Hangry Pains...

Up till a few days ago, I thought I was sailing along pretty well with Whole30. I did have a "not quite prepared" start, but I'd gotten some really good meal prep done, did the shopping, and had all my fruits and veg ready to go. I'm not sick of eggs (yet), and I'm learning the joys of home-made mayo and "Dump Ranch." (Though my recipe turned out a bit too salty.)

Then came Days 12 and 13.... Yikes! Bored, angry, hungry, "hangry," frustrated. Felt bloated and "fat" even though I've stuck to every rule and done everything, including more yoga and making myself move more (I have a job where I sit far, far too much). 

On the "timeline," it indicates that days 10 through 12 can be the "roughest" days on the plan. Well, I went a few days over and had my tantrums (in my mind) this past few days. Today was much better, thanks, and I feel like I'm doing ok. 

This morning, I made "cauliflower rice hash" -- cauliflower rice, shredded carrot, a couple cloves of fresh garlic and a handful of spring onions. It turned out well, and also of course, my Penzey's spices... This will do me for a couple of days - because I used some for breakfast with an egg and compliant chicken/apple sausage and some Wholly Guacamole.  

Wholly Guacamole has become my BFF. I love avocados, and Hubby has gotten good at picking them out at the proper stages so we don't have "Instant Avocado Death."

But Wholly Guacamole is my answer to the fact that sometimes, the avocados are whoppers, and I have yet to figure out how to keep a half fresh for more than a nanosecond. 

Breakfast is at the left here. It was delicious. 

So - "Instant Avocado Death" goes something like this... Just bought avocados, put them in fridge. They're hard as a rock. They're hard as a rock. They're hard as a rock... Two days pass, you desperately need an avocado for something. 

It's dead. 

You know how that goes. And they're not cheap. It's frustrating because that "soft spot" actually means that you have to use the blasted thing within 24 hours... Or else. There's nothing deader than a dead avocado.

You can search for "dump ranch" - it has its own life... It's good, but mine is definitely salad dressing and not dip. I don't know what I did wrong. But it's also salty - so I think the 1 tsp. of salt can be halved. I used a big bunch of cilantro, so my dressing is more "green goddess" than ranch, but I can live with it. 

I was getting a little bored with V & O...And I bought a compliant dressing. And just about had a heart attack - $6.99 for a bottle, and it's about 9 oz!! Yikes... 

Anyway, I'm on day 14, so things are going ok, and I can really see myself doing this for a longer time. At least 99% - I'm not sure how breakfast will fit in long-term. That's been my biggest struggle. 

Knitting...

Moving along on Close to You. Working on the 10th point, out of 18. I can make it bigger if I want to, but I'm going to see what's going on first. I'd like to "biggen" it a bit, but we'll see how the yarn goes. I really love how this yarn is laying out the colors. It's Expression Fiber Arts, colorway Stone Tulips. 

I don't know if the colorway is available anymore, but you can check. Her patterns are interesting and her colorways are lovely - you feel like you could dive in and just roll around in them. 

This one is the "brightest" that I've knitted with and it's got an interesting twist to it. It's like the stitch definition has gone into high-def with this, and I'm pretty sure that blocking will make this shawl much larger than mine done with another sock yarn. 

This is sock weight, but I can't imagine it on feet. I don't know - it just seems that it's calling to be a shawl. Whether it's the twist to the yarn, or its density as I'm stitching it...not sure what but it does seem to fit a wearable on the upper half of the body - it might even make a pretty nifty hat. Definitely a cowl if I thought about it. 

But not socks. I'm just not sure. I've watched Chandi's site, and I get the emails. And frankly, I see everything BUT socks made with her yarn. She's got a gorgeous V-neck short-sleeved sweater on there, but right now? $120 in yarn is out of my budget...even with her discount. 

I'm taking the travel sock to work tomorrow and will work on it at lunch. I would normally, in the middle of April, take a walk. But there's a "wintry mix" forecast for the day, so I'm planning on walking up and down the office hall, and then knitting. It's the best I can do till Mother Nature gets done having a hissy fit.

Maybe Spring...

Last week, I was able to get out for a walk since it hit 70 degrees (before the bottom dropped out and it got ugly again). I hadn't really walked around the neighborhood near the office, but I did and I found a park where I could sit and contemplate - except for the noisy, exuberant soccer players on spring break! 

That being said, I found a retention pond, and aside from all the nasty looking trash that people tossed in (can't call 'em pigs, because that's insulting to porcine creatures...), I found ducks. I was able to stroll around and just enjoy the fresh air. 

The pine trees were bursting with life: both pine cones ready to disgorge their seeds, and birds - in fact a couple of birds were annoyed that I got close. As long as they weren't dive-bombing me, I was happy. I didn't care to get crapped on and then have to go to work in pooped-on clothes! 

In fact, the sunrise was beautiful. I was running late, but I still snapped a picture of it because it was just. Beautiful. 

Lately, even though I feel like I'm chasing my tail, I've found myself looking up. 

Taking time to just look up and see what's in front of me. It's all too easy to not think about it, because you're busy or time's flying or there's the next thing to get on to.

But if you look up, you'll see some stunning things, courtesy of the same Mother Nature who's now having a temper tantrum and throwing snowflakes our way. 

That being said, I'm happy we're not getting what the UP in Michigan is getting or what they're getting in Minneapolis. 

Thanks, but we'll take our flakes and get over ourselves. 

There's a quote:  "No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn." That's worth remembering. 

Also, remember to look up. It's pretty up there.

Random Picture... 

This one isn't actually random. I'm feeling like things are in the balance. I'm not sure what the "balance" is yet. Or whether I'm the one balanced - or not balanced. 

This is a formation from Granite City State Park, from the last trip Kid #2 and I did together. Not that it was the "last" last - just the most recent one. 

We're not going anywhere this year. I'm going to visit Kid #1. That gives Kid #2 time to work on some projects and gives us time to plan our next adventure. 

This is actually a space we walked through to get to the other side. "Why did the chicken cross..." -- well, the path went through this formation and I admit to crossing myself, holding my breath and kind of rushing through this. 

Notwithstanding the fact that it's stood there for God-knows-how-long... I was more than half-way to believing that I'd be the one it would tumble upon.

It didn't. We survived a blistering, humid August day on our way down to Oxford, MS, and we were only disappointed that we couldn't stick around for lunch at the lodge. 

Supposed to be the best fried chicken in the entire state of Illinois. Who knew?