Resolutions!

New Year Resolution Time!

Well, last year I had two resolutions:

• Wear more maxi dresses and/or sun dresses.
• Make more Cuban food.

Guess who didn't make this last year?

Unlike in 2014's resolutions (take more naps and have less accomplishments) I did not achieve these.  So they go back on the list:

1. More maxi dresses!
2. More Cuban food!

Gonna need more beaches, too.  And a floppy hat.

In 2017 we'll add:

3. Read all of the unread books in my bookcase before buying any new ones.

4. Spend at least 1 hour per week opposing hateful acts that threaten equality, education, or the environment and inspire others to do the same.  (You'll note that I'm not naming any political names here, because I think it's important to evaluate all ideas from an individual/agency/government body/etc. instead of issuing a blanket NO.)

The good news?  Last year I set a secret resolution to lose 15 pounds, and I ALMOST got there: I lost 11.  Part of the reason I didn't quite lose all 15 is because I want to make sure that I was adopting habits that I'd be willing to incorporate in to my daily life.  So I'm pretty excited about the 11 pounds.

This is an 11 pound jar of Nutella, for reference.

January 1, 2017
Breakfast was a square of this egg bake and a homemade latte.  

Have you ever seen those little egg muffins on Pinterest or Facebook and though "oh, I should make those?"  Well, if you like cleaning a muffin pan for a half hour, be my guest.  Otherwise, make this.  

I don't really have a recipe, but what's in this mine:

• a half pound of low sodium ham, chopped
• half a pint of grape tomatoes, halved
• a frozen bag of chopped broccoli, steamed
• a handful of shredded cheddar cheese
• 8 eggs, beaten and seasoned with salt & pepper

All the stuff in a greased casserole, before adding the eggs.

You can put whatever you want in this, it's really flexible: onions, peppers, spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, bacon, sausage, any type of cheese.  These squares freeze and reheat really easily too.

Step 1: Set oven to 350 and grease a casserole dish.

Step 2: Chop all the stuff, and put it in the bottom of the dish.

Step 3: Lightly beat 8 eggs, season with salt & pepper, then pour over the stuff.  It won't cover all the stuff, but that's okay!

Step 4: Bake for 20ish minutes, until a knife comes out clean.

After adding the beaten eggs, but before baking.  Notice that the egg doesn't cover all the stuff.

Lunch was linguine with ricotta and roasted fennel.

Snack(?) was green tea from this hilarious mug, a few crackers, pieces of cheese, and salami.

Dinner was with my family for Christmas.  Don't worry, we know our holidays.  We had planned to get together on the 27th but my mom, like Queen Elizabeth, got really sick.  So we got together yesterday.

My parents made the main dish (bacon-wrapped chicken in a cream sauce) and brown rice, and the kids did sides (roasted carrots, sliced veggies, fruit) and dessert (pumpkin pie and cheesecake).  Here is my contribution.  The pumpkin pie is from this Weight Watchers recipe and I love it, and I brought some Tru Whip.

In order to confuse people even more about Which Verner Sister is Which, Amy and I unintentionally got each other the exact same thing for Christmas, specifically:

• She got me a donation to The Trevor Project, which provides resources for suicidal gay youth, and a purple plaid scarf from Ireland, where she went this summer.
• I got her a donation to the National Resource Defense Council to provide climate change education materials to teachers, and a purple plaid scarf from Scotland, where I went this fall.

For exercise, I biked for 20 minutes.  Overall, we'll give the day a Kate.  To me, this was one of her best 2016 looks, which she wore to a funeral.

January 2, 2017

Breakfast was sleeping and a latte.

My Christmas gift to myself was to make a bunch of freezer meals, which cost less than $100 in groceries for 48 portions.  We had the first one, cheesy shells and sausage, today.  It makes 8 servings.  Chris had two and I had one, so now we have leftovers for dinner and work lunches.  I also had some cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers.

For exercise, I did this PLUS 15 minutes on the bike, THEN 45 minute of yoga.

We went to Aldi today to pick up a few things, and Chris talked me in to getting an Aldi Thin Crust Pizza.  Aaaand...it was delicious!  Better than Pizza Hut, Domino's, Papa John's, etc.  I had 2 slices and a green salad.

On the "Resist hateful acts and inspire others to speak up" front, I did two things:

I put the phone numbers of my Senators and Representative in my cell phone, so I won't have to look them up every time I need to call.

Hey girl, hey.

I called the Attorney General's Comment Line at 202-353-1555, and left a message to the following effect:

“I’m calling to ask Attorney General Lynch to appoint a special counsel to investigate Russia’s hacking of both political parties. The conclusions of our entire intelligence community and bi-partisan Senators is that Russia took these actions. While Congress may conduct its own investigation, The Department of Justice is in a unique position to appoint a special counsel which would be independent of political influence. I ask you to use your power to ensure that the American people obtain a thorough investigation of these matters.”

For the book on my bookshelf, would you believe I still haven't finished Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?  So I'm reading that.

Alas, no Cuban food yet this week.  And I think we know it's too cold for sundresses.  But we'll give the day a Kate, wearing the earrings Chris got me for Christmas.  They're super funky real pearls, and I love them!

So what about you?  What are your resolutions?