Category: personal

  • cinnamon-topped oatmeal muffins

    This is the second in my ten quick breads challenge. It is a delicious challenge.

    This time I went for muffins. I like that they’re not overly sweet (except for the topping…yum) and that they have oatmeal which is hearty – and good for lactation if that’s something important to you. :)

    cinnamon-topped oatmeal muffins

    Cinnamon-topped oatmeal muffins
    adapted from More-With-Less

    1 cup sifted flour
    1/4 cup sugar
    3 teaspoons baking powder
    1/2 teaspoon salt
    1 cup quick or old-fashioned oats
    1/2 cup raisins (optional – I didn’t have any, so I left them out)
    3 Tablespoons oil
    1 egg, beaten
    1 cup milk

    For the topping:
    2 Tablespoons sugar
    2 teaspoons flour
    1 teaspoon cinnamon
    1 teaspoon melted butter

    Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in oats and raisins. Add oil, egg, and milk. Stir only until dry ingredients are moistened. Fill greased muffin cups 1/2 to 2/3 full. Sprinkle with cinnamon topping. Bake 15 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

    cinnamon-topped oatmeal muffins

    Then enjoy, and be prepared to eat the leftover bottoms when your toddler just eats the top part and leaves remnants lying around. :)

    p.s. – baked oatmeal and refrigerator oatmeal. Yum!

  • tgif : busy week edition

    tgif

    The high of my week was book club last Sunday, where both kids came and both kids were extraordinarily well-behaved!

    The low of my week was probably getting a headache at work on Monday while I was the only nurse there, being paranoid that it would turn into a migraine, and being so busy that I couldn’t eat lunch until close to 3 p.m.

    The best money I spent was a few dollars for more dark chocolate covered almonds. It’s my daily snack and I’m much happier with it. :)

    A podcast episode I loved was “The Readers on the Nightstand” from Books on the Nightstand. They did a Q&A session with the hosts of UK-based podcast The Readers and it was so interesting! It also gave me lots of ideas for book topics to write about here.

    My weekend plans include oh geez…too much. I tend to over-book myself these days and I need to cut back! Anyway, today is our anniversary so we will be celebrating that, I am running the Komen 5k in the morning (it’s supposed to get cool…I’m so excited to run in that weather), we are attending the funeral of a beloved patient I took care of, and I’m hitting up a cute new independent toy store with a friend of mine. For personal projects, I’d like to do some quilt sewing, bake a quick bread for my challenge, read a bunch, and do some research for a creative business idea I have.

    How was your week?

  • 3 quick things i’m doing to get in the mood for fall

    This post has been sponsored, but as always (for good or bad) all the content is my own.

    I am so excited that it’s almost October. Except for the fact that it’s crazy how fast this year has gone by, I’m pretty happy that the summer is really truly behind us. October is when we usually get our first real cool front. October is our wedding anniversary (six years on Friday). October kicks off the holiday season which I love. The traditions, the rituals, the anticipation, the fact that most of it centers around the home…it’s all designed to make me happy. Me personally. It’s like with Lorelai and snow…and if you know what I’m talking about you know what I mean, and also I love you.

    The point is, I’m really trying to maximize my enjoyment of the seasons and especially fall. Because as much as I love the holidays, I don’t like being cold so I’m not particularly welcoming the arrival of winter. But because I’m a working mom with a million personal projects on my brain, I’m starting with these few easy ways to get in the mood. Then if I find myself with some extra time and inspiration I might take on another seasonal project – but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

    Here are the three things I’m doing now, and because of the awesome blogger that I am I even alliterated them.

    getting in the mood for fall - scarves

    Scarves & shoes

    So many people love fall fashion, right? I know I do, because of the coziness factor. In reality, though, I’m still wearing my summer capsule wardrobe 95% of the time because it’s still so hot here. I’m also not sure that I’ll have the funds to put together a full autumn capsule wardrobe this year. In the meantime I find that lightweight scarves turn my summer outfits into fall-ish with hardly any effort. Now I need to collect a few more!

    The same idea applies to shoes. I’ve started swapping out my Tevas for my Toms, and my sandals for my moccasins. Not a big deal, but still makes a difference.

    getting in the mood for fall - decor

    Switch out decor

    Alright let’s not get crazy here. I don’t have a ton of fall decorations, although I’m trying to add a little each year. For me this is going to look like framing the above cross stitch sampler to hang, putting up a pine cone garland and making small changes to the mantel, and maybe even finally getting some throw pillows for our couch.

    getting in the mood for fall - scent

    Scent

    The last thing is probably the best and easiest, and it’s just to make the house smell super good all the time. I always forget how much I love candles until I light one again and then I’m immediately happier. Next time you’re in the air care aisle grab a $5 candle and treat yourself.

    I’m also a fan of the regular old plug-ins. Using them means the house will smell good when I walk in from being gone all day. They are also strong enough to fill our whole living room, and I don’t have to worry about the open flame issue.

    So that’s my plan, what’s yours?

  • race report : just run for a just cause (my first 10k!)

    You guys, things have been so crazy the past few weeks. I’m ready for some normalcy! Over the weekend David spent a night and a day in the hospital getting IV antibiotics and being evaluated. He just wasn’t getting over his pneumonia as an outpatient and it needed to be taken care of (he’s been sick almost three weeks now). He was admitted late Saturday night but got to come home Sunday evening, thankfully.

    On Friday I got a migraine while at work. I was the only nurse there and it was awful. I used to get migraines as a kid but I hadn’t had one in almost ten years until last month when I had strep, and now again this month. I hope this is not going to become a thing again! Anyway, some nurses from another department helped me out on Friday while I was so sick, and my mom came to pick me up because I couldn’t drive. Thankfully I felt better that evening and got a good night’s sleep.

    I was worried that I would feel hungover the next day from such an intense headache because I was determined to run this 10k! I actually felt well though, and despite rushing to get myself and the kids there on time, it was a good morning.

    This race was put on by a large local church and the funds raised went to fight human trafficking. My parents came to do the 1-mile family walk and they pushed the kids in their strollers. My brother and sister-in-law also ran the 10k, and I ran the first 5k with my running buddy Joanna from church.

    family at just run

    I am so happy and proud to have finished the 10k with no walking and a negative split. The first 5k went by super fast since Joanna and I were talking the whole time. The second 5k I was alone because we had drifted from my brother and sister-in-law, but it was fine. I was able to push myself a bit more. The weather was overcast and cool-ish so I didn’t even need sunglasses. At the very end I was definitely pushing myself (I just wanted to finish) – my legs and lungs felt great but my stomach was reaching the point where I had to be careful or might have thrown up. :) Thankfully that didn’t happen and my family was waiting for me at the finish line!

    Official results

    Time: 1:06:32
    Pace: 10:45/mile
    Overall place: 160/238
    Age group place: 17/35

    just run 10k race report

    After walking out my crampy muscles we were able to enjoy the free smoothies and coffee. There was a big inflatable slide that Meredith had fun on. And then we went back to my parents’ house for a big breakfast and more family time.

    I am so grateful that my migraine didn’t come back. My hips and legs were sore, but stretching helped a lot. I was able to get a bunch of chores done, and then later that night was when David went to the hospital. I was awake until after 1:00 a.m. that night, and up early with the kids on Sunday. Looking forward to some normalcy soon, but this race was definitely the highlight of my weekend. Lots of fun and a great cause!

  • currently

    currently

    Genius: Asking for a whole bunch of help. With David being so sick and my work routine thrown off, I’ve relied heavily on my parents and in-laws for picking up the kids and babysitting to get things done.

    Fail: Losing my cool in front of Meredith. Last weekend I reached my breaking point, but at least instead of lashing out in anger I just broke down and cried instead. It kind of marked a turning point within me, though, and after some time alone and prayer, things improved.

    Currently:

    gearing up for a 10k in the morning

    worried about finishing since I’ve only run a handful of times in the past few weeks

    looking forward to church craft night tonight, if I can work out babysitting

    dreaming of creative business plans

    wondering if I have what it takes to design a good product

    worn out after a week of intense meetings and commuting

    reading a lot more lately

    finishing this book for book club

    making holiday gift idea lists

    wishing for a pedicure and a massage

    Happy Friday – what’s up with you? :)