New Year, New Resolve

Hello, friends, and Happy New Year!  

Have you ever gotten so wrapped up in things that you just got so ridiculously behind with other things?  Please say yes.  Well, this little blog of mine has become one of those things I didn’t keep up with.  It just set up shop on my to-do list, and went on living there from early August until right about…now.  In true personal fashion, I’m starting out the new year with so many ideas for the future, and I thought I’d share some of them with you today (nothing like a little public accountably, eh?)

1.  Run a marathon

This one seems inevitably unavoidable, since I took the plunge and registered for the Cleveland Marathon in May.  Wish me luck!

2.  Work my way through my unfinished sewing projects before I start any new ones

This goal truly deserves a post of its own, seeing as my “unfinished projects” pile has slowly but certainly been taking over my bedroom annex for the past few months.  One bursting bookshelf turned into two, which promptly turned into many, many, many piles of overflow, which led to me vowing not to buy any more supplies, which turned into complete disorder and chaos.  It’s time for me to dig myself out of this hole!  

3.  Try at least one new recipe a week

Because I love food.  Also, I tend to get into “recipe ruts” where I end up eating the same, weird but convenient foods for all of my meals (read: when I get busy, I eat mostly cereal.)

4.  Go to bed early

This is a back-handed attempt at forcing myself into becoming a morning person; a goal that I set and break just about every year.  This is my year, guys!

5.  Take more pictures with people in them

So I have realized lately that the ratio of pictures in my phone is about 5:1; 5 being pictures of Oliver (of course) and 1 being…everything else.  Instead of trying to take less pictures of my beloved pooch (who are we kidding, anyway) I’m going to try to take more pictures of everything else in my life.  I swear, I do have human friends, too!

6.  No more hiatuses from blogging!

I’m sure you have been expecting this one since this post began, but I’m serious this time…I’m here to stay!

What are you resolving to accomplish this year?

Joy of cooking

As promised, I snapped a few photos of my Pennsylvania adventures, which today consisted of practicing and cooking (pretty crazy, hey?)  Contrary to previous home cooking experiences (I can't even recall the various assortment of "I-just-don't-know-what-happened-I-swear-I-followed-the-recipe" dishes I've served to my family over the years) I spent this afternoon in the kitchen without any major catastrophes.  I made these braised short ribs with this herbed polenta, along with a salad topped with a cumin salad dressing (recipe courtesy of my sister.)  La pièce de résistance (in my humble opinion) was this lovely apple tart.  Mine doesn't look quite as good as hers, but it tasted pretty dang good.  So without further ado, here is a mini recap of my day:

 Okay, technically I took this photo in Cleveland before we embarked on our trip home.  But finding Ollie with his head on a pillow and the rest of him under a blanket (just like a person!) was just too cute to not share.  Just look at that mug!

The view from my morning practice session.  Look at that plant stand my dad whipped up yesterday!

 Mid-afternoon raspberry latte treat made just for me by my lovely sister.

My crowning achievement for the day: apple tart with salted caramel.

 And although he's a bit blurry, nothing says home like a little pug love.  Here, my sister's pug, Abraham, is saying "go to bed and stop trying to take my picture!"  (this was the last of many failed photo attempts.)

With that, I will heed Abe's advice and turn in early for the night.  Happy Monday, and thanks for stopping by!