Panting...

This past week has been absolutely nonstop.

Upside is I've been falling asleep a lot faster than I ever have!

Downside is I may have bitten off more than I can chew, and all this time spent on aprons and running and training and writing leaves little time just to be with my hubby.

And that's not a good thing.

So while I'm still definitely doing The Ruffled Owl thing (get your orders in soon for Christmas!), and still going to keep training for a half marathon in January (gulp), I think the area I may slack off on is going to be the writing. If you'll note the little gadget on the right hand side that shows my NaNoWriMo progress, you'll see I'm about 5,000 words behind at the moment.

I'm not ditching the effort entirely, but I'm not going to let myself feel guilty if I don't meet my daily quota.  I will let myself feel guilty for not spending time with my husband.

If only I could figure out a way to squeeze six or seven more hours into the day...

Just Do It

I'm sure all of you know Nike's mantra, Just Do It.

Sometimes I get so sick of advertising, but yesterday I was actually grateful for this one.

Yesterday was one of those days that your eyes pop open when the alarm goes off because you know you've got lots to do.

I quickly got dressed and then sat down with a mug of coffee to begin my NaNoWriMo 2010 story. Outside a storm dumped barrels of water that the wind whipped up into an all-soaking mist. I wrote without thinking, working fast to beat the clock. Within 20 minutes I had almost 500 words down, then I brushed my teeth, kissed my hubby and my dog and ran out the door to work.

During my lunch hour I cranked out another 600 words...its not great stuff but at least its down! That's the whole point of NaNoWriMo...just get your first rough draft down! I tend to want to go back and comb over the first chapter with a fine tooth comb. Its the most important part, after all. Its what sets the tone, sucks readers in and snags your attention like a gorilla in a tutu.

Maybe I've been free writing a bit too much...

Anyways, after work I raced home to do my daily training for this crazy half-marathon I'm going to attempt in January. It was in the low fifties but with the blustery wind still spraying rain it felt a lot colder.

And it was getting dark.

I really really really did not want to run outside.

But Roy needed exercise, and I've promised myself I can order the book Born To Run if I finish three weeks of training...and I really want to read that book. 

So I put on my Nikes and started off. I don't know if it was the hills or the wind or the rain, but it was the most challenging run to date. I was nearing our neighborhood and it was totally dark by this time, but I still had about a mile to go. My calved burned, I was sweating and cold from the wind, Roy was even beginning to drag, and I was getting ready to call it quits and go in and get warm when a song came on my extremely random mix of motivational tunes on Matt's iShuffle. I had the music turned down low so I could hear cars on the main street (where I was not only being pelted by the storm but by the splash of cars driving by as well), and I caught a glimpse of the chorus.

No matter how hopeless, No matter how far...

 I hit rewind and started running again.  It was the song, "The Impossible Dream," from Man of La Mancha. Isn't that what I'm doing? Me, run 13.1 miles? Four is still kicking my butt! It really does seem like an impossible dream. But of all songs on my iShuffle that one kicked me back into high gear. I rounded a few more cul-de-sacs in our neighborhood and felt like I was in some Nike commercial...just do it. I just needed a bolt of lightning for dramatic effect.

And I did. I finished the last mile and had the worst time I've had to date but didn't really care. At least I finished it.

And a hot shower was all the reward I needed.

Then I made dinner, met up for an online book club and then finished my 1,660 words for the day.

And slept really well last night.

All that to say, sometimes you really do just have to lace up your Nikes and just do it. And you find you can.

What Am I Getting Myself Into?

I've never been one to sit still.

As a kid I was perpetually twirling. Spinning. Fidgeting. Scrunching my nose.

Driving my mom and Ammah crazy.

Things haven't really changed.

For Matt, a perfect day off is when he does nothing.

For me, a perfect day off is when I cross off everything on my list.

I like having a full plate, and with the launch of The Ruffled Owl, my own BHAG (big hairy audacious goal) of running a half marathon in January, and--oh yeah--working full time, I'm also signing myself up again for the yearly NaNoWriMo.

Nanoo-what-oh?

Its short for National Novel Writing Month...which is November.

The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days.

Please stop laughing.

The first time I signed up for it was the month I got married. 

Told you I like to keep busy.

I've attempted it twice before and actually churned out some pretty good stuff before I fizzled out halfway through and fell hopelessly behind. Now I'm debating do I want to pick up one of those stories and write another 50K words on it? I'm not sure yet but I'm running out of time so I'll have to make a decision soon.  Actually, that's what novel writing is. Making a lot of decisions and putting them down on paper.

So wish me luck. Then more luck. Add a third cuz that's what I'll need as I plunge into this crazy insane season of sewing and crafting and holidays and writing and running and stretching and traveling and cooking and all that good stuff.

Anyone else interested in joining the craziness?

A Baby Quilt and a New Goal

So I've had these pictures for a couple weeks and have been dying to show them! But I couldn't because this was a gift by a person who occasionally reads the blog (well, she may not now with TWO munchkins!) and I didn't want to give it away!

Introducing...the Aisley Quilt

the backside...

You might recognize some of the fabric from The Carol Apron...

because it was for her baby!

Congrats Carol and welcome to the world little Aisley! (isn't that an awesome name???)

If you're interested in either a baby quilt or a custom apron, you can check out The Ruffled Owl!

On another note I've set a sort-of-crazy-what-are-you-thinking-goal for myself. Last Monday I decided to try to run a half marathon in January.

That's 13.1 miles, people.

That's farther than it is from my house to my job.

And I haven't really been running.

Am I doomed?

Possibly.

Why would I do this to myself, you ask?

I have to say I was initially inspired by No. 17 Cherry Tree Lane's Rachel Reeves. She ran her first marathon - a Run for Mobility marathon in which the Free Wheelchair Mission partnered with the Surf City Marathon.

She blogs about it here and I mentioned it during my Wardrobe Challenge here. 

It had been rolling around in the back of my head and I was running a bit more than I used to (which was not at all), but I'm the kind of person who needs a goal. And if I did a 5K I know I would slack off and then have a miserable time on the day of the race but still manage to pull it off. A half-marathon, though, I can't slack off on. Then I saw something in fitness magazine about looking up their half-marathon training schedule online...and did it. And thought, heck, I can do that.

I don't have a goal for how fast I want to run it...if i can drag myself across the finish line within the four hour cutoff point I'll be glad. 

I'm hoping I cross it looking like this:

Somehow I have a feeling I'll end up going across like this:

I've had my current running shoes for quite awhile, so I thought I would test out the "barefoot" trend and try a pair of Nike Free Run shoes. They're so much lighter and more flexible than my old shoes!

And then I did something I've never ever ever ever done in my life before.

I joined a gym.

(gulp)

Matt has belonged to a lot of gyms and been talking about joining again, so when we found a coupon I figured it was worth $30 a month for both of us to sign up. With it getting dark so much quicker up here, and this gearing up to be a really wet and cold season, I figure a gym is a good backup for running and cross training.

Last night I laced up my new Nikes and hopped on a treadmill.

First I had to get over that creepy gym feeling. Plugging my ears with headphones I ignored the idea that everyone was looking at my jiggling butt with the ever-widening crack-sweat. No one really wants to see that anyways.

When I started running my feet felt deliciously light and cool! I ran my first stretch (I walk/run cuz I'm a newbie like that) and it felt amazing! WOW!

I also noticed I kept weaving to the left, and my right side felt like it was working a whole lot harder! Hmmm...what gives? I guess two years of walking Roy on my left side has messed up my running alignment! Woops!

Around 2 miles I started noticing that burning in my calves. So I walked. The next time running I felt it creep up into my hamstrings.  By the time I stepped off the treadmill and felt like there was fire licking up the back of my legs and into my glutes I realized I may have overdone it a tad.

Wearing those light shoes makes you run on your toes...which is great...unless your muscles are used to running on your heels. In that case, you're focusing all that energy on previously lightly used muscles...and giving them one heck of a workout.

When we went to the grocery store to get some eggs and I found myself hobbling around the aisles I knew I had overdone it. Woops.

Good thing today is a cross training day where I'll probably just hobble around with Roy. Maybe I'll try walking him on my right side today.

So yeah, there's my ridiculous goal that involves a 12 week training program and probably a lot of sore muscles.

Wish me luck.

We Finished No Spend Month! (Albeit a bit early..)

We finished!

Okay, so we actually finished on Wednesday, July 28th because then I was headed out of town and my husband was hosting his parents and we didn't want to have absolutely nothing in the cupboards...but overall we did pretty good!

From July 1 to July 28th we spent $192 on food. (the last post said we were at $193 but looking over the accounts I saw one of the Safeway charges was actually for batteries) We were fortunate enough to get our CSA box of veggies so we ate a LOT of greens this month!

I actually found out I can only make 4 payments per billing cycle so we've just been putting money in a savings account and when August 6th hits we will be able to pay off ALL...did you hear me? ALLL our credit card debt! 

HALLELUJAH!!!

To bring you up to speed on the semi-interesting things in my life, Thursday morning while flying to Orange County I sat next to an interesting young man on the plane ride.

He looked to be about 12 with that gawky gangly hands-are-too-big age, but then I looked closer and he had the attempts of a beard. On his lap he clutched a big, fresh Bible. The whole plane ride he didn't read it, just sat clutching it like a talisman against anything bad happening. Turns out he was headed to LA to look at a Bible college so he must have been older than 12, but I still wanted to get him a sippy cup and pat his head and tell him things would be just all right.

After my parents picked me up we headed somewhere I could get a little taste of home cookin'...Souplantation!!! In however many years I've been going there, their Chinese chicken salad, focaccia bread and clam chowder tastes exactly the same. J met us there for lunch, and sometime during the course of discussion we talked about making your bed and whether or not you like the sheets smooth when you get in.  According to my brother, the best method is to never make your bed so you can get in and "scrinkle" the sheets up around you. My brother, the wordsmith.

Because we can't sit still, we then headed to Mark & Char's to help the bride-to-be "Shop at Char's." She was able to find nearly every single centerpiece item she needed within the boundaries of the house and yard. Amazing.

Then we were off to my Aunt's house for a BBQ and good times all around.  The best moment of the night came from when I was relating our No Spend Month to my Nana.  I mentioned having to make a few "creative" dishes and my brother, being curious about what we had managed to make, asked how I would rate those meals. With a tone showing just a bit of pride I said, "I'd say out of the whole month of meals, only two meals were about a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10."

Without missing a beat, Nana responds, "Despicable!"

I think we almost wet our pants laughing at that one. Nothing but the best for Nana!

That's all for today, stay tuned for Pics from the bonfire and J's "Folk n' Roll Concert!"

Oh..and that lovely wedding...but more on that later!

Steamed Veggies With A Twist

Only a few more days to go on the challenge and things are getting close! We're out of milk, eggs, creamer and nearly out of coffee...I think we can muster a couple more days! (At least I can get coffee at work!)

Last week in our CSA box we got some Romanesca cauliflower.

Having no idea what to do with this odd-looking vegetable I browsed through one of my cookbooks and found a recipe that looked...interesting. Interesting enough to be worth a try.

FYI, this recipe was taken from Organic Kitchen, a cookbook from my dear friend Heatherly who, incidentally, is getting married this weekend--congrats!

Back to the recipe. I kinda cocked an eye at the ingredients which included lemon rind, hardboiled eggs and breadcrumbs...could be good, could be...interesting...

It was delicious. And easy, to boot! That's always a good thing for a side dish. So here is the recipe, if you care to liven up your boring old steamed carrots and broccoli (and Romanesca cauliflower).

Florets Polonaise

Ingredients

1 1/4 pounds mixed vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, Romanesca cauliflower, carrots, etc. (anything you can steam, basically)

2-4 Tablespoons butter or extra virgin olive oil (depending on your taste preference and addiction to butter)

finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon (or a dash of lemon juice, like I used)

1 large garlic clove (don't be afraid to use 2...)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs, lightly baked or broiled until crisp (takes, like, 30 seconds in the broiler)

2 eggs, hardboiled (stay with me here)

sea salt and ground black pepper

Directions

1. Trim the veggies and break/cut into equal sizes. Steam whatever way you want to. In a steamer on the stove, in the microwave, in your shower like Kramer on Seinfield...

2.  While the veggies are cooking, mix together the lemon rind (or juice), garlic, seasoning and breadcrumbs. 

3.  Toss the steamed veggies in butter or oil and transfer to a serving dish (or a bowl...we keep it classy here)

4. Sprinkle the lemon/garlic mix over the veggies and stir to coat them with yumminess.

5. Finely chop the hardboiled eggs and sprinkle on top.

6.  Serve it all nice and warm. I pretty much ate this for dinner last night.  By itself.  

Bon Apetit!

Note: After this Morning Cup my mom suggested I start a blog just for cooking, recipes and wine and beer reviews...so I did! Its called The Giggling Gourmet and while its still in its beginning stages there's a few good things to check out!

Last Week of No Spend Month!

Its the last week of No Spend Month! We start our financial week on Friday as that's our payday (we each get paid bi-weekly, but not the same week), and after another run to Trader Joe's we're at $193...$7 more dollars for 7 days!

I think I may have said originally we were going to try to go for a month on $150 but that hasn't really been possible for us so far, so we've been doing approximately $50/week. Most of that goes towards meat, dairy, eggs, breakfast items and fruit. And maybe a bottle of Two Buck Chuck ($3 up here in WA) if we have a bit extra.

One of the biggest challenges for us is that, since there's only the two of us, we don't really stockpile basics like flour, pasta, oil, beans, marinara, etc. I know some people who could go a year just eating what they had in their pantries, but by now ours is pretty bare.

I still have that can of water chestnuts I need to throw in a stir fry, and a can of pears I'll throw on a salad sometime, but other than that the stock is getting pretty low. Thankfully we had a 10 pound bag of organic brown rice, and a steady source of greens from our CSA, so we've been eating a lot of stir fry!

Here's a breakdown of what we got for this week's food supply:

As you can see we got some essentials (fruit, meat, dairy) with a few fun items like a beer or a bottle of wine. Tonight we're even splurging and having pizza which will cost us about $7 for two pizzas. But hey, its Saturday night and time to relax!

In other things we've tried to cut back as well. I'm running out of facewash so I've been using coconut oil and baking soda as a substitute sometimes. Watering down my shampoo and adding a bit of baking soda to that has helped stretch that out too. 

That's all the update so far...we may have to end No Spend Month a day or two early as I'll be headed to So Cal and enjoying time with my family, but we'll have accomplished our main goal, which was to kick most of our debt! You can head over to the Thursday Farm blog to check out our Debt-O-Meter and see how far we've come in a year! 

We're even thinking we'll do a bit more lenient version of the No Spend Month next month as well and finally get rid of all that Credit Card debt!

Pumpkin-Applesauce-Flax Bread?

Okay at first glance that may sound gross.

But this is what happens during No Spend Month. You get creative.

I had a can of organic pumpkin that I really wanted to use, so I pulled up a pumpkin bread recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks, From Portland's Palate: A Collection of Recipes from the City of Roses.  This was a gift from Matt's aunt and uncle for our wedding, and I have used the heck out of it!

I love cookbooks...I even tried to pare down my collection during our last move when we uncluttered a bunch, and I still have 15 cookbooks and a handful of pamphlets I've picked up traveling. I love being able to take the flavor of a place with me.  Like this one from Scotland:

I love the pictures in it, even though I'll probably never try to make Tripe Stew or some of the other more daring recipes in there.

The charcoal sketches make me want to stoke a fire and eat a bannock.

Or this one I picked up on an east coast trip with my parents and Matt. We were in Vermont and overnight the leaves brightened so drastically it look like God had used Photoshop.

This little pamphlet is chock full of little drawings and quotes from New England poets and authors.

Back to the Pumpkin bread.

It being No Spend Month I had run out of vegetable oil. It was a lazy Sunday morning and we weren't wanting to have to go to the store for any. 

That morning I had already made blueberry pancakes with flaxseed meal in place of oil. That was on a smaller scale, though. 

FYI, if you want to use flaxseed meal instead of oil the ratio is 1:3. For one tablespoon of oil you can substitute 3 tablespoons of flaxseed meal. The first time I tried it I was expecting it to be dry and coarse, but instead it was still moist and fluffy! The pancakes needed a bit more milk, but once you get the consistency right its all good from there!

The recipe for pumpkin bread called for 1/2 cup of vegetable oil.  That's 8 tablespoons of oil, or what would be 24 Tbl of flaxseed meal...that's a lot!

Then I remembered we had applesauce, too. Replacing applesauce for oil is a 1:1 ratio, but sometimes that can come out dry.

So for this I did part applesauce, part flaxseed meal and the result was delicious! We're running low on unbleached flour and whole wheat flour so I used a cup of each.

That doesn't look too dry now, does it? A little dollop of butter and a cup of coffee and it was de-lish! (Not that it needed either, but they completed it...like Dorothy completed Jerry Maguire)

I would have taken a picture of the top of the bread but I had already eaten it...

There are a lot of benefits to flaxseed. Two tablespoons of flaxseed meal has just as much fiber as 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal! It can also lower bad LDL cholesterol and packs a lot of omega-3. 

So here is my modified Pumpkin Bread recipe, should you want to try it out.

1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar (I used evaporated cane juice and it worked well)

1 cup canned pumpkin (I used a can)

9 tablespoons of flaxseed meal

5 tablespoons of applesauce

2 eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 cup water (I just realized I forgot this...maybe the extra pumpkin made up for it...no one's perfect, right?)

Optional:

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts or pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine sugars, pumpkin, flaxseed meal, applesauce and eggs. Beat until well blended.

In a separate large bowl, sift together flours, soda, salt and spices. Add the pumpkin mixture and mix well. Stir in water, raisins and nuts if using.

Turn into prepared pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

Spread with luscious butter and make yourself a Morning Cup and you're ready!

For more tips on eating for cheap, check out my article on Frugal Fine Dining.

All Duct Up

We're past the halfway mark of the month and the official toll yesterday was $86! I was pretty stoked that Rachel Meeks of Small Notebook mentioned me on her blog. She was the one who inspired the whole No Spend Month in the first place!

Now, I think, is where I need to start getting a little more creative with the food we have in our pantry.

Throw those canned pears on a spinach salad...figure out something to do with that can of organic pumpkin...(maybe pancakes? hmm....) and I should probably try to figure out how to preserve all those greens in our fridge before they go bad!

that's a lotta veggies!

On a totally different note, I've had this fabric for a month or so I've been wanting to make into a dress. If you know me at all, you know I like making quilts and like the idea of making my own clothes...but I haven't been too successful at it.

Part of it for me, is I have a hard time with gathering and ruffles. Quilts have such nice, straight lines...I can get that. But when it comes to fitting something on me it usually comes out looking like happy hands at home.

One dress I tried to have Matt pin the back while I was wearing it...let's just say it didn't turn out so good...

Then I heard about making a duct tape dress form from Threads Magazine online, and decided that would be a cheap way to fix the problem of fitting things well.

Granted theirs looks a lot cleaner than mine, but mine does the trick!

Matt wrapped strips and strips of duct tape around me while Roy lay with his head on my foot looking up all worried. I'll take that as a hint not to mummify him when he's gone.

It was rather an odd feeling walking around like a robot...not being able to reach up to help Matt cut the strips of tape...it was a teensy bit fun too...:-)

for Matt's eyes only

Then Matt cut up the back of the form, we peeled it off and taped it back together and I stuffed it with a couple of pillows.

Voila!

A dress form.

Using what we already had in the house.

Sure it might be a little deformed, but the measurements are still about the same!

Pinning things was so much easier this way!

It did take me about 4 rounds of pinning, sewing and cutting to get the whole thing to look decent, but its finally complete and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with it!

The front:

that's one big dog, you say? yes, we know

The back:

"Don't act like you're not impressed"...name that movie!

And I couldn't resist this one of me and my boy.

Now I'm off to change into sweats, run that crazy dog, fix up some greens and put my feet up!

What the Kale?

So far on our no-spend month we've spent about $90 on groceries and have kept up chipping away at that debt.

Having our CSA veggies and fruit pre-paid is nice and we've got an abundance of kale at the moment. Here's a typical conversation between Matt and I in the evening.

Me: So...what do you want for dinner?

Matt: Oh, I don't know.

Me: That's helpful.

Matt: How 'bout chicken?

Me: Thank you for being specific...we have a lot of kale too...

Matt: Stir fry?

Me: Sounds okay to me. Its been two whole days since we had that.
(just kidding...kinda)

Joking aside we're blessed to have access to so much produce every week and are glad we signed up...since it forces us to eat our veggies.

I was not a veggie eater as a kid.

I liked three vegetables: corn, carrots and potatoes.

Basically anything that was sweet or starchy and you could smother in butter.

But then, Julia Child smothers a whole variety of vegetables in butter and they all taste good too...braised turnips anyone?

As I got older I realized I needed to be a bit more adult and eat salads...so I smothered them in ranch dressing and choked them down.

Then I discovered what baby spinach looked like...and that I actually liked it. And then Matt brought home mushrooms one day (which I never liked since they were usually tasteless and slimy), and after a quick saute in olive oil with salt and pepper I found I was in love with mushrooms.

Our affair with veggies got progressively worse (better?) from there.

During the summer months (used to be year round but we're trying to eat with the seasons now) we would glut ourselves on zucchini and squash.

I bought an eggplant because it looked pretty and figured out how to make it taste pretty too.

I even began using *gasp* onions and tomatoes. The former I love the flavor but hate the crunch so I chop them up into itty bitty pieces. Tomatoes are the opposite...its just the flavor that I can't stand. So I mask it with curry or Italian herbs or anything else.

One time at a farmer's market I was walking with my Mom and a friend. As we passed a display of those gorgeous heritage tomatoes in a rainbow of colors, my friend tried a sample. Her face lit up and she handed it to my mom, who mmmmed as well. They handed it to me.

I don't like tomatoes.

But these are heritage tomatoes!

They still taste like tomatoes.

If you don't like these I'll actually believe you!

Just to prove to my friend I loved her I tried the tomato. And almost gagged.

I just. don't. like. tomatoes.

But I still cook with them and currently have a three foot high robust tomato in the backyard waiting for it to bloom so I can make some marinara.

Kale, admittedly, isn't my favorite vegetable.

But throw some olive oil in a sauté pan, when its medium-hot throw some garlic in. After that's smelling like heaven throw in some torn up kale, stir it around and let it wilt. Top with some salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice and its actually edible.

For more ways on how to stretch your grocery dollars, read my article on Frugal Fine Dining.

Another No Spend Month

We're doing it again folks!

Trying to go the month of July spending $150 or so on food and not buy any superfluous items. Last year when we did this we were able to save enough to make our $1,000 emergency fund. That sure came in handy when last winter we spent $800 on tires for my car! We were lucky to not have to go into debt then, and quickly built the savings back up.

This year the goal is to kick most of the rest of our credit card debt. We use an Alaska Airlines Visa for our every day purchases and pay it off at the end of every week, but we still have some hanging around another credit card from way back in the college days.

My cycle was work during the school year, travel in the summer, rack up the debt, pay it off while working the following school year.

Then I graduated and traveled and then had real expenses like toothpaste and oil changes.

Its fluctuated a little bit, but from that time on I've basically had the same amount of debt...and once we got married it was "our" debt. We were almost out when we moved, then got a dog, then our dog (4 days after we got it) got hit by a car and we racked up a lot of costs.

Last summer I read about Dave Ramsey's philosophy of being debt-free and having an emergency plan, and in conjunction read about Rachel's "No Spend Month" on Small Notebook , and we decided to take the plunge.

We got our savings, and have been chipping away at the debt. We even moved to a place with significantly less rent to contribute more.

Hopefully by the end of this month we will be much much closer...and Lord willin' and the crik don't rise we'll be out of debt by late August!

We signed up for a CSA last month and have more than enough vegetables from that, so we may be eating a lot of vegetarian meals!

Two nights ago I made a very green stir fry. Zucchini, snow peas, garlic spears and some mixed greens...it tasted ok but definitely wasn't the best thing I've ever whipped up!

Last year I wrote an article on Frugal Fine Dining - check it out for the way that we stretch our grocery budget!

On our list of things to use this week are a can of clams, arepa flour and a can of garbanzo beans...wish me luck!!!

The Last Day of the Challenge - Day 54

Wow, two weeks since I posted! And a lot has happened in two weeks. Another earthquake in Chile that was so powerful it literally shook the earth from its axis. Another quake in Taiwan. My mom even got one in Oklahoma (oh, and a tornado an hour away to boot). The earth is quite literally groaning.

A lot of big changes have gone on in the Palmer household in the past two weeks.

First of all we are moving!

Yup, in a little over two weeks we'll be loading up and headed a bit south to the Renton Highlands to live in a one bedroom apartment that's the bottom floor of a house. On the top two floors live a young Christian family with 3 boys. We're excited A)to pay a lot less rent! B)that Matt will only be 10-15 minutes from work as opposed to 45, C)to be closer to hiking trails and lakes, and D)to get to know this awesome family!

The apartment is a one bedroom, which as most of you know, means we won't have a designated guest room anymore. By no means does this imply we don't want company anymore! As long as we ever have floor space y'all are welcome even if we lived in a shack in the woods! We'll still have a blow-up bed, a sofa bed, and a tent to pitch in the backyard if we REALLY run out of room!

We've (okay, maybe just I) launched ourselves into a purging mode. Getting rid of all the excess, unused, cluttered stuff that fills our house. Condensing, cleaning, clearing.

But I'm getting offtrack. You want to hear about the end of the challenge, right?

Well here's Day 45 or something like that, and if you ever want to see a dorky picture of me here's your chance. I was REALLY bored of the smile at the camera thing by this point.

Here's Day 45, and Mom? Remember when I said "Smile, you're going to be on the Morning Cup with me?" Here you are! Oh, and this thing I'm working on is Roy's new toy box...but more on that later...



Day 49 I was wishing I could go back to sleep for a few more hours. Where's that off button for your brain again?



Here Day 52...the day after we sold our couches. Forgive the unsightly slouching but I was sleepy...you can just call me Grace.



And the last picture record of the challenge ends on a look back at one of the spotlighted charities: Krochet Kids. This is the supercute shirt I ordered from them...its a unisex shirt and Matt wants his own in blue (and a size larger, obviously).

Day 53



Day 54 I thought I was done and realized when I got to work that the sweater I had put on had been "drying" in the spare room for a long time and actually hadn't been included in the challenge...so I inadvertently kept it going!

So that's it folks. I went 54 days without repeating a top and that's pretty disgustingly impressive in a warped way. I now have four giant bags full of clothes to give away or donate, making it even more shockingly astonishing.

And in case you're wondering, yes I did keep my original promise on Day 1.

And even though the challenge is over, let's not forget that many people in Haiti are still living in sheet tents, without work, without access to fresh water or latrines, and are still suffering the effects of the earthquake. Please keep them in your prayers.

Wardrobe Challenge Days 38-40 & Come Together Now

January 12th.

That's when the earthquake struck Haiti.

The news reports have lessened, marathon fundraising has stopped. Not much publicity now unless you look for it.

But the people there are still struggling, still not knowing where their loved ones may be buried, and still trying to make it to tomorrow.

Just a sobering reminder of why I'm doing this silly Wardrobe Challenge at all.

is the flower placement here totally corny?

I'm coming up to the very end of my tops. Sunday I even wore my tube top and shorts as it was a toasty 57 degrees on my balcony! (Ok, without any wind and in the shelter of the patio it was much warmer...)

I do have to admit something, though. I may have cycled through all my dresses and pants once, but 'round about last Thursday I desperately needed to wear a pair of jeans and I caved. I still am trying to mix it up and wear more than just jeans, but I kinda sorta gave up on that part. I'm almost through all my tops anyways and was almost through my pants again as well...cut me some slack I'm not wearing all my slacks? :-)

On another note, I have to retract a statement. On Sunday I admonished you to purchase an online album from iTunes known as Hope For Haiti Now.

Well, I bought it, and all I have to say is save your poor ears and just donate $8 to the Red Cross. It is not worth $8 and I am just chalking it up as pure donation.

All of these were recorded live, and maybe I should blame the sound techs for not having the monitors loud enough, but it seemed everyone was flat! The whole thing is just not enjoyable to listen to...just wanted to give you an honest report. You may love it...it does have a lot of big name artists, but for me I would rather have dropped the money in a Salvation Army bucket.

Roy knows how to "hug" now...

more flower goodness

In regards to the play we went to see last Friday, all I can say is with live theatre you win some and you lose some and you REALLY lose some. This production falls in the last category.

I was coming-out-of-my-skin excited to see this play. I have all the songs memorized and couldn't WAIT to see it brought to life! Sadly, every actor was lacking any luster of life at all. There was no energy...it made me tired just watching them drag their feet around the stage and half-heartedly singing their songs.

Quietly singing, I might add. Their microphones were turned down so low, and that coupled with their lack of diction and projection made for an evening of us straining to hear what they were saying. By the end of the first number I was giving Matt the "I'm SO sorry for dragging you here!" look! I kept pleading with him, "Can you at least see the potential???" I think he nodded just to get me quiet since it was hard enough to hear the actors...

Well, the play may have been a bust but the dinner prior to that was outstanding. Do you know that cheese and I are good friends? Yes. Good, good friends who love each other. I love the way it tastes in my mouth and cheese loves the way it gets to hang around forever on my backside. Bosom buddies, you could say.

Well Matt and I started with the cheese plate. Oh heavens. When they brought out the wedges and dollops I thought there was no WAY we could eat all that cheese. Haha, what did I just say?

I wish I could remember their exact names and origins but I don't remember anything excepted the exceptional way they were each paired with something unique...goat cheese and raw apples, some sort of aged cheese with candied hazelnuts, a chalky strong smelling cheese paired with a sweet pear compote...it was like being a kid and discovering something new with each bite and getting way too excited about it!

We kept shoving bites in each other's faces--"try the blue cheese with THIS!!! Okay, take a bite of that then a sip of THIS!!!" Explosions of taste played on our palettes and I felt almost dizzy from the thrill of it all!

I know right now most of you are probably laughing that someone could get so excited over a cheese plate but I don't care! Matt was right there with me so I know I'm not the only one a little kooky over cheese!

My dinner was pork over mashed yams with poached pears and was good, but Matt's dinner--the pan-roasted chicken, was out of this world! Really, nowadays you don't come to expect much from chicken. But having tried a few of Julia Child's recipes and now THIS delectable dinner? Chicken is the new beef, I declare!

Moving on.

The beer was great too.

Really moving on this time.

Sunday brought another deliciously sunny and warm day. Far too wonderful to spend it inside! Matt's co-worker John and his dog Cooper came over and we all piled up in my car and headed off to the dog park.

Cooper is a chill dog. Excited but not spastically obnoxiously excited (but of course I'm not talking about Roy). Happy to see you without being attached at the hip (Roy isn't like that either, of course). Who am I kidding? Roy was the picture of absolute maniacal excitement next to Coop's cool composure.

Roy isn't great at sharing.

Somehow I was in the backseat with the dogs (ok I volunteered) and while Cooper kept my company sitting right next to me the whole way Roy didn't stop pacing for a second. Oftentimes pacing right on my poor thighs which now have a number of bruises on them...he does way upwards of 80 lbs...

Roy is thanking John for bringing Cooper. Meanwhile Cooper has wedged himself inbetween the front seats.

The men and their dogs...

Disclaimer: I did get permission to print photos of John and Cooper and when I become rich and famous I'm sure they'll line up to collect their share...

And for Day 39...

It had been a long day...

Monday morning...Day 40! Can you believe I've gone this far! You saw the pics of my closet on Day 1...just one side is tops! Well here it is anyways...me getting tired of the smiling and posing pics again...

Today's Charity Spotlight goes (definitely not to Hope for Haiti Now), but is just one song on iTunes and is what I think my mom was talking about when she first mentioned something on iTunes for Haiti.

The song is called Come Together Now (Music City Unites for Haiti) and even though I'm not the biggest Christian music fan out there, this one is worth the $1.29. Its a collaboration of over 100 artists but the only one I needed to see what that redhead front and center--Wynonna Judd. I've been a fan of hers since I was in the third grade and my mom bought her self titled tape casette (remember those) and my dad came home to find us all dancing on the coffee table...

Back to the song. Begins a little Christianese, if ya know what I mean, but the chorus grabs you. Here's an article that explains more about it, but for being only $1.29 I thought it was worth the buy.

Day 33-37 & Hope For Haiti Now

Quick Recap on The Challenge: I came home with a new shirt one night to realize I had PLENTY of shirts hanging in my closet. As a result, I wanted to go as long as possible without recycling one top, and each day I could do that I would make a donation to a charity helping in Haiti, and highlight the charity or fundraiser here on my blog.

Spring is a comin' here in Seattle. A couple of weeks ago I saw the first crocuses poking up through the mud. Then, seemingly overnight, the cherry trees blossomed into pink oblivion and daffodils bloomed and the tulips are budding.

I love being somewhere where I can see the change of the seasons, even though it feels like we didn't really get a winter compared with last years' snow and ice nightmare. Except for a week in December temperatures have stayed pretty warm, and my studded tires have definitely not been needed as of yet.

I've got this itching to get up in the mountains and see spring announcing itself there. Yesterday morning when I took Roy out everything was bright and quiet. The wind was blowing and it sounded like a friend standing behind you playfully boxing your ears. It made me want to turn around and chase it, giggling.

On another note, Thursday was Matt's birthday! Happy Birthday Matt! He's a whopping 27 years old now!

For my Valentine'd Day present Matt got me tickets tot he musical "Company." This will be Matt's first Sondheim musical...I, on the other hand, was taken by my mom to see "Into The Woods" when I was 6 years old. That play is about what happens in fairy tales AFTER the "happily ever after." I don't actually remember it, but apparently the wolf was entirely anatomically correct. I got culture young, baby. (And not complaining, Mom!)

Day 33.

Heater was broken in the office and a sweater was needed.

Also needed: Blue Steel facial expression.

Day 34

She's gone country, look at them boots, she's gone country, back to her roots...

I hear that song in my head every time I wear this shirt...even though its a technical quick-drying shirt from North Face.

My vacuum cleaner made a cameo appearance as well.


Day 35


I got sick of these boring stand and smile photos so I thought I'd show you how high I can jump.  Only I didn't set the camera low enough so it just looks like I'm making a silly face.  Guess I can't jump that high after all...

Oh, random side note: this is the Valentine's Day card I got for Matt. Being bored was the reason I never dated anyone longer than 3 months before I met Matt...I just flat out got bored with 'em! Matt? He's always kept me interested :-)

The actual day of Matt's birthday I was a bit under the weather and headed into work late...and forgot to take a picture. Well, Matt took a picture of me making roasted potatoes and garlic for dinner that night and it wasn't the most flattering one...

Day 37.

The day of many outfits.

Off to work I went for the morning...

Outfit #2.

I was off work early and headed home to celebrate Matt's birthday. While waiting for Matt to decide what he wanted to do Roy and I soaked in some rays on the balcony...

Outfit #3

We went for a two hour walk around Queen Anne and it was so warm I donned a tank top! I did get a few furrowed brow looks...it was 52 degrees out but in the sun it felt so warm! Didn't get a pic of me during the walk, but here are my boys...

And Outfit #4

Off to the theater!

We went to The Stumbling Goat Bistro for dinner (wow, sooo delish!), and then went to see the musical Company. 


More on that later, but at least dinner was great!

Today's charity spotlight goes to an album, actually. Hope For Haiti Now is available on iTunes and all the proceeds go to a whole slew of nonprofits, including the Red Cross. 


Seeing as you get 20 songs for $7.99, its a good deal even if the proceeds weren't for charity!

You can download it HERE