Too many things = no good

I finally opened a jar of my homemade pickles, and am happy to report that they taste great.  You just have to get past the bright yellow color.  I have no idea why they are not green.  Maybe it's because I didn't use pickling cucumbers, but they taste just like you would get them from the grocery store.  So I call it a success.

And since it was a success, I moved on to the second recipe I wanted to do, which was a tomato basil pasta sauce.  I should mention that before I decided to undertake the sauce, I had already made homemade pizza dough, and worked out for the day.  This all fits in to the story later.  So I started on the recipe.  Now I didn't have 25 tomatoes needed to make a full batch, so I did 13 tomatoes for a half batch.

I didn't read until I had already started boiling the tomatoes, that it needed to boil for 80 minutes.  Umm, didn't realize it was that time consuming.  I started to get the big pot ready, as I was going to be making 3 pints of sauce.  Then since I had time to spare, I decided to go sneak in a quick shower before Bella got up from her nap.

And when I got out of the shower I smelled a strong burning smell.  I ran downstairs and looked in my pot.  Most of the tomatoes were burnt, and this small half cup of tomato paste was all I could save.  It was depressing to realize I had ruined 13 tomatoes....what a waste.

So it was time to start making the pizzas. The problem with home made dough, is you have to make it when it's ready, it's kind of a time management nightmare.  And nightmare is the correct wording, because I decided to try grilling the pizzas on the grill for the first time.  I had absolutely no idea how to do it, but I thought since you needed the oven to be 500 degrees to bake the pizzas you could use the same temperature on the grill.  I was wrong.......burnt wrong.

The dough makes enough for 3 pizzas, so luckily I was able to save the next two from being so burnt.  I figured out if you put a piece of aluminum foil underneath the pizza it still gives it grill marks, but doesn't burn so badly.

Oh and the tomato sauce I made that was supposed to be enough for 3 jars, ended up covering only 2 pizzas.  But it was good.  Live and learn.

At least Bella was having a good time watching crazy mommy all over the place trying to save last nights dinner.

Sitting

We have been working a lot on sitting with Bella.  You probably wouldn't notice, but this is actually great progress for Bella.  This picture was taken 15 minutes after I put her in that same exact spot.  And she sat there with her head up.  The couch is doing a lot to help support her, but Bella is learning to keep her balance.  And she even sometimes will prop herself up with her arms, which is another huge accomplishment.  Slowly but surely we will make progress.

Well you can see, I was finally able to load a picture.  The computer seems to be running okay for now.  This weekend seemed to slip by quickly.  We finished up our tiling project by grouting the floor on Saturday.  We started when Bella went down for a nap, with the intentions of doing half the hallway.  At some point we decided to go for it, and do the whole thing.  It was miserable.  Luckily Bella took a nice long nap for us, and only had to entertain herself for about an hour while we finished up.  Toward the end of that time she was getting a little fussy (it was time to eat), and I kept telling her that we all felt like crying at that point, but that I assured her laying on her blanket with her toys was definitely better than cleaning grout.

On Sunday I decided to tackle some baking and then my first attempt at canning.  I started with pickles, since I have an over abundance of cucumbers.  I have this sneaky suspicion they are not going to turn out.  Mainly because I missed a step and forgot to get rid of all the bubbles before I put the lid on.  I'm pretty sure that means they will be alright if eaten fresh, but can't be stored for a year.  Good thing I made 7 quarts.  If you live close by you might be getting a jar of pickles from me, if they have to be eaten fresh.

Computer Problems

I haven't posted in awhile.  Not much has been going on around here and our computer is being very slooooow. I can't even load a picture at this point.  Which means Jesse is going to have to fix it, because I don't really "do" computers.  I just use them.

I am busy working on some gifts for Bella's teachers at preschool.  Her last week is next week, only 3 more days and then she graduates on to her new school.  Bella and I (and maybe the dogs) are going to spend some time up in Nebraska before the new school starts to clean out my childhood bedroom.  I have been threatened that I have to take anything that I want, otherwise it will be donated, sold, or trashed.

And we have a big grouting project left to do on the tile for the entryway.  Not to mention a very dirty house (after the big project last weekend) that needs some major attention.  Oh and did I mention that the lawn mower broke down, so our yard is knee high.  That might be a slight exaggeration, but only slight.  The garden is also producing large quantities of cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, and jalapeños.  So I need to buy some supplies to can, so I can make pickles, salsa, pasta sauce, etc.

In other words............we have a lot to do around here.  So I best be getting started on something.

Busy Parents

Bella was a little neglected by her parents this weekend, but luckily Grandma came down to spend time with her.  We spent the whole weekend working on tiling our entryway, and we are maybe just half way done.  Looks like we will be devoting another weekend towards the project to finish it up.  Except next weekend we won't have Grandma's help with Bella, so the process might go a little slower.

And does tiling for 16 hours count towards cross training for 45 minutes and doing 3 miles of running?  I sure hope so, since I wasn't able to get in any workouts this weekend, not too mention the utter exhaustion I felt.

New Shoes

These are Bella's new orthopedic shoes.  She had a pair previously, but she outgrew them.  These shoes cost $1800.  Yes that is the correct number of zeros.  And she outgrew the last ones in less than 6 months.  Granted insurance covers them and we only have to pay 10%, but $180 every six months is still a lot of money.  Especially for shoes that only help when she is standing, and that is only when we make her use the stander, which unfortunately isn't very often.  So I need to get better about putting her in the stander while wearing our expensive shoes.

I have a "Me Plan"

That's right, this post has nothing to do with Bella.  It's just about myself.

I would like to train for a half marathon.  Now if you haven't noticed from previous posts, I like to sign up for charity runs, but I have yet been able to complete them while running the whole distance.  I don't think it's wrong to have to walk a little bit, but I would like to try and push myself to run further.

So I have a plan.  I stole it from a magazine, but it gives you 18 weeks worth of workouts and by the end you should be able to run a half marathon.  I keep starting it, not making it through the first week, and then starting over again.  With the ups and downs of life, working out just never seems to be a priority for me.  But I'm making a vow to try harder.  I may not like to run when it's 90 degrees outside, but that doesn't mean I can't ride the elipitcal in the air conditioning of our house.  Or get outside and at least walk the distance I am supposed to run.

So today is the first day of my new workout.  Let's see how well I can stick it out.

So here I am, as you would see me today.  I happened to be wearing a shirt I designed and sewed for myself.  I got five compliments on it today, and I didn't tell anyone I had made it myself.  So that made me feel pretty good.

Wish me luck!!

Sports Day Finished

I had three old shirts of mine, one a Nebraska shirt that doesn't fit anymore, and two black t-shirts.  I think it's crazy how much the Nebraska gear costs, so I figured I would whip something up.  And since I only had two days to finish the project I had to take some shortcuts.

I had wanted to silk screen the shirt to say Huskers, as I told you the day before.  But I didn't have any of the tools to do it, and I didn't have the time to go shopping.  So I will attempt that at another time.  But I did manage to create this onesie in a size 3T.

I made this little skirt out of one of the black t-shirts and the decal from the Nebraska shirt.

I then cut out a Nebraska "N" from another black t-shirt and sewed it onto the onesie.  Here is Bella this morning in her new clothes.  Not really wanting to pose for pictures.  Maybe I was embarrassing her in front of her classmates.

And one more picture taken when we got home.  Bella wasn't too happy to delay lunch in order to fit in another photo session.