Less Hustle More Coffee

Thanks everyone for your support and in watching the YouTube version of “Less Hustle More Coffee” and our tribute to Roger dog. Above is my screen shot for a story on Instagram. If you have not watched the video and want to, see my previous entry where I have embedded the video. I also have a tab of Videos here at the top of my blog next to my “About Me” section. It takes you to YouTube where you can see ALL of the videos. On the iPhone it’s at the top of the blog also using what they call the hamburger icon or the three bars stacked on top of each other – the icon that is used commonly for “menu options” and you will find it there too.)

Experimenting with “Pan Cakes”

Well I made myself some breakfast yesterday. I started out by making oatmeal and decided to try a little experiment. I had seen the Polar Bear girl make a Norwegian breakfast or perhaps Swedish – what do I know. She uses whatever she has in the house to make pancakes. Once she used a banana that was really ripe to use it up. So I crushed up a banana, added an egg, cinnamon, and a bunch of oats. I guess I could have added flour or cornmeal ha, but I was trying to keep it healthy. I put honey over it.

Was it the same as a pancake? Unfortunately no. But I can see why they eat it with fruit, or with applesauce, or a bit of whip cream over it. I have an intense craving for pancakes with maple syrup but it really does a mess up of my blood sugar like nothing else does so I stay away from them. Even if I eat protein with them it really gives me the shakes so I stay away. The good thing I learned though is that – THE METHOD – of taking something like fruit or a vegetable, adding an egg and some form of grain and then flavorings – I’ve proven to myself that I can make a flat bread cake of any kind. So that is kinda cool. It would have been better if I’d thrown just a little brown sugar in there. Come to think of it – that was the ingredient she used that I did not have, also she put brown cheese on top, which I don’t think we have around here. So I’ll give it another go sometime. It was fun to experiment. Even if the first one was not so good, it’s the concept of being able to tell when the consistency is right and when it’s ready for frying in the pan. I used Pam, lol.

It was “Time”!

Yes, I had work I needed to do but, I was waiting on the sheets so I could make the bed as I use the bed for part of my desk layout at home (it holds my calculator and files, lol). So while waiting we knocked out the Christmas trees, removing ornaments from the den tree and the living room tree. This is normally my job, and then George takes the trees downstairs for us, but I’m lacking on time these days so George was kind to get started on the project. We have company coming in a little over two weeks so we need to get the house flipped to normal so we don’t have so much at the last minute. Normally my house is in good shape but it’s not had a thorough cleaning (I did a little one).

I had gathered the Christmas and dumped it on the sofa weeks ago. I had packed a few tubs but still had some left. And even this morning I have those Santas and pillows to put up. Mainly need to put trash bags over the Santas and could really use another tub or two for the Christmas pillows and smaller Santas.

This is a reality blog so you get to see my house when it’s messy just as you do when it’s all cleaned up. The floors also need another round of cleaning. I also have a lot of stuff to take down to the basement that I’ve stacked by the vent (by the stairs) to take down. It felt freeing to get the Christmas trees undecorated. It also felt like I was doing something I wasn’t supposed to b/c I needed to be doing year end reporting.

Working this Weekend

I worked about half the day and got quite a bit done. I will be working some more on it today. While the deadline comes tomorrow (and there is no way we will make it as there is way too many w-2’s to data enter by hand and I didn’t get the info til Friday), it will still be busy over the next couple of weeks as we I mean “I” wrap this up, but I’m excited that I have been able to get a chunk done and behind me. I guess what I’m trying to say is that my rush is about over and I’m going to enjoy getting some of my time back.

Yesterday I had said I’d tell you what all was on my list. At this point, I’m not sure I can even remember it all, but as I start working on everything it will all come back. And for starters let’s just go from here what I can remember as I start Feb 1 as Sonya’s New Year! Since I didn’t really get an opportunity to start much of my New Year off with any time of my own.

February 1 is the new January 1 – List of To Do’s:

• Nails done – getting this done this week. I will look at the calendar later and plan my week out. Likely not tomorrow as I’ll probably do what I can to knock everything out tomorrow that I can.
• Toes done – debating whether I should do both both in one. I usually like to do them separate, but I think for the sake of time, I’ll just do both at once.
• Make Mom’s heart scan appointment
• Make my Colonoscopy appointment
• Download my last Audible book and cancel the service as long as you can still keep the ones you have downloaded, I have to check.
• Cancel Isagenix autoship
• Plan for company coming and get the house ready
• Go to Hobby Lobby for plant and flower stems to put in vases. I’m looking forward to perusing the entire store!
• Mail something that I have for River
• Work on new video Intro now that the Roger video is done (removing Roger and changing a few things around)
• Help George in the basement
• Car wash
• Update my Mac software
• Download Final Cut Pro and watch videos for training
• Order vitamins for me and for Mom
• Work a puzzle (pretending I have my winter January back in which to do so)
• Write the company “ONE” about their breakfast bar having soap in it (yuk, likely from where they didn’t get all the suds out from cleaning their equipment).

Not as Urgent but on the list:

• Pictures ordered from Shutterfly
• Fix bluetooth headphone issue with Mac
• Meeting with myself over coffee to brainstorm over Less Hustle More Coffee, blog and vlog directions
• Move bed from my office and move the filing cabinet in
• Move china cabinet from downstairs to upstairs and figure all that out
• Clean out office drawers and reorganize it after the bed is gone
• Move the files from plastic drawers to the new filing cabinet
• Use our gift cards from Christmas to go out to eat
• Talk to George about cable/streaming
• Window cleaning – this is becoming urgent but I dread it
• Jewelry project – I’m getting annoyed now and that will make me go ahead and do this
• Get a dog
• Cannon Lessons
• Make homemade bread
• Read
• Develop a new challenge for myself
• Get a passport made
• Work on Rivers book
• Find out the name of Grandaddy’s ship
• Work on my list of Blog/Vlog projects
• Cook some
• Find some podcasts that I like
• Consider writing a book that I have always wanted to do
• Do things on our bucket list
• Other home projects

These are the things I’ve been wanting to do for some time. And I’ll start in on them Feb 1! Maybe even before. 😉

So that’s all for today. I am going to get a shower, get some work done, and then do my Sunday list of things such as ironing, getting meds and vitamins in the container for the next 7 days. And then we told Mom we would come over for dinner tonight, and take her the Pillsbury biscuits from the freezer (we couldn’t find them the day we went to Kroger and did her grocery shopping). We will take her some important mail that arrived and check her mail box over there.

So my heart is glad. Even though I still have a lot of work to do left, and will likely still work a bit extra over and above the extra I already do, I can feel my precious time coming back to me. We won’t be preparing for Christmas, we don’t have a lot of extra things now that the busy wild ride from fall thru January period is over. We can plan and do things now. We can get things done in the house. We can enjoy the ART of living now and knock off some things on our OWN agenda and on Mom’s. I know, I know, we will still be busy, and our days will be full, but at least it won’t be all on top of the the holidays and the impossible year end/quarter end processing that just really sucks out what little personal time we’ve had. So yay! I feel like we are coming back to life and it kinda feels like we are headed into spring.

Normally January is my hibernation month. I was going to claim it in February and I may still claim some hibernation days. But if the temps rise, I’m good with excursions and getting out more and doing things. I know we have many more winter days to come in the next couple of months but we also have some surprise pretty days in February and March that we are teased with. And those will be our fun days!

Ok off to work now and to plan my week ahead. I’m sure something will change it but first up is getting my nails done! They are broken to pieces. And my toes need care as the nail is digging into the sides, :-O. Back to some pamper time and self-care so I can come back strong and be there for the world again later.