I’ve been excited to read this book as I’ve felt for a couple of years this “something” inside of me that God has placed there that is a desire to create, to “do art,” for lack of a better phrase. I’ve dabbled in lots of different things trying to find exactly what that specific “something” is: sewing, music, visual art, writing. And I think it’s somewhat of a combination of those things. But I don’t want to just make something that’s cheesy looking or sounding like so much of Christian art and music; i want it to be truly good. And this is where I think I’ve gotten sidetracked because I want it to be good right away and not fail. But I guess everyone’s gotta start somewhere. I mean, even Jesus had to learn the trade of carpentry from His father, and I’m sure He probably couldn’t build houses at His first get-go.

Anyway, I read the reviews of this book, which made it sound awesome and inspiring to get out your pen, instrument, paints, pencils, whatever and start creating for the glory of God. Larry Norman (from waaaay back in Christian music) once sang, “Why should the devil have all the good music?” Why should the kingdom of darkness have all the good art?

Well, as soon as I read the book, I’ll post my thoughts on it. I’m waiting on another Amazon book I purchased at the same time on a similar subject, but more “hands on” oriented. We’ll see what it’s like when it gets here. I had a couple of small gift certificates for Amazon, so of course I buy books.

These keep for a long time in the fridge, but I don't think they'll last that long.

12 cukes
2 onions, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced into strips
2 c. sugar
1 tsp. turmeric
3 c. vinegar
1 tsp. mustard seed
2 tbsp. salt
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. salt
Put 2 tablespoons of salt over sliced pickles. Let stand 1 hour, drain. Combine vinegar, sugar, celery seed, mustard seed, salt and turmeric. Bring to boil. Cool and pour over cucumbers, onions, and peppers that have been layered in jars. Refrigerate. Let stand 1 week before serving.

Oh my, these are superb, especially if you like a little kick in your pickles. Next time I might add just a little more sugar, but I don’t know. I don’t really like sweet pickles, but these could you just a little more…maybe. Oh, but they’re awesome! However, Naomi says they’re too sweet for her; she likes dill pickles instead. So, maybe they don’t need more sugar. And maybe I need to make bunch of dill pickles. How I wish I had lots of jars so my fridge isn’t overloaded.

Here’s a shot of me wearing it. I did leave out a couple of things that the pattern called for. One was the tie strings that you tie in back of the shirt. Those things annoy me when I’m sitting down, because I just feel the knot from the bow in the middle of my back. Secondly, they remind me too much of maternity clothes, which I love to wear when pregnant, but not when I’m not. The other thing I left out was the interfacing in the yoke. Just laziness, I guess. And I didn’t have any interfacing on hand, and wanted to just finish the shirt.

So here she is:

I’d like to try this pattern in a drapier fabric next time. While it’s very comfortable, I’m not so crazy about how it sits on me, but, you know, it’s my first try at clothing for myself.

I haven’t been updating recently due to a hectic schedule. Last weekend was camping at Governor Dodge State Park with my husband’s family (3 siblings, his dad and stepmom, and a nephew) and our 3 girls. Fun in the hot sun! Except Naomi keeps talking about the one beach there that had poop all over it. She didn’t like it. I wonder why. Just FYI, it was massive goose poop.

This afternoon we’re leaving on our road trip to Garden City Beach! Hooray! I’m in need of a vacation.  I love being a SAHM; however, an occasional break in routine is so refreshing. It’s a LONG drive down, so we’ve loaded up on road trip food: candy, popcorn, pretzels, carrots, and PBJ!! Plus audiobooks from the library for everyone.

I have some awesome sewing/repurposing projects in mind, so I’ll update when we return.

I think all this nursing and queasiness has been tiring me out lately, so I finally decided to order these vitamins I’ve been eyeing for a long time, called Supermom vitamins. They are chocked full of all those great vitamins that give you energy, like B complex vitamins, and they’ve got some spirulina and other yummy algea

Mmm...spirulina

creatures packed in there. Mmm (see image to the right). Supposedly spirulina is loaded with antioxidants and B vitamins and other great things that help your body get more energy from the food you eat. A three month supply was only $43 with shipping, so I went for it. I’ll update you on how they work out.

Meanwhile, this little, tired mama needs her sleep.

OK, anyway…on to the muffins. I made these amazing muffins last night for breakfast, since we were low on milk for cereal and didn’t want to go buy any. They are raspberry muffins on the website, but I used a frozen mixed berry blend. I don’t have any pictures for these babies, because they got scarfed way too fast.

Here’s the link to the recipe. Below are the alterations I made:

I used half whole wheat and half white flour in place of all white flour.
I used applesauce in place of oil.
I used reconstituted nonfat dry milk in place of skim milk.

The first time I made these, I added white chocolate chips to the mix. And I think I used rolled oats in place of chopped pecans for the topping.

These are fast, quick, and easy. They’re relatively healthy if you want to use whole wheat flour and applesauce, too.