Music for a Rainy Spring Day

I am on lunch break at work right now. It's pouring rain, and although it's warm outside (16 degrees), I don't feel like going anywhere. I'm cozy in my little office, listening to some rainy day music.

Craig Cardiff -->

                                                                       Photo by Kathy Roussel
I love when you serendipidously find an artist. I stumbled upon Craig Cardiff by happy accident over a year ago now. His folk-style lyrics and lulling guitar make me long to be cuddled in a warm pub somewhere, listening to him play, as the rain falls outside.  I really can't pick a favourite song by him; they're all too good.

Kate Rusby -->

She brings out my Irish/Scottish roots when listening to her lilting music. Again, I found her by happy accident. I usually listen to her while I'm baking. It's perfect for all weather but especially for a rainy day.

 JJ Heller -->

I know that JJ Heller has been gaining in popularity now, especially since "Your Hands" was featured on So You Think You Can Dance. But, I have to say, I love finding artists on my own, before they hit it big, and are played on the radio. I first found JJ Heller on YouTube back in September 2009. I feel like I want to be her when I grow up :) I love her music-- the powerful, meaningful lyrics, and her folk-y sound. And more importantly I love the reason for her music. It's Christian music that stirs your soul and makes you want to give your life to Him. I follow her blog, and love her decorating style, and craftiness. You can follow her too -- I've linked her blog "Lovely Little Things" in my Inspiration sidebar.

Anyway, those are my rainy day music suggestions. Enjoy!

Cozy and Crazy Weekend in the Kitchen

Well, this weekend we had a big spring snow-storm, which was wonderful. It allowed us to have Friday night to ourselves (we cancelled Youth Group which normally takes 4 hours of our evening). It also caused an event at work to be postponed, so I was able to have a Saturday to myself too. So, I spent a large majority of my day on Saturday, and some of Sunday in the kitchen.

I really do love baking. I'm not great at it yet, but I do enjoy it.  Mitch always makes fun of me because I get COVERED in flour and even though I wear an apron, I still manage to get various baking ingredients all over my clothes. But that's half the fun of baking.

I have mentioned before that I have been reading Nourishing Traditions, and so I used their principles, to make my own recipe for a Spelt Pie Crust which I made an apple pie with some big MacIntosh apples that we got at the Farmers' Market, and then I also did a Spelt crust peach pie with a woven top. It looked pretty good, even if I do say so myself.

I also made some buckwheat/spelt pancakes which were delicious and so light. I soaked the flour in buttermilk for a full 12 hours (like it told me to do in the book) and I really think that made all the difference. After eating some of them (with unpasteurized honey, and some fresh local maple syrup) I didn't get that heavy, bloated feeling that normally happens after eating the pancakes that I used to make from a gluten-free pancake mix.

Then I tried my hand at making some buttermilk biscuits. Now, I have been making my mom's tea biscuits for Mitch for a while now, and he LOVES them, so this was a big test... would he like buttermilk, spelt biscuits? He was as surprised as I was to say that he did.

With that same dough, I made  honey-cinnamon buns, and raspberry jam rolls.  They were SO good.

And last but not least I made the basic muffins from Nourishing Traditions, but I added, blueberries to one batch, and I added a chunk of apple and some cinnamon to another.

So, to say the least, I kind of went baking crazy this weekend. But I loved the way that the house warmed up, and got all cozy feeling. And it smelled AMAZING!

Buy the book for the recipes. They are so yummy. I think I'll go have some supper and a piece of that apple pie. Mmmm.

Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover - Nourishing Traditions

A lady from church recommended that I read this book. I asked if I could borrow hers, but she said it was so good that if she let me borrow hers she'd never get it back. Looking at the cover of the book, I really doubted it would be that good. Well, I'm barely 50 pages in and it has completely changed the way that I look at food.

Mitch and I have been trying to do what we call, the "Kings Landing Diet", for the past few years where basically we try to each as much homemade food as possible... not only for the health benefits but for the financial savings.  But we'd still eat junk food, and treat our selves every now and then. 

Reading Nourishing Traditions, has rejuvinated this "Kings Landing Diet" and taken it to a whole other level. It's full of easily understood, reasons as to why it's important to eat this way. It explains why packaged and processed foods or so bad for you in a way that I really take to... it's full of stats, and scientific studies, and is written by doctors. It's a very credible book and I want to share it with everyone! I completely understand just why my friend from church wouldn't lend me hers.

I'm really excited to try out some of the 755 recipes that are included in the book. Check out my "What's Cooking Section" over the next few days to see what scrumptious things I decide to make. I have been looking at a variety of blogs focused on and inspired from this incredible book, and it's great to know that being "weird" is ok and that there's more than just a few of us out there that see the benefits of old-fashioned cooking.

This book proves that we really shouldn't judge a book by its cover!

Tick Tick Tick...

Well, Mitch and I have been married over two and half years now, and I can feel the proverbial "biological clock" ticking away. Although I've WANTED to have a baby for a while now, I feel like I'm finally READY to be one now. 

Over the last couple of years that we have been married, we've watched our brothers start families with their wives, and felt "left out" in  a way. But due to our financial situation, my lack of stable job, and our crappy apartment in a sketchy neighbourhood we knew that we couldn't bring a child into our lives when we could barely take care of ourselves.

Then, one day, we had an older couple stay at our newly built house, (in a very safe neighbourhood), and we were discussing becoming parents. The gentleman told us, "Guys, there is never a perfect time to have a baby; there's always going to be bills to pay, and unexpected uprising in your lives, careers, etc. If you wait for that perfect time you'll never have children. Just choose a time where you hope everything will be settled, and stick to it no matter what." Well, I thought he was crazy at the time, but I realized that there didn't seem to be a teaching job available for me (lots of partial contracts but nothing stable, forever), and so Mitch and I decided that we'd start trying in Fall 2011. Obviously, that time is fast approaching, and I couldn't be more thrilled!

It's strange to think that I actually want to give up my free time, a tidy spotless house, some independence, and at least a year of my career, for this little thing that doesn't even exist yet. But I honestly can't wait to willing give up those things for a baby to love with everything in me.

Mitch is ready too. He turned 28 on St. Patrick's Day, and I asked him, "When you were a little kid, thinking about what you'd have and where you'd be in life at the age of 28, is there anything missing?" And of course he said that the only thing different than what he thought of, is that he's not a dad yet.  Oh, and don't let him know I said this, but he gets all teary-eyed whenever he sees a dad with his babies on TV.

One of our good friends in pregnant right now, and hearing about the morning sickness, the itchy skin, the mood swings, etc. just makes me more excited to go through the ups and downs along the way to mommyhood. 

I truly believe that God has put me on this wonderful planet to become a mom; to love, to teach, to discipline, and to guide my children to live as empowered, confident people. I can't wait to start this journey! 6 months and counting!

Photo Credit Goes to Melanie Keenan Photography. Check out this incredibly talented and inspiring mom at her blog at  www.melaniekeenanphotography.com