My Greatest Hits of 2013

January 1, 2014January 1, 2014 my13daychallenge

2013 is over. As I’ve read other people’s blogs today, I’ve noticed they have re-posted the 5 best posts of 2013. This was easy for me to pick the posts. I only have 5 followers and they are all relatives. So, I just called one of those relatives and asked what they wanted to see again. (Drum roll, please)

(1.) The Dress

For today’s brave activity, I got rid of my old Winter Formal dress. The dress has been in my closet for the last 15 years. It is hopelessly out of date and no longer fits me. Read the rest here.

(2.) Popcorn

The Accountant and I are doing a home renovation project. It smelled like a construction site so I decided to try burning a candle. Read the rest here.

(3.) Be Brave and Laugh at Something

I had surgery this last week. The whole thing was not fun so I decided to make it more fun by dressing up like a flower child for my grand entrance to the hospital. Read the rest here.

(4.) Slow Cooker Tip of the Day

Here is a tip for using a slow cooker. Slow cookers only work if you turn them on. Read the rest here.

(5) Boxes Aren’t Just for Little Kids

We got a package in the mail. Boxes are not just fun for little kids. I just had to know how much of me would fit inside of it. Read the rest here.

2014 will be a great year!

Challenge 13: Relax

December 30, 2013December 30, 2013 my13daychallenge

This semester, I have been taking a Tai Chi class at the community college. It looks really easy when other people are doing it, but it actually requires a lot of thinking and coordination. As part of the class, we do a ten minute relaxation exercise at the end where we sit still, breathe and imagine different colors. It is supposed to calm your mind and release stress. The first time I tried it my back hurt from sitting straight and my arms started sweating for keeping them in a “relaxed” open position at my heart. (For those of you that aren’t familiar with Tai’ Chi, you are not suppose to sweat when you sit quietly and breathe.) At one point, I opened my eyes to see if anybody else seemed antsy. Nope, they all looked peaceful and relaxed. I closed my eyes again and tried to relax, but I got so bored that my mind wandered. (grocery lists, a better ending to season 3 of Downtown Abby, how to build a time travel machine etc.) Fast forward after four months of class, I can now sit still for five minutes without sweating. Yeah for me! Although I still find my mind wandering down crazy paths. Ah, the blessings of an active imagination.

For my next 13 day challenge I’m going to practice my Tai Chi form every morning. Wish me luck! I will let you know if I figure out time traveling.

Musings

Adventures at the Post Office

December 17, 2013December 17, 2013 my13daychallenge

I went to the post office today. They had a live band playing Christmas music to help the customers relax as they waited forever in line. It was a long line. So, I decided to play a game. I became a groupie and acted like the post office band was amazing. I had the people around me believing that the band was famous. After each song, I clapped really loud and I moved to the music as they played. It was contagious and soon several other people were groupies with me. It was a lot of fun! I should go to the post office more often.

Musings

Fast Food Laughter

November 14, 2013November 15, 2013 my13daychallenge

I had the funniest thing happen to me today. I went to a drive through at a fast food place and the window was broken and kept opening and shutting automatically. The poor worker had about 10 seconds to hand something out before the window would shut again. I felt so bad for her, but it was hilarious too because it was like a race against the clock to try to give me my food. On one of the times it was open, I told her to try to prop the window open with a stick or something so she wouldn’t get hurt. She laughed and went and got a broken broom handle to prop it open. (Her crazy manager had apparently told her to just deal with the window.) It turns out the window had been broken for the last 15 minutes. Poor thing! We had a great laugh about it and it made my afternoon every time I thought about that girl trying to hand out food before the window shut.

Challenge Twelve: Use my Slow Cooker

Slow Cooking Fun

November 11, 2013November 12, 2013 my13daychallenge

I woke up on Sunday morning with a desire for chicken and dumplings. Luckily, the internet had a good recipe for slow cooker chicken and dumplings. It was very simple to make. First, I gathered the ingredients. (cream of chicken soup, butter, biscuit dough, onion, chicken and 3 cups of water) I didn’t have any chicken in the house, but I did have some canned turkey. Second, I chopped up the onion. Next, I dumped everything except the biscuit dough in the Crock Pot. The slow cooker was set on high and I set a timer for 4 1/2 hours.

(In case you are wondering, I canned that turkey. Go me!)

Then I went to church. Yes, that is part of the recipe. Food always taste better after going to church. When my timer ran at 4 1/2 hours, I got the biscuit dough from the refrigerator and dumped it in the Crock Pot. Thirty minutes later, I had this delicious meal and a lot of leftovers.

It was very tasty.

Challenge Twelve: Use my Slow Cooker · Musings

Marathon

November 10, 2013November 10, 2013 my13daychallenge

Today, I ran in a marathon. Before you start congratulating me, let me clarify. There was a marathon happening down the canal behind my house. I decided to jump in and run some of it. I felt like a fit girl for about 1/2 mile. Then I got really tired and came home. Oh well, I still get bragging rights. I ran in a marathon today.

Challenge Twelve: Use my Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker Tip of the Day

November 3, 2013 my13daychallenge

Here is a tip for using a slow cooker. Slow cookers only work if you turn them on. I got wonderful ingredients for a potato and chicken casserole. (The chicken isn’t in the picture.) I put it in the slow cooker and then I left for a day of errands. I kept thinking that I was pretty cool, because I had already made dinner. When I got back home from the errands, there was a funny smell in the house. Yes, that is correct. I had plugged in the wrong appliance. The cord for the toaster and the cord for the slow cooker are the same color. I ate take out. I got a good fortune cookie though so the bad smell in the house was worth it.

Challenge Twelve: Use my Slow Cooker

New Challenge: Use my Slow Cooker

October 27, 2013October 27, 2013 my13daychallenge

I own a Slow Cooker. Actually, up until ten minutes ago, I owned a Crock Pot. I just found out that it is actually called a slow cooker as Crock Pot is the brand name. Most of the time this appliance sits on a shelf next to the rice cooker. I’ve decided that for my next 13 day challenge I’m going to use my slow cooker every day. Today, we made Tapioca pudding. It was delicious.

Tapioca Pudding

Ingredients: 4 cups milk, 1/2 cup small pearl tapioca, 2/3 cup white sugar and 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Steps: Stir together the milk, sugar, tapioca, and eggs in a slow cooker. Cover, and cook on Medium for 3 hours, or on Low for 6 hours, stirring occasionally. Eat it and feel like a fancy chef who made a treat.

Musings

The Bird

October 17, 2013November 3, 2013 my13daychallenge

A black bird hit our window today. It was a quite a shock and made me jump. “Don’t be dead”, I thought as I ran outside to see the fate of the bird. It was on the grass flopping around in a startled little dance. Now, I normally don’t talk to animals, but it looked so helpless trying to relearn how to fly after the startle of hitting our office window. My teacher instincts kicked in, because I told the bird that it was bruised, scared but it still had the ability to get up and fly. The bird did eventually stop fluttering around the yard and flew away. I went back into the house and wrote a little poem for the bird in my poem journal.

Bruised. Shaken up. A bit scared from everything but still in one piece.

Raw emotions. Really raw.

But I am not broken.

It might be time to move on and fly.

(Note about the picture: The bird flew away before I could get a picture so I took a picture of my garden instead.)

Musings