Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

are afoot...

First of all, I got fired.

Don't feel bad.  (I don't!)

It wasn't that I didn't go a good job - I was just "not a good fit", and "the chemistry wasn't good".

(To which I replied "I agree!".)

But now what?

Hmmm...

Good question!

I moved here hoping to (someday) open my own business.

Well, yesterday a friend who owns a shop downtown told me I could use some of her space - for free! - in exchange for working 2 days/week.

YES! Absolutely!

So, that ball is finally rolling.

I'll still need a job. But I'm trying to not panic and just take the first thing that comes along. I've done that.  It doesn't work.

In the meantime, summer starts (unofficially) next week and I'm going to try to enjoy it (for a change!). That won't be easy (not having a paycheck is scary and stressful), but I am looking at this as an opportunity!

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

As predicted, the latest book I read was in the "less than 150 pages" category.

I know it's been over a month since I said that. It hasn't taken me that long to read 132 pages (that took a few hours). It took that long to find a book I really wanted to read.

I found The Diving Bell and the Butterflyat Goodwill one day last weekend. I'd seen the movie, but it's on so many "Best Books" lists, I was curious.

And as is usually the case, the book is SO much better.

The book tells the true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby, editor-in-chief of French Elle.  In 1995, he suffered a stroke that left him with "locked-in syndrome". Permanently paralyzed and only able to communicate by blinking his left eye, he dictated the entire book one letter at a time.

By page 38, I knew this book would be life-altering.

(I hate when people say this or that "changed my life", but sometimes it's true.)

In this case, he describes being fed a "brownish fluid" through a tube into his stomach. But in his mind, he can go to any restaurant at any time, eat any meal - tender beef, fresh vegetables, wine, fruit...

At the time, I was eating stale microwave popcorn.

I rarely cook for "just me". And I'm too cheap frugal (sigh) cheap to eat out often, or even get takeout. At grocery stores, I balk at expensive cheese (and I love cheese!), the olive bar, and even those $5 bags of little clementines. Instead I eat whatever is cheapest and easiest (i.e. microwave popcorn).

But, that (among other things) is going to change.

Towards the end of the book, he describes the day of the stroke - it was "gray, muted, resigned" (can you picture it, and your mood on days like that?), and how he and his girlfriend, "embarked like zombies...".

Side note: If you've never seen the movie Shaun of the Dead(first of all, you should! It's awesome!), it also depicts people going about their everyday lives as zombies (before many actually become zombies).

He then "mechanically carried out all those simple acts", like shaving and dressing, and goes on to describe his plans for the night, the weekend... He thinks about calling his girlfriend, but decides to call her later...

The morale of the story is, of course - just live every day, savor everything (even the small, insignificant everyday events and abilities), and don't wait for a "later" that may not come...

The Goldfinch

At 771 pages, The Goldfinch is epic.

It took a while - almost a whole month - but it really is good.

Not perfect, but good...

PROS

• The main character is really not likable.  That may sound like a con, but it's actually a refreshing change.
• It's very suspenseful. (I was so nervous!)
• Donna Tartt is so descriptive. I could picture it all in my head. (This probably contributes to why it's 771 pages, but I wouldn't take any of that out.)
• Some of it is really depressing. 

CONS

• Some of the dialogue is really (really) far fetched.
• There's one part where the timing is just too perfect.  I mean, it could happen, but it was just too lucky.
• There's a too long (in my opinion) section about the main character's (author's?) thoughts on life.
• Some of it is really depressing.

Anyway, that satisfies one of the books on the 2016 Reading Challenge.

I'm not sure what's next.

"A book that's under 150 pages" sounds good.

Sweatbag

Baby it's cold outside...

So, my plans today consisted of cleaning, organizing, reading and working on the "sweatbag", just not in that order.

My niece gave me a bunch of sweatshirts to sell at a garage sale that I still haven't had, so they've just been sitting here for months.

Until now.

For some reason, I got inspired and turned this sweatshirt...

into what I've been calling a "sweatbag" (horrible name, I know, but it cracks me up):

I think it's cute, but it's FAR from perfect.

I didn't plan anything - I just started cutting and sewing, and let it come together.

The drawstring is from the hood (which I thought was ingenious!), and I made the handles from the sleeves.

I just did a search on Pinterest and found this version (with instructions!)...

Source

I'm so glad I didn't have that garage sale!

One Down, Eleven To Go!

One of my New Year's Resolutions was to find 12 new recipes to add to the rotation and I've already found one!

I just made this recipe for Easy Slow Cooker Shredded Mexican Chicken and it was really good!

INGREDIENTS
2 pounds chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup mild salsa (medium if you like spicy)
3-4 tablespoons brown sugar*
1 4 oz. can green chilies
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper (optional for more heat)
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoons liquid smoke
hot sauce to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

• Rub chicken breasts with oil and place in the bottom of your slow cooker.
• Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the hot sauce. 
• Cook on high for 2-4 hours or on low for 6-7 hours or until chicken is tender enough to shred.
• Remove chicken, and let rest 5 minutes before shredding.
• At this point, she says "Return shredded chicken and let cook on low for an additional 20 minutes to absorb some of the liquid/juices. " I didn't do that.  I just put the chicken in a bowl and added a few tablespoons of the liquid.
• Then she says to "Drain all excess liquid", and suggested using it to make rice. I didn't exactly do that, but I did make a bunch of brown rice (4 servings) and threw it into the crock pot and stirred it all together.

Then I wrapped the chicken in a flour tortilla and ate it like a burrito.

It was really good and really easy!

* NOTES
Use 3 tablespoons brown sugar if using mild salsa and not using ground chipotle chili pepper.
Use 4 tablespoons if you are using medium salsa and/or the ground chipotle chili pepper.

Happy 2016!

Well, 2016 has not gotten off to the best start...

I stayed in last night, watched football until it became obvious Michigan State wasn't going to rally, then went to bed to watch the season 3 finale of Deadwood. I wasn't all that tired when that was over, so I tried to find season 4.  When I couldn't find it easily, I decided maybe I am all that tired, so just went to sleep.

Turns out, there is no season 4.

What a way to start the new year.  I'm going to look on the bright side, though...

No, there is no bright side.  I must just accept it and move on, hoping the year improves.

Along those lines, I've made some New Year's Resolutions:

1. Read 25 books - this is ambitious (for me). I don't think I've ever read more than 24 in a year, so this would be a personal best.  I'm going to choose my books based on the 2016 Reading Challenge, starting with The Goldfinch, at 771 pages.  (Yes, I've already started it, which could be considered cheating, but I have over 600 pages to go, so it counts as "a book that's more than 600 pages".)
2. Crafternoon - I've been pinning all sorts of cute ideas onto my Arts & Crafts board on Pinterest.  This year, I'm going to actually DO some of them.  First up - Smittens!  (And if there's any leftover sweater, these cute little hearts.)
3. 12 new recipes - I hate to cook, but love to eat.  I have a few really good recipes (conveniently posted here under "Recipes"), but need more. 
4. Save $1,378 - with the 52 Week Money Challenge. I'd actually like to save more, but this will be more fun than direct deposit. 
5. Wander - with my crazy schedule last year, I didn't have much of a chance to get out of town, so this year I'm hoping to make up for that with trips to the Dane County Farmers Market in Madison, and the NewBo City Market and Czech Village in Cedar Rapids (and more!).

There are others (the usual lose weight, "finish" house, be more social, practice piano). 

Whether I keep my resolutions or not, I like this idea...

Two months later...

The last two months have gone by so fast (too fast!).

About a month ago we moved my dad into the memory care unit of an assisted living facility.  It was, I think, meant to be...

We were given two day's notice by the rehab facility that he was being released the day before Thanksgiving. Of course we weren't prepared for that, so made arrangements to move him into their skilled nursing section (how convenient for them).

Skilled nursing is what you think of when you think "nursing home" - hospital beds and old people sitting in wheelchairs in the hallway.

I couldn't stand it.

Then, the director of one of the assisted living facilities I'd visited when he was first taken to the hospital called the day after Thanksgiving.  I had liked the facility, but thought it was too big - all elevators and long hallways.  He'd never find his way back to his room.

But she suggested their memory care unit.  I'd driven by it.  It was smaller.

Well, I happened to be in town.  She had time to meet with me an hour later.  I called my brother and he was available too.

They had three rooms available and by the end of the day we'd put down a deposit and by that Monday he moved in.

I didn't know if he'd like it.  He always said he wanted to stay at home, with visiting nurses to take care of him.

But he actually likes it! (Maybe because they took the guys to Hooters last week.)

I don't really care why.  I'm just happy he's happy and being taken care of.

Work is still going well.  I like it. It's stressful and I am REALLY busy.  But the people are nice (for the most part!).

I've been doing a lot of work on the house.  I'm tired of living in a construction zone, so am focusing on getting rooms done livable. I'm still working on multiple rooms at once (currently the master bedroom and dining room), but there is a plan and a light at the end of the tunnel!

Part of that plan involves getting "new" furniture.  My furniture consists mostly of hand-me-downs and IKEA.

I love the hand-me-downs.

I hate the IKEA.

So, I got rid of it.  All of it.

Then, just last weekend, I finally moved back into the master bedroom (remember this? That was almost exactly a year ago!).

I moved in a dresser I got from a garage sale, and a chest of drawers I got from a thrift store in New York (Thomasville!).  I set my little tv on top and hooked up the Wii so I can watch Deadwood, and thought "This is horrible.".

I needed something I could set my big tv on to watch Deadwood (it is SO GOOD!).

I needed one of those low, wide dressers.

I needed something like this...

This is a photo of an Ethan Allen dresser that was being sold by a furniture store in Maryland.

Two days ago, I found a dresser exactly like this at Goodwill for $35.88 (for Ethan Allen!).  Similar dressers are currently listed on eBay from $595 (without the mirror) to $1,200.

Also in the plan is removing the old, ugly medicine cabinet in the bathroom...

again, not my photo. this time it's from Home Depot

with a mirror and light fixture.

And, since I'm putting the big tv on the dresser, I won't be needing the mirror, so...

Two birds, one $35.88 stone.

That same night I found found The Light Between Oceans, which is supposed to be really good, and at a different Goodwill near me (that has the BEST selection of books),  I've recently found The Girl on the Train and The Goldfinch, in hardback, for $1 each.

The Girl on the Train was really good. I'm 88 pages into The Goldfinch (only 683 to go!), but it's already really good too.

Finally, I've tried a few new recipes - some were just ok, some were really good...

This Balsamic Mushroom Pasta from Girl Gone Gourmet was incredible! It was so good, I've already made it twice.

I also liked this Pineapple Fried Rice from Damn Delicious.

And finally, I was at my brother's house on Christmas Eve, and someone claimed their homemade Ritz Cracker fake Girl Scout Peanut Butter Patties (one of my favorite Girl Scout Cookies!!) were even better than the real thing.

No way.

Way.