Commitment to Loveliness

The first preparing-to-move edition!

1. Finish gathering photos for my family heritage decorating project and organize and pack said photos.
2. Pack up the library.
3. Start packing up extraneous kitchen items.
4. Take my sister out for a lovely birthday lunch!
5. Take better care of my face. It's so dry and I look so tired.

Quick Update

We've been in the midst of some pretty exhausting sleep issues with the baby over the past week, and I've just been two worn out to blog! Usually I'm online during nap time or after he's in bed, but lately I've been sleeping when the baby sleeps!

It's also time to start packing for our move (still set as far as we know for March 16). I'll probably be scarce over the next few weeks, but rest assured, that I haven't abandoned this blog!

Maybe by then spring will have arrived! A girl can dream...

Lenten Meals

Elizabeth asked about Lenten meals. I'm afraid I don't have many creative ideas so far, but maybe as we go along. I've been keeping things simple because I don't see much sacrifice in replacing one extravagance with another. For example, we won't be having any kind of "fancy" fish dinner or going to a Friday night fish fry. I don't believe in replacing meat with a meat "substitute" (though I do during other times of the year, since we don't eat red meat) that tastes the same. Where's the penitential spirit in practices like that?

We're abstaining from meat on Wednesdays this year in addition to Fridays, though we're eating less meat in general (and trying to be less indulgent overall) during the entire season.

• On Ash Wednesday our one meal was a broccoli and cheese strata.
• Last Friday we had broccoli and carrot pizza with whole wheat dough.
• Tomorrow it's homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese.
• Friday we're eating at my parents' so I'm not sure. My mother is a vegetarian so I know this will be a more creative meal!
• Saturday we're having butternut squash soup.

Other staples include tuna casserole, spaghetti or maybe "mock" lasagna. I wanted to try stuffed peppers as well. We like "breakfast for supper" type meals so scrambled eggs with toast and pancakes and fruit will probably also be on the menu during Lent.

More than our main meals, my real struggle during Lent is with sweets. I really crave something a little sweet after meals and this is very hard for me. I'm trying to strictly limit those treats, but I haven't succeeded in eliminating them altogether. So far what we've done is limit our indulgences to one recipe a week. Last week I'd made cupcakes so we ate them without restriction (except for Wednesday), but when they were gone that was it. We went to a birthday party Sunday and came home with a few pieces of cake. Again, feel free to enjoy, but once they were gone, that was it. It's not perfect, but since I love to bake this is something of a sacrifice!

Gingerbread Muffins

Chrissy asked and here is the link to the Gingerbread Muffin recipe I served on Monday. I found it on someone's blog; it may have been Mrs. Wilt, but I can't remember! Whoever you are, thank you! They are wonderful! It's defintiely a "keeper."

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/104480

As for the wheat bread recipe, it's one I modified while in 4-H as a kid. I complied a cookbook of "heritage" recipes from members of my family. This one comes from a family friend, and was originally a white bread recipe. I had to pry it out of her then, and I still guard it with my life, however, and don't want to post it here. Sorry for the tease! I promise, though, it's absolutely wonderful. (Humble, aren't I?)

One out of two isn't bad!

The Hostess with the Mostest

On Monday, I hosted a few friends from my former workplace for muffins and coffee. It's February vacation for them, and I thought it would be nice to get together and chat. What I thought would be a relatively short visit turned into nearly three hours! We had a lot of fun catching up and "dishing" about what's new with who at school!

I kept the menu very simple since two of guests have dietary restrictions. We had gingerbread muffins and fresh, homemade whole wheat bread (my State Fair, blue ribbon recipe) with butter and coffee.

The dessert plates and cake stand were a wedding gift from one of the other librarians in the district. I think this is the first time I've used them! I have slightly less formal (and breakable) dessert plates and cake stand that are more "everyday," but I'm going to make an effort to bring these out more often!

Commitment to Loveliness, February 18

I did pretty well last week, but I need to do better in a few areas!

• Keep up that water drinking! I think this may get a bit easier since Lent is upon us and we've cut out diet soda.




• Lie down/nap when Baby takes his afternoon nap. (I was almost asleep today when the phone rang, so now I'm blogging. After today, though, REST!)




• Walk at least 4 days this week since the temperature will be near 40.




• Type up my menu plan/shopping lists.




• Fix my hair everyday instead of just tying it back. Ponytails count as a style, pulling it straight back with a loose, elastic-is-almost-shot rubberband does NOT!




• I know this is six, but now that it's Lent and the parish is offering an extra daily Mass at noon, GO!

Valentine's Day Dinner

We finally had our Valentine's Day dinner tonight. Here's the whole menu:

I had managed to make the dessert (heart shaped brownies with peanut butter chips) on Wednesday, but we ate most of them between now and then! Yesterday my mom gave me a heart shaped silicone mold, so this afternoon I decided to make another Valentine's treat and dinner (which DH was originally going to cook as a treat for me). I made a white cake "dyed" pink with food coloring with chocolate frosting and red sprinkles. We also had baked salmon (pink of course!) with rice, broccoli, and V8 juice (at last minute inspiration as it's red!). It was delish, but DH owes me a dinner! Not really, he's been keeping up with the shoveling and that's a mammoth chore!

On another note, we could possibly close on the house ONE MONTH from today! March 16 was our originally estimated closing date. Yikes!

The appraiser was supposed to come yesterday, then this morning, and now he's supposed to come tomorrow, weather permitting. I hope he can because that's really the only thing holding up the process!

A couple more feet of snow fell last night and today. By the middle of next week, though, near 40 degrees!

How unexciting is my life that I am reduced to describing and discussing the weather in detail on this blog? Or that my mother and talk about half a dozen times per day about the snow and status of our respective driveways.