Tag Archives: word play

Mar1

Staying on Track: Goal Assessment

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At the beginning of the year, I gave you a list of some goals that I wanted to accomplish this year on my blog.  So, it’s been almost 2 months since then, and here’s how I’ve done:

1.  Write 52 blog posts: So far, I’ve done 14 posts on my blog, and a guest post for Triad Moms on Main.  Holding steady.

2. Make 24 new recipes, which works out to 2 a month:  I’ve made Bacon Ranch Chicken, Papa John’s pizza sauce and Pizza Balls, Funfetti Dip, and Valentine’s Chex Mix.  Plus I’ve tried a fluffy cupcake and icing tutorial.  Not bad.

3.  Read and Review 6 books… That averages out to one review every 2 months, and I just knocked out the first one this week.

4.  Complete 5 sewing crafts:  I’ve just finished one for His Majesty’s birthday party, so stay tuned for that this month!

5.  Make 5 wreaths:  I did the Valentine’s Day felt rosette wreath, and I’ve got a plan for several others.

And, the water drinking.  Oh yes, the water drinking.

I’m drinking more water.  I’m making a conscious effort.  But I could do better.  I would probably do better if His Majesty didn’t always want to have a drink of “Mama Wa-Wa”, and then subsequently leave floating particles of food in it, which is totally not the type of water that I want to drink, but I could also work harder at knocking out my numbers in the morning before he wakes, and in the evenings after he is in bed.  That’s the approach I’m going to have to take at this point.  It’s impossible to have water out when he’s awake unless I want to share it with him.

So there you have it.  I’m being accountable for my goals, which I think will help me to stay motivated to achieve them.   Keep me on my toes, Dear Reader!  Don’t let me be a slacker.  And send me some ideas for what you want to see me recreate!  Or, even better, send me links to your blog, and things that you’ve created.  I’d love to show your site some love!

Jan2

2012 Blog To Do List

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I won’t call these my “resolutions”.  Why?  Because I have a bad history with making, and keeping up with, my resolutions. Plus, I already have my resolution picked out for this year.  It’s the same resolution as last year, since I failed so badly at meeting my goal in 2011: I’m going to drink more water.  Last year, I probably drank about 1 cup of water to every CASE of diet pop that I sucked down.  Shameful, I know.  But, last year, I didn’t have a set plan for how I was going to go about meeting my goal, I only said that I was going to drink more water.  This year, I have an actual plan.  I have decided that I’m going to drink one 32 ounce cup of water BEFORE I drink anything else in the  morning, and then another 32 ounce cup starting at dinner time. It took me 3 hours to drink my first cup today, but I eventually got it down.  When I finally finished that cup of water, I was so full, I couldn’t drink my Diet Pepsi for almost an hour.  Perhaps I’ll be able to achieve a secondary gain, that being, drinking less pop. But let’s not get ahead of myself here, it’s one day into the new year.  So far, so good.  One day at a time…

Drinking more water is the only “resolution” that I set for myself, at least in terms of self improvement, for the upcoming year.  Lord knows I can stand to improve in many areas, but my official New Year’s Resolution is to drink more water.  Any other self improvement measures, I’ll add throughout the year.  I think they’ll feel more genuine that way.

Even though I only have the one resolution this year for myself, I did jot down a little To Do List for my blog.  Calling it a To Do List is much more practical for me, since I love the feeling that I get when I tackle a list.  I make a list almost every day, for what I’m going to clean, what must be done versus to what I’d like to get done, what we need from the store, what calls I need to make, appointments, etc.  I get a lot of personal satisfaction from crossing off tasks that I’ve completed.  I would estimate that my success rate at finishing a list is roughly 100x greater than my success rate at keeping my New Year’s Resolution.

Here’s what I’m going to do this year in terms of Very Pinteresting:

1.  Write at least 52 posts in 2012. That’s an average of once a week. Some of you may think this is a puny goal, but the truth is, as much as I love to write, I love to create  and cook and hang out with my friends and family more, and I don’t want to feel like writing is something I HAVE to do. I want it to always be something that I WANT to do.  So, I want to spend more time DOING stuff, and hold myself to actually writing about something only about once a week.  I’ll do my best to make them good posts, though.  Got something you want to see me try to make?  Send me a message at verypinteresting@gmail.com, or leave me a comment below and I’ll see if my skill set matches your request.

2.  Try 24 new recipes.  That’s two new recipes a month.  I got two great Christmas gifts this year that will give me extra incentive to check this item off my list.  One is a Kitchen Aid mixer, which I’ve wanted to get for years, but until this year, I wasn’t really the type of cook that needed one, and the other is The Stocked Kitchen, which I first heard about over on Patty’s blog (I actually received two copies of this book this year, which I think is the universe telling me that I need to use it!).  Between these two gifts, plus a board full of great stuff to try, I have no excuse for finding new things to cook. So, you can look forward to seeing some more edible treats.  Are there any dishes that you want me to try?  Let me know, and if there’s a chance that my family will enjoy it, I may make it one of my 24 new recipes!

3.  Read and review 6 books.  Isn’t that weak?  I love to read.  My idea of Heaven is a huge room stocked with every single book ever printed, with ladders to climb to the top shelves (because ladders are safe in Heaven, right?), and every person that I love right beside the books, enjoying whatever their favorite activities are, but available to chat or visit, or read beside, whatever I want.  And big fluffy recliners to sit in while I read.  And lots of diet Pepsi. Kind of like a party in a library, but with soundproof rooms off to the side so that I can have silence to dissolve into a book if I want to have some solitude.   So, if I love to read, why such a small goal, why only six books?  Well, like all of us, I keep pretty busy with my family, and unless I am a passenger in the car for an extended period of time, I tend to read in brief snippets, sometimes going so long between picking a book back up that I have to reread portions to bring myself back up to speed.  In addition to reading six books, I finished two books over vacation and I am working on reviews for, which means that I will actually review eight books in 2012.  Here are five books that are already on my 2012 list:  Still Alice, The Help (I think that I’m the last person in my county to read it), The Secrets of Happily Married Women, You Don’t Sweat Much for a Fat Girl (by my favorite author, Celia Rivenbark), and 101 Things You Should Do Before Your Kids Leave Home.  If you have a book that you think should be my #6, please let me know so that I can add it to my board.

4. Complete 5 sewing crafts.  I really want to improve my sewing skills, because there are many things that I want to create. I want to sew a backpack for a favorite little girl for her 2nd birthday.  I want to sew a messenger bag for myself.  I want to try to make play food for His Majesty. I want to make these adorable dishtowel thingees to coordinate with my kitchen.  And I want to make decorative pillows, or pillow covers, for my family room.  Got any good sewing tutorials? Please, send them my way!

5. Make 5 wreaths.  There are so many wreaths that I want to make, I can’t even try to pick a favorite right now, but suffice it to say I’ll be showing you my version of several of them in 2012.

So, that’s it.  That gives me 42 items to create and write about (if you count the two books that I’ve already read and still want to review), and leaves me 10 remaining items to fill in as the year goes by, in order to meet my goal of 52 posts in 2012.   Help me fill in my remaining items by sending me your suggestions.

Do you think I can finish everything on my Blog To Do List? Do you make a yearly To Do List?  If so, what’s on it?

Nov30

Word Play Wednesday: Thanksgiving Shouldn’t Be Over

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I know that the holiday observance of Thanksgiving was last week.  I watched many of my friends dutifully post status updates every day in November leading up to the big day, citing what they were thankful for.  24 days of “I’m thankful for” XYZ’s.  Lovely.  And then, on November 25th, the statuses changed to what they were scoring on the torturous and horrible custom of Black Friday, how terribly “sick” they were with fall colds, and how annoying it was to get the knots out of the Christmas lights.  Talk about doing a one-eighty.  So, when I came across this quote from Somewhat Simple, I thought, HOW APPROPRIATE.  Here it is, from Somewhat Simple (which has some great ideas for crafts, gifts, dates, jewelry, you name it, so check it out for some amazing (p)inspiration) :

"Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our Thanksgiving" (W.T. Purkiser) Image from Somewhat Simple

How true, right? After all, we can SAY how thankful we are for our health, but if continually neglect our bodies and our minds, how are we actually BEING thankful?  We can SAY that we’re thankful for having the opportunity to be at home with our children, but if we allow ourselves to be frazzled and rushed and bitter about all of the work that comes along with being at home with our children, how are we BEING thankful for the opportunity we have been provided?

So, while the holiday of Thanksgiving may have passed, the ACT of Thanksgiving should be ongoing, long after the holiday season has ended.  Here’s how I am showed my Thanksgiving this week:

1.) I have consciously stopped playing on the internet while my husband is home in the evenings.  I’m thankful for my wonderful life partner, who spoils me and adores me, so the least I can do is give him some undivided attention during the precious hours that he is at home in the evenings.  My husband knows how valuable my time is to me, and he appreciates that I am willing to give him some of this highly treasured commodity.

2.)  I have watched Christopher’s basketball practices.  I know that they’re not the actual games, but I think he likes to have me there, watching him, seeing how his skills improve.  He practically glows when I comment on some shot or skill that I observed during his exercises.  That kind of self esteem boost shouldn’t be reserved for the small number of games that his team will play this season.  I’m thankful for my oldest son, and for the fact that he’s still so innocent, and kind, and that he still likes to hang out with his parents, so the least I can do is return the favor and take every available opportunity to hang out with him.

3.)  I have dropped what I’m doing, whenever possible, to read His Majesty the same books, over and over and over again, even when it means that the pasta will surpass al dente status, or when I am folding a mound of laundry. I’m thankful for my sweet youngest son, and for the opportunity to be his primary caregiver.  When he says “Mama, sit” in his commanding, yet sweet, voice, I sit, and we read.  As much as he wants.

4.)  I have called my mother.  Twice.  We don’t always get along, but I’m thankful for my mother, truly thankful for the woman who brought me into this world, and I need to make sure that during the days of our lives, nothing positive goes unsaid between us.  Even if our conversations are interrupted by her talking to her dogs, or arguing with “Sarah” (her GPS), or when she tells me she’ll call me back and doesn’t, I need to make the effort to nurture our relationship.  She’s the only mother I’ll ever have.

5.) I have addressed and filled out all of our Christmas cards, including little personal notes for our friends and family members.  Some people don’t send cards anymore, and I didn’t get moving fast enough this season to order photo cards, so I myself almost didn’t send anything this year.  However, I think that it’s thoughtful to receive cards, and since I’m thankful for my friends and extended family, I took the effort to let them know that I am thinking of them, write notes in each card that pertains to the recipient, and sign them with a loving message.  It took time, but that is a small price to pay to show how thankful I am for them, and to hopefully make a far away friend or relative smile.

So, friends, I KNOW that you’re thankful, but what have you done, or WILL you do, to show thanksgiving for the wonders that fill your life?  Don’t let another year pass before you remind yourself of all the blessings in your life.  Show your appreciation for them every day!

Nov16

Wordplay Wednesday: Let’s Clarify Something

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Did your parents ever caution you to not believe everything that you read?  Well, I was (and still am) always a reader, so my parents reminded me of this advice on many occasions.  And it’s a good thing that they did, because when I saw this little “motivational” quote, being someone who spent the best years of my metabolism worrying about a nonexistent weight problem, I called bluff immediately.

Dear reader, I don’t know about you, but I can think of 3 things right off the bat that taste better than skinny feels to me (not to mention that they taste 10x better than it feels to be “cranky because I’m not eating anything good because I want to stay skinny”.  Believe that.).  And the first thing to come to mind is bacon.  Not the turkey bacon crap that I wore my teeth down on for decades, but real, crispy, fatty, pork bacon.  Bacon on burgers, bacon with eggs, bacon on salad, bacon on stuffed jalapenos… not quite ready for bacon dipped in chocolate and candy sprinkles, but besides that, oh yeah, bring on the bacon.  Did you know that there’s even a Bacon of the Month Club?!  Further proof that bacon is fantastic.

The next is ice cream. Again, I’m referring to REAL ice cream, not the “dairy dessert” that you buy in the freezer section at the grocery store.  Ice cream, as in, made with actual cream. Seriously.  You gotta be careful and read labels, unless you want to waste your time eating a poor quality imitation.  Believe me when I say that the first time you eat the real stuff, after months or years (or a lifetime?!) of eating the fake version, your eyes will dilate out in pleasure.  If you live in or plan to visit North Carolina, do yourself a favor and stop by a retailer that sells Homeland Creamery products to pick up some of their Chocolate Reese Cup ice cream.

Check out the other flavors of ice cream that they offer here.

Or, even better, plan to take a tour of the Homeland Creamery’s farm, and while you’re there, buy a big container of Chocolate Reese Cup ice cream.  And some of their chocolate milk.  Go big or go home, right?  Don’t worry, you can buy bigger jeans anywhere, but you can only get ice cream that makes you want to cry with sheer overwhelming pleasure  at a select number of retailers in NC.  Seize the day, baby.

The third that comes to mind is a locally produced Granola called Gorilla Grains. You can only get Gorilla Grains locally in the piedmont region of central NC, and one of the places you can score it is at the Saxapahaw Farmer’s Market, which runs on Saturday evenings from May through August. I know, it’s a long wait until next year, but trust me, it’s worth it.  They often have kid’s activities and live music, plus good local eats to take home and enjoy.

Check out these pictures of the Saxapahaw farmer's market, where you can score Gorilla Grains and many other locally grown and made products.

I first tried Gorilla Brains when my friend Patty over at South of the Fork offered me some at a picnic just a few weeks ago.  I couldn’t get my hand out of the bag, literally, it was as if my arm was independent of my brain, I’d look down, and there it was, grabbing another greedy handful. Then, God love her, she sent a full bag of this sinfully delicious treat over to me as a gift.  What was I going to do, say no?! Don’t you know that it’s bad manners to refuse a gift?  I had to eat it… maybe not the whole bag in under 48 hours, but hey, I’m not perfect, and this stuff is as good as it gets.

So you see, the whole notion that “Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” is a pie in the sky dream that we may tell ourselves when we are scrambling to lose weight for one reason or another, but because our taste buds know we are lying, it’s only a matter of time before the jig is up. Moderation folks.  A little bit of bacon for breakfast, a little bit of ice cream as a snack and a bag of Gorilla Grains to get you through the day.

Or something like that…

Nov9

Word Play Wednesday: Pondering the Significance of Pita Bread

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I realize that I had an error on a pin when I went to write this post.  The quote that I am going to write about, this very appropriate, relevant to daily life quote has an incorrect link back on pinterest.  Boo.  But it’s too good not to write about anyway.   So here it is:

Yesterday, my biggest worry was being unable to find pita bread during my grocery trip.

Pita bread, or rather, the lack thereof; That was the day’s biggest “problem”.   Can that even be classified as a problem?  I’d say that regardless of what else happens in a day, however mundane and routine it may be, if pita bread is the biggest problem you come across, well, that pretty much means you’ve had a fantastic day.

I speculate that most of the things that “get” to us in a regular day aren’t even worthy of being considered problems.  And I definitely don’t want to trade mine in for someone else’s.  Especially when I read blogs like Toddler Planet, and want to sob my eyes out into my Diet Pepsi, thinking about how the author, Susan, is so much more courageous and gracious than I am.  She’s battling metastatic cancer, while raising two young children, but despite her health and mortality challenges, she’s still openly grateful for her wonderful life.  That’s inspiring.

I bet if you think about it, you will want to hang on to your own problems, too.  We have beautiful lives, don’t we?  Even in dark moments (not referring to silly pita bread here, but real, genuine, dark times), things are better than they could be, right?

Let’s embrace it.

Oct26

Word Play Wednesday

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One of my favorite things to pin are quotes, and Pinterest users have amassed an impressive collection of them.  Whenever I go on a pinning adventure, I never fail to find several that evoke emotion in me, be it a lump in my throat, an inspirational burst of energy or gratitude, or a belly laugh.  There are quotes that remind me to treasure my children, to thank God, to nurture my husband and friendships, and to laugh at my haters. It would be a disservice to not take some of those quotes from the board to the blog. So without further ado, here’s one that has stuck out in my mind this week.

Because seriously, where is time going?!  1990 was the first new decade that I celebrated.  I can still remember it being a big deal among my circle of friends, the new decade.  I think someone must have hit the fast forward button in my life sometime around 2000, because everything from that point forward just seems like a blur. I recently had a friend visit me from my home state of Michigan (Holla!!) and we reflected on the fact that we’ve been friends for 12 years. I can still pretty vividly recall BEING twelve-years-old, and now I’ve had a friend that I met as an adult that I’ve known for 12 years.  My best friend and I have been friends for more than 25 years.  That logically means I’m not 25 anymore.  Again I ask you, where in the heck is time going?!

For me, this quote reminds me that time passes in an instant, and is gone before we even notice it’s here.  Because of that, it inspires me to only put effort into things that will make me and my family happier, smarter, or otherwise better, than we were yesterday.  So why wait until New Years? Cheers to that!

Salud!