Office update, happy Friday, weekend plans

Today my partner in crime (Shan) is away from the office and I admit I feel a leeeetle isolated. My new office is at the end of a back hallway. Luckily, it has a huge window so I don't feel claustrophobic, just "apart" from whatever's happening over there where everyone else sits. I'm not complaining -- you know I appreciate my moments of solitude. I'll just have to make an effort to get up and go visit people. (And I already have once this morning.)

I do love my new space. Yesterday I rearranged a little, and hung up some stuff. I still want to remove the leftover boxes and extra products that the previous three occupants left in here. There's a ton of it. But I've got my kids' school photos, my Kleenex and hand sanitizer, my little desk fan, and my favorite books from my work collection, so I feel "planted." I would say that I'm working better in the office than in the cube, being more productive than I was before (I have been, I think), but... well, I'm here on Blogger, so I'm not sure how truthful it will sound. ;) 

Anyway, it's Friday and I'm feeling happy. My projects, for the most part, are all waiting for someone else to do their part so I can afford a little personal computing. I'm reading a really interesting book, The Mapmaker's Daughter, set in Spain in the 1400s, and told from the POV of a Jewish woman. I LOVE reading about Judaism. One of my very favorite books was Bee Season, by Myla Goldberg, which went deep into Jewish philosophy and mysticism and was fas.cin.a.ting. This one has also hooked me; even made me look up a map of 15th century Spain this morning -- a country I have never once been interested in learning about. Yay, books! This morning I've also spent more than my fair share of time making a list of things to read next!

We had a "normal" week, with nothing extra. So nice! The kids even had three days in a row of Fun Food, so no lunchboxes to pack. This weekend I/we plan to: 

• Gather up and tag our too-small uniforms, to be sold next week at the Spring Used Uniform Sale. I have SO many. Alex is alllllmost grown out of his pants and I hate to buy him any new ones for $40 apiece. I really hope I can find a few pairs to get him through to the end of his uniformed school days in May! Meanwhile, Kate is growing too, having to buy size 12 shirts in order that they hang nicely over her leggings.
• Windex my bathroom mirror. HOW, I ask you, how does it always get so dirty? I do not spit on it or do chemical experiments in there, I promise. But you would think that I do. Ugh. 
• Hand wash some sweaters of Kate's that have now been sitting in the laundry room for 3 (4?) weeks. Now that it's 80 degrees of course. Ha. Maybe it will stay warm and they will stay clean until next winter. (I'm not going to detail for you every chore I plan to do this weekend, but this one MUST GET DONE and if I write it down maybe it will.) 
• Have at least one long workout or walk. That was my personal goal for the Whole Life Challenge, that I would do more than the required 10 minutes/day, at least once on the weekends. Pretty sure I've accomplished it. I'm so anxious for the Challenge to be over. It's seemed especially hard this last couple of weeks, for some reason. My office is starting a "Biggest Loser" competition on March 1 and I'm really torn about whether or not I want to do it. I do, but I don't. They're going to be doing workouts together 4 days a week, including Zumba, which I've never tried! So that's certainly appealing. But I will have just finished this! Not sure what to do.
• Going to see Black Panther! Don't want to miss out on important pop culture! If it's got Marvel's name on it, we're there. :) 
• Hopefully doing some cooking and baking. Might need to visit Whole Foods at my lunch break to pick up some coconut flour and almond flour, which are surprisingly hard to find at Publix. My sweets cravings are killing me and there are ways around this! I've just been too lazy to get the stuff for it.

New Reliables: Healthy Foods I Love (and Can Prep Ahead)

When I do the WLC, I have to do lots of meal planning and prep. It's something I enjoy doing even off the challenge, so not a huge deal. This round (my third), I've tried a couple of new recipes that have been awesome. In rounds 1 and 2 I relied on an easy tomato soup recipe, as well as butternut squash soup, for packing my lunches (and even some dinners), but I needed to change it up this time and I'm glad I did.

Some things I've discovered:

• This Creamy Crunchy Vinegar Vegetable Slaw. WHO KNEW that homemade mayo would be such a game-changer? But it is, and takes approximately 5 minutes to make. I bought a big bag of pre-shredded cabbage/carrots, added in some raw broccoli, dill relish, and the mayo and vinegar, and MAN, is it delicious! Of course, I'm someone who LOVES dill, and that's a big flavor in this slaw (I even add more fresh dill, since I have some in the fridge leftover from a salmon dinner a week ago). But it is fully satisfying to me. Really goes well with the next one:
• (I've mentioned it here before...) Paleo Pizza Soup. This is heartier than my usual tomato soup, with sausage and pepperoni. Nearly too rich/hearty, if I'm honest. Made a big batch one Sunday -- I added mushrooms, green bell peppers, and olives, which are pizza toppings I NEVER get to have since none of my family likes them -- and have had some really good lunches from it. I sincerely wish I could dunk a garlic breadstick in there, or melt some mozzarella on top! 
• We also had Easy Burrito Bowls one night, and they were my biggest success, WLC family-dinner-wise: Brown and white rice mixed, canned black beans, rotisserie chicken cut into bite size, corn, fire roasted canned tomatoes, cheese which I skipped, guac, sour cream, salsa, jalepenos, cilantro. I could eat it every day, I think. Shawn says not to mess with it by trying to do quinoa instead of rice. So I won't. Might make them again next week, in fact!
• Kate has started wanting Ceasar salads for her lunchbox. I love this idea for her, although I wish she'd let me put some chicken on it for a little protein boost (she does take 2 cheese sticks on salad days). So this weekend I cut up a big ol' gallon Tupperware's worth of romaine. Makes it super-fast in the mornings that she can grab a handful or two and be on her way. Me too! Today I made a salad for myself and had Buffalo Ranch dressing (LOVE that my Kickstart level lets me have Ranch dressing). It's just Ranch with some Frank's Red Hot Sauce mixed in. Added sesame seeds for crunch. Delicious!
• I might as well chronicle another soup we tried here: Hamburger Soup. Next time I might add more Worcestershire and maybe even mustard powder to up the flavor a little.
• Sweet potatoes for breakfast. Nearly forgot about this one, but it's perfectly portable: Peel/dice a couple of sweet potatoes, drizzle w/olive oil and roast in the oven w/salt and pepper on a Sunday. Divide them into your serving-size lunch bowls and store in the fridge. Add a chicken sausage patty on top and you're out the door in 1 minute (if you have a microwave at your office, which I do). Would also be delicious with a fried egg on top if you're eating at home! YUM.

Painted a room! And other good news

Kate's room is painted. I forgot to really take any "befores," and that's too bad, but here is the "after:"

She chose the colors, and she helped us paint. I don't mean just a few minutes' worth, either. She stuck with it. She worked hard. I was really proud of her and tried to ignore my actual feelings when she dripped paint on two places on her carpet. (Resolve to the rescue.) She realized after we put the furniture back in that her existing comforter is a perfect match, and so she let go of wanting a new one. Hooray! It really looks great and opens up her space nicely. Of course, she wants to close that back up by getting a desk for that empty corner behind her. But I'm okay with that. A kid needs a place to put all her stuff, you know? And maybe one day, to do her homework.

Next up is Kate's 10th birthday, next week! TEN! That's a lot of years! Other than the room makeover (which should be enough, imho), she's getting a gymnastics mat (I guess), a camera case for her Instax camera, some junk from Justice (because always), and... plane tickets to Seattle! A little much for a young girl...? PERHAPS. But I guess that ship sailed when we took her to Disneyworld on her 1st birthday, didn't it??? Yes, it did. Of course the tickets are for all of us, not JUST Kate, a trip I've been meaning to take them on for at least 3 years. However, Kate is the one who's been vocal about never being on an airplane, and she is the one who's going to flip out the most when it finally happens. So I'm happy to wrap up the ticket for her as a surprise.

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This month, at work, has been bonkers. Starting mid-January, I mean. New VP is already making big changes to the team, including my role. It's the 2nd time this company's changed my role without consulting me first -- well, I suppose they sort-of asked me, on Tuesday, but it was more of a "here's how it's going to be, you're okay with that RIGHT?" Eh. I don't have the time to care, I guess, or the motivation. It's still a job, close to school. The role doesn't change that much, and....

drumroll....

I'm getting an honest-to-God OFFICE.

This is big news!! It's right next-door to Shan's, and away from the constant chatter of the hallways and customer service people (I'll kinda miss the customer service people, actually), and it's got a freaking DOOR. And a huge window looking toward Kennesaw Mountain. I am beyond thrilled. (I only wonder how long they'll let me keep it. I wouldn't put it past anyone to hire some Manager-level person in the next 6 months and kick me right back to cube-land.) For now, BLISS. I move my stuff in tomorrow. :)

I've been joking, this last year, when people ask me, "You work full-time, too? I don't know HOW you do it!" -- side note, it's rare that people say this, but once in a while they do, and I like the validation of it -- anyway, my response is usually (self-deprecating), "Oh, work is where I go to REST." Because it's sort-of true, that work is a bit more restful than Not-Work. I do sit on my butt in front of a computer most days. But 2 things: 1) WHY do I do that to myself, acting in front of people like "it's no big deal, I don't work all that hard," when in actual fact it IS HARD to do all that I do in the time I have?  and 2) when work is MENTALLY stressful, like it has been the last week for me, then I definitely don't get the "rest" I probably need. The last several weekends have been just Go-Go-Go all day Saturday AND Sunday, this coming weekend, too, and I'm super tired of that. Shawn and I never get to just chill out together, sit down and watch a movie, drink wine and talk about random things, and we need to FIX IT immediately. He said so, too. I'm putting it down here for official-ness.

But this is The Life, Grateful for all the #blessed I feel, etc... ;)