{ Kitchen day and a little change in publishing posts }

Good morning everyone.  It's a gorgeous day here in North Texas, there is not a single cloud in the blue sky, 63 degrees and just beautiful. 

Yesterday was a kitchen day for me, and I'll show you below what I did, but I first wanted to talk about the blog posts and when I'm putting them up and so forth.

First and foremost, I have to say I'm so proud of myself for sticking with the daily posting all month long.  I didn't think I could do, it's been a while since I've deliberately taken the time to sit down and put up and update every day, and you know how it goes,w hen you lose that habit it's quite hard to get back into it.

But I pushed through, the first two weeks were the hardest, I would sometimes get ready for bed and realize I didn't get the post up so quickly get back up, turn the computer back on and edit photos, post and so on.

I'm happy I did though because I have the love for blogging back and I'm enjoying the daily blogging again.

With that said, I do need to make a slight change.  You may not have noticed, or you may, but I was putting my posts up every single night.  I've managed to stick with that but it's a bit of pressure on me to do it each night and sometimes I hardly have time to do it, or I'm staying up later than usual to get it done.  I'm also taking my laptop to bed and sitting up in bed with it in my lap, working on editing, writing, publishing and so on.

That's all great, except for the fact that I've noticed a pattern.....when I do this, after a week or two, I get my lower back pain again, and I think it's due to the fact that I'm sitting with legs stretched out and my arm kind of draped down on the bed with the mouse. 

It also completely messes with my neck and shoulder.  So, in order to take away that nonsense and to also take that pressure off me to absolutely, without a doubt, get that post up every night, I've decided to start posting them the next morning.

It's nothing new, I used to do it this way many years ago.  The only thing that it will affect, is that the posts and pictures I share, will reflect the day before instead of that immediate day, and you won't notice a missed day, except for yesterday and that's only because I'm starting this new post schedule today.

Whew!!!  Ok, now that I got that out of the way, let's see what I did yesterday, and mind you, I had my lower back/sciatica pain yesterday so took it very slow, many breaks, a few stretches here and there, used the Tens Unit and Icy Hot Balm and so on....but I still managed to get a few things done in the kitchen.

The very first thing I did while getting the kitchen clean and the dishes unloaded from the washer, was to start my bread machine with dough for some bread loaves. 

I love my bread machine but I am not a fan of the size and shape of the loaves that it produces, so what I will usually do is use it for the dough cycle and then I remove it, shape it and let it rise the second time and then bake in the oven.  Works a treat!!!

If you're looking for some good bread recipes, there are quite a few over on my food blog. 

Next thing I did was get to work on chopping up my pineapple.  I know you can buy it already chopped up and I understand that it's convenient but for me it's a waste of money, when I can chop it up myself at home for much cheaper.

Peeled, sliced into chunks and popped into tupperware tubs.

The next thing on the list was the cantaloupe, which is also a favorite around here.

Chop off the ends, cut in half, remove the seeds and then chop into small cubes, removing the skin obviously.

I find that with my kids, if the fruit is chopped and in clear tubs that they can see, they tend to eat a lot more of it, so even though this takes a bit of prep time, it's well worth the time.

Lastly, I tried a new recipe for a quick banana streusel cake, but it didn't turn out exactly how I wished it, so I'll have to work on that recipe a little more and then I'll be able to share with you all.

This morning I'm taking it easy again, I've done a few stretches for my sore back, just had the Tens unit on for 30 minutes, and gotta just be careful with the way I bend or move so as not to exacerbate it.

I need to work on my core, I feel it's extremely weak, because for years even just standing at the kitchen sink doing dishes for 5 minutes, my lower back would start hurting.  As I've gotten older, the sciatica has gotten worse and that in itself puts a lot of strain on my lower back, so it's time to start working on taking care of my body and not just neglecting it like I've done the past year (as in not exercising at all).

Monday I plan on starting something out, a new cleaning routine, so we will see how it goes.

Can you believe that Monday is already October?  Where has this year gone?

Well, I'm off to get dressed for the day, make my bed and tidy up my bedroom a little, get the dishwasher unloaded and reloaded and then get ready to leave the house.

I haven't had a haircut since March and it's well past the time, so going in to do that, I'll show you all how it turns out later.  I'm thinking a short bob, not asymmetrical like I've done for ages, but just a straight plain textured bob of some kind.  Wish me good luck!!!

Have a wonderful Friday everyone, and I'll see you all tomorrow.