something new

Earlier this month I posted my resolutions for the year. Of course one involved losing weight. I've set my goal to lose five pounds a month. It's January 11, and I just weighed for the first time. Now I've got to really get busy to lose those five pounds by the end of the month. Crap!

And I resolved to exercise 30 minutes a day for at least five days of the week. Maybe I should just change that to four. Four seems to work so much better for me. Four it is.

So, I'm not doing so great with those two, but it's not all a fail. I have been cooking some new recipes. This requires me to do a bit lot more meal planning than I have normally done. But I've picked some yummy recipes to try.

Tonight I cooked a recipe from a Rachel Ray cookbook. It was a black bean soup (or as she says stoup) and monte cristo sandwiches. In all my years of eating, I've never had a monte cristo sandwich. Why is that?

The soup was pretty easy. Chop some garlic, jalapeno, onion, celery, and bell pepper. Throw these in a pot with some olive oil, add some cumin, bay leaves, a can of tomatoes, three cans of black beans, and some chicken stock. The recipe called for coriander. I didn't have any. The grocery store didn't have any. The soup didn't get any. Oh, and some Tabasco - it did get Tabasco.

One reason I chose this recipe is that my daddy and step-mom gave us some Harry and David's jellies for Christmas. The monte cristo sandwich needed a pepper jelly. I had a pepper and onion relish that I thought would work.

The sandwich also had turkey, ham, and pepper jack cheese. I dipped it in a milk and egg concoction that was spiced up with some more Tabasco, then cooked it like a grilled cheese sandwich.

Add a bowl of soup and it was a meal.

Tonight's supper was a win. Just a bit of chopping and the rest of the soup was opening cans and dumping them in the pot. And the sandwich was just a fancy grilled cheese. It only took about 30 minutes to prepare it all. And there's enough soup leftover for lunch tomorrow.

Any suggestions for next week's new recipe???

letting my mind ramble

One of my 2012 resolutions is to exercise 30 minutes a day for at least 5 days of the week. This morning, I started the coffee, let the dogs out, and picked up the computer to click through a few blogs while I woke up. And then I thought, I should go ahead and go walking this morning and get it over. But then this conversation started in my head, It sure is damp outside. Maybe I'll wait on the coffee and then walk. No, I better walk early, looks like it might be a rainy day. As soon as I get the dogs back in, I'll go walking. No, I really want to drink a little coffee before I get dressed this morning. And then BOOM! The bottom fell out. We had a sudden downpour. The dogs came running to the doors - yes different doors. And they are wet - and stinky. So, my decision is to drink my coffee, read a few blogs, maybe browse pintrest for a bit, then do my 30 minutes with a DVD or the Wii.

Last night we went to neighbors to watch the Cottonbowl game. They had some GREAT food. Along with the usual ribs and such at a bar-b-que, they had grilled some fish brought home from a deep sea fishing trip. Of course, I can't remember what kind of fish it was. But it was yummy! Because the Hogs were winning, it was a pretty quite night until the 4th quarter. Then things got serious. Several of the guys got vocal in the last few minutes. There were a few calls that stirred the crowd. One neighbor's husband was really getting vocal. We were having a great laugh at some of the trash talking that was going on. When Lovey says, That's the Norton coming out in him. Someone asked Lovey, Have you seen that before? And I had to say, I think he got it from his Aunt Doris. The neighbor's husband is my cousin, and his Aunt Doris is my momma! And yes, Lovey has seen that before.

When I was trying to decide what to take to the watch party, Lovey and I were discussing recipes. I told him that I planned to try a new recipe each week. He chimed in that I could cook a hamburger each week and try a new variation each time. That is a big step for him. He's sort of the keep-it-the-same-don't-change-miraclewhip-lettuce-tomato guy. But this last year we have tried a few new burgers. And he has liked them. So along with the new recipe each week, I'll try a new burger each week also. Another night of what-are-we-gonna-have-for-supper done. I'm liking this plan.

my 2012 resolutions

Have you made resolutions for 2012? Did you make resolutions for 2011? I'm not big on making them, maybe because I know I won't keep them.

BUT....I've been doing some thinking, and I have a few for this year.

Like many others, fitness, losing weight, and eating better are on my list.  I am always saying that I need to work on these areas, but this year I've got specifics - and I think that will help.

1.  I will do some kind of exercise at least 5 days a week. Back in the fall, I started the C25K program, but I did something to my knee and had to stop even walking.  I've given it a few months to heal. I'm going to start walking and see where that leads. I think it will be best if I don't do the same thing everyday - I get bored and stop.

2.  I MUST lose some weight. I always set my goals really high and get frustrated when I don't lose enough. This year my goal is to lose 5 pounds a month. That doesn't seem like such a big number - just a little more than a pound a week. But I would be so happy to be 60 pounds lighter next January.

3. I hate to get in a cooking rut. By the end of each season, I am sick of the food I am cooking. This year I will prevent that by cooking at least one new recipe per week. This one sounds easy, but I'm not much of a recipe follower, and that's part of the resolution - I have to follow the recipe (well, sorta follow the recipe).

4. I've been working on a craft/office room. I will finish it and use it often!

5. I will spend more time reading Scripture and in prayer.


So have you written or made resolutions? If so, let me know, and we can help one another to stay on track.

my jenga-is-like-life analogy

Our New Year's Eve was a simple celebration. It was bring-your-own-steak night at our house. I had plans to make a few niblets for the night, but you know my plans don't always work out. Saturday afternoon, I left the house to pick up LKN and Baby Jus's girlfriend, run by the store to get our steaks, and a quick stop at the pet store for dog food. The plan was that the girls would help with the niblets while I started things for supper. And we were right on schedule until I backed into a car while leaving the pet store. And then I had to find the owner, make my apologies, wait on the police to arrive, and file a report. My truck wasn't harmed at all. For the second time it was saved by my trailer hitch. And for the second time the other vehicle fell victim to said trailer hitch - it didn't just dent the bumper; it went all the way through it. (The first time, someone hit me from behind - totally not my fault.)

I got home just in time to unload the truck, put a bit of marinade on the steaks, and get the mushrooms and onions ready to cook before friends arrived. Carrie brought a black-eyed pea dip from The Pioneer Woman that was so yummy. And she helped with guacamole while I got the potatoes and bread ready ready for the oven. Clay and Lovey handled the steaks. It was a GREAT supper.

The kids played video games, watched movies, and played some cards while we played Jenga between the guys watching the moonshiner show on Discovery. Later, neighbors and friends joined us for the last few hours of 2011.

We played Jenga a few nights ago, and our record was 32 levels high.

Last night we got 36 levels, and it didn't fall - there were no more moves. It was wobbly, but it didn't fall. After admiring our accomplishment for a few minutes, we had no choice but to pull a block, let the pieces fall, pick them up, and start over. And there's my analogy. Sometimes we reach our goals, or we run out of moves. And what to do then?

Make a drastic, purposeful move.

Deal with the chaos that follows. And start to rebuild.

In 2012, may we all have the courage to make that drastic, purposeful move, even if means picking up the pieces and starting fresh.

Happy New Year to you and yours!
Mer