Break Week 2

 Christmas! I decided months ago to not do gifts. For monetary purposes is what I told everyone. There was also the desire to not put effort into buying/creating gifts that are not appreciated. The more I think about last year, the more upset I get. It's not about being appreciated but well, at least a thank you would be nice. 

Anyway, Slugger got a new baby (new cow) and some treats. And Boo got treats. Dad came over for lasagna. It was quite yummy. We watched Bones Christmases and A Christmas Story. Then he left and I watched Christmas Vacation. Low-key but nice day. 

Decorations went back to the shed the next day. Wednesday was a run and dinner at Himalayan with D and L. That was nice of course. They gave me a Moose cookbook which was nice of them. 

Thursday I finally got the new tattoo. A week late, but that's okay. It's there now and healing okay. I am oddly unemotional and indifferent. Which tells me that I am really just moving through life and not at all happy, overall. But I know that now and will work on fixing it in 2024 - see next post. 

Slugger and I went to AV to run errands on Friday. He had two walks, a ham bone and a pup cup so I think it was a good outing in his eyes! I went to Costco, Walmart, Target and got shrimp fried rice :) So I'd say it was a good day too. 

Yesterday was Dad's 81st bday. He came over for enchiladas. I made up the "recipe" and they were actually very good. And easy :) They'll be in the rotation, I think. Not all that healthy for Dad though. 

Today I'll tackle goals, and new budget and such. While listening to an audiobook to get in book #50 of my goal of 50. At least it's pretty good. Then I'll head to a NYE party. Yes! For real! It helps that I am supposed to wear pink :) I am, of course, wearing a LOT of pink :)

Christmas in CA!

 I would not trade the many holidays I spent with just G or Slugs, or with my transplant family in Texas. But THIS year was extra special.

Dad and I were invited to my brother's for Christmas Eve but didn't really know what we were doing for Christmas day. I had planned a birthday/Christmas party for 12/30 to which I had invited some friends and my brother and SIL. Dad was in charge of seeing what was happening with the rest of the family.

On the Wednesday afternoon before Christmas (4.5 days) it was decided that my aunt and uncle and their three grown children would come to MY house for Christmas day! I was SO excited!!!! I immediately started making lists 😀 (also totally just learned how to put emojis in here!). Luckily school was out early on Thursday and we had Friday off. BUT Dad and I had plans in Big Bear on Saturday night, plus Christmas Eve (Sunday) with Dave and Loni. The decision was made that I, at least, would return to the desert after tamales at Dave's Sunday night.

Anyway, I thrive in busy-ness so it was great fun for me. I had several lists going and every minute was planned out. My favorite! No sarcasm there - I love doing nothing but I also love being busy and having a tight schedule, every once in a while. I already had the table ready (or planned) for the party on Dad's birthday so that part was easy. I have made a traditional Christmas dinner several times, so the food wasn't difficult. And I had it all scheduled out so it was a matter of just doing it.

Saturday night, Dad and I and two of his neighbors went to a fun Christmas "play" - A Christmas Carol Askew or something like that. Very very funny. Audience participation and singing and lots of laughs. Dad even got singled out in the crowd. He played along very well!! Sunday morning I went for a trail run. That evening we went off to Dave's. Yummy tamales and good company. Then we went and picked up the dogs and made our way to the desert.

Dad and I had a quiet but fun Christmas morning with the pooches while I periodically did something in the kitchen. Charlie, Patty, Steven, Tyler, and Samantha showed up right on time and the party began. The turkey was moist, the potatoes mushy, and the yams (a new dish for me) were quite yummy. I made the stuffing in the crockpot. I thought it was kinda dry but somebody (don't remember who) said it was just right. I don't like stuffing so whatever! I had made a cream cheese pie, a pumpkin pie and a pecan pie. Why all the pie?

Over the weekend, I had invited Joanna and her mom and brother to come over for pie on Christmas Day evening. With 7 people at dinner, plus 3 coming just for pie, it seemed I need a 3rd pie. Right? Eh. Could've done without the pumpkin cuz it wasn't very good. BUT I FINALLY got the cream cheese pie right!!!

Once Christmas was over, I could concentrate on the birthday party. I had decided on a Mexican fiesta. I made enchiladas, sopapillas, "refried" beans, etc. There were supposed to be 9 of us, but Dave and Loni came down sick so they didn't come. The 7 of us left enjoyed the meal and then we had a gift exchange (I ended up with a new fuzzy blanket!) and played some games. It was a good evening. I think Dad felt celebrated. Oh, there was a birthday cake (which has a story but I'll keep it to myself for now).Seventy-five never looked so good!!

All in all, it was an EXCELLENT Christmas week in California!! I was ready for a low-key first week of January, which I got 😄

Opening Gifts from Santa 

Grandpa was trying to help with the packaging 

The first hiding spot 

Downtime between parties!

I really should take more pics of stuff. I guess I was having too much fun!!!

Thanksgiving 2017

I moved to CA for weeks just like this one! First, Dad and I worked Chimera. Then Slugs and I lounged at home for a couple days before heading to Big Bear for the holiday. Yay for being 75 minutes from Dad!!

One of the most exciting parts of being able to be in Big Bear for Thanksgiving is that we have a new member of our family!! My niece Alexis gave me a grand-nephew in September. They were going to BB for Thanksgiving!! 

Not sure I've ever mentioned this here but my big brother and sister-n law are VERY active in the Fawnskin Moose Lodge. It is just down the street from their home. Loni is a regular bartender and Dave is some sort of officer at all times, as far as I know. He's been Governor several times I believe. Anyway, he serves Thanksgiving dinner (and Christmas apparently) to members. He cooked 5 turkeys and a turducken in addition to lots of other yummy sides. This is where Dad and I had our Thanksgiving meal :)  It was so much fun! I met lots of people who I look forward to seeing more regularly now that I'm "local". And I held the baby!! 

Oh and the Cowboys lost and the Redskins won. Added bonus. Overall, it was great to spend the holiday amongst family and friends eating good food and watching football. Dream come true. Here are pictures. 

I bored him!!

William Nicholas Brown

Making faces

The happy family

Apparently once there's a baby, pictures of other people stop happening. Oops. Promise we were all there ;) Also it's very dark inside thus the horribly dark pictures! Sorry!

The NEXT day was almost as exciting. I had very much been looking forward to the annual Christmas tree lighting in The Village since last year when I knew I'd be there for this year. Dad got to work Search and Rescue for it but I was able to hang with him and his buddies until they had to go make room for the fire engine carrying Santa Claus to drive down the road. 

There were carols being sung, people everywhere, and not a chill in the air. No really. It was warm. I wore a sweater and coat anyway cuz it's winter darn it!! They lit the tree, Santa arrived, and we all left. I was starving! It was so worth it though to ring in the Christmas season. Now we're home in the desert and will start decorating as soon as I stop writing :)

the crowd before it got crowded

Merry Christmas from Big Bear!!

Here Comes Santa Claus!!

CA2015 By the Numbers

It was a STUPENDOUS summer in California for Slugger and I! Since the big stuff got separate blog posts, I thought it'd be fun to talk about everything else we did with numbers :)  It's the math teacher in me. Here it is...

2 months, or 8 weeks, 3 days

4438.2 miles in the snowflake (oh, plus about 25 cuz I forgot to set it on our way out until Weatherford or so)

15 recorded walks in the woods (probably a few more that I didn't record) which equals about 39.5 miles. I received several new badges on Fitbit pertaining to "floors". That is recorded as about 6137 feet of elevation gain. (The recording device is an app on my phone called My Tracks.) All this on 6 sections of Pacific Crèst Trail and other trails/paths in and around Big Bear. Just one reason I call it paradise!

2 meals each at Himalayan and Teddy Bear, and at least 4 at Broadway Cafe! Plus many other yummy meals out. I don't know how many meals of chili with rice. So so yummy!

12 trips down the hill, 9 of them driven by me in the snowflake.

5 excellent visits with friends - a camp reunion, 4th of July with the Floyds, playing baseball with Thomas (and his folks), a walk in the woods (unrecorded!), and an Astros game. Good good times!

8 meals and such with family (other than Dad). That'd include 4 Moose Lodge meals with Dave and Loni (if you count steak night when Dad and I sold 52 steaks!); 1 40th birthday lunch with Aunt Mary, Uncle Charlie and the boys; a drive down to see my niece; dinner with Uncle Charlie, Aunt Patty and the kids; and a paddle fest afternoon with the Charlie crew. Oh, not included is the race event which started and finished at the Moose Lodge and was directed by Dave.

1 jump from an airplane

81 videos from new students, though there are 10 more who didn't get it to me

2 seasons of Cheers with Dad

5 radio events - 2 100 mile foot races, 2 mountain bike races, 1 parade

1 trip to MD/VA which involved 5 airports, 3 flights, 17 family members, 1 good friend and her hubby, and a lot of missing Slugger!

2 occasions to haul Special Olympic athlete and coach luggage

1 funeral and a second that I missed by only 24 hours. Relatives of friends. Death sucks.

1 scrapbook made of 40 new things, 1 party and a WHOLE LOT of stickers and such. I think 8 trips to craft stores. Hehe. I'd love to show you the book!

7 finished books and 2 half finished.

6 pounds lost by Slugs. He gave them to me :(

Okay, that's all I can think of. Except for the loads and loads of not quantifiable good times that Slugger and I had just hanging out with Dad and Tuck. We're happy to be home but we're both felling pretty darn lonely. Excited to see them in 4.5 months in TX!

It was an amazing trip with lots of adventure and memories. Thanks to all who journeyed with us, in person or virtually!! Now to get stuff done here in our last 1.5 weeks before school starts. It'll make 2.5 weeks at home since school got out!

Not What I'd Planned - Some Healthy Thoughts

I was going to write about something but now I can't remember what! Must be in the part of the brain with the 2nd question I was going to ask my boss on Monday. I remembered as I was falling asleep last night... it had something to do with May... oh well!!

Instead I'm going to put in writing my commitment to being healthier (again). Yesterday I bought myself a fitbit. It's a plastic bracelet that tracks steps taken, sleep patterns, heart rate, among other things. You can challenge and support other people who also have them - like coworkers and friends, across the world! This aspect is what sold me on it. I love a good, healthy competition!! (I'm winning my first challenge so far!)

If you're a regular reader, you know that in the last year or so, I've lost 25 pounds. Yup, still at 25 pounds lost! The good news is that I've maintained my current weight through some stressful weeks recently (prom!). But I really want to go at least 5 more, preferably 10, I think. At this point, it's more about how the clothes fit and such.

Anyway, my recommitment to health, and the vegan lifestyle, is really more about how I feel, and how my brain is working. I am out of it 95% of the time it seems like!! Okay, now that the stress is better and I'm sleeping more and better, it's more like half the time. But it is still bothersome!! I forget words or use the wrong one, can't remember what I need to be doing, forget questions as above, and more. It's annoying.

Oh, and because I am SOOO excited to paddle board as often as possible when I get to Big Bear in 6 weeks :)

So, now that I've written it down, it's real. Healthy, fit, fabulous 40 here I come :)

Baking Revelation

I vaguely remember various family members complaining or lamenting about baking and how long it took, or something. How hard it was?

I just put a spice cake into my new bundt pan (yay garage sales!!). Spent maybe 10 minutes mixing stuff. Now it'll bake while I do something else. Not too tough.

The only thing I can think of to complain about is that it's already hot and then I had to turn on the oven... but so?! The cake will be yummy and that's worth a little sweat!!

Also, I suppose, if I were baking and cooking every day for a family of 12, I'd probably find other things to lament.

Good thing it's just me and G!!! (and the ladies who might get some at book club tonight)

Cake in a Mug!?!

A very good friend last week mentioned the "Coffee Mug Cake". Tonight, I needed some chocolate, but had no chocolate chips - my go-to dessert. So, I got online and found the recipe for the cake in a mug. I used water instead of milk, and, of course, powdered fake egg. I also had no vanilla. The recipe said that chocolate chips were optional. But if I'd had them, I wouldn't have needed the cake, now would I?!

Result? Not half bad. Killed my craving. Was quick and easy. Very much not good for you! I'd actually like to try it with the chips, and vanilla, and (soy) milk.

Thanks, L. for reminding me the recipe was out there!!

un-love

I am experiencing my first opposition to my vegan foodstyle. and it hurts. my own family basically doesn't "mind" that I eat different, as long as it doesn't affect them. what happened to wanting to embrace the things that matter to those we love??

so for Christmas dinner (tomorrow the 27th) i get to eat mashed potatoes (That have been put aside so i can doctor them myself) and broccoli. yay.

makes me appreciate even more my extended family who love me and SUPPORT me!!

detox woes - warning: unpleasant topics

if detox from meat and dairy is this bad, i can safely say i will never do drugs (not that i would), simply for the fact that detox would have to be way worse than this and this SUCKS!!

so, part of becoming vegan is the detox that the body goes through as all the "bad" stuff of yore gets kicked out of the body by the good stuff of today. this is a good thing, except for the fact that it sucks. i have read effects of skin break-outs, gas, other toilet issues, headaches, and mucus.

yes, so, mucus... i have decided that this horrible cold would not be so bad except that my body is taking this opportunity to dispel itself of some toxins. so while blowing and coughing up yucky cold crap, i am also getting detox crap. thus the AMAZING amounts of yuckiness coming out of my body. like, seriously, i could win awards with how much there is.

i also have the excess skin break-outs. that i can handle with a smile :) it's said to last a month or more... here's to hoping the mucus is almost OVER!!

Rice Milk First Trial

First and Second Trial really. The first bowl of cereal, the milk was not cold enough. I don't even like cow milk warm.

Today's second bowl was quite yummy. The rice milk is a little sweet so I think I'll be okay with non-sweet cereal when I go fully onto no sugar.

As for the no sugar, I'm starting in small spurts. Not spurts. Steps. I bought Diet Pepsi. The caffeine will be the last to go!

Going Vegan

I get a lot of nutty ideas. Some last, others do not.

For several weeks now (maybe longer) I've been toying with the idea of giving up meat. For calorie and economic reasons, this seemed like a good idea. And not that tough since I don't eat a steak every night or anything.

In my research and through self-learning (totally blanking on the right word - i looked at my life and health and stuff), I've actually decided to try Vegan! This is no meat or dairy (eggs, milk, butter!). The dairy will be tougher on my but I'm going to try it for a month and see what happens.

The good news is that I am SUPER excited!! I've been reading cookbooks and looking at websites and I wish there were more meals in a week!! Tonight I started with one of my favorite restaurant meals that I have only tried at home once - Black Bean Tostadas/Chalupas (Chalupa seems to be a Texas word - only place I've ever heard it!) with Avocado. Mine was simply a corn tortilla fried stiff-ish, refried black beans, and avocado (one of my favorite foods ever). I made some brown rice and threw in a bit of enchilada sauce that I had in the pantry for a recipe that I never made many months ago.

YUMMY!!! So far, I am LOVING my new foodstyle :) OF course, I'm still finishing some things in my cupboard... like the Dr. Pepper!! Cuz did I mention I'm also going to attempt to cut out sugar (the obvious kind - stuff cooked with it isn't on my list yet)??

And I owe it all to Alicia Silverstone and The Kind Diet!!

More from "Food Nation"

From the chapter "Why Fries Taste So Good"...

"You'll find 'natural flavor' or 'artificial flavor' in just about every list of ingredients. The similarities between these two broad categories of flavor are far more significant than their differences...A natural flavor is not necessarily healthier or purer than an artifical one. When almond flavor (benzaldehyde) is derived from natural sources, such as peach and apricot pits, it contains traces of hydrogen cyanide, a deadly poison. Benzaldehyde derived through a different process - by mixing oil of clove and the banana flavor, amyl acetate - does not contain any cyanide. Nevertheless, it is legally considered an artificial flavor and sells at a much lower price.  Natural and artificial flavors are now manufactured at the same chemical plants, places that few people would associate with Mother Nature. Calling any of these flavors 'natural' requires a flexible attitude toward the English language and a fair amount of irony."

Wowsers! This could truly spur me into that garden i've been talking about for years!! In any case, it will make my trip to the grocery today a little different - less processed!!