8 days a week

Today at 5:30 AM, my husband and oldest son (Man-cub) left for California. A trip from east to west coast was Man-cub's Christmas present. Hubby makes this trip every year for business. Charleston, SC to Monterrey, CA. This year, since Man-cub is with him, they will venture into San Fransisco and then to Yosemite for some camping. I know they will have a great time and make memories to last a lifetime. Unfortunately for me, they took our camera. So no photos of my stuff on the blog this week!
So, what to do with myself for the next 8 days...hummm...

DAY 1

(Cue Music)
Well, I woke up this mornin, and you were on my mind:

Pom Pom Flowers!
Kristin at Domsetifluff has a great tutorial on these. The Princess and I made 6 of them in various sizes. We plan to send some to our adopted soldier in a care package. I think they'll brighten her day!

I also tackled my coupon drawer. (Groan) You know that drawer that is jammed packed with coupons. It barely opens (if at all) so it's understandable if you forgot it was there. There were so many booklets of coupons in there. Most expired. I'm pretty sure I threw away enough money to fund Man-cub's first year in college. Considering that's only in 3 years, I'm really kicking myself. Money Saving Mom would shutter. So I need a system. Anyone have a good one? Please tell me about how you organize your coupons so that you actually use them.

After that, the Princess got to work making food for our weekly bentos. We hard boiled some eggs and made them star and heart shaped. We used these awesome egg molds that I got from I Love Obento!


I also cut some marbled cheddar cheese into cute flower shapes. I've put it all away in the fridge to pull out this week as I need them.

Later, I will make this yummy looking bread posted by Shannon at What's for lunch at our house. Yummmm...just take a look at it:

Blueberry Banana Bread!
With Man-cub out of town, this will be a hit. For some strange reason, he doesn't like bananas. Who's ever heard of such a thing?

Once all that is done, I believe it what's left of Day 1 will be filled with R and R. At least until it's time to start some dinner. I plan to make this Vegetable Fried Rice posted by Michelle at All home Cooking. All Year Long.:


See you tomorrow!

My First Official Bentos!

Reading all the many blogs I do, I've found the perfect solution to lunch at my house. Bentos! I'm able to serve portion-controlled, healthy lunches to my family and bring my creativity into play. Perfect! So I've found tons of websites and blogs on the subject, ordered some supplies, and gotten to work. Yesterday, I put everything I'd learned to the test.

I started with this Breakfast Bento...
Yes, that is chocolate cake! All the cool moms are serving it! It's actually a slice of Amy's organic chocolate cake. Think of it as a rectangular muffin. There's also kiwi and strawberry flowers. And, finally, granola with yogurt.

So, lunchtime rolls around and what does my Princess ask for? A Bento, of course! Supplies come back out and this is what I whipped up quickly before I scooted to the polls to vote. Did you vote yesterday?

The Four Little Bears

The Bear Sandwiches are turkey and spinach.

There are carrots with ranch dip, pistachios, and strawberries.

These were my first attempts at Bentos. I think they turned out ok. The Princess sure ate them up! I'll be posting them over at What's for Lunch at our House as part of her What's For Lunch Wednesday. Check out all the entries!

Time to Renew

It has been so long since I last blogged here. I've spent a lot of time reading blogs. There are a lot of them out there. Some really good ones. Ideas are everywhere. Crafts nearly make themselves in this blogosphere. There are enough Weekly Menus posted to feed the world. And, yet, here I am, adding my own crafts, menus and ideas to the mix.

After watching Food, Inc. on PBS, I have totally changed how I feed my family. No more regular food for us. I was shocked at what I'd been giving them to eat! Now, I go out of my way to buy local, organic food. We also eat a heart-healthy diet. Those are not the same. Just because something is organic or purchased at Whole Foods or Earth Fare, does not mean it is healthy. So I read a lot of labels. They are very tiny. So tiny, in fact, I had to visit the eye doctor. I now wear contacts.
Now that I can see, I've begun to seriously green things up. I gave my husband a compost bin for his birthday. (You're welcome sweetie!) We use it and use it and use it. And, I recycle everything I can. If it can't be recycled, I try to re-purpose it. This drives my husband crazy but I like the challenge. Not of driving him crazy but the challenge of figuring out a new use for something I'd otherwise send to the dump.

So, wondering where I keep all this stuff? Well, I'm an organization addict. I love to organize everything:

my kitchen drawers;

my daughter's hair accessories;

my pantry (prior to viewing Food, Inc.);

EVERYTHING!

So all of these (hopefully) soon-to-be re-purposed items have a home. Probably in a re-purposed container.

Finally, the last thing I hope I have improved on is my promptness in posting. For that, stay tuned...

Mother-in-laws

This morning, I awoke to news that a friend of mine lost her mother-in-law hours prior to a 5 year battle with ovarian cancer. My friend posted this on her Facebook account. In her post, she said all good things about her mother-in-law. About what a great woman she was. Quoting, "A better woman there will not be." This touched me so deeply. And got me thinking.

My life has not had many good examples of mother-in-law/daughter-in-law cohesiveness. My mother didn't feel comfortable with any of her mother-in-laws. She, herself, struggles in her role as mother-in-law to my brother's wife. And, my mother-in-law keeps me on my toes and my defensive. Not a happy mix. The problem I see in all of these disfigured relationships is a feeling of competition. But why? Why do mother-in-laws feel they need to compete with their sons' wives? Why as women can't we be strong in the relationship we've established with our sons over the years and just be happy for him and the love of his life? I strive to show such strength with my two sons.

Now, I know it may be hard. That, when that time comes, I may question the decision he makes and wonder what he sees in her. But, certainly, I can trust the man he becomes and let him make his decisions and be happy for him. Part of my job as a mom, I believe, is letting go and allowing my children to take what I've taught them and apply it to their lives, learning along the way. If I've done my job, I've been slowly letting go all along and by the time of a wedding, my relationship will have changed with my kids. From one of parent, finger-wagger, disciplinarian to parent, friend, sharer of life experiences. One who looks for reasons to celebrate rather than teach. I hope that when my days are no longer, I will have a daughter-in-law (hopefully two) who says such touching things about me as my friend said about her's. That I can be proud of teaching my daughter-in-law how to be a mother-in-law. And if she'd put it on her Facebook account, well...that would be icing on the cake!

Out of My Comfort Zone

Today I did something that years ago, I could have never imagined myself doing. I went Paddleboarding. Two years ago, I watched from the shore in Hawaii as guys stood on these really large surfboards and paddled their way through the ocean. It looked like tons of fun...not to mention quite a workout. Today I found out it is indeed both. But, I must confess, I've never done water sports before. I don't even really swim in the ocean, but rather wade in the surf.

So, I stepped out of my comfort zone and joined two friends on Sullivan's Island this morning. I worked myself silly battling the tide and the wind but it sure was fun. The biggest thrill of all was realizing I was actually capable of getting from my knees to a standing position without falling. In fact, I never even got wet. The breeze kept me cool and the water only carrassed my feet. The sun shone upon me as if saying, "Enjoy the beauty of this day and the land where you live." I did and I cannot wait to do it again. I'd really like to get my boys out there. For us to become a family that truly enjoys everything the Lowcountry has to offer is a dream of mine. This is only one step but a step in the right direction.

Stepping out of our comfort zones is both important and meaningful. Important to keep us growing. Meaningful because, when we realize we did grow or simply accomplish something, there is no better feeling. Except the feeling of the sun and surf calling me back...

Life Without A Camera

Life has taken many turns these past months. Joe has recovered entirely from his heart surgery. Thank God! All three children were promoted to their next grade. Summer got underway...and HOT! We've taken a few trips to the mountain cabin and completed a lot of work there. We had our dog, Berkley, put down. Porter had an accident on July 4 that landed him in the ER with Joe and myself from 10:30 pm until 6 am on July 5. We went home quite sleepy, he with 22 stitched over his eye. Millie has two loose teeth and one permanent one on the way in. Jonathan has added to his guitar collection and gotten quite good at playing. Swim team season has come and almost gone. Jonathan competes in the City Meet next week. Somewhere along the way though, we lost our camera. Joe keeps saying it will turn up. I keep thinking of all the pictures we're missing. All of the memories we're not freezing. The frames that will go empty.

So life without a camera means many more posts to this blog. If I cannot capture the memories with pictures, I must rely on words. Eloquent and illustrious accounts of life are to come...

Kaput

My menu planning has become something I'm lucky to do 15 minutes before I start preparing. It's driving me crazy! Maybe it's just the time of year. Maybe it's that I don't yet know what to cook for Joe. Maybe it's the stress of his illness. I don't know. He goes in on Thursday for a heart cath/angiogram. Depending on what they find, he may get a stint or angioplasty. We will have to wait until it's over to know. Needless to say, our stress levels are high.
I'm continuing to look for sites with heart-healthy recipes so I can get back into my weekly menu planning. Until then, I'll take it one day at a time...

Last night, I fixed Grilled Orange Chicken Fingers, butternut squash, brown rice, and spinach salad. Everything was yummy and the kids asked for seconds!
Tonight, Joe is eating left-overs and the kids and I are having Zesty Corn Quesadillas and fresh veggies with ranch.