When the going gets tough.
The tough take a nap.
No, seriously. I mean that.
On top of a multi-year long job search that has lead me down several different rabbit holes, I find myself still looking and living with the feeling that I'm going to have to do something drastic. I don't know if drastic will mean going back to school, changing my original career path idea, or what. My answer to most questions as of late is simply, "I don't know."
My husband is leaving again, to go somewhere for some unknown amount of time. When is his leave? I don't know. How long will he be there? I don't know. What will you do while he's gone? I don't know.
I. Don't. Know.
I think I'm hoping for my fairy god-mother to come and just *poof* there will be an awesome group of supportive friends that I've always hoped I would find here, and *poof* an awesome career opportunity will arise and *poof* I'll drop the 30lbs I've been trying to ditch for way too long. Oh, and most of all. *Poof!* My husband never has to leave, ever again.
Well I'm a realist. I know that nothing happens except by your own hard work and through God's grace.
So, I've been applying to so many jobs. I've called the newspapers. I've been to interviews. I've worked for free, to get resume experience. I've hoped and waited for something to come along... and I keep praying it will. I haven't lost hope, yet.
Enough of my personal crap!
On to more interesting things... like pork chops.
Yesterday, I had a small panic attack when I realized there was no ground beef left in my freezer. Only lots of chicken and lots of pork chops. Groan.
I was tired of chicken and didn't want pork chops because I only had two ways of making them... so I did some Pinteresting and Googling. I found a recipe I liked well enough and adapted it to what I had and it turned out to be SO yummy! My husband complimented it through every other bite until he was finished! Scooore.
So, here's what I did.
First off: I purchase my pork chops from Sam's. They are boneless and very thick, which both hubs and I prefer. I don't know how it would change to use a different sort of chop but keep in mind that I used a very thick, boneless cut.
Okay, so, get yourself some onion soup mix. The kind that comes in the little packets. I also just buy a box of several.
Now, the recipe I found called for a can of Cream of Mushroom, but I only had Cream of Chicken.... eh. Chicken, mushrooms... whatever. Use what you have, within reason.
I mixed that up with about 3/4 a can of water (the Cream of Chicken can, if you were wondering) and when it was all nice and mixed together, I got my pre-thawed chops out and put them in a skillet on Medium heat with a bit of butter. I browned them for about 5 minutes on both sides and then put them in the gravy mix (which I had in a casserole dish).
I covered the dish with a lid and popped it in the oven at 375 for an hour and 20 minutes.
And that's it! So easy and it was so yummy. The chops came out tender and delicious.
For a side dish, I quartered up some gold potatoes and mixed them in a skillet with EVOO and a packet of ranch seasoning until the potatoes were tender.
I also steamed some broccoli with a little lemon juice and butter.
We didn't feel like total pigs after dinner but we were full and satisfied! Not too shabby, I think =)
Moving on!
I am ashamed to admit I am STILL not finished with my desk project. Progress has been made, but not a whole lot. Life has been a bit crazy lately and it's been SO cold. I work on everything in the garage, which isn't heated. I've worked on it on warm days, which have been few and far between. I think it's supposed to warm up in April so I'm hoping to finish it off soon.
On top of that, I've got several other projects lined up! I want to share them with you all.
No, seriously. I mean that.
On top of a multi-year long job search that has lead me down several different rabbit holes, I find myself still looking and living with the feeling that I'm going to have to do something drastic. I don't know if drastic will mean going back to school, changing my original career path idea, or what. My answer to most questions as of late is simply, "I don't know."
My husband is leaving again, to go somewhere for some unknown amount of time. When is his leave? I don't know. How long will he be there? I don't know. What will you do while he's gone? I don't know.
I. Don't. Know.
I think I'm hoping for my fairy god-mother to come and just *poof* there will be an awesome group of supportive friends that I've always hoped I would find here, and *poof* an awesome career opportunity will arise and *poof* I'll drop the 30lbs I've been trying to ditch for way too long. Oh, and most of all. *Poof!* My husband never has to leave, ever again.
Well I'm a realist. I know that nothing happens except by your own hard work and through God's grace.
So, I've been applying to so many jobs. I've called the newspapers. I've been to interviews. I've worked for free, to get resume experience. I've hoped and waited for something to come along... and I keep praying it will. I haven't lost hope, yet.
Enough of my personal crap!
On to more interesting things... like pork chops.
Yesterday, I had a small panic attack when I realized there was no ground beef left in my freezer. Only lots of chicken and lots of pork chops. Groan.
I was tired of chicken and didn't want pork chops because I only had two ways of making them... so I did some Pinteresting and Googling. I found a recipe I liked well enough and adapted it to what I had and it turned out to be SO yummy! My husband complimented it through every other bite until he was finished! Scooore.
So, here's what I did.
First off: I purchase my pork chops from Sam's. They are boneless and very thick, which both hubs and I prefer. I don't know how it would change to use a different sort of chop but keep in mind that I used a very thick, boneless cut.
Okay, so, get yourself some onion soup mix. The kind that comes in the little packets. I also just buy a box of several.
Now, the recipe I found called for a can of Cream of Mushroom, but I only had Cream of Chicken.... eh. Chicken, mushrooms... whatever. Use what you have, within reason.
I mixed that up with about 3/4 a can of water (the Cream of Chicken can, if you were wondering) and when it was all nice and mixed together, I got my pre-thawed chops out and put them in a skillet on Medium heat with a bit of butter. I browned them for about 5 minutes on both sides and then put them in the gravy mix (which I had in a casserole dish).
I covered the dish with a lid and popped it in the oven at 375 for an hour and 20 minutes.
And that's it! So easy and it was so yummy. The chops came out tender and delicious.
For a side dish, I quartered up some gold potatoes and mixed them in a skillet with EVOO and a packet of ranch seasoning until the potatoes were tender.
I also steamed some broccoli with a little lemon juice and butter.
We didn't feel like total pigs after dinner but we were full and satisfied! Not too shabby, I think =)
Moving on!
I am ashamed to admit I am STILL not finished with my desk project. Progress has been made, but not a whole lot. Life has been a bit crazy lately and it's been SO cold. I work on everything in the garage, which isn't heated. I've worked on it on warm days, which have been few and far between. I think it's supposed to warm up in April so I'm hoping to finish it off soon.
On top of that, I've got several other projects lined up! I want to share them with you all.
I snagged this bad boy for $60. Solid wood and just awesome. The only thing is that the drawers aren't on a track. I can absolutely deal with it and perhaps when I refinish it, I'll add tracks - if I can figure out how. This piece lives in our bedroom. I've been deliberating for a long time on what to do with it. I know for sure I want to do at least part of it with a silver leaf finish, to tie into our bedding. It has a silvery-grey color in it and I'd love to do maybe just the drawer faces in silver leaf and the rest white or black - not sure... I'll elaborate on my indecision later.
The above is an inspiration picture. I do NOT want to do the whole thing in that silvery color but a touch of it would be gorgeous!
This is our bedroom! I am really proud of it so far. We live in a rental, so I can't do everything I'd like, but I do what I can. You can't really tell from this picture, but the grey in the comforter has a silvery sheen which is where I got the idea to do part of the dresser in a similar color.
The window frame is something I've been working on for a long time. I have been trying to figure out which picture to put behind it and I think I've finally picked something. I'm going to use Vistaprint and upload one of my pictures as a poster because I can get it in a huge size for a decent price - I think the largest one plus shipping will end up being about $23 total.
The lamps I got at Lowes - one of my favorite places in the world. I could roam around there for hours on end.
One of my biggest pet peeves about our bedroom was that the nightstands were shorter than the bed. It irked me day after day. Plus, the tables were never meant to be nightstands. We bought them right after we got married... we had a dining table but no chairs and a couch but no coffee table. We were eating on cardboard boxes. After a week of that, we went to Target and got these two end tables and put them together in front of the couch and felt like civilized people.
So I've been hunting Craigslist and our local secondhand selling website for a matching pair that I could refinish. Today, I finally found the perfect pair for a decent price!
I looove them! They are about two feet tall, and a foot deep. Solid wood and very sturdy! We got them both for $60!
I'm so excited to get started on these! My plan as it stands now is that the top and sides will be black. The trim area around the doors and the wood design itself will be white and the doors themselves will be bright apple green. I love decorating with green! You can't see it in these pictures but the curtains are a plain apple green... I promise the green makes sense!
There's the green curtains!
I'm so excited to get started on all of that business when it warms up. Even without the paint, I think they're pretty and I love that they're the perfect height - I may even add furniture legs to them to give them a bit more height.
Did I mention what I did with the old nightstands?
Yep. Shelf. Boom.
I had some brackets lying around from some other project and attached the two tables together... and voila! The giant white spot on the right is a lamp. My cell phone camera just couldn't handle the brightness.
It's different, quirky, and I love it.
Here's one more little project I did this weekend...
They're fake! I made these from coffee filters.
You can find the tutorial here.
I hope, sincerely, that I can get the desk project finished soon... that project needs to diiiieeeee. I've enjoyed it, it's so cute, but it's got to stop so I can move on.
Bit by bit, I'll get our home decorated perfectly - without breaking the bank! I'm so happy with everything we have so far because we've purchased awesome, solid pieces of furniture without spending a ton of money. I don't mind fixing things up - it's so much more fun to make it our own. The dresser project was great bonding for my husband and I - we had a vision and together we brought it to life.
I'll wrap this post up with this:
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