Journey Beyond Survival

I prescheduled this post since I'm still at the hospital... I can dream about this garden, can't I? We've been working hard. In the morning before the kids wake up, and after dinner. My kids have even been helping. I know. They must be host bodies for parasitic aliens. It's the only explanation I've got. Miss wants flowers for the lemonade stand she mans every year. Mr. Survival wants to save money. I tend to buy a lot of expensive produce. I don't buy junk food. Lately though, he's been finding convenient excuses to  "swing by the store"  and my house has junk food again. So, I am no longer saving money by buying expensive produce. Hehehe. I'm nasty and I just like to play in the dirt.   Beansprout? He's what my brain should be.   Six. We like to play in the dirt and watch what comes up. photo 1 credit photo 2 credit photo 3 credit photo 4 credit

homemade yogurt I made my own yogurt. I know. I don't even shave my legs either. But I've got white blond hair. And I'm not really a hippie. I promise. Mostly. Whatever. I guess I'm about 60% hippie. So think whatever you like. straining homemade yogurt It only takes 1/2 cup of any yogurt with live cultures, 1/2 gallon of milk and a crock pot. Plus time, and jars, and a cloth covered strainer, but who doesn't have those?  All in all it takes 13-21 hours.  But the most labor intensive part is straining out the whey.  The more whey I get out, the thicker the yogurt.  The difference in time is whether or not I let the yogurt set up one more time in the fridge. Most of the time is spent in the milk getting warm, cooling off, and . . . well, turning into yogurt. berries in yogurt We don't drink a lot of milk.  We don't eat enough greens to get our calcium that way either. So we tend to eat yogurt a few times a week, as shown in someone...

  Thank goodness for farmers' markets and mother-in-laws that send home garden fresh produce with Hubbends.  Very very nice. Feels good to have vegetarian meals that are fresh. The doctor was all right.  We don't have to see him until January.  We have a surgical consult though for Chickadee's g-tube . I scheduled it right away. Without dodging the call or anything.  I'm proud of myself. What's going right in your life? *Photo credits:   photo one , photo two , photo three , photo four

I tried all of these things last night!  For the very first time, and I finished them all and have a stomach that is very content. I must be maturing. Photo 1 Scallops Photo 2 Octopus Photo 3 Oyster Photo 4 Quail Eggs Photo 5 Shrimp Photo 6 Carpaccio  (raw Italian beef)

*photo by Norman Rockwell* Goal #1 for my Me So Hongry mini challenge was to FIX REAL FOOD . Apparently this is a bigger problem for me than I thought. Denial. Not just the name of a river in Egypt. I was thinking that I did just fine with this. I got a little busy sometimes, and picked up fast food. Also, there were a few days that I didn't have time to fix dinner and so we ate pantry scroungings. But I thought MOST OF THE TIME I got a great meal on the table. HA, HA HA HA. That is so NOT true. Sorry. I'll stop yelling at you with my type. I hadn't realized how badly off track I was until I began to track myself for this challenge. Really trying hard resulted in me getting 4 dinners on the table. Dinners that did not resemble even remotely my ideals. You know the ones. Freeze your eyeballs. Don't you dare let them roll! Yes, it is the Tasty Food, Real Food, and Simple Food. I'm heaving sighs of deep realization. Chickadee and her requisite li...

I'm coming off a hard day. Pharmacy: 3 Me: 0 Yes, that is 3 visits to the pharmacy. Well, six if you count the before and after visits between my shopping. Still no meds for Chickadee. BLARGH! I was also conned into 2 friends' visits. One for Beansprout. Two boys high on life at the same time! Bad idea. Miss THANG had a friend too. Not bad, the friend was an angel. Miss THANG just got more thangy. THANGY. Yeah. Oldest child syndrome gone haywire. Poor little Chickadee fingerprinted her glasses until it was easier for her to see without them. Did I mention that I HATE grocery shopping? I hate making lists, I hate planning menus, I hate dragging two kids through the store. Rather I hate calling loudly (I don't admit to myself that I yell) through the aisles as Beansprout careens around corners and parks perpendicular. With Chickadee's stroller. So, you might have realized that My Dinner Making Goal was a bust this week. I'm going to have to do it agai...

* Me So Hongry is doing a mini challenge for the next seven weeks. She wants to lose 7 pounds in 7 weeks. I think that is a fabulous idea. I'm supposed to set mini goals. My self assigned topic for the day was food. I was thinking about how I don't cook when Hubbend is gone. It's a lot like my friend Traci says, "I'm not gonna fix you little rugrats my smoked salmon with gorgeous apple sandwiches because while you love them, you would be slightly happier with MAC & CHEESE!" I know the kids are happier when we just wing it and let things hang loose. Especially the rules. But, I am the Mother. I know better, and I ought to show them better. Not only will it help us be physically healthy, it will also be extremely beneficial to our relationships. So, my mini goal is to FIX REAL FOOD. And sit down to eat it. With a tablecloth. I'll be doing a bit less pantry rummaging and a lot more confronting my apparent fear of grocery carts. I'll be ...

I had a lovely healthy food post planned. Beautiful gorgeous produce. Simple Food, Real Food, and Tasty Food .* It was divine. Why didn't I post it? I derailed again. I have beautiful food in my house. Food I've been lovingly attempting to do justice to. It's been a tool in my box of tricks to get me through this. You know. In the box with the blog diet, and the exercise. Like Lisa pointed out in her blog, I'm standing in my own way. Stress. My house was occupied and I had to be out in a snowstorm for two and a half hours. My kids were sleeping. It was snack time and dinnertime during that time. I blew it because I wanted help with the stress. Better than BEFORE. Not great ever. I may have to pack an emergency stash in my trunk. *Please look at the links! They are really fabulous.