Friday, February 03, 2023

5 on a Friday : January Faves

 1. SCOTCHAROOS: All caps is necessary because these long-forgotten treats of my childhood are delicious. A friend posted on FB about making them with her grandson, and I was like OMG I forgot they existed! I made them at 10pm on Sunday, and by 8 am on Monday, this is all that remained. I immediately bought more ingredients on my way home from work. Coop said they were the best thing I ever made, which, LOL because it’s all melting and stirring. I made TWO MORE batches before they lasted longer than 12 hours, at which point I figured everyone was satisfied and switched to oatmeal scotches.

2. Minnie saying popsicle.

3. The veggie tray I bought for snacking. We are devouring our produce, and it only takes like 15 minutes to wash, chop, and refill midweek. Best $14 I have spent in a really long time.

4. THE SUN! THE SUN! The sun coming up on my early morning walks! We are probably going to make it through this winter, my friends. (Also, I would prefer to take a walk in the middle of the day, but on days Ben works from campus, I cannot because Minnie would prefer not to do this, and I get it— way too cold for a stroller ride, so the days I work from home are the days I have to get up literally before dawn.)

5. YOGA. I have always set either really vague (do more yoga) or really unlikely (do 60 minutes of yoga ALL OF THE DAYS) yoga-related goals. This year, I played with the 2023 theme and set a goal to do 20 minutes 3 times a week. And you know what? This is the perfect amount of yoga for me. First of all, I always have 20 minutes to spare. Second, 20 minutes is the perfect amount of time to remember why I want to do yoga, and sometimes I go longer. Third, because I am not relying on yoga to replace other exercise, 3 times a week is the perfect frequency for me, and it is really a healthy thing I am adding and appreciating, not making myself do as penance for all the oatmeal scotchies, for example.

What about you? What are you loving this week as we inch closer to SPRING?





14 comments:

  1. I might need to get a divided tray like that. We have the world's smallest fridge (not actually, but it's only apartment size), so I do wonder about how much space it would take up in the fridge. But right now I chop up veggies and stuff them into a single container and then kids complain because THE BELL PEPPERS TOUCHED THE GREEN BEANS (and bell peppers are treated like the Black Death in our household).
    Love Minnie's "popsicle" - watching kids learn new words is pure magic. That is probably what I miss the absolute most about toddlerhood. They are literally learning new things EVERY DAY.
    My Mom used to make Scotcharoos. What a blast from my past.

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    1. It’s pretty small, actually— does not take the whole bottom shelf depth-wise. I pout blanched cauliflower in one of the compartments last week, and then everything tasted like cauliflower, so don’t do that LOL

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  2. I have a friend from high school whose mom makes scotcharoos and now my friends from high school have kids graduating from high school and she brings them to the graduation parties and everyone loves them! Always a favorite.

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    1. I cannot believe I forgot about them!

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  3. Oh my gosh, Minnie saying popsicle made my whole day! Off to watch my kids' toddler videos now.

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    1. I have watched the video one thousand times.

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  4. OMG, Minnie's pronunciation!! Too cute!!! I love the early years of mispronunciations.

    We had some sun here this week but it was accompanied by HORRIBLY COLD WEATHER. So I am team gray with mild temps. I am so glad it's warming up this weekend. Getting kids in the car is just awful in cold weather. We do not have an attached garage (the downside to urban living in an old/established neighborhood with 1920s homes) so it's a whole process to get the kids in the car. Womp womp.

    My MIL makes scotcharoos. It's her go to thing to make when we have people over in the summer because everyone loves them!!

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    1. I cannot wait until it is warm enough to just leave the house without the fifty million other steps that taking a toddler out in winter entails.

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  5. Twinning with you on 3/5. Sun coming up in the midwest; that divided veggie tray; and the shorter yoga/pilates/strength training expectation. We got a Mirror thing a few years ago, and it gives me lots of classes on demand, but I could never squeeze even a 30 min class into a teaching day. But 15 minutes? I can absolutely do that, and then I *feel* better in so many ways.

    On the other two--I will go look up Scotcharoos. And Minnie's happy pokasoles (?) are magic. I miss toddler babies, so thank you for sharing this!!

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    1. Oh wow!! I really want a Mirror— its such a great (and mildly creepy) idea

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  6. Well, I love all this, especially the veggies and yoga! What a handy tray that is! Also, I tell my friends and students that yoga is about doing what works for YOU, and not trying to complete a "challenge" or what have you. Sometimes my yoga practice is just lying in child's pose for 10 minutes, sometimes it is a vigorous vinyasa. It's what works for me!
    Scotcharoos look delicious!

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    1. I have such a renewed appreciation for child’s pose in my mid-forties. It’s so comforting and sometimes the exact stretch I need.

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  7. Anonymous10:55 PM

    I can’t log in or use my URL, so I will comment anonymously. This is J from jellyjules.com. :)

    I like your goals. I started up my yoga practice in January, and I love it. I do a 20 - 30 minute YouTube video 4 days a week, and it starts my day off very well. I work sitting at my desk all day, so that stretching first thing, followed by a 45 - 50 minute walk with the dog helps keep my back from yelling at me. And I’ve totally noticed the extra sunlight! What a gift.

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  8. Mmm, scotcharoos. I've never heard of these and now I MUST make them soon!

    We are already firmly in spring here in Florida. We even have pollen already... my car has turned green, ugh. It's already getting really hot for my afternoon walks, so I may need to start getting them done in the mornings again. Fun times!

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