Wordless Wednesday

Taken at the Richmond Zoo

Spiced Ginger Cookies

My husband's favorite cookie is a spiced cookie. It is almost like a ginger snap but has more clove and all spice in it. The brand that he likes only comes out during the fall and winter. So I began my experiment in making a cookie similar to the ones he likes. So here is my recipe for Spiced Ginger Cookies.

3/4 cup of softened butter
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon of baking soda
3 1/2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon of allspice
3/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
pinch of salt
1 tablespoon of finely chopped candied ginger

Combine butter and sugar together, beat until fluffy. In another bowl, combine molasses and baking soda. Add molasses mixture to butter mixture, stir until ingredients are combined. In another bowl shift flour, and spices together. Slowly add flour mixture to butter mixture while stirring. Stir in candied ginger.

Form dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for about 4 hours.

Divide dough in half. Roll one half of the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness. (I found the thicker the better if they are to thin they burn easily.) Cut using cookie cutter of your choice. Bake on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper for 10-12 minutes. Makes around 2 dozen.

Getting Rid of the Baby Fat

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?" Matthew 5:25

For those of you who haven't seen me, since I had the baby, or don't know me I have been struggling to with my weight. I was put on bed rest for 4 months while I was pregnant and 2 months after due to blood pressure problems and swelling. Because of this I have put on a considerable amount of weight and have not lost any of it. As of right now I am sick of it, I feel tired and sluggish all the time, and I definately do not feel sexy any more.

Therefore, as of today I am making it my goal to lose this weight. I can't do it alone with God's help and the support of friends like you I hope that I can beat this. Please keep me in your prayers and help hold me accountable. I will keep everyone updated on my progress weekly. I hope that by blogging about this part of my life that it will help motivate me more and make me feel that I have to be more honest about how and what I eat and my exercise.

If you have any suggestions or would like to share your experience of weight loss I would love to hear from you.

Thank you for your support.

ELM

Computer Geek Giveaway!!

This giveaway is for my local followers, Richmond, VA and surrounding areas. I am giving away my husband!! Ok, I'm not really giving him away; I like having him around, and who would take out the trash. :)

I am giving away a free computer consultation and tune-up. All you have to do to be entered into the drawing is to follow me and leave me a comment about your favorite childhood memory. On August 15, 2010 we will do a random drawing to pick a winner. Good Luck!

Lactation Cookies

As a first time mother, I was faced with the challenge of my breast milk not coming in for two weeks after I had my daughter. After my milk came in, I soon realized that I was not producing enough on my own. Thus, my search began to find a natural remedy. That is when I found a recipe for lactation cookies. I adjusted a few of the ingredients and measurements and came up with this recipe. It really does work.

Makes about 3 dozen

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoons flax seed meal
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup flour
2 cups oats
2 tablespoons brewer's yeast
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup butterscotch chips or raisins

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 350°.
2 Mix the flaxseed meal and water and let sit for 5 minutes.
3 Mix butter, sugar, and brown sugar well.
4 Add egg and blend well.
5 Add flaxseed mix and vanilla, beat well.
6 Sift together flour, brewers yeast, baking soda, and salt. (Sifting is a must)
7 Add dry ingredients to butter mix.
8 Stir in oats and chips.
9 Use a Tablespoon to scoop onto baking sheet.
10 Bake for 12 minutes.
11 Let set for a couple minutes then remove from tray.
12 Enjoy!


Let me know what you think.

Fuzzi Bunz Giveaway

I hope that everyone had a great July 4th. We spent the three day weekend with family and getting projects done around the house.

In honor of the beginning of Summer I am doing a my first giveaway. When I reach 50 followers I will do a random drawing and pick a winner. The winner will receive a new Cotton Candy (light pink) FuzziBunz® One-Size Diapers .


The FuzziBunz® One-Size Diapers are adjust to fit babies 7-35 pounds and get a snug fit every time with the button-adjusted waist and leg casings. The leg casings adjust to 8+ settings and the waist adjusts to 4+ settings.

FuzziBunz® uses sturdy snap closures which are suppose to withstand 3+ years of use and elastic that is easily replaceable if it ever fails making it a long standing and dependable diapering system for years to come.


So spread the word about this great giveaway. All you have to do is follow me and leave a comment and let me know you are following. Good Luck!

Blog Hopping

What is a blog hop?A blog hop is a linky list that is SHARED ON MULTIPLE BLOGS. When several blogs put the same linky list code on their blog, the exact same list appears on each blog. Blog visitors can submit their entries on any blog that contains the list. The entries will appear on each blog where the list resides.Blog readers see the same list on each blog, and can "HOP" from blog to blog seeing the same list of links to follow: BLOG HOP!

Wordless Wednesday

Diaper Detergent

I have been asked the question a lot about what I wash my cloth diapers with. When I tell them that I make my own detergent a lot of people ask for the recipe. I got the recipe off the Internet, I can't remember where, so forgive me if you are the one who posted this and I didn't give you the credit.

Washing diapers is easy if you only breastfeed your baby then you do not need to rinse of the breast milk poo in the toilet, it is water soluble and therefore, will dissolve in the washing machine. If your little one is on solids then rinse off the poo in the toilet and then wash.

I do a cold rinse first with 2 TBSP of detergent then a hot wash with a second rinse.

This makes a very large batch, but there will be no leftovers (I make mine in a leftover cat litter tub with a lid.

3 boxes (55 oz each) of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (I use the Pure Baking Soda because it is less harsh)
2 boxes (76 oz each) of 20 Mule Team Borax
1 Large (96 oz) tub of Oxiclean

I also use this detergent to wash my clothes.


What do you wash your diapers with?

Cloth Diapers

When I told my family I was going to cloth diaper my daughter they thought it was pretty cool, that was until I told them I was going to wash the diapers myself and not use a diaper service. You see, like most people who wrinkle their noses at cloth diapering, they automatically thought diaper cloths, pins, and covers. They had no idea about the many different styles and colors that are available today. They not only save money in the long run but they are so cute and easy to coordinate with different outfits.

Right now my diaper stash is made up of a variety of fitteds, One Size pockets, Sized pockets, and AIO. Each of them I like for different reasons.





My husbands favorite type and I would have to agree with him are the pockets or AIO's with snaps, they seem to fit our "Skinny Minnie" the best.

If you are confused by some of they diapering lingo a great website to check out is Jillian Drawers . Feel free to ask any questions if you have any.

What is your favorite diaper in your stash?

Pulled Pork

So, a couple weeks ago my husband brought home an EIGHT pound pork shoulder butt. I looked at him and said "What the heck and I supposed to do with that, feed an army?" So in my freezer it sat. So, finally last week I got online in hope of finding some kind of recipe that I could use and hopefully freeze. That is when I found I could make Pulled Pork with this monsterous hunk of meat.

You have to understand I am very picky when it comes to my Pulled Pork, and pork in general.
My husband loved my Pulled Pork so much he went back for thirds, and even said it is his favorite. So here it is, I took a few different recipes and and adapted them together so that I could cook the pork in my oven and not on the grill (it was over 100 degrees that day) and not in the crockpot (it was not big enough).


First you make the rub. (Mind you this is for 8 lbs, just meaurements in half for a smaller piece)

3 tablespoons Kosher salt
3 tablespoons black pepper
3 tablespoons paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chile powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Heat an ovensafe pan on the stovetop with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat. After you cover the pork in the rub place in the pan and brown all sides.

When sides are brown cover the pan with lid or foil and place in oven. Cook for about 45 minutes per pound. You will know it is done when the meat falls off easily when you run a fork over the meat.

If you try this recipe and like it please let me know.

Cooking

So I have always looked at cooking as a chore. I hated the idea of having to plan out a meal take time to cook it to only have everyone eat it up with in 10 minutes and then leave you the mess to clean up. That was until recently. I have actually begun to enjoy cooking since my daughter was born.

I am making her baby food from scratch, which also saves a ton of money. I have also learned that if plan right you only have to cook a couple meals a week because you can eat the leftovers, which by the way are sometimes better then the first.

I will try to post any recipes that my husband really enjoys (he is picky), and some that I really enjoy. We have different tastes in food, he is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, and I like things on the lighter side.

Introduction

I am a wife and a new mother. I hope this blog not only helps family and friends keep up with us but helps others who are first time mothers.

My husband and I are first and foremost Christians. We pray that God helps us raise our daughter in a Christian environment. We both are close to our parents and are very blessed that they get along and enjoy getting together for family time.

Some of the things I hope to begin to blog about are: my family cloth diapering (which I love), cooking/recipes, reading, and great deals that I find.

Please, bear with me as I learn about blogging, and thank you for taking the time to read.