Pin Test

I enjoy trying new things. It's one of the reasons I love Pinterest so much - I can find new and interesting things and give them a try. If you're not a member, you should totally join because it's a super fun site. Warning: You may get a little addicted at first and spend hours on there.

I even started a board of pins I've tried and then rated how well they turned out, which you can check out here.

Which is one reason why I soooo love the Pintester. The Pintester, Sonja Foust, tries her hand at popular pins and the results are sometimes successful and sometimes a failure, but always funny. She's having a challenge this week for her readers to try out a pin and blog or send comments about the results. I signed up to participate in the movement without really thinking it through. (See more about the movement here.)

One thing I quickly learned in perusing my Things to Try, Food & Drink and Doctor Who Merchandise & Crafts boards - I pin way more things than I have the ability or wherewithal to actually do. Sure, I'd love to make that cute little crochet bracelet, but I'm still trying to figure out how to make a simple Granny Square. Canadian nanaimo bars? Sure, but do I really need that much sweet stuff around? And what self-respecting Whovian wouldn't want their very own hand crafted Weeping Angel? But I don't have time for that right now. So I decided to go with a pin that I actually have the skills and "ingredients" for - dipped color blocked spoons, pictured above.

Start with your standard wooden utensils

It's really not a difficult process. You just tape off the handles and dip them in paint. You can use more than one color, like in the original tutorial found here, or you can just use one color, like I did. Not surprisingly, I used TARDIS blue. Dip the handles into the paint, remove excess with a brush, and find a place to let them dry.

I used a small Mason jar

This has been a learning experience for me in a number of ways. Let me spell it out for you:

• When you dip wooden spoons into paint and then upend them in a jar, the extra paint has a tendency to run downward, threatening to go past the paint tape, requiring that you constantly dab away any stray paint to prevent ruining the whole point of the paint tape in the first place.
• When you display your wooden spoons in a ceramic jar with the handles in the jar, no one can see the painted handles, and if you turn them the other way around, no one knows what they're looking at.
• When you realize that you pinned the spoons in the first place from a board called Arts & Crafts for the Elderly, you feel really silly. Especially considering the name of my blog. (I laughed my butt off when I noticed this.)

So while this pin certainly was no failure, it fails to impress. I'd give it a 5 out of 10.

 

You can see all my "hard" work, right?

Ah, much better

What NOT to Do After 40

I've seen several articles in various locations recently about things you shouldn't do after the age of 40: Don't wear your hair long, don't wear mini-skirts, don't wear baby-doll tees, etc. But you know what I say? Don't tell me what to do!

That's one of the benefits of being over 40. By now, we generally know whether we can pull off a mini-skirt (no), a baby-doll tee (maybe) or long hair (yes). That's the whole point of getting older, isn't it? Learning what works and what doesn't and being daring enough to do the things we want.

Besides, I'd rather focus on things to do after 40. Enjoy family more. Embrace who I am. Try new recipes. Read books I enjoy and give a try to those outside my usual fare.

Speaking of books and being over forty, here's one that sounds like it might be fun: 40 Things to Do When You Turn 40

So enjoy who you are and work to make improvements based on your values, not on those of other people.

Southwest Pasta

Sorry the picture is blurry.  I'm a better cook than photographer!

I thought I'd share a recipe with you.  This is something I created myself and you can adjust amounts to your desired tastes.  You could even adjust ingredients.

• 1/4 pound ground beef or ground turkey
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 cup chopped green peppers
• 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 can black beans, drained
• 1 chopped garlic clove
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• Dash of cayenne pepper
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions

Brown the ground meat with the onions and green peppers in a small amount of olive oil.  Drain excess fat if necessary.  Add in remaining ingredients except pasta and heat through, adjusting seasoning to fit your tastes.  Add in a spoonful or two of the pasta cooking water if needed to make it saucier.  Mix in the drained pasta and serve.  This makes a couple of large servings.  Hope you enjoy!

Spam

I hate to do this because I know how annoying those captcha things are, but I'm going to have to add word verification back to my comments because I'm getting spammed on one particular post.  I don't really have time to delete 10 comments every day asking you to buy various drugs, but I hope you have the few extra moments it takes to make a comment when you are so inclined.

Sorry, folks.  It's always the jerks who make the world difficult for the rest of us.

Happy New Year!

Wow!  It's been ages since I've written.  Sorry about that.  But one of my resolutions for 2013 is to blog more often.

Are you making resolutions this year?  I recently heard a news pundit say that no one really does that - that the only people who talk about resolutions are journalists with nothing better to write about.  I think that may just apply to that pundit, because I certainly do make resolutions.  Granted, I didn't make resolutions when I was a kid, but now I'm more introspective and see things that need to be changed about myself and my routine.

Some people think that setting goals can help provide a sense of calm, as well as a direction.  Sometimes when we hang up that new calendar, we wonder what we'll do with all those days ahead.  Goals give us a sense of purpose as we head into the new year.

45% of Americans usually make new year's resolutions
17% make resolutions infrequently
38% absolutely never make resolutions

The figures above are from the Journal of Clinical Psychology.  The same journal also reported, however, that people who make resolutions are 10 times more likely to reach their goals than those who don't make it a resolution.

So while I have lots of things I'd like to accomplish this year, there are some certain things that I'm setting down as resolutions that I will make every effort to do.

• Blog at least once every week, preferably twice
• Work on my novel every week
• Lose 10 more pounds

What are your resolutions?