starting out

The new year has begun.
Over the long weekend, I managed a couple of adventures and capitalized on relaxation opportunities. Luckily, I enjoyed sleeping in late and lounging in bed, something that I haven't had a chance to do in MONTHS. I watched movies, painted, cooked, ate, played.
After some raquetball on Saturday (I'd say morning, but I didn't get out of bed until 11), I had the wonderful intentions of making bread from scratch. I dug out my yeast - expired. Sigh. I found the brand new bag of self-rising flour (which I bought for who knows what reason), best if used by November 2009. Sigh. After digging through several cookbooks, I became increasingly frustrated. The new cookbook I bought showed measurements in ounces. I was in no mood to do conversions. I admit I pouted a bit before deciding to take my chances with the self-rising flour. Research revealed that I would still need some type of leavening agent. I conceded to beer bread. 2 2/3 cups of self-rising flour, 1 12-ounce can of beer (we only had Miller Light, not my first choice, but it worked fine). The bread wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it turned out delicious, none-the-less.
I have a 1/3 finished painting that I'm pretty proud of so far.
I watched Julie & Julia, which was pretty good (and all the food looks so amazing!)
The Hangover = still hilarious!
lots of cooking and new culinary adventures = fun time with McGruff and yumminess.
Bodies Exhibit at Mall of America was very interesting and educational.
The Vikings whooping the Giants - pretty awesome.
a very good start to the new year.
So far, I've managed to work-out, AND add some fun-time to my life. I think I'm off to a pretty good start.