Carpool Observations

You know when you've been around a child who constantly complains and no matter what you say to make them feel better, or lighten the mood, or politely attempt to give them an out of the negativity?  No matter what you say that "bright sides" their problem they find a counter argument to why that is actually bad too?  Now translate that to an adult male, a father (I know because I've seen him drop his kids off at the bus) and you have the guy who rode in the same carpool as me this morning.

Taking it a bit nicer, it's very clear that he's having a very hard time at work and my heart goes out to him.  I've been there and it is awful.  However, we are two complete strangers and when you tell us all the horrible things you have to do today and the driver politely says the socially appropriate thing to make you feel a little bit better, it is awkward at best for you to repeatedly point out that, no, that is in fact awful too.

My hope is that you get that out with strangers and do not teach your children to be debbie downer whiners...I truly hope his day goes better than he's clearly expecting it to.

Thanksgiving Dinner Contribution

My mason jar holder is currently on hold - I got through almost the whole project, however the last step is only hold. Due to the way that I attached the plumbing clamps the jars don't get cinched in tight enough to actually hold in.  A gentle shake sent two loose.  Some more tinkering to come...

This year each of us are bringing a dish to Thanksgiving dinner - this is new for us and given our collective cooking experience good go really wrong or really right, so fingers crossed.  I am making a gluten free Spicy Cheesy Bread Stuffing.  I found this recipe through Pinterest (where else?). 

Last night after work I braved the crowds at the grocery store.  Side note about myself I very much dislike grocery shopping in general and avoid holiday related grocery shopping whenever possible.  Though this was unavoidable so I bit the bullet and went in, shopping list in hand.  Happy to report it was not nearly as dreadful as I had envisioned.

I did spend a bit of time trying to find the almond flour necessary for the recipe and enlisted the help of a, somewhat attractive, store employee (always look for the cute ones when you have a question - it may take longer but, in my opinion, worth it).  My question led to a short, somewhat flirty, discussion about the gluten free craze sweeping California, if not the nation.  I shared my humble opinion that I think the general extremism is crazy and that the trend to raise your children gluten free seems like a bunch of crap.  

I believe in whole grains and steering clear of super processed foods as a general rule to but as with all things, truthfully believe in moderation.  I am making a gluten-free dish because my dad actually has Celiac and I want him to enjoy the stuffing too - assuming this turns out enjoyable. With a smile from the flirting and ingredients in hand I leave the store and head where any responsible person who is making a dish for her family's Thanksgiving meal would.  To her best friend's house to watch Secret Princes.

Small tangent, this show is hilarious and you should absolutely watch it!

After getting sucked into 4 episodes I went home and unloaded the groceries.  Hit by a sudden burst of inspiration I baked the first part of the recipe, the skillet "bread" that needs to be made a day ahead for the final stuffing dish.  Yay responsibility! Actually looks pretty good, and tastes almost as good if I do say so myself!

UPDATE: This stuffing turned out delicious!  I didn't read all the way through the recipe (story of my life) so I didn't actually bake and dry out the skillet bread two days before but even with that snafu this was definitely an excellent contribution to the meal.

Gonna try to make this

On to the next project!  Gonna try to make this Pinterest project:

I got some scrap wood from my mom recently and love, like everyone else, the mason jar look.

Off to home depot to get the rest of the supplies I need.

I'll keep you posted!

Sunday morning

I'd like to say that this post is about how prepared I am for the week and that I purposefully spent my morning preparing healthy meals for my week.  While the results are nearly the same this is not what happened.

What did happen is that last week through a combination of good intentions and excitement at a farmers market I purchase several healthy options for food for my week.  Last week I made some great ground turkey dishes, including turkey meatloaf muffins - perfect for a quick meal - and an egg frittata.  Leaving to sit in my kitchen, awaiting preparation, a large spaghetti squash, a head of cauliflower, some small (adorable) zucchini from a farmers market, and some purple tomatillos and a pepper.  There they sat all week, through my late nights where the most I could manage each night was to get my contacts out of my eyes before crawling gratefully into my flannel sheets.

So this morning when I was contemplating what to make for breakfast and realized I was nearly out of everything except the items listed above and that some of them were bordering on turning bad I decided to make them all.  So you see the spoils of my morning are in fact a result of procrastination and failing to prepare but in spite of this I still have meals for my week!  Take that adulthood!

Homemade Salsa - I used a Rick Bayless recipe and while I still love Herdez Verde because of the vinegar kick this is pretty delicious and more satisfying as it is made by yours truly.









Spaghetti Squash - I roasted the large spaghetti squash that has been staring at me from my counter top all week.  I still have a large tupperware full of the strings to make some different iterations all week but this morning I sauteed the zucchini, olive oil, garlic, pepperoncinis, and some marinara sauce.  When ready I poured it over about 2-3 cups of the squash, about a 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and stirred.






Roasted Cauliflower - I found this recipe online.  I have a deep love of anything with a vinegar slant of lemon juice, for me it cuts through oil and is just a flavor I love.  I used this recipe online.  I chopped mine up a little more than suggested in the recipe and used some of my lemons from my prolific lemon tree in my backyard.  This is delicious and I'm restraining myself from popping it into my mouth and finishing it all before the week starts.


I have to say that I'm pretty impressed with myself and feeling pretty smug - you know maturing and all - and can't help but feel that my former roommate, an incredible cook who definitely made the most of our meals when we lived together would be proud.  She's even has her own blog where she shares some of her delicious concoctions - The Lazy Wife.

Christmastime!

My lovely dear coworker was playing Christmas music the other day!  I usually try to refrain until at least the day immediately following Thanksgiving but considering the late nights and stress our office has been under I couldn't begrudge her this indulgence nor maintain the willpower to fight it.  It's Christmastime! It's so exciting it should just be one word.  The tree lots are being set up and my family and I are planning to rekindle an old family tradition and go cut down trees this year and I can't wait.

This will be my third Christmas in my house and each year I get a little better at decorating and making it feel like the holidays even though most of my holiday time is spent over at the parents house wit the siblings, cousins and grandma.  So since, the music has begun I clearly spent some time diving down the Pinterest rabbit hole to get some ideas for my front porch and mantle for the holidays.  Here's my current frontrunner, but check out the Curls Curves, and Sass Pinterest Board for lots of thoughts - ranging from super ambitious to I already have everything to do that.

Jingle bells, jingle bells....

Observations

That sad moment when right after you catch the eye of a cute guy, you catch the glint of his wedding ring. 

Hooray!

The makeup I totally splurged on during the makeover event came in the mail yesterday.  Hooray!  That is all for now.

WW CheckIn

So while the makeover experience was great I have to say there were a few parts of it that ended with me feeling a bit less good about myself than when I walked in there.  I'm working through it and generally am never down on myself for long so fear not! However, it did make me even more committed to really working at Weight Watchers online and seeing if this is something I can add into my life and have work.

I must admit that last week was not an amazing week for me in terms of diet and exercise.  Partially as a direct result of the time the hair and color took. As a result when I weighed in this morning I was not expecting much, thinking maybe 1lb ish because while my activity was low I did stay within my points goals for almost everyday and did not go through my weekly allowance on the few days I went extra.  I was more than pleasantly surprised to see another 1.3 lbs down, bringing my total for two weeks to 5.8 lbs lost.

It's encouraging to know that even with medium weeks in terms of focus that changes are being made - makes it all feel doable in the long term.  I know it's still early but I'm working towards another hair cut!

Craft day!

My friend and I spent all day Saturday, sewing, mending, attempting Pinterest projects, and generally feeling pretty self-congratulatory.

The one Pinterest project I tried does appear, at this point, to be a bit of a fail but I'll definitely keep you posted on the final outcome.  I attempted to make Christmas trees from twine, but at this point they are not pulling nicely off the cone forms. Final outcome TBD.

In other news I did complete another project off the list which was to complete some school colors scarves for my friend the high school teacher.  I originally was just making one for her but then realized I bought an excessive amount of yarn in her school colors so she ended up with 4 scarves total.  I suggested she use the extra three to bribe good behavior out of her students but I think she may instead give them to her fellow teachers.

Another project down!

How Do I Look?

I don't love the pictures I got but I do absolutely love the color and the whole experience!  Very happy. As a recap, here is the before during and after (with makeup still on from the event).

   

The salon and the people who did my color and cut were amazing.  While I'm pretty sure that they're out of my normal price range, I cannot more highly recommend Rosa and Tyress from J. Roland Salon in San Francisco - they are amazing!

There was also another surprise that I had no idea was coming.  Roland, the owner, offered me the $ amount off of my follow up haircuts as I continued on with Weight Watchers.  This was a WW event, even though I'm not part of the group that was hosting it (no one from the group wanted full makeovers).  Which is amazing and I do want to take them up on it as I continue to work on getting healthier (though I have to say it's been a rough week for that).  I'll be sure to keep you posted.

Don't worry I still want to be a fabulous thick chick, but I could definitely stand to be less thick.  Maybe one of these days I'll get the balls to put up a real, full before pic and work towards an awesome after...maybe.

Halfway through

Must say. I'm glad I'm not bald and that I trust the quality of this salon because the orange would be worrisome if not!

Another project....?

I'm tempted to add this to my list of projects though I'm not totally convinced it counts because it wasn't necessarily something I've been wanting to do so much as an opportunity that dropped in my lap.

A coworker of mine is hosting a joint event with a salon and couldn't find people willing to get a makeover.  I said "why the hell not?"  My hair grows back, color will grow out, and if its horrible I can adjust it right away and it's all free.

The first step is a consultation tomorrow where we figure out what they are going to do, and then tomorrow after work we go to it.  On Thursday there is the "reveal" event.  I feel a bit like I'm getting sneak attacked into a How Do I Look situation - though meeting Jeannie Mai might be enough to get over the insult, or a What Not To Wear which without question I would get over the secret filming and friend betrayal to hang out with Stacey and Clinton.

Truthfully, I like to believe that I wouldn't actually qualify for either of these shows but I am pretty sure that the respective hosts might be horrified by some items that still remain in my closet (for costumes? yeah, definitely, for "costumes").  It also feels like perfect timing so I'm committed to jumping in wholeheartedly.  I've been working to let go of a couple of things recently and what better way to shake things up with a new look (a free new look)?

Some reservations: my hair is the longest I've had it probably ever, but it grows; I don't want to look marm-ish, old-lady ish, has to be minimal work each day - I am not a get up and do my hair kind of gal...

So wish me luck.  Here is a before pic to give you an idea of the mass amount of hair they will be working with...

OkStupid

I, like so many others, wade through the murky waters of OkCupid.  Generally it's fine, it takes some going over with a fine tooth comb to find people worth meeting, but recently I've become confused.

How can OkCupid think I would have a 92% match rate with a 21 year old??  Seriously?  I realize that I'm still relatively young at 30 but to think that I would have enough in common with a 21 year old at this point without feeling like a babysitter or a premature cougar blows my mind.

I am seriously questioning their algorithm...

A Lady of Leisure

While in the grand scheme of things not incredibly far from the truth - I feel pretty lucky most of the time.  I've been feeling the need for pampering so following the theory of "Go big or go home" I have booked my self an overpriced massage at a gorgeous hotel spa near me.  I fully intend to go early with my kindle and take full advantage of all of the lovely, soft lit amenities that are included.

I'm ready for this to be me...

What is Smith College

Guy Radar (Guydar), You're Killing Me Smalls

Most women I talk to agree that this is a near universal phenomenon.  That guy, or even several, who really should be out of your life but for whatever reason isn't completely has impeccably annoying, awful, tragic, frustrating, (insert adjective of choice here), timing.

Maybe you're working hard to limit your Crazy Girl time and actually move on in your life and feel like you've gone a decent amount of time (this is a relative measurement) not thinking about, wondering about, or mildly obsessing about said guy when BAM! he contacts you.

It's never when you need/want them to contact you it's only when you finally feel like you might be ok if they don't ever contact you again, like you might make it through to the other side and mean it when you say "I'm over it".

Fuck guydar! Ugh deja vu as I'm pretty sure I wrote a very similar post the last time guydar struck...

Yet another reason to keep on keeping on with the RVT 2013 (still in full celibate swing by the way) and work for better.

Bedside Tables

This project was inspired by the many many Pinterest projects I found that took an old suitcase and turned it into a side table or an end table. There are countless iterations of this project and I'm not convinced that I approached this in the easiest of ways but I'm still happy with it in the end.

I eventually found my suitcase on ebay and used the pre-fab table legs from Home Depot.  I overestimated how high I wanted the table originally and so sawed them shorter.  In the end I used the other pieces on my coffee table that was shown in an earlier post.

I don't have pictures of the inside but on the inside for stability I used a piece of left over masonite that the legs will attach into and reinforcing the bottom of the suitcase. Then, using 4 table top leg plates, attached my 4 legs.  I was still in experimental mode or I would have painted them first but I wasn't sure so I ended up getting them attached and painting them afterwards - no worse for the wear.

I'm pretty happy with the end result though think there may be an easier way to build the second one for the other side (if I ever do)

Projects Update!

It has been a while but it doesn't mean I've forgotten this goal.  I've been working on a few items from the list and even incorporated one into the latest Coursera design course I'm taking.

I'm going to add in the updates, below.  This will include the updates from before and the most recent...

1. Bedroom Makeover: At this point my bedroom still looks like a slightly grown up college dorm room, even though it is attached to a house I own! UPDATE:  I've been in touch with a local artist who works in reclaimed lumber and I'm commissioning a bed!  Going over to his studio this weekend to finalize the design details and then we're moving forward.  Thanks friends for this referral!  DONE!  I have been comfortably sleeping on my new bed for a month or two now.  I'm so happy with the final product.  I'll be sure to get a post up about this soon and link to the artist.  He does some great work!
2. Color in the Kitchen: The kitchen is full of beige, I am not a beige person! Or if I have become one I no longer want to be one!
3. Build 4 x 4 workbench:  As seen at an artist studio at American Steel Studios.  Forgot about this one, need to see about supplies
4. Build nightstands I'm counting this one as DONE too.  I actually just finished up this project yesterday.  I'm being vague because I've actually only completed one nightstand but I'm pretty happy with it.  I also think that it has spurred another project that I've added to the bottom of the list.
5. Run a race.  Getting there.  I've agreed to sign up and train for a race with my coworker.  I've agreed but haven't done anything yet :-/
6. Front yard makeover: Want to replace lawn with native plants and drought resistant plants, tired of seeing brown grass.  I did mow it the other day, which felt like an accomplishment.
7. Back yard makeover: Add fruit trees, cut out some lawn for "crops", create succulent planter
8. Complete one new woodblock
9. Take an art class
10. Make a "pouf": Here's one project but maybe search because I know there were a couple that did it on the cheap using IKEA rugs I think. UPDATE:  I made an IKEA run and the rugs referenced in this pattern are no longer there, or weren't that day.  Thinking I can probably find a substitute though.
11. Sew a complete item of clothing (more complicated than a skirt though) using a pattern. DONE. I made a fairly hideous pair of kulots/gaucho pants for our Troop Beverly Hills Halloween costume this year.  While it was not a true pattern, I did use a pair of pants I already have to create this pair and had to make some sizing adjustments and amendments as I went.  Let's just say I'm not destined for Project Runway anytime soon. 
12. Design and get a tattoo: TGT tattoo or other UPDATE:  I've pinned some ideas to the Pinterest Board and I'm trying to pin down the girls on when we might do this.  P.s. TGT is what we've named our friend group - yup, we named ourselves.
13. Make Christmas presents for my neighbors: Starting pinning mason jar gifts.  Just a nice thought and I like the idea of remaining close with the neighborhood.
14. Build and paint a bean bag toss game: A family friend requested this game and while I'm not totally convinced that my construction skills are up to it I found a youtube telling me how and pinned it. I'm going to take some time this weekend to go and get the supplies and give it a go. Note: As I'm writing this I realize I'm referencing a lot of pins so I created a Pinterest board for this blog in case anyone wants to see them all in one place.  UPDATE: I've made a shopping list and purchased some of the supplies for this.  Found the plans.  Then life got in the way, trying to make time for this again.  Ack, still behind on this, fail.
15. Sew baby blanket:  My good friend just had a baby and I want to send her a homemade baby blanket and one of my onesies from my etsy shop RadBaby.  DONE! See the post about making the blanket.  I recently got a photo back from my friend with her one month old swaddled up in it - baby adorablness.
16. Add a new item for sale to RadBaby: Speaking of, this shop needs some new energy in it and I think a new product.  I'm working right now to keep it active and may do a sale to clear out some stock and then work to figure out another item to put up for sale.  I've gotten the suggestion of button earrings which could be cute especially using scrap fabric from our aprons.  DONE!  See the post about the new earrings we added.
17. Complete a Coursera course:  I have signed up for Dino 101 and Intro to Computational Design (starting today!).  However my real project is to actually complete a course.  I took two others previously that I really enjoyed but I let life get in the way and didn't complete them.  UPDATE: Haven't completed either course yet, but still on the right track and not too far behind in either of them. It's still early yet though. DONE I completed all the lectures and assignments for Dino 101 - it was awesome.  I have given up on the Intro to Computational Design.  I enjoyed the first two modules, programming and photoshop, but the third is audio which does not interest me.
18. Create a housewarming gift for friends that are moving. DONE!  I created a great housewarming gift in a mason jar for my best friend's brother and his girlfriend.  It took me forever to give to them but that is not part of this project so there.
19. Add shelves and/or decor to the bathroom.
20. Go to Zumba classes 2 times a week for at least a month. DONE!  Successfully accomplished and still going.  With the exception of some sick days we have been consistently going every week and plan to keep at it. It's a great break and separation from the day.  Plus an amazing instructor, which makes all the difference.
21. Attach a charging pad in the new nightstand so that phone can charge just sitting on the nightstand.  I've seen this project online and thought this would work really well in my new suitcase nightstand.  Just need to research how much one of those costs and if I want to splurge.
22. Build an acoustic speaker for iphones. DONE!  I actually built two, and gave one to Meg for her birthday.  I'm using this idea as a prototype for the next Coursera class I'm taking (Design) and am hoping to refine the design even more.  

Wow!  Finaly tally isn't looking so bad.  We're 5 months into my 30th year and I've come up with 22 of the 30 projects and completed 9 of those 22.  I was feeling like I'd been slacking but writing it down made me feel more accomplished.

Jumpstart

The seasons have definitely turned and while I enjoyed the extra hour of sleep I'm not looking forward to the dark rides home from the office.  It really cuts into my motivation to get out of the house in the evening.  The dark equals bed time in my brain.

So I decided as I go into the holiday seasons and the darkness I need a jumpstart getting back on track with my food and tracking etc.  Going with the theory that one is more committed if you pay for it I decided to try out Weight Watchers online.

I did WW years ago but hated going to the meetings, so I'm hoping this is a good substitute for me.  I don't love calorie counting and kind of just need a structure to get me going through the holidays.

Going to keep on the cardio from the trainer and I'll keep you posted.