Work has finally become more manageable, no longer requiring me to work after-hours and on the weekends. Hopefully, this means I will have more time for the fun things. More time for the things I look forward to doing. More time for using my hands for more than typing. More time to attend to my little monsters.

Work hasn’t slowed so much that I feel like cooking in the evenings. So, Sunday was my day for preparing our meals for next week. I cooked for five hours. I made two dishes from How to Cook Everything, lentils with onions and rice and a couscous casserole, followed by my almost-famous cranberry banana muffins.

I roasted red peppers and caramelized onions. I mixed and I poured and I mashed. By the end of the evening, I was pretty darn worn out. The muffins needed to be baked, then I could wash up and call it a night. As the batter settled into the tenth muffin tin, I let out a little groan. Dave asked what was wrong. The defeated look on my face must have been answer enough, since he offered to go get us some beer.

I’d forgotten to add the cranberries to the cranberry banana muffins.

After assuring me banana muffins were just as good, Dave popped out and picked up some Blue Moon Winter Abbey Ale. This seasonal beer is one of our winter favorites.

While he was out, I studded to tops of the muffins with cranberries and put them in the oven.

Dave is right. Banana muffins with a cranberry after-thought are pretty good.

It’s only 10 January, and I’m in a bit of a rut. Well, I’ve been in a rut for some time now. The holidays broke up my routine, but now that life is back to normal, my habits have fallen back into place. I haven’t given up on my new year goals, but the shiny, new feel has already worn off 2012.

I’ve already worked a decent amount of overtime this year, and it is a wee 10 days old.
It’s time to shake things out here in Monsterland.

I’ve been thinking about taking a class of some sort. Crochet? Copy editing? Photography? Photoshop? Really, the idea of giving up my free time isn’t that appealing. My hope is that once I start learning something and being challenged, it won’t feel like a sacrifice of my time.

Yesterday, my friend Jim shared a video on his blog. I usually read/watch/listen to recommendations from Jim, because he has pretty well rounded tastes and leads me to things I probably would not encounter if left to my own devices. Whether I like them or not, at least I’ve experienced something new.

In the case of yesterday’s video, I loved it. I emailed to it to my Mom, shared it on G+, made my boyfriend watch it in my presence. It only made sense to share it here. (There is some foul language, you’ve been warned.)

I didn’t find the start of the video too promising (I wondered if the mother was a little tipsy), but it gets so much better. My favorite moment is at 1:28. Bublé’s reaction is so genuine, it just makes me happy. And how exciting for that teenager!

Today, I am finally feeling better. After messing about with a cold/flu/throat problem for 16 days, I can finally speak a full sentence without coughing, wiping my nose, or wheezing. It’s the little things, really.

What I had hoped would be a promising start to this space halted just as quickly as it started. This time of year is busy, and work has been busier than usual as well. Add to that being sick for two weeks, and here we are.

Work is still busy, and Christmas is less than two weeks away, but I have renewed hope that I will update more regularly.

As for the picture of the Thanksgiving potluck recipes, I can offer only one:

blue cheese and chive straws

The straws were a huge hit. Considering how easy they are to make, they are making their debut at family Christmas. They are a bit crumbly, so careful handling is recommended. As you can see from the photo, I was not overly careful.

The cranberry and apple relish was only okay. With so many available recipes, it’s probably not something that I would make again. For Chrismas, I’ll be making this recipe, from Cooking Light.

And so begins the tackling of my RLMs…