Listen

Yesterday was my Kimmy Jarae's 5th birthday. She's 5! I really can't believe it. I am shocked that my little toddler got replaced by a big kid.

She had school yesterday (her 3rd day of kindergarten), but I still tried to make her day as special as I could. She got to wear her new My Little Pony (current obsession) shirt with Rainbow Dash on it. I gave her Starbursts for breakfast (well, pre-breakfast, since we're cashing in on the $1.10 breakfasts at school). I sent cupcakes and flowers and a balloon to her school (judge me all you want, but my child is not spoiled by material things. So I went all out for her birthday). After school, we ran to the grocery store and then came home to make dinner together.

We made gumbo. Kimmy's been begging to try gumbo for months. She loves okra, and when she learned that it's a key ingredient in Tiana's dish in Princess and the Frog, she latched onto the idea of making it for dinner sometime. We got tons of fresh veggies from the farmers' market this weekend, including the okra mother lode, so we were all set for gumbo cookin'. I thought her birthday was the perfect occasion!

I love being a mom, and I know I'm a pretty good one. One thing I seriously struggle with, though, is active listening. I'm so exhausted in the evenings and overwhelmed with managing a routine, cleaning, getting everything ready for the next day, doing homework, keeping some semblance of a social life, and getting enough sleep, that I generally do a terrible job listening, being patient, sticking to one task at a time, and sitting down to spend relaxing time with my Kimmy-girl instead of bouncing around the house like a pinball. I catch myself saying, "Mmhmm. Oh, that's great," to many of the things Kimmy tells me (or tries to tell me) in the evenings. I have horrible mommy guilt over it, and I resent single parenting for making it my reality. I'm the only person Kimmy has to talk to, and I ruin it a lot by being so lacking in energy. I'm just spread so thin that there is no way I can hit the evening portion of our day with a full battery. I get really down about it.

So last night I put my phone down and spent some real quality time with my baby. We (mostly she) talked, and I listened. She took me by surprise several times throughout the evening! I was so astonished at how much she knows and has been learning lately. Even the way she forms sentences now...it's like she's a grown-up trapped in that little girly-girl frame.

While we were prepping our veggies for cooking, I was dicing an onion. When I moved on to the garlic, Kimmy said, "I already know what that knife move is called, Mommy." I said, "Oh, you do? What?" "Mincing." I literally had no clue she knew that! She said she learned it from Princess and the Frog when Prince Naveen is mincing mushrooms. And then she helped me mince.

Next, she started munching on a green pepper--a favorite snack of my brother's when he was Kimmy's age. She said she loved it, and I told her she was awesome and brave to always try new foods.

The evening was interspersed with random friends and family members calling and sending messages to wish her a happy birthday like Nana and Papple and Nate and Brice, but we still got to talk to each other a lot. Probably my favorite part was when we were sitting at the bar together just digging into our bowls of gumbo when she finally opened up to me about how school was going. I've barely heard a peep about school since the first day, and it had me kind of worried.

We had a nice heart to heart about her class and teacher, her new best friend Averi who sits at the table next to her, how it takes time to learn new names and make new friends, how her school is pretty big compared to my grade school and how I think she's showing a lot of courage by not being intimidated by being around so many people. She told me her favorite part of school is that she's going to learn to read, and her least favorite part is not having nap time. (Cue the mommy guilt for her having to go to Latch-Key before and after school while her momma goes to work, which makes for 10-hour days.)

We finished up our evening with blackberries sprinkled with sugar, and I got my 5-year-old sidekick into bed only about a half hour late.

Kimmy's final thought before bed? "I have a question. What if we could swim in clouds?" She might be growing up quickly, but that mind of hers is still wild, innocent, free, and full of dreams. I love her so.

Parenting never feels better than when you're connected with your kiddo without distractions. My favorite ways to get there with Kimmy are camping, vacationing, and cooking. I need to make a point of it more often! But what would parenting be without lots of mini failures, right? I need grace. Lots and lots of grace. We've made it to age 5 with smiles on our faces, and we can make it much farther!

I love you, Kimmy Jarae-jee Jay-jee Jarae.

-Momma

Things I wish I had known (part 2 of more to come eventually)

I wish I had known years ago how to recognize my own unhappiness, and when I did recognize it, I wish I had taken myself seriously and not been so afraid to change the things that caused it.

I spent years in a loveless, lifeless relationship, feeling underappreciated, unloved, unheard, unliked, and utterly alone. Sure, it started out great. Why else would I have stayed, right? But it morphed into something I hated, but blindly tolerated because it was one of the only "stable" things in my life at that point in time.

Most of 2013 consisted of me being unemployed and caring for an infant alone. I never slept, or I always slept--you could take your pick on any given day. My daughter was the only thing that made me truly happy. I watched a lot of TV. I sat through many "you may have depression if..." commercials that listed off symptom after symptom, most of which I had, but swiftly swept under the nearest rug.

Do you know how scary it is to lose your passion for basically every single thing you ever loved to do? Because I do. It leaves you in a constant state of questioning: Who am I, really? How did I become so uninteresting? Why don't I like doing things anymore? What am I going to do with this endless stretch of time in front of me? Why can't I feel anything? Nothing feels right, and nothing feels real. I'd rather feel everything than feel nothing. They're two completely different states of "raw," but I'd much rather be the bleeding kind of raw than the cauterized kind of raw.

If I had known how happy and free my life could become, I would have struck out on my own much sooner than I did.

Now, let's flip.

Do you know how amazing it is to re-discover old passions and completely new and different ones? It's mindblowingly awesome!

I love to cook. I love traveling. Music--I love music again! I joke. I talk on the phone. I laugh my ass off! I love to run (even if I'm terrible at it and really should call it jogging with some walking mixed in). I love nature: hiking, all types of birds and trees, thunderstorms, lightning bugs, twinkling stars, sitting by a campfire and just listening to everything out in the dark. I love to be by myself and just think. I love to be in a room full of people and observe their every move--it's stunning to watch people's eyes as they think and comprehend what's around them or what they're going through. I love trying new beer. I love gardening, even if I have no clue what I'm doing. I love, love, love art. I love to paint...watercolor or acrylic, canvas or paper. I'm even starting to sing again.

Healing is a pretty cool phenomenon.

I hope to never get stuck in unhappiness again and miss the beauty that's all around me. It's a good, good life.

Peace,
Kels

Meal planning + food prep

I received a topic special request from a friend (Hi, Steph!), so this blog will be all about meal planning and food prep! Be warned: this will be long. I'm going to include a lot of info and some recipes, too.

I've always been sort of ruled by food, ever since I started putting on weight in puberty. I feel as though I could look at a carrot and gain 5 lbs. Even though I cheered and danced and swam and ran around all day every day all summer long and ate more vegetables than most of the people I knew, I was always a chunker from about 3rd grade on.

Over the past few months, I've been working to transition to a place where I rule the food around me, not the other way around. Instead of being controlled by my cravings and food wants, I make a conscious effort to think of food as nourishment and fuel for my body, plain and simple.

Yes, food may taste good. Yes, I am a true foodie, always looking for new flavors and ideas. But, I'm trying not to make it matter so much what I eat, just that I'm eating things that are whole, healthy, and as un-processed as my budget will allow. I'm not in the mood for the food I packed for my work lunch? Too bad. I'm saving money and being more health conscious by eating it. I'd rather run through the drive thru after work for a happy meal for Kimmy and a burger for me? Nope, I have a 20-minute meal waiting for me at home, and it's $2.50 per portion and chock full of veggies. See how I'm trying to train my thinking?

So, how am I making that switch?
1. I'm shopping based on what I need for specific meals, instead of shopping by what looks good and tickles my fancy at the store.
2. I'm planning a menu based on those meals. If I want to change things up, I can just switch the order of my meals, instead of going out for a quick fix and breaking my planning cycle.
3. I'm making a budget and sticking to it. Only extravagant budgets allow for over-indulgent food, after all.
4. I'm prepping my ingredients/dish components as much in advance as I can, so I can come straight home from work and cook, rather than giving in to ravenous food cravings and ruining my good planning.
5. I'm being less wasteful. If I have fresh produce in my fridge that has the potential to go bad, I don't need to be ordering take-out or procrastinating by eating non-perishables out of the pantry first. I've thrown away too much produce in the last few years, and I refuse to do it anymore.

Then what?
First thing's first: you need a good planning document. I print out these menu planner/shopping list combos every 2 weeks. I get paid every other Friday, so I either do my shopping on payday or the day after, and I get enough food for our household for 2 weeks. (I'm currently trying to spread our shopping out to 1 month intervals by shopping in bulk, but that's a work in progress, especially with my limited freezer space. I'll have to let you know how that goes.) Anyway, this document is cool because you can write down your meals in each box, guesstimate how many leftovers you'll have to allow that meal to stretch across a couple days, and write all your ingredients in the handy dandy categories below. This is a lifesaver (and timesaver) for me!

Once you've got your meals planned out and ingredients written down, you can take a look at your store's circular ad to see what can be swapped out to make your meals cheaper. If fish is cheaper than chicken, make a switch. If Brussels sprouts are on sale, but asparagus isn't, do a switch-a-roo. See where I'm going with this? Once you have some meal-planning practice under your belt, you'll be able to take a look at your grocery store ad first and do some quick calculations in your head to figure out which meals from your repertoire are feasible and which aren't.

My budget allows for $100 spent on groceries every 2 weeks. You might be sitting there thinking that's impossible, but I think you'll be shocked when you discover how much money you save by shopping by meal! I know I was. I usually come in under budget these days at ~$85-$90 every 2 weeks. This includes snacks like extra veggies, peanut butter, cheese, and crackers. Your initial few trips may cost more while you're stocking up on essentials, but I promise it can be done on a way smaller budget than you're used to long-term! And, obviously, if you have a bigger household than a 26-year-old and 2-and-a-half-year-old, you can adjust your budget accordingly.

"What do you usually buy at the store? What's your typical 2-week spread?" you ask.
Well, let me give you my current 2 weeks as an example! Some of the items I already bought, prepped, and/or froze, but I'll pretend I bought it all on Saturday for the purpose of this exercise.

Week 1
Breakfasts: refrigerator oatmeals (Monday-Friday), eggs and turkey bacon (Saturday), waffles (Sunday)
Lunches:  salad w/cheese and hardboiled egg (Monday-Friday), grilled cheese and veggies w/hummus (Saturday), chili (Sunday)
Dinners: moussaka (Monday/Wednesday), chicken thighs with rice and kale (Tuesday/Friday), spaghetti and meatballs (Thursday/Saturday), any remaining leftovers and salad (Sunday)

What I Bought
Dairy: butter, eggs (lunch salads, meatballs, breakfast), milk, parmesan cheese (meatballs), cheddar cheese (grilled cheeses), 1 qt. plain yogurt (oatmeal x 5)
Meat: 3 lbs ground beef (moussaka, chili, meatballs), bulk package chicken thighs, turkey bacon (or regular bacon if cheaper)
Frozen foods: 1 bag frozen fruit (oatmeal x 5)
Produce: hummus, celery (moussaka), carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, onions (chili, spaghetti, moussaka), lettuce (salads), eggplant (moussaka)
Canned goods: tomato paste/tomato sauce/diced tomatoes (chili, spaghetti, moussaka)
Dry Goods: 1 lb. kidney beans, thin spaghetti, bread crumbs, chili seasoning, pancake mix (waffles), syrup, rice (bulk is way cheap if you have somewhere to store it), oatmeal, whole almonds, bread
Misc: any additional spices/seasonings/dressings, snacks like popcorn or peanut butter or crackers, coffee, and coffee accessories

Week 2
Breakfasts: refrigerator oatmeals (Monday-Friday), eggs and turkey bacon (Saturday), cereal
Lunches: chili (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday), broiled tilapia and broccoli (Wednesday, Friday), grilled cheese and veggies w/hummus (Saturday), leftover pizza (Sunday)
Dinners: chicken leg quarters with potatoes au gratin and carrots (Monday/Wednesday), hamburgers and salad (Tuesday), meatballs w/tomato sauce and broccoli (Thursday/Friday), homemade pizza (Saturday), any remaining leftovers and salad (Sunday)

What I Bought
Dairy: eggs, milk, 1 qt. plain yogurt (oatmeal x 5), cheddar cheese (and/or whatever other kinds you like for potatoes au gratin), mozzarella cheese (pizza)
Meat: bulk package chicken leg quarters, ground beef (hamburgers, pizza)
Frozen foods: carrots, broccoli x 2, bulk bag frozen tilapia
Produce:green onions (potatoes au gratin), lettuce, potatoes
Canned goods: tomato sauce (pizza), black olives, mushrooms
Dry Goods: pizza dough yeast, flour, oil
Misc: any spices/seasonings

Simple enough, right? You have only what you need for your meals, plus when you get things like flour, eggs, oil, butter, cheese, and rice that are part of your meals, you're likely to have leftovers that become staples in your food supply. A lot of times things like that will last for several rounds of meal planning. This helps you save money in the long-run.

So, some tips and tricks:

• Do yourself a favor and purchase a big package of food storage containers. Throw away all the crappy ones you've accumulated and use your brand-new matching set. You'll thank yourself a million times!
• Plan to buy and use frozen veggies for the last part of your meal-planning cycle. They're less likely to go bad, and you're more likely to get use out of them and not throw away good money.
• Soups, sauces, and beans go further if you're trying to stretch your money. A pot of chili or hearty soup will last forever (which is why I freeze half as soon as I cook it)!
• Always have ready-made food items in your freezer like muffins, waffles, casseroles, meatballs/loaf, pasta dishes, and whatever else floats your boat. These are nice bonus items when you're waiting for the next payday to roll around...or when you have no food for the next day's dinner, but don't have time to go shopping. Just thaw and warm!
• Buy meat in bulk and repackage into meal-sized portions of your own to freeze. If ground beef/turkey is one of your meats, you can go ahead and shape your burgers and form your meatballs before freezing.
• Label everything you freeze and look through your freezer stash every time you plan your next set of meals to see what needs to be eaten soon.
• If you work (or have kids who throw off your stay-at-home-parent schedule), spend a few hours on Saturday or Sunday prepping all your breakfasts and lunches and morning/afternoon snacks. You'll remove almost all of the temptation to go out for lunch, waste money, and consume way too many calories. My fave work lunches are salads, a big casserole split into 5 portions, or a cooked meat + frozen veggie. You can actually put the veggies in your containers still frozen to save time, since you'll be heating your meal in the microwave before eating anyway.
• Always check your menu for the next day after dinner to see what's coming up. If it's something that's in your freezer, move it to the fridge. It'll be nice and thawed by the time it's time to cook din-din!
• Know your top 5 fastest dinners and be able to roll them off your tongue in 30 seconds or less! This comes in clutch when menu planning if there's a particular day you're going to be super strapped for time. Our busy days are Wednesdays because of church, so I usually plan leftovers that day or something I can cook in 20 minutes or less like broiled fish and a frozen veggie, tacos, veggie omelets, hamburgers, spaghetti, or fried salmon patties.
• Toddler mommies: save those old bananas that get wasted more often than not! They make the most delicious muffins that will have your kiddos begging for their breakfast fruit/fiber!
• Use coupons and buy generics whenever possible. Kroger has some amazing store-brand foods. Just sayin'. I used to be a name-brand snob, but I'm loving the savings and still-intact flavor/texture integrity I've found in Kroger generics.
• If you see something at the store that's an unbeatable deal like several pounds of steak or salmon that's been mega marked down, grab it!!! Adjust your menu accordingly. Flexibility is key if you're serious about saving money!

Ready for some recipes?! None of these are extravagant, and all are super easy and delicious! Have you seen a recent food pic on Facebook or Instagram that you'd like a recipe for? Comment and let me know. What's mine is yours, friends!

Moussaka
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
2 potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 eggplant, peeled and thickly sliced
1 large onion, sliced
5 ribs celery, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced (optional...I hate bell peppers!)
1 large can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper

Directions
Layer everything in a casserole dish with raw beef on the bottom to tomatoes on top. Cover and bake for about an hour at 350º. Traditionally, this Greek dish is topped with a béchamel sauce, but I'm rarely feeling that fancy. Plus, this is a really filling dish, and I fear a creamy sauce would make it too rich for my blood. One other note: this dish is really versatile! You can really add whatever veggies or seasonings you like. I've done it with zucchini, spinach, kale, and mushrooms. All delicious additions!

Meatballs
Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. fresh grated parmesan (like DIY grated parm...so much filler and processed junk in pre-grated cheese!)
1 tbsp. dried basil (or fresh minced if you have it!)
2 tbsp. dried parsley (again, fresh if you prefer. Fresh herbs are cheap and delicious, and leftover fresh basil and parsley make a bangin' pesto sauce!)
1/2 c. bread crumbs
salt and pepper
2 cloves minced garlic

Directions
Mix it all up, form into 1-2" balls, and either freeze raw or bake at 350º for about 20 minutes and cool before bagging and freezing. Pop 'em in your favorite pasta sauce or bake/fry them and serve as mini meatloafs with tomato sauce, ranch, or ketchup. These are a big hit with my Kimmy--very toddler friendly!

Potatoes au Gratin
Ingredients
4-5 potatoes, thinly and evenly sliced
3-4 green onions, chopped
1 stick butter
2-3 c. shredded cheese
salt and white pepper

Directions
Line your casserole dish with butter. Layer potatoes, green onions, little pats of butter, salt and white pepper, and cheese in 2 big layers. Cover the top well with cheese. Bake at 375º for 40 minutes (covered) and 10-15 minutes (uncovered).

Refrigerator Oatmeals
Ingredients (each)
1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1/2 c. plain yogurt (not flavored and not low-fat)
1 tbsp. whole almonds (the baking kind, not the salted/snack kind)
1/2-3/4 c. fresh or frozen fruit of your choice
2 oz. milk

Directions
Measure all your ingredients and put them in a container. Pop on a lid and toss it in the fridge for at least 8 hours and up to 5 days before eating (the texture is not ideal outside of this timeframe). No stirring, no nothing. You can sweeten with whatever floats your boat (honey, Splenda, etc.) and stir it all up before eating. Seriously measure your ingredients, though: this is unbelievably filling. Overdo it, and you will not finish this breakfast in one sitting. Just sayin'.

Waffles
Ingredients
Buy a box of Kroger brand buttermilk pancake and waffle mix. It's the best. Hands down. I do not buy any other brands. It's either this or homemade from a Googled waffle recipe. You'll also need vegetable oil and water.

Directions
Follow the waffle directions on the box. Put however much batter your waffle iron holds in your waffle iron. Cook. Cool completely. Freeze. #boom

Muffins
This recipe or this recipe. 

Add in or substitute whatever fruits float your boat (especially those old bananas we all love/hate!). Cook. Cool. Freeze.

I hope this helps all you other busy bees find a little balance in your cooking/food schedules! I'm always open to blog suggestions, recipe suggestions, and whatever else you want to know about how I do things if it can help you organize your life.

Enjoy!
-Kels

Routines

For as long as I can remember, I've hated routines. Loathed them. Lots of people feel liberated and stress-free with a daily routine. I just feel trapped. Absolutely caged and boxed in, like there is nothing exciting about my life. There is nothing more boring and redundant and hopeless-feeling to me than doing the same thing at the same time every single day. In fact, that's a large part of why I chose a music major over a biology major in college (it was close!): the prospect of a free-flowing day throughout my career, being able to travel where the breeze takes me, and the ability to learn/practice/perform new and exciting rep all the time.

It's pretty surprising to me that I've wound up in an 8:00-5:00 job with a strict home routine with my Kimmy-girl. It's even more surprising that I don't hate it--actually, I'm learning to like it, especially since I know it has so many benefits for my baby! I guess there was a slight oversight on my part because I didn't realize how valuable financial and personal stability and health/retirement benefits were with this type of career path.

At the same time, I am actively trying to change up my routine as much as possible, so I don't get bored and revert back to that "trapped" feeling. I actually dread the day that Kimmy starts school because it will start a long set of consecutive years of routine. I don't even want to think about it!

One of the things I dread most about routine is the feeling of waking up to the same ol' thing every morning and the realization that I have so much to do before I can actually start my day. I'm supposed to get up at 6:30 each morning. Does that happen? Nope! I hit the snooze button, re-set my alarm for random times like 6:51 and 7:03 and 6:37 and 7:06 and my personal fave: 7:17am...only 30 minutes before I'm supposed to leave for work. I also change the names of my iPhone alarms periodically to change things up. Current alarms are "Alarmed," "Alarming," "WAKE UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and "Don't Hit Snooze!" The unintentional multiple-snooze approach leads to me being sluggish, having a bad attitude about waking up, feeling stressed over all that needs to be done before I can leave for work, and being super grumpy until I have my coffee.

I've recently caught on to a gem of a concept, which is much more bearable for me. I spend my weekends working on pre-completing my routine, so I don't have to do much of anything but roll out of bed and get dressed come Monday morning. I can plug away at my checklist at my own pace, stop and start, take a nap, work late into Saturday night if I want to (great option for this night owl, who doesn't get her big burst of energy until around 7:00pm each day). It's brilliant! I'm wondering why it took me so long to work it to its fullest extent.

I'm going to share a little bit of what I did late last week/this weekend in hopes that it will help anyone else with the same routine woes.

Thursday Evening
Since Kimmy was at her dad's, I worked tirelessly on our budget. I paid off what debts/bills I could pay online. I wrote down what needed to be handled by phone the following day. I worked on my budget sheet, daily expense tracker, and balance sheet. I basically got all of our ducks in a row and allocated our entire federal tax refund to all the things it needed to be allocated to and wrote everything down, so I didn't have to stress about how much money I had and what expenses were going to be coming in over the next few days. I always feel so stressed about money until I sit down and plot everything out. I feel so much better when I get down in the details and come away with an overview of what's going on with my finances. Before bed each night, I memorize the amount that's in my checking account going into the next day.

This budgeting evening was my best yet! We're so close to being into the black it's not even funny. Car is paid off. All but one medical bill is paid off. All credit cards are paid off. Everything but student loans, really, and if I continue to work for a non-profit/government institution for 9 more years, my loans will be forgiven. I'm on a Pay As You Earn plan for my loans with a total of $0 set for my monthly payment, so I'm just releasing that debt from my worry bank entirely!

I got a pep in my step walking into work Friday morning with my giant document shred pile and my newly very slim financial planning folder! I truly thank God for that tax-refund money. I know that the several years of financial struggles were so I would know how to use that money intelligently when it arrived. All things for good.

Friday Evening
I picked up my baby, and we splurged on a Pizza Hut pizza (our fave) for dinner: large pan with pepperoni and black olives cooked just a few minutes extra. Delicious and worth every bit of $16 including tip. I kept my pre-routining simple that night and just made a detailed list of everything I planned to handle over the weekend. I won't bore you with that list, but I will say that writing things down is key for me, both with getting my life organized and relieving my stress (hence this blog, which is the best Kelsey therapy ever).

Saturday
We got an early start to our Saturday! Well, Kimmy did. She woke up at 7:00am on the dot and wanted to watch "Peppa Pig." I set her up with my phone, and she cuddled with me in bed for another hour, while I slept. Love when that happens! It's a rare treat.

We went downstairs and ate breakfast. Then I busted out my computer and got started. First, I made a list of all the things we needed to buy. Next, I scoured all kinds of weekly store ads to find the best deals around town. Then I re-wrote my list by store and wrote down everything I planned to get from each store, along with the prices of each item and the estimated total to be spent at each store. I also gathered my coupons for each store and put each store's coupons in a separate Ziploc bag. This whole process took me a solid 2 hours, but it saved me a lot of time and hassle throughout the rest of the day (and a lot of stress about how much money I'd have left in my checking account after each shopping extravaganza).

After my list-making, I packed a lunch of leftover pizza and blueberries and water. I gathered all my shopping supplies (Thirty-One's Making Memories Rolling Thermal, Deluxe Utility Tote, Essential Storage Totes, and Fresh Market Thermal) for the day and packed my list and coupons. (If you don't have any big totes for shopping, I can hook you up! I love the income from selling my Thirty-One products, sure, but I love the functionality even more and truly stand behind the usefulness! They are seriously just so functional and total lifesavers, especially with a toddler in tow.) We got dressed and headed out of the house around 11:00.

Where all did we go? Everywhere, it seems like! The post office, Lowe's, Walmart, Sam's Club, Kroger, CVS, Target, and Speedway. That's 8 times getting Kimmy into and out of her car seat, which is tiring in and of itself, as any parent knows all too well. What a long and tiring 5 hours, but so worth it! I saved a crap ton of money shopping like this, and we only went to a few more places than we usually would. Not to mention all the free food samples at Sam's on a Saturday afternoon. Oh, and the pretty weather outside. It was a really enjoyable day, and Kimmy was very well behaved because she was having so much fun.

Normally, we shop for food every 2 weeks the Friday or Saturday of payday week, but I think I've managed to get us set with groceries and household items for at least the next 3 weeks this time. If I can keep shopping like this, I *think* I can get away with only going on one big shopping trip once a month with maybe one teeny tiny trip for fresh produce and a few gallons of milk in between. Buying in bulk is an amazing luxury to have in this country!

Once we got home, I put all our groceries away. I left my meats in the fridge, so I could separate out the portions and freeze them to save lots of thawing time once we're ready to use them. We had an easy dinner of grilled cheese sandwiches, put together our new shoe shelves and organized shoes, and called it a day. The rest of the evening was spent playing and talking and laughing, and the Kimmy and I went to bed early around 8:00!

Sunday
Perhaps it's just the sudden change in weather, but Kimmy and I both woke up not feeling well with coughing and sore throats. I decided we better not go to church, in case we were contagious, so we spent the day at home for the most part. Pretty sure it's just allergies, but you can never be too safe when volunteering in a room full of 2-year-olds who can catch things.

Sundays are my meal-prep and cleaning days. I like to space it all out throughout the day, so I don't get too bored with any one activity, and so I make sure to spend plenty of weekend time with my sweet girl. She so cherishes our weekends together (I do, too), and it's easy for me to get caught up in my to-do list and miss lots of moments with her if I'm not careful.

So, I tried to juggle a lot of activities, but I have some practice to do, especially when Kimmy wants to help in the kitchen while I just really want to get things done quickly. It's going to take some practice. Here is what all we/I did:

• took out the trash (I'm still gradually unpacking, so there are a ton of boxes and packing supplies accumulating through the week. Kimmy's Radio Flyer wagon has been a God-send for carting our trash to the dumpster!)
• vacuumed the entire downstairs
• did 3 load of dishes throughout the course of the day
• changed our sheets and pillowcases
• ran to CVS for a few things, including a Sunday paper with coupons
• clipped coupons
• checked/sorted/trashed mail that I had accumulated through the week
• balanced my checking account
• cleaned up toys (several times...lol)
• washed and dried 2 load of clothes (Kimmy and I have established a brilliant system throughout the week. During our bathtime routine, we take off our dirty clothes and put them directly in the washer, which is in the laundry closet right outside our upstairs bathroom. Usually by Friday/Saturday night, we have enough for a full load of laundry! I wash everything in cold water, so color sorting doesn't matter so much. I can start the washer before our evening bath/bedtime routine every weekend and pop everything in the dryer right before bedtime. Then on Sundays, I can wash sheets, towels, pillowcases, washcloths, and rags before church and stick 'em in the dryer after church. Painless! The sorting and folding and putting away part? Well, let's not go there.)
• set my coffee pot on auto timer mode (If you don't have a plain ol' coffee pot with auto timer setting, you're ruining your morning routine. Just sayin'. Keurig takes time. Auto timer takes a few non-rushed minutes of your evening and does all the work for you, so you just pour and go in the AM.)
• did food prep (Bagged my chicken thighs and chicken leg quarters in smaller portions, labeled them, and stuck them in the freezer. Started dinner in the oven: 1 lb. ground beef, 2 sliced potatoes, 5 ribs sliced celery, a sliced onion, and a can of diced tomatoes. Made a Mommy-sized hamburger and a Kimmy-sized hamburger with a little more ground beef and stuck those in the freezer. Turned the rest of the beef into pre-formed meatballs with some parmesan, egg, bread crumbs, basil, parsley, salt, and pepper and stuck those in the freezer. Made my refrigerator oatmeals for the week. Made some banana muffins with our old bananas and stuck most of those in the freezer for easy toddler breakfasts. Made my lunch salads and my veggie and hummus snacks and my sliced apples and oranges. About an hour of prep for all my work foods, and I've saved myself tons of morning hustle and bustle...and calories and money!)
• watched Frozen with my Kimmy Jarae
• took some silly photos
• cleaned my kitchen counters
• somehow got our baths and bedtime routines handled on time

It was a lonnnnnng Sunday, but it felt so nice to get everything done early. All I did this morning was wake up, unload the dishwasher and put my breakfast and lunch and snack containers in my lunch box, pour my getting-ready coffee and my work coffee, go back upstairs to throw on some clothes and make-up, put on my shoes, grab my lunch box and coffee, hug and kiss my baby, and head out the door.

That's a routine I can live with! It's so short that it feels like no work at all.

Over and out.
-Kels

Kitchen essentials, part 3--fridge and freezer foods

Here's my final list!

Essential Fridge and Freezer Foods:

• celery
• carrots
• lettuce
• spinach
• oranges/tangerines
• apples
• berries or grapes
• whatever other fruits or vegetables we've bought for specific dishes
• milk (skim and 2% or whole)
• 3-5 types of cheese (cheddar, colby jack, monterey jack, parmesan, etc.)
• buttermilk
• butter
• pre-packaged minced garlic (so easy)
• typical condiments
• eggs
• yogurt
• bacon or sausage
• ground beef
• chicken (whole, parts, breasts, etc.)--we've been really into chicken leg quarters lately because they're cheap
• water (we love cold water from our Brita pitcher)
• iced tea and coffee
• ice
• frozen vegetables (green beans, peas, corn, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.)
• white wine
• beer
• vanilla ice cream
• wonton and/or eggroll wrappers
• cheese ravioli

We tend to keep the above items as staples and shop around that according to what we need for a certain meal we plan to make. I like to keep a decent amount of frozen produce because 1. it's cheap and 2. it doesn't go bad as quickly. I hate wasting food, so if I can save myself from that fate, I go for it! Plus, frozen vegetables are usually really fresh-tasting and have much more intact nutrients than canned.

Enjoy! :)

Kitchen essentials, part 2--pantry foods

I try to keep a well-stocked pantry, but I'm sure I have room for improvement. I'm always up for trying new ingredients and new dishes, so any input is welcome.

Essential Pantry Foods:

• lots of canned tomato sauce, paste, and diced tomatoes
• onions
• potatoes
• cream of mushroom, celery, and chicken soups
• spaghetti or linguine
• penne or ziti
• shells or macaroni
• 3-5 varieties of rice--minute rice, brown, white, Arborio (ideal for risotto), basmati (ideal for Asian food), wild, etc.
• raisins
• saltine crackers
• breadcrumbs
• popcorn
• tea
• coffee
• sugar
• all-purpose flour
• self-rising flour
• cornmeal
• brown sugar
• peanut butter
• vinegar
• olive oil
• vegetable or canola oil
• nonstick cooking spray
• salt
• pepper
• baking soda
• baking powder
• cocoa powder
• confectioner's sugar
• cake flour
• Crisco
• vanilla extract
• chocolate chips
• cinnamon
• ginger
• nutmeg
• cloves
• paprika
• basil
• oregano
• cumin
• ground mustard
• coriander
• bay leaves
• garlic powder
• celery seed
• Old Bay seasoning
• cayenne
• chili powder
• onion powder
• dill
• crushed red pepper
• thyme
• rosemary
• allspice
• chives
• parsley
• chives
• chicken and beef bouillon
• Worcestershire sauce
• soy sauce
• ketchup
• mayonnaise
• mustard
• syrup
• honey
• salad dressings
• hot sauce
• Tabasco sauce
• pancake mix or Bisquick
• pre-packaged sides (cheesy broccoli rice, shells and cheese, couscous, etc.)
• canned tuna, salmon, or chicken
• 2-3 varieties of beans--black, navy, kidney, pinto, etc.
• lentils
• applesauce
• oatmeal
• Cream of Wheat
• 3-5 varieties of cold cereal
• granola bars
• animal crackers
• fruit snacks
• yeast
• taco shells and/or tortillas
• taco seasoning
• chili seasoning
• salsa

Kitchen essentials, part 1--gadgets

A few of my friends have asked me to share the items I keep in my pantry at all times. Great idea, I say! I love reading lists like this because they inspire me to try new things and help broaden my spectrum of potential dishes that can be made on a whim. Since there's a lot of stuff in my kitchen, I'm going to break it up into several posts:

Part 1: gadgets
Part 2: pantry foods
Part 3: fridge and freezer foods


This is by no means exclusive; these are just my most-used items that I wouldn't want to be without. As you'll see, I like things in 2s. It's nice to have a back-up, sure, but I frequently use the items in 2s simultaneously, especially for big holiday meals.

--

Essential Kitchen Gadgets:

• 2 large skillets--one nonstick and one regular
• 2 medium skillets--one nonstick and one regular
• small nonstick skillet
• stock pot with lid
• 2 large pots with lids
• 2 medium pots with lids
• medium double boiler with lid
• 3 baking sheets--small, medium, large
• 2 cookie baking sheets with center air insulation (Baker's Secret brand is my preference)
• 2 loaf pans
• 2 muffin tins (12 + 6 or two 12s)
• 2 pie pans (glass or metal)
• a 10-piece set of French White (it's classic!) Corningware casseroles, ramekins, and lids
• 2 9x13 pans
• 2 sets of mixing bowls (we have one plastic and one metal)
• salad bowl
• large serving platter
• salad spinner
• large roasting pan with rack
• 3 cooling racks
• 5 or so serving spoons (slotted and regular)
• enough dinner and dessert plates, bowls, glasses, forks, spoons, and knives to serve 8 people
• 2 rubber spatulas
• wide plastic spatula (my fave for pancakes)
• 3 metal spatulas (1 slotted)
• pie server
• 3 whisks
• hand mixer or stand mixer
• spaghetti spoon
• ladle
• 3 big metal spoons (1 slotted)
• Crock Pot (I love my 6-qt. auto-timer Crock!)
• 3 glass measuring cups (1-, 2-, and 4-cup)
• metal measuring spoons
• metal dry-ingredient measuring cups
• lots of food-storage containers
• garlic press
• apple slicer
• boiled egg slicer
• waffle maker
• hand or stand mixer
• toaster
• coffee maker
• 2 pitchers (we use one for iced tea and one for iced coffee)
• ingredient prep bowls (Kitchen-Aid sells a nice set of 4 with lids)
• sifter
• strainer
• basting brush
• 2 pot holders
• oven mitt
• 2 trivets
• electric can opener
• 10-piece (minimum) knife set
• 3 cutting boards (1 large for cutting lots of veggies at once, 1 for meat, 1 for miscellaneous other uses)
• colander
• ice-cube bin
• Crock Pot liners
• foil
• various sizes of Ziplocs
• Saran wrap
• parchment paper
• wax paper

If you're into alphabetizing, sorry--I probably just cranked up your anxiety with this random-order list. Anyway, there it is! What other essential gadgets do you have?

Parsley pesto and linguine

I've been trying to get rid of a big bunch of fresh parsley in my fridge for several weeks. We bought it to use in a dish at Christmas and forgot to use it, so it has been looking awfully lonely in the crisper drawer.

I didn't feel like cooking an elaborate meal tonight, so I took the ultra-easy route and went with simple Italian food: pasta and pesto! It's big on flavor, super filling, and spot on for a Wednesday night comfort food fix.

If you've never made pesto, here's the rundown. It's basically a green leafy herb purée with oil, parmesan, garlic, and usually pine nuts, almonds, or walnuts. It's typically made with basil or arugula, but it can really be made with any green leafy veg or herb. Common variations include parsley, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, and cilantro.

I'm not a nut (ha...I punned again!) for the nutty texture in pesto, and I'm indifferent towards pine nuts anyway. Not to mention that's not even an ingredient I keep in the pantry. Anyway, I left that part out. I also added my own touch!

Parsley Pesto

Ingredients:

3 c. fresh parsley leaves (some stems are okay--it'll all be puréed anyway)

2/3 c. parmesan cheese (preferably off the block and not of the grated Kraft variety, which contains fillers and not so much cheese)

3 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. Old Bay seasoning

1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

Add all ingredients, except oil, to a food processor and pulse to a paste-like texture. Scrape sides of processor to incorporate all ingredients. Turn it all the way on and add oil gradually in a steady stream through the opening on the top of the processor. It will bind together, but if it starts to separate before your pasta is done, just give it a quick stir.

Serve tossed with warm pasta, as seasoning in vegetable or potato soup, as a sandwich spread, or freeze in an ice-cube tray and use as a flavor starter for vegetable sautées.

Extremely cheap, easy, and versatile. Super flavorful. You really can't go wrong with pesto. Enjoy!

-Kels

Recent recipes

Cooking is my therapy. There is nothing like a little [a lot of] alone time in the kitchen! Since we were snowed in this weekend, I cooked to my heart's content.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza

Ingredients:

1 package Fleischman's rapid-rise yeast

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

1 c. warm water

3 tbsp. olive oil

1 c. barbecue sauce

1 clove fresh garlic, minced

1 c. cooked chicken, chopped

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 1/2 c. shredded cheese (any combination of sharp cheddar, colby jack, fontina, mild/medium cheddar, etc.)

1/2 c. fresh parsley

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425.

Heat 2 tbsp. olive oil to medium heat in a skillet. Add onions and cook 10-15 minutes or until golden and caramelized.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, salt, and yeast. Add warm water and mix with a fork until combined. Briefly knead the dough and form into a ball. Coat with 1 tbsp. olive oil and allow to sit for about 5 minutes.

Press dough onto a pizza pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Poke surface with a fork to prevent air bubbles. Bake for 5-10 minutes or until about 80% done.

Top with barbecue sauce, garlic, onions, chicken, and cheese. Bake an additional 10-ish minutes or until cheese is melted and crust has continued browning.

Top with fresh chopped parsley, slice, and enjoy!

We are big fans of this pizza in this house! I make it every few weeks, and we rarely have leftovers. I'll admit that I undercooked the dough a little this time in my haste to sink into a plate of yummy sweet, tangy, cheesy goodness. It was still delicious, even if it looks underdone in the picture. Major plus: this only takes about a half hour start to finish!

Next! I've had a can of crushed pineapple in my cabinet for months, and I just couldn't seem to find a use for it. A Facebook friend recently shared a great recipe for pineapple cake, and I saw my golden (ha!) opportunity! This cake has no butter or oil, so it's pretty healthy, as cakes go.

Easiest Pineapple Cake*

Ingredients:

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

A pinch salt

20 oz. can crushed pineapple (undrained)

(Optional: 1 c. chopped nuts, which I didn't add. I'm not a huge fan of the nuts + cake texture.)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan and bake for 30-ish minutes.

My tip: really watch this cake while it's baking. The original recipe said to cook for 35-40 minutes, but mine was done way early. Maybe glass baking dish vs. dark baking pan matters. I always go with my dark metal pan. So, yeah. Just watch.

Now, here's my favorite thing about pineapple cakes: they get an awesome caramelized edge. The natural sugars in the pineapple turn into golden-brown perfection when heated.

I kicked up the sweetness factor by frosting with a homemade buttercream while the cake was still warm, but the cake itself would be moist and plenty sweet all on its own. The original recipe calls for a cream-cheese icing, which might be nice, too. I didn't have any cream cheese on hand, though, and I'm actually not a huge fan of cream cheese in sweet dishes. (I like it more in savory things like dips and casseroles.)

I'm not sure what's on the menu for tonight, but who knows--maybe I'll be posting that adventure in the near future!

More later.

-Kels

*recipe credit: http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/dessert/cake/easiest-pineapple-cake.html

Creamy vegetable pasta bake

I am a big fan of "winging it" for dinner. Tonight I did just that and concocted a delicious comfort food masterpiece!

Creamy Vegetable Pasta Bake

Ingredients:

3/4 lb. penne pasta

1 large onion, diced

1 c. frozen cut broccoli, thawed

3/4 c. frozen sweet peas, thawed

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 1/2 c. milk

3/4 c. grated parmesan

2 tbsp. mayonnaise

1 clove fresh garlic, minced

1 c. sharp cheddar, finely shredded

1/2 stick butter, divided

1/8 c. Italian breadcrumbs

Dash salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Grease large casserole dish with 1 tbsp. butter.

3. Caramelize onions (2 tbsp. butter, medium heat, 10-15 minutes or until onions are a deep golden color).

4. Cook pasta al dente. Drain and remove to large bowl. (Do not rinse! You need the gluten to help the sauce thicken and adhere as it cooks.)

5. Heat mushroom soup, milk, and remaining tbsp. of butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Once smooth, gradually whisk in cheeses until melted and thickened. (I've had trouble with melted-cheese sauces in the past. My tips: grate/shred your cheese very finely to avoid clumps and really add it in gradually--maybe 1/2 c. at a time.)

6. Add vegetables, mayonnaise, garlic, salt, and pepper to pasta and toss. Transfer to casserole dish.

7. Pour cheese sauce over pasta mixture and allow to sit for 1-2 minutes to absorb.

8. Sprinkle breadcrumbs on top.

9. Bake 20 minutes covered and 15 minutes more uncovered, or until breadcrumbs are a deep golden brown.

This was a pretty hearty and complete meal, but we ate it with pan-seared chicken breasts. It would also be delicious with sautéed shrimp or even a simple slice of garlic bread. We will definitely be eating this one again!

As always, feel free to share!

More later.

-Kels

Cabbage rolls

Happy New Year! I'm not big on considering New Years a holiday, but I'll go with it. I like the symbolism of a fresh start, but I truly loathe new year's resolutions. Personally, I don't feel that I need a new year for a new goal. If I want to set a new goal, I just do it, no matter what time of year! I like it better that way for multiple reasons, but especially so I don't fall into the pool of people who crumble under the pressure and fail miserably at their resolutions a month or two in.

Regardless, we had a wonderful first day of January! Jarrell had work, but I had the day off. Kimmy and I woke up a little before 8:00am, ate breakfast, and watched some cartoons in bed. We were both so sleepy and on the verge of dozing off, so I put her back in her bed and got back in mine. We ended up going back to sleep until almost noon! It was wonderfully refreshing. After that, I fed her her lunch and got to work on my cabbage rolls. We played all afternoon until she took nap #2. That evening when Jarrell got home from work, our friends Josh and Laura had just arrived, and dinner was almost ready. We enjoyed a lovely evening of good food and good conversation...and a little of the Rose Bowl game. I love having friends who live close by and don't mind our cluttered, toddlery home!

So, let's talk cabbage rolls. In my hometown (and I suppose southern WV in general), everyone makes cabbage rolls on New Years Day. Everyone. It's actually almost impossible to find cabbage or sauerkraut in the grocery store if you wait until New Years Eve/Day to shop. My childhood is full of memories of Gugs's NYD cabbage rolls with half-dollars or quarters inside a select few. If you found one with a coin, you were supposed to have good luck the whole year through. It's just an old superstition and purely for fun, but we always looked forward to it.

My Gugs is one amazing cook, and I'm so glad I've grown up cooking this recipe with her. It's one that I'm proudly sharing because it's just so delicious and fulfilling. However, I did tweak it ever so slightly this time around. I added a few things, and I altered it to make fewer rolls, since it's basically just Jarrell and I having a go at this year. Anyway, here goes:

Cabbage Rolls (to feed 2 - 4 people with leftovers...so, about 20 rolls)
Ingredients:
1 large head green cabbage
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef, raw
1 medium onion, diced
3 c. white rice, cooked
1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp. salt
2 tsp. black pepper
1 large jar/package/can sauerkraut (do not drain)
1 large can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
1 regular-sized can tomato sauce
1 package kielbasa or smoked sausage, halved lengthwise and cut into 4"-ish pieces
Potatoes

Directions:
Boil a large pot of water and cook cabbage with lid on about 20 minutes or until softened and brightly colored. Cook rice and set aside to cool. (Minute rice is fine, but it tends to lose its texture through the 2nd cooking process. If you have the patience for regular medium/long-grain white rice, use that.) Submerge cabbage in a large bowl of ice water to cool. In a separate large bowl, combine ground beef, onion, rice, parsley, salt, and pepper--doesn't have to be homogenous, but you don't want massive chunks of meat that won't cook evenly. Flip your head of cabbage to the core side and slice through leaves individually with a sharp knife, removing leaves to a colander to drain. If some leaves are smaller, that's okay; hang on to them, in case you need a patch for a torn leaf. In a large stock pot or crock pot, add a thin layer of kraut, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. On a large cutting board or clean counter, assemble your rolls. Put about 1/2 c. of filling in each cabbage leaf, and roll it up like a burrito. Add them to your pot seam side down. If you have a torn leaf or one that's too small to hold the filling, double wrap it. Add the remaining kraut, tomatoes, and tomato sauce on top of the assembled rolls in the pot--the weight will help hold the rolls down and stay sealed. If there isn't enough liquid to cover, add more. These take 4 hours on high in a crock pot or 1 hour boil-to-strong-simmer on a stovetop. Serve with mashed potatoes and fried kielbasa/sausage

Now, my family quarters and dices the sausage and puts it right in the stock pot. It adds a great flavor, but I've found that the soft texture really bothers me. You don't get that nice, tense crunch through the sausage casing like you do when you sear it in a pan. We served the sausage on the side for the first time last night, and it was so delicious! Get a nice forkful of cabbage/filing, mashed potatoes, and sausage, and, in the words of my brother, "your tastebuds will haaaaave a party!"

To all my readers, I wish you a 2014 full of Christ, family, success, love, wealth, smiles, laughter, and all the things that make you happy!

-Kels

This Christmas

Wow, where to start? The last week (or however long it's been since I last posted) has been so eventful--full of good and bad.

Miss Kimmy came down with a stomach virus on Friday. As soon as I left for work, she projectile vomited twice. Brooke is a saint for cleaning up that mess. Baby puke is no fun!

Little miss and I left for WV Friday after I got off work, and while she didn't puke in the car, she was NOT feeling well at all the whole weekend. She barely drank water on Saturday. She wouldn't eat. She finally started drinking water Sunday, except it made her vomit. Her poor little tummy was so upset. She must not have gotten too dehydrated, though, because she still went #2 just once a day. It was diarrhea, but still, much better than constant diarrhea with rash and all that. She's better now and has been eating like a little piggy!

I started having tummy troubles on Sunday that are still not fully resolved as of today. Jarrell, too. We're kind of a mess. I had to call off work on Monday, despite needing the money. Since Brooke was coming to watch Kimmy already, I used that morning to finish Christmas shopping, but I battled extreme nausea and bathroom runs all day. Ugh! We made a huge Christmas dinner yesterday, despite our stomachs turning us against even wanting to cook. Since our appetites are so dormant right now, we barely ate anything. We sat at the table forcing bites down. It was pretty pitiful! I must have overdone it because I threw up almost immediately after waking up this morning. (Sadly, I puked in the sink because it came up so quickly, and I'm pretty sure I clogged up the sink. Gonna have to call and have it looked at.) But, I'm sure we'll feel better in a few days.

We had a fun time in WV, despite Kimmy being so sick! We (really, Gugs and Mom) made Christmas goodies, like cookes and peanut-butter balls. Dad and I took my car to be serviced (state inspection, oil change, and tire rotation) and spent so much time farting around at Lowe's, Home Depot, and Rite-Aid that my car was done while we were still out, so we didn't have to go back out all day.

Kimmy and I had a LONG drive back on Sunday. I was so happy to get off the road and relax. It was also nice to get back to Jarrell.

Christmas Eve was spent cleaning, doing laundry, and making final Christmas preparations. Kimmy and I had a nice day together, but I kept thinking to myself all day, "I can't wait for her to open up her new toys tomorrow, so we'll have some new material to make believe and play with!"

We decided against going out to church, since Jarrell didn't get home from work until almost 8:00pm. Instead, I led a candlelight service in our living room right before Kimmy's bedtime. We prayed, sang, read Luke chapter 2, and took communion (saltine crackers and sparkling red grape juice). It was so nice! Kimmy whined the entire time because she was sleepy, so I was glad we were home, instead of being disruptive in church. It was also SO cold outside. I'm sure God appreciated the time we took to honor Jesus that evening.

I was giddy that night. I couldn't fall asleep until about 2:30am, and I was up by 7:00. I was just so excited for Kimmy's reaction! Santa Claus came around midnight and left Kimmy some great goodies: a play kitchen, a Mickey Mouse stuffed animal, and a Curious George stuffed animal.

Once my crew finally woke up a little after 8:00 on Christmas morning, we got to see how Kimmy liked her stuff! She didn't have much of a reaction at first--I think she didn't know if it was hers or not. Once she noticed her new babies in the floor, though, she went straight for George! I'm sad to say that after a long run in 1st, Mickey Mouse is now a strong 2nd place. Curious George and Kimmy have so much in common that I guess it was an inevitable switch.

She LOVES her kitchen! We had to pry her away from it to open up her play food, doll house, blocks, hug-me Elmo, 101 Dalmations Cruella DeVille car, clothes, books, and bath toys. She got so much awesome stuff! I'm glad it wasn't overdone, though. I saw so many pictures on Facebook of babies--little babies--with about 40 toys! I'm not judging; I think it's great to have new toys. For us, though, I just don't know where on earth we would store all that stuff. And does Kimmy tend to play with all her toys on a daily basis, but I think she would have been a little overwhelmed with more stuff than she got.

In fact, I think she was slightly overwhelmed. She woke up late last night crying and trembling, which is unusual for her. She remembered about her gifts and wanted to play, play, play into the night. I think she would've stayed up until about 4:00am if we had let her!

Jarrell got a 49ers jersey, Lord of the Rings extended edition Blu-ray set, The Heat on DVD, a calendar, and some yummy candy in his stocking.

I got way too much stuff. My parents and Gugs overdid it, as did Jarrell. Luckily, lots of it will experience shared usage. Here's the list: a beautiful gold-colored chenile throw for my couch, Downton Abbey seasons 1-3 on DVD, 3 cookbooks, a waffle iron, a toaster (YAY, finally! So tired of broiling and occasionally burning good bread), a 9x13 baking pan and lid, 2 round springform pans, a garlic press, a standing cheese grater, metal measuring spoons and cups, a jelly-roll pan with lid, a sweater, 2 tank tops, a pair of jeans, an IU hoodie, a calendar, the Divergent book series, Sophie's Choice on DVD, a stocking full of candy, and a few other things that aren't coming immediately to my mind. SO MUCH STUFF. I know it will all get used and am very thankful to have received so many nice things, but I feel bad that I didn't reciprocate the giving. Maybe next year I will have more money to do so.

Jarrell and I had a lazy Christmas, full of bathroom trips (I know...sorry), cooking, watching Downton Abbey and The Heat, playing with Kimmy, and napping. Well, Kimmy and I napped; Jarrell stayed up. We did manage to tidy up the living room, though, and we also did 2 loads of dishes!

Here's what we cooked:

• breakfast casserole (tater tots, sausage, onions, eggs, cheese)
• spinach-artichoke dip (SO GOOD!)
• roast duck
• Yukon gold potatoes fried in duck fat
• sauteed green beans and asparagus
• homemade yeast cloverleaf rolls
• broccoli-rice casserole
• deviled eggs
• red velvet cupcakes

We were also supposed to make roasted acorn squash with butter and brown sugar, as well as rice pudding. I just knew it would be futile, since we were so non-hungry already. I'll make those things in a few days when we're feeling a little better.

It was so nice not to have anywhere to be on Christmas day. We've always been obligated to family in WV or PA on holidays. Not that our visits haven't been nice, but it was wonderful to not even have to leave the house! We literally woke up, walked down the hall, opened gifts, cooked in our kitchen, ate at our table, and walked to our bedrooms at bedtime. I hope every year is this easy!

I had an important meeting on Monday, and I'm waiting on the results of that. Yes, I'm being cryptic; I know. I just don't want to be too verbal about it just yet, and I also need to wait to hear something officially. But, I *think* I will be getting some big, giant, GOOD news soon! I hope.

That's all for now, I suppose. I think I'm going to start keeping a running list of topics to blog about. Things come to me occasionally before I've had time to properly gather my thoughts about them. Then as quickly as they enter my head for brainstorming, they're forgotten. Hence the big gaps in posts sometimes. So, I think a list will help.

If anyone is reading, I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!

-Kels

Christmas, ahoy!

This month is FLYING by. Seriously. You know it's bad when my response to someone asking Kimmy's age at Picture People yesterday was, "Uhhh, 16 months...I think. Wait, it's December! Wow, yeah, she is 16 months."

I'm so excited for Christmas! That being said, I must express my disdain about something. IU doesn't close for staff on Christmas Eve, meaning that's not a paid vacation day for full-time staff. Not that that would apply to me, anyway, since I'm part time. But how are you gonna make Black Friday a paid holiday and not Christmas Eve? Really? Black Friday over Christmas Eve?! If not for the fact that it's a major Christian holiday alone, then at least for the sheer fact that so many employees will take that day off, most offices will get none to few phone calls, and the cost of opening the campus that day will probably outweigh any money brought in by productivity.

This whole thing made me realize that I'm very strongly opposed to working on Christmas Eve. My sincere empathy to anyone in retail or the medical field forced to work. I'm sorry.

So, I took Christmas Eve off! The $40 that I would have made from working is a small price to pay for spending my day with Kimmy (and Jarrell, after he gets off work), enjoying our new (and old) holiday traditions, like going to a candlelight service, baking, watching Christmas movies, and talking about Jesus.

I've been making lots of fun lists, and I've got our holiday festivities all planned out!

Christmas Eve:

• homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast

• appetizers all day...sausage balls, cheese ball, summer sausage, crackers, buffalo chicken dip, etc.

• baking pies and Santa's cookies and doing cooking prep

• candlelight service in the evening

• open 1 gift (Kimmy's gift is a Little People nativity)

• egg nog

• enjoying a fire in our fireplace

Christmas morning:

• breakfast casserole and fried apples and sparkling cider

• presents

• cooking

• family nap time

And here comes the best part!

Christmas dinner:

• spinach-artichoke dip with toasted baguette slices

• roast duck

• duck gravy

• potatoes fried in duck fat

• Lisa Haddox-Heston's broccoli-rice-mushroom casserole

• roasted acorn squash

• sautéed asparagus and green beans

• deviled eggs

• Mamaw Mabel's famous yeast rolls

• rice pudding

• bread pudding

• red velvet cake

• iced tea

• wine

I'm so excited to eat! Yes, that's a lot of food, but quite unlike our Thanksgiving feast (which Jarrell assured me several of his work friends would attend, despite my strong [and coincidentally valid] belief to the contrary), we are keeping the dishes small this time. Hopefully, we'll only be left with 2-3 days of leftovers.

I am eagerly awaiting Christmas morning! I'm curious to see what Kimmy thinks of her gifts, sure, but I'm also excited to celebrate the birth of Jesus and read some of my favorite scriptures from Luke to my Kimmy.

1 week left!

--

In other news, we got our family Christmas picture made last night, finally! We don't have time (or money) for personalized photo cards this year, but thanks to a great Groupon for a photo package, we have plenty of wallets and 4x6s to send to family and friends tucked in Christmas cards! For everyone else, I am going to make an e-card to send out. Gotta spread Christmas cheer as well as I can!

Kimmy and I are also going to WV this weekend for a quick trip. I've got to get my car's annual state inspection done, as well as an oil change and tire rotation. I think we are also going to do a little pre-Christmas celebration on Saturday. Should be lots of fun, minus that long drive!

More later.

-Kels

Cocoa brownies: v.4738192847651

I'm always on the hunt for a brownie recipe I actually like. I'm not a huge fan of chocolate, so I've really struggled to find a recipe that strikes a nice balance for my taste. I've tried about half a million recipes, and none of them seem to do anything for me.

Here is a summary of my preferences in the brownie-making journey so far:

• oil > butter

• cake texture > fudge texture

• cocoa powder > melted bittersweet chocolate

• 1 c. sugar is plenty

• 1/2 c. cocoa powder is plenty

• walnuts + cake texture = very unappealing

Like I said, I've done my fair share of experimentation, so imagine my surprise when I came across the most delicious recipe yesterday!

Let's have a look:

Ingredients

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 c. sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 c. all-purpose flour

1/3 c. cocoa powder

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

*secret ingredient TBA in a bit*

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. Combine oil, sugar, and vanilla. Mix in beaten eggs. In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. Fold in gradually. Pour into a greased 8x8 pan and bake about 20-25 minutes.

Okay, I know what you're thinking: "Yeah, yeah...brownies, schmownies. What's so special about this recipe?" Well, for one, these brownies have a great texture with just a little crunch on the edges and a cakey, but moist texture inside.

Here's the kicker, though. You ready? Top these babies with 1/2 a can of sweetened condensed milk as they're cooling! Talk about YUM.

If you didn't know, sweetened condensed milk is like a raw version of caramel. You've got dairy; you've got sugar. There's actually a crock pot recipe for overnight caramel sauce that basically just tells you to cook an unopened can of the stuff completely submerged in water, then open up a surprisingly gooey can of perfectly golden caramel. Neat, right?

Well, sweetened condensed milk on a pan of warm brownies sets up like an icing-caramel-glaze hybrid. It's absolutely delicious!

My only complaint with this recipe is that it makes a rather small pan of brownies. I don't mind because brownies aren't something I can eat a lot of at one time. However, my next project is to figure out how to double this recipe without making anything disproportionate, flavor-wise. I guess that's a story for another day.

G'nite!

-Kels

Breakfast for dinner

I don't have much to report today. It was a pretty lazy day with lots of Kimmy cuddles, a nap, and some cable TV. I really, really, really wanted to go on a walk tonight, but considering it was in the low 40s outside, I decided I'd stay inside with my still-recovering sick girl.

Jarrell and I have been making an effort to get into the habit of family dinners (and lunches whenever possible) together at the table while Kimmy is still  little. She seems to really enjoy having a parent on either side while she refines her finger-food technique, and she especially loves to watch her momma cook! Tonight Kimmy ate chicken, pasta, mandarin oranges (fave finger food), and tomatoes. Meanwhile, I cooked up breakfast for dinner for Jarrell and me: homemade pancakes, tater tots, and bacon. Was it healthy? No. (Although, we do use sugar-free syrup.) Was it good? Yes! Kimmy ate all of her food, so she got to try a few bites of pancake, which she essentially inhaled.

I just gave her a bath and put her down for bedtime. She's fighting sleep, but she'll be out like a light in the next 5 minutes or so. She rolls over on her little tummy and sighs so deeply right before she falls into deep sleep. I love listening to her self-soothing routine. She is such a good, sweet, smart baby. I can't express my thankfulness for her enough. She is the most precious gift, and I will treasure her always.

Happy hump day!

-Kels

Baby food

Well, since yesterday was sort of a big disaster (okay, it really wasn't, but I was really stressed out and anxious all day), I will skip the long explanation. Here's a quick rundown: got up, got myself and Kimmy dressed, left at 10:30am after discovering a gigantic dent on my car, drove to Cincinnati, went to the pediatrician for her ear re-check. Kimmy's right ear is still infected, and her doctor ordered a blood food-allergy test because we think she is allergic to wheat and eggs. Plus, my sister was severely allergic to so many foods, had asthma, and had skin issues. Kimmy's already got the skin issues (eczema). So, after her appointment, I went to Kroger to have pharmacy wars (there are always issues with my insurance and birth date from a mistake at a Rite-Aid long ago). Got Kimmy's antibiotic, Claritin, and Zantac, but had to go to a different pharmacy for my Flonase. UGH! After that ordeal, it was off to the hospital lab for the blood test, then finally home to Indiana.

But, that's enough of that. I owe a friend a list of baby-food recipes, and I thought I'd share them publicly, as well. I absolutely love making Kimmy's food myself from fresh, organic ingredients. It's such a joy to watch her reaction to brand-new flavors and combinations. And when home-making baby food, it's actually way cheaper to buy the ingredients (yes, even organic) and make it yourself than it is to buy pre-made stuff. We also feed Kimmy store-bought organic food at times for convenience's sake, but I make it myself whenever possible.

Baby food purees are really quite forgiving. If the texture is wrong, you can add and adjust pretty easily, blend it longer, or you can leave it a funky, chunky texture and combine it with infant cereal or yogurt (from 8 months on) to smooth it out. It's been a learning process, but I've created some really fantastic combinations. So far, Kimmy's favorite single foods are bananas (#1), carrots, squash, beets, yogurt, peaches, and sweet potatoes. Anyway, here goes.

For starters, baby foods need to be soft. Kimmy doesn't have any teeth yet, and although she is great at chewing and swallowing, it's especially important for her foods to be smush-able to prevent choking. Almost every fruit and vegetable needs to be washed (try a 5-minute soak in a large bowl of water with 1c. white vinegar, followed by a rinse and pat dry with a paper towel), peeled, diced, and boiled, baked, steamed, or sauteed before pureeing. Exceptions off the top of my head are avocado, bananas, and berries, which are smushy on their own. As a general rule, the smaller the dice, the quicker the cooking time. I actually purposely overcook (2-5 minutes extra) most things to make them extra soft. That being said, you don't want to overcook to the point of disintegration. Always save your cooking water, so you'll have some nice, clean, flavorful, vitamin-rich water to add to your puree if you need to thin the texture.

Whenever possible, organic is best. Babies' digestive systems are just learning to process solid foods, and the less interference with whole, natural ingredients, the better. It's especially important to buy organic for produce that you can eat the skin/peeling on. This is because pesticides can be absorbed through such fruits and vegetables more quickly, and, really, who wants to feed her baby a bunch of unnecessary chemicals? Baby foods are good for up to 6 months in the freezer and up to 1 week in the refrigerator. Single-food purees are sort of self-explanatory, so I'm going to move on to some combinations that have been big hits. I only wish I had pictures! I'll have to take some the next time I have a baby food-making day.

Apple-Avocado
Ingredients:
2-3 cups organic, unsweetened applesauce
1 large ripe organic avocado

Directions:
Half and shell the avocado and toss it in a food processor or blender with the applesauce. Puree until you achieve a really smooth texture. Avocados tend to brown easily in the fridge, even with the acidity of the apple, so I like to freeze this mixture in 2oz. containers and thaw overnight before serving.

Blueberry-Banana
Ingredients:
2 ripe organic bananas
1 pint organic blueberries

Directions:
Break the bananas into smaller chunks, pop it all into a food processor or blender, and puree away! Try to puree for at least 2 minutes to break down the seeds and skins of the blueberries as much as possible. You can also push the finished product through a strainer, but Kimmy doesn't really seem to mind the texture of the skins/seeds. I store mine in 2oz. containers in the freezer to prevent the bananas from browning, and I thaw it overnight before feeding. Because of the texture of bananas, they tend to make the mixture a congealed, Jello-like texture. This is fine. Just smash/stir it up before feeding your little one!


Butternut squash, yogurt, and cinnamon
Ingredients:
3 oz. butternut squash puree (that you've already made by peeling the squash, scooping out the seeds, dicing it, and boiling for 15-20 minutes until fork tender, then pureeing)
1/8c. Fage 2% plain Greek yogurt (or other organic, plain 2% or whole-milk yogurt)
1/4tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions:
Mix it all together and voila! Kimmy LOVES this combination. Sometimes it can be a little sour depending on the sweetness of the squash, so I sometimes add a tbsp. of smashed banana. If you choose to sweeten it, do NOT add honey. Babies shouldn't eat honey until age 1 because it can cause botulism. Honey is also full of environmental pollens--great for adults, but maybe not so great for babies who might have seasonal allergies.

Butternut squash-banana
Ingredients:
2 c. squash puree
1 ripe organic banana

Directions:
Pop it in the blender and puree until it's a smooth texture. Same thing with the browning bananas, so it's best to freeze/thaw in small portions, either 2 or 4 oz.

Beets, spinach, and pears
Ingredients:
1 bunch organic beets (usually 2-3 in a bunch)
4 c. organic baby spinach (non-baby spinach is fine, just make sure to remove the stems before cooking if you purchase the bigger-leaf version)
1 large pear

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. Cut leaves from beets (These are edible and actually taste really good, so I used them as greens with my dinner. They're not as mild as spinach, so I don't recommend them as a substitution in this recipe), scrub the dirt off the roots, and bake them for 1 hour or until you can easily stick a fork through them. Roasting them covered may speed cooking time, but you won't get a nice caramelization on the peeling that way. Beets actually don't have to be peeled, but some people prefer to peel them before or after roasting. I just left the peels alone. Steam your spinach and set aside when done, but save your cooking water. Boil the pear for 5 minutes, or until skin comes off easily. Dice up your cooked, peeled pear, dice the beets when roasted and cooled, and pop all the ingredients in a food processor. If the mixture is too thick, add some of your cooking water to thin it out. Kimmy gobbles this up, so we refrigerate or freeze is larger containers.

We still have a few more months of puree-eating, so I'm sure I'll come up with some new combinations after Kimmy eats through her current stockpile. If you have a lot of single foods on hand, don't be afraid to experiment with different combinations of those, too! Kimmy likes squash-carrot, sweet potato-squash, sweet potato-regular potato, peach-pear, squash-banana, etc. If you try any of these recipes, let me know what your little ones thought! I'm also always looking for more combinations if anyone has suggestions for me.

Happy pureeing!

-Kels

Enjoying the present

Today, I spent the day with my beautiful daughter. (Jarrell is in Indy competing in a voice competition for a $5000 first prize.) So, Mommy-Kimmy day it was. We really enjoyed ourselves! We played, talked, laughed, did laundry, ate, and gave each other lots of hugs. Even though she's only 8.5 months old, I feel like she's older; like she's been around my entire life. I just love her so much!

I have to say that my favorite part of the day was our evening walk. I'm trying to make this a daily activity, at least when the weather is nice. I've been waiting until 5:00-6:00 because that's when the temperature peaks, and the sun's rays get less intense. Kimmy loves to look at nature, people, and cars, and she usually hums the majority of the time we're walking. It's such a neat thing to witness. This evening we walked through Southeast Park and then on an unknown paved trail that borders a creek. I have to figure out what this path is! It was amazing. We walked to the serene sounds of a murmuring creek, the scurry of squirrels in and out of trees, and the evening sunlight glimmering through tree branches. Kimmy got so relaxed she fell asleep in the stroller! I got my work out, for sure. Much of the walk was uphill, and we went about 4 miles. Pushing 40 lbs. of baby and stroller is no joke!

When we got home, Kimmy had a dinner of avocado, pasta, mandarin oranges, squash, and a little bit of mashed potatoes. I made myself a hamburger and zucchini tots. Speaking of, here's the recipe:

Zucchini Tots
Ingredients
1 medium zucchini, shredded (approx. 1 1/2c.)
1 egg
2/3c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/3c. bread crumbs
1/3c. corn meal
~1/2tbsp. salt, 1/2tbsp. pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 400. Mix together all ingredients until well combined. Spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray and form tablespoonfuls of mixture into flat disks. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Voila! Next time I make these, I will try adding 2 tbsp. minced onion and flipping the tots halfway through to make them crispier, but overall, the first go was a success!

Now I'm going to finish up some laundry, take a shower, and wait for my lovey to get home. Hopefully I'll sleep well tonight for once, since Kimmy has a doctor's appointment early tomorrow morning in Cincinnati. I'm turning in my apartment keys, as well, so the lease from hell will finally be behind me (until they inevitably spring a cleaning fee on me, as all poorly-managed apartments tend to do)!

G'nite!

-Kels