Category Archives: living

Doughy and Soft

Posted on by

Last night we made homemade pizza for dinner with homemade dough and sauce, alongside store-bought (We’re not that good) sausage and cheese. I have a horrible track record with baking anything with yeast, so you can imagine my hesitancy about making our own dough. Husband wanted to use a recipe that was in the newspaper and it turned out just fine with a nice bready crust that our daughter ate up like there was no tomorrow. But note to self: store-bought, fresh pizza dough… only 99 cents!

While I was eating my little slice of ‘za, I said, “Huh, this is good. Doughy and Soft”. Husband, not sure what I was referring to, said, “What exactly are you talking about?” And I replied, “My stomach.” You may grimace and wince now. Also you can be thankful I did not post a picture of my stomach.

I will admit, I am not athletic, never have been… and working out regularly has only been a recent activity, only the last two years. Even then it’s only once a week. Here, let me put it this way, and my husband will attest to this. I am soft. This is not an overstatement, and this was before I had two kids by c-section. The c-sections just make it more difficult to get back any strength in my “core”. And, I emphasize the words “ANY strength”.

It’s not that I’m upset about it or freaking out about being overweight… I’m not. I’m just a little less than fit, and there’s a little extra softness around my mid-section. Not my favorite part. So here’s the thing – I’ve been doing sit-ups every day since New Year’s. It innocently started out as a joke with someone asking if I could even do a sit-up, ONE sit-up. Yeah, very funny, but I got down on the floor, Jaunary 1, and did one sit-up. So, to continue the “joke”, I did two sit-ups on January 2. For every day that has gone by this month, I’ve done exactly that number of sit-ups.

Sit-ups may not be a very big deal for a lot of people, but it’s movement in the right direction for me and as much as I despise sit-ups, it’s probably a good example for my daughter to see me do something somewhat active at home. She’s even joined me with my little exercise experiment, so my husband and I told her that once she gets to ten sit-ups a day, she could stay at number of repetitions if she wanted to. (She wants her reps to start over at February 1 with one sit-up.)

I’m planning on continuing this for the rest of the year, so by the end of the year, I’ll hit 365. Crazy? Probably. Possible? Yes. Who’s on a journey with me?

Back to the Routine

Posted on by


New Year’s Eve and Day feel like blur now. Guests have traveled back home, and the house is empty. It’s been a party for almost two weeks! Kids are back in school, husband is back at work, and in a sense, so am I.

Random thoughts to start the year…

  • The garlic didn’t get in the ground before the cold snap. I wonder if I can just plant them in planters to have them outside?
  • As much as I complain about laundry, there’s something about washing all the linens and blankets from the holidays and folding dry, clean sheets, and putting away fluffy comforters and towels that makes me happy.
  • Anyone catch the start of the Oprah Winfrey Network?
  • I’m happy my fabric hoarding days are in the past… there are some fun projects to be had this year, and some projects yet to be finished from last year.
  • Lots of great things happening with Craft Critique and Niles Patch! I’m happy to be a part of it.
  • Not looking forward to taking all the Christmas decorations down. The house always looks so bare.
  • My son has drained all the make-believe playing out of me with his unlimited energy and love of superheroes. I have now been cast as Scarlet Witch, Batgirl and sometimes mom of Silver Surfer.

I am looking forward to continuing this journal and journey with all you virtual and real friends! Thanks to all the new Blog Frog friends, too!

Giveaway Monday: Craft Critique and Story Time for Me

Posted on by

Ten days until Thanksgiving, and amazingly, my family will be eating our traditional Turkey dinner at my brother’s new home. In the meantime, I’ve been working on some gifts inspired by these selvage edge pincushions. We’re also preparing for our annual cookie exchange which is happening in less than a month!

On more exciting levels, I have two links to share. The first is Craft Critique… it’s Martha Stewart Week. Find out about the new products and follow the executive staff this week during their crafting adventure in the Carribean with the Martha Stewart Craft Department! Win your own Martha Stewart Scoring Board by checking it out today…

Picture courtesy of craftcritique.com

My second link  I’d like to share is Story Time for Me, a very unique  literary website with interactive picture books for toddlers and elementary school-age children. We’re big readers here at home so I was excited to have an opportunity to review two books, and I decided to try it out with my four-year old.

Picture Courtesy of storytimeforme.com

The site is easy to navigate and also includes an instructional video. While exploring the available book series, I appreciated that they included appropriate age levels, running time of stories and a chance to preview the books. However, when selecting one of my free stories, I accidentally chose one thinking I might be able to “remove” it from my cart. No such luck. The story itself was good (“Ben Celebrates Chinese New Year”) but my four-year old didn’t like it as much as “Ben’s New Friend”. For him, there was actually a “laugh out loud” moment during the story. I did like that the stories had good lessons, and while the stories are read out loud, the words are highlighted (an option you can turn on and off).

For my virtual neighbors, readers, followers, and friends… I’m excited that Story Time for Me is offering a product giveaway of two complimentary multimedia storybooks for kids ages 1-8. If you’re interested, check out the Story Time for Me site and leave a comment here sharing your thoughts (I’d appreciate it if you followed along via Google or Blog Frog). Most importantly, be sure to include your info so I can send you the code you need for your two free storybooks. This offer has no expiration date at this time.

There is also a Teachers Grant Program in which the company is providing every teacher nationwide two children’s books for each of their students.

Thanks everyone, looking forward to hearing about your experience and have a great week!

Wordless Wednesday: A Day in the Life

Posted on by

Summer Reading

Posted on by

I feel like it’s been a long time since I’ve read books that don’t rhyme every other sentence. I mean, I do read from time to time, but mostly it’s with the kids. And then there’s my long relationship with craft books and other DIY manuals, but not a lot of fiction.  Abby is an avid reader (we are so proud of her), and right now she loves mysteries. She would rather read than play soccer, I think.

Ollie on the other hand is still in the picture book stage, and once in a while we borrow graphic novels from the library (think comic book) like Teen Titans or Iron Man, to satisfy his superhero cravings.

So, the last two summers I signed up for the reading club at our local library. If the kids signed up, why shouldn’t I? It definitely forced me to pick up books I normally wouldn’t even give a second thought, and in one case, I was introduced to a historical fiction/mystery series that I’ve come to enjoy. Unfortunately, since I’ve only read them during the summer months, my husband pointed out that it may take me sixteen more years to finish (eighteen books in the series – I’ve read 2).

Here are some favorites:

Food Books for Kids

picture from taliajenea.blogspot.com

Food for Thought: The Complete Book of Concepts for Growing Minds (Elffers & Freymann) * The pictures are clever, creative and well done! Makes you want to take a closer look in the produce section.

picture from www.jamakimrattigan.com

Dumpling Soup ( Jama Kim Rattigan) * In this book, the family celebrating New Year’s with dumplings and relatives is so much like our our family. If you go to the author’s site, you’ll find a recipe!

By Amy Wilson Sanger: Yum, Yum, Dim Sum (board book) and First Book of Sushi and Let’s Nosh * I love the colorful collage images

Mom’s Historical Fiction Picks

Picture from www.ameliapeabody.com

The Ape who Guards the Balance by Elizabeth Peters (The Amelia Peabody Series) * A slow start for my second book by this author, but I’ve grown fond of the characters. I really should start with the first book next time. Set in 1900s Egypt, follow the Emerson family through archaeological exploration, mystery and murder.

Picture from www.ameliapeabody.com

The Hippopotamus Pool by Elizabeth Peters (The Amelia Peabody Series) * My first Amelia Peabody book, but number eight in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed the banter between protagonist, Amelia Peabody, and her archaeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson. In 1900, The Emerson family gets caught up with a mysterious criminal to find a lost queen’s tomb in Egypt.

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan * Take a (fictional-with-a-bit-of-fact) look into the life of architect Frank Lloyd Wright, his choices, and relationship with Mameh Cheney. I’ve studied FLW’s work and biography, so I knew how the story ended. And even then let’s just say, without spoiling it too much, I had a slightly difficult time getting through the tragic ending.

Anyone out there have favorite summer reads from this year to share?

Did I Hear My Kids Singing?

Posted on by

Alright, my kids really don’t perform in front of people. With the older one, it’s definitely not her style, she doesn’t enjoy it (she’s quite talented when it comes to drawing, though). I still have a chance for a fine arts performer with the little one… maybe. But the other day, my husband and I were sitting at the dining room table and all of a sudden we heard Ollie’s little voice singing to the tune of Smash Mouth’s “All Star”:

Somebody once told me the world’s a macaroni/so i took a bite out of a tree
It tasted kinda funny so I spitted out a bunny/and the bunny started pooping on me

Apparently, it was his older sister’s creation and she lovingly taught it to him. Precious. I can only imagine what I have to look forward to as their music tastes develop.

Unrelated updates

  • Some of my recent article postings at Craft Critique can be found here and at this search results page.
  • I’ve finally restarted my t-shirt quilt and am happy to report it’s shaping up nicely. Pictures soon!
  • The garden has survived the crazy 90+ degree weather we’ve been having. We’ve even had a few tomatoes.  Unfortunately, I haven’t put as much time into the garden as I would like because of the heat, rain and vicious mosquitoes. (Sounds like we live in the tropics or something.)
  • Lastly, the compost barrel is working out nicely, but I’m afraid to look inside it. I just open the hatch, dump my scraps, latch it back up and run.
  • School starts next week for my daughter!
Related Posts with Thumbnails