Holiday Traditions, Old and New

It is hard to believe Christmas is only 3 days away! It seems like I just packed away my swimsuit and flip-flops and now we're sitting in a foot of snow...the days do go by so fast!

In years past, the holiday season seems to have flown by us as well. With both of us working, Thang in school, plus church and family events, we left little time for us to start any family traditions. Since Nora joined the family, we are making traditions a priority around here. When I think back on my childhood, there are a few big events I remember, but the memories that come most easily to mind are the traditions and routines that our family repeated year after year.

Jesse Tree
I got this idea from a blog I follow. Using The Advent Jesse Tree, each day we read a passage of scripture, a devotion, recommended hymns/songs to sing (although we've only sung a couple of these) and a prayer. The readings recount God's story from Creation to the birth of Christ and how each event pointed to the coming of our King. Each day, we also hang an ornament which represents the reading for that day. For example, today's reading includes Matthew 2:10, "When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy", so the ornament we hang up today is a star. It is a great way to remember how God's had a plan from the very beginning to bring salvation to the world.

Santa Lucia Day

I am proudly 1/8th Swedish, and this was a holiday tradition we followed when I was growing up. You can find a brief history of the holiday here. For the ladies who are reading, you may recognize this holiday from the "American Girl" doll, Kirsten, who wore a wreath of candles and a white gown with a red, satin sash. Yes, my mom did make me one of these costumes, however, I believe it was only worn once for show-and-tell. As the eldest daughter, it was my responsibility to bake the traditional Santa Lucia rolls which were a special, once-a-year treat. Allegedly, I was also supposed to wake my family by singing Christmas carols down the hallway while serving them their breakfasts in bed - for their benefit, we skipped this one.

Santa Lucia Rolls
1 cup milk (scalded)
1/2 to 1 tsp. ground cardamom
1/2 cup butter (melted)
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 pkg. dry yeast (dissolve in 1/4 cup warm water)
3 eggs (beaten)
4 - 4 1/2 cups flour


Combine the milk, cardamom, butter and sugar and cool to lukewarm. Add eggs and yeast to milk mixture, stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead until smooth. Place in a buttered bowl and let rise until double. Roll and form buns (this is done by making two long, logs of dough, then placing them in a cross and rolling up the ends). Let buns double, brush tops w/mixture of one egg yolk and 1 tbsp. water. Bake at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes or until golden brown.


Happy Birthday, Jesus
Because it is, after all, the reason for all this celebration! This one is still "under construction" as far as how we will be celebrating it from year-to-year. This year, our church small group had a birthday party for Jesus - complete with a birthday cake, singing and gifts for Jesus (Nora's gift was a few of her dance moves). Last year, I put birthday candles on our Christmas breakfast (stuffed French toast) and called it good. I will probably do this again this year and we'll sing "Happy Birthday to You!" to baby Jesus.

We've started a few other, small traditions and I'm sure as the years go on, we will add more. I am trying to cut down on my online time, so it's time to finish this post off.

We wish everyone a very, merry Christmas as we remember the day our Savior entered the world as a tiny baby boy!

A Christmas Meditation

Just a quick note to point you to this blogpost I happened upon tonight:


Why a Real Christmas May Hurt


Our church has recently been experiencing great spiritual renewal, however it has not come without pain and brokenness. But through that pain, we receive grace upon grace and the freedom that comes only through our Saviour who came to earth as a Babe in a manger.

Finding Breathing Room

As of late, I have felt a bit overwhelmed, overscheduled and all-around exhausted. I really blame no one but myself for not carving out margin in my days and saying "yes" to a few too many things. It is hard as a mom to ever feel like your job is done, because the "to-do" list never ends. But, that doesn't mean we should never slow down, rest or even just stop to smell the roses. I have a hard time slowing down - Sundays are often filled with "catching up" on chores or errands, and most evenings, instead of cuddling up next to my hubby to watch a good movie, I sit next to him on the couch writing to-do lists, reading books on health or nutrition or checking Facebook.

This Fall, our family has dealt with more than it's fair share of illness. Since late September, we've had 5 or 6 cases of yuckies make their rounds in our household - right now, Thang and I are fighting a mean virus. During our 3rd round of sickness, this one a stomach bug, I was forced to lay on the couch all day long as any slight movement caused my stomach to turn. Although I had been sick just a week before, and a week before that, this was the first that I had actually stopped to take care of myself. My wise husband made the comment that maybe this was the only way God could convince me to rest. Hmmmm.

It caused me to reflect on rest and to remember that we are COMMANDED to rest. I even went back and read the creation account to understand the beginnings of this idea of "rest".

"By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." Genesis 2: 2-3

That's right, the God of the universe, the Creator of everything that is, the author of history, RESTED. So, who do I think I am not to rest? It seems I'm not alone. A few of the blogs I follow have had some great posts about finding breathing room as a mom, wife and homemaker, as well as someone who wants to serve those outside our household.


Put Bookends on Your Day
Take the Day Off (Moms Too)
Taking a Weekly Planning & Prayer Retreat
Balance Requires Sacrifice
Busy at Home


Thang told me recently to take some time away as a kind of spiritual retreat - to reflect, to pray and to plan. So, I have a day set-aside soon to do just that. I also recently got the idea to log the way I spend my time during the day for 2 weeks. I am thinking I will start this next Monday - I'm sure it will be eye-opening and very convicting. I got the idea after listening to this podcast of a Women's Training Day at Mars Hill Church, if you have some time, take a listen (also some great info on couponing!) .




Another resource I plan on referencing is Shopping for Time: How to Do It All and NOT Be Overwhelmed, by the ladies over at Girl Talk. I read through this right after I quit working to stay home with Nora. It was extremely helpful to me in thinking through what matters most...and I'm thinking it is time for a refresher! I already have an idea where the "fat" is that can be trimmed back in my life. But, it will be good to spend an extended amount of time really reflecting on what is most important and finding clarification on where God would have me spending my time wisely. With the Christmas season upon us, I do not want the next month filled with so much busy-ness that I can't reflect on the Greatest Gift I will ever receive and enjoying the people God has put in my life.


And, since no blog post should really be complete without a cute kid pic:

Miss Nora, at rest.

(I just love how she puts her arms behind her head, pure relaxation)

Rooooaaaaarrrrr...

...was the sound our little lioness WOULDN'T make on Halloween. She's been growling since she was 6 months old, but got shy once the costume went on. Oh well, we think her adorableness makes up for authenticity.

She looks so thrilled in this pic.
We added the pink bows so Nora wouldn't get the "Aren't you a handsome fella!" comments - they're probably not zoologically (or gender) correct.

A few more pics from the past month...

At the pumpkin patch.

I call this her "stinker" face...pure orneriness!

And, here it is again. Look at those chompers!

And, pure sweetness!

Time to potty train?!

Just a quick story...

We've been dealing with a pretty fierce diaper rash around here. So, last night after Nora's bath, I pulled on her leg-warmers and a shirt and let her run-around "nudie-pants" to let her dry out and get some air on her nether-regions. Yes, I knew this was pretty dangerous, but we have mostly wood floors, so I figured if she started to go, I could quickly move her off the rugs to a moppable area. She was so enjoying her freedom, running around the living room (yes, she's a full-time walker/runner now!) giggling all the way. I really got a kick out of her sheer delight.

At one point, I went into the kitchen to grab something, when I started to hear water running. "Huh?", I thought, then "Ooooh noooo" as I sprinted to the source. Yes, it was Nora, no, it wasn't water. But, I had to be so proud. She had walked into the bathroom and was standing right next to the toilet to do her business. She even managed to miss getting any on her leg-warmers! Thankfully, the bathroom is tiled and all was quickly cleaned and sanitized.

Now we just have to teach her how to take off her own diaper and hop onto the pot!


P.S. Anybody on blogger know why my formatting is so crazy? It's maddening!

Real life.

After my last post, I was convicted, then I read a friend's blog post and was VERY convicted.

So often, when I read the blogs of friends and strangers, I get a picture in my mind of what their lives must be like...

* filled with well-prepared, nutritious and perfectly-presented meals,

* kids who are always smiling and well-behaved,

* homes that never have dust-bunnies, refrigerator science experiments or "what is that SMELL coming from the garbage?!"

* hours of nightly family Bible studies, deep, insightful, life-changing dinner-table discussions...

...you get the picture. And, it's easy for me to compare, get down on myself and think "Gosh, I am falling so short." After posting about my bread-baking, I thought, if I was reading that on someone else's blog, I would probably think "yeah, right, like I have time for THAT!" The truth is, I have been wanting to bake bread like that for several months, and it probably won't happen again any time soon!

But truly, blog life is just glimpses of our real lives - what we want the outside world to see (and let's be honest, with a blog the outside world could be anybody). Maybe it is also how we want to remember our lives when we look back in a year or more. Some folks just show pieces of their lives - cooking, home remodeling projects, crafting, theology. Others are brutally transparent and are an open book. I know for me, this blog is a way to record life, motivate me in many areas, but also to find beauty and joy in the mundane things I do from day-to-day.

I was recently inspired by a lady who humbly posted a picture of her dirty, in-need-of-scrubbing toilet on Facebook just to show the world that she didn't have it all together and that was ok. I often say that I feel more comfortable in people's homes when there are dirty dishes in the sink - it just feels more homey, real, like we are part of the family. So, here goes, some real life...

What my floors look like most days. No one warned me, before I became a mom, of the insidiousness of Cheerios (I find them, quite literally, EVERYWHERE in our house).

Unfortunately, more of this has been happening at our house than I'd like to admit. I wish I could say that my daughter never saw a television screen before the age of two, but Baby Einstein seems to be the only way to keep Nora from wanting to play in the garbage or empty the pantry while I'm making dinner!

Folks, this is about as bad as it gets.

Yes, that is my lower half. Yes, those are wool hiking socks, 15-year old Birkenstocks and some workout capries covered in flour. This is what my hubby came home to the day I made bread. Thankfully, I recently found this website. P.S. Please, don't nominate me for "What Not to Wear".

So, there you have it. A little bit of my daily dirt to balance out my last Suzy Homemaker post. Such a reminder of how abundantly gracious God is. He is teaching me how to better mother my daughter, but forgives me for the occasional mind-numbing, t.v.-babysitting session. He daily romances me despite my dirty workout wear, Birkenstocks and what you couldn't see in the picture. And, though my floors may be covered in cereal dust, He is slowly, but surely, cleaning and polishing my heart just for Himself.

My new arm workout.

Ha! That's what kneading 8 pounds of dough will do for you! 100 years ago, this probably was the only arm workout most homemakers needed to keep their arms and shoulders fit, now we need bicep curls and pushups to do the same thing! : )

I would love to make bread-baking a regular habit around here. There's just something so homey and comforting about the smell of fresh-baked bread, not to mention all the health benefits. I am trying to take this time while things are relatively simple around our house to learn some of these skills, before more kids come along and life gets complicated again.

A friend recently lent me her grain mill and 2 bins of wheat grain while she is in the midst of a move. I've been eager to try my hand at bread-baking with a mix of whole grains using the soaking method. I have been reading recently about the benefits of soaking grains before baking or cooking with them. In short, traditionally, grains were always soaked for long periods of time to allow for better digestion and nutrient absorption. You'll often hear whole grains recommended for a healthy diet, however, without preparing them properly, they can be hard on our digestive systems and may even be the cause of some food sensitivities. With the advent of commercial white flour, many of these methods have been forgotten.

A couple of good places to read up on reasons for soaking your grains:

Nourishing Practices: Soaking Your Grains

Be Kind to Your Grains

Here is the recipe I used (I know it looks complicated, but is really much easier than I thought it would be):

Combine the following, cover and soak for 12-24 hours (I soaked for 24 hours):

1 cup kefir (like yogurt, can be found in dairy case - or use cultured buttermilk or whey)

3 cups of water

11 cups of ground flour (I used 9 cups of whole wheat and 2 cups of kamut)

2 1/2 cups oats

1 cup honey

3/4 cup coconut oil, melted (can also use butter or olive oil)

1/3 cup flax seed (optional)

After soaking, activate the yeast by combining:

1/2 cup water

1 tsp. honey

2 1/2 Tbsp active dry yeast

Combine the activated yeast with the soaked flour and add the following:

1 1/2 Tbsp sea salt

I didn't include these, but you can also add 2-4 Tbsp dough enhancer, 1 cup unbleached white flour, sunflower seeds, if desired.

Kneed for 8-10 minutes. Remove to a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let sit until doubled, about 1 1/2 hours. Punch down and divide into 4 loaves. Roll out each loaf into a rectangle and roll up to make a well-formed loaf. Place in greased bread pans and rise again until doubled (about 30-45 minutes). Turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let

cool.

Yum-yum! I think this is by far the best recipe I've ever used with a very rich flavor. The only problem was that some of the ingredients I added after soaking did not completely mix into the dough - a few slices were a bit salty or sweet (from the honey). I think a larger mixer might fix this problem, or halving the recipe for a smaller amount of dough. I may try that next time.  I originally found this recipe at Passionate Homemaking.

An added benefit to baking bread during the cold, wet and dreary days we've had around here is that the oven makes the house extra warm and cozy!

What are some of your favorite comfort foods to make when it's cold and dreary out?

Dancing Queen.

Here they are folks, some video of our little dancing queen. I think Nora takes her dancing lessons from these guys. The first video is a bit shaky because I was trying to dance with her. See if you can't help but smile!

We so love her!

15 months!

Nora turned 15 months this past week. The months just seem to go by faster and faster and our little one is changing by the minute. Some new things we've discovered about our girl:

* She's an extrovert (WHAT?! How do 2 introverts make an extrovert? We're still trying to figure this one out, but may leave it to the geneticists). She still hasn't entered that "stranger anxiety" phase. When we go places like the grocery store, Nora can't help herself but try to catch every stranger's eye, give them a smile and start going through her animal noise and sign language repertoire. When they're not easily baited by her chocolate-brown puppy-dog eyes, she starts yelling "HEY PEOPLE LOOK AT ME!" (or more like "YAAABABA MMMM PIKUPIKU).

* She loves to dance. If she even hears a hint of music somewhere, she'll start swinging her hips - that little tushy is going, back-and-forth, back-and-forth. We may have a future salsa or hula dancer on our hands! She even gets her head going a little like this SNL skit. I'll post a video as soon as I can catch her at it!

* She loves to share. She's constantly giving me things: toys, lint, kleenex she's just ripped to smithereens, and occasionally, she'll kindly hand me a mouth full of partially-chewed food, just in case I didn't want to go to the trouble of doing it myself. Hopefully we can continue to encourage the sharing of toys, but not so much the partially-digested food.

* She's caught on to a lot more than she wants us to know. We've been working with her for months on animal noises and more recently some animal signs. She's caught on to a couple, but usually just goes back to her favorites - the lion's growl or the lizard lips (remember this post). We had given up and just figured we should give it time. Well, I was watching Nora's little friend Adelaide a few weeks back and I was holding Adelaide in my lap looking through a book of animals. Nora was playing a few feet away with her back to us. I started asking Adelaide what noises the animals made and from the corner of my eye, I saw Nora signing many of them and making animal noises we had never heard before! That little stinker was holding out on us. So, for now, these are the signs she's done consistently: bird, fish, dog; and noises: lion, lizard, fish (ok, not so much a sound as the fishy mouth), occasionally the monkey and for a dog she acts like she's trying to whistle (not sure where that came from).

* Our laid-back girl is on the cusp of walking. I tell you, our little one is never in a hurry. She's always taken her time at reaching what we mommies are told are those all-important milestones., I take it as God's way of teaching me patience and trust in Him, because I could easily get consumed with worry and "what-if's". I really think she just hasn't *wanted* to walk enough yet to really do it. Here she is taking a few steps ...

(her new favorite toy is the bottle brush, I know, I know, probably not the safest thing to be walking with)

* Unfortunately, we've also entered a whining phase. Nora is still not super verbal (at least not words mommy and daddy can understand) which I think frustrates her as she's becoming opinionated about things.

As she's becoming more and more willful, we're also getting more and more of a whimpering-whine from our girl. I'm torn between trying to teach her more signs or just encouraging her to speak her words. I know I've heard from different places that kids who sign are slower to talk - but she needs to be learning some form of communication for the sake of our sanity! *Any helpful advice is much appreciated on this!*

Despite the occasional whine, Nora is still smiles and laughter, snuggles and kisses, chubby toes, a fuzzy head and an overwhelming joy!

Hold On To Your Kids - Book Review

I first heard about this book while listening to a La Leche League podcast. It was recommended as a good read on issues related to parent/child attachment and greatly intrigued me. To be honest, prior to reading this book, my knowledge of "attachment theory" was limited to practices such as babywearing, breastfeeding and cosleeping. Since becoming a parent I've quickly learned of the different parenting "schools", which can create quite a bit of debate in parenting circles. I was eager to learn more about the "attachment" approach and glean whatever truths I might find there.

The premise of this book is very simple, that today's kids are becoming more and more attached to their peers than their parents. They are looking to their peers as "compass points" to get their bearings in the world, to form their values and to find affirmation. The authors offer that a child's attachment to their parent is the one thing they should not grow up without. However, culture, technology, even parents themselves encourage this "peer-orientation". They posit that this peer-orientation undermines parental authority and has led to modern-day ills such as bullying, hyper-sexualization, eating disorders, etc. They do not just describe the problem, but offer tools to maintain and reestablish parent-attachment:

* Make the relationship the priority.

* Learn how your child attaches (what special way they feel loved).

* Create intimacy - cultivate an intimacy with your child that peers can't compete with.

* Create structures and impose boundaries that protect the relationship - i.e. FAMILY vacations, FAMILY celebrations, FAMILY meals, etc.

One of the most practical recommendations that I feel I can implement even now is to learn how to "collect" my child. The art of collecting, the authors write, is the reconnection that happens when the parent and child have been separated, no matter the length of time. For a mom of a toddler, it may simply be the time after a nap -instead of quickly scooping my daughter up and putting her in the car to run errands or in a highchair for lunch, to hold her for a few moments, snuggle her, tickle her - the important part is to make eye contact and illicit a smile. One of the authors writes that for him, collecting his teenage daughter after several months of feeling disconnected from her took a weekend away at a cabin, playing games, taking walks together, no cell phones, no internet.

As I've meditated on the thesis of this book, I found it's ideas applied so much to our own relationship with our Heavenly Parent. Until we truly understand the deep and gracious love of God, Our Father, and come into an intimate relationship with Him, we are merely looking to our peers, other human beings, as our compass points. It is when we know the Father and His love that we can feel true security and freedom and begin to love others with confidence. As a parent, my ultimate goal is to lead my child to be "Godward-oriented", to look to Him over myself or my husband, peers, culture or anything else on earth. However, I do believe that as parents we are also to be the utmost earthly-authority in our child's life and, especially for a young child, her orientation to us is a form of Godward-orientation (not that I am calling myself or my husband God, but that our authority is a God-ordained one).

While I don't ascribe to all of the authors theories or recommendations, I found this a very valuable resource in my journey as a mom. I would highly recommend this read to you parents out there!

Free New Testament Audio - Act Fast!

Ok, that totally sounds like a spam-ad. But, I wanted to pass this on to you guys.

Visit Christianaudio.com to get an MP3 version of the New Testament for FREE (one of my very favorite words) - it's good until the end of September! Every month, Christianaudio.com has a free audio book download!

I am looking forward to being able to listen to God's Word while I wash dishes, fold laundry and change stinky diapers!

I've been chewing on about 10 different blog posts I can't seem to finish and the stomach flu has been lingering around here for a few days, hence the lack of posts. Hopefully I will have the energy to post again soon.

Until then, enjoy!

Menu Plan Monday.

If any of my readers are mommy bloggers or mommy-/homemaking blog readers, you are probably familiar with "Menu Plan Mondays". Started at one of my favorite blogs, Organizing Junkie, this blog "carnival" is intended to help the cook in the family plan ahead so that we aren't scrambling to figure out dinner every night, give up and just head for the Taco Bell drive-thru (because this neeeeeeever happens at our house).

Menu planning has, by far, been one of the best ways to pinch pennies with our budget and has really cut down on the panic I used to feel at 4:00 when I would think "OH NO! What in the world should I make for dinner tonight?!". Hence the Taco Bell runs.

So here's this week's menu:

Monday: cheese ravioli w/pumpkin sage sauce, salad

Tuesday: marinated tuna steak, root vegetable medley, sourdough bread

Wednesday: black bean chilaquile, salad

Thursday: calzones, salad

Friday: peppered steak, oven-roasted asiago cauliflower, creamy spinach, chocolate pudding cake

Saturday: leftovers/eat out

Sunday: spicy rapid roast chicken, summer squash casserole, herbed oven potatoes, broccolli

In recent months, I've started doing a monthly menu plan that I repeat for the season (i.e. summer menu, fall menu). Making a menu plan each week was WAY STRESSFUL for me, so instead I make up the plan for a month and repeat it several times. This has worked really well and allows me to double up on some recipes and freeze half, cutting down on cooking for the next month.

I eat this stuff up, so hopefully it will spark some menu planning in your households!

Now, it's just a matter of sticking to it!!!

Swiffer Wetjet Hack

....aaaaaaaaand, I'm back.

It is ridiculous how excited I have been to share this on here.

If you've known me for 5 minutes, you probably know I'm pretty cheap frugal. What can I say, living off of one income and trying (very slowly) to get completely out of debt makes it hard to part with any extra money. So, all that to say, I was super-stoked to find this tutorial on how to "hack" your Swiffer Wetjet. I bought one a few months ago after using it at my mom's. For a house almost entirely of wood floors and a toddler, having clean floors can be a constant chore.

Of course, Swiffer wants you to buy their refills, but it gets very pricey when you use them at the rate we do around here. Plus, the cleaner is far from the non-toxic stuff we prefer to use. So, without further ado, check this out:

How to get the top off a Swiffer Wetjet bottle

I was almost literally jumping up-and-down when I found this. I refilled the bottle with a little castile soap and some water and *ta-da* clean wood floors on the cheap!

What happens when...

....Mommy spends too much time on the computer!

(Ironically, that is a picture of her on my computer screen.)

So, for many reasons, mainly because my computer time has become a time-suck and takes time away from what is most important - spiritual life, time with Thang and my sweet daughter - I am stepping away from the glowing screen this week. Unfortunately, I can't step completely away from it as so much communication happens via e-mail these days, but I am limiting my time to a minimum. I am praying it will help me to re-prioritize my days and the way I spend them.

So, signing off for a little while, and I pray this week is one of spending your time wisely!

"Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise..."

Ephesians 5:15

She had us at "hello".

This past weekend, Nora and I took a trip with my parents to central Nebraska to attend a family reunion. We stayed with my grandma - it was Nora's first overnight away from Thang. It was sad to say "goodbye" to Thang on Saturday morning as we hopped into the backseat of my parents' car, it had been a long time since I had spent a night away from him too.

The reunion was actually of my great-grandmother's family and her brothers and sisters families - kids, grandkids and great-grandkids galore. I so enjoy hearing the family stories that have been passed down through the generations - like how great-great grandpa Pollman dropped everything he was doing in the potato field when he got the news he could leave Germany for America. And, that he ice-skated the canals all the way to Amsterdam to board the ship across the Atlantic. I really value knowing where I came from and hope to continue to pass down those stories to Nora.

And, central Nebraska in early fall (which it sure feels like around here) is gorgeous. I believe this year it is especially so - the highways and interstate were flanked with the tall cornstalks of late August and an abundance of sunflowers.

On the drive home, Nora decided to add another word to her repertoire...

Nora's New Friend.

Like her Ba*, Nora gets shy around cameras. She'll be hammin' it up, then as soon as we pull out the camera to capture the moment, she becomes Little Miss Serious. So, I was quite excited to finally catch her at her goofiness.

Who needs friends when you've got yourself, to entertain, yourself?! She seems to be dancing to the beat of her own drum as I doubt the talk radio in the background inspired her moves. I love the little leg move she puts in there...

* "Ba" is Vietnamese for "Dad". That's what we call Thang. So far, it sounds more like "Bob" when Nora says it, or more like "Bobobobobob".

From the Farmer's Market.

We finally made it downtown to the Old Market Farmer's Market. It was our first time there this year. I so love walking the crowded "aisles" filled with empty-nesters with their baskets of fresh produce, young moms with babes strapped to them in various fashions, fiddlers and accordion-players, and dogs of all sizes. Today we stocked up on some red bell peppers (a steal compared to grocery store prices), fresh basil and some farm-fresh eggs.

Our sad excuse for a garden (looks more like a jungle) has managed to produce an abundance of tomatoes. So, I put them to use and thought I would share with you the recipe for one of my favorite uses for fresh tomatoes and basil - bruschetta! This recipe comes from Toast to Omaha: A Cookbook.

Tasting Room Bruschetta

10 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons garlic, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1 1/2 Tablespoons kosher salt (this can be cut back)

1/4 cup shallot, minced

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon sugar

8 basil leaves, chiffonade cut (click here for how-to, I didn't know what this was either)

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, garlic, onion, shallot, vinegar, sugar, basil leaves, oregano and olive oil together and taste. Season with salt and peppers. Mixture will hold for 4-5 days, but is best served fresh. Serve on toasted baguette slices. Serves 6.

We didn't have any baguettes on hand, so I used the recipe in this video. It's awesome. You can either pull out a couple of fist-fulls of dough to make fresh bread each day, or make them all at once and freeze, they keep well. Makes about 4 small loaves. By the way, they don't tell you in the video, but loaves should be baked at 450 degrees for 30 minutes.

Meat.

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/cordery/ / CC BY 2.0

As a junior in high school, I read The End of Nature, by Bill McKibbon. After finishing the book I decided to never eat meat again. Then my mom made spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner, mmmm my favorite. So, I decided I would stop eating meat tomorrow. And, until Tuesday night I didn't. That was almost 16 years ago.

Since then many changes have occurred in my life...I majored in Environmental Studies in college, started following Christ, got married, had a baby. All through this, I never ate meat. And, honestly, I never missed it. Half the time I forget I'm a vegetarian. Usually it means there are only 1 or 2 menu choices when we eat out, but I'm ok with that, pretty easy to please. It does become awkward when we're invited to friends' houses for dinner and I have to tell them of my "dietary restrictions" - I feel so high maintenance, that's the worst.

Anyway, I've been doing more and more reading on nutrition and food production lately. You can see from the books I'm reading and blogs I frequent some of the info. I've been looking at. Most of my reasons for becoming a vegetarian were because of the environmental destruction that meat production caused and because I believed it was a healthier lifestyle. I never got on the animal rights bandwagon. As I became a Christian, I found it fascinating that, in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve were only given plants to eat (Genesis 2:16). It wasn't until after the Great Flood that God gave Noah and his descendants animals to eat (Genesis 9:3).

While I don't totally discredit my initial reasons for becoming a vegetarian, I really don't believe there is anything morally or biblically wrong with eating meat. As I've begun to question my non-meat-eating ways, and started to think about eating meat again, the idea of it became such a big deal for me that I've realized my vegetarianism has been a sort of idol. Being a vegetarian is a deeply ingrained part of my identity and, honestly, a source of pride (not the good kind).

So, I ate some salmon. Thang said he was a little bit sad for me. Honestly, it wasn't anything to write home about. I'd take some well-prepared tofu over that anyday. But, I needed to do it. I am by no means ready to start loading my plate with meatloaf, turkey legs and pig's feet. I'm still reading and praying and trying to determine what's healthiest and most beneficial.

And, I may never eat meat again, or maybe I'll just wait 16 more years.

What Our Little One Has Been Up To.

Enough about me, back to the real star of the show...

Nora has been so silly lately, revealing more and more of her goofy and joyful personality. One of the odd little habits she has picked up recently, is the obsessive need to put everything she's about to eat...on her head. It's like she has to mentally taste it before putting it in her mouth. Mmmm, spaghetti, let me just try this on my head first. Milk? Let's just put this up here. Cheerios, peas, cheese, all goes on the head. This one's funny until Mommy has to try to wash all that gunk out of her hair. Yeah, we're working on putting an end to it.

Giving her milk the "head-test" - it appears she needs total concentration.

Another of her eccentricities is her love for her yellow block (see pic). While most kids become attached to a favorite teddy bear, a blankie or the occasional article of clothing, Nora's "lovie" is a hard, wooden block. It is quite hilarious to watch her somehow sniff out, like a hound dog, the block from her big basket of toys. Once she's found it, it's in hand the rest of the day - we even let her sleep with it from time-to-time. Thankfully, she only lets out one little whine of protest when we take it away from her when she eats or bathtime. After being in Pennsylvania for two weeks, we thought maybe she would have forgotten the block, but as soon as we walked in the door and put her down, she had dug out her beloved yellow block.

The beloved yellow block.

On the developmental front, our girl seems to like to take things reeeeeal easy. She waited until 11 1/2 months to start crawling and now that she has that down pat, seems in no hurry to start walking. She cruises all over the place and will stand quite steadily on her own for awhile. But, she's gotten pretty speedy on those hands and knees, so why mess with a good thing, right? Mommy is learning to take things easy too, not worry so much and not try to rush these milestones - they grow-up so fast as it is!

She is, however, doing quite a bit of talking these days, if only Mommy and Ba knew how to speak "baby-ese". Some of her favorite "words":

"Up"

"Bob" - not sure who this Bob-person is.

"Mamamamamaaaa" - what she yells when she's annoyed, usually when she doesn't want to take a nap.

"Rar-rar-rar"

Of course, none of these things actually correspond with what they should when she says them (at least I'm hoping she doesn't correlate "Mama" with being annoyed). So, she keeps us guessing.

That's it for now. I am supposed to be resting and recuperating from a bad birthday cold!