Feb 12

January’s Crafts

What a strange and complicated month January was… It seemed like everything was breaking all over the house, and everyone was constantly sick. I’m still hoping that February will be a little kinder to us.

I knitted and crochet just a bit, but mostly I was here…

I spent just about every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at the laundromat. I made a new friend along the way, finished up some scarves, and met a lot of locals.

I’m still knitting on this little seed-stitch scarf in the evenings. I keep a few ongoing projects upstairs and downstairs. I can’t seem to focus on just one.

When the heater was out, I made a few scarves. They take just a few hours to complete, and kept my hands busy.

Whenever I’m waiting at after-school pick up to get Miss Agnes, I always bring along something small to knit or crochet. It usually gets me some odd looks, and a few questions.

I have a little buddy, who is four, and she has a dinosaur that lives in one of the cars at after-school pick up. So the owner hollered over to me to see if I would make a little hat for the dashboard dinosaur…

I decided that it was just too cold for a hat alone, so I knitted a tiny scarf too.

They cracked up when I handed them the finished product, and it fit the dinosaur! It ended up being really cute, and it was a fun project to make for my favorite preschooler.

I made another scarf in between trips to the laundromat, soccer practice, and waiting in the car. I’ve already got a bunch made for next year’s teacher’s gifts.

I started another blanket for Agnes. Her taste in color is changing, and I found some yarn cakes that I thought she might just like.

I’m making a large granny-square blanket with three cakes so far. I’m also adding in other colors of yarn, so the blanket will be big enough. I’ve been working on it off and on. Agnes likes the darker colors in the coral cake.

This month I really need to catch up all around the house, and I need to finish a project before I start a new one. We’ll see though…

 

Feb 7

Vegan Meals: Week 5

Just three little days left in the Veganuary challenge.

1/29/2018 MONDAY!!!!!

Hello Monday! It’s Thade’s Birthday!  The kids are back to school, and James is in Florida for convention. That calls for easy meals, and lots of crochet, and couch time. I’m taking a personal day!

A little bit of crochet, and a whole lot of The Expanse on amazon prime. I’m a huge sci-fi nerd, and it really is my very favorite show.

I made a little brunch of the rest of the homemade vegan bread, pizza sauce, and sliced avocados. It was absolutely delicious. I’ve got to get back in the kitchen and restock my bread.

I wasn’t quite hungry when it was time for lunch, so I grabbed a bowl of sushi rice with soy sauce before I picked up the kids at school.

Dinner was pizza for the boys, and Agnes was sick with a fever and headache. She was absolutely miserable, so she really didn’t want anything. I grabbed all of the odds and ends in the fridge and freezer, and whipped up a quick rice bowl.

The rice bowl was delicious, and it kept me away from the cheese pizza.

And on to Tuesday:

Agnes is home sick today, but thankfully the fever has passed. She still has a pretty bad headache, and she really doesn’t feel like eating much. When it was time for lunch, she said that maybe rice sounded good. I made a batch of Jasmine Rice for her, and a big batch of Quinoa for me, and the fridge.

I sauteed up some Butternut Squash, Corn, and Brussels Sprouts. I added them on top of a big bowl of Quinoa and Nutritional Yeast. It was fantastic, and I have plenty of ready made Quinoa for future meals.

Dinner was Spicy homemade vegan Rice Noodle soup with a side of Edamame.

I was starting to come down with the gunk that Agnes had, so I decided to ward it off with spicy kimchi and lots of garlic in my homemade soup. Well it didn’t keep the flu-bug away, but it was really delicious.

Before I knew it, it was the last day of Veganuary…

Agnes was still home sick with the flu, and I wasn’t feeling too hungry myself. I made a quick rice bowl with lots of veggies for lunch.

 

When it was dinner. I finished off the Kale & Quinoa bites in fridge. I also roasted some Brussels Sprouts, and made a baked Sweet Potato.

It was delicious! And I made it!

Thirty-one days completely Vegan!!! I’m pretty darn happy about that!

 

Feb 7

Veganuary Week 5

It’s the last week in the Veganuary challenge, and I can’t believe that I’ve made it!

  • January 29, 2018 Monday: It’s Thade’s Birthday, and I’ve got to make brownies, and order a whole bunch of pizzas. I also can’t eat any of them… Seeing the pizza, this was the first time that I didn’t have to have a slice, or two, or five. I made a quick rice bowl for me, and took care of a very sick Agnes. Pretty strange birthday for Thade, but he said it was pretty awesome too.
  • January 30, 2018 Tuesday: Just two more days to go! Agnes is home sick today. I’m hoping that this is one of the quick little bugs going around, and not the proper flu. So far she has been fever free, but she still isn’t 100%. I’m catching up on dishes, and stocking the fridge with Quinoa and Rice. Having items ready to go makes for very easy meals for me, and then I won’t eat the leftover cheese pizza hiding in the fridge.
  • January 31, 2018 Wednesday: It’s the last day of the challenge, and I can’t believe that I made it through the entire month. Today I just ate vegan as always, and I really don’t know if I’m going back. This challenge has changed my eating habits for good.

 

 

Feb 1

Vegan Meals: Week 4

Hello Week #4 of the Veganuary Challenge! To be honest, this week I didn’t even have a second thought of my meals being different, this was a very easy week in vegan-land.

Monday 1/22/2018

I made a simple dinner of Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Kale & Quinoa Bites, and a little bit of Spaghetti with nutritional yeast, and plenty of black pepper. James and I love Brussels Sprouts, but the kids think that they are completely gross.

Tuesday 1/23/2018

Most days I get really busy and forget to make myself lunch. That is until I am absolutely starving, and hangry. I gathered up some odds and ends in the fridge and made some super fast Veggie and Rice Burritos.

For dinner I made Baked Potatoes with way too much vegan butter replacement, and nutritional yeast. I have no shame, I even ate the skins.

Wednesday 1/24/2018

I made a yummy and very hearty lunch out of odds and ends in the fridge. This ended up being a stew of Garbanzo Beans, Broccoli, Tomatoes, leftover Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, and some Artichoke Hearts for good measure. It was really delicious.

For Dinner I made some Veggie Fajitas!

I still had some leftover vegan Mexican Rice in the fridge, and it made a delicious side to the tasty veggie fajitas.

Thursday 1/25/2018

I made a quick soup for lunch out of leftovers. This was a spicy soup full of Tomatoes, Homemade Salsa, Corn, Vegan Mexican Rice, leftover Fajita Veggies, and Garbanzo Beans. I’ve really been using up every bit of what I’ve got in the fridge this week.

For dinner I made some Vegan Macaroni and Cheese. It has become one of my very favorite dishes, and it comes together in a flash.

Friday 1/26/2018

Quick lunch of Veggie Wraps and Pita Chips. Even James thought these looked good.

 

At dinner time Agnes said that she wasn’t feeling too good, and the only thing that sounded good was vegan sushi.

So of course I had to make her a plate. I also sliced up a Gala Apple to help her tummy out.

I made a plate for me too. My goodness Vegan Sushi is my very favorite meal on the planet. It is just the best. I made mine with fresh Avocado, and spicy Kimchi. Of goodness, how I love sushi!

Saturday 1/27/2018

Saturday was another busy day, and we were out of the house at odd times for soccer games. I made brunch for Dylan and Thade, and then lunch for the rest of us after Agnes’ game. I grabbed all things fresh for me, and it was delicious. I had a tart Blood Orange, perfect Avocado, Cauliflower, and Carrot Sticks. I had a little bit of Italian dressing for dipping.

When it was time for dinner, the kids wanted take-out, but couldn’t decide on a place. They finally settled on two spots, and after all the running around from Saturday, I didn’t feel like cooking for myself. Off to the fridge to see what I can throw together and call dinner.

I finished off the Fajita Veggies, added in a little Homemade Salsa, finished off some Tomatoes hiding in the fridge, and added in a few Garbanzo Beans for good measure. I heated it up on top of pre-cooked Sushi Rice, and I made a delicious dish. I also cleaned out the fridge.

  • Sunday 1/28/2018

I can’t get enough of this vegan mac and cheese. It really has become my very favorite dish. I made a batch of this for lunch, and yes, I ate every single bite.

When it was dinner time, I was making Baked Ziti for the kids, but because of all of the cheese, I had to make something else for me.

I still had some homemade vegan bread hanging out in the freezer, so I whipped up some mini vegan pizzas. They were fantastic!

I’m starting the last few days of the Veganuary challenge on Monday, and I really can’t believe that I’m at the end of the month.

Jan 31

Veganuary Week 4

And here we go it’s week four of the veganuary challenge, and it is going fantastically well! I wish the rest of the stuff around the house was going as well as this challenge is… My dryer has officially gone on to appliance Heaven, so I’m spending all of my free time at the laundromat. Ugh, just another thing that this month has brought my way.

O.k. enough of my griping… Time to chat about week number four.

  • Monday 1/22/2018: Well, I had the house stocked up completely, so I just had to run to the laundromat. I didn’t even think about my meals as being any different today, I just cooked.
  • Tuesday 1/23/2018: Hey, guess where I am (again)?!? Yep, it’s the laundromat, and I’m running behind, so I had to make a fast lunch of veggie burritos.
  • Wednesday 1/24/2018: Today I visited my new Doctor. She had a lot of good questions about veganism, and she said that she wants me to continue this for the next six months. I also found out that I lost ten pounds, but I needed to come back for fasting bloodwork just to make sure that I’m not anemic.
  • Thursday 1/25/2018: I’m HUNGRY!!! Fasting is no fun, and water just isn’t cutting it for breakfast. I’m off to the hospital lab for bloodwork, and then back to the laundromat. Seriously, I need a life!
  • Friday 1/26/2018: Sushi Day!!!! I finally went grocery shopping this morning, and then another trip to the laundromat, where they know me by name. I was pretty darn tired by the afternoon, and I didn’t feel like cooking… That’s when Agnes said that vegan sushi was the only thing that sounded good for dinner, so that had to happen.
  • Saturday 1/27/2018: Tonight I really didn’t feel like cooking. I grabbed take-out for the family, nobody could agree on anything. I ended up going two places, and by the time I was home, nothing sounded good to me. I threw together some leftovers in the fridge, and called it good.
  • Sunday 1/28/2018: Today I woke up feeling kinds yucky… I really hope I’m not coming down with the crud that’s going around. I’m going to drink plenty of fluids today, and keep my fingers crossed that it’s nothing too bad. Also, I really can’t believe that I’ve made it twenty-eight days! So awesome!