Favorite Things

1.  I have this thing for Elephants.  Big mammals in general ( hippo, rhino, horses) but the elephant is the clear winner.  Why do we all have that one animal that speaks to us?  Any ideas?   We don't go to Target much, but we were there recently and found this:

Now, I already have this one:

But it is an at home mug.  The new one is a take to work mug.  Elephants everywhere!

2. How did I survive 4 years without a dishwasher?  Absolute insanity and I will never do it again.  Ever.

3.  Sticking with appliances, Check out one of Brad's birthday presents:

Soda Stream

Cool right?  So far so good!  Having easy drink variety for every whim is nice.  I also think that with most of the start up cost out of the way it will be cost effective.  As long as we turn in the old Co2 cartridges we will get a replacement at a discount.  Every flavor we have tried so far has been very solid, which has been a relief.  Favorite so far is Root Beer!

4.  Thai Food, specifically curry.  I just discovered a Thai restaurant much closer and much more affordable.  Brad will probably be getting dragged there a lot.

5.Hockey!  SO much better live than on TV.  Probably my favorite sport for the last couple years.  If you have never treated yourself to a game ( and you like contact sports) you should.  It is a lot of fun.

What I Bought at Dollar Tree

I mentioned back in my Christmas wishlist that I had the random urge to bake cake and put cake pans and cake baking accessories on my wish list.  I did not get any of them for Christmas.  This in no way stopped my urge for cake baking.  The end game still being that I am good enough at it by March 2 so I can make my niece her usual request of a chocolate cake with chocolate icing.  The freak.

Cake supply less, I've been scheming about when I will have enough money to buy myself cake pans, carriers and cooling racks.  Then today, I remembered what happened when I got the urge to bake bread.  I went to the Dollar Tree for foil bread pans and ended up finding real bread pans for a dollar.  Off to the Dollar Tree I went, and what do you know.  Cake pans, carriers, and cooling racks.  Nothing that will last a lifetime, but a great way to see if I actually like this and will do it often enough to warrant spending real money on it.

$4 in equipment later, we have lemon cake!

Well, two actually but the second one looked like this.

And then this....

And I was thinking, well, once I stack them, frosting will hide a multitude of sins.

But then I remembered that I live at my house, and we do not keep milk on hand.  Did I mention I decided to start this project at 9 pm?  I decided to wait to make the frosting  after a grocery store trip.  At this point, I still had hopes for a pretty stacked cake tomorrow.  Then my husband wanted some, so I cut the bottom off.  Then I decided to try to flip them and the mangled one fell apart.
 Along with my dream.
The cake and a 1/2 are now in my dollar store carrier ( totally not trusting that handle btw) and I will attempt to make frosting tomorrow.

Now, I wanted to end this post with " and here is a picture of my little baking buddy" and show a current picture of my little dog.  My little, lovable dog.....who hates cameras.  Hilarity ensued.

Caption: If I just keep moving they will never catch me.

Caption: Noooooo I don't like pictures!

Caption: Must escape clutches......

Caption: Why don't they love me anymore?

Caption:  Maybe if I ignore them they will go away.

Thanks to Stefanie for hosting Sunday Snapshot!

Thinking, Feeling 1.10.14

Thinking about:  Ways to break out of the doldrums.  The -30 degree days have really sapped my will to live.

Feeling: Doldrummy.  I am writing a blog post to justify still sitting on my butt and not being an active member of my life.

Watching: Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  I am almost through Season 5 ( Honestly I skipped most of 4, it's a crap season).  If I ever watch Buffy a third time I think it will be a 1-3  and  then 7 kind of viewing. We will see how season 6 is.  Spike is by far my favorite character.   My husband and I go in very predictable directions.  His favorite characters are the every man ( in this case, Xander) and mine are the bad guys.  The sick and twisted bad guys. Also, David Boreanz is much hotter in Bones than he ever was in Buffy.  I might have a thing for older men to.....

Reading:   I am reading a lot right now.  My favorite fiction of the moment is The Ghost Bride 1/2 way through.  My favorite faith reading right is The Circle Maker.  It gets a lot of mixed feedback from the Christian community but it is really helping me.  My favorite concepts right now are "Stop pleading and start praising" and defining Jericho and victory for myself.  Good stuff.

Looking forward to:   Getting the library clean.  I am really looking forward to having my own quiet space.

Making me happy:  Working on my prayer journal design is still making me happy. So is my new dishwasher and a clean kitchen.

What are you up to?

26 Books

In my New Years Resolution post I mentioned that I want to read 26 books this year.  I thought I would share with you the list and their priority.  This list is up for editing and I guarantee changes will be made.  I can't walk into a book store ( or Amazon) without buying a book.  Any new purchase will probably sky rocket to the top of the list.  As long as I hit 26 I am happy.

  Are you asking yourself why I bothered to make a list then?

I have a 4 bedroom house with an office.  One of these rooms is called the library because it is full of books.  There are book on my night stand, books beside my bed, and books in my living room.  I also have a Kindle full of books.

I need some focus, but I also needed to see how many books I wanted to read.  The 26 barely scratches the surface, I was able to create it in 5 minutes.  If I want to read everything I want to read it only makes sense to know what that actually looks like.

Two things about this list:  1. I only put enough of the title to remind myself what book it was and 2. There are only 25 because I am already accounting for some editing.  If you are interested in one of the titles but can't find it based on the information given just let me know and I will fill in the blanks for you.

What do you like to read?

Resolution Check Point

It has not been a week, I know.  Sunday seems like a good day to reflect on the previous weeks progress.

I am only going to cover the things I am actively working on this time around.  I might change it up later.

1. I have been reading 2 of the books on my 26 books list this week.  I haven't finished any but I am on my way.

2.  I have been working really hard on this.   I've been reading my read the bible in a year passages every night along with 2 different devotionals and a book about prayer.  I am also currently working on a design for a prayer / bible study journal.  I am excited about figuring out exactly how I want it.

5.  While I have not officially laid out my clothes I did have a good idea of what I was going to wear every day.  Again, progress even if not perfection.

6.  This has been going very well.  We got a dishwasher for Christmas and we have been keeping the kitchen clean.  We have also been working on the library a little bit everyday and have been making significant progress.  I am hoping to have my study set up in there this week.

10.  I have tracked my calories every day.  It's not pretty but hopefully that comes this week.  And hopefully I don't make brownies.  If you want to be friends on MyFitnessPal I do too!  Leave a comment and let's be accountabiliabuddies.

11. Oh budgeting.  I love spreadsheets.  Actually enforcing the spreadsheet not so much. My husband and I have worked on the household budget.  I am pretty stoked about it and hope we can stick to it.  Now I just need to work on my personal budget.

12.  Eating at home more is also going very well.  Again I credit the dishwasher as I am not constantly doing a cost benefit analysis about having to do the dishes after cooking.

13.  The social media goal is going poorly.  I would say I am down to 2 facebook checks a day and I still consistently check my Feedly.  I am hoping to go facebook free starting Monday.  Stupid habits.

This is also what is in store for my Monday:

With 5 inches of snow.  So, that should be fun.

How go your resolutions?

Rosco

At Christmas, my husband and I took in a dog to foster.  His name is Rosco, and he is adorable.

We were planning on keeping him as long as our current dog, Bella,  was able to handle it.  She was not.  

We had to keep them separated and Rosco wasn't really able to be part of the family.  We were going to give Bella a week to adjust and then we were going to try to find him another home.  Christmas was on Wednesday.  Thursday morning a co-worker called me.  She had been trying to help us find a home for Rosco and she succeeded.  I was really torn about sending him to live with her.  I really liked him, and really wanted it to work out.  

We took him to visit her anyway.  She had made the vet appointment before she even met him.  She told us that she had filled out the paperwork to adopt a dog who looked just like him that Monday, but had never submitted the paperwork.  She is a widow and had been wanting to find a dog for a long time.

It was easier to give him to someone who needed him more than we did.  We decided that sending him to live with her was the best option.  My niece's family had been one of Rosco's many stops before finding his forever home, so I made sure that she had a chance to say goodbye before we took him over.

The lady who adopted him works on the same floor as I do and has been giving me daily updates.  She is in love with him and always thanks for me for bringing him into her life. 

I know he is at the right home, and I know he is going to be very happy there.

But I still miss the little guy.

Thank you to Stefanie for hosting Sunday Snapshot! 

Weekend Breakfast

One of my household jobs is breakfast.  It's usually not very creative or original, but it is usually yummy.  Also cheaper than eating out, which helps with the budget.

Even with making breakfast a lot, I had never broken a yolk upon first crack until today.

If I break them, it's usually not until I ineptly flip them, so I had to take a picture.

I spend a lot of time and mental energy NOT drinking coke.  Also NOT drinking my calories.  Sometimes though, I get really tired of only drinking water and that's usually when this makes an appearance at my house.

It is really delicious.  You should try it.

With the chocolate milk and eggs we also had bagels and thick cut baked bacon.

Brad's breakfast

My Breakfast

Yes, that is picnic ware.  We just got a dishwasher for Christmas so maybe the real plates will start making more of an appearance.  

What do you drink at breakfast?

New Years Eve 2013

We went to the Columbus Fish Market for our annual New Years Eve dinner.  It was amazing.  I am hoping to do a review for it on our restaurant blog soon.

I ordered steak, like always.  Fillet Mignon Med Rare.

The steak was cooked perfectly and was delicious.  I have low expectations for all sea food restaurants and steak but this was perfect.  So were the sides!

I ordered their drink special for the night.  Little bit to much vodka for me but better towards the middle.

(the bread was yummy too)

Brad ordered lobster tails and mashed potatoes. 

I am allergic to shellfish but Brad said it was very good.  You know what I am not allergic to?  Mashed potatoes.  They were SO GOOD.  Next time we go, hopefully soon, I am getting mashed potatoes.

What is New years Eve dinner without dessert?

We ordered the mini shark fin.  It was the perfect end to the meal.  It kind of taste like a drumstick, but better.  If you ever go, you should order it.

I said I want to put this on our restaurant review blog so I am trying to not go into this to much, but I also have to say that the service was perfect.  Constant refills, instant non intrusive plate clearing, and well timed food delivery. 

If you are looking to treat yourself you should give it a try.

After that?  

Sparkling grape juice for everyone!  We have a very quiet night, but it worked for me.

  I also gave blood today.  I am not a good blood donor.  I can donate in 5 minutes, but I take a really long time to recover.  I am trying to decide if the cost is worth the benefits to go again. 

I hope you had a good New Years Eve!

Happy New Year!