Snow Day!

This morning I woke sleepily to the baby crying. I went to start nursing him, then I remembered...the snow! I went to go check the news for school closings. I had done this very same thing many times every year as a kid. Where I grew up there was snow, not like here. We have lived in Atlanta for almost three years and this is the second time we have seen snow. I watched the ticker at the bottom of the screen all the time saying, "please be closed, pleased be closed..." in the hopes that I didn't have to get dressed and take anyone anywhere. As fate would have it, school is closed! It's almost 8:30AM and my daughter is still in bed! The other is on the couch waiting for the cinnamon rolls that are in the oven.

So today my inner child rejoices in the small victory of a snow day! Too bad it doesn't include homeschooling!

Is this human?

I'm sure that it is not human to have been up since 5:30AM! I have accomplished alot this morning though. Went to the grocery store, cleaned dirty kitchen (from successful bread making venture last night), cleaned bathroom, washed one load of laundry, drank coffee, swept hall/bathroom/kitchen, drank more coffee, and mopped above said floors.

Ted had his third Jujitsu last night. He came home barely moving! It took about 2 hours for him to recover. He'll have to curb his Mountain Dew obsession and increase his water. We will probably put Jai in these classes when he gets old enough. Besides the exercise part of it, the whole thing revolves around respect and discipline. They do not allow foul language on the mats. You have to bow in respect before coming on the mats. Your teachers are always answered "Yes Sir" or "No Sir". Senior students are due a certain amount of respect for their accomplishments. Even last night during drills, Ted's teacher Mr. Juan said "It's ok to get frustrated. You're working hard and getting tired. You'll make mistakes. It's ok to be frustrated but not angry. Not angry, not here". That's great! What is all young people were trained to think in this line?

As we were laying talking, I told Ted I really had been thinking about adopting again. He about croaked. I guess the 4 month old baby sleeping in the other room had something to do with that. It led to talking about the girls and school. (* which by the way...my 4 year old read a book yesterday!) I said it's hard because I know I'll never have this time with my girls again. To let them be kids. I also want to instill a heart for homemaking and mothering in them before the world comes in and bombards them with $$$$$$$. I also am very aware that I have been unable thus far to balance my 'Mom' relationships with them, teach(all aspects) and keep the house up.

So this blog comes full circle...I guess it is human to get up at 5:30AM! It's the only way to get anything done around here!

Chocolate lovers unite! (best try-it yet!)

So, what is the difference between me and my other thin vegetarian friends? Well, first off I have a mega-sweet tooth and alot of veg-heads don't really do sweets. (second is I have always had a self-control issue...that's another blog.) So I have been on the hunt for healthy (actually healthy) sweets and snacks. My friend Casey and I first tried this dessert a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised! But I knew it could be better. So, I did it. Chocolate, good for you and well...darn good! No one will ever believe you if you tell them what is in it. Here it is...

Choco-love-it Pudding
1/4 c margarine (I used smart balance)
1 c avocado puree- smooth (about 2-3 ripe avocados in food processor, add water if needed)
1 1/4 c powdered sugar
1/4 c unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp vanilla (mint, almond or orange flavoring could be added in addition)
1/4 c cornstarch + 2tbsp water/(soy)milk mixed smooth

In a bowl combine cocoa and powdered sugar with a spoon until well mixed and there are no lumps. In a saucepan over medium heat melt margarine. Add vanilla and avocados to margarine and stir smooth. Add cocoa and stir until well combined and smooth. Cook stirring constantly for 3 -4 minutes. Turn off heat and add cornstarch mixture while continuing to mix. Best served warm.

So I lied... Try These

Supreme Green Pasta ( my version)

1 box spiral or tube pasta- cooked as directed
8 oz fresh spinach or 1lb broccoli steamed tender
3 tablespoons margarine/ butter
.5 c skim milk/ unflavored soy
3 to 4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
.5 onion sliced thin
S&P to taste
Parmesan cheese to garnish


Heat margarine in a med pan adding onion and garlic. Cook till onion is limp. Add spinach to the pan and cook til just done. Transfer to a food processor and add milk. Puree. Toss sauce with pasta, salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cheese.
242 cal/ 9g protein/ 7g fiber/


ok...the possibilities with this one are endless... I'm wanting to make dark chocolate cherry, or white chocolate almond. This time I made some plain, and some with cranberries. Good for you!

Chewy Oatmeal Cookie Bars

2 cups uncooked oats
1.5 c whole wheat flour
.25 cup milled flax or wheat germ
1 tsp cinnamon (omit if you are playing with different flavors)
.5 tsp salt
1 cup dried fruit
6 tbsp brown sugar
1c apple juice
.5 fat substitute (I used pureed avocados and bananas. Applesauce does not work well)
cinnamon-sugar to sprinkle.

Mix all ingredients and press into greased 9x13 (won't quite fill it) about .5inch thick, top with cinna-sugar. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Let cool before cutting.

Resolute

You say you want a resolution... I know that's not the real lyrics. duh. But isn't that what everyone is talking about the first few weeks of the year? This I know, resolutions don't work. They are like a bottle rocket that takes off....... and then duds out mid air. I can't name one person I know that actually keeps their resolutions! Not one!

I do know that I have always struggled with sticking things out. Sure, I can get anything done and done well if I'm all fired up about it. But, I fizzle out if all the sudden the fire goes out, or it gets hard, or I have a bad day, etc, etc, etc. This has really been highlighted to me over the past few years and it has come up again. So, this year will be the first year that I can say I was diligent. I looked up diligence in the back of my bible and it said, "characterised by hard work and earnest effort". To me, that means doing what you don't want to do, as if you did want to do it. Boy, that's a hard one. But it really does effect everything. That's why it's changing. At the root of it I think must be just plain laziness!

I know that I want God to change me this year. I have really felt the need to learn the bible. Not just as a book, but as a necessity for life. We moved to Atlanta to help with this church plant, and dropped ourselves smack dab in the middle of a spiritual war. I need to be protected and strong! I also want to know how to teach my kids the very words of God that will arm them for battle too. My sister bought me a new bible for Christmas...good start. I want to want to. I want to love the bible like so many people do. If you haven't read The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun and Paul Hattaway READ IT. I had a new outlook on my spoiled self after reading that book, and I'm set to read it again. We have bibles in every hotel room in America, yet people in other countries cry, pray and fast, asking God for just one page.

On a lighter note; tried a really good pasta tonight. Supreme Green Pasta was found in the Vegetarian Times Cookbook that I snagged from my mom's house at Christmas. Pretty much you cook some garlic and onion in some butter, add either steamed broccoli or some spinach to it along with like a half cup milk, puree it in a food processor and toss it over some pasta! It was so good! Those of you who are cheese friendly can pop some parm on the top, but it almost doesn't need it. I need to post my last two new recipes that I've tried...but not tonight.

Real life resumes tomorrow. Sof is back to pre-k, Zoe and I will pick up school again and finish the day off with drawing class. Lessons plans will have to wait for now. I have an ill husband on the couch that needs transferred to the bed. Then I'm going to have a little 'bible dessert'. It is the bread of life!

I'm still here...I think

Yes it has been a while (note taken Mom). I feel like the whole month of December was a blur. We were of course getting ready to go back to the midwest for a Christmas surprise, and the week before the baby got RSV. Wicked stuff. He gets better and I get sick. It seems I'm always traveling with a sinus infection! Two days before we leave Sofia starts with the runny nose. Now, not such a big deal except that she was Mary in the school play and wiped her nose on her hand the whole time. (leaving her with a strange chapped red line across her face) But Christmas was great! It was like a Rockwell. Friday night we surprised Ted's mom by delivering pizza, ourselves and her brother and fam to the doorstep! About an hour later 'Santa' came and handed out presents to the kids and had a few photo ops. We drove to KS that night, getting in just before midnight. The next morning we knocked my mom's socks off by showing up donning red bows, and ringing the door bell in the middle of breakfast! She thought we couldn't come and were to be there in Jan. About an hour later it began to SNOW! My girls had prayed for snow for a week. God answered them with NINE INCHES! There were more presents than you could count. Great food. But almost more important than anything...no drama. It was so great. I loved getting time with my sister and neice. Papa had to abducate his "man throne" to Jai, the new sherriff in town. It was really short though. I could have stayed a week. I just wish I had felt better. The girls each got an American Girl doll from their Mam (great-grandma) which seems to be the highlight of their holiday. I have already partaken of my Starbucks card...God bless us everyone!

So in a nutshell, my Christmas was great. My kids even opted for our family to do no presents so they could go see their grandparents. It was memorable. New Year's not bad either. Pretty uneventful, except that we had a sitter all night and stayed in our pajamas all the next day. Whoo hoo 2008!

I'm pretty exhausted today, so maybe tomorrow I'll get around to putting up my recipe for what to do with all that leftover turkey in your freezer!

Giving Thanks

Thursday was my anniversary. 9 years. That's one thing to be thankful for. So Thanksgiving has come and gone. American commerce is now in fill swing. On Thursday we spent the day with our friends Terry and Tonya (also Terry's b-day). They have been the best friends to us over the years. We had way too much food left over and thank goodness I only brought home a few pieces of pie. Friday brought about the arrival of my cousin Amie and my Mam. We enjoyed some homemade soup (see last post) and some great company. Today was all about the food...man we did it up right. My Mam always says, "Do we know the good life, or do we know the good life?" I was overcome by a sense of true thanks when I was washing dishes, looking out the window at my cousin and Mam (taking self photos in which my grandmother actually smiled) with my kids running through ankle high leaves behind them. It almost played in slow motion. But this scene was shadowed by the fact that my sister and neice weren't here. They were supposed to come, but I think my neice was sick. It started me thinking...

My sister and I have an unusual relationship. At the age of 9 my world fell apart when my mom & dad divorced. We moved to my grandparents house. I would cry for my mom from the window as she would leave to go out on a date. It wasn't long before we moved, far. My everything was gone. My mom soon married and we stayed in this strange new place called Elmira, MO. Then came my sister. I think she may have been the only silver lining at this time in my life. My mom was so sick when she was pregnant and I was so unhappy. Then the day before I trick-or-treated as Madonna, my sister was born. I loved her. I remember that my mom would bring her to me instead of her dad in the middle of the night and I would feed her and she would sleep with me. I carried her around Wal-Mart like she was mine. We fought when she became a toddler and was old enough to mess with my stuff. Then that all fell apart too. Eventually we were raised separately. So, our take on things can be pretty different. We aren't your normal sisters that have a lifetime of stories and secrets. But since she had my neice, things have been different. We talk more. Have more in common. We actually say "love you" at the end of phone calls. She was supposed to be here today. I wanted her to be here more than anyone. I was wanting to see my neice, my miracle baby. The girls were so excited. My sister was actually going to come and see ME. She wanted to come and spend Thanksgiving with ME. So, all that to say that even though my neice had been sick, and I was worried about the two of them making the trip alone. I am sad she is not here. I have always wanted my sister to be my friend. I know that if we didn't share blood, I am probably not the first person she'd ask to go shopping with. That is probably why I hate it when my kids fight and don't get along. I only wish that my sister and I had what they have.

I have chosen this life, to follow God even if it means moving away from my family. But, I have missed them terribly. I wish that my neice knew me more and that I was there to see her more. She hasn't seen my son yet either. I would like to think that if I was there, my sister and I would do things like shop together, watch each others kids and have dinner. Do sister things. Missing my sister only makes me miss my mom. I haven't been with my family for the holidays since we moved. So, even though I had a wonderful day, it wasn't all I had hoped. And tonight I go to bed teary. Turkey and pie can't take these tears away.