This year I came up with what seemed a reasonable goal: to try one new recipe a month. I didn’t limit myself too much – the recipe could be for anything (entree, dessert, etc) and with a whole month to do it, it never felt like a chore or a burden.

If I look back over the year and am honest in my reporting there were times when even a whole month wasn’t enough time. (I traveled a lot this year!) I may have had to fudge on the time here and there by making two recipes in one month to play catch-up, but by counting only total recipes tried over the entire year my count is 17, which is 5 more than required. Yeah me

I even made two new recipes this month in the midst of the holiday madness. I saw a recipe for Bowl of Oatmeal Muffins on the blog of a friend and made those last week. The only thing I did differently was to add some cinnamon to the recipe and on a few I experimented with also adding a dollop of jam before baking. There were a big hit at my house and will definitely be added into my repertoire of muffins.

The second recipe I tried was for corn bread stuffing. I think I may have lived before during the Great Depression or some similar hard times because I really really really hate to waste food. I made the cornbread to go along with the remains of a pot of shrimp gumbo. We finished the gumbo, but not the cornbread – which is odd because my children love cornbread. I could not bring myself to throw out half a pan of cornbread so I decided to make stuffing to go along with a pot of 13 bean soup. I looked at and combined a couple of recipes I found online and it was another success. I think I actually liked the cornbread stuffing better than regular stuffing – however I don’t know that I’d go to the trouble of making a pan of cornbread just to crumble it up for stuffing! (Stuffing is just another way to use up stale bread after all)

All in all, I would call this resolution a success and it is something that I am going to strive to continue into the coming year. Where did 2010 go by the way???

I quickly went off eating in restaurants. Is there anything on any menu that isn’t deep fried and / or covered in cheese? It’s as if these places are looking for ways to make things as unhealthy as possible. And the portion sizes are ridiculous – even when I ordered a half order of pesto for my son it arrived in a serving bowl and was enough to feed at least two adults.

The children’s menus were just as ridiculous. There weren’t so very many options in the small town where we were staying so we ended up eating at Perkins (a large chain) a lot. If you ordered the macaroni and cheese from the children’s menu, they gave you an ice cream scoop sized portion of pasta and a small side order of your choice. I understand that the children’s menu covers a wide age range and that not all children have the same appetite, so I didn’t think much about it the skimpy serving until my son ordered the “dollar pancakes” one evening instead. The pancakes were actually $1 cheaper than the macaroni, but the stack of pancakes they brought him would have been more appropriate for a truck driver. Where is the rationale in that?

I finally managed by skipping meals or picking off my children’s plates.

It’s not a whole lot better now that I’m at my father’s house however. My step-mother plays dirty: she is a great cook and she spoils me rotten by not only making my favorite entrees, but she also makes dessert every night. How am I supposed to resist carrot cake with caramel frosting, chocolate chocolate chip cookies, or ice cream with fresh raspberries? And just in case I could resist all of that, she bought my favorite mint ice cream bars as well.

She looks perfectly pleasant, but she’s evil, I tell you. Pure evil. No one could resist her wiles – I don’t think I’ve been hungry since I arrived. I’m powerless in her grasp – and it would be churlish of me to refuse her hospitality. I’ve gained about five pounds in my first week, and at this rate even my baggiest pants won’t fit by the time I leave. I’d have to kayak all day, every day against the wind to keep up with this intake.

Three weeks (nearly) down, three to go…

Right about now I should be on the plane, somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. Or possible even over the midwest US. With luck I’ll be sleeping as you read this. I’m an optimist – I packed an eye mask and a neck pillow. If that fails, I have half a dozen fresh books on my ebook reader. It always pays to be prepared…especially on a trip as long as this one…

Yesterday, inspired by the bounty of fresh tomatoes in the shops, I made a big pot of gazpacho. Today I bought some fresh cilantro so I can make some salsa to go with bean burritos. Not sure what the rest of the week holds, because in addition to the weather, I’m trying not to buy too much food since we are leaving for our summer vacation next week. No point in stocking up the cupboards for the ants. The menu might become sort of strange as we draw nearer to our departure date and are trying to finish up a bit of this and a bit of that.

What do you like to eat when the weather is hot? I could use a little inspiration…

I’ll admit that the number of times I exercised at home this month so far has been once. One time. I should feel guilty about that, but I don’t really. Nor do I have any intention of going back to Curves. I’m simply going to try harder. I will say that I have been going to my yoga class and may even step that up to twice a week. My water aerobics class will start again in February as well. I’m much better about attending classes than I am at being left to my own devices!

One thing I am proud of though is that instead of succumbing to my craving for KFC last week, instead I made myself quesadillas with a couple of leftover tortillas we had in the fridge. For what I would have spent on lunch, I bought 14 pink and ivory (actually I bought 12 and the flower guy tossed in two more) and two bird of paradise flowers. Healthier and economical and so, so lovely. All that for $5. There are some things about Egypt I just love

I also made a new baby quilt top this weekend. I had planned it as a red and white quilt, but I think that the pink roses went to my brain. I added a bit of pink in, rationalizing that pink is just a pale shade of red, and then the whole thing got away from me – in the best possible way. I’m very pleased with how it came out and think it will look even better when I get the white zig-zag quilting done on the seam lines.

I’m going to have a hard time letting this one go!

I’m going to need a supercharged memory to keep up with the children’s social schedule – it’s only the first week of the month and we’ve already got three birthday parties coming up this weekend!

Don’t forget to drop by this weekend when Carolynn Carey will be here with her new women’s fiction release Lily For a Day.

I’ve activated my Curves membership. I haven’t been many times yet but that’s not entirely my fault – their hours during Ramadan didn’t mesh well with my schedule and then I was away and when I came back the kids were off school, blah blah blah. Their new hours are much better for me so I went this morning. While I’m not totally sold on their “rah rah” motivational atmosphere (their wall clock says “Time to Amaze Yourself”) I do like their thirty minute approach – cause that’s about all I want to spend there anyway!

I’ve also tried out a couple of yoga classes at a new studio in my neighborhood and signed up for a water aerobics class. Can I just say now that water aerobics, done right, is hard!? I couldn’t walk for about 4 days after my first class. I wondered if I was going to be limping around Italy! I did enjoy it though and since I’ve already paid, I suppose I’ll be going back this week.

So, after two years of doing next to no exercise, I have a new (ambitious) plan. Barring school holidays, travel, or illness I intend to do yoga once a week, Curves three times a week, and water aerobics once a week. Next week will be my first full week. We’ll see how it pans out.

I’ve also been eating better – having so many evening sports activities with the children has forced me to do more meal planning. We’ve been eating such nice meals that I’ve even been able to keep my occasion longings for fast food in check. So what’s the problem?

The problem is when people like Shelley Munro go and post a recipe like this on their blogs! How’s a girl supposed to resist that? Optional chocolate chips, my foot!

Nothing good can come from it – well, maybe one thing: I’m sure to get crowned Best Mom ever after school today.

I’ve been reading Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – another book I’d heard too much about to think that I’d actually like it. Again, I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t just like it – I loved it. I’m biased though – not only is it written in first person but it’s about travel and has a happy ending besides – all things I love in a book. I finished it last night and promptly ordered my own copy. It’s a keeper.

When I could tear myself away from reading, I got busy cooking. Earlier in the week I’d purchases a bunch of celery because my daughter mentioned that she liked to eat celery sticks. I’m not such a big fan of celery myself but when a child asks for celery, how can I to say no? However, there is a limit to how many celery sticks a child will eat (1) so I was left with a bunch of celery.

Celery is cheap enough, but here I will admit to being neurotic about wasting food. Who knows? Maybe I lived a former life in the Depression. But I was determined not to let that celery go to waste. So I made cream of celery soup. All those leafy tops looked like seaweed in the pot as they cooked but it wasn’t half bad when it was all pureed. I won’t go so far as to say I loved it – it is still celery after all.

Today, I’m getting back to work. I have a self-imposed deadline to finish my WIP. I want to be done by the beginning of June. It’s a doable deadline and I’m sure that I’ll make that. Part of that deadline includes writing a synopsis though and that part I dread. What is it about writing a synopsis? Having already written an entire novel, you’d think writing up a few page summary would be a cake walk. All I can say is that it’s not.

But once again my character Aurora – who insisted on dictating her story through me is also now making noises about writing her own synopsis. I think I’m going to let her have a go. If she can do it, more power to her.

Coffee Time Romance gave ONE CRAZY SUMMER four cups!

“Ms. Matthews brings her characters to life in this story. Ben and Summer are complete opposites that have very different outlooks on life and expectations. Ms. Matthews enthralls the reader with the many differences and the involvement of their families and friends. This is a wonderful read with lots of laughter and amazing romance. I look forward to reading many more books by this author.”

Liadan
Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance

“The data showed that, in comparison with the baseline period, consumption of both red and white wines increased serum [blood] HDL cholesterol (often called ‘good’ cholesterol), which suggests a cardio-protective effect,” said the report in the November issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.Add in the antioxidants from chocolate and this is a lifestyle I can truly embrace!