A Frittata Kind Of Night

So, I have not been on my blog in a bit. I knew time was flying by, but I didn't realize that my last post was on January 2nd. That is quite some time. We are all trying to get back into the rhythm of school, work, life. I am taking a lot of classes this semester as well as my Nursing Aide program, while supposedly working part time. This part time thing has not really worked out so far though. For the past two weeks I have worked around 36 hours per week. Don't get me wrong, the money is nice, but working that much while taking this many classes and tending to the household is just too much at the moment. Thankfully this week I only work 3 days, so maybe I will finally be able to catch back up with the enormous amount of housework I have to do. Ok, just breathe...no stress, no stress. I think I just need to get my rhythm/routine going and all will be fine. So, there is actually so much I want to share about our January going-ons, but it would be crazy to put 80 pictures in one blog post, right? I am going to tell you about some of our highlights of January and I think I will just jump all over the place with past dates in the next few days, so that I can share some of those pics and experiences.
January Highlights:
My baby girl turned 10 years old.

• We celebrated by going to Greenville for the zoo and some other fun.
• We also enjoyed dinner with family and a few of her friends back here in Asheville.

Hubby and I enjoyed a date lunch before we both went back to school, woohoo.
There was lots of cooking, duh of course.
And lastly, just a whole lot of schoolwork.

I probably shouldn't put schoolwork as a highlight, but hey I am in school and that is kind of awesome. Today, feeling the effects of lots of school and the 36 hours I worked last week, my energy was pretty darn low by the time the kids got home. There was a lot of laziness going on until about 7:30pm, when I realized I better get dinner going. We typically like to get the kids in bed by 8, so that we can actually get them up in the morning. I am pretty sure they are both nightowls. Anyway, I had to figure out a quick dinner and I was kind of craving breakfast for dinner...especially eggs. So, I whipped up a yummy frittata and served it with a salad. It was a hit with everyone and if my cast iron pan were larger, there would have been second or even third helpings for the kids.

I made it with vegan chorizo, garlic, onion, baby bellas, spinach, 4 whole eggs & 3 egg whites, grated sharp cheddar cheese, and just some salt and pepper for seasoning.

"Mmmmmm Mommy that looks good, stop taking pictures so that I can eat now."

A little inside view of the yummy frittata.

I also bought this book today at my local food co-op. It is chock full of pie goodness and I think I may have mentioned in the past that I do believe everything should be in pie form. The recipes look so good and the first one I am going to make is the Chocolate Mint Pie. I also am a fan of Ashley English and her beautiful homesteading ways...and she happens to live here in/around Asheville. I am always for supporting local people and I can't wait to try many recipes from this book. Ok off to fold some more laundry.

Peace, Yasmin

 

 

Yarn Along

Joining in today with Ginny in "Yarn Along". I have decided as part of my resolution to get this house organized, I would finish all of my ongoing knitting projects. Oh and there are quite a few of them. As much as I am eager to get started on new projects, I think it would do me some good to free up some of my knitting needles from my "UFO"s...in knitting lingo that is UnFinished Objects. So, for a while you may see some familiar pictures and this one today is of no exception. This one though is a particularly special project for me and I think instead of giving it away to someone, I am going to cherish it for myself. I started this scarf a very very long time ago. It was meant to be a Christmas gift for someone two Christmases ago. Unfortunately, I did not finish the scarf in time and have had a hard time holding it in my hands or even looking at it until now...a new year, a new beginning. This scarf is called Susan, because I think very special things deserve names. Susan passed away a week after Mother's day last year after struggling with the "Big C" on and off for a couple of years. We think about her every single day and I truly wish she was still with us today. I think it is time for me to finish this scarf and hopefully with every knitted stitch my heart will start to slowly heal itself from this tragedy.

Just a plain old knitted scarf filled with lots of love. There isn't much reading going on recently, so no book to share.

Peace, Yasmin

On New Year's Day

Last night we let the kids stay up to watch the Ball drop in NYC on TV of course. I think sometimes about how it might be neat to be there in person with all of that crazy energy, but when I think about the amount of people in Times Square that particular night, my want for it disappears. The kids were excited about staying up so late and all I wanted was for us to be together cuddled in bed going into the New Year together as a family, so I had no issues with this staying up business. After working a ridiculous amount of hours every day since Christmas, ,I had today off. In fact, I did not get off work until about 10pm last night as well, so as you can imagine I was quite exhausted this morning...actually pretty much all of today. We spent most of the day appreciating the stillness of being home, while it rained outside all day. This morning though, I had to make an hour drive to pick up something very very special in deed. I am so excited about starting off the New Year with my new to me Ashford Elizabeth spinning wheel, after three months of layaway type payments to the owners. So, on to some New Years resolutions...oh yes I do make some and I believe that telling as many people as possible about my resolutions will make them more likely to actually happen.
Yasmin's 2013 New Years Resolutions

1. I want to work towards being a comfortable spinner.
2. I will adopt Vegan only Mondays.
3. I want to visit my sister in Colorado.
4. I want to get only As or Bs as my grades in school.
5. I will only buy Local Small Farm Organic Eggs. (I got vegucated the other night and was opened up to the fact that these large organic corporations that you see normally in grocery stores, really are not any better with the way that they treat their animals. I mean think about it, how else can they provide to so many stores throughout the US, unless they are cramming their chickens into very confined spaces.)
6. I plan to sign up for atleast one Sporting event to compete in this year.
7. I want to get this household organized.
8. I want to concentrate on spending more quality time with my family.

For now that is all I have and if I think of anymore, I will let you all know.

I received a new camera as my Birthday/Christmas present from my mother. I was finally able to set it up and play with it a bit.

The gloomy day outside and rain droplets on branches of trees.

 

A tea kettle for Christmas from one of my sisters...I have been drinking tea practically everyday.

Just having some camera fun.

A Black Eyed Pea stew over quinoa for our dinner and for good luck.

A little bit of bread baking since the kids go back to school tomorrow.

My beautiful Ashford Elizabeth wheel...yes I realize the Christmas decor needs to come down.

I wish you all a Happy New Year.

Yasmin