Taking A Break

(source)

I'm going to be taking a long break for a while- several weeks or maybe even longer.  There are quite a few things I want and need to turn my focus on.  Also, it's something I've been meaning to do for a while, so only having the use of one arm has made me realize that it's a good time for this.  I won't be posting at all and will barely be commenting, but I will be keeping up on reading others blogs.  There is a lot that I have in store for when I start posting again that I'm quite excited about!

In the meantime, if you want to see what we're up to, come on over for a picture story on my Flickr.  It's one thing I want to turn my attention to more and get more involved with.  If you have an account, I'd love to be your contact!

TTFN!

Nature Has Some Mighty Mood Swings

I'm not only feeling up to doing a post, but also up to using proper capitalization!  

We've been very lucky with it being a very mellow winter so far. I'm in no condition for our walks yet, but Mike has taken the pups out and played with them in the yard quite a bit. Emma often likes to chew on her toys with her butt sticking up in the air.  She's such an adorable dork. 

It went from almost 50 degrees with no snow around at all......

to 20 degrees with a nasty wind chill and our first snow storm of the season.  It didn't drop a ton of snow, but there was enough for the wind to make some taller drifts.  It also looks like we're going to get actual winter weather for a while now, which for us means below freezing temps combined with a nasty wind and barely any sun.  The mostly mellow weather we've had so far will make the winter feel much shorter, at least, and for that I'm very grateful.   

I haven't gotten a good capture of Crystal in a while, but got lucky today.  She'll be 19 1/2 years old in a little less than a month!  Her heart condition and overactive thyroid have been in check which is another thing I'm extremely grateful for.   

It's back to work for me on Monday and I'll also (hopefully) be finding out more about the extent of damage in my arm & elbow then.  I haven't been able to go for much longer than 6 hours without taking a pain pill, so I'm getting a bit worried about making it through an entire work day without being very uncomfortable.  The pain has gotten less intense, though, so I'm hopeful.  While I could take the next 5 weeks or so off until this heals, my workplace makes us use up all of our vacation and sick days before taking unpaid days (or getting short term disability).  I'm not willing to go the majority of the year with no time off, so I'll just have to deal with the situation.  It could always be worse, though, and at least I have a good job, right?   

broken arm = all lower case (plus some food)

not blogging is starting to make me a little sad, so i'm finger typing with one hand this short, and hopefully sweet, post. no caps, no frills  i hope nobody minds!

last wednesday while mike was at his basketball game, i made dinner (this was pre-arm break)- african sweet potato and peanut stew.

we had tofu satay with broccoli and quinoa one night, a recipe we've made many times and i can't for the life of me remember where it's from. (mike's been doing all of the cooking since i broke)

also, mexiquinoa from 500 vegan recipes- i topped mine with avocado.  it's so good!

i was going to try to make it to work this week but am in too much pain without my pain pills, so i took the week off.  been getting to spend lots of time reading, sleeping and resting with the girls.  i can't really complain!

on monday they'll hopefully be able to take more xrays to see how bad things are.  i might not get a cast at all- only the splint, and he didn't think i'd need surgery.   i'm going to try to comment more on everyone's blogs, but can only sit up for short periods of time.  my arm swells up something fierce if i don't keep it elevated and iced!  i'm still reading everything, though.

i hope you're all having a great week!

I'm Broken!

so.... i fell in our driveway while walking the pups today and broke my left arm near the elbow.   i only have the use of my right hand/arm now, so i'll be quiet for awhile.  i'll still be reading everyone's blog posts, though, just won't be commenting or posting because finger typing with one hand takes forever!  tomorrow i see an ortho dr. to see if i can get by with a cast or need surgery.  i hope to be back in action soon!

Sophie, Snow, Soup & Spiciness

The little bit of snow we got in December melted, only to be replaced by a little bit more on Sunday  It's been bitterly cold lately with a nasty wind, but things are going to get mild again (or mild for this time of year, I should say).  Hopefully the snow melts again because we're really enjoying not having it around!  Although she doesn't go outside, Sophie was still bewildered about the weather.

We don't have a crockpot but wanted to make the lentil soup that my brother in-law made for Thanksgiving, so Mike cooked it on the stove top.  He just put all of the ingredients in a big soup pan and an hour later, it was done!  It turned out great and after a day in the fridge, the leftovers were even better.  Perfect food for the weather we've been having.   

With our simplifying, I've cleared off some space on my nightstand.  Emma & Rowan each get their own small blanket at night to keep warm  and help their beds stay clean longer, but during the day we fold them up and put them aside.  My nightstand is now the perfect place for them while they're not in use because Sophie loves to sit at that window.  I adore stuff that can have multiple uses!  It's going to be perfect when we can open the window again because we planted a tree outside of it last year.  She loves to bird watch!   

Poor Sophie, she really puts up with a lot sometimes.  Emma will try to hump her from time to time (what's up with that???) and she's often woken up when the girls go on "high alert".  I don't know what they saw, but as you can see they're very interested in something out of the dining room window. 

Tonight we had Black Bean, Rice & Kale casserole from the Glad Cow Cookbook.  It's such a simple, delicious casserole.  Mike added black olives while I added avocado.  We both added hot sauce to make it spicy!   

I hope that everyone is having a great week so far!