Do you ever set little challenges for yourself? Small goals that you don't tell anyone about ? I'm absolutely confident that all the experts out there who encourage us to buddy up to achieve are totally spot on. But I'm a rebel and I say no, thank you. I like to have secret to do lists that are mine and mine alone. Insignificant milestones that I celebrate as a party of one. I'm sure that's probably in part so I don't have to answer to anyone when the box goes unchecked or feel embarrassed because someone feels like I'm aiming too low. Or maybe, just maybe, it's because it's not really any of their business in the first place. Sometimes I do verbalize these aspirations. But it's almost always as an aside. Or it's a part of a very public New Year resolution kind of thing.
Sunday night I decided that for the next week I wasn't going to spend any money at work. No morning latte break. No buying lunch from the cafeteria. Nada. I haven't even been putting my credit card on my person! And it's been good. I've been making coffee before I leave for work each morning (advantage: less money spent and the benefit of both organic coffee and milk). I've been bringing something for lunch each day, usually several small things like Greek yogurt or fruit and almonds (advantage: ditto on the less money spent/organic thing and the added YAY of lots of mini-metabolism boosters). I'm feeling good about my self. And apparently ultra confident about completely this goal, otherwise probably wouldn't be putting it down in black and white:) Hoping to slowly start making my way towards a healthier amy this summer!
Of course, I have a couple of other things I'm working on that I'm keeping on the down low for now. See that? Rebel.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
finally and officially
The husband and I have now been officially wed for almost six weeks. A few days ago I took the necessary steps to ditch the Haller from my name - maybe a tiny bit sad but once a Haller girl, really always a Haller girl:) It's my first time off from work since the honeymoon and wow, have I been once busy chick. I'd been blaming all the wedding hoopla as my one and only time suck. But turns out that there are all kinds of things out there stealing my hours!
Regardless, I promised myself that as life slowed down post nuptials I would get back to my biscuit head blogging. So here I am:
Yesterday I made the most delicious orzo with roasted vegetables and feta. I used a similar recipe from Ina Garten as a jumping off point. My new extended family - yay! - makes it frequently and it's ridiculously good. Our last week's veggie co-op haul included a beautiful eggplant as well as a few zucchinis and a summer squash. Once roasted with a little Greek olive oil, salt, and pepper I added the vegetables to a bunch of cooked orzo and a quick dressing consisting of more of the Greek olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. After cooling to room temperature, I combined it all with some wonderfully salty feta cheese and perfectly toasted pine nuts. Yep. Awesomeness.
I'm not always as inspired by the produce we end up with. There frequently seems to be more than our fair share of kale. Gotta say, not a fan. I think the family thinks it's funny to stick me with the greens they know I'll allow to rot away in my refrigerator. This past week was no exception. Two big (could I say ugly or would that just sound petty?) bunches of the stuff. But that Clayton of mine was not even close to intimidated. He decided the best way to handle this particular bounty was to juice it. It probably won't surprise you to learn that I am still not a fan. But I, being the thoughtful new daughter and sister in law that I am, have frozen his efforts in order to share with said family at our next Sunday night dinner. Nice, right? Much more on our adventures into juicing to come!
The haul also included several Kirby cucumbers that should be perfect for pickling. They are sliced and salted and being cooled - I don't know why exactly but I am, if nothing else, a dutiful follower of new recipes - in the fridge as I type. And now it's nearly time for phase 2 which has something to do with making a brine. Aren't I just the most fun?
P.S. I have joined Pinterest and am now struggling with addiction.
P.P.S. I've missed this:)
Regardless, I promised myself that as life slowed down post nuptials I would get back to my biscuit head blogging. So here I am:
Yesterday I made the most delicious orzo with roasted vegetables and feta. I used a similar recipe from Ina Garten as a jumping off point. My new extended family - yay! - makes it frequently and it's ridiculously good. Our last week's veggie co-op haul included a beautiful eggplant as well as a few zucchinis and a summer squash. Once roasted with a little Greek olive oil, salt, and pepper I added the vegetables to a bunch of cooked orzo and a quick dressing consisting of more of the Greek olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. After cooling to room temperature, I combined it all with some wonderfully salty feta cheese and perfectly toasted pine nuts. Yep. Awesomeness.
I'm not always as inspired by the produce we end up with. There frequently seems to be more than our fair share of kale. Gotta say, not a fan. I think the family thinks it's funny to stick me with the greens they know I'll allow to rot away in my refrigerator. This past week was no exception. Two big (could I say ugly or would that just sound petty?) bunches of the stuff. But that Clayton of mine was not even close to intimidated. He decided the best way to handle this particular bounty was to juice it. It probably won't surprise you to learn that I am still not a fan. But I, being the thoughtful new daughter and sister in law that I am, have frozen his efforts in order to share with said family at our next Sunday night dinner. Nice, right? Much more on our adventures into juicing to come!
The haul also included several Kirby cucumbers that should be perfect for pickling. They are sliced and salted and being cooled - I don't know why exactly but I am, if nothing else, a dutiful follower of new recipes - in the fridge as I type. And now it's nearly time for phase 2 which has something to do with making a brine. Aren't I just the most fun?
P.S. I have joined Pinterest and am now struggling with addiction.
P.P.S. I've missed this:)
Thursday, April 19, 2012
needed this
from the middle niece (age 5):
dear amy
are you ready for the weding thars only
12345678 mor day in tel the weding! it sems like
123 mor day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
make it home saf
And, yes. So ready:)
Monday, February 27, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
big girls don't cry?
Uh, yeah.
I just completely broke down this morning in my kitchen. I mean, com-plete-ly lost it. Tears. The shoulder shaking kind. The followed by a killer headache kind. The surely-someone-must-have-died kind. And all because of this wedding insanity I've got going on around here.
I do realize that a good portion of it is self imposed stressing. I get that I don't have to make homemade whole-grain honey mustard as thank you gifts for the dinner party the boy's parents' friends are throwing in our honor this Saturday night. And I'm sure my bridesmaids wouldn't be mad if I didn't make their herbal tea hostess presents from scratch for my upcoming bachelorette party weekend. Just like I know my family will appreciate whatever token I give them in April come wedding time, hand crafted or not. But those are the things I'm actually enjoying!! And that's what is so hard to explain to people as they see me edging up to that line just south of crazy. The stuff that could be cut out is the stuff that's most important to me.
It made me so freakin' happy to track down yellow and brown mustard seeds in bulk the other day. I had a ball reading about the potential effects of lemon balm and rose hip for use in a calming/sleepy time tea. And I want to spend the time required to make something for my family that might have some small chance of telling them just how much I love and value each of one them. It's all the other stuff that I want to be able to just snap my fingers and have them magically crossed off my to do list!
No one stepped up last post to help me figure out the whole cloning thing. How about magic? The Harry Potter variety. Anybody? No?
*big sigh*
No worries. I'll just add it to that infamous list of mine;)
I just completely broke down this morning in my kitchen. I mean, com-plete-ly lost it. Tears. The shoulder shaking kind. The followed by a killer headache kind. The surely-someone-must-have-died kind. And all because of this wedding insanity I've got going on around here.
I do realize that a good portion of it is self imposed stressing. I get that I don't have to make homemade whole-grain honey mustard as thank you gifts for the dinner party the boy's parents' friends are throwing in our honor this Saturday night. And I'm sure my bridesmaids wouldn't be mad if I didn't make their herbal tea hostess presents from scratch for my upcoming bachelorette party weekend. Just like I know my family will appreciate whatever token I give them in April come wedding time, hand crafted or not. But those are the things I'm actually enjoying!! And that's what is so hard to explain to people as they see me edging up to that line just south of crazy. The stuff that could be cut out is the stuff that's most important to me.
It made me so freakin' happy to track down yellow and brown mustard seeds in bulk the other day. I had a ball reading about the potential effects of lemon balm and rose hip for use in a calming/sleepy time tea. And I want to spend the time required to make something for my family that might have some small chance of telling them just how much I love and value each of one them. It's all the other stuff that I want to be able to just snap my fingers and have them magically crossed off my to do list!
No one stepped up last post to help me figure out the whole cloning thing. How about magic? The Harry Potter variety. Anybody? No?
*big sigh*
No worries. I'll just add it to that infamous list of mine;)
Saturday, January 14, 2012
driving the 105
I know it's been a ridiculously long time since I last put a little piece of myself on the blogosphere. Many reasons. A little chaotic around here! My days are filled with work and family. Friends and day to day life. The boy. Lots of time attributed to the boy:) A while back he let me in on a little secret. He actually kind of hates it when I inform the world of his sweetness. So while his blog worthy sweetness has marched tirelessly on, I've been mums the word! And have thus lost a lot of biscuit head fodder.
But the absolute biggest time suck in my life lately? Planning our I'm-sure-it's-going-to be-amazingly-beautiful-but-I-actually-kind-of-hate-it-right-now wedding.
Seriously. I'm so over this wedding.
Not over the occasion of our marriage. Not over becoming Mrs Boy. Not over the promise of our future family and dreams of our life together. I'm extremely excited about all of those things and can't wait for it to be official!
I'm just WAY past being over the planning of this mother f*#king wedding.
See? That's how done with this process I am! Now I sound like a bad Samuel L impersonator.
Ok. To be fair - why do I feel compelled to be fair? - I've enjoyed a lot of the getting married process. The daydreaming up of ideas. Choosing my wedding dress with my sisters. Coming up with thoughtful, often homemade, gifts for our family and members of our wedding party. Searching through antique stores for the vintage treasures that I want to incorporate in our reception decor. My engagement ring. I'm really, really enjoying my engagement ring:)
But I hate the hounding I have to do. Hounding Missouri vendors long distance about a wedding that they see as way in the future but I see as just around the corner. Hounding family about little details or bits of information I need from them. Hounding the boy. About anything. About everything.
You know what I wish? I wish I had a wedding planner/personal assistant. But not just any wedding planner/personal assistant. I wish I could clone myself. Then I would hire my cloned self to be my ultimate personal wedding planning assistant.
Yes.
But the absolute biggest time suck in my life lately? Planning our I'm-sure-it's-going-to be-amazingly-beautiful-but-I-actually-kind-of-hate-it-right-now wedding.
Seriously. I'm so over this wedding.
Not over the occasion of our marriage. Not over becoming Mrs Boy. Not over the promise of our future family and dreams of our life together. I'm extremely excited about all of those things and can't wait for it to be official!
I'm just WAY past being over the planning of this mother f*#king wedding.
See? That's how done with this process I am! Now I sound like a bad Samuel L impersonator.
Ok. To be fair - why do I feel compelled to be fair? - I've enjoyed a lot of the getting married process. The daydreaming up of ideas. Choosing my wedding dress with my sisters. Coming up with thoughtful, often homemade, gifts for our family and members of our wedding party. Searching through antique stores for the vintage treasures that I want to incorporate in our reception decor. My engagement ring. I'm really, really enjoying my engagement ring:)
But I hate the hounding I have to do. Hounding Missouri vendors long distance about a wedding that they see as way in the future but I see as just around the corner. Hounding family about little details or bits of information I need from them. Hounding the boy. About anything. About everything.
You know what I wish? I wish I had a wedding planner/personal assistant. But not just any wedding planner/personal assistant. I wish I could clone myself. Then I would hire my cloned self to be my ultimate personal wedding planning assistant.
Yes.
Friday, October 7, 2011
because it's friday
15 wonderful, beautiful things I did this week:
1. multiple uninterrupted hours scavenging for vintage finds
2. dreaming about said vintage finds
3. a very girly lunch with T
4. a solo dinner at home -goat cheese and marcona almonds!
5. marathon cooking session for a week full of food
6. PUMPKIN PATCH!
7. lunch at In&Out with the soon to be in laws
8. painting project
9. quality front porch time
10. home cooked dinner with friends
11. swanky Dallas happy hour with excellent people watching
12. a book or two
13. a full eight hours of sleep every night!
14. wedding details (the fun kind)
15. dedicated, leisurely coffee time
1. multiple uninterrupted hours scavenging for vintage finds
2. dreaming about said vintage finds
3. a very girly lunch with T
4. a solo dinner at home -goat cheese and marcona almonds!
5. marathon cooking session for a week full of food
6. PUMPKIN PATCH!
7. lunch at In&Out with the soon to be in laws
8. painting project
9. quality front porch time
10. home cooked dinner with friends
11. swanky Dallas happy hour with excellent people watching
12. a book or two
13. a full eight hours of sleep every night!
14. wedding details (the fun kind)
15. dedicated, leisurely coffee time
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
