Saturday, February 4, 2012

Busy Busy Busy.......Mmmmmph

That "mmmmmph" is me running into walls as I ricochet from work and work related tasks (sigh) to home with it's home-related tasks.  

Last week I began what most women do all the time, but I swore off when I got divorced in 1993 - cooking every day.  

If we want to be healthy and not what we are now - fat and sedentary and unhealthy - we have to eat differently.  It will also save us lots of money.  So - this past week I got up at around 6am every day (I do this anyway as I have to be at work at 7am) and made my husband and myself steel cut oatmeal with cinnamon, dried fruit and a little milk added in.  

I also made my husband's lunch every day - something I have NEVER done, even during my first marriage.  My husband will take the lazy way out (just like me) and eat at his job's cafeteria, which is bad food at an expensive price - if I don't provide something better.  I made egg salad sandwiches 2 days this past week and packed a salad as the main course the other days.  I also included small containers of mixed nuts, peanut butter, extra mayo (he LOVES mayo), fruit and carrot and celery slices with cherry tomatoes thrown in for snacking.  This keeps him from eating bad things, so even though it is still not really dietetic, it's much better for him.  I also try to eat better.  At my job there is a culinary school and the students cook, so I get diet meals (they offer both diet and regular lunches) every day if I like what they are serving for $4.50 total.  If I bring my seltzer water from home, then all I need is the $4.50 lunch.  They are much better than diet frozen meals or anything I could make at home, as the students are learning gourmet cooking and the employees and students get to eat the results at cut rate prices.

Each day, after making and wolfing down oatmeal, making my husband's lunch, and then getting ready for work - I rush out and get to work in about 10 minutes because the traffic is quite low at 6:50am and all the lights stay green on the main route all the way from my house to where I turn for work.  I don't work very far away, which is ever so nice and convenient, unlike my husband, who has to battle major highway traffic at rush hour both going and coming every day.  

The result of all my "Suzie Homemaker" efforts?  My husband is much happier, we eat better, we spend less on food - and hopefully, after a few weeks, we'll even be a little thinner.  The only drawback is that I am so tired when I quit all my work at about 6:30pm and retire to my computer/craft/work/study room, that by 7:30 my eyes are closing by themselves and my head is threatening to hit my keyboard.  I did no knitting and precious little of anything else this past week in the few free hours I could glean.  Perhaps after I do this long enough, I'll get used to it.

Now that it's the weekend, I'm taking it easy.  Luckily, both my husband and I worked as a team this past week and kept the house neat and relatively clean, except for the floors, which need to be vacuumed.  With 4 cats using the cat litter and then trailing it around the house - either sweeping or vacuuming is a necessity way too often.  My husband and I have joked that we're going to put large brushes all around the edge of the entrance to the cat litter box, so when the cats walk out, they rub up against the brushes and the cat litter comes off inside the box instead of on the floor all over the house.  The only problem remains their feet, so we could put a rug with stick-em on it for them to walk on after they leave the litter box.  Just silly ideas, although the brush one isn't bad, actually.  They would have to be big brushes all the way around the cat litter box opening and they would have to limit the opening to such a degree that the cats couldn't help but get brushed on all sides as they leave the litter box.

Today, my husband and I went to breakfast and then to a craft store to buy material for a photography backdrop for his "studio", a.k.a., den/repurposed garage/man cave.  He has a nice lighting kit and all he needed was the backdrops of blue and green and beige so he can take portraits.  He is beginning with the cats.  I tried to help this afternoon by giving Buster a little catnip up on the table which the backdrop is behind, but he went a little too crazy on us and only one photo came out good - and it's of him biting me in a catnip induced haze.  It's actually pretty cute.
AS ALWAYS - CLICK TO EMBIGGEN 












When we were at the craft store, I experienced my usual color induced lust and wanted to buy everything, but I decided to take pictures of all the items that made my eyes happy instead.  First is Joanne's Fabrics and their fake flowers display.  I'm never tempted to buy plastic or cloth flowers, but I am tempted by dried real ones.  In any case, the color draws me....









These quilts look wonderful, except I love the geometric shapes of quilts, but the color on the front of this magazine pulled me over.

















I have no idea what this is - I think a chair pillow, but it's pretty.  As a pillow?  Not so much - but just it's color?  Mmmmmmmmm

















A sassy, sexy dress the likes of which I can never wear again, but how pretty!!

















Then, there is the dreaded color ordered Wall O' Fabric.  Ahhhhhhhhh.







Close-ups of some of the fabrics....














Who could be tempted by sewing thread?  Me.  I want the displays below just to look at.




















Some pretty spring storage boxes in designs and colors that drew my eye

















Pretty napkins at Joanne's Fabrics......













Last weekend I discovered the joys of making my own sugar scrubs.  I made one from brown sugar and lavender and oil - it smells heavenly.   First I thoroughly wash with soap as usual in the shower, then, just before I get out, I rub some sugar scrub in small amounts on the areas with dry skin - my legs, my arms, my neck and feet.  My hands are dry, too, but they get the benefit just from being the applicator.  Oh - I smell SO good and my skin feels so soft when I get out.  I used Sweet Almond Oil as the oil in the scrub, although you can use just about any oil.  Sweet Almond Oil is good for your skin.

The only drawback?  The tub is slippery.  That is NOT good for anyone, so I went to Home Goods after Joanne's Fabrics to pick up an inexpensive rubber tub mat that could be put in at shower time, then rinsed and hung in between.  This will protect us from breaking our necks even though we smell SO good.  Now for some pictures from Home Goods.....








Oh my - the bath and hand soap isle.  I love wrapping washcloths this way, and the choices and scents of soap - AND the colors?  Heavenly.  I did buy one for $3.99.  I was remarkably sensible in both Joanne's and Home Goods because, really?  I already have lots of goodies at home.  I need to hide them and then re-discover them like shopping at home.  Have you ever had that happen?  You forgot you had something and you find it and it's something you love - what a nice treat!















Below are baskets for sale against a backdrop of a painted town scene a la Van Gogh - very pretty display. 













I have NO idea what this is supposed to be.  It's so whimsical and the little bottle caps are so precious that I had to fight with myself not to buy one.  What in heaven's name would I do with it????  But I DO love it.














Below are boxes of scented drawer paper.  Just the look of the different shades of boxes made me look twice.










Thie is a plate - isn't it beautiful?  Midnight blue with shells......













I don't like Asian decorating - figurines of gods and goddesses and Buddhas, etc. (although looking more closely, that looks like a bust of Queen Victoria),  but look at the bright yellow with the blue - sublime.   The pieces are too busy.  I'd love a bright yellow, plain pitcher, but not one decorated as below.




















I love the stained glass/mosaic look of the candle holder.  







1 comment:

Hubby said...

Yes, you woke early every day to pack my lunch and you made real food for dinner. Amazing! I as happy as a pig in slop!

-Your hubby,