high hopes...

A bit weirded-out by the fact that we're one-third of the way through 2012 already. Guessing I'm not alone in that feeling. But I am happy to see May arrive. I've got high hopes for the month...

*I fully intend to be celebrating the end of the super-cleaning/unpacking before the end of the month. Cannot even put into words how happy that will make me.

*This month will finally see my much-loved dear friend Chris starting the next chapter of his life, where he'll actually get to spend his days and nights with his beloved.

*The lovely Trish's Pin It and Do It challenge starts today and runs through the month. I thoroughly plan to have fun with this!

*I'm starting a class, 31 Things, in mid-May. It's sort of a scrapbooking class, but not really. It's more of a writing your personal stories sort of workshop. It runs for 31 straight days, and I've no idea how the hell I'm going to make the time for it, but I *am* determined. And excited.

*At the end of the month, we will finally have reached garden planting time. I suspect it won't be as big and elaborate as I'd been dreaming of for this year, as everything's just taken so much more time than I anticipated. But it will be good just to have our tomatoes and jalapenos and whatever else we get around to in the ground. There's always next summer to expand, right?

*Hoping to get much more read this month than last. Shouldn't be hard, as I only finished four books in April. :P

*****
On a different note, I was trying to update my sadly ignored 50x50, and was very surprised to see that I've got a huge dent in a few of my goals. Like #15-Try 50 new recipes--just yesterday, I made it to 42! And I made it on a very yummy note. :)

Spicy Chocolate Applesauce Cake

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 Tbsp baking cocoa
1 1/2 baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 cups applesauce
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In large mixing bowl, combine first nine ingredients. Add shortening, eggs, and applesauce; beat until well mixed. Stir in walnuts and 3/4 cup of chocolate chips.

Pour into greased 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 35-40 minutes.

Thoughts: Definitely a keeper. Moist and delicious. Makes me happy that we still have a lot of applesauce left from last fall's canning spree.

project progress...a 50x50 update

Not a lot, but every little bit helps.

#9. Give away 50 books.

Item 4: In a box of miscellaneous goodies I *finally* got in the mail to my much-loved friend Ana, I stuck a book I read a little while back called Pixerina Witcherina. Much of the book featured the artwork from a show about female roles in fairy tales. And it also contained three essays, one of which was written by Maria Tatar. It very much made me think of Ana. :)


#16. Bake 50 different kinds of cookies.

Well, with Christmas season here, lots and lots of cookie baking is going on. And I've been busy trying out some new additions to the repertoire this year.

Item 21: Cinnamon Crackle Cookies (Not my new favorite cookie or anything, but different enough that I will definitely be making them again. They're reminiscent of ginger cookies, but these have nutmeg as the predominant spice.)

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
2 tsps. baking soda
2 tsps. cream of tartar
2 tsps. nutmeg
2 tsps. grated orange peel
1 tsp. grated lemon peel

Cream butter, shortening, and sugars. Add egg and extracts; mix well.

In a separate bowl, combine the next eight ingredients. Gradually add to the creamed mixture.

Shape into 1" balls; roll in sugar. Place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes (or until lightly browned).

Item 22: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Good, but nothing amazing.)

Item 23: Double-Chip Cookies (Again, nothing fancy. But seriously yummy.)

Item 24: Nutty Orange Snowballs (Seriously good. Not too sweet with a subtle citrus flavor.)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups powdered sugar, divided
1 tsp. grated orange peel
1/2 tsp. orange extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts

Cream butter and 3/4 cup powdered sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in orange peel and extracts.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in nuts.

Shape into 3/4" balls. Place one inch apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Removed to wire racks to cool completely.

Place remaining powdered sugar in a bag. Add cookies to the bags, a few at a time, and shake to coat.

Item 25: Chocolate Espresso Oatmeal Cookies (Oh. My. God. Amazing. The recipe came from the latest issue of Vegetarian Times.)


#20. Buy 50 fair trade gifts.

Again, this one's pretty easy, being the Christmas season and all.

Item 7: A handful of ornaments for various people.

Item 8: Java drops for Tony.

Item 9: Coffee beans for a few coffee lovers on our Christmas list.


#23. Give 50 "happy something unexpected" gifts.

Sent my dear friend Ana a box of assorted goodies...but I can't say just what because it hasn't made it across the pond yet. :)


#43. Read 50 award-winning books.

Item 5: I reread Ender's Game. I "reviewed" it when I first read it. Absolutely loved it when I first read it. And you know, I can honestly say I still loved it. (I worried that I would let my very strong differences of opinion with its author affect my reading--differences I knew nothing about during my first reading--but luckily that didn't happen.)


#47. Watch 50 different seasons TV on DVD or Netflix.

Item 9: All the crocheting I've been doing for Christmas gifts has allowed me to zoom right through season 6 of Criminal Minds.


And that's it for now...hopefully I shall be checking off many more an item as the Christmas season progresses.

why am I posting about pie?

Seriously. Posting about pie is *not* one of the 18 items still left on today's to do list. Nor is it one of the 32 things already listed on tomorrow's to do list. Posting about pie just isn't high on my list of priorities here. And yet here I am posting about pie.

But it's a damn good pie! Like blueberries? Then you really need to try this fruity little delight. Not kidding one bit here.

I made this for Rich for Daddy's Day. He *loves loves loves* blueberries. Like the rest of the crew. Except for me, that is. I can take them or leave them. But I can't leave this pie.

Added bonus #1--super duper easy! Added bonus #2--does not require having the oven on for long periods of time in the summer heat.

First, put 30 gingersnaps and 2 tablespoons of sugar in the blender. Blend until you've got fine crumbs.

Put the crumbs into a 9" pie plate. Melt 5 tablespoons of butter. Pour it into the crumbs and stir until the crumbs are moistened. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides.

Bake crust for 8 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool on wire rack.

Meanwhile, dissolve 2 tablespoons of corn starch in 2 tablespoons of cold water in a large heavy saucepan. Add 3 cups of fresh blueberries and 1/2 cup of sugar.

Heat over medium high heat, mashing your blueberries against the side of the pan with your spoon (or cheat and just use a potato masher like I did). Bring to a boil, then continuously stir while it boils for a full minute. Remove from heat.

Stir in three additional cups of fresh blueberries. (Don't crush these ones.)

Pour into your crust and chill for several hours.

Eat a huge slice of it, and don't even bother feeling guilty.



















On a side note: Is it even possible to see the word "pie" and not think of the lovely Care?

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...

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.")

projects progress (update 4)

>Mission: 50x50.

#8-Donate 50 trunkloads of stuff to charity thrift store, etc.
Another bulging trunkful of stuff was carted off to the thrift store this weekend. (We are in big declutter mode here, and this is just the first trunkful of what will hopefully be several to head out this month.)

#14-Drink 50 different beers.

Kirin Ichiban

Coopers Pale Ale











#15-Try 50 new recipes.
Whipped up a little snack the other night--many thumbs up from all around for this one.

Chocolate Snack Cake

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp white vinegar
2 tsps vanilla

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in large bowl.

In separate bowl, whisk together water, vegetable oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix just until blended.

Pour into a 8x8" baking pan that has been sprayed with vegetable spray. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean).

#16-Bake 50 different kinds of cookies.
Made chocolate chip bars--nothing exciting, but one I hadn't made for this goal yet.

#23-Give 50 "happy something unexpected" gifts.

(My regular model, Maxidoodle, wasn't available, so I got a substitute.)

I made my friend Kara (who is hopefully too busy to be reading boring blog posts because I haven't yet got this in the mail) a farmers market bag. Just because.










#47-Watch 50 different seasons of TV on DVD.

The boys and I finished watching the last few episodes of Kaze No Stigma the other night on Netflix. Ummmm...is it weird to have a crush on an anime character? :P

#48-Find 50 new bands that I like enough to download something by them. (And by "new" I, of course, mean "new-to-me.")

Well, thanks yet again to my dear friend Ana, I get to check another off this goal. This time it was the Mountain Goats that she got me excited about. :D


>Mission: Declutter.

This mission is still moving along fairly well. (Though it will likely lose steam over the next few weeks as I get back to a heavy focus on homeschooling prep--I'm afraid in my mad decluttering frenzy, I've ignored this and used up the small cushion I'd built up.) Anyway, my original plan was to stick with a single room and get it done before moving on. Yeah, that didn't happen. I'm sort of all over the place--but I am staying organized within each room, so it should all work out in the end.

--The library: Weeded out Max's bookcase. I was very impressed with him--he managed to give up quite a few books he's "outgrown." No book in any way involving a cat, however, will ever be outgrown. :P Also weeded out about half of Gray's bookcase (his bookcase is huge). And he's also doing a pretty good job of purging--a few he gave to Max, a few I kept for myself, several were listed on paperbackswap, and many were boxed up to give to the library sale.

--My scrap area: Still making pretty good progress, but it's really hard to quantify. I did box up one decent size box of tools and whatnot to get rid of. And a smaller box of embellishment type things. And so far, one big bag of books.

--Max's bedroom: We also weeded out his bedroom bookcase. He got rid of few books here, but not many (as this is the bookcase where he keeps the books he's currently the most excited about). We also got through his stuffed animals (got rid of a small bag full, but hard to make much progress there because most of the animals he has left are cats). Also got rid of one box of toys.

--The garage: Rich did a bit of work out there. Hauled off some bigger things (like the booster seat Max finally doesn't have to use anymore), along with the bags/boxes of stuff we'd been gathering up.


>Mission: Tackle the TBR Pile.

No progress here because I *still* haven't finished getting my books catalogued on library thing. Thus, I still have no starting point.


>Mission: Sell the House.

I can take no credit for getting anything done on this, but thanks to Rich, I did get to cross something off the list--he took down a tree that was growing up in the middle of a bush. We should have taken it down years ago, but it didn't appear that he had many problems with it anyway.


>Mission: Conquer the Unfinished Craft Projects.

Just the farmers market bag I mentioned above.


>Mission: Recipe Reorganization.

Went through an even dozen cooking magazines, tearing out all the recipes (too many!) that I want to try, before recycling. This is such a time-consuming task. *sigh* But I shall keep plugging along. Only managed to transfer two tried-and-true recipes to cards.


>Mission: Photographic Scavenger Hunt.

Yep, a new project. Because I didn't have enough. :P But this one is purely for fun. My darling friend Chris provided me with a list of 52 prompts. One a week for a year. I completed both last week's and this week's. (I'm posting them on my tumblr, but will keep track of my progress on this blog.)

projects progress (update 3)

March 22nd-28th.

>Mission: 50x50.

#15-Try 50 new recipes. Well, after very little progress on this goal during those first few months, I seem to be coming on like gangbusters lately. Of course, that's because I have extra incentive--as this also helps me make progress on my Mission: Recipe Reorganization. Anyway, this past week moved me six spots closer to finishing this particular goal. I tried Fantasia Bars (a recipe I might not have kept except that Annie went absolutely wild over them), Hot Pepper Rice (okay, but not worth keeping), Chili Relleno Pie (Rich and I both absolutely loved this one!), Spinach Cheese Swirls (another okay, but not worth keeping), Ravioli Casserole (another keeper--Annie really loved this one, and even Max asked for seconds), and a new recipe for Veggie Chili (Rich usually makes our chili, and does an amazing job at it, I might add. But I thought I'd go ahead and give this simple recipe a shot just for the heck of it. The verdict--okay. But I'm going to do a fair bit of tweaking when I try it again.)

#17-Make 50 different kinds of soup. Sheesh, finally just getting the first one checked off here. And poor Rich--I put this one on my 50x50 list just for him. Oh well, I definitely made him happy yesterday. I actually could have used this as a new recipe as well, but I decided not to double up on these "cooking" ones.

Quick Minestrone Soup

2 medium carrots, chopped
1 cup chopped cabbage
1 celery ribbed, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsps vegetable oil
3 cups water
1 can (14.5 oz.) petite diced tomatoes, undrained
3 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 cup torn fresh spinach
2/3 cup cooked pasta, cooked
1/4 tsp pepper

In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, saute the carrots, cabbage, celery, onion, and garlic in the oil for 5 minutes.

Add water, tomatoes, and bouillon. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes (until veggies are tender).

Stir in spinach, pasta, and pepper. Heat through.

Okay, you can't really tell from this picture, but he really loved it! Good thing, since I made a double batch (half for him to have for lunches this week and half that I froze for another time).
















#39-Read 50 classics. Which, of course, is rather subjective. And since it's my list, I get to decide if it's a classic, right? Well, in my opinion, if We by Yevgeny Zamyatin isn't a classic, it should be. So I'm counting it. :)

#48-Find 50 new bands that I like enough to download something by them. I've got Ana to thank for this one. Again. :D Yep, she posted a song by Amanda Applewood on her tumblr, and I immediately went and downloaded three songs by her.

>Mission: Declutter.

The library is still moving along at a slow but steady pace. The reason this is taking so long is because I'm trying to catalog all my books (and all the books belonging to other family members that I want to read) on Library Thing as I go. (If I ever get all my books catalogued, then I can finally start keeping track of my progress, or lack thereof, in Mission: Tackle the TBR Pile.)

These are the shelves that have been conquered this time around:

Unfortunately, only four books were purged from that set of shelves beneath the window. And that other set of shelves--none. But only a few of those books are mine, so at least I'm not left feeling guilty about it.















The only other "room" I worked on this past week was my scrapbook area. And while I know I'm making progress in there, it's really hard to quantify at this point. I'm telling you, it's a complete, unmitigated disaster. I can't even use it at this point.

While I am making these "projects progress" posts for my own amusement and motivation, it is a more than a little embarrassing to know that others could see the state of that "room." :P Hopefully, there will be "after" pictures soon.

>Mission: Conquer the Unfinished Craft Projects

I asked Max to "model" with the bag I finally finished crocheting for Annie's birthday. He was quite a little sport in agreeing to do so, but I'm fairly sure that Annie will be using it as something other than a feed bag. :P















>Mission: Recipe Reorganization.

Not a lot of progress here. I did *start* going through this large collection of cooking magazines and tearing out recipes, but I only got through 11 of them.

>Mission: Create the Home I Dream Of

One of my goals on this list is to gradually replace our everyday dishes with pieces picked up from thrift stores. We've had our dishes for over 20 years now, and while I still like their plain simple style, they really have seen better days. Very few pieces remain that aren't chipped. And all of them are stained where the glaze has worn away so it's a tad embarrassing serving guests food on them. Believe me, they look even worse in person.

I didn't really want to buy a new set of dishes though. And I wasn't confident that I could find an entire set of dishes that I liked at a thrift store. But! I bet I can find several individual dishes that I like at the thrift stores. And that's what I've set out to do--just make a big old mix and match collection. Tied together with color (my kitchen is mostly red and white, with splashes of other bright colors) and bold-ish design. Anyway, I had found two plates a few weeks ago, and this past weekend I found two bowls.

Yeah, most people might think that's a really stupid idea, but it's this family that's going to have to look at them, right? :P









Hmmmm...when I put it all together in a post like this, it makes it look like I accomplished a lot. Even though I really didn't. :D

projects progress (update 2)

March 16th-21st.

*sigh* I seem to be heading in the wrong direction...far more is being added to most lists than is being taken off. :P But I knew the lists were nowhere near complete, so this was to be expected.

>Mission: 50x50

This list *is* complete, so anything I accomplish here really is getting me somewhere. :D Not that I've done all that much in the last few days...

#8-Donate 50 trunk-loads of stuff to charity thrifty store.
--One more trunk-load hauled off!

#11-Watch 50 documentaries.
--Annie and I completed our viewing of Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. All 10+ hours of it.

#15-Try 50 new recipes.
--Creamy Lemon Cheese Pie (one of those super-duper easy recipes that is super-duper yummy--yes, it goes to the keeper pile)
--Cheesy Rice & Broccoli
--Walnut Carrot Raisin Muffins (another winner! unless you ask Max, that is)

(Recipe from Jean Childress' Muffin Cookbook--I *love* this cookbook.)












3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup melted butter
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/3 cup grated carrot (which was about 3 large carrots for me)
3/4 chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

Preheat to 400 degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
In separate bowl, cream sugar, butter, and eggs. Add dry ingredients.
Fold in carrots, nuts, and raisins.
Spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
(Makes 1 dozen. I think this would be another great one to double the batch and freeze half of them.)

#21-Buy 50 Etsy or other handmade gifts.
--Ordered a kitty ears hat for Annie for her birthday.

>Mission: Declutter

Not a lot of progress made in the library--just one more shelf...from which I got rid of one book and Rich got rid of three. Better than nothing, I suppose.

Annie's room has come a long way, however. Not only did she weed out her books (culling about 40 books--some of which will go to friends, some of which will be listed on PaperbackSwap, and some of which will be donated to the library sale), but we also went through her "closet." We managed to get fill 2 1/2 big garbage bags with clothes, shoes, and bags to donate! (I saved another pile to use for craft projects.) I so wish I had thought to take before and after pictures, because the difference is astounding. :D And another few hours in her room and I think we could finish it!

>Mission: Recipe Reorganization

I actually got to cross something off this list! :D All the folders of recipes I've been tearing out of magazines, printing off the internet, etc. for the past decade or so have been weeded out. Believe me, it was a much bigger task than it sounds. Hundreds of recipes went to the recycle bin. Unfortunately, I saved more than got rid of. :P But at least I did manage to try a few new recipes, so they could also leave the folders and be added to cards in the filing system. Finally, I got 7 tried-and-true recipes copied to cards.

Slowly, slowly...

"oh no, she's at it again"

...I'm pretty sure that's the look I saw on Rich's face when I told him about my new "The Projects" page. :P But really, I don't think he'd know what to make of it if I wasn't making lists.

Yep, I'm at it again. Trying to reign in the chaos with a set of lists. But these are not my average wimpy little lists. No, these are freakin' monster lists. Lists that will take years, if not decades, to complete. Actually, some of them aren't even written yet because the prep-work is so time-consuming. And some of them will be constant works in progress, as items will be added as they pop up--I'm just hoping that I can cross things off at a faster pace than I add them. (Yes, TBR pile--I'm looking at you!)

Anyway, I don't suspect anyone is masochistic enough to click on The Projects page. The only reason I even bring it up to explain what the hell I'm talking about when I have "project progress" posts/partial posts. Believe me, I know the boredom factor of these posts/partial posts is extremely high, and goodness knows, I don't expect even my dearest, most loyal friends to read these updates. This is purely a self-indulgent endeavor to make my list-making, dreaming-of-being-organized, bordering-on-compulsive little heart happy. :D

*****
Project Progress Report for 3/15/11:

>Mission: Declutter

Managed but one shelf in the library. It's a time-consuming process because I'm adding the books to my library thing as I go. Good news, it's one more shelf done. Bad news, I only managed to cull one book.

>Mission: Recipe Reorganization

I not only went through one of my cookbooks and marked all the recipes I want to try, but I actually tried one of them! (The cookbook, btw, is Jean Childress' Muffin Cookbook, and I have enjoyed every one of the half dozen or so recipes I've tried from it so far!)

Pumpkin Muffins

(makes 1 dozen)

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 butter, melted
1 egg
1 Tbsp sugar

Preheat to 400 degrees.
Mix all the ingredients except the Tbsp of sugar. Pour into greased muffin tins. Sprinkle with that Tbsp of sugar. Bake for 20 minutes.

Does it get any easier than that? Yeah, thought not. They were an almost total hit, too. Only thumbs down was from Max--but that little goofball doesn't like pumpkin so it's hardly surprising. (Yeah, I know--what kind of person doesn't like pumpkin?!!) They're not an overly sweet muffin, but could easily be made sweeter by sprinkling a bit more sugar on the tops. Next time, I'm definitely going to make a double batch and freeze half of the them for later.

>50x50

Those pumpkin muffins--they also allow me to make another check mark on Item #15 (try 50 new recipes).