Out Like A Lion

March was rough, but I have hope that April will be better.

 

I did not accomplish as much on my goals as I had hoped. My allergies kicked in and knocked me down for about a week, darn pine pollen. I am still rocking the boot of doom. Sixteen weeks (four months) so far. I see the doctor on Monday.

We had some serious technology problems in March. I spent over fourteen hours with tech support of three different companies. I think that the root of our problem is our internet provider and the extremely slow snail paced speed, so I am working on researching viable options. The new modem and new router that I purchased brand new is doing much better than the refurbished piece of junk that our internet provider sold us in August. My kindle is finally working again, after I had to deregister, reregister, restore factory setting (system wipe), and reregister with a tech support person because it was not able to download readable books. Finally, I thought that the laptop had been fixed, but discovered last night that Microsoft Updates is frozen at 0% again. Oh joy, more time with tech support in my future!

A positive for March . . . . . I got new glasses. My prescription has been reduced, although I am heading to the eye doc in a bit to have them retweaked. The new prescription isn’t quite right and I am having issues with my long distance vision. But I like my new frames. My previous frames I got in 2011. I try to use them through at least two doctor visits before updating them.

Goals Update

Health Goals 1) Get more sleep- I did better with the sleep before the time change. After the time change and during the days spent with tech support, I did not do so well. I was online with HP tech support until 1:30 am one morning. Ugh! When I contacted them at 9:30 pm, I thought this will only take an hour. Famous last words! Ha ha ha ha! The past few days have finally evened out in the sleep department. 2) Strengthen my ankle- Since I am still rocking the boot of doom, strengthening my ankle was not in the cards.

House Goal 1) Clean and organize the kids’ rooms. Well. . . . this one is an epic fail. We did manage a path to Princess’s dresser. Pumpkin and I got 1/3 of his room cleaned and it has remained cleaned. We still have 2/3 to tackle. The only time we have to clean the rooms is on the weekends (none homework nights), so we have been a bit limited with the Easter holiday and when I could barely walk. We will need to continue during the month of April.

Family Goal 1) Encourage everyone to clean-up after themselves in the sunroom- We have good days and bad days with this. The “Bunny” got the kids Legos, so we have a Lego explosion right now. I have given them both gallon sized baggies to pick up their Legos before bedtime each night. Then remind them if I step on a Lego with the boot, it might break. So there is another one good plus to the boot of doom, it definitely encourages the kids to clean up more. Ha ha ha ha ha!

Self Goals 1) Take the time to capture some nature photography- I have gotten a few good shots during March. I have been a bit more limited, since it is difficult to leave paved areas. 2) Have a least one girls day adventure- Aw, man! Another month goes by without getting a chance to do something with a friend or two. Parenthood is not all it is cracked up to be at times. I will have to work harder on this one. But if texting friends to keep up counts, I have definitely rocked that one with a couple friends.

Well off to have a few adventures before write my April Goals post.

March Goals

I'm game to try new goals for a third month in a row. The nice thing about monthly goals are that each month allows me to reset and reconfigure what I would like to accomplish. Sometimes it is successful and sometimes it is more of a challenge. So, here are my March Goals:

Health Goals
- Get more sleep (7.5 to 8 hours per night)
- Strengthen my ankle

House Goal
- Clean and organize the kids’ rooms

Family Goal
- Encourage everyone (mainly the kiddos) to clean-up after themselves in the sunroom

Self Goals
- Take the time to capture some nature photography
- Have a least one girls day adventure 

The sky's the limit when it comes to setting goals. You can make them as easy or as difficult as you would like. Do you have any goals or plans for the month of March?

Leaping Forward

Today only happens once every four years. It is Leap Day! Today would be a great day for a Random Act of Kindness. I have a few ideas up my sleeves. Shhh!

We have been busy this month. We had three birthdays in February, one snow day, and a visit from out of state family.

Since it is the last day of the month, it is time for a goals update:

• Health Goals- Drinking more water and eating more veggies. I am doing so-so on drinking more water. I always forget to hydrate on a regular basis, especially when at work. I have eaten a bit more veggies in the latter half of the month, but not as much as I had hoped.
• House Goal- Continuing cleaning and organizing the great room. Unfortunately, I have not made any more progress in the great room. But the good news is that I have managed to keep the areas that I cleaned in January clear of clutter. That is definitely a step in the right direction. Yay!
• Family Goal- Reminding the family to conserve electricity. I definitely slacked on this one, and ended up turning lights off and unplugged chargers as I passed by. I will have to try this one again soon.
• Self Goals- Cooking a few new recipes & writing a letter. SUCCESS!!!!!! I have cooked four new dishes this month. I also wrote a letter to one my of husband’s relations earlier this month, then enclosed hand written thank you notes from the kiddos for unexpected birthday treats.

 Enjoy your Leap Day!

Cooking Spree

I'm on a roll! When I was on Pinterest, I found a whole treasure trove of recipes to pin. Hurray!

On Saturday, I made Snickerdoodle Apple Bread. One word: Yummy! Oh and the smell of the house while it was baking. . . . Delightful!

Snickerdoodle Apple Bread

(http://cookiesandcups.com/snickerdoodle-apple-bread/)

Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 cup milk
1 Granny Smith Apple, finely chopped

Cinnamon sugar topping
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with baking spray. Line bottoms and up the ends with a strip of parchment paper (for easy removal) and spray again. Set aside. Whisk together salt, baking powder, and flour. Set aside. In a bowl beat butter, both sugars and cinnamon for 2 minutes on medium speed with an electric mixer., scraping sides as necessary. Add in both eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth, again scraping sides as necessary. Turn mixer to low and add in flour mixture and milk alternating additions, starting and ending with flour. Mix until just combined. Finally add in apples and stir until just combined and pour batter into prepared pan. Mix together the sugar and cinnamon for topping and sprinkle on top of batter. Bake for 50-55 minutes until bread is set and toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

(I did it again! The kids can be quite distracting while cooking. I forgot to add the cinnamon to the sugar/butter mixture. Ha ha ha! I am bound to get a recipe complete right one of these days! I didn't realize it until I was typing up the recipe. That explains why I had a 1/2 tablespoon sitting on the counter unused. Ha ha ha!) 

Cooking Therapy

I accomplished one of my "self" goals for February- trying at least one new recipe that sounds good. 

I find cooking fun and relaxing, but I just have not had the time and fortitude to do much lately. There are two major reasons: 1) During the school year, we spend a lot of time in the evenings doing homework. If I wasn't a working mama, then I probably would have more time to prep for dinner before picking the kids up from school. As it is hubby much rather attempt to cook, than be stationed at the homework table. So we have been having quite a bit of fast food, hot dogs, cheese toasties, cereal, and pizza for dinner. I usually get a chance to cook on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. 2) I just celebrate 11 weeks with the "boot of doom" (aka walking boot). I found out in mid-February that the problem is that I seriously messed up two ligaments in my ankle. Thankfully no surgery, but more time in the boot. I go back to the foot doctor in about a week and a half. Maybe I will graduate from the boot, maybe I will be sentenced to more time. Hopefully once I graduate, I will have some PT to strengthen my ankle since it has be immobilized for an extended period. Needless to say, I have been doing a lot of sitting on a stool when attempting to cook in the kitchen.

Back to the food, I was looking around on Pinterest and found some yummy recipes. Last night I experimented with two new recipes: One Pan Greek Chicken and Garlic & Herb Cheese Bombs. Both turned out fairly well. I will probably tweak a few things next time I fix them, but definitely keepers. I have included the link to the original recipe, but have made my changes and notes to the recipes below.

One Pan Greek Chicken

(http://damndelicious.net/2015/05/30/one-pan-greek-chicken/) 

Ingredients 
1 1/2 pound small red potatoes, quartered
1 1/2 pound green beans, trimmed
2 tablespoons light olive oil
Freshly ground salt & black pepper, to taste   

For the marinade:
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1/4 cup light olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon oregano
Freshly ground, salt & black pepper, to taste

Instructions
In a gallon size ziploc bag, combine chicken, oil, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, oregano, salt, and pepper. Marinate for 20-60 minutes, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade. While chicken is marinading, preheat over to 400 degree F. Lightly oil backing sheet or coat with nonstick spray. Place potatoes and green beans in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and paper, to taste. Top with chicken in a single layer. Place into the oven and toast until the chicken is completely cooked through, about 25-30 minutes. Serve immediately. (Note: I had about half of the amount of green beans. Unfortunately, there was not a good selection of fresh green beans at the store. I also forgot to add the oregano to the marinade.)

Garlic & Herb Cheese Bombs

 (http://www.lovebakesgoodcakes.com/2014/08/garlic-herb-cheese-bombs.html)

Ingredients (20 bombs)
2- 7.5 ounce cans refrigerated biscuits
4 ounce Mozzarella cheese, cut into 20 cubes
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Separate biscuits. Place on cube of cheese in the center of each biscuit. Carefully wrap the biscuit dough about the cheese and seal. Place seam side down about an inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until the biscuits are golden brown and the cheese is melted. While the biscuits bake, mix the butter, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder together and set aside. Remove the biscuits from the oven and immediately brush with butter mixture. Serve warm. (Note: Place cheese bombs on the middle rack of the oven. The bottoms get a bit crispy if on the bottom rack while cooking the chicken recipe above. No matter how long you have been cooking, you can always learning something new. Ha ha ha!)

Have you made any new recipes lately that you would like to share?