March Musings: 2016

Holy April Batman!

Wow. My break went super-duper fast. Gone in the blink of an eye. I needed it badly. Truth be told, my expectations surrounding my back injury have really sent me straight through the ringer, and right back again. Back in January, I thought I'd be running by April. The timeline has not gone that smoothly in reality, and I'm in a bit of a holding pattern. I have no news to share on that front, and that's the problem. Right now, it feels like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, and that's been a hard thing to accept.

My break was good for me because I had a lot of extra time to process all the feelings I have surrounding this process of being in pain the majority of the time, and going from doctor to doctor. Some days I just sat and cried because at times it does feel like no one understands. Some days I got mad, and just needed to bang things around the house, or slam fingers down on the keyboard writing in my journal. Either way, emotions needed to be dealt with and processed without the daily distraction of preparing recipes. Recipes take a lot more work than anyone realizes, between the pictures, the test runs, the editing, the writing, the social media... On days I blog, it can take up to 3 hours. So yes, it was nice to not have that distraction.

I think I'm ready to get back though. I decided while I was gone that I need to revamp my process a little, and make it a little more carefree. I had become really rigid with my schedule, as in "I must post today!" or "If I miss that linky party, my week is shot!" or "If I don't get on Instagram today, I'll lose people!". I'd work myself into an exhaustive state and not even feel like writing. Something needs to change, and right now I'm still contemplating that. We'll see what I come up with.

In the meantime though, let's wrap up March since it's already April 4!!! Oh, and by the by, that's my lone tulip up above that has sprouted.

March brought new glasses. LOVE. THEM.

The pups want my popcorn. STAT.

The groundhog made his annual appearance, letting me know that Spring had indeed sprung at our homestead.

It's that time of year for sunbathing.

The hubby and I FINALLY decided to organize my photography props. Here's the before where stuff is just stacked everywhere.

Oodles of paper straws. 

And after! We got a pretty cheap storage cube at Lowes, and voila! I used to have all my glass and decorative plates scattered throughout the kitchen, and honestly, I forgot about so much stuff that I had. No longer! I'm loving my newly organized closet cubby. Plus, as you can see, there's room to grow!

It's my second year growing strawberries. I established the bed last year, and am looking forward to Year 2. I'd read online to cover the patch with 6 inches of straw over the winter, and in the early spring, to peak under the straw to look for new growth. If you saw new growth, you could go ahead and pull the straw. Apparently, the earlier you can pull the straw, the more berries you'll have and the more frost-hardy the plants will be. As you can see, I had lots of new growth, so off came the straw!

My chives have gone crazy! There's my lone tulip behind it, my transplanted thyme (which made it through the winter, amazing!), and 6 Purple Coral Bells. The hummingbirds around here go NUTS over the purple coral bells so we are going to make a flower bed of just those. Speaking of which, our hummingbirds should be back in 11 days. I can't wait!

Kale and spinach that made it through the winter with absolutely no mulch or cover. Very hardy plants, if I do say so myself! They were covered in inches of snow for days at a time, and they still made it.

During the very last weekend of March, I planted potatoes, onions, and garlic, as well as some lettuce and dill to repel pests. I'm so ready for the garden to be in full swing!

I know I didn't post many recipes last month, but here are my favorites anyway-

Blackberry-Nectarine Preserves

Lamb Ragu

Lucky Mules

Practicing my selfie because:

a. I put on makeup AND did my hair that day!

b. I'm in my 30's and still don't know how to take a picture without smiling with all my teeth. Werk, werk, werking' on that! :-)

And finally, today is my little brother's birthday! Happy Birthday Little Bro! This one is a cute throwback of my brother and I with our aunt at the Oregon Coast.

He's not so little anymore! There was a time there before he started middle school that I could still sit on him :-)

And lastly, a sneak peak for this month. I've been playing around with chocolate chip cookie recipes for awhile now. Like Monica on Friends, I want to make the best chocolate chip cookies. I know, I know, doesn't everyone? Ha ha. Anyhoo, I think I've finally got it down. I sent this batch to my brother for his birthday, and he gave them two big thumbs up! I'm going to post the recipe later this month.

And that was March! I'm looking forward to sharing lots of yummy recipes this month :-)

Happy Monday everyone!