A little of this and that...

...to borrow a friend's blog title  = )

Brussels sprouts from the garden, washed and ready to be sliced in the food processor. I'd already done another bowl like this, only more full. Thanks to great friend, ML, for teaching me how to cook brussels sprouts in a way that's healthy AND delicious!!

After slicing they are sauteed in the cast iron skillet with a bit of olive oil and curry to taste...I used sweet curry, a touch of hot curry and a dash of cinnamon...and some salt. The first 4 batches were sauteed to the point of still being quite crisp and crunchy since they were going in the freezer for future consumption. I knew I'd be heating them up after defrosting and wanted to leave space to lose some of the crispness and still not be mushy. I'll see if my theory works and let ya know  = ) 

Here is the finished product! These are 4 cup containers...my harvest yielded five containers...four went in the freezer and one in the fridge to be eaten right away. The last batch I cooked longer...still with a crunch but not as much as the first 4 batches. And then I ate a bowl as soon as it cooled down enough!


So...there's that...now this...

I got some new Legos!!! If you click on the pic, you can enlarge it and see the detail  = )  This is just the first two things we built with the set. Yes, Petey helped...and I think he had fun too! Can you see the pony???

I've been wanting some of my own legos that would be fun to play with. For me that means: pretty colors, cute, and with step-by-step instructions! 

I LOVE the new "girl sets"! The brick colors are BEAUTIFUL and the sets are things I'm interested in building and enjoying...animals, flowers, doll houses, kitchens, etc. You know, GIRL stuff! hahaha

Petey found this set on Craigslist and the lady was local to us and did I mention it has a PONY???! It's just perfect...thanks, Babe!!

You might be thinking, "why does she want to play with legos?"  Well, aside from the fact that they're FUN, it's also relaxing and creative. And no, I didn't get these to play with little girls that come over. I got them for 3 people...me, myself, and I! Well, I'll share with Petey too...

Ok, so that's just part of what has brought me joy over the past few days. I also wanted to report to you on my weight journey. I lost another 1.6 pounds last week bringing me to 11.8 pounds total. Sure was nice to see the lower side of the 120's again  = )

Then yesterday I decided to try on a pair of my Eddie Bauer shorts that I got last summer but haven't been able to fit in. THEY FIT!!! Back in a size 6!!! Another goal met!!! I've been trying them on every couple of days since the beginning so I could gauge my progress but yesterday was the first day that I could wear them comfortably. 

Now, they weren't loose like I like but they fit and were comfortable enough for me to wear them all day without ever thinking they were tight. And NO muffin top!!

I think in another 4 pounds when I hit my goal weight, the shorts should fit how I like to wear them. And if they don't, I can concentrate on losing more fat and gaining muscle.

And now...garden work!! There's nothing like dirty, hard, tiring garden work that pays off so nicely in the end. I helped Petey install a drip watering system on the pergola and am looking forward to that helping me out over the next several months. 

He's also been putting screw hooks in to hold the sheets of metal grids that I got to replace the plastic mesh grids for the vertical supports. The plastic was a vast improvement over the strings, which was a vast improvement over the stakes but still had a number of annoying aspects to it.

I think these metal grids will be the ultimate...I love it when I finally reach the pinnacle of happiness with a certain object or idea or design! 

For example: I have had many, many sets of dishes but now that I have my Longaberger pottery, I have no desire for any more dishes! I still enjoy looking at the designs but I don't have a desire to own them. I'm perfectly content with my dream dishes!

That goes for my silverware...which is now Longaberger too! I was able to purchase the set on sale last month and I adore them!

And Merry...my new bike...or trike, I should say  = )  She's perfect! Bike-riding is a pleasure now that I don't have to constantly be worrying about falling over into traffic!

Hmmmm....what else...well, the next thing may turn out to be plastic cross-stitch sheets. Not the plastic mesh stuff...this is plastic Aida-like stuff that replaces fabric Aida. It's 14-count and comes in different colors. You can also cut out bits of it to make designs and cross-stitch around the designs.

You can't do partial stitches...at this point, those are hard for me to see anyhow so I don't really care! And I'm not sure how big of sheets it comes in...you might not be able to use it for a really big project.  

But you don't have to use a hoop with it and you can wipe it clean if your hands happen to be dirty and you didn't realize it. I just got it last night so I haven't tried it out yet so I'll have to let ya know...

Getting back on the garden path...hahaha...all that to say that I think the metal grids will turn out to be perfect and I won't have to look any longer to find something to use for my vertical supports!!

And now I need to go make our smoothies...oh ya...the Bosch mixer thingy is also an ultimate!!! I never want another blender, food processor, mixer again. I'm sure I'll wear the Bosch out someday but my plan is to replace it with another Bosch, end of story!!