the "More"

Naturally, I'm totally exhausted again today, but...  I suppose that's just the way it is these days.  I can't expect to get enough sleep AND do all the 'stuff' I want to do.  But I said there'd be more today, so...  here's the "more". 

I figured out why I've not written anything this week.  I've been trying to decide just how to put into words some memories of my mom, and that's oh-so-very hard for me.  When I work on writing about her, I usually end up avoiding it.  I still miss her every day, and writing makes me miss her even more.   But I will, because it's important to remember.  I'm just not going to do that today.  Instead, for right now, I'm going to think more about my resolutions...

I've been doing so-so on the picture of the day thing.  I'm sure the kids will wonder why some days there are pictures of snow, or of my running shoes, or of some other silly thing that's not so silly to me.  Hopefully, my journaling cards will explain why I choose the pictures I choose.

Speaking of pictures, I'm trying to expand my photographic horizons by using various filters and effects in photoshop.  Here's the photo I'm using as the blog background for the next couple of weeks until Valentine's Day.

And here's the original

I like both, but in different ways.  I think I'm going to have alot of fun with photoshop!

FAIL!

Ok, well...  So...  I said I was resolved to post at least every other day, and the last post I wrote was on the 17th.   And today's the 25th.  I gotta admit...  that's an extreme FAIL. 

Oh, well....  Back at it.   I guess it's only real failure if I just give up.  And I'm not doing that!

More on that tomorrow, though...  I'm exhausted tonight, and it's off to bed for me!

Cupcakes, Take THREE

Well, Jennifer asked me to make cupcakes for Jessica's birthday, and when I asked what theme she wanted, she said "underwater".  Here's what I came up with...

and

Cupcakes Take Two

OK, so...  I was looking through pictures in a flickr group that I am a member of, and I found the most amazingly creative cupcake!  It was a sunflower in another member's photo stream.  (if you follow this link, you'll see how amazing those are!) I've been chompin' at the bit to try to make some myself, and today was my day.

I think they turned out pretty darned good.  Next time, though, I'm definitley going to use the oreo mini cookies.  The regular oreos are almost as big as a cupcake! 

On my own...

The Handsome Husband left for Florida this morning, along with the rest of the pipe band.  He (and thus, I) was up at 3:45, and he was out the door at 4:25.  I had every intention of going back to bed until it was time to get the kids up and at it for school, but....  I had a cup of coffee.  Then I turned on the morning news.  Then a little time passed.  Then a little more.  And then, well, it was too late.  So...  I'm a wee bit sleepy today.  I didn't really HAVE to get up when he did.  But I thought he'd need some coffee and he was in a rush to get everything together, so there I was, pouring a thermos full of dark roast for him at 4:00 am.

Once the kiddos were up and moving, I went to work out, and got the day started right.  I would LOVE to be able to do that every day!  It  makes such a difference.  I half expected to go back for a second work out this evening with the Jack man, but I just picked him up from school.  He's got a migraine, and the nurse sent him home.  :(  Poor kid.  So...  it looks like it'll be a quiet night at home for us tonight!

Grrrr....

Life in Illinois.  Grrrrr...  

The state's broke
They've raised our taxes
The state's still going to be broke
Illinois jobs are being filled by non-residents
Illinois residents are still unemployed

I could go on for days.  But that's a sampling of why "grrrrrr..."

On a brighter note, I did lose 5 pounds last week.  I guess cutting those snickers out of my diet really did make a difference!  Ha!  Of course, I'm sure the massive quantities of celery I've been ingesting hasn't hurt.  Or the other fruits and veggies, the tons of water or the regular, small-ish, human-sized portions I've returned to having.  

Whatever combo of things, I lost 5 pounds.    Life is good.  Even if I am living in Illinois.

Week 1

OK, well..  I, uh, well...  I tried really hard to not get carried away and get all "mom" and start posting pictures of my Project Life project, but...  I can't take it.  I gotta do it.  On the oh-so-extremely remote chance that Matt (or anyone else, for that matter) actually occasionally checks the blog, I gotta make sure it shows what's goin' on here in my corner of the world. 

Besides, I was scanning through about 50 different blogs tonight, lots of which have posts about various styles of picture-of-the-day projects, and I've gotten "the bug" to share.

The girls started the year off as karaoke rock stars, after spending the day re-organizing the video games and game systems.

On the 2nd, Jack realized that we were serious about getting ready to go back to school after the break.  He was very pouty while he practiced spelling.

 The 3rd took us to a J.V. Girls' Basketball game, where Kathryn played almost the entire game.  She was totally AMAZING!  (Even if my photographic efforts weren't!)

Since she got it, the shirt's been Sarah's favorite.  'Nuff said.

Jack got a new Bop It for Christmas, and by the 5th, he'd mastered the "master" level.  He could perfectly follow the commands  - even with the Bop It behind his back!

Just before the first of the year, Jack joined the Sherman-Williamsville Wrestling Club, and during his second week of practices, he really started to get into it.

We finished up the week with a little housework.  A Jack in trouble = A very clean room!

And that sums up our first week.  I have no idea if I'll post all of every week's entries, or if I'll end up posting occasional pics here and there, but I'm sure you'll see more of my POTD/Project Life project.

Bleh

Uh-oh.  I feel a little stomach bug comin' on.  YUCK!  This has been a bad year for the flu.  It just won't go away! 

Cupcake Update

The cupcakes were a hit.
 

AND, they were DELICIOUS!

Cupcakes!

I'm helping Jennifer help Jessica host a baby shower tomorrow.  I'm in charge of the cake.  Which, in this case, is taking the shape of cupcakes.  I love making cupcakes.  I really have no idea why - I just do.  The mother-to-be particularly enjoys chocolate cake with white frosting, so...  that's what I'm making.  I'm also making some white cake with chocolate fudge frosting, and a few gluten-free with whatever frosting is left. 

In between baking up the batches of baby cupcake batter, I'm watching Pink Panther 2 with Jack (and blogging, and playing words with friends).   All-in-all, it's a pretty successful evening.  

YUM

Wow.  I am having an AMAZING week when it comes to cooking!  Tonight, I made Spinach & Goat Cheese Stuffed Flank Steak.  It was YUMMY.  I did change a couple of things, though.  I didn't marinade for very long - only about 15 minutes.  We don't like how salty meats get when they marinade in soy sauce for a long time.  (Even in the reduced sodium soy sauce, it can get overwhelming if you're not careful.)   Also, I prepared the mushrooms on the side, because we don't all enjoy them.  And, finally, because it's January, and because it's 29 degrees outside, and because I'm a cold-weather wimp today, I seared in a large skillet, and then baked in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes instead of breakin' out the grill.

I don't remember what's on the menu plan for tomorrow (and I'm not about to walk all the way to the kitchen to check the list right now...), but I think Saturday might be a gumbo day, and I'm excited for that.  I am really getting into this cooking thing.  I never thought I'd enjoy it so much, but I really do.  And almost as much as the cooking, I enjoy the planning.  It's kind of fun to look for new recipes.

In keeping with my new found love of all things kitchen, this weekend I get to do some baking, which, if you cook, or bake, you know is totally different from cooking.  I can't really explain how or why...  But it is.  It just IS.   ANYway, I'm helping with a baby shower on Sunday, and I'm in charge of the cake - or, in this case, the cupcakes.  I love making cupcakes!  I can't decide if I'll use straight frosting, or some fondant, or what.  I'm sure I'll decide that as they are cooling.  That's usually about the time I make decisions like that.

All-in-all, I should have a pretty decent weekend in the kitchen.  ;) 

Workin' Out

Well, resolution #1 is coming along just fine.  I walked yesterday (in the super-cool vibram five-fingers shoes), and today made it to fitClub for about 40 minutes on the eliptical.  Ah.... I feel so much better.  A short break of a few days would have been a good, but not working out at all for the past few weeks was just plain awful.   You know you've made exercise a part of your life when you actually MISS it.   Now if I can just figure out how to get a handle on eating, I'll be great! 

I think resolution #2 is going to help with that.  Knowing what we'll be having for our dinners makes it ALOT easier to make the day healthier.  Tonight, I made shredded chicken enchiladas.  Yum.  So much yum that there was actually some discussion around who got the last one.   AND - they thought I'd gotten carry out because they tasted so good.  Although, I'm not sure that's a good thing.  I'm hoping that eventually, homemade will win out over carry out.  On tomorrow night's menu, I think, is a spinach-cheese stuffed steak.  I can't wait!

Day 2

Ya-Hooo!  January 2nd, and all is well. 

On the resolution front, I am sticking to the meal plan...  today, I fixed homemade chili.  As in homemade.  From scratch.  No spice mix.  No canned "starter".  All homemade.  And it was pretty darned tasty.  I used about double the ground beef, and it turned out to be a really meaty, hearty chili with a good warmth.  At least, that's what I thought.   And I think the fam agreed - they all said they liked it, anyway.   Of course, it will be tweaked a bit until I get it more "perfect". 

As far as Project Life goes, I'm not going to get silly with sharing my pictures of the day.  I think I'll try to post some about once a week.  The kids are totally into the POTD, and keep posing for me at every opportunity.  Even Jack, in trouble and studying spelling, posed several times.  So....  I've gotten my pictures for these first two days without any problems.

It's definitely starting out to be a pretty decent year. :)

Happy New Year!

Ah, January 1st.  Its so funny, if you really think about it, the way our society acts as though life's reset button gets pressed every January 1st.   And it's even funnier, really, that it actually kind of works that way.  We all make new beginnings based on the calendar.  And I'm sure I'm not the only one who'll say that today just "feels" different somehow.    "Visualize, Believe, Realize" is so true.  In our own ways, we each visualize January 1st as a new beginning, we do believe in it, and so it's just the way it is. 

A big part of the "new beginning" thought is the concept of the new year's RESOLUTION.  Because we get another chance to start over every January 1st, we make resolutions based on what we didn't quite get right in the past year.   Some of us, myself included, have made the same resolution over and over - and over - again.  Like losing weight, or quitting smoking.  I resolved about 10 times to quit smoking on January 1st, but ultimately my quitting had nothing to do with the calendar.  When I threw out the smokes, it was on an August day.

New Year's Day resolutions seem to be for the fun of it, in alot of cases.  People recite their resolutions with a chuckle, and often throw in a disclaimer about how long they think they'll last.  Like "I'm going to exercise every day this year!  Of course, by about February I'll be back on the couch, but I'm going to start off right."    It's like people are giving themselves an out...  like if they say something about the possibility of failure, it'll make it OK.

I'm not taking my resolutions lightly this year.  And failure is not going to be an option.  And that is why I'm not making a super-duper long list of things I resolve to change.  That just wouldn't work.  I'm realistic.  I do have a super-duper long list of things I intend to accomplish this year.  But those aren't resolutions.  Those are my "2011 To-Do's".  I still have to figure out a place to post those to keep them in my sights all year.  But...  that's for later today.  Right now, I'm thinkin' about the resolutions.

Mary Sunshyn's New Year's Resolution #1 - Consistently exercise at least 4 times a week.  The key there is "consistently".   Since I re-joined fitClub last year, I've exercised, but not very consistently.  Some months, I worked out almost every day.  Others, though, I worked out for 10 days in a row, but then skipped 10.  And THAT is why I haven't achieved my goals yet, and  I know it.  So....  this year, I'm committing to being consistent.

Mary Sunshyn's New Year's Resolution #2 - Plan our meals a week at a time, and STICK TO THE PLAN.  I've noticed that I get lazy way too often, and stray from the plans I make for our meals.  Which is not a big deal, on one hand.  But on the other hand, when I stray from the plans, I end up at the grocery store WAY too often.  I also end up feeding the fam less-than-stellar meals.  And, I'm sure I spend more, since I go to the store based on an idea for the week's meals, and then go back for MORE.  :)  I know I'm not alone - lots of us do it.   But this year, I'm sticking to the plan.  This business of going to the store all the time cuts into my days way more than I like...  which, in turn, leaves me less time to go work out, sit down and write, and lots of other things.  So, that's enough of that!

Mary Sunshyn's New Year's Resolution #3 - Project Life.  Picture of the Day.  'Nuff said. 

and, kinda-sorta going hand-in-hand with #3...

Mary Sunshyn's New Year's Resolution #4 - Blog, blog, blog.  I'm resolving to blog at least every other day. 

Now, in the world of resolutions, I know that the only way to succeed is to have a plan.  I'm one of those weirdo people who really and truly believes that saying "Failing to plan is planning to fail."   So...  I've got the plans.  But I won't blabber on and on about them right now.

There you have it.  January 1st.  Resolutions. Thoughts.  Plans.  Now, it's time to get busy!