@4Mickeys, congratulations!!!!
yes, I'm leaving work to go get my hair done!
Good for you!!! You deserve some me-time!!!
For foodie Friday, well, (a)I didn't get to it until just now (b)it's not healthy, just less UNhealthy… (c)I'll have to wait a week to let you know how it turns out... but... I am marinating a corned beef in my fridge this week. It's a recipe I've used before and it turned out reasonably well, if I remember correctly. Since normal corned beef uses brisket, which is (deliciously) mega-fatty, I experimented a few years back with substituting a leaner cut of beef (tends to be cheaper, too...)
https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/corned-beef-brisket-from-scratch-115220#activity-feed
I did add a pinch of ground cinnamon and a pinch of whole allspice to the marinade/brine, just because I like the flavors they add, and I didn't have kosher salt, so I substituted regular. The foodies on the site make a big deal that homemade is healthier because no nitrates, but for me, it's just a "more for the calories" equation... but oh, the pink, nitrate-filled, fatty storemade kind is sooooo delicious!!
Which reminds me, I was feeling experimental the other day, so I tried a package of Buddig corned beef lunch meat. Overall, I don't have much nice to say about that brand... I suppose it's ok if you only have $1, perfect blood pressure (super salty,) and no tastebuds… but even in my poor-starving-student days, I found most of their products gross... *BUT* I have to admit, for 58 cents and 100 calories, their little pack of corned beef lunch meat tasted surprisingly good. So, if I ever have an irrepressible craving for fatty corned beef, now I know of a cheap, portion-controlled option...
And for my weekend "whatever..." hmm... yesterday was a difficult day... I responded by eating far too much Chinese food... it was mostly chicken and vegetables, so not the worst calorie-wise, but the sodium was astronomical, I'm sure, and I think it scared my husband when I even ate the fried rice that comes with it (usually I give it to someone else or feed it to the chickens...)
Today I got a little yard work done, LOTS more to do, but the weather was less-awful-than-usual, so I filled up the back of my van with bags of vines and chunks of fallen tree and got those to the dump before they closed. We have curbside pick-up, but only if you cut the logs into smallish chunks and use paper bags for the leaves/vines... well, it's a great idea for the environment in theory, but aside from the bags being more expensive and smaller than plastic bags, they fall apart if they are exposed to too much rain between the time you fill them and the time they are picked up... I had piles of debris all over the back yard from where I filled the bags on Sunday, then went to put them out Monday night and the bottoms ripped right out... <sigh...> So today I used plastic bags, filled them up, emptied them at the dump, and brought them home again to use again. I'm hoping to get the last bit of the old apple tree down-and-gone this week before I vacuum out the van for use as a camper next week on my trip. Meanwhile, we made a pile of suitably dried twigs and small branches and I'm hoping to do my first campfire of the season this week... mainly because it's an easy way to get rid of the sticks, but also, I want to experiment with campfire cooking for if I ever get to go *REAL* hiking (not day-hiking) when the kids are older.
Tomorrow, if the weather is decent, I will be walking on the local trail with my old friend from high school. She is going through a difficult divorce, and likes a companion/witness when she drops off/picks up her child for/from visitation with the ex, so the plan is after we drop the kiddo off, we'll go walking so she can vent a bit and get some fresh air and maybe distract herself from the situation for a bit.
And, obsessive trail-planning update: I got hiking poles!!! I am now *OFFICIALLY* an old lady, red hat or no red hat! I own not 1, but TWO adjustable canes!!! (Not really, the handles are different, but still...) And I splurged on a sun hat (brown, not red) that is totally cute in a not-cute-at-all sort of way... but it folds down really small and it crazy lightweight and breathable. Walking sticks plus don't-care hat are official hallmarks of impending seniority! Out on the AT, most of the people are 20-somethings, so yeah, I'm totally a granny by their standards...
And that's all my news for now... that and my chickens are adorable... oh, and I am soooo broke for the rest of the month because I'm getting new bees!!! I splurged for 2 colony units for pick-up at the end of April. Yay!!! (We didn't have any last year after a bad winter the year before, and I missed their silly little selves...)