How to ward off the winter blues...

I've recently noticed that my love for warm weather is a stronger desire than I realized. For the past two weeks, I don't think a day has gone by without me uttering 1 or more of the following words: Beach, sand, palm trees, shorts, bathing suit, summertime, warm weather, water sports, sunshine...and the list goes on. I am trying to be thankful for this season, as we have had 2 wonderful snows that we fully enjoyed, but I'm finding it difficult when the temperature does not get above the 30's during the day with a windchill of 15. Definitely not bathing suit weather!!

Here's a remedy I came up with last week when I had a no-napper on my hands. Its amazing what a little swim at 3 in the afternoon can do to lift your spirits.

Mama and Kayna trying to stay warm to enjoy the first snow!

Loaded

As i'm preparing my lunch today (leftover potatoes and red lentil curry soup), I am reminded of 3rd grade and my favorite weekly cafeteria lunch experience. I went to a small private school in Florida and Friday's were designated as 'Loaded Baked Potato Day'. I LOVED purchasing my lunch on Friday's, a special treat in my eyes as I mainly brought my lunch to school everyday. I would behold the largest baked potato i'd ever seen, slice it open and slather on butter, sour cream, cheese and...the best part...bacon! I enjoyed every minute of lunch break on those days. I can taste the loaded potato now! Today though, i'll settle for a small amount of butter and some salt and pepper....seeing as I no longer have the metabolism of a 7 year old.

Just for good measure, here's a picture of what I looked like during this time period. Mullet and all.

Gasses

So, I had my 7 year old niece over today for a play date with Kayna. I pulled out all the tricks to be a 'cool aunt'. We made cookies, smoothies, a fort, and I even let her try on my old cheerleading uniform. Oh yeah! - Major points there.

Towards the end of our time together she asked why I had a few banana peels stacked on top of a bucket in the kitchen. Before I could even answer her question she said, "do you have a compost?" I told her that I did but that i'm not very diligent at taking the bucket out to the corner of the yard where the actual compost 'house' is. Especially in the snow/ice/rain/and the backed up water from the beaver dam (scroll to older posts for pictures!). Anyways, I was very impressed that she knew about composting - most importantly ;) how the worms eat, digest and poop out good earth. Kayna then asked if there were worms in my bucket that I leave under the sink. A perfectly good question, now thinking back on the fact that she's 2.5 and simply observing our conversation.

All this to say, if you currently do not have a compost, I would highly suggest starting one. Its very simple and a MAJOR benefit is that we're separating natural waste from man-made waste so not as many bad gasses get released into the atmosphere.

Here are some things that you can start composting (from epa.gov):

GOOD

Animal manure
Cardboard rolls
Clean paper
Coffee grounds and filters
Cotton rags
Dryer and vacuum cleaner lint
Eggshells
Fireplace ashes
Fruits and vegetables
Grass clippings
Hair and fur
Hay and straw
Houseplants
Leaves
Nut shells
Sawdust
Shredded newspaper
Tea bags
Wood chips
Wool rags
Yard trimmings

Leave Out/Reason Why

BAD

Black walnut tree leaves or twigs - Releases substances that might be harmful to plants
Coal or charcoal ash - Might contain substances harmful to plants
Dairy products (e.g., butter, egg yolks, milk, sour cream, yogurt) - Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
Diseased or insect-ridden plants - Diseases or insects might survive and be transferred back to other plants
Fats, grease, lard, or oils - Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
Meat or fish bones and scraps -Create odor problems and attract pests such as rodents and flies
Pet wastes (e.g., dog or cat feces, soiled cat litter) - Might contain parasites, bacteria, germs, pathogens, and viruses harmful to humans
Yard trimmings treated with chemical pesticides - Might kill beneficial composting organisms

Happy composting!

Baby Steps: Light Green

I just received an email (fwd) from my dad talking about being more mindful of what we purchase in relation to where things are made. The email outlined several common items that we purchase: GE light bulbs, Crest toothpaste, Bounce dryer sheets and Hershey's chocolate. This person just happened to read the labels on these items and saw that they were each made in Mexico, with the exception of the dryer sheets, which were made in Canada. The shopper decided to purchase the less-costly off-brand items that were comparable and those were actually made in the USA. I realize that sometimes there is just no comparison (IE: Hershey's vs. store brand) but for those items that we really don't realize the difference (IE: fragrance free dryer sheets, crushed tomatoes, light bulbs) I'd say its worth putting aside brand-power and picking up the items made here, in the USA. Why not? They're generally less expensive anyways.
Also, another forward came from my sister about getting $100 worth of groceries for $0.25. Here's the link with a clip from the Today Show if you're interested in finding out how:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/34724242#34724242

If you're wondering how the subject ties in, I guess its because I feel like these are very small steps to becoming more conscientious of how we live and effect the world around us. Some people call such a movement "going green". I do not consider myself 'green' but I do care about the resources God gave us and I'm learning to be a better steward....hence, baby steps, and light green.

Happy New Year!

Well, I haven't been great about updating this blog but I'm resolving to not feel guilty. Speaking of resolving...here are a few things I've been thinking about applying to 2010 (in case you were wondering :) ).

1 - To be intentional about family-fun-time/devotionals.
-While we were away on our small group retreat, we left Kayna with a wonderful family (the family who's 3 boys I watch every Monday). Upon returning, Roz (the mom) informed me that Kayna LOVED 'family time'. This is a time where the Brown's gather their kids, sing praise songs (with each child playing an instrument), read a bible story, then each person prays for something/someone. Thursday is usually 'family night' at the Brown's but Kayna had a special request to do it again on Saturday night...so they did. This was an inspiration to me so we implemented our first Houston 'family night' on Wednesday night. Kayna's special request was that both mama and daddy played their guitars! Its been a while, and now that I have tender fingers from strumming 'Hosanna' all night, this blog is truly a sacrifice as I type in pain.

2 - To waste less (mostly food).
- I recently heard a sermon that pointed out several things that the Bible mentions as it points in the direction of the end times. One of the facts (and I'm bound to butcher the exact scripture/reference) states that we will give in to waste and plenty and be frivolous with what we're given. The pastor referenced America's restaurants and their portion sizes and how much good food is wasted and thrown out due to over-indulgence and frivolousness. I was convicted for the lack of accountability I have in my own home and the items I buy, make and throw away the excess. This year, I will resolve to waste less food and be wiser in what I buy and make. Also, I resolve to turn the lights off when they're not needed, and use less water when brushing my teeth or washing the dishes (not compromising the clean factor, of course! :) ).

These are the 2 resolutions I thought I could stick to in 2010. I hope this year is filled with joy, peace and giving hearts as we bring focus back to what's important: Jesus, family and relationships.

What are your resolutions for 2010?

Seasons come, seasons go

We have officially entered a new season! Kayna started preschool last week and LOVES it!! She especially likes picking out her clothes (even down to which underwear she's going to wear!). We've also had the privilege of keeping 3 boys ages 4 and under on the off days of preschool. This has been such a joy and Kayna has already begun to blossom as she's been able to socialize with other children 5 days a week...not even including the church nursery on Sundays. Its so fun to see her vocabulary grow each day. She's just about to get into the phase where she'll be saying those hilarious truths you always hear about children saying. Here are a few pictures from her first few days at preschool.
Enjoy!

First day of school breakfast! Whole wheat bagel and eggs. Hopefully it held her over until lunch time!

Second day of school. Just woke up and having some snuggle time with daddy in her new Elmo pajamas.
2nd day of school. She posed like this on her her own after insisting on wearing her "ba-pack!"

I don't know how to rotate pictures on here but I couldn't resist adding this one. She's obviously SO EXCITED to go to school.

Freezer Woes

I'm sorry to those of you who have wasted precious moments checking this blog...I hope to become a better blogger and share more interesting moments with you from the Houston household. This summer has been filled with travels so far. Kayna and I (Jenn) drove 9 hours alone to Ocracoke, Isl. in June to spend the week with Chris's side of the family, then 6 days later we journeyed to Seattle with my brother. For those of you who do not know, my family has relocated to Seattle, Wa. What an amazing place! It was such a privileged to be able to travel out there for 2 weeks to see where they will be living. They have a house on Pine Lake and it feels entirely like a vacation home.
The purpose of this entry is to let you know about an unfortunate happening last week. Chris was on a business trip for several days and every moment for Kayna and myself was filled with various activities including cleaning out my parents' refrigerators and freezers, in preparation for the move. Of course, part of the payment for helping was taking anything I wanted so, I certainly relieved them of the burden by taking home approx. 40 pounds of frozen meat. As I previously mentioned, Chris was away on business and this particular night was the only night that I intentionally had nothing planned. My desire for the evening was to enjoy relaxing in the bath with my latest issue of instyle magazine followed by a home-pedicure.
When I arrived home this particular evening I let Kayna out of the car and proceeded to unload the car of our days' junk. From inside the house I began to hear little feet splashing in puddles. We had not received rain in quite some time so my mind began racing to figure out what Kayna was splashing in...inside the garage. Of course, my first thoughts were the worst: antifreeze that leaked from the car, the recycling bin leaking some unthinkable goo, or gas from the lawn mower's gas can...?
As I quickly assessed the situation I realized that my daughter was splashing in the drainage from the defrosted deep-freezer that had inadvertently been left ajar for 24+ hours!! All that meat!!! 40 pounds!!! Defrosted!!! I had two options. 1-throw it all away and never tell anyone (besides, Chris never even knew I brought it all home and mom and dad didn't need to know what happened to it after it left their house). Or 2-cook it all immediately and freeze the cooked meat. Since I lean towards the mentality of 'waste not want not' I decided to sacrifice the 1 relaxing evening I had all to myself and bite the bullet and cook the 40 pounds of meat. After 5+ hours of crock-potting, roasting, par-boiling, grilling and cooling I had successfully cooked the following: 2 whole chickens, 3 venison roasts, 2 venison loins, 10 venison fillets, 6 venison fillet chops, 2 pork tenderloins and 2 pounds of ground venison. Regretfully, the salmon fillets, a small portion of ground lamb and an entire chicken didn't make the cut and they were thrown away. But, overall, I'd say the night/wee hours of the morning was a success and all the cooked items (including the resulting 12 cups of chicken stock) were sealed, stored, and silently awaiting their rightful time of culinary enjoyment.
SO, if you ever need a last-minute meal, don't hesitate to call, as our freezer is now securely closed with 30ish pounds of meat inside, fully cooked and ready to eat. Although, I may be slow to answer the phone due to my much deserved bath and indulgent read of instyle magazine.