harmonica happenings.

one of my "resolutions towards happiness" is going back to something i started a LONG time ago, but gave up- playing the harmonica! when i was 10 or 11 i found this book and tape we had called "country and blues harmonica for the musically hopeless." i started going through the lessons and was getting pretty good for an eleven-year-old! then my family heard me and said i was getting good, so... i quit! i'm not sure what was wrong with 11-year-old me, but i guess i had problems doing things that pleased my dad??? so anyway, the point of this blog post is to say that i found an updated version of the same book on amazon today. it now comes with a cd instead of a cassette tape, thank goodness. i ordered an inexpensive harmonica in the key of C, so i will be ready to go once my book gets here!!!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0930948181/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

links.

it only makes sense that i would post the link to gretchen rubin's happiness project! so, here goes:

http://happiness-project.com/

i'm currently reading another book that i'm hoping will help me maximize my life. it's called "168 hours: you have more time than you think." i first heard about it on the podcast "tranquility du jour." it's great and has some really applicable ideas to help you get the most out of the 168 hours we each have per week.

http://lauravanderkam.com/books/168-hours/

new recipes

one of my resolutions is/will be to try new recipes. i've been doing this for awhile, since i moved in with john. one we have liked is ranch chicken. i found it on pinterest. it's basically like corn flake chicken, if you've had that, except with a packet of dry ranch dressing seasoning in the corn flake coating. john likes it a lot.

ranch chicken:
chicken breasts (i used 2 large breasts cut into 4 pieces)
corn flakes
1 package of dry ranch dressing mix
parmesan cheese
butter

crumble a couple cups of corn flakes in a bowl, mix in the package of ranch dressing (i don't use the whole package, because it's a little salty), and about 1/2 cup of grated parmesan cheese. dip each chicken breast into melted butter, then the cornflake mixture, and lay them in a prepared baking dish. pour the leftover cornflake mixture and butter over the chicken. bake for about 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven, or until cooked through.
(obviously this is not an exact science for me. you get the idea.)

the new recipe i tried tonight was feta & spinach croissants. it's basically exactly what it says- except there is mozzarella cheese in there with the spinach and feta. the recipe made way more than we needed, so next time i will cut it in half. 

2 rolls of pillsbury crescent rolls

4 0z crumbled feta cheese

4 oz mozzarella cheese

3 oz fresh spinach

1 egg white

chop the spinach. mix it with the cheeses in a bowl. roll out the crescent rolls and separate into triangles. put a small amount of the cheese/spinach mixture at the big end of the crescent roll and roll it up towards the small end. brush egg white on the top of each stuffed roll. bake them on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 

i really liked this recipe, but i'm a sucker for carbs, especially when incorporated with cheese! they used to have these appetizers already made in the freezer section at publix and i would get them and eat them for dinner! they stopped making them, so now i'm glad i have this recipe!

bon appetit!

my happiness project

i think i may have found a reason to bring my blog back to life. i just finished reading a book called "the happiness project." in the book, the author, Gretchen Rubin, tries to find more happiness in her life by resolving to make improvements in 11 different areas. she chose several specific resolutions to do in each of the 11 areas. she focused on one area each month. by the 12th month, she was attempting to keep all of her resolutions going at one time. 

so, inspired by her, i'm developing my own "happiness project." i haven't put it all down exactly the way it will happen, yet. she suggests beginning by answers a set of questions. here are the questions and my answers:

1. What makes you feel good? What gives you joy, energy, and fun?

• shopping
• reading a good book
• writing letters
• spending time with good friends
• getting ready for and going on a date
• playing piano (i think? sometimes i wonder if this really makes me happy or it SHOULD make me happy)
• singing karaoke (ALONE!)
• new journals/paper
• craft supplies
• pictures of loved ones and fun times
• laying on the beach
• taking trips
• cooking good meals/trying new recipes
• laughing
• learning about strange religions/cults
• listening to interesting podcasts
• makeup

• blogging (when i'm feeling quirky and funny)

  2. what makes you feel bad? what brings you anger, guilt, boredom, dread?

• playing endless games of spider solitaire
• too much time on fb & pinterest
• having a dirty house
• all the work left to do at my house
• sitting on the couch all day
• sleeping too late
• clutter
• co-workers
• not having friends
• classes of bad students
• boring music lessons
• ffgo & tt
• never exercising
• eating too much junk 

3. what makes you feel right? what values do you want your life to reflect?

• journaling
• having a relationship with God
• not watching too much tv
• eating dinner at the table without the tv on
• not being a lazy sloth
• having money in my savings account
• to volunteer (possibly with something involving type 1 diabetes)

4. how can you build an atmosphere of growth-where you learn, explore, build, teach, help?

• have a space to be creative
• turn off the tv and computer
• read more
• have the confidence to make friends
• create a peacful bedroom
• learn french
• study piano/take piano lessons
• learn to play the harmonica

these are just some random ideas i came up with. i still have to develop more specific resolutions. one of the main things gretchen did in her happiness project was to have a chart where she checked off day by day if she was meeting her resolutions. that seemed to help her a lot, and when i've done similar things, the tangible chart helped me too. so, i will be developing that too. 


here are some of my resolution ideas:

1. read everyday
2. make friends
3. plan a weekly date night
4. try 2 new recipes a week
5. eliminate spider solitaire from my life
6. limit time online
7. don't let housework pile up
8. finish all work at my house (lots to do here)
9. don't sleep past 10 on weekends
10. never spend more than __ hours on the couch
11. find ways to deal with clutter
12. be OVERLY friendly to co-workers
13. devote time and energy to planning new and creative lesson plans
14. have a better attitude about ffgo and tt
15. exercise __ days a week
16. re-start and keep up with weight watchers
17. never watch more than 2 hours of tv on weekdays
18. have a daily to-do list with completable tasks
19. save $100 a month
20. plan trips to visit megin & cynthia- and save money for those trips.