Randomly Thursday

Here we go with some randoms on Thursday!

• I’m cold. Sooooo cold.  I think this current little deep-freeze we’ve got going on seems even more cruel than the many others we’ve had this winter, as we’ve finally had a taste of Spring-like temperatures in the past week or so .  But last night, with the wind howling outside my window and the mercury plunging to –20 C again, I snuggled deeper and deeper beneath the covers… STILL couldn’t get warm.  I feel like a popsicle today.  Oh, Winter. I’m really, officially, done with you.
• Not only was I freezing last night (seriously, got up once to make sure my window wasn’t open or something, it was THAT cold in my room) – but I also had probably the most restless, dream-filled sleep I’ve had in a really long time.  I kept waking up in a half-dazed panic for a variety of reasons:  my mattress was rotting and falling apart, my bed was full of ants, my bed frame was breaking… it was one catastrophe dream after another.  And it’s left me feeling very zombie-like today.
• It’s kind of just been one of those weeks, y’know?  The kind you can’t wait to be over?  After living almost like a hermit all winter long, this week has been filled with meetings and things to do each night.  I haven’t been able to hunker down on my couch and catch up on the PVR at all, and I’m starting to get cranky about it!
• There’s good news:  THE END IS NEAR!!!  Not only for the busy week, but also for the house painting!!  As you may recall, my painter has been back for the past two weeks, doing touch-ups in the rooms that he worked on last fall, as well as painting the stairwell and kitchen.  I will be so relieved to put everything back where it belongs, thoroughly clean, and get my life back to some semblance of order in a few days.
• You know what song I loathe?  “Rude” by Magic!  Pretty much any time I tune into my favourite station, it’s playing.  And I honestly can’t even pinpoint why I dislike it so much, but I automatically change the station now.  Can’t stand the song.
• I’m looking forward to my day off tomorrow.  It will be busy enough, as I have to go for groceries and do some food prep for our church’s Irish Tea on Saturday, but I’m also hoping to have some downtime to watch TV, maybe a movie, and also get some reading in.  I started a new book this week – our next Book Club selection, called “Those Who Save Us” by Jenna Blum.  I’m really enjoying it, but because of the full slate of evening activities this week, I haven’t had much time to read – I’m barely keeping up with my Jimmy Fallon & Seth Meyers episodes!  All I want is an hour or two to get completely sucked in again.  Fingers crossed.

• I forgot to mention a very nice high point of my giving up sugar and artificial sweeteners in yesterday’s update post – the fact that I finally seem to have broken through the plateau I’ve been stuck at since pre-Christmas!  Woo hoo!!  Weight loss isn’t a huge goal for me right now – as I’ve mentioned, my focus has mostly been on toning – but it was nice to see the lowest number I’ve seen yet on the scales when I weighed in on Monday.  I really didn’t think giving up sweets would make much of a difference, but I guess all the Coffeemate, sweetener in my tea, fistfuls of mini marshmallows, mugs of hot chocolate, and moments of chocolate-and-candy-weakness were really hindering my progress.  I feel so much better, inside and out, having eliminated the sugar from my diet.
• I’m looking forward to taking part in a 7-Day Clean Eating Challenge that my Beachbody coach is hosting via a Facebook group starting March 24th.  I think I already eat pretty clean – especially now, with my Lenten promises keeping me in check – but this will give me an extra nudge towards a healthier diet.  It will be interesting to see the results of a full week with no sugar, no sweeteners, no processed foods, no preservatives, no packaged foods… And I’ve already checked my calendar, and don’t see any big food-related events that will hinder me in being successful with this – aside from Soup & Sandwich on the Wednesday, but I think I can survive it.  I’m ready for the challenge!
• A recipe I’ve been itching to try: Baked Apples.  Having given up desserts for Lent, I’ve been satisfying my need for a taste of something sweet after supper with a bowl of fresh fruit.  However, for a treat, I thought I might test out a Baked Apple.  I’ve never had one before, but I think I’d like it.  It works well for me, since I can’t eat apples unless they are cooked in some way (because of my oral allergy syndrome) – and although I’ll have to tweak the recipe a little (I’m not allowed dried cranberries, even the unsweetened ones have sugar listed in the ingredients), I think it could be one tasty little healthy treat!  Some recipes call for brown sugar, butter, etc.  but with this one, I’m going to stuff the center with walnuts, organic raisins, and a little bit of local honey.

• St. Patrick’s Day is almost here!  I’ve always been a fan of “going green” – so I’m very much looking forward to the festivities this weekend, especially the Irish Tea.  I also hope to pop into Gav’s for a bit on Sunday afternoon for their big bash.  On Monday, my plan is to try out the Skinnytaste recipe for Sweet Potato Irish Nachos in honour of March the 17th!

• Last but not least on the recipe front – I think it’s time for at least one more big pot of soup before this winter starts to fade (if it EVER starts to fade!!)  And this time, I’m going for the simple but delicious looking Creamy Cauliflower Soup, also from the Skinnytaste website. Can you tell I’m excited to soon have my kitchen back?! ;)

The weekend is almost here!  Have a great one, folks! :)