My dear friend Amy Putkonen has started a new linky party with a focus on what we are working on on her blog, Tao Te Ching Daily. It’s a fun way to share what’s going on in your life. This is my first opportunity to participate.
This Very Moment
I am sitting on the couch…reclining actually after a full meal with family. I had a few people over for Easter. I made prime rib, ham, au gratin potatoes, sweet green beans, Italian spiced shrimp, Hawaiian buns, rosemary cashews, coleslaw and we had bundtinis for dessert.
What I Experienced Sunday
We had family over for Easter. Entertaining can be pretty stress free, even when things don’t go as planned. Ham wasn’t completely thawed and took forever to cook. Prime rib…it was my first time cooking and the thermometer didn’t seem to be up to par and it ended up being overcooked. That was seriously a bummer given how expensive it is and how much I was looking forward to it. I’ll give it a go again for sure and trust I’ll have better results. The au gratin potatoes were a new recipe and I had high hopes for those as well…never try a new recipe when you have people coming over…they were okay but not at all what I’d hoped for either. Everything else was very good. Sometimes you just have to go with the flow.
It was nice to have Chip’s family here. That doesn’t happen often and I like to be able to do things for him like this. And he was a huge help. Basically just said he’d do whatever I wanted him to do…just to ask…and he did. It’s so nice to work so well together after so many years of not working together at all or just fighting the whole time. We have really grown.
In the Creative Corner
I’m working on planning a day with a friend to sew all day. I’m behind on my block of the month quilt project and I feel like a full day would really help. Once we have a day scheduled, we’ll be inviting others to participate. I’m really looking forward to doing this. We’ll be using the retreat center at Millie P’s in Anoka and hope others will be able to join us.
In the Office
Work has been very busy. I’ve got several projects going on in varying degrees. A few of complete site redos and several site updates where we are updating or adding pieces to their existing site. Last week was monthly maintenance time and I have about 90 sites I do this for. There always seems to be those troubleshooting opportunities and consultation needs. These occur on a daily basis.
I’m wrapping up the Show Me Some Love Challenge we started about a month ago. It’s been an interesting month for sure. My favorite part of the challenge was seeing people acknowledge themselves for all they do and all they are.
I’m offering another ecourse here later this month on how to create ecourses. I love this ecourse and all it can do for people. It’s so fun to share this way.
In the Family Corner
My oldest daughter and her family are moving just a few miles away from me in a couple of weeks. I couldn’t be more excited. This will make caring for grandkids, which I do twice a week, easier. I don’t mind driving but it does take extra time and I never know what to expect for traffic. Now I won’t have to worry about that. I’m also closer to my home if I forget something. And being more familiar with the area, I have a list of things I want to do with the kids already!
Well-being
Our bikes have been tuned up and we’ve gone out riding a couple of times. Riding my bike is one of my favorite things to do! I’m very blessed to live somewhere that has 15 miles of trails all around me. Each section of trail seems to have a different viewpoint…wetlands, ponds, lakes, beaches, playgrounds, homes in a variety of sizes and styles, golf course, etc. I just love getting on my bike and going wherever. It gives me such a sense of freedom.
We also recently started the journey to clean eating. What this means is a mindful approach to eating…living really. We are exploring labels and what feels right to us in terms of what we eat. I’m also tracking my sleep and my steps because it really is about creating a lifestyle. We are in the early stages and some days I feel great about it and other days, not so great.
Miscellaneous
Life never seems to slow down, does it? I’m anxious for spring to fully arrive – complete with the sun and beautiful colors it brings as well as summer. I’ve been watching the concert scene and we have 6 concerts booked for the season already. The one I’m looking most forward to is Michael Franti because I love him and because the tickets were an unexpected gift from a friend and I’m on the guest list at the venue. This has never happened to me before and I’m really excited about it along with feeling really blessed. We also have 4 camping trips planned for holiday weekends and one weekend in early fall with a group of friends who go to the same place once a year together every year. Last year was our first time going because we got the camper (everyone else has a camper) and we had a great time. I love having things to look forward to and this is going to be a fabulous season!
Sounds like a whole lot of positive fun, Michele. That’s great. Your Easter dinner sounds delicious. Man alive you undertook a lot. I am beyond impressed. Bet your prime rib will be amazing the second time around. And how wonderful that your daughter is moving closer. Yippee!
How fun to read your updates! I personally think that our Easter would have been more fun at your house! hee hee! Ours was OK. We had a ham and those parmesan potatoes I made when you came over for poker. Those are really good. Sorry about your prime rib. Let me know the secrets when you’ve got it down! I was just thinking the other day that I need to learn how to make that because it is one of Eric’s favorites.
Well, Happy Easter! Thanks for playing along with What are You Working On? Remember that you can use hashtags and keep us informed throughout the week as well! 🙂
I will definitely make it again. It was truly a bummer because that little slab we got was $60 and I was so looking forward to it. It is one of our favorites too! I know what I did wrong was ignore my gut and trust a stupid thermometer 🙂 There was no way meat would take that long to cook and I should have realized the thermometer wasn’t working BUT we just threw a totally different kind of thermometer away the week before…what are the odds that two would stop working at the same time?? Anyway, Happy Easter to you too.