Finders Keeper Friday, Sept. 7, 2012

Another Friday, another thing that I love, love, love.  This time I am going to introduce you to Bountiful Baskets.  Bountiful Baskets is a nationwide food co-op that provides foods to you that are either locally grown or grown by small, independent farmers.  I cannot tell you how much I love this program.
For a weekly contribution of a mere $15.00 plus a $1.50 handling fee (hey, they have to pay for that gas to get the produce to you somehow!), you get quite a bit of produce!  This coming Saturday will be our third week contributing to the co-op and receiving a produce basket.  The word "basket" doesn't really do the amount of food you get justice.  It is more like two boxes of food.  And by boxes, I mean two diaper case size boxes.  For example, last week we received the following:

1 bag of peaches
1 bag of nectarines
1 three pound bag of onions
several more onions
7 red potatoes
3 heads of broccoli
5 tomatoes
1 bunch of bananas
1 pineapple
2 cantaloupes
1 celery

I know for a fact that I could not go to the grocery store or even the farmer's market and buy this much produce for a lower price than what I contributed to the Bountiful Basket co-op.
Another beauty of this co-op is that it is all volunteer run.  So if you are really interested and want one in your area, you can easily start a pick up site.  In fact, even though we have a pick up site in our area, I would prefer to have one closer to home.  So when Nicole is just a little bit older, I am strongly considering starting one in our little town.  I might even help my sister start a pick up site in her town, as they don't even have one yet!  Hard to believe, considering how wonderful this program is.
If you would like information, be sure to visit their website at www.bountifulbaskets.org.  I guarantee you that you will love this program as much as I do!

Disclaimer:  I did not receive any compensation for the above post.  It is solely my own opinion, and Bountiful Baskets doesn't even know I exist.  Well, they do, but they don't know my blog exists.  Again, just for the record.

Finders Keepers Fridays

Ah, Finders Keepers Fridays.  The day when I get to gush about something I found and loved!  Do you dislike wearing makeup as much as I do?  Or do you absolutely love wearing it?  Me, not so much.  At one point I did enjoy it.  But now, with a preschooler and an infant, it has become more of a chore to wear makeup than a pleasure.  But I also dislike looking so...un-put-together.  Is that even a word?  But I found the perfect answer.  It's called Aveeno Positively Radiant Tinted Moisturizer.

Summer Colds

Gah!  Summer colds hit our house last week, and like unwanted house guests, they just aren't taking the hint and leaving.  Josh came down with it first, and insisted that it must be allergies because he didn't feel sick.  Then two days later, both he and Eloise were snotty and feeling miserable.  The next day Nicole started being snotty and cranky.  And then on Sunday morning I woke up with the terrible sinus/facial pressure that they all had.  Not fun.  Not fun at all.  Needless to say, my Proverbs 31 Challenge is all off schedule now, but I keep telling myself that is okay.  What I need to focus on is getting my family healthy again, since Eloise and Nicole's poor little noses just won't stop running!
Thankfully, Charles was at his mother's house for the week, and Cassandra has not caught it yet.  I am hoping that with all the disinfectant wipes I've been using on just about every possible surface, she won't catch it too.
So, other than that, things have been going pretty smoothly this week.  The kids have been great, Charles arrived last night for his week with us, and even the housework is getting caught up.  What a blessing!

Changing It Up

I think I am having an identity crisis with my blog appearance too.  I love, love, love the pink stripes, but I just feel like I could do more with it.  (Just like my own physical appearance!)  So don't be surprised or worried if you see the look of this blog change a few times over the next few weeks or months.  Just like trying on clothes, I need to try on some new blog designs!

Identity Crisis

Lately, I've been feeling like I have an identity crisis brewing.  Maybe it because of Pinterest.  Maybe it is because I have been reminiscing of my single mom days and wanting to watch the Gilmore Girls.  I don't know.  But I do know that I feel like I need a change.  I want to look less like the mom who hangs out in her stylish sweatpants all day, and more like the women whose style I admire.  In the past few months, I've stopped wearing makeup, and barely style my hair.  Definitely NOT the woman my husband married almost five years ago.  Back then I had long blonde hair and always wore makeup.  I also worked out.  Now I have reddish brown hair, and although I try, I am lucky if I get a jog in every two weeks.
So, I've been looking for ideas on Pinterest.  I've never been a fashionista, but I do like to look nice.  And now thanks to Polyvore and Pinterest, I can find outfit ideas already put together, right down to the accessories, as well as hairstyle ideas and how-to tutorials for makeup application.  Of course, our family budget doesn't exactly allow a lot of new clothes, but stylish pieces can be bought on sale at various stores in our area, and just one or two pieces may be just what I need to make me feel stylish again.
As for my hair, well, I can't have it highlighted right now, and I learned that doing it at home is not something I can do well.  (The last time I tried, I ended up looking like a spotted leopard and had to make an emergency trip to my stylist.)  So for now, I will just have to be more diligent about styling it in different ways.
Working out is going to be a challenge, that is for sure.  But if I want to run in some 5K's this year and in the Spartan Race with my husband next summer, I need to figure out a way to work this in to my busy schedule. Sometimes I wish my sister or sister-in-law lived in my neighborhood so we could go on jogs together.  But maybe we could each keep an online log of our workouts and inspire each other that way.
Anyway, here are some of my favorite "style" things from Pinterest:

Polyvore.com

hollie29, polyvore.com

fashionworship.com

kristen-344.polyvore.com

blogs.babble.com

Want to see more of what I've been finding on Pinterest?  Click on the Follow Me icon on the right side of the page.  And please feel free to share where you find your style inspiration in the comments below!

Why Not Share Wednesday!

Today is our first ever Why Not Share Wednesday.  Just check on the right hand side of the page to get the link tool to share your family friendly blog post.  And don't forget to share this blog's link on your page!
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Have fun!

Hello, Home for Dinner with Jamie Deen

Recently I caught an episode of Home for Dinner with Jamie Deen on the Food Network channel.  I have to tell you, I fell in love with this show.

First of all, when I watched Jamie Deen doing his thing in the kitchen, it didn't feel like I was watching a celebrity chef.  It felt like I was sitting in an old friend's kitchen talking to him while he was preparing some food.  When I get the rare opportunity to watch Rachel Ray or Sandra Lee, I don't get that feeling.  I feel like I am watching a celebrity chef cooking on TV.  But not with Jamie Deen.  And that made me want to keep watching.
Second, I LOVE his kitchen.  It is small, like an average home's kitchen would be.  In fact, I think his kitchen is smaller than mine!  But there are a lot of windows to let in warm bright sunshine, and it looks really comfortable.  And I can watch all the preparation and cooking without having to watch Jamie Deen walk this way and that way.  It stays pretty central.  I like that a lot.  Because in my kitchen, everything is pretty centrally located, and it makes more sense to me to have a cooking show that reflects how the average home is set up.
And third, this guys eats dinner with his family.  I love this part of the show so much that it has inspired me to reclaim our dining room and start eating dinner at the table again, instead of in front of the television.  Which the irony of this kind of makes me laugh...a television show inspiring me me to turn off the television.  I am so excited at the prospect of getting all the excess junk out of our dining room and redecorating it to make it more comfortable and inviting.  And I'm going to do it with as little money as possible.  With NO money, if possible.  Huh, now there's a challenge, isn't there?
Anyway, I just had to share my love for this show with you all.  Hopefully you too will be inspired to be "home for dinner" with your family too. Oh yes, and you can find out more about Jamie Deen's show at http://www.foodnetwork.com/chefs/jamie-deen/index.html.  Enjoy!

Making Mommy Dearest Look Good

Yesterday was one of those days when I made Mommy Dearest look good.  At least the first half of the day I did, anyway.
Eloise is in the fun stage known as "potty training".  And normally she does really well.  But yesterday morning was not her best day.  And I yelled at her.  I let her know I was NOT happy.  I yelled at Cassandra, because she had given me teen attitude.  I let them both know in no uncertain terms that I was angry.  And then after lunch, I yelled at Eloise again.  I threatened to throw her Elmo lunch plate in the garbage.  It was so bad that she asked me through her tears if I could please be happy now.  That was a wake up call, and I felt absolutely horrible.  She had done nothing more than simply be her two-year-old self.  And apparently I was being a two-year-old too, throwing a tantrum because I was tired and things weren't going my way.
These tender young hearts were given to me by the grace of God to love and protect, and I was hurting them.  I asked God for forgiveness, and then I spent the rest of the day doing my best to make up for my hurtful actions.  I grew up with angry outbursts being the norm, and I try very hard to not be that way with my own children.  I just pray that God will give me the patience and grace and strength to not make Mommy Dearest look good ever again.

The $20.00 Food Experiment

This week I am doing a little experiment with my 17 year old daughter, Cassandra.  In order to help her learn the valuable life skill of planning meals and budgeting her food dollars, she is being given $20.00 to buy an entire week's worth of groceries for her own meals, which she must also prepare on her own.  I got this idea from Owlhaven.net.  Wonderful ideas that woman has!  I'll be sharing the rules of this experiment and having Cassandra do a guest post on her experience with this in the Recipes section tomorrow.

The Proverbs 31 Challenge

For the next 10 weeks (or so), I will be taking the Proverbs 31 Challenge.  Sound interesting?  Click on the tab above to learn more!

Our Second Annual Camping Trip (Or "A Guranteed Way to Make It Rain")

This past weekend we had our second annual family camping trip.  We went to Silver Falls, here in Oregon. It is absolutely beautiful there.  Last year we went tent camping, and it rained so hard that we had to leave after only one night because all of our belongings were soaked.  So this year I reserved a cabin instead.  I thought a cabin would be so much easier to handle any rain that might occur while we were camping.  (And yes, to this girl, any thing that involves not being in a hotel or having a bathroom attached to the place you are sleeping qualifies as camping.)
The entire week leading up to our camping weekend was absolutely beautiful.  The sun was out, plants were blooming, our cats looked for shady spots in the yard to take their naps, and there was nary a drop of rain.  Then Friday came along.  The day we were supposed to leave.  And wouldn't you know it, the sky opened up with a fury only seen when you really, really, really don't want it to rain.  But it's okay, I told myself.  We have a CABIN!

Flash forward to our arrival at the campsite.  The cabin was great.  It had a bunk bed and a double bed in a separate bedroom.  There was futon in the living room, and a table and four chairs.  Each of these rooms was about 8 feet by 10 feet.  The good news was that everyone had their own bed, and it was warm and dry.

The bad news was that this is not a lot of elbow room for a two parents, a 17 year old, a 10 year old, a 2 year old, and a 7 month old.  Never mind the fact that all cooking had to be done outside on the two burner propane stove, or that the firewood we bought at the campsite was wet and wouldn't stay lit enough to make s'mores.  And because of the rain, I couldn't really take Nicole outside for any walks, so she and I were pretty much stuck inside the tiny little cabin for the majority of the weekend.
However, the skies did clear long enough for us to take a walk on the trails around the water falls.

It was incredibly beautiful, and I was so thankful to be outside at last.  All the kids were great, and it really warms a mother's heart to see her children getting along and helping each other.

Cassandra and Charles helped Eloise navigate the trails, and Josh and I took turns carrying Nicole and taking photographs.  Turns out Josh is quite the nature photographer!

Me, I prefer to take pictures of people.  They fascinate me.  I like to look in their eyes to see if there is a story there.  But that is a topic for another time.
All in all, the trip wasn't so bad, but I was definitely happy to be home.  But I always feel like that after any sort of overnight adventure away from home.  It really is true..."Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home.".

The Spartan Race

Well, all that playing on the playground paid off for Josh a couple of weekends ago.  He participated in a little thing called the Spartan Race.  Heard of it?  It is a wicked fun and amazingly dirty obstacle race.  He and his cousin Andrew went up to Washougal, Washington and had the time of their lives.
Here are a few pictures from the event:

This is Josh pulling a very heavy weight.  This is just one of the 23 obstacles participants had to maneuver through.

Another piece of the course was trying to avoid being hit by very large pugil sticks being brandished by very large men.  I'm pretty sure there were a lot of bruises from this part of the course.

This must have a been a welcome sight for the participants!  Ahhh, the end of the course.  Time to eat some recovery food!

When Josh got home, he was so covered in dirt that Eloise was scared of him and wouldn't talk to him until he took a shower.  Which happened to be his second shower.  His first shower was at the race site after the finish line.  Yes, my friends, there was that much mud and dirt to wade through.  His arms, knees, sides, and back had scratches and bruises all over them.  But you know what?  He loved every minute of it.  And I am pretty sure he is going to do another obstacle race again soon.  And hopefully next year, I'll be able to participate with him.  Better get to the playground, I guess!

Interested in finding out if there is a Spartan Race in your area?  Check out their website at www.spartanrace.com.  Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Ground Beef Stroganoff

I finally remembered to take some ground beef out of the freezer on Tuesday.  Don't worry, it isn't the "pink slime" ground beef.  It is ground beef from a grass fed cow that was owned by a friend of my father-in-law.  So you know it is much tastier than what you would typically find in a grocery store.  My first idea was to make a taco soup that my sister told me about a few weeks ago.  But it was a slow cooker soup, and it was already afternoon when I was finally deciding what to make for dinner.  I know, I know, you should always plan your weekly meals in advance, and normally I do.  In fact, I have this week's meals listed out right there on my iPhone.  But being without a car for the majority of the week put a wrinkle in my dinner menu.
I finally decided to make a stroganoff, since it was a cloudy and cold looking day.  I have a few recipes for stroganoff, but I really wanted something quick and easy.  Therefore I put together a mental list of all the ingredients that typically go into a stroganoff, looked to see what I had in the fridge and pantry, and this is what I came up with.  Now, please know that we are moving towards a "real food" diet, and this was my last can of cream of mushroom soup.  I wanted to just get it off the pantry shelf, and I don't like wasting food.  Besides, I didn't have any mushrooms on hand.

Quick and Easy Ground Beef Stroganoff
Serves 4 - 6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 box of  whole wheat penne pasta or 1 bag of egg noodles
3 tablespoons butter
1 lb of ground beef
1/3 of a medium onion (or 1/2 if you really like onions), cut into bite size pieces
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 tablespoon of paprika, divided
1/4 teaspoon of coriander
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric
1/8 teaspoon of black pepper
1/3 cup of water

1.  Bring a pot of water to boil.  Add penne pasta or egg noodles and following cooking directions as listed on package.
2.  Meanwhile, add olive oil to pan and heat over medium high heat until hot.  Add garlic and onion. Saute until soft.  Add ground beef to garlic and onion in pan and cook  for 3 - 4 minutes.  Add coriander, turmeric, and half of the paprika.  Continue to cook ground beef, stirring occasionally, until cooked through and no longer pink.  Add cream of mushroom soup, water, and sour cream to ground beef mixture.  Stir to thoroughly mix and until smooth.  Add remainder of paprika and black pepper.  Stir to mix and heat until hot, stirring occasionally.
3.  Drain the pasta or egg noodles, and put back into pot.  Add the butter to the pasta or egg noodles and stir until butter is melted.

To serve, place individual portions of pasta or egg noodles on plate.  Spoon  ground beef stroganoff mixture over the top of pasta or egg noodles and season to taste with salt and/or pepper.  Tastes great with toasted garlic bread and a side salad.

The Orange Cauliflower

I had no vehicle yesterday.  Our minivan is in the shop being repaired, and Josh had to take the car to work. Which means that my plan to go get some chicken for dinner was a no go.  So I had to come up with something else.  I cannot necessarily call what we had the best dinner ever, but it did the trick, and Josh and Cassandra seemed to like it.  Eloise, however, does not like cauliflower, no matter how disguised it is.

I boiled the cauliflower with some cut up Hebrew National hot dogs, and then also made some Annie's Organic mac-n-cheese right in the same pot as the cauliflower and hot dogs.  The cauliflower was the same exact color as the mac-n-cheese, so I thought it was pretty well hidden and Eloise wouldn't notice.  She did.  And she refused to eat any more once she found it.  Oh well.
Like I said, not the best dinner in the world, but at least it tasted good!

It All Started With a Little Thing Called Facebook

Well, here we are...starting a blog.  I never thought I would be one to do this.  I'm not a writer by a long shot, and the majority of my days are spent changing diapers, feeding children, trying to get a dinner pulled together, cleaning my house as best I can with a baby in one arm and a broom in the other, and trying to keep it all together until my husband gets home.  But like I said, here we are.
So what happened that made me start a blog?  Food.  Food happened.  I love food.  Not the crazy food you'll see on TV, but good old fashioned comfort food.  Now I realize that the idea of "comfort food" can take many forms, and I am not opposed to trying a different culture's version of it.  Just don't ask me to try any half baked baby chicks still in the egg shell.  That I cannot do.
But let's get back to the point of this post.  I have a friend who is currently posting pictures of her daily lunch.  She is on a diet program, and she also posts how many points her lunch is worth.  And I love it.  I love looking at the delicious things she eats.  So that got me to thinking, why don't I post some pictures of what we have for dinner?  I did this for about 4 days.  Then I began to feel...odd about it.  I felt like I was fishing for compliments.  (I wasn't.)  I began to feel like people might be annoyed.  ( I hope not.)  And I began to feel like I needed to do something else.  (Here we are.)  Interestingly enough, the very same day this blog idea popped into my head, my brother-in-law over in South Korea commented on one of my dinner pictures that it was time to start considering a blog instead.  Um, was this some sort of sign?  Of course, I fought with the idea.  Who, me?  No, not possibly.  I have way too much to do.  I can't even get five minutes by myself, much less enough time to actually sit down and think about what to write.  But again, here we are.
I hope this blog is enjoyable to the reader.  I hope it inspires others who feel crazy busy but want to put a decent meal on the table each night.  And I hope you'll be patient as we go through this adventure together.

Back to Order Monday

I don't really know how it happens, but every weekend our house explodes and becomes quite possibly the messiest place in the state.  Okay, maybe not the messiest, but darn close.  I don't know if it is because we are all home, or because the majority of our weekend is spent running errands, or because we simply get lazy, but come Monday morning I almost dread coming downstairs because of what I know awaits me.
So for me, every Monday has become "Back to Order Monday".  Between feeding the kids (which Nicole takes up a LOT of time, since I nurse her), making sure Eloise makes it to the potty in time to avoid an accident, any errands we have to run, baths, and all the other things that happen on any given day, I try to get our house back to a somewhat clean and organized state.

The living room is always the worst, since we spend the most time there.

And some Mondays that is the only room I can manage to get clean.

And as much as I like a clean and organized home, I try not to worry about it too much, because I  know I can always tackle a different room tomorrow.  As long as I keep things sanitary, I'm okay with a little mess for a little while.  I do have to admit, though, that sometimes the messiness and general disorganization does get to me, and I can't wait to have a week or weekend to really get down to business and ORGANIZE!  Until then, I'll keep cruising Pinterest for ideas.

Farmer's Market Saturday

Now that our local farmer's market is open, we have gone for the past three Saturdays.  This week we bought Swiss Chard, which I have never bought before, or even eaten, to my knowledge.  I was very excited to find a recipe and try it out.  We also bought sugar snap peas, broccoli, and orange cauliflower, which is higher in beta carotene than your typical white variety.  What a great find!

After we got home and the little ones had their naps, we headed off for a walk to the local elementary school to play on the playground.

 My family has been watching American Ninja Warrior, and that, combined with Eloise's recent gymnastics class, has created a strong desire in my husband and kids to try their own ninja warrior skills.

 
Nicole and I sat on the grass to watch the crazies others play on the equipment.

I must say I had a bit of a hankering to get out there too, but Nicole will be big enough to play too before I know it, so I can wait until then, and will treasure these sweet little baby moments for now.

We got home with just enough time to start dinner and use that fresh bought Swiss Chard.  I found a great quick and easy recipe on allrecipes.com called Pasta with Swiss Chard.  Josh ended up having to make dinner because Nicole decided she needed to eat right as dinner needed to be started.  He did a great job, as usual, and it was delicious!  However, he did leave out the capers, which I am sure would have kicked the deliciousness factor up a notch.

Pasta with Swiss Chard
Courtesy of allrecipes.com



11 ounces whole-wheat spaghetti
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bunches Swiss chard, chopped
2 teaspoons capers
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice, or to taste (optional)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste

1.  Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the spaghetti, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.

2.  Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook for 1 minute to soften. Add the Swiss chard. Cook and stir until the stems of the chard are tender. You can use some of the hot pasta water to help steam the chard in the covered pan.

3.  Stir the hot spaghetti into the chard mixture along with the capers. Season to taste with salt and black pepper, and drizzle with lemon juice if desired. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese to serve.