Less Hustle More Coffee

Good morning! Well, it is morning here anyway as I type. So glad to blog this morning if Dexter will let me without trying to tear up my office, lol. (He’s getting better at minding but he still tries to get his way and loves to chew on my baskets, my chair, my camera bag, and the trash.) I have noticed this week and maybe last, the numbers of readers plummeted on the blog. I wondered if I had said or done something wrong, as we all tend to do. Or if my blogging every other day instead of every day was making it dwindle. But then I saw a few other bloggers mention it in their post also. Often there are about three times of year when this happens. Spring, Fall, and the last part of the year as everyone gets ready for the holidays. Usually I notice it more in spring when the weather starts to warm up. Now I’m thinking there may be 4 times a year – add June to that list. A lot of people taking vacations, school is out, Father’s Day and a lot of family time going on. So I’ll take that. But at first I thought it was me.

I Noticed I was Happy the Other Day

What a weird thing to say huh? But I was driving along and I thought….I’m so happy. I made a list (once I was parked, lol) of what all I was enjoying about my life.

• Getting a dog releases another side of me that is fun (also can be frustrating but mostly fun) but it creates a sense of family again and George and I are working together to give Mr. Dexter a good home and trained.
• Job going well in the payroll position (it’s not as frustrating as the other one was) and I enjoy most all of it and it’s still a challenge at times for my brain.
• Love doing my blog
• Have a bit more time in the schedule and that is working so we get some fun in our lives
• Cooking – learning to cook differently via the Hello Fresh and the meals are awesome
• Going to enjoy doing a bit of cost cutting (already cut the cable bill)
• Exercising is making me feel better and have more energy
• Getting more sleep (well until last night b/c there was a criminal on the loose and the camera kept going off saying a person was on the front lawn – it was a spider, lol)
• Bible Study – I’m enjoying may daily Revelations walk, although it is a bit frightening, but if we walk with Him we are ok
• Keeping the house, well it’s gotten more interesting with dog dog but I’ll be making more of an effort since we are home a bit more to enjoy the results

I think the only things that changed really was: getting the dog, exercising, and doing Hello Fresh. But I also asked God for more contentment and His spirit also sends a peace to us that lends to contentment at times.

The only thing I’ve not been able to do is keep up with the reading. It was hard to come by before but now the dog has taken up that time. lol. That is the missing piece I need to figure out.

It also makes me happy to be able to work toward goals and see myself moving in forward directions. I enjoy the seasonal bucket lists and it gives me glee to check something off of it. I’ve also enjoyed the daily to do list breakdown, including all those goals and have been using the iPhone to do list to track it. I don’t let it stress me because if it comes to be too much I simply hit the information button and change the due date or reminder date for another day. That is really working well for reminders and tasks. All these things make me happy and keep me organized.

My Pants are Loose Again 😉 How’d that Happen?

So, I put on the new pants I ordered from Belk, the lower size that felt just right last week and they are too loose this week. I had to check to see that I had the right size on (the smaller size) and I did. I was shocked. How did this happen?

1. My guess is the exercise is starting to help.
2. We are eating more veggies with Hello Fresh
3. We don’t have as many leftovers (but feel full) with Hello Fresh
4. Running after the dog – getting up and down, bending down and looking under things for his toys, and changing his paper, and getting things out of his mouth, and taking him for a walk, giving him his food and water and toys. Lots of movement having a new dog! We get up and down out of our chair even during Netflix shows, lol.

Here’s some popcorn I’ve been enjoying: Black Jewell. You get it at Publix if you have one near you. I think you can order it on line too. It doesn’t have all the bad things in it. Very natural. I usually add popcorn salt or reg salt.

Made an Awesome Dinner List Night…Am I modest? lol

I ordered the pasta salad as an add on but ended up making it for last night on a non-Hello Fresh night. My menu was to have bacon and blue cheese salad with boiled egg on top, this cavatappi salad with basil pesto, pasta and green beans, and then I added something from the freezer – chicken cordon blue. It all went well together.

So I learned how to do this salad – I guess you can buy the basil pesto? But the green beans were put in the microwave for 2 minutes or so and steamed in a bit of water. I added the pesto and microwaved again for 20 seconds. It made them softer. They were still a bit crunchy but yet cooked. Not limp. Then you add parmesan cheese (the real kind).

The salad has been a favorite of mine for a long time. It is good with darker leafy greens (not iceberg) but spinach is good or other darker green salad mixes and you have crispy bacon pieces and blue cheese crumbles. I added the egg because it is so good in there. And then you put olive oil, lemon juice, and a light vinegar on it. We had a lemon olive oil and used it. It was all really good. I can say that as none of it was really my creation. lol. I just copied it. But it was good. I also fixed extra bacon and eggs so we can have that for breakfast and we have some pasta left for lunch.

Well today is Mom’s doc appointment where she gets her eye injection. And so I leave at half day. Anyway, we’ll go out to eat afterward and she needs some groceries and probably get her mail. It’s also my day to take her to church Sunday.

Speaking of that. Last Sunday there was someone weird at church that was suspicious. They wondered if he was scoping the lay out of the church for something later. This is because of all the shootings lately I’m sure. So I’m a little nervous about going to church Sunday. It’s also supposed to rain a lot this weekend. But anyway, I suppose we will still go but we may change where we sit. We are right in the line of fire if someone walks in the back door. Anywhere else though and Mom will have to walk some more but it might be worth it if it saves our lives. You have to think about these things. Of course if it is time to go and God says it is time, then it is time. What you gonna do?

Dexter is too busy to get his pic most of the time. Or if he is not busy, I am. But I will try to get more pics, lol. I did good getting the food pics I thought. Oh yeah, here is another one of our wonderful Hello Fresh meals. I guess ya’ll are going to get tired of me talking about it. I have just been majorly impressed. So the cost is more than buying it on your own, but less than going out to eat. But it’s fun to do, all put together for you, recipes are easy and fun, and you can keep them, and it’s delivered to you and you eat gourmet as well as if it were fine dining. And you have some portion control but are still full. And I’m loving picking out the menu selection each week. Sorry I’ll try to not mention it so much but it’s just been a joy. We are spending about $60 to $70 a week for the meals but I buy a few extras for other meals when they are on sale: salads, egg bites, so I add it up to about $90. Then at the store or Target or Amazon we buy our other household needs. We have a lot of stuff already in the freezer too for our other meals so we don’t need a lot extra other than maybe a few fresh veggies, drinks and snacks.

Anyway, gotta get dressed and ready for work. I’m running behind today.

Oh, there is a man on the loose in Mount Juliet somewhere and I hope they find him. It was hard to sleep last night knowing he was out there not too far away. He kidnapped someone and got stopped and then he ran. So yeee ha. I was awake in the night and used my Thred UP credit and ordered a shirt, lol. I was sleeping good when alarm went off.

Ok over and out. What all you got going for the weekend? Me? Mom but we get Saturday off and may meet friends for dinner. Supposed to rain a lot I think. Have a good one.

Video goes live in the morning at 7:00 a.m. and I’ll come on here and leave the link. Already started working on the next one, so it’s paying off to do them, get them scheduled and start the following one before it goes live. So that gives me some advance time. I am getting in a rhythm now. Can’t believe within 1 week there is already another.

Ok too quiet, where is that Dexter and what is he into now?