Monday menus #91

This week might be my easiest menu in a long time.  The only thing I'm really cooking is stew, and all that involves is cutting up meat and adding it to the crockpot since I am using whole mini potatoes and frozen green beans.  One small pot of stew will equal two meals and two future meals.  The chicken for the salad and taco nights is already cooked.  Leaving me free to eat a great dinner out on Wednesday, as an early anniversary meal! 

I like the trend of easier meals and plan to continue that through the end of the year.

Monday - Chicken Salad with romaine, chickpeas, bell pepper, purple onion, grape tomatoes {off work today}

Tuesday - Crockpot Pork Stew made with mini potatoes and green beans {HOA Ice Cream Social in the p.m.}

Wednesday - No cooking whatsoever - overnight cabin visit in the Texas Hill Country

Thursday - leftover pork Stew {telehealth visit in a.m., followed by lunch and shopping in Wimberley}

Friday - Chicken Tacos with rotisserie chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, cheese {light housework catch-up}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed {Mark and Gina 39 years}

Gina

Random thoughts

 This week has been a bit of a booger, and I'm going to chalk that up to it being the first anniversary of my mother's death.  I think the grief around that has intensified the feelings I have about other things and knowing that might help give me perspective.

a win this week: learning how to jump the truck so I could drive it over to AutoZone for a new battery.

I have discovered this week that impulsive actions and emotions take away from my peace.  On the other hand, measured thoughtful responses will give me time to make a gradual mental shift and help me to gather my thoughts.  Sounds easier than it is, but I will just continue to remind myself. Also, talking to a friend has been very helpful!

All that to say: I don't have a 5 thing Friday post.  Just some random thoughts.

And as always, the desire to move forward.

Happy weekend,

Gina

Monday menus #90

 I was fishing around in my desk drawer and came across a roll of stamps I had taken from Mom's house in order to mail her bills and etc.  A flood of memories came to me all at once.  It was just a year ago that my sisters and I were scrambling to figure out how to manage her affairs, home, and her medical care.

We lost her a year ago on the 28th of September.

******

I don't mail much, if anything, anymore.  My bills are paid on line, and I don't have Mom to write letters to.  So I guess these will just live in my desk for now.

Monday - kitchen closed

Tuesday - BBQ Meatballs, rice, brussels sprouts {trim the skinny tree shrubs near the garage doors}

Wednesday - Fajita Chicken Salad {buy groceries}

Thursday - Baked Sweet Potato with spinach, bacon, and Asiago {counseling appt.}

Friday - Grilled Ham and Asiago on apple bread, HEB kale salad {movie day? didn't go last week}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

*I notice that I'm back to cooking meals and even though they are simple, that's not the trend I wanted.  So next week, I'm going to try something new.  Maybe "cook once, eat three times", filling in with salads.

Gina

What it means to me

Last week I did a thing.

I had been thinking about getting a tattoo for about four years.  Mark and I were going to get matching small ones, but we just never got around to it.  In a way, I'm glad of that. It got to be something I did on my own.

On the recommendation of a friend, I booked the appointment.  The day of, I met the tattoo artist, who sketched the size out on my arm, then worked on the design for about an hour while I ran an errand.  Here are my inspiration pics, also by her:

Love the floral combo

Love the placement

She placed the mock-up on my arm, taking into consideration that I will add on to it someday, and sketched some ideas around it.  Then she got to work.

Three meticulous hours later, she finished up, covered it with a tegaderm, and sent me on my way.

I was too excited about it not to take pics to show!  But the dressing stayed on a full two days, at which time I gently removed it and have been keeping it clean, and moisturized with some heavy duty Aquaphor.

Its actually hard to get a good pic of it!

But I think that's OK - I see it every day and its not for anyone but me.

So what does it mean to me?

I see it as a manifestation of my new reality.  I am on my own, but I want to remember everything that has brought me to this place in life while I move forward to the next phase.  "Expect the Best" is something Mark told all of us, often.  I want to be intentional about inviting positivity and happiness into my present life, even as I reconcile the pain and grief of loss.

A gentle and beautiful reminder to myself.

Gina

Monday menus #89

 Is there anything creepier than walking through a spider web?

If you know, you know.

 

Monday - kitchen closed {bulky trash pick up - I don't have much at all, and most of it will have disappeared over the weekend}

Tuesday - One Pot Spaghetti (freeze the leftovers for future me), zucchini {groceries, getting my scalp stitches out}

Wednesday - Chicken Drums in mini crockpot, chopped salad 

Thursday - Black Bean and Cauliflower Rice Taco Bowl (beans, cauli rice, taco meat, peppers, cheese, etc.) 

Friday - Tilapia, rest of the chopped salad {appt with dietician}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

Gina

5 thing Friday - needles, spiced coffee, potpourri, techie, ladder

 I had quite the fun/painful week.

(covered in tegaderm which I will remove later today)

On Tuesday, I got a largish tattoo on my left arm.  Eventually I will add more to it, and I will take a photo of the whole thing to show when it is more healed.  Then we will chat about it!

Adding vanilla protein milk to Trader Joe's pumpkin spiced cold brew is a delightful mid-morning iced coffee break.  Although the weather here is heating back up, I can sip this and pretend we will get cooler temps before October rolls around...I think of The Girls' birthday (yesterday) as being the official start of Fall.

And speaking of that, I did buy a bit of Fall potpourri for that pretty bowl I found.  I added pinecones and some jute wrapped balls to it.  The enclosed "cinnamon oil" smells like nothing, but its pretty, so it stays.

Flu shot? Check. RSV shot? Also check.  It was a week of needles.

I really meant to work on my tablet last week, but I dragged my heels a little.  Then it took 10 hours to charge.  But yesterday I finally did get going on it!  Much as its frustrating to learn techie type things by yourself, you sometimes have to flex that mental muscle and do it.

We haven't had any sort of ladder program for X-Ray techs at work in years.  So when they announced that we are now qualified to participate, our manager encouraged us to go for it.  My department is committed to making sure that all of us get support and recognition.  What a difference your boss makes, right?  This is on my short list of things to work on tomorrow!

Happy Friday the 13th!

Gina 

Monday menus #88

My new favorite way to fix taco salad: 

On the bottom of the bowl I place chopped romaine.  Then I pile on the toppings, in this case it was tomato, red onion, chopped bell pepper, avocado, jalapeno salsa, taco meat, and cottage cheese.  I could eat this once a week!

Monday - kitchen closed

Tuesday - Pesto Pasta with Meatballs, brussels sprouts {tattoo day}

Wednesday - Shrimp Quesadillas, apple and kale salad {groceries}

Thursday - Taco Salad {Happy Birthday to The Girl!}

Friday - (freezer) BBQ Pork Chop, acorn squash, salad

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

Gina

5 thing Friday - cooking, thinning hair, frozen yogurt, The Girl, new toy

 I'm pretty much still on the "I hate cooking" train.

Obviously I have to prepare food to eat, so I have been relying on one bowl or one pot meals for the most part.  A cooked and flaked salmon filet is delightful on a bagged chopped salad, for example.

And a one pan stir fry with beef tips, pre-cut stir fry veggies and some microwaved ramen noodles hit the spot one night.  My menus may sound like I'm going to a lot of trouble, but that's all smoke and mirrors.

I'm actually spending my available brain space in working on myself.  I finally made an appointment to see a dermatologist about my hair, which continues to fall out at an alarming rate.  I'm almost ready to just shave it close to my head.

Two core biopsies and two weeks to wait and hopefully we will have some answers.

I read somewhere that Grape-Nuts cereal is a popular ice cream flavor and I had definitely never heard of that.  So, of course, I had to try it, but I am not about to make my own ice cream.  Instead, I bought some frozen yogurt, softened it, mixed the cereal in, then popped it back into the freezer.  I gotta tell you, the flavor combo is great, but the cereal is still very crunchy.  Like, don't-eat-this-if-you-have-weak-teeth crunchy.  Even as a cereal you need to let it sit in milk for a bit to soften up.  

Consuela charm, Fall candy, fiddle leaf, moola

The Girl has a birthday next week.  I haven't seen her in months.  I am well aware that kids grow up and leave home and live their lives but I also cannot reconcile the fact that we are a family, first and foremost, and it takes mere seconds to check in with each other given all the instant technology we have now to do so.  All that to say: I miss her very much. Rant over.

For my 30th workiversary, my employer sent me a 30 year pin, and my choice from a "prize" catalog.  So I picked out a tablet, as the Nook is not going to be as helpful as I thought it would for watching exercise videos and Hulu and whatnot.  It came with a stand, headphones, keyboard, and carrying case.  I can't wait to get it all set up today!

Gina

Monday menus #87

When the kids were young and I was walking far more often, I feel like I was in touch with my own neighborhood.  But I realized recently that there are streets nearby that I haven't physically been on in years. You miss a lot when you follow one path in and one path out, sitting in your car.

Like blooming vines on telephone poles, little ole ladies sweeping their porch, or even other people out walking.  My introverted-ness these last three years has been a mixed blessing.  Allowing me to give myself space to heal, yes, but at the cost of some isolation.

Monday - kitchen closed 

Tuesday - Salmon, Little Gem Kale Crunch Salad, half a ciabatta roll {buy groceries}

Wednesday - Stir Fry Beef Teriyaki (no rice!) {mow grass depending on rain situation}

Thursday - Link Sausage and Butternut Squash skillet, salad {go see a movie, change sink water filter}

Friday - BBQ Shrimp, yellow squash, green beans {payday}

Saturday and Sunday - kitchen closed

Gina