Renewal

I spotted some Spotted Dick

These past few weeks have been pretty nuts. I don't really even feel like going into it all, but all sorts of strange things have been happening. Family stuff. Work stuff. The stuff I do when I should be working. The stuff I don't do when I should and the stuff I shouldn't ever try. It's all there in the last few weeks. 

Chaos usually motivates me. Give me calm seas and I settle into complacency. Shake my world up a little bit and I will try to keep the ball rolling, at least for a little while. It's a good thing for the most part. Especially since the last few months have not been worthy of my Tackle 2011 project. I blame the knee in part, but I think I also used that as an excuse longer than I should have and for more than I should have. That said, I decided to throw caution to the wind and go on my first jog since my little MCL issue. Jog went well, though I am totally out of shape and I didn't push it past a mile. I was sore as could be, and so the next day I went on a bike ride with a friend in Charleston, and did some yoga. So, in addition to a sore knee, my thighs, ass, calves, arms, neck, and wrists all hurt as well. I am going to try to run again tomorrow, so I can totally overdo it. 

I am also working on some austerity measures in my day to day life. I am working on refinancing my house at a significantly lower interest rate (cutting the rate more than half, actually) and for 15 years instead of 30. All that and my payment will still be less than it is now, though just barely. Today I worked on my first batch of homemade laundry detergent!!! I found a recipe online for vegan detergent and I modified it just a tad.

1 C Borax, 1 C Washing Soda, 1 bar Dr. Bronner's castile soap, and ta-da! Less than 5 cents per load.

I took the detergent for a spin today and my thoughts so far are pretty positive. Most of my sheets and towels are white and I am always struggling to keep them bright. I hate the idea of using bleach, but I do use it just to get the whites brightened from time to time. However, one wash with this detergent got my sheets whiter and brighter than I can ever remember! It was pretty amazing. The only downside is that the laundry doesn't really have that laundry smell. Not that I like the overly perfumed detergent smell, but even the Seventh Generation detergent leaves a pleasant and light smell. Oh well. Maybe some essential oils will jazz things up?

It's not total austerity over here though...I splurged and bought an iPhone. I almost want to say that additional money spent on the monthly iPhone plan is less than the value added, so it's almost like I got a deal or something.

I ended the day making a brand new recipe! Never before! And it was fucking amazing, if I do say so myself. Roasted butternut squash with sage (from the garden!) and pine nuts over pasta. So freaking amazing. It wasn't too complicated, though it did require planning since I roasted the squash. Definitely one to save for D&C.