Pinterest – Just Little Bits

9May

A little bit of a smorgasbord…

Posted by: melissa in cooking, dinner, food, health, Pinterest, recipes Comments Off on A little bit of a smorgasbord…

Happy Monday, folks! Sorry I fell off the face of the earth for a bit. I thought I had recouped from my birthday celebration, but then my mom came into town. My mother is going to be 73 next month and believe me, she doesn’t quit. Most times, I swear she has more energy than me. But then again, I love being lazy.

She came that Friday night and I made dinner. Knowing that we were getting fondue the following night, I tried to keep it somewhat light. Foil-packed veggies are one of my favorite meals for summer (especially when we go camping). I mean what is easier than cutting up vegetables and tossing them into foil with some oil and seasoning? Nothing (I mean probably something, but just agree with me).

I bought a really good steak for the occasion and decided to try my hand at tofu. I know, I am kind of all over the place. The only tofu I’ve ever had and loved is Double Wide’s “wings”. And imagine that, they aren’t even tofu. They are Seitan wheat protein cubes. Alright, vegetarians, what’s the difference? Guess I should do my research first.

Anyway, I believe you can cover anything in hot sauce and call it a meal. I’m sure this is the quote I’ll be remembered for someday and I am ok with that. Other than hot sauce, the recipe I found called for oil, cornstarch and the tofu. I skipped the ranch sauce listed because I was trying to be healthy. Meanwhile, I think I had cheese for dessert. This is a thing, guys.

I am on three types of cold meds, so pardon my ramblings. Bottom line? The tofu was great, the steak was great and the veggies were delicious. My mom and I shopped, went to a movie and then met up with Dave to gorge ourselves on fondue. Come Sunday, I was birthday’d out.

Fast forward a week later and here we are. Tonight’s dinner is goulash. When I mentioned this to Dave, he had never heard of it. WHAT. So, I called my mom and she said my grandma made it. That was a boring answer, so I went to the Internet and IMMEDIATELY regretted that. (go ahead, try it!) I have my goulash recipe ready to go for tonight, and I already have the ingredients. I found a lot of variations, so I know I’m not alone with this “weird” dish. But now I’m curious. How many of you have heard of it?

On a side note, the camel has nothing to do with anything. I searched a free photo site for food images and that came up. The Internet is clearly on some colds meds too.

16Jan

A little bit of art therapy…

Posted by: melissa in art, coloring, crafts, painting, Pinterest Comments Off on A little bit of art therapy…

Screen Shot 2016-01-16 at 4.09.18 PM

I assume when people picture someone painting, they picture someone sitting at an easel, staring out at the sea. Their brush is painting a blueish gray sky. They are cool, calm and collected. They are in the moment. Not a care in the world.

Let me first say that I enjoy painting. I love adding color to things that were previously dull. I love the feeling of finishing a piece of work whether its a wineglass or a sign or a painted picture. I love that after struggling with anxiety most of my life, I have found a way to release that energy. What I don’t love is when I have off days. Today was one of those days.

I know every job, skill, whatever you want to call it, has its ups and downs. I definitely went through that in the corporate world. In the end, it was more downs than ups. But this is a different feeling. Every morning my mind tends to race with ideas of what I will accomplish that day and when the end of the day comes and I have nothing to show but a full trash can, I stress out. I started to do some “research” on this and found out I’m not alone. In fact, it gets worse. In a TODAY Moms survey of 7,000 U.S. mothers, 42 percent said that they sometimes suffer from Pinterest stress – the worry that they’re not crafty or creative enough. Wow. I am not a mother, but seriously is this what we are doing to each other?

I really think that we can suck the fun out of anything these days, so I am reminding myself now why I got into crafting in the first place. Art is supposed to be fun and a way to express yourself. There is a reason why six of the current top 20 bestselling books on Amazon are adult coloring books. Through the repetitive motions of creating something, you shut off your mind like in meditation. And it doesn’t stop there, the reward of seeing what you created gives you more warm and fuzzies AND you get the satisfaction of knowing that you have the ability to finish something on your own.

Moving forward, I am going to try to not be as hard on myself when it comes to these off days. And I encourage all of you to pick up a coloring book or paintbrush or knitting needles. Give your mind a break.