News, Or Lack Thereof, From Dynna Abbey

I am in the middle of a week off.  That's one of the joys of shift work - you work like a fool for a few weeks, then sit back and enjoy some days off.

I'm having to "find" myself again after a few weeks of go go go.  A week off has that effect on ya - you either have to go like mad to catch up on all the things you've left undone, or else you turn a blind eye to the demands of the household and focus on looking after yourself or else you go hard working on home things, whining all the while because you're too tired to do all that in one week.  Option #2 is rare.  However, on this week off in the -35 and -40 weather, I'm quite happy to be looking after myself and forgetting about the house.  *Warning - should you dare to drop in on us, you probably won't find a tidy house*. 

I've been poking around at a sewing project that is rattling around in my brain.  I was out for lunch with Tracy last week and admired her leather purse that she was lucky enough to win-buy off a successful on-line enterprise named Chicks and Girlies.  When I was a young professional working girl in my 20's, I managed to buy this "gorgeous" fuschia suede jacket off a sale rack downtown.  I wore that jacket as if it and I belonged in a fashion magazine - it was the era when everyone had a leather jacket of some sort and leather/suede in a color was a fashion acquisition to die for.  I was so happy to wear it and I assumed that I looked as good in it as I felt.  For whatever reason, I hung onto that jacket through quite a few seasons in my life.  When we moved to this house 15 years ago, it went into a basement closet for storage - it was no longer stylish, but who in their right mind could throw away a fuschia pink suede jacket?  Anyway, seeing Tracy's leather bag got me thinking that I had some colorful suede kicking around the basement closet that could be re-purposed, and so I hauled it upstairs the other day and modelled the coat for the boys.  Dean remembers "when" - when I wore it and when I looked good in it.  Both boys, however, rolled their eyes and were horrified at the thought of me wearing it again.  Somehow, in those 15+ years, somebody snuck into my basement and shrunk the waistband and enlarged the shoulder pads.  Just sayin'.  Anyway, I ripped that baby apart at the seams and here it sits, waiting to be made into a new bag.

However, I'm not that driven to sew it yet.

Houston, we have a problem.



Meanwhile, from my view on the couch, I have become completely enamored with the BBC series "Downton Abbey".  In less than a week, I have barrelled through Season 1, Season 2 and most of Season 3.  I have become so taken up with this story that I picture myself speaking to my family with a British accent.  I refer to Dean as "Lord Dynna" and have taken to having afternoon tea in a china cup and saucer, while delicately munching on a biscuit.  I mentally refer to my parents as P'pa and M'ma.  I am tempted to purchase the t-shirt that says "Free Bates".  I wonder why I never bought a Downton Abbey calendar from the calendar store at Christmas.  I'm tempted to ask everyone I meet "Do YOU watch Downton Abbey?"  Sigh. 

My interest in Downton Abbey might have something to do with my lack of motivation to do housework and sew.



In other news, Lord Dynna Dean has become highly motivated to exercise.  Since November, he has been completing daily workouts, sometimes even exercising twice a day.  Our daily conversations include Jillian (Michaels, that is) and such strange acronyms as TRX (a crazy fitness system-thingy, ask him).   Along with that, he has started watching what he eats. 

Now I'm all for this new health kick and he looks and feels fantastic.  However, there are a couple of things that I don't like about this new Dean.  For one, when I'm reaching for a few chips or cookies to end my day with, he looks at me and says "You don't really need to eat that, you know."  Harumph.  When I confessed one day around Christmas that I had eaten way too many chocolates at work, he reminded me that "it really wasn't necessary to eat that many."  I know, I know...

And then, to top it all off, HE ISN'T INTERESTED IN HAVING ME BAKE ANY MORE!!!  So, on days off when I would normally make a cake or a batch of cookies, I've been refraining from that, since he doesn't want it anymore.  I practically have had to sit on my hands to prevent myself from bouncing up to the kitchen to bake something.  The other day, I finally blurted out "you're stealing my joy."  And then I baked a batch of puffed wheat cake and a pan of brownies.  And I felt better.

Happier, even.....



On that healthy note, our lunch time treat today was a Spiced Apple Smoothie.  We both love smoothies and I would like some flavor variety now and then. I saw this version on Pinterest the other day and we're both fairly pleased with it:

2 raw apples, peeled, cored, and cut in chunks
1 banana
1 individual serving size yogurt (today, I used Lucerne "spiced apple" from Safeway; vanilla would also be nice)
1 cup (approx.) juice
milk to thin
cinnamon to taste

Put it all in a blender and away you go.  Our first attempt was low on the milk and neither one of us liked the texture.  We added quite a bit of milk to thin the remainder and it's much nicer to drink.

Next time, if Dean wasn't watching, I just might top it with some caramel sauce......but, shh, don't tell.  ;)  Wouldn't want Lord Dynna scolding Lady Maureen now, would we?