Sewing and Soaping

Yesterday, I was more creative than I've been in a long time and the best part was that it didn't take a ton of time.  This week, all 5 of us have been fighting off the dreaded stomach bug in one form or another.  Yesterday, I decided that I needed to make chicken soup.  Of course, the kids didn't eat it but my husband and I had it for lunch and dinner.  Since it was last minute, I decided to buy packaged broth and use a chicken that we had cooked earlier in the week as well as some escarole from my husband's uncle's garden and frozen veggies.  I also bought a chicken so that I could make my own broth and chicken soup for later.

Later in the afternoon, I brought my sewing machine up from the cellar and made a quick strip rag quilt made out of flannel that I had bought when the twins were infants.  It worked up really quick, and even though I still need to bind them, the twins used them last night.  I like my daughter's blanket way better than I like my son's, but that could just be the colors.

All sewn and snipped, waiting to be washed

All washed, waiting to go in the dryer

Finished in the dryer waiting to have the binding put on

Later, last night, I decided to do something that I have been wanting to do for some time now.  I made soap in the crockpot.  I was a little nervous since I was told how dangerous lye could be, and even though it is very dangerous and caustic, it wasn't any where near as scary as I thought.  I most likely used the wrong oil mixture for a good hard bar of soap, but for my first try, it wasn't bad.  I am going to try again tonight with a better mix of oils.  I will use a different soap calculator than I used for my batch last night.  The one, http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php, I used last night was good for telling me how much water and lye to use given the amount of oils I was using, but it didn't tell me that I didn't use a good balance of oils.  I am hoping that after some time curing, it will harden enough to be an ok bar of soap.  I removed it from the mold and cut it so there is more surface area expose to air.  I can't wait to make more soap.  I think I have become addicted after just one batch and that batch didn't even come out right!  I think, at least for me, the lye calculator to use is: http://www.SoapCalc.net/calc/SoapCalcWP.asp.  I like all the information that it gives.  I know there is some controversy to which calculator to use, but I like http://www.SoapCalc.net.

In the crockpot cooking

colored and put into mold

un-molded and cut

I'm pretty happy with how creative I was yesterday.  If I could be creative, just a fraction of what I was yesterday, I would be thrilled!

Amy

AEDM 11/17/2011

I am trying to be better and also in the same breath, trying to give myself a break when I don't find time or if I am just too tired to create.  I am still working on the advent calendar, and may need to re-do some of the ornament that I started ( I think they are too small), which is a good thing since I was thinking I hate working with things this small.  I also made a bracelet yesterday and really liked it, but again have to re-do it since I dropped the bracelet and one of the jasper stones broke.  The other thing that I did was make my first ever gluten free pie!  It came out ok and figures that my son I made it for has no interest in  eating it.  I am reading one of my jewelry books to get inspired to make some gifts, especially for the teachers in my kids lives.  I am off now to play with my older son and maybe even create with him while the twins are taking their nap (or at least are having quiet time)!

My newest bracelet

Amy

Blogging

I remember when I first found out about blogging.  I was at a twin's group meeting and people were talking about blogs.  This was about 2 years ago, and once I started, I was hooked.  I first started with a blog about my kids as a way to keep track of the different things that went on in our crazy life, being a mom of 3 in 10 1/2 months.  Then I got on this kick about healthy/natural living, thus this blog came to be.

Now that I am embarking on a major diet change, I am looking to my fellow bloggers for support.  Now I don't really have a lot of followers, and I don't have a lot of people that actually comment, but I use my blog as a way to help me.  I don't publish anything that is too personal, yet I try to be as honest as I can.  I am using my blog as a way to document my struggles and hopefully my many more successes.  I am also hoping to use this as a place to share some of my recipes that I have found that help me as I move along this crazy road of getting healthy.

To get specific, my goals are to become more plant strong and give up any animal foods.  I am also going to start eliminating foods that have shown up on my list of potential allergies/intolerences.  I have also been reading Dr Neal Barnard's book "Breaking The Food Seduction".  I have only read some of it, but what I ahve read makes total sense to me, especially after taking a substance abuse class in grad school.  It certainly makes me feel better knowing that there is a reason why I have such a hard time giving up certain foods.  I know that this does not give me an excuse to continue to eat those foods, but it certainly helps me to realize how I need to deal the issues aound those foods.

The other part about blogging that I absolutely love is, I love to read other people's blogs.  I wish I had more time to spend meeting people out in the blogosphere, but with 3 little ones, a husband, a house, cooking ,cleaning, work, and just every day little things, there is jsut not enough time.  There are too many blogs to mention, but I get so inspored by reading other peoples blogs.  I love learning about thier children, their way of eating, their struggles, and so much more.

So for my first recipe share, I want to share with you my Lentil dal recipe.  I found a recipe years ago and have since lost it.  At this point, I have made it so often, that I know the basics of what goes into it and have made it my own.

Red Lentils:
1 c red lentils
1 onion chopped
1 T yellow mustard seeds
1/2 t garlic powder (you can use cloves, but I tend to be lazy)
1 T garam masala
1 t cumin
1 t corriander
1 t fenugreek
1 t tumeric
1 lg can of diced tomatoes
1 handful of brown rice

Cook onion, garlic and mustard seeds in a small amount of oil.  When the onion is translucent and the mustard seed are popping, add the rest of the spices and cook for a minute or so.  After a minute add the red lentils after they have been rinsed.  Add the can of diced tomatoes, the rice, and enough water to cover.  I usually add about 1 3/4 of the large tomoato can.  Cook until the rice is done, which I have found is any where from 30-45 minutes.

I have to admit that these are approximations of the amounts of ingredients.  I tend to just kind of throw things in and not really measure exactly if at all.  You can add other beans along with the lentils.  I have added chick peas and tonight I added some brown lentils just for the fun of it.  You can also leave out the rice and use less water and cook until the lentils are done about 25 minutes and cook the rice on the side.  I am hoping to get more adventurous in teh kitchen and start trying to make up my own recipes.  If anyone has suggestions for learnign how to make up your own recipe, like what spices go together and with what foods, I would love it.  I am always on the hunt for new books and my new passion is cooking plant strong.

Amy

Second Post of the Night: My Diet

So this is my second post of the night.  Too Much?  Maybe, but I want to make sure that I write down my successes and my failures/set backs.  One of the big successes that I have had is drinking my green smoothie in the morning instead of my usual pancakes, french toast, bagel, etc.  I have been throwing a bunch of fruit including, bananas, oranges, berries, granny smith apples and blending them with water and then I've been adding some swiss chard for the greens.  It's been pretty satisfying along with my tea.  I haven't had any coffee for a few weeks now.  For a little while, I was still drinking coffee once in a while, but then I realized I really no longer liked the taste, it was more of a habit than anything.  I still am having trouble with eating a healthy lunch, but today I had left over rice and beans and really enjoyed it.  I also had it for dinner.  I am thinking that the left overs are so much better since the spices sit and flavor the rice and beans more.  I can't wait for tomorrow when I get to eat tonight's left overs. 

I really need to get books on how to make my own recipes.  things like, what spices go together, ratios of different ingredients.  I want to be more adventurous and creative with my cooking.  I don't want to just follow a recipe.  I want to come up with my own recipe.  I am thinking that Asian style food is the way that I tend to like to eat so I need to learn more about that style of cooking.  I am also definitely trying to lean more vegan and even somewhat raw in the different recipes that I make.  Hopefully one of these days, I will have this way of eating become a lifestyle. I don't want to ever diet again.  I want to maintain healthy eating habits so that my lifestyle ensures that I maintain my weight and my health remains good.

As for se backs, I won't write about them now.  I am going to forget about them and move forward.  I have a meeting to go to tonight and I am going to be good with what I eat.  Hopefully , there will be healthy foods and not just junk food.  If there is only junk food, I will really need to evaluate if I really need to eat it, probably not.

Hopefully I get a few readers to help me on my journey with this blog.  If not, this is my place to come clean and share with who ever reads this, the struggles of living a handmade and natural life.  Good living is not all about diet.  It's about following your passions, living a healthy active life, maintaining private time with your significant other, maintaining family time, nurturing and maintaining friendships, having hobbies, and just living a happy life.

BTW-one of the benefits, at least I am assuming it's from changing my diet (at least a little) is today was the first day in over a week that I did not have a head ache at all.  No ibuprofen today.  I was actually getting worried.  I had never had that many headaches in a row.

Amy

Inspiration

Am I inspired and if so, to do what?  I am inspired, but the problem is I tend to lose any energy to put my inspiration to good use.  Why do I lose inspiration?  That is the obvious question.  What is not obvious is the answer.  I have all these dreams and goals, but I don't ever seem to put them to good use.  Yes, I am a busy mom of 3, but I tend to lose focus.  I start off with the best of intentions and then, I totally lose it! 

One of the things thatI am inspired to do, is change my eating.  I start off doing well, then I lose it.  The thing is, I think that my diet, may have something to do with my lasck of energy, my lack of focus.  I really want to cut out gluten, dairy and probably yeast from my diet.  I really need to eat a anti-candida diet and see if that gives me any more focus and energy.  For the life of me, other than thinking that I am struggling with food addictions, I can not figure out why I can't eat the way I want to.  It's not like I don't like the food, it's more that I like the other foods more.  It's more that I can't stop eating the other foods.  I try going slow, but then I just explode and everything goes horrible.  I read all these blogs about people who have made changes and feel so much better.  Why can't I make the changes too.

I am also inspired to be more creative, I just can't seem to find the time or the energy to pull out my supplies.  I should give myself some credit here though.  I have been trying to be really good about fitting in some creative time every week and I have been able to do that, just not as often as I would like and more rushed than I would like vs being an enjoyable activity.

I would like to be more green in my life.  I do well at times, but then I don't do any where near as well as I would like.  I want to be less reliant on commercial stores and use more thrift items.  I want to make better choices when it comes to food, energy, and recycling.  I am really trying hard not to buy new, trying to cook at home (healthy meals), trying to not use energy sucking appliances, and trying to reduce, re-use and recycle and up-cycle.

Some of these activities are things that I would love to translate into a profession.  I know that i could go back to school and get an art therapy degree, a nutrition degree, go to cooking school for alternative cooking (not just the basic cooking that I can already do), sell my creations, and I'm sure there are more, I just have to think outside the box.  The thing is I have to get my body and mind to have the energy and the focus to decide what it is that I want to do for a career!  After writing this (which is one of the reasons I like this blog), I am thinking that I really need to focus on my diet and see if that helps with my energy and my focus in other areas.  I guess the next step is for me to start cutting out dairy, wheat, gluten and all the other potential allergens/intolerances that I may have and start eating a more vegan diet as well as an anti-candida diet and start to see if I feel better.  I need to focus on my food addictions (at least the ones that I think I have) and really be good at not eating them so that I don't get into the habit of eating things that are not good for me.  I am thinking I may even start eating green smoothies as a way to just start this whole process.  I will be sure to write about the different changes to my diet and how these changes are affecting my whole life.  The one things that I will always take from my social work education is that people are multi-faceted and that all the different areas of our life affect who we are.  When we make changes in one area, it can have either positive or negative effects in other areas.  I know what I need to do, now I just need to do it!

Amy

Christmas Projects/Food

I am starting to make my Christmas cards tonight.  For a few of them, immediate family, I will be quilling pictures and gluing them to the embellished cards.  For the other cards, I will be just rubber stamping simple designs.  For all the cards, I will be adding the kids' Christmas picture with Santa, once we get it!

I am also going to make some wine sacks/infused oil/vinegar sacks.  I am also going to make a scrapbook of the kids from the pictures from 2010.  I think I may suck it up and purchase the iscrapbook program, so that I can scrapbook a little more easily.  I also want to make a doll for Eva Rose and teddy bears out of my mother in law's old coat.  The teddy bears, most likely won't even be started til after Christmas and I want to give them to my kids and the nieces and nephew and my sister in law.  I want my husband to make the kids co2 cars for Christmas because they seem to love cars and I want us to make them something for Christmas this year, not just buy a bunch of commercial gifts.

I am also attmpting to cook more and to cook more healthy.  I have my own dietary considerations as well as my husband's.  Then there is the need to make things that the kids will eat and that is healthy.  We are trying to eat less meat for both health and eco-friendly reasons.  Eating healthy is always a process in my house!

Amy

Wishcasting Wednesday

It's time again for wishcasting Wednesday.  Jamie Ridler asks "What do you wish to shed?"  When I first read this, I immediately thought pounds.  I would love to shed about 30 pounds so that I will feel better all around.  If I were to shed even half that, I know that I would feel a lot better about myself.  I really think that shedding some of the extra weight that I have packed on over the last few years will help me feel better about how I look.  This in turn will, hopefully, give me more confidence all around.  More confidence, will hopefully lead to less insecurities.  I am under no delusion though, that how I look will completely take care of all of my insecurities.  I know that there is more here to deal with, but that is a subject for another time.

Eating healthier, and more homemade foods will help me shed those pounds.  In turn, I'll be following through with my goal of cooking at home, saving money, being more green, and maybe even being creative in the kitchen.  This whole process will hopefully help me to be more healthy overall and isn't that something we all strive for?

Amy

Creative Inspiration

I've decided that I love reading blogs!  I especially love reading creative, health, and food related blogs.  My newest blog that I love to read is http://newdressaday.com/ .  I literally just started reading this blog today after seeing the blog owner, Marisa Lynch, on The Early Show this morning.    This blogger decided that she was going to make a new dress every day out of things that she finds at thrift store, flea markets etc.  She stated that she decided to do this most likely since she was turning thirty, she was laid off from her job and she was inspired by the movie Julie and Julia.  So far, she has done a dress/article of clothing a day, and from what I can see, she hasn't spent more than three dollars on the item that she refashions.  She is a total inspiration to me.

After seeing this blogger, I started to get re-energized about my blog that I had started January 1st.  Unfortunately, that blog did not go the way I planned.  Why I thought that I would have time to create very day with three little ones under two (at the time I started this), I have no idea.  Initially, I had the same inspiration as Marisa Lynch, the movie Julie and Julia.  I started out thinking that I would at least work on a project every day hopefully completing these projects sooner than later or letting them become UFO's, unfinished objects.  Unfortunately, this was too much for me to take on and I just stopped.  I kept up with my other blogs, but let that one fall by the wayside.  I plan to start that blog again.  I may not write every day, but for my own sanity, I plan to attempt to craft every day and post comments and pictures as often as I can.  This blog is at http://thecreativelifeproject.blogspot.com/ .

I plan to be creative, finish projects, use the supplies I have, and get organized while doing this.  I think that using what I have is going to be a huge deal.  I have so many supplies and unfortunately thay are not as organized as they could be so I often go and spend more money and take up more space than I should.  Using what I have and if I don't have the exact item that I need, I will look to see if I have an alternative so that I can be a little more green with my crafting.

As an aside- I have been cooking mroe and trying out new recipes.  I am loving trying new things, so I am really being creative in different areas of my life.  I am also working hard at eating healthier and I do well sometimes and then other time not so well.  It is always a work in progress and will probably always be something I struggle with.

Amy

Food Update

My new goal of wanting to cook more at home, cook more healthy foods, and use less processed ingredients is starting to actually happen.  I still need to get more organized, but I am doing better on that front also.  We have been eating stonyfield yogurt most morning for a few weeks now.  I have actually made granola to out in it, but we have run out so we are currently using store bought.  I will be making more granola soon though so we will again be having homemade foods.  I am also trying to get a handle on time so that I can attempt to make my own crock pot yogurt.  My friend Chantal, another twin mom who feels very similar about food as I do if not more so, makes her own yogurt this way so now it's my turn.

We have had a ton of eggplant from our garden as well as tomatoes.  On facebook, I asked for suggestions for using the eggplant and got some really good suggestions.  I am attempting a ratatouille recipe (from smitten kitchen)  with oureggplant, and our neighbors summer squash and zuchinni.  Unfortunately, most of the red pepper it calls for is from the grocery store, but a little is from our garden.  I also plan to make an eggplant hummus recipe from http://www.premeditatedleftovers.com.  I also plan to make my own pita bread once I find a good recipe, so if anyone has one, please post it!  We also got a ton on swiss chard from our neighbor that I want to use soon, before it goes bad and I got a recipe from http://www.breastfeedingmomsunite.com/.  I can't wait to try it.

I found the foodrenegade.com site and am really liking it.  Now I have one more blog to follow as well as all the blogs that I find from that site.  I really am comitted to change the way I view food and my health, it's just going to take some time and some patience on my part.  Nothing happens overnight or at least nothing that is good for you so I just need to be patient and perservere though the difficult and trying times!

Amy

Weekend Update

I had lots of things planned for the weekend, and I actually got somethings completed.  This was not the weekend for the twins group outing. so that was one less ting on the list.  What I did get completed was the granola, some garden work, the mei tai, and even got to bed on the earlier side and got some rest, since the kids all slept really well.  Oh, and I make cookies with the kids (of course I did most of it with a little help from the kids).  I still need to make graham crackers, yogurt, more granola, more planting (not any time soon with the rain we are having) and I know that there is more that I need to do!

These are the pictures of my mei tai.  I tried on all the kids quickly this morning.  I was actually able to do it by myself, and Eva Rose as the first was my worst.  The two boys cooperated much more and I am really excited to use it!  I think the kids will really like it.

Work in progress

Miss Eva Rose in the Mei Tai

Mr Michael in the Mei Tai (better positioned)

Mr Thomas in the  Mei Tai

Finished project

Finally finished!  I feel pretty good about all that I got done this weekend.  I still have plenty of things that I need to work on.  I need to plan what projects I can work on while I am at work if there is down time.  I have a bunch of cooking baking things that I want/need to make and given that it is going to rain for a couple of days (much needed) I think I may get some things done.

Amy

Projects For The Weekend

Last night, I started trying my plan to get organized.  I followed flylady.net advice and shined my sink. Great, I can do that every night and yes it did look really nice.  I will work on day 2 of my flylady plan.  I will also make some granola tonight, maybe even attempt some homemade yogurt since we seem to go through it so quickly with 5 of us eating it (I'm eating the low fat though so not as much of mine get eaten as quickly), I will at least cut out the material and if possible sew a pocket diaper for Thomas (we are trying out new diapers to see what is going to work best for the kiddos given their sensitive skin), I think I will also make oatmeal for breakfast in the slow cooker (yummmmm).  Between tomorrow and Sunday, I need to plant the irises that my mom gave me, transplant the lillies that I already have, and overall get the front gardens looking better.  I also want to make graham crackers (no HFCS or partially hydrogenated fats in these), a peach and blueberry cobbler, sew more diapers, and make my mei tei wrap before my little ones get too big!  There is also the possibility of going on an outing with my twins group and I don't know how that will fit in to the weekend of if it does at all.  Maybe we won't even go.  If I can get even a few of these thing completed, I will be thrilled!

Even though I want to get things accomplished (and the things I listed don't include the housework I need to do) I need to make sure that I get to bed at a normal hour (I think 11 o'clock is appropriate).  I will just have to prioritize what needs to get done and what can be postponed!

Amy

Getting Organized

I really need to get organized (as I have so often wrote)!  Last post, I worte about getting more balance in my life.I think that one of the first things I need to do to get organized is to find time for myself.  That most likely means that I will need to get up at specific time every day, hopefully before the kids, so that I can plan to do thing by myself.  Initially that may mean that I get up early and start spending a short amount of time organizing an area in my home.  I need to start getting a schedule of things that need to get done, daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonally.  Once I get that, I can start to get a plan on how to get things done so that I can find time for me.  I also want to be able to find time to make homemade food items.  I really am inspired by the blogs I read and also the friend I have.  I want to make sure that I find time to be creative.  I have so many projects that I want to complete and that I really need to complete.  I need to schedule time to complete these projects.  I guess I also need to figure out specifically how I want to spend my days.  I also want to start scheduling time to spend with the kids doing tasks that allows the kids to have some learning time!

I have lots of things that I want to do and many things that I need to do.  I just have to prioritize them and spend less time doing things that I don't need to be doing like watching tv, facebook, and other things like that!

Amy

Life

Life has been a little crazy lately.  There's really not too much going on, but with summer and the heat and the garden and just plain old everything that needs to get done around the house, I feel like I have been on the go all the time.  This has really gotten in the way of doing things right.  I have not done anything creative lately at all.  I keep saying I'm going to, but I never get around to it.  I am in the process of trying to make a baby carrier like a Babyhawk.  I just can't seem to get the sewing machine out.  I have so many projects that I want to make especially on the sewing machine.  i need to force myself to be creative and make things with the supplies that I have!  I have also done a horrible job of eating healthy and cooking at home.  We have been eating out way too much lately.  I really need to get back on track and start cooking and eating healthy.

My husband has been getting out in the garden and doing a great job at taking care of things there.  I am getting a little disappointed though with how it is looking.  We have a few tomatoes, 1 great zucchini, a couple of peppers, maybe a spaghetti squash or 2.  I am hoping that in time, things will pick up.  We have had a horrible heat wave here with little to no rain.  The grass looks like it usually does in August, so I am hoping that we get rain more often and hopefully that will help things grow better.  Next year we will plan better and hopefully have better soil since we are also composting this year.  Only time will tell how our garden will be and hopefully we will have veggies to get us through some meals!  Oh, and I forgot we also have a cauliflower and have had a little broccoli.

I am getting totally frustrated with my cloth diapers.  I am using prefolds with covers and had been loving them for the last year except for the rashes that the kids are getting!  I feel like every time I get their rashes cleared up, they come back.  I can't for the life of me figure out what I m doing wrong.  I think I may need to strip them again since we have had an issue with water pressure related to our filter system.  The filters have all been changed and now we have normal water pressure.  Hopefully, if I strip them again and we continue to maintain water pressure, things will get back to normal.  If not, I plan to buy new prefolds and maybe even use disposables until the kids rash clears up!

I joined in a couch to 5K with another twin mom.  I walked only 1 time last week and didn't run at all.  My husband and I need to get back on track and get exercising again.  I have 1 more week til I start back to work part time.  I want to spend this week enjoying my last week without needing to worry about being back home for work.  I think we may go up to Franconia notch, kangamagus highway area and do some walking and sight seeing with the kids.  We will spend Wed night having a birthday cake for my husband's aunt.  The rest of the week I just want to enjoy, but also still make sure that we work on the couch to 5K program.

Hopefully, my life will settle and I can get back to the life that I want to lead.  I really want to start cooking again, but I have to admit (as much as I hate to) I do like to eat out.  I also like to eat junk food.  I need to start eating healthy and getting healthy and start having better habits for my kids to follow!

Amy

Giveaway

I found this new blog: The Cheap and Choosy after the author left me a comment on my blog.  I am really looking forward to getting to know this blogger and read many more entries.  The most recent entry is regarding a giveaway of the pink and chocolate apron from cookware.com.

I am absolutely in love with this apron.  I need to get cooking more.  I am doing better, but can always do better an d better.  I love aprons, but tend not to wear them for some stupid reason.  I love this one though and would love to wear it.  If I don't win it I may need to think a bout making one that is similar to it.  I love getting new comments on my blog especially when it leads to finding new blogs and new friends!

Check out thecheapandchoosy.blogspot.com and cookware.com

Amy

Pork chops and new Christmas craft

We had pork chops for dinner.  I needed to find a new way of cooking them.  I was tired of having pork chops under the broiler or on the grill.  I found a recipe from Rachel Ray on Foodtv.com and decided to tweak it somewhat given the ingredients that I had on hand.  I made a sauce with Zinfandel wine, chicken stock, onions, craisins, and goat cheese.  I wasn't sure how it would come out, but I loved it.  I never tweak recipes.  I pretty much follow them word for word with maybe a small decrease/increase in the amounts of non major ingredients or maybe swapping an ingredient that I don't have, but not anything major.  I was so proud of myself with this recipe.  I will make sure that I write down what I used and the approximate amounts.

I also found a great new project.  On http://pinkandgreenmama.blogspot.com/2009/12/homemade-christmas-gifts-redwork-hand.html I found my newest craft project.  I traced all 3 kids' hands and will be embroidering the outline of their hand along with their name and the date.  It seems like a simple project that shouldn't take too much time, yet something that will mean so much when they are older.  This may even be a gift for someone or maybe a couple of people, but definitely a project for me to keep.

The other project is making cookies for Christmas gifts for the neighbors.  I think I am going to make the 12 days of cookies for these gifts.  I am really looking forward to baking.  I love cooking/baking and am definitely enjoying making food for my family.

I am loving being a SAHM.

Amy

Wishcasting Wednesday

This week, Jamie Ridler at http://jamieridlerstudios.ca/wishcasting-wednesday-november-25, asks "What steps do you wish to take?"

After reading a couple of other people's wishes, I realized that I have recently started taking steps to become a healthier me and hopefully a healthier family.  So far they have really only been small steps, but baby steps get you to where you want to be.  I have started cooking more at home instead of getting take out.  Don't get me wrong, we still get take out and we still have way too much junk food, but like last night we had salmon, broccoli rabe, and roasted yukon gold dreamer potatoes.  I am so not a fish eater, but I know salmon is much healthier than the red meat that I love to eat and I know that my husband really likes salmon and wants to start eating it more often and my 20 1/2 month old really ate great at dinner last night.  I think I may be cooking Indian Dal (lentils) for dinner tonight.  This is another dish that my husband really likes and it's a great dinner for the whole family to be able to eat including my 10 month old twins.  I also want to eat at our kitchen table, not in front of the TV.  This means keeping the kitchen clean so that I can cook and we can eat at the table!

Along with eating healthier, we really need to start exercising more.  My husband plans to set up his bike in the basement once his brother leaves Friday.  I plan to walk more often.  Even though it is getting cold, and I unfortunately didn't take advantage of the mild fall we have had here in MA, I plan to get out with the kids and just keep them bundled.  It won;t hurt them to be out in the cold weather as long as I have them bundled warm enough, plus it will be good for them to be outside.

Another way for me to be healthier is to make sure that I try to be creative every day.  I get on a roll, but then I tend to stop.  I think it is better for me to do small projects rather than large ones because with 3 kids completing large projects takes so much out of me.  I also need to be better at time management.  I can't not wait to the last minute to complete things, like I have done in the past!  This just ends up causing more stress and I don't enjoy being creative.

The last way that I want to be healthier is by journaling.  I love my blogs and Jamie has given me lots to think about.  I love blogging at thiscrazylife-amy.blogspot.com, since it is about my life with my family.  I do want to continue to journal in a paper journal though, because I believe that, at least for me, hand writing my thoughts and feelings on paper feels much better sometimes than blogging and it is much more personal.

What steps do you wish to take?

Amy

Cooking for Thanksgiving

This year, Thanksgiving will be a little different.  We will only be going to 1 of our family's house this year.  Usually, we do brunch with my family then we have dinner with my husband's family.  For the last few years that has meant Mass and either Conn or Maine.  I have also had the benefit of cooking the main course for brunch.  This year all I have to do is make an appetizer.  There will be other appetizers that sound yummy and I don't want to take away from them, but I want to make sure that what I make tastes good and is also seasonally related.  I went on-line and found a huge amount of recipes that all sound so good.  I think I decided on spiced nuts and candied bark.  I am really looking forward to making these new recipes.  They seem easy enough and maybe even can be made ahead of time so that I am not rushed Thanksgiving Day.  This year, even though we only have to go to one house, we have 3 small kids to get ready.  I am so looking forward to the holidays now that we have 3 kids.  With Christmas coming, I am looking forward to taking them to see lights and maybe even sing Christmas carols, never mind Santa.  I know that they are still way to small to even know what is happening this holiday and maybe even next year, but I know that Tom and I will have the memories of this first Christmas with our complete family.

Now I have to figure out what container to use!

Amy

Going Green

Well my plan to go green has not been going well at all.  I started out doing great when I started this blog, but now that Tom is back in school, it's crazy how busy I am.  Things are much busier and we haven't been able to get to the farmers market as much as we were during the summer.  I still try to cook more than doing take out, but we are doing take out more than I would like.  I am also spending more time in my car, which is definitely not green.  I have not been walking like I wanted to.  My goal was to shop daily by walking to the grocery store with the 3 kids.  That way, I would be buying what we needed, not using the car as much, and getting some exercise.  Unfortunately I have not been doing this.  I was actually going to start today, but it is raining and I am not taking 3 kids for a walk in the rain.  Thankfully I had bought most of the stuff for a crockpot version of butternut squash soup.  I believe that the crockpot (slow cooker) is a pretty green way of cooking.  Not only can you save energy this way, but I can get dinner started in the morning and not have to worry about it for the rest of the day.  So far I have made 2 new recipes in the slow cooker.  Tonight is the squash soup with no dairy.  Supposedly it's just as creamy as other versions that are ladened with cream and fat.  We'll see how it turns out.  I did buy a new slow cooker cook book that I will be trying out often (I hope).  I hope to get back on track with my going green!  I am still trying to recycle, but still need to work better on not driving as much, cooking for my family, and trying to eat either locally or what's in season!  Also I need to continue to eat healthier, exercise and use green cleaning products!

Go Green!