Unplug

Hi gang!  Yesterday was a much needed “unplug” day from everything.  No work, no blog, no run, and computer interaction to a minimum.  I very much needed some time away which I feel is important.  If we don’t get time to recharge then everything in life becomes stale and routine.   Especially blogging! I definitely think everyone could use some chill time when it comes to blogging and not stress about getting a post out everyday or every 10 minutes depending on the style of your blog.

I woke up early for my run yesterday and was not feeling it.  I was dreading it,  as in, ” *sigh* Today’s my long run which means I have to go all the way out there and back.  Man I just don’t want to run that.”

I love my long runs as much as I love my right arm so when a time pops up that I am dreading a long run, then it’s time to chill out.  This wasn’t one of those moments were you are debating a run, this was a moment of “Oh I really don’t want to do this.”  That is a completely different mindset because even if you go out anyway, you’ll hate it.

I’m not trying to hate on exercise and activity.  Instead I slept in, took Rocky for a long walk, and then spent the rest of the day being productive.  I was really hungry when I got back from the walk so I made a wee Owl bowl of yogurt, homemade granola, and some chocolate chips.  Hey, I might not have done a long run, but I still wanted some chocolate!

I watched a little Food TV but mostly I moved things to the kitchen to be even more productive.  I’m one of those people who consider spending time in the kitchen as time well spent.  If I’m making something and prepping for the day, then I’m a pretty happy person.  Because it was a “special” unplug day, I decided we should have a special breakfast.  I got Scotty up early so I would have some company and so I could see him a bit more since I didn’t get to spend much time with him on Saturday.  I was being selfish. ;)

I figured yesterday was the perfect day for some homemade cinnamon rolls (totally vegan of course)!

I made the dough ahead of time and let that rise for about an hour.  When it was time to spread on the filling is when I got Scott up for the day.  I like nuts with my cinnamon rolls and the filling for these have pecans and walnuts.

Sorry for the unintentional flash!  Cinnamon rolls look and sound fancy but they are super easy to make.  Once the filling is spread on, you just roll everything up!

And slice! Depending on how big you want them will determine how big the slices are.  I did about 2 inches.

After they are placed in a baking dish, let rise again for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes.  Bake, and top with a glaze.

Then eat!  I made these a little too sweet, yikes!  I could only handle 1.5 of these bad boys before my mouth puckered shut.  I have no idea what I was thinking when I sweetened them!  I guess I just figured that cinnamon rolls are sweet and these should be the same way.  Next time, I’ll cut the sugar way down.  Despite being overly sweet, they were very yummy and a nice Sunday treat!

Scott and I spent the rest of the day cleaning out the garage.  We had a ton of stuff that needed taken to Goodwill and other stuff that just needed thrown out.  We had a yard-sale over three years ago and the leftover stuff was supposed to get donated.  Procrastination at its finest!

Yesterday I’d had enough and set forth a plan to get rid of the junk.  We have so much stuff it really isn’t funny, it’s frustrating.  We have a lot of hand-me-downs to get rid of and a lot of things that we don’t use or want anymore to get rid.

The hardest thing to get rid of?  Furniture.  No one wants it and if they do, then you are responsible for getting it to them.  Right.  A couch isn’t fitting in our little hobbit car.  We have no way to transport larger items and renting something in order to transport something you are giving away for free seems silly.  Goodwill will not come and pick up items, I asked.  Any suggestions?

We were sweating buckets yesterday while we cleaned out the garage.  The thermometer at the post office said it was 98!  No wonder we were hot!  Welcome back summer.  That was a short trip!

Finally we showered and it was time to fill the bellies again.

While the chicken was roasting, we had a little cheese platter with:

  • Jarlsberg
  • A sheep’s milk cheese (I forget the name)
  • Robusto
  • Wheat crackers
  • Sunflower seed and basil crackers

With some white wine spritzers for fun.

Side salads for dinner that had been chilling in the fridge for several hours (best way to eat salads!)

  • Romaine
  • Grape tomatoes
  • Red onion
  • Carrot
  • Pumpkin and sunflower seeds
  • Homemade croutons

Topped with a easy balsamic dijon dressing.

The chicken was glorious!  Local chicken legs that swam around in a lovely cider-brine for several hours.  A little different this time around, no cranberry juice and a bit more sugar (because I was doing 8 legs at one time).  Then I let them hang out with a cocoa-chili rub and finally roasted them at 400 for about 45 minutes.

To quote Scott, he said, “These legs are freakin’ unbelievable.”

For the record, he was in fact referring to the chicken dinner.

Some local summer corn on the side that rounded out a tasty and extremely easy to make Sunday Supper!

We settled down to finish off the evening by finishing The Tick series.  Best. Show. Ever.

Then I went to bed to prepare for another week!  How was your weekend? What yummy homecooked foods did you enjoy?

This post is part of the Homespun Sunday Series.  If you would like to join, just let me know!

10 thoughts on “Unplug

  1. I know the feeling of just needing a good day un-plugged! Good for you for taking some time to yourself. And it looks like you cookedup quite a few good recipes! I’m liking the cinnamon rolls! :) I created a yummy eggplant & yellow squash meal last night. I sauteed them both in coconut milk and garlic – mixed in some cinnamon, cumin, curry powder, ginger powder and onion powder. Then topped it on rice and rolled into a flour torilla for a really yummy curry burrito. YUM!

  2. Heather says:

    Re – the furniture – you can’t freecycle it with the stipulation that they pick up?

    Also here there are companies called The Junk Man (or a variation of them) – you call them and they haul stuff to the junk yard (actually what they do is they recycle, reuse and dispose of it) – they do charge but it’s better than it hanging around your house for years.

  3. I am totally geeking out about that owl bowl. I LOVE owls!

    I also love cinnamon rolls but they really freak me out. So intimidating! I’ll have to get over and just try.

    This weekend I made a homemade breakfast casserole that I used to love growing up. It did not photograph well (casseroles never do) but it was so good! I made a few healthy tweaks and was happy with the results.

  4. There are so many times when I have to talk to myself to see if I am really feeling a run. Usually if it’s my mind that fighting it, I can overpower it, but if it’s my body, I always try to listen.

    You definitely made up for the run thought. Homemade cinnamon rolls would have DEFINITELY won over the run for me! ;)

  5. Sounds like a great day. I love to spend my days in the kitchen, too, when I need some down time. Though, I spend most of my time baking, not cooking! :)
    And I say the more sugar the better!! Haha.
    Happy Monday!

  6. I like unplugging sometimes too. In fact that’s what I largely did this past weekend upon my return from my trip. I didn’t check in on the internet. I wasn’t connected. And I was more at peace for it. :)

    I even managed to read a book!

    But now I’m back. And back to coming on your lovely blog!

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