Yeah, yeah... I warned you it would be a while until I updated the blog again. I didn't think it would be 3.5 months in between posts, but life has been very "life-y."
So, where to start...
On the home-front, things are mostly well. CTM, the 6-year-old, has demonstrated some emotional and behavioral concerns since he started Kindergarten. So we consulted the school staff & his pediatrician and started a plan of action: behavior charts to keep track of day-to-day observations, consultations to check for underlying issues, and visits at the pediatrician to discuss treatment options. So far, the plan has worked beautifully!! He even achieved "Student of the Month" status for April. Hurray!!! IGM will be turning 3 next month. He is precocious and verbose and absolutely entertaining!!
On the career-front, things are busy. I have 3 private lesson flute students, one Musikgarten class, as well as my full-time middle school job. March is always busy in public schools since it the "Standardized Testing Month." And in the performing music class world, it is "Festival Month." Since those two "Months" seem to collide every year, it causes for a decent amount of stress and flexible scheduling. In addition to the normal amount of crazy at this time of year, I have the added bonus of being a Finalist for the County Teacher of the Year. This is a fantastic honor, which I am thrilled about and overwhelmed by at the same time. I'm putting all the details regarding that process in a separate blog.
This has not left a lot of time for cooking (for fun), baking (for fun), reading (for fun), or anything not related to keeping my household running on a daily basis. I'm still working on this whole "balance" between work-family-personal interests and obligations. Have any of you figured it out yet?
Sunday, April 8, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
What's in a Name?
I'm linking up with Create With Joy for Friendship Friday (yeah, I know I'm a little late...)
So the question this week is: What inspired your Blog name?
Over the past 6 years, I have found myself remarking that my house feels like a circus: 2 dogs, 2 boys, and all the crazy that entails. At one point I surmised that although I view myself as the Ringmaster of this crazy and completely in control of the show, I am more likely just a Clown included for the comedic factor.
So when I decided to start a blog back in August, it was only natural to go with my circus thoughts :)
How about your blog name?
So the question this week is: What inspired your Blog name?
Over the past 6 years, I have found myself remarking that my house feels like a circus: 2 dogs, 2 boys, and all the crazy that entails. At one point I surmised that although I view myself as the Ringmaster of this crazy and completely in control of the show, I am more likely just a Clown included for the comedic factor.
So when I decided to start a blog back in August, it was only natural to go with my circus thoughts :)
How about your blog name?
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Flexitarian Wannabe
Flexitarian = one who chooses to mainly follow a vegetarian diet, however still enjoys the occasional meat item.
I have discovered that I am a Flexitarian.
Flexitarians are often called "Vegetarian wannabe's," as if we don't have the self-discipline to not eat meat. That has nothing to with it. I just really enjoy a good burger or pork BBQ :)
I have family members and friends who have dabbled at being Vegetarian as well as being Vegan, but I never quite got into it. I mean, why substitute tofu and still call it "Egg Salad?" I love food and I will try anything you put in front of me, but call it what it is! I am disappointed when I am expecting the texture of one food item and instead get an entirely different texture!!
Don't get me wrong, I enjoy tofu and many other vegetarian meatless products. The difference is telling me I am eating "veggie crumbles" versus allowing me to believe (or telling me) that it is meat. My husband has recently informed me he is willing to try meatless items... of course, I don't always tell him what he is eating before the first bite :)
I am still struggling to cook vegetarian meals. Simply substituting meatless items into meals does not quite cut it. And I know there are millions of recipes our there that are meatless without being a "substitution." So I will keep searching and trying. I have a few cookbooks I've picked up and a few blogs I have started to follow to get some ideas.
I have discovered that on the days I do not eat meat products, my body feels better in general. I think the most I have gone is 5 days without any type of meat. WOW what a difference in my overall well-being!!
On a side topic, after reading many blog posts about a product called "Kombucha," I decided to try it. I did some research online to find out what it is. The info is intriguing, so I bought a bottle yesterday to try it out. Here's the timeline:
- Purchased the bottle at the grocery store. Opened it in the car on the way to the next store. Took 2 drinks... um, ew. I know this is supposed to be good for your body, but, seriously?!?
- Went to another store. Took 2 drinks on the way to the next store. Tastes slightly better. Maybe it has numbed my taste buds.
- Went to the third store. Took a few more drinks on the way home. Not too shabby. Either my taste buds have left my mouth, or Kombucha is an "acquired" taste.
- Finished half of the bottle and placed the rest in the fridge for the next day... there is only so much my taste buds can handle in one day :)
I intend to finish the bottle today. Perhaps I just selected the wrong flavor to start with. if any of you have a good suggestion for my next bottle, I would love to hear it!
UPDATE:
I finished the bottle of Kombucha and it was definitely better tasting once my taste buds had adjusted. I think I will buy a different flavor next weekend and keep the experiment going.
UPDATE:
I finished the bottle of Kombucha and it was definitely better tasting once my taste buds had adjusted. I think I will buy a different flavor next weekend and keep the experiment going.
Monday, January 2, 2012
The UnDiet
It is the time of year where almost everyone is posting resolutions, and just about every set of resolutions has something about losing weight or getting fit. Not mine. (Of course, I don't set "resolutions"... see my last post).
Yeah, I used to be part of that crowd: trying different diets, shelling out the cash for fitness programs, and just hoping to figure out the mystery of the "skinny people."
The summer after I graduated college, I bought a health book that actually seemed to work. I did not own a scale, however I could feel the difference. Looking back now, I realize it was not the book itself but what the book was guiding me to do: eat unlimited fruits & vegetables and eat certain types of foods at the correct time of day for that food. Also, I was pushing myself to run or jog almost every day that summer... that was not in the book, although exercise was mentioned.
Fast forward to the year before my first pregnancy. I vowed to get back in shape prior to getting pregnant. I met with a trainer and a nutritionist at the gym where I had a membership. I LOVED the trainer!! He really listened to my fitness goals & what I like to do at the gym and tailored a plan that I wanted to do. I still see him occasionally around town; I'm sure he doesn't remember my name but he always recognizes me and stops to chat. The nutritionist mostly listened to me and created a meal plan that was pretty good (I don't like rice, sheesh), however she did not include chocolate.
Now there are many things I have cut out of my life in the spirit of "good health," but some things are REQUIRED to stay. Chocolate. Coffee. Wine. Seriously.
I followed the meal plan anyway, although I did have 2 pieces of chocolate every afternoon :) Between the training and the meals, I reached my goals.
Then I got pregnant. Then I gained 60 pounds, including the baby. And when 2 weeks after the baby was born I still had 40 pounds to lose (you mean to tell me they aren't born at the weight of a 3-year-old?), I pulled out the good ol' meal plan. I tried it for a couple of weeks and decided that I do not like to be told what not to eat.
I remembered the fruits & veggies book, but couldn't find it on my shelves or remember what it was called. So I got an app for my phone (Old School: Palm Treo... yeah, baby!) and decided to just log my food, count the calories, do physical activity, and WANT it to work. Oh, and my work was doing a "Biggest Loser"-type contest so I joined in that fun bit of motivation. I won the contest and 14 months after the baby was born, I was back to being me.
Whenever I feel that I am physically not at my best, I go back to eating more fruits & veggies, and try to squeeze in more activities. The second pregnancy was better: I only gained 40 pounds total and lost them all in 7 months. No, my body is definitely not what it used to be (Is THAT my belly? MY boobs look like that?!?), but I am healthy and happy and definitely not food deprived.
I do not claim that what works for me will work for anyone else. I listen to my body and figure out what I need, and that usually works. Although your needs may be different, I bet if you listen you can figure it out.
Yeah, I used to be part of that crowd: trying different diets, shelling out the cash for fitness programs, and just hoping to figure out the mystery of the "skinny people."
There is no mystery.
The summer after I graduated college, I bought a health book that actually seemed to work. I did not own a scale, however I could feel the difference. Looking back now, I realize it was not the book itself but what the book was guiding me to do: eat unlimited fruits & vegetables and eat certain types of foods at the correct time of day for that food. Also, I was pushing myself to run or jog almost every day that summer... that was not in the book, although exercise was mentioned.
Fast forward to the year before my first pregnancy. I vowed to get back in shape prior to getting pregnant. I met with a trainer and a nutritionist at the gym where I had a membership. I LOVED the trainer!! He really listened to my fitness goals & what I like to do at the gym and tailored a plan that I wanted to do. I still see him occasionally around town; I'm sure he doesn't remember my name but he always recognizes me and stops to chat. The nutritionist mostly listened to me and created a meal plan that was pretty good (I don't like rice, sheesh), however she did not include chocolate.
Now there are many things I have cut out of my life in the spirit of "good health," but some things are REQUIRED to stay. Chocolate. Coffee. Wine. Seriously.
I followed the meal plan anyway, although I did have 2 pieces of chocolate every afternoon :) Between the training and the meals, I reached my goals.
Then I got pregnant. Then I gained 60 pounds, including the baby. And when 2 weeks after the baby was born I still had 40 pounds to lose (you mean to tell me they aren't born at the weight of a 3-year-old?), I pulled out the good ol' meal plan. I tried it for a couple of weeks and decided that I do not like to be told what not to eat.
I remembered the fruits & veggies book, but couldn't find it on my shelves or remember what it was called. So I got an app for my phone (Old School: Palm Treo... yeah, baby!) and decided to just log my food, count the calories, do physical activity, and WANT it to work. Oh, and my work was doing a "Biggest Loser"-type contest so I joined in that fun bit of motivation. I won the contest and 14 months after the baby was born, I was back to being me.
Whenever I feel that I am physically not at my best, I go back to eating more fruits & veggies, and try to squeeze in more activities. The second pregnancy was better: I only gained 40 pounds total and lost them all in 7 months. No, my body is definitely not what it used to be (Is THAT my belly? MY boobs look like that?!?), but I am healthy and happy and definitely not food deprived.
I do not claim that what works for me will work for anyone else. I listen to my body and figure out what I need, and that usually works. Although your needs may be different, I bet if you listen you can figure it out.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Look Ahead to 2012
Happy New Year!
Things that will be occurring in the Circus this year:
*CTM will be 6 years old in 5 more days!
*IGM will be 3 years old in May.
*I will complete my 10th year of teaching music in public schools in June.
*BWM and I will celebrate 9 years of marriage in July.
*I will continue to find more ways to "green" our life.
*I will continue to add more spirituality to my daily life.
*I will keep striving to remember "me" in my daily life, while taking care of my family and my career.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Gifts at the Circus
I have felt a week behind since Thanksgiving.
I'm not sure whether I slept through an entire week and missed it, or just zoned out and drifted through a week in a fog. Either way, all of my activities were behind schedule: selecting & purchasing gifts, getting & decorating the tree, baking treats, and wrapping gifts. Since I've been incorporating more "green" living in my life over the past 10 years, I planned some of my gifts to be consumable or to be made from re-purposed items.
The first task was baking treats. I love to bake, and the holidays give me an excuse to bake lots of treats and give them as giftsand not eat them all myself. So I spent one weekend doing a lot of baking.
Starting at "noon" on the plate the treats are: Hazelnut Thumbprints, Cinnamon Almond Brittle, Triple Chocolate Peppermint Brownies, Pecan Bars, Peppermint Drops, Stripes, and Sugarplums (in the center of the plate). The bread is Bananas Foster with a Rum Glaze. Delicious!! One of my treat gift recipients dove right in to the bag of treats and started with a brownie; he proceeded to make sounds that I am sure only his wife should hear!!!! Perhaps the brownies need a new title... If you would like any of the recipes, just leave me a comment and your email :)
Anyway, the next task was an item for the Book Club Gift Exchange. The guidelines: the gift cannot cost more that $5 and should contain something made by the giver. Since the Club is a Recipe Club (we cook/bake something inspired by the book to bring to the meeting and we share the recipe), I ruled out my treats. Instead, I remembered a crafty thing I really enjoyed a few years ago: Stained Glass.
I searched my arts & crafts bins to see if I still had any of my supplies. I was pretty shocked by how much I had stashed away:
I purchased glasses from the thrift store for a total of $1.88.
I decided to do a geometric design for the glasses, using straight lines for the 2 similar glasses and circles for the different glass. I painted the lines free-hand using the black leading paint.
After allowing time for the leading to dry, I began adding color in the shapes created by the intersecting leading lines. The paint is somewhat opaque and cloudy when wet but then dries to a much more "clear" finish.
I included 3 tea lights and my gift was complete!! Since we planned a "Dirty Santa" gift exchange, I had no idea who would receive my gift. The recipient seemed very pleased and I'm hoping her reaction was legitand not just a way to cover her plan to hide them on a closet shelf once she got home.
I was so pleased with these glasses that I painted empty jars (from salad dressing) for 2 friends. They were also pleased, and a bit amazed that I painted them. Seriously, it is incredibly easy!
Now to turn my sights to 2012. I have learned to expect the unexpected (especially in my house!!), so I look forward to whatever the future may hold.
I am not one to make resolutions just because of the date on the calendar. Every day is a good day for making a change, whether to better yourself, better your community, or better the world!
I'm not sure whether I slept through an entire week and missed it, or just zoned out and drifted through a week in a fog. Either way, all of my activities were behind schedule: selecting & purchasing gifts, getting & decorating the tree, baking treats, and wrapping gifts. Since I've been incorporating more "green" living in my life over the past 10 years, I planned some of my gifts to be consumable or to be made from re-purposed items.
The first task was baking treats. I love to bake, and the holidays give me an excuse to bake lots of treats and give them as gifts
 |
| These treats are yummy! From my oven to your tummy! |
Anyway, the next task was an item for the Book Club Gift Exchange. The guidelines: the gift cannot cost more that $5 and should contain something made by the giver. Since the Club is a Recipe Club (we cook/bake something inspired by the book to bring to the meeting and we share the recipe), I ruled out my treats. Instead, I remembered a crafty thing I really enjoyed a few years ago: Stained Glass.
I searched my arts & crafts bins to see if I still had any of my supplies. I was pretty shocked by how much I had stashed away:
I purchased glasses from the thrift store for a total of $1.88.
I decided to do a geometric design for the glasses, using straight lines for the 2 similar glasses and circles for the different glass. I painted the lines free-hand using the black leading paint.
After allowing time for the leading to dry, I began adding color in the shapes created by the intersecting leading lines. The paint is somewhat opaque and cloudy when wet but then dries to a much more "clear" finish.
I included 3 tea lights and my gift was complete!! Since we planned a "Dirty Santa" gift exchange, I had no idea who would receive my gift. The recipient seemed very pleased and I'm hoping her reaction was legit
I was so pleased with these glasses that I painted empty jars (from salad dressing) for 2 friends. They were also pleased, and a bit amazed that I painted them. Seriously, it is incredibly easy!
Now to turn my sights to 2012. I have learned to expect the unexpected (especially in my house!!), so I look forward to whatever the future may hold.
I am not one to make resolutions just because of the date on the calendar. Every day is a good day for making a change, whether to better yourself, better your community, or better the world!
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Pumpkins & Turkeys
Per usual, life has been a bit busy. It has been almost 2 months since I have posted! I fully intended to post about pumpkin carving and Halloween... then the calendar said it was November. So I decided to post about Thanksgiving instead... now the calendar says December. Seriously?!? Where is my "universal" remote that will allow me to pause time?
So this post will be a bit of a rewind into October and November.
PUMPKINS
I went through 4 pumpkins this year in efforts to get 2 jack-o-lanterns. No, I didn't mess them up.
The boys brought home the first jack-o-lantern from daycare on Columbus Day. Of course, that meant that within 2 weeks, the poor thing was rotting and decaying. Bye-bye, Jack #1.
In the meantime, I had purchased another pumpkin to carve and keep Jack #1 company. My oldest, CT, wanted to be completely in charge of Jack #2... this meant it took a week for him to finish carving the darn thing. Of course, Jack #2 became rotted and decaying. Bye-bye Jack #2.
So my youngest, IG, and I purchased to more pumpkins the week before Halloween. I waited until the weekend to carve them and knocked out some quick knife-work in 10 minutes. I think Jack #3 and Jack #4 turned out very nice :)
TURKEYS
This year was my turn to host Thanksgiving. My mother and alternate: one of us hosts Thanksgiving while the other hosts Christmas. It's not that huge of a deal: it's just the 4 of my immediate family plus my mother. The most difficult part is not making TOO MUCH food!
This was my menu:
I love to cook, and getting the opportunity to experiment with willingvictims taste-testers is great.
The biscuits are missing from the picture? What? I didn't notice... okay, maybe I did. I over-baked the biscuits and they came out alittle lot dry. So they were shunned from the photo. Every great chef makes mistakes. Right? Right??
So I hope to remember to photograph my next few projects. I am going to be crafty this month for my book club and for my friends. I am also going to be baking cookies and items to give as gifts. I seem to remember after I make something that I wanted to take pictures for my blog. Such as the delicious batch of applesauce I made 2 weeks ago. I love having an apple orchard 1/2 mile from my house! I want to make more applesauce to freeze so maybe I will remember to grab the camera then. We'll see.
So this post will be a bit of a rewind into October and November.
PUMPKINS
I went through 4 pumpkins this year in efforts to get 2 jack-o-lanterns. No, I didn't mess them up.
The boys brought home the first jack-o-lantern from daycare on Columbus Day. Of course, that meant that within 2 weeks, the poor thing was rotting and decaying. Bye-bye, Jack #1.
In the meantime, I had purchased another pumpkin to carve and keep Jack #1 company. My oldest, CT, wanted to be completely in charge of Jack #2... this meant it took a week for him to finish carving the darn thing. Of course, Jack #2 became rotted and decaying. Bye-bye Jack #2.
So my youngest, IG, and I purchased to more pumpkins the week before Halloween. I waited until the weekend to carve them and knocked out some quick knife-work in 10 minutes. I think Jack #3 and Jack #4 turned out very nice :)
TURKEYS
This year was my turn to host Thanksgiving. My mother and alternate: one of us hosts Thanksgiving while the other hosts Christmas. It's not that huge of a deal: it's just the 4 of my immediate family plus my mother. The most difficult part is not making TOO MUCH food!
This was my menu:
Brown Butter & Sage mashed potatoes
Herb Biscuits
Cider-Glazed Turkey
Sausage & Apple Stuffing
Cranberry Pineapple Sauce
Broccoli
Caramelized Butternut Squash
I love to cook, and getting the opportunity to experiment with willing
The biscuits are missing from the picture? What? I didn't notice... okay, maybe I did. I over-baked the biscuits and they came out a
So I hope to remember to photograph my next few projects. I am going to be crafty this month for my book club and for my friends. I am also going to be baking cookies and items to give as gifts. I seem to remember after I make something that I wanted to take pictures for my blog. Such as the delicious batch of applesauce I made 2 weeks ago. I love having an apple orchard 1/2 mile from my house! I want to make more applesauce to freeze so maybe I will remember to grab the camera then. We'll see.
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