Thursday's Thoughts: Sick, Sicker, and More Sick

In my life, when it rains, it really, really pours.

I apologize for really dropping the ball this week. I haven't been able to post anything, much less really work on any crafts. The reason? Oh, there's more than one.

I caught a nasty cold from my husband. He caught it from working as a sales rep for a company that had a roadshow in Costco. Being around hundreds of different people every day for two weeks, I suppose he was bound to catch something.The frustrating thing, however, is that he had minor symptoms for about 10 days straight. I, on the other hand, came down with it on Sunday, and by Monday it was all I could do to get out of bed. Tuesday was worse, and Wednesday was worse still. Today is slightly better. Constant sinus headache, watery eyes, runny and stuffy nose, clogged and painful inner ears, fiery sore throat, raspy coughing, sneezing 5-7 times in a row every hour, and an overall exhausted and achy body. It's been less than fun. To top that off, Graham caught it too.

Along with that, on Sunday my body decided that breastfeeding was no longer going to keep my menstruation cycle from returning. I won't give you details, because you don't need them to know I'm miserable and only want to eat sugar, carbs, and chocolate all day long.

And then yesterday I had some serious abdominal pain. No, it was not cramping from the aforementioned problem. This was something else, and it hurt bad. On a scale of 1-10, if labor pains are 9-10, this was a 7-8. It hurt so badly that I got really naseaus for a while. I sat curled up on the couch for an hour yesterday whimpering while my son sat on the floor crying and fussing and my sweet husband sat next to me offering whatever comfort he could. A trip to the bathroom and two Tylenol later, I laid on the
couch watching tv shows on Hulu while completely wiped out of energy.

That's not even all I've been dealing with, but I'm not going to complain anymore right now.

So, in summary...

Sick, miserable mommy + sick, fussy baby = doing nothing for a week

And what a perfect week, too, when I was supposed to be making our Halloween costumes. I hope I can still get them done, because our family themed costumes were going to be (and hopefully still will be) EPIC.


On a more positive note, here's a list of things I'm grateful for this week.

stretchy sweatpants
short hair
a mom who's only a phone call away
my water bottle
fudge brownie ice cream
orange juice
prayer
the internet
Hulu
cinnamon-sugar toast
my sweet son
my tender husband who puts me and my needs first and thinks I'm pretty no matter how I look.

Those last two are what I'm hands-down the most grateful for. Wouldn't you be?

Food on Friday: Homemade Granola Bars

I like quick and easy snacks. Having an active baby and being a busy woman keeps me from being able to spend lots of time in the kitchen creating decadent treats and elaborate meals. But I can manage to spend time preparing a bulk amount of snacks or meals every so often to make the coming weeks and days easier. I did a little of that yesterday.

I love granola bars. I'm not a fan of the tiny sugary ones that are filled with high fructose corn syrup and you have to eat about a dozen just to feel like your appetite has been slightly curbed. But they can be kind of expensive--especially when you want hearty, quality ones with some sort of nutrition factor that may make it worth eating.

I've been wanting to make my own for a while, so I finally did! There are some major benefits to doing that.

• I know exactly what's going into them, and therefore exactly what I'm putting into my body when I eat them. 
• I can make them as healthy (or for that matter, as unhealthy) as I'd like. I can leave out or put in whatever nuts or dried fruits I want (or don't want).
• I get to decide the portions. I can make them bite-sized or I can make them an entire meal.
• They always taste better than store-bought granola bars.

I made a double batch of three different "flavors" of granola bars. The base is the same, but the add-ins are different. 

Cranberry raisin, chocolate chip pecan, and coconut white chocolate chip.

Here's my recipe.

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Granola Bars

Makes 20-30, depending on how you cut them.

Granola base:

6 cups rolled oats (not quick oats)

1/2 cup olive or canola oil

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup apple or white grape juice

3 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups puffed rice cereal

1 cup cracked oats 

Add-ins:

1 cup chopped pecans or other nuts

1 cup raisins

1 - 2 cups Craisins or other dried fruit

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

1/2 - 1 cup sesame or sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, toss oats, oil, and salt. Spread mixture out on large baking sheet (or two smaller ones) and toast in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove and let oats cool.

Reduce oven to 325 degrees F.

In a medium saucepan, combine brown sugar, honey, and juice. Heat the mixture on low to medium heat, stirring constantly until brown sugar is dissolved. Stir in vanilla. Remove from heat. 

Return toasted oats to large bowl. Add rice cereal, cracked oats, and whatever add-ins you'd like and toss until evenly mixed. Pour sugary syrup over the granola. Stir until everything is thoroughly coated with the syrup. 

Press into a greased, large baking sheet (or two smaller ones) and bake until golden, usually 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. 

Cut into desired portion sizes. Wrap individually for ready-to-go snacks or serve in bite-sized pieces for easy finger-food treats. 

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Toasting the oats.

Making the brown sugar and honey syrup.

Tossing all of the granola ingredients.

Sliced into bars.

Mmm. Perfection.

Crunchy, hearty, and bursting sweet and savor.

I wrapped them individually in plastic wrap for easy grab-and-go snacks.

A double batch made about 60 bars!

Some tips and suggestions:

• If you don't have any cracked oats, it's okay. I just like using them for different textures and sizes of oats. 

• If you want to try a variety of add-ins or "flavors" but don't want to make the entire batch like that, try separating the mixture evenly into two different mixing bowls and putting different add-ins in each. Press into two smaller baking sheets and bake as directed.

• Make sure to stir the sugary syrup stuff into the granola thoroughly. If you don't, there will be a giant pool of it at the bottom of your bowl. So make sure you scoop from the bottom to the top to get everything mixed together.

• The longer it cools once removed from the oven, the crunchier it'll be. That also means they'll be more difficult to cut the longer you wait. But if you try to cut them too soon, they'll be too soft and will fall apart easily. I just let them cool completely and then used a sharp knife to cut them (thank you, Cutco!).

• Get creative and try using different kinds of add-ins! Pretty much any oats, nuts, seeds, or dried fruit will work. Some that I plan on trying in the future are: poppy seeds, pumpkin seeds, ground flax seed, and dried apricots (sliced up, of course). Also, I didn't have any puffed rice cereal. But I had some Special K. I used it, and I actually prefer to use it now because it adds a really nice texture to the bars. You could try other cereals too--bran flakes, grape nuts, etc. 

Look at those cute little sesame seeds.



• In my second batch, I tried using chocolate chips and white chocolate chips instead of the raisins and dried fruit. Add them in last, after everything is pretty well coated with the syrup. Otherwise they'll start to melt while you're stirring it all together and you'll have chocolate swirled granola bars, which is fine if you want that, but it will make them stick to the baking sheet a lot more too.

Chocolate chip and pecan granola bar.

One of these + an apple = a healthy, balanced snack I'm happy to eat!

We'll see how long they last in this household. I may be making these again next week...

Thursday's Thoughts: Friends

If you haven't noticed, I've backed away from the whole blog world slightly. I'm still posting, but it's been impossible to read all the other blogs I want to, post in all the forums I'd like to, respond to all the comments I get, and stay connected on all the social media sites that I've become a part of.

I'm really ambitious. Too ambitious maybe, but I'm not going to stop being that way. However, I've needed to make some important and necessary sacrifices lately.

My current living circumstances make everything more difficult than usual. Every-day tasks are stupidly hard and frustrating because this house we live in with my in-laws makes efficiency impossible (but that's another rant for another day).

It all got to be more than I could handle. So something had to give, and it had to be my footprint in the blogosphere. It makes me sad because I love blogging and reading about others' projects and lives. I really enjoy that. But I'm not about to neglect my son or husband. So I've had to neglect my new--and few--blogging friends that I've just made.

Don't worry, I'm not disappearing and this is in no way a farewell. Not at all. This is more of an "I'm sorry I haven't been a good friend to you, this is why, and I hope you'll continue to be my friend anyway" kind of a post. I love the readers and followers I've gotten. I've pushed this blog so far so quickly, and I'm so proud of myself for all I've done. But for the next little while I'm going to have to stay back here and take care of myself and my family more than take care of my blog. I'm still striving to post 2-3 times a week and right after Halloween I'm going to get to work making and selling items for Christmas (plus I've gotten several requests for some specific things), but I just can't find the time to keep up with the rest of it.

Here's what my days have been like: 
Bob wakes up with Graham at 6:30am.
I get up and take Graham at 8am so Bob can go study/work.
Graham won't take more than two or three 15 minute naps during the day, so I have no time to do anything without trying to simultaneously take care of him (sweeping, vacuuming, doing dishes, laundry, getting dinner going, etc).
Bob finally gets home around 5 or 6pm.
Graham eats at 6:30pm, gets a bath every other day (or two), then goes to bed at 7pm, after which we have dinner.
Then I finally have a chance to work on my blog and sewing projects, so I stay up until 11 pm working on those.
Bob and I shower and go to bed by midnight (if not later).
I get up with Graham at 4am because that's the one time we can't get him to sleep through (thank goodness he's not waking up at 10pm and 2am anymore).
And then I start it all over again.

It's impossible to do anything more than I have been doing. And I hate that. I hate feeling unproductive. I hate that I can't keep fulfilling this ambitious nature that I've been blessed with. But at the same time, I'm so happy with my family. I definitely prefer to take care of my son over anything else. I just wish I could do both. But it's impossible right now.

So here's the goal(s).

Bob's trying to be done with studying and ready to take the state exam for his real estate license by Christmas. He has a job lined up after that and it should take anywhere from 3-6 months after that to finally have enough income to hopefully start looking for our own place. I'm expecting to get out of my in-law's house by April or May (but gosh, what I wouldn't give to get out of here next month!). However, as we know, plans have to be flexible because in my life, they never work out exactly how I hope. But this is what I'm realistically hoping for, because for now I just need something to look forward to since life is so difficult right now.

There are still good times here and there.Last Friday I planned our date night. We watched a movie while eating Dutch apple pie (Bob's favorite) in bed. Then we talked for a while. I feel like I don't ever get to talk with him or spend time with Bob anymore, so it was a really wonderful change from the everyday grind we've been dealing with. But moments like those are far and few between and will probably remain so until after Christmas, if not longer.

Who knows when I'll actually be able to get back into seriously pursuing this blogging dream I've had. It's tough to set my dreams aside for a little while to help my husband to be able to achieve his, but that's what I need to do right now so that we can get out of this house and into our own as soon as possible. I know that won't be the solution to everything and it will likely present new challenges, but I have a very sure feeling that once we're to that point, I'll be able to be a better blogger. The reasons are many, even if you doubt me there.

So, will you please keep reading my posts? Will you please continue following me and showing me love and support even if I have a hard time reciprocating it? I know, that's not very fair. But I am doing the best I can right now, and I'm in need of some friends to see me through these next several months. After that, I know I'll be in a better place physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. And once I get to that point I promise I will be there to see you through whatever tough times come your way. I'll pay it all back to you when you're in need, because you deserve it and I'll owe it. Plus, we're friends and that's what friends do, regardless of why we became friends.

Lauren's Throw Pillow #1

One of my brothers and his wife recently bought their first house. It's really exciting for them. My sister-in-law just got some new furniture, including some gorgeous brown leather couches that are in need of some throw pillows. Naturally she called me. ( I really love when people think of me for needs/projects like this!)

She told me the colors she wants (emerald, sapphire, jewel tones) and that she's decorating with a peacock feather theme. She didn't exactly want peacock feathers on the throw pillows, but rather something more abstract. I really love the shapes and lines that peacock feather make. 

So I sketched up some ideas and went fabric shopping...

I even kind of made up my own sewing techniques to create this first one. Maybe they've been used before, but I've never seen or heard of anything quite like this.

I really like how this one came out.

I can't decide if I should add a button on the back or not. 

I'm excited to work on the other ideas for the rest of the throw pillows. 

What do you think? 

Food on Friday: Baklava

I attended a baby shower recently. I also brought a few treats to share. The theme was a tea party, and since I honestly don't drink much tea (only herbal when I do; don't hate the non-tea-drinking southern girl!) I wasn't sure what kinds of treats or pastries go with tea.

After some research, I found a lot of suggestions. But I saw one that stood out to me because it's something I'd been wanting to try making for quite a while.

Baklava.

I love baklava. I remember trying it as a kid and wondering if it was what God serves in heaven.

So I tried making it myself. Here's the recipe I used, with the adjustments I made to it.

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Baklava
Makes 24+ servings, depending on how they're cut.

3 cups coarsely ground walnuts
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
24 sheets thawed phyllo dough (half a 1 lb box)
2 cups melted butter (1 lb)
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Syrup:
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup honey
1/2 of a lemon with peel on, sliced
1/2 of an orange peel

1-2 cinnamon sticks
8-10 whole cloves

Directions:

In a medium bowl, combine the nuts, ground cinnamon, cloves, and sugar. 

Using a basting brush, butter the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with melted butter, place a single sheet of phyllo dough in bottom of buttered pan. Brush butter over the top of the sheet of dough. Place another sheet over that, butter it, and repeat until 8 sheets have been layered and buttered.

Sprinkle 3/4 cup of nut and spice mixture over the 8th sheet. Layer and butter 2 sheets of dough, then sprinkle another 3/4 cup of the nut and spice mixture. Repeat 4 times (or more as desired).

Layer and butter 6 more phyllo sheets (or however many sheets are left). 

Using a sharp knife, cut through all the layers creating a triangle or diamond pattern.

Bake at 300° until golden brown, about 1 hour.

While the baklava is baking, combine the syrup ingredients in a saucepan, making sure sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat a little to keep from boiling over. Boil for 15 minutes. Strain and cool.

Once baklava is removed from oven, pour syrup evenly over the top. Let cool.

Serve in muffin cups for easy finger-food.

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Some tips and suggestions:

The phyllo dough will usually come frozen. Thaw it out for 2 hours before using it.

Phyllo dough is really ridiculously thin and fragile. Prepare everything prior to baking and then open the dough last.

The dough needs to stay perfectly damp. If it gets too dry, it breaks, but if it gets too wet, it sticks to itself and rips. To achieve this, put a sheet of wax paper or plastic wrap over the open and unrolled phyllo dough, and then a damp cloth over that. If you put just the damp cloth on the dough, it makes it way too wet. Uncover, remove a sheet of dough, then re-cover the rest while you butter or sprinkle nutty stuff.

Also, work quickly, but not sloppily. The longer the dough sits out, the more of a chance it has to dry out, even with a damp cloth over it.

It's okay if it does rip. It's a flaky dessert anyway, so if you have 3 or 4 pieces of one sheet for some of the layers, don't worry about it. You're just going to cut it up into little pieces to serve it.

When you pour the syrup over the baked dough + filling, it sizzles and steams because the pan came right out of the oven. Be prepared for that.

If you find that you have way more filling than you think belongs in the middle, try sprinkling the last of it on top after you've poured the syrup over it. Personally, I don't think you can ever have too much nutty-spiced deliciousness.

Make this a day or two ahead of time. It's better if it sits and absorbs all the flavors for a day or so before eating it.

Doesn't that just make you drool a little? 

Oh. 

My.

I must make more.

Now.

Craft Swap

I participated in a craft swap recently. Well, it was more like a craft round-robin swap. My sister-in-law hosted it, and coincidentally a few of my family members participated. I had a my Aunt Elaine, who is a Stampin' Up representative and lives down the road from my parents out in the countryside of Tennessee. We each filled out a short series of questions, and then our answers were given to whoever is making a craft for us. On hers, Aunt Elaine mentioned liking chickens and roosters as well as the colors blue, green, and brown. She also expressed a desire to redecorate her living room. I took all of that information and came up with this cute throw-pillow sham.

I incorporated a couple of her favorite colors and love of roosters, and thought that I would give her a starting point to re-do her living room if she'd like to use it for some inspiration.

The backside has a button on it to keep it closed. In hindsight, I probably should have made the button hole going the other direction, but it's not too big of a deal.

I still really like how it turned out. What do you think? If I were to make and sell these, what animal silhouette would you be interested in having?

Project Silas Sea Turtle Buddies

I'm so excited about my post today! Recently my friend Jamie invited me to participate in a wonderful project. A sweet 4-year-old boy named Silas has liver cancer and a close friend of that family is starting an online store to raise money for him. A lot of crafty and creative people are participating by making and donating things to sell in it, and giving all of the proceeds to the family.

I'm so stoked about participating in this! This sweet little boy loves sea turtles, so the theme for the store is just that. Please have a look at the Facebook page  and the online store..

Here's what I made to contribute.

Isn't he cute?!

I drew up the pattern myself.

And then went to town on the 100% cotton.

I even hand stitched the bottom on because using the machine just wouldn't work. Plus, it adds a nice, little, special detail and makes it that much more unique.

I'm not shy about using pins. Does this look a little creepy?

Cute little overhand stitches.

I'm really pleased with the outcome. I'm definitely going to make more of these, and perhaps other animals too. It was really fun.

Don't forget to check out and like the Facebook page and the online store! They can use all the support they can get.

If you'd like to participate and make something to contribute, please contact me for details at gourmet.by.janae@gmail.com and I'll pass your information along to the person in charge.