive 100% stuff) or honey
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
For Garlic Butter:
2 tbsp butter (I ended up using 4 tbsp)
4 tbsp minced garlic cloves
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
3 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Directions:

- Combine water, maple syrup, and yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the oil. Then stir in the flour and salt. Add additional flour one cup at a time until the dough comes together. I ended up only using 3 cups of flour. Mixing it with your hands is the easiest way to get it all mixed together.
- Lightly flour your surface and knead dough for 5 minutes.
- Spray a large bowl and lightly flour it. Place dough inside, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Divide dough into 16 equal pieces.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a dough rope about 9-10 inches long and about 1/2-inch thick.
- Shape into a knot (fold one end of the dough over the other so it looks like an awareness ribbon. Twist dough at the place where the two sides overlap. Fold ends over and tuck under). Once you get it down, it's super easy.
- Place knots on a covered baking sheet.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes (I baked mine for 14).
- To make the garlic butter, melt butter in a small saucepan.
- Mix in all the ingredients, except the Parmesan cheese.
- Toss the knots in the garlic butter.
- Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top! NOTE: when I tried to add the Parmesan cheese to the mixture, as originally directed, it got melty and was very hard to toss the garlic knots thoroughly.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Sweet & Sour: No Energy & Driving


Sweet & Sour is a weekly feature where I talk about one "sweet" thing that happened - and one "sour" thing. Because life throws us lemons and cookies! But because bad news should always come first, we're doing this in reverse order!

The Sour

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were no-energy days. I'm not entirely sure why, though I suspect anticipation over my second driving test had something to do with it. But I worked through it. I didn't let myself dwell on all the things I had to do. I created lists for each day and worked through the tasks, one at a time. Cleaned out my closet and organized a few other things, and it made me feel better.

The Sweet

I passed my driving test! I now have my license! No more chauffeurs! Though admittedly if I had Tom Branson has my chauffeur. . . . ;-) I am so, so, so glad it's all over. I was nervous, even though it was my second time and therefore I should have known what to expect and not been even more nervous than my first time. But I was. And I guess if I'm not nervous, I can't pass tests. Go figure. But I did! And I can drive myself now!!

Friday, February 20, 2015

Quote Wall #2

Quote Wall is for everyone to comment and share their favorite quotes of the week. Be it from a book, movie, other people - whatever you like! Share them in the comments and I'll put them up on the Quote Wall page!

"The only real failure is the failure to try, and the measure of success is how we cope with disappointment." - Deborah Moggach, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel