25/365/2015 Random thoughts

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This is my grocery cart. $135 of reasonably healthy foods in modest proportions for the week. Those of you who notice details will see that I have spaetzle there. Underneath are the loin chops and mushrooms that will go into jager schnitzel. There is bacon and potatoes for kartoffelsalat. And Rotkohl. I’m cooking Germanesque on Tuesday night. Other tasty goodies this week include baked eggs with spinach and cream; cucumbers with oregano, feta and pine nuts; ham steaks to go with risotto; and some boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I will do something with–probably stir fry or pot pie. That last pot pie I made was so good it bears repeating. I’ll likely make a frittata at some point as well.

By the way, I wore my fat jeans today and they fit. Well. It’s time to get serious about what I’m putting in my face. This applies to both quality and quantity. Better food, cooked in smaller portions, and eaten with intention. Mindfulness as applied in the kitchen. I’m not planning to go on any type of “diet.” I don’t think that’s sustainable in the long run. I just plan to do less “quick and easy” where all the flavor comes from fat and salt. This includes avoiding fast food, meal splitting in restaurants, and many fewer meals consumed while I do other things.

The other thing is I want to feed the fridge less. We waste a lot of food that way, because unless I take a lunch, it just sits there and goes bad. So, again, smaller amounts of food–enough to go around and make the required lunch plates. The end. Saving my money and my health at the same time. This works for me.

All that said, I had Baja Fresh for lunch today. If you haven’t eaten there, I recommend it. The shrimp baja burrito is divine and a meal in itself. I split mine with a friend in exchange for some of his salad and we both walked away full–and with leftovers.

In other news, it is supposedly the eve of our next snowpocalypse. I decided it was time to invest in some sort of snow and ice removal device for the van. Apparently, when you live in Maryland you cannot get by for the entire winter just using an old credit card to clean your windshield. Who knew?

I also stopped by Michael’s and picked up a bottle of Mod Podge since I had a 40% off coupon. And some post extenders, since the last time I got ready to scrapbook, I wanted to put the pages I had started in a book but couldn’t because I was unable to lay my hands on the post extenders that I am sure I have here somewhere. If classes are cancelled tomorrow, and they may be, I’d like to make a collage. Or something. And I am half hoping they do cancel classes. The kids started getting sick, one per day so far, on Thursday. My cousin got sick on Friday. And guess who now feels fuzzy-headed and feverish? Yep, me. It’s not even 7pm and I just want to go to bed already.

On the other hand, if they don’t cancel class, that’s exciting, too. First days always are. I have the syllabi for two of the three academic classes already. Not sure what the hold up is on the last one, since classes officially started last Tuesday. But hey, whatever. I haven’t started the reading yet anyway. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof, and my classes start TOMORROW.

Alrighty then, my to-do list still has several items on it, and I need to get prepped for the week ahead. I am sincerely thankful that every weekend for the next 15 weeks is a three-day weekend for me. I’ll be able to make it through the Mondays with that thought in mind. I hope. Three three-hour classes is a lot to cram in to a day.