...here I come :o) woohoo! I can't wait to see Marc - I can't wait! I have to pack up my stuff into my little green rolly suitcase, and then I'll be off. Be back Sunday. Enjoy the weekend. When I get back, I have berry coffee cake & squaw bread to share.
Just three more days, Babes!
Also, my dearest treepee, Heather, got a job as a 5th grade teacher today! Woohoo, and she told me I could be Tugger's (her 13 week old puppy) godmother :o). Great job, Sheddy! I am so proud of you, I want to give you the platinum hoe of the garden award!
It was a rather dreary day here, but the rain didn't get in my way! Work was awesome and I went for a run in the rain afterwards. When I got home, I was in need of a good shower, and decided that there was indeed a way to encourage sunshiney feelings - sunless tanner! I don't know what it is, but taking a nice shower/exfoliating/sunless tanning just makes me feel so good about myself. It's amazing, really! Give it a try. I know it sounds kind of crazy, but I love it. This is magic!
This was my pizzalicious dinner featuring flatout bread, butter beans, home-made tomato sauce, garlic, sweet corn, Italian seasoning, pepper jack cheese, and parmesan cheese. Broiled it for about 6 minutes and voila!
I'm a little bit more than half way done with eat pray love, and I'm really liking it. I think I'm going to do some bedtime reading...night!
Exercise:
20 minute run (the loop)
Here's what I was working on today. I decided I would make two table runners instead of a mini-quilt.
And then I put white borders around them. I want to embroider words in white thread on the white cloth, and then quilt/bind. I'll let you know what I come up with. I need to get a new lamp in the living room, so I can work when it's dark out. My old lamp broke a few weeks ago, and I haven't replaced it yet. A trip to Ikea definitely wouldn't be a bad thing.
Exercise:
10 min jog
8 pullups / 15 bench dips / 10 incline pushups / 15 bench dips / 10 incline pushups / 5 pullups
10 min jog
And now my goal is to get to bed before 2230... I've got 28 minutes to get there. Night :o)
I wanted to tell you just a little bit about my Mums. She is very loved by her four children and husband. She is kind and smiley and honest. She cheers me up whenever I speak to her. She's the best cook. She always made our school lunches and had dinner ready when we came home. She is loving. She's really clever. She can knit scarves and make dolls out of paper (and do lots of other things, too). She's really good at learning languages. She makes good jokes and laughs along with ours. After a visit home, she will pack me a meal for the plane ride and hide a note inside telling me that she loves me. She thinks of others first. She volunteers. She sets an example for me in every way and I hope I can be like her. I love you, Mumsy.
My Sunday was great! At church, there were so many babies around me, it was crazy - I loved it! I haven't held a baby in YEARS... and I just want to so much! I love seeing families in church. It kind of fills me with a longing for a family. I guess I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but it is a sight that brings joy to my heart.
I started sewing my patchwork squares into strips, and I'm halfway done. I'm thinking of making it into two table runners, rather than one blanket. We'll see what it becomes. For dinner, I made a shrimp coconut green curry with rice. It was delicious and I can't wait for the leftovers tomorrow. I got the recipe from here. I had bookmarked it last year and had been meaning to try it for a while. I couldn't find any Japanese eggplant, so I went without. I used more garlic, red onion (because that's what I had in the fridge), and about double the green curry paste. I halved the recipe, and it still made a lot. About 4 servings I'd say.
So that was dinner. For dessert? Sockerkaka! I found the recipe in The Home Has a Heart by Thyra Ferre Bjorn. This book is such a treasure (a whole other story about how I got it)... but I feel very lucky to have found it. I bought it in a set at a used book store. It has the following inscription on the inside cover: To the sweetheart of my home, my darling wife Vera - from Harry on Mother's Day 1972. Wow. I forgot that that is what the inscription said... what a coincidence... Mother's day 36 years ago.
And here is the recipe I made (click to see full-size). It's even called Mama's Socker-Kaka!
And the final result!
And right before I had a piece with cold milk :o)!
Do you remember those scraps I had been cutting up all over my table the other day? Well... I have been in the process of cutting them into neat 2.5 inch squares. Here's what I have so far.
I think I'm going to make a little quilt... it won't be very big, so I'm not sure what I'll use it for. I was also thinking about making two doll sized quilts... hmm. I'll think about it and let you know what I come up with! I want to put a white border around it, but I'm undecided on the binding. Here's what I had for dinner tonight. It's the salad I made yesterday. If you make it, be sure to have some strong gum handy afterwards... the combo of garlic & onion will stick to your tongue like glue. I know... lovely thought, right! It's worth it, though!
My 30 day trial version of Adobe Photoshop expired, so I used Picnik for photo editing and resizing today... how does it look? It seems pretty neat - in terms of simple photo editing. You can add borders, and change all of the standard stuff like contrast and color. I'll use it until I make up my mind on what to do (buy now/buy later/don't buy). I'm not in a rush.
Just for the tally.
Sleep last night : 7.5 hrs
Exercise : run 18:17 (up the hill, around, and back down, it felt great!)
Hope your weekend gets off to a great start :o)
I was inspired by Ivonne, and decided to try this recipe for Fava Bean Salad with Roasted-Garlic Vinaigrette. It did not turn out looking too pretty, but it did taste good (except for the too-strong red onions...which I could pick out!). My favorite part was the roasted garlic used in the vinaigrette. All you have to do is cut the top off a garlic head, drizzle olive oil on-top, wrap this in parchment paper, and again in foil, and roast it in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I wouldn't even have minded throwing in another whole head of garlic into the dressing, the garlic comes out so soft and mild.
It reminded me of the garlic Marc and I had at Angellino's in Connecticut after he had surprised me by showing up to cheer me on at a cross country meet. They served their garlic roasted and ready to spread on top of delicious crusty bread. It was a unique and tasty variation of garlic bread.
On a sidenote, last night, I did get to bed before 2300, and I felt great today :o) I was trying to do it again tonight... but seeing as it is already 2300, I might be a few minutes late (but just a small few).
When I wake up tomorrow I will be able to say "I'm going to see Marc in ONE WEEK!" Just one week!
Tonight, my goal is to get 8 hours of sleep and still be able to get up early... that means I have to get to bed soon! I always seem to stay up later than I should (past 11). I want to work on this and form new, better habits. I was amazingly inspired today at church when I heard one amazing priest speak ... and I hope I can bring what I heard into my life.
I'm going to be in bed before 11 tonight! Tomorrow is a new day, a new beginning!
I think I have the sweetest neighbor I could ever ask for. After mass, Vicky stopped by, knocking on my kitchen window with a bag in her hands. She had brought me "small bread" and blackberry jam. The bread was flat like foccacia. She told me to microwave it, cut it in half, and spread it with butter, because that's how she likes it best. The jam was homemade too, with her neat European hand writing in black permanent-marker decorating the top. With milk, it was delicious. I have to have milk with anything sweet or bready, it's most satisfying that way.
Tonight I went mini golfing with three friends. It was a glow-in-the-dark indoor place with a spooky theme. You could buy paper 3-D glasses for an extra dollar, and I went for it. Everything seemed to be popping out of the walls. I came in last place, no surprise there, but I had a lot of fun (and a milkshake afterward!). I'm glad I went!
The quote in the title is from the Cranford series! As recommended by Alicia, I started watching the first episode online. I got through chapter 4, and I'm saving the rest for tomorrow :o) I would really recommend watching them here, you'll laugh and be charmed! Here are some little sketches... I'm trying to come up with animal characters so I can make some softies.
One of my missions for today was to get a new pair of running shoes. I couldn't think of a better day to enjoy the sunshine than to run outside! I've had luck finding shoes at The Nordstrom Rack, so I headed over to try my luck. I love Asics running shoes, so those were the first I looked for...but I couldn't find any. I tried on some NB's and Nike's... and put about five different shoes in a row for me to choose from. I was distracted from shoe shopping when my mom called. It was great talking to her :o) when I got off the phone, I looked in the middle of the aisle, and there was an Asics shoe, my size, lavender details, favorite model (2120). Love it!! Where did it come from? I have no idea, it definitely wasn't there before, but I welcomed the luck. I tried them on, and they just felt right, like always. The run I went on right after I came home, was fantastic.
I've been really into tortellini & homemade sauce lately :o) It doesn't get old for me! I bought some refreshing creamsicle ice cream tonight and shared it with my neighbor, Vicky. Tomorrow I'm going to go to church with her in the morning.... I better get to bed now if I want to wake up when my alarm goes off at 7! Night!
Today seems like it would be the perfect day to go to the beach.
