Things are going just swimmingly as of late...this warm-up is definitely helping!
#45 - Recipes
Three new recipes on the docket...
1. Cornbread Chicken Bake
red bell pepper, chopped
half white onion, minced
several cloves of garlic, minced
small can of mild green chilies
box of Jiffy cornbread mix
two eggs
can whole kernel sweet corn
rotisserie chicken, shredded (or 3-4 poached chicken breasts, shredded)
packet of Ranch dip mix
8 oz light sour cream
can Cream of Chicken & Herb soup
optional: jalapenos and shredded cheese
Saute onions and garlic in some EVOO or butter on low heat for about 5mins. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine cornbread mix, eggs and corn (add a little salt as well!). Add the onion/garlic and mix. Preheat the oven at 375. Grease an 9x13 baking dish and spread cornbread mixture across the bottom. In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, red bell pepper, green chilies, the sour cream, ranch packet, and soup (optional jalapenos). Add salt/pepper and mix well! Spoon on top of the cornbread, but leave at least an inch of "crust" open along the side. Sprinkle with optional cheese and bake for 35-40 minutes (until the cornbread "crust" is golden brown).
2. Red Lentil Curry
1 cup red lentils
half white onion, chopped
cup shredded carrots
red bell pepper, chopped
cup spinach, chopped
can tomato puree (I used Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes)
curry base:
garlic clove, minced
TB curry paste
1/2 TB curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne, chili powder, or hot sauce
1/2 tsp white sugar
1/2 tsp minced/grated ginger root
1/2 tsp salt
optional: sour cream
Rinse the lentils until the water is clear. Begin by boiling 3 cups water (add a couple broth cubes/some granules, if available, to add flavor). Simmer lentils and watch carefully (they only take 10 mins or so...you don't want them to be too mushy!) Meanwhile saute onions for 5-7mins, low heat, and add the remaining veggies...cook 5 more mins. Combine the "curry base" and mix into to the sauteed veggies. Add the can of tomatoes and simmer for a couple minutes. Drain lentils (most of the water should be soaked up) and add to the veggie mixture. Add salt if necessarily. Top with sour cream!
3. Pasta with Sausage and Broccoli Rabe
I'm not going to bother with this recipe as it was just ok and probably not something I'd make again. Decent, but not glorious.
#50 - Atypical produce (or not produce at all)...broccoli rabe and lentils done!
#69 - I made an appt for PLATELET donation on Monday yikes! I thought twice about volunteering for these guys...it's like the most selfish thing ever, but I know how they are about calling you 9248235023 times a day to donate, I can't imagine how they'd be asking you to volunteer once you sign up. It frightens me. And I don't have the time...especially to devote to an organization I'm very luke warm about. So Plan B involves the fact that you can donate platelets every two weeks. If I go once a month, I could probably fit in almost eight donations. Barring they don't go horribly wrong. We'll see.
#87 - Two newish-to-me band/artists are: Band of Horses and Christian Falk
And finally, the Proud Moment of the Month:
#52 - Expensive (almost $100!) running shoes have been purchased, and the running has commenced!!! You can read more over at YET another blog of mine (I'm obsessed): Must Run! Gooooood stuff!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
With 233 Days Left......
Omg that SO isn't a lot of days at ALL!!! So I really need to re-org here, don't I? Well here's a snapshot of what's happening at this very moment:
16 on-going tasks
6 tasks near completion
17 tasks I still need to start
8 complete re-vamps
Minus the on-going ones, that's 31 tasks I need to complete in the next 7+ months!! And they're all pretty hefty ones at that. I put together a table and a rough schedule, however, and all I need to do is stick with it. And as I mentioned, I found 8 tasks that need revamping...a couple I have to change altogether! Why? Not necessarily because of time, but rather, because of money. I'm not sure if anyone has heard, but the economy is a ginormous dumpster of broken spirits and tattered dreams. So I will have to adjust the list accordingly...
#12 - Participate in 26 things Photograph Project five times
Ok, so I can't blame this one on the economy as photography is relatively free. I have to blame time. Coming up with 26 really great photos to put into a theme is so much harder than it sounds! I'm determined to do something though. I started one, which I could try to finish. In the meantime, however, I'm going to try and come up with an ABCs of Milwaukee by late April.
#46 - Make a total of 50 recipes from cookbooks
Hmmm, ok once again, a time issue (man! I really was hoping the economy would be an easy target!) More of a preference issue?? See, obviously I make four new recipes every month. But I've noticed that I find recipes better suited to me via online sources. I'll try to crack open a book, but in the end I always turn to the internet. One big reason is on sites like allrecipes.com, people comment and make great suggestions on ways to tweak the recipe. I love that! Anyway, I've decided to cut the number from 50 to 25. Right now I'm at 22, and while I could definitely squeeze 28 more recipes into the next 8 months, ALL via book will be annoying. So on that note, to makes things more difficult, the last three recipes will HAVE to be gourmet, with a high level of difficulty. I've been cooking seriously for a couple years now and should be able to attempt them!
#52 - Splurge on an expensive pair of heels/sandals
I have officially decided to take up running. I was super inspired by Mandsi's 5K back in October, and the only thing preventing me since then was the god-awful Wisconsin Winter...which is now coming to an end! I found a really great Beginners schedule which involves a lot of walking interspersed with the running. 10 Week Stage 1 takes you to 44 minutes of near-consistent running, while 10 Week Stage 2 takes you to a consistent full 60 minutes. With determination and various forms of motivation, I could seriously do this! One form of motivation is a nice expensive pair of running shoes! I'm going to stop into PRO this week...they personally help you find a shoe based on all sorts of customized criteria, which will be extremely helpful to a beginner! I may ALSO start, oh yes, YET another blog (my third?) devoted to the running as that'll be great motivation.
#63 - Return to NYC or go to Boston
This will be impossible. Originally I had just NYC on the list, but when I found out my friend got into Harvard, I decided to add Boston as that would be more reasonable and likely. Well she's coming home for the summer, so this task is completely out (and better this way because I'll save so much money!) I hate to readjust the entire numbering of this list after all this time, so I'm moving #63 into the Let’s Get Organizized! section and completely changing it to....
#63 - Clean/Re-Org the Entire Apartment
Yowzahs! I've noticed lately, however, that after three plus years of just your basic dusting, vacuuming, and wiping down only obvious surfaces...there is a LOT of gross gross stuff happening in various crevices in that place. And while I'm not planning on moving anytime soon, I think it'd be good to knock off a few hours, or rather weeks, of cleaning...AND packing for that matter...once that happens.
#69 - Donate blood once a season
I've only donated 4 out of 12 times...again, not expensive, mostly a time issue. As in WASTING my time. Wasting my time donating blood that they have to throw away because I can't make it in under 15 minutes. So I'm going to devote 8 hours (one hour for each donation I would've made) of volunteer work. I sort of shudder to think about it though because I have had nothing but bad experiences dealing with the Wisconsin Blood Center personnel. They seem to be incredibly unorganized and their bedside manner is totally less than stellar. So this will be a real challenge I'm guessing. But that's the point of this list, isn't it?
#82 - Increase 401k in ‘09
Some people are saying it would be wise for a young person to add to their 401k now because stocks will be so low and we can afford to be risky. I, however, working in the even RISKIER world of advertising, feel as though I need to plan for the proximate future. So I'm changing this task. I'm putting 1% of my salary into my savings instead. This comes to roughly $25 extra per month. Yes I've missed months Jan and Feb, so I'm going to take a look at my current checking status to see if I can afford the whole $75 (to include March). I should be able to.
#91 - Buy/Learn how to take care of a Bonsai
Alright, so this would be an expensive hobby to get into, and I've already got an expensive hobby happening, particularly when I go into full throttle with this potential Art/Craft show. While I'd love to partake in this hobby one day, something's gotta give. I have absolutely no idea what to replace this one with, however. Particularly something of equal difficulty. I've always wanted to try rock climbing at Turner Hall. Another expensive hobby, but perhaps I could just doing the "Learn-to-Climb" class? I'd be learning something new, like with the Bonsai task.
#97 - Geocache!!!
This was a throw-away as soon as John and I broke up, seeing as he kept the GPS (which is undoubtedly sitting at the bottom of some drawer of his...$100 of mine well spent I say!) In any case, Geocaching requires some level of athletic skill if you really get into the hiking ones, so to couple the new Running Shoes task, I'm going out on a HUGE limb and will use the spring/summer to train for the 8K Al's Run on Oct 10th. Now this is a VERY tall order for someone who has never ran for more than five minutes straight in their lives (no, seriously)...but it's seven months away. That's almost 30 weeks. And if I stick to the aforementioned schedule, I should be able to be very close to running a straight 60 minutes in 20 weeks. I don't know, I have high goals, but you know something? The other day I was asked the question: what's the hardest thing you've accomplished or have yet to accomplish on your list? There are many difficult tasks, ones that have taken time and energy, but nothing next to impossible (says the girl who just replaced a bunch of 'next to impossible' tasks). I mean nothing that truly challenges who I am and could potentially change who I could be! For now, I'm going to try and stick to it. All I can do is try!
I just read that the real marathon starts in the last six miles. I'm in the final quarter of my list now, and I feel that pressure most definitely. It's very much a mental game now of forcing myself to keep at it. This entire list was based on my desire to not only experience life more fully, but more specifically, to become a more organized person. The true test will be these final ~8 months.
16 on-going tasks
6 tasks near completion
17 tasks I still need to start
8 complete re-vamps
Minus the on-going ones, that's 31 tasks I need to complete in the next 7+ months!! And they're all pretty hefty ones at that. I put together a table and a rough schedule, however, and all I need to do is stick with it. And as I mentioned, I found 8 tasks that need revamping...a couple I have to change altogether! Why? Not necessarily because of time, but rather, because of money. I'm not sure if anyone has heard, but the economy is a ginormous dumpster of broken spirits and tattered dreams. So I will have to adjust the list accordingly...
#12 - Participate in 26 things Photograph Project five times
Ok, so I can't blame this one on the economy as photography is relatively free. I have to blame time. Coming up with 26 really great photos to put into a theme is so much harder than it sounds! I'm determined to do something though. I started one, which I could try to finish. In the meantime, however, I'm going to try and come up with an ABCs of Milwaukee by late April.
#46 - Make a total of 50 recipes from cookbooks
Hmmm, ok once again, a time issue (man! I really was hoping the economy would be an easy target!) More of a preference issue?? See, obviously I make four new recipes every month. But I've noticed that I find recipes better suited to me via online sources. I'll try to crack open a book, but in the end I always turn to the internet. One big reason is on sites like allrecipes.com, people comment and make great suggestions on ways to tweak the recipe. I love that! Anyway, I've decided to cut the number from 50 to 25. Right now I'm at 22, and while I could definitely squeeze 28 more recipes into the next 8 months, ALL via book will be annoying. So on that note, to makes things more difficult, the last three recipes will HAVE to be gourmet, with a high level of difficulty. I've been cooking seriously for a couple years now and should be able to attempt them!
#52 - Splurge on an expensive pair of heels/sandals
I have officially decided to take up running. I was super inspired by Mandsi's 5K back in October, and the only thing preventing me since then was the god-awful Wisconsin Winter...which is now coming to an end! I found a really great Beginners schedule which involves a lot of walking interspersed with the running. 10 Week Stage 1 takes you to 44 minutes of near-consistent running, while 10 Week Stage 2 takes you to a consistent full 60 minutes. With determination and various forms of motivation, I could seriously do this! One form of motivation is a nice expensive pair of running shoes! I'm going to stop into PRO this week...they personally help you find a shoe based on all sorts of customized criteria, which will be extremely helpful to a beginner! I may ALSO start, oh yes, YET another blog (my third?) devoted to the running as that'll be great motivation.
#63 - Return to NYC or go to Boston
This will be impossible. Originally I had just NYC on the list, but when I found out my friend got into Harvard, I decided to add Boston as that would be more reasonable and likely. Well she's coming home for the summer, so this task is completely out (and better this way because I'll save so much money!) I hate to readjust the entire numbering of this list after all this time, so I'm moving #63 into the Let’s Get Organizized! section and completely changing it to....
#63 - Clean/Re-Org the Entire Apartment
Yowzahs! I've noticed lately, however, that after three plus years of just your basic dusting, vacuuming, and wiping down only obvious surfaces...there is a LOT of gross gross stuff happening in various crevices in that place. And while I'm not planning on moving anytime soon, I think it'd be good to knock off a few hours, or rather weeks, of cleaning...AND packing for that matter...once that happens.
#69 - Donate blood once a season
I've only donated 4 out of 12 times...again, not expensive, mostly a time issue. As in WASTING my time. Wasting my time donating blood that they have to throw away because I can't make it in under 15 minutes. So I'm going to devote 8 hours (one hour for each donation I would've made) of volunteer work. I sort of shudder to think about it though because I have had nothing but bad experiences dealing with the Wisconsin Blood Center personnel. They seem to be incredibly unorganized and their bedside manner is totally less than stellar. So this will be a real challenge I'm guessing. But that's the point of this list, isn't it?
#82 - Increase 401k in ‘09
Some people are saying it would be wise for a young person to add to their 401k now because stocks will be so low and we can afford to be risky. I, however, working in the even RISKIER world of advertising, feel as though I need to plan for the proximate future. So I'm changing this task. I'm putting 1% of my salary into my savings instead. This comes to roughly $25 extra per month. Yes I've missed months Jan and Feb, so I'm going to take a look at my current checking status to see if I can afford the whole $75 (to include March). I should be able to.
#91 - Buy/Learn how to take care of a Bonsai
Alright, so this would be an expensive hobby to get into, and I've already got an expensive hobby happening, particularly when I go into full throttle with this potential Art/Craft show. While I'd love to partake in this hobby one day, something's gotta give. I have absolutely no idea what to replace this one with, however. Particularly something of equal difficulty. I've always wanted to try rock climbing at Turner Hall. Another expensive hobby, but perhaps I could just doing the "Learn-to-Climb" class? I'd be learning something new, like with the Bonsai task.
#97 - Geocache!!!
This was a throw-away as soon as John and I broke up, seeing as he kept the GPS (which is undoubtedly sitting at the bottom of some drawer of his...$100 of mine well spent I say!) In any case, Geocaching requires some level of athletic skill if you really get into the hiking ones, so to couple the new Running Shoes task, I'm going out on a HUGE limb and will use the spring/summer to train for the 8K Al's Run on Oct 10th. Now this is a VERY tall order for someone who has never ran for more than five minutes straight in their lives (no, seriously)...but it's seven months away. That's almost 30 weeks. And if I stick to the aforementioned schedule, I should be able to be very close to running a straight 60 minutes in 20 weeks. I don't know, I have high goals, but you know something? The other day I was asked the question: what's the hardest thing you've accomplished or have yet to accomplish on your list? There are many difficult tasks, ones that have taken time and energy, but nothing next to impossible (says the girl who just replaced a bunch of 'next to impossible' tasks). I mean nothing that truly challenges who I am and could potentially change who I could be! For now, I'm going to try and stick to it. All I can do is try!
I just read that the real marathon starts in the last six miles. I'm in the final quarter of my list now, and I feel that pressure most definitely. It's very much a mental game now of forcing myself to keep at it. This entire list was based on my desire to not only experience life more fully, but more specifically, to become a more organized person. The true test will be these final ~8 months.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
the end is nigh
The end of winter that is, thank all that is holy! We're heading into one of my fave times of year, that short period of time when you feel very "is it or isn't it" about the season change! There will be an electricity in the air and things really start to happen. I'm looking very much forward to it! Especially because life keeps getting better...I can feel it! Or perhaps it's the Vitamin D pills talking ;)
To get on these updates here...
#2 - My website!!! I've it a bit of a lull at work and so I decided, in my sudden "spare" time, I'd start my portfolio site for the hell of it. Lo and behold, I'm actually getting somewhere! The hardest part has been organizing my work to showcase...so far I've set up my CK print stuff, as well as my freelance logos, but I've got a long way to go. I have to set up my CK web stuff, some photography, including Tazinos, some misc freelance, as well as some examples of my greeting cards/invites.
Anyway, my mom came over today to help me set up the site itself...I purchased a domain and set up the web hosting and all that fun stuff (nearly $100 later yikes). I can't wait to actually finish it...what a trip that will be, it's been such a long time coming. And who do I have to thank? CK for leading me into this web design biz! And who knew I'd like it so much?!! It's sort of like math in HS...it can be frustrating as hell, but exercising those brain muscles can be fun in a sick sick way ;)
#17 - You could say I was a little selfish on the evening of Valentine's Day ;)
#36 - Freaking out that I wouldn't be able to fulfill the Opera task because of scheduling...I think I'm going to be able to see the Florentine Opera's The Magic Flute in April!
#45 - Recipes
2. Broccoli Cashew Slaw
3. Parsnip, Turnip, Carrot Quinoa Soup
4. Butternut Squash Soup
#50 - I totally did NOT get to try my atypical veggie broccoli rabe...I checked the store a couple times and they never had it, so it's probably out of season. So I'll have to do two this month. I really am running out of options, so I think I'll just go in and choose a couple weird things they've got lying around.
#51 - Well I only ended up cheating twice on "no buying anything for myself"...the Ray LaMontagne tix as well as a ticket for Wynton Marsalis at the MSO next Sunday. Both cultural though...and I'm supporting the arts in these harsh economic times, so I don't feel too bad (thanks Monica!)
This month I'm not officially giving anything up since I've already given up both coffee and Facebook (the horror) for Lent!
#64 - I already crossed this off my list, but turns out I'm going to Vegas too! We bought our tickets for Aug 20-23, non stop flight and three day stay at the Flamingo for $360!!! Not. Bad. Atall.
#68 - Yesterday Z and I stopped at Leon's Custard for some delicious sweet treats! I got the Tin Roof (like a peanut buster parfait at DQ) and it was glorious. I could feel the fat coursing through my veins and I didn't care!
#85 - Still working on a ton of stuff for work including a new landing page that I did from home when I had the flu earlier this month!
#87 - I like the sound of the electronic neo "new wave" (big surprise) band Plushgun and also discovered the show Spring Awakening through a friend/coworker. It's Rent and a little Sondheim.
#95 - I'm about to begin How to Meditate by Lawrence LeShan, and like I said last month, should be perfect for Lent.
Perusing this list just now, I'm starting to think I'm really not going to accomplish everything. For example, due to the afore-mentioned harsh economic times, it would be kinda lame to increase my 401k. Sure I'd be saving, and saving is very important in times like these. But I need to save for a more proximate future for the time being. So in that case, I might in fact change that one to reflect this...perhaps throw an extra $20 into the savings account (in addition to the $1/day I already save). Another example...I obviously can't donate my blood 8 times in the next 8 months, so I'm considering changing that task to donating my time instead. Something like 8 hours as a volunteer. In any case, one of these days, I'm going to have to sit down and revamp these types of tasks before it gets too late.
That's all I got! I have a feeling my life is about to get way way busy, so any organizational skills I've gained over the last ~2.5 years really needs to come in handy right about now. Wish me luck!
To get on these updates here...
#2 - My website!!! I've it a bit of a lull at work and so I decided, in my sudden "spare" time, I'd start my portfolio site for the hell of it. Lo and behold, I'm actually getting somewhere! The hardest part has been organizing my work to showcase...so far I've set up my CK print stuff, as well as my freelance logos, but I've got a long way to go. I have to set up my CK web stuff, some photography, including Tazinos, some misc freelance, as well as some examples of my greeting cards/invites.
Anyway, my mom came over today to help me set up the site itself...I purchased a domain and set up the web hosting and all that fun stuff (nearly $100 later yikes). I can't wait to actually finish it...what a trip that will be, it's been such a long time coming. And who do I have to thank? CK for leading me into this web design biz! And who knew I'd like it so much?!! It's sort of like math in HS...it can be frustrating as hell, but exercising those brain muscles can be fun in a sick sick way ;)
#17 - You could say I was a little selfish on the evening of Valentine's Day ;)
#36 - Freaking out that I wouldn't be able to fulfill the Opera task because of scheduling...I think I'm going to be able to see the Florentine Opera's The Magic Flute in April!
#45 - Recipes
2. Broccoli Cashew Slaw
3. Parsnip, Turnip, Carrot Quinoa Soup
4. Butternut Squash Soup
#50 - I totally did NOT get to try my atypical veggie broccoli rabe...I checked the store a couple times and they never had it, so it's probably out of season. So I'll have to do two this month. I really am running out of options, so I think I'll just go in and choose a couple weird things they've got lying around.
#51 - Well I only ended up cheating twice on "no buying anything for myself"...the Ray LaMontagne tix as well as a ticket for Wynton Marsalis at the MSO next Sunday. Both cultural though...and I'm supporting the arts in these harsh economic times, so I don't feel too bad (thanks Monica!)
This month I'm not officially giving anything up since I've already given up both coffee and Facebook (the horror) for Lent!
#64 - I already crossed this off my list, but turns out I'm going to Vegas too! We bought our tickets for Aug 20-23, non stop flight and three day stay at the Flamingo for $360!!! Not. Bad. Atall.
#68 - Yesterday Z and I stopped at Leon's Custard for some delicious sweet treats! I got the Tin Roof (like a peanut buster parfait at DQ) and it was glorious. I could feel the fat coursing through my veins and I didn't care!
#85 - Still working on a ton of stuff for work including a new landing page that I did from home when I had the flu earlier this month!
#87 - I like the sound of the electronic neo "new wave" (big surprise) band Plushgun and also discovered the show Spring Awakening through a friend/coworker. It's Rent and a little Sondheim.
#95 - I'm about to begin How to Meditate by Lawrence LeShan, and like I said last month, should be perfect for Lent.
Perusing this list just now, I'm starting to think I'm really not going to accomplish everything. For example, due to the afore-mentioned harsh economic times, it would be kinda lame to increase my 401k. Sure I'd be saving, and saving is very important in times like these. But I need to save for a more proximate future for the time being. So in that case, I might in fact change that one to reflect this...perhaps throw an extra $20 into the savings account (in addition to the $1/day I already save). Another example...I obviously can't donate my blood 8 times in the next 8 months, so I'm considering changing that task to donating my time instead. Something like 8 hours as a volunteer. In any case, one of these days, I'm going to have to sit down and revamp these types of tasks before it gets too late.
That's all I got! I have a feeling my life is about to get way way busy, so any organizational skills I've gained over the last ~2.5 years really needs to come in handy right about now. Wish me luck!
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