Post Holiday Weekend Recap

Happy last day of November all.  I hope my American peeps had a lovely holiday weekend.  Maybe you put up your tree and/or lights or laid around in a food coma all weekend.  Whatever it was, I hope it brought you some joy!

Wednesday, I was pretty burnt by the end of the day after throwing myself into Thanksgiving prep.  That night we met my mom at the cemetery parking lot so we could exchange our Christmas gifts to have under the tree since that was the last time we had available schedule wise.  She had a rough week so I made her Grandma's butterballs which are her favorite.  

She asked me to make them my apple crumb pie so I got to it that morning so it was as fresh as could be.

One thing I learned is I utterly hate my peeler and apple corer/slicer so I ordered new ones.  Also, our ice cream scoop broke so I had to order one of those too.  Never get one with plastic parts.

It was time to roll out Grandma's noodles with her rolling pin that I swiped years ago.

I was kind of bummed because I can usually feel her with me when I make them but I didn't feel that this year.  I did tell her though to go visit my aunt who desperately needed her so if that meant she couldn't make it to our house this year, that's fine.  

Of course, there was no way I was making an apple pie for the rest of the family without making one for us or the Mr would've started a mutiny.

The only thing I'll never do again is use a crappy pre-made pie crust for it.  I almost made my own pie crust a day before but didn't because I already had the other ones.  That pie is friggin' amazing and deserves more respect than the bland, disgusting top rated brand I threw in my online shopping cart in a fit of "I have zero f**ks left to give" state.  Didn't stop us from eating it though.  😕

We both woke up with headaches on Thanksgiving so we had a little breakfast then went to the park and walked for an hour.  Then we came back and it was time to heat up what was already ready to roll and cook the important stuff like Grandma's noodles and stuffing.

We were in a carb coma the rest of the night and I needed a pink chaser by the end of it.  It certainly wasn't perfect.  The noodles were too salty even though the consistency was finally almost right.  I think I might've salted the broth when I made the turkey and then I re-salted it when I boiled it without tasting and then I had to add a little turkey broth from a box and after checking that was 800mg of sodium which I never would've used had I checked it first.  I swear sometimes I feel Grandma giggling behind all of our backs when we try and fail to get them just like she made them.  I forgot to add more broth to the stuffing so it wasn't as wet as I like it.  Then the Mr's drumstick (which I forgot the day of... #fail) was like out of a Griswold turkey so I threw in the towel on not being a glutton on Friday because that makes sense.  The leftovers were out of the house but in our bellies so yeah...didn't even bother weighing in Saturday because I didn't need the mental anvil.  Other than that, just getting the house in the Christmas spirit and cramming in some stuff we had to get done.

Last night, I loaded up some hot chocolate and gingersnaps to take on the road...

We drove around and looked at some Christmas lights while listening to our holiday playlists to round out the weekend.

How was your weekend/holiday?

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What I'm Reading This Week #48

Happy Black Friday everyone!  I hope my American friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving and have lots of leftovers to dive into this weekend, I know we do!   I know many are bummed that they can't have the big shindig but I hope you were able to soak in the gift of peace this year is giving.  I have to say, the Mr and I really love the years we're out of town for Christmas because there is something so wonderful about not having anywhere to be on the day.  No working your fingers to the bone, stressing out and potentially going from one family to another then collapsed in a heap by day's end.  So we definitely took in the peace of the day and were quite happy that at least half of the dinner was Food Saved and it was reheating and serving.  But before that, here's what we were putting in our pie holes.

Monday was veggie burger and potato wedges.

Workout was Shaun T Sweat Intervals and The Work Recovery.

Tuesday was BBQ Chicken Pita pizza and veggies.

Workout was Power 90 3-4 Sculpt.

Wednesday was glazed fish over quinoa duo and veggies.

"Workout" was all of the Thanksgiving day prep until I blew out my shins from being on my feet for 5 hours and couldn't do a proper workout.

Now let's serve up...

10 Cardio Workouts You Can Do Right at Home  (Some good mix and match options.)

Try This 2-Second Trick to Double the Storage Size of Your Baggie  (Color me intrigued!)

100 Frugal Habits to Live By, If You’re Trying to Save Money  (Money is always better in your pocket than someone else's!)

How To Stop Grinding Your Teeth Because Of Stress And Anxiety  (And if you can't pinpoint it, then what!?)

Turn Off Gmail's 'Smart' Features to Avoid Tracking  (No one needs to track you, especially 'big brother.')

The Winter Beauty Checklist: 5 Super Simple Swaps for Dry Skin  (#2 was surprising)

5 Ways to Prep Your Home for the Holidays  (It's almost here!)

31 Farmhouse Christmas Decorating Ideas for the Merriest Country Home  (Seriously swoon-worthy.)

20 DIY Photo Ornaments That'll Make Your Christmas Tree Even More Meaningful  (Super cute way to have your family with you this year!)

49 stores you once loved that don't exist anymore  (Which were your favorites?)

28 Fascinating Things You Never Knew About "The Wizard of Oz" (Even a few things this Oz fanatic didn't know!)

We've got a ton of stuff to get done this weekend so I guess we should take a breather during the day and plan our stuff accordingly.

How was your holiday?  Anything planned for the weekend?

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Happy Thanksgiving!

(Source:  Pinterest.com)

Wishing you a very happy Thanksgiving and safety to you and your families across the miles or across the table.

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Hump Day Poll: Thanksgiving Pivot

(Homegirl's like "screw it, more pie for me this year!  Plates optional!"  Source)

Many of us are pivoting this Thanksgiving so that leads me to wonder:

What, if anything, is changing about your menu this year?  Still preparing it yourself?  Are you doing takeout from a restaurant?  Doing a Thanksgiving to go type deal from a restaurant or grocery store?

It's just the Mr and I and we'll be eating exactly what we eat every Thanksgiving and thankfully we won't have to worry about someone bringing the wrong rolls because I secured those bad boys a week ago.  Nothing will be different except not having to rush around, not having to pick a spot so people I don't want near me won't sit by me, and no awkward silences or not have to endure snippiness when someone inevitably irritates someone else.  So I'm pretty stoked about taking a 'break year' if even I'm not happy about the reason why.  Maybe it'll make future gatherings a little more mellow.

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Behind the 8 Ball Weekend Recap

(Source   "But...I was told...there would be a weekend.)

Seriously...where did it go?  We were behind the 8 ball all freakin' weekend with not a ton to show for it because the things we did get done were things that didn't do much to clean.  

Friday day, I took down all traces of Fall.  It was no longer pleasing to look at and just stressed me out.  Friday night just seemed to suck down the tubes after doing a 3 miler around the hood late afternoon and instead of incessantly scrolling a crappy list of shows that were never going to change, I told the Mr to put on Six Feet Under from Amazon.  Well, that's no longer free so he ran down to grab the DVD.  We watched the first episode then later on watched the second one and just over halfway through, it had a meltdown and stopped working.  We watch this MAYBE every 3 years or so, so I'd say that disc has been pulled out maybe four times and should not have had the scratches it had.  We tried everything and ordered a DVD re-surfacer because even if it didn't work with that disc, we have 400+ DVD's and the one we used to use for CD's always worked well.  We did make a late night Target run and I see the great toilet paper shortage is back in full effect, at least there.  *SMDH*

Saturday morning, I couldn't walk from the walk the night before (we even rolled...well.) so the Mr had to give me a rather extensive leg massage before I could do anything, like, stand.

We hit a local place that does sticky toffee pudding for a limited time.

I know it doesn't look appetizing but inside there is toffee goo and we topped it with the infinitesimal scoop of vanilla bean ice cream they gave us in another container, drove to an empty part of the parking lot and blissed out so we could enjoy it both hot and cold as God intended.  I would say I must learn to make it, yeah...I do need to learn to make it because I'll make it once and it'll likely be so time consuming just like everything else, I'll only make it once a year anyway.   We went to a place a few years ago that was run by a real Brit and I thought we were going to gag when we tried his version.  There was nothing sticky about it and it tasted like burnt cake.  Ugh.  So I do recommend you try it if you see it on a menu because when done properly, it is the most heavenly thing you'll ever put in your mouth.  Yep, even more than that.   

(Wonder how many of y'all went straight to the gutter?)  😆

It was raining but we did a nice drive in the country because I was in no mood to go back home just yet.  I got a framed print I was waiting on in one piece, no thanks to the FedEx guy who threw it on the porch with authori-tah and then proceeded to take FOUR things from our one snack, one drink cooler.  Dude, don't ruin it for everyone.  I'm still messing with the mantel a bit but did get the greenery going.

Sunday, I made pancakes with mix I'm pretty sure either had crappy leavening or really means to say milk when it says you can use milk or water.  TJ's pumpkin pancakes are that way too and they always turn out a flat mess.  Just say milk.  I don't know what difference that makes.  I'm considering adding 1/2 tsp of baking powder to every batch regardless since I have such poopy luck with pancake mixes.  Then it was a lot of busy work, stringing ornaments, packing and wrapping.  Before we knew it, it was 4pm and we were wondering where the heck the day went.  We went down and worked out with a brutal LIIFT 4 Back and Bi's workout, the Mr went to pick up two orders while I worked on this and then it was dinner and that's about it.

Oh, and if you would've told me that I wouldn't have my friggin' tree up in a year when people were like "it's November 1st!  Put up the tree especially this year!", I would've called you a liar.  At this point, who knows when the hell it'll go up.  I've got Christmasy touches up just not the star of the show.  

How was your weekend?

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What I'm Reading This Week #47

It's Friday!  Woo hoo!!  Can you believe this time next week, Thanksgiving will be over!?  I am still in awe at how fast this year is going given what we've all been going through.  This weekend and next are big time push weekends to get some stuff done and I need to make my list and check it twice.  

Monday I didn't take a pic of dinner but it was date and onion stuffed chicken wrapped in prosciutto and a sweet potato with cinnamon honey.  It looked like a dog's breakfast but I think the Mr foodgasmed.  Workout was a PopSugar Fitness Cardio workout.

Tuesday was a "clean out the freezer" day with cauliflower rice and two Wow Bao to get rid of our final box from Michigan.  

I have to say, I prefer TJ's bao over the comparable one from Wow Bao but I need to find a place with the WB teriyaki chicken because THOSE are awesome!   Workout was BFF kettlebell and extensive rolling.

Wednesday the freezer clean out continued with the beef veggie soup and a salad like last week.

Workout was Power 90 with abs.

Thursday it was time for some fish in our lives so I made fish tacos and Brussels sprouts.

Workout was Turbo Fire Tone 30 band workout.

Now let's work into...

7 Neck Exercises to Prevent and Correct ‘Tech Neck’  (Good, I can finally put my chins to use.)

Fake a Cable Machine at Home With This 20-Minute Resistance Band Workout for Full-Body Strength  (Awesome!  Totally doing this!)

8 Things to Do at Home Instead of Stress-Snacking (I mentioned once recently after a failed project that crocheting looked like it could be so calming and I swear the Mr started to get flop sweat.  I reassured him I wasn't hoarding any yarn just yet.)

3 Types Of Tea This Functional Medicine Practitioner Drinks Every Day  (Good, I have all three...um, guess I should drink them!)

Cinnamon Is the Seasonal Spice That’s Good for Your Brain—Here Are 7 Unexpected Ways To Cook With It  (Apple Crisp!  Pumpkin Pie!  Cinnamon Rolls!  Oh wait, I don't think those are on the list- actually one is!!)

21 Ways to Help Yourself Get Unstuck Today (Good tips!)

9 Core Qualities of Highly Sensitive People  (I am every. single. one.)

How Mindfulness May Help Navigate The Gap Between Memory & Recall  (Oh man, I am SO guilty but can't help myself.)

How To Protect Yourself From Family Members Gaslighting You Without Writing Them Off  (Tis the season!  Even if you're not seeing them in person this year!)

53 DIY Christmas Decorations to Turn Your Home Into a Winter Wonderland  (It's time to start!)

17 Ways to Decorate Your Entire Home with Lights  (OMG, #4 if you have a fireplace that doesn't work and want to do something other than candles.  It would be SOOO cute with birch!)

22 Virtual Christmas Party Ideas in 2020 (Fun ideas!)

The Infamous Star Wars Holiday Special  (For the Mr.) 

It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is Thursday!  I've got the mashed potatoes and turkey ready to go but still need to make well, everything else.  I'll need to make some stuff ahead and I was wrangled into making an apple pie for the family's gathering we're not attending so I'll be doing that and throwing it in the trunk for them to take.

Any plans for the weekend?

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Thursday Check In

Howdy all.  It was a pretty quiet weekend for the most part.  The biggest thing we did was last Friday we went to a vintage shop so I could pick up an order and the dog let me scratch her booty while we talked to her mommy.   We found out they went to Stowe, VT for their honeymoon at the Trapp Lodge and she asked if we had ever been to Maine.  So we nerded out for a bit over New England before hitting the road.  Just the night before I was looking for a vintage looking Santa mug but did one better with something similar so I got our new Santa in his spot.

I'm going to see what I've got downstairs to put in his sack since he just needs a little something.  Not sure if I'm done with that area or not.  We'll see.

My soul needed to watch Labyrinth for almost two hours to get my mind off general crap and it was exactly what the good doctor ordered.    After the Mr went to bed, I thought I'd get a jump on some Monday prep I needed to do which required me using a mandoline for citrus.  Can you guess where this is going?  Despite being as careful as I could be, I sliced off about 1/4 of my thumbnail on my right hand from top to bottom.  It was one of those moments you make sure an ER visit isn't necessary.  While I was woozy from the appearance, there was no blood and the citrus wasn't stinging so I thought I was good.  As I headed upstairs to get it tended to, the gushing started.  I had to treat it without waking the Mr from the sound of my passing out since I was getting sweaty and wobbly looking at it.  Nothing would stop the bleeding except for a blob of Neosporin on it while I put a waterproof band aid over it.  I went back to the task at hand and then I grabbed a silicone toe sleeve I use for not getting blisters when we walk to keep the band aid in place all night or my Charlie Brown sheets would be goners.  When I went up, the band aid was soaked through so I changed the band aid and it stopped bleeding.  I cleaned it up, put on another one and put the finger condom back on for a restless night's sleep.   You can imagine using weights, putting on and taking off a bra and showering have been super fun.

2020 is the gift that keeps on giving.

We did have quite a few windy days this week to put our new glass bulbs to the test on the gutters.  It happens every single year but this time it gave the Mr about 4 extra days before the derecho showed up.  If we make it to Christmas without a broken bulb or two, it'll be a miracle.  Oh, I did get a little crafty and made some rustic tiebacks for the slider curtains for the holidays.

No sew, I just used Fabric Fusion and some well placed heavier objects while it dried because hand sewing wasn't on the top of my list along with teaching myself how to use the sewing machine.  If they fall apart, I'll hand sew them but they seem to be okay for now.

I was happy Tuesday to watch the snow roll into Stowe, VT and pretend I was virtually rolling in it.

We did make a Trader Joe's run Tuesday 30 minutes before closing when there were like 15 people there.  I was hoping it would be the last run but they were out of sweet potato gnocchi and I can't go without that until the end of the year...I'm not an animal.  We'll have to call ahead and have them hold like four of them but we got everything else, I think.  Super disappointing they're never gone the curbside pickup route during this crap show but I guess you have to potentially risk your life if you want their eats.  😠

Other than that, just watching Marc Maron's Instagram lives almost every day depending on my mood.  He's pretty raw some days and I have to decide if I'm going to let it in or not or wait until he posts it so I can enjoy it at my leisure.

How's your week been?

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Hump Day Poll: Whose Zoomin' Who?

While that is quite a catchy Aretha Franklin song from back in the day, that's probably not what you think of when you hear that phrase nowadays.  Zoom was all the rage at the beginning of the pandemic and then you started hearing about "Zoom fatigue."  People were over it and preferred to not see their coworkers if that was an option.  Some stopped using it altogether and just went back to conference calls.

So here's today's hump day poll, do you still use Zoom (or similar service) as much as you did 8 months ago?

I've never used it once. I wouldn't know how to if I tried and honestly, no one has asked as far as like family or friends so I figure they don't give a crap to do it either.  I remember thinking at the beginning maybe we'd do a virtual game night with friends or something but then I saw a squirrel and that thought passed like a fart after (insert gassy food here.)  

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What I'm Reading This Week #46

Another Friday is upon us, friends.  I hope you've had a good week and are ready for some shenanigans, whatever that means to you.  

Here are some of our eats this week.

Monday we had homemade beef and veggie soup and a salad.

Our workout was Fitness Blender Upper Body Strength.

Tuesday was Maple Glazed Salmon over Quinoa Duo.

Workout was Powerstrike.

Wednesday I phoned it in with a Caulipower Veggie Pizza.

Workout was Turbo Fire HIIT 25 and dancing around since the Mr burned his washing his car for 2 hours.

Thursday was BBQ Shrimp and Cheese Grits.

Workout was upper body strength.

Now let's work into...

Stair Workout for Beginners  (Great way to get a boost of cardio inside or out!)

3 Tension-Relieving Exercises For Your Pelvic Floor & Total-Body  (Very good stretches)

The Top 12 Relationship Problems, According to the Experts  (Interesting list)

How Depression Can Affect Relationships & What To Do About It  (Good info)

Homeowners Found Dozens of Bottles of Bootlegged Booze Hidden in the Walls of Their House  (This is so insane!  Watch the vids)

How to Arrange a Cheese Platter  (I love doing charcuterie boards when we're on vacation.  I'll have to do more this winter here and there.)

Here’s How To Let Yourself Feel Joy Right Now—Because It’s Not Selfish, It’s Survival  (Word)

One Thing You Shouldn't Say to a Bereaved Person Right Now  (We're all curious but its not the point)

6 Steps to Avoiding Credit Card Debt Over the Holidays  (Too late)

My Boyfriend Gave Me a Brazilian Wax at Home, and It Was an Experience We'll Never Forget  (I don't know who this sadist lady is but it kinda feels like her BF was being "tested" given all of the other things she had going on down there in addition to the act of doing the waxing.  Rude.)

21 Festive Quarantine Christmas Ideas for a Holly Jolly Holiday  (Use cinnamon ornament dough for #8, roll it into a log like fashion and call it a day.)

My focus is to get a menu together for Thanksgiving and start working on things I can do ahead.  I really want to get crap on the first floor together since it feels like its been in a state of limbo for a few weeks which only overwhelms me and makes me procrastinate more.  No real plans otherwise.

You got anything going on this weekend?

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Hump Day Poll: Well Runs Dry

I have loved telling stories since I was a kid.  I used to love to write short stories and even had a book I was noodling with in my early teens.  I remember my Aunt Maggie used to ask if I had 'that good book I was writing' with me when I'd visit Grandma.  There's also one particularly disturbing story I wrote in 4th grade as my parents were going through their divorce called "The Girl is Missing" or something like that and let's just say it didn't end well for the girl.  If a faceless dead girl in the weeds strewn in marker of a 9 year old doesn't scream "maybe she's not handling the divorce so well", I don't know what does!

In high school, I moved on to song writing/poetry.  I'll come across those every now and then when I vow to clean out my closet.  Most times I shake my head and say "obviously, I was listening to The Cure a lot."  Some are embarrassing and I think of throwing them out but I never do because I don't want to dishonor what I was feeling at that time.  It's a look back on who I was at that point in time from 14-17.  A time so different from who I am now in so many ways but still grounded in some of the same darker emotions.

I sometimes wonder why I stopped writing poetry.  I guess longing for love and having that outlet when you're hoping for someone to not relegate you to the friend zone will bring that out in you.  But when I met the Mr at 17, my poetry stopped.  I don't know if I thought I didn't need it anymore or I didn't need to write but I do miss it.  I feel like I wouldn't know how to write a meaningful poem right now if I tried.  I think as an adult if you're focusing on writing something meaningful, you just end up psyching yourself out whereas when you were a kid and going through all of the emotions, hormones and everything seemed like life and death, it flows much easier.  It's hard to get pumped up over writing about what to cook for dinner, telework and working out.  It feels kind of like a little death of yourself when that well runs dry.

Did you write stories, songs or poetry in school?  Do you still?

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How to Re-Screen Your Basement Window

I kind of feel like I have no right to tell you how to do this project because I didn't watch a single video,  and I didn't read the directions on the package.  I just winged it and had perfect results.  So to me, that should tell you how easy this project is that you might be putting off.

Meet our crappy 24 year old basement window.

Yep, those are pieces of scotch tape over holes so that hopefully not so many spiders would make their way in as well as a layer of scunge from lint and spiderwebs.  It does not make for a showpiece on the patio.  It's the time of year when all of the bugs are trying to find their way inside and I knew I needed to bite the bullet after years of saying we needed a new screen.  Problem was, we had a weird height/width screen (of course) so finding one that would fit was impossible without ordering a custom size.  $70+??  No thank you.  I'll re-screen it.  Have I ever done it?  No.  But it seemed fairly straight forward so I went for it.  

Here's what you'll need:

Screen Repair Kit

Here's what isn't necessary but helped tremendously:

Mini Metal Clamps

Craft Knives

Butter Knife

I got my re-screening kit all opened and ready to go.

The Mr had better luck with our putty knife than I had with the butter knife, so I'd suggest that for fast work of removing the old tubing that holds the screen in place.  Then just pop the screen out, roll it up and chuck it.

Clean off the decades of life on the frame with a wipe or Magic Eraser.

Lay the frame on top of the screen and cut around the frame so there's about an inch overlap past it.

Now it's time to get started on the tubing that will hold your new screen in place.  Line it up with the corner and make sure it's draped over your work space going the direction you'll be rolling so it doesn't work against you.

This is where I found little metal clamps we had on hand to be very handy.  It held the screen in place and taut while I worked.  If you don't have any, they're good for a myriad of projects and should be in every home in my opinion.

They give you the roller which works fine but I felt it took way too much pressure on its own to not make my hands utterly ache after a few rolls.  So  I used a butter knife to do the initial tuck on either side of the tubing, which in turn, pulled the screen tight into the spot.  Then I would use the roller to get it firmly into place.

This method seemed to speed things up tremendously.  Just keep working around the perimeter of the frame making sure to move the clamps as you get close to them because they don't have any give when they're still attached and you could risk a rip.  Just tuck with the knife, roll with the roller taking care to really tuck well in the corners.

When you're done, it's time to cut off the excess.  I have these awesome Pen Blades for crafting that are much easier to handle than a box cutter or X-acto knife but any cutting tool will do.  Gently but firmly run the blade along the frame just above the tubing.

It comes off nicely and gives a clean look.

Then voila!  You're done!  No lie, I actually heard this in my head when I finished.

Nice and taut.  No saggy or wavy sections like I feared going in and now I feel like kind of a rock star.  It took just over 20 minutes.  That kit will do either one patio door, two windows or three to four basement windows.  I will take $12 over $70+ any day y'all!

I'm not saying I did this 100% correct according to experts or people who think they're experts.  I'm sure others might have a better way but "right" or not, this worked and I'm super pleased!  So if you've been putting off any screen repair, I can vouch it's way easier than you think!

You've got this!

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Burr in the Butt Weekend Recap

Happy Monday everyone!  Did you have a good weekend?  I hoped to do more but alas, it was not in the cards.  The only Christmas stuff I could muster was my greens and vintage spice tins over the cupboards.

We fully intended to enthusiastically start decorating on November 1st but I just don't have it in me and am not ready to lose living room space.  I start thinking about the fact that Thanksgiving is 2 1/2 weeks away and begin a mass freak out.  Not really because of the holiday but it's going to trigger a lot of other "to-do's" and my mind needs some time to unravel not having constant election stress.  I'm not ready to replace that with holiday stress.

I had already reluctantly planned to make Chi Chi's Chicken El Paso Saturday for lunch.

I love it but it's a pain in the butt if your heart's not in it and you add that Domino's hosed us for dinner by giving us a raw dough pizza that I then had to cook and I basically got no break from cooking this weekend.  The Mr was supposed to do the Christmas lights Saturday but that got pushed to Sunday so my plan to go paddling Sunday and watch a Christmas light show from the car was chucked in the crapper.  That was likely our last shot for paddling but I didn't want to put pressure on us to have to do it if we weren't feeling it so I never brought it up.  That means we've gone out once this year, just like last year.  Also makes me question why we have all of this gear taking up so much space we don't have, to only do it once a year now.  If that's the case next year too, I'm going to have to do some serious thinking.

Pfft.

I was at least productive enough to get the Christmas cards finished yesterday.

All addressed, stamped and ready to roll on Thanksgiving Eve.  

The Mr got the Christmas lights up after realizing the crappy ones we got 3 years ago were not going to make it this year.  We spent an hour looking for replacements that didn't get great reviews and finally just went with solid warm white for the gutters because I don't really care.  My grandparents had the same set of big ass C9's (you know, the opaque multi-color ones) for like 25 years, just replacing bulbs here or there.  The ones now are designed to fail every other year.  If you think I'm reinvesting in these friggin' things every other year, the answer is no.  I also shouldn't have to spend $150 on a commercial grade strand just to hope I might get 5 years out of them if I'm lucky.  (Plus they don't have the color scheme we used anyway.)  I don't know if I've got a Grinch up my butt or what but I hope I can snap out of it soon.

Nothing real Earth shattering going on, as promised.

How was your weekend?

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What I'm Reading This Week #45

Welcome to the first Friday of November!  Wow.   I hope November has been treating you well so far.  If any of you click through on Facebook, I'd be ready to stop seeing that.  I do have scheduled posts over December but they have totally changed things and tried to force it so I have to pay to use it in some form.  No way in hell.  I lose sooo much money just posting and doing maintenance on this space, it's not funny.  (It's the only reason I do Amazon affiliate links and those don't come close to covering even a quarter of my costs.)  It could be growing pains right now and sometimes I can get into it.  So they'll either get their crap together or I could be done over there.  Honestly, the engagement and reach are piss poor so I don't feel like it helps me much to begin with.  So bookmark here or sign up for email notifications because I don't know my FB future.  (This is assuming people are still here and reading.)

Here's what we've been putting in the face holes this week. 

Monday was a quick old standard- Passion Fruit glazed Orange Roughy, sweet potato gnocchi and peas.

Sadly it was our last gnocchi so I know what that means...we're due for a Trader Joe run.  Sigh.  Workout was Shift Shop 35 strength.

It was Turkey Taco Tuesday with sufferin' succotash.

Workout was old school Tae Bo Volume 2.

Wednesday was cooking together so we made Cheddar Jalapeno Salmon Burgers over the mediocre TJ's butternut squash cauliflower risotto.

Workout was Fitness Blender's Upper Body Guaranteed Burnout.

Thursday we had to go back to General Tso's chicken because I have stuff I need to get out of the freezer to make room.

Workout was a 3 mile stroll around the hood.

Now let's stroll into...

5 Foods With Vitamin D To Eat Now That You’re Spending More Time Indoors   (Gotta get dat D!)

This Is What Happens to Your Body If You Never Stretch  (Stretching is soooo important!)

How To Stretch & Release Tight ADDUCTORS | Groin Muscle Release  (I've been having a lot of trouble with my muscle imbalance and this helps for sure.  If you want to be drunk in 6 minutes, take a shot every time he says "k?")

Sometimes My Eye Feels Like It's Twitching Morse Code — What's It Trying to Tell Me?  (So annoying!)

Yep, There's a Reason Your Feet Are Always Cold (Just call me popsicle toes.)

What Is Noise Pollution? Here's Exactly How It Affects Your Health, and What to Do About It  (Like my Grandma, I am incredibly affected by noise.  Shared living does zero to help my nerves.  Oh and the construction project that will be outside of our home for the next two years.  I'll be buried in some noise cancelling headphones until 2023.)

Former Astronaut Scott Kelly on Social Isolation: "The Holidays Are Going to Be Hard, No Question"  (Great advice.)

How to make this winter not totally suck, according to psychologists  (Get prepared!)

Thanksgiving For Two: 15 Small Holiday Bites With BIG Flavor  (Yes please!)

Sugar Cookie Milk Is Back to Bring You a Taste of the Holidays  (Say what, now?)

The new Dexter finale should do these 5 things (Not sure I agree with them all but love the idea of ghost Deb!) 

Dolly Parton Answers the Web's Most Searched Questions   (Gotta love Dolly!)

I wish I could have some massively exciting thing to share that we're doing this weekend but you know, we don't...so.  Maybe an afternoon drive is in order, we need to get those in and possibly the Mr putting up the Christmas lights since it's going to be warm.

How about you?  Anything good going on in your near future?

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