It’s Already Lent, and I Am Praying for Easter

It just started, literally just last week! And I am already a whiny, petulant child. Every year is the same thing: I give up sweets, fats, junk food, and booze. It’s not only a sacrifice but also a secular test of my will power.

I didn’t give up caffeine, though. You wouldn’t like me if I did.

This year my will power is being sorely tested. A friend brought me cookies. I have to make banana bread today. Last night was the “Chocolate Edition” of Cutthroat Kitchen, and to make matters worse, Chef Damiano, a contestant on the last season of Spring Baking Championship and who was total eye candy, won. I am surrounded by sweets of all kinds.

I have the feeling that soon enough it will be junk food tempting me. Possibly fatty foods cleverly disguised as junk food. I’m not so worried about the temptation of wine and vodka, because I can honestly take it or leave it as long as I have sweets. This is going to be….difficult.

But until then, my sense of humor is still intact. So enjoy the peep show until you can partake!

Have a great Monday 😉

Flipping Ain’t Just for Burgers

As y’all know, I am a thrift store junkie. I’m not quite a diva. I haven’t reached the “found priceless artifact for $5” level yet. I am confident that one day I will eventually find the random Van Gogh, but until then I am quite content with finding mid-century vintage stuff that I can flip into a modern look. So far I have transformed a $10 dresser, a $2 lamp, and some antique frames. This week’s search was just as fruitful.

Via Etsy

I found a pair of Cosco metal folding chairs at the thrift store for $3. That’s $3 for the pair!! Look at those beautiful lines!!! They are in very good condition, with only a couple of rust marks and of course, the vinyl needs replacing. While looking for some color ideas, I came across a listing for a pair: $75.

At which point I was all wha……??

Me: Holy cow, these chairs are selling for a lot of money.

Little One: Do you plan to sell them?

Me: No, I want to redo them and use them outside.

LO: So no big deal, then.

Me: But $75???

LO: That can get you a bunch more chairs to store somewhere while you do yet more projects.

Me: Point taken.

I admit I get swamped by my zeal to make something old ab fab again. So I shall just keep to one project at a time until I have made enough room in my garage to buy more retro stuff to flip. Hopefully I will have finished these chairs by this weekend.

Right after I finish Eldest’s old dresser.

And my sister’s old framed art.

And the cushions on the dining chairs.

*sobs uncontrollably* 😀

Rising to the Challenge

Well, it’s long past time to clean up the yard and get more plants to murder.

Yesterday, I went to a home improvement store to get some plants for the front yard. I had spent the previous morning cleaning up the dead debris from the previous year, and needed some boosts of color. As usual, I gravitate towards petunias. I love petunias. They tend to do well in hot weather, and their velvety colors are rich and radiant. Who wouldn’t want such beautiful blooms??

Look at them!!! Aren’t they lush and gorgeous?

I have to admit, those plants tend to survive here quite well, but it does get rather boring after a while. The problem we have is choosing plants for the front stoop. That area acts like a magnifying glass in the afternoon. After consulting Hubby (and by that, I mean he pretty much said I couldn’t kill these), we settled on cacti.

There they are and there they’ll stay. Heat and Summer challenge: accepted. And if they do die, it will NOT be my fault this time.

I’ll take the blame for the other plants that do die off, though. This is me we are talking about 😉

Book List Challenge

A few days ago, our blogger friend Nicole posted her list of personal book likings and dislikings. She took her cue from Lynn over at Violins and Starships, which should win best blog name on the interwebs. Anyway, reading books is something I love to do. I also love to make art out of them, but that’s for another blog.

1. Your favorite book: Soooooo difficult, but I really can’t pick just one.

2. Your least favorite book: In the last decade, that would be The Da Vinci Code. I wanted to throw it away by the end of the second chapter.

3. A book that completely surprised you (bad or good): Hm…. I would have to say I didn’t expect to like The Giver, by Lois Lowry. I read it since Eldest was assigned the book for school, and found it well-written, even for adults.

4. A book that reminds you of home: Postal de Tierra Adentro (Postcard from the Inner Land), by C. O. Padilla. Literally, a book about my hometown.

5. A non-fiction book that you actually enjoyed: The Monuments Men, by Robert Edsel.

6. A book that makes you cry: A Knight in Shining Armor, by Jude Deveraux. Yes, it’s a romance novel. But I found the concept of souls meeting again, instead of bodies, to be enchanting.

7. A book that’s hard to read: Ulysses, by James Joyce. GAH!!

8. An unpopular book you believe should be a bestseller: I don’t really know of any.

9. A book you’ve read more than once: All of them, except Pet Sematary.

10. The first novel you remember reading: The Secret of the Old Clock, by Carolyn Keene. Yes, Nancy Drew was my portal into the world of reading.

Éirinn go Brách, Y’all!!

Today we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, which means wearing of the green, drinking green beer, and many parades celebrating Irish ancestry. I am not Irish, but know many who descend from Eyre, and they will be the first to tell me I probably misspelled that title. But by tonight, they will be the first to not care. Oh, would that I be able to imbibe today, but alas, I shall have to make do with just drinking limeade from my Lolita wineglass.

But as consolation I will be wearing the Sithiest t-shirt ever marketed for St. Paddy’s Day!!

AND I’m making soda bread!! Weirdly, I am making Chicken Paprikas for dinner, because it is the only orange dish I can think of to make, and will set off nicely with the greens. I would have made some Guinness™ braised beef, but I gave that up as well. Yes, I cried when I realized I couldn’t even cook with alcohol.

Easter can NOT come soon enough. Trust me 😀

Be It Resolved

At last, 2013 comes to a close. Some who know me know this has been a very rough year. Overall there is no end to my blessings, though. Family, friends, near and far, all are always in mind and heart.

But there is one thing I find so annoying, that I tend to shirk every social post and comment about it.

NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS!!!

Don’t get me wrong. I do like to socialize and have fun and watch fireworks and ring in the New Year. Out with the old, in with the new, right? (Which reminds me: I need to go through my closet and downsize.) But every time January rolls around, everyone asks me the same thing: What’s your New Year’s resolution?? Why, WHY, WHY do I need to make any?

I like food. I like drink. I fit into my clothes. I love and take care of my family. I take care of my health. I call my folks. I keep in touch with friends. In short, I do everything that covers most resolutions, including staying out of jail, and carrying bail money for those who don’t. So no, I won’t be making any resolutions any more. I am better off correcting myself throughout the year than piling everything on at once.

Besides, there’s always Lent for that 😀

Time for Motivation

Good Lawd. These past few days I have just lacked the will to finish random stuff around here.

I dusted everything, but the entertainment center.

I cleaned everything in the bathroom, but the shower stall.

I swept every floor, but the hallway to the garage.

I have several projects that are literally one step from being finished: a pumpkin needs a stem, a centerpiece needs a few leaves, apothecary lids need painting, books need mounting in frames, and so on. I know what needs to be done. I just don’t feel the want to finish it. I suppose this is a lethargy brought on by the emotional roller coaster ride in which we find ourselves for now. I know it will pass eventually, but it’s hard to not let it affect me every day, even in small ways.

So I’m going to get that fourth cup of coffee and finish five things today.

Don’t judge. Without that coffee I would be serving 25 to life somewhere. Probably 😉

Uphill, Both Ways

Today marks the start of Lent.

And if y’all know me, I go all out for it.

So, no libations of the alcoholic kind. No sweets, no fatty foods, and no sodas. In truth, I like testing my will power this way. And in the long run, I do save a few pennies, too.

I bet you’re singing it in your head now, aren’t you??

Hey, if I have to suffer, so do y’all 😉

Pins and Pretties

Well, start of the New Year, and no resolutions for me. That’s what Lent is for, in my opinion. But I want to be more social and make more friends, and if that’s a resolution, so be it. At least it’s a fun one!

Yesterday, my friend MsOz put up a challenge at the social-site-with-faces: 2013 Craft Pay-It-Forward. Basically, the first five people to reply get a handmade item from her, with the stipulation that those participating also place the same status on their social site and do a craft for others as well. After thinking and thinking and more thinking, I decided to make these:

Pincushions made from vintage tea cups! This one I made from leftover fabric and a cracked demitasse cup I found somewhere. So, today I am going out to scour the antique stores for lonely little tea cups in search of a home. I will post the tutorial later this week.

I don’t know if this would work with voodoo, but it would be fun to try 😉

Food Blogging: Day Two

There was a time in my married life that I made an effort to cook one gourmet meal a week.

And then the kids started growing up.

I’m trying to get back into that, but it’s difficult when some don’t eat certain foods, or others don’t like spices, or still others do not care for cooked vegetables. One thing that they ALL like, however, is steak. You can’t go wrong with steak, ever. I draw the line at Steak Tartare, though. There is no way I am serving raw steak with a raw egg on top.

Grilled steak with cubit potatoes, romaine and bleu cheese dressing, and random roll. AWESOME!!

CUBIT POTATOES

• Three to Four Large Gold Potatoes
• Oil of Choice
• Salt and Pepper
• Rosemary (optional)

Peel and rinse potatoes, then cube. Place in bowl, adding approximately ¼ cup of oil, and then salt and pepper to coat. Toss well, then place in an 8×8 pan, making sure to dust the top again with salt, pepper, and the rosemary if desired. Bake at 400* F (or 204* C for my foreign readers), for about 40 minutes.

Enjoy!! 🙂