Crafts-y Adventures of a Wife

I sewed a button onto one of my husband's dress shirts.

That was a first. I was pretty darn excited that it worked. :)

So tell me: What crafts-y adventure are you awfully proud of??

Quinoa Pudding

I've been using quinoa in my cooking lately. Sweet sounded good, and I just knew that I would find a quinoa pudding (like rice pudding) recipe online. This is the recipe I used, tweaked just a tad. 

The quinoa needs to be rinsed before used. Since I haven't added a fine mesh strainer to my kitchen yet, I used this old salsa jar - filled it with my quinoa, water, and then strained upside-down through a folded paper towel. Gotta get creative.

In my pan I added 3 cups of fat free half and half (no idea how it is fat free, but I'm alright with it!), cinnamon, vanilla extract, and brown sugar.

Once simmering, I added the quinoa, covered the pot 3/4 of the way, and let it go on low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Kevin studied. He's not so much a fan of rice pudding, so I figured he wouldn't be super excited about a quinoa version...

MacDuff was bored. He prefers my undivided attention. Except when I'm trying to train him to "sit" and lay "down" and "come". But more on that another time.

After 30 minutes I took the pudding off the heat and let it sit fully covered for about five minutes.

This was my taste test - complete with mini bowl and spoon. (And a little extra brown sugar.)

Inspired by the recipe I was using, found here, I prettified my pudding in a small glass and chopped dried fruit - cherries and mangoes that I had on hand.

Over time, I found that the quinoa continued to absorb the cooking liquid.

This was especially delicious warm.

Later, I tried the warm quinoa with a spoonful of peanut butter mixed in. Also delightful.

I love trying new things!

So tell me: What new ingredient are you using in your kitchen?

Using My Very Own Basil

I was watching Food Network. Ina Garten went out and picked her very own tomatoes and basil to make roasted tomatoes with pesto on top. Yum. Yum, yum, yum. That sounded pretty delicious to me!

Well, I didn't have my own tomatoes, but I did get some from the fruit and veg stand down the road. 

Even though the tomatoes were actually from Canada (who knew?), I could at least boast having my very own basil.

My mom set me up with a small herb garden a while back, and they have been flourishing (finally) in the greenhouse. This was my first harvest.

Sliced tomatoes, salted and drizzled with olive oil.

Part of a large Italian sweet basil leaf and a slice of fresh mozzarella.

Baked at 425 for 10 minutes.

I thought these would be especially delicious with tilapia, briefly marinated in lemon juice, salt, and garlic.

Cooked for a few minutes per side, allowing the lemon marinade to reduce.

The plating isn't my very best (fish juices/residue on the side), but it was ABSOLUTELY SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!

Paired with some roasted broccoli, mmmmmm. My favorite way to eat broccoli now.

A few shots of the pup, who was watching us eat, thrown in for cuteness.

And the husband, for good measure. 

This was before the shave.

And after.

Update

Not so much weekly.

I'm a little behind.

My house is fairly clean. The dishes are mostly done. The food is pretty much prepared (for this and next week).

It's been an up and down week. Good and bad days. Nothing too fancy or horrific.

You know?

Feeling down about my body, nothing new there. Feeling excited about gardening and canning this summer, which is actually very new.

Dreaming about the future with my husband. Planning our dream home in our minds as we fall asleep.

Shaving down MacDuff for the summer and feeling like we got a brand new dog.

Haven't exercise in a long time; unless you count the weeding I did yesterday (which my hamstrings do).

Watching "House" with Kevin in the evenings as we eat dinner. And in the mornings when neither of us work.

Having married adventures like slug dissection and Cricut card making.

The last week or so has been good and bad, up and down, boring and exciting, lonely and life-giving, crazy and normal.

All in all, I am content. Not always happy, but content. 

God is good. So is coffee. And dark chocolate. And dogs. And especially, marriage.


So tell me: How are you?

Slug Sex

Go with me, here.

It may sound weird, but just watch the video.

If you didn't catch on, let me fill you in on some details from my recent research: slugs are hermaphrodites. As in, they have girl and boy reproductive parts. They are also hatched from eggs.

Why my sudden interest?

Well, slugs have always been on my radar - ever since my brother, Mike, told me that they could jump six feet in the air and attack me. At the age of five, I believed him. So much so that there was a pant-wetting incident due to a banana slug. True story.

Aaaaaannnd, I've always enjoyed pouring salt on the little guys to CREATE THEIR DEMISE!!! Bwahahahahaha!!! In fact, Kevin and I have gone slug hunting in the evenings when we take MacDuff down for the last potty trip before bed. There are several different kinds of slugs out there, some of which have been eating my MIL's garden like crazy (sneaky little buggers)! It seemed like the perfect symbiotic relationship: we get to salt the slugs and the garden gets to grow.

And while I admit to hating any type of animal suffering (I'll tell you about the dying opossum I "saved" another time), this doesn't usually extend to bugs and slugs. But for whatever reason, I started wondering about the lives of the slimy little guys. I would see baby slugs and wonder how old they were.

How are they born? How do they reproduce? What's inside the sticky exoskeleton? 

So I looked it up. Wikipedia and YouTube. How could I go wrong?

The video above was the first I found. And since the narrating voice matches the one from the Planet Earth series, I'm going to say it's legit. 

Watch it again.

ISN'T THAT CRAZY?!?!?! I'm so fascinated! Now I really want to build a terrarium of some kind and watch slugs mate, reproduce, and grow up close. Seriously, this might just happen.

Truly, the creatures of this world amaze me. How did God think of all of their intricate details? Even flies, which I detest, have a distinct pattern on their back. Worms move way more quickly than they should. Spider webs are one of the strongest materials made by a creature.

It's amazing and awe-inspiring.

You don't have to go Hug a Slug now, or allow one to touch you in any manner (yuck!), but at least show the video to someone. It's just too awesomely gross and weird not to!

So tell me: What strange detail of nature fascinates you?

Smells of Home

Lately, my husband and I have noticed a strange odor in our bedroom. 

Could it be that we weren't able to thoroughly vacuum before the movers put the (very heavy) bed in there?

Did the cats, who used to sneak up here before our arrival, leave something that was never found? (And trust me, I did find plenty.)

Is it because we have covered the windows to block out the light, and therefore kept airflow from happening?

I just don't know. 

I do know that the bed is too heavy for us to maneuver at this point. And the problem needs attention. My solution? Odoban. Sprayed all over the floor and left to sit. 

So we'll see.

Thankfully, the smelly garbage under the kitchen sink was removed a few days ago, the laundry is caught up, and our pup doesn't shed. That, added to my freshly baked cookies, has left the place smelling much better.

For now.

I'm actually just proud that I addressed the issue at all today. This morning was a very low energy morning. I've been fighting off a cold and woke up feeling icky and exhausted. While Kevin was at work I proceeded to sit on the couch with MacDuff and watch the Food Network. (In case you were wondering, watching hours of cooking and baking does in fact make one want to cook and bake in their own kitchen, not just watch too-skinny ladies do it on TV.) 

Once Kevin came home (he's only working until noon for now), my mood and energy perked right up! I just love that guy. We had lunch and I got to work! Folded and put away laundry (that was on the couch since yesterday afternoon), washed the dishes, cleaned up the living room, prepared our peach crumble dessert for tonight (totally threw this together based loosely on a recipe I saw on TV earlier - I'll let you know if it's worth sharing), made peanut butter oatmeal whole wheat cookies (again, I'll let you know how that goes after we've tried them), went through the mail (I hate bills), and am about to tackle the rest of my dishes (I don't have a dishwasher). 

Not bad, eh?

Also, the pooch cuddled with me on the couch this morning. I've been complaining for weeks that he's not very cuddly. I guess he heard. Love that Schnoodle.

So tell me: What do you do about smells?

Weekly Update, and Cooking - Lots of Cooking

Weekly Update

Exercise: No exercising last week. Again...

Weight Loss: Same thing...

Victories/Struggles: I didn't binge, I didn't pay much attention. That about sums it up.

Last week was full of family, friends, the holiday, and food. So, having my house clean and all relationships intact is a win for me today. And I have a date to work out with a friend on Wednesday. That should help me get back into the swing of things, right?

AND I started my new job as a barista. For the fourth time in my life. So far I have worked 13 hours over 4 different days. Lots learned, lots to learn, and hopefully I won't lose tons of sleep to early morning shifts!

Something else that has taken up tons of my time lately is:

Lots and Lots of Cooking

I'm trying to make food in bulk that can be sectioned into portions and frozen, mostly for Kevin's lunches. And it doesn't hurt to have go-to meals when I'm in a pinch. Above is our favorite: slow cooker lentil soup. Always a delight.

BBQ salmon.

Red lentils, flavored with coconut milk and curry powder. Recipe here. (I used curry instead of the called-for turmeric.)

10 bean soup.

Whole wheat and corn flour bread.

Split pea soup, which I blended to a smooth finish.

Green bean casserole.

Hot quinoa tossed with steamed/chopped broccoli and roasted/chopped mushrooms and garlic.

Caramelizing onions.

Salmon again. This time with garlic, butter and lemon.

The finished onions. So tasty!

Other dishes to grace my kitchen lately: garlic red lentils (these are like mashed potatoes in texture, but are actually a legume!), corn cake, coconut curry and basil chicken, butterscotch sauce (ice cream topping), slow cooker salsa chicken, and I am making chicken stock with the leftover part of a rotisserie chicken right now!

So tell me: What recipes do you recommend for fun dinners?

Ruth.

The past two weeks I have begun delving into the book of Ruth with a woman's Bible study group. This isn't the first time I've read through this story, but it is the first time I've really pulled it apart with the intent of truly learning more than the surface list of events.

No matter the subtext, the truths behind the story that we cannot truly know, her emotions and motives, it is clear that Ruth was an incredible woman. As the tagline of the devotional by Kelly Minter reads, this is a story of loss, love, and legacy. Ruth lost a husband, and her brother and father-in-law. She was left with the choice of returning to her people of Moab or continuing back to the land of Judah with her mother-in-law, Naomi, who had renamed herself "Bitter" (Mara in the NIV). Not an easy choice, if you ask me.

As the story goes, she clung to her MIL and followed her back to Bethlehem. Naomi's people and God would be Ruth's people and God, as she firmly declared. Perhaps Ruth chose Naomi and an unknown land because she had little to return to in Moab. Perhaps she felt the call of the one true God on her heart. Perhaps she felt a deep sense of loyalty and obligation to Naomi, who was left without her husband and two sons. Perhaps she was afraid to travel the road home alone. In my opinion, there's no way for us to really know.

That said, I think Ruth was following her gut. The overall story paints Ruth as a woman of courage and ingenuity. Whatever the catalyst, she followed her heart in the face of immense change and validated fears. 

I find myself basking in the irony of studying about a woman facing fears, change, and moving to another land in this time of my life. How easy it would be for me to feel more like Naomi, wallowing in self pity and, now I'm taking a guess here, blaming God for my trials. 

Been there, done that. Some days, I am there, doing that.

But I strive to rise to the challenges, choosing attitudes of thankfulness and patience, much like I envision Ruth doing. I'm also blessed with a living husband who buoys me when needed, never letting go of my hand through this whole process. 

Moving three hours away from my communities, living with in-laws (wonderful, though they are), choosing a church together (an issue all in itself, but more on that another time), needing financial miracles to keep afloat, looking for work, and still battling myself and my food addiction to be healthy. It feels like a lot. It has been. And yet, God is providing. Day by day. 

In fact, given that the probational period pans out (like that alliteration?), I have a job as a barista here in town. I'm so excited! God put contacts in place, and without even an application or resume turned in, I was offered a job (again, if the next month proves the right chemistry for us both). I love making coffee! The hours are flexible, I get to be home with my hubby at night, and I get to love on people while getting paid. Such a tremendous opportunity and blessing.

And through this Bible study, I am making more friends. That is huge for me. The finances? Well, given all of God's current and previous provision, I have to believe that He will give us the opportunity to solve that as well.

There are so many instances I have to look back on proving God's hand in my life; how much harder would that be for a woman like Ruth who had little more than ten years married to a man who came from Judah, the land of God's people? If she could follow her gut and heart to God, so can I. 

So tell me: What inspires you to follow your gut and heart?

Weekly Update, and the 4th

Weekly Update


Exercise: Umm... didn't happen.


Weight Loss: No idea. Didn't check. (Probably a good thing...)


Victories/Struggles: Well...

• I felt fat for a few days
• I felt bloated most of the week
• I ate lots of junk
• I actually don't feel too terribly bad about it, because
• Because there are more important things sometimes
• I spent time with friends, family, and kept my house clean
• I am feeling (again) like I can't reach my weight goal

I don't have the results I want. I can't seem to really stick to anything. As my husband so wisely points out, I have to have motives that will last me through the whole process; the good times, the bad times, the hard times, the easy times. I'm thinking about a Dickens novel... "It was the best of times and the worst of times..." Anyway...

I'm not super happy at size 14 (pants) and 180 pounds, give or take a few depending on the week.

When I'm really on it, I'm working out three times a week for about an hour at a time. I even have a gym membership, remember? Paid in full through August, even if the budget tightens later on...

And that Weight Loss Competition? Oi. 

I don't know, you guys. Why is this so hard?

I feel like Eeyore. He was pleasantly rotund. Well, not pleasantly, I suppose.

Today has been a good eating day so far. That's something, right? And the 4th is tomorrow... Burgers. BURGERS!!! Chips. CHIPS!!! Oi.

I don't want to make some proclamation about getting through yet another holiday without falling off the wagon. I'll be too disappointed when it doesn't happen. I get to be with my parents, my in-laws, neighbors, friends, and one of my beautiful little nieces (from Oregon) who isn't so little anymore. That's more important than a pant size in the long run.

But I can't ignore the fact that I have indeed felt a calling to be healthy, to treat my body as a temple, to battle food addiction, turning to God instead of food. My resolve does not hold up to temptation most days. Novelty, excitement, new goals, that can last for a while - but never long enough.

Come on, God.

Let's be honest, He's here. 

So, come on, Nicole.

Oi. Today is an Oi day. 

Oi.

So tell me: How do you keep going? How do you keep up your resolve?

And, HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!! (A day early). Despite my current Oi-ness, I am a thankful American, joyfully celebrating this nation and the God who has blessed it so abundantly. And fireworks make me so happy! Pretty colors!!!