Hello again and happy new year! When I abruptly stopped posting over the summer I hadn't intended on staying away so long. I found that the longer I went without posting, the more difficult it was to return to it because I didn't have any reason for having stopped. Well, I had a reason, but it was a little hard to admit that the reason I stepped away was because I was cranky about the whole thing. As an avid home baker, giving up wheat made me rather uncreative in the kitchen on several levels. I was finding sporadic moments of creativity, but for the most part we ate a lot of bunless burgers, grilled meats over salad, or grilled meats alongside grilled veggies. It felt very uninspiring and mundane, which makes for an empty blog post: "Here's some okay pictures... and a recipe (of sorts)....it was pretty good...I guess. I mean, we ate it and all, do you want to?" Not the most riveting of possibilities.
On top of that fact, I was finding when I did have moments of creativity they were struggles. Serious struggles. I have an unfinished post from back in July entitled: "What will I set on fire next?" (it was a rough week). Giving up wheat means looking at baking from a whole new direction, and with very unfamiliar ingredients. There are tons of blogs and cookbooks devoted to gluten free cooking and I have found several I really like, but I was finding that a lot of them used odd ingredients (gums, extracts, and processed...things) that I would never have bought for regular baking. I didn't want to purchase those types of ingredients because our purpose of avoiding wheat wasn't to go gluten free, but to avoid processed and refined foods. That excluded a lot of those ingredients the gluten free website were calling for in their quest to make gluten free recipes taste and feel like the real thing. To avoid their replacement ingredients, I was flying by the seat of my pants, having a lot of hard landings, and not being able to replicate my results for the sporadic successes.
Over the months, our commitment to going wheat-less slowly deteriorated. We never reintroduced breakfast cereals, lunchtime sandwiches, or crackers and such at snack time, but we were definitely incorporating more and more into our diet (it might not sound like it, but trust me, wheat was slowly making a comeback). Now that the holidays are over (especially my cookie baking extravaganza) we are going to be returning a bit more to our plan, but instead of going wheat-less we are just going to focus on eating less wheat. The wheat that crept into our dinner plans will be reduced and the desserts with wheat will be less frequent. Since it won't be missing entirely, I don't have to worry about being a frustrated baker. I'll probably be baking just as often as before, which is around once every week or two. Since I won't be using up all my creative energies trying to replace my favorite baked goods, I'll have some left over to apply towards lunches and dinners. (Sorry, breakfast, you miss out. You're still going to be either oatmeal or eggs, I have no patience for creativity in the mornings because I'm sleepwalking until nearly noon).
I think the final reason I walked away for a while was because of the stress I was giving myself over both the quantity and quality of my posts. I wasn't quite happy with either. I felt that I needed to post as often as possible so as not to disappoint anyone, and that each post needed to be littered with beautiful process shots. As lovely as that sounds it doesn't seem to be my style, and really, there are already so many people who naturally post like that (and who will be able to do it much better than myself.)
It is so easy to compare yourself with others who are much more talented (and experienced) and in doing so fall short. I had to remind myself that my blog on this little corner is not supposed to stress me out, it is supposed to relieve stress (wait, that is what hobbies are for, right?). I'm not getting graded or paid or forced to do this. I'm doing it because I want to. Since it is for me (and you just happen to be eavesdropping on my thoughts ;-) which, by the way, I've discovered from Hey, Babe are strange since I think them in narration) I'm much more concerned with quality. I'm probably not going to be posting more than once a week. I'm not necessarily going to include a ton of pictures just to have them (if I'm satisfied with how well they came out, that's another story). I'm not going to be posting our monthly menus anymore. We still do them but since they no longer follow the months but are instead on a 5 week rotation that doesn't fit nicely in my square box thinking ;-) (plus I think that nearly a full years worth of example is probably quite enough to get an idea of how to make one).
There are some things that I am going to be doing. I am going to be more certain that I am satisfied with the work I post. I am going to try to post more of the recipes that I've been asked for copies of (a Cheddar Beer Bread that reminds me of Red Lobster's Cheddar Bay Biscuits is high on that list). Finally, I am going to relax about this and enjoy myself. As a stay at home Mom, I should already be accustomed to a more relaxed pace, but for some reason with blogging I wasn't following that. Here's to a new year with less stressing and more enjoying the trip without focusing so much on the destination. Happy New Year to you all, may it be the best one yet.
Showing posts with label musings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label musings. Show all posts
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Random Thoughts
I like that the more I cook, the better I am getting at recognizing potential problems in a recipe. I can't recall a specific recipe that prompted this thought, but it makes me happy just the same.
I read on a forum about a family that was having trouble with the kids complaining about the house not having any food. The trouble was summed up very clearly when it was pointed out that there was apparently a discrepancy with the definition of food. As far as the kids were concerned food equals something already prepared that they need to do little to nothing to in order to consume it. In the kids eyes Mom was only buying ingredients.
In that case, we don't really buy any food at all (except for fruits and veggies most of which require little more than a rinse in the sink).
I love to watch my kids interact with one another. I love that I can use them to cheer one another up or ward off a funk. If the Storm Sprite is upset I can often encourage Little Man with little or no coaxing to come talk with her and try to cheer her up. In fact, usually I don't need to do anything and he comes to see what's the matter of his own volition. This can be done by him shaking his head back and forth 2 inches from hers with his nose all scrunched up and a big grin dominating his face as he says repeatedly, "Gimme those smiles! Yeah, yeah! Gimme those smiles!" Other times he is more mild and simply pats her and reassures her that he is there, (or I am there, or Daddy is there).
Likewise, if Little Man hasn't woken himself from his nap by 3, I know that I have a much better shot at a happy child if I bring the Storm Sprite in with me and lay her down next to him as I try and rouse him. Instead of getting a wimpy, whiny boy, I end up with one grinning and snuggling his sister for a few minutes before he decides he is ready to get up and move on with the day.
Of course, since they are both human (and still rather small, immature ones at that) it can also be frustrating to watch their interactions. The two of them were sitting on my lap giggling and tickling and having a grand old time. For no apparent reason this went suddenly downhill as Little Man bit his sister's finger. No warning. No reason. And that was the end of that merry scene.
Little Man loves his daddy. I have numerous pictures of Little Man copying, helping, or just following Hey, Babe in whatever he is doing. One of the things that he wants to be able to do with Hey, Babe, is mow the lawn. He has his own little plastic walk behind mower, just like his daddy does. Unfortunately for him, we don't let him use it while Hey, Babe is actually mowing the lawn because we have too many rocks in our yard that might become accidental projectiles.
One particular day as Little Man joined Hey, Babe putting his equipment away, he decided to help. To do so he bent down pushed on the body of the still very hot mower and before anything could be done had burned his fingers. Thankfully it wasn't a bad burn but still it hurt, especially for a child only beginning to expand his repertoire of painful experiences. Since that occurrence, when we tell him not to touch something and that it is hot or dangerous he always asks, "Like a lawnmower?" In our house it is not hot like a stove. Nope. Around here, it's dangerous like a lawnmower.
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I read on a forum about a family that was having trouble with the kids complaining about the house not having any food. The trouble was summed up very clearly when it was pointed out that there was apparently a discrepancy with the definition of food. As far as the kids were concerned food equals something already prepared that they need to do little to nothing to in order to consume it. In the kids eyes Mom was only buying ingredients.
In that case, we don't really buy any food at all (except for fruits and veggies most of which require little more than a rinse in the sink).
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I love to watch my kids interact with one another. I love that I can use them to cheer one another up or ward off a funk. If the Storm Sprite is upset I can often encourage Little Man with little or no coaxing to come talk with her and try to cheer her up. In fact, usually I don't need to do anything and he comes to see what's the matter of his own volition. This can be done by him shaking his head back and forth 2 inches from hers with his nose all scrunched up and a big grin dominating his face as he says repeatedly, "Gimme those smiles! Yeah, yeah! Gimme those smiles!" Other times he is more mild and simply pats her and reassures her that he is there, (or I am there, or Daddy is there).
Likewise, if Little Man hasn't woken himself from his nap by 3, I know that I have a much better shot at a happy child if I bring the Storm Sprite in with me and lay her down next to him as I try and rouse him. Instead of getting a wimpy, whiny boy, I end up with one grinning and snuggling his sister for a few minutes before he decides he is ready to get up and move on with the day.
Of course, since they are both human (and still rather small, immature ones at that) it can also be frustrating to watch their interactions. The two of them were sitting on my lap giggling and tickling and having a grand old time. For no apparent reason this went suddenly downhill as Little Man bit his sister's finger. No warning. No reason. And that was the end of that merry scene.
-------------
Little Man loves his daddy. I have numerous pictures of Little Man copying, helping, or just following Hey, Babe in whatever he is doing. One of the things that he wants to be able to do with Hey, Babe, is mow the lawn. He has his own little plastic walk behind mower, just like his daddy does. Unfortunately for him, we don't let him use it while Hey, Babe is actually mowing the lawn because we have too many rocks in our yard that might become accidental projectiles.
One particular day as Little Man joined Hey, Babe putting his equipment away, he decided to help. To do so he bent down pushed on the body of the still very hot mower and before anything could be done had burned his fingers. Thankfully it wasn't a bad burn but still it hurt, especially for a child only beginning to expand his repertoire of painful experiences. Since that occurrence, when we tell him not to touch something and that it is hot or dangerous he always asks, "Like a lawnmower?" In our house it is not hot like a stove. Nope. Around here, it's dangerous like a lawnmower.
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Tuesday, January 25, 2011
MIA
It has been a little quiet on this blog the past month or two. First the holidays were demanding their fair share of my attention, then recovering from said holidays took precedence, and finally the family succumbing one by one to some awful sickness took up much more energy then I would have liked. The win for most pathetic patient would have to go to the Storm Sprite. Poor little thing still has no idea what hit her. As I was sick myself, I took no insult when she wanted comfort from Daddy instead of me. Instead, I just handed her hysterically sobbing for Daa-Daa self off to Hey, Babe (who wasn't thoroughly convinced she knew what she was saying until she instantly quieted on being taken into his arms) and tried to get more sleep. We are still suffering the after shock, what with sniffly noses and fits of coughing still echoing in our house, but the fact that I don't have two children super glued to my person at all times is an indication that they are actually feeling better. I might even be to cook with my camera again (hard to do when one hand is already holding a clingy, sniffly baby).
Meanwhile, I have been working on planning my first garden for the spring. Buying started plants for everything I'm interested in growing would be cost-prohibitive (as well as less of a learning experience) so instead I ordered seed catalogs from several supposedly reliable, safe companies and figured I was on my way to figuring out what to plant. Then all the catalogs started to come in. I had NO idea that there was going to be so many selections (all of which look tasty) and was beginning to be quite overwhelmed.
Fortunately, I discovered that one of the companies, Bountiful Gardens, was offering seed mixes of several of the vegetable varieties I wanted to grow. Perhaps it will turn out to be a mistake when I can't figure out what the heck I planted that we enjoyed (or hated) so much for future reference, but I am hoping it will give me a starting point. Aside from that, I don't think I am particularly picky and after buying partially ripe tomatoes in the grocery store for the past several years I am pretty sure that anything I grow will be an improvement. I will also be attempting to grow a few herbs since the cost of one seed packet with 200 seeds is less than the cost of buying them fresh in the store. Now as long as my thumb has even a moderate shade of green I think I'll be alright.
The last thing that has been taking up so much of my recent time is trees. Fruit trees to be more specific. I am interested in starting a mini home orchard with several types and varieties of dwarf fruit trees. For my birthday that comes later this year, I am suppose to pick out trees now for spring planting. My only trouble is trying to figure out what the heck to plant! There is even more pressure (self inflicted) to chose the right variety when it comes to tress for several reasons. Trees are significantly more expensive (seeds $1-3, trees $30-40 and don't even get me started on shipping), they are a huge time commitment before you see any fruit (up to three years instead of a few weeks), and because of the way I am planning on planting them (high density planting or four trees to a hole), I need to commit to four varieties at a time and hope that they all thrive because if one dies, I'm not sure if or how it can be replaced. I have to remind myself that this self induced pressure is a luxury, but I still want to pick the right ones.
Though I would eventually like to have apples, cherries, peaches, plums, pears and nectarines all growing here (perhaps I'm a little over-ambitious), I think I am accepting that I will have to start with just apples or cherries this year. Now if only I could figure out what varieties to plant! My intent is to use the apples for apple butter, apple pies, and eating out of hand. I don't like mealy apples (like Red Delicious) and apples like Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, and Granny Smith are all readily available for reasonable prices around here so it doesn't make sense to grow my own. Any suggestions for incredible apples that you have used for apple butter or pie and absolutely loved? Any recommendations or even warnings will be welcome! I need to chose soon before they run out of selections. I apparently should have ordered in the fall, who knew?
Meanwhile, I have been working on planning my first garden for the spring. Buying started plants for everything I'm interested in growing would be cost-prohibitive (as well as less of a learning experience) so instead I ordered seed catalogs from several supposedly reliable, safe companies and figured I was on my way to figuring out what to plant. Then all the catalogs started to come in. I had NO idea that there was going to be so many selections (all of which look tasty) and was beginning to be quite overwhelmed.
Fortunately, I discovered that one of the companies, Bountiful Gardens, was offering seed mixes of several of the vegetable varieties I wanted to grow. Perhaps it will turn out to be a mistake when I can't figure out what the heck I planted that we enjoyed (or hated) so much for future reference, but I am hoping it will give me a starting point. Aside from that, I don't think I am particularly picky and after buying partially ripe tomatoes in the grocery store for the past several years I am pretty sure that anything I grow will be an improvement. I will also be attempting to grow a few herbs since the cost of one seed packet with 200 seeds is less than the cost of buying them fresh in the store. Now as long as my thumb has even a moderate shade of green I think I'll be alright.
The last thing that has been taking up so much of my recent time is trees. Fruit trees to be more specific. I am interested in starting a mini home orchard with several types and varieties of dwarf fruit trees. For my birthday that comes later this year, I am suppose to pick out trees now for spring planting. My only trouble is trying to figure out what the heck to plant! There is even more pressure (self inflicted) to chose the right variety when it comes to tress for several reasons. Trees are significantly more expensive (seeds $1-3, trees $30-40 and don't even get me started on shipping), they are a huge time commitment before you see any fruit (up to three years instead of a few weeks), and because of the way I am planning on planting them (high density planting or four trees to a hole), I need to commit to four varieties at a time and hope that they all thrive because if one dies, I'm not sure if or how it can be replaced. I have to remind myself that this self induced pressure is a luxury, but I still want to pick the right ones.
Though I would eventually like to have apples, cherries, peaches, plums, pears and nectarines all growing here (perhaps I'm a little over-ambitious), I think I am accepting that I will have to start with just apples or cherries this year. Now if only I could figure out what varieties to plant! My intent is to use the apples for apple butter, apple pies, and eating out of hand. I don't like mealy apples (like Red Delicious) and apples like Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, and Granny Smith are all readily available for reasonable prices around here so it doesn't make sense to grow my own. Any suggestions for incredible apples that you have used for apple butter or pie and absolutely loved? Any recommendations or even warnings will be welcome! I need to chose soon before they run out of selections. I apparently should have ordered in the fall, who knew?
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Happy Winds-Day!
Weather can be a funny thing, and is entirely undependable. It can make or break your day, and it can make or break the event you have planned for a day. Seeing as how the only event I had planned today was to get over a head cold, I felt certain that the weather wasn't going to impact my day at all.
I was cozy and warm inside, content that we had no where to go today and that I could stay in and avoid the damp windy weather that had moved in. That is, until the wind picked up and started tossing our trash cans down the street. Apparently the weather was bound and determined to get my attention. Grumbling a bit to myself that I was going to have to run out into what was sure to be cold and blustery outdoors, I decided to forgo the jacket and just get it over with quickly.
The first surprise was apparent the moment I stepped out the door. While it was certainly a very windy day (the garbage cans being blown down the street was the tip off for that one) it was not in the least bit chilly. I didn't need the jacket that I thought I was sacrificing in favor of expedience.
The second surprise wasn't evident until I turned back to the house and saw this:
A beautiful yellow rose blossoming on the poor neglected bush we inherited from our house's previous owners.
The windy weather apparently wasn't trying to ruin my day but rather offer up a flower of friendship, the yellow rose. (That sounds rather cheesy, but I'm going to leave it.) I'm still a little surprised and amused to be receiving flowers from the bushes this late in the season. Doesn't weather see the bald Sycamore tree in the background, nearly completely bereft of it's leaves? Or the Maple Tree across the road in all it's flaming red glory? Spring and Fall have definitely merged today, a day that I am sure Winnie the Pooh would aptly call "Windsday."
I was cozy and warm inside, content that we had no where to go today and that I could stay in and avoid the damp windy weather that had moved in. That is, until the wind picked up and started tossing our trash cans down the street. Apparently the weather was bound and determined to get my attention. Grumbling a bit to myself that I was going to have to run out into what was sure to be cold and blustery outdoors, I decided to forgo the jacket and just get it over with quickly.
The first surprise was apparent the moment I stepped out the door. While it was certainly a very windy day (the garbage cans being blown down the street was the tip off for that one) it was not in the least bit chilly. I didn't need the jacket that I thought I was sacrificing in favor of expedience.
The second surprise wasn't evident until I turned back to the house and saw this:
The windy weather apparently wasn't trying to ruin my day but rather offer up a flower of friendship, the yellow rose. (That sounds rather cheesy, but I'm going to leave it.) I'm still a little surprised and amused to be receiving flowers from the bushes this late in the season. Doesn't weather see the bald Sycamore tree in the background, nearly completely bereft of it's leaves? Or the Maple Tree across the road in all it's flaming red glory? Spring and Fall have definitely merged today, a day that I am sure Winnie the Pooh would aptly call "Windsday."
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Sleep Deprivation
The time change has not gone over well with the Storm Sprite. No one consulted her about it beforehand and she certainly wouldn't have granted her permission even if they had. This week has reminded me a bit of the misery we went through with Little Man, who was not a great sleeper and did not sleep through the night until he was well over a year old. I wrote this reflection of Little Man's sleeping habits in his first months and since I am remembering it I feel like sharing. Reading this again gives me vivid flashbacks but since it is not nearly as bad this time around I am sincerely grateful.
"...he definitely read the book How to Drive Your Parents Crazy and Rule the Home: The Early Months and is following their guidelines to a "T". From what I can figure out, babies invented sleep deprivation torture, only they are even more cunning then any adult could ever be.
"...he definitely read the book How to Drive Your Parents Crazy and Rule the Home: The Early Months and is following their guidelines to a "T". From what I can figure out, babies invented sleep deprivation torture, only they are even more cunning then any adult could ever be.
"...the first step is to not let your parents sleep for more than two hours at a time (if you are feeling generous), we will refer to this as Standard Practice. Keep this up for a few days, or even weeks, until your parents, or more aptly puppets, seem to be adapting to their new schedule. From here you may choose one of two options:
A- Stop sleeping altogether during times when your puppets might actually get some rest. Only sleep when they are driving, eating, working, etc. During the night while your puppets are attempting to sleep your choice of methods to keep them awake are plenty. One particularly effective, as well as devious, tactic is to fuss until they come to comfort you and then smile and coo to your hearts content. The puppets ability to maintain their frustration at your, and subsequently their, lack of sleep will be greatly diminished as their frustration with you will be in direct opposition to their adoration of you. This option you will only be able to keep it up for so long since you need your sleep too, you are a growing child. In which case you may proceed to the next option.
B- Sleep seven hours straight through the night, utter not a whisper of a peep. Here is where the fun begins. Your puppets will now be delirious with joy at the abundance of sleep. Be prepared to recieve praise, snuggles, kisses and cuddles (note: this will exceed the amount usually recieved when you burp, pass gas, or practice any other socially unacceptable but normal bodily functions). Ready for the key element in this plan? Return to either option A or to Standard Practice. It appears that it takes only one night for the average adult to unlearn how to cope with sleep deprivation and the resulting disfunctional puppet will be more amusing than usual..."
-Chapter 1: "Sleep Deprivation, The Key to It All" How to Drive Your Parents Crazy and Rule the Home: The Early Months
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Post-Election Day
I will never appreciate not getting any channels on our television so much as I do in the weeks leading up to an election. It seems like those weeks are just one long political advertisement, a hodgepodge of misleading, false, and irrelevant information being spewed from one candidate about the other, and we didn't have to sit through any of it. I am sure there is a sigh of relief today among people who do watch t.v. on a regular basis, as they can sit down and watch their program of choice in relative peace.
Last night after dinner we bundled up the kids and brought them with us to our polling location so that Hey, Babe and I could cast our ballots. Before we left we considered each of us going one at a time so that we wouldn't have to bother with getting the kids into and out of their coats and carseats. It wasn't a long drive, so each of us going by ourselves wouldn't have been a long drawn out process and would probably have been the easier thing to do, but we decided against it.
This is the third year I have brought Little Man with me to vote. The previous years it was due to convenience, we were out and about and it made more sense to stop that moment rather than go later by myself. The reason we chose this year to go against convenience and bring them with us is because I feel that it is important to vote. In our country's history, many years and lives were spent ensuring that we would all have the opportunity to voice our opinion about our representatives.
Too many people exercise their right to laziness, their right to remain ignorant over the issues and candidates, their right to not vote. It is unfortunate. Many of those people may argue that none of the candidates were worth voting for, or that it doesn't really make a difference, or that none of the candidates represents them, but the only way for that to change is to do something about it. Vote in the people whom you feel are most likely to do it right. If they fail, try again the following year, or run for an office yourself!
Every year until the kids are old enough to chose to stay home, I plan on bringing them with us to vote. It is a teachable moment in their lives. Even Little Man at two years old was asking questions about what we were doing, and so we explained it to him in as simple a manner as we could. We each brought him into the booth with us and allowed him to press the correct selections and help us cast our ballot. They don't get it now, Little Man still wants to know about the "Boat" we were going to and the Storm Sprite for all she knows never left the house last night since she slept through the entire thing. As they get older we will be able to show them how we go about selecting the person whom we feel will best represents us. Eventually they are going to be adults and who need to choose between getting home and relaxing after work or stopping and waiting in line to vote first. I hope that by bringing them with us we can instill in them the importance of not only voicing their opinion, but making the effort to ensure it is an educated opinion.
Perhaps I am optimistic. Maybe the people who don't vote are right in saying that the whole system and all of the politicians are corrupt, so voting can't and won't change anything. But if we don't vote we will never know. The difference between voting with the hope of making an impact and not voting because you are certain that you can't, is that those who do go out and vote actually have a chance at succeeding in their attempt. Those that don't vote may never be proven wrong in their supposition, but they are dooming themselves to the same results either way.
Last night after dinner we bundled up the kids and brought them with us to our polling location so that Hey, Babe and I could cast our ballots. Before we left we considered each of us going one at a time so that we wouldn't have to bother with getting the kids into and out of their coats and carseats. It wasn't a long drive, so each of us going by ourselves wouldn't have been a long drawn out process and would probably have been the easier thing to do, but we decided against it.
This is the third year I have brought Little Man with me to vote. The previous years it was due to convenience, we were out and about and it made more sense to stop that moment rather than go later by myself. The reason we chose this year to go against convenience and bring them with us is because I feel that it is important to vote. In our country's history, many years and lives were spent ensuring that we would all have the opportunity to voice our opinion about our representatives.
Too many people exercise their right to laziness, their right to remain ignorant over the issues and candidates, their right to not vote. It is unfortunate. Many of those people may argue that none of the candidates were worth voting for, or that it doesn't really make a difference, or that none of the candidates represents them, but the only way for that to change is to do something about it. Vote in the people whom you feel are most likely to do it right. If they fail, try again the following year, or run for an office yourself!
Every year until the kids are old enough to chose to stay home, I plan on bringing them with us to vote. It is a teachable moment in their lives. Even Little Man at two years old was asking questions about what we were doing, and so we explained it to him in as simple a manner as we could. We each brought him into the booth with us and allowed him to press the correct selections and help us cast our ballot. They don't get it now, Little Man still wants to know about the "Boat" we were going to and the Storm Sprite for all she knows never left the house last night since she slept through the entire thing. As they get older we will be able to show them how we go about selecting the person whom we feel will best represents us. Eventually they are going to be adults and who need to choose between getting home and relaxing after work or stopping and waiting in line to vote first. I hope that by bringing them with us we can instill in them the importance of not only voicing their opinion, but making the effort to ensure it is an educated opinion.
Perhaps I am optimistic. Maybe the people who don't vote are right in saying that the whole system and all of the politicians are corrupt, so voting can't and won't change anything. But if we don't vote we will never know. The difference between voting with the hope of making an impact and not voting because you are certain that you can't, is that those who do go out and vote actually have a chance at succeeding in their attempt. Those that don't vote may never be proven wrong in their supposition, but they are dooming themselves to the same results either way.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
The Effects of Our Parenting
This morning as a I sat going through my normal routine at the computer, I came across a post that my Pastor friend Noah had written about parenting and lying. He is addressing the effect our lack in following through on our words has regarding our children. Specifically, when we tell them that if they don't stop such and such action, they will receive a punishment. A punishment they never end up receiving. He is right, this is inconsistent. It is lying. It is teaching our children that we do not mean what we say and they can disregard our threats, our promises, our authority. When we do this, we are setting ourselves up to fail and struggle both now as well as later in the harder teen years. If we can't control and guide and be affective in our parenting and discipline now with toddlers, how can we expect that they as teenagers will listen to us? We will have taught them for years that ours is not a voice of authority.
Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." I always believed and was taught that this meant specifically in regard to teaching them your beliefs and values from childhood so that they will still be embraced as adults. I am now considering that it can be applied to all aspects of their lives. It is our job to be teaching them to respect us, both as people and authority figures (and so we must act in ways that they can respect) but it is more than that. We are also to be teaching them to be healthy individuals in all areas of their lives.
When our kids are young we have the power to affect their current and future relationships with everything from ourselves, to exercise, food and nutrition, learning and studying, spouses, their children, themselves, etc. We have the power to influence nearly every area in their lives. My Mom always told us that she wanted us kids to take the best aspects of her and Dad individually, and leave their bad ones behind. For our children to do this we actually have to give them good things to emulate. While we cannot be perfect parents, we are human and therefore fallible, we need to have a positive influence on them much more often than not.
I often joke that as parents, Hey, Babe and I are the dictators. If it is true it needs to be a loving dictatorship in which we try to give our children little cause to rebel or revolt, while we are still be doing our darnedest to make wise and mature decisions regarding them and our family. I think that in many ways parenting has to be a dictatorship, especially when our kids are young, because we cannot entrust the care and decision making of our children to persons lacking in wisdom, maturity or experience (i.e. themselves). It cannot be an anarchy, where our instructions are disregarded as meaningless. Which is why we need to be consistent in both our words and our actions. We need to teach them, with love and care, that ours is the last word and not a hollow chant to be ignored. The safety and well being of our children depends on the strength and effectiveness of us as parents. A sobering and weighty responsibility.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Can you have too many recipes?
I have a lot of recipes. More than I will ever be able to make. Probably. It isn't really that I have tons of cookbooks. I have 24 or so actual bound books, which may seem like a ton to some people and to others may be a pittance. However, that really isn't where I keep the bulk of my recipes. My computer (sneaky little thing) is my real cookbook. The program I spoke of before, the one Little Man attempted to sabotage, is where I give a home to thousands of recipes. Thousands. And I am constantly adding more. Every time I open up my blog reader, another appealing recipe catches my eye and I paste it into my recipe database.
The reason I will probably never be able to make them all is that most of them fall under the dessert or snack category. Oh, I believe I could probably cook through all of the savory, main dish type of recipes. I could probably cook a new dish every night for the next three years without repetition and get through at least all the ones on my computer. But while you eat dinner every night of the week, there are a limit to how many sweets and treats you eat in a week. Especially since I don't like Little Man to have to much sugar and Hey, Babe claims he isn't much of a dessert person (I sometimes wonder at the truth of that claim as pieces of cake and cookies disappear). That leaves most of the eating of those aforementioned baked goods up to yours truly. While I may be thrilled to eat them, I know my body would rebel. A steady diet of to much sugary fattening foods is unhealthy.
This is why I collect recipes. Reading about them and other people's experiences making them is almost as good as being able to try them myself. Almost. I know that I will probably never be able to make them all (hey, you never know!) but I like having them. Collecting recipes is one of my hobbies. I hoard them, and I'm always looking for more. As far as collectibles go, recipes don't really take up much room (especially the ones on my computer) and there is the potential at any given time for me to use one.
This blog is helping me to realize that potential. Since starting it up a little over a month ago, I have already made 20 or more new recipes. That's about 4 new recipes a week. Not all of them are on here yet, some of them are part of the Daring Baker's challenge and so will be revealed on the 27th, others I just haven't finished a write up on, and one of them I am wondering if I should even post it, since it was a recipe I will probably not make again (not even to tweak it).
I checked and I have now made a bit more than 12% of the recipes in my main dish recipe file. Perhaps I actually will be able to work my way through all of them in the next three years. You never know unless you try! I am really enjoying this new outlet for my recipe collecting hobby. It makes me more inclined to schedule in new recipes for our monthly menu. Knowing that I have posted my intent to make something in particular will make me more likely to follow through since someone may return looking to see the results.
I only foresee two problems with trying to cook through all of the main dishes in my recipe hoard. The first is Hey, Babe wanting to eat something I have already made again because it was soo good (although, is that really a problem?). The second will be my inability to stop collecting more recipes for my database. You all keep making so many delicious things that I want to try. My only hope is to cook faster than I collect.
The reason I will probably never be able to make them all is that most of them fall under the dessert or snack category. Oh, I believe I could probably cook through all of the savory, main dish type of recipes. I could probably cook a new dish every night for the next three years without repetition and get through at least all the ones on my computer. But while you eat dinner every night of the week, there are a limit to how many sweets and treats you eat in a week. Especially since I don't like Little Man to have to much sugar and Hey, Babe claims he isn't much of a dessert person (I sometimes wonder at the truth of that claim as pieces of cake and cookies disappear). That leaves most of the eating of those aforementioned baked goods up to yours truly. While I may be thrilled to eat them, I know my body would rebel. A steady diet of to much sugary fattening foods is unhealthy.
This is why I collect recipes. Reading about them and other people's experiences making them is almost as good as being able to try them myself. Almost. I know that I will probably never be able to make them all (hey, you never know!) but I like having them. Collecting recipes is one of my hobbies. I hoard them, and I'm always looking for more. As far as collectibles go, recipes don't really take up much room (especially the ones on my computer) and there is the potential at any given time for me to use one.
This blog is helping me to realize that potential. Since starting it up a little over a month ago, I have already made 20 or more new recipes. That's about 4 new recipes a week. Not all of them are on here yet, some of them are part of the Daring Baker's challenge and so will be revealed on the 27th, others I just haven't finished a write up on, and one of them I am wondering if I should even post it, since it was a recipe I will probably not make again (not even to tweak it).
I checked and I have now made a bit more than 12% of the recipes in my main dish recipe file. Perhaps I actually will be able to work my way through all of them in the next three years. You never know unless you try! I am really enjoying this new outlet for my recipe collecting hobby. It makes me more inclined to schedule in new recipes for our monthly menu. Knowing that I have posted my intent to make something in particular will make me more likely to follow through since someone may return looking to see the results.
I only foresee two problems with trying to cook through all of the main dishes in my recipe hoard. The first is Hey, Babe wanting to eat something I have already made again because it was soo good (although, is that really a problem?). The second will be my inability to stop collecting more recipes for my database. You all keep making so many delicious things that I want to try. My only hope is to cook faster than I collect.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
My love affair with an appliance
Our love affair is truly a sad tale. And unfortunate as well. The years we've wasted! The dishes we could have made together! I'm afraid this is all a bit of a muddle, I should begin at the beginning, of course.
When I was first married one of the things that I received as a gift was a food processor. It was nice aI'm sure, but being young and naive in the ways of the kitchen I decided I had no use for it (gasp!) The blender I had already opened had a small 2 cup food processing attachment and surely that was sufficient. Besides, this had a gift receipt and was apparently worth quite a bit in trade towards something I hadn't gotten and thought I needed more.
After such a fleeting meeting, I spurned the food processor and sent it on its way, ignorant of the future meals we could have prepared together. It was too late that I learned my mistake. Years of seeing recipes recommend the use of a food processor and knowing that I had once had one of my very own! Years of pureeing things in batch after batch of tiny portions, of slicing and chopping and mincing by hand. If I had only known before, but alas! I had not.
One happy day, Hey, Babe came and told me that we had points we needed to use towards items of our choosing and suggested that I browse the list to see if there were any in particular that I cared for. I casually browsed through page after page of items, some interesting, some amusing, some ridiculous, when I spotted it. Could it be? Could I truly own a food processor once again? I scanned through the pages more carefully, noticing that there was not one, but rather several to choose from! But the points? We had enough! I could pick any that I wanted!
Overwhelmed at my sudden and unexpected fortune, I was unprepared for such a choice. I was no longer a newlywed with a kitchen of her own for the first time. I had learned the hard way that among kitchen appliances and gadgets, one is not necessarily as good as the next. I knew that research and reviews must be pored over, recommendations must be gathered. So I turned to a trusted source, America's Test Kitchen. They had yet to steer me wrong. And they still haven't.
Following the Test Kitchen's recommendation, I selected my food processor
. And oh, have we begun to make beautiful meals together. Pie crusts, sauces, purees, cookie doughs, casseroles and more! We have been reunited at last, never to be parted again. (Just...please. Don't tell my mixer. Sibling rivalry, you see. I don't love one or the other more but I know that my mixer, well, it just wouldn't understand.)
When I was first married one of the things that I received as a gift was a food processor. It was nice aI'm sure, but being young and naive in the ways of the kitchen I decided I had no use for it (gasp!) The blender I had already opened had a small 2 cup food processing attachment and surely that was sufficient. Besides, this had a gift receipt and was apparently worth quite a bit in trade towards something I hadn't gotten and thought I needed more.
After such a fleeting meeting, I spurned the food processor and sent it on its way, ignorant of the future meals we could have prepared together. It was too late that I learned my mistake. Years of seeing recipes recommend the use of a food processor and knowing that I had once had one of my very own! Years of pureeing things in batch after batch of tiny portions, of slicing and chopping and mincing by hand. If I had only known before, but alas! I had not.
One happy day, Hey, Babe came and told me that we had points we needed to use towards items of our choosing and suggested that I browse the list to see if there were any in particular that I cared for. I casually browsed through page after page of items, some interesting, some amusing, some ridiculous, when I spotted it. Could it be? Could I truly own a food processor once again? I scanned through the pages more carefully, noticing that there was not one, but rather several to choose from! But the points? We had enough! I could pick any that I wanted!
Overwhelmed at my sudden and unexpected fortune, I was unprepared for such a choice. I was no longer a newlywed with a kitchen of her own for the first time. I had learned the hard way that among kitchen appliances and gadgets, one is not necessarily as good as the next. I knew that research and reviews must be pored over, recommendations must be gathered. So I turned to a trusted source, America's Test Kitchen. They had yet to steer me wrong. And they still haven't.
Following the Test Kitchen's recommendation, I selected my food processor
. And oh, have we begun to make beautiful meals together. Pie crusts, sauces, purees, cookie doughs, casseroles and more! We have been reunited at last, never to be parted again. (Just...please. Don't tell my mixer. Sibling rivalry, you see. I don't love one or the other more but I know that my mixer, well, it just wouldn't understand.) Me + 
= Kitchen Magic
= Kitchen MagicFriday, October 15, 2010
An Unfortunate Milestone
After a sleepless night spent constantly readjusting the Storm Sprite into positions that she could breathe and snot sucking her nose (oops sorry, did you come here for a recipe? guess you don't need one now!), today I'm beat. Apparently in one of his unstoppable bursts of affection for his sister, Little Man shared his sniffles. Lovely.
Sick kids are really one of the most pitiful things. I'm typing with one hand so I can hold the Storm Sprite up on my shoulder because she still is still stuffed up. Little Man is also down for his nap and I went in to check to see if he was still sleeping, he is. The poor kid has the classic signs of sickness-- stuffily, snotty snores and drool emanating from his sleeping person (wait, you weren't still hoping for a recipe in this post, were you?). As sick kids need their sleep, I have elected not to wake him and am resigned to the consequences this will produce at bedtime.
I was sitting here thinking about my two sick children, and how I'm not going to wake Little Man even though he is going on his third hour of his two-hour-only nap, and great how is he ever going to fall asleep tonight, and I had to stop and go back to the very beginning of that thought. My two sick children. Not my one sick child. The Storm Sprite is here now too. They have doubled and now outnumber me, and they both have cooties. I bet they are looking for another target, and good gracious I'm the only one available. Kids will totally pass germs to the person that feeds them. Help!
Sick kids are really one of the most pitiful things. I'm typing with one hand so I can hold the Storm Sprite up on my shoulder because she still is still stuffed up. Little Man is also down for his nap and I went in to check to see if he was still sleeping, he is. The poor kid has the classic signs of sickness-- stuffily, snotty snores and drool emanating from his sleeping person (wait, you weren't still hoping for a recipe in this post, were you?). As sick kids need their sleep, I have elected not to wake him and am resigned to the consequences this will produce at bedtime.
I was sitting here thinking about my two sick children, and how I'm not going to wake Little Man even though he is going on his third hour of his two-hour-only nap, and great how is he ever going to fall asleep tonight, and I had to stop and go back to the very beginning of that thought. My two sick children. Not my one sick child. The Storm Sprite is here now too. They have doubled and now outnumber me, and they both have cooties. I bet they are looking for another target, and good gracious I'm the only one available. Kids will totally pass germs to the person that feeds them. Help!
Friday, October 1, 2010
On Husbands
Recently I have been thinking a lot about something that I noticed often when I was a teenager. It is a strange phenomenon I refer to as Husband Bashing. It is something I really don't get at all. It almost seemed like a bizarre competition some of the time. Why in the world would a woman go around boasting about how inept their husband is as a man, father, person, etc. Especially since they are the one who chose to marry him (I don't see many/any arranged marriages around here). As far as I am concerned it just shows, among many other things, what poor judgment and wisdom skills they have.
My Mom has commented on it before. One of the things she does when she is put in the uncomfortable position of having to listen as a woman poor mouths her husband, is to respond with something positive that my Dad does. While it may irritate whomever she is speaking to, it also serves to nicely shut them up and convey that she is not interested in joining in their sport. And speaking of sport, how sportsmanlike is it to bad mouth the person whom you know all the best and worst of, to the most minute detail. Especially because in most cases it is done behind their back.
I really don't understand it. Aren't you supposed to become as one when you marry? Aren't you supposed to become greater together than you could each have ever been apart? How can that happen when you are individually chipping at the foundation of the other person. Why is your husband considered an acceptable target?
I understand that there are some husbands who really are contemptible. For those women, I am truly sorry. However, wouldn't it make more sense to remove yourself from the situation or try to fix the situation than to sit around and complain about it? I also understand that sometimes people can be very unpleasantly surprised at how their spouse has changed from when they were dating, however, I believe that road is usually a two way street.
What made me think of all this was actually reflecting on how wonderful Hey, Babe is to me, our children, our individual families, to friends, and even to strangers. He is kind, considerate, patient, generous, and understanding. He is a hard worker and genuinely works to improve himself. He does diapers, and helps get the kids to bed at night and ready in the mornings. He takes crying babies and walks the floor with them so I can get some rest. He cleans up from dinner when I cook and makes dinner when I just can't do it. He brings me chocolates when he knows I've had a rough day or even just because he knows I like it. When grocery shopping made me nauseous while I was pregnant, he completely took it over, and then continued to do it even after it no longer made me ill. There are so many things that he does both big and seemingly little. I am sure that anyone reading this would be bored long before I finished listing them all (if you aren't already). Because of who he is, I want to be a better person. When I married him I really did get a gem, and for that I am eternally grateful.
My Mom has commented on it before. One of the things she does when she is put in the uncomfortable position of having to listen as a woman poor mouths her husband, is to respond with something positive that my Dad does. While it may irritate whomever she is speaking to, it also serves to nicely shut them up and convey that she is not interested in joining in their sport. And speaking of sport, how sportsmanlike is it to bad mouth the person whom you know all the best and worst of, to the most minute detail. Especially because in most cases it is done behind their back.
I really don't understand it. Aren't you supposed to become as one when you marry? Aren't you supposed to become greater together than you could each have ever been apart? How can that happen when you are individually chipping at the foundation of the other person. Why is your husband considered an acceptable target?
I understand that there are some husbands who really are contemptible. For those women, I am truly sorry. However, wouldn't it make more sense to remove yourself from the situation or try to fix the situation than to sit around and complain about it? I also understand that sometimes people can be very unpleasantly surprised at how their spouse has changed from when they were dating, however, I believe that road is usually a two way street.
What made me think of all this was actually reflecting on how wonderful Hey, Babe is to me, our children, our individual families, to friends, and even to strangers. He is kind, considerate, patient, generous, and understanding. He is a hard worker and genuinely works to improve himself. He does diapers, and helps get the kids to bed at night and ready in the mornings. He takes crying babies and walks the floor with them so I can get some rest. He cleans up from dinner when I cook and makes dinner when I just can't do it. He brings me chocolates when he knows I've had a rough day or even just because he knows I like it. When grocery shopping made me nauseous while I was pregnant, he completely took it over, and then continued to do it even after it no longer made me ill. There are so many things that he does both big and seemingly little. I am sure that anyone reading this would be bored long before I finished listing them all (if you aren't already). Because of who he is, I want to be a better person. When I married him I really did get a gem, and for that I am eternally grateful.
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