gratitude

Friday Five Things 8/13

~ kofriedery ~ Leave a comment

“It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary.” – Paul Coelho

This week was pretty quiet after all the people and activities of last week. And I am grateful for both, the busyness and the stillness.

  1. Honey harvest. This week was the big honey harvest from our bees! One of our hives lost a queen earlier this summer and didn’t quite make enough excess for us to take, but the other hive gave 50+ lbs so far! I’m excited to sell it again this fall as well as try out some new recipes. Honey caramels anyone?!?
  2. Garden veggies. Speaking of harvests, our little cherry tomatoes have started to ripen as well as a couple of our bigger tomatoes. The chickens got to one of the big tomatoes before I did, but there’s a couple more that are just about ready to pick. In the past week I’ve also harvested a couple zucchini, some jalapeños, and a strawberry! And we finally have baby cucumbers!!! Very excited to see the literal fruits of my labor.
  3. Reorganizing. I get a unique sense of joy and accomplishment when I’m able to rearrange and repurpose items around the house in a way that bring better organization and efficiency. This week it was moving a big cedar chest out of the guest room closet into the living room behind the couch. We have so much space between our couch and the wall that isn’t being used and isn’t visible from the rest of the room. Before it was filled with mismatched baskets overflowing with blankets, dog toys, and exercise equipment. Now all of that is tucked neatly into the chest. And now the guest room closet doesn’t look quite as cluttered as it did before. I did a couple other little projects like that this week and it makes me so happy to get the right things into the right places.
  4. Shitty first drafts. I’m serious here. I follow a few writers on social media and I am constantly thankful for the reminders that all first drafts are bad. The purpose is just to get the words out and the story on paper because you can’t edit nothing. I’ve been writing a lot recently and it’s been pretty bad. But it brings me joy to know that what I’m doing right now is all part of the process and exactly what I should be doing at this stage in the game!
  5. Reading. I spent a lot of time this week reading. I mean, I probably read more than the average person on a weekly basis because I consider it part of my “job” as a writer. But this week I really took some intentional time to dedicate to reading and I am really grateful for slowing down and immersing in story.

Friday Five Things 8/6

~ kofriedery ~ Leave a comment

“Nothing is worth more than laughter. It is strength to laugh and to abandon oneself, to be light.” – Frida Kahlo

Whew! It’s been a busy week and I almost forgot to write something to publish today! My sister and her family have been in town, so we’ve had a lot of good family time. Lots of fun and laughter.

  1. The best pet sitter in the world. A couple years ago I asked people for recommendations of pet sitters and a coworker/friend recommended her good friend. She has been ah-mazing. Our timid dog LOVES her. Our scaredy cats will snuggle her on the couch. It has been such a help and relief to have someone we know takes care of our animals when we are gone as well as we would, or even better! And as a bonus, she’s become a friend as well!
  2. My niece and nephew. I love all my nieces and nephews so much, but this week I got to spend a whole day with the two oldest. It was the first time that I’ve watched them by myself for an entire day, from wake-up to bedtime. And it was an adventure! We went to two playgrounds, did some shopping, sang silly songs, ate Red Robin, played outside, played a game, went to Dairy Queen, read books, rode bikes, ate dinner, and watched the Olympics! Whew! I was exhausted but so so happy.
  3. Cooler weather. Not only had the weather been slightly cooler at home at the end of last week, but we once again escaped to the mountains for cooler, crisper weather. My absolute favorite weather is when I need a sweatshirt and long pants in the mornings and evenings, but then can wear shorts and a t-shirt during the day. And that’s been the weather in Breckenridge so far this week.
  4. Writing progress. At the end of July I felt myself starting to get into a slump with my writing. But instead of giving into the block, I tried something different instead of just trying to write the next scene. I went back to my outline and wrote out a quick summary of where I want the rest of the book to go. In doing that, my writing just started flowing again and I’ve written over 2,000 words just this week!
  5. Really good sleep. I’ve been having a streak of really good sleep and not waking up during the night at all! It’s such a great feeling to feel really refreshed when you wake up and I am not taking it for granted this week.

Friday Five Things 7/30

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“It is a happy talent to know how to play.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Earlier this week I attended an Olympics themed birthday party that was so fun and really well executed. I think it was my first party in a very long time and I wasn’t super great with party-type situations before staying locked in my house for a year and a half. I had some pre-party social anxiety but it eventually faded when I got there and remembered how to play and have fun with other people. Over all, it was a great reminder to be playful and not take things too seriously!

  1. Olympics! I’m not really a fanatic about the Olympics but it’s always fun to watch a few competitions when they’re airing. I love hearing to how excited the commentators get during close races and unexpected outcomes, due to many of them being former athletes in those events.
  2. The neighbor’s kitten. My neighbors were out of town for a few days this week and they asked me to stop by to feed and check in on their two cats. They have a very sweet black long haired cat and a new little orange kitten who is a firecracker! Both cats have been very friendly even though I’m a stranger to them. The kitten has the scratchiest little voice when he meows and he purrs like a diesel engine.
  3. New houseplants. I stopped by our local garden center to pick up some self-watering devices to help a few of my outdoors plants get through the near 100 degree temps this week. And while I was there I allowed myself to buy two new houseplants! I potted them last night and also repotted a few of my other plants. While doing so I discovered that my snake plant had propagated itself three times in it’s original plant so I split off the babies and I now have four snake plants! When I was younger I tried to keep plants alive and just never could do it. Now that I’m older and pay more attention to things in my house, taking care of my green babies has brought me so much joy!
  4. Cutting back on social media. Over the past year my social media consumption has gotten a bit out of control. So on Tuesday I decided to delete Facebook and Instagram off of my devices. Not having them easily accessible has prevented me from mindlessly scrolling for a few days. I’m not sure how long I’ll keep them deleted, but even just a few days away has felt really good and freeing.
  5. Books. I got back on track with my goal to finish five books this month! I read some good ones and I’ll have my book report up early next week with my reviews and recommendations.

Friday Five Things 7/23

~ kofriedery ~ Leave a comment

“To affect the quality of the day, that is the highest of arts.” – Henry David Thoreau

I think the quote above is going to mean something different for everyone. For me, it is getting outside to move my body, mindfulness in gratitude, and checking things off my to-do list! What is it that you can do for yourself to affect the quality of your day?

  1. Hiking. I didn’t hike at all last week because I was limiting my driving while waiting for my new tire. So it was a top priority to get out into nature this week. I went for a long hike near Boulder and it was the life-giving fulfillment I needed!
  2. Fun projects. In the midst of continuing to finish painting our house, I have let myself do a few little fun side projects. One of them has been painting a cardboard cat house that I bought for the kitties last Christmas. It has been sitting out in the living room with it’s Christmas theming since December and I decided rather than toss it, that I would make use of a few of the paint samples we decided not to use. So while we are getting a fresh coat on our house, Buzz and Portia are getting a new look for their little playhouse!
  3. This recipe. I finally had a zucchini big enough to harvest this week and I made this Zucchini Butter Pasta recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I added mushrooms because it seemed like the right thing to do. Guys, I make a lot of pasta and I think this is my favorite pasta recipe I’ve ever made. I scaled down the recipe a little bit for just two people, but don’t make that mistake. We would have eaten more if there had been more, it was SO GOOD. I’m stalking two baby zukes on my plant right now because I want to make it again as soon as they are ready!
  4. Happy tired clean dogs. Bama and I met up with a friend at the dog park this week and they ran around like lunatics. And then ran through the little creek and everyone got so muddy. But we came home, took a bath, and snoozed HARD. We don’t get out to the dog park much these days and when we do…it’s hard to get Bama to play with other dogs. So it was really fun to watch her make a friend and get out some wiggles in a social way.
  5. Surprises in the mail. A friend of mine accidentally bought the same puzzle twice and instead of returning the second one, she mailed it to me! It’s always fun to get mail, especially when it isn’t your birthday or a holiday. It makes me want to start sending my friends little surprises at random because it made me smile so much.

Friday Five Things 7/2

~ kofriedery ~ Leave a comment

“The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.” – Sylvia Plath

Hi friends and happy Friday! I know I’ve been a bit negligent about posting every Friday, but things are getting busy around here! I’m planning to put out my Book Report for June on Monday and then resume regular Friday posts for the rest of the summer.

  1. Freedom to adjust expectations. For most of May I was writing a lot most days of the week. Then in June my creativity seemed to dry up for some reason. I spent the first few weeks trying to force myself into the same routine from May before I remembered that I have the freedom to adjust my expectations. So I made a shift to only asking myself to write 300 words every day. The result is that I added to my manuscript much slower this month, but I was able to actually get words on the page every day instead of sitting for two hours without any progress. Reducing the expectation on myself for a single writing session freed up the block I was having, if only a little bit. For July I plan to continue the 300 words per day and see where the rest of the summer takes me.
  2. The ability to escape to the mountains. After a few weeks of super hot weather where we live, we decided to escape to the mountains and it was definitely a cool down! A little too chilly at times to be honest, but after several days of 90 degree heat I didn’t mind a couple mornings with a fire in the fireplace. We are super lucky to have a free place to stay when we head up there and live close enough to do it on a whim. On the way up to Breckenridge this weekend, Tyler planned a little side excursion to hike up to St. Mary’s Glacier as a surprise for me. Bama loved it, rolling in the slushy ice of the glacier especially. We also did a half day Jeep trail on Friday morning and had a little lunch picnic above tree line. Nothing big, just little adventures out of our normal routine that bring me joy.
  3. Physical wellness. I’m not what anyone would call “in great shape” but this morning I was hiking and was so grateful for what my body can do for me. There have been several stark reminders in my life recently that you can’t take wellness for granted so I am going to take joy from the fact that I can hike four miles in the morning and still have energy to vacuum the whole house in the afternoon.
  4. BLTs (with avocado). No hidden meaning here…just very thankful to live in a world with ripe tomatoes in the summer for delicious BLTs.
  5. Luca. New Pixar movie released on Disney+. It isn’t a huge epic musical Disney movie, but it is so sweet and so magical. I loved watching it and I’ve been recommending it to everyone. I won’t say anything else to avoid any spoilers…but it’s just so darn adorable!

Friday Five Things 6/18

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“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” – Anne Lamott

I’ve needed some time away from routine and schedule for the past couple weeks, which has included deadlines for this blog. It has been HOT here and that kind of heat always affects my motivation and focus. So I just kind of went with it and got little things done around the house, read a lot, and had small little burst of productivity. It has been good for me and I think I’m ready to get back to my regularly scheduled programming.

  1. My garden is thriving! Both my wildflowers in the front yard and my herbs and veggies in the back are doing great. I’ve had a couple harvests of spinach and kale already and I love not needing to buy it at the store every week, especially since I’ve been into salads recently.
  2. Summer salads. I’m not a big salad person, especially making them myself at home. But this week I made two really delicious salads that I’ll be making again! The first was sliced cucumber and red onions marinated in a vinaigrette (like this). Then I had that over top of spinach (obviously) and torn pieces of fresh mozzarella. Soooo good. The other salad was spinach again, sliced strawberries, goat cheese crumbles, chopped walnuts with a homemade basil vinaigrette (this one is so good!) Both of these were really simple to put together and really refreshing in the heat this week!
  3. Monday morning walks. A friend and I went for a walk on Monday morning and it was so lovely we decided we should do it every week! Now I have something to look forward to at the beginning of each week and hopefully it will act as an anchor in time for kicking off the week the right way!
  4. Painting our house. Like, the outside! We have a red house and the exterior paint is super faded. We’ve tried to find another red that we like, but in the end decided to go with a blue/gray color called Adirondack Blue. And it’s going to be my summer project to do the painting! I figure if I really screw up badly, we can hire someone to touch up trim and stuff, but hopefully we don’t need that. Also really happy we don’t have an HOA because this isn’t something I’m going to get done quickly. We’ll have a partially painted house for awhile…
  5. Character breakthroughs in my writing. In the past couple weeks I’ve really started to get to know the main character in my novel and figure out some of her motivations and neuroses. It’s been fun to write a scene and know exactly how she is going to react to something! Still figuring out some of the other characters, but feeling good about where things are headed.

Friday Five Things 5/28

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“Try as much as possible to be wholly alive, will all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell.” – William Saroyan

May Book Report will be published mid-next week! I’m almost finished with a couple books that I want to include for May. In other news, we had a pretty productive week around here and I’m feeling really excited about this summer!

  1. Balance (or lack thereof) – I’ve talked a bit on here about different time/energy management techniques I’ve tried. Time blocking by days so different activities happen at different times. Time blocking by week so different activities happen on different days. Trying to match my daily energy highs and lows with different tasks to be more efficient. Etc… What has been working for me best recently is to let go of the idea that each day or week is going to look and feel the same. So I’ve been spending time Sunday evening or Monday morning plotting out my week with daily to-do lists and then each morning planning out my days based on what needs to get done. For example: Mondays are usually a day that I need to finish up some chores, grocery shop, and run other errands to places I avoid on weekends. I also like to get a long hike in on Monday mornings. So I don’t put writing on my to-do list and just focus on getting other stuff off the list for the week. Then I have writing on my lists for Tues-Fri. Another example is that I don’t always work out at the same time every day. For hikes, I like to go earlier in the day when it isn’t too hot. But I prefer late afternoon neighborhood walks and midday for strength exercises. Just another example of how things that are best practice in general might not be best for specific people! My days aren’t all balanced with each other, but overall I feel that I’m working towards a more even existence.
  2. New back deck furniture – Well, it’s just one piece of new furniture but I rearranged everything into a configuration that is making me want to spend more time out back! When we first moved into this house the back deck was literally falling apart, so we knew it needed to be rebuilt. Tyler put in a lot of time and effort to design and build a gorgeous back deck that really extended our living space outdoors. We got some chairs and a table and he put in some built-in benches around a little fire pit, but it just didn’t feel like a place you wanted to spend time. So I made it a priority this summer to utilize the space more and figured out a solution to maximize our space with only purchasing one new item! I moved the dining table over to the benches and it fits perfectly with them as seating. Then I moved the fire pit to where the table was with the leftover chairs and purchased this outdoor couch. We ordered it from Lowe’s on sale but I’m not seeing it on their site anymore. It’s pretty spacious and the armrests can lower to provide even more bench seating if necessary! Since I set it up we’ve come out here almost every evening and I’ve been doing my daily planning and journaling out here. Mission accomplished!
  3. Garden updates – Last week I finally purchased all my little veggies plants and got them into the dirt. Since we have chickens we don’t plant in the ground, everything is in containers or a table height raised bed Tyler build a few years ago. We’ve already had to fashion a cage of sorts to keep the squirrels off the strawberry plant and I’m assuming we’ll do the same for the peppers and tomatoes eventually, but so far so good! We have spinach, kale, zucchini, cucumbers, jalapeños, bell peppers, two kinds of tomatoes, strawberries, mint, sage, basil, and rosemary! I might still get a few more herbs but for now I think we’ve covered the things we eat most in our house. Also, when we were buying the veggies I saw two little red and white columbines on the clearance shelf and bought them for $4 each. They’re in the ground and coming back to strength nicely. Excited about my ever growing flower collection in the front yard.
  4. Hiking – I found a new trail that might be my new favorite! It’s right up next to the mountains but still had a lot of open meadows space with wildflowers. I also like it because it’s a perfect length and incline to really make it a workout for me, but I can finish it in under 2 hours. I hiked it twice this week, once with my dog (Bama) and once alone. And I’m sure I’ll be going back more in the coming months!
  5. Journaling – Since last fall I’ve been journaling pretty consistently every day. Sure I miss a few days here and there, but the point isn’t perfection. I feel like this habit has really paid off this week as I’ve had some not-so-great feelings swimming around in my head. Just articulating what is bothering me and getting it out on paper has been so helpful! I also think, as a writer, that it helps to start every day getting words on paper, no matter what those words are. “Morning pages” are a thing I’ve learned about and fully support!

Friday Five Things 5/21

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This was one of those weeks that I hypothetically planned for at the beginning of the year. I spent two days staying with my mom and driving her to some appointments. She’s been sick for a couple weeks and my dad had to go out of town for work, so I happily adjusted my to-do lists for the week and drove 45 minutes to their house on Tuesday morning. I was still able to get stuff done, but being out of my normal routine always put a hitch in my productivity. I think if I had come into 2021 with the mentality that I had to hit hard and fast goals on a strict timeline, this would have thrown me for more of a loop. Instead I was able to take it, adjust as needed, and still make some headway on my own stuff while getting to be present and support my family!

  1. Rearranging and decluttering – This seems to be a never ending task in our house as we are constantly discovering new and better ways to use our space. Earlier this week we decided that we want to build a new kitchen table that will fit our space better and start utilizing the bar countertop we have. This meant I needed to find a new place/configuration for the storage shelves that are currently under the bar area. And then move the trash can under another counter into a cabinet area. Both of those actions required decluttering some other cabinets and drawers to free up space to relocate items. Whenever I have projects like this, I go into a bit of a frenzy to get it all done at once. But when I finished, everything had a place minus a few old pans, a teapot, and some other hodgepodge items to donate. And I like the new configuration so much more! We now have room to get a new table and some chairs for the bar!
  2. Watching Disney World YouTube with my mom – We had to postpone a big family trip to Disney World until next year, but we’re already in planning mode! Since we were just resting and relaxing at the house, my mom and I watched a couple YouTubers walk through Animal Kingdom and it was a lot of fun! If you are planning a trip anywhere, rest assured that someone has done a YouTube video with all the things you can do and see!
  3. Lilacs are blooming – Lilacs are pervasive where I live and I love this time of year when they all bloom in colors of purple, white and pink. In my neighborhood there are some giant lilac plants with tons of blossoms. My own little lilac didn’t bloom last year, we think some weed killer blew onto the buds because the leaves came in all deformed. But this year it is happy and healthy and full of flowers! Makes me very happy.
  4. Broccoli Cheese Potato Soup meal prep – I’ve been really into having soup for lunch but it was getting a little spendy to keep buying it at the store. I mean, I usually wanted to get the good soups, not just ramen or Campbell’s chicken noodle. So this week I told myself I’d make a big pot of soup for the week and it was delicious! I didn’t really follow a recipe, but I sautéed half a diced onion in a tiny bit of olive oil, then added a few cups of cubed red potatoes (I think they hold up better in soups than the big russets), chopped broccoli florets and 4 cups of vegetable broth and let that cook for awhile until the potatoes were just tender. Then I added 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream and 1/2 cup of milk. I let that simmer for a few minutes and then added a lot of shredded cheddar cheese. It was not a healthy soup, but it was deeeeelicious! And a small bowl of it was nice and filling.
  5. Writing inspiration – I had a few really good writing sessions this week where the words and ideas just flowed. It feels really great when you sit down and realize you’ve written 1500 words in 30 minutes! For reference, other days it’s like pulling nails to get 500 words on the page in a full day of writing. So hopefully I’m moving in the right direction with my ideas so inspiration keeps coming!

Friday Five Things 5/14

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“You build your mind, so make it into something you want to live with.” – Marilynne Robinson

Hi friends. As seems to be the norm these days, it was a week for difficult and upsetting news. The escalating conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and the increasingly desperate COVID situation in India make it feel like things are spiraling in a hopeless direction. I watch the local and national news every night, I follow news accounts on Instagram, I check the AP and CNN apps regularly throughout the day, so I am not sticking my head in the sand nor am I advocating for anyone else to ignore what is happening around us. But again, I think it’s important to acknowledge the good alongside the bad; the joy alongside the sorrow. So here’s what brought a smile to my face amongst difficult times this week.

  • Chicken field trip – Earlier this week Tyler texted me around 5:30pm to come out to the front yard. He had let the chickens through the garage into our overgrown side yard and they were having the time of their lives! It was all fresh, damp dirt for them to scratch through and I saw at least three of them catch and slurp up big fat worms like spaghetti. We had to herd them out of the neighbors yard a couple times, but other than that they were perfectly content to stay put and dig away. And it was so fun to watch them have a little field trip!
  • Cucumbers – I’ve been on a cucumber kick recently. Usually they are pretty low on my list of things I’m craving, but I have been making a lot of cucumber salads for lunch. Or slicing them and dipping in Bitchin’ Sauce or Yum Yum Sauce! Soooo good.
  • Getting dressed – After several months of simply changing from “last night’s pajamas” into “tonight’s pajamas” I have finally started to get dressed in real clothing every day. I think it’s mostly due to the fact that I’m getting out more thanks to the vaccine and nicer weather. But I have to admit, it’s nice to pick out an outfit that isn’t the same rotation of sweat pants and t-shirts every day!
  • Babies! – I have several friends who are pregnant right now and, while having kids isn’t the journey I chose for myself, I LOVE seeing my friends become moms!
  • Hanging baskets – Ever since we moved into our current house I have wanted to have beautiful, overflowing hanging baskets of flowers on my front porch. And last year was the first year I was able to keep any potted flowers alive on our west-facing front patio. It gets blistering hot full afternoon sun in the summer and usually my potted plants just wither and die from it. I think it helped that I was home and spent a lot of time out front to keep tabs on how they were doing. I just bought two gorgeous baskets of petunias, lobelias, and some kind of green vine-y thing. I have high hopes for them this summer!