Eggs

Gwen's Wave and Hands

Gwen can wave now and you see a little of it in this video. She saw the shiny camera and got excited near the end. When she gets excited she does that hand motion. So cute!

Two Children's Poems

OK, so if you haven't noticed, I've been reading a bit of poetry lately. Maybe it's a phase, I don't know. I'm reading a book called "What Your Preschooler Needs To Know" and it has some great suggestions of rhymes and songs and stuff to teach your kids... um, besides the lesson of how she is loved by God and mama and daddy! Here's two of my favs.

Betty Botter

Betty Botter bought some butter,
But, she said, this butter's bitter.
If I put it in my batter,
It will make my batter bitter,
But a bit of better butter
Will make my batter better.
So she bought a bit of butter
Better than her bitter butter,
And she put it in her batter,
And it made her batter better.
So 'twas better Betty Botter
Bought a bit of better butter.

Jilliky Jolliky

Jilliky Jolliky Jelliky Jee,
three little cooks in a coconut tree,
one cooked a peanut and one cooked a pea,
one brewed a thimble of cinnamon tea,
then they sat down to a dinner for three,
Jilliky Jolliky Jelliky Jee.

Meal Plan

We've had a few weeks of visitors in the home, so that always means taking meals a few days at a time. We generally eat out more when people come to visit...so now it's back to home cookin'.

split pea soup with turkey bacon, garlic bread
tilapia, sweet pot/ regular pot, steamed broccoli
macaroni and cheese, BBQ shrimp, salad (not a huge fan of mac n cheese because it's not healthy at all... but my mom bought the stuff for it, so I'll make it this once for Ben and send some Preston's way)
black beans, rice, chicken
chili with black beans
chicken corn soup with dumplins (I'm trying my hand at making up my own recipe. We'll see)

Have I mentioned how much I love soups and stews lately? Oh.. nobody cares you say? Well!

The Peace Of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry

On Closer Inspection

I am busy baby proofing the house and it is a job I think for the FBI. I mean, Gwen can get down and crawl around and pinpoint a spec of dirt the size of an atom. Today I vacuumed the den and found a fish oil tablet, needles from our Christmas tree, all sorts of crumbs... ect. I couldn't believe it! I've never really looked at my floors in this way. I get down on my belly like I'm going to go under some barbed wire and just look. It's exhilarating. :)

Kansas City Chorale- NYC

some audio clips of my choir warming up and rehearsing German.

Dreams Really Do Come True

Thanks to my gorgeous and multi-talented husband I now am the proud owner of a raised bed garden. He bought the wood himself and painted it and then cut the wood and built it. I think it looks FABULOUS!!! He said he did some calculating and it only took 2,000 pounds of dirt to fill this thing. :) I can't wait to brainstorm with him about the vegetables we'll put in. It was a lot of hard work and I am so grateful. Hopefully we'll be blessed with a bountiful harvest this first year. I'm so excited.

NYC and Family

Here are some recent pictures during this busy time of March. Here's one of my mom standing in a bucket of water cutting Ben's hair. Mom and I cut Ben's hair and I was about to give her a homestyle pedicure.

I took my niece and nephew to Crown Center for some running around.


I don't think we're in Alabama, Toto.


My stunning sister, Stephanie, holding Gwen.

Here is what a freaky musical elf looks like. Why do I think this stuff is funny?

We had lunch at a restaurant where little trains drop off your food.


My little engineer.


Me in New York City standing beside a poster advertising our choir. We had a good concert and it was a good trip. I like visiting the city, but I was ready to come home to some quiet and grass (the kind you have in the yard) and my Benny and baby.

The Day Is Done

My choir is singing a song setting of the following poem. I think it is beautiful. It is about reading to a child at bedtime. It's by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

The day is done, and the darkness
Falls from the wings of Night,
As a feather is wafted downward
From an eagle in his flight.

I see the lights of the village
Gleam through the rain and the mist,
And a feeling of sadness comes o'er me
That my soul cannot resist:

A feeling of sadness and longing,
That is not akin to pain,
And resembles sorrow only
As the mist resembles the rain.

Come, read to me some poem,
Some simple and heartfelt lay,
That shall soothe this restless feeling,
And banish the thoughts of day.

Not from the grand old masters,
Not from the bards sublime,
Whose distant footsteps echo
Through the corridors of Time.

For, like strains of martial music,
Their mighty thoughts suggest
Life's endless toil and endeavor;
And to-night I long for rest.

Read from some humbler poet,
Whose songs gushed from his heart,
As showers from the clouds of summer,
Or tears from the eyelids start;

Who, through long days of labor,
And nights devoid of ease,
Still heard in his soul the music
Of wonderful melodies.

Such songs have power to quiet
The restless pulse of care,
And come like the benediction
That follows after prayer.

Then read from the treasured volume
The poem of thy choice,
And lend to the rhyme of the poet
The beauty of thy voice.

And the night shall be filled with music
And the cares, that infest the day,
Shall fold their tents, like the Arabs,
And as silently steal away.

Meal Plan

Baked tilapia, potatoes, peas
roast, potatoes, carrots
cheesy chicken and salsa skillet
curried chicken pot pie, salad- made last night and amazingly mother liked the curried chicken pot pie
hamburgers, salad
split pea soup with turkey bacon

Review-
teriaki tukey tenderloin was good
shrimp- easy as always
curried butternut squash soup- ok, sounded good, looked good until I stirred it and some of it popped and hit me in the face causing a burn. Not third degree...but anywho. It was just ok... will not make that again.
chicken mexican lasagna- good and easy. Did not cook it the full hour it said to and it was fine.
Scones- turned out a little weird to me. A bit cakey for me.
Ezekial bread- didn't make it yet. I will though.

Gwen Going Mobile

I took a photo and a movie tonight at Gwen's bath time. She is such a happy and now MOBILE young lady. I can't believe how fast she has learned all that she has learned. She's almost 9 months now.


I told mom tonight that holding on to Gwen when she wants to crawl is like holding on to a greased pig. You southerners know what I mean. (although I don't think I've ever tried to hold a greased pig...but I've seen others try)

Who's That Dude?

Today I noticed our neighbor's daffodils are blooming (which is amazing considering we had 3 inches of snow last Saturday!) and so Gwen and I walked in the backyard to see if ours were coming up. Daffodils are my absolute favorite flower. Ours are sprouting... and suddenly, I noticed this little guy on a rock in our backyard. Who could this be? In Miami I would see statues of Lazarus... something to do with warding off sickness or something and it was a Catholic custom. I'm thinking Lazarus because those statues have a cane too....but this guy is carrying something. I'm not sure what it is and he doesn't have wounds like the other Lazarus statues I've seen in Miami. Let's take a closer look.


I prefer to think of him as Charlie Chaplain with his cane bringing me a box of chocolates. Who do you say that he is? (religious pun for all you Pharisees out there- ha)

I asked Ben about the man and he said, "yeah.. I found him in the yard under a rock I believe."

Fish Burps

Is this funny to anyone else? I take a fish oil tablet every night and on the bottle it says "controls fish burps." Who knew that taking fish oil would help the fish not burp so much. (ok, it was a lame joke)


I thought you all needed to see my sweet Gwen this morning. We are anxiously awaiting Grandma Morris to come into town. Uncle Preston moves out tomorrow and she is bringing his stuff up here.

Laughs

Last night Gwen woke up around 3am. Ben went in to pat her on the back and I guess woke himself up in the process. He started joking with me and I said, "Ben, it's three in the morning. Are you even awake?" He replied, "I feel like a spring chicken in the spring jumping on a spring mattress." :)

Made Me Smile

You'll have to enlarge the photo...but I thought it was cute to see a crab driving a cab. I need to get out more.

Long Awaited Meal Plan

March is going to be a busy month. It already has been. This past weekend I went up to Indianapolis for a choir thing and next week we go to New York. My mom, sister, niece and nephew are all coming to visit, and Preston is moving out. As you can see, lots of activity in this household at the moment. I've been just making up meal plans a few days at a time lately...but finally I've made a weekly plan again.

baby food- we were out of nearly everything, so I made batches of sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, and bananas to freeze this week.

Teriaki turkey tenderloin (catchy huh?), salad with sweet peppers and carrots with a lime vinaigrette dressing, fruit salad
shrimp, sweet potato, cantaloupe
curried butternut squash soup with lime creme, Ezekiel Bread
split pea soup with turkey bacon
chicken mexican lasagna, salad
roast, cous cous, steamed broccoli

* special- made blueberry scones today to take to a play date on Friday, Ezekiel bread- trying out a new recipe for this yeast bread.

Blue Eyes Deux

I've had this song on my mind all day. The two eyes I look into most during the day are the color of denim and they are beautiful.

New Family Member

Tom Foolery

North Beach

Ok... since I aired it to the world that I went on the South Beach Diet I'd better update you on it. I made it through the two weeks of low carb living without fruit, bread, and enjoyment. (kidding) The problem is that my milk supply (sorry guys) was diminishing and I guess it was too many calories cut at once. Now I'm trying to just make healthy choices and eat more to boost my supply back up. Ok, so I had one brownie yesterday. Ah, confession is good for the soul. See ya on the North Beach!

Childsplay

More weirdness from children's books. I love this new book I got from the library called "Coco Counts" and love looking at the pipe cleaner chickens...but there is something fundamentally wrong about chickens baking a cake with eggs.


Goodnight Moon... we own it. Immensely popular book.


This page says "a quiet old lady whispering hush." Is it just me, or does it look like a rabbit to you?


this page says "goodnight nobody, goodnight mush." Did they pay someone to make this up????

Quinoa

At Whole Foods Market the other day Gwen and I bought some quinoa to try. No, I'm not speaking some Native American language. Quinoa (pronounced Keen-owa) is traditionally known as a grain, although it really is a seed in the herb category. I have only heard of it really. It was nice...but not a real knockout on the taste department. You don't really taste anything. I made this quinoa and black bean salad with it. Interesting...

Something else I made today that WAS good was my split pea soup with turkey bacon. Very satisfying and healthy! Per serving it has 236 calories and only 5 grams of fat and a whopping 17 g of fiber. I did not include a picture here cause let's face it, who really wants a picture of split pea soup? Not mwah!

1 small onion, chopped
1 T vegetable oil
4 C water
1 can chicken broth (I use powder and 1 C of liquid)
1 1/2 C dried green split peas
turkey bacon- cooked and diced (I use maybe 5-8 slices)
3 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp salt (I eyeball it)
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed (I eyeball it)
1/4 tsp dried thyme (I eyeball it)
1/4 tsp pepper (I add more cause you know I love the pepper)

in a large saucepan, saute onion in oil until tender. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 1 hour or until peas are tender. Discard bay leaves. Yields 6 servings.

I doubled the recipe today in order to have leftovers for lunches. Nothing better than a hearty soup for lunch in my humble opinion.

*So, I'm wondering.. should I have a separate blog for cooking or just include it with everything else going on in our lives? If I did have a separate blog for cooking what would I name it? Any opinions?

Somewhere Over The Rainbow (Chard)

Gwen and I went on an outing today to the Whole Foods Market here in town. I've never been in there before. I was amazed at all the vegetables there. I knew I wasn't going to buy much because it's a little pricey in there, but I just couldn't resist buying this vegetable. We're going to try it tonight. It's called Rainbow Chard. I've seen chard cooked on tv, but I've never had it, so we'll see how it goes. I thought it was beautiful.

Something I've noticed lately is that even if you buy no salt added canned tomatoes, they have high fructose corn syrup added in. I'm not sure why. I looked at this market and they had no salt added canned tomatoes without the sugar. Just interesting... keep eating healthy people... and be daring! I saw some gorgeous people in that market so they must be doing something right! (plastic surgery mayhap?)

Update On Sleep

Well... as you all know, last week I declared "sleep bootcamp" at our house. Last week Gwen slept through the night twice and almost on a third night. That's progress in my book. Somehow the little weasel made me feel sorry for her and I picked her up for a few nights. I know... I'm shooting myself in the foot. So then for the past two nights Ben has been my bootcamp assistant. He is the perfect assistant because he has a much stronger constitution than I do. Last night I heard her wake up once and she put herself back to sleep without any assistance! (that's progress in my book too) She did wake up one other time and cried for 20 minutes and had pats on the back. (that's not long... you all don't realize how determined this girl can be)

So... here's what we're doing.

1. Always put her down for naps and bedtime awake with a kiss and the same phrase- "go to sleep Gwen, I love you".
2. When she wakes up in the night to give her a few minutes to see if she can get herself back to sleep.
3. If she doesn't Ben or I will go in and put her pacifier in and pat her on the back and say "go to sleep Gwen" and leave immediately.
4. We try to wait as long as we can stand it before going in again. (of course we know she's ok because either we've been in there or we can peek around the corner of the door if we are really agile- but it's tricky, cause she's got the eyes of a hawk)
5. I have resolved to not feed her or pick her up in the night. She's not hungry. I know because she eats a lot during the day and she's made it through before.

Why so much talk about sleep? Because it is a hard thing to learn as a first time mom. I mean, there are a thousand different opinions on the subject and if you dare to share yours with another mom they look at you and you can tell they think differently and they always say "they are all different." So, this is where I will voice what we are doing in case someone wants to read it. It took me a while to resolve myself not to pick her up and feed her. It's like in my blood to respond to her or something. Through it all it amazes me that we can have a crazy night in the bootcamp and the next morning Gwen wakes up like she's the happiest little thing ever. Go figure...

Babyland

Our baby is 8 months now. My, she's getting big! I took these photos today and I thought I'd share them. I think she is such a cute little girl.


I had to act quick because she wanted to tear up the flowers and then eat a petal.

You can get a great education from children's books. This is in one of the ones we picked out from the library this week. It says, "my mommy is a capybara. I am her baby." Now when's the last time you heard of a capybara? Ben says it looks like a beaver crossed with a scottish terrier.

Something else Ben said tonight that I thought was funny. I was chopping vegetables and Ben was looking at me. I told him "don't look at me... I look like a homeless person" to which he replied "you don't look anything like a homeless person...they don't chop their own vegetables." Maybe you had to be there.

President's Day

Happy President's Day. Ben was off today so after a leisurely morning we headed out to the library. We thought we'd try a new one (cause we're just crazy like that), so we went to the largest one in our county. Walking in it is like the starship enterprise or something. I asked a lady about where a section was and she took me on a tour of the library. While we were there Ben saw some dude looking at "inappropriate" stuff and he confronted him. The guy basically just made excuses. The librarian said that unless he is breaking a law or being disruptive that they can't do anything! I was proud that Ben said something anyway. I told him he is now a part of the porn Nazis. I came up with that when I was studying for my masters degree in Miami. I was living in a dorm that had both boys and girls on the same floor. Everyday I would walk down this same hall and this guy had a poster of Pamela Anderson on his door scantily clad. I got so sick of seeing that thing that one day one of my roommates and I decided to go all vigilante. We took the poster down and brought it back to our room and took markers and painted a high collared dress on Pamela and made her hair all orange and put some studious little glasses on her. We wrote a note on there that said "no porn for you. Love- the porn Nazis." Then we put it back on his door. I think I cried I was laughing that hard.


I know you guys (whoever you are!) are probably sick of hearing about what food I'm making...but I find it interesting, so why not share! Tonight I finally made the chickpea burgers. Let's just say it wasn't McDonalds. They tasted like dry hummus really. It wasn't bad per se, just not worthy of the name burger. I ate one of them and I looked over at Ben and said "well... they're filling.. maybe a good breakfast food." He looked at me and said "yeah, in a desert where you have only been eating scorpion legs." I'll spare you the recipe, but here's what I put in them in case you are wondering. chickpeas, red kidney beans, onion, sunflower seeds, garlic, one egg and many spices including green chilis.

Here they are before cooking.


Here they are after cooking. I know they look like no bake cookies gone way bad. :)


Here is what was on the menu tonight: salad, steamed asparagus, steamed broccoli, and the chickpea things.


We finished off our meal with dessert. This is accepted in the first phase of south beach. It's called vanilla ricotta creme. I liked it.

1/2 C part-skim ricotta cheese
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 packet of splenda

Mix and enjoy! We put a little toasted almonds on there too for good measure.

The Beach

Well... I'm down 3 1/2 pounds from last week thanks to the South Beach diet. Now it's week two. I'm missing bread less, but I'd still like toast in the morning. Ben said after these two weeks he's going to eat a whole loaf himself covered in processed white sugar and dipping sauce of high fructose corn syrup. :) You see why living with him is such a joy?

Blooms

Here are a few blooms from our house. I know.. sets your heart to racing doesn't it? Hey... I'm exciting...you just have to get to know me a little better! Anyway... this first flower is an amaryllis and I got it from my sister's yard as a bulb in December. Isn't it pretty?


One of my orchids.

Brussels Sprouts

Tonight was my first experience with brussels sprouts. That's right... brussels with an s. I always thought it was "brussel sprouts", but it's "brussels sprouts." That's about the extent of what I learned today. Anyway, I found them delicious. They sort of have a cabbagey taste to them and they are soft and nice. This whole more vegetable thing has gotten me really in awe of all the different kinds of vegetables God made and their differences. Tomorrow night is chickpea burgers. I know, I know, weird. I'll let you know how it goes!

I bought frozen brussels sprouts and thawed them in some water for a bit. I then cut them in half and put them on a towel and squeezed out the water. Next I put a couple of tablespoons olive oil in a pan and heated it up on medium heat. I put the sprouts in and let them get all brownish on the edges. When they started to get a little cooked I put salt and pepper and minced garlic in. I'd say maybe 3 cloves. (I had two frozen bags worth of sprouts) If I were to do it again, I think I'd put a little cayenne pepper in there for some added heat.


Here they are!

So our menu tonight was salad with cauliflower bits and tomatoes on there and the sprouts and roasted chicken and peppers and hummus. You guys let me know if you try something daring. I'd like to try endive, fennel, or artichokes next.

Valentine's Day

I asked Ben last night what he would like for Valentine's Day. He replied "a live chipmunk." Now what am I going to do? :)

Family Time

My wonderful mother-in-law Pam (notice that I stick that in every chance I get) and Ben's younger brother John (he's wonderful too) came over last night. I was trying to capture Gwen playing the pot.

On The Home Front

Well, Ben and I are doing this diet called "South Beach Diet." What do we eat you might be asking... or not asking...but anyway, here's an example of a dinner. Tonight we had shrimp sauted in garlic, a little olive oil, minced ginger, and spices. We had a salad with cauliflower and cucumbers and cherry tomatoes. We also had zucchini baked with parmesan cheese on there. Life on the beach ain't half bad.

This is Gwen eating her dinner. She had green beans with avocado. She has become quite the eater. Today alone she ate mango and pears + oatmeal cereal for breakfast, butternut squash + rice cereal and a bit of banana for lunch, and banana and green beans and avocado for dinner. I mean, she's got quite an appetite for a little almost 8 month old!!

On other news, I started "sleep bootcamp" with Gwen last night. I decided that she needed an opportunity to learn how to get herself back to sleep. Last night was not spectacular, but it was a start. I'll spare you all the details, but just know I made sure she was fine and she is much loved and with this "bootcamp" there are no pushups she must perform.

Eggceptional

This morning as I was about to get some eggs out to make breakfast something caught my eye. Here it is:

Meal Plan

Update: This meal plan I posted will have to wait. Ben and I have decided to go onto the South Beach diet for a while and see what happens. Ben's brother John had huge success with it. We jokingly call what we've been eating the "North Beach Diet".

chicken cacciatore
beef stew with white wine and mustard
sweet and savory pork stew with fruit
pork stew with cider, carrots, and lima beans
spinach and feta bread pudding, deviled eggs
chicken with rosemary dumplings

Can you tell I got a library book about stews?

*Swedish Rye Bread- this time making it with the orange peel and juice
*Baby food- mangos

Review from last week:
Black Beans- they turned out pretty good. I added a little turkey bacon in there for flavor and I think that was nice. It takes a long time to cook beans from dried.
Indian chicken and rice casserole- was very good. It was a little labor intensive as all Indian dishes are...but worth it. I love the basmati rice.
Veggie enchiladas- I think I could be a vegetarian on these. These were great and I just used some of my black beans I had made earlier in the week.
pizza and quiche- still haven't made, but will
Turkey chili- not on the plan from last week, but I made it.
Baby food- instead of peas I made green beans cause they were on sale at the market. She hasn't tried them yet, but I think they are much better than the jar kind you can buy.
Swedish Rye Bread- turned out very nice I think. I learned to get good slices (thin) you need to let the loaf completely cool.

Blue Eyes

This is the outfit I bought for Gwen yesterday. She's so pretty!

So True

Creepy

Today I went with a friend to a store with baby clothes. Look what I found in there. It's an XL sized flannel footy sleeper. I was greatly amused and disturbed at the same time.

Conversations With Gwen- 7 1/2 months

I've been working on getting her to say "da da". She loves the curious George figurine.

Encouragement For Today

Someone said this to me today: "the future happens one day at a time"

Isn't it crazy how something so obvious and simple can encourage? The little everyday moments add up to a day... and every day is important. Every day significant. The reminder of today... truly appreciate every moment of your day. Every little seemingly insignificant ones, cause they're not insignificant to God.

Once An Arafat Man

I just finished reading Tass Saada's book "Once An Arafat Man." Ben got it for me for Christmas. It is a true story account about a former PLO sniper and how he came to know Christ. Here are some things I'll take away from reading this book:

1. The Lord used both a friend of his and a vision to bring him to repentance. I thought immediately of my Egyptian neighbors just next door. How am I showing love to them? I have heard of other Muslims coming to know the Lord through dreams and visions. I hadn't ever heard this verse: Isaiah 65:1 "I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, 'Here am I, here am I.' Isn't it amazing how God is so merciful even when we don't ask?

2. I had heard Tass' testimony once before, but I had no idea just how tough this guy was. I mean, shooting your math teacher... aye carumba! (his teacher lived by the way)

3. I also was impressed at how brave he was when facing his family after his conversion. Honor killing is just so foreign to my mind of course being an American. I can't even imagine how painful all that was.

4. I also was amazed at his trip in the van all over. He just got into a van and started talking to people in masques and temples and churches. It challenged me to think if I'd be willing to go out like that with no plan. Am I really listening to God on a daily basis?

5. I was also blessed to read about his ministry to people in the Gaza strip now. He is working ultimately for people from all sides to know the love of God.

Legacy

What a happy little girl Gwen is! For the most part Gwen has these expressions throughout her day. She especially likes it when I turn on music and dance around. Although I'm ok with whatever she enjoys, I do hope she enjoys music. I got out one of my favorite children's CDs today. It's one that you won't find at Wal-Mart. It's a CD of a teacher that has recorded her favorite songs that she taught the children in my hometown. Her name is Polly Easterwood... what an incredible name huh? Anyway, I love her songs. When I taught school the kids LOVED these songs. I think of girl scout songs and hymns and silly songs that I'd like Gwen to know. I mean, you'd be surprised to know how many kids I've met that don't know "Amazing Grace" or the national anthem... or worse, never have music in their home. I think everyone should know songs like "Mares Eat Oats and Does Eat Oats" and "Eggbert The Easter Egg". One of my new favorite songs is from a CD that my sister had of nursery rhymes set to music. These are the lyrics to the one I'm obsessed with (so if you hear me say "dilly dilly" sometime you'll know):

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,
Lavender's green
When you are King, dilly dilly,
I shall be Queen

Who told you so, dilly dilly,
Who told you so?

'Twas my own heart, dilly dilly,
That told me so

Call up your friends, dilly, dilly
Set them to work
Some to the plough, dilly dilly,
Some to the fork

Some to the hay, dilly dilly,
Some to thresh corn
Whilst you and I, dilly dilly,
Keep ourselves warm

Lavender's blue, dilly dilly,
Lavender's green
When you are King, dilly dilly,
I shall be Queen

Who told you so, dilly dilly,
Who told you so?
'Twas my own heart, dilly dilly,
That told me so

I think this smile looks like Ben. Look at those chompers!

My Dream

I have a dream. I'm just in the planning phases now, but I'd like to plant a little vegetable garden this spring. I'd also like to have pots of herbs on my deck this summer. I've been out in the yard thinking and writing down vegetables I'd like to try to grow. Do you think I can grow all of these? Beets, onions, peas, buttercrunch lettuce (these are my early crops), and then carrots, cucumber (bush variety), pole beans, tomatoes, and maybe butternut squash as my slower yielding crops. I'd also like rosemary, dill, cilantro, sweet basil and chives in some pots on the deck. I may have to cut down on these ideas once I stake it out and all. Last summer I was heavy with child :) and just couldn't do any type of gardening. This summer I'm determined to give it a go. Any experienced gardeners out there? You know... isn't it funny how as you grow older you really want to start gardening and canning and that type of stuff? I think I'm getting old. Tonight I bought jeans with an elastic waistband. I don't care... at least I'll be comfortable bending over and grabbing my fresh veggies in my own garden one day.

This Guy Is Amazing

Meal Plan

A little late in coming...but here it is:

black beans, rice, corn- no, we don't eat that many black beans... I actually AM going to make it this week
potato soup & salad with chicken- made last night
indian chicken and rice casserole
veggie enchiladas, green beans
homemade pizza, salad, hominy (still didn't have that)
quiche (didn't make from last week either)

baby food- peas

review from last week:

Amish potato casserole: it was ok, it made a TON
chef mis-er-ly beefy mac was received well by all.. also made a LOT
eggplant parmesan- I've discovered that eggplant is like a sponge and soaks up all the olive oil in the skillet. I felt like I was making pancakes, which I stink at. It came out ok. I wasn't too thrilled with my first experience cooking with eggplant.
jerk chicken- as my brother said "what IS this?" I told him it was supposed to be jerk chicken and we both were amazed at the spicyness of this dish. Loved it with all the ginger.
Hummus came out better this time. It's really easy to make and I like that.

Olive Ewe (I love you)

Some more Ben moments tonight...

He's recently added one to the silly family I mentioned before. It's "Dear Gus".

He uses "shenanigans" all the time now. He says it with the emphasis on the she part... like "SHEnanigans". According to Webster.com it means 1. a devious trick used especially for an underhanded purpose or 2. tricky or questionable practices or conduct.

He has got to be the funniest person I think I've ever met. I love him.

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Hawk with Psoriasis

This photo was taken today in our backyard. A hawk in our backyard! I love those birds!

Today I also went to see a reumatologist. I hope I'm spelling that right. Remember the admission that I made to having psoriasis of the scalp? Well... it turns out after I've gone to an orthopedic doctor and had some blood drawn that my knees are swollen for a reason. I thought it was because I taught some kids to square dance in Miami...but no. The psoriasis has given me arthritis. That's right... it's called "psoriatic arthritis." Only 10% of us lucky people with psoriasis develop arthritis as a result. When he told me I just sat there in stunned silence. It only has affected my knees...they feel tender and I can't bend them all the way. Here's the crazy thing.. I can't take the major drugs for this because I'm breastfeeding. He prescribed a medicine for me to see if he can help it out....but the drawback is it will make me more hungry. MORE HUNGRY??? Wouldn't you know that the very moment he said that to me my stomach growled loud enough for him to hear. Talk about embarrassing. He doesn't know it, but I'm sitting there thinking, "I'm not going to take that pill." G.I. Joe always said "knowledge is half the battle"... well, maybe he's right. :)