I'm still standing

Ever have one of those weeks where you think if I can just make it to Saturday, I can breathe again? Well, I've had one of those every week since the year started. First it was the post holiday undecorating/organizing, then it was work/school commitments, now it's girl's craft night/science fair, followed by next week's birthday party-palooza. I just keep ticking off the days and wondering when it will slow down again.
I feel like such a slacker, but I haven't blogged because I haven't stopped long enough to type more than 140 characters. And most of those are done from my phone. As I type this, there are brownies baking in the oven, the last few winter decorations sitting on the table waiting to be wrapped and put away, birthday party favors scattered across the floor and an almost finished science fair project board propped against the walls. And the washing machine just reminded me I have clothes to put in the dryer. ugh!
Add to that the current fiscal crisis facing the state of Texas-- particularly education-- and you've got a less than stellar week. DH and I are both just praying we make it out of this with our jobs (he's in fine arts, which is up on the chopping block, I'm technology, which is also on the chopping block) Today I'm just trying to get through to the next hour. I'll accomplish what I can (and put anything I can't in the garage). Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but it's just been an all around crappy day.
On a positive note, I am well stocked with girl scout cookies, thanks to this kid chasing down the cookie wagon on his skateboard.

Walking is bad for you

After a very rainy and dreary weekend, yesterday's sunshine & mild temps were too good to pass up. I grabbed the young un and we set off for a walk around our new neighborhood. Shoes laced, ipod on, and we were off.

The young un was a trooper and when his rip stick couldn't make it up the hill, he grabbed it and trotted along. He did have a few overly-dramatic-out-of-control-straight-into-the-lawn moments.

No worries though, he'd seen someone on TV do it (My $$ is on America's Funniest Home Videos)

Aside from a few playlist snafus (Mariah Carey's Dreamlover can ruin a good pace!) we made good time and distance for our first major cardio since November. That feel good high came to a crashing halt this morning when allergies put me in a full on headlock. All I could hear from the young un's room was coughing and croaking and I know that's all that was coming from mine too. Add to that the sinus pressure on my eyes and the scratchy throat and I could have been an extra in zombieland.Small children just ran from the room screaming. I couldn't hear them cause of all the pressure on my ears.

But once I get the allergies under control I'll be back out there. Not because I particularly want to, but because I particularly want these:

Meal Plan Monday-- Take two

So let's revisit last week's menu for a moment shall we?

Monday- Sloppy Joes made with ground turkey and baked fries. done. and enjoyed.
Tuesday- Spinach & Black Bean Lasagna forgot to get groceries & DH was working late so we had Chick-Fil-A
Wednesday- Slow Cooker Apricot BBQ chicken wings finally decided to go to grocery store, but was too hungry to wait till home so Whataburger cooked.
Thursday- Beef Stir Fry & fried rice Had groceries, but forgot to thaw beef. Had teriyaki ranch chicken instead.
Friday- Cheesy Meatball Subs Allergies got the best of me. Sandwiches were made.
Saturday- leftovers/ free choice

So that makes last week 1 for 5 on following the meal plan. Not a great start.

We've regrouped and armed with a shopping list and coupons, compiled this week's menu:
Monday- Pizza Pasta (I mixed venison with the sausage and used rice noodles)
Tuesday- Pork Stir Fry w/ fried rice
Wednesday- Quick & Crunchy Potato chip chicken
Thursday- Spinach & Black Bean lasagna
Friday - Cheesy Meatball subs
Saturday- leftovers/free choice

I'm linking up at

Six Word Saturday- clean up

Now where do I put it?

The house has been un-decorated. but that's as far as I got. because putting all that back in the garage means I need to first clean/organize the garage. Which means I will google organizing blogs. Which leads to hours of wandering through the interwebz gathering ideas and buying more stuff to be more organized. And it starts a vicious cycle of cleaning/unpacking/organizing that makes me tired even thinking about it. So it will stay there for a few more days. And I'll still waste hours on the interwebz.

Wordless Wednesday-- I've got a stalker

She's obsessed with me.

I'm linking up to Angry Julie's Wordless Wednesday Linky Party.

Meal Planning? Check. Meal Cooking? Not so much.

Still fresh off an extreme couponing high, the Music Man made a resolution to stick to our newly revised budget. Newly revised because last week I paid off my car. His car has been paid off, and now we have the pink slips for both cars. That leaves student loans as the next debt to tackle. But I digress. After watching TLC's coupon divas, MM renewed his vow to make money using coupons. My contribution is to meal plan. Yeah, I know I said that last year and the year before. And I did meal plan. I just didn't meal cook. Cause I am not in my happy place when following recipes involving more than two steps. or those with measurements. or those requiring more than one bowl to mix ingredients. In fact by the time I'm mid way through a dinner entree, I either run out of some key ingredient (cornstarch) or mix up the tablespoon and teaspoon (not good when adding cayenne pepper) or burn/blacken all of the above. Pictures exist in cookbooks so I can identify what I've made for those about to consume it.

In spite of this I'm trucking along with the menu planing. Armed with internet resources, you tube videos, and yes, the Betty Crocker app, I chose these recipes for week one:

Monday- Sloppy Joes made with ground turkey and baked fries.
Tuesday- Spinach & Black Bean Lasagna
Wednesday- Slow Cooker Apricot BBQ chicken wings
Thursday- Beef Stir Fry & fried rice
Friday- Cheesy Meatball Subs
Saturday- leftovers/ free choice

We'll see how this goes. I'm linking up to :

10 from 2010

This past year definitely embraced the metamorphosis part of my blog title. Chang in job, change in address, change in family, we've been through it all. I know I've neglected this blog as the succintness of Twitter and facebook statuses that I could update from my phone appealed to me more than sitting down and typing out blog entries. But as 2011 begins, I'm going to make an effort to express myself in more than 140 characters. What better way to look ahead than to look back at 10 highlights from 2010? Buckle up, it might be a bumpy ride:

10. My beloved Saints finally won a Superbowl (and I wore a Saints shirt every week to torment my 8th graders!)

9. My "baby" turned 10... and I cringed at the thought of the upcoming teenage years. (on a side note, 5th grade math is kicking my bootay!)

8. I traveled on a bus full of 5th graders to the Alamo for their class trip. During said class trip we experienced one sick chaperone and one bomb scare.

7. A freak snowstorm in March followed by Hermine's rains in the fall gave us a different look at mother nature.

6. Our first trip to the ocean (and first jellyfish sighting) made for some great memories. Bodyboarding was the young un's favorite way to pass the time.


5. Moving my parents into a new home (their first move in 30+ years) was a group effort. But the housewarming was even sweeter.

4. Throwing a shower for my brother and sister in law (from 300 miles away) was a challenge. Good thing they're baseball fans!

3. Changing jobs (and as a result, changing schools) meant leaving behind some fantastic friends and fellow teachers--not to mention a bad ass kickball team!
2. Becoming an aunt and holding my sweet little nephew. His older cousin was ecstatic about becoming his "big buddy".

1. Moving to a new house and watching a plot of land go from weeds to stone nearly got the better of us a couple of times. Building is NOT for the faint of heart. Spending the first night in a house that was truly ours totally made up for it. (Just don't look in the garage!)

So that's my recap. I'm hoping that 2011 will be a little smoother, a little calmer and a little less eventful. I won't resolve to post more, but I will resolve to post more meaningfully. Happy New Year interwebz!

I'm linking up to Domestic Fashionista's 10 in 2010 linky party.