Menu Plan: Monday, July 18 - Sunday, July 24

I am trying to get back into eating and menu planning. I have started taking dinner over to my grandparent's two meals a week. We are quickly coming to the end of our bulk meat buy so it's slim pickins'. I am hoping that this week will bring a week at the house trying to incorporate good habits and routines before school quickly begins. I am finding that I am steadily becoming a home-body and I don't feel right when I am running around. So here's to beginning .... :)

Monday:
Pizza

Tuesday:
Chicken Noodles

Wednesday:
Italian stew with green beans

Thursday:
BLTs and some fresh veggie from the farmer's market


Friday:
Salmon patties and macaroni and cheese


Saturday:
Baked oatmeal
Family BBQ
Broccoli cheese potatoes, salad

Sunday:
Baked goods
Pizza
Re-runs

Our garden is still struggling. We are trying to bring it back in but feel like it's an uphill battle. Maybe tomorrow I will give a quick update! :)

Garden Journal: June 20, 2011

As I said yesterday, we are having a horrible time fighting the blight and fungi around these parts. It just keeps raining, and raining and raining and raining and raining... Continuously. At first I was just so thankful that the rain didn't flood my seeds out but not I just want it to not stop but come more periodically.

With all the blight and fungi, my plants are still growing beautifully for the most part. We are blessed abundantly blessed and I cannot wait to see what the Lord has in store for this year's harvest!

One of my favorite things when making dinner is walking right out my front door to gather the fresh herbs to add while cooking or to snip some lettuce for a fresh salad!

Herb "garden" right outside the front door

The three different times of leaf lettuce. They are all so delicious!

This was an extra tomato plant I had so I decided to give container tomato planting a try. This plant is growing beautifully due to the blight not being able to attack it as it has everywhere else on the ground.

It actually already has tomatoes forming!

In contrast, this is one of the tomato plants we've been fighting to save from blight and fungi. It is still alive, as are most of them, but looks really pathetic. Kind of reminds me of the "Charlie Brown Christmas Tree". 

The side of house garden really needs weeded but with all that has been going on in these parts, I have not found the time Hopefully this weekend!

Peas - I just love the purple blooms!

We planted 16 pepper plants and surprisingly, the ones we thought were dying from transplant shock, are beginning to look as if they might make it!

The kale is beautiful to look at from the road and I am just amazed at how well it grows. This photo actually doesn't do it justice!

As I said, this side of house garden really needs weeding but here is a picture of the cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli plants.

These are also pepper plants. I think I am going to purchase some large containers and grow them in those. They weren't mature enough to transplant and the blight hit so I think I'm just going to stick to containers for them.

Back of house garden

Rows and rows of green bean plants!

Onions beginning to sow their little heads..

Beets

L-R -- Squash -> Pumpkins -> Cucumbers

Carrot and Radish bed - I began weeding it and the carrots were so small that they were coming out as well. I decided to give them time to grow and root better.

See the carrots popping up amongst the weeds?

Garlic bed - This is a perfect picture of what NOT to do with your garlic. See all those scapes that I never got to picking off? No? Well here's a better picture below!

 

So there are many areas that I need to work on in my garden. I need to convert weekend gardener to one that gardens like her family's food supply depends on it. But I do believe we are off to a good start. 

How about you? How does your garden grow? Any advice for me on converting to a everyday gardener (besides get off my tail!) :)?

A Time with Blight

I know I keep coming back and saying that I will be updating our gardening joys and woes, but we are still dealing with the woes...

The woes being blight and massive amount of fungi. It's been a crazy, crazy ride trying to fight these woes with organic measures but I am hopeful that this last time it worked. Now I am just looking at the forecast of rain for the next 10 days... Oy...

So stay tuned. I am hoping to get outside and take some shots today!

Garden Journal: June 6, 2011

Tomorrow I am going to be sharing the garden woes we had the past weekend. Today I am just going to share how great things are going and focus on the positive! :)

All of my herbs in their containers!

  

 This batch of lettuce is finally filling out and almost ready to eat!

 This batch has already been cut and eaten once!

 My container tomato plant experiment.

 

Look how tall the ones in the ground are getting!

 These peas aren't having such a great go at it but we'll eat them up just the same!

These pas are doing MUCH better! :)

Sorry for the horribly shady picture but this weekend, Andy and I took out the spinach and but in 16 pepper plants instead! 

One of the Kale plants bit the dust... I will be writing about my gardening woes tomorrow but for today, I am going to be positive! 

Broccoli, Cauliflower and Cabbage plants - Remember those neighbors who thought I was crazy? Not anymore! Somebody really should weed this!

I just look at this beautiful broccoli plant and get sooo excited!

I spy with my little eyes something is green! Green beans popping up!!

Carrot and Radish bed! See them?!

How is your garden going? I know some of you have been cleaning out the weeds recently. What are you putting in instead of weeds? 

Fear Will Consume Me No Longer

It's hard to talk about. It's hard to think about. It was a life ago, yet it continually consumes most of my days.

If I talk about it, it seems real. Like it really did happen. Therefore, I stay quiet and just allow others to think what they want. It's easier than feeling and remembering the pain of yesterday. It's easier just to wear the label of slut, promiscuous teenager or whatever else others might label me as they judge me.

The ones close to me know but many people aren't allowed to get close - my own choice. Those who know, only know some. They only know what I allow them to know. It's easier. Feels safer.

I thought it was working...

But now I have come to the realization that it's not working.

It's hurting.

It's tearing me up inside and it's consuming many thoughts and much energy in which there are such greater blessings to invoke my thoughts. It domineers all of my relationships. It hurts my marriage.

Pretending it didn't happen has sabotaged so many potential friendships due to lack of trust and fear of letting someone see my tarnish. That night, when I came home and scrubbed my skin until it bled, I never really rid myself of the disgusting feeling I felt. I still carry it with me... I cannot pretend that it worked.

But... It really happened. It was hard. I was horrible. However, it made me who I am today. I am a lover and follower of Christ. I am a beloved wife and mother. I am a woman who survived.

However, I am not completely blameless in the lack of judgement and choices in which I made. It's not my fault.

I am a victim. I did not "ask for it" as I was told and I did not "bring it upon myself because I took care of myself". None of that is true. I am a victim.

Out of my greatest anguish, fear and heartache came my greatest light - a renewed relationship with my savior and a beautiful son - a reminder of God's promises. Even if you are in your darkest  hour - a dark alley with no hope in sight - the Lord is with you and if you love Him and turn to Him and His promises, He will never leave you nor forsake you. A reminder that from the dark, there is still Light.

This was my getting it out post. My vent. My searching for a way to get this out so I can claim a good night's sleep again. One without nightmares. One without fearing what tomorrow will bring. This was my silent voice - a voice of typed words on a computer screen. And while I spoke that silent voice, I must be honest and say that my vocal voice is not ready to quit pretending. I am not yet ready to stand face to face and discuss this. I'm just not there yet. I am hoping one day I might be but I cannot promise that either. It is my hope and my prayer that the Lord will one day use me and help other silent women who have endured sexual violence. 

 "He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds."

 Psalm 147:3

AppleNut Oatmeal Panckaes

I am finally getting to the point where I can try and come up with my own recipes by tweaking and adding. I'm still not very comfortable with it but I am finally finding my way around the kitchen better!

Here is a recipe I came up with this morning:

AppleNut Oatmeal Pancakes

• 1 cup oatmeal
• 2-3 cups of whole wheat flour (I think pancake making is all about the individual. Some like the batter runny, some like it thick. I personally like my batter runny. I think it is easier to work with - therefore, I used 2 cups of whole wheat flour.)
• 1/3 cup of crushed walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup sucanant 
• 4 teaspoons of aluminum free baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup of applesauce
• 2 1/2 cup of milk

You can either grind your oatmeal or you can leave it whole. I choose to leave the oatmeal whole. It cooked up well on the griddle.

In one bowl combine oats, whole wheat, walnuts, sucanant, and baking powder. After sifted, add eggs, applesauce and milk.

Pour batter onto griddle, cook and flip. These pancakes are so sweet and full of flavor that you do not need any syrup. You can drizzle melted butter or a small amount of honey.

Trying this recipe, I did not soak any of the grains. Next time I will try soaking. For more information on soaking your grains you can visit Lindsey at Passionate Homemaking.

"No poo" Update: Friday, June 3

I have officially been going strong on the "no poo" method for seven days. It's actually been quite easy and not nearly as embarrassing as I had thought it would be.

For the first five days, I did NOTHING. Nothing at all. I didn't even rinse my hair. I just left it be and took a shower - just cleaning my body. I know - eww!

After those five days, I started feeling yucky so I began washing my hair with a solution of 1/3 cup of baking soda to 1 quart warm water. I put it into an old shampoo bottle and used it over my hair. It was extremely runny. It was almost just like running water through my hair and massaging at the same time. After rinsing my hair thoroughly, I took a bottle of apple cider vinegar and just poured some over my head. Yes - not the most economical and Yes - for a moment I smelled like the inside of a Long John Silver's but after rinsing the vinegar out, the smell soon dissipated.

For the most part, I only had a couple of really greasy days. I would say probably the first five. After that it has been good, I think. No one has said that I look greasy anyway.

I will warn you, though, that as you take part in this little experiment your hair texture, color, etc. will all begin to change. I almost felt as if I had lifted all the chemicals from my hair and I was now finding my new hair. It was really exciting!

I am really struggling with the wavy, curly in the back, straight on the side issues going on with my hair. However, I am determined to do nothing - curling iron, hair dryer, rollers, etc. - that will make any difference in this experiment.

Are you taking the "no poo" challenge? How's it going for you? If not, why not? Fears? Hesitant?