Couch to 5K--Week 9--Already!!!

It is Week 9. I am a bit behind, but my friend, Lee, modified my running plan. Here's what it will look like this week:

Monday: Run 20 min.

Wednesday: Run 10 min, Walk 5, Run 10

Friday: Run 21 min.

Sunday: Run 25 min.

I ran 19 minutes last night and walked 5. It was hard--I wasn't paying close enough attention to my breathing. Once I got it even, it got easier. I was 40 seconds shy of running 2 miles during the 19 minutes. I was very proud of myself. That's a little under a 10-minute mile. I have less than two weeks to be more comfortable running that far. I would still really love to run the whole 5K (3.1 miles), but we shall see. My ankle pain is so-so. We will see if my vitamins do their job.

Also, I am on a "making natural cleaners" kick. It is so cool! I never realized how many cleaning solutions you can make yourself. Last night, I was reading online about clogged drains--our kitchen sink was clogged, and I really hate using and paying for Drano. Most natural sites said that you should first try a plunger--that will sometimes do the trick (or a pipe snake). If not that, then try this:

1 cup washing soda (not baking soda)
3 cups of boiling water

Wash that down the drain, if it doesn't work, chase it with 1 cup of vinegar.

We tried that, and stuff started coming up into the sink--nasty. Dave grabbed the plunger, plunged it once, and skadoosh--the sink drained immediately. Awesome. My sink also looked a lot shinier! The washing soda is awesome. Arm and Hammer puts it out, and it is usually in the laundry aisle. Not all Wal-Marts carry it--you are more likely to find it at a Kroger, Reasors, etc.

Here are some links to other natural, safe, cheaper homemade cleaners:

Furniture Polish (instead of Pledge--which is neurotoxic!!!--who knew?)

Laundry Detergent

Window Cleaner

Dishwasher Detergent

Deodorant (not an anti-perspirant): HERE and HERE (two different kinds)

Shampoo


Isn't it weird to use these homemade cleaners? No, it's just weird that we've been buying stuff (chemical-laden, at that) because the TV tells us to. Or it is what our mom used. Or we don't want to take the time to make them. But seriously, most of of them take a few minutes to prepare. Give it a try, and see how you like it! I am going to!

Also, Sam is doing really well. He's been in his cast for a week now. Only two more weeks to see if he can bear weight on it! He is getting around like a champ. If anything, he has been a little demanding. :)

Our garden is going crazy! Everything has sprouted except for the red bell peppers and the marigolds. We are so excited about it! Yea for fresh veggies!!!

Have a blessed week!

Irish Soda Bread

I blogged this morning about making food for St. Patrick's Day. I couldn't wait to make the Irish Soda Bread so I made it this morning. I got the recipe from HERE.

Here are some pics from the process:

Mixing together the wet ingredients and setting them aside to thicken.



Mixing the dry ingredients with bits of butter to make a coarse meal. This part was fun. I felt like I was six.



Stir wet and dry together to form a lump (I used my hands).



Knead a couple of times on a floured surface. Form a dome shaped loaf.



Place on parchment-lined baking sheet, sprinkle with flour, and cut a cross into it.



Bake at 350 for an hour.



Cool.



Lunch? Why not?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

'Tis the Season to Be Making

Well, before you get your panties in a bunch and think for a second that I am a mom who does it all, let me first declare that my house is a disaster, I haven't fixed my hair in DAYS, and it's all I can do to feed my children. So, when you look at what I have accomplished, you won't feel like a slacker (as I often do when I assume that blogger moms have it ALL together)--because no one knows how to slack (especially when it comes to housework) quite like I do. For real, ask Dave.

During this time of year, it is hard for me to not make stuff. However, I realized that I prefer crocheting in the winter--not sewing. I think crochet is slow and relaxing and I can do it anywhere, whereas with sewing, I am stuck in front of my machine. Crochet is just more cozy. However, I have been sewing. I have had a few projects that were time-sensitive.

My dear friend, Vanessa, is leaving for Kenya the beginning of January. She, her husband, Kyle, and their three boys will be serving Jesus through medical mission work in a rural village. I wanted to give her something practical, so I told her I would make her some skirts to beef up her missionary wardrobe and to keep her cool. So, I have set out to finish them. I am halfway done--two down, two to go. I did not photograph them; I'd like them to be somewhat of a surprise. :)

My second sewing endeavor was to make a tree skirt. This year, we bought a live tree (something we've never done before). Our old tree skirt was WAY too small to fit around it, and it was pretty ugly. I searched high and low online for a free pattern, and I found this fabulous pattern on Citrus Holiday. I modified it some, but it is the same for the most part. I love it!!! I think mine reminds me a lot of Allsorts, Morgan Moore, and candy stores.

So, of course, we've also decorated for Christmas. It's pretty simple, and I think, very beautiful and colorful--just like our quirky family.

I've also been a bit culinary. Sam says I'm a good "maker" (his word for "cook", although sometimes he does call me a "cooker"). I've had fun making all kinds of treats over the past week. Yes, pictures will follow!

The first was peppermint syrup. I was browsing Craftzine, and I saw a link to this wonderful website (that I will be perusing for other ideas), Think Inside the Icebox. This syrup is great. I love Starbucks Peppermint Mochas. So, I thought I should make some syrup to have on hand. Of course, mine don't taste quite like Starbucks, but they sure are a nice substitute at home. The recipe for the syrup was simple, and I just picked up some chocolate syrup, half and half, and whipped cream to round out my dessert...errr...drink.

Last year, I made toffee, and the butter and sugar separated, leaving the chocolate with a fatty layer on top. It tasted fine, but it was not pleasant to look at. I thought I would do a little research to see where I went wrong, and I found another wonderful website, Cooking for Engineers. It was all explained with great directions and what to expect. My toffee turned out perfectly!!! It is SO good. You should definitely put this on your to-do list.

And, finally, I made the ever-popular party mix--Puppy Chow (the recipe I used called it "Muddy Buddies"). There are recipes for this all over. I used the one in my Betty Crocker Christmas Cookbook. The kids helped shake the bags with the powdered sugar. It is delish.

I am sorry for the long time between posts. I have been a bit preoccupied, but thankfully, there are several things to show for it! Now, there are gifts that need wrapping, so I am off to attempt that!

Merry Making!!!

Wah-Waaah

I'm in a bit of a melancholy mood today--missing my friends and just kind of Debbie Downer-ish. I think today is that day because Dave also started work today after a glorious 3 week+ vacation. It's so true that stuff and money can't make you happy. I recently heard someone say that it could make you comfortable but not happy.

Well, now that we're livin' the high life with a doctor's salary, I'll tell you this: it means NOTHING. It's nice. We're blessed. We're able to bless others in ways we have never been able to. We are thankful. But it doesn't replace community. And THAT is what I really want out here in the sticks.

A Scripture is coming to mind, "Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred." Proverbs 15:17

Not that we are hatin' around here, but the truth is that community and love go a long way--farther than any dollar. Sunday is coming up, and my heart is hoping that this church is the one. But, I know I have to be okay if it isn't. I'm ready to make friends and invest in some relationships.

I had some pretty incredible friends and groups I was a part of back in Oklahoma. However, I do recall feeling much the same way when we moved there 3 years ago. It's a cycle, and I know it will get better. It just stinks to be in it right now. If you know what I mean. :)

I found a few pictures I wanted to share with you. No house pics yet--they're coming soon. Everything is almost finished, and I want to get things all picked up and prettied up with the new curtains I'm making. The fabric is GREAT!!!

But, oh, the pics--the first one is of my LAST book club meeting before we moved. :(

Kaysie (bottom left with the bagel) invited me to book club three years ago, and it was such a blessing for me. It was MY thing to do, and I loved it. That day, Ronna (2nd from the top on the right) was making me tear up. I miss these ladies, and I plan to migrate back to Tulsa once in awhile to have book club with them. XOXO, Book Club.

This is what I made for dinner last night--Chicken Tikka Masala (one of my favorite Indian dishes). I used this recipe. It was good, but it could have been spicier. It was pretty mild. I like it spicy! I also made Jasmine rice, naan, and curried lentils.

It was GOOD.

And this is the beautiful place I live. There is a gorgeous lake just down the road--like 2 minutes down the road. I took these pics shortly after we got here. It's just lovely.

And we caught Sam taking care of business off the deck. Check out how the fencing is wet on the right. Nice. Country livin', folks.

I Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Ethnic Food.

Things are moving right along. I suppose we'll be buying the signal booster any day now. We did get a landline. It has helped. I want to continue using my old calling card from Sam's Club (we used it faithfully the first four years of marriage instead of long distance b/c it was only 2-3 cents/minute--and we didn't have cell phones). We're planning a trip to Little Rock in about a week, so Sam's Club better "Look OUT!". I will have NO mercy.

Living out in the sticks has made me a better cook. Our eating out options are limited, and what we do have is fairly American (with the exception of the local Mexican restaurant). If you know me, you know I love ethnic foods. So, I've been trying to cook them at home--mostly Indian food. They're never as good as they are when a native of that country cooks them, but they sure do help. I've had several friends bragging on Ethiopian food lately, so I thought I'd give it a whirl.

Kristen, a former student of mine and a friend (hope I can call her that without it being weird), is a fabulous cook and a great art and food blogger. She's also vegetarian and recently posted a great Vegan website with tons of recipes. I am not a vegetarian, and will never be vegan (I know...never say never), but I love to incorporate vegetable-only meals into our weekly menu for our health and to save money. I have a TON of lentils that I bought from various Indian grocers, and I wanted to find more lentil stew recipes. I love lentils. You should too--they are superfood. Not kidding--tons of fiber and protein. I found an Ethiopian lentil dish called "Mesir W'et." It has several spices and vegetables in it along with the lentils and you typically serve it with a flatbread (injera). Well, we're low-carbing it around here, so it'll just be the stew.

[And just a note for those of you already thinking, "Oh, she's such a wonderful cook and how adventurous of her!"--the only thing that makes me a good cook is that I can read and follow directions (most of the time). Seriously, if you can read, you can cook, in my opinion.]

BUT, it called for an Ethiopian spice paste called "berbere". I knew no one in our county would have this stuff, especially since I couldn't even find PESTO! (And they didn't know what "pesto" was. "Is it in the Mexican aisle, do you think?" Seriously...I had this conversation.) So, I knew I'd have to either a) make my own berbere or b)wait until I get to Little Rock to find it in an ethnic grocery or at Whole Foods. I opted to make it. How hard could it be?

Really not that hard. There was a LONG list of spices. I had most of them. Except for ground fenugreek. I knew I might not be able to find that anywhere but Whole Foods. So, I thought, "Well, I'll just look at our local herb store and see if they have it, but if not, I may have to order it online or wait until we go to LR." I stopped at the herb store the other day. The only fenugreek they had was in supplement form. Dave happened to be in Conway yesterday, though, and he stopped at a health food store and found fenugreek seeds--just need to be ground. They are really small and hard like little pebbles. My food processor wasn't doing the job, so I cleaned out the coffee grinder, and it worked like magic. I was halfway through the berbere recipe when I realized it called for 2 CUPS of paprika. CUPS. Insane. Of course, I needed one more cup, so I had to run to Walmart last night and get more paprika. I should have known how involved this would be. I finally finished making the spice paste--which made 3 cups!!!!

I checked my recipe. It only calls for a tablespoon.

So, Kristen, if you or any of your friends (or anyone else, for that matter!) want some homemade berbere paste, let me know.

Things We've Been Doing

It's raining. Drenching kind of rain, you know? It's actually slowing down as I type. The kids are BORED. I've packed away a lot of things, so it is forcing us to be creative. Yesterday, I started to make lunch, and I realized we didn't have any bread. Dave also had the car. So, the kids ate a low-carb lunch with ham and turkey, pears, and carrots. Then, Sam and I made bread.

I found this recipe online, and I LOVE IT. I am not a bread-making pro and would appreciate some tips on kneading the dough and getting it to rise (I don't have a bread machine anymore, and don't plan on buying one...I also don't own a Kitchenaid mixer with a dough blade...AND my food processor dough blade is a wimp, so yes, I need tips on how to do it by hand.). That was the longest parentheses ever, I'm pretty sure.

Anyway. Aside from all that hullabaloo, the bread actually turned out alright. It uses half whole-wheat flour and half white flour, but there are directions for making it 100% whole-wheat. I only had enough wheat flour for the original recipe. It is delish.

See?

Maryn painted some watercolors in her Dora paint book, but Sam wasn't having it. So, I told him to make a game. I gave him a pack of round garage sale stickers, some paper, scissors and a pen. Not sure how to play just yet, but I'm sure (positive) the rules will change 100 times.

Then, Maryn wanted something NEW to do. So, I gave her scissors and an old magazine to cut pictures out of. That lasted 3 minutes. I'm not kidding. In fact, now, she is sitting on the floor huffing and puffing and won't tell me what she needs/wants.

And this book was a godsend. My Great-Aunt Kathy gave it to Maryn for her birthday. It's been delightful to read to the kids. It has all the great Seuss stories in it.

I'm washing diapers. Lucy is supposed to be napping. I just found her gnawing on the crib bar...wondering if more teeth may pop through soon.

Dave gets off early today, and we're going on our date later. We're torn between seeing "Up" without the kids or seeing "Angels and Demons". We were both disappointed with "The Da Vinci Code". It could have been SO much better. It didn't do the book justice. I'm speaking from merely an artistic point of view--the content is fairly deplorable. But..."Angels and Demons" will more than likely be at its best on a big screen...hmmm....any recommendations?

I did get everything on Craigslist and Freecycle. I've had several inquiries and promised pickups. We'll see.

Now Maryn is all-out crying and REFUSES to communicate with me. Does anyone have any tips for the stubborn child who has the vocabulary of a much older child but refuses to talk when she is upset???? Well, I just discovered...she has a fever, and an ugly throat. Waiting for Dave to call back...hope it isn't strep.

Off to make lunch!

Black Eyed Peas Day

Sam often identifies the day by what we're doing. One day, he declared it was "sock day" because I asked him to wear socks. Or it may be "play outside day" because I actually let him go out! Very silly, but I'm going to borrow his idea for today's post.

I need a good recipe for Black-Eyed Peas--TODAY. I'm making my menu for the week, and I'm trying to use up the food in the pantry. I happen to have a lot of dry black-eyed peas. Send me your recipes! Happy Black-Eyed Peas Day!