Getting harder to stave off the boredom each day
waywalker wrote what I've been thinking lately, that LiveJournal seems like something of a ghost town, abandoned in favor of the instant gratification of one-liners from Twitter and Facebook. I really much prefer the style of full-sentence blogging in writing and reading. I have to admit that I've written little in recent weeks since I feel that I have little to write. Since I've been bummed that the rest of the world also blogs less, seems like I'm therefore obligated to do my part here!
It seems like a constant fight against boredom and entropy for me lately. I'm encouraged that I have some interviews or other job opportunities on the horizon. Every single morning, though, I have to actively encourage myself to stay busy. I'm so much happier when I feel I've accomplished anything at all during a given day. I have become friends with a familiar mantra, "No one in a dirty house should ever be bored." It ain't much, but it's what I've got, and it's keeping me going!
I tried using the crock pot for the first time yesterday, and I think I'm really going to like its "fire and forget" nature. We made the Salsa Chicken recipe given to us by elena23. I enjoyed how easy it was to make in its base form. If I had a little more time while working, I think I would more enjoy the yield of something closer to a dish we call, King Ranch Chicken (the name came with the recipe). Without a crock pot, it's a bit of work, but I think this tool will simplify the process. At present, we grill the chicken with some taco type spices, then shred it. Then you grill jalapeño and onion in a little butter on the side. Mix up some Cream of Chicken and Cream of Mushroom soup, some sour cream, Rotel canned tomatoes & peppers, mix everything heretofore mentioned together. Once you have this base mix, you bake it a little more, and then can serve it a bunch of different ways. We like to layer it up like lasagna with corn tortillas in a baking dish, and top with cheddar cheese -- because the one thing this dish really needs is more dairy. It's a lot of work, but quite delicious and heart-stopping. Anyway, I think that would work well in a crock pot environment, and spread the work out over more time. I think some fresh corn would also be good in the mix for a little texture -- but since chicken is the only thing in this dish anywhere close to the original food chain, I'm hesitant to introduce a fresh ingredient. It might be like anti-matter and explode.
Hang on, the kittens sound like they're destroying something....
School starts for me next Monday. Both my classes are self-paced, so starting from Day 1, I'm welcome to go to campus and take the tests whenever I'm ready. My goal is to take the first two History tests within the first week of school, just knock those out! The first is a simple geography quiz on a map of the United States. The second is a multiple choice test covering about 60 pages of the textbook, I think from about 1877-1900, give or take. I'm only in the second of three chapters of required reading. I'm doing well with my promise of reading my text at least one hour a day, however. The kitties really like when I stop moving and settle in for afternoon reading. We've enjoyed Afternoon Quiet Time together in a big armchair in a sunny window every day lately. Unemployment does have some benefits, it turns out!
Finished the last of my fiction reading for fun. Completed the last of the Christopher Moore novels I hadn't yet read, Coyote Blue. In the end, I came to enjoy this book which started out really slow for my tastes. I was amused to meet the introduction of a character I really liked in A Dirty Job, Mr. Minty Fresh. I didn't know he appeared in this book, so that was a fun surprise for me.
I'm off to my afternoon hobbiting, then. The bathroom floor should now be dry after I just "mopped" it (using a Swiffer -- I do not actually mop if at all avoidable), and the rugs should be ready to move from the washer to dryer. I've got some potatoes baking for an experiment in preparing mashed potatoes a different way. Normally I skin and boil the potatoes before I mash them. I decided to bake them so the skins remain for a separate snack another time. So long as the potatoes are cooked, whether boiled or baked, it shouldn't make a difference in the mashing process. I'm making a ton so we'll have leftovers for dinner for a second night, and for Ian's lunch, as mashed potatoes are one of his favorites. Grilled rib eyes tonight, and Rosemary-Lemon Chicken tomorrow night. Might finally get around to baking those blueberry muffins today, too. Then it's off to read about the Industrial Revolution for the eleventy-billionth time in my life.
Trace
It seems like a constant fight against boredom and entropy for me lately. I'm encouraged that I have some interviews or other job opportunities on the horizon. Every single morning, though, I have to actively encourage myself to stay busy. I'm so much happier when I feel I've accomplished anything at all during a given day. I have become friends with a familiar mantra, "No one in a dirty house should ever be bored." It ain't much, but it's what I've got, and it's keeping me going!
I tried using the crock pot for the first time yesterday, and I think I'm really going to like its "fire and forget" nature. We made the Salsa Chicken recipe given to us by elena23. I enjoyed how easy it was to make in its base form. If I had a little more time while working, I think I would more enjoy the yield of something closer to a dish we call, King Ranch Chicken (the name came with the recipe). Without a crock pot, it's a bit of work, but I think this tool will simplify the process. At present, we grill the chicken with some taco type spices, then shred it. Then you grill jalapeño and onion in a little butter on the side. Mix up some Cream of Chicken and Cream of Mushroom soup, some sour cream, Rotel canned tomatoes & peppers, mix everything heretofore mentioned together. Once you have this base mix, you bake it a little more, and then can serve it a bunch of different ways. We like to layer it up like lasagna with corn tortillas in a baking dish, and top with cheddar cheese -- because the one thing this dish really needs is more dairy. It's a lot of work, but quite delicious and heart-stopping. Anyway, I think that would work well in a crock pot environment, and spread the work out over more time. I think some fresh corn would also be good in the mix for a little texture -- but since chicken is the only thing in this dish anywhere close to the original food chain, I'm hesitant to introduce a fresh ingredient. It might be like anti-matter and explode.
Hang on, the kittens sound like they're destroying something....
School starts for me next Monday. Both my classes are self-paced, so starting from Day 1, I'm welcome to go to campus and take the tests whenever I'm ready. My goal is to take the first two History tests within the first week of school, just knock those out! The first is a simple geography quiz on a map of the United States. The second is a multiple choice test covering about 60 pages of the textbook, I think from about 1877-1900, give or take. I'm only in the second of three chapters of required reading. I'm doing well with my promise of reading my text at least one hour a day, however. The kitties really like when I stop moving and settle in for afternoon reading. We've enjoyed Afternoon Quiet Time together in a big armchair in a sunny window every day lately. Unemployment does have some benefits, it turns out!
Finished the last of my fiction reading for fun. Completed the last of the Christopher Moore novels I hadn't yet read, Coyote Blue. In the end, I came to enjoy this book which started out really slow for my tastes. I was amused to meet the introduction of a character I really liked in A Dirty Job, Mr. Minty Fresh. I didn't know he appeared in this book, so that was a fun surprise for me.
I'm off to my afternoon hobbiting, then. The bathroom floor should now be dry after I just "mopped" it (using a Swiffer -- I do not actually mop if at all avoidable), and the rugs should be ready to move from the washer to dryer. I've got some potatoes baking for an experiment in preparing mashed potatoes a different way. Normally I skin and boil the potatoes before I mash them. I decided to bake them so the skins remain for a separate snack another time. So long as the potatoes are cooked, whether boiled or baked, it shouldn't make a difference in the mashing process. I'm making a ton so we'll have leftovers for dinner for a second night, and for Ian's lunch, as mashed potatoes are one of his favorites. Grilled rib eyes tonight, and Rosemary-Lemon Chicken tomorrow night. Might finally get around to baking those blueberry muffins today, too. Then it's off to read about the Industrial Revolution for the eleventy-billionth time in my life.
Trace