Making My Own Food

DIY or do it yourself is a big thing right now. One of my goals in living is to reduce and hopefully eliminate processed food in my family's life. One of my problems with making my own food is that I get bored. I wish I knew more about how to make up recipes as I go that are exciting and flavorful. When I make something new or something that I haven't made in a long time, I get inspired to continue. The problem is I find myself making the same things all the time. The other night, I had a craving for lentils. I almost didn't make them because I felt like its summer and I should be making a light summer dish, not a heavy comfort food dish. I did add grilled pineapple and a caprese salad with fresh basil and fresh mozzarella which I do think lightened up the meal. What it did though, was to inspire me to make more foods that I don't usually make and to actually listen to my cravings when they are healthy cravings. I think my next goal is to learn about different spices and how they work with different foods. We, unfortunately, did have store bought canzone for food today and I bought an egg sandwich at a small local bistro today for breakfast. I am not really hungry for any other food today, but I plan to start tomorrow with making my own foods and experimenting with different foods and spices to feel more inspired to eat healthy, flavorful, inspired foods. One of the things that inspires me is to watch cooking shows as well as to go to my local farmers market. I love seeing all the different foods, some that I have never heard or cooked with and some are just inspiring even though I have eaten them many times before but maybe in a different way. What really inspires me is my friend Holly, at thesoulchef.com, who cooks every week and always inspires me to use new and different ingredients. I love trying new foods and foods that I have had, but cooked in different ways of with different flavors. Today, I promised my oldest son that we would make granola. He loves granola and yogurt and he loves to help in the kitchen. I want him to help and learn new foods that are healthy, especially since he is on the autism spectrum and I feel that he really needs to watch his diet to help with some of the symptoms of his autism. That in and of itself is enough for it's own post and more. Later tonight, after I find a good recipe, we will make our own granola so that we can add it to our yogurt which I want to become a staple grocery item in our house. Here's to some good, healthy, DIY foods to help kick the processed food habit and save money at the same time! Amy

Re-Inspired

It's been a few months since I've posted here. I seem to always start trying to post more of my creative things on another, separate blog but I always seem to come back to here I have recently become re-inspired to start posting here again and following through with why I created this blog in the first place. When I started this blog about five and a half years ago, it was to start living a more healthy and natural life while creating handcrafted things. Through the craziness of life, my follow through waxes and wanes. I have started creating mandalas and "zentangling". I have finally learned what zentangling is and love that I can be creative and do meditation at the same time. I have been posting my creations at my other blog, http://pixiewindow.blogspot.com. My latest creations are below:

I am also re-inspired to change my eating. I have been working on changing what and how I eat, and it's been a challenge. With the new year starting, I am joining up the with the 100 days of real food challenge. I am also trying to work more on how to add why I write about in this blog into my professional life. I love who I work for, but I don't love working in the nursing home arena any more. I want to do something more with nutrition and creativity and now that I have my LICSW, I feel like I have more options. I feel like I need to make more changes in my personal life so that I can be more credible in my professional life. I would love to have a place where I can have a creative arts studio and a kitchen and garden where I can teach about nutrition and where food comes from. I would love to have a place where people, especially children, can come and learn how to eat healthy and learn where food comes from and what different types of foods there are and how to create healthy delicious food that they will enjoy. I also want to teach ways of being creative and how to use creativity for relaxation and meditation. Someday, if I keep trying to figure it out, I will find a way to have my passions be part of both my personal and my professional life. I'll, hopefully be writing more about my plans and what I learn. I'm sure I'll continue posting on pixiewindow.blogspot.com, but I will be sure to continue to be active here and post about my mandala, zentangle, gardening, and cooking and eating healthy.

Best Wishes on living a balanced, handmade and natural life< Amy

Well, Hello There!

Well, Hello!

It's been a while.  I've been at the computer a lot lately, but not on my own blog, just every other blog out there, or so it seems.  I have written multiple drafts of different posts, but never seem to be able to finish them.  I'm hoping to get a new laptop or tablet or combo so that I can spend time doing different research and maybe even post a little more often.  I have started so many blogs, but I think that this one is one that I can maintain and keep going, all while combining the different aspects of my life.

I've gone a little off track with both this blog and my life.  I started writing this blog, trying to be more health conscious and living locally and naturally.  I seem to have gone away from this belief and started to eat more processed foods vs natural foods, buying things at large box style store vs local stores or even better making my own, and spending more time in front of the computer or the TV vs spending time creating or reading.

Today, I started making my own farmer's cheese and some sour dough bread.  I also started infusing some vodka (marshmallow and cranberry not that it's a healthy food).  I plan to try to make some homemade caramels too, again not a healthy food but better than processed store bought.  I will be making some yogurt over night too.  I've been growing my own sprouts lately and have tried to grow micro greens.  I just need to start the micro greens again.  My goal is to continue to make my own meals instead of eating out.  That way, I know what we are eating and we are saving money.

I want to start making my own clothes or at least up-cycling thrift store finds or hand me downs.  I Find myself sewing a lot more than doing other types of crafts.  I like being creative in general, but I really love sewing!  I really love quilting!

I hope to start posting more often.  Hopefully, my posts will consist of foods that I make and why and how I made them.  I hope to post more about the homemade things I make, bath and body items, household cleaning items.  I also hope to post more about the handcrafted things I make and how I make them.

This is a blog about balance, so it will also have some posts on how to not go crazy trying to live a natural and handmade life.  My house is definitely not a house that is free from plastic toys and they probably have too many toys.  The kids probably watch too much TV, but we are working on that (for me too).   Here, in New England, it's been a snowy and cold winter.  I am looking forward to spring and doing more outside things as a family.  I am hoping to get out to western MA to see some parts of my own state that I haven't ever really experienced.

I'm looking forward to being back on here and sharing how I have "the balance of living a handmade and natural life" with 3 small kids, a husband, a dog, and working part time.  Hopefully this will help me keep on track!

Amy

Thoughts!

So here it is the beginning of September, the start of a new school year and almost the start of fall.  At this time of year, I start to think about new goals, new beginnings, and just new everything.  I love the fall.  I love the cool crisp weather.  I love the colors.  I love the energy.

With the start of fall, I am starting to think about what changes I need to make in my life.  What new beginnings I want to have.  What direction I want to lead my life.  With these thoughts in mind, I have been trying to really work on figuring out what direction I want to take my career.  On some level, I think I should just stick with what I know and remain a nursing home social worker.  The thought of not making a change is comforting in the fact that I like stability and I don't like change, as well as knowing that I know my job and can make money at it.  On the other hand, the thought of remaining on the exact same career path, really depresses me.

I recently watched an episode of "Choppped" on The Food Network.  They were interviewing one of the chefs and he talked about always thinking about food and cooking, and that was how he figured out that he wanted to be a chef.  Then last night, I was watching TV, and there was a commercial (I think it was a commercial) that talked about a woman who wanted to be a potato farmer.  Her father talked her out of it partially for the lack of money and partially for the time involved in farming and she went to school to be a nurse.  Ultimately, though, she ended up being a full time potato farmer and a part time nurse.  Both of these things got me thinking about my life.

What do I keep thinking about?  If I were to be asked about my passions in life, how would I answer?  If money were no object, what would I want to be doing with my life?

These questions keep bringing me back to health and wellness and creating.  I love making things.  I love how I feel while I am creating and when I finish creating.  I love the idea of "alternative" health and wellness.  I would love to be a part of a group of people that used "alternative" methods towards health and wellness.  I want to use my social work education and experience to to be creative and help people.

Maybe I can, once I have my LICSW, try to help people by using crafts as a therapeutic tool.  Maybe I can help people feel the same way about creating as I do.  I don't necessarily need my LICSW for that, unless I want to call myself a social worker when I am working with people.  I also think that it will give me a little more credibility for this type of work too.

I could start now by teaching a class at a local craft studio, but there is the issue of money.  I would love to give up my part time social work job and if I could make money, I would do so in a heart beat.  If I could get a full time job doing something I love, and make enough money, I would go back to work and put the kids in full day preschool.  The problem is I can't make enough money doing what I love.  So, for now, I will stay home with my children (which I love and truly appreciate), homeschool them for preschool, create with them and maybe with their friends, work part time in a nursing home, and create in my spare time.  I will make time to create as often as I can, while I complete my other responsibilities.

I will keep putting out to the universe: my dreams, my goals, and my desires.  I will try to be open to what opportunities I am presented with.  I will try to get enough courage to teach a class at my local craft studio.  I will spend the next couple of years trying to research getting information on how I can make my dreams a reality.  I will start using this blog as a way to teach others that being creative is a great way to reduce stress and live the good life.  I will share how things are going with my research and where my dreams are at.  I will share projects that I create, as well as some healthy food recipes and some wellness ideas.  I will try to follow my heart and live a creative and passionate life!

Amy

Wishcasting Wednesday

"What Do You Wish To Do One Day?", ask Jamie at http://jamieridlerstudios.ca.  Such a good question and so many answers.  One thing I know I wish to do, travel cross country with my children and my husband.  I did this with my husband about 10 years ago and loved every second and can't wait to do it again but with better planning to make sure I get to experience all that I want to.

Another answer would be to have a career in something I love.  This is one area that is going to be difficult!  Mainly it's going to be difficult because I need to future out what it is that I truly want to do with my career.  I have thoughts about going back to school for art therapy, natural health, aromatherapy, herbs, or for nutrition training. I have crazy thoughts about opening my own studio with a healthy cafe and shoppe.  I think about doing more with flowers and gardening.  Then I think about just being a social worker.  I know that I will be going back to work sooner than I expect.  My twins will be in school within the next couple of years, and at that time, I hope that I can actually get back into the work force and love what I do.  I am trying to use this time that I am not working to figure out what I want to do with my life and hope that answering questions like this will help guide me to my love and passion!

"What Do You Wish To Do One Day?"

Amy

Being Creative

I have been trying to make a point to be creative often, almost every day if not every day.  With the weather getting nicer, I am spending more time outside with the kids.  I have been able to bring some projects outside with me, which has allowed me to create as well as allow my kids to be outside which they love.

Recently, I have been making dolls, or at least attempting to make dolls.  I remember loving dolls as a child, especially the Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls that my grandmother made for us.  I remember having life-size Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls as well as small ones.  I was lucky enough to have a Raggedy Ann doll for my daughter and a Raggedy Andy doll for each of my sons, made by my grandmother.  I actually have to make a Raggedy Andy outfit for my twin son's Raggedy Andy.  I am hoping to create some dolls for charity, as well as for fun.

 My attempt at a Waldorf doll

Baby Bows Doll in the outfits that my twins came home from the hospital in. I still need to make one for my oldest!

A sleepytime doll that I made for my niece for her Christening

The more I create, the more I realize that I love doing it.  I know that I need to make time to have this as part of my life.  I am hoping to make being creative a major part of my life, and not just something that I do when I find the time. I know that I need to start spending time actually getting good at a craft before I move on to something else. There are many times that I think that I have ADD, seriously, and the creative arena is o different. I flit from one project to another, never committing to fully learning and fully succeeding at the one I am working on. I want to stop being average at the things I create and start being proficient at it.

 I also want to start getting more creative in my cooking.  The farmer's market in town is starting in a couple of weeks and I hope to start buying more local foods and start being more creative with it.  Between my BRCA2 gene mutation (I think I have decided against surgery, at least for now) and my son recently being diagnosed with PDD NOS, I really need to watch what we are eating.  My goal is again to eat more local and to eat way more fruits and veggies (little to no animal protein for me due to the BRCA2 mutation), and decrease, maybe even totally eliminate gluten and dairy (we again have greatly reduced it, but not totally eliminated it, both my oldest and I are sensitive to it).  Part of my problem with cooking lately, is that I am bored and not feeling very creative with my cooking.  I am hoping to get inspired by going to local farmer's markets and even just walking around.  I am hoping to find some good cookbooks and some good online sites that can help to inspire me.

I am hoping to find a job at the end of the summer that will be able to take into account my love of creating.  I am under no illusion that there may not be anything out there like that, but I would love to try to find something.  I still have a few more years before I go back to work full time.  I hope by then, I can figure out how I can do work that I love instead of just working for a paycheck.  I do like being a social worker, but I don't love it.  My husband thinks that it is just because of fear of doing 1:1 counseling, but that is not it.  I don't know that I want to do 1:1 counseling! I'm not really sure I know what I want to do, but I really want to wake up and want to go to work.  Hopefully I can figure out a way for that to happen.

Amy

Getting Back Our Health

I always have these goals, dreams, desires, wants and never seem to actually follow through.  My goal of being healthy and having a healthy family is not something that I can afford to not follow through on!  I need to get back to buying healthy foods, cooking healthy meals and snacks, and not giving into temptation.  I need to not give into the kids' wants for unhealthy foods.  I need to make sure that we have healthy snacks that can take care of certain cravings that we have i.e., salt or sugar.  I need to have healthy juices and mostly give the kids water.

My health, my husband's health, and my oldest son's health depend on me, my shopping, and my cooking. My twins health also depends on me to, but they are healthy and I just need to keep them that way.  My husband has high blood pressure, I have had issues with pregnancy induced and stress induced blood pressure as well as food sensitivities, and my BRCA2 positive status, and my oldest son has food sensitivities that seem to cause him to have spacey, behavior issues as well as sleep issues, skin issues and others.  Sometimes, I think I may have spacey issues related to food.  I want to make sure that my twins have a good foundation with food so that as they get older and have more temptations, they will have a good foundation to know what choices to make.

My goal is to start to research what food does to all of us.  I know that we need to have gluten out of the house, sugar out of the house, and dairy out of the house.  I am fearful that my oldest son has signs and symptoms of autism and I really want to make sure that what we eat is not contributing to those signs and symptoms.  I want to teach my children how to make healthy choices as well as re-teach myself and teach myself some new ideas on health.

This is not going to be easy on any of us, but it is something I need to do.  One of the hard things is going to be to allow my kids to refuse meals because they want to eat unhealthy foods.  My biggest issue with this is that they are all on the low end of the weight scale.  I don't want them to lose weight, but I don't want that to be a reason that they have poor eating habits.  They say that kids will eat and will not starve.  I just need to remember that I need to stay strong and offer healthy foods for all of us and deal with some of the potential withdrawal symptoms so that we get to the healthy place that I want us to be and crave healthy foods, not foods that are bad for us.  I want to be able to listen to my body and give it what it needs.  I want my kids to be able to learn this too.  Day by day and even moment by moment, is how I need to look at this.  I need to get us all on track so that we can move forward and be healthy!

Amy

Wishcasting Wednesday: What Do You Wish For Your Future?

It's Wednesday once again and I am joining in with Jamie at http://www.jamieridlerstudios.ca.  This week Jamie asks: "Wishcasting Wednesday: What Do You Wish For Your Future?"


This is kind of an easy answer for me.  I wish to be doing what I love.  Right now I am a stay at home mom.  I love it, but in a few short years I need to return to work.  Right before I got pregnant with my oldest son, I had just graduated from grad school and got married.  Now, almost 5 years later, I am trying to figure out what I want to do with my life.  I love being a social worker, but I don't want to be a traditional social worker.  I want to use my experience and my education to do something a little less traditional.  I have lots of thoughts, but I can't seem to figure out exactly what would make me the happiest.  I wish that over the next few years, I can figure out my career, how to fit it into my family life, and how to make sure that me and my family are living a happy healthy life and how I can make sure that I am following my dreams and being true to myself and my beliefs!


For my future; I wish that I can live a life that is true to me and my beliefs and makes me and my family happy!


What do you wish for the future?


Amy

The Gut Brain Connection

The more I research, the more I realize that there is a gut brain connection.  The problem is that I can't seem to make the necessary diet changes to see if there is a food connection to certain issues that I am facing.  One specific issue that I think may be a result of my diet, is my inability to concentrate and feeling spacey.  There are certainly more issues, but I won't go into them now.  Part of the issue is that I really believe that certain foods have a hold on me and that they some what act in the same way as a drug acts in our bodies.  With that being said, I really need to just stop eating the foods that I think trigger certain symptoms in myself.  The hard part about food addiction is that you need food to live.  Some of the foods that are triggers may be around all the time, unlike drugs and alcohol which you can get away from most of the time!

As a social worker, I truly believe that there are time when medication and therapy are the only way to deal with certain brain issues, but as a social worker I also know that there is more to a person than just symptoms.  There is a whole person to look at and just because you stop the symptoms, doesn't mean that you fix the problem.  This is where I think social work and holistic health can really work together. 

Since I think that there is a problem, I need to look at the big picture and try to figure out what i can do to really fix the problem, not just mask it by covering up the symptoms.  I also think that in reality, changing my eating habits, such as eliminating sugar, gluten and gluten containing foods, and dairy, will in the long run benefit my whole life.  I  am truly hopeful that by changing my diet, I will become a healthier person all around.  I also think that changing my family's diet is going to be really important and also really tricky.  My kids are already picky eaters, but at least my husband will eat anything.

As always, I am going to try to move forward and eat the way I need and want to eat.  Iam hopeful that I will soon be writing more positive things about the way I am feeling and I am hoping that my mental clarity will greatly improve!  I am hoping to write about the different types of foods that I will add to my diet and the different foods that I am eliminating.  Any information regarding diet changes and these triggers is greatly appreciated!

Amy

Wishcasting Wednesday

Jamie Ridler at jamieridlerstudios.ca once again asks a great question.

 "WHAT DO YOU WISH TO KNOW"

I wish to know what direction my life should be heading and am I moving in the right direction.  I have a great life right now.  I am married to the man of my dreams, I have 3 beautiful children, I get to stay at home and raise them myself rather than put them in daycare (daycare is great, but my goal was to be able to raise my children), I have my MSW.  

I have been interviewing for a part time position that I had applied for back in January.  It's a great fit time wise, but I so wish I wasn't interviewing right before summer was to start.  It would be so nice to have extra money coming in, but I so don't want my summer to be affected.  At least if I had started back in the winter, I would already have been in the routine by now, not starting a new routine that limits what we can do as a family during the summer.

Should I take this job and continue my career as a social worker or should I be at home and raise my children and learn a new skill so that when it is time to return to the work force, I  will be able to enter a new career?  Part of me says I don't want this job, bet then another part of me says take it for the money and deal with not having the summer that I had planned.  Maybe take the job and still think about pursuing something else?  Do I want a career that is more creative in nature or do I want to keep that as a hobby separate from my career life?  Do I want to remain a social worker?  Do I want to work while my children are young?  Is there something else I can do to make money that won't impact my family life this summer?  I should just be happy that I have the opportunity to interview and wait to see if I even get a job offer and if it is worth accepting the position.

What do you wish to know?

Amy