the last minute quiche.

I made biscuits and gravy for dinner last night. Sausage from a tube and biscuits from a pop-open can. Yep. I sure did. Does it help that we had organic applesauce as a side? Yeah. I thought so, too.

As I was cooking up the sausage I realized there sure was an awful lot of it. Not to mention, the oven was already on from baking the biscuits. So I decided to multi-task and make myself a crust-less quiche for a few lunches this week.

I put the sausage in the bottom of a casserole, chopped up some mushrooms and spinach, sauteed them until wilted and added it to the sausage. Then I mixed up 4 eggs and about a cup of milk, a little salt and pepper and garlic powder and whatever cheeses I had leftover...some parmesan, some mozzarella and some Feta...and poured it over the sausage and veggies. I baked it at 350 for about 45 minutes and voila...lunch!

As a matter of fact, I had it for lunch today and it was tasty and satisfying.

Wanna make a crust-less quiche for your own dang self? This is the recipe I used for inspiration...and as usual, I didn't follow it exactly. Enjoy!

Sunday morning...

Let us come before him with thanksgiving and 

extol him with music and song.

Psalm 95:2

Always give thanks...no matter the circumstances.

the past few days...

My son came home from school sick on Tuesday. Sick, sick. Fever, headache, body ache, chills, sore throat. Sick.

So the past few days have been full of tissue, soup, medicine, Neti pots, salt water gargles, running home at lunch to make sure he was comfortable and fed (thank goodness he had a little bit of an appetite).

Yesterday he took a turn for the worse so I left work early and we headed to the doctor. And I swear if I wasn't sick before we got there, I probably am now. Ick. Everyone coughing and hacking. I used a LOT of hand sanitizer.

As we figured, the doctor confirmed...the flu. No medication. Unless of course you'd like some Tamiflu. Uh, no thanks. The cons outweigh the pros in my opinion. And after speaking to two out of three doctors and an advice nurse that agreed with me 100%, I felt good about my decision. (One doctor went so far as to say she tried it, once, and will never take it again...it made her even more sick than she already was.)

Instead I made homemade chicken soup full of onions and garlic and turmeric. I ran the humidifier. I bought boxes of popsicles and made tubs of Jello.

We watched DVD's and Demanded TV shows. (Speaking of which, Captain Phillips was excellent. What a good movie.)

Today I'm trying to do laundry with a dryer that won't stay running. (That sure is frustrating.) It's been going on for a long time, and just as we think, "OK, we need to bite the bullet and replace this stupid thing." it starts to run fine again.

Anyway...that's what's happening around these parts. That and airing out sick rooms, spraying handles and knobs down with Lysol and keeping Clorox wipes at the ready.

I hope you are healthy and fine...

xo

take a deep breath.

I read this, literally took a deep breath, and gave myself a restart. 

Wanted to give you a chance to do the same.

xo

I can't plan a weekly menu.

I want to plan weekly meals. I really do. And I have in the past, and I love knowing what's for dinner by simply looking at the sticky note on the fridge and getting items out to defrost accordingly for the next days meals. It makes me happy. And less stressed. And don't get me started if it's a crock pot meal on the docket...knowing what's for dinner and knowing that it's cooking away while I'm at work? Oh yeah...happiness, for sure.

But I have a problem. (A few, really.)

I don't just want to plan meals. I want to plan healthy meals. And I want to plan healthy meals using what I have on hand. And if I don't have it on hand, I want to plan a meal using what's on sale at the grocery store.

And the meal can't just be healthy. If any of you are my Pinterest friends, you may have noticed I was pinning information about "brain foods" and "memory foods". So now as I am thinking of weekly meals I'm thinking of the health benefits of each item on the menu. And if you read enough info and dig deep enough you start learning about what foods to eat with other foods to get the maximum benefits of each item. (But you don't continue reading because at this point you are beginning to get a bit overwhelmed.)

Then you come across a list of the 100 things Dr. Oz wants on your grocery list. And you pin it. And now I think I need to plan our meals by it. And I don't even care for Dr. Oz.

So what started out as me wanting to make my life easier by planning our weekly meals has now morphed into a nightmare of too much information, too much time spent pinning, and after all of that, still no meal plan.

So an hour later, 783 pins later, a fried brain and no weekly menu I'm ready to hop in the car and go through the drive-thru.

Deep breath. And exhale.

So, as is often the case, writing here helps me to work things through. Things as deep as depression and anxiety or as shallow as a simple weekly menu. And the conclusion I've come to is this: I need to start small. Maybe that means I add kale to our salads this week. Then maybe next week I can add in another small change like bringing back our morning smoothies. And rather than thinking I need 700 smoothie recipes, find one that we all like and make that one for a while.

And then, when we are ready for a change, make a change. I don't need to do it all, RIGHT NOW.

So now what?

Well, I think I'm gonna back up and start from the beginning. I'm going to plan balanced meals for the week and add a new thing here or there...like adding kale to our salads. And then I'll go from there.

Do any of you do this? Please tell me I'm not alone.

(Sigh....I have a feeling that this year of being productive is going to be more of a challenge than I realized.)

Sunday afternoon...

Football is on in the background...and I'm actually interested. I'm rooting for the 49'ers as some of you may have guessed. As for the Patriots vs. the Broncos? I'm hoping the Broncos win...I like Peyton Manning.

I planned ahead to make some football food today...7 layer bean dip, chicken wings and spinach dip with french bread. That ought to be a good dinner, don't you think? I love snack dinners. 

Yesterday was spent in a gymnasium watching Ian wrestle. That will be how our Saturdays are spent for the next handful of weeks. It's a long day (and the bleachers aren't the most back friendly), but it's fun...especially once you get to know the teammates and can cheer them on, too.

I have piles and piles of laundry I'm pecking away at today, too. It just multiplies, doesn't it? Thank goodness I have tomorrow off...it will be full of more laundry, changing of bed sheets and taking care of paperwork.

It's sunny and warm here, which is unnerving. No cold. No rain. And we NEED  rain desperately. I'm ready, you know me.

Not much else going on around here...just the usual. Life. 

Are you watching football? Who do you hope wins? 

Wednesday in the Word.

local goodness.

There is an orchard just outside of town that sells peaches in the summer and mandarins in the winter.

Ian and I took a country drive the other day and saw the sign "mandarins". We stopped and bought a 5 pound bag on the honor system. Just place your money in the coffee can and take change if necessary.

We also took some time to chat with the old woman who owns the farm. She came out of the house to remind me to try and stay dry. (It had been drizzling off and on.)

I love driving out to her place...paying for my goods in a coffee can...chatting with the very person who grew my food. It makes me feel good, like I'm doing a tiny thing to make the world a better place. It makes the clementines taste a little sweeter, too.

sometimes you just need a change of scenery.

Every once in a while we'll pile in the car and head to the coast. Yesterday was one of those days. Ian drove us the whole way (and back!).

We ate crackers, enjoyed the scenery and listened to the game along the way.

Our main destination was a little deli that makes really good fish and chips. When we got there we realized they were under new management...which was good in that it was quite a bit cleaner...but not so good in that the new peeps use a different recipe for their fish batter. And while it was tasty, it wasn't as tasty.

After our early dinner we headed down the road a bit more (we usually stop at the deli and go no further) and found some really cool spots...some campgrounds that looked promising, a few more restaurants we'd like to try, and a nice (and cold and windy) little beach that we hiked down to along an iceplant covered  ledge. (Still can't believe I did that! There was a little path carved out, though...so that was helpful.)

We were witness to a most beautiful sunset. Truly, it was amazing. We watched and watched until the sun was officially gone. I snapped photos with my phone (poor neglected camera...) and even made a few little movies. Unfortunately the wind was so loud that it's hard to hear me narrating. (Or maybe that's fortunate :)

Oh, and I also forced the guys to indulge me in a few selfies. I'll share those later. ;)

How was your weekend? Hopefully you did exactly what you needed to do...whether it was laundry and yard work, or getting out of dodge for a little change of scenery.

xo

Sunday morning...

Saturday evening post. (Get it?)

crafty tape...even though I haven't been very crafty.

Where has the day gone?

It's been gray and drizzly today...finally. But what we really need is a good rain. Ian and I went for a country drive this afternoon and all of the hills are an ugly, grayish brown. Usually by this time of year the hills are nice and green.

The other day I bought Chicken Tortilla Soup at Costco...I'd been told it was good. I figured it would be good for work lunches and such. (Or, dinner on a lazy Saturday night?) So that's what we had tonight. And I gotta say...I like my Tortilla Soup better. (And so did Chris.) This is usually the case. We usually like home cooking better than most restaurants...Chinese food being the exception because I can't make it as good as our favorite Chinese place downtown can.

Now we're considering getting a movie. The question is...will we stay awake late enough to watch the whole thing? (Did I tell you I fell asleep at the movies on New Year's Eve? Yeah...The Hobbitt. I couldn't keep my eyes open.)

Oh, Saturday night...you just aren't the same as you used to be.

more work = less blog

My glorious vacation is over...yesterday was my first day back. And it was bu-sy. Today won't be any less. I'm wearing comfortable shoes and drinking plenty of coffee.

Working more means less time to blog. Or maybe it's just less to talk about so I don't blog?

I don't know...whatever it is doesn't matter. Blogging is for fun, it's for me, and to connect with you...not a chore or a duty. So I will go easy on myself in this department and blog when I have something to ramble on about.

I don't have a plan for dinner tonight...think I may swing by Costco for bread, milk and chicken and pick up a roasted chicken while I'm there (that counts as a plan, right?)...add to that some mashed potatoes and an Asian slaw kit (gotta admit, I do appreciate these salad and slaw kits) and I think it would be safe to say, "dinner is served." I'm so lucky my family isn't picky.

Does any of this count as productive? Please say yes...

that one (elusive) word.

Maybe elusive isn't the right word. Maybe the problem with choosing one word for the year is that I am having a hard time committing to just one word...or more accurately, that word.

Maybe it's because, while the one word I am settled on is good, and necessary, there were other words on the chopping block that would be good and necessary in my life, too.

(Maybe my word should be indecisive. Jeez. I can't decide on a creative project. I can't decide on a menu plan. And now I can't decide on a word?)

Oh, I can decide on a word. I did decide on a word. I just don't like the word and therefore have had a hard time committing to it.

Although, the one word I finally did settle on (or that settled on me, dangit) and felt completely sure and confident that it was the exact right word for 2014 encompasses the other words I debated on...consistent, creative, present, mindful. If I live by the word that chose me it seems that all these other things will happen as a by-product. That's the hope, anyway.

All that being said and without further adieu...my word for 2014 is...productive. There. I said it.

If I am productive I will be consistent and creative and present and mindful in the process. Right?

So there it is...on the fourth day of January 2014...my word, finally.

Productive...let's see how I do. I'm off to a bit of a rough start!

around here.

Good morning. My glorious two weeks off is quickly coming to a close...I'm more sad about that than I should be, I think.

Christmas is put away. (except for the few new items I purchased on Clearance....ahem.)

I have been taking my time off very seriously. But today I need to get busy in our room, our poor little room that is quickly beginning to look like an episode of Hoarders. It's bad. So when I get home later this morning from my dentist appointment (boo...not a fan of the dentist), I'm going to get in there and start digging in. It's time. It must be done.

How about you? What are you up to today? Hopefully something more fun than what I'm doing!

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Hello 2014...it's good to see you. 

I must admit, you don't feel a whole lot 

different than 2013...yet.

*wink*