Today was the first pick up for this year's farm share. I'm excited to see what this year has to bring, especially since (fingers crossed) there won't be any tomato blight and it won't rain for the ENTIRE month of June like last year.
(Though it's supposed to rain for the next 4 days and this had better not be a trend. You hear me, June!)
Today we got 5 farm share dollars to "spend" and two potted plants. It's the beginning of the season, so there are mostly greens. I got a head of lettuce, mesclun mix and some fava greens, as well as two black eyed susan plants that I'm going to plant outside. Farmer John told us to try the fava greens because this is the only week he'll have them. Apparently, you use the greens like fresh spinach. I'll try throwing some in my lunch salad tomorrow and see how they taste.
Kitty wanted to get in on the farm share action: Tonight I also planted my container plants for the season. In the white bucket are 2 pepper plants that Sam, one of the Brown freshmen, started from seed in his dorm room, but then had to get rid of since the school year ended and he's going on a mission in August. So we got his peppers. We don't know what kind of peppers they are since Sam wasn't sure himself. They already have some blossoms on them so we'll see.
In the orange containers are a zucchini plant and a cucumber plant. I don't know which is which, because their leaves look surprisingly similar. (Despite my seed labeling, I have a sneaking suspicion they might actually be the same kind of plant...) These are the only two seedlings I got from the 12 seed starters I planted this year. They're thriving so far.
For Memorial Day weekend, Jason and I went to New Hampshire for a little camping and hiking. We stayed at an Appalachian Mountain Club campsite at Mt. Cardigan. Unbeknownst to us, the lodge was rented out for the weekend for a wedding, so we were regaled by dance music late into the night Sunday night. So not necessarily the quiet weekend we were anticipating, but still nice. And I think it's cool that someone decided to gather a bunch of friends at an AMC lodge for their wedding. Sounds low-key and fun.
This was the pond in front of the lodge The path leading to our campsite Me with our gear We didn't get any pictures of the tent set up, but it's a nice 2-person tent and on Saturday night we found out that the rainfly works.
Friday night, I had a Young Women's slumber party, so Jason and I left Providence by about noon on Saturday. We drove up to the White Mountains area and, since we started out late and didn't really have time to go up Mt. Cardigan like Jason had originally planned, we took a drive on the Kancamagus Highway, stopping a couple of times to get out and walk around a little. Saturday we hiked Mt. Moosilauke via the Beaver Brook Trail. I'm just going to say right now that the trail completely kicked my butt. The trail is 3.8 miles, with a 3200 foot elevation gain. Not too bad, right? Except the first 2000 feet happen during the first 1.5 miles. That means it's steep.
We should have known how this would go down when our friend who RUNS TRAIL RACES IN THE ALPS told Jason this was his favorite trail in the White Mountains.
Here I am, optimistically starting out. The sign says: "This trail is extremely tough. If you lack experience, please use another trail." Word.
The first 1.1 miles run along the cascades of Beaver Brook, which are pretty waterfalls down part of the mountain. Rather than make us actually scale a sheer rock face, they hammered wooden railroad ties into the side of the rock for us to walk on. Thoughtful. Looking back on the steep, steep trail. About halfway up the steep trail, we got our first pretty view back. And some more pretty waterfalls. Making my way up. Taking a break. Lookout Final push up to the summit. Moosilauke is the Algonquin word for "bald place", referring to the bald summit. As soon as we got above the tree line, the wind went CRAZY. Jason took this video at the summit (you need the volume up for the full effect)
The summit! We sat behind some rocks to shelter us from the wind and ate the best tuna salad sandwich ever (food always tastes so fantastic when you've worked really, really hard for it). Then we headed back down. I started feeling a little sick and, despite making sure to drink a bunch of water on the way up, think I may have gotten a little dehydrated. Compound that with a punishing 1.5 miles of straight down at the bottom of the trail and I was not very happy. Jason gave me some Gatorade and that helped a bit, but my legs were very shaky toward the end. We were basically stepping from boulder to boulder and every time I stood still for more than a few seconds, my legs started shaking uncontrollably. I have never been so happy to see the end of a trail.
I think 7.6 miles of strenuous trail was a bit much for me. I have plans to spend some time walking up and down the steps at the Brown stadium to get ready for our next hike. Looking back, I do feel accomplished and proud that I actually did it. I just wish I hadn't felt quite so sick along the way.
Jason thought maybe we could do Mt. Cardigan today, but I had to say no. My legs are really screaming at me tonight. I've done 3 loads of laundry since we got home and feel like a total hero for making it from our second-floor apartment down to the laundry in the basement.
Anyway, camping was great and we found a new restaurant conglomerate that we love called The Common Man. They have a bunch of restaurants all over New Hampshire. Saturday night we read a couple reviews of Italian Farmhouse that sounded good, so we tried it. Fabulous! It's a restaurant run by The Common Man with a focus on Italian food (and a bread and seasoned olive oil bar). Sunday night we looked at reviews for restaurants near where we were (love smartphones with GPS) and discovered we were right near The Common Man in Lincoln. So we went there and were treated to yummy homestyle American fare, with a cheese and cracker bar. I kind of want to try a new Common Man whenever we're in New Hampshire now.
We're going back to New Hampshire in a couple of weeks for a camping trip with Jason's lab. Looking forward to it!
Last night I had dinner with an attorney from the Boston office who is having a baby in 6 weeks or so. My main goal with going out to dinner with her was to pick her brain on how she told the firm she was pregnant and what her plans are post-maternity leave.
No, I don't have any news. I like to conduct a lot of research before leaping into something.
As far as the firm goes, she told me what I already knew. We work with a lot of family-oriented people who were thrilled for her when she announced she was expecting. They're even throwing a little baby shower for her in a couple of weeks. She's not exactly sure how it's all going to work when she comes back from maternity leave, but has told them she wants to come back, probably at a bit of reduced time, and that they seem willing to work with her.
My situation in Providence is a bit difference since I'm one of two attorneys in this office, but knowing my boss, and how into his kids he is, I figure we can work something out whenever the time comes.
However, the best part of the evening for me was when she and I started talking about how the expectations for our work had changed recently. She and I clerked at the firm together and graduated at the same time. She started working there immediately after the Bar, while I took my more circuitous path down to DC, through contract attorneying and a couple part-time gigs, finally landing at the Providence office of the firm that had originally trained me.
Talking to her made me feel so much better about some career stumbling blocks I have hit recently, culminating in a VERY BAD DAY right before we left for Hawaii. Which, you know, great, let's leave the boss with a bad impression while I take off for 2 weeks.
My main problem is, I am still inexperienced. There is a steep learning curve to this job. At some point (like now), your boss stops giving you tasks to complete and actually starts asking for your input and expecting you to think about the whole picture, rather than just one task. My Boston friend and I have both felt this change recently and have both felt a little intimidated by it. Or a lot intimidated by it, depending on the day.
The thing is, I don't want to give clients the wrong answer. The key is to either figure out the answer based on past experiences, or to find a way to sound confident while actually asking for a little time to do some research and figure it out.
When I got back from Hawaii, I made a deal with myself that I would work on sounding confident and expressing my opinion. Over the last several months, I've discovered that my gut instinct on something often turns out to be the right answer. But when I wait for my boss to say it and then I lamely say, "That's what I was thinking...", that just sounds, well, lame. So I've tried to be more assertive and tried to be better about looking at the whole picture in a situation, even if I am just working on one piece of the puzzle.
I think it's made a difference. The other day, my boss introduced me as his "colleague" and while I'm probably reading too much into that, I do think he's been more pleased with my work lately.
Talking about it with my Boston friend and realizing I'm not alone in this feeling, has helped so much. Frankly, it makes me feel better about this choice I made 8 years ago to go to law school and be an attorney.
So remember when we were going to move? Yeah, that's probably not happening. Apparently, Mel (who you'll remember from my last post) told the guys on the 3rd floor to knock it off. He also told them that keeping us as tenants is more important to them than renting the 3rd floor and they have no problem getting rid of them if the shenanigans continue.
Since then it has been almost silent. We have had a week and a half of just normal neighbor noise. We hear them walk around some, we hear a bit of bass now and again, but the constant din has stopped. It's quiet when we go to bed. It's mostly quiet when we're awake.
It's almost creepy.
So despite finding an apartment that we really loved, we think we'll stay put. We weighed the pros and cons, and decided the pros of the new place weren't really worth an extra $300 per month (though we think we could have talked the landlord down to $250 more than we pay now). Although if I think about it too much, that 3rd bedroom, deck and updated kitchen (with a dishwasher!) almost convince me. I just have to remember, that money is going toward paying down my student loans and saving for a baby.
Frankly, our rent is ridiculously low, even for Providence, and the longer we can keep paying lower rent and saving more, the better. Plus, there are a lot of features we love about our apartment - HUGE living room, fireplace, the neighborhood, being next to the Observatory, great owners, large backyard we can use. It also has the added benefit of being the place where our stuff is. If there was some way to magically teleport our stuff from our old place to the new fancy place, moving might seem a little more appealing.
However, we've decided that when we tell them we're staying, we're going to ask for a couple of things. One, mold abatement in the bathroom. I have scrubbed the walls and ceiling and that stuff just won't go away. Neither of us have allergies, so it doesn't really bother us, but it does gross me out. And really, it can't be very healthy in the long run.
Two, a dishwasher. We've talked about getting a roll-away dishwasher, but because our kitchen is small, it would basically sit in the middle of the kitchen when it wasn't in use, which, you know, isn't ideal. Mel told us it wouldn't be too hard to pull out the cabinets and put in a dishwasher, as long as we were willing to give up some cabinet space. We're going to offer to buy a dishwasher ($50 on Craig's List) and ask if Mel can put it in.
I think those two things will make us much happier. Especially me since I'm the one who loves to cook and dirty up the pots and pans.
Two years ago our awful upstairs neighbors moved out. We put up with them and their crazy friends for awhile and finally reached our breaking point. After coming home for the hundredth time on a Friday night to a raucous party and no place for us to park (we're supposed to get 2 spaces), we decided that Jason would call the landlady the next day and give her an ultimatum: they go or we go. Imagine my joy when I woke up the very next morning to a U-Haul in the driveway. Hooray!*
The owners decided to reshingle and paint the house, and to fix up the upstairs apartment. For the past 2 years we have been the only tenants, which has been lovely. Mel** is a contractor whose family owns the building, so he and some of his guys did all the work. The refurbished apartment looked outstanding and we considered moving up there, though we didn't really want to live on the 3rd floor because it's hard to decorate around eaves. Plus, it's a hassle to move.
Well, maybe we should have. While we were in Hawaii, 3 guys moved in. Mel had told us repeatedly how he wanted to get us some nice neighbors and get in a nice couple or small family who would take care of the place. Then his cousin rented the apartment out to the first 3 guys who showed up. They're in their early 20s, fresh out of college, and I was totally willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.
The second night I was home from Hawaii their bass was thumping pretty loud at midnight (on a Thursday), so I went up, introduced myself, and asked if they could please turn it down. They were perfectly nice, apologized and turned it down. That gave me hope. Despite the fact that every second they were home we could hear bass beats distantly thumping, I figured, we can deal with this.
Then came Saturday night. Cars parked all over the driveway and adjoining street, music that sounded like it was in our apartment, shrieking and screaming, pounding. Around 2:30 AM, Jason and I made the executive decision to move. It just feels way too much like a road we've been down before. We hopped on Craig's List and I shot off 9 emails that night.
We ran into Mel last night when we got home from work, right before our first scheduled appointment to see a new apartment. He asked us how it was going with the new neighbors and we told him. And we told him we're looking for a new place. He was all disgusted and his cousin will probably be getting a big, "I told you so" from him. He wants to work this out somehow, but really I think the only solution is for one of the apartments to move out. Since they just signed a year lease and we're on a casual month-to-month, it looks like it will be us. Sure, the landlord could evict them over the whole "quiet enjoyment" thing, but evictions take time. Plus, I don't really want to deal with any retribution they might heap upon the heads of the neighbors who tattled on them.
We're looking at two places tonight. I dread moving, but there are a few things I am excited about. For one, I think I'm going to insist our new place have a dishwasher. Or at least room for one of those rolling dishwashers. Our current place has neither. Two, this is a PERFECT reason to go through our junk and reorganize and FINALLY get all the decluttering done that Jason has been promising would happen for the last 2 1/2 years. Three, I'm looking forward to not living on a main street. We have our windows open all summer and the Harleys, buses, and emergency vehicles on the road, not to mention drunk students wandering by, are LOUD.
*The previous neighbors' shenanigans included: - Constant loud parties - Constant bass thumping away - Breaking the screen door - A drawing from one of their friends of a p**is on the screen door - The word "r*p*st" carved into the side of one of the guys' cars - Loud screaming arguments in the stairwell between one of the guys and his girlfriend - Constant laundry wars (as in, they wouldn't remove their clothes from the washer or the dryer for DAYS, but got mad if we did and had no problem removing our stuff while it was in the process of washing or drying) - Battles for our assigned parking spaces - Numerous holes gouged into the walls in the stairwell And the kicker - Two weeks after they moved out, we found an (already opened) letter regarding one of the guys' upcoming court dates for domestic assault. In other words, he beat up his girlfriend. The sad thing is, I knew he moved in with that girlfriend and, sure enough, a few weeks later, we looked online just for kicks and found out she dropped the charges. Of course.
I was so pleased last week when I left Hawaii with a dark tan. I only got a small burn on my shoulders one day, which I think happened because my sleeveless hiking top shifted after I put on sunscreen. I diligently applied sunscreen to my New England-pale skin, and managed to wind up a nice toasted color.
Then the Young Women (and one of the Brown freshman) completely deflated me yesterday when they commented that I didn't look tan at all. True, I could have shown them my tan lines and how ghostly pale I used to be, but I elected to keep it clean at church.
Since I grew up in Tucson, I usually had a tan just by virtue of being outside and dressing for the heat. And swimming a lot. And riding my bike everywhere. Maybe living in Southern climes again eventually wouldn't be so bad after all.
An extensive wardrobe is not necessary. Meaning, I brought WAY too many clothes.
In an effort to stick it to The Man in the form of airlines charging checked baggage fees, Jason and I stuck to carry-ons only. (This is my new favorite bag ever. I got it at REI on sale a few weeks before we left and it's the perfect under-the-seat-in-front-of-you carry-on. It has a nice little pocket for your laptop, pockets inside for water bottles (or, as I discovered, cylindrical skeins of yarn), and numerous other little pockets and nooks and crannies all over to hold EVERYTHING. Love.)
My little 22 inch roller bag was filled to the brim even before I bought souvenirs. I wore my jeans and sneakers and brought about 7 shirts, 3 skirts, 2 pairs of capris, a fleece (because it would have been cold on the top of Haleakala, which we actually didn't get to while I was there. However, both flights home were freezing, so I was thrilled to have it), 2 swimsuits, a sarong, nice sandals, flip flops, and my new Keens.
(Jason chastised me for having 4 pairs of shoes. WhatEVER. Guys don't understand the need for different shoes for different occasions. I wore all 4 pairs while we were there, though, I probably could have gotten by without the nice sandals.)
Here's what I should have brought: 2-3 shirts, 1 skirt, 1 pair of Capris, 1 swimsuit, flip flops and Keens. Half my bag would have been empty if I had done that. My most important clothes were my swimsuit, and a gauzy white shirt and knit skirt to go over the swimsuit.
Also, my Keens: Bought for a little more than half price thanks to Jason and his talent for finding internet discounts. I wound up getting men's so they would be wide enough for my decidedly undelicate and unfeminine feet. These shoes are kind of incredible. I hiked and scrambled over wet rocks in streams and even swam in the waterfall pools in them (since to get to the waterfall pools, you have to do some rock scrambling). My one complaint is, if you get sand inside, you have to remove the shoe to get it all out. But it's kind of worth it, assuming you can stop for a second and empty your shoe.
The moral of this post, though, is if you're going to Hawaii, pack light.
(I'm sorry, do I seem a little obsessive about my Hawaii trip? Probably a true statement.)
I just got back from Hawaii. It was a beautiful day today in Boston, where I landed, and a lovely drive home to Providence, but I am still pretty bummed out to not be in Hawaii anymore because, you know, it's Hawaii.
One thing I have learned this trip: the best way to overcome a 6 hour time change is to not sleep on the plane. I was up for almost 24 hours when we traveled to Hawaii and quickly got used to the time there. I left last night at 9:05 PM (that's 3:05 AM on the East Coast) and slept for maybe an hour or two on the plane. I am notoriously bad at sleeping in moving vehicles, which is good when we have somewhere to drive at night since, as we've seen, Jason is not so good with the night driving. So it's only 2:30 PM in Hawaii, but I'm feeling pretty tired. I'll probably get to bed by 10 and be up and ready for work tomorrow with (hopefully) only minimal jet lag.
Longer posts with pictures to follow. For a couple of days I managed to do a Facebook album every day, but then we got so busy and I was so tired at the end of our days that I couldn't keep up. But highlights include:
- Seeing actual lava flowing - Snorkeling on both the Big Island and Maui (I saw a huge turtle yesterday!) - Swimming in freezing cold waterfall pools
I have gained a probably well-deserved reputation with Jason's family as being something of a water junkie. What can I say? I like to be in the water.
Jason gets back on Saturday. I miss him a lot, actually.
I've been doing the low carb thing, but have discovered that as long as I keep my carbs at around 100 grams per day, I do pretty well. Add to that the fact that I bought a brand new bread cookbook on super clearance ($5!) and I've decided to institute Sunday bread night. The cookbook has pretty much every bread recipe you could think of, plus recipes for other baked goods like English muffins and croissants.
(Want to know why croissants taste so fantastic? Because you wrap a big slab of butter up in every single one.)
The cookbook also includes a bunch of recipes for the bread machine. My bread machine has been lonely and forlorn since I switched my eating to low carb, but no longer.
On the 10th, I made Anadama Bread, which Jason picked because it uses molasses (his favorite ingredient) and is considered a traditional Massachusetts bread (though we had never heard of it).
Unfortunately, the Anadama Bread didn't rise. So we wound up with a tasty bread brick. The bit that did rise actually tasted really good so I'm going to try to make it again in the future and see if I can make it work. I have a few theories as to what went wrong. First, I didn't use warm water, but just kind of medium temperature water. Second, the recipe only called for 1 teaspoon of yeast and generally I've found the bread machine breads use more than that. Third, I put in the ingredients in the order that the bread machine manual told me to (dry then liquid ingredients), rather than the order that the cookbook told me to (liquid then dry ingredients).
This past weekend, I made Maple Oatmeal Bread. I didn't have any oat bran, so just upped the oatmeal a bit. It turned out great! Light and fluffy, slightly wheaty with a touch of sweetness. This time I followed the cookbook's instructions and put the liquid ingredients in first, making sure the water was warm. I also doubled the yeast from 1 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons. One of those things seemed to fix the problem because the bread rose like a charm.
We'll be out of town for the next couple of Sundays, but I'll continue with our bread adventures when we get back.
...
...
Woo hoo. Bread ADVENTURES! We are ragin' at our house.
Since I have spent so much time griping about when Jason doesn't clean, I need to give him credit for when he does. After church yesterday we spent a good 4 or 5 hours cleaning. I tidied up the dining room, kitchen and living room, and switched out my winter clothes for summer clothes. I also made our dinner and our weekly bread (more on that in an upcoming post).
Jason picked up his stuff in the living room, and cleaned his closet. I usually don't let anyone see inside our bedroom, but anyone who might have caught a glimpse would have seen a mountain of clothes and other stuff flowing out of Jason's closet. He went through all of that stuff, folded and organized, and even got rid of a few things. I am so proud! I'm also thrilled that I can now access the full-length mirror on his closet door. Before I couldn't even stand in front of the mirror because there was a 2 foot high pile of stuff in front of the door.
As a bonus, he found a blanket that's been missing for 2 years in the back corner of his closet. I had a sneaking suspicion it was in there, but didn't push it.
The next battle is his desk. We'll tackle that AFTER Hawaii.
This is a public warning to my husband: I have 3 new knitting projects on deck, all with deadlines.
One of them I've been working on while we watch TV at night - you may have noticed. I'm hoping to get that one done before we go to Hawaii (in 10 days!!!).
The point is, there will be knitting.
I'm not ignoring you. I just have projects to complete.
Because I am Type A and apparently being swamped at work and church and having 3,000 projects to do at home already isn't enough.
Lately I haven't been as crazy with the knitting as I was. I've started a couple of things, but haven't found the time to finish them. However, some friends of ours just had their fourth baby and I wanted to make something for her.
So I made her a little sweater and hat. My first sweater. It's not perfect, but I think it came out pretty well. It's called "The 5-Hour Baby Sweater", but it took substantially more than 5 hours. Maybe "The 5-Hour If You're Already a Very Seasoned Knitter Sweater". The hat was a snap and is super cute. Here's who I made it for. Look at those cheeks!
That's the thermostat in my office. It reads 83 right now. A little while ago, it was up to 85.
On most days, I'm like a bug under a magnifying glass in here. I ADORE having windows, and the feeling of having arrived that they give me, but when the sun beats through them in the afternoons, it's like an oven. During the summer, I can counteract it with the AC. During the winter, I can open a window and let some cold air in.
Except today, see, it's 90 degrees in Providence and our building doesn't turn on the AC until May 15th. Tomorrow, it will be 72 and awesome, and next week it will be back down in the 60s, but for today, the 90 degrees is making it awfully hard to concentrate on work. Also, I kind of want to take off my hose. Also, I may want to take a nap.
I think I'll be leaving a little early today. Not that I have AC at my house, but I'm allowed to looked unfocused and dazed there. Besides, my boss already left, claiming heat exhaustion.
I post that drama-filled post and then just leave you all hanging for 2 weeks. Sorry about that.
Over the past couple of weeks, things have slowed down a tiny bit at work and Jason and I have been making efforts to make the house more livable (according to my standards). The decluttering is a gargantuan task. Last weekend it took me a good 3 or 4 hours to clean off my desk and that side of the guest room, as well as organize my closet and do several loads of laundry. And I'm the tidier of the two of us!
I asked Jason the other night if it would help him or annoy him if I went through the stuff on his desk and tried to get things organized and make assessments about what I think should stay and what should go. He said that would actually be pretty helpful. I think he gets overwhelmed with the sheer size of the task and just prefers to make tidy piles in the corner that allow the guest room door to open most of the way, without actually going through or getting rid of anything. I have no emotional attachment to anything on his desk so that's my next project when I have a spare Saturday morning or afternoon.
You've probably all heard that Rhode Island has been slammed with rain and there have been severe floods. We live at the top of a hill and the worst we've seen is 1-2 inches of water in the basement. Until things dry out, we can't do laundry, but all of our stuff in storage down there is in plastic bins and we have running water and are perfectly fine. Having seen pictures of Warwick and Cranston I feel incredibly blessed.
This afternoon the sun is shining and the sky is blue and I pray that the waters recede quickly.
I think I need a day off. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed lately with all there is to do and don't really feel like I've gotten much time off to relax and center myself.
Part of it is my own fault because I set expectations for myself and when I don't fulfill them I feel like I have failed. I don't cut myself a lot of slack.
Part of it is just life pressures that I don't feel like I have any control over at all.
* Work is very busy. This is a good thing, but just as I feel like maybe today might be the day when I finally get a handle on my to-do list, I get 4 or 5 more things added to it. I bring work home pretty much every day, but I either feel burnt out when I get home or there is some other commitment and then it's too late. Trust me, if I start reading a contract at 11 PM, I will be out cold in about 30 seconds. But the to-do list is still there and it's just getting longer.
* I had my annual review at work yesterday. It was fine. Not stellar. Fine. My boss can't say anything marginally critical that I haven't thought five hundred thousand times about myself already. Because I am always my harshest critic. One thing that he's wanted me to do for some time now is get out there in the legal and health care community. Serve with some organization, get to know people, network, become involved. Which I'm willing to do, but, I think, when?
* Church responsibilities. I love being in the Young Women's. But there's always something to do. I want to do so much for the girls, but there are so many needs there that I know the calling has the capacity to suck everything out of me if I let it.
(Also, kind of unfair that all the time I spend with the girls at and outside of church and driving them around and going to activities and chaperoning dances and all of that doesn't count as getting out there in the community. I know they're not networking sources, but I feel like it should count somehow...)
* Could I get a free weekend? It's hard to explain to my extrovert husband, but I actually do enjoy holing up inside the house for an entire day sometimes and doing nothing. I also have an internal conflict because I DO like being social and I don't want to miss out on something fun. In addition to having a social life, we also have a lot of church responsibilities on the weekends (yes, Saturday AND Sunday). Every weekend lately we just go, go go. Always something to do, somewhere to go, someone to see. I've been exhausted on Sunday nights and then the week begins again.
* The house is a wreck. It just is. We manage to surface clean every so often, but we never, ever get down to the mass reorganization and dumping that needs to get done. It's been really wearing on me lately, and I've been nagging Jason about it a lot, because, frankly, a lot of the clutter is his. I know some of it is mine too and I don't want to be a constant nag. I feel mad and then I nag and then I feel sad for nagging. But then I feel mad again at the mess. When I do have time to sit and just be for a moment, I find it really hard to relax because there is ALWAYS something that needs to be done around the house. Not just dishes or dusting or sweeping, though heaven knows, that needs to get done too, but all the other projects that we've been saying we were going to do for 2 years. I find myself getting really infuriated with Jason when I know he stays up late until 3 or 4 in the morning, but doesn't use any of that time to do anything around the house. I know it's not fair because he needs time to decompress too.
* I worry about my parents. I know I don't vocalize it that much to them, or to a lot of people, and that my parents read this so I guess now they're aware of it. Not a day goes by when I don't think about them and wish I somehow had the capacity to fix their lives. I need someone to tell me where the line is. How do I stop feeling guilty about not giving them everything I have because I know if I do, I won't have anything for myself or my husband or our (hopefully) future family?
I have committed the cardinal sin of blogging by not updating in ages. Over a month, actually, though it doesn't feel like that long.
In truth, I've been blogging fairly regularly at my other blog, since my focus lately has been on healthy living. As my interest in this area grows into a side hobby, it just makes sense to post more there.
So what has gone on in the last month? Well, we've been busy, but it's just with normal stuff. Work, TV, sleep, occasional dinners out with friends, church callings. Here are a few things:
The Young Women had New Beginnings this past Sunday and I think it was a smashing success. New Beginnings is an annual program where the girls give little presentations to tell their families what they have been working on for the past year with regard to their Personal Progress projects. They also each gave a little mini talk about each of the Young Women's values and how the values work in their lives. Some of them are shy and told me they thought they did badly afterward, but I made sure to tell them all they did great. Even our bishop said it was the best one he's seen in the ward. We really have a great group of girls and I have so many hopes for them.
In truth, Young Women's is taking up a large chunk of my "spare" time. But it's fun and I really feel that these girls need us - and each other. A couple of them have become close over the last couple months and it's been great to see that friendship blossom even though they're at different schools.
Brandon and Sarah had a baby and I am an aunt, which the only child in me is delighted about. (Note to parents out there: don't have only 1 kid if you can possibly help it. Despite my parents' great efforts to always be the welcoming home and to have my friends over a lot, it's not the same.)
I'm starting my adventures in gardening again in the next couple of weeks so I'll try to be diligent about posting my results. This year I'm growing tomatoes and either cucumbers or zucchini - I haven't decided which.
We're going to Hawaii in a month! I had grand weight loss goals, but they haven't really come to fruition. Overall, I'm healthier, though, and that's a definite plus.
I am really excited about Spring! I think I say this for every season, but I am always excited about what comes next.
That's all I can think of right now. I'll work on making sure this blog is updated regularly. After all, it did get me a husband and I job so I feel some loyalty to it.
Here's the story. I was planning on selling some handwarmers on Craft Hope'sEtsy shop for Haiti. However, instead of opening up for donations again on the 5th, they decided that they were going to finish selling what they have and then figure out a way to open another shop in the future for charity because they were a wee bit overwhelmed by the response (they've raised $30,000!).
But I still want to contribute.
So here's my plan. I will custom make 10 pairs of handwarmers at $20 each (which includes shipping) and will donate the $200 to Doctors Without Borders.
You can choose the color and the cuff style. They fit an average-size woman's hand and are pretty stretchy. If you think you'll need it, I can easily make the circumference a bit bigger .
Here are the models: You can have the cable cuff: Or the ribbed cuff: And can choose from the colors below (all yarns are very soft 100% acrylic): Dark Sage (model above) Chocolate (model above) Antique Rose Crimson: Navy Blue (looks lighter in picture, but is pretty dark) Terracotta Hunter Green If you would like to order a pair, email me at frazzled.kelly at gmail. I can accept PayPal. I will do my best to ship your order 7 days after you let me know what you want.
Even though my mom is an excellent seamstress and sewed many of my clothes when I was growing up (as well as a ton of clothes for my dolls), I never learned how to sew. Oh, I can sew on a button or a ripped seam, but I've never used a sewing machine.
On Saturday we had an activity where one of the women in our ward taught us some sewing basics. She is an amazing quilter and I'm hoping to get some help from her with making a quilt from some pieces that my great-grandma and my grandma both worked on before they passed away.
The Young Women were invited as well, and we all had a fun time.
(The little girl is my friend's daughter and she is an absolute doll! And she is learning how to sew at 4 years old thanks to her mom)
Also, I got sick and missed the window to donate to the Craft Hope store for Haiti on Etsy. However, they are going to open up for donations again on February 5th and my plan is to donate custom-made handwarmers (meaning the buyer can specify the size and color and it will take me a few days to make them and ship them). All proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders. I'll keep you all posted when my item is in the shop.
A couple of months ago I had a divine meal at our favorite French restaurant that included a side of brussels sprouts in a yummy, slightly fruity glaze. Since then, I've been intrigued with finding good brussels sprouts recipes. I don't have any bad childhood memory baggage associated with them, like I know a lot of people do. Plus, I think they're kind of cute. Wee little cabbages.
Last night I tried a recipe for Balsamic Glazed Brussels Sprouts. What could be better, right? Jason and I summed them up with a big, "Meh." They weren't awful, but I don't feel the need to ever make them again.
So does anyone have a good brussels sprouts recipe?
One of my new favorite sites is a site called Craft Hope, which tells you about ways you can be crafty and charitable (thanks for telling me about it, Rebecca!). Their most recent project is making red scarves to go into care packages for foster kids who have aged out of the system. I've already completed a quick scarf with some chunky yarn I had on hand, and am almost done with the second.
With the earthquake in Haiti, they came up with a way to help. Craft Hope has an etsy shop where they are selling projects made by their readers. 100% of the proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders. I was told that handwarmers and hats were selling well, so I dug into my overflowing yarn stash and am making a quick set of handwarmers in a trendy green color. I may make another pair in a more neutral color. Hopefully they'll be done by tomorrow and I can send in photos to get them posted in the shop.
In a couple of weeks I'm supposed to give a short cooking demonstration to some of the ladies in our church. It's supposed to be something eminently useful, like "Multiple Ways to Use a Whole Chicken" or some similar staple ingredient. I kind of like the chicken idea, but am open to other suggestions.
I want to show them how to do one simple thing, and then give them several more recipes to take home. Most of the women are fairly simple cooks, and the idea is to keep things as basic as possible.
If I go with a chicken, I have a couple ideas:
- Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken (emphasizing that you can use the leftover bones to make stock) - Stewed Chicken (which you can turn into chicken soup/stew, chicken and dumplings, or some other dish using the chicken and storing the resulting stock)
Any other ideas for what to do with a whole chicken? Of course, there's always baking it in the oven, but I've only done that with a whole chicken a couple of times and would like to give them a surefire good way to bake it, if anyone has one.
Any ideas for other staple foods I could present on?
Farmer John told us to try the fava greens because this is the only week he'll have them. Apparently, you use the greens like fresh spinach. I'll try throwing some in my lunch salad tomorrow and see how they taste.
Tonight I also planted my container plants for the season. 
