Meal Planning Monday

I am now the proud owner of my own little piece of the Internet.  So this very well might be my last post on Blogger because tonight, I think I'm finally ready to do the Wordpress migration.  Please pray for me.  Because I'm really scared.

Monday:  Leftover Garlic Chicken, Leftover Roasted Asparagus (wrapped in prosciutto)*

Tuesday:  Chicken Fajitas

Wednesday:  Grilled Steak Kabobs

Thursday:  Cornbread Stuffing Stuffed Pork Chops, Salad

Friday:  Pizza*

You're not going to be seeing much cooking on Mondays or Fridays for awhile since Matt's schedule changed.  Although I do predict there will be quite a bit of peppers and onions featured on those days.  And hotdogs for Allison.  At least they are all beef, nitrate-free, un-cured hotdogs from Trader Joe's.  Don't judge me.

Seasonal Deathmatch: Spring vs Winter

Every year since we bought our home, we have attempted to grow a vegetable garden.  The first one was pretty small.  We planted four crops.  But it was a decent first effort.  

Last year turned out to be a bit of a debacle, with diseased tomato plants, an overpruned raspberry bush, yet another failed attempt at squash, and only one healthy crop -- cayenne peppers.  Which I still haven't used.  But it was a learning experience.

Despite our black thumbs, we really enjoy the idea of gardening.  Watching the plants grow, harvesting the fruits, knowing that this food came from your own backyard...  It's a wonderful feeling.  And it just makes everything taste better.  Not to mention being kind to your wallet.

However, we still aren't so good with the preparation stage of gardening.  Or the planting stage.  Or really the maintenance stage, either.

Our typical gardening endeavor looks like this:

Mid-May stop by the picked over garden store and attempt to find plant seedlings that don't look like they've been stomped on and resurrected. 

Cross our fingers that the plants don't die in the week that it will take us to actually get them into the ground. 

Walk by the hose everyday thinking, "Oh, I should really water the garden...  But it'll have to wait until I have a free moment...  Next Wednesday." 

The plants continue to grow against all odds and we become unable to distinguish the weeds from the real plants, so we figure, "Eh, they'll figure it out."

As the fruits of our labor weigh down the stalks of our warrior plants, we do our best to prop them up with random pieces of scrap lumber and string, because we care.

And when the plants look like they may have lost the good fight, we jump in to hack away the death that is draining their life blood, however, it's just too little too late...

But this year was going to be different!  We bought seeds!  We were going to grow carrots, and potatoes, and beets, and onions.  Which all need to be sewn into the ground...  Oh, about a week ago.

But you may have heard about a little bad weather we've been having up in these here parts.

This would be a shuttle bus that was almost hurled off the top of a parking garage at the airport.  But despite all the damage that was left by the tornado that swept through St Louis last Friday, we are damn lucky.  Because no one was fatally injured.  And my heart goes out to all the people in the Southeast that are suffering the loss of so many due to a monstrous storm system that passed through Alabama and it's neighboring states just days ago.

Apparently Spring is in a competition with Winter to see who can screw with us more.  And I never thought I'd say that I think Spring is winning. 

The past week has brought us day after day of rain, storm warnings, and now flooding. 

Not exactly ideal gardening weather.  But that's not going to keep us from getting the garden in the ground.  Because I have this compulsive desire to pull food from the earth.  And I hate paying $2.99/lb for tomatoes that taste like nothing.

Amaze your family and friends with a Fruit Bouquet!

Most everyone has seen those fruit bouquets made by Edible Arrangements. 

For years I coveted them.  But not their $60 price tag.

And then one year I thought, "How hard could it be to make myself?"  (Mind you, I am somewhat delusional about my crafting abilities.)

But the answer to my question was not as crushing as I was secretly thinking.  Because they aren't really that hard.  At least not the second time.

So my advice to you...  Get all the supplies, wait til everyone is asleep, and make a fruit arrangement that no one will ever see.  That way, you'll be ready to do it for realsies when the time comes.

Fruit Bouquet

• Get a bunch of fruit.  Pineapple really works the best for the flowers, but feel free to get creative with the rest.  I used strawberries, blueberries, grapes, and mango.  The main thing is you don't want fruit that will brown as it sits out.  So, put away the apples and bananas.
• Find a container to build your arrangement and fill it with a head of lettuce or cabbage. This will be your "floral foam."  So much better than using real floral foam.  Trust me.  (Save a couple large outer leaves to cover the guts of your container.)
• To make the pineapple flowers, cut 1/2 inch slices from a *real* pineapple.  Don't bother to peel it since you'll be using a cookie cutter to cut out the flower shape.  To assemble the flowers, take a skewer and on the pointed end, first put on a marshmallow (or some other sticky food substance, like gum drops), then your pineapple flower, then top with a roundish piece of fruit, making sure there is no skewer poking out.  Melon balls are most commonly used, but feel free to think outside the box.
• Insert the flat end of the skewer into your head of lettuce/cabbage and repeat.
• After the flowers are placed, fill in your arrangement with other skewered fruit.  I tend to make my arrangements a little on the minimalistic side, but you can get as full and elaborate as you want.

So, it doesn't quite look as good as the real thing, but for a fraction of the cost...  I'm willing to settle.  Maybe my third attempt will yield a more similar result...

Photo Credit

Partying with the Easter Bunny

I took a bunch of photos during our Easter festivities, but most of them turned out looking like this.

Dark and really orangey with lots of horrible shadows.

Most of this is caused by the wreched lighting in my house.  However, I'm supposed to be able to correct that with my fancy camera and new fancy lens, right?

Problem is kids are fast and I'm slow.  So when I see an opportunity to take a good shot, I generally don't have time to adjust all the settings on the camera.

Because I'm too busy dodging and weaving grubby hands.

Enter The Photoshop.

Before.  Isn't flourscent lighting great?

After.  It isn't much better, but at least she doesn't look like an Oompa-Loompa.  Just a ghost.  And ghosts are totally less creepy than Oompa-Loopas, right?

 

Before.  Look at those rosy cheeks...

After.  Have I mentioned that Photoshop and I don't particularly get along?

 

Before.  Looks like she's been hitting the carrot juice with the Easter Bunny.

After.  Which is the lesser of two evils?  Orange skin or green hair?  Ugh.  Have I mentioned that I hate Photoshop?

 

I'm Breaking Up With Law & Order

You might remember a couple weeks ago I wrote about my frustration regarding how I spent my Monday evening.  In response to that post, I received a flood of comments from beautiful readers supporting my choice to "do nothing."  It warmed the cockles of my heart. 

However, I realized my frustration wasn't derived from my lazy behavior.   Because I happily park myself in front of the TV every Tuesday and Thursday evening without qualm.  And it wasn't from my perpetually dirty floors.  I've made my peace with that.  It was that I was sitting in front of the TV watching stupid shows that I didn't even enjoy.  And to spend three hours of my life doing something unenjoyable?  That just seems ridiculous.

That realization is what finally pushed me to read Amy Andrews' ebook Tell Your Time.  And I am incredibly glad I did.  So much of what she wrote resonated with me.  It's not just a manual of how to budget your time.  It's a tool to help you identify the obstacles that are keeping you from living a fulfilling life.

Through the process I learned something very important.  That I don't have concrete goals.  I seem to be simply going through the motions every week with little insight as to where I'm headed or what I want to accomplish.  And I'm just spinning my wheels.  No wonder I'm overwhelmed most of the time. 

Another "ah ha!" moment?  That I really have much more free time than I previously thought.  Once I mapped out all my non-negotiable weekly tasks, I realized that there is a lot of blank space that I can fill with meaningful activities.  And that gave me a calming sense of control over my life.

While I know that not every week will be the same or even mildly predictable, this process has helped me identify opportunities to enhance my life.  So, if you've ever said, "There aren't enough hours in the day!" (*raises hand*) or "I just don't have time to cook a meal!" you might want to consider giving Tell Your Time a chance to improve your life. 

*I have not been compensated in any way for this endorsement.  However, if someone wanted to pay me to endorse something, I would seriously consider it.  Because there's a War on Debt goin' on up in her'!  But be aware that if I don't like something, I'm not going to say otherwise.  However, my parents did tell me that if I don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.  And I was a good kid and listened to my parents...  most of the time.