I haven’t felt like I’ve had much to blog about lately, but I figured I’d write out a few tidbits for those of you who might be feeling impatient for a new post.
. Ryan went off to New York to finish a record for a friend last week, leaving Jack and I alone for four nights. I was dealing with a lot of irrational fears before he left (“What if the plane crashes? What if someone breaks in while we’re sleeping?” etc), but thanks to lots of prayer, I felt considerably peaceful while he was gone. It was a perfect time to face my fears and put my trust completely in the Lord. I feel much better now. 🙂
. While Ryan was gone, Jack and I spent a lot of time with Allie and her boy, Harper. We baked, went to the park, visited JoAnn’s and just had a nice time (Allie’s husband was out of town, too). I made more homemade whole wheat bread and some delicious, relatively healthy (whole wheat flour, honey, and oil – no butter) banana muffins. Want the recipe? I’ll post it if you want it!
. I’ve been thinking hard about this for a long time, and I have finally resolved to build up my skirt/dress collection and possibly eliminate my pants/shorts collection. It’s kind of hard to explain, but my top reasons are: to look and feel more feminine, it’s comfortable, and my husband prefers me in skirts and dresses, anyway. 🙂 I found a simple McCall’s long bias skirt pattern on eBay (it’s out of print, but I’d heard it was a great pattern and I found it at a great discount) and it only requires 2 & 1/2 yards of fabric. I’m planning on making a couple next week…and I may experiment with a pregnancy panel, as well.
. Last night, I made homemade flour tortillas (Hence the flour-covered keyboard. I used this recipe. They were super easy and 10 times better than store-bought tortillas) for tacos. We really enjoyed our meal, and resolved to get up early (since Ryan needed to be at work early) to make breakfast burritos. We sauteed an onion, the beef, and several eggs together, placed the mixture in a tortilla and topped it with a little grated cheddar cheese and Tapatio. Oh, my.
. Speaking of Tapatio, I’ve been trying to figure out what else I can use it with. I LOVE spicy. I’m almost obsessed. Any ideas?!
. Speaking of food, I recently decided to make a 10-day meal plan. This way, we end up eating the same (or variations of the same) meal only three times per month. I have a “once every 10 days” shopping list for all fresh ingredients, and a monthly “keep in stock” list that I will use to check inventory of non-perishables in my kitchen each month. Of course…I may need to purchase some fresh ingredients more than just once every 10 days, but thankfully, there’s a farmer’s market down the street from us that I can visit. The point is, I’m finally getting a handle on meal planning…and it feels GOOD.
. Oh, and I still have more to say about food. I’m done buying things that I could easily make from scratch. I’ve resolved to bake my own wheat bread, granola, biscuits, cornbread, make my own waffles, pancakes, and tortillas, and basically…not buy anything processed. I’m going to start buying dried beans only (in place of canned beans) and my hope is to make all our meals from scratch as often as possible. I know it can be done. It’s a lost art – I know this for certain. My current 10-day meal plan in comprised of simple, delicious, yet inexpensive from-scratch meals. I can do it!
. Jack has gone through so many sippy cups in the past few months and I’m so tired of how cheaply made they are. I need a good, solid sippy cup – this kid loves water. I’ve tried to get him used to a regular cup, but I think it’s fair to say that he can’t be expected to be that careful at this age. Maybe it makes sense while he’s seated in his highchair, but while driving or walking or playing, I need a good solid cup. Any thoughts? I’m heading to Target and Right Start to see what I can find this morning. There’s a high possibility that I may come back empty-handed, though.
. I drink my coffee black. I love it that way. But sometimes…I crave the gross, highly sweetened creamers. And I feel like buying a three-pack of the huge bottles at Costco. Ever get like that, or am I just pregnant here?
. We’ve named our little boy. For some reason, I haven’t shouted his name from the rooftops, although I absolutely adore it (it’s an awesome family name). I wonder what’s keeping me quiet? I definitely tell people when they ask. I just don’t…volunteer it. Hmm.
. Jack has lots of little words (“ball,” “car,” “Whoa!” etc) but his first two-syllable words, besides “Mama” and “Daddy,” are (can you believe it?) “camel” and “Bible.” Camel sounds a little more like “Mammal” but he says it every single time he sees a camel, and Bible…well…it sounds exactly the way it should. Ryan and I spend time each morning reading the Bible together, and Jack is very quick to tell us that we’re reading the Bible. We didn’t even teach him that word. He just started saying it. I told Ryan, “We must be doing something right!” 😉 Hehe…just kidding. But seriously.
. I’m considering giving my all to container gardening this spring. I have a few planters out front, but not much. We’ve got a big shelf-like thing under our bedroom window, and we also have a covered patio out back. I’d really like to figure out a way to grow things, even with such limited space…you know, to “bloom where I’m planted” (no pun intended).
There’s probably a lot more, but I’ll leave you with that for now. Any questions? 🙂
Mama Rissa 