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Adventures of a Domestic Goddess

Photo Essay Monday

Oct 24th, 2011
by gazelle.
2 comments

Not too much of a photo essay for this last weekend. Nothing I did was particularly photo-worthy.

Friday, I ended up at work for waaaaaaaaay too long (especially since it was my day off). The rest of the day was spent finalizing my final paper for my very last regular course for graduate school. All done! (And, I got an A in that class! Go, me!)

Saturday was kind of a lazy day. The kind of day I thought I deserved after finishing 19 courses in just over 2 years and getting to within 17 weeks of qualifying for my Master’s Degree. I mean, I took a cat to the vet (at 8 AM!) and had a movement therapy appointment (my SI area is killing me), and then I lazed the rest of the day.

The architect, however, did not have a lazy day. Instead, he finished tiling the shower area & grouted 80% of the same area (the other 20% needs to wait for a week, since that was the part he’d finished tiling that same day):

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This photo makes it look really orange, which is weird. BUT – it’s not. The tiles are white with black grout.

Sunday was a bit busier….eventually. I did some last minute Halloween shopping. Apparently the week before Halloween is not an ideal time to do that, as most of the stores had mostly switched over to Christmas decorations. I did get some good stuff, though. I am, however, still sans costume. The pregnancy costumes are all for people who are really pregnant. Painting my belly at this point would look stupid, and I’m not pregnant enough to pull of pregnant nun. I tried on some plus-sized stuff, but that was all too big, and the regular sized costumes don’t fit in the boobs and are super tight across the mid-section.  I think I’m pretty much decided to go as this:

three gold stars if you get the reference

I am super excited to get all my decorations up and have an awesomely spooktacular party this weekend, though!

Lazy Bones!

 

After getting through all that stuff (and picking up another pair of sweet maternity jeans), I decided I needed some healthy snacks. I have been loving bran muffins lately, and spending $2/muffin (they are humungous) from the hospital coffee shops at least once/week. I thought I could probably make my own for much less than that. And so I did. And, because the architect hates bran muffins, I made him some blueberry muffins.

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(There were a dozen of each – this photo was after I put most in the freezer for safe keeping.)

And now – back at work. I was looking forward to a week off school, but our syllabus for the Capstone project was released today, and I think that although school doesn’t technically start until next Monday, it would be in my best interest to only be on half-vacation this week. In addition, Thursday I start my weekly Leadership Foundation course (it runs through 12/15) that I was nominated to attend through work, so I’ll be in the office one less day, which means more work on the days that I am in……oh well – the price of success or something, right?

Happy week!

Grad School, Beer & Gardening

Oct 17th, 2011
by gazelle.
3 comments

That was my weekend….

On Saturday, after a brief trip to the farmer’s market and a stop at the Home Brew Exchange, I spent the rest of the day paper writing. It was my second to last paper for my last official class of my Master’s program. The class is over this Friday. And then, a week long break (which I intend to use to make my house spooktacular), followed by 16 weeks of Capstone project. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Yay!

Sunday was a busy day….I got up and started brewing. My goal was to make a winter beer – in the style of the winter warmers that are so popular. They’re malty and a little sweet, with some nice spice overtones. I used a little chocolate malt, some vanilla and then added cloves and nutmeg (in addition to several other ingredients). It was my first time making beer all by myself (the architect was on a bike ride), and I’m pretty excited to see how it will turn out!  I’m also hoping it keeps well, since my guess is I won’t be drinking tons of it once it’s ready (we’re bottling the first weekend in November, and it should be ready to drink about 4-6 weeks after that).

Brewmaster

I had someone comment on facebook that they could see a bump, but I think that’s just because my shirt is sticking out due to the weird angle of my stance. I’m not that bumpy yet.

After getting the beer into the fermenter, I went outside to attend to some serious business. A couple of weeks ago, I cleared out garden bed #1 in preparation for its long winter’s nap. Yesterday, I went out to do the same to the largest bed – the 8×24 bed. The bed that was full of tomato plants that I’d been studiously ignoring for 3 weeks.

Guess that happens when you ignore tomatoes for 3 weeks? They rot on the vine. Such a waste. Remind me to never be in my first trimester of pregnancy during harvest season again. Because damn! I had no energy to do anything in September, and the first canning session was so exhausting that imagining the second one was daunting. So daunting in fact, that instead of canning the 5 million tomatoes that I’d planted on purpose so that I could have 5 million jars of tomato products in the basement, I let them rot. That just pisses me off. (At me, obviously.)

ANYWAYS – yesterday I went out to see if there were any at all salvageable. And there were a few. A very, very few. Not even enough to bother canning, though. I cleaned out the garden, removing all the pepper and tomato plants, cutting down some of the dying wildflower stalks, and basically leaving the garden bare (except for a tiny growing broccoli that I found and a really good-looking basil plant that had somehow thrived through neglect).

The architect took the last, tiny tomato bounty, sliced and seasoned them, and then dried them. Delicious.

Pre-drying, obviously.

Now I just need to plant some over-winter stuff (garlic, onions, whatever else strikes me), finish cover cropping, and lay down my straw. It’s unfortunate that my trees that drop leaves happen to be walnut trees, so I need to be careful in using those for compost (since tomatoes, eggplants, asparagus, lilacs, and tons of fruit trees are super sensitive to the juglone found in walnut leaves, hulls, and bark).  Composting for a few months removes the toxicity, but it’s not a good idea to directly apply to the garden. Bummer.

Anyways – hopefully by the end of the month the garden will be ready for winter. I am less confident about getting my rain garden in this year. In theory, it should only be one weekend of work. However, digging a 10×7 (ish) rain garden, putting in the intake & overflow paths, and planting it might not be a one weekend project for me anymore. For some reason, I find myself needing to scale back a bit and take more naps.

Happy week, everyone!

Three (3!) Things Thursday!

Oct 6th, 2011
by gazelle.
8 comments

1. Have I told you how much I love fall? Because I do. I love the cool overnights, and the changing leaves, and the peeks of sunlight, and the fog. I need to get a picture of the view I have every morning on my drive to work, but unfortunately, it’s hard to take good photos while I’m driving.  However, I stole this photo from the internet, and it’s pretty damn close (except that I am typically driving OVER the bridge and not floating around underneath it).

 

2. I also love soup. All soups. And this time of year, when it’s time to curl up under blankets and sip cocoa and cider, I want to have soup every day. However, I hate soup from a can, and am too lazy to make soup from scratch every day. I need to find some excellent recipes that can be canned so that I can make pints and pints of soup. Doesn’t this look amazing?

3. Yesterday was the one year anniversary of my Damian-ectomy. To celebrate, I wore a pair of high heeled boots for the first time in way over a year. For an entire day. And there was walking! And I didn’t want to amputate at the end of the day.

October 2011 Goals (PLUS! Exciting dinner party pictures!)

Oct 3rd, 2011
by gazelle.
8 comments

Um, holy crap you guys! I totally forgot to post my goals on 10/1/11! In my defense, 9/30/11 was a really long day, and I spent most of Saturday recovering. With baklava. As you do.

ANYWAYS – let’s talk about the plan for October! And look back on September!

September Goals

  1. Can tomatoes…salsa, marinara, ketchup, whatever – just can it! – half SUCCESS! I canned lots of marinara and salsa, but there are still so many tomatoes left. There is work to be done this weekend, people.
  2. PICKLES!  My cucumbers, once again, sucked, so I will be hitting up a farmer’s market and buying as many cukes as I can carry for dill pickles and bread & butter pickles. I’ve already done beet pickles & pickled asparagus this year. – FAIL! I actually completely forgot about this. I should probably make some pickles, but only if I have time. I’ve been busy.
  3. Finish the bathroom before my in-laws arrive! It would be awesome to have a second usable bathroom as well as a usable guest room by the time they get here. – 3/4 SUCCESS! The toilet & the sink were all hooked up. The floors were done! It is good. We still have to finish tiling the tub/shower area, add in the built-in shelves, and paint, but it’s getting there! And, the important bits are usable. Oooh – and! the bathroom is now street legal! The inspector came Friday morning & passed us! YAY!
  4. Fancy dinner party. It is on my life list, and I am excited to host a few friends for my first fancy dinner party. I have invitations to go out this weekend. I am finalizing the menu. I wish I could invite everyone I know, but unfortunately, I don’t have enough room for that many people! – SUCCESS! My fancy dinner party was Friday night, and it was so much fun. We did a Greek menu, and most of my plates even matched. The food was good, and I think a good time was had by all.
  5. Mother-effing pirate festival. Every year, I say I’m going to go, and every year, I don’t. I can walk there! The only year I actually did go was 2007 – and it was the day after the architect had surgery. He insisted he wanted to go, so we drove. And parked about 1/2 mile away (and 1/2 mile away from our house). We got there, walked around a bit, and then he felt crappy, so I went and fetched the car & picked him up at the gate. Not the best time, really. The next year it rained. I don’t remember my excuse for 2009, but last year, I just flat out forgot. Not this time, bitches!  I am going to the pirate festival, and you can’t stop me! YARGHHHHHHHHHHH!  (Ummm, I just went to the site to get the link, and it’s MOVED! I can no longer walk there! WTF, Pirate Festival?! Is this because I never attend? WHYYYYY??????) (AND, it’s Labor Day weekend! When I will be laboring! I do not want to drive to St. Helens for my piratey goodness!) (Also, I really wish the interrobang was a symbol on my keyboard.) – I hate you stupid Pirate Festival that isn’t down the street from my house anymore. BOOO!
  6. Since I just maybe deleted my goal #5, I decided I should probably add a real goal #5. Okay, then….this is harder than I thought. I was so set on the pirate festival. Oooh – I know!  I will fall-clean and organize my kitchen! I was thinking I was going to anyways, due to the how-to guide posted by Cat, but now I have to! (And I really, really need to…the house cleaner is good at making my house look clean, but she hasn’t looked in the fridge or taken the initiative to organize my pantry & cupboards…I have a LOT of kitchen gadgets, and should probably determine which are necessary and which can go.) – ha ha ha ha ha ha! FAIL! ha ha ha.
  7. Oh, wait! I just thought of another! I need to plan the next 12 months of the gardening enterprise and get some fall crops in the ground! – half SUCCESS! I have a lot of the initial plans done, and if there’s a break in the weather this weekend, I will pull out the remainder of the summer crops, get the garlic & onions in the ground, and plant some fall/winter greens.

September Training Goals

So – keep up with the exercise & training, and also CORE! – SUCCESS! All things considered, anyways. ;)

October 2011 Goals

  1. Finish the bathroom by 10/29/11. We can do it!  All supplies are purchased! I can paint like a mad woman! And make sandwiches for the architect while he tiles. (I am not allowed to tile due to my propensity to say, “eh, fuck it! That’s good enough!”) I am excellent construction support staff.
  2. Get the rain garden outlined, dug, and partially planted.
  3. Finish summer garden/start fall garden.
  4. Remove all extraneous computer crap from the house. Like the printer that doesn’t work. And the CRT monitor that weighs 375 lbs. And the 50 (approximate count) PCs (both laptop & desktop) that are just sitting around doing nothing. NOTHING! Except gathering dust.
  5. Finish my very last class of my Master’s program with an “A” before starting the final project phase.
  6. Throw the ass-kicking-est 2nd Annual Halloween bash ever! YAY for Halloween!  We will have a howling good time!

October Training Goals

I have them! My gym membership expires this month, and I will not be renewing it. So, I want to spend more time outdoors. Running, jumping, biking, hiking, etc. I have been slacking on yoga lately, too, and need to make that a regular practice again.

 

And, because I had such a great time at the fancy dinner party, here are some photos! Although, not of the food, really. Which makes me sad. I should’ve at least taken a picture of the baklava!

The blank slate....

My place settings don’t all match, but there is, at least, a theme.

A single setting

One place setting; you can’t see the black salad plate underneath, but it’s there! Also, check out my fancy silver (plated) flatware!  Ooooh!

The hors d'oeuvres table

The hors d’oeuvres table: falafel, various hummuses, a bunch of goat and sheep cheeses, some awesome olives, and a quince spread (so good on cheese); with pita, of course!

 

The architect in his finery

The architect in all his finery – isn’t he handsome? (That suit was last year’s xmas present from yours truly…)

Z & J - post dinner

Zach & Jen – we have such good looking friends!

S & M (hee!) pre-dinner

Sarah & Michael – enjoying a pre-dinner lemon drop.

The Ambitious One & Mr. Pi - pre dinner

The Ambitious One & Mr. Pi (apparently they don’t get real names); with Lola in the background!

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Dinner – salad course at this point!  Pre-salad was the avgolemono soup (so good), and post Greek salad, was the main course(s): moussaka, spanakopita, and dolmas with an avgolemono sauce.

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Post dinner wine and dessert: baklava (that 9×13 pan of baklava apparently has a street value of about $60) and more cheese!  Please note our exciting ceiling art installation!  It’s a commentary on the modern conveniences of life that are often ignored in polite society. Or possibly, it’s where we had to cut into the ceiling to move the plumbing for the upstairs bathroom.

ANYWAYS! Dinner party done! And another item checked off my life list! YAY!

A Major Accomplishment

Sep 26th, 2011
by gazelle.
3 comments

At long last, I finished the guest room.

Background – our house has three bedrooms. One is lovely and large, with a great closet (that came equipped with nothing even close to resembling places to store clothing or other such items). The architect and I claimed the largest room as our master bedroom, and last year, he put in a closet system so I could hang my clothes, store my shoes, etc.

Apparently, I only have “before” pics of the closet.  This is the lamest photo essay ever!

The other two rooms have undergone a variety of iterations. The smaller of the two (with the oddly long hallway going into the room has been: my office, my office/workout/movie room; and most recently, the guestroom/bathroom construction storage area.  The slightly larger started out as the combo architect office/guest room (he had the whole basement as well, and I demanded that I get one room that was my own), and now the home office for both the architect and the gazelle.

I don’t have pictures of the room we now share as office space (and that also doubles as the messiest room of requirement EVER), but do have some before and after pics of the now guest room:

In the beginning:

 

When it was the combo exercise, movie, office, and junk room:

 

In addition, the closet door opened out into the tiny room, making it impossible to place anything within three feet of the closet – an issue in a room this small.

So, I moved and rearranged. I bought a new mattress and some spiffy new bedding and new pillows. I took the door off and replaced the door with some heavy drapes.  And I think the room is about 100 million times better now. (And, with the exception of the new mattress, which wasn’t essential to the project’s success, only to our guests’ comfort, this project was pretty cheap.)

 

And now:


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I need to get the after pictures for the closet and the current office/room of requirement. And soon (SOON!) I will have final after pics for the bathroom. At that point, the only major upstairs project we want to undertake is to eventually get rid of the nasty carpet, although we’re in no hurry on that one! (Also, eventually, we are going to finish part of the basement and move the office space down there [and, in my dreams, the laundry room as well], and then we’ll have a larger guest room.)

 

I’m so pleased to have the guest room finished, especially since we finally have guests!  My parents-in-law came into town Friday night for a week long visit. We did a lot of touring around of Oregon over the weekend, and I’ll have tons of pictures of that later this week.

Happy Monday!

 

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