We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." ~ Jawaharlal Nehru

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Baking Bread with Roland

Oh, just in case anyone was wondering . . . I did end up baking some super delicous homemade bread on Wednesday! Roland was helping me get it done in time for us to go to our Lamaze class this week . . . so he was the one who split the dough into two loaves and put them into the pans. Well, all I am going to say is that I am glad that it doesn't matter how "pretty" the loaf of bread is, it still tastes super yummy! haha Instead of shaping the dough to have a smooth top, he just punched it down, so they came out kind of lumpy topped! Even if the bread didn't come out as pretty as it would have if I had taken the time to do it myself, I am grateful for the help! Roland is getting to be a very good assistant in the kitchen (usually being the assistant is my job, because he is the better cook of the two of us)!☺

One Month and Counting

Baby update . . . earlier this week I made a paper chain count down until our little girl’s due date! I can’t believe that it is actually less than thirty days! It is getting so close . . . I am already at 36 weeks!
Earlier this week I posted on facebook about how proud of myself I was when I realized I could still put on my socks by myself! Roland laughed at me while I was attempting it . . . and I have to admit, it had to have been a pretty funny sight to see! Can you just imagine what it looked like? I would first pull one leg up, while trying to push my belly out of the way, so I could reach my toes. Then after some inventive stretching and wiggling I would somehow pull the sock on! I think it took me a little longer just because I was so busy laughing at myself as I was trying not to fall over! ☺ Roland has been such a sweetheart and helping me put my socks on for the last little while, so it made me smile to find out I could still do it myself!
I miss my feet! I know it sounds a little funny . . . but the other day I looked down and all I could see was my belly and my first thought was, “where did my feet go?” haha I guess that is one of the reasons why I have gotten into the habit of wearing slip on shoes all the time!
I know that someday I will be able to see my feet again . . . in about a month, give or take a couple weeks! Until then, I am going to enjoy laughing at myself, because if you can’t laugh at yourself, you’re missing out on some of the best jokes! ☺I think that while being pregnant, one of the best things I have learned is to not take everything so seriously and be willing to laugh at myself! I think that Roland and I have laughed more in the last eight months than we probably have in our entire lives! Laughing until you cry has new meaning to me! This reminds me a of really cool quote that my sister-in-law, Nicole, shared with me . . . “The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.” -Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

More Than Words

I don’t remember exactly when it was, but I know it was after we had gotten married. At the end of a particularly bad day, I was waiting for Roland to come home from work. I don’t remember what I was upset about, and I don’t think Roland even knew that I was upset (I do remember that I wasn’t upset at him, I think it was just one of those “life is hard today” days). Anyways, Roland came home, and told me that he had just heard a great song on the radio that he wanted to listen to again with me. He pulled up the song, took me in his arms, and started dancing with me around our teeny tiny little apartment, while we listened to the song! He softly sang along while dancing with me! I don’t remember anything else about that day, except thinking how lucky I was to be married to such a great guy! He might not be every girl’s vision of her prince charming, but I wouldn’t take anyone else to live my happily ever after with . . . he is my Prince Charming, weird quirks and all!

I found a version of the song that he played for me and I thought that you might enjoy hearing it! Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Another Month of Baking!

So, apparently it is my destiny to write only once a month . . . hopefully, this doesn’t become a habit! I promise, I really am trying to do better! It is the thought that counts, right? ☺ In my defense, the last couple weeks have been super busy with the holidays . . . lame excuse, but it is pretty much the best one I have, so take it or leave it!

I will give you the quick update on my cooking adventures! Last time I talked about possibly making no bake cookies and/or spritz cookies for my sweetheart. Well, in the past month I have done both (I think that I made spritz cookies about three times . . . they are super yummy!) and I have made some puppy chow! I love this time of year when all sorts of yummy treats are being made all the time!

For Christmas, my mom and I made some Pull-Apart Garlic Bread and Christmas Rolls . . . both turned out wonderfully! Christmas Rolls is a sweetbread with cinnamon yummy-ness and other delicious ingredients and it has been a tradition in my husband’s family ever since my mother-in-law was a little girl . . . and it was a HUGE hit at our family’s Christmas get together! I have been told that I NEED to bring it again next year or I might just get kick out of the family! ☺

The week after Christmas I used up some of that delicious Christmas ham by making some simple crock pot ham hock and beans soup (okay, so it was just normal ham not ham hock that I used, but it still tasted uber yummy!) and I baked a loaf of homemade bread to go along with it! I FINALLY figured out how to bake a loaf of bread and to have it still have soft crust (like the kind you get from the store) even days later! I happen to be super proud of myself for figuring this out . . . I am thinking of baking another loaf again this week just to see if I really did figure it out or if I just got lucky this time!

My last baking fun adventures have been with normal chocolate chip cookies and some more homemade pizza! It is amazing how much better just simple things like cookies and pizza tastes when you make them from scratch rather than from a store bought package!  I did run into some trouble when making my cookies though this time . . . I didn’t have enough butter (oops!) so I ended up having to substitute some oil and add a little more flour in to have them turn out right! Oh well, the cookies still tasted yummy!

Well, I haven’t decided what I am going to bake tomorrow . . . possible I will try to recreate my soft crust bread again! I will let you know how it goes! Until next time! ☺