10 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Thank you for all your kind words and shared experiences related to Losing Scully. It's been a weird week. But I think we are feeling more at peace with our decision. I found a stray dark cat hair on myself earlier today, and it is still a strange feeling. Over time, though, I know it will get better. But thanks again for sharing your stories with us.

Today I thought I'd post a video. It's been a while, but I really want to keep up with my YouTube channel. This is a video I've seen going around for a while with 10 things you didn't know about me. I tried choosing things I don't think I've covered on the blog. They're not all terribly interesting -- but you get the idea!



This month really got away with me between taxes, Scully, Stephen's track schedule, and spring break. I'm hoping to get into a better groove from today forward. So, I'll be back on here soon with another post.

Happy Monday!

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Country Store Essentials

My mom and I went to the sweetest little farm store over the weekend. It's only 10 minutes from my house, but it was my very first visit! Stephen and I have these grand visions of moving to the country. Someday we will, I just know it. But the timing is off and Ada's loving her new school, etc. Still, I love dreaming about having an acre or two, an old barn, chickens, and the whole shebang.

How perfect is this place?

I thought it'd be fun to replicate my shopping experience for you.

Each and every corner of this place was packed with the most wholesome ingredients (including the farm's produce!), cozy home accents, and other country fare. I filled my canvas bag pretty full with decorative gourds, dry soup mix, apple turnovers, and a block of NY maple cheddar.

Checkered pillow 

Bourbon Maple Syrup

Petspotters Sweet Potato Dog Treats

Cider mulling spices

Wheat grass wreath

 

Stanley Travel Mug 

Cast Iron Deep Skillet

Organic Goat Milk Soap

Stonewall Kitchen Red Pepper Jelly

Frontier Veggie Soup Mix

Large Waldorf Building Blocks

Pumpkin Cheese Ball Mix

Solemate Mismatched Socks

Beeswax candles

Rustic Chalkboard

Hope you enjoyed our little jaunt into the country today. I already need to head back to this place to get more of that maple cheddar. It was absolutely perfect in a batch of cheesy apple cider biscuits I made to go with some slow cooker potato + leek soup for supper last night. Yes. I just typed supper. I'm from the mountains of Pennsylvania, after all. Anyway, those recipes are coming later this week.

So, stay tuned!

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Monday Motivation: 5 Things To Do Today

Spring is giving me this whole new awakening. I'm shedding layers and embracing what's ahead with as much positivity as I can muster. The thing is, I am often lost for inspiration. I need a little nudge to get myself going and fully riding these good vibes. So, I thought I'd share a few things that have me feeling good lately. And they very well might be things you want or need to do, too.

Here are 5 things to do for yourself today. They might seem small or insignificant or even silly, but I'm betting that we all need a reminder to get going from time to time. If you're short on time, try to dedicate just 10-15 minutes to each "task" and go from there. That's just around an hour to a better day/week.

#1: Move your body.

I don't care if you run a marathon or just do a workout video for 10 minutes. But move your body. I'm sure we've all made so many excuses for why "today just isn't a good day" for working out. Try to shift your mindset. Moving your body doesn't always have to mean intense calorie burn or exercise for gains. It's just, well, movement. Motion. Getting into a good flow can help your mind move to new locations, too.

What I'm doing today: During nap time (or quiet time), I'm working on some freelance deadlines. Still, I'm going to bust out a 30-minute Barre workout, even if it means I need to work into the late night hours. Probably one that's more focused on stretching than strength.

#2: Go outside.

It's rainy and cold here today, but I'm still planning to go outdoors when we get a break from the precipitation. The time change -- however exhausting -- is incredible because it means so much more daylight. And even though it's still a bit chilly, that fresh air does wonders for these stuffy lungs. Even in the dead of winter when it's below zero, I try to get myself outside for at least a bit each day (10 minutes is better than nothing!).

What I'm doing today: Rain or shine, I'm going to walk outdoors for 30 minutes before dinner.

#3: Clean out a corner. 

Or a drawer. Or an entire room. Let it breathe. You can spend 15 minutes or hours on this activity, depending on your workload. Toss away anything that has been hanging around for far too long. Give something once cherished to a friend. Move the rest back into their intended spots in your home. Then marvel at the emptiness and organization of that space. Let that empty space sink in and make room for new opportunities and goals.

What I'm doing today: After a weekend of massive clearing out of our main living level (hooray for progress on my Spring Cleaning Goals!), I'm turning my attention upstairs to my office (whoa, I don't know how it got this messy!) and Ada's bedroom (the big winter to spring clothing switch!). I'll probably spend an hour organizing these space while Ada does art after her nap.

#4: Feed yourself.

Cooking doesn't have to be this intense process that takes hours. Heck, I work from home and still manage to not find time to cook a "proper" meal on many days. Whether it's a smoothie or a salad, a stir-fry or a full-on 3-course dinner, take time to connect with food. One trick I've been using lately since Stephen has started coaching is buying bags of frozen veggie mixes. I can prepare a protein and side like rice and then just steam or otherwise cook the veggies for a quick meal.

What I'm doing today: I already made myself (and Ada) a glorious smoothie this morning with bananas, strawberries, blueberries, kefir, oats, peanut butter, and arugula. Great way to start the day. I'm hoping to prepare some kind of creative carrot soup for dinner tonight because we have SO MANY CARROTS and I don't want them to go to waste. I also need to plan our meals for the week because I fell behind.

#5: Cross something off.

We all have to-do lists. Mine sits in a mental drawer that I often forget to open. And then days and weeks will pass, and those items stay on there -- stagnant. Eventually, they contribute to this unsettling weight of mental clutter. I find myself feeling behind and disorganized and otherwise frenzied, which just paralyzes me on certain days when life is hectic. Time to get to doing.

What I'm doing today: I'm writing down my to-do list so I can post it someplace in my home and stop fretting over it in the hour or so before I fall asleep. The item I hope to cross off today? Finishing a chunk of tax-related stuff that has been sitting in my folder for a week. I cannot wait to get my taxes done!

What are you doing for yourself today?

Happy Monday. I hope it's a good one!

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Our Weekend // Beach Ed.

We’re at the beach! Our annual vacation kicked off Saturday with a 6.5 hour drive to Cape May, NJ. It shouldn’t take nearly that long -- but wow did we run into some horrendous traffic. This was our first long car trip where Ada didn’t have some complete meltdown, and I think our van might have something to do with it. All that space sure came in handy when we were packing, too.

Here’s what’s going on:

We feel so fortunate to be on vacation. We don’t do it often, so when we do get away -- it feels absolutely amazing. And this is silly, but I look forward to visiting the ocean each year because my allergies completely disappear! In fact, my sinuses clear up and I usually feel amazing. Less stress, too. Might have something to do with my 5-mile beach run this morning.

Sigh. If I only had $1,000,000 to move here.

OK. Here’s something I just have to share with you. I hate being in the sun. So, spending days on the beach can be hard because I’m basically sunburn-phobic. I looked around on Amazon before our trip and found this absolutely amazing umbrella called the ezShade Umbrella.

Check it out:


The shade area is SO BIG and GLORIOUS. The umbrella also blocks out 99 percent of UVA + UVB rays. And if you don’t want or need a whole new umbrella, they also just sell the sunshield. You attach it to the umbrella with velcro and anchor the bottom with sand. Then as the sun moves throughout the day, you just remove and move with it. It also gives major privacy (like -- I wish I had it when I was nursing!). Seriously cannot say enough good things.

You might also spy our Allen Bike Trailer/Jogger in the background. This is the first time we’ve brought it to the beach, and we’re so excited to try it out and bike around. Right now we’re just using the stroller function, but it’s nice to have the double duty. It’s also great at hauling some of our beach gear.

I’ll hop on soon to share a fun vacation recipe with you. For now, check out some of the articles I’ve written for other sites. I share these only to give you some fun reading material -- I don’t get paid per click or anything like that.

15 Awesomely Fun Toys You Can DIY
10 Cool Companies That Pay You To Refer Friends
7 Things You Need To Know Before Buying Your First House
8 Ways To Eliminate Ants Without An Exterminator
10 Cool Ice Cream Cakes For Your Next Celebration
A Week Of Camping Is Only $160 At These National Parks
More of my articles on Wise Bread . . .
11 Natural Ways To Induce Labor
Does Evening Primrose Oil Safely Induce Labor?
5 Signs You Should Take A Pregnancy Test

Happy Monday!

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I've never really ever met a normal person...

Major kitchen flop yesterday. I have this delicious recipe in my head and my execution failed me. So, the last part of the Thanksgiving Brunch will have to wait for another day or two. I want to get it right for both you AND me AND also get good photos. I know you understand how that goes. Sometimes mistakes are good . . . and sometimes horrible.

I spent the majority of my weekend becoming utterly obsessed with Arcade Fire's new album. Stephen bought it while I was away at my spa weekend, so he's two weeks deep in love already. I've been a big fan for years and years -- way back in 2004 they played a small show at Cornell, but I was only just getting into them, so I skipped out. If I had only known they'd turn into my favorite!

Have you seen/heard this? It's pretty much the best thing ever. "Normal Person" is my favorite song right now (third song on this video, but the whole thing is well worth watching).

And this one just makes me cry.


Anyway, I got some running done in there. Stephen and I headed to the gym Friday night and I did 100 burpees with kettlebell swings mixed in after every 25. Then 6 miles with a friend on Saturday. We had planned to do 13.1 on Sunday, but the weather was absolutely brutal. 15 degrees that "felt like" 1 degree with 35MPH gusting winds and snow. I'm just not that hardcore yet. I'll get there as the season rolls on.

So, I settled for 8 on Sunday -- 6 with Stephen at a fast clip and 2 to cool down.


My running buddy and I plan to do our half marathon long run on Wednesday sun or snow, as we're expecting a storm mid-week. Feeling pretty good about running lately. Enough that I might sign up for a spring marathon, but let's not get ahead of ourselves!

I've also been having these insanely productive work sessions at Wegmans of all places. My in-laws were up visiting this weekend and allowed me to venture out on a Monday and get two glorious hours of uniterrupted work finished.


If you work from home, you really do need to get out if you haven't already. I'll take the laptop there during Ada's nap on a weekend and get all sorts of work done while sipping soy chai. Then I'll do the grocery shopping. I even got a flu shot today. Hmm. I might just move into Wegmans.

What else?

Well, I wrote about it on Writing Chapter Three, but Stephen and I are in the process of becoming a one-car family. Not really by choice, though it's something we've certainly wanted to do in the past. So, if you're interested in why and the thought process and also why I might be whining about it a bit as we transition, you can check out that post.

I don't do a ton of "what's going on with me" sorts of writeups, so I hope you enjoyed the change of pace. But enough about me.

What'd you do this weekend?
What are you listening to these days?
What's your favorite cafe drink?
Is it frigid where you live, too?

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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Monday's Eats

I don't normally post a play-by-play of my daily meals. Partially because they often aren't interesting. Partially because I'd rather eat them than photograph them. Partially because I'm lazy.

But today I ate some fun meals -- inspired, perhaps, because we bought everything organic this week as an experiment. I felt like documenting on Instagram (we've over there at neverhomemaker). So, here's today's eats with a few recipes/notes sprinkled in if something looks good to you, too.

LUNCH

Vegetarian Quesadilla: Whole wheat wrap (left over from last week's NJ trip) + black soy beans + chopped spinach + Monterey Jack cheese + scallions + pinch smoked paprika and chili powder

In a large pan w/ a bit of olive oil inside, medium heat, cook scallions and beans with spices until scallions are golden. Then take a wrap, spread all ingredients on one half and fold. In same pan over medium-high heat, spritz with olive oil and cook each side until browned. Slice into wedges and top with hot sauce. Serve chopped carrots, radishes, and avocado.

DINNER


Kale chips: Just preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Tear kale leaves into bite-sized pieces. Spritz with a little olive oil. Sprinkle with 1/4 to 1/3 cup nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper.

Bake for 5 minutes. Stir. Repeat twice -- until crispy.


Warm Quinoa Salad: 3/4 cup dry quinoa cooked with 1-1/2 cups water + sauted zucchini and onion and black soy beans + sauce made with handful fresh basil leaves, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup Vegenaise, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 2 teaspoons vinegar

Combine all parts of the recipe as described above. Serve warm or cold. Makes two extremely large servings. Would be a great side-dish for four or leftover lunch!


DESSERT

Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chippers (1 sheet of 'em): 1/4 cup Earth Balance + 1/4 cup brown sugar + 1/4 cup cane sugar + 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract + 1 tablespoon flax meal mixed with 1 tablespoon hot water + 3/4 cup whole wheat flour + 1-1/4 cups rolled oats + pinch salt + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder + 1/4 to 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream together Earth Balance, sugars, vanilla, and flax mixture. Add rest of ingredients and mix until well combined. Scoop heaping tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheet and flatten slightly w/ palm of your hand. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden.

What did you eat today? Anything special? Or do you have regular Monday go-to meals?


Today on Writing Chapter Three, I've written part 1 of our organic grocery shopping experiment. I was completely shocked at the difference in dairy prices, in particular. And I have a lot more to write on the topic.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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