2013 – Changing Directions

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This is the first day of 2013.  I’m changing the direction of this blog, as I haven’t been very successful using it in its current format.  This year, I will journal my success meeting the goals I’ve set for myself.

2013 Goals

  1. Do something active every day
  2. Do something creative every week
  3. Say or do something nice for someone every day
  4. Listen to music every day
  5. Get dressed before noon
  6. Participate in Homeowners Association
  7. Spend more time outdoors

As evidenced by the list, I’m not being too hard on myself this year.  I want to enrich my life in 2013, not add stress!

Here I go!!!

Thursday, January 3

I’m counting the hours until the weekend. 

Another day of people trying to pawn their work off on others.  Hopefully will get it all under control by early next week.

Bill went to the oncologist today and got some good news and some bad news.  He has to go for a colonoscopy because his CT scan showed polyps.  But everything else looks good and as of February, he will reach the 5 year milestone in remission!  The doctor asked if he would like to have his port removed.  I know that got Bill really excited, as he has hated that thing since the day they put it in. 

Perspective is everything.   Good health trumps frustration at work.

Tried a new recipe for dinner tonight, and it was a keeper.  Chicken always gets “Chicken again?” from Bill, so I try to make it a little interesting.  Not easy, since there are only so many ways to prepare something.  I mean, chicken is chicken no matter what I do to it!

Progress on goals:

  1. I was dressed before lunch time again.
  2. The new recipe was as creative as I got today.

That was it!  The weather was rainy and miserable and spending time outside was out of the question.  It’s a good thing I live in Florida where the sun shines so much, because I absolutely abhor rainy days.

Overall it was an awesome day!  Time to kick back and get some rest.

 

Wednesday, January 2

First day back to work in the New Year. Ugh. It’s always so hard to get back into the grind. The older I get, the more I dream of retirement. Don’t get me wrong I’m very happy to be employed, especially in this economy. I need to work, I would just rather not have to. LOL. Me and three-quarters of the population, I guess.

I did wade through the email backlog and get through the day. I even managed to be quite productive.

As for my 2013 enrichment goals:

1. I was dressed well before lunch time.
2. I went out on the dock for a break at lunchtime.
3. I took Angel out for a long walk after work.
4. I complimented Bill on his sale today.

The goal was to say something nice every day, so this doesn’t count, but it does bear mentioning. I received a request for some documentation this morning. I promptly sent the documentation to the requestor. Hours later, I received another request from the same individual asking me to put together a list of the documents I had provided with a short explanation of each. Now considering each of these documents were totally self-explanatory and if the requestor had even bothered to open them up and look at them they would have been able to complete their little list in seconds; I was immediately annoyed at their stupidity and laziness. However, I did not succumb to my first inclination to be sarcastic. I listed each document and provided a definition of each. As I said, I know the goal is to say something nice each day, but I think not telling it like it is to a lazy fool counts towards the goal!

At this point in the day dinner has been cooked and cleaned up after. Nothing very imaginative tonight. Pork Schnitzel with baked potatoes and creamed corn.

Now it’s time to put up my feet and relax.

New Years Day

I thoroughly enjoyed my last day of vacation and the first day of 2013.

The sun was shining and it was nice and warm.  Took a bike ride to enjoy the day and sat out on the dock with Bill while he did some fishing. 

I worked on a beading project, which I’ll post a photo of as soon as it’s finished.

In the kitchen today, I experimented with a new recipe for French Meat Pie.  It was something Bill had mentioned many times in the past.  When he as a kid, one of his neighbors used to make it .  I decided to surprise him with a version I found on line.  It was a hit.  He enjoyed it immensely. 

Ending my day with my feet up on the couch and wishing the day wouldn’t end.

Snickerdoodle Cupcakes

The recipe for these cupcakes was adapted from a recipe that appeared on Foodie with Family.  I baked them at 325 degrees for 20 – 25 minutes.  Here is the link to the recipe.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2011/08/26/snickerdoodle-cake-with-brown-sugar-cinnamon-buttercream/

They were absolutely delicious and were a big hit at the shower.

Thank you Rebecca for sharing such a great recipe.

Sunset

Nature holds so much beauty.

Sunset displays bold and beautiful strokes of color that are offered to us by nature each day.  It’s almost as if we are being reminded how much beauty was held within the day and the leftovers are spilling out to inspire us.

There is nothing more relaxing than ending each day watching the sunset and reflecting.

Here is the sunset that I enjoyed this evening.

Sunset 9/25/2011

What did you reflect on while the sun set tonight?

Diaper wreath for Natasha’s shower

Here is the diaper wreath that I finished for Natasha’s baby shower.  I got the idea and directions from Little Brown House http://thelittlebrownhouse.us/2010/10/14/diaper-wreath/.  Awfully cute and fun to make.

Don’t be too hard on me, remember I’m new at this.

Oh, and I almost forgot.  Yesterday was the first day of fall.  I took pictures of the sunrise and would love to share them with you.

How awesome is that?

 

This is all so new!

This blog thing is all so new to me.  I’m having a blast checking out everyone’s blogs.  I find myself spending way too much time on the computer, but everyone has such great ideas and recipes that I am totally hooked.

Who wouldn’t love all the giveaways and the great stories and advice?  Not to mention the delectable recipes and pictures.  OMG, I drool just reading some of them.   So many of you share awesome ideas, there just aren’t enough hours in the day.

Today I finished a wreath as a decoration for a coworker’s baby shower.  I will be sharing later.

This is definitely a work in progress and the going will be slow, but check back in to see my progress.

This is just so Awesome!

Ikea closet finished!

It’s finally finished.  The closet of my dreams.  I have to thank Ikea, because without them this closet never would have been possible.

The final touch was finished yesterday.  I added the fabric panels to cover the air conditioning unit and it’s ugliness.