Sick Day

After two four day work weeks (thanks Lee-Jackson Day!) I was rather dreading a full five days this week.  Like most worrying though, it was completely pointless since I came down with a serious sore throat on Tuesday that kept me at home and in bed 85% of today.  I don't think I have slept so much since my very first few months of existence!  Thankfully, the rest has seemed to do some good and I am hoping that another solid night of sleep will have me back to functioning human being again tomorrow.

In the meantime, I missed posting last week and there are a few things worth sharing:

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• Greek Salad--really only called this because it has feta cheese on it.  It's been one of my staples lately for lunch and occasionally on the side at dinner.  The last few Sundays, I have pre-chopped the toppings which makes throwing everything together really easy.
• Split Pea Soup with Bacon--from Family Circle. Perhaps better named "Bacon Soup with Split Peas." While far from a vegetarian these days, this recipe kind of overwhelmed me with all its bacon.  I do think I would make it again, halving the amount of bacon, and removing the veggies after they are sauteed so they don't turn to mush while the peas soften up.  
• Fish Tacos--an easy and delicious meal.  Fish coated with cornmeal, cumin and chili powder and sauteed until crispy then topped with slaw of cabbage, creamy dressing, salsa, black beans and corn.
• Okonomiyaki--made with some really old okonomiyaki flour and cabbage that had seen better days, this was a little disappointing.
• Veggie Omlette--nothing too special here; eggs, spinach, tomatoes and feta cheese.  And a big dollop of ketchup.
• Pad Thai--still using this recipe, which I think turns out pretty good.

Week of Eats-Jan 12

I've got nothing in terms of a catchy title and introduction today.  I must have left my creativity in the kitchen this week.

I think this is the third time I have made Green Tuna Enchiladas, and they came out even better than the first two times due to the fact that I replaced the half & half called for in the recipe with about 1/2 cup of plain greek yogurt.  I liked this recipe before because it is really easy to put together with ingredients I usually have on hand, and like it even better now that I have made the sauce even creamier and more delicious!

My large salad from lunch last weekend had quite the variety of ingredients including spinach, shredded cabbage, cheddar cheese, avocado, crumbled veggie burger and pickles!  I took salad for lunch most days this week; they had the same base of spinach and cabbage, but were topped with more traditional toppings like carrots, cucumber, feta and balsamic dressing.

This spicy peanut chicken was the new recipe from the week that worked out (the Italian Pizza Bake hardly deserves a mention).  I threw all of the ingredients in the crock pot before I left for work, skipping the step that mentioned pre-searing the chicken, since that goes against my whole crock pot philosophy and "wake up as late as possible and still get to work on time" habit.  The cooking time may have been a little long as the chicken was bit dry, and I think next time I will add more peanut butter, but these are some leftovers I am looking forward to finishing!  I served the chicken with couscous and garlicky sauteed spinach and zucchini and felt like I was eating a dish from a magazine spread.

In addition to the other winners pictured here, I also made some really beautiful eggs for breakfast one morning.  What a great way to start the day, feeling accomplished before even leaving the house!  It's the little things in life...

Kitchen tip: reheat pizza in a fry pan to retain a crispy crust.

...and speaking of little things, the department I work in has a practice of enticing people to meetings by providing lunch.  And while there may be no such thing as a free lunch--the recipients do have spend at least an hour of their time listening to someone drone on about their project/vision--there is such thing as a free dinner if you happen to respond quickly enough to the e-mail announcing there are leftovers behind the front desk.  This week there happened to be a ton of leftovers from two separate catered meetings, so I got to come home with two pieces of pizza and leftover pasta salad.  Check out the neat-o pasta shapes; I have dubbed it mohawk macaroni.

Warming Foods

Though it was certainly colder in many other places, Charlottesville was not immune to the polar vortex that swept North America early last week.  I am glad to report that I survived the coldest temperatures I have ever experienced--a mere 7*F or nearly -14*C--with lots of layers and hot foods.

• The Stuffed Cabbage Soup was easy to put together, and practically a whole meal in one pot.  The only downside I experienced was as a single eater, I still have a serving left over a week later.
• Looking to eat a bit lighter these first few weeks of the new year, I tried this Stir Fry with Collards & Mushrooms recipe.  The flavor was quite good, but I don't think my stomach nor palette are big fans of nearly raw collards.  
• Somewhat surprising given the weather, I only had oatmeal for breakfast once this week.   I think I overdid it with this bowl, which I had trouble finishing.
• I dusted off my crockpot to make a batch of vegetarian chili, and then had to come up with some creative ways to finish it off.  The "fries" (oven roasted potatoes) were the end of it, thankfully.

I did my meal planning for the week yesterday, choosing two new recipes to try out and making a grocery list that seems much shorter than usual.  Hopefully that doesn't mean I will run out of food!

2014 and beyond

Whether or not you make resolutions, I am sure you have had your fill by now and I promise to keep this short.

I don't know if it was the two rejuvenating weeks of sunshine over the holidays, or the realization that at 28 my life is truly what I make of it, but for whatever reason I am feeling optimistic about the new year.  I want to hang on to that feeling for as long as possible, and have set the following goals to help me improve along the way.

First up, my weekly goals (which are pretty similar to last year):

• Exercise for at least 30 minutes 5X/week
• Cook from a recipe 1X/week
• Blog 1X/week
• Write a letter 1X/week
• Do something interesting 1X/week

Secondly, hoping to take advantage of this wave of motivation, I have also set a winter goal of "30 mins or 1 shelf/cupboard/drawer of organizing per day" to help me pare down my extra stuff.

And third, in lieu of more formal resolutions I have written a "30 before 30" list of thirty things I want to do before my 30th birthday in 21 months.  The full list has its own page that can be accessed through the menu bar up top.  I will be crossing off items as I finish them, and assessing my progress every six months.

Here's to a happy & healthy 2014!

2013 Year-end progress report

This past January, I posted about my goals for 2013 about 3 weeks after the year had actually begun.  In July, I posted a mid-year progress report and recently I have actually been looking forward to this year-end recap!  Maybe it's because I have already started forming goals for 2014 and beyond, which I hope to share later this week.


My theme for the year was "back to basics" and I thought that the following overall goals would help me be more productive and feel more in charge of my life.  As I mentioned back in June, these goals, while admirable, were a bit vague and hard to track.

• Wake up with my alarm clock (or set it later.  Really, what good is 30 extra minutes of "sleep" interrupted every 9 minutes?)

I think that I will always struggle with this, particularly in winter.  However, working a regular job schedule ensures that I cannot sleep much past 7:30 during the week.

• Do the dishes and other small, annoying tasks as they arise.

Another life-long struggle.  Someday I aspire to have a house with a dishwasher.

Often what my kitchen looks like at the end of a weekend.

• Apply "use it or lose it" to clothes, accessories and other household items.  

I have implemented the backwards hanger trick, and think it will prove useful for a spring closet clean out.  Anyone know of a similar trick that can be applied in dresser drawers?  A friend of mine is starting a Girl Scout troop; in addition to volunteering, I can't wait to donate a bunch of my craft supplies!  The thought of moving in 2014 is still pretty daunting when I consider what I have accumulated over the past 2.5 years.

• Focus on one thing at time to be more productive overall.

Sometimes this helps and sometimes this sends me into full-on avoidance mode.  I'm focused all right---on procrastinating.

• Plan for the "big rocks," or big tasks/goals and let the "pebbles" fill in the gaps.  Some "big rocks" for 2013 include:
• Two (or more) running events

I ran the Martha Jefferson 8K in March, my longest distance to date and shattered my previous time (38:07-->35:41) at the Charlottesville Women's 4 Miler in August. 

• Spring break/Beach Week trips 

Despite my limited personal budget and busy grad school schedule the first half of the year, 2013 has still been a pretty good year for travel.  The highlights certainly include the big trips to Alaska with my family (thanks Mom & Dad!) and visiting Japan before the dead of winter (thanks Keizo!)  Other adventures outside of Charlottesville included a few jaunts up to NoVA/Maryland, Chicago for the APA Conference, and a weekend in CA for a wedding followed by an extended warm & sunny "Christmas Break" at home in Scottsdale with my immediate family.  While generally content to live "smaller" on my intern wages, my desire to travel has me yearning for greener pastures.

Alaska Railroad from Denali to Whittier

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Next up (and the part I was most excited about) is the year-end tally of my weekly goals:

My observations:

• Once again, the exercise total is right on!  Next year's goal is 30 minutes/5 times a week per CDC guidelines.  As a percentage, 192/365 is only 53%!
• I need to clarify with myself what I mean by a "recipe."  Should they all be new recipes?  Or does any recipe count?  

I did a much poorer job of recording each of the next three categories on my color coded calendar.  I think this is in part because they aren't the types of things that happened in the kitchen, whereas my meal planning and cooking certainly take place there, and the calendar is posted on the door to the bathroom/shower which makes it convenient for recording exercising.  

• My calendar blog count was 5 short of the online archive total.  Either way, a vast improvement over 2012!
• Like the "recipe" goal, the "new thing" needs to be clarified a bit.  I usually count new restaurants and places, but I think I want to expand it to include some social events as well.
• I am not sure why I had such a hard time keeping track of letter writing.  I sent about a half a dozen postcards from Alaska, so I know that those zeros over the summer are incorrect.  I also have sent ~30 nengajo or New Year's cards this year, which if only going by quantity would cover more than half of the year!  The focus of this goal is more to set aside 20-30 minutes every other week to connect without the help of modern technology.  It sounds so simple, yet the numbers prove otherwise which is why I am upping the ante in 2014.

I have a little more work to do on my goals for 2014, but I am spending today (January 1st) tying up loose ends and goal setting so I can start the rest of the year off right on the 2nd!