November

Happy November!
We had professional pictures taken of our little girl.  Titus has a photography business called Made in Mufreesboro  and a photography blog The Obvious.  Taking pictures with a baby is a lot of work!  Thanks Titus!

Hiking
We went on our first family hike this month.  It was extra special because it was the Fiery Gizzard trail were Luke first told me that he knew he wanted to marry me.

 

Gardening

I've been reading "Sunflower Houses" by Sharon Lovejoy.  This book gives ideas for making a garden inviting to children.  We are going to do a garden expansion in our backyard this spring, and I wan to think about it being very child friendly.  According to the book, children like flowers that look like they have faces.  So I planted some pansies in planter boxes.  In Tennessee pansies last fall through spring, which was a surprise for this Midwest girl!

 
Bible

This last week I have enjoyed being thankful to God for so many blessings in my life.  On Sunday I was encouraged further to see the importance of being thankful to God, giving God glory and giving God praise.  Here are some verses in Psalm 147. 
  ¹ Praise the LORD!For it is good to sing praises to our God;
   for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.
³He heals the brokenhearted
   and binds up their wounds.
⁴He determines the number of the stars;
   he gives to all of them their names.
⁵Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
    his understanding is beyond measure.

 ⁷ Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;
   make melody to our God on the lyre!
¹⁰His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
   nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
¹¹but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
   in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Verse 7 encouraged me to want to play my auto harp more often in praise and thanks to God.  Verse 11 encouraged me to see what God says is important and to make that important to me.  On Sunday I was also reminded that what God gave in my savior Jesus Christ is something I could never get for myself.  I am very thankful indeed. 

Movie

We've been watching DVD's from our library of the TV show "All Creatures Great and Small".  It is about a veterinarian named James Herriot in Brittan.  Funny and sweet.














I hope that you are doing well.   Please share. What has been encouraging you to be thankful this month?

September 2010

First time rolling over!

 This September has been a wonderful time.  My little girl has made many motor strides this month.  She is rolling over, but most of the time in her sleep.  Often I find her with an arm or a leg hanging out of the crib.  She is also starting to reach for items with her hands, and sometimes actually picking them up.  This especially is fun for her occupational therapist mother!

Recipe

For many years now gazpacho has been a special recipe for me to make.  I have so many good memories over the years making gazpacho to celebrate occasions or just to enjoy it with people that I love.  I even took it on a car camping trip! Traditionally gazpacho is all pureed, even sometimes drinkable.  The chunky version appeals more to me, maybe because it is like a salsa soup!

Gazpacho!
1/3 cup cilantro leaves
1 (or more) large jalapeno, cored, split, seeded
1 large garlic clove
3 large ripe tomatoes, quartered
3 cups tomato juice
1/4 cup each: ketchup, olive oil
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 cup each diced: green pepper(half of a large pepper), jicama (half a small jicama), white onion (half of a large onion)
1 cup raw corn (1 ear)
1 ripe avocado, peeled, diced

1 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Optional - sour cream, lime wedges, corn chips
1.  Mince cilantro, jalapeno, and garlic in a blender or food processor.  Add tomatoes. Puree.  Add 1 cup tomato juice, ketchup, oil and Worcestershire sauce.  Blend well.
2.  Transfer to large bowl.  Stir in remaining juice, diced pepper, jicama, onion, corn, avocado.  Season with salt and pepper.  Can be made up to 2 days ahead and refrigerated.
3.  To serve, stir well.  Serve chilled.  Garnish with sour cream and lime juice.  Eat with the chips.
Printable Recipe
Reading
I had fun reading this month.  Here are two of the books that really had my attention.
Romancing Miss Bronte 

This book shows Charlotte Bronte's real life.  It was terribly interesting.  She had published under a pseudonym and then became ridiculously famous.  One funny scene was on a train when a man she knew was reading her book and didn't know that she had written it!  I also appreciated that the book was based mostly on actually letters and diaries.  The best part to me was that in the end she married and was able to enjoy how truly wonderful God made marriage to be.  Her heart was tenderized by how her husband loved her.  Unfortunately she died early before she was able to depict in a book how wonderful non-traumatic love can be.

Nurture Shock 
This book was really interesting.  It examined what our culture tells us is the correct way to teach children, but then how scientific studies show us that we may be off track.  For example, most parents think that they are helping their children by telling the child that he or she is smart.  But often children end up not trying difficult activities because they don't want to prove that they actually are not smart.  But when people praise a child for working hard, then the child will try more difficult activities.  For a book with a lot of scientific studies, it is really interesting to read.



Exercise

This month I swam laps 3 times a week!  How wonderfully invigorating.  Especially since my local pool had lap swimming outside until last week.  My favorite times were swimming while the sun was setting.  Priceless.

Occupational Therapy

This month I celebrate being an occupational therapist for 10 years!  While I'm not currently working as a therapist, it has been a wonderful time for reflecting on the past 10 years.  I am truly thankful for all the people I have met through the journey, both co-workers and patients.  One of my patients was in his 60's and had limited use of his arms and legs due to being born with cerebral palsy.  He grew up during a time where there was little awareness about people with disabilities.  He shared with me that his favorite song was "Born Free".  His attitude toward life was one of being thankful and enjoying everyday.  This is the essence of what I enjoy about being an occupational therapist.  Helping people to do the most that they can in life, and at the same time being reminded to enjoy living my own life.

August 2010

 Happy August!

We've been smiling,

and cooing around here!

Garden
The flowers have really burst forth in our front yard!

The white zinnia's really helped to fill in some bare spots in the border.

I'm sparing you the pictures of our backyard. Who wants to look at bare dirt spots and dried up plants?  My goal is next year to be showing you pictures of a back yard with lush plants and pretty flowers.

Bible
A verse that I have enjoyed this month is Isaiah 50:10

"Who is among you that fears the LORD,
         That obeys the voice of His servant,
         That walks in darkness and has no light?
         Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God."

 When I am in a situation that I feel like I don't have a light, I need to continue to rely on God and trust in His name (and He has so many wonderful names, Creator, Almighty, Father...)

Mocha Cheesecake

This month's recipe is one that I grew up enjoying on special occasions.   It actually isn't a cheesecake.  Instead is like a really rich ice cream cake.  Usually the recipes I post are healthy.  This is the opposite direction, but oh so good!  You won't be sorry you try this recipe.  Even if you mess it up and use real coffee grounds instead of instant coffee, like I did one time, you will still love it.

Frozen Mocha Cheesecake
1 1/4 c. chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (or graham cracker crumbs)
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 c. margarine or butter (melted)
1- 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1- 14 oz. can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2/3 c. chocolate flavored syrup
2 T. instant coffee
1 t. hot water
1 c. (1/2 pint) whipping cream, whipped

In small bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and margarine.  In buttered 9-inch spring form pan or 13x9-inch baking dish, pat crumbs firmly on bottom and up sides of pan.  Chill.  In large mixer bowl, beat cheese until fluffy; add sweetened condensed milk and chocolate syrup.  In small bowl, dissolve coffee in water, add to mixture.  Mix well. Fold in whipped cream.  Pour into prepared pan.  Cover.  Freeze 6 hours or until firm.
Printable Copy of Recipe

Crafts
Here are some party decorations I made for a baby shower.

Isn't Luke's grandma's sewing machine awesome!

 Ruffle crepe paper by layering two pieces and then sewing down the middle.  More information here.

 Cut triangles out of scrapbook paper, glue to a string, and then you have a fun triangle banner.

July 2010

July the Month of Motherhood

Normally July makes me think of fire crackers, sunshine, and tomatoes.  This July had all of those, but mostly it was a time for me to start to learn about being a mom (I know that it will be a lifetime of learning).  I've found motherhood to be like a really good movie.  Everyone tells you that it is good, but you don't realize how good it is until you experience it for yourself.

I get more and more thankful for having God's wisdom and guidance for life.  The Bible constantly gives me direction for what to make my life about and how to got about it.  And when I still don't know what to do, ask God!  What a privilege!  "But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

Random Cute Baby Picture #1

 White Whole Wheat Flour

Cooking with Grandma Patsy

Instead of a recipe this month, I am sharing an ingredient, white whole wheat flour.  I know that the name doesn't make much since.  But what I  also know that it is lighter than whole wheat flour and better for you than white flour.  When visiting my parents we made some homemade pizza dough with it that turned out really good.  Try it out and let me know how it goes.

Lark Rise to Candleford
While resting and recovering during the first couple weeks of motherhood my mom brought DVDs of a BBC series called Lark Rise to Candleford for me to watch.  I recommend it for people that like period pieces and stories about small towns where people care for eachother.  It is sweet, heartwarming, and funny.  And they do a better job of lighting than most BBC series! 

Random Cute Baby Picture #2

The Blind Side

I know that I'm a year behind everyone else, but I'm reading the book the Blind Side and will soon watch the movie.  I am enjoying the book.   It is really well written, inspiring, and easy to read while nursing.  I do have to admit to skimming some of the detailed football history!

Random Cute Baby Picture #3

Clothe Diapers

We have been using clothe diapers with Lily and have really enjoyed using them.  It saves a lot of money and hasn't been a pain.  The clothe wipes that I sewed have worked out really well also.  If anyone is wanting to know more about using them please let me know. 

The Chick has Hatched! June 2010

Welcome to Our Family!

We are so thankful for our little girl!  One of my favorite parts of the whole weekend was soon after she was born,  Luke, with tears in his eyes thanked God for new member of our family.  It was such a tender moment.  I have spent the last 3 days looking at her in awe and amazement, so of course to me pictures can't capture how wonderful she is! 

The rest of the Blog was composed earlier this month while waiting for our little girl to arrive.

Garden

 Wow!  The growing season in TN is amazing!  This mid-western girl still cannot believe it!  We have harvested 1 jalapeno, with 2 on the way.  Our red bell pepper has 2 medium peppers.  The Roma tomatoes and the grape tomatoes have more green tomatoes then I could take the time to count!  and the flowers are going strong.  Here are my cone flowers and butterfly weed.  I started the butterfly weed from seed last year.  This year it reseeded itself and is doing amazing.  Our home came with some interesting day lilies that I had never seen before, like this one with the striped center.

Day Lilies

 

Jalapeno

 

Sewing

I took my first stab at sewing since middle school home economics (were I remember more about discussions of whether our teacher was wearing a wig than I do about sewing).  So I started with these flannel rectangles.  They are cloth reusable diaper wipes.  I am going to be using cloth diapers with our baby and so I thought I might try out cloth diaper wipes (though I am not as committed to them as I am to the cloth diapers.)  What a great first sewing project; I just sewed rectangles, and if I messed up it didn't matter because it was just going to be used on a baby's bottom!  I tried all three designs described here.

 

The next project took things up quite a few notches.  But I had Holly (Luke's mom) teaching me as we went, and so I learned a lot.   For the valance for the nursery I was originally going to make it out of the Juicy Jungle fabric by Alexander Henry.  Then I realized it might look a little busy for a valance.  So I got the idea to make a valance and applique some of the animals from the fabric onto it.  Pretty ambitious for a second project!  I was really thankful that Holly was willing to take on this adventure with me.  We used a gabardine fabric in cream for the main part of the valance.  It has a wonderful hang to it.  For the applique I used an iron on bonding agent called Heat n Bond, and then I did a small zigzag stitch around the edges of the fabric to prevent raveling.    

The Bean Game

This month's game is one that I've enjoyed for many years, it's called Bohnanza.   I'm trying out a game ranking on a strategy-social continuum.  1 to 5. 1 being a very concentrated strategy game where you want no distractions and 5 being a laid back social game.  Bohnanza would get a 3 on this scale.  It is a nice combination of some strategy but fun social time also.  It involves planting beans in fields and harvesting them.  But you only have two fields.  So deciding when to plant, when to harvest and when to trade bring in the strategy.

For those of you who have played this game before with me, you might be interested in an that I really enjoy called High Bohn Plus.  It has a western theme in which you buy different buildings that let you do certain things that other players can't.  With this expansion more strategy is added, and so it would go to a 2.5 on the scale.

What do you think of my strategy-social scale?  Is it helpful?

Nursery

Here's a short video of the nursery.

May 2010 Blog

Happy May!

We've been busy decorating our nursery and getting it ready the baby.  We are doing an animal themed nursery with animal alphabet cards, hung on the wall.  Yes, we are aware that we don't have the alphabet cards in the correct order.  We don't have room for the entire alphabet on the wall, and the baby isn't quite ready to be worrying about order anyways!


Besides still working on some physical things in the baby's room we are really ready for her to come at anytime.  We tell her this everyday, but she hasn't decided to maker her journey yet. 

 My mom, Patsy, made a beautiful crib skirt out of this fabric by Alexander Henry called "Juicy Jungle".  Luke's mom, Holly, and I are working on a valance for the window.  We are appliqueing some of the animals from the fabric onto the valance.  I'm really excited about my adventures in sewing.  It has something I've been afraid to try since middle school because of the precision involved.  But I'm relearning the whole process, and I'm excited about all the craft options.  Baby's aren't too fussy about straight stitches,  so this is a good place to start!

Does it mean you all ready for a baby when you can diaper a duck blindfolded?  At a recent baby shower this was a skill I found myself capable of!

Salad Dressing Recipe
An easy but healthy meal Luke and I like to make is taco salad.  It is easy to improvise with what we have on hand, or ingredients we desire at the time.  But we never knew what dressing to use.  Some restaurants offer a creamy dressing on taco salad, but we wanted to steer clear of that direction.  We usually end up using more salsa than we need to just to make our salad "wet".  We tried this dressing the last couple times we had taco salad, and felt like it really helped balance our salads.  It is subtle and provided that "wetness" we desired.

Taco Salad Dressing
6 servings

Ingredients
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tablespoon honey
2 Tablespoons lime juice (1 lime)
cumin to taste

Mix ingredients and serve over taco salad.  Extra will keep in the fridge.

Click Here For Printable Recipe


A Sweet Love Story

I recently watched "The Young Victoria" and I highly recommend it.  I knew nothing of Queen Victoria's early years as Queen, and so I found the history really interesting.  At the same time it is an extremely endearing and sweet love story.  If you enjoy period pieces and simple and sweet stories, then please see it, you will enjoy it.


Board Game

Recently I have been learning how to play Alhambra, a strategy game that my friends Matt and Betsy own. (well technically Betsy gave it to her dad for Christmas but has then has been borrowing it back!)


Some nice things about this game is that it is a strategy game, but it is not very complex to learn.  Basically you are buying and building rooms. But how you get your money, what you buy and how you build, that is what the game comes down to.    Another nice feature is that you can play it as a two player game.  Luke and I are always looking for good two player games.   But we've also played with 6 people and had fun (like any strategy game with a lot of people, everyone has to be committed to the game).  Let me know what you think of it if you try it out.


I Won Something!

With my new adventures in sewing, I have been looking at sewing blogs and websites.  The website Sew Mama Sew had a give away day with people from other blogs coming together and giving away items.  And I won this fabulous camera strap from VMJess.  Check out her Etsy shop if you are interested in a cute camera strap.  She uses lots of fun fabrics.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/vmjess