Back in the Saddle

So, I started back to work on Monday.

It was painful.

It wasn't all bad, as I got to interact with people and got a little bit done, and the dogs and cats were delighted to see me when I got home.  It made for a change, because lately, they've kind of looked up as a move from one room to another with this kind of meh look on their faces.  I know, being home for six weeks in entirety makes for a very same-o same-o existence.

I'm on a mission to pack lunches this year.  I get really bad about eating gas station food, like, every day.  Every. Stinking. Day.  Uck.  So this year, I bought some back to school gear for myself, like the amazing Lunchbot container.  It's divided, so I can put stuff in either side and they do not touch.  That is very important.  No lunch bits mingling unsupervised.  No goo running into the crunchy things.  Everybody stays on their side of the divider, and nobody gets hurt.

I even found it in pink.

from www.lunchbots.com--It's PINK!

For my condiments and little snacks, like nuts or chopped fruit, I got some little stainless steel containers that are perfect.  One did leak some ketchup the other day into my pink insulated bag, but overall, they are pretty nice.  They were cheap, too--which is maybe why it leaked. 

The handy dandy greentainer, as found on amazon.com

And I got a couple of those neato dorito BNTO containers to fit inside my mason jars.

from www.cuppow.com

(I also use a mason jar with one of those handy BPA free plastic Ball lids to haul some water in.  I am so on trend it is scary.)

I know, I am treading into dangerous kitschy trendy areas here, but there is something about getting "stuff" that helps to make a tedious task easier.  At the end of a long day, I don't really want to make a lunch for the next work day.  I just want to forget I have to go to work.  Again.  But, I also get really, really tired of eating pretzels and cheese sticks from the Kwik Trip.  It is not as Wayne's World-Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure cool as it once was to hit the convenience store for nosh.  So, I have the gear and now I feel the need to justify having purchased it:  so, I make lunch.  I've been reading cookbooks for entertainment for weeks now--there are a shocking number of recipes involving Jello out there--and I've compiled a list of things to make on the weekends/evenings that are packable and/or freezable to then be used for lunch.  So far, it's been mini meatloaves with gerkins.  Today's lunch?  Brocolli salad, cheese, pretzels, and kiwi.  All in tidy little containers that would make a character on Portlandia proud.

No gas station involved.  Not bad for Day #2 of a new work year.