Progress!
I have actually slept through the night the last two nights. I can't tell you what a difference a few good nights' sleep make. I rested in bed until 7:00 each morning and feel wonderful.
I also finally got a proper office desk (on sale from Target, purchased with gift cards!) and put that together today. It looks great. We had been using a long, folding buffet table but the computer sat right on the fold, and the keyboard was never sitting flush. It's a smaller workspace, which might make it harder when I bring my work laptop home, but that's so rare. I purchased the hutch and the printer fits right up there. The funny thing is that I decided to buy this on Friday after work - the coldest day here in I don't know how long. And I was driving the 2-door Civic. Luckily, two Target workers took pity on me and helped me (well, I stood there and lost feeling in my fingers) load the 2 huge boxes into the car. It looks great in the office, so it was worth the temporary frostbite.
We have an appointment with our real estate agent who helped us purchase this house to discuss refinancing options and the possibility of selling now without doing any major upgrades and moving into something closer to work and smaller. For those in the area, we're thinking St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Edina and Golden Valley - maybe West Bloomington. I would love to have a smaller house (2000 sq. feet vs. the 3000+ we have here) with a similar sized yard (fenced!!). We'll see... it may only be refinancing and then some upgrades and sitting here for another 1-2 years, but we'll see. I do love the area - I would miss my gym, the grocery store, the Eden Prairie mall (movies, Target), restaurants (Redstone, Campiello's). But it makes so much sense - financially, environmentally, commute-wise, comfort, etc. to get a house that we would actually use. There are rooms (yes, plural) that I don't need to go in for months on end. The only reason why I've been in the basement is to break out the Christmas decorations and to use the treadmill. The two guest rooms are just fancy storage areas for crap.
Yesterday was Stock Up Saturday - Trader Joe's, CostCo, Kowalski's (grocery). We now have enough oatmeal, Splenda, toilet paper, paper towels and dishwasher soap to launch an invasion. I also gassed up at CostCo - for $1.92 a gallon! Wow - I can afford the 20-mile commute to work now. I also invested in a Brita water filter. The tap water here is pretty good and I figure we don't need to drink bottle water all the time and have the waste to deal with (half of our recyclables are empty water bottles).
Despite it being a holiday tomorrow, I have to work. At least I can wear blue jeans and don't need to be in until 8:00, so I can get on the treadmill here for a quick workout. It's actually a good thing - I have a mini-project I'm working on and I'll have the time to complete it tomorrow. Plus, this means I get an extra day of vacation down the road.
I did make a kick-ass chicken white chili last night. It was so good - and easy to boot:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large (or 2 small) yellow bell peppers
1 medium white or yellow onion
1-2 jalepeno peppers
3-4 cloves of garlic (I used a whole head - about 10 cloves)
2 15-oz. cans of navy beans, drained & rinsed
2 15 oz. cans of creamed corn
1 small can diced chilies
2 cups (plus) whole milk
Cumin, salt, pepper, red chili flakes - to taste
1 store-bought rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded (bones/skin discarded)
Roughly chop the bell pepper & onion. Finely dice the jalepeno and garlic. Heat the olive oil over high heat, add veggies and cook until soft. Reduce heat to medium. Add beans, canned chilies, corn and milk. Bring to a boil. Add 1-2 tbsp. of cumin, salt and pepper to taste and a pinch (or more!!) of chili flakes. Add in chicken and heat through.
Top with sharp white cheddar cheese, sour cream, green or red onions, cilantro, etc. Serve with tortilla chips, crusty bread, croutons, etc.
Yum. And perfect for this cold snap we're in. Such as it is...
Tonight is an Asian-flavored pork loin, peanut noodles and roasted asparagus. It almost makes me want to eat.
I also finally got a proper office desk (on sale from Target, purchased with gift cards!) and put that together today. It looks great. We had been using a long, folding buffet table but the computer sat right on the fold, and the keyboard was never sitting flush. It's a smaller workspace, which might make it harder when I bring my work laptop home, but that's so rare. I purchased the hutch and the printer fits right up there. The funny thing is that I decided to buy this on Friday after work - the coldest day here in I don't know how long. And I was driving the 2-door Civic. Luckily, two Target workers took pity on me and helped me (well, I stood there and lost feeling in my fingers) load the 2 huge boxes into the car. It looks great in the office, so it was worth the temporary frostbite.
We have an appointment with our real estate agent who helped us purchase this house to discuss refinancing options and the possibility of selling now without doing any major upgrades and moving into something closer to work and smaller. For those in the area, we're thinking St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Edina and Golden Valley - maybe West Bloomington. I would love to have a smaller house (2000 sq. feet vs. the 3000+ we have here) with a similar sized yard (fenced!!). We'll see... it may only be refinancing and then some upgrades and sitting here for another 1-2 years, but we'll see. I do love the area - I would miss my gym, the grocery store, the Eden Prairie mall (movies, Target), restaurants (Redstone, Campiello's). But it makes so much sense - financially, environmentally, commute-wise, comfort, etc. to get a house that we would actually use. There are rooms (yes, plural) that I don't need to go in for months on end. The only reason why I've been in the basement is to break out the Christmas decorations and to use the treadmill. The two guest rooms are just fancy storage areas for crap.
Yesterday was Stock Up Saturday - Trader Joe's, CostCo, Kowalski's (grocery). We now have enough oatmeal, Splenda, toilet paper, paper towels and dishwasher soap to launch an invasion. I also gassed up at CostCo - for $1.92 a gallon! Wow - I can afford the 20-mile commute to work now. I also invested in a Brita water filter. The tap water here is pretty good and I figure we don't need to drink bottle water all the time and have the waste to deal with (half of our recyclables are empty water bottles).
Despite it being a holiday tomorrow, I have to work. At least I can wear blue jeans and don't need to be in until 8:00, so I can get on the treadmill here for a quick workout. It's actually a good thing - I have a mini-project I'm working on and I'll have the time to complete it tomorrow. Plus, this means I get an extra day of vacation down the road.
I did make a kick-ass chicken white chili last night. It was so good - and easy to boot:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large (or 2 small) yellow bell peppers
1 medium white or yellow onion
1-2 jalepeno peppers
3-4 cloves of garlic (I used a whole head - about 10 cloves)
2 15-oz. cans of navy beans, drained & rinsed
2 15 oz. cans of creamed corn
1 small can diced chilies
2 cups (plus) whole milk
Cumin, salt, pepper, red chili flakes - to taste
1 store-bought rotisserie chicken, meat removed and shredded (bones/skin discarded)
Roughly chop the bell pepper & onion. Finely dice the jalepeno and garlic. Heat the olive oil over high heat, add veggies and cook until soft. Reduce heat to medium. Add beans, canned chilies, corn and milk. Bring to a boil. Add 1-2 tbsp. of cumin, salt and pepper to taste and a pinch (or more!!) of chili flakes. Add in chicken and heat through.
Top with sharp white cheddar cheese, sour cream, green or red onions, cilantro, etc. Serve with tortilla chips, crusty bread, croutons, etc.
Yum. And perfect for this cold snap we're in. Such as it is...
Tonight is an Asian-flavored pork loin, peanut noodles and roasted asparagus. It almost makes me want to eat.
Labels: Weekend
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