Cooking with the Cat Lady (Or How I Almost Burned the House Down)

Most of you don't know this because I haven't been very good about posting this year, but I have been on a mission. A mission to take control of my life and my body and become a healthier person... Well, maybe I should just say healthy in general because I wasn't healthy by any stretch of the imagination. So in January of this year, I took on a change. I gathered together the scraps of my self control and started what my doctor refers to as a "life change".


I call it a life-long diet.


You see, I have a problem. A very terrible, dark, and possibly people-eating problem. I love food, and in return, it loves me back. Over the years, it has found its way into my body and suction-cupped on to my hips, my thighs, my tummy, my arms, and any other spare inch of space. One day late last year, I woke up to discover that all of this squishy, ever-loving fat had turned me into something I can only say resembled a marshmallow.


It wasn't pretty.


So, five months later, I have lost almost fifty pounds (with many more to go), and I have discovered my hidden love of yoga and running (slowly jogging, really).


Now, I'm not writing all of this to go off on a tangent about my wonderful new lifestyle. I might write about that another day, but I had to say all of that to get you on track for where and what I am today.


You see, last night while I was making dinner (pan-seared "fried" chicken), I had a thought. I should really post this on the blog. And I should. I had thought this thought many times before since the last time I posted, but I usually lazily dismissed the thought and felt guilty about it later.


For some reason, last night I decided that I would not suffer guilt - I would post to the blog. So while my last batch of chicken was happily searing away in my pan, I went in search of my camera.


And when I found my camera, and made my presentation plate... the batteries were dead.


I huffed and I puffed... and I went to look for batteries.


And yes, my chicken is still cooking.


However, I could not be side-tracked. I ran upstairs to our bedroom and scoured our electronics - stealing batteries from every possible source - to no avail. Each time I would put the batteries in the camera, flip it on, focus my shot, and click... nothing. The camera would then inform me that the power source was low. Sigh.


I searched our living room and the area I've deemed "my office". Again load. Again turn on. Again focus. Again click... and nothing.


Huff. All this time my husband was sitting on the couch asking me questions. What are you doing? Did you check here? Did you go there? What about this? And all this time, the smoke in the house is building - becoming some type of choking chicken smog. However, I do not care! I need batteries because I am going to post this recipe to my blog or die!


Finally, I steal some batteries from my husband's electric toothbrush that managed to work, and I sigh, relieved that the nightmare is over. However, it is at this point that my blinders fall off and I realize just how cloudy it is in my kitchen. Oh wait... those aren't clouds its... smoke. Big, dense, choking smoke. I rush over to the remaining chicken and slide it away from the burner (tossing the chicken on to a dish as well).


As the proverbial smoke settled, I was left with three pieces of charred chicken, but I wasn't really upset... after all, I was going to post to my blog, and it was going to be great!


Then as I sat down to eat, I plugged my camera into my computer ready to transfer the photos and prepare my blog entry. When it finally loaded on my computer screen, I nearly screamed. The pictures are blurry.


.... Actually, now that I look at them again they're not really blurry... they're smoky.


Figures.

Project in a Day - 1

I did a sewing project today to help lift my blah mood. It worked! It's amazing how something as simple as new pillows makes a difference.

I've been meaning to make these pillows for about a year now because the ones that come stock-shipped with new sofas are usually horrible. I'm really not big on tone-on-tone fabrics. To make these pillows, I just cut out four 19x19 squares of fabric and did straight stitches. Easy as pie. The stuffing is even from an old pillow I took off our bed.

Anyway, here's the result.

Before:

And After:

P.S. I didn't pose the cat there - that's just her space, and I don't dare try to move her when she doesn't want to go.

Hello World

It's only been two months since my last post, but it seems like so much has happened. (And in reality, it has.) I am always amazed by how quickly things can change. They say that life is like driving a car through the mountains. Sometimes you're on an upward spiral, and other times, you're coasting down hill.


At the moment, I don't think this would be an appropriate metaphor for my life. Right now, my husband and I are on a trampoline.


Do you know that point where you kind of hover in the air? You know... when you're not exactly sure if you're still on the way up or if you've already crested and falling down. That's where we are.


They say all changes happen for a reason, and in this state of unsteady economy, I can only grab on to my optimistic outlook for dear life. I wouldn't say we've had a hard ride, so far, but it hasn't all been rainbows and sunshine either. It's just been a ride.


I know this post probably doesn't make a lot of sense, and it also really lacks direction. But this is all I can give you today. I'll let you know tomorrow if its getting better. All I can say for now (and, Mom, you might want to turn away) is this:


Corporate America... you really suck.