A New Day

Odd how life changes quicker than we can blink and yet still stay the same.  Today is Sunday, the day I sit around reading blogs listening to the kids play with Dean.  The house is a mess, dinner still hasn't been put away, and Laina is banging on the piano.  All is well and right in our little world yet it isn't the same as it was before.  Something has changed and I can't even put a finger on it.  Life here is good and for the first time in a long time less stressful.

We move this week to a new town and a new house.  Dean will begin a new job and I will be meeting new homeschooling families.  I will also have my first job as a food photographer.  Things have opened up and honestly we have been blessed with more than we thought was possible.  We have new challenges before us but for some reason they are not as daunting as they were even last week.  Maybe its the change in weather, after all Spring is poking its head up here and there, in brief hints of color and smells.  Maybe its the new changes are going to see.  I think the real change has been in me though.  The last few months have taught me more about myself than any other time in my life.  So much has become crystal clear and for the first time in a long time I feel like I can breath.  Not so much because our situation has finally changed but because I have changed.  Some where in me the control freak has lost a little of her power and I am finally learning to relax, a piece of the worrier has gone to rest forever, and the ever present grasp of anxiety has been replaced with a sense of calm.  I haven't done much to achieve this new state, well at least it doesn't appear that I have, but in the end I have just let go and learned to have Faith.  Faith in what it is I believe and Faith in myself. 

This is a new leaf for me and one I am sure won't be easy but I look forward to it.  I look forward to so many of the changes that are happening in our life.  I look forward to the new friendships we all will be able to have and for the old ones that we will be able to rekindle.  I look forward to learning new things for our family and about of new area.  Really at this point in time I am just looking forward.

I challenge all of you to find a few things you are grateful for this week, have the faith to let something go and take a moment to look forward.

Wishing you all a fantastic weekend.

A New Day

Odd how life changes quicker than we can blink and yet still stay the same.  Today is Sunday, the day I sit around reading blogs listening to the kids play with Dean.  The house is a mess, dinner still hasn't been put away, and Laina is banging on the piano.  All is well and right in our little world yet it isn't the same as it was before.  Something has changed and I can't even put a finger on it.  Life here is good and for the first time in a long time less stressful.

We move this week to a new town and a new house.  Dean will begin a new job and I will be meeting new homeschooling families.  I will also have my first job as a food photographer.  Things have opened up and honestly we have been blessed with more than we thought was possible.  We have new challenges before us but for some reason they are not as daunting as they were even last week.  Maybe its the change in weather, after all Spring is poking its head up here and there, in brief hints of color and smells.  Maybe its the new changes are going to see.  I think the real change has been in me though.  The last few months have taught me more about myself than any other time in my life.  So much has become crystal clear and for the first time in a long time I feel like I can breath.  Not so much because our situation has finally changed but because I have changed.  Some where in me the control freak has lost a little of her power and I am finally learning to relax, a piece of the worrier has gone to rest forever, and the ever present grasp of anxiety has been replaced with a sense of calm.  I haven't done much to achieve this new state, well at least it doesn't appear that I have, but in the end I have just let go and learned to have Faith.  Faith in what it is I believe and Faith in myself. 

This is a new leaf for me and one I am sure won't be easy but I look forward to it.  I look forward to so many of the changes that are happening in our life.  I look forward to the new friendships we all will be able to have and for the old ones that we will be able to rekindle.  I look forward to learning new things for our family and about of new area.  Really at this point in time I am just looking forward.

I challenge all of you to find a few things you are grateful for this week, have the faith to let something go and take a moment to look forward.

Wishing you all a fantastic weekend.

Roasted Minced Garlic

Dinner tonight began as just a small little project I wanted to try out.  It quickly became an endeavor that lasted most of the day.  I had a jar of pre-minced garlic that I bought in a moment of weakness.  It just didn't have the yummy taste that real garlic has.  I had quite a bit left and honestly I just wanted it gone.  A quick google search showed that most people don't have a nasty bottle of garlic that needs to be used now.  So I decided to wing it myself and roast the whole bottle. (I never tackle projects on a minor scale!).

First I drained the garlic, then spread it in two pie plates in a think layer.  Then I poured olive oil over the garlic and stirred it up.  Then I stuck it in an oven that was preheated at 350.  It took while before I started to see browning and I am assuming this is because it was previously packed in water.  However once the browning started it went pretty quick.  However every time I opened the oven only the edges were browning.  I stirred each pan to distribute it all.  This didn't work as well as I liked.

In the end I removed the garlic from the pie plates and placed it on a parchment lined pizza pan.  This worked great!  The garlic came out nicely roasted and oh-so-pretty.  I will say that the taste still sucked but since it was the same flavor the garlic had before roasting I know it was just the garlic.

The good news it you CAN roast minced garlic and it works fantastic. So give it a try.

 {Garlic in the pie pans before adding Olive oil.}

So the garlic then inspired the loaf of bread above.  I wanted a crunchy dense French bread and I wanted it in whole wheat.  And by whole wheat I mean Whole Wheat. No white flour, just wheat.  So I went to work throwing together a little flour, oil, yeast and water.  I set the loaf to the side to rise.  It doubled in less than an hour, unheard of in my wheat baking kitchen.  I shaped it, sliced the top, brushed with butter and sprinkled with Parmesan and set it to rise again.  It doubled in 15 min.

I tossed the loaf in the oven, threw in a cup of water to create steam and shut the oven.  The resulting loaf was a shock.  I was going for thick, crusty and dense.  Instead I got light, airy, moist and a lightly crusty crust.  It was very good just not what I was going for. :)

So then I found myself naturally going towards pasta and salad for dinner.  I made a spicy marinara sauce that was a little to spicy but still oh so tasty.  All in all it was a very good dinner, even if it did take a couple hours to make start to finish.

Part of Frugal Days and Barn Hop

Roasted Minced Garlic

Dinner tonight began as just a small little project I wanted to try out.  It quickly became an endeavor that lasted most of the day.  I had a jar of pre-minced garlic that I bought in a moment of weakness.  It just didn't have the yummy taste that real garlic has.  I had quite a bit left and honestly I just wanted it gone.  A quick google search showed that most people don't have a nasty bottle of garlic that needs to be used now.  So I decided to wing it myself and roast the whole bottle. (I never tackle projects on a minor scale!). 

First I drained the garlic, then spread it in two pie plates in a think layer.  Then I poured olive oil over the garlic and stirred it up.  Then I stuck it in an oven that was preheated at 350.  It took while before I started to see browning and I am assuming this is because it was previously packed in water.  However once the browning started it went pretty quick.  However every time I opened the oven only the edges were browning.  I stirred each pan to distribute it all.  This didn't work as well as I liked.

In the end I removed the garlic from the pie plates and placed it on a parchment lined pizza pan.  This worked great!  The garlic came out nicely roasted and oh-so-pretty.  I will say that the taste still sucked but since it was the same flavor the garlic had before roasting I know it was just the garlic.

The good news it you CAN roast minced garlic and it works fantastic. So give it a try.

 {Garlic in the pie pans before adding Olive oil.}

So the garlic then inspired the loaf of bread above.  I wanted a crunchy dense French bread and I wanted it in whole wheat.  And by whole wheat I mean Whole Wheat. No white flour, just wheat.  So I went to work throwing together a little flour, oil, yeast and water.  I set the loaf to the side to rise.  It doubled in less than an hour, unheard of in my wheat baking kitchen.  I shaped it, sliced the top, brushed with butter and sprinkled with Parmesan and set it to rise again.  It doubled in 15 min.   

I tossed the loaf in the oven, threw in a cup of water to create steam and shut the oven.  The resulting loaf was a shock.  I was going for thick, crusty and dense.  Instead I got light, airy, moist and a lightly crusty crust.  It was very good just not what I was going for. :)

So then I found myself naturally going towards pasta and salad for dinner.  I made a spicy marinara sauce that was a little to spicy but still oh so tasty.  All in all it was a very good dinner, even if it did take a couple hours to make start to finish.

Nutritional Healing- Endometriosis

In October I spent some time in the hospital.  I woke one morning to have extreme pain on my left side over my ovary.  I couldn't stand up and honestly I had a hard time breathing because the pain was so intense.  At the time I had just started my period but the pain was much more than cramps.  I'll spare you all the details but in the end I was very worried I was having a miscarriage, something that should not be able to happen to me at this point.  The end result was Endometriosis.

Endo is not fun.  I am not sure how long I have had it.  It could have been there my own life or the endometrial cells could have been introduced outside of my uterus during one of my c-sections.  Who knows.  At this point I have to learn to live with it or get laproscopic surgery to have it removed, at which point it most likely grow back 5-10 years.  So because I love google and I hate doctors I started checking around to see what I could find about natural control methods.  There are a few conflicting things out there but in the end almost everyone agrees that a diet low in animal products and high in fiber are essential.

See Endo is greatly affected by estrogen, hence the reason it flares dramatically during your period, and because of the naturally occurring estrogen in animal products it can cause it to flare severely during times of peak estrogen production.  The extra estrogen can also cause greater pain at other times during the regular monthly cycle.  To say the pain is manageable is laughable for me at this time, controlling any outside factors are a must for me at this time.

I have spent hours upon hours going over websites and other information's.  I have read everything I can get my hands on regarding the Vegan health debate.  I have read everything I can about raw organic dairy products (to gage if they have lower estrogen levels).  I have searched high and low for organic, free range, hormone free meats.  In the end I have found little available in my little area.  My head is filled with WAYYY to much information.  The calendar is slowly going by and my next period is coming closer.  I have to say I am starting to shrink inside because I fear from the pain!  (It is unlike anything I have ever felt in my life!  And I have had 4 c-sections with a variety of  issues!)

We have been eating as healthy as possible when at home.  Things slip a little when we have been traveling recently.  I am trying to arm myself with a bunch of really healthy and nourishing recipes in preparation of next time.  I still need to look at different herbs that might help control/heal and I am trying to get in shape (more fat produces more estrogen in the body.  I don't want to loose weight just gain muscle.). 

This week is going to be filled cooking yummy meals.  After travelling this weekend I am in need of lots of vegetables and fruit.  I really want brown rice and bread for the first time in, well ever, does not sound good.  I think I am going to make a few soups and try out a couple new salads.  And while I am doing all that, I will be googling my little heart out trying to learn more about this crappy disease and what I can do to make it tolerable.

Have a happy  healthy week!

Nutritional Healing- Endometriosis

In October I spent some time in the hospital.  I woke one morning to have extreme pain on my left side over my ovary.  I couldn't stand up and honestly I had a hard time breathing because the pain was so intense.  At the time I had just started my period but the pain was much more than cramps.  I'll spare you all the details but in the end I was very worried I was having a miscarriage, something that should not be able to happen to me at this point.  The end result was Endometriosis.

Endo is not fun.  I am not sure how long I have had it.  It could have been there my own life or the endometrial cells could have been introduced outside of my uterus during one of my c-sections.  Who knows.  At this point I have to learn to live with it or get laproscopic surgery to have it removed, at which point it most likely grow back 5-10 years.  So because I love google and I hate doctors I started checking around to see what I could find about natural control methods.  There are a few conflicting things out there but in the end almost everyone agrees that a diet low in animal products and high in fiber are essential.

See Endo is greatly affected by estrogen, hence the reason it flares dramatically during your period, and because of the naturally occurring estrogen in animal products it can cause it to flare severely during times of peak estrogen production.  The extra estrogen can also cause greater pain at other times during the regular monthly cycle.  To say the pain is manageable is laughable for me at this time, controlling any outside factors are a must for me at this time.

I have spent hours upon hours going over websites and other information's.  I have read everything I can get my hands on regarding the Vegan health debate.  I have read everything I can about raw organic dairy products (to gage if they have lower estrogen levels).  I have searched high and low for organic, free range, hormone free meats.  In the end I have found little available in my little area.  My head is filled with WAYYY to much information.  The calendar is slowly going by and my next period is coming closer.  I have to say I am starting to shrink inside because I fear from the pain!  (It is unlike anything I have ever felt in my life!  And I have had 4 c-sections with a variety of  issues!)

We have been eating as healthy as possible when at home.  Things slip a little when we have been traveling recently.  I am trying to arm myself with a bunch of really healthy and nourishing recipes in preparation of next time.  I still need to look at different herbs that might help control/heal and I am trying to get in shape (more fat produces more estrogen in the body.  I don't want to loose weight just gain muscle.). 

This week is going to be filled cooking yummy meals.  After travelling this weekend I am in need of lots of vegetables and fruit.  I really want brown rice and bread for the first time in, well ever, does not sound good.  I think I am going to make a few soups and try out a couple new salads.  And while I am doing all that, I will be googling my little heart out trying to learn more about this crappy disease and what I can do to make it tolerable.

Have a happy  healthy week!

Today's Thought

I came across a beautiful thought today and I wanted to share.

"Live slowly and simply, so that you have the time and space to love deeply and well. Hold your children close, as often as possible. Look deeply into their eyes, speak words of life, love and acceptance into and over them."

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Today's Thought

I came across a beautiful thought today and I wanted to share.

"Live slowly and simply, so that you have the time and space to love deeply and well. Hold your children close, as often as possible. Look deeply into their eyes, speak words of life, love and acceptance into and over them."

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.