Still Here

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. I have been focusing on being a mommy. Lately I have been struggling with anxiety and sadness. I have never faced anything like this before and it truly has humbled me. I have been leaning on M and his love and understanding. I am thankful for the help of an understanding doctor who is working with me on overcoming this. I also turn to the Lord for the daily strength I need.

I would greatly appreciate your prayers that I feel more like myself soon.

I will try to post when I feel up to it. In the meantime I will focus on this, a wonderful blessing from the Lord.

A True Bowl of Cherries

The title of my blog is not just a cute moniker for me to go by. I really do love cherries. I love to decorate with them. I love to see them on my daughter's clothing. And I LOVE to eat them. So, I couldn't be happier now that it is cherry season.

I picked these bags up for $.99 a pound the other day. I just have to be careful not to sit down and eat them all at once.

Deliciousness in a bag!

Foodie Friday: Italian Garden Salad

Here is another recipe from the latest edition of the Taste of Home Magazine. This month I found lots of yummy looking recipes that I knew I would want to try. I also had the same luck with the current copy of the Rachael Ray Magazine. I love months like that. It really gets the creative juices flowing. (Not to mention the salivary glands.) Both M and I really enjoyed this fresh salad. We don't have a garden, but it would be great to use your own homegrown vegetables in it.

Ingredients:

Dressing:

-6 T canola oil

-3 T sugar

-2 T vinegar (The recipe calls for white wine vinegar, and wouldn't you know it, I was fresh out. I substituted half white vinegar and half balsamic vinegar.)

-1 t garlic salt

-1 t dried parsley

-1 t basil

-1/2 t oregano

-1/4 t onion powder

Salad:

-8 oz uncooked spaghetti

-1 c cut up green beans

-2 c cubed cooked chicken

-1 med. yellow pepper, julienned (The recipe called for green, but I had a yellow, so I grabbed it and julienned it up.)

-1 med. zucchini, sliced

-1 sm. yellow summer squash, sliced

-16 oz cherry tomatoes, halved

-1 sm onion, sliced

(The recipe also called for 4 oz. of Colby-Jack cheese, cubed. I find that some cheeses get slimy in a salad like this, so I omitted it. It also had Parmesan for sprinkling and we were out so that was also omitted.)

Directions:

Cook spaghetti according to package, adding green beans during the last 4 minutes of cooking. Combine the dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Add other salad ingredients. Drain the spaghetti and beans; rinse in cold water. Add to other ingredients. Toss to coat. Refrigerate until chilled. (Or just go ahead and eat it right away. That's what we did. There was plenty left over to refrigerate and eat later.)

The Baby Condo

Little Peachy is still living in our closet. She has been doing really well sleeping through the night and I thought that we could move her to her own room. Unfortunately that has ended. So, in the closet she stays. (Maybe she doesn't want to move downstairs and is changing her sleep habits to prolong her time in the closet. And she really does seem to enjoy the decor, rows of colorful clothes.)

*Here is the latest addition. Babies come with lots of stuff. Lots of small stuff. This stuff was starting to overtake the closet in the form of a big, disorganized mess. Enter the shoe organizer. Now all of the little stuff has a cute little place to live. This may even make the move down to her room when we put her in there. It is so nice to have everything in all of the little see-through compartments.

*Here is the diaper pail. (Hey, if you're going to have a diaper pail in your closet, this is the way to go. Sleek, stylish, and no stink.)

*Here is her current wardrobe. (Actually I have since switched out many of the 0-3 months for her 3-6 month stash. The 0-3 were getting a bit small. The 3-6 are still a little large, but I have no fear that she will be growing into them soon.)

*Here is her deluxe bed/changing table, aka, the Pack and Play. It is handy having it all in one. That way we have a nice place to change her without having to add more furniture. Currently she is still in the bassinet feature. (This makes her sleeping area higher.) I am going to keep her up there as long as possible as it makes for easier transitions in and out.

Expected Delays

I have added a new tool to my supper prep arsenal, the delay setting on the oven. (I know the picture is blurry, but see that check mark at the bottom on the left? That shows me that the delay setting is on.) While it has been at my disposal the entire year we have owned our home, I never made use of it. That is until last week.

M works long days and by the time he walks through the door we are both ready for supper. But with Little Peachy around, supper isn't always ready for us.

Lately, when I get a chance I do my supper prep work in the afternoon. And two days now I have gotten supper ready early except for baking. Then, I just put it in the oven with the delay setting set. When the time is right, the oven turns on and starts baking all by itself! (Technology these days.) I just have to make sure that I am available to get supper out of the oven when it is done.

Obviously, you can't do this super early or with everything. You have to be careful that your supper isn't spoiling while it sits in there. But it has really been nice the two times that I have done it.