Caroline's Apple Pie - Boy was She Proud

A New Venture

FOODIE FRIDAYS...

As I have been talking about in my blog, one of my goals right now (a part of organizing my family's eating plan) is to try out new recipes, or new techniques each week, at least one day a week. As a way to keep myself accountable to this pursuit, and a way to log it, and keep the good recipes to go back to, I have decided to blog

my upcoming culinary adventures!

I have decided to call it

Foodie Fridays

and each Friday I will blog the best of the weeks recipes, or maybe just one recipe or technique, hopefully with pictures included.

The website for this journey is:

www.myfoodiefridays.blogspot.com

An organized, disciplined Life....

My goal (nothing to do with New Years -really my post surgery goal) is to become organized, to become disciplined in the many facets of my life...

Spiritually,

Nutritionally for myself and my family,

Physically in regard to my health/fitness,

and organizationally in our home, as it is within my parents home for now...

Within each of these areas there is so much to organize, to plan, to pursue, to commit to, to finally get a hold of and then maintain....

Often I go it alone, it seem IMPOSSIBLE...

But the wonderful news is my God is a God who in interested in every facet of my life.

He wants to be involved in EVERYTHING, EVERY ASPECT.

All I need to do is ask, and instead of feeling anxiety I could be feeling the Joy of Serving my Lord.

I don't have to do it all perfectly on the first try. There is strength in His Arms, and as I fail in my strides towards these goals of Discipline in all areas of my life, He is there to catch me when i fall.
There is comfort there.

If I could rise each day seeking to serve Him first, and asking Him to help me in my daily pursuits, then I could find Joy in the trials.

So this is what I am thinking today....

Today I woke up planning to bake bread, clean the kitchen, go to bible study, cook a new dinner that is somewhat complex, get in my exercise, get to Target to get things for our trip to Ohio, pack for Ohio, get books returned to the library, and a few other little things....

But this is not what happened..

Andrew woke up with a fever. I was upset at how it messed up my plans.
I did not wake up with a prayer on my lips.

But on my second trip back to the school today for a forgotten book bag, it hit me... You can't plan everything perfectly...STUFF HAPPENS...

But one thing is for sure everyday...God Loves Me and Wants Me To Spend Time With Him.

I need to rise each day seeking Him first, asking Him that I may find the Joy in all of my daily "trials" because I am really Serving Him!

It may take me awhile to find my organized, disciplined life, but My God will be there to help me along the way, and pick me up time and time again as I trip along the way!

FRENCH BREAD I FINALLY DID IT!

I finally succeeded. I finally got my groove back.
I guess I need to start taking pics. It was so beautiful, aroumatic and glorious.
You just don't know how excited it made me to make a perfect, make that two perfect loave of whole wheat french bread.
The smell of yeast bread baking is just intoxicating.
Its one of my very favorite smells I do believe.
So hopefully the streak will continue.

On other fronts,
This week I had my 9th wedding anniversary with my husband Jason.
I want to take a few minutes to tell everyone, in case you didn't already know, a little bit about this man.
He is the most selfless person I have ever met.
He put my needs above his almost every single time.
He loves unconditionally, he supports me, he lifts me up, he shows me how to Love my Lord through his Example.
He has been beyond amazing these last years as I have been sick.
He as run a houshold, worked full time, taken care of the kids, done laundry, cleaned, cooked, taken care of me...and more.
All without complaint.
All with a smile on his face.
All with LOVE in his heart.
It truley amazes me. I don't know if I could have been so selfless, such an amazing servant if the tables were turned.
He is truley the best father, has been from Day 1.
I know so many of you have seen him alone with my kids time and time again. He is amazing isn't he?
Thank you Jason for being the most amazing, caring, loving, selfless husband in the world.
I love you and am so blessed to have been given you as my husband.

Tonight we get to have a night away. Some alone time! Yeah!
So I sign off now to go and get ready to spend a day/night out with my man!

Breadmaking Day, Try Try Again...

I used to make bread.
I really did.
I used to make wonderful, beautiful, scrumptious loafs of bread for my family to enjoy.
Fresh bread from scratch, the aroma is intoxicating.
The feel beneath your hands an you knead is calming, relaxing.
The whole process always makes me feel like I am doing something basic, a lost art. It always makes me feel fulfilled.
Not so many years back women made all of the bread that their families ate. It was all homemade.
No preservatives.
No grocery store shelves with 5 million choices...
Just one women, some yeast, flour, water, maybe a few other ingredients, and some time... and her hands yielded something so fragrant, so beautiful, so necessary for her family for the week.
A LOST ART.
I am on this kick that I want to make things from scratch for my family.
I really want clean, healthy living to be a priority again for my family.
So, I am starting today with BREAD MAKING 101 apparently. Apparently I lost my touch.
But I will get it back.
My fridg is stocked with grocery store veggies, not my first choice...but it will have to do.
I am planning to look into finding a farm to get local fresh veggies from.
We have all those farms out toward Gilbert...they have to have one that is willing to sell straight to the consumer???
Our new State Farmers Market is due to open in April 2010.
Its supposed to be state of the art, and wonderful. I cannot wait!!!!
Fresh from the farm that day. It doesn't get any better than that.
We have come so far from that in America. So many prepackaged, so many things picked so early and shipped from so far away....
I am really wanting to revamp our diet.
This is my goal for this new year.
I will take small steps at a time.
I AM EXCITED ABOUT THE PROSPECT OF IT.
COOKING FROM SCRATCH. MAKING WONDERFUL MEALS FROM LOCAL, FRESH PRODUCE.
LETTING PRODUCE TAKE THE FRONT, OR EITHER BE HIDDEN IN PUREES IN THE MAIN DISH!
i COULD GO ON....but i shall end her for today.
Can you tell I am excited to be able to cook again? To be in charge of my families intake again?

Its a New Year...Bring it on!

So today starts the New Year in all reality for us.
Back to school.
Back to work for Mimi and Pa-pop and Daddy.
Back to a schedule.
Back to some semblance of order in our lives.

Our lives have been such chaos and such disorder over the last months.
Then came Christmas Break....and surgery...and more hospital stays...
and more CHAOS.

I, for one, am actually excited to be back to REAL LIFE, to a schedule.
Usually I just love break. I want it to go on and on because it means Jason is home with me. Two parents.
But this time, I am ready for normalcy.
I am feeling better and I am ready to take on LIFE again.

Today Andrew and I went to the library.
We went grocery shopping-from a planned list.
(I actually planned out meals for the week and am planning to cook them all from scratch!)
THIS IS HUGE.
THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR, LOOKING FORWARD TO, LONGING FOR...
THE ABILITY TO FUNCTION, TO LIVE IN MY, IN OUR, LIFE AGAIN.
i EVEN MADE HOMEMADE BREAD TODAY.
don't know if it will turn out, its been so long-but I tried.
WOOT! WOOT!