Crop Circle Sightings!

OK it looks more like a crop square ;)

Sometimes I have no notion of why my neighbors tilt and/or shake their heads when I'm doing yard work. Anyways when I'm doing something that is labor intensive, at least for my bones, and it just happens to be outdoors I try to make it fun so it goes by quicker and becomes less mundane over time. I haven't had a backyard since I was a child so my adult version of playing in it is making it the best I can with upkeep and weeding. This past week I decided to try to make circle-like squares to divide up the yard while running back and forth with the mower. It took about the same time it would otherwise so no damage time wise was done.
Any tips for making yardwork fun? One thing I love about pulling weeds is the feeling of accomplishment when/if they don't grow back :)

Gratitude Post

To stave off some writer's block I'm stealing participating in Let's Take the Metro's gratitude post extravanganza!

Five things that I am grateful for this week are the following:


1. The existence of sites like Indeed and SimplyHired that make my job searching so efficient

2. Dunkin's 99cent iced coffee deal. I'm almost broke but having at least a lil treat on the cheap makes me feel human still. I limit my coffee intake but during the summer months I love my iced goodness of deliciousness. I will continue to dig in my purse for change to support my addiction ;)

3. My vegetable garden. Though its not as mighty as I would have liked this year I am grateful for the plants that are blossoming into food that I will allow me to make healthy dishes for my family this summer.

4. That I was able to get Amazon credits from old games/dvds to buy my turtle's a years supply of food. Without the trade in credits I would have had to charge it on my credit card which I'm trying to use only for when my cash runs out in July/August (unless I get a job before then.) I'm sure my turtles are grateful too that they will have food every day.

5. That the resume paper I bought back in December still exists! I'm surprised I haven't run out of it yet and am grateful that for the jobs I do find that prefer a mailed copy of my resume and application that I'm able to do so.

Wordless Wednesday: Want vs. Need

Want!

Need

Positive Changes

Habitforge is an awesome site that I have recently rediscovered. I mainly used the site during the tail end of my graduate studies to help keep myself in check with multiple projects that I needed to complete in order to graduate.
Habitforge has a very simple concept, in order to form a positive habit it takes 21 days (in the least) to make it stick! The accountability method the site utilizes is sending an email everyday asking the user to answer yes or no if they did the habit the day prior. Answering no puts the clock back to square one which I personally love. It may be tempting to click yes if you accidentally forgot but then it will just make it all that harder to make the habit a reality.
I've been using it lately to ask myself the simple question "Did you journal for at least 10 minutes?" After graduating last May I let my writing habits slip and become almost nonexistent.

There are many little things that I want to instill in myself such as:

• Reading all labels on food items in the grocery store before buying them even if it's a brand I buy regularly
• Drinking more water
• Reading a novel once a month
• Making dishes using fresh produce only at least once a day

Are there any positive habits that you want to give a whirl?

Wordless Wednesday

Gardening Cheats Update!

My chive kit from the dollar store is just about ready to be transplanted in my garden. I also saved the extra seeds from the kit and plan on planting them as well. Next summer I'm hoping to snag a few more indoor herb starter kits.

Banana Bread

I've adapted my recipe from one I've been using for awhile that I found on Simply Recipes

Ingredients:

• 4 bananas smashed (smash it real good!)
•  1/3 cup of coconut oil *I used Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• salt (sprinkle about a pinch or less)
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease/Flour pan (or whatever methods you use for baking) Mash up the bananas like there is no tomorrow! Add in coconut oil and mix. Add beaten egg, sugar, and vanilla extract and mix til well combined.

Yum-ness in the making!

Sprinkle a bit of salt and baking soda on top of mixture. Mix well to fully combine. Last but not least the flour! Can add both types at once and mix or mix whole wheat and then all purpose flour. Add mixture to bread pan and pop in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

Phone Camera did not fully capture the golden brownness on top :)

You may substitute coconut oil for whatever else you may have on hand. I've been trying to find natural alternatives to using butter in baking and coconut oil is pretty awesome so far. I enjoy mixing up whole wheat flour with all purpose flour as a way to make it stretch and last longer (especially since my bag is almost empty.)