Entries tagged with food

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heck yeah, let's get groceries

(Went through several options for 'heck yeah' for today's post... groceries was the final winner!)

Very important to get groceries today, because I'm out of delicious fruit cups and also protein shakes, and in these difficult days (aka summer) those have pretty much been my go-to 'this sounds like something I an eat' options. WHY ARE SEASONS SO CHALLENGING.

(I do understand that my body is doing its best, and I appreciate that! It's just that sometimes my best means thinking 'I'm hungry' and then blank-staring into space for a long while as I try to determine what will solve that problem.)

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galaxy brain

Okay, so when it's hot out, sometimes eating food seems Way Too Hard, but I still get hungry, which definitely makes everything worse. So I got some vanilla protein smoothie drinks from the grocery store, and also some strawberry yogurt drinks, both of which are in the 'acceptable if all food sounds awful anyway; at least they're easy to consume' category.

BUT THEN! Yesterday, I had the absolutely galaxy brain idea to combine them together, because I thought the 'one is too sweet, the other is too gloopy' issues might cancel each other out. Except that one of the 'yay, beverages' benefits is that I don't have to wash any dishes afterwards, which would be canceled out if I poured these two drinks into a third container. This had me stuck for several hours.

UNTIL! I thought to myself 'oh hey, what if I just open both smoothies and take a sip of each?' It's not like someone's going to tell me not to! I can do what I want!

And I did, and it was delicious.

Entry tags:

food,
holidays

happy Christmas Eve!

Today's Christmas Eve project: try making mulled cider in the crock pot!

I'm modifying the recipe from Penzeys, in the sense that I won't be following it at all, but it did inspire the plan. We have about enough of all ingredients for two batches -- one today, and one tomorrow if today's goes well.

THE PLAN:

*apple cider
*cranberry juice
(about a 2:1 ratio apple to cranberry, depending on how much I feel like measuring and how much I just pour stuff into the crock pot)

*some vanilla sugar, maybe an eighth to a quarter of a cup or so?
(Penzey's suggests brown sugar plus vanilla extract, but it's not like we have a need for a lot of baking ingredients, and I've never tried vanilla sugar, so it seemed cool and new)

*mulling spices, probably 1-2 Tbsp, or half of whatever's in the little container I got
(I did remember to also get tea bags, to avoid having to strain out the spices afterwards)

*add to crock pot, stir, heat, wait a while

*enjoy!
(the goal is that it will at least smell very nice and festive, regardless of how it tastes -- and it will be a fun Christmas Eve project, so really it's a win no matter what!)

Entry tags:

food,
work is work

workaday Tuesday

*got up suuuuuuper early so I would have time to do stuff before work

*because I'm commuting to the office today and tomorrow ::crying::

*now I can't remember how to do stuff before work in a reasonable order so as to be ready to drive away from the house at 7:45 and not be back until 6(ish? our release time is unclear)

*that's so long

*luckily I packed a LOT of snacks yesterday

*planning to tuck a few more in my backpack before I leave

*got a message yesterday that there will be coffee and bagels at work, though, so that's a win!

*I was SO TEMPTED to message back and be like 'just bagels?' like, are we to assume that some common bagel companions will be present, like cream cheese, or jam? or is this just bagels? which is great! love bagels! (okay, I don't love bagels, but it's the thought that counts, and I appreciate being offered something)

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CIDER TIME

Yesterday evening we achieved the Friday Fun Day activity DO A CORN MAZE, which has got to be about the most Fall In New England activity I can imagine. And afterwards there were refreshments, and I was all, 'ah yes, excellent! I love apple cider and donuts!'

Beverages were self-serve in one of those big dispensers -- unlabeled, but WHAT ELSE COULD IT BE??? CORN MAZE. OCTOBER. NEW HAMPSHIRE. I would have bet actual money on the contents of those dispensers being apple cider.

IT WAS NOT APPLE CIDER.

(It WAS an absolutely delicious hot chocolate, which I enjoyed very much. This did not stop my befuddlement.)

(PS: Did they TELL US it was hot chocolate??? I distinctly recall being told about refreshments when we arrived, including the words 'donuts,' 'popcorn,' and 's'mores.' With that level of detail, you'd think they would have said 'hot chocolate' and not 'something to drink.' Did they say hot chocolate and my brain literally blipped it out and replaced it with the word cider???)

(PPS: The donuts were amazing.)

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non-workaday Wednesday

*Hooray, it's Wednesday and I'm not at work!

*The cat has determined that it is Not A Work Day, and has settled into her largest and most cozy bed

*Pretty much any time I am cranky, I should go sit somewhere quiet and alone and eat a snack; this would resolve at last 90% of situations

*Yesterday I explained to my boss how to see our calendars on their calendar, so... that was a thing that they weren't seeing before

*SO MANY FUN PLANS FOR THE NEXT FIVE DAYS!

*Goal 1: not working: ACHIEVED

*Goal 2: at least one fun thing each day that is not already something I would have done if it was not special vacation time: BRING IT ON

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the mystery lingers

Kids get a lot of great food aimed at hiding veggies in delicious ways, and I'm all about that (but for myself, lol), so I recently tried the 'Sweet Potato Littles' from my local grocery store.

The box says they are "fun shapes," which I guess is one of those 'fanciful' claims that is allowed because no one can really prove or disprove it. ARE the shapes fun? Who knows!

In this case, 'fun shapes' means there are three varieties of dinosaur, a star, and -- this is the one that really gets me -- a teddy bear(?). Maybe? I'm not sure what else it could be, but it seems like an odd choice to go with the dinos and stars. If they were picking a random shape, a cat CLEARLY would have been an ideal choice, but a winged dino would have been super logical too. (It bridges the land and the stars! IT'S POETIC.)

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way to go, past me!

Yesterday I posted the 'I need dis' otter, without even REALIZING that one of my impulse purchases during my Saturday grocery shopping trip was, in fact, ICE CREAM COOKIE SANDWICHES.

I remembered this thrilling fact this morning, and am now contemplating whether 9:30 in the morning is too early for ice cream. It's not, right? Ice cream is an anytime food, I'm pretty sure.

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workaday Wednesday

Okay, yesterday was a little overwhelming at work, but we all know the classic saying: "Tuesdays are hard, Wednesdays are better."

Things that are already better about today:

*I finished one crochet project yesterday, so today has that 'fresh project' glow.

*It's currently snowing, which seems like a good January thing to happen, and it's a very pretty snow.

*Yesterday was takeout Tuesday, which means today is leftovers Wednesday -- lunch is decided and will be delicious!

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workaday Wednesday: onsite questions answered!

*Yes, free coffee is available, though I did not partake

*My recollection of 'office winter' (the permeating chill of high-powered AC) was milder than the reality -- it was SO COLD

*The empty wall in the bathroom was as useful as ever, and I managed to squeeze in my ONE MINUTE of exercise for the day by doing wall-sits on my bathroom breaks

*As someone who prefers a predictable routine and an absence of being perceived, I did not thrive under the conditions of the day

*Lunch was delicious

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let's gooooooooooo!

To the grocery store! IT'S TIME.

Very Important Grocery Store Trip Questions:

*Do I need gas? I think it's fine to wait, but I should check.

*Will my car start? WHO KNOWS. I hope so! ::crosses fingers::

*MOST IMPORTANTLY, will the store have those little fruit cups of strawberries??? Inquiring minds want to know!

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Happy Valentine's Day!

otter reaching for an ice cream sandwich with the text 'I NEED DIS'

Takeout Tuesday with Lower Decks viewing and special dessert, AWW YEAH!!!

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six good thing

*I have an avocado to eat today and I'm really looking forward to it

*the Sunday morning radio program is featuring Vienna Teng

*thinking about years past and walking at the state park made me cry this morning, and I think there's something to learn in there about change and time and the intrinsic value of fleeting joys, and I just haven't quite figured it out yet

*I signed up for a once-a-month coffee subscription as my birthday gift to myself, and so far it's been great

*free online yoga classes

*we live in a world that includes cats and I think that's wonderful

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grocery store day!

A very exciting day indeed! Time to go out into the world! Drive somewhere! Purchase food! Drive back!

Grocery shopping is pretty much my one excursion per week into the wider world, and always reminds me why I don't do it more often. But I appreciate the reminder, and I also appreciate getting to buy food, so mostly it's a pretty fun trip.

(Also treats! Every trip is an opportunity to get myself something fun, like cookies, or yet another seasonal mug!)

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workaday Wednesday

*I'm working on my annual review self-evaluation at work this week, which is An Experience for sure, since my old boss left in November, and my new (interim? no one knows!) boss has told me multiple times that they have no idea what I do. (So reassuring, thanks!)

*Anyway, work is making me a little cranky right now, but the good news is: it's grocery day! Which means I really want to get out of my pajamas and make progress towards the 'getting groceries' thing. I'll definitely do that. Soon. Soon-ish. Any minute now.

*It's also laundry day, which is considerably easier than groceries, but also involves -- surprise, surprise -- changing out of my pajamas. (nooooooooo!)

*Last night I slept Not Much because I went to bed Very Late -- in my defense, I did not feel tired. Even now I do not feel tired! I have Moderate Concerns about how I will feel later today. (I mean, hopefully tired? By bedtime???)

*PS: Coloring calendar going great so far! Love it!

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back to work

help help it's back to work day! HOWEVER! I am determined!

(First I was going to say determined to not panic, but it's far too late for that. I remain determined as a vague state of being!)

Things I'm looking forward to today:

*Work day = coffee day! (yes, sure, *technically* I drink coffee every day, but it's even more fun when I'm on the clock)

*It's takeout Tuesday! (I have so far resisted the urge to read up on what happens at the end of the movie we're watching, so it remains A MYSTERY)

*Coloring! (I got a desk calendar for Christmas that's one of those coloring book ones, AND some new markers, so this is very exciting)

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happy new year!

Fantastic wins of the year so far:

*Experienced the outdoors! (filled the bird feeder & took out the trash)

*Ate a vegetable! (mmm, greens... heat in pan to instantly have much smaller amount of greens to deal with)

*Tried something new! (okay, it's a new background in habitica? but I asked myself and I said that totally counts)

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rejoining the outside world

*I am going to go interact with people today, at a grocery store! (AHHHHH!!!) I'm not sure I'm quite done hermit-ing, but I'm out of fruit and vegetables, so it's definitely time to get more food.

*Between the holiday and my post-holiday retreat, emails have been piling up. I cannot imagine the strength of people who leave things in their inbox long term; I have 14 emails in there right now and I feel like I'm crumbling under the pressure.

*Today's other major goal: laundry. That should be easier, actually, now that I think about it. Yay, laundry!

*So far I have not made use of this vacation time for any big adventures, but on the other hand, I also haven't (yet!) had that thing where my body goes 'oh you're on vacation? excellent, here's that cold I've been holding back on because you were too busy before.'

*I should probably put gas in the car too, as part of the grocery trip. My car is having unspecified water issues (aka water is entering the car somehow and then failing to leave again, leading to ice forming on the inside of the windows). The internet suggests running the air conditioning, which seems clever, and is also on my list for the ever-expanding grocery store journey.

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I'm back!

Sort of back, at least! I'm definitely awake, and have been in that state for... approximately two and a half hours, which is good! Plans for today include:

*Not halting all forward progress at 10:30 am!

*Tossing the sticks off the balcony and onto the ground below! (There's a crew coming to do storm cleanup today, so this is actually a legit thing we've been told to do. You know, carefully.)

*Making some progress towards tidying up the Christmas gifts!

*Drinking coffee!

*Some other things!

*More things?!?!?

*Eat remaining avocado; put avocados on the grocery list

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t-minus ONE WEEK

*Christmas is one week away!

*I am as prepared as I need to be at this point, which is to say, not at all, but there's like -- seven days to go!

*WE'VE GOT THIS

*What is 'this'? WHO KNOWS! A head cold? A fresh roll of scotch tape? A staggering amount of dessert options? ALL OF THE ABOVE???

*At this point I've been procrastinating on cleaning the shower for so long, it feels like I might as well put it off a bit longer.

*I bought a dozen eggs so that we could use ONE EGG in a cookie mix, and now I'm running through all my "easy egg recipes" to use up the rest of them. So far there are still eight to go, but I'm determined.

*It's time for another new toy in the cat's official unofficial month-long gift celebration! (It's her first Christmas here! She likes toys!) OH HAPPY DAY!