Sauteed banana (in a small pat of unsalted butter) - made first for the baby, but she just thought it was "ok"
But I thought it was fantastic. So much so that I made sauteed bananas with some blueberries for a snack for ME today! Yummy! It gives the bananas a sweet & savory flavor. Very dessert-like, but without adding sugar. And I used minimal butter too, just a sliver, not even a teaspoon! Oh and I put a little spray of Rediwhip on the top of the fruit... so good!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Thursday Three: This week
1) The "My Panera" card - so fun! You get a free treat for signing up. And a treat for your birthday. It's so fun!
2) Yogaglo.com classes at HOME!
3) My Publix receipt from this week. I think the best savings amount so far in my couponing...
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Wednesday Word: Mystery
And the definition of the word mystery this week is... baby!!
Every time I think I've figured something out, the baby changes the rules. What worked yesterday, doesn't work today, but might work tomorrow. That is the mystery that is a baby. And I don't think that it's ever going to change. I'm just going to be discovering page by page my little wonder - my little mystery. When she can talk, there will be other things to wonder about, beside the basics of eating and sleeping. The mystery will change, but continue!
Every time I think I've figured something out, the baby changes the rules. What worked yesterday, doesn't work today, but might work tomorrow. That is the mystery that is a baby. And I don't think that it's ever going to change. I'm just going to be discovering page by page my little wonder - my little mystery. When she can talk, there will be other things to wonder about, beside the basics of eating and sleeping. The mystery will change, but continue!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tales for Tuesday: Discipline
I have been thinking lately about what I want to do. Running, reading, actually taking time to relax. Hey, everything is starting with an "R" - I also want to do some picture projects and household projects. It's not the desire to do these things - either the fun stuff or the work stuff. It's the WANTING to want to do them. And the other day (actually while running) I figured out what I need - what it is that I actually want. Discipline. The discipline to see something, to make a plan and to DO it. That second step is where I get hung up. I make the plans. Have the ideas of what I want to do and how I want to do it. But the doing... that somehow gets put off or shuffled around and partly done. That is why this year's goals for me are hopefully going to instill some motivation - some action - some actual DOING in my life. I don't know what I'm waiting for. The perfect time? Um, yeah, that will never come. An opportunity. Yeah, not going to come either. I have to make the opportunity. Make priorities and have the discipline to follow through and finish whatever it is that I do.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Making on...Monday: Birthday Cake
I am in the process of making a birthday cake for Daniel. It's one of his favorites and so easy to make. Yellow cake - with ice cream on the top! The cake is in the freezer and waiting for the ice cream layer. And then a good freeze for a birthday surprise!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Thursday Three: Interesting Innnovations
(yeah, it's Saturday, but it's been a crazy week)
1) I have a dowel (thin wooden rod) in the baby's room to "fish" for pacis that have been thrown under the crib (which is flush to the floor in the front). Not sure how she can get them in the dead center of the crib, but now I can just knock them out so that they are retrievable!
2) Lazy susan on the kitchen table - which holds all the feeding needs for the baby. Bowls, spoons, cereal, napkins (for face wiping) and a sippy cup. So no lugging all that stuff to the table eat feeding time. It's just right there at a spinning arms length!
3) Not sure if this is really "innovating" but my bedside table that was in my room growing up, that has followed me into adulthood is now the "landing" table for the baby's diaper bag. I tried a hook in her room, but sometimes I need to get to it when SHE is in the room... napping. Especially at this point in time when it is my purse also. So it is nice for the bag to have its own spot where it lives, outside her room, easy to grab on the way out the door and accessible at all times of the day. And it's not taking up an already purposed surface in our house. And not on the floor where the dog would have a great time digging through it!
1) I have a dowel (thin wooden rod) in the baby's room to "fish" for pacis that have been thrown under the crib (which is flush to the floor in the front). Not sure how she can get them in the dead center of the crib, but now I can just knock them out so that they are retrievable!
2) Lazy susan on the kitchen table - which holds all the feeding needs for the baby. Bowls, spoons, cereal, napkins (for face wiping) and a sippy cup. So no lugging all that stuff to the table eat feeding time. It's just right there at a spinning arms length!
3) Not sure if this is really "innovating" but my bedside table that was in my room growing up, that has followed me into adulthood is now the "landing" table for the baby's diaper bag. I tried a hook in her room, but sometimes I need to get to it when SHE is in the room... napping. Especially at this point in time when it is my purse also. So it is nice for the bag to have its own spot where it lives, outside her room, easy to grab on the way out the door and accessible at all times of the day. And it's not taking up an already purposed surface in our house. And not on the floor where the dog would have a great time digging through it!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Wednesday Wares: Recumbent Bike
So we got a recumbent bike a couple of weeks ago. And I put it mostly together and then Daniel helped when I got to the "two person" portion of assembly. It's smaller than I thought it was going to be, which is good. It fits perfectly in the space where we wanted it to go. Loving the new workout option downstairs!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Tales for Tuesday: My coffee order...
I have a Keurig coffee maker that I really enjoy - it makes one cup at a time. And I order my coffee via the internet. I have been ordering for several years, and the coffee is delivered in about 2-3 days. Recently my normal ordering site went up on prices. So I found another great site, and ordered from them. The first order that I got arrived super fast. In 2-3 days, just like I was used to. So to get even better prices at this new site, I joined their "club." I usually don't do that kind of thing. But I could control when, what and how much shipped. So this was great! But my first "club" order that I placed - on the 19th of January - was quite a fiasco.
It was not shipped FedEx as was my first order with them; it was shipped FedEx Smartpost. This delivery system, while good in theory, is very slow in execution. It transfers from FedEx delivery to your local post office. I know that it is to save money. But it sure does not save time...
After two weeks, and lots of tracking, the notification said that it was at the post office. But a week passed, and it still wasn't delivered. So Daniel called the post office, to maybe see if they could shed some light. The lady was actually really helpful. She said that they only had the billing information. But the tracking info said that they HAD the box. Huh. Again, not so smart, the "Smartpost."
So I contacted the coffee customer service, saying "Hey I didn't get my order. I think it is lost. And please remove me from the club ordering." And after 3 emails to 3 different, but very nice and helpful customer service reps, I got my order yesterday. The REshipped order. They had even offered to ship it via FedEx, with no additional charges to me! I was pretty impressed with their customer service. Especially since they had un-signed me up from the club FIRST.
I was glad to finally get my coffee order, a MONTH later. But when it was delivered, the FedEx guy put it in front of my garage door. He always delivers to the front porch. I have no idea what he was doing with that box. But if I hadn't gone for a run that morning and seen the box, I would have crushed it with my car when I backed out of the garage.
This order was just doomed from the beginning. So much drama for a box of coffee...
It was not shipped FedEx as was my first order with them; it was shipped FedEx Smartpost. This delivery system, while good in theory, is very slow in execution. It transfers from FedEx delivery to your local post office. I know that it is to save money. But it sure does not save time...
After two weeks, and lots of tracking, the notification said that it was at the post office. But a week passed, and it still wasn't delivered. So Daniel called the post office, to maybe see if they could shed some light. The lady was actually really helpful. She said that they only had the billing information. But the tracking info said that they HAD the box. Huh. Again, not so smart, the "Smartpost."
So I contacted the coffee customer service, saying "Hey I didn't get my order. I think it is lost. And please remove me from the club ordering." And after 3 emails to 3 different, but very nice and helpful customer service reps, I got my order yesterday. The REshipped order. They had even offered to ship it via FedEx, with no additional charges to me! I was pretty impressed with their customer service. Especially since they had un-signed me up from the club FIRST.
I was glad to finally get my coffee order, a MONTH later. But when it was delivered, the FedEx guy put it in front of my garage door. He always delivers to the front porch. I have no idea what he was doing with that box. But if I hadn't gone for a run that morning and seen the box, I would have crushed it with my car when I backed out of the garage.
This order was just doomed from the beginning. So much drama for a box of coffee...
Monday, February 14, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thursday Three: Great Day!
1) Baby is NINE months today! I can't believe how big she is! What a joy to have her in our lives!
2) Recumbent bike! Daniel and I got one - I guess sort of for our birthdays. But really we just wanted to have an alternative to the very loud clicking and squeaking elliptical machine. We are slowly building an exercise room downstairs!
3) Wonderful (mostly) surprise lunch with friends! So fun!
2) Recumbent bike! Daniel and I got one - I guess sort of for our birthdays. But really we just wanted to have an alternative to the very loud clicking and squeaking elliptical machine. We are slowly building an exercise room downstairs!
3) Wonderful (mostly) surprise lunch with friends! So fun!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Wednesday Word: Later...again
Later - it's been a "plan" of mine for so long. But rarely does later come. And while you are waiting for later, you lose much of NOW. So later is leaving... NOW (not later). I look forward to living in the now and doing what needs to be done. That means making decisions about stuff - I've got lots to go through. But the time is now! I look forward to tackling all my "laters" very soon!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Tales for Tuesday: The spatula theory
Today I was making baby food and I was scraping out the pureed carrots out of the food processor bowl with a rubber spatula. And I got most of it out, and just rinsed out the bowl. This doesn't sound very earth-shattering. But it was pretty big for me. I didn't take the time to scrape every last drop of food out. I just did it good enough. And when putting each little dollop into the trays for feeding, I just plopped it in there, not even minding that I got some on the edges. I didn't even clean it up. I'm finally getting to the point that doing it "pretty good" is actually great. Trying for everything to be perfect is just exhausting and it will NEVER be that way.
Having a baby in the house is teaching me this new lesson - one that I have needed for a while. And it's great! Doing things just fine is still good enough and saves so much time and stress! Today I was watching a show with Peter Walsh - my favorite organizer - and he was talking to a client. She was striving for perfection, but because she could never get it perfect, she just stopped trying. And everything became LATER. But later never came. Hence the horrible cluttered mess. He told her that if she was looking for perfection, she was never going to find happiness. How true is that. Perfection doesn't exist in this world. But happiness - joy really we can find. Joy in the Lord. Joy for the blessings that He has given us. Joy for each day that comes. This is where the happy is.
I do sometimes like things "just so" but that tendency is getting less and less. More with age, more with joy in my life, more with being a mommy. I am enjoying doing things well, but quickly and NOT perfect.
So many thoughts from that spatula. A utensil made to get every little bit out of a bowl. But it doesn't have to. It can just be a utensil to get the majority - quickly and smoothly!
Having a baby in the house is teaching me this new lesson - one that I have needed for a while. And it's great! Doing things just fine is still good enough and saves so much time and stress! Today I was watching a show with Peter Walsh - my favorite organizer - and he was talking to a client. She was striving for perfection, but because she could never get it perfect, she just stopped trying. And everything became LATER. But later never came. Hence the horrible cluttered mess. He told her that if she was looking for perfection, she was never going to find happiness. How true is that. Perfection doesn't exist in this world. But happiness - joy really we can find. Joy in the Lord. Joy for the blessings that He has given us. Joy for each day that comes. This is where the happy is.
I do sometimes like things "just so" but that tendency is getting less and less. More with age, more with joy in my life, more with being a mommy. I am enjoying doing things well, but quickly and NOT perfect.
So many thoughts from that spatula. A utensil made to get every little bit out of a bowl. But it doesn't have to. It can just be a utensil to get the majority - quickly and smoothly!
Making on... Monday: No more draft
Sunday, I made my annual Superbowl cake!
And Monday, I made this draft blocker for our back door. I had some leftover fabric from some curtains. And a leftover pillow. One that had been sort of destroyed by the dog, but the stuffing was still good! So I made a tube and stuffed it. Now we are much warmer in that corner of the den. Especially baby, since that's where her exersaucer lives!
And Monday, I made this draft blocker for our back door. I had some leftover fabric from some curtains. And a leftover pillow. One that had been sort of destroyed by the dog, but the stuffing was still good! So I made a tube and stuffed it. Now we are much warmer in that corner of the den. Especially baby, since that's where her exersaucer lives!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Thursday Three: Wondering...
1) I wonder if there was research done into the sound of the inclement weather siren, to elevate adrenaline. Because today, even just with the first of the month testing of the siren, my heart was racing. And I knew there wasn't any danger. But it gets my "fight or flight" flighting.
2) Why are things easier but harder on the Mac? Daniel says that they make things simple for the casual user, but in that simplicity, there are so many different files saved that it takes up the hard drive. And if you want to move those files to an external drive, good luck finding them and then getting whatever program to work with the files not on the Mac. (It won't) So ease of use, just don't try to do it your way.
3) Where my coffee order is. Two weeks ago it shipped from Atlanta. And I haven't seen it. And I wonder what customer service is going to do about it? I've contacted them, but they don't seem really psyched about helping...yet.
2) Why are things easier but harder on the Mac? Daniel says that they make things simple for the casual user, but in that simplicity, there are so many different files saved that it takes up the hard drive. And if you want to move those files to an external drive, good luck finding them and then getting whatever program to work with the files not on the Mac. (It won't) So ease of use, just don't try to do it your way.
3) Where my coffee order is. Two weeks ago it shipped from Atlanta. And I haven't seen it. And I wonder what customer service is going to do about it? I've contacted them, but they don't seem really psyched about helping...yet.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Wednesday Wisdom: Thoreau
Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined.
- Henry David Thoreau
- Henry David Thoreau
This is one of my favorite quotes. And I was thinking about it this week...
Peter Walsh, my favorite organizing expert, says that clutter is usually memory clutter or someday clutter. These hold you in the past or pull you to the future. But your life is what you are living RIGHT NOW. So thinking about that, I read this quote again. I do like the fact that this quote encourages to go after your dreams, instead of just sitting around waiting for something to happen. But what struck me was that as you are going in the direction of you dreams, life IS happening. Life is happening now, during the going...
So I want to enjoy every minute of life - achieving the dreams that I have for life, and thoroughly enjoying the road to get there too!
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Tales for Tuesday: Running
So I finally got out on Monday morning with the running stroller. Baby's first time - at least for more than 10 minutes - in the stroller. I ran around our neighborhood. I planned it that way - more likely for me to get up and go (if it didn't involve a car) and if there was a meltdown, it would be easier to get back home. It was the perfect day for it too. Not too hot or cold - and it had rained the night before, so the road was wet and everything still had that "just rained" smell which I love. And between pushing the stroller and watching for traffic (of which there were 2 cars), the time went by so fast. It was so fun - great weather, fun running, and the baby enjoyed it too!
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