Many people come to me when they are sick and ask what they should take.  I generally offer one of many natural remedies and encourage good nutrition.

When my kids are sick they suffer thru it with various herbal tinctures and honey with garlic.

Truth be told... I don't do sick well.  That's why I try to stay well.  I turn into a complete baby and want to just curl up and hide.  I can't stand to take tinctures and herb tea is just nasty to me when I feel bad. 

I came down with the crud Sunday night after we got back from Tennessee.  As usually happens when I come down with something I have my old mono symptoms reappear with swollen glands thru out my body, a constricted/sore throat, and achiness in all of my joints.  On top of this I had a cough and chest congestion. 
I do have to say that I did do more of the herbs this time, but it just gets old really quick.

So last night at 2 am when I woke up coughing, Mr B was downstairs watching a movie.  I came down to get some wild cherry bark tincture when I saw my old friend sitting on the counter.  While not the original green death formula it was a welcome sight.....

I've been saying if I can just make it to this day then life will settle down....  Then I get to that day and then realize I was mistaken.

I then change to another day, and the same thing happens again.

I had been saying that if I make it to December 1st then life will be smooth.... 

unfortunately I forgot to turn the page in my calendar.

I had no idea all of the commitments I had given in to as I knew that December was open.  Now I start December 1 with a list of commitments when all I really want to do is go hang out in TN and throw knives....

We've been getting ready for the holidays, and just when I thought things were going to slow down, they seem to have jumped into hyperdrive.  There's always time for my sweet babies and to decorate the house for the holidays....

My best friend growing up was from Korea, and I, as a middle-American living in the suburbs, wanted so badly to have some sort of actual culture outside of burgers and fries.  I remember eating kimchee and putting on the rice nightly at their house.  It often seemed that our friendship revolved around food.   Even now when we see each other it is always over a meal.... usually over 4 or so hours as we don't catch up often enough anymore.

I have even taken my kids to visit, and of course, in her gracious manner, my old friend's mother made my children and I my very favorite Korean food.... Mandoo

This is basically the Korean version of a potsticker or kind of an eggroll, so to speak.  You can fill them a variety of ways, but traditionally they should include cabbage (either regular or kimchee) and rice noodles.  You can actually get mandoo wraps, but my local grocery in the country only carries eggroll wraps so that's what I use.

I hadn't made these in years until my return to the land of chimichangas.... as I had given up deep frying, and while these can be steamed, they are better fried crisp, in my opinion.  I decided to see how these would do baked in the oven after a wash of oil.

Mandoo  (Most ingredients are approximates and not measured... use what you like)

Egg roll wrappers

shredded cabbage(I actually was making coleslaw and just scooped a bunch of cabbage, onions, carrots and peppers out together)

additional onion chopped

meat, or not, chopped small, I used chicken

rice noodles

minced garlic

I stir fry the chicken in some soy sauce and sesame oil (the dark stuff) until cooked thru.

Add in the onion and garlic and whatever veggies you want and cook a few minutes to soften. 

Meanwhile cook the noodles according to label.

I usually add the cabbage to the chicken pan and stir it just to combine the flavors and wilt the cabbage a bit, but don't cook it.

Combine the noodles with everything else and mix together.  You can refrigerate or freeze the filling at this point in time if you want... otherwise go ahead and get your wrappers out.

You can use any size wrapper, but dealing with the big ones is easier for me as I don't do this often.

Fill your wraps with the filling and run some water or egg around the edge to help them seal.... fold the wrap in half and pinch the edges well.  Lightly grease your cookie sheet and then lightly oil the outside of the wonton with olive oil.  Cook at 500 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until they look lightly browned.

Serve as main dish or as a side with a bowl of soy sauce, dark sesame oil, and cayenne pepper mixed together as a dip.

Also feel free to steam or fry these....

This phrase has been the mantra at my job lately, and also increasing in prevailance in my general area.

While I do consider myself an environmentalist to a degree, I am mainly just cheap thrifty. 

In the spirit of re-using the Princess and I cut up some of her dresses and turned them into sweet dresses for her dolls.

I did use a pattern, but I hate following directions and changed them around... I almost feel qualified to be on Project Runway... at least as much as Kinley was qualified... 

Today my Mother gave me the coolest gift.... probably what I would like better than anything, but wouldn't have bought for myself. 

While I'm generally not into big make up kits, this one is so cool...  The shades are great, and I love smashbox especially their eyeshadows, lip glosses and face colors...

After the wild week that I've had, I'm looking forward to having some playtime with my new toy....

I actually wrote this post a few days ago, and have left it to be edited so that I could think on it some.

I started this blog as an online diary this past January.... there are a few earlier posts, but I had made a New Years' resolution to blog this year and see how it went so this is what I consider to be my real starting point.

I'm honestly surprised that the 10 people who read it actually take the time, but this hasn't been for others as much as for me.  It was something that I felt challenged to do.

In the past year I've taught myself how to write basic html code, how to use digital pictures and become more accountable for what I say and do.  I'm afraid this era may be over though as I feel I've learned my lessons and need to move on...

While I so enjoy posting daily about what I think I've learned in life, I've got so much more living to do in the real world, and I'm afraid that my virtual time may be coming to an end.

I don't really know what else I have to add that isn't already here....  A few more recipes for food and herbs possibly, sewing projects, or rants (which I feel have definitely decreased in the past few months.).

I'm closing comments on this post as I'm not looking for positive reinforcement one way or the other.  If you feel that you know me I think you'll understand that this isn't about what others are thinking about me, but what I feel I need to do with myself....  I used to know and meet so many people and now I find that I've become too entrenched in my own mind and I feel the need to grow in a different direction...

Marc has asked me not to quit blogging for whatever reason....  I don't know that he has even ever looked at the site, but on some level he feels that this is cathartic for me.... He actually offered to get me a laptop so that it would be more convenient, but I think he is really just looking for an excuse to get a new toy....

I most likely won't be here everyday anymore.... I will probably focus more on what we are doing with school when I do post as I feel this is an area that I need to focus more on at this point.

I'm honestly thinking about the line, "It's better to burn out than to fade away..." and I hope that I'm just turning a corner and not trying to revive something that I feel may have lived out it's usefulness....

If nothing else, those of you I've gotten to meet thru the blog have been great, and I would love to sit and drink coffee with you all someday and get to know the real people behind the online personas....

The Prince and I were reading about the adventures of the Phoenicians in ancient times... and I don't mean those climbing Camelback Mtn....

One of the projects in The Story of the World was to bake Phoenician bread, essentially pita bread.  I had never made pita style bread before and figured that this was a good excuse so we made a batch.  The Prince soon let me know that he could do it himself...

Our recipe....

6 cups flour

2 tsp salt

1 T yeast

2 cups warm water

1 T honey

1.  Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Stir in the honey and add the salt and flour slowly.  I used my mixer for 6 minutes or knead by hand for 10 minutes.

Cover bowl and let dough rise for about 2 hours.

Punch down and shape it into 10 balls.  Let sit for 15 minutes then shape into  6-7 inch round shapes.

Bake in preheated oven at 450 degrees on lightly greased cookie sheet for 10-12 minutes...

As my title says, I never thought I'd be one of those women....

You know who I mean.... the ones who dress their dogs in clothes.... but then again, I have been threatening to get a Maya Wrap to carry him in so this might be the better choice...

Well.... my new baby could get cold, and I have absolutely nothing else to do, so I decided to crochet him a cute little turtleneck sweater to keep him warm, but still stylish, this winter...

While some of our northern friends have already experienced the beginnings of winter, it is comfortably blustery here in the NW GA.  I can't say that I miss living in snow, but I always did enjoy the falling snow....  I know that many people associate this with warm and cozy, but to me falling snow made me feel chilled to the bone and like a very small, insignificant part of the world...  The sound, or lack there of, of snow falling is something that would bore right into my soul.

But then, maybe that was just Alaska and the who and what I used to be.... 

So, in celebration of snow and the coming of the holidays I wanted to do a craft for our girls' club that would take advantage of the beauty of the season, and this is what I came up with....

This little project is pretty simple, and I was going to type out the directions like I came up with it myself, but it's late and I've got a ton to do, so link to this site if you want specifics with pictures showing the steps....

I tend to be pretty goal oriented in life... I like to invision the outcome, and am generally weak in discerning the steps that need to be taken to achieve my goals.  I struggle with the little parts of the whole picture, and often feel blinded by the final vision...

Homeschooling is helping me to learn that it is in these details that real learning begins.  I have determined that it is easy to list goals, and not too difficult to cross them off my list if I make them a priority, but my struggle occurs with having to really think and evaluate what will get it done.  I'm also learning to move more purposefully and with more direction... maybe these are just lessons that age teaches, but they are in a vast contrast to my true nature.

My goal was to clean out my kitchen a few weeks ago.  I often put off small chores that could be easily and carefully done every day or week so that  I can have a marathon of a day of cleaning on a big level every other month or so.  So on the day that I decided to change out shelf liner and rearrange the kitchen, I also decided to complete the small task of cleaning out my grain mill.

My grain mill is the Family Grain mill that uses stone burrs to gring and really should be taken apart and dusted out every so often... nothing is really recommended that I know of, but I've just kind of figured that out over the past several years.

I've also noticed how heavy my bread has been lately, and how it just wasn't really good either. 

I was incredibly shocked by the differences in the flour, and my bread was perfect.  I was so excited about my light, fluffy flour that I splurged and made cinnamon rolls.

The flour on the left is red wheat, and the one on the right white, but otherwise they were ground at the same settings... the red before cleaning, the white afterwards....

Why did I just not take the time to clean out the mill every week, and wait for it to become so clogged, before cleaning it?  Why did I have to wait until a 'cleaning day' before doing a specific task?

I guess my point is that I need to quit focusing so much on the big picture and start thinking more about the details... especially when the details include cinnamon rolls....

I store grains and beans in bulk so that I am able to buy what I know we will use at the best price... this helps me to save our family time and money in the long run.

I have used a variety of buckets for storage including traditional 5 gallon buckets, large bins from the gardening stores and even clean gallon milk jugs.  It just seems that I can never have enough of these buckets as I increase my stash of  dried goods.

A friend had told me that alot of the local groceries that have a bakery will sell the icing vats cheaply and that they are the large, food grade containers that would be great for grain storage. 

I hadn't remembered to ask, and needed some extra, so while I was out this weekend I asked at my Ingles' bakery.  They said that they were free if they had any, and I walked away with one 5 gallon bucket and two 3-1/2 gallon buckets.  They actually had more, but I felt greedy taking so many already.

The only downfall potentially is that while these buckets did come  with lids, the gamma seal lids (that I personally tend not to use due to cheapness) don't fit these buckets, or so I am told.

So now... I have more beans put aside and the big one designated for my laundry detergent that I'd been slacking off on making....

I have decided to go back to making the liquid/gel formula.  I quit using this one for a 'dry' recipe as I felt it was bleaching out my clothes (okay, primarily I thought it was lightening my really dark, nice jeans about which I am probably too obsessed with), but I decided to give it another try.... and at 1 cup per use and 5 gallons to go I might be giving it a try for quite a while.

Liquid Laundry Soap Recipe (from HB on WTM )

grate 2 bars of real soap (either Ivory, Fels Naptha, or homemade)

I like to grate my soap in the food processor... very easy clean up...

Put the grated soap in a sauce pan and  cover with water.  Gently heat until the soap is all dissolved. 
Fill a 5 gallon bucket with hot water.   Add the soap-water mix and then add 1 cup of washing soda and 1 cup of borax.  Stir well. 

I also usually put in some tea tree oil and other various essential oils for scent and degreasing action, like lemon eo.  I usually add this to the bucket of hot water prior to adding the soap so that it gets stirred in well.

This will cool as it thickens.  I use about 1 cup per load.

As seems to be the norm for me lately, I am running behind and have barely a minute to myself.

I am trying to slow down and really take time to enjoy life, and that has seriously cut into my computer time. 

We are preparing for our craft/faith club this Friday and while I am still working on the girls' craft, the boys' time will be spent learning to make fires with the obligatory marshmallow roast.

Marc and the kids spent last night outside in the backyard practicing with the flint...  Overall I have to say it was a really good time....

Every now and then something you do just turns out right.....  it all just falls together....

I have a new, old favorite for dinner..... chimichangas.  I used to make these years ago, but they were a hassle as I would fill the burrito shell, wrap them up, skewer them and then deep fat fry them.  SInce we don't eat many fried foods anymore, let alone ones that are deep fried, I gave up on ever eating them again....

until.... otherday while chatting with my WTMfriends, Whiterock told how she made them in the oven.  I really had a 'duh' moment with this one....

I kind of made up the filling myself, and I'm sure that there are more practical and authentic ways of doing it, but this is how I did it....  I did scale back the seasoning a bit so my kids would be sucked in to the chimi vortex, which they were by the way....

I cooked a couple of chicken breasts in a pot of water starting with a boil and then turning it down to where you have a good simmer until they were done (I was busy so I just let them cook a couple of hours in the simmering water).  You can pretty much cook them any way you like, but this was the easiest for me at the time.

When I was ready and they were done, I put them on a cutting board.  I did NOT cut them up.... I pulled the chicken against its 'grain' so that the meat came off in strings.  I then broke it up further if it was in chunks.

I cut up an onion into long, thin pieces like you would for stir fry.

I then put the chicken and onions in a fry pan with some oil and cooked them together for about 20 minutes.  During this time I also added about some water and some mexican/taco seasoning (I use a natural brand from Frontier). 

Warm some burrito-sized tortillas and brush lightly with olive oil on what will be the outside.   I then put some of the chicken mixture inside and wrapped them so that the sides are also enclosed.   Place them seam side down on a cookie sheet.  Put them in the oven at 500 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

They should be crispy and golden when removed from the oven.  I put them on a plate, top with shredded colby-jack cheese, and allow this to melt.  (I nuked mine to make it go quicker)  Top with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.  I was actually out of lettuce, but placing the whole thing on a plate of shredded lettuce is also a good practice.

"In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, 'Make us your slaves, but feed us.'" [Dosteovsky's 'Grand Inquisitor']

I actually had a post all ready to go, but have decided to change it and post this rant instead....

I voted today.  I wasn't planning on it, but I did.  I took my kids with me.  Again, I wasn't planning on it but it just worked out that way. 

When we left the polls we returned to our car, got in and started to leave.  My kids were both looking at me with confused looks on their faces.  I asked them what was wrong and their reply was, "is that it... aren't you supposed to get something now?"

I was confused, so I asked them what they thought I was supposed to get.  They said, stuff...  you know... what they guys keep promising.  "If you vote for one of them they have to give you something." 

I also don't watch the news or listen to the radio (I really am oblivious to most of the world happenings, by choice, at this point in my life).  I turned on the national news today and was surprised by some woman they called Minnie the moocher who was attending a political campaign rally this week and stated that her candidate will make it so that she doesn't have to pay for her house any more.

My kids want to vote on the build a bear site tonight.  If you vote for a bear and it wins you get an outfit for your virtual pet.  If the rabbit wins you get a dance move.

It seems that the voting in America has shifted subtlely and significantly in the past 10-20 years.  I honestly say that I knew it was bad, but didn't realize the level of indoctrination of the American public....

No matter who wins, it seems, we all still have lost at the core our souls and humanity.

It seems that this election has gone the way of others before it...  so many politicians make promises that they obviously can't keep, but the masses buy into it so that they may reap the benefits....

Well... this got me thinking.  I don't really need much in life, and I pretty much have what I need/want, and if I don't, I either do without or figure out a plan and work it...

Then it came to me... there is one thing on my Santa-government wishlist... The thing that would buy my vote would be an end to daylight savings time where I live....

We had the best week spending time with friends, and Friday ended the week with Marc being home and us all hanging out together...

In the afternoon we had the nicest time with friends where the Princess and Prince played with friends and each made their very own apple pies and then painted t-shirts using stamps made from potatoes.

We then went to a local church's trunk or treat where there were multiple bounce houses to choose from....

Overall a very fun day....

 Apple Pie for Kids

1 apple, peeled, cored and sliced

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp pie spice

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp flour

1 tsp melted butter

prepared crust

Place the crust into a small pie pan.  Make sure it comes to the top all around the edge of the pan.  In your mixing bowl, stir together the apple slices, sugar, spices, lemon juice and flour.  Blend well with your spoon.  Pour the apples into the pan.  Pour the butter over the apples.  Use extra crust pieces to cut shapes. Decorate your pie with shapes.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until brown.

It seems that right now is an incredibly busy time for just about everyone that I have come into contact with lately.  Somehow my list of things to get done seems to be multiplying exponentially the more I cross off of it.

I don't feel as if I have anything to even post here... a few pictures, a recipe, but nothing worth the investment of the time it would take to do it....

But... not only am I spinning my wheels in the normal daily grind of life... I have discovered a new thing.... and I really am all about doing the new things in life, be it good or bad...

When I joined the gym with my princess earlier this month I was intimidated by the whole idea of spin class... I'm not much of a bike rider, and it just seemed really tortuous.  So, of course, I had to go and try it out.  THe first one was horrible, but now after 4 or 5 spin classes, I'm hooked.  I still like basic aerobics, but I find that most classes are step classes that bulk my calves, and the dance-y ones aren't hard enough.  I really need the cardio right now, and the spin classes are killer in more than one way.

So next week I've got at least 2 spin classes planned along with a step aerobics and a couple of weight/pump classes.

I'm eating what I ate before, but I've tried to be more diligent about cutting out sweets.  I limit myself to one bottle  (the smaller ones) of wine per week, and I'm drinking all of my water...

I don't usually weigh and measure until Friday, but my weight is down 5 pounds in just over 2 weeks.  I'm still excited about exercise and can't wait until my next spin class....

As I've previously said... I like my leisure time..... It just doesn't seem like it happens often anymore.  Even fun activities seem so scheduled and limited... like having to pencil in 'have a good time doing so-and-so'. 

Anyway... I reached a milestone today... the bushels of apples finally met their end.  I haven't actually been able to clear my head enough to determine what I made and how much of each there even is...   All I know is that my jam/preserves shelf has gotten really full.

It turns out that my family really likes apple butter, and it's a good thing as I think we now have a ton of the stuff.  I think we probably have about 10 years worth.  I also did alot of apple sauce.  The theme here is 'easy'. 

I actually broke open a jar of pickles to see how they did, and despite not liking pickles in general, these were actually pretty good.

Today while making apple butter and canning it, I had geared up to totally clean out my kitchen.  I'm talking take everything out, wash out the cabinets, and then reorganize it all.  I would like to think I'm not a pack rat (which I really am not) but I didn't even know I had half the stuff that I did.  The recycle pile was huge and the trash and charity piles were even larger.  I tend to be one who would just like to see things gone... If it hasn't been used in the past 6 months, I most likely don't need it.  So I get rid of it.

Everything is now clean, tidy and organized, and I am happy, but tired....

Next... the bathrooms....