Monthly Archives: May 2016

‘plated’, cookbook review

Posted in cooking, Uncategorized by

61FVX5weZRL._SX442_BO1,204,203,200_‘plated’ is a cookbook that is a spin-off of their cook-at-home- dinner service. I’m guessing it’s like Blue Apron which is so popular right now.

I liked the recipes as they seem uncomplicated and used ingredients I usually have on hand. Its well laid out with different sections such as weeknight dinners, make ahead, great for leftovers and more.  I’ve made 3 of the recipes. The quinoa with toasted chickpeas and roasted carrots though didn’t come together  or taste very good. I’m not sure if maybe it was the carrots or the chickpeas that didn’t cook quite right.  The rosemary chicken was fine but it’s a classic roast chicken. The polenta with fried egg was good, but something I have made in the past.

The pictures of the food presentations though is quite nice. I think this book is a good start for someone starting to meal plan and also utilize leftovers.

I think this would be a good book to get from the library as opposed to buying it.

This book was given to me from bloggingforbooks.com in exchange for my honest opinion.

 

This is it!!

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Today marks the 3 years of the JUST KEEP WALKING PROJECT.  Wow, tomorrow we start year 4. I’m not really walking any faster or longer overall,just walking. Sunrise is @ 5:39 am so it’s pretty bright out at the park when we get there. We’re getting there @ 5:45 am.  I’d like to be out earlier but it’s ok, I don’t feel  too OC about it all. So hurray for us!!!

Our weather is quite hot and will get a little hotter by Friday…100 degrees.  B got the pool filled and its ready to go except the pump must have died and he just ordered a new one. We’ve had this Costco pool going on 8 years. It’s been a great investment. I don’t think it was over $5oo. They don’t sell them anymore. This is probably the last year of this pool but we will get some sort of replacement as we both use it all summer.

I moved my desk out of the bedroom as I wanted the space more. So, I put the Ikea cart in the extra room ( previously my daughter’s bedroom, but a weird space as it was a porch we closed in). I was a little surprised that I don’t have all that much office stuff to organize. But I’m going to buy a wall mounted file thing and some smallish bins for pens or whatever. But I hardly need the Ikea cart but will keep it there till I give it some time.Ikea cart  My minimalism is paying off with very reduced office stuff. I will give away or sell the other desk unless we can find another use for it.

So, today is tidy the house, one load of laundry, Target( for the bins) and that’s it. Maybe do some weeding but definitely  water garden stuff.

Tomorrow is my doctor appointment and Velcade.

 

A beautiful Birth-day!

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Today, 31 years ago, our sweet little girl arrived. I’m sure I’ve written about this before, but we had been married 15 years before we had her. So we were pretty excited.  As labors go it was 8 hours start to finish and really only 5 in the hospital. We were star struck.

So, today, I will make a birthday breakfast. She already got her mac pro so the gift is done. Although my husband was going to take her to the new  Green Acres nursery. It’s a great place and the prices were good. Then I bought an ice cream cake thing and we’ll have that tonight.

 

In Truckee, Ca

Posted in Blood test, Uncategorized by

I’m sitting in Wild Cherries with a vanilla latte. It’s really quite beautiful here. There are puffy white clouds and super blue sky. You can see snow on the ridges and it’s way cooler than at home. My daughter has her staff meeting so I’m here for an hour or so. Then we’re going to go on a hike/walk and then find some sort of lunch.

There’s a diner that Guy Ferriera went to up here, we thought we might try that or there’s also a new york style pizza place.  I guess we’ll see when its time. We’re going to go walk  on a trail that’s over by Donner Lake. Yes, the famous Donner party was here. There’s a nice memorial to them plus a museum. It’s so interesting that if they just pushed on that fateful day they would have made it over the pass. Well, the rest is history.

So all my labs have come in and wait for it ……NORMAL!!!

Kappa- good

Lambda -good

ratio- good 1.27 normal

No m spike

So, this is the 2nd full cycle of normal m protein.  But then my light chains went into the normal range after the 2nd cycle. So, one more cycle and then we’ll see. I see my doctor next week and also get my first shot of this last cycle.  I’m pretty jazzed as this is the first time since ( I think) 2010  that I’ve had a complete response. Revlimid kept my  numbers very low, like .3 , but I don’t know if it went to 0. Maybe once.  I definitely nervous about going off treatment but I think it’s probably a good idea. My eyes with the weepiness and styes seems to cycle thru and of course the neuropathy ( although not severe) is there and does seem to affect my legs. I do think the Velcade has probably affected some mental alertness or lack of but I just put one step in front of the other.

So all good.

Not sure what we’re doing for dinner since B and my son went up to Chico. Usually, I do crockpot Thursday, but I didn’t start it before I left.

 

 

 

Being Grateful…

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Another blogger frugal girl just did a blog on being grateful and many others are following with a post on what they’re grateful for. So here goes:

  1. I’m grateful for my wonderful husband,who always is supportive, and my 2 amazing children. They are the best and every day I am grateful for them.
  2. I’m also grateful that my new treatment, Velcade, has knocked my numbers down into the normal range. Even with some side effects this is a pretty wonderful thing to have had that happen.
  3. Each day is a gift and I appreciate it in some way. I don’t always feel top notch, but I’m grateful for  the wonder of a day and beauty that it holds.
  4. I’m very grateful to have a home, be it so ever humble and small( one bathroom) 🙂
  5. That I can walk each day. I never take that for granted.
  6. I’m very grateful my husband has a job and excellent health insurance since my treatments and drugs are very expensive.
  7. Also, for all my cyber myeloma friends and others who have taken the time to comment and share.

 

 

Budgeting and the new week

Posted in Blood test, budgeting, Credit cards, Uncategorized by

Well, really, a new budget is needed since the old one is completely blown. Today, I’m going to write up new numbers and see how they stack up. June should be a better month for a number of reasons. 1. B will get a bonus and that will get us back on track. 2. We’re not going to give my son any school money, as he’s done for this semester. Also, he’s going back to his old job, so this will definitely help. 3. At least one of our bills has been reduced by $125. so that’s helpful. 4. We are going with a HARP refi and that will reduce our payment. This hasn’t happened yet but I hope by July 1.

We are still working on paying off the Federal taxes  that we put on the cc but it still will be a few months. The only extra this month is our AAA membership. So, we should be able to snowball money in the CC. We’ll see. It seems it’s always something.

Today I go get my blood tests.  I should know by Thursday what my numbers are. So I’m going in to do that , then pick up a few groceries(cat food)….. Plus I might drop off the Goodwill stuff, just to get it out of the car.

Dinner tonight is pasta with sauce and salad. I’m making a bolognese sauce in the crockpot.

This week I’m in the bedroom zone. I’ll probably tackle the closet as that seems to be my nemesis.

 

 

JustKeepWalking Update

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We are close!!!!   11 more days till we reach the 3-year mark of WALKING INTENTIONALLY EVERY SINGLE DAY!  That’s 1,095 days if my math is correct. Today was quite cool and windy with rain on the way. We walk in the rain and wind and snow(rarely). We are lucky to have a park with a walking trail 1/2 mile from our house. That probably makes a big difference. I think if I had to walk by the side of the road( at least around here with crazy drivers, I wouldn’t have lasted.  Also, for any of you thinking of starting a JKW project a word of advice.  Get up, put on your sweats and PUT ON YOUR WALKING SHOES!  I think that makes a huge difference psychologically. I wear New Balance Country Walkers. Very supportive and I have inserts.  I’m thinking of trying North faces walking /trail shoe but I’m usually reluctant to try something when I have something that’s working so well. Part of the reason I thought of North Face was, 3 years ago I bought my jacket that I wear every day walking. It’s not expensive $99, if I remember. But the zipper broke . I was gong to order a new one and then I thought about North Faces lifetime guarantee. So I e-chatted with the rep and he said send it in. I did and 2 weeks later my jacket was returned with a new zipper. I was very impressed and give a big shout out for North face. They didn’t even need the receipt which I would have long gotten rid of.

Also, just do what you can. With the steroids ,I’m on my muscle never really build ups since steroids reduce muscle mass. But Just think if I wasn’t walking, so I do what I can.

I’m looking forward to finishing the Velcade and going off Dex hopefully sometime in July. Of course, if my numbers are good. And of course, at some point ,I’ll be back on but in the interim it will great.

 

So, Lace up those walking shoes, and Just Keep Walking!!!

country walkers by New Balance

Thursday stuff

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Well, it’s off to Sacramento for my last Velcade shot of cycle 5. I’m really glad I’m approaching the end of this cycle and the last one #6.  Overall, this is a relatively easy chemotherapy but there’s still side effects. My eyes are still developing some styes and continue to water some. Plus, now the neuropathy has snuck in.  Most of it is manageable but still it takes its toll. Plus today I get to take Dex. Such fun!!

On another note, I’m ready with a small load for the Goodwill express drop off. I rather not give stuff to Goodwill as it’s CEO gets a huge salary, but I have to admit they have their donation centers down to a science. the guy comes out with a cart ,loads it and then whisks it away. Very neat and tidy.  I did manage to get rid of some Life magazine ads I had in slips, but still, I need to whittle down the Life magazines to maybe 4 bins.  Some of my oldest Life magazines are from the ’30’s and I like looking at them but maybe I’ll try to sell those as they are probably more collectable. I also just tried to sell mad Men seasons 1-5 and no luck so I’ll give those to the Humane Society bookstore to sell.

The budget is just ok. Not much new there except not enough money to fund my envelopes till next payday.  I’m hoping with some of the refiguring of budget stuff, next month will be better. We will have some reductions in expenses. One, my son will go back to working at Grocery Outlet and so he will have his own spending money so, I’m planning on not giving him the money we were, so that’s a big savings.  He is going to take a summer school class and will have an internship(unpaid) for now, so depending on his money we may chip in for gas. So with June starting hopefully we will see most of the big bills for the year, (taxes, property taxes, auto insurance etc.) done till November. My big goal is to save and put money back in our EF which has taken a pretty big hit.  If B gets a bonus( which he thinks he is), that’s number one priority.

Our garden is giving us lovely lettuces and herbs,(cilantro, thyme, parsley, oregano, dill) so we are having fresh salads.  We have tomatoes in plus all the usual stuff. I haven’t really been food shopping so today after my shot I’m going to go to Winco or Walmart for pasta, and a few pickle type things that I can’t stand buying in our regular store ( Bel Air) for those of you on the west coast. I tried to get some whole wheat pasta at our store here in town. First , IMG_0089they didn’t have the Barilla I was looking for and the  ones they did have were almost $2.00 I can go to Winco and get Barilla for .99  So, it’s worth stocking up. the same with things like salsa and pickle type things (relish).  I also need some bulk popcorn, polenta etc. I’m going to buy the expensive milk in the glass jar to help cut down on garbage stuff. I’m on a new kick of trying not to buy stuff with a lot of packaging.  At Costco, it’s hard to avoid since everything has giant plastic wrap stuff, but my regular shopping I should be able to at least make a dent in some things.

 

Where I have my morning coffee!!!

My daughter, The Librarian!!!

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My daughter, Sachiko, has completed her MLIS. She is official and we are very proud of her. As a graduation and birthday present combined, she’s getting a MacPro.

It was a choice between a Canon Rebel fancy camera or the Mac. The Mac won. I think, since she’s an amazing writer, the Mac Pro will be just right to write her book or many books.

Today, I might go into town to get a few bins for some stuff I want to put in  smaller bins. That way I can get rid of the larger ones and reduce. I have some stuff ready to go to the thrift store including my original Kelty backpack from 1977. Cool.. well, old really. And it’s not like I’m going backpacking ever again. Give me a  small pack( which I use when traveling) and a hotel.. Well, we do love camping n our tent trailer, but I’m off the ground. Speaking of which, the North face down bags we have in our tent trailer are the original ones we bought in 1977 when we did in fact, backpack Mt Rainer, later Zion, and ? I can’t remember where else. Now, all I want is a bathroom in an RV. ha!! Well, after all the GI issues I’ve had with chemo, it’s for the best. Or at least there better be a bathroom near by.

Congratulations Sachi !!! Love you!!

IMG_0717

 

 

‘The More 0f Less’

Posted in books, minimalism, reading, simplicity, Uncategorized by

‘The More  of Less’ by Joshua Becker

This book by Joshua Becker was just released. He is one of the leading advocates of minimalism and living a simple life. He starts off describing how his journey into minimalism started with emptying his garage. He states up front that he uses Christian and Bible referances.  I wasn’t too sure about this to start  since I’m a non-believer as such, but I didn’t find them over powering to the message of simplifying your life and minimizing. I like he was honest about this and very open to all faiths or non-faith.

The book is well written and I liked his breakdown of how to start decluttering, and then going into a lot of the psychology behind letting go of things and the benefits from living with less.

He gives lots of practical advice.

I think this is an excellent book on minimalism for both beginners and those more advanced in their journey to own less.41pkwq-8CJL._SX351_BO1,204,203,200_

 

This book was provided by ‘bloggingforbooks’ in return for my opinion.!!!