Favorite (and failed) Recipes of April

FAIL: I attempted to cook asparagus for the first time. I'd had it at a family friend's house a few years ago and I always forget about it when I'm walking through the grocery store. I came across a pin with a recipe and gave it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised to find that a nice little bundle of asparagus was around $1.50! Even more reason to try it! I used olive oil, black pepper, garlic powder, and a teeny tiny bit of grated cheese. It didn't work out so well. I ate two of them and they were mushy and oily. No flavor at all. Oh well, it was my first try so it's not a big deal. I'll withhold the exact recipe I used until I can work out the perfect one.
In the meantime, if YOU know a good one feel free to share!!!

FAVORITE: I LOVE SOUP! I don't care how hot it is or where I am. It's probably one of my favorite meals ever! My mom makes a mean boiled cabbage, and so this is my little spin on it. It's mostly green veggies and it makes a really nice light soup. I never liked the idea of "green smoothies." My parents used to juice things when I was a kid- I hated it then and I hate it now. I'd much rather eat my veggies than drink them you feel me? Anyway.... If you've been with me for a while you'd know that I'm vegetarian. While chicken broth/stock is a great healthy choice I prefer to use vegetable broth.

NEEDED:

• 1 large cabbage
• 1 tsp dried basil (I didn't have this but I used a few fresh basil leaves)
• 1 zucchini and/or cuccumber
• 1 large carrot or small package of baby carrots
• 2-3 cups (2-3 fistfuls) green beans
•  2-3 stalks of celery
• 3 cans vegetable broth
• pepper to taste

PREP: Wash all your veggies! Cut and discard ends of green beans, celery, zucchini and cucumber. Optional: peel zucchini/cucumber.

Cut zucchini and cucumber in half lengthwise, chop into slices about half an inch thick so you end up with half moon shapes. Repeat with celery. Chop baby carrots into little slices as well. If you cut the carrots too big they won't cook right so make sure to keep 'em small. If you're using large carrots do the same as with the zucchini. Once cooked, fresh green beans shrink just a bit so don't freak out if they look really long-cut them in half. (if you're using canned just drain them.) Take the cabbage and thinly slice it. (If you've never sliced a cabbage before, it's the same way you cut up an onion.)

Empty the cans of broth into a large pot. I don't know what size the one I used was. I just grab the biggest one I got. It will boil down considerably so the size isn't crucial. Take all of your cut up veggies, yes all of them, and put them in the pot. Sprinkle 1 tsp of dried basil. I didn't have dried basil so I just threw in 3 fresh basil leaves and added some pepper. Cover and boil for about 25-30 minutes or until the veggies have softened. Stir occasionally. By this time it will look like half of your soup disappeared, this is normal I promise! I like to eat this with baked potatoes or mashed potatoes, but it's up to you. Remember not to eat the basil! It's just for flavor!

FAVORITE: Next is an all-American classic- Kraft Mac & Cheese. I had plenty of veggies left over from the soup and I basically incorporated them in literally everything until they were gone. Sooooo good! Some people count Kraft as junk food, if that's so then I'd like to pretend the veggies transform it into a healthy option!

NEEDED:

• 1 box of Kraft Mac and Cheese (or any mac and cheese you prefer)
• 1 fistful of baby carrots
• 2 trees of broccoli (I have know idea what to call those. Bunches? Stalks? A forests??)
• Pepper to taste

PREP: Before you make the mac and cheese cut up a couple handfuls of baby carrots and some broccoli. Throw 'em on the stove in a small pot of 3 or 4 cups of water and let it boil until soft and set it aside.

Make the mac and cheese like you normally would. Afterwards, mix in the broccoli and carrots and add pepper to taste. Voila!

Quarantined & Miserable

I was sick on Easter, well technically I was sick since Saturday. Needless to say that I miss out on so much this past week. A whole week of being sick! My sisters came over for Sunday dinner. I had already made the decision not to attend. I was actually gonna hang out with my dad, maybe have bible study, watch a movie or something. Instead I was quarantined to my room. Literally every time that I get sick it goes from 0 to 60 in no time flat. Saturday it was a sore throat. Just a little scratchy. Then BOOM aches all over, stuffy nose, the works. Kind of bummed because I had an outfit all planned WITH ears and whiskers mind you! More importantly on Friday morning I babysat my neighbors daughter. So I'm hoping that I didn't get her sick in addition to my coworkers. Speaking of his daughter, she's adorable! And so much fun! While we hung out I finally watched Frozen! I am now officially part of the cult ha ha! (wow look at all these exclamation points!)

I took some medicine and on Monday I was feeling okay. Tuesday I misjudged my 'progress' and stupidly went to work (fingers crossed I haven't gotten anybody sick). If anybody asked I'd tell 'em I just had allergies (lies) so they wouldn't send me home. I literally cannot afford to miss work. Of course I came home that night completely drained. Wednesday came and it was like my body was punishing me for overexerting it the day before. That's what I get I suppose... Called in sick yesterday and got some much needed rest today and last night. While we all know being sick is the worst the last day or so of sickness is the worst of the worst. It's like it won't go down without a fight. Thursday was my most miserable day of them all. I could barely walk myself out of my bedroom without feeling like I was gonna pass out. Back aches, dizziness, loss of appetite, chills, coughing, I mean look at me! I sound like the commercials for prescription medicine in the last 8 seconds when they run through all the side effects!

It used to be that I would curl up in bed and watch a million old movies, drink juice and waste time on the interwebz all day when I was sick. This time I stayed mostly in my room like a good little girl. Occasionally I'd try and make myself get up and walk around the house to get the blood going and avoid stiffness. Or I'd walk out onto the front porch to get some fresh clean air after being in my stuffy room for 9+ hours. My parents were so sweet the whole time. Almost to the point of being annoying with the amount of check-in's. There are only certain times when 'babying' me is approved. This was one of them. My sister pretty much kept her distance from me but I don't blame her. She can't really miss work either, plus who the heck wants to get sick?! Every now and then she'd ask how I was doing though, so that still counts.

It rained like crazy today. If I wasn't still coming down from this fever I would have opened my window like I usually do when it rains. But I just settled for opening the blinds. I feel really good today. Like 90%. Calculations indicate that I will be operating at 100% come tomorrow morning. Also, I already agreed to come into work for the afternoon shift. All in good faith. However I will be taking my medicine and cough drops in my bag with me! Not taking any more chances.

Also- the medicine pictured above may 'look' orange but it tastes like battery acid.

Emotional after effects

I feel really dreamy today. Does that make sense? Like I'm in a dream. I'm not 100% here.

I don't feel good. But I don't necessarily feel bad either. Just... neutral.
I don't feel empty. More like open? Vulnerable?

Last Thursday I slipped up. This is just the emotional after-effect.
As I go on I'm probably making less and less sense. But I know what I mean.

Also, sorry for the melodrama in my last post.
But if you've been with me for a while you know I get like that sometimes.

On a lighter note, the sun was shining earlier this morning. The sun coming through my window felt warm.
The next few days the weather is going to be heating up for strange but very good unknown reasons.
Plus I've got a few days off this week! So I've got plenty of time to get my head on straight.

Hope y'all are doin well.
Thanks for the love.

Finger on the trigger

We moved in around March 8th. Still not completely settled. I imagine it will be quite a while until I feel like we are *settled.* Bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom are the only functional rooms right now. The living room/dining area however is a completely different story. It is packed nearly halfway to the ceiling! Which isn't that bad considering those first three are pretty much the only essentials in a house anyway. It's just an eyesore, really. I'll go more into detail about the move another time. But this post is about how I've been feeling.
Which is terrible.

I am so triggered. Especially right now. And that is partly why I'm writing- to keep from doing things that I shouldn't. Ever since that first night I slept in my own bed. I thought I would expected to feel relief and excitement. I mean, finally my own room with a door. My own bed just for me. A place to put my things. Privacy! But all I feel is uncomfortable. Anxious. Sad.

Now, this part is going to sound silly because here I am blabbing about parts of my life to random people on the internet... But in REAL LIFE there isn't anyone that I really trust and feel comfortable having these conversations with. Therefore, I have a blog.

All jokes aside...

 

Got home from work a couple of hours ago. My sister brought me home.
We talked for a bit in the car. Well, I rambled and she listened. Still counts right? In any case, it was nice.

I talked to Dad before I left for work today. (I hate public transportation. I was 8 minutes late AGAIN!) We talked mostly about my sister.
I'm worried about her.

Mom thought she'd had a heart attack last week. Apparently it was Gerd? Doctors say it mimics a heart attack.
She's doing fine. Just taking it easy. For now...

My manager is so wonderful. Today she asked me if I was happy. Such a simple question, but her sincerity meant the world to me. I've been having a hard time recently and despite my happy-go-lucky persona at work she's seemed to somehow pick up on that. Which further proves the fact that she genuinely cares about us not only as employees but as people. I love all of my supervisors and coworkers I really do. But I wanna do something especially nice for her. Because having a great boss makes a world of difference no matter what your job is.