I'm going to read a lot and here's what.....

So, in the near future, I will be going on vacation with my husband. To say I am excited is an understatement. I am going to read a lot. Here's a list of the books I'm taking with me:

--A Breath of Snow and Ashes, Diana Gabaldon

I've been reading this book for several weeks. It's almost 1500 pages long, book 6 in the Outlander series. I'm hoping to finish it in route. Whenever I read one of her books, I have to read 3 or 4 other books before I start the next. I think about the characters while I'm reading the other books and wonder what they will be up to in the next one, but I can't go straight to the next one, even though I want to. It's just too much.

--Made from Scratch, Jenna Woginrich

This book is a memoir about the author's attempt to make a sort of homestead in the city while keeping her corporate job. She wanted to become more self-sufficient with food, clothing, and life in general. She caught the bug to do this based on an urge to figure out exactly where her supermarket food came from. I think it might be a bit fluffy when compared with Omnivore's Dilemma, but a good vacay read for some initial insight.

--Farm City, Novella Carpenter

My mom saw this book at B&N yesterday and called me to say it was "right up my alley". I think she perused the first chapters, which I just did on google reader and I think she might be right. It's about a couple who sought self-sufficiency in Oakland, CA on an abandoned lot. They grew their own food, kept chickens, and other animals all while the sounds of the freeway were nearby. She adds in tales of car alarms and homeless men living in cars to go with, so I cannot wait to get my hands on this one.

I'm still undecided about my additional fiction book. I think I'll finish my 1500 pager soon, so I'll have to go through the stack beside my bed to see who's worthy. My husband asked me yesterday how many books I was taking, so I said, "How many books are YOU taking?" Maybe 5......

Stay tuned for more about why I choose the foods I do, where I buy them, and why I cheat (sometimes!).

Weird thingy in the middle

Sorry for the little photobucket "this picture has been removed" annoying thing on the screen. I'll get rid of it later. I'm going for a run and I'm out of time.....

Gasp!.....oh well....on to the homemade yogurt.

So my gasp is due to what I saw when I logged into blogger. It has been an entire year since I blogged. And I really have a lot to say. I am sorta speechless about that, though. I'm not going to tell you why I haven't blogged because I really don't know. I'm not going to make promises that I'm going to blog more often because it seems that I'm not very good at making promises where my blog is concerned.

But, I do have some really cool things going on right now and it would be nice to tell others about them, so maybe.......

It amazes me sometimes (when I really think about it) at how much I am off the beaten path. I homeschool, I cook from scratch, I purchase local meats and produce. Shoot--right now I have about 1/4 of a butchered cow from Alabama in my freezer outside. We eat real food--no preservatives, dyes, etc. If I had a baby, I would use cloth diapers. In a few weeks, I think I'm going to venture into "grind your own flour" land......

so, it makes perfect sense to me that I would get excited over something like making my own yogurt. I have a friend that does it and she shared her technique with me. I tried it and it worked and I have some extremely good yogurt in my fridge now. My husband is repulsed by it. I could hardly get him to smell it and I know he won't try it. He's a good sport to put up with all my other things, so I'll let it slide.

I'll tell you how to do it. Oh, and sorry I don't have any pics like Pioneer Woman. I wasn't planning on blogging this until I got a gentle suggestion to blog it, so I am unprepared. Maybe I'll update this the next time I make a batch and add some pics. It's so easy that pics really aren't necessary anyway.

Here's what you need:

big pot
couple of quart mason jars and lids
whisk
candy thermometer
plain yogurt
1/2 gallon milk
small cooler
kitchen towels

So, boil some water in your big pot and sterilize your jars and lids for about 10 minutes. Remove them from the water on a clean towel. Pour your leftover hot water into your empty cooler and close it.

Pour your 1/2 gallon of milk into your big pot and heat over medium heat until the temp reaches 185 degrees. Remove from heat and place in a cold water bath in the sink until the temp lowers to 120 degrees. While you are waiting, put about 2 tablespoons of plain Dannon yogurt in each jar (you'll need 2 quart jars). Once your milk is 120 degrees, pour it into the jars, put the lids on and shake them up. I vent the lids at this point, just to get the air out.

Now, empty that hot water out of your cooler and put a few kitchen towels in the bottom. Put your jars down in there, but don't let them touch each other or the sides. Wrap them up with more towels around the sides and tops and close the cooler. Do this quickly so your cooler won't cool off.

Leave the cooler alone for 10 hours. Don't pick it up, move it, or open it. You will be VERY tempted to open it up because you will want to see how your yogurt is doing, but don't do it!

You can leave the yogurt in the cooler this way for 8-16 hours, but my friend suggested 10 so I listened to her. It was the perfect amount of sour taste for me too. After your time is up, put your jars in the fridge. Once it's cold, it's ready to eat. I do open my jars before I put them in the fridge--I just wanted to see what it looked and smelled like.

That's it--seriously. And, it's so much tastier and certainly cheaper than buying yogurt in the store. You will be amazed when you've done it and you might feel like more of a woman.....like that you might could survive if you suddenly were dropped into the late 1700s....but maybe that's a bit much. Just sayin.

Deep Thoughts

So, I was thinking the other day that it seems like I always have some sort of project. It could be any variety of things: from sewing a cute bag to reorganizing my cookbooks or even something which seems more serious like a self-improvement process or "ordering my private world". I put this in quotes because it's a book I'm reading right now with that exact title by Gordon MacDonald. I borrowed it from my pastor because I like all sorts of things that he has to say and when he said he reads this book 2-3 times per year I thought I should read it at least once.

The idea of contentment came into my mind, though, and I wondered how these two things are related. Constantly having a project, whether it be a craft or yourself and contentment. When Christians talk about trying to achieve contentment, being able to rejoice in any circumstance and to put it crudely "being happy with your lot in life"--where does self-improvement fit into that? Maybe they aren't related at all. I do think God expects us to bloom where we're planted and rejoice in all things, but I also think he expects us to take initiative for improving things as well. I think sometimes my conclusions about the things I need to improve upon aren't always what His conclusions would be. This would be where praying for His wisdom and discernment would come in handy. I am quite sure that all my improvement projects would be successful if I was only choosing the ones He would have me choose.

I guess I'm telling you all of this to let you know that Chris thinks I should start really blogging about our homeschooling journey. I don't consider myself much of a writer and I don't really see why anyone would care to read what I have to say, but I am considering it. He thinks I should post about what it is REALLY like--all the things that are stressful and make me want to throw in the towel and all the other things that make it a truly joyful experience too. I guess a great number of the homeschooling blogs you read focus on the choice of curriculum, the great books that a particular family is reading, or the never-ending bliss of homeschooling in general. The scenes you see in pictures of the entire family dressed in their homemade clothes, reading old-timey stories by kerosene lamp. Don't get me wrong: I am not trying to sound critical of anyone who has things like this happen in their home. If that is what they want and it works, then I think that's great. But--it doesn't happen around here. I guess he tends to think that most other homeschooling moms are just like me and we all wish that we could be really honest about how most of our days really just suck and that we feel like we are failing. Instead, we read these other articles and blogs about the way it is supposed to be and feel even more like failures--I guess he just is thinking I'd be really honest or something.........

I don't know yet--but I am doing a lot of thinking about it. I have some good stories to tell, good resources to share and also lots of other boring stuff to talk about. I'm also now having to write my closing thoughts while listening to all the descriptions of the Legos in my oldest son's latest Lego catalog--so now I am really showing my talents.

So, to spice things up a bit with a picture. Here you go.

Does anyone have a cure for chronic constipation in a 6-year-old that doesn't involve a Fleet's Enema? I'm trying the above, but I've already thrown away 3 pairs of underwear this week and it's only Monday. This little adventure just might make for a great first post--heehee.

Wild Horses

I know a few months ago I said I was going to update my blog once a week.

I did well for a while and then we went out of town a whole bunch. And then..........

my dad fell off a galloping horse at Thanksgiving and I just didn't have it in me.

My brain did not work, my house was not cleaned. I think my children were fed. We were visiting cousins who live on a farm outside Nashville. 5 of us had already ridden the horse. My dad decided to go and when he got back we were all going to go inside, drink beer, and watch Alabama whip up on Auburn. Well.....one out of three ain't bad, right? Last I checked Alabama did whip up on Auburn and then Florida too. I do love Tim Tebow, though. That's another post entirely. Now I'm off on a tangent.

I'll save you the nasty details and say that my dad is doing GREAT. He is still healing, but is expected to make a complete recovery from the accident. I am finally starting to get the constant replay of the horse galloping with my dad out of my mind, although I don't think it will ever completely go away. Nor will the feelings I got from having to be the only nurse out in the middle of a pasture helping the injured party (her own dad--yikes). I do think that time heals most wounds, especially those of a physical nature. What I KNOW is that God heals every wound and even though I would like for this not to have happened, He has given my family and me many more blessings through this event that we would not have had otherwise.

Over the past few years, I have started to really understand why we are to rejoice in all things. It's not always what I want to do and sometimes it takes me a while and sometimes I just have to force myself. I probably shouldn't admit this, but sometimes I even tell God that I don't want to rejoice, but I do and I think he knows I'm faking. I do think He's glad I said it, though. And I think that sometimes saying something out loud is the first step to making it true on the inside. I'm going to try this more often now and see what becomes of it.

I'll try to post again before Christmas, but just in case I don't......

Merry Christmas!

Only 4 Hours of Sleep

I went to see New Moon last night at midnight with 4 of my girlfriends---it was so good. I can't even do it justice by talking about it, so I'll be brief. They did a much better job of portraying some of the underlying emotions between Edward, Bella, and Jacob this time around. The werewolves are MUCH larger than what I imagined when reading the books. The Volturi are mesmerizing and Edward was at his best in the scene with them where he was wearing this blood red robe--it was a delight to say the least. Okay, enough.

This was the start of my favorite part of the movie--and there is that red robe.

Okay, so on a lighter note. I almost feel like these two topics shouldn't even go together. Well, anyway.

I am starting a new tradition this Christmas. I went to the library and let the boys pick out 24 Christmas books. We got an assortment--reindeer, snowmen, Santa, and Baby Jesus. We are going to put them in a big basket by their rooms and starting on December 1, we will read one book per night, slowly emptying the basket, and letting this be our "countdown to Christmas". I have seen where some people wrap each book in Christmas paper so the kids get the thrill of unwrapping the gift and being surprised by which one it is. I am considering doing this, but am trying to weigh the effort versus the enjoyment--hard to say. Maybe it will get old opening them every night. I'll think about it for a while.

I also really want to make one of these.

Up and running

I went over to the Apple store today and picked up my computer. It now has a brand spankin' new hard drive that has double the RAM of the other one. I'll have to admit it is super cool. It's just different enough that I notice. I kind of feel like I have a brand new macbook, especially since there was NOTHING on it. Yep--no pics, documents, iTunes songs, mail, calendar items--zip.

While I was waiting to get my little white piece of heaven back, I sought out to discover just how many pictures I lost. What I discovered was that I had backed up quite a bit AND I had uploaded almost all of our significant events and vacations onto my blog or facebook page. So, now I am totally looking at it as I am not nearly as behind with my scrapbooking as I once thought. How's that for perspective?

So, just wanted to give you a little update. I'll post again later this week with some pictures--maybe some oldies but goodies just to celebrate that I have them.

Until then, I'm going to go downstairs, retrieve my external hard drive and BACK UP my new computer AND do it every month for the rest of my life.

How's that for a hard lesson..........