Based on Appearance...

For a long time, I’ve waivered back & forth on whether I think it’s a good idea to tell a woman or young child that she looks lovely, or that her haircut looks phenomenal.

As a woman, I always appreciate a complement like this. However, as a parent and human being, I don’t want to reinforce the idea that our value is found only in appearances. But by not acknowledging a little girl who is wearing her favorite Easter dress, or complementing a friend who’s taken an extra effort to look nice or lose weight, I feel like I’m ignoring something that makes them feel good. I certainly don’t think it’s wrong for a woman to take consideration to their appearance.

Have you guys ever had these questions? If so, what conclusions have you drawn?

Mark Your Calendars!

If you have kids, you'll want to mark your calendar for these upcoming consigment sales. If you haven't done the consignment sale thing yet, you're missing out on some great sales! Here are some coming up:

Wee Wares - Aug 2-4 at Lipscomb U.
Once around the Block - Nov. 14 & 15 at West End Community Church
Otter Creek Consignment Aug 24-25 at Otter Creek Church

Find even more here

John Hung Ha

My old good friend, John Hung Ha is in town doing a show at the Parthenon through Sept. 29. John & I go back to 5th grade & he does beautiful work. You must really check it out.

And speaking of talent from my high school, I was also classmates with the talented Julia Martin and Ferraby Lionheart! (World famous artist Red Grooms is also an alum! But I've really got to stop now, because I could keep on going with the talent of my old h.s. friends, like Laura, Tracy, Amanda...

Tired of the Diaper Bag

I'm growing tired of carrying the huge diaper bag. I'm also tired of trying to make sense of a sewing pattern. So this morning, I sewed up a little tote bag on my own! Again, my sewing is rough, but I was pretty pleased. I lined it with the green/blue patterned materials to pretty up the inside as well. Since I have a little boy, I tried to compromise on the fabrics - I'll be wearing it, but it will be carrying his little cars & diapers, so I went as gender-neutral as I could. Again, I used some old free fabrics & curtains!

Climbing in The Tennessean

Yesterday's "The Tennessean" features a story about rock climbing which interviews Lance, and our friend Yuki.

Also, The Frist is free today! (Side note: Notice their lovely website - a project which I managed).

Standard School Attire

This year, Nashville's Metro Schools have switched to Standard School Attire. While I don't think it's a bad idea, the list of approved clothing is quite strict. Students can wear: White or navy collared shirts. Navy blue, black or khaki pants or shorts. As you can imagine, some needy families are having difficulty buying the required clothing so their children can attend school.

If you have any of the above items that you could donate, ThriftSmart has set up a donation service at several churches, including Otter Creek on Franklin Rd. Please contact them to find out how to donate.

Cars

Cars are big around here. It's pretty amazing, really. I did not encourage it at all. It's not that I discouraged it, but I just don't care either way if he's into cars. He just loves them. At 14 months, it really started coming on strong. He would turn to his book of words & just stare at the cars & trucks. By now, it's a full-fledged obsesssion. He carries these little cars around EVERYWHERE! To the dinner table, in the car, into bed. He can hardly part with these little things. You should see him when he loads up as many cars as he can into his arms & walks around the house. It's ridiculously adorable.

A Cyclist's Life for Me

We've taken a bit to bike riding, lately. Lance bought a bike & has been commuting to work. And then we got the GoBug, which we've been enjoying riding our little family to the park, or for popsicles & a latte! I love it! I'm only sad that there's only one place in the US that sells a bakfiet...

The Milkman is Back!

So you guys know by now that food excites me. Less time in the car excites me too. That's why I'm so excited about the knock I just got on my door from Purity Dairy. They are bringing back home delivery!!

Here's the scoop: The prices are the same as in the local grocery. They deliver all over TN. No commitment or contract. No minimum order. And if it doesn't work for your needs, you can cancel service. You can have a standing order or email them week-to-week! Sounds too good to be true!! In addition to milk, they offer items like Soy Milk, Butter, Laundry Detergent, Ice Cream, DiGiorno Pizzas and more. (althought their online list is not complete.) Call (615) 244-1909 to start service!

Convenience

Yes, another blog about my week's delivery of CSA Veggies. If you've not been convinced yet about the coolness of my CSA, here's one more reason: Convenience! I've chosen the day of the week, location, and time of day (from a list of options) that is most convenient to me. I've prepaid, and I DON'T EVEN HAVE TO GET OUT OF MY CAR! Moms - How great is that!? And I get an email the previous week, asking me if I wish to special order certain fruits, breads, eggs, meats, veggies, or Amish cinnamon rolls! So all that food is just right there when I drive up. It's way faster than a grocery trip.

This week we'll be eating in abundance. My folks (with whom I split a 1/2 bushel) are traveling, so I get their produce. Think we can eat all this food in one week? We've got....8 ears of corn, 2 banana peppers, 4 green bell peppers, 2 purple bell peppers, 3 patty pan squash, 6 tomatoes, 1 container of yellow cherry tomatoes (?), 4 carrots, 12 okra, 2 eggplants, 1 head of cabbage, a cantaloupe, watermelon, and 8 lemon cucumbers. Whew!

Imagine That

I have nothing to blog about. Can you believe that? It's rare that I have nothing to say, so I'll leave you with this cute little photo of me & my little dude.

Learning to Compost

Stacy (my go-to-girl about all things gardening) tipped me off on cheap compost bins available through Metro’s Omohundro Center. Earth Machines, which retail for $85.50, are offered there for $40! I figured now's as good a time as any to learn how to compost. If you want to dive right in too, you can read more about composting here or here.

Why Composting is a Good Thing:
1) Less gov't money (our money) for trash hauling & landfill maintenance. More money for better uses.
2) Better on the environment as less goes in the landfill.
3) More environmentally friendly for your plants, and a fantastic soil enhancer.
4) Cheaper than buying fertilizer

Omohundro Center also takes residential trash, furniture, furniture, mattresses, tires, etc. plus all the regular recyclables! Another good gov't service - Bordeaux Mulch Facility offers cheap mulch.

ps. Still need cat advice...see below. Lance is prepared to do bad things to the cats if I don't find a good solution.

Cat Repellant?

First things first - I really like cats. Unfortunately, Lance is allergic, so we will never own a cat.

Ok, now here's my problem. We have a cat pooing in our playset. He's ALWAYS hanging out in our back yard. I am not a fan of cats who poo in our playset. Anyone know any good tips on how to keep cats at bay?

A Milk, Egg, Peanut-Free Diet

This is a list of things that people with egg, peanut, and dairy allergies cannot eat, from the Food Allergy Network. Since this list is pretty much ridiculously long, you can see why I just fix almost all of E's food from scratch. Just wanted to share it with you. Since allergies are on the rise, this might be helpful for you to look over. Sorry for the long post...I'm not big on long posts, but this is worth it.

HOW TO READ A LABEL FOR A MILK-FREE DIET
Avoid foods with the following ingredients:
artificial butter flavor
butter, butter fat, butter oil
buttermilk
casein
caseinates (ammonium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium)
cheese
cream
cottage cheese
curds
custard
Ghee
Half and Half
hydrolysates (casein, milk protein, protein, whey, whey protein)
lacalbumin, lacalbumin-phosphate
lactoglobulin
lactose
lactulose
milk (any derivative – powder, protein, solids, malted, condensed, evaporated, dry, whole, low-fat, non-fat, skim, goat’s milk)
nougat
pudding
rennet casein
sour cream, sour cream solids
whey (including all forms, such as sweet, de-lactosed, protein concentrated)
yogurt
“D” on a label next to “K” or “U” indicated presence of milk protein

The following may contain milk proteins:
flavorings: caramel, barvarian cream, coconut cream, brown sugar, butter, natural
chocolate
luncheon meats, hot dogs, sausages
high protein flour
margarine
Simplesse®


HOW TO READ A LABEL for a PEANUT-FREE DIET
Avoid foods that contain peanuts or any of these ingredients:
artificial nuts
beer nuts
cold pressed, expelled, or extruded peanut oil
goobers
ground nuts
mixed nuts
monkey nuts
nutmeat
nut pieces
peanut
peanut butter
peanut flour

May indicate the presence of peanut protein:
African, Asian (especially Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Thai, and Vietnamese), and Mexican dishes
baked goods (pastries, cookies, etc.)
candy (including chocolate candy)
chili
egg rolls
enchilada sauce
flavoring (including natural and artificial)
marzipan
mole sauce
nougat

-Mandelonas are peanuts soaked in almond flavoring.
-Studies show most allergic individuals can safely eat peanut oil (not cold pressed, expelled, or extruded peanut oil).
-Arachis oil is peanut oil.
-Experts advise patients allergic to peanuts to avoid tree nuts as well.
-A study showed that unlike other legumes, there is a strong possibility of cross reaction between peanuts and lupine.
-Sunflower seeds are often produced on equipment shared with peanuts.

HOW TO READ A LABEL for an EGG-FREE DIET
Avoid foods that contain eggs or any of these ingredients:
albumin (also spelled as albumen)
egg (dried, powdered, solids, white, yolk)
eggnog
lysozyme
mayonnaise
meringue (meringue powder)
surimi

May indicate the presence of egg protein:
flavoring (including natural and artificial)
lecithin
macaroni
marzipan
marshmallows
nougat
pasta

Epicurious

This weeks's CSA resulted in fresh salsa, eggplant parmesan, baked squash, roasted vegetable pasta, fried green tomatoes, and other yummy treats. We also got more delicious cantelope yesterday.

I'm telling you - If you are in the slightest epicurious, you should sign up for a CSA next Spring. It's been fun cooking with the seasons, trying out new foods, and learning how to cook with what you've got!! Who knew that there were Purple Peppers??

Back to Sewing

I’m hearing a theme song for all my sewing. “Don’t Stand So. Don’t Stand So. Don’t Stand Sew Close to Me.”

Again, my sewing has some serious problems. After making all my projects too big, I swung too far in the other direction & made this one too small. Why do patterns tell me that I wear anything from an XS to a size 14? This is just silly.
Anyway, our sewing group was a blast & I made this shirt from this pattern and this free fabric that started it all.

Thanks Betty & Marge for sharing your wisdom! Can't wait to do it again! In the meantime, I'll be busy doing exciting new stuff like appliques and making buttonholes. Ohhh....

Books for Boys

I think older boys are hard to shop for. They are over toys, but don't want clothes either! That's why I'm excited about the Dangerous Book for Boys and the World Record Paper Airplane Book. I love "The Dangerous Book for Boys". It features things every boy should know, like chapters on dinosaurs, famous battles, compass navigation, how to make invisible ink & tie knots and more! How cool. (ps. Make sure you buy the American version.)

Toddler Dress

Just finished my burda pattern! The toddler dress turned out very well, as it was a very basic pattern. Our sewing group meets tomorrow, so maybe I'll crank out something else soon!

Sunglasses are Cool.

He loves his sunglasses.

In Stitches

This lovely bracelet is courtesy of the hospital where I got stitches last night. Yes, I get an A+ in stupidity as I accidentally kicked in a window pane from our side door and glass flew all over, but mostly into my leg. I will spare you photos of the stitches, mostly since they make me want to pass out and/or vomit. I'm so irritated with myself. Here's to hoping for a accident-free day.

Beautiful Cakes

Look at these beautiful cakes! This baby cake was for Jana's shower for Skylar. Take a look at the roses lining the cake stand & those hand folded napkins! The farm cupcakes are from McHaney's birthday party. How cute. And then check out the one below from Martha! They all have such simple beauty, I had to share!

CSA Goodies & Eggplant Recipe

This week, we got Banana Pepper, Squash, Cucumber, Cabbage, Egplant, Tomato, Cherry Tomato, Cantelope, Corn, Potato, Beets from the CSA. I haven't been able to figure out a tasty way to prepare beets or radishes. Any ideas?

have RAVE reviews for a few things from the CSA Bushel. Eggplant & Tomato Saute with Lemon Rice was delicious. I went with a variation of the recipes below, based on the ingredients I had.

Where are all the blogger friends doing the CSA? I know there are lots of you, since you told me so! What are you guys cooking?

EGGPLANT & TOMATO SAUTE
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped red onion (1 large)
1 cup chopped yellow bell pepper (about 1)
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 tsp. minced garlic
5 ½ cups diced peeled eggplant (about 1 pound)
½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 (14 ½ oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained (I diced fresh tomatoes)

Heat oil in a large nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell peppers; sauté for 3 minutes. Add garlic, and sauté for 1 minute. Add the eggplant, salt, black pepper and tomato; stir to combine. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Serves 12.

LEMON RICE
4 T. Margarine
¾ c. chopped celery
1/3 c. chopped scallions or onions
2 c. uncooked white rice
2 ¼ to 2 ½ c. chicken stock
1 ½ T. fresh lemon juice
1 T. grated lemon zest
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 small bay leaf
¼ c. fresh minced parsley

In a 2-qt. saucepan, melt margarine. Saute celery and scallions until tender, about 5 minutes. Add rice and sauté 2 minutes more, stirring to coat grains. Stir in stock, lemon juice, lemon zest, pepper and bay leaf. Bring to boil; reduce heat and cover. Cook 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender. Remove from heat and let stand 5-8 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Add parsley and toss lightly to mix through. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6.

Family Photo

I'm so thankful for people who just offer to take your photograph & then send it to you. If not for Lance's cousin, we would not have this recent family shot! Now if all those people who took pictures of our wedding 5 years ago would just send them to me...

PS. I'm going to the dentist this morning, and maybe he'll make that tooth uncrooked for me...

I'm Not Martha

As much as I want to be, I'm just no Martha Stewart. I had made a conscious decision not to pursue the womanly arts of baking and gardening. I enjoy them, but I had decided that - for now - I would rather hone my skills in cooking, sewing and the like. One lady can only do so much... Hmm...That was Then. But now, we've inherited a beautiful, magnificent garden. Just check out these beautiful flowers! Of course I'm thrilled, but it's just funny that I had intentionally decided not to take up gardening. I guess I spoke too soon! Anyone know of any good websites or books with a plant glossary & info about trimming & maintaining different types of plants?