Shiny!

It was back to work this week, but only for 2 days and now it is the weekend again.   It was weird coming back from holiday on a Thursday that felt like a Monday, and then having the next day be Friday.

It got really cold, down to -27 degrees Thursday morning.  Makes it that much harder to convince myself that going to work is a good idea.  On the other hand, the new wake up light alarm clock we got for Christmas works great!  By the time the light is at full strength and the birds start chirping, both Bruce and I are awake.  It sure is better than being jarred awake from a sound sleep by loud buzzing and the resulting surge of adrenaline.

I am back on my FlyLady routines. The first thing you do when you start "Flying" is to keep the kitchen sink clean and shiny.  I know, it sounds crazy, but I have been doing this off and on for 12 years and it really does make me happy to see that nice shiny sink when I walk in the kitchen.

The real magic of the shiny sink, however, is in how it spreads to the rest of the kitchen, and eventually through the whole house.  You don't want to mess up your pretty sink, so the dirty dishes go into the diswasher.  The mess on the counter is more noticeble by comparison, so you tidy up and wipe down.  You get the idea.  Before you know it, the whole kitchen is shining.

In the evenings this week, I have been working on a cross-stitch Christmas stocking for Sarah that I started in 2007.  It is the last one of a set of four.  I usually pick it up in November, hoping to finish it in time for Christmas...  There's actually not much left to do to finish it.  Here's a sneak peek; more pics to come when it is finally finished.

I am enjoying listening to audio podcasts while I work.  It is amazing how much is out there!  Right now I am listening mainly to trivia quiz shows and science podcasts.  I'm also a big fan of "The Vinyl Cafe".  How is it that everyone in my family already knew about this and I didn't?

What's Cookin', Good Lookin'?

Early in the week I made "Slow Cooker Korean Short Ribs" from Michelle Tam and Henry Fong's new cookbook, "nom nom paleo: Food for Humans".  This is a fabulous cookbook and I recommend it wholeheartedly.

The ribs turned out great.  I tried fish sauce for the first time!  I served them with rice and sauteed spinach.

Saturday morning I made sweet potato

hash from the same cookbook.  With a couple of fried eggs on top and some of the leftover rib meat on the side, it was a very filling brunch.

Dinner on Saturday was a simple taco salad, with seasoned ground beef, tomatoes, avocado, shredded cheese, salsa, sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro.  It looked so pretty, I had to take a picture.

I ate the leftover taco meat scrambled up with a couple of eggs for breakfast.  There is enough to last for the next three days' breakfasts.

Tonight is roast beef with mashed root veggies, broccoli and sauteed mushrooms.  Smells good!

Television Worth Watching

This is where I keep a weekly tally of the time I spend in front of the tv.  Keeping track helps me be more discerning, and sharing here keeps me honest.

This week I watched 7 hours.

We watched 3 movies.  "Insidious", "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" and "One Day".  We also watched the new episode of "Big Bang Theory" and 2 episodes of the new season of "Community".  I feel pretty good about all these choices,  but I think I can live without the "Community".  It's just not as funny as it used to be.

Strangely, I am not missing tv as much as I thought I would.  I think that now that my eyes have been opened to how much time I was wasting, it has really affected how I feel about it.  At no time this week did I crave it.

Well, that's it for this week.  See you next Sunday!