Weekly Wishes #15

Salutations All!

Its that time again for weekly wishes! Did you set any goals for last week? If so, how did they go? Are you just joining me? Let me explain what happens for Weekly Wishes..

The Happenings: You share your weekly, monthly, or yearly goals/wishes/achievements and you get to be a part of this big group of people that are doing the same thing. Yay! Wanna join in? Check out The Nectar Collective and add a link to your blog!

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By the time you read this it will be Tuesday, but Happy Monday anyway!! I've just come back from a glorious vacation and got to see all of my family at our annual reunion. I hope you had a great weekend like I did! It's been a couple weeks since we last talked about Weekly Wishes, because well I just needed a break. Plus, I needed to use all of my free time to finish up some crochet projects and to finalize some things I've been setting up. We'll talk about that a little later on though!

Last Weeks Wishes

* Set Up Tours - Done & Done! I've actually visited two campuses, one being The Art Institute & the other being Herzing University. I love, love, loved the Art Institute! However I didn't love the price... Herzing, was on some BS. They advertised that they had Web Development at the Atlanta campus, but when I got there and spoke to someone they advised me that they only offer it online. If I wanted to do an online school, I certainly wouldn't have been looking at them! All in all, looking to go to school was a bust. (Yes, I looked at other schools as well.)

* Meditate - I did meditate a couple of times, but not as much as I wanted to. Luckily enough there is another Deepak & Oprah 21 day meditation coming up! Yay!! Why don't we do it together? Click Here! There is always a theme and this time it's titled "Expanding Your Happiness". It starts on 8.11.14, so you still have time to sign up! :)

* Continue Reading EatQ - I will say that I picked up the book and read a couple lines... But that was about it! Ha Ha.. I guess I was busy doing other things or just wasn't in the place to hear what was being said at the time. I'll pick it back up at some point though.

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This Weeks Wishes

* Acclimate to the Mac - Although trying to go back to school was a bust, I'm proud to say that I have been accepted and given a partial scholarship to a web development boot-camp!! It's a two month long intense training on getting the fundamentals of coding..... And I needed a Mac. I'm a total PC girl. The only experience I've had with Mac's was a brief stint in college. So I'm typing to you from said MacBook in an effort to get used to a few things.  Wish me luck because I'm gonna need it!! Any tips or tricks would be appreciated.. :)

* Eat Healthier Food Options - I just came home yesterday from my family reunion and there are no words to describe the plethora of foods that were made available. I lovingly call it 'Foodlandia', because I know that when I go, it will be a feast of magnificent proportions!! It's all just so good you can't say no. Now I feel the need to have a major detox or fasting session.. lol. Must make better choices this week!

Okay peeps, this is all for now! I'm glad to be back in the saddle of writing again and back to making weekly goals. Somehow I think it keeps my sane. What are your goals this week?

Ciao!

Food Experiment: Fried Green Tomatoes

Salutations!

If you read my last post, then, you know I went home a couple weeks ago. Often times The Mom and I like to cook stuff when we're together and this time was no exception. Instead of the normal eats, we decided to branch out and tackle Fried Green Tomatoes! I must tell you that whenever I think of the food, I immediately think of the movie! It's one of those things you watch when you're alone at home with a lot of time on your hands.

I've had them one other time than this and I thought they were rather tasty, so I gave the thumbs up to the challenge! I will admit now that I really didn't have too much hands on action with this. I was too busy snapping the pictures and being excited. :)

We pulled out all of the ingredients first to get them ready:

*Flour ~ Cornmeal ~ Baking Powder ~ Salt ~ Cayenne ~ Milk ~ Eggs ~ Tomatoes ~ Butter *

Then it was time to get elbow deep in some Southern cookin! The tomatoes were expertly cut by my mother into nice thick slices and then given a frothy milk and egg bath. Next it's a dunk in the cornmeal and seasonings and finally a rest on the pan to before being thrown in the cast iron skillet..

They fry up quick as a flash and are crunchy on the outside and firm and hot on the inside!  Some got a little darker than expected, but even they still had a good flavor. 

I would totally make these on my own. It reminds me of frying up some pork chops except it takes a lot less time. Have you made fried green tomatoes before? How did it go? 

Until the next time.. 

Ciao! 

Mother Nature Tried to Kill Me!

 Salutations all!

And yes you read the title right... I said Mother.Nature.Tried.To.Kill.Me. and here's the story of what happened..

So The Boo & I headed on up to Nashville at the last minute for Independence Day to see some fireworks and hang with the parents. Even though I had lived there for years, I never really bothered to go downtown and to do the tourist thing. Nashville is the Country Music capital and since country music isn't my cup o'tea, I never saw a need to go down on Broadway and look at cowboy boots, country music record stores (Yes! record stores), and country music tourist trap places. However, Nashville is growing by leaps an bounds so I was excited to see what was going on. That and well The Boo hadn't experienced the essence of the city yet and it was the perfect time to do some exploring. On our way back from sightseeing and shopping we decided to ride with the windows down and let the wind blow in our hair..



Fun was had by all, but let me just say that riding with the windows down was a grave GRAVE mistake!

My eyes started watering while the air was whipping all around us. This really wasn't all that unusual, because it has happened before and I just figured something was in my eyes. Except this time my eyes were watering violently! I'm talking about if you had been in the car beside us, it would've looked like I was crying while driving. (which by the way is no easy feat) So we roll up the windows and all is well. No more tears. A little later on, I started to notice that I was getting a stuffy nose. No problem though.. Again, this was nothing unusual, but then instead of going away like it normally did, it turned into supreme stuffiness!!

What is supreme stuffiness, you ask? Well I'm sure you've experienced it at one time or another.. It's where your nose and face are so full of mucus that you feel like your head and face are going to burst wide open if you don't get some relief like, right.now. So I was thinking, 'Oh Crap!! I have a summer cold!'. I'm sure you know as well as I do that regular colds are bad, but summer colds are The Worst...

When I have a cold, I like to stock up on medicines, throat thingys to make the scratchiness/soreness go away, vitamin C pills, and let's not forget the stockpile of Kleenex that you can never have enough of. I also cocoon myself on the couch and prop myself up on pillows so that I can sleep sitting up. This is so as not to suffocate in the middle of the night from drainage & lack of air getting through my very blocked nasal passages. I'd hate for my obituary to read that I died from strangulation by mucus.

So I'm medicating like normal, but instead of getting better I'm just getting worse and I feel like I'm gonna die! My nose at this point feels like someone's whole fist is there and it refuses to move. Let's not even talk about how the one working nostril is burning when I breathe in from being overloaded with smells.

 Although I didn't want to, I went to my local Urgent Care and saw the medical person and was informed that I don't have a cold, nor was I dying, but was simply suffering from allergies. Apparently whatever has been blooming this Spring/Summer season is being really aggressive on people. I was relived and surprised at the same time that it was allergies, since I hadn't suffered from them since I was a child. So they sent me on my way with a prescription for nasal spray and that combined with allergy meds got me back to 100% after about three days. 

I'm very glad to be back in the land of the living. :)

Do you have allergies you have to deal with too? I'll be very leery of riding with the windows down next season. As for now, I will be staying doped up in an effort not to feel like death warmed over ever again!

Ciao!

The Art of Getting Things Done...

 

~Photo Source~

 

Greetings,

 

 

 Most recently, let's say within the last couple of years, I've realized that I have faltered at getting things done that I want to accomplish. I feel like I've found a resolve now, so today we're gonna talk about how to get everything done that you've been wanting to do. I'm not just talking about big things like, getting a degree or completely paying off your car. I'm including things like interrupting your couch potato time to do the laundry so it doesn't back up, exercising when you promised yourself that you would, or even something as simple as walking to the mail room/box to get the mail.

I think somewhere along the way as adults we forget how to, (in the words of Nike) Just.Do.It.

As a child, you knew that you had to brush your teeth before you went to bed. That the kitchen had to be cleaned before your parents got home. Let's not forget that homework had to be done lest you bring down your grade average. All of these had to be done and some on a daily or weekly basis. You had to put in the work, because you were told to do so. You had no choice.

I read this article (and for the life of me I can't find it to share! Ugh!) a while back that explained how to always stay motivated at work when you just didn't feel like it. Key words here being FEEL LIKE IT. Here's the thing about being motivated... You're not always going to feel like eating right, studying, exercising, cleaning your car, paying your bills on time, finally cleaning out the garage, or opening that 401K account, because well... you're human and we get lazy. (just being honest) 

But! Here's the good news.

You don't have to feel like doing it. You're never going to feel like doing it for the most part. So, the only answer here is to just do what you need to do and be done with it. Just like you have a habit of brushing your teeth first, when all you want to do is just collapse into bed, you can also create a habit of doing other things too.
 
1st) Make a list of the things you want to do. My suggestion is to make a list of short goals just to get your feet wet. Then as you accomplish more & more, go to bigger goals.


2nd) Carve out some time in the day to get things done. So if you want to prep all of your meals for the week on Sunday at noon, then take that time to get it done. Don't answer the phone & don't let others distract you (unless it's an emergency) until you get as much done as you scheduled for that time period.

3rd)Some big goals might take a long time. For these, write out a schedule or timeline that you'd like to get things done in.


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It has been said that, when you write down your goals, you are more likely to get them done and achieved. So get to writing! It has helped me tremendously in getting my weekly wishes accomplished, so I know it can help you too. When I get things done, I feel proud of myself like I just conquered a large army and saved the freakin world! Okay, maybe I exaggerate a little..  but I do feel really good about myself and about what I've done. Who wouldn't want more of that in their lives, right? It's all about doing what is ultimately best for you and taking care of yourself.


What are some things that you've been wanting to get done? Have a great week!

Ciao!

 

Weekly Wishes #14

Greetings! 

Its that time again for weekly wishes! Did you set any goals for last week? If so, how did they go? Are you just joining me? Let me explain what happens for Weekly Wishes..

The Happenings: You share your weekly, monthly, or yearly goals/wishes/achievements and you get to be a part of this big group of people that are doing the same thing. Yay! Wanna join in? Check out The Nectar Collective and add a link to your blog!

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Happy Monday everyone! Last week, I took a break of sorts from blogging. Mainly because I was feeling very overwhelmed by life and more specifically by my job. Now that I've taken the time to review some things, plus had the weekend off away from work drama, things have become better. I'm working really hard to improve myself right now and so my weekly wishes today and in the future will probably reflect these things. Do you take the time to work on yourself? It just seems natural to me to do so. I always want to be my best self. So let's talk about what happened the last time I made some wishes.


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Last Weeks Wishes



* Write - I did get some writing done! I wrote the 2nd part to the short story I'm working on. I haven't written anymore since then though. Maybe later this week, I'll be in the mood to get back at it and continue on with the 3rd installment.


* Finish a Crochet Project - I didn't complete anything yet, but I have gotten a lot of work done! I hadn't been to my crochet group in almost a year now, so I figured it was time to visit and get some advice on my projects. I swear I made at least 3 booties while there and had to frog two of them. They are coming along nicely now though, so Yay!


 * Blog Prepping - I definitely got this one done. Now I need to work on it again, until I can find a good rhythm that works for me.







This Weeks Wishes



* Set up Tours - I'm officially in the process of trying to change careers and I've decided to go back to school. This means that I need to start setting up tours with colleges and gathering questions that I'll need to ask. Any suggestions on questions I should be asking like: What is the success rate of graduates finding a job after graduating? Important stuff like that.


* Meditate - I know it's been on the list before, but I have fallen off the wagon! It would be great if there was another 21 day meditation challenge from Deepak & Oprah, but I will survive.



* Continue Reading Eat Q - I talked about reading Eat Q, a long while back here, here, & here. I put it down to read The Body Book and now it's time to get back into it. I really do want to live a healthier lifestyle and this is just a part of the journey to get there. Plus reading information about my goals helps me to stay focused.



This is where I conclude for today friends. Hope you will achieve all of your goals for this week or month. :)

Ciao!

Weekend Rambles...

Greetings!

I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend! So far, we've done some shopping downtown, tried some new restaurants (new to me anyway), and now it's time to get some housework and writing done. In the meantime I'll also be catching up on some movies that I have on my DVR. Yay! Speaking of which, we just watched 'Just Enough'. I knew I would like it, and it was funnier than I expected! Have you seen it too?

* I'm proud to say that I have finally chosen a college that will work for what I want to major in. Going back to school is way intimidating to me. Just thinking about having to take all the general classes again.. Blech! The only one I really fear is math. Lemme tell you something.. I am where math goes to die!!! The numbers race at me full speed ahead just to bounce off my head and fall dead to the ground. Lol. You think I'm kidding, but I'm not. Unless the teacher is really good and patient, then it's going to be a very long semester. People always tell me that math isn't hard because the rules never change, but I think that's what makes it hard for me. The rules can't bend and change like they can when you're interrupting a story or book so I feel constricted.

* Do you have a hobby? I always seem to have something that I'm into, but I never consider them hobbies. Take crochet for instance.. I don't consider that a hobby, but other people do. Sometimes, people are even shocked when I say I have a business selling crochet items. I try to figure out if they think it's weird that I have a business or that selling crochet stuff is business at all. Either way, it seems that I should be mildly offended. Ha ha. :)

* Have you seen those women that wear heels all the time? I've had some friends say that their heels are more comfortable than tennis shoes. I don't find this to be true. Let's think about this for a min shall we? Any shoe that forces your foot to be positioned in such a way as to where you have to walk on the balls of your feet all day cannot be comfortable. Don't get me wrong, I love heels. My feet just don't. :op

Okay, that's it for today kiddies. Share your thoughts with me.

Ciao!

Pinterest Food Challenge: Week 3!

Greetings friends!

Welcome to the Pinterest Food Challenge: Week 3!

 If you missed last week’s post, you can click here. Here’s how this works:

Because it’s really easy to get into a food rut and get bored with eating the same thing over & over, I thought it would be great to actually try the recipes from my pin board. Everything looks so yummy on Pinterest that I figured I couldn’t go wrong. So all you have to do is pick out one recipe that you’d like to try each week, takes pictures, blog about it, then come on over here and add your link to the linkup at the bottom of the post! Sounds fun, no? Don’t forget to give me a shout out in your post and if you’re on Instagram use the tag #PFC or #PinterestFoodChallenge so we can all find you!  

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Well folks, it's been a fairly busy week for me! I did however manage to cook my Pinterest meal and so did my co-worker. She made Coconut Chicken, Jasmine Rice, and it was served with a Sweet Chili Sauce. Very good. Click here for the recipe if you'd like to try it yourself!

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This week, I made a Tater Tot Casserole and I chose it because, I wanted to be done in one shot. Sometimes you just don't want to put forth the effort of making sides in addition to a main dish. So needless to say, I was so excited to have dinner just waiting & ready when I got home! No more assembly required. I was a little concerned at the stability of the tots and whether or not they would hold up. They didn't... (lol) but they still tasted great! This was probably one of the best meals I've made! Here's the rundown of ingredients:


~Tator tots (frozen) ~ Grilled Chicken ~ Bacon ~ Onion ~ Garlic ~ Sharp Cheddar Cheese (Shredded) ~ Butter (to sauté said onions & garlic) ~ Milk ~ Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing (dried packet) ~ It also called for frozen mixed veggies, but er um... I think those are gross, so I nixed them! ~



I actually did most of the prep at 5:30 am before I went to work so that when I came home for lunch, I could just throw everything together. Surprisingly enough, the instructions called for only four hours of cooking. I was so enthralled in getting everything done that I forgot to take a lot of pictures of the process. My bad.. I'll do better next week! :)

 



 

 

The finished product. :)

It didn't come out as aesthetically pleasing as I had hoped for. However it's so good that it'll make you hurt yourself! I will be making this again next week, if not this weekend. That's how good it was! So what did you make this week?!? Did it turn out well? :) Share it with us and add your blog post to this weeks linkup! :) Bon Appetit!

Ciao!