Goal Getter /// June 2016

JUNE 2016

FAMILY (100%)

• Spend time with Mr. LL's Family (100%)
• Spend time with my family (100%)

NOTES: We are going to Mr. LL's dad's today for father's day. Four generations of father's will be there.

SOCIAL LIFE (0%)

• Book club (0%)
• D&D with friends (0%)

NOTES: 

HEALTH (15%)

• Meal plan every week (25%)
• Stick to said meal plan every week (20%)
• Try to work out at least TWICE this month (0%)

NOTES: Ugh, this past week was a huge FAIL. But it's just so freakin' hot!

 FINANCIAL (60%)

• Pay off at least one credit card (100%)
• Get to Mr. LL's financial goal (80%)
• Maintain my personal "minimum" balance in my account (0%)

NOTES: We've had a set-back which hit Mr. LL pretty hard, emotionally. But we'll bounce back.

CLEANLINESS  (67%)

• Keep going with the "chores" (50%)
• Create a cleaning challenge for myself (100%)
• Complete the cleaning challenge (50%)

NOTES: Well...read about it tomorrow.

BLOGGING/FREELANCE  (45%)

• Get posts ready for the month (70%)
• Write at least one post A WEEK for LV Book Design (75%)
• Work on more planner printables (0%)
• Work on new designs for shop in July (0%)
• Finish From Side Hustle to Success course (100%)
• Finish RAVE course (5%)
• Finish with current client (100%)
• Find new freelance clients (15%)

NOTES: My freelance calendar is now open. I need to find some new clients who need amazing book covers designed!

Takenoko /// Once A Month Gamer

From the publisher's website: Long, long ago, the Emperor of China offered the Emperor of Japan a Giant Panda in a gesture of peace. You have been appointed to the delicate task of caring for this politically-important Panda and tending to the Emperor’s illustrious bamboo garden. You must cultivate plots of land using irrigation and intelligence so that bamboo, the only food that the Panda will eat, grows in abundance. But beware of the sacred animal’s uncontrollable appetite for crunchy young sprouts… 

PUBLISHER:
Asmodee, Matagot

DESIGNER(S):
Antoine Bauza

COST: $49.99

THEME: Animals, Farming, Strategy

---

We haven't played this game a whole lot, yet, because it is farely new to our collection. However, we played it none stop the week we got it. It is a lot of fun and I have yet to win, lol. You are tasked with working the bamboo gardens and caring for the Giant Panda, all while competing against other players to score the most points by completing as many of the objectives as you can.

There are three types of objectives:

• Plot Objectives, which award you points for creating a certain configuration of colored plots on the board.
• Gardening Objectives, which award points for growing colors of bamboo to certain heights, before the Panda eats them.
• Panda Objectives, which award points for eating certain combinations of colored bamboo.

You can only grow a certain color of bamboo on the matching color plot of land (ie: green bamboo only grows on green tiles), and you have to make sure you irrigate the land or have a water source on an adjacent tile in order to grow any bamboo. You also have to roll the weather dice, which will have different affects on your turn (example, the gentle Rain causes the bamboo to grow, allowing you to place a bamboo section on a garden plot of your choice).

Honestly, this game is a little complicated as there are a lot of things you can do but you only get two actions each turn. However, the game itself is beautiful and very well designed.

IMAGE VIA PUBLISHER

If you combine the price (at almost $50, it's one of the pricier games) and the learning curve, this isn't a game I would necessarily recommend to every one. However, if you are an experienced gamer and want a new game that it is fun and beautiful, then go for it! 

Meat Pies /// Lazy Cooking

Before we get to the post, a sad story: I took probably not beautiful pictures for this post, but then discovered that someone (I'm looking at you kitten Cake) has destroyed my card reader for my camera's memory card. So, sorry for the lack of photos. Anyway...

I never really heard of "meat pies" aside from things like chicken pot pie and shepherd's pie before I moved to New Orleans. Before I met my husband, really. But Mr. LL LOVES them. The meat pies I'm talking about are pastry folded over a meat filling. They can be beef, crawfish, whatever. I found a recipe online for some pulled pork meat pies, but didn't make it. Instead, I got inspired to make a stupid easy/lazy version and put some pork in crock pot with taco seasoning and let it cook all day while we were at work. Then, I shredded it, and took a can of refrigerated biscuits, rolled them out and spooned the mixture onto half of the dough, topped it with a little bit of shredded cheese (because cheese goes with everything). I folded over the dough, forked the edges and put them on a greased pan and cooked them according to the biscuit instructions. They came out amazing.

This time, I decided to do a roast filled meat pie...because that was the meat that was on sale at the grocery store. They were good but a little dry. However, we just took some of the "gravy" made by the roast in the crockpot and used it as a dipping sauce. That worked out really well.

I really like this recipe because it is the temperature of Hades right now in NOLA and I do NOT want to be dealing with a hot stove. You do have to have the oven on, but not for too long. And you get a delicious meal (oh and a TON of leftover meat because you can only put so much in the pies, so there's your meat to use during the week) in 10 minutes. You can put it with a salad or any other side and your done!

Meat Pies