The best $4.99 I ever spent.

I almost asked J to put it back.

J loves having an excuse to go through the toy aisles and pick things out for Baby M. Most of the time I encourage him to put it back since we both know Baby doesn't need the toys.

This time I didn't, and the soft tonka dump truck was given to the Baby.

All through Target, Baby M sat in his seat and pushed on the truck...whenever it made the rumbling driving noise, he laughed. He talked to the truck and didn't leave go through the entire trip.

At that point I already knew I was glad we were getting it, but little did I know.

Last night Baby M slept great at first...and I maybe stayed up a little to late writing, and of course as soon as I managed to tear myself away and go to bed, his eyes popped open thanks to the little alarm that goes off in his head whenever he senses me lying down.

Up at one thirty, up at three thirty...I finally laid him back down, screaming and throwing a fit, and showed him the truck that J had put in his crib. He stopped crying and reached out to hold it.

I went back to bed, gladly falling asleep...until I heard the truck rumbling from his bedroom (it's loud!), and then I hear giggling...and then talking...more rumbling...more laughing. I glance at the clock...it's four in the morning.

Then I go back to sleep.

Now I'm wondering if maybe I should go back to Target and buy them all. I mean what happens if the batteries die, or we loose it, or it gets broken? This is like the best thing that ever happened to me since breastfeeding became easy!

Baby has been down for a nap since ten...it's 12:30...do you know what I hear from his bedroom?
Rumbling...and laughing...and the occasional loud thump when he hits something with the truck.

No, I don't clip my son's nails...why ever do you ask?

Weekend Snowstorm

These are my two favorite photographs of the storm. I'm so glad I caught the mailboxes when I did becuase currently my husband is digging them out of a six foot pile of crusty, muddy, salted, sticky, gooey, cess piley, snow.

It's pretty gross...and it's wicked hard work. He sent me down to do it yesterday and I cried, stamped my feet, kicked the pile, heaved two shovefulls off the pile and then called it a day.

"Did you clear the mailbox?"

"Uhh..yeah I have the mailman a little hump thing to get on."

"What are you talking about? I said clear...did you clear the snow away from the mailbox?"

"Yeah...you know the hump thing...he just drives up and humps his front tire on the snow."

"No I said CLEAR."

"Well, you know J, all we need to do is let him get close enough to reach over and stick the mail in...that's good enough."

*sigh of frustration from J*

So yeah, he's finishing the job.

Pepper Steak & Brown Rice

Brown rice just happened to be one of those things where J ate it, and then decided he liked it. It's my trump card when I aruge with my MIL about whether or not J eats anything healthy.

This recipe is pretty okay health wise, I like to think that the peppers in it add a little something healthy to the sauce (or at least I hope since J picks the peppers out). I love the peppers with the sauce, and this is a great easy meal that everyone likes.

I got this recipe from my MIL. It was a very sweet gift...she gave me a recipe box filled with recipe cards containing the recipes that J likes! Plus a few of her speciality's. And...how cool is this...the recipe cards all have lemons and limes on them...cuz you know...I'm a Lemon....haha..okay anyways.

Start by making enough rice for your family. I am boiling 4 cups of water to make 2 cups of brown rice, but I wanted some leftover to give to the baby for meals.

While that is cooking, get out your beef. Now, my MIL's recipe says 1 pound of lean beef, round steak. I have used the "stew" meat in the grocery store...the stuff that's already cut up into big chunks. I liked it because, back when I had no kitchen, it was easier to buy something that didn't involve cutting (I only had plastic butter knives). It works pretty well for the lazy person in me...but J does always ask me "What kind of meat did you use for this?" So this time, since I happened to buy a huge package of round steaks on sale from Sam's Club, I did in fact use the correct meat. I can grudgingly admit that it might be the way to go on this....
So that would be one pound of lean round steak.

Don't be afraid of my brown meat....did you know that in order to for the meat to look "appetizing" to the general public, the meat in your grocery store is injected with dye and blood to keep the red, fresh appearance.
My blood and dye drained into my fridge. That's right....I had to clean it out. uck.
Cut into bite sized peices. I trimmed the thick fat off but left just a little on the edge.

Now put Two tablespoons of butter into a skillet, and 1 tablespoon of paprika.

Brown your meat in that mixture

Now here are the ingrediants for the sauce: Soy sauce, garlic powder, beef stock/broth, cornstarch, minced onion, and 1 green bell pepper, paprika (but we already used it)

J stopped in to give his stamp of approval so far....

After your meat is browned, add 1 1/2 cups of beef broth. My MIL uses 2 beef buillion cubes disolved in hot water but I generally just buy some broth or stock.

Add 1/2 teaspoon of garlic

Then cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.

I love recipes like this becuase I'm in the kitchen, the baby is in his high chair occupied...and 30 minutes of downtime with the baby contained means I can unload the dishwasher, load the dishwasher, and clean the kitchen so that when dinner is over I've got like a couple plates to load and a pan to wash and that's it.

I hate recipes where I'm cooking the entire time becuase then my kitchen is a disaster area when it's over and disasters are overwhelming.

So anyways...after 30 minutes come back to your wonderful meat.

Stir in your cut up bell pepper (I do really thick slices becuase J likes to pick them out. You can dice them small to try and get your picky family members to eat them...but if you like peppers this is the way to go becuase it adds so much wonderful flavor to keep them big).

Add 1 tablespoon of dried onion

My tablespoon isn't so full becuase I *gasp* have run out of dried onion. I think that's what happens when you hate cutting up onions so you just subsitute dried onion for everything.

I think I really need to learn how to cut up onions.

Cover this and simmer for another 10 minutes, just to get those peppers softened up a bit

Meanwhile, in a seperate bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of corn starch (go easy on it...I just heaped some tablespoons this time and threw it in and my sauce turned out a little thicker than I'd like, so yeah...be a better cook than me!)

And 1/4 cup of soy sauce

1/4 cup of water

Relx my water isn't brown....I just re-used the measuring cup.

And whisk in the bowl with the cornstarch

Then dump into the skillet with the meat.

Cook over medium heat until the mixture is clear and thickened, stirring the whole time.

When done, serve over rice. 

I made this for dinner during our storm and it was wonderful. Perfect meal for getting your energy up for the shoveling and for making you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Plus it whole heartedly meets picky boy's approval

After he picks out all the peppers, of course.

 

Pepper Steak & Brown Rice

3 cups of rice, cooked

1lb of lean beef, round steak, cut into small peices

1 Tablespoon of parika

2 Tablespoons of butter

2 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 cups of beef broth

1 Tablespoon of dried onion

1 green pepper cut into pieces

2 Tablespoons of cornstarch

1/4 cup of soy sauce

1/4 cup of water

1. Cook meat in butter and paprika

2. When meat is browned, add garlic and broth. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes

3. Stir in onions and green pepper

4. Cover and cook 5 more minutes

5. Blend water, soy sauce and cornstarch togehter. Stir into meat mixutre.

6. Cook stirring until clear and thickened

7. Serve over rice.

Things J Finds Essentiel To His Survival

J went to the grocery store to grab milk, per my request. I don't even drink that much but all this panic over milk and bread made me want some...plus I'm still enjoying my dairy freedom.
Anyways...left alone in a grocery store without my supervision resulted in him brining home the things he deemed neccesary to survive.

We have...
1. Doritos
2. Pretzels
3. Mini Donuts
4. Oreos
5. Chips Ahoy
6. Grape Jelly
7. Peanut Butter
8. Lucky Charms
9. White Bread
10. Beer
11. Mamwich mix (he had already bought 11lbs of ground meat the other day)
12. Two jeep magazines.

I couldn't help but laugh.

I COULD NOT MAKE THIS UP!

Did you see my post yesterday? The Art of Snowman?

Look at this, my siblings made this last night. I have no idea how they got it so high but they measured it and it's 15 feet tall!!

I could not have made this up, and I had no idea that when I was writing about it, they were making it!

The Art of Snowman.

The snow started at noon today and while the television stations are reporting around 2 feet of snow, word from my father in law (who did I ever mention is like the FOUNDER of the U.S. Coast Gaurd's Search and Rescue operations. Everything they are today is becuase of him....it's hard to remember this when he sends me emails about coon fat gravy) is that meterologists from the Air Force are saying 3 feet.

Regardless, it's snowing...and of course this means, snowmen.

I'm a calvin and hobbes kind of fan...okay, actually I have the entire collection on my bookshelf in my bedroom that J got me for a christmas gift the first year we were married. He loves them becuase I giggle when I read them. And since I'm a cold hearted witch 90% of the time, me giggling like a schoolgirl is something rather rare.

When we were early in our dating relationship, I brought a Calvin and Hobbes paperback to a friends house to read while he played video games. J kept getting distracted from the game becuase I kept giggling when I read them. I don't think I'll ever forget that look of "I like you...A LOT!" on his face when he would swivel his head around to watch me laugh, usually dying in the process and having to re-start the game.

Anyways...before I get all lost in warm and fuzzy memories...let me pull myself back to the present.
So, Calvin and Hobbes snowmen....yes, it's the ultimate art of the snowman...the snowman that as kids, you aspire to.

Me and my siblings always wanted to create one of two things with a snowman. 1. The HUGE GIANT snowman to rival all other snowman...quick someone call Guiness Book of World Records becuase we're going out to play and using all.the.snow. or 2. The complex and thoughtful snowman SCENE. Usually involving funny or violent death.

Number one never went so well becuase we'd spend hours rolling around this giant ball of snow, get it into a great location and then...well, you know, you need two other balls. Sometimes we'd roll the second ball before realizing that a forklift was neccesary to complete the task. By then someone had to pee and someone else had lost their gloves so everyone just trooped inside and called it quits. Or we'd realize the forklift situation before rolling the second and then try and just pile snow on top of the first ball, leaving a big ball with a small growth coming out it's top. Like a potato spud...
If you happened to drive by the yard come May, you might still see a giant ball of snow in the middle of the daffodils...still melting.

Number two never went so well becuase the scene generally revolved around the big snowman that never grew past a stumpy ball....or a fight ensued about the scene's direction-then someone goes crying into mom and then we all have to shovel. (God forbid we go inside, that would be the opposite of resolving a fight. Nothing fuels a good fight more than close quarters in wintertime)

So the eagerness of youth often left behind a stumpy ball or two, sitting lonesome in the front yard.

I'm usually impressed when I go past a yard that has a full, traditional snowman.
Seems like there must have been an adult involved to make that happen though. Or else it's just really boring kids.

There also might be the possibility that we were just a weird family....

Question for you....

I'm adding a section in the sidebar for my "best of" posts.

Here are the ones I've come up with so far:

Jack Daniels Barbeque
For J
Rattlesnake Stew
Every Mommy Needs A Poop Buddy


What do you think should or shouldn't be on that list.
What have enjoyed reading most on here?

My Mom.

My mom was is horse crazy. She was like the crazy, dorky red head who read horse books and had those horse figurines lining her bedroom.

She is a good girl. She once told me that she never tried beer because she didn't even like the smell. She got mad at my dad for spiking her drink on their honeymoon. But she has this weird fetish thing for leopard print bras and she always get's people lingerie for their wedding showers (even me and Rachel!...of course my ultra conservative grandmother also did, and she is my mom's mom so....)

When she was seventeen, she worked at a horse barn and bought herself a little pony. I think his name was Ezra or......uhmmm....Nehemiah....I'm not sure, all I know is, it was a weird old testament prophet name that she gave to this fat little pony. She competed in horse shows, worked at the barn....horses were her life.

Then, at seventeen, she met this guy.

Yeah....he was her youth leader...and she likes to tell me that he had this big old truck that he drove around...but she also mentions this Nova quite frequently. I am scared to think of what they did in a Nova, becuase she can't go past one without being like "Oohhhhh. I want to get one again." Then she sighs and looks off to her left.

They got married when she was eighteen or nineteen...I can't remember. Since it was the eighties my dad has a porno mustache and the wedding colors are pink and grey!

But I have to say, I've always loved my mom's dress. It was a hand me down from her sister. My mom is just unfussy like that. For the mid eighties, her dress is rocking classic.

Then my mom had babies....and she kind of got addicted to it...and they went through a "God will control our family size" phase...before you knew it she had 5 kids. We were poor and my dad was going to be ordained as a pastor. I hate shopping with my mom, but I remember when she put on this white skir suit. I fell in love with her in it. Her red hair, creamy skin, the suit....it was size 6 as my mom loves to point out...to this day I refuse to let her get rid of it, and I've never tried it on. It's always been my mom's suit...my gorgeous mom. I loved her in this suit.

Like my Harry Potter glasses? I also threw up that morning and I had just gotten back from summer camp...so I might have been clingy for reasons other than the fact that she was beautiful....but that's besides the point.

Then we moved to the country not long after that photo was taken. It was a huge turning point in my life. My mom had six kids, my dad was a first time senior pastor and it was a tense tense family situation.

She had horses again, but not like when she was a teenager...she had a little farm running, and we buried all our dead animals (horses, dogs, rabbits, birds, etc.) in the woods to the left of the swing in this photo.

 I started having an attitude. I hated Erie, I hated my parents, I wanted to go to college (I was 11). I started looking down on my mom for her life choices. I looked down on her for only graduating high school, I looked down on her for not going to college, I looked down on her for having kids so young, I looked down on her for having so many kids. Most of all, I looked down on her for the way she let my dad treat her. Erie was rough, my dad needed grace and love beyond my comprehension. My mom gave it to him.
Where most women would have gotten bitter and wanted a divorce, my mom loved and served. I didn't understand.

I left home at 16, spurning my mother and her choices with every fiber of my being. I wouldn't let my mother's life happen to myself.

Then at seventeen (well a week before I turned seventeen, so I was sixteen) I met a guy. And just like my mom, at nineteen I married him.
I helped my mom pick out the dress she wore to my wedding. I knew I wanted to see her in something like her old white suit. She wore a white sheath dress with a cream overcoat (it was Feburary). Her hair was still red and curly and she was still my beutiful mom.

And now I was begginning to understand her choices in life. I was understanding that the only reason my parents sat together at my wedding, still married (their 20th anniversary was that year), was becuase of my mom.
The reason I was understanding that was becuase in my marriage, I was the one needing the self sacrifical grace and love that my mother had extended to my father.

When Baby M was born, my mom came and coached me through the birth. Everyone in the hospital thought she was my sister. (she ate that one up!)
So my mom ended up being my best friend, my encourager, the person who was helping me understand how to navigate my own marriage and my own children. Now I call her and apologize for being such a bad kid, ask her for advice and let her know that something happened today that made me all of a sudden understand a different aspect of her life.

I can't believe I ever de-valued what my mother has contributed to this world. I mean look at it!

She gave birth to every single one of us without any pain medication, she exclusively breastfed us (even when breastfeeding was not popular), she homeschooled us all- three of us so far have (or will) graduate high school early. All of us who have graduated high school, have/are attending college. She ran the household, fed us for pennies, taught us how to cook, clean, manage a house, manage a garden, care for animals, provide for your family when you have no money. She has had various part time jobs, renovated each house we lived in, sold each house we lived in (on her own for profits).

But most of all she taught me what it really meant to be a woman, a wife and a mother.

In fact, she's done so good...I think we can forgive her for this:

(that would be my youngest sister, liz)

Making Tracks In The Snow

It's been a super stressful week...just finances all out of whack and somehow I feel like I can't find any emotional ground between 0 and 10. But it snowed 6 inches and I had a blast playing with J and Baby M afterwards.

Peeping Out Book List: The Grown Up Classics Edition.

I used to be a reader...like, I used to read a lot.

Then I had a baby and I realized that the days of spending a leisurely Saturday in bed polishing off a big fat book where over. Like COMPLETELY 100% O-V-A-H.

As the months wore on I figured out ways to keep reading (book balanced on my knee during breastfeeding until finally I only needed one hand to actually feed him and could hold the book with my other hand) Of course now I can find other times to read as well (in between random other things like blogging and cleaning stuff off the floor). But I find that now I am more selective about the books I read, since I don't have the time I once did.

So anyways...if you have the time, this is my personal ultimate book list, the classics edition.

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

This is your classic desperate housewife story. There's actually one desperate cheating housewife, one searching but desperetely in love with a woman out of his reach bachelor, one stay at home mom wondering what she's doing, an absent but sad husband, a gleefully cheating husband, and a single woman wondering when she's going to get married or if it will even happen.

This book is great because it's a book about the human existance not a book about people in russia. The problems and struggles are things that we still find people dealing with. The book isn't about Anna Karenina per se, but it is about the struggle she is having...that every charachter in the book is having: Wondering if anything out there is better than what they have right now....and struggling with the feeling like there ultimately is, if they could just find it.

"Alexey Alexandorivich had seen nothing striking or improper in the fact that his wife was sitting with Vronsky at a separate table, in eager conversation with him about something. But he noticed that to the rest of the party this appeared to be something striking and improper. He made up his mind that he must speak of it to his wife."


2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

I'm sure you've seen the movie and there is a reason it's so good.
If you didn't manage to read this book during high school English class then you really did miss out.

Jane Austen originally wrote it when she was 16, and then re-worked it in her 20's. I really do think that her age when she wrote it and the time period she wrote it in combined to really capture a timeless, we've all felt it book with embarressing families, trying to get your sister's and friends love life's all worked out, dealing with annoying, rude guys and then having to explain yourself when you end up dating that guy who was a total jerk.

It's a classic and it's easy to read. Definetly worth your time.

A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony, in a moment.


3. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

  This book took me a long time to read the first time around. I was in high school and had never read any russian literature. If it's your first time, I suggest keeping a peice of paper handy to scratch down the names until you can keep track of them on your own.

The book is worth the effort. A story about four clashing brothers and their absolute pig of a father, this work is a masterpeice. The father represents God, and the sons each represent a different part of humanity: mind, body, soul and depravity. It's a powerful statement against religion and for a man's need to be right with God. There are several parts of this book often exerpted to stand alone, the most popular is a chapter of the book titled 'The Grand Inquisitor" about how Jesus came back during the Inquisition and was told by the Pope that he was wrecking everything the church was trying to do for Christ, so they were going to kill him to keep him from ruining everything. Powerful read.

Warning...This book depresses you, regardless of how good of terms you are when it comes to your religion. It makes you think about who you are, deep down inside and what that means for your life.

"Hesitation, anxiety, the struggle between belief and disbelief—all that is sometimes such a torment for a conscientious man... that it’s better to hang oneself."


4. The Corner by David Simon and Edward Burns

Most of us will never, ever even walk the streets of a street like the ones in inner city Baltimore. Thankfully.
But that doesn't mean we shouldn't know about it.


The Corner is a masterpeice. Part story and part thinking through the issues present...it's perfect reading to expand your understanding of society's lowest and poorest. This book will change your life.

"Empathy demands that we recognize ourselves in the faces at Mount and Fayette, that we acknowledge the addictive impulse as something more than simple lawlessness, that we begin to see the corner as the last refuge of the truly disowned." "






5. The Godfather by Mario Puzo

Again, there is a reason why this is such a good movie, it's a great book.

An entertaining, easy read it brings up questions of family, morality, ethics, loyalty....all things we all deal with framed in a great classic story.

Some of the greatness of the book is lost in the movie so this is a must read.

"She emptied her mind of all thought of herself, of her children, of all anger, of all rebellion, of all questions. Then with a profound and deeply willed desire to believe, to be heard, as she had done every day since the murder of Carlo Rizzi, she said the necessary prayers for the soul of Michael Corleone."

Jack Daniels Barbeque and How I Gave Liquor To My Baby

I promise I will tell you how I ended up giving my 9 month old son Jack Daniels but first let's get into this recipe (the baby drinking comes in the story later on).

My search for an amazing barbeque sauce started back in college when TGIFriday's came out with the "Jack Daniels Chicken". J loved it. He even orders extra sauce to dip his fries in.
So out of the things that J loves, over the course of our marriage I've been finding ways to re-create it or make it better. He would probably dispute me on the making it better part but even he concedes that this Jack Daniels Barbeque sauce is out of this world. I found this recipe in a cookbook written by the people who own and make Jack. They also run a eatery and this is their generations old, master barbeque recipe.

Warning: It tastes nothing like the Friday's version.
Warning Number Two: It's AMAZING. And addictive. And easy.


So this is what happened...it's cold and snowy here. J is working...and I needed to make something for dinner. I figured today was the perfect day for Jack to enter my life.

Now, this is where Jack resides. Above my sink next the decanter we got for our wedding that it should be in. My family gives me a really hard time (teasingly) about this Jack. Actually, both our families do. I don't think they believe us when we say "it's for cooking".

But it really is. What wine is to some people in their cooking is what Jack is to me and my cooking.

Jack is exactly what a snowy, cold day calls for...mmmm look at that amber...

Okay so here are the ingrediants for the barbeque sauce. Minus the liquid smoke. I was going to put a couple drops of the smoke into it this time but I decided against it so this is just the unaltered recipe from Jack himself.

We have garlic powder, ketchup, soy sauce and brown sugar. And Mr. Daniels.

Start with 1/4 cup of Jack Daniels.

Then add 1/4 cup of soy sauce.

1/4 cup of ketchup

1/2 cup of brown sugar.

and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

The volatile ingrediants!

Oops, don't eat that dog food!

*break while I go find his toys and scatter them on the floor*

Combine all the ingrediants in a saucepan. I think it would be helpful to add the liquid in slowly becuase my ketchup is always chunky (as you will see) but this chunk doesn't affect the flavor and it gets cooked all through anyhow so I never find it important enough to remember.

Mix it all up into this glassy burgandy colored sauce...oooohhh doesn't it look good?

Just wait...it get's better.

Stir over medium heat until it's boiling, then simmer until slightly thickened. Don't worry about getting it really thick...it's not a barbeque "sauce" yet. I think the first time I made it I sat there simmering it for like an hour, trying to make it more thick sauce like....I learned that it comes....it will come.

Now I'm going to be using Venison in this recipe becuase I have a thawed rump roast that needs cooked and J doesn't eat venison. I've used this sauce on pork chops, pork tenderloin, chicken breasts, and random cuts of beef.

Basically anything you want to barbeque you can do it with this sauce!

This was the often joked "small dog" that my brother shot back during bow season.

I have to plug venison for a second...I LOVE venison. It's free, it's in abundance, it's lean, it's healthy, did I mention it's free? and it tastes like Beef! I pay $3.99 per pound of ground crap beef. It burns me everytime.

I wish I hunted...becuase I would be all about those deer!

Anyways. Becuase venison is such a lean meat, it doesn't really have any fat in it and fat is flavor. So we are going to add like a tablespoon of butter to a very hot skillet cuz we're going to sear this bad boy!

Now I know this is considered a roast and I should probably slow cook this but I'm not going to...so keep that in mind. Just cook the meat as the meat, the sauce will take care of itself.

Anyways...back to my seared little roast. Put it in a foil lined pan. Trust me....the foil is very important if you value your time and your hands.

Now pour the yummy wonderful sauce you made all over this bad boy.

Now this goes in the oven at 450 for 30 minutes.

When it comes out it looks like this. GLORIOUS JACK all crystalized and crusty on my meat. Oh I can't wait to eat it!!!

Slice it up and spoon out the sauce from the bottom of the pan. I'm serious, this is some wicked awesome lucsious delicious oh my goodness stuff. You can coat dirt in this sauce and it will taste good!

Perfect for a yucky, dark, snowy day. This lights up your insides with a sweet and tangy delicious southern taste.

So now your wondering how on earth Jack got into my baby? Well...the meat cooking went fine. It was the side dishes that did him in.
I love apple flavor with barbeque sauce. I think applesauce and barbeque sauce are a match made in heaven. Problem is...I didn't have any applesauce. Plus I was trying to think of some good side dishes that would match the heartiness of the beef, the drearyness of the day and be a balancing to the sweet sweet sauce.
So I washed two apples. One is a gala, the other is a Macintosh...but I don't think it matters all that much...this is just what I had in my fridge.

Now this...this is where I went wrong. I cut up the apples, added 1/2 onion (not shown) and put them to sit in a glass cup that I had used for the soy sauce/jack daniels mixture for the sauce. Then I added some more jack daniels to the apples

Then I did something...got distracted...put some butter in the skillet...and turned around, decided that I had to many apples and put some in a container for the baby's dinner!!!!!!!!!!!

I did not realize I did this until I had the baby in his high chair and gave him the apples...he piles them into his mouth and becuase I'm pondering if they are soft enough for him to chew on, I happen to take one off his tray and take a bite.
The sweet heady taste of Jack Daniels filled my mouth along with the apple and I literally snatched all the apples away from the baby....ran to the sink, rinsed them all off, rinsed his tray and gave them back to him.
Then I was sitting there thinking that since they soaked for awhile it was probably in the apple itself now. So I snatch it back once again, toss them, clean out his mouth...toss those, clean his tray and then find a new apple, cut it, and give it back to the baby.
Then I realize becuase those have not soaked in Jack Daniels in the fridge for an hour they aren't as soft and I've made them kind of big. So the baby begins to choke becuase he does not at all comprehend that you do not shove every.single.peice.of.food. into your mouth at once. So I emptied out the little piggies mouth, he started breathing again and I proceeded to cut the apples up even more.
Finally we had no more problems and I could resume cooking.

Okay so this is some apple onion Jack Daniels stuffing I'm making...I should have a better name but I just made it up that night so the jury is still out.

Anyways, this is about one large apple, 1/2 a medium onion, 1 tablespoon of butter and then I added probably 2 teaspoons each of garlic, salt, and pepper.

I sauted this some and took some away for some acorn squash.

Then I added 1 teaspoon of sage, 2 hamburger buns all torn up and 2 leftover brown whole wheat rolls (after I picked the mold off them). Stuffing is a great way to get rid of stale, leftover bread.

Easy peasy. Just mix it all up and until the onions are soft and carmelized, the bread is brown and crunchy and the apples are soft and juicy.

Sweetness!

Now, I also added some of the apple and onion mixture (pre sage) to 1/2 an acorn squash I had baked for myself. I also added some walnuts to the squash.

Mixed it up...super easy, no big deal.

All three of those things...the stuffing, the squash, the meat...yummm. I ate every bite with all three on it.

And the baby? He turned out just fine...no ill effects noted.

My kitchen though? My kitchen has brushed it's teeth with Jack.

My kitchen has consumed the Jack and shown the ill effects.

It puked all over me.

And the snow is still coming down.

Staying Informed As A Stay At Home Mom

One of the things I love most about being a stay at home mom is when I forget what day of the week it is and I have to actually pull out my phone and open it to see the day. This never happened to me during my college and working years...I was always very much aware of the day, the hour, how many minutes until 5pm, how many days until Friday and how many days/weeks/months to the next impending deadline I was responsible for. So being wholly unaware of the day is a blessing I am really grateful for.

Of course when you are in the position to forget even the day of the week, it's by nature, really easy to forget to pay attention to anything in the outside world (save maybe that milk has gone up by 50 cents a gallon or that Safeway has a sale on eggs for 99 cents). Some moms might even argue with me that they don't have any need to really pay attention to the outside world, since their domestic circle is really all they are responsible for and that doesn't require knowing the most recent things in politics, education or technology. Some moms may want to know but no mom I know has time to sit down and read the local paper or read tons of books. We might turn on the local news but really only turn our ears towards the weather forecast.

Staying informed and continuing your education as a mom benefits not only you but your family. When you have an attitude of constant learning, your kids pick that up. When you are expanding your skills in learning about the world around you, you are again passing those skills along to your kids. Who doesn't want well informed children who can make a individual, informed opinions about current events? When you are able to make those opinions, you pass along more than just the opinion...you pass along the skills in obtaining those opinions.
Keeping informaed as a stay at home mom is important!

So how does a regular stay at home mom do that?

1. Pick a good news site and spend 5 minutes browsing whenever you are on the computer.
Let's face it, we all spend time on the computer. Keeping a reliable news website in your favorites for you to easily click on and browse through is a great way to keep updated on the major events happening in the world.
I personally love The Wall Street Journal. I think this one of the only papers still remaining that has a decent amount of news integrity. Thankfully they have great online content (becuase I'd never be able to read their paper!) I usually just glance over the front page, and then click on the US news tab to browse over there. Sometimes I read articles, but sometimes I don't.
When I was working, I read two news websites to balance the information. All news is given to you through a filter...even if you agreee with that filter, it still skews information. I used to read CNN and FoxNews and between the two I could come to a decent understanding of at least two sides of the issues. That takes a lot more work though, and I dislike both sites dramatic bend.  Plus Fox has stuff like this on their site....I'd rather just read Perez Hilton if I wanted to read about that. Also, use Fact Check and use it liberally!!!

2. Find your wasted downtime and use it to read.
Reading on current events is much different from reading novels. You can read little snippets at a time and really end up digesting the book much better. The two times I generally can sneak a little reading in is while I'm breastfeeding and right before bed. Breastfeeding is lost time anyways and you can read a lot in those fifteen or twenty minutes. I also will keep a book in my diaper bag for those times when your stuck waiting in doctor's office's, the pharmecy, and yes I've been known to read in stopped traffic. It's all about making oppurtunities out of the time you have. Sure sometimes my kid needs entertained during that downtime, but sometimes he's just fine and it certainly is more useful for me to read a page or two of a book I want instead of browsing through another phamphlet on washing your hands.

3. Pick trusted sources of information.
The cold hard fact of it is, all news and information about our world is skewed through a filter. That filter is worldview. Everyone has one, and you can't process information without it. Worldview is what provides the answers to how you got here, why you are here, what truth is, what purpose you have, what your ethics are, and where you think the world is heading. It defines the basic questions of who man is, what value he has and how he interacts with the world. I repeat: Everyone has a worldview! The more you know about your personal worldview and the worldviews of others is critical to being able to understand the truth behind reported information. It gives you the basis to form an opinion about events and what your (or your country's) role in those events are. The question over should or shouldn't we be in Iraq is very much a question completely rooted in your worldview. There are a lot of other peices of information that should fall into that opinion but the ultimate question is a worldview question (as most issues are).

So the more you understand about your worldview, the better able you are to pick reliable information to rely on, and the better you are able to listen to other points of view with understanding and compassion towards them. It's much easier to have a discussion with someone you disagree with when you understand why they are coming to the conclusion they are coming to and not just assuming they are misinformed (and by default treating them like they are misinformed).

Some great ways I pick new things to read is by paying attention to opinion articles online that I like (often they will have books they wrote). I also go to my alma mater's bookstore and buy the textbooks for the classes taught by proffessors I like. You can do that at any college...just walk in, check out the textbooks and see if there are any that catch your eye. There are only certain proffesor's I do that with though so you may have a harder time picking things out unless your aware of what that specific proffesor teaches. Also I will browse through journals that I think are reliable and see if there are any written by people with new books out (usually in the byline)
None of this takes much extra time, really just keeping your eyes open and learning to use your time wisely in terms of the information you bring in is a skill we all should develop.

After all, The Jersey Shore is awesome entertainment but if you find yourself wasting all your extra time on things like that you'll find yourself with a great list of Jersey Shore catchphrases but nothing more than a fist pump to pass along for your children to filter through information they pick up from school or other people.

4. Keep your eyes and ears open, and your brain asking questions.
It's easy to be self-aware...highly aware of your own life and the ramifications your decisions have on it. It's a skill to be aware of the rest of the world. One that is acquired over time with lot's of practice. Learn to listen to other people and their opinions without arguing (after all there is a possibility they may have an excellent point), keep your eyes open to the world that goes on around you. Above all, ask questions about the information you are hearing and seeing. If you live in a rural area what does extra taxes actually mean for the small business around you? Does stopping budget spending affect the farmer tax breaks? Does that mean your milk price is going to go up? If you live in a urban area what does federal education programs do for your poorer schools? Follow the line of logic through the entire argument or proposal to see the whole picture of what that decision does.
Teaching yourself to think of the whole argument and the whole peice of information ultimately teaches your children to be critical thinkers as well. You'll never have to worry about sending your children off to college and having them come home full of random ideas planted there by a wacked out proffesor because they will have the skill of critical thinking to protect themselves agaist ideas that sound good but end up as poor actions and worse consequences.

We are moms, we are the major influence on how our children see the world and process that information. Don't take that responsibility lightly and don't leave your children struggling in a world full of conflicting information without the skills to process it all.

Greek Yogurt Pizza

I love Pizza nights...it's a night where I generally don't have to worry about doing many dishes and I love that. I came upon this recipe totally on a whim. It consisted of me making normal pizza and then thinking "hmmm...lemme just do this..." and BAM...the most heavenly wonderful cheesy delicious, gosh I wish I had made more than this, I honestly can't believe this is healthy, pizza"

So I started with the bread recipe for the Awesome Whole Wheat Bread and instead of making two loaves, I made one loaf and then split the dough for the second loaf (I like thinner crusts for pizza).
Roll it out to the basic shape and size of your pan (I obviously misplaced that picture...alll I have is a "pre-baby" belly shot (for the baby that still isn't in my tummy yet. lol and a picture of cinnamon rolls that I made with the other half of the dough)

I also dusted it with some canola oil (just lightly), this will help it crunch up and be more pizza dough like. Then I put it in the over at 375 for I don't remember how long but I do remember that I made this a second time and didn't set a timer and burned it to a CRISP.

Aren't I such a good cooking blogger?

I seriously had to put the whole pan outside on the driveway. Even the dog wouldn't eat it...and she ate avocado peels last night so you know that's saying something....

Anyways, I'm guessing like 10 minutes. Maybe 15. Just keep an eye on it the first time you do it becuase you want it to be a little doughy still.

Oh wait, it needs to rise for an hour with the bread. I punch holes in it with a fork after it's done rising and then put it in the oven to bake at 375 for like fifteen minutes. It should be cooked but not browned at all.

The reason mine looks kind of funky is that I was planning on making half of this for J and half of this for me and since I don't need any extra calories at this point in life, I made my side thinner and his side a thicker crust.

Now of course I can't find the rest of the pictures to this but I can easily lay my hands on this lovely set of photographs.

Oh Mr. Deer, can you please tell me where I put my pizza pictures....and why I do such good nose shots with my camera?

Please Mr. Deer?

Pretty pretty please?

Oh what do you know I found them.

So I stored this for a couple days until Pizza night. I just wrapped it in saran wrap once it was cool and it keeps great. You can freeze it as well.

Pour 1/2 cup of plain crushed tomatoes to start with and spread it around. Add more or less depending on your sauce preference. I don't like a lot of sauce so I just stuck to this. 

This is all I use to season the sauce: Dried onion, black pepper, salt, garlic and basil. You can use oregano as well but I actually dislike a strong oregano taste with tomatoes so I leave it out. But a lot of people beg to differ.

Lot's of salt, lot's of pepper, lot's of garlic and a medium amount of basil. Sound good?

Gee, I'm really awful at this recipe thing. I don't even know where to begin in terms of what amounts I actually use.

All I know is, I can never have to much garlic so apply that stuff with a heavy hand!

Then I add a thick coating of shredded mozerall cheese. It's thicker on one end becuase that's J's side and my end is pretty sparse becuase I'm putting pure decadence on mine.

And here it is. The reason this lovely gooey stuff is only on a corner is that I was trying it out for the first time and wasn't sure how well it was going to work.

After all, when I hear the word "yogurt" I get an unappetizing feeling in my stomach if it's refering to anything but the fruit and sugar kind you buy in yoplait jars (which I don't buy anymore becuase HELLO you can just eat the darn snickers you wanted originally for all the sugar in those puppies)

Anyways, I spread just a thick layer on the pizza. 2% Greek yogurt is high in protein and low in calories. A whole cup of the stuff is only 130 calories so you can really feel free to slather it on.

I added some more salt, pepper and garlic then layered my veggies (just out of a bag of frozen mixed veggies) and sprinkeled a little more cheese.

Then I might have added some more garlic.

So this is what it looks like out of the oven. Oh right, bake at 375 again for like 10-15 minutes. Whatever it takes for the cheese to melt and brown up some.

A little crisp on the veggies isn't so bad either.

This was divine...the greek yogurt made it feel like I had slathered cheese over this entire thing and I was so sad when I finished my little corner of it. The great thing about greek yogurt is that it's awesome for all sort of baking/cooking because it doesn't seperate over heat. I've since used it in everything and WOW it just adds this tangy decadence to whatever it's in.

I'll have to show you eggs sometime...it makes the most insance fluffy wonderful scrambeled eggs ever!

Okay here's the recipe minus all of my detours, burnt pans and forgetting steps.

Pizza Crust

1/4 of whole wheat bread rolled out and put in greased pan

Rise 1 hour and punch holes in with a fork

Dust with oil

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes until cooked but not browned.

Pizza

1/2 cup or more of plain crushed tomatoes

garlic, pepper, salt and basil to taste

Mozzerella cheese to taste

1 cup of Greek Yogurt

1 bag of frozen mixed veggies (pick any kind you want)

Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until cheese is browned and bubbly.

Where to get Greek Yogurt: I get mine from the grocery store...Super wal-mart does not carry it so I have to go to like the nicest grocery store in my area (a Safeway). I know it can also be found at places like Whole Foods and Trader Joes.
You can also make your own: Instructions

Do people divorce over Mamwiches?

Don't get me wrong....I like mamwiches, they are easy, delicious, and I can't help but sing the stupid commercial song when I make them. BUT I'm tired of making mamwiches every week. I'm also tired of spaghetti and meat sauce, chicken and wild rice and pizza.

Those are the only things my husband eats.

Back when we were dating I used to say things like....how much I liked how reliable he was, how dependable he was, how he didn't ever change, how he was the kind of guy you could always count on.

I didn't know this then, but he was also the kind of guy that could eat the same three meals over and over again, happily for the rest of his life.

I made this absolutely decadadent homemade macaroni and cheese the other day...thinking, he likes macaroni and cheese...so this is amazing...equals him liking this! He poked at at and asked if there was a reason we weren't having kraft.

KRAFT???!!! You ask me that after I just spend an hour whisking this sauce with a spatula (becuase apprantly I don't own a whisk), and almost ruin it (again) by reading "tablespoon" instead of what it actually said (teaspoon). Kraft? I'll tell you this...if I ever meet that orange dinosaur in a dark alley....it will be curtains for him!

I used to think that marriages were destroyed over big things...but now I'm realizing that anything can make you step back for a minute and think "Really? Am I really going to do this for the rest of my life?"

Of course I will....but man am I tired of mamwiches.

Here is the recipe for the macaroni and cheese. Listen....in all seriousness, when I was 6 months pregnant with Baby M, I developed this insane craving for cheese. I wanted to bathe the world in a thick cheese sauce and take a huge bite. I never ate anything cheesy enough...and when I took a bite of this macaroni...I knew I had found that cheesy decadence I was looking for back then.

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/04/macaroni-cheese/

My Social Commentary For The Week

Ugh. I've been trying all night to post this comment on this article on The Cut. I never comment and I finally decided it needed to be said. So now of course I can't.

So I'll comment here.

Here is the article (read the comments): World Increasingly Fascinated With Plus Sized Models


Amirak 101. A body at 18 is like your first love. It is wonderful when it happens, glorious...but it never happens again. Regardless if you stay the same exact weight for the rest of your life...your SIZE will change. Even if you stay in exactly the same lifestyle/life choices you are in currently (which is doubtful)...your SIZE will change. And God forbid you ever have a child. I weigh less than I did pre-pregnancy but I wear two sizes larger.

 I appreciate this hubba over average size women in fashion but I don't realistically expect anything out of it. Fashion is about extremes, caricutures...I don't look to runways for anything more than an intresting expression of art. Who seriously looks at the runway to decide what they want to be?

The pressure in mainstream america to be super thin has so much more to do with cultural issues than it does with the magazines/fashion world. A society so steeped in excess will value the "wanting" look because it is not average, becuase it is special. That's why in poorer society's, curvy bodies are more popular...again becuase it's special and different.

P.S. Am I the only one that notices that designer sizes are often much larger than mainstream? I wear a 10 at target or old navy but I still have a size 4 St. John skirt that fits perfect. Maybe it's becuase I got it off the clearance rack....


Also there is this status update going around Facebook about Haiti. Basically saying that we have poor and homeless people here so why are we sending so much money to Haiti. Oh and a gutsy re-posting thing.

Listen, Haiti can't even be compared to our homeless. I'm not saying that the homeless in America isn't a problem that we should address...I'm just saying that the homeless in America live a charmed life compared to a regular person in Haiti before the earthquake. In my opinion it is an uneducated opinion to make this kind of statement and it bothers me to see people doing so.
Where is your love Oh Christian? Where is your ability to look beyond the confines of your own little world? If you are posting this status, are you even actively doing something about the problems in America you are citing? Or are you just copying something that sounded kind of bad-ass to make a point you don't even understand?

I'm just saying.

*steps off soapbox and runs to fish baby away from the toilet*

Those Mom Moments.

 I'll never forget my very first "mom" moment. It wasn't to long after Baby M's birth...I have no clue how long becuase I was suffering from "I haven't slept in God knows how long due to my crying infant Amnesia". They are working on a cure. I hear only the wealthy can afford it. Anyways. I was lying in bed, the baby was stomach down on my chest (gasp! I know...back's only, but due to said crying infant, it was rough going), the dog was literally lying on my legs, my husband had his arm around me and had stolen all the covers....and pillows.
It was the moment I realized that everyone wanted a peice of me, that there wasn't much room left for me to be selfish, that as much as my world seemed to cater to the two men in the house in reality it was revolving around me.

I've had more mom moments...like realizing this little baby is going to grow up and do weird things. I realized that when I watched a documentary called "It might get Loud" and Jack White (White Stripes) was talking about how when he was like 11, he pushed everything out of his room to make room for amps and 2 drum kits...he slept in the middle of it, on the floor since there wasn't room for a bed.

When I watched Benjamin Button and I couldn't stop crying to save my life I realized that there is just so much more to feel as a parent...the amount of joy that comes with that love is amazing but it creates an equal oppurtunity for pain. That was a big mom moment. My 15 year old sister was worried about me. Her and J had to calm me down.

Those little moments where you realize you have no idea who this little person is but he's kind of intresting....like when I noticed that whenever Baby M really smiles at you, he curls his tounge over to the side...it looks so much more mischevious than a regular smile. Or how his eyes roll back into his head when he first latches on while nursing...I'm guessing it's the feeling I get when I take a sip of my first cup of coffee of the day. Or when he tries to kiss me and I end up drowing in his teething slobber (usually becuase he kisses my nose). Tonight he was trying to lick J's nose whenever J was near him. I have no idea why....something tells me that Baby M wasn't sure either.

I've had a mom moment tonight. Like maybe five cups of coffee in one day isn't such a hot idea.

Hottie At The Beach

*please turn around* *please turn around*

Hey there handsome, what's happening?

Oooh...he's coming over to say hi!

Game face huh?

There we go. <3

It's been almost three years....

Since we got married.

I hated my wedding, it had to be the most painfully excruciating day of my life. Don't get me wrong...I liked getting married and dressing up in a pretty gown. But I did not enjoy being the center of attention. I had nightmares for ages about it....mostly nightmares about combining my redneck hippie family with Jared's ultra normal suburbanite family.

I was looking through our photos of the horrific affair (it wasn't that bad...just awkward), and this photo happened to catch my eye. It wasn't one I've ever noticed before but I pulled it out. I like photos like this, they are very rare because usually either me or J has the camera and certainly no one else in our life who has the camera is interested in getting the shot's we like...they want the "say cheese" shots.

I like that I'm sneaking a glance, I like that my smile is natural. I like J. He looks so young in this picture.

And I like the quote...it defines marriage for me.


************************
Speaking of my wedding day.
This is from a photo of Jared waiting for me at the end of the aisle. Doesn't he look like Hitman? He played that game a lot when I first met him....that comparison was always made, especially given his line of work.

He also makes an appearance in this movie:

imagine if your groom looked like he was going to kill you.

Sometimes it seems like I don't like him.....

Because he does make me work for it. He also likes to bite anything in the vicinity of his mouth, and he went through a phase where he screamed if I left his line of sight.

But just look at him....

How could I not miss him the second I leave him, even when I'm sighing with relief.

Besides, he's getting a little better. I caught him standing in his crib the other day for the first time....it made me sad that my little baby is growing up.

Things I'll never be.

In my head, I envision myself always on the cusp of transforming...like tommorow I'm going to wake up and be this put together, pretty, maticulate, well groomed, graceful woman.
So far though that hasn't panned out for me, I'm still schlepping around in ugly slipper shoes, t-shirts, bad hair and no makeup or jewlrey.
Until the day I wake up and become a beutiful woman instead of an akward overgrown teenager, I go shopping online and pick out things that woman would wear but if I owned it, would sit in my jewlrey box becuase it takes to much work to put it on.


Like this pretty pendant. Usually I have trouble finding jewlrey I like that is affordable and unique. I'm still discovering Etsy so hello, excitement over the jewlrey on there! Plus I figured out in church the other day that long necklaces with objects attached are perfect for bored little babies.

I really love this pendant, I think it's gorgeous and delicate but still earthy. Plus I love that the maker is in Pottstown, PA. I had a friend in high school who made really gorgeous jewlrey but I don't know if she still does it anymore.

This one looks the best for entertaning baby. The lister even says that the cord is really durable so it's perfect for tugging babies.

Mine doesn't like to tug....he just likes to chew.

And just to round things out, I know for sure that, that sophisticated woman in my head would wear these:

but the one typing this post right now in really baggy hand me down jeans, her husband's socks and a thermal shirt from the juniors department at J.C. Penny would not wear them becuase it would be a PIA to put them in her ears.
But that other sophistacted woman would wear those earrings with this shirt, maybe some curly hair and better fitting jeans:

that sophisticated woman would wear this on a casual date with my husband.

HOLD UP. Someone else is dating my husband?

She even showed up with this jacket over the shirt looking all gorgeous and relaxed.

I hate her.

This is the look I gave them when they left for the evening.

I think I like Maryland

So here is the thing...when you have no money to spend (so by default, should not go anywhere where there is an oppurtunity to spend money), and you've got an 8 month old who is on the hormonal roller coaster of 13 year old girl, not to mention an interest in trying out his new chompers...as my father in law so aptly put it "he's a vampire baby!", you really don't have many options in terms of entertainment.

So I drive around. I'm in a new house, near the bay in rural/suburban Maryland so I've got plenty of things to see.

Like this:

And this:

And this one:

And don't you just love the water on a grey day? I do....

Now the only problem with driving around and taking photos out of my car is that 1. most of these gorgeous views come with a hefty pricetag and a "private property" sign. I tend to ignore those as long as I'm in the safety of my car (don't worry I'm not driving down any driveways...just no outlet roads.) and so, while I have been tempted to bring the big canon in order to take a decent photo...I'm usually as nervous as it is just by holding up my cellphone.

A camera with a big lense sticking up out of my car would just look way to paparazzi....course it is pointed at water so I'm not sure what they would think.....probably that they own the view.

Which, if I paid that much money for the view, I'd probably tend to think so as well.

Hopefully I could explain myself.

"Yes well you see, my kid...he's for sale by the way...he's hormonal. One second he's laughing and the next second he's screaming...and he likes to bite people, and so I am just driving around looking at the water and wishing I could be in a little dingy, alone, in the middle of the bay.

No need for rescue, I'm fine right here."

Or maybe I'll just stick to snapping a cell picture and then moseying along as quickly as possible before thin, expensive people start staring at me.

Bohemians, Bad Pictures, Bar Fights & Brides

Suprise, suprise: My non-committal as possible family actually managed to make it to my house! I didn't have a confirmation of them actually coming until...wait for it...they were in the van driving. So in the span of a couple hours I had to finish cleaning the house, make the beds, go grocery shopping...ech.

But it was all worth it to have them around.

In true form they were just as non-committal about leaving as well. At one point on Friday they had the van packed and all their stuff by the door, but they ended up staying until this morning.

Oh the Bohemian lifestyle.

Anyways, we went to Annapolis for breakfast at the Double T Diner with my father in law. My family did pretty well...John didn't tell my Father in Law that dog's wag their tail to throw poop particles all over the place so that other dogs can smell their age, race, disease and credit history. He shared that with the family only so I'm thinking we are seeing signs of maturity.

Dad Lemon got a picture of us all though, which is kind of funny becuase 1. it's rare for a familyish picture to be taken and 2. We all look straight out hell in this picture.

Poor Abby looks the worst. Which is terrible becuase she's really quite gorgeous, and nothing ruins a 15 year old's month more than a really unflattering photo. It's life altering at that point in life.

It was nice this time to be able to go outside and enjoy the outdoors. The weather was a balmy 50 degrees and now that I don't have needles in my yard....well, oppurtunities abound!

Zoe enjoyed it, that' for sure. Oh and J....yeah, he has a DOUBLE ear infection. Don't ask me why he was outside playing and bushhogging all day yesterday...then he went to work.

Speaking of J's work. Sometimes I think I get really lulled into thinking his job really isn't all the dangerous. I'm the first person to publicly cry out when someone refers to him as a security gaurd or something but I find myself thinking of his job in those same terms sometimes.

It's becuase he never tells me anything about it.

So when he came home from work this morning and my dad goes

"How was work last night? Any drunks act up?"

and J goes "Just some bar fights." shrug.

I'm not even listening closely at this point.

"One was outside of the bar and it was really dark. I got kicked in the leg becuase I couldn't hear him coming." J continues cocking his head and shaking a little as if trying to get water out of his ear. Hence the double ear infection thing.

I had a moment of "What the heck?" When I heard him.

"Why does he share that kind of information with random people (okay so maybe dad isn't totally random) but he never tells me, his wife."

All day I've been wanting to ask about his leg, so maybe that's why he doesn't tell me.

Our wedding anniversary is coming up soon so I was looking through the smattering of photos I had on my computer to make a new siggie for JM. I found this photo

And instantly I felt old, haggard, fat and unkempt. I just felt like an old woman...I mean who is this young girl in the photograph? Certainly not me, becuase she doesn't look tired enough. Look her boobs are so little! And she's only wearing one ring, and her face is young and thin. I've been virtually frozen in time since I was 15, since my weight, body and face haven't changed at all since then but lately I've been noticing that I'm looking older. Since I'm only 22, looking older doesn't at all mean I'm looking bad...it's just that I've been seeing the same 15 year old face in the mirror for the last 7 years and now that it's changing, it's a little shocking.

And you know, I was a teenager in this photo, I was a bride in this photo and I was childless in this photo. I'm a woman now, a wife and a mother so I guess some maturity in my face is a good thing.

Besides, I won't cry about aging until after I turn 25...

The Reluctant Housewife: Organizing Babyfood.

I'm a little sensitive to baby topics today. Last night started out sooo well. The baby went to bed perfect, he slept straight through until 11:00, right before I was going to bed. I fed him, put him back down and slipped into bed myself. PERFECTION.

Then 2 hours later I was up with a screaming baby...who despite my best efforts....did not stop crying until 4:00, and then only took a break before starting back up at 6:30 until daddy came home at 8:00.

Thank goodness for DH who let me have an extra hour sleep by feeding the baby.
When I started putting things away in the kitchen, I found myself putting all the babyfood in a cabinet in the back of the kitchen, towards the sink.
Since I was trying to be clearheaded about where I put things away I caught myself and thought "Why on earth am I putting his food all the way back here?"
So I looked towards the end of the kitchen and really only found myself with some drawers.

So the Cheerios and rice cereal ended up in the cupboard with my "cooking" food items. (it's all near the stove, so that I am not crossing the kitchen for stock, noodles or spices)

Whew my photography ain't so hot today is it?

The babyfood jars itself go in the top drawer. Which is actually very handy. The jars are arranged with fruity stuff on the left and veggies/meat on the right, but I only just did that recently and becuase I was bored waiting for chicken to cook. I don't feel like arranging it that way has really helped much, I still just feed him whatever I happen to pick up.

Even the big babyfood jars fit in here.

My second drawer, while looking suprisingly messy, is actually oh so perfect (at least for me). I keep his formula in here (becuase they only sell the little boxes of the hypoallergenic formula), bottles (I only have three that way I keep them clean and from stacking up), his bowls (with their lids), spoons, bibs and the occasional Puffs my mother in law throws my way.

And this is what makes this all so perfect. I put the baby in his high chair and turn around. There, right in front of me is his Cheerios, his food, his bowls, his spoons, a bib. I literally do not have to move to both get out and put away every item neccesary to feed him. My Cheerios are never, ever left out becuase it's so easy to put away. Same with the food, the formula, bottles. I'm never searching the house or kitchen for a bib while my baby whines...it's all right there and that is the definition of lazy organization!

Someone might make it look prettier but dangit if mine takes less work to clean up!

Tummy Tuesdays: Baby Rocker

So last week we did lower body, this week we're doing abs!

My son LOVES loves loves this. If he had his way, I'd be doing this all day and I'd also have washboard abs. I really like how I get to play with my son but I get to spend time working on myself as well.

It's really easy and fun and it does give you a workout!

First lay on your back with your knees bent, just like you are going to do a regular sit up. Put the baby belly down on your shins and hold onto his arms underneath his elbows on your knees. Sounds complicated but here is a picture...

FYI, my kid is insanely intrested in the camera. He's very vain...lol. He will laugh everytime he see's himself on the screen and loves to sit there and look at pictures of himself. So anyways...normally he's looking and laughing the whole time, but this time...as you will see...he is laughing at the camera.
Now you start sitting up, and your stomach should be engaged (aka pull your bellybutton in and tense up your stomach muscles) even while your just sitting there. Roll back, keeping your back pressed into the floor and make sure you come to a complete stop on the floor while keeping your legs level with the floor.

While on the floor you want to slowly bend your knees up so the baby goes up kind of upside down, make sure that while you do this, your stomach is still engaged...you don't want to be totally resting on the floor but instead kind of holding yourself up off it (notice my shoulders aren't touching the floor but my neck is in the same position I was when I started). The baby usually cracks up when I do this but today he is a little preoccupied with pleasing his audience. Now that he is older he latches onto my ankles with his feet to prevent him from moving off my legs at all but normally I don't put my feet up any higher than in the picture so he stays on me pretty well.

Next, you put your legs back into the starting position and then do a situp. I try and go all the way up to touch noses with him (becuase he gets a kick out of it) but as you can see......

.....he's not very intrested in mommy right now.

Graceful Rejections.

I received the oppurtunity to bind up relationships this week with my in-laws. I'd been praying for the chance to make sure that this rejection of their church was not something that (in their minds) would become a rejection of them. I was thankfully able to relate to both of them on seperate occasions how I hoped they wouldn't be offended by our decision and how I understood how personally they could take that rejection. It seemed to go well, in reality it seemed that both of them had spent time discussing it and coming to a good place as their response was different from the week prior.

I also received a rejection letter from Leadership Journal. Thankfully, it is the best rejection letter I ever received as the Associate Editor complimented the article twice and told me that I had "talent, for sure." He also reccomended another publiction who the article might work for. I expected as much from the very beggining (not the compliments but the rejection). Leadership isn't totally geared towards pastor's who are going to be in Baltimore City anytime soon and I knew that from the start. I wouldn't even had submitted it except I happened to be throwing a tantrum that day.

So on the article goes to Neue Quarterly, which actually I'd never heard of, but it looks like I'd like to read it! We'll see what happens there.

This is one of the first times I've ever submitted anything (other than random query's for books to like 2 agencies). It has made the process seem a little less daunting.

The MOST AMAZING Whole Wheat Bread Recipe Ever!

Couple things:

First, this receipe is 100% hands down the easiest, most delicious wonderful amazing bread recipe ever.

Second, it is not fake whole wheat...like to taste good some recipes call for half whole wheat and half white flour...no this is pure whole wheat brown bread and it ROCKS.

Third, it's super easy. It's even easier to make than regular white bread.

Fourth, it comes courtesy of my mama.

Fifth, it's hella less expensive than spending $3.50 per loaf of wheat bread.

So let's get cooking shall we?

Here are all the ingrediants you shall need for this.

Salt, Honey, Whole Wheat Flour, Gluten, Oil and Yeast. The coffee is not neccesary. :)

So first we put some flour in a bowl. Eventually we want 7 cups of flour in this dough but don't start out with 7 cups. I started out with 3 cups.

Then I wrote that down becuase I KNOW I'd forget how many cups I put in already.

This isn't complicated at all, just add the rest of the ingrediants and mix together. Once you do have your main ingrediants all in, then slowly start adding in the remining flour. Eventually you will have a stickier dough and can take it out of the bowl and onto the counter to knead (you should still have some flour left to knead in out of the total 7 cups).

So let me tell you an easy way to 1. Get the appropriate time of kneading in and 2. Get the appropriate amount of flour in.

First you get your dough to the point where it's not sticking to everything, then you start kneading it on a floured surface. Eventually the dough will pick up all the flour on your counter and start getting sticky again. Stop and cover the counter and the ball of dough with flour.

Then knead again until it's sticky. You've reached the appropriate level of level of flour when the dough doesn't stick to stuff but it's still a little sticky, or elastic feeling. You should knead the dough for at least 5 minutes.

Next we are going to seperate the dough in half (this recipe makes two loaves). Roll out the dough.

and then tightly roll up the dough and put into a greased bread pan.

Oh helpful hints about kneading bread. Knead forever...it truly makes the bread and you cannot overknead! Also, leave off your rings and nail polish...just trust me on those.

Let it rise in a warm place for an hour. Then bake for 20-30 minutes at 350.

Super easy!

Here is the full recipe.

Easy Whole Wheat Bread

7 cups of flour (not added at once)

1/3 c. honey

1/3 c. oil (I use canola)

2 1/2 c. of warm water

2 Tablespoons of yeast

2 Teaspoons of salt

3 Tablespoons of gluten.

*Note about gluten: You should be able to easily find this in any supermarket, usually in the baking aisle.*

Mix ingrediants. Knead for 5 minutes. Shape into 2 greased pans. Raise for 1 hour. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.

YUM!

I can't believe I took this photo with a cell phone.

I mean you can obviously see the outline of the car window but I was in the middle of a three point turn on a road surrounded by the bay (roads in this part of Maryland apparantly just dead end in the water) and I was like "oh that's pretty, let me take a picture with my cell." so whilst driving...I pointed and clicked the button.

The reason I was even on this desolate little road in the first place is becuase someone stole my happy eight month old and deposited this skinny cranky throw up all solids and attach myself to mommy all day long baby in my house. I don't know where he came from but I would like him returned, PRONTO. Somehow though, he came with an "off" button.
It's called the car.
So today I drove around Southern Maryland for like two hours, and all the while Baby M was in the backseat happy as a clam, looking around from his carseat.

Then I got home and he ate dinner, threw it all up and whined himself to sleep. Blah.

The Reluctant Housewife: Organizing Tupperware.

The last time I had a kitchen, I had SERIOUS tupperware issues. I had the perfect sized tupperware for everything except I never remembered that I did not possess lid's to the perfect size. So I would pull out a bottom and go "oh this is perfect", pour my leftovers in and then start rooting around for a lid.

Twenty minutes later I'd be huffing and puffing through the house going "I just don't understand it. Why would I not have lids to an entire set of tupperware!"

So I'd dump the contents into a larger size, throw a lid on it then....get this. I'd wash the first container and PUT IT AWAY.

Thus the evil circle of tupperware was created. The problem was, I was convinced that I still owned the correct sized lids but just couldn't find them.

So when putting things away in this new kitchen I sat down on the floor, dumped all my tupperware out and sorted out the lids/containers. Then I picked out only the nicest peices (I threw away anything old or stained or duplicates of a set), found the lid's for them all and put them away in a drawer right next to the dishwasher and the fridge. One step putting food away and one step putting clean tupperware away. Plus I have the lids stacked underneath the actual containers so there is no wasted time spent looking high and low for mysterious lids.

I can't even begin to tell you how much time I've saved doing it this way. Having done the initial organizing and sorting, putting away and finding tupperware is incredibly easy.

Wipe That Smile Off My Belly: Messy Baby Squats.

Before I had a baby, I loved to workout. I spent my lunch hour in the gym and definitely went through phases where I was coming in early to go to the gym, was in the gym for lunch and then would go home and go for a run. When I had the baby I lost my baby weight by running over the summer.

But now he's older, it's cold and I'm....shall we say...fluffy.
I'm tired of reading magazines and books telling me how to fit working out into my life when it still requires me to find 30 minutes of precious free time to actually do it. Plus they still require equipment and I don't have room, or money for even hand weights.

Which leads me to my new blog features. Once a week I'll be posting a new excercise that you can do today, in your house, WHILE DOING SOMETHING YOU ALREADY HAVE TO DO.

And we are starting with the Messy Baby Squat.

I hate feeding the baby. It just feels like I'm wasting time trying to shove pureed food into someone's mouth. I wish I could go from 100% breastfeeding to fork and spoon self feeding.
So once I figured out I could do squats while feeding him, I was ecstatic.
Start out standing tall, with your feet apart about as wide as your hips. You should be just in a comfortable stance.

Then you slowly lower your butt back like you're about to sit on an imaginary chair. Your knees shouldn't go past your toe's and your back should be kept as straight up as possible (I suck at this, I'm always wanting to bend at the waist as you can see in the picture so to help counteract that you can look towards the ceiling, or just keep your chin up. A real squat works more than your butt and legs, it works your lower back as well). I usually give the baby a bite of his food when I'm going down, and I don't go back up until he actually takes the bite, which makes me hold the position for a little longer than normal and really gets the muscles worked well.

Your final position should have a straight (as possible) back, and thighs perfectly perpendicular to the floor with your knees no farther than your toes. After the baby takes his bite of food, engage (aka, clench) your butt and power up into your starting position. The slower you go, the better control and the better burn.

This is a picture of what I see if I look down while doing a squat. See how I can still see my toes? (Don't you love my wonderful black socks? Thanks J!) If you have problems pushing your knees past your toes, try putting a chair behind you that you "sit" down on, except don't put any weight on the chair, just use it for guidance.

I don't even really count when I do these, I just do them until 1. the baby gives up and decides he's done eating or 2. I give up and can't walk anymore.

What do you look for in a church?

We are moved and all tucked in for winter. I'm so thanful that this cold weather did not hit while we lived in our big, drafty, heatless house! I can't begin to describe how much I love soap that is not frozen!
J said "It's so much easier to give the baby a bath when his soap isn't frozen." And that's how you know how cold it was in our last house!

This move isn't all beer and skittles. In fact the challanges we are facing, as two recovering church haters, are kind of emotional.

We currently live about 5 minutes away from the church J atteneded as a child. The church supports his sister and brother-in-law in their ministry in Peru, and his father has been a member of the leadership for over 30 years. The members, the pastor's and of course J's family all assumed that we would obviously be attending there.

The problem is, that was kind of the farthest thing from our minds.

We decided though, out of respect for our family, that we would give it the old college try. Sitting in that pew on Sunday morning really only confirmed to us that this was not the church for us.
Of course over lunch that afternoon, when we mentioned the things we did not like about this church we were treated to a variety of excuses for attending a bad church.
"No church is perfect"
"You can serve here."
"You shouldn't be looking to get something out of church."

All things that are perfectly true and totally understood by me and J.
The problem is, at this point in our lives we aren't looking for a church that needs us. We both have ministries already established indepenatly of the church organization and are really looking for a church that can support us spiritually in that life. We are young parents, in a young marriage, heavily involved in a lifestyle that can be opposed to church (law enforcement), all of our friends are unsaved, and we both work with people who are very much unsaved. We need the support and guidance of a strong christian church not a church that needs us to help fix their problems.
The other problem that comes up, is that we know great churches exist. We've been priviliged to attend great churches over the course of our relationship together. These churches of course had their own problems and struggles but at their core they were strong and growing. When I say growing I mean spiritually, not in numbers like some churches think. So setteling on an okay at best church is just hard to wrap your mind around since we know "great" exists.

We are trying to delicately detach ourself from this situation without completely offending J's family, especially his father. They kept badgering me for my opinion of their church and as much as I wanted to be like "your church is dead as a doornail, and as dysfunctional as a park avenue princess marrying a widower Amish farmer with 8 kids and here is why..." I just setteled for "No, I refuse to share my opinion since I have to maintain long term relationships with you guys."
I don't have the gift of tact or graciousness, even when trying to express that.

So here is what we look for in a church.

1. Great Preaching: This is hands down the number one thing, and this will make or break the entire decision. I don't care how awesome your children's programs are I will not be back for a second visit if I don't like what I hear. It's hard to describe great preaching, but once you hear it you can never settle for "good" again. Great preachers teach the word of God in a way that at one time appeals to the mature christian and the new christian. Great preachers teach the word of God in a thoughtful, respectful manner with an obvious commitment to the text. Great Preachers usually have a manuscript somewhere on the podium (just something I've noticed). Great preachers make the word of God relevant and alive. Great preachers are not just good public speakers, they are not always entertaining, they are not emotionally driven. Great preaching can certainly be developed but it seems to me that a great preacher is that way just becuase that's the way God made him. We just left a church where we were more than willing, with J's ADHD and our 7 month old baby, to sit through a 2.5 hour sermon becuase it was THAT GOOD. Always.

2. The Bulletin: I always peruse the bulletin of a church to get an opinion on their programs and junk. I like to see bible studies of some sort, small groups, home groups, whatever. Really just an overall committment to discipleship training. It's also handy when a church prints some statement of belief in their bulletin (or like their goal) becuase then I can know instantly whether or not this church is really for us. I hate seeing the money stuff printed in the bulletin but I understand why it's there so I ignore it.

And that's it! Generally we will put up with a lot (like three prayers in a row!! or terrible music, or whatever) if it seems like the spiritual leadership in the church is heading the direction we want to go.

So what do you look for in a church?

Christmas Special.

I watched a VH1 special the other day on Pink Floyd's album Dark Side of the Moon.

I really enjoyed it becuase instead of the usual "here's how the band came together and recorded this music" it was more focused on how they put the record itself together. The original producer and enginner where as much a part of the special as the band members. It was really awesome to watch the engineer layer the tracks and see the notes where they had each song laid out and the music layered together. Plus they talked about the different sound effects they used (the clocks, the change drawers) and showed step by step how they used the syntheizers and voice manupulation to obtain the effect they really wanted for the album. They talked about the back up singers, the instrumentals, the album artwork, and working with the record companies/music industry.

As a Pink Floyd fan, it really just re-empahsized how big of an album Dark Side...really is. Which of course you can tell as soon as you listen to it, but it just made me appreciate it all the more, musically speaking.




Anyways, I just wanted to say Merry Christmas to everyone! I'm currently trying to move and do the holiday stuff as well. Expect me back in full force and swinging come the new year!

Criticism

My dad asked me to review something the other day and I said "sure" with all the giddiness of a little girl whose dad just asked her to help.

Then when I was reading it I got cold feet thinking "Oh my goodness I don't want to criticize my dad! After all, he's my daddy, he's perfect and he's older than me and knows everything! (and his know it all gene passed to me and that's why I know everything. HA) So I called him and was all "Uhmmm, what exactly are you looking for from me?"

And it turned out just fine (as far as I know...)

But I told him all the above at the end of the conversation and he said "And learning how to provide criticism without being critical is a huge skill that we all have to learn." (but he said it all dad like and smart and what not). "...and you'll have to learn to do that with Michael."
Then we laughed about the old school method of doing that, which consists of having your rear end handed to you on a platter and sent into the future at some undisclosed point in time, roughly correlating with how angry the individual sending you happens to be (next week for minor thing, next month for bigger things).

But it reminded me again of something I'm just beggining to realize...that I'm responsible for shaping and growing this little person into a functioning adult. Which would be managable if your only goal was to get him a job and an apartment. But the goal of teaching someone to be things that you are not. That's like you just told me to train an Olympic runner....me who takes about 3 hours to run a HALF marathon (okay I quit when my training runs got up to 10 miles, which makes this even more pathetic).

I've recently been trying really hard to stop complaining. I don't like whiney kids so I guess I need to not be a whiney mother in order to make that happen.
It's been rough going.
This morning I looked outside at the cold winter sun and said "I hate the su....." then I stopped and thought about it for a minute and said "You know, it's good it's sunny outside becuase the sun does kind of warm it up out there."
In my head I was thinking "I hate the sun, and it does not make it any warmer becuase everyone knows it's warmer with a good cloud cover becuase it's an insulating blanket on the atmosphere but I couldn't think of anything nice to say about sunshine in the winter except that I was thankful it wasn't a blizzard but we don't have blizzards in Maryland and so that's kind of ridiculous."

Like I said....tough going.

J doesn't think babywearing is sexy........

...in fact he thinks it's kind of girly....

But I think this guy proves that wrong..
Everything in me just goes to butter at this photograph, it's very strange to feel maternal and sexy at the same time.

My Gifft Ideas.

We got a USAA check in the mail today, which is such a nice little christmas gift...even though it will go to buying some neccessities like gas and groceries, and even though we aren't doing christmas this year (excepting the christmas gifts for family members that I've been slowly buying since June) I'm still going to make myself a christmas list. Basically, I'm just giving you more things to want...but maybe you'll see something good for another person in here.

1. A full apron.
I know aprons aren't cool. I know of no 22 year old (mother or not) that has ever put on an apron unless working in a proffesional kitchen where a covering was required.
But you know....aprons...they are just SO practical. Everytime I do dishes or try to cook I look down at my wet/floured/chickened front and think to myself "oh an apron would be so useful right now."
So I decided I want an apron.
I went on Esty and started looking...but I don't want something to vintage, to frilly, to childish, to shapeless, to weird, to old, to young....basically I want something that says "Yes I know I'm wearing an apron and I'm a cool young modern housewife by doing it...you want to be like me and you know it."
So this is what I managed to find:

These aprons are on Etsy and made my Momo's Retro Fashions (click on the link to visit her shop) I like them becuase they are cool and more modern. Here are two that I would wear.

P.S. I totally have those same exact shoes in the first picture. LOVE them, but they are like a half dorsay  (is that the right word?) slingback so they don't stay on very well.

I also found this shop on Etsy, Madame Culinaire. I love some of her aprons as they are super elegant without being cheestastic. I LOVE this paisley one, plus they are (in my opinion) reasonably priced.

2. A Little Notebook For Verses

Back in college I found this flashcard on a key ring thing in the bookstore and started using them for my verses (yeah, I memorize the same bible verses over and over again and I'm not afraid to admit that so there). Anyways, the little notebook thing is long gone (as well as the verses I "memorized") and I keep looking for something similar as they were so handy to just throw into a purse or bookbag (now diaper bag) and pull out whenever I had a moment, was parked in traffic or waiting in a doctor's office.

So I was SUPER THRILLED to find these  (also on Etsy) at Bad Day Ben. They are the perfect size and look cool and sturdy. Perfect for shuffeling back and forth and filling with verses you will soon forget.

3. A really cool notepad to write crap on.
I am a list maker...I would rather sit here and spend 40 minutes making the perfect list than to actually go do the stuff on my list. So why write your lists, notes, recipes, reminders, etc on boring old white scrap paper? Let's get awesome stationary pads to write them on!
Bottle Rocket Designs has an awesome note pad that even comes with magnet strips so you can hang it on your fridge. I LOVE the brown paper, the line ink drawing and the "hey, use me every once in awhile" script at the bottom. darn these pictures aren't really big enough but follow the link here to see the pad

Boy Girl Party has some neat paper products as well. I like the octopus to do list.

4. Some Cookbooks
I want a few cookbooks actually. Ree Durmond's new cookbook is defininetly on my list The Pioneer Woman Cooks. But what I really really want is a good traditional Pennsylvania Dutch Cookbook. I think Classic Pennsylvania Dutch Cooking might fit the bill but I don't know...I'll probably want to get More with Less Cookbook that my mom has had for years first. I love it, don't have a copy and would use it a lot.

5. A New Wallet (and a cool matching headband!).
I used to use a traditional wallet but a lot of times (yes even with a baby) I just grab my wallet, cell phone, and keys and I leave. A traditional wallet does not work when you are trying to stuff it into the back pocket of your to-tight-but-I-swear-I'm-loosing-the-baby-weight-and-I-don't-want-to-buy-new-jeans. So I love J. Crew's little magic wallets....even their bifold wallet's are slim enough to slide into that very snug back pocket. I love this gold glitter one...it's just sooo cool and a small bit of special flash that every mom needs! I also love the headband in the same style. It's sold out right now but I am hoping that after the holiday's it will be back up. I can just imagine how cute this would be in my hair.

5. Another One Of These
This one I have no control over, but God...if you read this, I'd like a baby for christmas!!
Currently the cute little baby in this picture has been playing and whining non stop for the last 30 minutes.
I hate whining.

There are other things I need first though.... (the baby doesn't count, I need that now! lol) but we are running low on basic clothing (like underwear) so a cool apron will have to wait.

Goodbye to Garrison House: Boy In A Basket

I was taking pictures of the wood pile in our basement...which is a wall of wood that seperates the washer and dryer from the woodstove (sounds oh so safe!) and I was dealing with a cranky Baby M who didn't want to be seperated from Mommy...so I put him in a safe place and somehow he managed to sneak into my pictures. I like it that way.

Goodbye To Garrison House: Self-Portrait

The only way to really document the role mirrors play in Baltimore decorating styles was to take a picture of myself in the mirror. There are a lot of reasons for this

1. When we were looking at houses, every house had an overabundance of mirrors...mirrors on the ceiling of the master bedrooms, mirrors on the ceilings of the stairs, mirrors on the walls, mirrors on the doors, mirrors on the cabinets...they are everywhere in the Baltimore decorating psyche.

2. Our house came with a tasteful (in Baltimore terms) amount of mirrors, 1 large one in the dining room, 3 full length (over 8 feet) mirrors in the entrance, and a couple smaller ones scattered through the house.

3. The mirror's are the bane of J's existance....especially those entrance ones...I'm a girl and 3 full length views of myself at one time really catch my eye. I change clothes based on those mirror's...and I do a lot of hair in those mirror's. He hates it.

Need To Procrastinate?

Then spend a couple hours on the computer creating imaginary stationary lines. I started out with a five pack of greeting cards (thank you, happy birthday, sympathy and congrads) that all got lost when GIMP randomly shut down on me. Then I went back and started out doing grocery planning pad's for each "line".

I really need to be working on this outline...I sent my first one back and they picked out one of my five points and said "focus on this and send it again".

In all fairness the entire time I was working on these, I had the article they sent me for reference open and I occasionally glanced at it.

I call this line "Cherry Blossom"

"Chesapeake Bay"

"Sherbert"

"Urban"

Goodbye to Garrison House: Chandelier

Haluski: Now I Know Why It's Called "Peasant Food"

Today I made the Haluski J agreed to try. I didn't anticipate him actually liking this meal, but the important thing is that he was willing to try it. So here's how you make traditional basic Haluski.

Start with 2 cups of flour and 1 teaspoon of salt. Pardon my terrible cooking utensils, I'm operating with a minmal kitchen at the moment and am soo thankful for it!

Next, add three eggs...well you should mix first but I always get over eager to throw everything together as if it's magically going to just be cooked. So I had to pull myself back, mix, then throw in the eggs, then mix again. Oh the drudgery.

Next, the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of water but add it in slowly. I filled a 1/2 cup but I only used maybe 2 tablespoons. As you can see just the mixture with the egg is starting to be wet. The goal is a soft dough.

I think I got mine a little to wet so be careful and add it super slow. You can always add more in but you can't take it out!

Next put 1 teaspoon of salt into a medium pot and fill with water and bring to a boil.

Now you are supposed to drop the dough by the teaspoon into the boiling water. At first I tried to roll little balls but my dough was really sticky so that was way to time consuming. So I was a little busy ripping off peices of dough and getting them unstuck off my fingers into the water. The dumplings are cooked when they float. That happened sooner than I anticipated so I ended up stopping halfway through to spoon the first batch off the top of the water into the colander, then starting again. They cook quick so I had the whole batch done in like 10 minutes. It was a hectic ten minutes though.

So as you can see my dumplings aren't quite as small as they should be but they tasted pretty decent so I called this a success and moved onto the cabbage.

Wash your cabbage and peel off the outer layers. Chop up 1/2 a head and just throw it into the pan.

I added a little more than 1/2 a head (which ended up being a good thing) since I like the mixture a little heavier on the cabbage rather than the dumplings. My recipe calls for 1/2 pound of butter in the pan but considering that's 2 whole sticks and taking into account my poor attention to detail, I figured 1/2 stick was much more realistic and so that's what I threw in.

A chopped medium onion would be good to but I was lazy and a little time pressed so I just threw in some dried minced onion and called it a day.

Don't worry if your pan looks to full, you're cooking this baby down. I just threw it all in together but ideally you should melt the butter first and then add the cabbage.

Once the butter is melted and coats the cabbage, put it on medium heat and throw a lid on it as the cabbage cooks down.

Add some salt and pepper (to taste). I also add about a handful of parmesean cheese. Not in the recipe but I can't resist some sauted cabbage with parmesean cheese...it's so yummy! So I threw it in.

Once the cabbage is cooked down but before it starts browning, throw in your dumplings and mix together.

Now you just keep cooking it on a high heat...the goal being to slighlty carmelize...is that correct?...you want brown soft sweet cabbage and a crispy brown dumpling when you're done. I'm terribly impatient so I took this last photo maybe a couple minutes to early.

J didn't like it, at all. But like I said, all I wanted was his willinginess to try something new so it's totally fine. Besides, I figured out why they call this stuff peasant food...I had maybe a cup of this and it sat like a rock in my belly (not in a bad way but in a "wow I had a full meal and I wasn't expecting that" kind of way), you only have to eat a little bit in order to feel full and all the ingrediants would be readily available on a regular working farm. It's worth a try.

Haluski

Dumplings

2 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

3 eggs

1/2 cup of water (added slowly).

Mix flour and salt, add eggs and mix. Slowly add just enough water to make a soft dough. Add 1 teaspoon of water to a pot of water and bring to a boil. Drop dough by the teaspoonfulls into the boiling water. Dumpling's are done when they float.

Cabbage

1/2 head of cabbage

1 medium onion

1/2 stick of butter

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup of parmesean cheese (optional)

Melt butter in pan, add chopped cabbage and onion, cook over medium heat until cabbage is soft and beggining to brown. Add dumplings and turn heat to high. Finish cooking by browing cabbage and dumplings.

Goodbye to Garrison House: Winter Sun

This should cover yesterday's, today's and tommorow's picture. The sunroom get's a good view of the winter sun crossing through the day. Unforuntately the room leaks and there are several holes in the window so it's cold. Not very inviting.

I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Awhile back I had a very tumultous week in terms of human-christian relations. See here and here for just two of the things that contributed to my current predicament.
Instead of handling the ridiculousness in an appropriate manner (namely girl scout cookies and a snuggle with Baby M) I went and DID SOMETHING.

First I called a pregnancy crisis center and am now starting counseling training with them in January. Which was fine, I'm excited about it....

but then I wasn't satsified so I went a wrote crap. Actually, I went a wrote a query....not an article...just a query. I had no idea what I was talking about it, I just wrote something that sounded cohesive and coherent and sent it off figuring that it was good practice for my querying skills.
BUT then they emailed me back! They wanted an OUTLINE.

but I don't have an outline! In fact, I don't know what I'm talking about...I was just mad about several different things and since my best friend was part of the problem, I couldn't talk to her about it so I....I started talking to magazine editors??? What is my problem?

So I did some serious praying and basically offered myself up as an available typist. If God wanted to use my fingers to say something for him, then by all means go ahead and use me...and if he was just giving me more writing practice...well I appreciate it and I'll think through my anger a little more next time before doing anything rash. I sent the outline this morning and I don't expect to hear anything back.

The problem is, I've got nothing to say that anyone wants to here. No one wants to hear that your christian sensibilites have to be offended in order to reach the people in my neighborhood. No one wants to hear that money does not solve the problem here. No one really wants to hear that discipling these people is time consuming, ridiculously messy and generally frowned upon. And that's all I have to offer...so thank you Mr. Editor sir, and sorry for wasting your time.

But I am excited for January...when I called the center I had no idea what I was going to say, in fact I don't have anything beyond the ability to share embarressing details about my life in attempts to make people more comfortable with who they are. I've got nothing more than the desire to be chummy with all the girls I see society pooping on. If I get chances along the way to encourage girls to keep their babies, or witness them coming to Christ or whatever than that's just icing on the cake. I'm probably all backwards in this one to, normally people volunteer to save babies...I'm more intrested in saving my peers.
The center seemed excited that I graduated from Liberty, and doubly excited that I was a young mom. So hopefully this works out well.

Something Tells Me He's Going To Be Expensive To Feed

What follows is Baby M's menu from the last 18 hours.

Dinner: Cheerios, 1/2 yam, 1/2 tangerine,
6pm: Nurse
9pm: Nurse
1am: Nurse
4am: Nurse
5am: Nurse
7am: Nurse
8:30am: Nurse
Breakfast: Cheerios, Wheat Toast, 4 ounces of mango and pear baby food, 4 Tblsp of multigrain cereal.
10am: Nurse
Lunch: 1/2 cup of acorn squash, Cheerios, 1-2ounces of formula (I'm working on it)
and now...he wants to nurse again....and I wish my boobs could go away on vacation. They need a break, they need a new bikini and a mexico vacation where they can just lounge around on the beach and relax...maybe come home a little perkier (not that I'm making any demands on them!)

*sigh* It's hard to try to wean a baby that sees solid food as a great bonus in addition to nursing, and thinks baby formula tastes like garbage in a cup. I just have visions of a 40 year old man still coming home to nurse even though that's ridiculous.
right?

I told J all this earlier this morning and he said he was going to make Baby M raise his own meat once he's a teenager otherwise we can't afford to feed him.
Then he also mentioned the baby was probably growing given all the food and sleeping (he has been sleeping pretty good). That makes sense.

Goodbye to Garrison House: Pattern