two weeks of projects progress...

Been a while since I've done an update. I know, I know, no one would mind if I never did another one again, but somehow just making a draft post where I can add any little accomplishments just seems to give me an extra jolt of motivation. And I need all the motivation I can get. :)

The 50x50 Project is definitely where I've made the most progress. I was pretty excited to see that I actually passed the "20 down" mark on one my goals. Of course, there are still several that I haven't even got to check off the first item. :P

*Mission: 50x50

#8--Donate 50 trunkloads of stuff to charity thrift store, etc.
The decluttering is paying off, as we got to haul of trunkload seven.

#10--Support 50 independent local businesses.
We went to Gallea's Nursery to buy a dwarf tree for beside our porch. We picked up a couple of my favorite perenials (daisies and black-eyed Susans) as well. And a dozen jalapeno pepper plants as we never got any jalapeno seeds started. First time we'd been to this nursery, but I have a feeling we'll be back. This marks number eight on this goal.

#15--Try 50 new recipes.
This is the one I crossed the 20 item mark on. In fact, I'm not up to 22 items checked off for this goal. I tried five new recipes in the past two weeks, all of them keepers--seasoned couscous, cola cake, ranch biscuits, cheesecake swirled brownies, and 3-cheese spirals. That last one was a split vote--neither Gray nor Annie liked it, but Max went absolutely nuts over it!

#16--Bake 50 different kinds of cookies.
Knocked number 17 off on this goal. Tried a recipe called Orange Drop Cookies. Thumbs up from everyone. They're a not-too-sweet sort of cookie...though adding a simple orange glaze would be an easy way to sweeten them up if one wanted to. And the recipe makes a ton of cookies!

Orange Drop Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1/3 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp grated orange peel
4 cups flour
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, orange juice, and orange peel.
In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Gradually add to creamed mixture. Mix well.
Drop by teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto greased baking sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12-14 minutes. Move to wire racks to cool.

#20--Buy 50 fair trade gifts.

Our wonderful little fair trade shop, One World Goods, has an really cool selection of handcrafted musical instruments from around the world. And we decided that for Christmas each year, we're going to start buying Rich's oldest brother a different one. (Along with the fair trade chocolate-covered coffee beans we buy him for every occasion. :P ) Anyway, this is the one we picked out for this year. It's a Pacay Shaker. A giant seed pod from the Pacay fruit. Made in Peru. (This makes 5 items now checked off this list. Though this is one of those goals that I know I've forgot to record at least a few things on.)

#30--Do 50 environmentally-friendly things.
Since we put in most of our garden this weekend, I figured it would be a good time to add gardening organically to this list. (Item number nine off this list.)

#43. Read 50 award-winning books.
Finally finished up The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein. Took me a few weeks to finish, but I really, really enjoyed it. Annie finished it up this weekend as well, and said it just edged out A Canticle for Leibowitz as her favorite read so far for our lit class this year. Anyway, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress won the 1967 Hugo Award. And it marks number three on this goal for me.

#46. Read an article from 50 different magazines.
Chris, who is just too damn sweet for words, bought me a subscription to Mother Earth News for my birthday. I got my first issue a few days back, and have since read several articles (gonna be one of the magazines that I read cover-to-cover, I think). Also going to be of those magazines that I hang onto because it's full of handy dandy reference material. Like the article I read in there about cucumbers. Not that we've thus far had any trouble growing cucumbers, but one never knows...plus we may sometime want to vary the types we grow. Anyway, the article that so far sticks out most in my mind is not the one on cucumbers, but the one on composting human waste. :P This is only the second item towards this goal.

#47--Watch 50 different seasons of TV on DVD.
Finally finished up the first season of Battlestar Galactica. And am loving it! Can't believe I've never watched this before. Number seven down on this goal.

#48--Find 50 new bands I like enough to download something by them.
Number seven down on this goal, too. Noah and the Whales...discovered on an episode of Criminal Minds. Downloaded Rocks and Daggers.

And as for the other projects, well, not nearly as much progress to report.

*Mission: Sell the House

We did manage to get a couple of small things down on our fix-up lists. For one thing, we bought and planted that dwarf tree I mentioned earlier. (Rich had taken out these horrendously ugly bushes from in front of our window last summer, and we're working on redoing the area.)

And secondly, we replaced the trellis for our clematis. The old one had fallen apart so much we couldn't even get it to stand up anymore.

*Mission: Declutter

I can't even express how thrilled I am to have finally finished one room/area of the house!!! The library!!! Of course, we'll have to be diligent about keeping it that way...
Finishing up the library also brings me a big step closer to being able to actually start another one of the projects (tackling the TBR pile) because I now have all my books (and the books I want to read that belong to other family members) from the library catalogued on my LibraryThing. Reason I can't officially start is because I still have other books to add from other rooms in the house. But I'm getting there...

a long list of brief thoughts on my life today...

*Overwhelming fatigue. Not the general fatigue I've become accustomed to over the past several years. And some really severe aching. I'm guessing it's really nothing more than life catching up with me. And I need to listen up and just slow down. Yeah, right.

*Cherry tree brown rot. I fear our tree has it.

*But on the bright side, our radishes are sprouting. And Annie's strawberries are really starting to put out some flowers. And Rich just brought home the tomato and pepper plants he started up at the greenhouse at school, so hopefully we'll have those in the ground in the next few days.

*Annie had the last of her college finals for the semester yesterday. (Just wish we were done with our home classes--still more than a month to go there.) Anyway, she is anxiously awaiting the posting of her algebra course grade--the class that has caused her the most grief. She already found out that she got an A in both her German 102 and her Evolution class. :)

*Gray is now sporting two bald patches. It's somewhat mind-boggling, frankly. He's also struggling with the switchover to short sleeved shirts now that warm weather is here. My heart hurts.

*Had to run Max to the doctor yesterday. He came home from school with a swollen, pus-y thumb. Eww.

*Annie had her first soccer game of the season last night. They got utterly crushed. And we all got utterly soaked in the pouring rain. But the girls had fun, and that's honestly all that matters.

*I've started going through and weeding out the massive amounts of memorabilia from the kids' schooling and whatnot. Now, I'm pretty darn sentimental when it comes to this stuff, but I have to admit even I'm saying, "What the hell did you ever save that for, Debra Anne?!!"

*I can't finish the books I *have* to read. I have an enormous stack of books I've started and would *really* like to get back to in the near future (as in when this school year is finally over). And yet still, I checked out four books (The Wisdom of the Radish, grl2grl, By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead, and Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword) from the library this week! What the hell is my problem?!! That whole "but they're so shiny and new" thing, I suppose. (Even the ones that are not technically shiny or new at all.)

*I'm seriously afraid to check google reader--it's been a while.

So I just wrote a long, very whiny, oh-woe-is-me post. And then I got smart and deleted it. Instead, here's some pictures from our weekend...

A few flowers blooming.

A little boy having fun planting some jalapenos.

A freshly bathed beagle.

A couple new perennials planted in the flower garden.

A young lady studying hard for her finals.

A bowl of couscous with basil from Chris' garden.

And a cat reading a Captain America comic book.

Yeah, that's a little better than the self-pity party I'd started with.

this and that

*Medical issues seem to be the theme of the week. Just got back from the doctor with Maxidoodle. He's on his third day with a fever with a respiratory virus. (We always have to keep a close eye on his lungs because of his rough start in life.) But he's doing okay, just lying around on the couch, petting Lucky, watching TV, and coughing like crazy. And then there's Gray with yet another diagnosis, though related to his other anxiety issues. He's got trichotillomania, and is currently sporting a nice bald spot about the size of a half dollar from pulling out individual hairs. Bacon had his worst seizure yet yesterday. It lasted just short of five minutes. Five minutes that, of course, felt like hours. Rich's Mom had her hip replacement surgery on Monday, and is doing wonderfully. Annie was to have molds made for her retainer on Monday, but they decided to do just one more thing first, so it's a few extra weeks with those braces. And Aldo barfed twice. Oh wait--she does that every day, so I guess that really doesn't count.

*During a brief respite from the rain, Rich got some radish and kohlrabi seeds planted yesterday. Yay--the first things into the garden! Well, if you don't count the strawberries, which of course were already there from last year. And one of Annie's strawberry plants has flowers now. :)

*Speaking of rain, there's been no soccer practice all week. Not that the coaches are opposed to playing in the rain, but the fields are such a disaster. And yeah, honestly, that's made life a bit easier around here.

*Totally inspired by Chris, I finally got around to trying something I've wanted to try for years. It was such fun, and I really think I'm going to enjoy using this soap, too.

regrouping

Annie's lunch has been packed, the bed has been made, this old body has been showered, the dog has been fed, the boys were awoken only to be tucked back into bed because they're both sporting fevers, the school has been notified, the laundry has been started, and the bread dough is currently mixing in the bread machine. And now I thought I'd take a minute to babble before reworking my to-do list for the day. So yes, I need to regroup for the day.

But I've been giving serious thought to regrouping in another area. Years ago, I used to make/give a lot of "just because" gifts. And it really gave me great joy. But somewhere along the line, I started saving the projects I made to give them all at Christmas. Not there's anything wrong with that, of course...but I truly miss the days of "just because" gifts. And I'm thinking about going back. Not that I won't give Christmas gifts anymore, of course, but maybe they'll be less elaborate, fewer in number, etc.

You know, I guess what really brought this idea to a head is the fact that I have sooooo many crafty ideas I'm dying to try out right now. So many things I'm excited to dive into. And what's the first thing that comes to mind when I discover a new project to try--"Ooooh, I could make this for so-and-so" and "OMG--I bet so-and-so would love this" and "This would make the perfect little extra for so-and-so for Christmas." But I don't want to wait for Christmas!!!

And to perfectly honest, I'd really freakin' love to simplify the holiday season anyway.

Surely nobody minds getting a little something for no reason at all, right? And surely no one will mind if they get a little less in the month of December either, will they?

pardon me while I ramble aimlessly...

Okay, to those of you thinking, "And how is that different from any other post you write?" I say, "Well yes, you've got a very good point there." :P

I'm sort of in a weird "mood" these days. It's not that I'm in a funk, not even a little one. Seriously, I'm not really in any way unhappy at all. But then again, I'm not feeling happy either. Just sort of blah.

On my mind this morning:

*Rich's Mom is having her hip replacement surgery today, so she is very much on my mind. While surgery is always a serious business, I am so looking forward to her being able to live without so much pain anymore!

*The weather is just plain yucky. I guess it seems especially so because last week we had a few beautiful sunny days with highs in the 60s and 70s right in a row. But the spring showers are back--it's been raining fairly steadily since Friday evening. And it's not a warm spring rain--it's a cold, miserable one. The high yesterday was in the mid-40s and it was windy enough for the wind chill to be in the low 30s. Today it's supposed to be slightly warmer (highs in the upper 40s) and slightly less rainy (off and on, instead of just on). The rain is forecasted to stay throughout the week, but temps are to start rising again, so it's not all bad news.

*Soccer season started. This is one of those mixed bags. I love watching the kids play, but to be honest I don't like having our weeknights so totally booked. (Max plays Mondays and Wednesdays/Annie plays Tuesdays and Thursdays.) Really not looking forward to sitting there in the cold miserable rain tonight!

*The boys have the day off of school today. Normally I treasure these days--like unexpected little gifts. But today, *sigh*, I'm worn out just thinking about it. Because Annie has a dentist appointment. And it's probably going to be a long one--if all is as they hope, she'll be getting her back braces off and they'll be making the molds for her retainer. Sitting in the waiting room with the boys for a couple of hours is *not* something I'm looking forward to.

*It's that time of year where school is absolutely drowning me. Though honestly, I'm not sure if it ever doesn't feel like that. ;) But with just a month and a half left, we've still got a lot to squeeze in. A lot. But this is Annie's last week of her college classes, with all three finals next week. So after that we'll have loads of time to concentrate on her finishing up her world history and her lit.

*Seems like forever since I've got to read for fun. Doesn't even seem like I'm getting that many books read for school, but I guess that's because I don't count how much time I spend reading textbooks. :/ But anyway, in actuality, it hasn't been forever--because last week one night, I blew off all my work for the night and just sat and read A Monster Calls. OMG. Best book I've read all year. Still can't think about it without just tearing right up. I've said it before, and I'll said it again--Patrick Ness is pure genius. And you know, even those who didn't find The Chaos Walking trilogy to be as freakin' awesome and moving and honest and human and perfect as I did--well, I think they would love this book.

*I am so ridiculously bummed about our big apple tree, I seriously want to cry. Every year since we've been here the tree turns into a see of white with tinges of pink. And then come fall, we have bazillions of apples. This year, however, I don't know what's going on--there's just a few patches here and there of blossoms. :( So much for my dreams of canning 40-ish jars of applesauce from the tree this year. Oh, I'll still can, but it won't be quite so satisfying to have to go to an orchard to buy the apples as it would have been just picking them from our tree.

*We got the results from Annie's year-end testing (a homeschool requirement thing here in NY). It's so stupid of me--every year, I worry about it. Luckily, Annie doesn't. :) Still 99th percentile, as high as one can get. Next year, I guess my worries will double as Gray will need to take them, too.

*And speaking of Gray and homeschooling, I spent many hours last week working on school prep for him for next year. Probably not the best use of my time, as I should be focusing on finishing up this year for Annie. But seriously, as interesting as it is, sometimes I just need a break from world history. (Thus the reason why I am sitting here blogging instead of finishing up today's lecture/discussion notes. :P ) Anyway, I am getting both more excited and more nervous about beginning the journey of homeschooling with Gray next year. But I assume that's only natural. :)

*Still making slow, but sort of steady progress around the house. Actually hope to *finally* complete one whole room of its decluttering this week. The library. And in addition to the many, many books that I added to Paperbackswap (many of which have already found new homes) and the several that we've given to various friends and family, we've boxed up about 15 good-sized boxes for the library sale. And I really think we've made massive strides in curbing the accumulation aspect, too. Not that we don't acquire books any more, but it's at a muuuuuuuuuch slower pace.

*We're beginning to get the garden ready. I got about half of it weeded last week in prep for another infusion of our lovely compost. If the weather ever gives us a break, hopefully we'll have it ready and be able to plant our radishes and lettuce and onions and kohlrabi this weekend. And then it won't be long after that until we can plant all our tomato and pepper seedlings. We probably won't plant much more than that this year. We'd considered adding another garden so we could still have beans and cucumbers (we've expanded our tomatoes into their previous territory :P ) and a few other things, but since we hope to move next year, we sort of decided that we probably shouldn't.

*On the crafty front, I haven't been accomplishing much. Been concentrating on making baby caps for the project my Mom's church is doing. It's one of those win-win things---babies who need them get hats and I get to use up loads of baby yarn I have leftover from other projects.

Holy crap...I really need to shut up and get back to work, don't I? For everyone's sake. :P But first let me wish everyone a week full of simple joys and heartfelt smiles!!!!

moms' day

Yeah, it was a pretty darn good day.

and the stress continues to waft away...

Yep, another day in the win column. That makes six now. And seriously, I don't think I need four weeks to ensure this whole idea of "focusing" becomes a habit. It's just so rewarding that I can't imagine allowing myself slip back into my old multi-tasking-on-steroids ways. It may take a little vigilance, but I really do think that I've finally found a strategy that works for me. Am I in actuality getting any more done than I used to? I doubt it. But it's the state of mind thing. When I see real progress in one area, I've been able to let go and not stress about everything else still left to do. I know, it seems so simple...but what can I say--I inherited a fierce stubborn streak from my Mom and giving up my old ways hasn't come easy. It's come in fits and starts and practice runs. This past week though, it feels like the real deal.

Yesterday was a fun day. How could it not be when the focus is "gifts," right? Unfortunately, I only got one small gift made, but I did other things I hadn't really planned on getting to. Down in my laundry/gift area of the basement, I have two sets of shelves whose purpose was to hold gifts as I made or bought them throughout the year. And they served their purpose well for the first couple years we lived in this house. But they slowly, or maybe not so slowly, became a dumping ground. Eventually they couldn't hold another gift...or at least I wouldn't want them to for fear I'd never be able to find it again. So yesterday, I buckled down and began clearing those bad boys out. I almost finished one whole set. The amount of stuff heading out to the thrift store...sheesh. And we're talking new stuff. Including stuff I had bought as gifts, and obviously forgot about. Anyway, that was the boring part...but I did have some fun, too. I wrapped a few things for Mother's Day and Chris' birthday.

And I made a bunch of wrapping paper. Even had a helper for a while. :)

These are a few of the favorites I made today:

And today's focus, well, it's back to the kitchen...

five days down

Start of day:

End of day (okay, I actually took the picture this morning, but the result is the same):

So, judging by the photographic evidence, it seems a stretch to call yesterday a success. But I swear it was. I *did* focus. It's a ridiculously time-consuming job. And it does look a wee bit better, doesn't it? :P

Today's focus: gifts. And school. (I feel like I have to add the school thing because Annie and I have quite a bit to get through together. Plus there are a few things I need to have done for Monday, and I just don't think I'll have time to do them over the weekend.) But the gift part--now that has me excited! I have a bit of wrapping to do, wrapping paper to make, a huge stack of old cards to punch out for gift tags, and then hopefully I'll have time to work on making some gifts. :D Maybe I'll even have time to dig my way through the massive piles of crap I have on my scrapping table to find the projects I started making for Annie and Ana months ago...

good stuff

I awoke feeling like somewhat of a cranky-pants this morning. Persistent nausea and headaches not helping. Soooo...I figured this was a good time to gather up all that good stuff into a heaping big pile and wallow in it. :)

*The temperatures are going to make it out of the 40s today...all the way to the *mid or upper* 50s! And with sunshine to boot!!!

*I managed to stay on the "focus" track for a fourth straight day yesterday. It was not as productive a day as I'd have liked due to a bunch of those unavoidable "must be dealt with now" type emergencies. But I know there are bound to be days like that. This is life, after all. And while, I might not have finished as much as I'd hoped on my focus projects, I did make visible dents.

*My dear, lovely friend Ana is almost at the end of her current hell stretch with school. This makes me delightfully happy for her, of course. But selfishly, it also makes me happy for myself. Despite the fact that she's said it's okay if I pester her, I've been trying very hard not to. And well, I just miss her sooooo much and am soooooo excited about getting caught back up again. Not to mention, she'll hopefully have time to blog a bit more very soon!!! :D

*I have so many wonderful books going at the moment! (Which could also be viewed as a bad thing, but I'm choosing not to look at that way. :P ) I'm reading A Discovery of Witches with some awesome friends, and have to say that I'm enjoying more than I expected to. I'm reading The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress for school, and wow--I'm loving it. Also unexpected. And while I didn't intend to actually start reading it when I picked it up to flip through it, I am now totally sucked into A Householder's Guide to the Universe.

*A Monster Calls shipped on Tuesday!!! New Patrick Ness...on its way!!! :D

*The always sweet and lovely Trish had her baby. Yes, it's been a week and a half already, but I swear every time I think of her and her beautiful little girl I still get the most enormous smile on my face. :D

*This is today's "focus":

I know, can you believe I have this disaster in our living room?!! I've been slowly working my way through weeding out my scrapbook books and magazines--these piles are what I still have left. Also in this pile is the bag with the baby caps I've been working on. And an old stretched-out, outgrown sweater of Annie's that I'm currently unraveling to repurpose the yarn. And The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, which I really need to finish for school. The "focus" is to shrink this pile! And the reason that makes the good stuff list is because I'm not dreading any of those tasks. :P






*May flowers. :)

*The way my wonderful friend Chris keeps inspiring me with all his creative updates on his tumblr. :D

*Coffee. Yeah, I know--it always makes the list. :P

*Having a life filled with so many people I love.

getting the hang of this?

Yep, still on track with the whole "focus" thing. Of course, it has only been three days so far...so I've no business getting all cocky about it. :P How long is it they say it takes for a new behavior to become habit? Four weeks? Six weeks? Something like that, I think.

Anyway. Yesterday's focus was school. Pretty darn boring to talk about. But then what in my life isn't? :) So, yep...I kept my focus: did a little grading (vocabulary test and essay on religion in science fiction lit), updated grade book and time logs, added new vocabulary list to Spelling City, typed up this week's vocabulary list to give Annie, previewed "Pulp Fiction, Bradbury, & the American Myth" lecture for our lit class, typed up next essay assignment for lit course, read a couple chapters of The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein (a book I should be done with by now, but am only about a quarter of the way through--really enjoying it though!), previewed "The Early Christian Church" lecture for our world history class, typed comprehension questions and writing assignment for lecture, and finished reading Life in a Medieval City by Joseph and Frances Gies (and this allowed my to put a check on my 50x50 list--#41 Read 50 non-fiction books, each one about a different country).

And yep, I did squeeze in that little bit of crocheting I'd allowed myself. In fact, I managed to whip up a baby cap while previewing the lectures. (My Mom's church is making these caps for a charity project, and I figured that would be an excellent use of all my baby yarn scraps.)

And as for today, the focus is again school. And cleaning. Oh joy.

still focusing...pictures and Project Life

I think I'm liking this whole "choose one or two things per day to focus on" thing. Yes, I often have to stop myself from getting distracted by all the other things I see that need done, usually with a sharp vocal warning of "No Debi! Focus!" (And yes, the family is more than used to me talking to myself.) But I hope that as the month moves along, it will feel more natural to let things go in favor of making real progress in one area.

So yesterday's focus was "pictures." Okay Debra Anne, I certainly hope you learned a real lesson about keeping your photos organized on a regular basis! Yikes--what a nightmare. All the photos I've had printed since the spring of 2007, piles and piles of boxes of prints from Snapfish. (Of course, there is a fourteen month gap in them from when our computer crashed and we lost all our pictures because I had been so ridiculously lax in backing them up. And yes, that was a lesson learned. The hard way.) Anyway, all the pictures taken after that were easier to deal with as I do at least do a decent job of keeping them organized on iPhoto. But all the ones taken before the crash...yeah, that was a bit rougher. Particularly because the old memory ain't what it used to be. I did, however, discover yet another thing to be thankful for when it comes to blogging. Yep, thanks to the old blog, I was able to date and organize those pictures from years ago. :)

Anyway, the photos are now organized by chronology and event, placed in photo boxes, and in their new home on the shelves in my scrap area. (As opposed to all over the place, taking up already nearly non-existent floor space in my scrap area.)

And with that done, I moved on to Project Life. Didn't quite catch up, but I did manage to get the first two weeks of April done.

April 2nd-April 8th:

(An overview.)

(The left side includes a few misc. pics, a snippet from Gray's weekly class newsletter talking about their progress on their aquariums and terrariums, and a couple pictures and journaling related to Annie's volunteering at the town library.)

(A very simple layout sandwiched in the middle in order to showcase a few pictures Annie on her birthday.)

(While I had loads of other pictures I could have used to make another layout for Annie's birthday, I figured any additional layouts about her b'day would be better off in her albums. So I included Max's weekly spelling test. Oh my, does his handwriting need help. :P )

(And the right side. The top photo is one I used for photo scavenger hunt that Chris made for me, and beside it is the journaling printed from my tumblr to accompany it. The tab, cut from pattern paper allows it to be pulled out and read in its entirety. Same with that section of Gray's class newsletter on opposite page. The receipt from Annie's appointment with the neurologist and a wee bit of journaling to explain. A wish list of Wii games Max wrote...and I found under the couch. And a few more misc. photos from the week.)







April 9th-April 15th:

(An overview.)

(Tickets from both a couple of school-related events that Rich and Annie attended. And yes, I'm still envious that they got to go hear Barbara Ehrenreich speak. :P And a few misc. photos--one of which has been cut into two to fill the pockets, an effect I rather like.)

(And finally, photos from our first weekend of beautiful spring weather.)























I also managed to download the pictures of the gang's camping trip from Rich's iPhone. Had Max not been home sick from school yesterday, I might have even had time to do that week's layout...but overall, I don't think I can complain. Yes, I'm declaring May 2nd a success in productivity, too.

Here's hoping May 3rd will be as well. Today's focus: school and baby caps. And yes, nearly every day involves at least a couple hours spent on school--that's just the way it is--but today will be one of those days when it needs to be the major theme. And the crocheting--that's just to give my poor brain a break when I get too sick of the Middle Ages and need a few minutes to regroup. :)

hello May

Sorry April, it's nothing personal, but I'm sort of glad you're gone for the year. I know I can't realistically blame it on you, but I pretty much spent your entire existence this year in a funk. I was busier than ever, and yet felt less accomplished than ever. Like I said, I know it's not your fault, but nonetheless, I'm glad your successor has finally arrived so I can get a fresh start. Again.

So May, here's what I need from you--help me stay focused. Focus, focus, focus. On one or two projects per day...not ten or twelve. Thank you.

*****
I have deemed May 1st a success. The focus: cooking.

First up was a new batch of laundry detergent. :)

And then I tried a new soup recipe. (Which allowed me to put another check on my 50x50 list. I made a double batch so that Rich could take it for lunch much of the week and I could freeze a big container of it for Rich's Mom. She is going to be having hip replacement surgery in two weeks. As much as I wish I could go stay with her to help her out afterward, I just can't. It's a 6-hour drive to her place and I obviously can't leave the kiddos. But I figured one little thing I could do to make her life a wee bit easier was cook up and freeze a bunch of meals for her so she wouldn't have to worry so much about cooking in those weeks after her surgery. Rich is going to head down the weekend before her surgery to help her get some things done, and he can deliver the food then.

Anyway, 3 Bean Soup:

Super-duper easy. And Rich absolutely loved it!

1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsps olive or canola oil
1 16-oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 16-oz can vegetarian refried beans
1 14.5-oz can vegetable broth
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 16-oz jar salsa
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp cumin

Saute the onion, garlic, and green pepper in the oil until tender. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

See, told you it was easy. :) Rich had the soup for lunch, and the kids and I finished up some leftovers in the fridge.

Next up was a huge batch of spaghetti sauce. A big container for Rich's mom. Plus enough for Rich's dinner last night, and some night in the future. (It was meat sauce so the kiddos and I couldn't eat it.)

Then a double batch of pancakes...for our dinner with enough left over to freeze for future breakfasts.

Finally, chocolate chunk cookies for this weeks lunches, after school snacks, etc.

(Okay, so maybe that doesn't sound like a lot, but of course, there's still all the everyday stuff--laundry, kid stuff, etc.--that has to be done daily, so I have to say that all-in-all I'm happy with the day's accomplishments. And today's focus shall be "pictures.")