Nutbrown Cottage

Ally's "cake"

2012-01-31T15:05:00.005-05:00

Some of you might've noticed that I posted Ally's 2nd adoption anniversary yesterday, but dated it for the 20th. Well, we goofed and got the date wrong. But we still celebrated it even though it was on the wrong day. Here Littlest presented a huge biscuit "cake" she made for her. Ally was quite interested! Littlest put 5 candles on for Ally's presumed age (we don't really know her age and can only guess by what the vet thinks). Two of the candles were a different color symbolizing Ally's 2 years with us. She also made her a hat which she's wearing in the pic. It was really sweet.

Kale chips

2012-01-31T09:38:00.004-05:00

Have you ever heard of kale chips? All of a sudden, everywhere I looked on the raw food recipe blogs it seemed that everyone was making kale chips and raving about them. So I thought I'd try my hand at them. They're delicious and so easy to make! This can be considered a low carb snack, btw.

You can do this in a dehydrator or the oven. If using a dehydrator, only heat up to 105 degrees to keep it "raw". In the oven, I guess you would turn it on to the lowest setting and heat it to that temperature and then shut the oven off and let the heat coast until the kale is thoroughly dried.

I used the bagged kale, you know, the shredded kind? The two downsides to making it with this type is that the size is chosen for you (remember, things shrink in the dehydrator) and some pieces have the stems attached, and the stems aren't too tasty, so you have to hand-pick them out if you want to save the hassle afterwards.

Here is a helpful video done by raw food author, Mimi Kirk (who is in her early 70's btw!):

I used her recipe in a general sense. She shows how she normally just eyes the amounts she adds, and that's what I did. My first batch was overly seasoned, but the second batch was a lot lighter. Each time I make them I'll tweak them till I get them the way I like best. I used pizza seasoning for my first two batches. You can use anything you like.

Try them! I think you like them!

Snow

2012-01-31T09:31:00.004-05:00

(Littlest took this pic with her new camera)

No, we're not getting snow. This fish is named Snow. Can't imagine why, can you?

See his face? It's what would be considered "white" in a Betta. When Littlest got him (a birthday gift from her brother) he was that "white" color all over except for a few dark splotches.

Well, since getting him and feeding him "color-enhancing" fish food flakes, he's slowly become a beautiful iridescent blue-green!

It's the most amazing thing!

Happy news!

2012-01-31T08:36:00.005-05:00

I debated about whether or not to post this because I try to respect my family's privacy as much as possible. But I don't think my daughter would mind. I hope not anyway!

As some of you know, I have been estranged from my second daughter for 3 years due to my stubborn bullheadedness and self-righteous pride. Yet, while I struggled over my ugly behavior those 3 years we both grew and matured. It was a good thing that God knew we needed to go through. And now we are reunited and God has healed what was damaged between us.

My daughter has 4 children and has gone through a lot of struggles in raising them on her own. She is a fine mother and deserves to find real love after looking in all the wrong places. Real love is a rare jewel that eludes many; and having 4 children makes it even harder when looking for a soul mate. Yet life is funny sometimes in that when you stop looking you often finally find what you were looking for. And she has. And he's Catholic!

So without further ado (and rambling), I want to announce the engagement of our daughter Angie to her guy, Ryan! Don't they look sweet together?

This pic was taken at Son's Eagle Court of Honor last November. We met Ryan there for the first time, and were reunited with Angie and the kids there, as well. It was such a happy day all around!

Since then we've gotten to know Ryan and we love him to pieces. He is a great guy and we look forward to having him in our family.

Ryan is big on family and tradition and wanted to do things right. Bless his heart! He was in the hospital for the umpteenth time due to an illness he's had since childhood and Hubs was going up for a visit (he works nearby). Well, for this visit he got a big surprise. Ryan asked him for Angie's hand in marriage! He said yes, of course! We were just thrilled! It meant a lot to us that he did things this way. Angie has wanted this kind of guy for so long. They're not exactly easy to find, ya know!

They both suffer from health problems that keep them aware of the important things in life. Suffering will do that to you. And because Angie has been married before she will have to go through 2 annulments to marry him. This is a long process that sounds, from what she told me, extremely demanding, but it will only prove her love for Ryan all the more to go through this process for him just to set things right so they can marry in the Church.

On a side note, we would appreciate your prayers for Ryan. He's been in and out of the hospital lately, and I think they're both pretty worn out from all the health drama and would love a break. Thanks!

A real threat to religious freedom is in our midst

2012-01-30T19:08:00.006-05:00

One thing I really respect about the Catholic Church is its stance on abortion and birth control. Despite the majority of Christians going soft on these issues, the Catholic Church has not budged. Not. one. inch.

First the government forced its g@y agenda on Catholic adoption and foster care institutions to the point that they had to close. Now it wants them to get out of the way of healthcare. In a year's time they'll be either forced to violate their consciences and allow abortion and birth control services to be included in employee health insurance plans or they'll have to violate the law and refuse to accept the mandate. They will do the latter if push comes to shove, because they won't give in. They'll close first. And that would be a pity.

So whether you're Catholic or not, please sign this petition to show your opposition to this ridiculous, immoral and illegal action by our president. You'll have to create an account, but you can use your first name and just the first letter of your last name to identify yourself for privacy's sake.

We need to speak up. Man, November can't get here fast enough.

A must read

2012-01-28T10:24:00.003-05:00

I've been enjoying Simcha Fisher's humorous ramblings for a few weeks now and have wanted to share them with you, but never got a round tuit. But today I just had to stop everything and post a link to her latest column. Every mother will likely relate. Jordana and Melissa, this means you.

Homemade coffee creamer

2012-01-26T16:38:00.002-05:00

One of the moms at the last AHG lock-in brought some homemade vanilla coffee creamer with her which I neglected to try that night. But many of the moms did and their ooohs and aaahs made it very tempting!

Today I ran out of coffee creamer and needed some. So I thought I'd try making it as per her instructions. This would do in a pinch if you keep sweetened condensed milk on hand. Since it's so sugar-heavy I might try making my own from evaporated milk and xylitol. You definitely get a sugar rush with this stuff!

I stored mine in my Good Seasons salad dressing bottle. Just the right size for this!

Homemade Vanilla Coffee Creamer

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
Milk to thin (or cream if you prefer) (about 1/4 - 1/2 cup or so)

Blend the sweetened condensed milk and the vanilla. Add milk or cream, stirring as you go, until it reaches the desired thinness. Refrigerate in a covered, pourable container. Enjoy!

Free embroidery patterns

2012-01-25T21:10:00.003-05:00

If you've been thinking of trying your hand at embroidery, here are some free patterns to give you somewhere to start:

Pattern Bee Free Vintage Patterns

Needlecrafter.com Free Pattern Library

Vintage Transfer Finds

French-Knots.com

The Three Little Pigs done Shakespeare style - hilarious!

2012-01-25T14:37:00.002-05:00

Get the kids and grandkids around to watch this amazing tale!

HT: Mommy Life

Beauty in the Everyday: Egg yolk flower

2012-01-24T19:17:00.004-05:00

I was making a cake yesterday and needed 7 separated eggs. Littlest begged to do the job for me and was happily surprised when she finished putting the last of the egg yolks into this measuring cup. We thought it was so pretty it deserved a mention. The yolk in the middle was lighter than the others, so she put it in the middle.

If you're a Wiggles fan...

2012-01-23T11:46:00.004-05:00

...and we are, you might already have heard this, but if not, Greg Page is back! The original yellow Wiggle is back after 5 years away! I imagine he left not ever expecting that he'd return, so this is happy news! Sam Moran has graciously stepped down. He did a great job replacing Greg and I wish him well in all his future endeavors.

Here's the goodbye video Sam made for the children:

Here's a little interview with Greg and 2 of the other Wiggles. Murray was not there.

It's good to see him back. He is and always will be THE yellow Wiggle.

Late January ramble

2012-01-22T16:14:00.008-05:00

Can you believe there are only 9 days left in this month?? Time is going by too fast for me.

I haven't felt like posting much lately. Just feeling blah, probably because of all the dreary weather we've had. I just get lethargic when I don't see sunshine for a few days.

Hubs and I are re-watching the first season of Downton Abbey on Netflix (me - "re", him - first time). I had forgotten a lot about the story and it's been fun seeing it again. I've already watched the first 2 episodes of Season 2 on PBS's website and the third one plays tonight on my PBS station. But I'll wait to watch that one online with Hubs once we catch up on all the other episodes.

I also watched a couple episodes of Sherlock. The first one was amazing and had me captivated. The second one was good, but not as good as the first one, in my humble opinion. I haven't seen the others. Did you see those yet? I really wasn't sure I'd like this series because it is very modern, as in it is assumed that Sherlock is g@y by many of the characters in the show and he never denies it. And lots of technology is used (masterfully, I must say).

I think the show has a great cast, and the interchanges between Holmes and Watson are very entertaining. Btw, the guy playing Watson is also going to be Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit; and the guy playing Sherlock will do the voices of Smaug and the Necromancer.

I've been making soup more than usual lately. First this one and then this one. I froze the extras for future lunches. On the vegan soup, I didn't go vegan. I added chicken, oil and a bit of cream at the end. It was delicious, but next time I will chop the red cabbage up smaller. It looked pretty gross after half the color drained out of it during the cooking process. I thought it would shrink up and it didn't. It just faded. Bleh. Mauve-colored strands of cabbage swimming around in my bowl was not appetite-inducing!

I'm almost finished with my latest embroidery project. Been working on it whilst watching Downton Abbey. ;)

I've tested a couple of gluten-free cake recipes for my 3rd grandson's upcoming birthday celebration. I made this one and a store-bought box cake (Betty Crocker). The boxed cake was better. My homemade one was a bit gritty as my flour consisted mainly of the ground brown rice flour I whipped up in my VitaMix. I'm not sure how to get the grittiness out, but I also don't know if I can stomach paying $8/lb. for some super-expensive flour just to avoid it. *sigh* Maybe it would be cheaper in the long run? The boxed cake was around $6. Yeah. Then you still have to add eggs and butter.

The frosting recipe under the homemade cake I linked to proved to be a good jumping-off place for me to come up with a really yummy and easy-to-make whipped chocolate frosting. The original recipe tasted too cream-heavy and not sweet enough, so I doubled the confectioner's sugar. It was better, but still wasn't right. So I doubled it again and also doubled the cocoa powder. Then it seemed just right.

Here's my version:

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Chocolate Whipped Cream Frosting My Way

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tablespoon vanilla

In a stand mixer or large bowl, add heavy cream, confectioner's sugar and cocoa powder. Blend on low to mix and then on high, scraping sides of bowl until very thick. Blend in vanilla. Spread on cake.

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My Amazon stuff is selling pretty well. I've sold almost $350 worth of stuff! And I have a lot more to sell. This will certainly help our van fund. At the beginning of February I'll get a Pro Merchant account and will be able to create my own listings on Amazon. Then I plan to put up a bunch of my stamp sets. Until then, Hubs is selling some of them on eBay for me. All of that will, of course, go toward the van.

Also, I've been getting Hubs to pick up only what we need at the stores. IOW, I'm staying out of the stores as much as possible! So far, this has put us under budget for groceries. Whatever is left at the end of the month will go into our van fund. Every little bit helps!

Tonight's supper is hamburger patties and mashed cauliflower and probably some other veggie.

Can't think of anything else to ramble on about so I'll stop there. Take care!

2 years

2012-01-20T20:14:00.001-05:00

Today marks the 2nd anniversary since we adopted Ally, our first Basset Hound. What a wonderful 2 years it has been!

Cute winter needlework project - free pattern from Turkey Feathers!

2012-01-18T20:10:00.002-05:00

Vicki Haninger at Turkey Feathers is kindly offering a free pattern for us to enjoy. It's so cute and a perfectly cheerful thing to look at and work on during those long, dreary winter days. This would be a great project for a beginner. The possibilities are numerous!

If you've ever wondered about those ridiculously overpriced items on Amazon...

2012-01-18T14:42:00.002-05:00

...this guy may have figured it out. Interesting comments underneath, too.

When you see a book listed for over $748 on Amazon and then go over to the seller's site only to see almost everything of theirs priced that way, you have to google. That's how I found the above link.

I love/hate Craigslist

2012-01-17T09:11:00.003-05:00

Do you feel that way, too?

Poor Son has been trying to sell his car for months, off and on, on Craigslist. If you want to lose your sanity, sell on Craigslist. It's guaranteed to test your mettle. Guaranteed!

People weird out when they get on selling boards. Most of them care not one wit that they get your hopes up when they tell you they are interested and then you never hear back from them again. Many will even go so far as to say they'll come out and look at what your selling (or giving away) and then never show up. God bless'm. *sigh*

But there are those rare souls who actually do what they say they will, and it's because of them that I love Craigslist (sometimes). They make it worth the hassle of dealing with the other 99%. Yes, they are the 1%. WE are the 1% because we keep our word and don't play with people's lives and sanity. Is that too much to ask for??

So, yesterday Son just about gave away his car on Craigslist. It was the only way to sell it there. Despite all the work and expense he had put into it no one would pay him a decent price for it. I say decent as in what my husband constitutes as decent - my husband being the Seasoned Veteran of Selling Stuff.

The girl who bought it was a sweet thing who drove from over 2 hours away to check it out. She looked perfect for the car. Made me think of Mary Stuart Masterson's character Watts in Some Kind of Wonderful. You know, the girl drummer?

Except this girl had dark hair. But her personality reminded me of Watts. I half expected her to be carrying drumsticks! lol

Anyway, despite the car selling for cheap, I was glad it went to her.

He did sell something else and got his asking price. But his asking price was a super deal, so no surprise there. What WAS a surprise was that the first person to call was also one of those 1%ers. She came right out and bought it. No shilly-shallying.

But that couch we keep trying to give away? Good grief, the flakes Hubs keeps dealing with! Thankfully, he takes it all in stride. But I sometimes have the urge to wring some necks, ya know?

Craigslist, a necessary evil in this world.

Chia "Tapioca" Pudding: Weird, but good

2012-01-16T14:53:00.006-05:00

Ever since my attempt at doing a raw food diet I've had a bag of chia seeds sitting in my freezer that I've not really done anything with. I know that chia seeds are good as a thickening agent because they turn gelatinous when soaked. But I didn't know they are also a good source of omega 3 fatty acids. You can learn more about the benefits of chia seeds here.

I was doing a little raw food googling after, well, it's a long, convoluted story I'll just skip. Anyway, I ran across a recipe for chia pudding that intrigued me. So I took the recipe and gave it a little twist. It kind of looks like tapioca pudding, doesn't it? It tastes very much like it, only it's not cooked!

Here's how I made mine:

Chia "Tapioca" Pudding

2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2/3 cup chia seeds
3 TBLS coconut palm sugar
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Stir chia seeds into almond milk. Let sit for 10-15 minutes. Add sugar, vanilla and salt. Whisk together. At this point it will be setting up, but still not done. Leave alone for an hour or so (refrigerate if you want) and stir occasionally until it's good and thick. Eat and enjoy!

Next time I think I'll add some pureed strawberries!

More finished State Quilt squares and the new one I'm working on

2012-01-14T18:16:00.002-05:00

I've had this Arkansas square done for a while, but haven't gotten a decent pic till recently (decent in light, not tidiness! lol). Some squares I enjoy more than others. This one was kind of in the middle. I liked it, but it was a bit of a bear and I had to redo a few things.

This Alaska square was also not one of my favorites, but it was still pretty enjoyable to work on. I basically had to redo the satin-stitched flowers because I had used 6 strands of embroidery floss and it was too heavy. So I went to 4 and that worked much better. They were still quite bulky, but I like them as they are now.

And this is my current project: the Wyoming Paint Brush. I actually have more done on it than this pic shows since I worked on it a bunch at last night's lock-in. Many little girls came up to see what I was working on and liked what they saw. I encouraged them all to try it themselves. It's not that hard, really. And it doesn't have to be perfect (says the recovering perfectionist! lol).

I survived a lock-in

2012-01-14T14:53:00.006-05:00

Oh my. Have you ever been to a scout lock-in before? You stay up all night tending to children, playing games, eating very unhealthy food, drinking copious amounts of strong coffee and enjoying lots of conversation with other moms. It's great fun, but man, it's hard to be up all night at my age. Yes, I'm saying that now. I'm officially old. ;) Actually, next month I'm officially old. I turn 50 in February.

I think I'm likely the oldest person that attended our AHG troop's lock-in last night, and by the end of the evening I looked it. Having a second batch of babies in your thirties will do that to you (makes you one of the oldest, I mean).

My girls and I got no sleep. Nadda. We were up all night. There was no way to sleep. Too many noisy girls running around and caffeinated moms chattering away. Plus, the booming sounds of a movie were playing on the overhead projectors in the room we were supposed to be sleeping in.

As often happens at lock-ins (so my Hubs has told me from his experience in Scouts), the dvd player wouldn't work; thus, the videos brought to watch were useless. So someone was able to go through their Iphone to Netflix to play movies. Ahhh, technology.

After a steady diet of more modern animated fare like Veggie Tales, The Iron Giant, Tangled, et. al, I was proud of my 15 yo and one of her friends for putting on Top o' the Mornin'. After all the boomy movies that had been on it was nice to have a cheerful, happy, fairly quiet movie to watch. It was especially nice hearing Bing Crosby's soothing voice as it lulled the poor girls to sleep.

One of the moms brought her Keurig coffee maker to share and it was in constant use. I'd never tried one before. Pretty nifty invention, I must say! But pricey! It makes not only coffee, but also hot apple cider, hot chocolate, whatever. You buy these single serve K-Cups that you put in the machine. You fill the water reservoir, put your cup in place and press a button and it makes you a cup of hot whatever you want. Amazing!

While we were away, Hubs and Son enjoyed eating pizza at our favorite local Italian restaurant and watched a Laurel and Hardy film at home.

We left the lock-in early as I was at my limit and still had to pack up and haul our stuff to the car in the freezing weather. It felt good to get home, shower and crawl into bed. It's now after 4 pm and I'm still in my pajamas. I don't care. Today is a wash anyway if I'll be any good for church tomorrow.

As hard as it was on me, I'm glad I went. It was fun and there are lots of happy memories to hang on to.

War Horse

2012-01-13T16:39:00.001-05:00

Man. You know it's going to be good when the trailer makes you cry.

Have you seen it yet?

Our low carb dinner: Meatloaf, mashed cauliflower and green beans

2012-01-11T19:16:00.003-05:00

Here's another great way to eat low carb. Meatloaf! I thought meatloaf was one of those foods that had to have the bread crumbs or rolled oats to be good. But there are ways to fill in when you leave them out. Cheese is one way. Here is one I threw together tonight. Hubs was very pleased. He made the sauce which I share below the meatloaf recipe. It was amazing! I'm also sharing how I make Mashed Cauliflower. It's easy and so yummy! I don't miss mashed potatoes at all with this around to console me!

Low Carb Meatloaf
(Makes 1 loaf - can be doubled or even tripled!)

1 TBLS olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
2 lbs. lean ground beef
2 eggs, whisked
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz. tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a skillet, warm the olive oil; Add the onions and garlic and saute until onions are transparent. Set aside to cool.

While the onion/garlic mixture is cooling, put the rest of the ingredients into a large bowl. I recommend adding the seasonings including the salt and pepper to the tomato sauce to disperse them better.

Once the onion/garlic mixture is cool, add it to the other ingredients. With your hands, mash the ingredients together until thoroughly blended. You can do this is a food processor or stand mixer if you prefer to keep your hands clean. Or wear food grade gloves.

Put the meat mixture into an ungreased loaf pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes. Check center for doneness. If you see any pink, put it back in for 10-15 more minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving.

There will be some liquid released as it finishes cooking. There is not much fat in the juices if you use lean meat. It is created by adding wet ingredients to the mix. You can pour it into another container and add it to your meatloaf sauce, or drain it out if you prefer.

Lower Carb Meatloaf Sauce

1-15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 TBLS low sugar ketchup
1/4 cup Heinz 57 Steak Sauce (or equivalent)
1/4 cup tart and vinegary BBQ sauce (we used John Boy & Billy's Eastern Carolina BBQ Sauce
2 TBLS Worchestershire sauce

Mix ingredients together in a small-medium pan and heat to bubbling. Cool slightly and pour over your meatloaf. You can also add some of the meatloaf juices to your sauce to make it taste amazing.

Mashed Cauliflower

1 head of cauliflower
1 cup water
1/2 stick butter
1/3 pkg. cream cheese
1/4-1/2 cup heavy cream
Salt, to taste

Prepare cauliflower by removing stem and leaves and scrape off black spots with a sharp knife. Cut into pieces and put into a pot with the water. Cover and cook on medium heat until cauliflower is tender, about 10-20 minutes. Test for doneness by mashing a piece to see how easily it collapses.

Drain water from the pot, leaving the cauliflower in; add the butter. Move it around to melt in the hot cauliflower. Add the cream cheese and blend. You can use a hand mixer (or by hand) or a stick blender (the best way). Mix in the cream. If you want, you can whip the cream ahead of time, or whip it into the cauliflower mixture. It will add volume and great mouth feel. Salt to taste and serve. Enjoy!

Bing crazy!

2012-01-10T22:22:00.007-05:00

It's funny how one things leads to another in life. Back in December we went to Son's best friend's play, White Christmas. Up until then Bing Crosby had never been on my radar except at Christmastime. But seeing the play made us want to watch the movie. Watching White Christmas made us want to watch Holiday Inn (well, actually it was the other way around, but it's a long story). Now we're watching Bing Crosby movies right and left! We're Bing crazy around here!

We recently watched several of his films on Netflix. I so enjoy the old movies, don't you? They're so classy.

One of them is called Little Boy Lost. Here's the description on Netflix:

Hollywood crooner Bing Crosby stars in this family-oriented drama as an American war correspondent stationed in Paris who marries a beautiful French singer (Nicole Maurey) and fathers a son (Christian Fourcade), only to learn he's lost his wife to the Nazis. Told mainly through flashbacks, the story centers on his desperate search to find his missing boy, who, in Crosby's absence, has been living in a Paris orphanage.

In this clip, Bing is singing to the boy he hopes is his son about how he will have lots of reading adventures ahead:

The most amazing part of this film is the boy's performance. He is totally believable as a deprived orphan. Bing is Bing, of course, and that's what we want, isn't it? But the boy really shines.

Another one is called The Bells of St. Mary's with this summary:

Bing Crosby reprises his role as good-natured Father O'Malley (from 1944's Going My Way) in this Oscar-nominated classic. The priest gets sent to help the financially struggling St. Mary's Academy, presided over by Sister Benedict (Ingrid Bergman). O'Malley finds his leadership style at odds with the nun's as the two bicker politely but collaborate to save the school and teach the children. Fine songs and appealing characters make this a treat.

Here's a clip (no embedding allowed). Ingrid Bergman is wonderful in this.

The third one is Top o' the Mornin' and here's its description:

When Ireland's famed Blarney Stone goes missing, American insurance investigator Joe Mulqueen (Bing Crosby) flies across the pond to get a better look at the crime. But in the process, he falls in love with a local lass (Ann Blyth) ... and fulfills an ancient prophecy. Hume Cronyn co-stars in this lilting movie-musical that finds the leads making eyes at each other over the title track, "Top o' the Morning."

Here's a clip that shows a fun moment in the film. There were many:

There are even more Bing movies on Netflix, but these are the only ones we've watched. We enjoyed all 3 and look forward to more Bing!

Carol Drinkwater (aka Helen Herriot on All Creatures Great and Small) revisits Darrowby

2012-01-10T19:37:00.007-05:00

This is a lovely article by Carol Drinkwater who played the first Helen Herriot in the All Creatures tv series.

My Yorkshire Herriotage: Back to the Dales in search of the scenery that made a TV hit

She takes you on a trip back to all the places she remembers while filming the show. If you're a fan of All Creatures you'll enjoy the ride.

All Creatures is my all-time favorite series. I never get tired of watching it. It's on Netflix, btw.

Carol is a good writer and you can read more of her articles here.

I heart Amazon

2012-01-10T09:47:00.001-05:00

Choosing to sell on Amazon was a very good idea. As of right now I've sold over $200 worth of books, dvds and cds in a week's time. Adding the smaller amount earned through Half.com sales since late December I've now got close to $250 to add to our van fund! And I still have lots of things for sale. The sales have been trickling in about one to three sales per day. It's very exciting to check my email these days!

If you have thought about getting rid of some of your books, dvds or cds, definitely give Amazon a try. Half.com is good, too, but seems to generate a lot less traffic to your stuff.

For books not worth selling, but still in great shape, try getting rid of them on PaperBackSwap.com. You won't get money, but you will get credits toward buying other books. I've gotten a number of books that way.

A little fun for ya: Which Church Father Are You?

2012-01-08T15:26:00.002-05:00

Here's what I got:

You’re St. Melito of Sardis!

You have a great love of history and liturgy. You’re attached to the traditions of the ancients, yet you recognize that the old world — great as it was — is passing away. You are loyal to the customs of your family, though you do not hesitate to call family members to account for their sins.

Find out which Church Father you are at The Way of the Fathers!

Easy pizza sauce

2012-01-07T12:51:00.003-05:00

This is my version of a Martha Stewart pizza sauce recipe from her book, The Martha Stewart Living Cookbook (The Original Classics).

Check your tomatoes to see if they are salted. The salt in my recipe is much lower than the original because I'm assuming we'll be using salted tomatoes in the can. It's way too salty otherwise.

This makes enough for 2-4 (12-14-in.) pizzas, depending on how thick you put it on. We get 4 pizzas out of it.

Pizza Sauce

2 TBLS. olive oil
1-28 oz. can whole Italian plum (Roma) tomatoes
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried fennel seed
1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil until warm. Meanwhile, into a medium bowl empty the can of tomatoes and break them up by squeezing by hand. Add, along with the remaining ingredients, to the warmed oil.

Cook over medium-low heat, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon, until the sauce thickens, about 40-50 minutes.

*Pass through a food mill fitted with a medium disk. Discard seeds and let sauce cool before using.

*The seeds don't bother me, so I skip the food mill step.

A little snowy inspiration

2012-01-06T13:02:00.003-05:00

Thought I'd share some cool links I found recently relating in some way to snow (which we don't have any of, unfortunately).

Here's a recipe for Melted {Florida} Snowman Cookies. So cute! These can be for anytime in winter, don't you think? I'd like to try making sugar cookies with almond flour.

Here's an adorable embroidered table runner for a wintery look. I put the page through Google Translate for you.

Enjoy!

Today's low carb lunch

2012-01-06T12:46:00.002-05:00

This lunch will stick to my ribs until supper, that's for sure! I made that soup again last night, and it is soooo good, y'all. Man. The roast beef roll-ups are paired with a horseradish mayonnaise. Just Hellman's mayo mixed with a dollop of horseradish. Yum!

Nifty tip: How to easily get frozen chicken broth out of a Ziploc bag

2012-01-05T20:19:00.003-05:00

This was something I figured out recently, but I doubt I'm the first. Still, it was pretty nifty to me.

To easily get the frozen chicken broth out of a Ziploc bag cut it just under the zipper.

Turn it upside down and watch it slip right out.

How cool is that?

Need to get back on the low carb wagon

2012-01-05T13:53:00.003-05:00

I've been overdoing the carbs the last few days, well, the last week and a half thanks to holiday food and bad dinner choices, and I am feeling the effects. Hungrier, more energetic, yet tired (go figure), easily offended, easier to get angry, headaches, floaty feeling, water weight gain, puffiness. Could be the carbs, don't you think? Maybe the wheat? Maybe both?

I find that eating low carb makes me so much calmer and more relaxed to the point that I don't want to exercise, but I also feel better physically. Weird.

Having that lasagna around was a bad idea. I can eat it three times a day and lots of it each time! The 15 yo made a great Tator Tot Casserole for dinner last night and after a short while I could feel the carbs surging through my body.

Tonight will be low carb. Not sure what yet, but I still have that 1001 Low Carb Recipes book I mentioned awhile back. Will search till I find something that strikes me right (and that I have the ingredients to). Maybe that yummy soup again? Hmmm, sounds goooood.

Epiphany

2012-01-04T09:30:00.013-05:00

I'm sorry to say that after 22 years as a Christian I am only now learning what Epiphany is. January 6th is Epiphany.

Why do we Protestants (other than the more high church ones) think we are somehow superior to the "traditional" branches of the faith by not observing the "traditions of men" as they're so often called? (not that I do) How much we miss!

(Image from Wikipedia)

Anyway, I learned this about Epiphany at Wikipedia:

Epiphany is celebrated by both the Eastern and Western Churches, but a major difference between them is precisely which events the feast commemorates. For Western Christians, the feast primarily commemorates the coming of the Magi; Eastern churches celebrate the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan. In both traditions, the essence of the feast is the same: the manifestation of Christ to the world (whether as an infant or in the Jordan), and the Mystery of the Incarnation.

For those unaware, the Eastern Churches are generally referred to as the Orthodox Churches and the Western Churches are the Catholic and Anglican Churches. But the majority of Protestant churches outside of these 3 branches take no notice of such things. Sad, indeed. We have missed out on our rich Christian heritage by poo-pooing tradition or treating it as of no worth to our walk with Christ. This should not be!

Awesome Amazon and thanks be to God!

2012-01-04T09:09:00.004-05:00

Well, Amazon just rocks. But you probably already knew that, right?

After listing all those items the other day the sales came trickling in. Over a 36-hr. period I sold almost $100 worth of stuff! Not bad for a day's work! Of course, that's just a drop in the bucket where our van is concerned, but what's that saying? "Despise not small beginnings" which probably came from Zechariah 4:10. Small in the sense that a van takes thousands of dollars to buy, but big in that those items that sold are now doing far more good for our goal than they were when sitting on those shelves. Money on our shelves, people!

Interestingly, I also listed most of those items on half.com and...::crickets::...So I highly recommend Amazon as a selling venue.

I was so excited about our selling success that I scanned the shelves again and came up with another pile!

I give God thanks for every sale. With His help we will reach our goal this year!

Monday holiday ramble

2012-01-02T17:56:00.004-05:00

Have spent a good part of the day sitting in front of my computer, listing dvds and books for sale on Half.com and Amazon. Phew! No wonder I kept putting this off! No fun. But I've already had a sale and all the money I hope to make will go toward our new van. (Edited: I added links - Btw, I post in both places to increase the likelihood of a sale)

Planning to keep myself out of the stores as much as possible to help the budget so we can sock more and more money away for the van. Just got to be disciplined! Hey, that could be a new year's resolution! lol

Hubs is home today and spent a good chunk of the day, with the kids' help, taking down Christmas decorations. I know Christmas isn't over for my Catholic and Orthodox friends, and it saddens me that many of us Protestants do as the secularists do and drop it all on December 26th. I'm a bit ashamed of how secular our own family's traditions have become. I'd like to change that. Pray for us!

I've been watching/listening to EWTN all the time I've been working online and have been so edified by their many wonderful programs. I need this positive influence in my life.

Tonight's dinner is lasagna (not low carb!) and garlic toast. Son is thrilled.

So what's up with you?

Last night

2012-01-01T14:47:00.004-05:00

Normally, I like to start the new year out with a tidy house and everything in order. But since we went out to dinner last night and ate Chinese food, we were pretty lethargic by the time we got home. So things were a bit haphazard, and I spent the evening forming my New Year's Eve post while Hubs did all the work getting the snacks ready. And he did a smash-up job of it, too. Thanks, my wonderful husband, for doing all this ~~without any help~~ (correction: Son and the 15 yo helped) and without complaining! Sorry for not helping!

Lots of brown food! lol And all of it unhealthy! We wondered if it was right of us to eat pigs in blankets while watching a film about a sensitive and caring pig. Hmmmmm.

The two small white plates at the far end of the table were for the dogs. Couldn't forget them!

My friend, M. gave us these noisemakers so we could bring in the new year right.

I know I'm posting a lot, and a little Christmas foo-fa for ya

2012-01-01T14:29:00.004-05:00

That's what happens when I get on the computer in my study. Darndest thing! Makes me want to blog away the day!

While at Target yesterday I went through what was left of their Christmas foo-fa and found this cute and creative ornament. How could I pass it up? Only $.90!

Pockets

2012-01-01T13:56:00.003-05:00

Not Hot Pockets! But you could probably make a savory version of this.

My Nana made these for my dad every Christmas when she was alive, and he still speaks of them with such fondness.

Mine aren't the prettiest, but they still taste like her's...well, almost. Nothing tastes better than when Grandma makes it with her own hands, amen?

I was thinking of ways to fill them besides apple filling and thought chopped pecans, brown sugar and a little butter combined would make a nice filling. I wonder what these would taste like using almond flour. Hmmmm.

Nana's Pockets

3/4 lb. butter (she used margarine, but that was a different time and place)
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese
3 cups flour
1&1/4 tsp. salt
1 can apple pie filling, chopped into smaller pieces
Cinnamon and sugar, mixed together (about 1 tsp. cinnamon to 1/2 cup sugar, or to taste)

Put the butter (margarine) and cream cheese in a large bowl to soften. Add the flour and salt. Mix by hand until a dough is formed. Roll portions on a well-floured surface, about 1/8" thick. Cut with a round cutter (I use a plastic wide mouth Mason jar lid, so use something about that size).

On each circle put a small blob of chopped apples (maybe a TBLS. or so). Sprinkle with the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Fold over in half and seal the edges with a fork dipped in flour.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Fireside snooze

2012-01-01T13:48:00.002-05:00

The pups love a good roaring fire. A blanket is nice, too. It'll be getting very cold here by tomorrow, so we'll likely be repeating this scene!

My new toy

2012-01-01T13:30:00.005-05:00

Hubs gave me this sweet little percolator for Christmas. We've been enjoying it ever since!

My favorite kind of coffee is the percolated kind. I guess it reminds me of earlier days before the automatic drip coffee makers came out. The coffee just tasted better back then.

To be really old-fashioned we use Folgers. No Starbucks for me!

Happy New Year! A ramble and a bit of looking back

2011-12-31T20:44:00.003-05:00

Yes, I'm on my computer in my study, so here's an actual real, live post!

What is your new year's eve tradition? Ours is watching Babe and eating snacks. Yeah, food. Gotta have food, right? We usually go to Sam's Club (and now Costco) and buy frozen hors d'oeurves (and yes, I had to look that word up to spell it right!). We also usually have Chex mix and special candy we make every Christmas. This year we tried to buy more low carb stuff. Hard to find, fer sher!

Tonight we went to our favorite Oriental restaurant with my dear friend, M. to finish our celebration from Christmas Eve. Normally, we go out with her only on Christmas Eve, but this year the restaurant was a little short-handed and we had to wait far too long for our waitress to take our main order. So all we got were appetizers. Thank God we ate at least! So we finished our dinner tonight. Everything went smoothly. On the way home we stopped for crickets at PetSmart (for the frog), but they were closed. Hubs dropped me off at Target and then brought the kids in after seeing that PetSmart was closed. Littlest found a lava lamp with fake fish in it that just thrilled her, and we got a little Christmas foo-fa at 70% off.

I'm not a resolution maker. I mean, if you're only going to fail anyway, why set yourself up for it? Still, I want to always be moving forward if possible. Moving forward is fun, but so is looking back. Since I don't usually do "looking back" posts every new year's eve I thought it would be fun to give it a go for a change.

Many good things happened this year.

::Son finished his massive Eagle project, became an Eagle Scout and had his Eagle Court of Honor. He also finished high school, got his driver's license, his first job, AND his first car. Oh, and he was finally baptized! Wow! He's had quite a year, hasn't he?

::We were reunited with our second daughter and her children. What a joy!

::We went back to our non-denominational church after I spent about 4 years on a spiritual journey that came to an abrupt halt due to a lack of unity within our family about where to go. I have mixed feelings about that. On the one hand our church is a great place. On the other hand I need tradition and it ain't nowhere to be found in my house of worship. I still yearn for it, especially around the holidays. There's a lot to be said for what the Catholic and Orthodox Churches have to offer. I especially miss all the teachings about the saints. How inspiring they were. I can still study them on my own, but it's not the same. God never intended us to be an island, but in community, and that includes the heavenly community.

::Hubs and I embarked on a low carb way of eating and I'm trying to figure out what I do well on and what I don't. Funfunfun! (not)

::Hubs and Son redid the whole upstairs floor in wood laminate (except the bathrooms which we'll tile eventually). They did some other household remodeling and have lots to finish.

::The 15 yo had her first violin recital; and she and Littlest have been very active in their American Heritage Girls troop with lots of great experiences.

::Littlest raised a tadpole to a frog and still has her!

::Littlest also had fun making a pen pal.

::We took down a dead tree in the yard and planted another one only to have it die.

::I finally started using a price book.

::There was the freezer saga.

::We attempted to save up for a van and did pretty well at first. But then we gave in after buying a new freezer and new furniture for the living room (all badly needed). We'll try again in 2012.

::Hubs and I celebrated our 29th wedding anniversary and we also celebrated the Bassets' first year adoption days. It's hard to believe that their second adoption anniversary is quickly approaching!

::I took up hand embroidery and kind of dropped stamping.

Lots more can be mentioned, but it'd take a month to list it all! Looking back is a great way to see that we really did accomplish a lot this year, and I'm looking forward to next year. Praying God will bless our country with many undeserved blessings this year, starting with a president who loves his country!

Happy New Year!

EEE! The Hobbit trailer

2011-12-31T09:57:00.001-05:00

Can't wait to see this! In 3D, no less!

Open letter to Sam's Club

2011-12-29T19:05:00.005-05:00

Dear Sam's Club,

Why do you charge a membership fee and then charge more for many of your products than does WalMart where anyone can shop?

And why bother selling gas only to your exclusive members when all you can offer is what every other gas station in the area charges? Yet, I was able to buy gas at Costco for $.15 per gallon less than what you were charging on the same day! Sometimes you even charge more for your gas than pricey grocery stores like Kroger and Ingles. How frustrating it is to find that I paid more than I had to because I was under the impression that you had the lowest price in town since you are an exclusive membership club and all. Hmph.

Just what is the advantage of being a member, I often wonder? I'm finding less reason to be excited about what you have to offer these days. Costco cares a lot more about my business, and for that I'm giving more of it to them.

Just wanted you to know my thoughts.

One of your longtime members

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

2011-12-27T01:56:00.001-05:00

This is long, but worth a watch. I found it very educational!

A very entertaining time killer

2011-12-26T16:01:00.003-05:00

Have you heard of the Brothers Winn? I just found them on YouTube and have been enjoying many of their videos.

On Rose Marie from the Dick Van Dyke Show

2011-12-25T16:03:00.004-05:00

Our family Christmas present this year was the complete series of The Dick Van Dyke Show. The kids LOVE the show, I think, more than any other show.

Did you know that Rose Marie was a child star? Her voice was amazing. She sang like an adult!

While looking at some old footage of her as a child, I happened upon an interview she did in 1999. In this clip she talks about the show and gets up on her soapbox about the junk on tv today. She predicts that people will get so fed up with the garbage they see that there'll be a moral turn-around. I hope she's right! Anyway, enjoy.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-24T23:26:00.001-05:00

This is my favorite version of O Holy Night. Have a blessed Christmas, everyone.

More baking with almond flour - this time, crackers!

2011-12-23T15:43:00.003-05:00

I saw Elena's recipe for Sesame Crackers and had to make them. I was not finding low carb non-wheat-based crackers at my grocery stores, so I thought this would be a good one to spread cream cheese on or just eat plain.

So I made these today. They are so good! They have a very nutty flavor and are, as Hubs said right after trying one, "flavorsome as can be!" (a little Andy Griffith humor there). He gave me the thumbs up to make these anytime I want to.

As yummy as these are, I think I might have an issue with sesame seeds, because right after eating a few (okay, more than a few!), I started feeling flushed and my head felt swimmy. I also had some lung stress and stomach ache with a little nausea.

Bummer.

But if you can tolerate them, please give these a try. The flavor is awesome!

My little caveat: I used olive oil, but set the oven temp to 325, which is still too high for olive oil, to avoid as much damage to the oil as I could. Grapeseed oil (a new ingredient to me) is safer at higher temps, but I don't have any yet. I have so much to learn!

Sesame Crackers

3 cups blanched almond flour
1&1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
1 cup sesame seeds
2 eggs, whisked until frothy
2 TBLS grapeseed oil

1. In a large bowl, stir almond flour, salt, sesame seeds, eggs and oil until well blended. (I added the oil to the eggs - after frothing - and then added them together)

2. Separate dough into two halves.

3. Line two large (12 x 16) stainless steel baking sheets with parchment paper.

4. Place one half of the dough in the center of each lined sheet.

5. Cut another piece of parchment paper and place it over one of the balls of dough.

6. Roll dough out between the two pieces of parchment paper, until it is 1/2-inch thick and covers the entire baking sheet; remove top paper and repeat process with the other piece of dough.

7. Cut the dough with a knife or pizza cutter into 2 inch squares.

8. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes, until golden brown.

9. Cool and serve

Makes 96 crackers

Here's how I rolled out the dough. It would work better though if you put the parchment paper directly on a non-slippery surface like a wood cutting board or some such. I had a bit of trouble with sliding.

Here's what the dough looks like close-up:

This was after I cut it up, just before putting the second tray in the oven:

Here's what it looked like after baking. You can see that I was nibbling away at the edges.

*sigh* These sure were good. Wish they liked me.

What I made with some of that homemade almond flour

2011-12-22T18:06:00.006-05:00

I'll admit to being a bit skittish about trying new recipes with that almond flour I made. Mainly, I just don't want to waste food if it turns out badly. But I was not disappointed when I tried this quick bread/fruitcake from Elana at Elana's Pantry. It was yummy and filling and held together beautifully. Hubs said it was second only to his mother's fruitcake, and that's high praise!

The orange and lemon zest really make the fruitcake flavor, so don't skimp on those.

A couple of caveats: I used dried cranberries because I didn't have dried cherries on hand, and I used honey because I didn't have the coconut palm sugar, which I had actually never heard of until now. I ordered some to try, though, because it sounds like a great low glycemic sweetener, unlike honey!

Doesn't it look yummy?

Paleo Fruitcake

1&1/2 cups blanched almond flour
1/2 teaspoon celtic sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2cup dates, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 cup walnuts, chopped
4 eggs
2 TBLS coconut oil
1 TBLS coconut palm sugar
1 TBLS vanilla extract
1 TBLS orange zest
1 TBLS lemon zest

1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt and baking soda.

2. Stir in dried fruit and nuts.

3. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, oil, coconut sugar, vanilla and citrus zest.

4. Stir wet ingredients into dry.

5. Scoop batter into 2 greased mini loaf pans.

6. Bake fruitcakes at 350° for 20-30 minutes. (Mine took a little longer, maybe 40-45 minutes? I just waited until the tops turned golden brown.)

7. Cool and serve

Makes 2 fruitcakes

Me harping once again about how you need to make your own chicken broth

2011-12-16T22:17:00.007-05:00

Remember when I recently made 24 cups of chicken broth from one rotisserie chicken? The chicken I bought was around $5 something at Sam's Club. If I add $1 for the veggies and such that I used, that makes the cost for the broth about $6.

But wait! We've had several meals of chicken from that one rotisserie chicken! (those things really stretch the meals out pretty far) It was only the leftover carcass that I used to make the broth. So really, I should deduct the meals from the cost of the chicken before considering the savings on the broth.

I'd say the cost of the carcass was maybe $2 of the price. So if I price it that way and count an extra $1 for the veggies, spices and water I used, I spent $3 to get 24 cups of broth or 8 32-oz. boxes' worth. That's about $.38 per 32-oz. box!

When I was in WalMart yesterday I priced the boxed chicken broth and found that the 32 oz. box of Swanson broth cost $1.98. That's 4 cups of chicken broth for around $2. The store brand was $1.86.

So if I would've bought the same amount of chicken broth that I made, I would've spent $11.88. Instead, I spent about $3 - an $8.88 difference. See how that would add up over time?

Had I bought the chicken raw and cooked it myself I would've spent even less.

It's so worth doing these things yourself.

If you want to make the broth, but don't have the time when the carcass is available, just slip it into a Ziploc bag and freeze it for when you're ready.

Making it yourself is so economical and so easy!

Making your own almond flour is easy!

2011-12-16T19:55:00.005-05:00

Almond flour is a good substitute for wheat flour in recipes, although you do need to tweak some of the other ingredients (mostly the eggs) to make it act more like wheat flour, mainly because it has no gluten, which is why we want to use it in the first place. It also has a nice mild, buttery taste and does well in baked goods.

But almond flour in the stores and online is so expensive! Amazon has Bob's Red Mill Blanched Almond Flour for $39.49/4 pack(1 lb. ea.), which ends up being $9.87/lb.! If you use Subscribe and Save you will *only* be paying $33.57/4 pack(1 lb. ea.), which works out to *only* $8.39/lb! That's some pricey flour! Making it yourself will save you a lot of money.

Here's what I did:

First off, I bought a 3# bag of almonds at Sam's Club for $10.98, which works out to $3.66/lb.. That's $4.73 per pound cheaper than Amazon's best price!

To make a superior almond flour you must blanch the almonds. This is super easy, so don't worry. In fact, it's actually fun!

You just boil up some water and, at the boil, drop the almonds in for a minute or so - they'll start to look a little pruney. Then remove them with a slotted spoon to a colander sitting inside a bowl (to catch the liquid).

Let them cool a bit by spreading them out on a towel, and then start popping off those skins! It's easiest when they're still a bit warm, so don't walk off and leave them for later unless you are willing to pop them back in warm water to loosen them up again.

Here's what the skins look like:

This is a fun task and the kids will surely want to help you (mine did). Just grab the wide end of the almond and pinch off the skin. Keep the other hand ready to catch them as they fly out of the skins or they'll be on the floor, people!

Btw, the Bassets love blanched almonds. You wouldn't know it though, would ya?

If any of the almond skins are stubborn and don't want to come off, put those almonds back in the hot water for a little longer and they'll peel right up! If you've already dumped the water out, just get the hottest tap water you can and put some in a glass or bowl and use that.

Once they're skinned, put them in a dehydrator set on the lowest setting for a couple of hours to get them good and dry. Or put them on a cookie sheet and pop them in the oven on its lowest setting until they feel good and dry, maybe 30 minutes or so (my dehydrator's lowest setting is 95 degrees, but my oven's is 170 degrees, so the oven will take much less time to dry them).

After they're good and dry, just process them in your food processor or blender until they have a fine crumb. Then bag up and freeze!

Wasn't that easy? We did the whole 3 pounds at once, which I highly recommend doing. Why make this mess more than once, I say?

I was able to get about 12 cups of almond flour from 3 pounds of almonds. Most recipes I've seen call for about 2-2&1/2 cups per batch of cookies/muffins/etc., so this will last you a good little while.

Come on, give it a try!

Maybe it's just certain dairy?

2011-12-16T19:11:00.005-05:00

Well, after that lovely soup gave me inflammation and I contemplated that I might have to give up dairy I've had plenty of dairy that didn't give me inflammation - mainly Swiss and mozzarella. So maybe it's only certain dairy that I need to avoid.

Milk seems to be an issue for me, so could it have been the heavy cream? They're closely associated, being that one is from the other. I need to make something with heavy cream, but no cheese and see what happens.

Or could it have been the Gouda? Man, that would be sad because Gouda is one yummy cheese!

And just maybe I will test the soup again (been afraid to, honestly) to see if I get the same reaction or to see if it was a fluke.

Diet can be such a mystery!

Nifty tip about thickening a soup with cream

2011-12-15T00:05:00.004-05:00

I mentioned in my recent soup post that I figured out a way to thicken soup even more with cream. While cream is already thick, adding it to a soup that has no starchy vegetables isn't quite enough.

So here's the tip:

To thicken a soup even more when adding heavy cream, whip the cream first. If you are adding it to a pureed soup you can whip it in the soup.

Amazing that I found this out just as I may have to say goodbye to dairy. *sniff*

2 new Christmas movies for our collection

2011-12-14T23:41:00.002-05:00

I can't believe I've lived nearly 50 years and just today saw White Christmas for the first time. I've known about it for a long time, but for some reason never intentionally sat down and watched it.

But our family took an interest in the film after seeing Son's best friend act in the play. We enjoyed it so much that we all wanted to watch the movie.

Another movie we just saw this year is Holiday Inn. There is a connection between both films, and you can see them when you watch them. The only thing I wish was different about this one was that it be in color. Still, it's a great film.

Are there any Christmas films you just recently found out about and loved?

Could it be dairy? sniff

2011-12-14T23:00:00.006-05:00

I feel like I'm honing in on what is bothering me as I eat very little* of what I think is/are the culprit(s). (*It's the holiday season, after all, and the bad stuff is everywhere! The temptation!)

That wonderful soup I just posted about gave me a terrible case of inflammation. Btw, I find if I take an ibuprofen and a loratadine (anti-histamine) I get a great deal of relief from the inflammation. But I'd rather avoid the inflammation AND the drugs!

Dairy is often implicated as an inflammatory substance. So it should be no surprise that it could be a great deal of my problem. I've been in dairy denial! I love dairy! And being that we're doing a lot of low carb eating these days this is sad news for me, as dairy is BIG in low carb recipes. I believe it's why low carb is so popular.

But there is another world out there of people who are trying to feel well and who have already discovered that they also are not good on dairy and grains. It's the Paleo crowd.

I've been doing a huge amount of online research on the Paleo lifestyle and it looks doable for me. I don't buy into the whole evolutionary slant that many of the Paleo/Primal bloggers get into. It's just about the food to me. I'm looking for a workable diet, that's it. So I have to weed through all the evolution talk which one day will look so silly but is all the rage right now, to get to the rubber-meets-the-road stuff.

Generally, Paleo eating is grain-free, dairy-free, sugar-free, legume-free, etc... You're probably thinking, "What's left??" But there are lots of foods left. Not the popular stuff, but lots of tasty foods when properly prepared. I've printed out many recipes that looked good enough for me to try that I'm kind of excited about it. And I'll share any recipes I try and like.

The nice thing about many of the recipes is that they're like old favorites, only revamped for Paleo. Instead of dairy milk and cream they utilize a lot of coconut milk. Instead of wheat flour they use almond, coconut and flax seed meal flours. Where there's a will, there's a way, right?

So I will begin trying out some dairy-free recipes and see how I feel. I'm very hopeful that this might prove to be a solution to my problem.

Let's see what happens!

Cauliflower, Cheese, and Spinach Soup My Way

2011-12-14T18:32:00.010-05:00

You ever wing a recipe and it turns out really, really good?

Tonight I altered a recipe from Dana Carpender's cookbook, 1001 Low Carb Recipes. I made Cauliflower, Cheese and Spinach Soup, but I did it a little differently than she did. This soup, the way I made it, actually tastes like broccoli cheese soup. I guess that makes sense since I mixed cauliflower (a near relative to broccoli) and spinach. It's so delicious! Hubs had 2 big bowls. I would've too, but one filled me up.

First of all, her recipe is for a slow cooker, so right off the bat I was changing things. I cooked it within an hour. Her recipe calls for something called Carb Countdown dairy beverage. I just used heavy cream which I already had on hand. Her's calls for a seasoning mix called Vege-Sal. I had Spike in the house. Mine is salt-free, so I added the salt also. In fact, I added more than she called for (1&1/2 tsp.). I used 6 garlic cloves while the recipe calls for 4. I just love lots of garlic.

And here's a nifty tip alert: I had a lightbulb moment when I added the cream near the end. Just as cream thickens when you make whipped cream, it thickens in a soup if you blend it long enough with a stick blender (or regular blender). So I didn't need to add the xanthan gum to thicken. I'll mention this in a separate post so it doesn't get lost on my blog.

Here's her recipe and here's mine (sorry I was too lazy to pour some in a bowl and spend a half hour photographing it). ;D

Cauliflower, Cheese, and Spinach Soup My Way

1 head cauliflower, cut into small pieces
4 cups chicken broth
4 cups water
1/2 cup red onion, minced
5 oz. fresh baby spinach
1/4 tsp. cayenne (very spicy, you can add less)
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp. Spike (or other all-purpose seasoning mix)
1/4 tsp. freshly grated pepper
4-6 cloves garlic, crushed
3 cups shredded smoky Gouda cheese
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup bacon bits, divided

In a soup pot put chicken broth, water, and cauliflower. Bring to a boil and cook until cauliflower is very tender, about 15-20 minutes or so.

Add red onion, baby spinach, cayenne, salt, all-purpose seasoning, pepper and garlic.

With a stick blender or in a regular blender, puree the soup.

Return to the pot if using a regular blender. Cook about 15 minutes more.

Slowly add the cheese in handfuls. Gouda is a soft cheese and will melt quickly.

Add cream and 1/2 cup of bacon bits. Blend with the stick blender or return to the blender. Blend until it starts to thicken a bit. The cream will thicken the soup up beautifully.

Pour back into pot and add the rest of the bacon bits. Warm another 5 minutes and serve.

Enjoy!

What a life!

2011-12-13T09:27:00.000-05:00

Could she be any more comfortable?

Donut humor

2011-12-12T20:57:00.003-05:00

Okay, I know wheat seems to be a bad food for me. I suffer for eating it. But sometimes it's worth it. Like when Hubs shows up with fresh Krispy Kreme donuts. It's really hard to resist them.

Back in college, I became addicted to their chocolate-covered crullers. Those will put on the pounds quick! We have a Krispy Kreme store near us, but I never see chocolate-covered crullers there. I do see them in grocery stores. But to have one freshly made that day - oh!

Anyway, I found this little scene quite amusing when I opened the box to get my last donut:

You can see who ate her's first.

Why all the posting all of a sudden?

2011-12-12T20:46:00.003-05:00

Because I'm on the computer in my study and I feel more bloggy there for some reason. So if I post a bunch you'll know why. ;)

Boiling eggs successfully, including peeling them with ease

2011-12-12T20:16:00.005-05:00

When I originally started making boiled eggs I would bring the water to a boil and then place them in carefully and set the timer for 9 minutes.

Then I saw a new method somewhere online that said to put the eggs into cold water, set the burner on high and the timer for 20 minutes and then cool them when the timer goes off. That's how I've been doing it all this time.

But Bethany has an even better way:

Cover the eggs in a pan with cold water. Bring the water to a full boil, then take the pan off of the burner. Let them sit in the water for 15 minutes, then immediately drain and place in cool water.

I like that method! It saves electricity and is more gentle on the eggs.

Well, another issue I've had with boiling eggs is peeling them without losing half the egg. I know there's all this talk about using older eggs for boiling because they peel easier and all, but I think I know of a way to make any egg peel right. Try this and let me know if it works for you:

Add a small handful of salt to the water for the eggs and dissolve. Then boil as usual.

I did 14 eggs this way today and every single solitary one of them came out perfect! I was so happy! Did I discover the secret? We'll see as I try this next time.

See all my perfect eggs? (Okay, not perfect, but close! I was in a bit of a hurry peeling them (see last post) and gouged out bits as I was grabbing at the peels. Had I taken my time they would've been absolutely perfect - not that it's necessary! Just nice.)

They turned out beautifully:

Was this something you already knew about? Am I late in the game?

Confusion, deviled eggs and inflammation, oh my!

2011-12-12T19:46:00.008-05:00

Well, we had an interesting dinner tonight. There was some confusion as to when the girls' AHG Christmas party was supposed to be, and because of a mix-up I thought it was tonight when it was really this coming Friday.

So following the instructions in the email from the troop that Hubs had read to me, I had to quickly come up with 2 savory snacks to bring, plus get the girls to pick out gifts for their leaders since it would be the last time they would see them until after the holidays (this is when having a driving teenager in the house is such a blessing). So I sent Son and the girls to Target for the gifts, and I got busy making deviled eggs and loaded potato skins. It was a lot of work I hadn't anticipated, but all was going well until I got the 15 yo to check her email to be absolutely sure of the date.

Turns out it was definitely this Friday, and I wondered how Hubs had gotten a different date. It also turns out that he had had his email archives folder open and accidentally looked in there. He was reading from last year's Christmas party email!

I was miffed, I'll admit. That was a lot of work for nothing. But he's so sweet I couldn't stay mad at him too long. So we had deviled eggs and loaded potato skins for dinner. Plus, I cooked up some baked tilapia because Littlest had been anticipating it for supper before the great email mix-up took place and I didn't want to disappoint her. She likes so few foods these days.

Dinner was a little heavy, but it was good and pretty much low carb, although I did get some pain and stiffness from the potato skins. Guess I need to watch those, too.

I'll share my discovery about boiling eggs successfully in another post.

Homemade Nesquik

2011-12-10T12:22:00.003-05:00

The 15 yo LOVES Nesquik. We were going through a Sam's Club sized container every week. I kid you not. I looked online for a recipe that would taste as close as possible and ran across this recipe. It was a good base, but was hard to mix into the milk. So I tinkered with it. I ended up with a recipe that the 15 yo loves as much as Nesquik, but it's not in powder form like Nesquik. I just couldn't get it right as a powder. But as a syrup I hit a home run. We make this frequently now and double it. I keep it in the fridge. It's pourable and mixes right into the milk with no problems.

My old Tang pitcher holds a single batch, btw.

Homemade Nesquik

2 cups sugar
1 cup cocoa powder
2/3 cup powdered milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1&3/4-2 cups water

In a medium to large pot (the mixture rises fairly high when boiling, so a bigger pot is critical to avoid overflow), combine the sugar, cocoa powder, powdered milk and salt. I recommend sifting the cocoa powder and powdered milk when adding to the sugar to remove all lumps. It's easier than waiting till the end to do it, with less waste.

Whisk in water and turn on heat to medium high. Whisk constantly at first, then often the rest of the time, scraping the bottom religiously with the whisk to keep it from burning.

When the mixture comes to a full boil, set the timer for one minute and stir constantly, taking care to avoid splatters. When the minute is up, set it aside to cool. Once cooled, transfer to a pitcher with a lid. I like those pourable glass orange juice containers, but you may prefer a lighter weight/unbreakable container if your children are younger.

This tastes great in almond milk. I'm sure it's good in any of the other "milks" if you can tolerate the small amount of powdered milk in the recipe. I found it lacking without the powdered milk, but you can try leaving it out if you're sensitive to it.

Enjoy!

A little trick I learned about grating carrots

2011-12-09T17:15:00.000-05:00

I was watching a YouTube video where a guy was cooking up something or other, and he shared this little tip that I thought was worth blogging about.

Don't cut the top end of your carrot off before grating. That way you protect your knuckles and have no waste. Then offer the end to your dog if he loves carrots!

Chicken chicken chicken

2011-12-09T11:39:00.000-05:00

I took a rotisserie chicken we had eaten and made a big batch of chicken broth from it. I made 24 cups. I am trying to make enough so I will never run out.

It's so easy and it tastes really good. And it's so cheap to make! Just throw the chicken carcass in a soup pot with carrots, celery, onions, garlic, a few herbs (I use thyme, oregano, basil, parsley, and dill), a sploosh of white vinegar, salt, and a lot of water. Bring to a boil and low-boil for several hours. Cool; remove the chicken meat and bones and vegetables. Strain through cheesecloth or something like it. Refrigerate for a few days to let the chicken fat rise to the top. Skim that off and feed it to your dogs and strain the broth again if it needs it. Bag and freeze and you have great broth for future recipes!

Shread the meat and bag it up and freeze it for future meals, or put some of it, the carrots, celery and broth together and make some chicken soup to freeze.

Another thing I did was to drain out the container the chicken came in. I put it in a mason jar and left it in the fridge along with the chicken broth. After a few days it looked like chicken fat Jello!

I scooped it out into a freezer bag and froze it for making chicken gravy in the future. No waste!

Sometimes God answers prayers really, really fast!

2011-12-08T22:27:00.003-05:00

Last night, for instance. I was getting really good sleep the last couple of months after discovering 5-HTP and GABA. Both of those plus my usual cal/mag and vitamin d3 supplements were giving me full nights of restful sleep. It was wonderful. The cal/mag alone was never enough so I took ibuprofen to knock myself out. Not necessary since beginning the 5-HTP and GABA, though.

But for the last week or so my sleep has been just terrible. And I couldn't figure out why. Last night I went to bed and did the usual tossing and turning only to wake up several hours later (like clockwork, unfortunately), feeling absolutely wired. Why??!?

So I prayed, "Lord, what is wrong with me?" Within a SECOND the answer came: "Cal/Mag".

*Clunk*

Yes! I had run out of my cal/mag supplement a couple of weeks ago and had totally forgotten about it. Now I realize how vital it was for me, especially the magnesium part.

However, I was still out; but I had gotten some (chelated) magnesium glycinate as recommended by Maria Emmerich just to try because it's supposed to be easier to absorb with much less trouble in the digestive tract (which I did find to be true for me, btw). So I took a double dose and another GABA and went back to bed. I drifted off easily and slept restfully the rest of the night.

Today, I ordered some more cal/mag and will not let it run out again - you can bet on that!

Thank You, Lord, for such a quick response to my desperate prayer. You are awesome!

What to do with a bunch of lemons

2011-12-08T17:30:00.001-05:00

I usually buy lemons by the bag, but often some of them go bad before I get to them. So I thought a great way to enjoy them without worrying about them is to freeze the juice. Now that I've thought about it I'll also scrape the rinds off and freeze them next time.

I figured out that my ice tray cubes hold about 1 TBLS each. Now if I need lemon juice for a recipe I can just go to the freezer! Pretty "cool", huh? ;)

Sweet pups in a sunlit room

2011-12-08T12:17:00.001-05:00

Let go

2011-12-08T10:59:00.003-05:00

I love Heartlight Ministry. They have a radio show called Parenting Today's Teens of which I get daily emails that I can often relate to. Mark Gregston has such valuable advice for those of us raising teens. I've often taken his advice and had great results from it. Not that it was always easy, but it certainly was worth the difficulties that sometimes arose from those decisions. Things work out in the end.

See, I've already raised two teens who are now grown-ups. One is 34 and one is 32. That's so hard to believe! Wow. So I've made LOTS of mistakes, and I wish I had this ministry to help me back then. I was way too controlling, thinking that that was what I was supposed to be. Plus, it felt safer. But in the end I only learned the hard way that letting go was necessary and right. And when I finally did it it was a relief in some ways. But I still had to watch my children learn many hard lessons, and no parent likes that part. But I'm very proud of my girls now that they're grown up. They are navigating this scary world with greater ability and their ships seem to be pointed in the right direction.

I really think that the hardest thing for most parents is letting go of their kids when they reach an age where they have to begin taking on their own responsibilities. The wisest and messiest thing to do is to let go early on so they can learn the consequences of their actions while they're young. But we want so badly to protect them from the ugliness in the world. It's hard to do it. But it makes adulthood a lot easier for them.

This is the hardest thing we'll ever do because it's like sending them out into pitch darkness. But we who know Christ know that while the dark, scary world is out there, He is greater and more powerful than that darkness. Darkness is as light to Him. (Psalm 139:12) And He will guide our children. We have to trust Him and pray.

Today's email message was especially comforting:

Sometimes parents assume the only way to be good parents is to be in control of their teens… and to stop ‘em from making mistakes.
If you’ve got a death grip on your child… or you swoop in to save them from a potential failure… get ahold of yourself! Hey, a good parent actually gives away control to their growing child. It’s the only way your teen will learn through the decisions he makes.
So… it’s time to quit doing everything for your teen. Think of it as a well- deserved vacation! You get to let go of some of the responsibility you’ve been carrying around… and let your teen take some of the weight. Mom … dad … maybe it’s time to let go!

So if you have the tremendous job of raising teens, check out Parenting Today's Teens and get some help navigating those difficult years.

The Hobbit will be in 3D!!

2011-12-08T01:55:00.000-05:00

Isn't that so exciting??

Christmas cookies

2011-12-07T23:23:00.003-05:00

Littlest and I made sugar cookies and dipped them in almond bark and the kids decorated them with about every kind of sprinkle in the house. We collect those multi-compartmented cake decorations all year round, so we can pretty much cover every holiday.

I'm trying not to eat too many! They're so good!

Yummy leftovers

2011-12-07T21:21:00.002-05:00

I had this for lunch yesterday. It's spiralized zucchini pasta in a meat sauce (Gia Russa sauce - yum!) with mozz melted on top. So good! Gia Russa is pricey, but Publix sometimes has it BOGOF, so that's the time to stock up. It's one of the lowest carb sauces I could find. Unfortunately, low sugar sauces are all expensive, but soooo worth it.

Fascinating interview with a former vegan

2011-12-06T22:41:00.005-05:00

I dipped my toe in veganism a few years ago for health reasons only to find that I didn't feel well on the heavy amount of soy I was consuming. This evening I ran across info about Lierre Keith who wrote the book The Vegetarian Myth and then found this podcast interview she did with low-carb biggie Jimmy Moore. She was a vegan for 20 years and her perspective now versus then is quite fascinating.

Jam Tomorrow People

2011-12-05T21:32:00.002-05:00

Alison at Brocante Home shared an insightful post about living in the now. I often catch myself being a jam-tomorrow thinker. Gotta stop that!

When will I learn?

2011-12-05T17:48:00.006-05:00

I don't know if anyone remembers me mentioning in this post back in May of 2010 that I suspected I had a wheat intolerance, but I was reminded yet again that something's up when I eat it. I've been pretty good about avoiding it since we've been doing the low carb thing. But today I wanted a tuna sandwich and so I had one on my whole wheat bread. I really only make it now because Littlest loves it.

Within 30 minutes I was achy and stiff. Then I felt lethargic and even a little depressed. I don't normally feel depressed these days since discovering that 5-HTP helps bring up my serotonin levels, so I knew it must've been the wheat.

We just had dinner - low carb spaghetti sauce on spiralized zucchini noodles (love that!) and I'm feeling a little better.

At some point I'll get it in my head that for me wheat is a no-no. It's just not worth the misery.

29 years

2011-12-04T23:08:00.003-05:00

Today Hubs and I celebrated 29 wonderful years of marriage.

We went out this evening and ate a lovely low carb dinner at Red Lobster (inspired by Tom Naughton's tempting description of his meal there) and saw the movie, Hugo in 3D, which I highly recommend, as do pluggedinonline and Michael Medved (he gave it 4 stars - link to mp3 of rating).

We came home to well-behaved children who had actually tidied up the house a bit while we were gone. They put a log in the fireplace and lit it as soon as we got home.

A grand evening, it was, it was.

Low carb cookbook find

2011-11-29T20:00:00.004-05:00

I got a cookbook from the library put out by Dana Carpender called 1001 Low Carb Recipes. I made her Cheesy Cauliflower Soup tonight (scroll to page 185 for the recipe). Yummers! Hubs and Son both went back for seconds, which was a consolation because I botched last night's chicken lo mein (not totally low carb) and NOBODY asked for seconds.

I did a couple things differently when I made it: I added 2 cloves of garlic (minced) because garlic is a must, and I used an immersion blender to blend some of the cauliflower at the end to thicken the soup.

I think I'm going to like this cookbook enough to own it. I already have a long list of recipes I want to try!

Snoozing and Sunning Pups

2011-11-27T15:54:00.002-05:00

Jazzy loves sleeping with her head off her bed.

Ally loves sitting in the sun.

Hibernating Mildred

2011-11-27T15:30:00.003-05:00

Littlest's frog, Mildred, has been doing something really interesting for the last couple of months. She's been hibernating. She goes somewhere in her tank to hide and zones out for a few days. Then she wakes up and goes looking for food for a day or so. Then it's back to zoning out.

Here she's awake and looking for food. When we see her perking up we head to PetSmart for some cricket nymphs and feed her. They put a piece of egg carton in with the nymphs so they can eat it rather than each other. Yeah, they will eat each other! She usually finds all of them within hours, but one sometimes gets past her. Then once she's had her fill she goes into hiding again.

It's interesting that the only thing that's really changed for her has been the amount of daylight. So that is the catalyst for hibernation...at least for a frog.

Low carb Turnip Fries

2011-11-25T20:04:00.002-05:00

With Hubs and I trying to reduce our carb intake, I've been looking for tasty alternatives to our favorite foods.

Turnips are a close enough mimic to potatoes that they make a great French fry alternative. Rutabagas, a cousin to the turnip, are even better tasting, but are a bit higher in carbs. Still lower than potatoes, though.

We made these and dipped them in reduced sugar ketchup and boy, howdy! they were good!

Here's a simple tutorial on how to make either of them:

Posting here again

2011-11-25T19:47:00.002-05:00

Whirlwind weekend (and month!) over

2011-11-21T18:34:00.001-05:00

I'm finally getting a moment to post on here after spending weeks preparing the house and making decisions related to our son's Eagle Court of Honor this past Saturday. I'm so happy to have it finally accomplished!

Last Thursday, Hubs drove down to Louisiana to pick up his mother so she wouldn't have to fly. On Friday, they drove up and stopped off at the Atlanta airport to pick up his brother who flew in from Texas, with my parents driving in from Texas not far behind.

We had a full crowd under our roof with some doing a bit of adventure sleeping due to the limited accommodations. We all survived somehow.

The dogs were real troopers and didn't seem to mind the crowd at all. I was a little worried that Jazzy might become a bit anxious, but she seemed totally at ease, probably taking her cues from Ally who never gets flustered about anything. They really are the best dogs.

One of the benefits of doing an Eagle Court of Honor is that it gives the scout, his family, and everyone in the troop a trip down memory lane. Sometimes we need to see where we've been in order to appreciate where we are now. So it was great getting to see Son's old photos, projects, uniforms and all. What a lot of things he did in scouting! It is quite a history to remember.

Son's COH had some tense and humorous moments which will be remembered far longer than had everything gone perfectly. Maybe God throws those in so we will remember it better. Who knows? Anyway, one of the leaders was supposed to run sound and do a certain portion of the ceremony, but he didn't show up and was unreachable by either phone or email. Turns out he forgot about it! So thankfully, another leader took over the sound and yet another leader took over the part of the ceremony and both things went very well with them in charge.

Then, while the ceremony was going on someone started pressure-washing right outside the church sanctuary! It was loud and annoying and went on far too long, and I would imagine there were many people who wanted to get up and deal with it, but didn't (me included).

One of the highlights of the weekend was getting to see our second daughter and her children. We've been estranged (my fault) for 3 years and it was good to reconnect with them.

My dear friend, M. took care of the reception afterward and did a beautiful job. She took our youngest two with her and got the help of the scoutmaster's family the night before and they set everything up that could be set up early. Then she arrived Saturday morning and got some help from the same family to finish getting everything ready. I'm so thankful for all of them. They made our day so special and let me off the hook with the work. I was able to relax and visit with everyone and it was so nice!

I am so proud of our son. He's such a fine young man and the kind of son any parent would want to have. It was fun seeing how the different leaders and scouts viewed him as he's very quiet and reserved. He really is the strong, silent type. Perfect personality for a man, methinks.

After the ceremony was over a few of the leaders and scouts, and Son and I also, were hanging around the sanctuary chatting. We all were heading down to the fellowship hall for the reception when all of a sudden at the bottom of the stairs he was accosted by a pack of scouts who picked him up and carried him into the fellowship hall, hollering joyfully. What a special moment that was! And I assume it was planned because the whole crowd seemed fixed on what they were doing as if they knew it was coming. It's moments like this camaraderie that make life special, don't you think?

Looking back on our whirlwind weekend, it was such a blessed time and I thank God that He orchestrated it perfectly, even the bumps in the road. It was all good.

Interesting post on canned prayers

2011-11-06T18:36:00.000-05:00

I don't read the blog this post is linked to (found it via another blog), but it was interesting and made me think of all the prayers we repeat verbatim each day without thinking about it while questioning the value of canned prayers. Kinda funny to think that way.

Can Canned Prayers Be Spiritual?

Minor whining rant, if you will

2011-11-04T15:26:00.002-04:00

We are getting geared up for Son's upcoming Eagle Court of Honor and I am beside myself with stressing over the state of my house. We're hoping for a bunch of the family to come in and stay with us and I look around in dismay. Things are in such disarray with storage tubs here and there and piles everywhere, and the never-ending dust and dirt that I honestly thought would diminish after we put in the wood laminate flooring. We just don't fit in this house very well. Too. much. stuff...too.little.house.

The kids have been going through one of those stages where they don't get along and bicker incessantly. So mix the two issues together and bam! Stress bomb.

Tomorrow we'll be going to our second Basset Bash and I need to make potato salad to bring. Need to make pizza dough for pizza night tonight and have to thoroughly clean a bathroom. But what does "thoroughly" mean in this house? It means "enjoy it while you can because it won't last a day...but clean it anyway because it'll only get worse". I thought when kids got older the house would be neater. Ha! It's dirtier than ever. They're far messier now than when they were babies, and about as helpful in cleaning it up.

Credit unions

2011-11-01T18:44:00.000-04:00

Our bank began charging a debit card fee last month, so we decided it was finally time to listen to Clark Howard and move our money to a credit union. Looks like we aren't even close to being alone because now banks are rethinking their debit card fees due to LOTS of people leaving them. And it has nothing to do with Occupy Wall Street and everything to do with a healthy capitalist society exercising its freedom. Read the comments at the end of that second link. They're quite encouraging.

The credit union employee Hubs talked to said they're getting a lot of new accounts because of the debit card fee debacle. I'm glad to hear it. Credit unions treat you like a person rather than only an account number. They are SO NICE. They deserve our business.

A funny story: The other day I took Son to the credit union office so he could make a deposit. I had never been in there before. Hubs had done all the paperwork for me and had brought it all home for me to sign. But he also needed a copy of my driver's license. Unbeknownst to me he had photocopied it and was going to email it to them. So as I was walking into the building the lady who had already met my son and the daughter who was with us (both had already opened accounts there) said to me, Oh, I just got off the phone with your husband!". Huh? Okay, now that is small town service if there ever was! Apparently, he had just emailed her the copy of my driver's license minutes before and she recognized me right away!

Anywho, I am really impressed with my first credit union experience. They really are superior to the big banks.

Have you thought of moving away from your big bank (if you use one)? Do you use a small town bank or credit union? What is your experience with either?

Prayer request

2011-10-30T18:46:00.001-04:00

Please pray for Yosef Nadarkhani, an Iranian pastor who is sentenced to death by hanging for refusing to reject faith in Christ in favor of Islam.

Nadarkhani's lawyer, Mohammed Ali Dadkhah, said at the time that the panel of five judges will decide within a week whether to confirm the 34-year-old pastor's execution for apostasy. In this case, the apostasy is interpreted as abandoning Islam.

In addition, the original indictment against Nadarkhani, a father and evangelical pastor who became a Christian at age 19, accused him of organizing evangelistic meetings, sharing his faith, trying to convert Muslims to Christianity, running a house church, and rejecting Islamic values.

Crafty storage

2011-10-17T18:48:00.001-04:00

This neat blog is full of storage ideas for craft stuff. I'm always looking for new ideas so this place looks like a good one to visit!

Crafty Storage

Mildred

2011-10-16T19:25:00.002-04:00

Pizza dough

2011-10-16T19:21:00.001-04:00

Inspired by nature

2011-10-16T19:04:00.002-04:00

I got a little stamping done this week. It takes me hours and hours to create a card, which discourages me from even starting. But sometimes I just want to stamp.

I love the papers in Tim Holtz's Idea-ology Lost and Found collection. Very much my style. I didn't even have to do my usual direct to paper technique on them. They were already that way!

This image was fun to do. I just colored the rubber stamp with markers and dabbed a black ink pad a little here and there. Then I spritzed it with water and stamped. It looks so pretty when the colors meld together like that, don't you think?

Arkansas state flower block coming along

2011-10-16T18:51:00.004-04:00

Here's my little cubby area where I work on my embroidery...mostly at night while we watch Monk. This block has been a bit more trouble, but it's still enjoyable.

And you can see the ones I have waiting in the wings to the left and right of it...

Next will be Alaska!

Son got his first job!

2011-10-11T22:18:00.006-04:00

Today, Son got a call from the hospital he applied at that he has a job as a food service worker. He's very excited about it. He applied about a month ago and had 2 interviews and numerous background steps to go through before he was picked. One thing I can say about them is they are very thorough!

Great speech by Steve Jobs from 2005

2011-10-06T09:52:00.001-04:00

Pretty devastating indictment of Obama's presidency

2011-10-05T10:34:00.000-04:00

State flower quilt project - the next 6 blocks

2011-10-01T19:31:00.001-04:00

I finally took pics of the next 6 blocks I've finished. So here they are in no particular order.

Louisiana:

I did mainly the stem stitch on this one. Such a pretty flower!

New Jersey

The New Jersey block was a fave because of lots of satin stitching and my second favorite stitch: the split stitch.

Nebraska:

Nebraska was fun because of all the practicing of doing French knots. I won't tell you how many times I redid those - all of them...more than once! Btw, the word "Goldenrod" is not actually crooked. It just photographed that way for some reason.

Maine:

Oh, Maine was fun! Creating a pine cone with thread? The coolest!

California:

The California poppy was my least favorite to work on. I used a stem stitch on the flower and it was hard to keep the shape right. The green is done in the split stitch.

New Hampshire:

Doing the New Hampshire block was fun as I got to practice single chain stitches.

I'm now working on Arkansas's apple blossom. Love the colors!

Cornered

2011-10-01T19:30:00.000-04:00

I really love the way the dining room looks since we moved the hutch into the corner where the armoire used to be.

Much cozier now.

Goofy Bassets

2011-10-01T19:27:00.002-04:00

These dogs give us endless entertainment.

Chicken soup

2011-10-01T19:00:00.002-04:00

I've always wanted to cook my own chicken soup, but thought it was too daunting a task. Phooey! It's easy! And homemade chicken soup is so good for you, especially if you make a broth with the bones first.

Nourishing Traditions's recipe calls for organ meat, neck, and feet if you've got them. I use everything but the feet as the only place I can find them is at an Oriental market, but you have to buy a whole chicken coop full of feet to get them there. But someday...

The reason they recommend the feet is because they produce a lot of gelatin, and gelatin rocks according to NT.

I remember hearing about calves' foot jelly in the old Disney film, PollyAnna, and wondered what it was. Apparently the calves' feet are very gelatinous when boiled and produce something like Jello only not sweet. It was given to those who were ill with good results. I'll use some in my beef broth sometime in the near future, but for now, it's chicken soup.

All I do is take a whole chicken and split it in half and put each half in a soup pot. I add big pieces of celery, carrots and onions and whole garlic cloves, all according to your liking.

Then I add some vinegar and salt, pepper, basil, dill, oregano, thyme and parsley. The vinegar helps draw the minerals from the bones and adds a lovely tang to the broth.

I set it to boil and bring it to a simmer once it's boiling. Then I simmer it for a few hours to overnight, depending on what I choose to do. I've done both and actually prefer the shorter times better. But that's just me. I find that the chicken tastes better if it's not cooked to death.

Once it's done I let it cool. Then I scoop out everything but the broth and set it aside. Then I strain the broth through a cloth to remove the grit and nasty stuff that settles to the bottom.

Once I've done that I go through the meat and veggies and separate out the meat, carrots and celery. I de-bone the meat and chop and add some back to the broth (I like a good bit of meat, but not all of it in there.). Then I chop up a lot of the carrots and celery and add them back in. I discard the onions and garlic to the compost bucket. The skin and sinew I feed to the dogs, along with the extra carrots (they LOVE those).

I put the pot into the fridge (it's cool by now) and let it sit for a day or two until the fat solidifies on top. I skim that off and feed it to the dogs and separate the soup into freezer containers and freeze most of it. Some I keep out for everyday.

While it's easy to make, it is time consuming, so I do a lot at a time so we'll be able to enjoy it a good bit before I have to do it again. Still, it's one of those simple recipes that you just throw together and go. I like that kind! I wish I had started this practice long ago.

The state flower quilt project - beginnings

2011-09-28T18:28:00.001-04:00

For the longest time I've wanted to delve into hand embroidery. When I was little, my mother gave me small embroideries to work and I loved it even though I was probably not very good at it.

Now that I've cooled a little in my love of stamping and no longer am drawn to cross stitching because, well, my poor old eyes and brain just don't find it relaxing anymore. But who knows? Never say never, right? That should be my motto if it's anyone's! Anyway, I've wanted to jump in to hand embroidery, but didn't know where to start...until I ran across the state flower quilt project over at Vicki Haninger's blog, Turkey Feathers. It seemed perfect for a beginner like me!

I started with the Texas Bluebonnet because I wanted to practice satin stitching. It's one of my favorites because it's such a gorgeous stitch. And it's fairly monotonous work once you get the hang of it.

It took me awhile to get it right, and I pulled out a lot of stitches to redo, but that's the beauty of hand embroidery - you can easily start anything over again. You just have to be careful not to cut the fabric when you're removing stitches.

So here's my first block done:

My colors were a bit different than Vicki's, and I did a few things differently, but that's what I love about this craft - freedom to change things if you want.

This was my second square:

I got to practice the stem stitch a lot on this one. I also got some practice doing French knots. Fun! It looks a little flat from ironing. I'll have to plump it up again later.

I've done 8 squares and have three more almost ready to start. This hobby is inexpensive and so satisfying. I can do it while watching tv or riding in the car. I can pick it up or put it down as need be. It's just so wonderful!

Btw, I think of the show, Monk, when I look at my squares because that's what I watched every night on Netflix while working on them. We love Monk!

Have you done any hand embroidery before?

The Donkey Whisperer

2011-09-03T20:03:00.000-04:00

A possible technique for Son to paint his car

2011-08-29T19:39:00.005-04:00

This thread on a car forum shows how a guy painted his old car using tractor paint! Really nice job and inspiring to Son who wants to do this to his car.

Mildred's diet

2011-08-29T19:33:00.003-04:00

The compost bucket trap is working well at providing Mildred daily with choice bugs. It captures mostly flies and fruit flies, but sometimes there's a wasp or yellow jacket!

Today there was a monstrous wasp in there and I just covered the bucket and left the lid on for a few hours hoping to do it in as I didn't want it revisiting. I have the hummingbird feeder nearby and it's probably going to attract more wasps to the bucket. Hopefully, it won't pose too big of a problem.

Coco Lopez Cake

2011-08-29T18:34:00.003-04:00

This cake is delicious! and not at all good for you. ;)

Coco Lopez Cake

1 white or yellow cake mix
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 can Coco Lopez Coconut Milk (NOT Cream of Coconut)
1&1/2 cups flaked coconut
1/2 tsp. coconut flavoring or extract
1 (8 oz) tub Cool Whip

Make cake mix according to instructions on the box. Bake in a 9x13-in. pan, according to box. While the cake is cooling, poke holes in it with a chopstick. Do not poke all the way to the bottom or the liquids will later leak out and the cake won't be as moist. In a non-stick pan mix the sweetened condensed milk and the coconut milk and heat thoroughly. Add coconut flavoring. Drizzle over the cake. Let cool. Frost with whipped topping and sprinkle shredded coconut on top. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. Better if made the day before.