Sugar addiction? Really?

Recently homemade banana cream pie... at My Beloved's request.

Have I mentioned before that My Beloved doesn't like sugar?

Oh, he loves all sorts of things made with sugar, especially all things pie... he just doesn't like sugar.  Thinks it's bad for us.  I, on the other hand, think it should be part of every food group.  Not it's own... part of each one.

You understand.

He is coming from a family history of diabetes and... research.  Turns out, sugar really is bad for us.

I am coming from a family of left over cake for breakfast and no one judging when you eat your 10th s'more. 

Some of you understand.

Nearly six years ago when we began changing our diet to a more natural, more healthful one, we had to address sugar.  We stopped buying regular old "store sugar" (as they call it in the Little House books) and started buying the less processed more expensive sugar.  For a while it was only the very brown, strange tasting Rapadura sugar for us.  Then the slightly-more-processed-but-still-better-than- "store-sugar" entered our house in the form of evaporated cane juice crystals.  Way better.  Problem is, I really didn't change the amount of sugar we used... I just used better (more expensive) sugar.  Sure, I also worked raw honey in here and there, but mostly, it was just the "better" sugar.

Turns out, it's still not all that good for you.  At least not in the quantities that make me happy.  And then there's the "occasional" restaurant dessert or chocolates just because that add back in all that bad processed sugar.  It adds up to a lot of sugar pretty quickly.  Not good for us at all.

Not that I cared.

Then the fall after Little Man was born, I detected a case of Mastitis coming on.  Nasty thing, mastitis, if you've never had it.  And once you get it, you need to get rid of it quick and antibiotics are the way to do that.  I didn't want to take the antibiotics, so I hit it hard as soon as I detected those signs.  Lots of fresh garlic and herbal tea and the like.  Then My Beloved reminded me, "You know," he said, "If you're going to all this work to fight the bacteria, you shouldn't be eating sugar.  Sugar only weakens your immune system."

I wanted to fight that infection without antibiotics, but I wasn't sure I wanted to do it sans sugar.   Still, I grumbled a bit and then accepted the fact that he was right.  No sugar for me until this infection was gone.

Ahem.

That very weekend we went to a wedding for a couple in our church.  Sweet, simple, little wedding.  They did such a great job making it simple and beautiful.  I already knew I wouldn't be having cake.  Sigh.  Between the ceremony and reception, we were ushered into the courtyard for a short time while they readied the room.

During that time I had to walk through the reception room for something and I saw dishes of chocolates on each of the tables.  My first impulse was to reach over and grab one on my way by.  And then the deep sadness when I realized I couldn't have any.

As I walked down the hall toward the church office, I was upset.  So. Upset!

Over chocolate.

It was then that I realized, for the first time, that I had a problem.

Sugar had become an idol.

Over the next couple weeks I had little to no sugar.  And it became easier over time.  Then over the Christmas season I lost my resolve and my momentum.  And again I was eating more sugar than My Beloved wanted me to.  And even being sneaky about it.  It was aweful.


A few weeks ago, this post was waiting in my inbox.  I read the title, "Freedom from Sugar Addiction", and promptly decided not to read it.  I knew it was going to hurt and I didn't have the time or attention to give it at that time.  I saved it for later.  Over the course of the next few days, before even reading the post, I began to be convicted about my sugar problem.  Finally I read the post.


Next:  What it meant for me.

Labels: In the Kitchen, Life Lessons for Mommy

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 9:19 AM 2 Comments

Winning My Man's Heart: The Biscuits and Gravy Edition

Another recipe I'd never tried... one of his favorites.

Now, in my defense... we don't usually eat sausage.  That makes it a little hard to do this recipe.  But when he brought lard home from our favorite farm a few weeks ago, biscuits went on the menu and he went out and bought some sausage. :)

Yum!  And easy!

One more piece of his heart forever in my hand. :)  I'm so glad.

Labels: As it happens..., In the Kitchen, Prince Charming

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 6:00 AM 0 Comments

Buying in Bulk ~ A snapshot

Labels: In the Kitchen, Keeping My Home

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 6:00 AM 1 Comments

The Way to a Man's Heart

Over the years my sweet husband has commented about how he'd love it if I made a number of things.  We've been married more than 7 years now and I've yet to touch most of them.  But I'm determined to change that.  I'm done sticking with what I know.  I'm going to branch out.  Add some spice (er... sweetness?) to his life.

So this past week I took a stab at a Banana Cream Pie... without all the "instant" ingredients many recipes call for.  Completely from scratch.  And not just whipped cream on top either... real meringue. 

He loved it!  And it was easy!  I'd never tried a cream pie... or the meringue.  Now I've tried both.

And it was sooooo good!

There's half a Lemon Meringue Pie in the fridge now.  Another I'd never tried before.  So much easier than I ever thought.  The meringue didn't turn out as well this time, but it's still really good.  And now I know to be more careful.

I wonder what I'll try next.

My Beloved keeps telling me that it's true... the way to a man's heart really IS through his stomach!


Here's to many more years of winning my man's heart! 



Linking to:

Labels: In the Kitchen, Prince Charming, With These Hands

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 7:00 AM 0 Comments

Dinner... and winners!

Kristin, who said...

I love potty trained kids, too!! I only have one in diapers right now and it is too easy. :-) Benjamin potty-trained over the summer and like we did with our other kids, we day and night trained at the same time. I'd love to hear how you potty-trained. Even though I've done it a few times now, I'm always open to new ideas. 

and...

 Meghan said...

She's two and goes in the potty when she's in a good mood. I've never prayed so much for "potty" days in my life. Hoping a song is the key :)

Congratulations ladies!!!  Send me an email (to babychaser (at) gmail (dot) com [please adjust the address to standard format before clicking send]) with your address and I'll get your "Potty Time, You can do it" kit out as soon as I can!


Don't you just love giveaways???  I may have to find a way to do more.  I'm just feeling so happy!

Labels: As it happens..., In the Kitchen, Raising Children, With These Hands

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 8:14 PM 0 Comments

This weeks plans

When the weather is nice, we try to spend as much time outside as possible!

Just today I've implemented a new schedule.  A much looser and hopefully more forgiving one than those I've attempted over the last couple months.  It's my hope that I'll get to the house, the homeschooling and the projects without the stress and failure.  Hmmm... we'll see. :)  And I've deliberately made it so that baby's feedings should fit right in once she's here and we've normalized a bit. 

Most of today has been behind.  It all came from not starting the week fresh.  Nope... instead the day started with a mound of laundry on the couch and dishes in the sink.  But I'm not letting it get me down.  I trudge forward.  (You?)

My girl's treasures!

We missed much of our inside play time and abridged our outside play significantly (but we did go outside!!!)  This is the hour I've scheduled for our "discovery" play time (one of these days I'll post our updated and more realistic schooling goals for this year.)  We did get to our Disciplined Learning at the table and did most of what I'd hoped, but this was running behind too.

Lunch... late.  But don't worry, nap time was right on schedule.  At least close enough for me.  And now it's quiet in the house (mostly).  Though I did get the beans on, they're running a bit late.  And the bread didn't get made... again.  Oh well.  Maybe tomorrow!

On the plus side?  I have 5 meals in the freezer for after baby comes (most of them made last week!)  My sewing machine is all better, so I've been making progress on the sewing front. 

Baby Shower gift this weekend!

I love how it turned out!

• Monday:  Ranch Beans (x2 for the freezer!)
• Tuesday:  Easy Lasagna  (divided to put half in the freezer!), garlic bread, and salad
• Wednesday:  Saucy Broccoli Chicken Bake (x2 for the freezer!) with Cheese Bread (divided to put half in the freezer!) and salad
• Thursday:  Tacos (1.5 pounds meat divided into thirds... 2 portions for freezer), refried beans (+ some for the freezer!)
• Friday:  Chicken Pot Pie (x2 for freezer)
• Saturday:  Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli, salad, texas toast

This is a very assuming menu, I know.  Should I fail to make something on a given night, it's bump to next week.  And hopefully by then, it'll all be in the freezer!!!


Other plans this week include working on Sweet Pea's quilt (the piecing of the top is completed, I just have the boarder [with some applique] left to do before sandwiching and quilting!), My Beloved's quilt (I'll pick at this one in between others), and starting to look at Sweet Pea's spring/summer wardrobe needs.


Do you have any special plans this week???

Labels: Getting Ready for Baby, In the Kitchen, Keeping My Home

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 2:42 PM 0 Comments

2012 "Homesteading" Goals... In the house

From one of those meals I actually cooked at home!

Ok... so these could be considered good, old fashioned, homemaking goals.  Or goals for the keeper at home.  Or any other name you want to give it.  These goals would be goals if we weren't on a path to become "homesteaders" one day.  But to keep everything symmetrical, and since a "homestead" contains both an outside and an inside, I'm keeping it my "Homesteading" Goals.  And since tomorrow is the last day of January and we will officially be in the second month of the new year (and thus, the year really won't be new anymore), I figure I should get these goals posted, let alone written!

In the sidebar you'll see my list of goals before baby comes (just over 6 weeks now!).  That list may or may not grow longer as I think of things and will hopefully show my progress as time passes (though my new sewing machine is having a problem so I won't be sewing tonight... hopefully that will be fixed soon so I can continue to work on those projects!  'Cause I was really starting to feel like I was making headway.)  All this to say... I won't mention "before baby" specific goals in this post.  Anymore.  Sorry.  

So what are my homemaking goals for this year?  To be honest, they are vast.  And they range from all sorts of topics like cleaning to mothering to personal to whatever else my life touches in the day to day.  Because, really, doesn't it all play into our homes?  So I guarantee that not every one of my goals will be listed here.  In some cases I'll generalize (you'll appreciate me for that)... in others, maybe not so much.

One more thing... since we are adding baby number four (5 and under) in approximately 6 weeks and I know I will see some set backs as we adjust to being a family of 6 in 700 square feet, I'm establishing the goal "date" as being by the end of the year.  Hopefully in most cases I'll see these goals met way earlier than that, but since these are goals for 2012, I'm allowing myself all year to see victory without having "missed the mark" on any one of them. :)

Here we go:

• To establish a house cleaning routine I can follow... and to actually follow it faithfully!  (i.e. to have a clean home... to my husband's standards, not mine!)
• To plan and actually prepare meals (i.e. to eat at least 20 out of 21 meals a week at home... without getting take out)
• To have a meek and quiet spirit (a life long quest to be sure... but I'd love to see actual progress this year!)
• To stop yelling!
• To live life "on purpose" (home, marriage, children... all of it!)
• To seek to tie heart strings between me and my children.  
• To do more sewing for my home and family.

So there you have it.  I'm sure there are more... and I'm sure there are little steps to each of these big goals.  But now you can see a bit of my heart... and I've taken the time to put it down for my own review down the road!

Ultimately I wanted to list a single goal for this post...

1. To find, buy, and move to a new home.

But since I have no control over that at. all.  We'll stick with the ones I listed above.  What are your goals for your home this year?  


Joining in here.

Labels: Home Making, Homesteading, In the Kitchen, Keeping My Home, Raising Children

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 10:09 PM 1 Comments

Meal Planning when you just don't want to

Our families must eat... like it or not.  And, like it or not, it's our responsibility to feed them. 

Last week I promised a little more than the practically ready to eat method of serving dinner to your family.  I really did intend to do so, but as often happens in our lives, things don't go as smoothly as planned.  :)  That's what we're talking about right?  Life that isn't going as smoothly as planned.  So what do we do?  We improvise. 

Instead of giving you my example of menus you could follow, I'm going to share a few resources from out on the web.  I hope they are helpful to you in getting your family fed.

• Hillbilly Housewife shares some "how tos" on menu planning and gives a few examples.
• Menus for Moms subscription for busy moms could be helpful!
• Simple Mom shares some tips and a month of meal plans!
• Another menu help subscription based on where you shop or other special needs from E-mealz.
• Some blank planning templates for you to print from Donna Young.

And don't miss this:  Every Monday hundred(s) of bloggers share their weekly menu at Menu Plan Monday!

Then of course there are my old sample menus as a mom of toddlers!  Feel free to download and use them... or just grab ideas and make your own!

Really though, it comes down to having a plan you can lean on in the trying times... or everyday.  Whatever the case may be!   

Since I'm soooo uninspired today, can any of you share what you do when you just don't feel like you can make dinner?  I'd love to see your ideas!

Labels: Depression, In the Kitchen

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 2:59 PM 0 Comments

The next step

Friday we cleared off that kitchen table (or wherever you take your meals) and got started on washing those dishes.  How'd you do?  Did you keep up with it over the weekend?  You are the only one who can do this.  Let me tell you, after we got the kids in bed for nap time yesterday afternoon, I was looking forward to bringing out my sewing machine and working on a project.  I was so excited to get started that I fully intended to leave the breakfast/lunch dishes in the sink for later.  Then I reminded myself that choosing a "something fun" over my responsibility to keep up this home was a selfish choice (after all, My Beloved would have to look at that mess all afternoon too!... and who knows how badly it would set back dinner) and that I needed to just "do it enyway".

So I did.  At least, I decided, I could rinse and organize them.  But as I finished that part up, I decided it's not all that much more to just get them washed and I'd be so much happier if I did.  And I was right.  I didn't want to be washing those dishes instead of working on my quilt, but as I was washing up the last few things, I felt so good.  I'd done right.  If you do well, will you not be accepted?

Yes!


So this morning... did you wake up to clean dishes and cleared table???  I do hope so!  And I hope that, no matter how hard it was to make yourself do it (I know that sometimes it can be the hardest thing there is!), you felt that sense of accomplishment at what you'd done.  You took care of your home... fulfilling your God given role!  (If not?  Every morning is new!  Don't beat yourself up... get going!)

Now, don't stop there!  There is much more to breaking out of depression and keeping your home and caring for your family than just dishes.  We're just taking these things one step at a time.  You can do this!  But trying to do it all at once probably won't work for you.  You'll just give up and end up back in bed focusing on your failure.  Don't do it!

So where do we go from here???  There is no particular order all this should be done in.  I'm just picking the next logical one for me.  The way I see it, now that your dishes are done and your table is cleared, the next priority is to feed your family!

Don't forget, these steps I'm walking you through are assuming you're starting all over.  Maybe you've been sick so long you don't know how to begin again.  Perhaps you've been depressed and unable to cope.  Maybe others have been helping out since the birth of your last baby and you are feeling the need to get back on track yourself but don't know how.  Whatever the reason, you've decided (or I've told you) that it's time to "stop being lazy, get up, and do your job!"  (Again... I'm talkin' to myself here!)

How many nights have I failed to have a dinner ready for my family.  And justifiable or not, it always leaves me feeling miserable.  I turn into a grumpy mommy, a downcast wife.  Instead of being able to greet my sweet husband at the door with a smile and a kiss, I am laden with guilt, knowing I've let him down again.  I haven't done my job!

So let's do our job!

The most important part about this is to have a plan of some kind.  Your plan with look different than mine, I guarantee!  And, hopefully, your plan will grow as this "keeper at home" thing gets easier for you.  For now, let's start as easy as possible.  Again, this will look different for each of you... it all depends where you're starting out.

For those of you who've been reading here a while, you may know that we aim to eat a pretty healthy diet... cooking from scratch as much as possible (this is certainly the reason we end up eating out as much as we do... I fail regularly and don't have a back up plan!)  I must warn you that what I'm about to propose is nothing like that.  What I'm about to sit here and tell you may leave some of you confused about what we do in our home.  I'm not telling you what is right for us.  The purpose of these posts is to help you get up and get going.  I want to start where you may be.  Take these tips and adjust them to fit where you are.

Now that I've said that... let's get started!

Let's assume your normal is no plan at 5pm.  Been there!  And let's assume that you're either too depressed to think long on any one topic or that you have so many young children than you're too distracted to think long on any one topic.  Either way, it's near impossible to come up with a plan... all. day. long.  Been there too!  I'll also assume that the answer found is either to pick up fast food or to let each man, woman and child fend for themselves.

My recommendation?  This is not the time to try getting impressive meals on the table.  It's so tempting to go from never have dinner ready to wanting to surprise our husbands with his favorite... or something really nice.

Just get something on the table!  But you must plan ahead.  Here is a very simple "getting started" menu plan:

• Monday:  Frozen pizza, bag of premixed salad greens with dressing
• Tuesday:  Hotdogs and Baked Beans (start with a can of Baked Beans, cut up hot dogs and warm together in a pan.  Serve in a bowl.  Easy.
• Wednesday: Chicken Strips with Shake and Bake, ketchup or Ranch Dressing for dip, mac n cheese, celery sticks
• Thursday:  Cheese burgers (buy the pre-made burgers in the frozen foods section for extra ease!) and frozen steak or crinkle fries
• Friday: Velveeta Zesty BBQ Chicken (or other flavor), apple wedges
• Saturday: Tacos (ground beef/turkey, taco seasoning packet, lettuce, tomato, cheese, etc.), refried beans
• Sunday:  Hamburger Helper (check link for coupon!), baby carrots, applesauce

Again, remember... we are all starting at different places.  Some of you have never used any of these products before and others already have some of them in your pantry.  Some of you were used to a less processed approach to meals before things started to unravel at home... this is just a place to start.  Not every week will look like this for you.  Maybe you'll use only a few of these to give you a couple days to come up with something more.  Perhaps you'll need to repeat this menu for a whole month.

Perhaps you're ready for a little bit more than this, but not much.  Do your own thing!   Here are a couple more ideas... 5 dinners in a bag, Betty Crocker Recipe finder.

Later this week I'll try to share a less processed "getting started" menu for you.

In the mean time... keep those dishes done.  And don't let "failure" keep you from starting again!


Participating with Meal Plan Monday!

Labels: Depression, In the Kitchen, Keeping My Home

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 4:29 PM 0 Comments

2012 "Homestead" Goals... Putting up

Last week I shared our goals for the garden this year.  "Putting up" may sound like it should be attached to that set of goals, but in fact for us, it's different.  Our garden has yet to give much to put up at all, and while it is a goal to put up and use up all my harvest this year (as opposed to other years), today I'm talking about other places we can gather food to put up.

Last year I had some very deliberate, though unwritten goals about gathering our food from local (and semi local) orchards and fields.  However between weather (moldy strawberries in our area due to rain) Lyme Disease, and early pregnancy, we only really got over to the blueberry picking.  This year I reset my goals for gathering and canning!

We'd like to pick and can/put up the following:

Strawberries
We found a semi-local organic strawberry patch for pick your own.  This past year they weren't able to open due to the excessive rain and mold.  Hopefully this year we can go as we like to use these for jam and smoothies through the year.

Blueberries
We also have a local organic source for picking our own blueberries.  I'd like to have several gallons of berries, at least, to freeze for smoothies, muffins and pancakes through the year.

Cherries
We've picked these over the last few years, but don't haven't tried organic yet as there isn't one close to us.  We freeze the sweet ones for smoothies.  This past year we picked up some pre-pitted sour cherries to can for pie (they are still waiting in the freezer for the canning part) while we were in Michigan.  This next year we're hoping to drive the hour + to pick our own sweet and sour cherries from an organic farm.  I'd like enough sour cherries to put up 12 or more quarts for pie and enough sweet ones for smoothies all year.

Peaches/Nectarines/Apricots
We've never really done this before (though we got a peck to try out canning this past summer) and I'm excited about finding an organic pick your own source and about having these fruits around for eating throughout the year.  I'd love 30-40 quarts or more put up, but we'll see how the summer goes.   

Rasberries/Wineberries
These are available to us on the property of My Beloved's office and here on our street.  We often get between 1-2 gallons worth for making jam.  I usually combine them with some strawberries and cherries for what I call "Cherry Berry Jam".  I'm hoping to get at least this many!

Apples
For the past few years we've picked up 5 bushels of apples to can for pie filling and applesauce in the fall.  It gets us through the whole year of applesauce and the kids love it!  This past year our fall was crazy and I wasted about a bushel of them... my goal is to waste nothing this year.  Even if it means getting fewer apples to start with!


There may be more I'm not thinking of now, but these are my main goals for what we put up this year.

Do you gather from local orchards and such to put up??  I'd love to know what you do!

Labels: Homesteading, In the Kitchen

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 10:19 AM 0 Comments

Homestead Blessings: The Art of Cooking

This video series has been high on my list of things to own and watch for a long while.  I was just afraid of whether or not they would actually be worth it, so I keep putting off spending the money.  But this year for Christmas two of them appeared "under the tree".



The first one I viewed was The Art of Cooking.  I have to admit that, I was a little afraid it would be a silly waste of money.  Is it really going to be worth it?  I already know the basics of cooking (not that I'm good at it)... and my daughter isn't old enough to get anything out of it yet.  But I watched... wondering if the Candle Making or Crafting or, even Gardening, videos would have been a better first pick.  But I watched.  I figured that if I like the basics premise of how they teach and the "southern charm" everyone keeps talking about, then I could just go ahead and get the rest I don't have.

But let me tell you... I am a visual learner!  I get so lost in reading recipes and hearing how people do things.  These ladies walked me through several recipes for each meal of the day.  And they all look so good.  Best of all, they made it look so simple.  Now, of course, I know they did some time lapse stuff, skipping the longer parts of sifting, etc.  But still, it has encouraged me that I can get in that kitchen and do some nice things for my family!

My favorite part???  They use many of the ingredients we've started using in our own kitchen... fresh ground whole wheat flour (though they use unbleached white sometimes too), coconut oil... and of course the cast iron pans!  I wondered how much of what they taught would really be transferable, but in reality... from homemade salad dressing (which I actually feel brave enough to try now), to apples and onions (a recipes I first read about in the Little House Books), to a new pancake recipe I may just have to try (and many more), EVERYTHING should transfer quite nicely into our home!



I look forward to watching these again and again... and to interjecting what I learn from them into my own kitchen... my own opportunities to bless my sweet family with home cooked meals!


(I'm sure my husband just got excited that I got this video first!!)  :)

Labels: Homesteading, In the Kitchen, Passing it On

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 6:51 AM 0 Comments

Our Special Thanksgiving... simply!

 This Thanksgiving was very different for us this year... and yet, very much the same. 

The same in that we were just us.  We usually are.  No family near by.  Friends invite us to join their big dinners, but we haven't in years. 

But different?  It was different because for the first time in years (since kids maybe) I made a point to make the day special.  Just for us! 

Very tasty stuffing... my first attempt.  Can't wait to eat the left overs!

We've been reading about and talking about Thanksgiving for more than a week now.  Learning about the pilgrims, etc.

Maybe next year we'll do some sort of count down.  Every night the kids would ask if "tomorrow" would be Thanksgiving. 

It worked because at 7:15 I heard all sorts of noise coming from down the hall as the children had awakened each other excited that it was Thanksgiving... soon they were running into my room, leaving a very displeased baby alone in the dark! :)

Mmmmm... and I may have heavied on the pecans... it was like Pecan pie on sweet potatoes!

The other thing I did to make it special, was to plan ahead!  This isn't something I'm always good about following through on.  And not everything got done.  But some did... for instance, the sweet potatoes were cooked and in the fridge a couple days ago, only waiting for they very yummy topping to be added this morning (I subbed our Evaporated Cane Juice for the brown sugar, real eggs for fake, and left out the lemon extract.)

Last night I was making cherry pie and the cinnamon rolls we had for a special breakfast. 

My Beloved smoked this chicken on our grill... yum!

We simplified!  It was just us, and even though part of me wanted all the traditional bells and whistles for our special dinner, our little family of 5 doesn't need that much food!  We left out the mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, and even let the cranberries go at the last minute for sanity and energy's sake!  Having a "let it go" attitude about some of those things helped me stay a nicer and less stressed mommy!

We also ate chicken instead of turkey.  Monday or Tuesday I realized we hadn't picked up our free turkey from the grocery store... and they are always frozen.  Instead of freaking out or taking a stress causing chance, we decided to pick up the free turkey later and planned the chicken I already had thawing in the fridge for today! 

An extra step in simplifying for me was to let My Beloved prepare the bird!  He enjoys being in the kitchen (I'm blessed!) and with my permission to do whatever he wanted, it's even more fun for him.  We borrowed a smoker and put it out on the grill!  Mmmmm...

My first attempt at cherry pie... in a new pie plate.

 Yet another way to make it special???  Factor in family favorites!  My Beloved has been making little comments about cherry pie for years.  This year we actually bought a bunch of sour cherries to put up, but I had yet to try a pie.  As you can tell, it didn't go great... and it was way too sweet.  I think we'll cut the sugar in half next time, or just try a different recipe entirely, but it was special because of the heart behind it. 

Special dinnerware and glasses can take it over the top!

Another way I worked to make it special was to set a pretty table (disregard the boxes behind!).  Yet without loosing the simple.  The picture at the top shows our simple table.  The addition of a colorful table runner, candle and the napkins I let my daughter pick out for today made it pretty!  The extra special glasses that even the children got to drink out of made this a meal they were super excited about.

Found this little idea... kids love them!

Lavender... never flowered, but maybe I can save this!

Cleaning up the yard for me.

 The rest of what didn't look as nice I tossed on the grass and Tornado gathered it up for me when we were done.  Such a helper!!!

That was our Thanksgiving... in gory detail! I hope yours was as special!

Blessings!

Labels: As it happens..., In the Kitchen, Making Memories

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 8:31 PM 2 Comments

I've been busy... and a finished quilt!

It's true... not around the blog (at least this time) equals busy! 

Back on the first Saturday of the month, we photographed a wedding...



  We had a lot of fun... but it always takes a couple days to recover!  Not to mention that it means hours and hours of post processing to get the 1800 images that we took (yeah... a little out of hand you think?) down to the barely manageable 800!  I'm still working on it... though I'm now in phase 2, and that's not as time sensitive! 


Meanwhile, we picked up 5 bushels of apples just before the wedding...

 And we've been making applesauce ALL. WEEK.  And canning it too, but I've yet to take pictures of that part. 


And I mentioned before the wedding that I was hoping to finish Tornado's quilt.  I didn't.  I was so close, but I didn't.  However...

As of last night (for the sewing) and this afternoon (for the wash and dry), it's done!  Took some of the last minutes of semi acceptable light to get a few pictures for you, and tonight it will be on the bed! 

Happy sigh.  Maybe tonight I'll start cutting out Sweet Pea's.

Labels: As it happens..., In the Kitchen, With These Hands

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 5:06 PM 1 Comments