After a couple of crazy weeks around the A household, it's back to menu planning and organizing! This weekend I took a lot of time to organize my bedroom and craft room. I am off work on Thursday and Friday and plan to do some deep cleaning and throwing out - cabinets, drawers, and closets! I'm tackling my spring cleaning a little early this year.
So last week I didn't review the episode. I wasn't feeling the creative juices and I wasn't overly enthralled with last week's episode. But this week, "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted", I'm BACK!
First up - What is up with Ezra's kid brother hanging around? So obviously people, might possibly be more than just dear old mom, are looking for him. I want to like him. I think Aria wants to like him. Perhaps he is the right Fitzgerald brother for Aria? But regardless, there is something up. And like so many things with PLL, will it tie back in to A? We'll have to wait and see.
Next - I want Spencer back. I don't like depressed Spencer. Is she just playing with Mona? I want sharp and up front Spencer. Logical Spencer. Why have Finn drive her to the meet? What purpose did that serve except Mona gotta a good 1-2 out of it.
Third - JASON! So Hubs thinks Jason is on the A team and is playing with the girls. Is he? Well falling down an elevator shaft would normally make me say no. But, disappearing from the hospital? What?? Creepy!
And lastly - I really wanted Caleb's dad to be a good guy but alas he is not. Stealing from the church offering? Really? And again with the purpose, what is it?
I scoured my closet this morning for a black top and pants. In my defense, I was going to wear a pink and black scarf with it. But alas, I settled on black and blue. Moody colors despite my cheerful attitude.
So I have another confession to make, I hate am not a fan of Valentine's Day. I don't hold it against people who choose to celebrate it or even voice my opinion in groups of people.
It's neither here nor there. I don't celebrate it but I'm not activitely protesting against it.
Someone said "Do you hate love?" Ummm no. "Do you hate expressing love?" Nope. Just the opposite. I just hate having one day to be the day to express love to those in your life. I think love, to everyone in your life, should be expressed often through words, actions, etc. I don't think showing up on February 14th with a dozen roses means that you love your significant other more than I love mine.
I don't know why I have this dislike for the holiday.
Maybe it's because I'm not overly fond of the color red. I'm too pale for it. I don't wear it well.
I'm not bitter. I wasn't depressed when Valentine's Day rolled around. Growing up, my dad always gave me a little heart full of candy and a gift (I can remember cds and books off the top of my head). And I have been married for 8 years. I don't feel shafted by the day of love or anything like that.
I just don't get it.
I think one of my top gripes about Valentine's Day is the unreal expectations that occur, especially in new relationships. There is extreme pressure purchase the right gift or plan the right surprise. We end up in a cycle of bad days/dates/memories when this day is supposed to be about love! Everywhere poor guys are feeling completely dumbfounded because she didn't like her gift. He has no idea what's going on in her head. Let's face it, most 20 year old guys are not going to have the knowledge/money of the most perfect thing to do for their girlfriend, who is the giddy girl waiting for her dozen roses or diamonds. It's just not fair. And to be fair, not everyone acts this way. And another thing, and not that all women do this, but this becomes all about the women. Men should be treated equally as sweet.
Now don't even get me started on the retail aspect of it all!
Flowers aren't the only way to say "I love you" or "I appreciate you." And let's tell it like it is...flowers die. How does that symbolize love?
Shower those around you with the little things - the kind word, the thoughtful candy bar or soft drink when you were getting one for yourself, or a compliment when they need it most.
So, I step down from my soapbox to say...Happy Valentine's Day. Let's spread love today and every other day.
However, Valentine's Day-themed sugar cookies are always welcome.
Off my soapbox, I leave you with my favorite Elvis love song...
This week marks my sixth week on my new diabetic drug, Victoza. I'm still learning the ins and outs of finding the right foods. This medicine tends to make me nauseated and just plain takes my appetite away so I have to eat dinners that are filled with protein and veggies so that I can eat as much of that as I can. Here's our week.
Saturday - Game Night with Friends. I made Jambalaya!
Sunday - Kraut & Weinies, Potatoes, Black Eyed Peas, Turnip Greens, and Cornbread
Monday - Spaghetti and garlic bread
Tuesday - Buffalo Chicken Salads
Wednesday - Grilled Chicken, Green Beans, Mac n Cheese, and Rolls
Thursday - Pancakes or we might go wild and get something out since it is Valentine's Day
Friday - Grocery night!
For hundreds of menu plan ideas, check out Orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday!
Reading is one of my favorite activities. I love to cuddle up with a book and escape the world and journey to someplace new. This month, I'm working on two books.
In 2011, Sarah Jio burst onto the fiction scene with two sensational novels--The Violets of March and The Bungalow. With Blackberry Winter--taking
its title from a late-season, cold-weather phenomenon--Jio continues
her rich exploration of the ways personal connections can transcend the
boundaries of time.
Seattle, 1933. Single mother Vera Ray kisses
her three-year-old son, Daniel, goodnight and departs to work the
night-shift at a local hotel. She emerges to discover that a May-Day
snow has blanketed the city, and that her son has vanished. Outside, she
finds his beloved teddy bear lying face-down on an icy street, the snow
covering up any trace of his tracks, or the perpetrator's.
Seattle, 2010. Seattle Herald
reporter Claire Aldridge, assigned to cover the May 1 "blackberry
winter" storm and its twin, learns of the unsolved abduction and vows to
unearth the truth. In the process, she finds that she and Vera may be
linked in unexpected ways...
And then up is Terra by Gretchen Powell. I LOVE Gretchen's weight loss blog and then I learned that she wrote a book! Check it out here!
A broken and desolate Earth. A young girl struggling to survive. A lost boy with a powerful secret.
A discovery that will change everything.
In
the distant wake of a plague that has decimated the Earth's population,
humanity is split in two: The rich and powerful live in skycities that
float overhead, while those who remain on the ground have gathered in
settlements strewn across a dying planet. Eighteen-year-old Terra Rhodon
is a terrestrial--a denizen of the barren groundworld--who makes her
living as a scav. Long abandoned by her father, her caregivers gone,
Terra supports herself and her younger brother, Mica, by scouring the
earth for discarded scraps and metals to recycle for profit. One day,
while on a routine scavenging run, she discovers something that shocks
her home settlement of Genesis X-16. When the value of her discovery is
revealed, Terra's world is turned upside down.
I'm excited to read them both! I'll blog reviews when I'm finished!
So recently I have become addicted to golden delicous apples. They have to be golden delicious. Not granny smith or red delicious or any of the other crazy flavors. Golden. Delicious.
I think this is an ok addiction. They have approximately 82 calories, 22g carbohydrates, and 5g dietary fiber. Paired with a little peanut butter, this makes for a yummy snack or dessert. It really makes me think I'm indulging big time!
Speaking of peanut butter, I already had addiction but this weekend I tried a new brand with NO nasty partially hydronated oils or added nastiness. Smart Balance! The pb was soooo rich and creamy. Oh love!
I think these are two pretty good addictions. Like I have another addiction that I don't tell a lot of people about....
I can't help it. I love these little guys. I already have a thing for anything British/Irish/Scottish and then you add the boy band factor and I'm sold.
