My new favorite toy!

Over the holidays I took a nice long vacation. 

I had high hopes and big plans on all these things I was going to get done in the yard. Mother Nature had a different plan. If it wasn't raining, it was below freezing. Needless to say, I spent almost all of my time in the house - getting acquainted with our nice comfy sofa. 

I finished up a couple of crochet projects I had started and watched almost every movie on demand that held my interest. 

I also watched a bunch of info-mercials.

I picked up a Nutribullet RX (LOVE IT!! - Different post about that, soon!).

I also put in a request to Aboy that I wanted the One Second Slicer. It's frickin awesome! It is a BOGO deal (1 for the house, 1 for the truck). It is worth every penny!

There is a slicer piece, a dicing piece and a cubing piece. Pushing it through is so easy and clean up is running over it with a bottle brush and rinsing it out. It also has a cover to store the contents.

I love it!

If you are trying to eat healthier and don't like the time and effort it takes to prepare your food - this makes it so much easier!  I cut up tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and onions to top my salad - in less than 5 minutes - including the clean up! 

I cannot wait for summer to come with all the stuff from our garden. 

The plastic and blades are not flimsy and it stores nicely because all the pieces stack. 

Look what Frank (Shady) dragged in!

I'm in the midst of my morning rituals, the dogs wanted to go outside a second time. I let them out and got back to my normal routine. 

Ed started barking at the door, he was ready to come in. Weeshy was sitting there with him so I had to call Frank to come in the house. 

Frank came barreling in (as usual) and Weeshy started chasing him around the living room. He jumped on my chair and I could see something hanging out of his mouth... a very long tail!

OMG! OMG! OMG!  

Naturally, I started screaming as that is my instinctive reaction to rodents and snakes. I scared the shit out of Frank and he dropped it. It landed on the floor by my side of the sofa. Weeshy tried to grab it - so between the screams, I chased the dogs away. 

Now, Nuisance got a wiff of it and wanted to get it too.

Frank was scared shitless (from the screams), so he ran in my office. Weeshy was perched on Aboy's side of the sofa and I had to pick up Nuisance because he went into predator mode. 

First thought (after all that)... how the fuck am I supposed to get this nasty shit out of here?

Conversation with myself:

"You can pick it up with a C-Town Bag... EWWW!!!"
"Get a shovel!... Yeah, Yeah - a shovel!"

I am still holding Nuisance. Frank is still in freaked-out mode in my office and I chased Weeshy away. I walked outside to get a shovel (Nuisance under my arm), come back in the house and Weeshy has the fucking thing on my side of the sofa!  

Instincts kick in, so I start screaming again.

Weeshy got freaked out and ran.

I knocked the nasty fucker on the floor with the shovel (Nuisance is still under my arm). I then did a quick rendition of the heebie-jeebie dance. 

I put Nuisance down and scooped up the mouse, got it outside and put it in the trash (so no one else gets the temptation to bring it back inside). 

I sprayed everything within a 10 foot radius with disinfectant.

I guess after breakfast I'll put on my hazard gear and sanitize the entire living area because of the contamination!

This can't possibly be what life on a farm is supposed to be like!

New Year, New Me...

2014 will go down as a "ehh" type of year. I had many accomplishments, but there were also some disappointments that I should have had better control of.

2015 is going to be different, by design.

I think it's safe to say through adulthood, I've approached life as a journey. I hold on to lessons and try to get better. I really, truly aspire to be a better person today than I was yesterday - everyday of my life.

I also try to lead by example... I'm not really (and never really have been) a person that preaches "Do as I say, not as I do". It was a lesson I learned from childhood from simple displays of behavior from my parents. They would tell me not to do one thing, but were doing the exact things they instructed me not to do. It sends the wrong message and develops into trust issues and lack of respect.  Trust and respect are very important to me.

So, in saying all that - I am going to embrace 2015.

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It's actually taken me a long time to put my thoughts into this and to get it "on paper"... I've been all over the place in setting my "goals" (not resolutions) for this year. I started thinking about what I wanted for 2015 in November of 2014. I didn't make frivolous or impulsive decisions about what I wanted to happen this year.

I have some standing goals, that most of the time I do achieve. I renew them from year to year.

• Be more mindful of my words and actions
• Read at least 10 books this year (5 personal interest, 5 self-improvement)
• Learn a new skill
• Show appreciation professionally and personally
• Help others (write resumes for unemployed friends and family, donate time, share knowledge, etc...)

These are usually easy to keep, because they are who I am and what makes me get better as a human.

Then I have my variable goals that change from year to year (some samples would be):

• Say no to things I don't want to do (sometimes I really struggle with saying no to people)
• Straighten out some accumulated debt
• Lose weight
• Make healthier food choices

These are usually a little harder to achieve because:
1. They take you out of your comfort zone
2. Circumstances may not always be ideal to achieve them
3. Life happens

For 2015, along with my year to year standing "goals"... this year I've got a lengthy list of little goals that interlock with each other.

1. Manage my time & schedule more effectively. My career is very demanding and at times stressful. Although I work from home - I found in this past year, I was becoming a slave to my desk. I really had very little time or energy to do things for myself that I needed or just enjoyed doing. That will not happen in 2015.

2. Make time for me. This falls right into my first goal. I have committed to not working more than 10 hours in a day. I know there will be exceptions to my 10 hour rule... but for 2015 they will be exception, unlike 2014 where it was the rule.

• I signed up at the YMCA.
• Aboy bought me knitting needles, yarn and a sewing machine for Christmas - I am going to use them.
• I am going to have a bigger garden this year.
• I will be getting chickens.
• I am going to coupon at least once a week.

These things take time and a mental focus. Lucky for me (as yous know) - everything I do is with a passionate motivation... now I will have the time to achieve what I want to do.

3. 50 pounds by 50 years. I have been working on this since I was 47 and next year I will be 50. I have lost a few pounds over the past few years - but my weight has fluctuated up 10 and down 10 since I started that journey. I have come to the realization that I am venturing into middle age. I want to watch my grandkids have grandkids. This year I'm fully committed to losing it.

4. Build physical strength. This fits into #2 and #3 because 3 of the 5 things I have listed in #2 require a level of physical strength to perform the requirements of the tasks. As for the #3 part of it - why would I lose the weight and have flabby skin from the weight loss? It just makes sense to commit to this.

5. Take better care of my husband. So, these are not in any particular order because this would really be #1 on my list, but without achieving #1 through #4, I could not be any good at completing #5. Everyone knows how much we care for each other. As we enjoy the empty nest, I want to make sure as we journey through our golden years together - I make it as memorable and enjoyable as possible.

6. Cook and eat healthier. I am going to expand on my experimental recipes and try to eat a predominately plant-based diet. I love making my own breads and I am determined to accomplish consistent successful brown rice on the stove!

7. Eat out less. Last year I made a commitment that if I were to eat out - that I would eat at family owned establishments more often than corporate driven restaurants. I want to support our local economy and although I may pay a little extra to do so, it's worth it. I believe corporations are vital to our economy because they do provide jobs for many (me included) - but, living and buying local is helping someone that chose to live outside of that box. Most local businesses offer much healthier choices, anyway. It's something I enjoyed and I am going to continue for 2015.

8. Be more social. I work from home. Facebook is my social life. I am a social person. I need to get out more. Right now, the Y has become that outlet. I plan to build on that as I start to accumulate local friendships.

9. Blog more. Everyone has a story. I want to document mine. I am committing to at least 2 blog posts per month (this makes 1!!).

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I've got some other personal goals that I am working on (not for public discussion)... they also fall within and interlock with what I have listed.

2015 is my year; because I said so.