To read or not to read...

Early in my life I developed a love of reading. I think this was greatly fostered by the fact that my mother was a reader AND we did not have a TV for much of my childhood. The library was a wonderful place full of adventure, mystery, and Elizabethan romance just waiting there for me to discover. I worked my way through all the "classics" and countless others not considered worthy of that moniker. I would stay up late into the night voraciously finishing a book only to experience the subsequent sorrow at having to say "Goodbye" to the characters and their lives. I would envision where they were now and what happened after the book ended. I loved reading!

But somewhere along my adult life, especially after I had children, I no longer had the time to devote to my old friends. Magazines and small easy-reading materials took their places - things that I could finish quickly in the 5-10 minute segments squeezed in around my kid's needs. I didn't even realize that I had failed to impart this old love to my sons...until my oldest read "The Hobbit" for school and loved it so much that he requested and read the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, and then the rest of Tolkien's works. I often found him (after bedtime) sitting in bed- reading! The spark had been ignited!

My middle one has always given me trouble when I give him reading assignments. When I read to him, however, he never wants us to stop. His favorite thing to do after we finish a book is to find and watch the movie. We recently completed "Children of the New Forest", scoured the internet for the movie, joined Netflix to get it, waited 2 weeks for it to arrive, and sat down with much anticipation to watch it. It was a C movie at best and slaughtered the book, which Mason incredulously pointed out throughout the entire movie. His conclusion was that the movie is never as good as the book because it forces someone else's image of the text onto you - oh, and that we had just wasted 2 hours of our lives! Score one for books!!

Now my husband is not exactly a bibliophile (unless you count computer manuals) and we have the occasional discussion as to the importance of public libraries. His argument is that soon books will all be electronic anyway and should we be putting our tax dollars toward libraries when there is so much need elsewhere. I feel that there is something intrinsically wrong with that way of thinking, but on the other hand most of the books that Mason and I have read this year we downloaded and read on the computer. Shouldn't we be putting that money toward social programs, crime prevention, roads, etc... instead of these gorgeous buildings for people to look at free porn? Still I can't help thinking that with the demise of public libraries, something good and amazing about our society would vanish. There is just something about holding the written word in your hand, feeling the pages, reading the notes previous generations have inscribed in it, curling up in a comfy chair with it, even that musty book smell that I don't particularly care for, that you cannot get electronically! Walking into a public library means stepping into a world where anything is possible; a place where you will be inspired, challenged, enlightened, angered, and astounded as you meet new friends and visit new worlds. All for free!! Well, assuming you return them by the due date!

Reading books enriches our lives, expands our horizons, dispels myths, opens our minds, and entertains us in a way that television could never do. To witness my children walking into this world is an incredible thrill and has stirred that old yearning inside me - time to go make some new "friends"!

Under Pressure!

Many years ago, we bought a really cool pressure cooker at a fantastic value. It has taken up considerable pantry space ever since, as we have both been too afraid to try it out. Once in a great while I would haul it out with fresh resolve to actually use it, only to be overcome by vague childhood memories of stories of exploding kitchens and scalded cooks. Add to that the fact that I do not often cook meat and the pressure cooker has remained in pristine condition.

Well, I volunteered to bring dinner for our bible study group and started looking around on the Internet for an easy bean recipe. I discovered that people cook beans in pressure cookers and instead of taking 1-1 1/2 hours to cook, it takes 15 minutes!! Bonus!!! I found a great site http://www.vegancoach.com/pressure-cooker-beans.html called Vegan Coach where they have posted an instructional video on making pressure cooked beans. Watching the video gave me the confidence to actually try it and I decided to document my experience (in ridiculous detail) and share it with you!

Ah beans, the musical fruit, turns out that a lot of that "music" is caused by not soaking the dried beans long enough. Because I live in a house with 4 naturally musical guys, I soaked mine about 17 hours (recommendation is overnight) and this is what they looked like:

That's 4 cups of dried turtle beans (black beans are also called turtle beans, who knew!) in enough water to really cover as they'll expand to 3 times their size.

Important tip alert: DO NOT ADD SALT until after your beans are done cooking. Apparently this will toughen the skins and keep the beans from cooking properly.

Drain and rinse the beans in a colander and place in the cooker with 12 cups of water. The rule is 3 cups of water to every 1 cup of dried beans.

Close the lid of the cooker AND LOCK IT!!! I set it to High Pressure, for 18 minutes, and - SUPER SCARY part - I pressed the start button and proceeded in an orderly fashion (if running away with flailing arms is orderly) to the other side of the kitchen. Where I observed the cooker, it did nothing for quite some time until suddenly the red pressure indicator popped up! The false calm I had settled into was again replaced by apprehension. The cooker began to make all kinds of sizzling and whistling noises and then the 18 minutes of cooking actually began. It sounded like the faucet was running at full blast the whole time, so not a quiet undertaking. And, when you add in the pressure building and de-pressurizing time, actual cooking time is really about 10-15 minutes longer. Still much shorter than traditional methods.

OK, on to the reveal...ta dah....perfectly cooked (maybe even slightly overcooked) beans!! I added in a ton of salt and spices (unsalted beans = YUCK) and very yummy beans were enjoyed by all!

Pressure cooking was fun, and it appears the opportunities are endless. Pressure cooked cakes, chili, sauces, and more! Wonder if I could squeeze a turkey in there!!

Bon Appetit!

Pretty as a Peacock

Our Pretty as a Peacock Baby Mary Janes are being featured in a charming blog http://cavanjenleah.blogspot.com/2009/11/shiny-shoes.html. This is such a sweet blog created by a first time mama, in love with her little one! One of the most unexpected, yet really cool things about having an online business/presence is meeting and interacting with folks from all over the country (and a few worldwide)! For many, a major factor in their choice to buy handmade is because they know there is an actual person behind that product, putting their best effort into creating a quality, unique item. I have started buying more and more handmade items; the quality is usually superior to mass-manufactured goods, I've always sought out unique items, I know that I can contact the person who created the item if I have questions or concerns, and I'm supporting another entreprenuer! Buy handmade!!

Our newest creation is being featured...

Our newest offering, The Privileged Pooch Dog Cart Cover, is being featured in a charming blog: http://lydiaandpugs.blogspot.com/, check it out for all things pugtastic.

Heather's Helpful Household Hints

I do not purport to be any sort of domestic diva, but in my daily battle against 2800 sq ft/3 boys/1 dog, I have picked up a few weapons.

Problem #1: Laundry Mountain!! My wonderful hubby assigned himself the task of washing and drying the laundry, and then piling it up in a giant mountain on our bedroom floor (or whatever bare spot of floor he could find).
Weapon #1: I had the husband buy a simple countertop from Home Depot and install it over the tops of our washer and dryer. I then purchased a laundry basket for each member of our family and lined them up on the countertop. Now, as he takes the laundry out of the dryer, he sorts each person's out to their basket and then (usually when the baskets are brimming over) they take their basket and fold and put away their own clothes. This isn't such a wonderful solution if your children aren't able to fold and put away their own laundry but it still helps keep things much more organized. I cannot tell you how much easier this has made the whole laundry problem!!

Problem #2: Constant crumbs and scraps on countertops, generated by children preparing their own breakfasts and snacks.
Weapon #2: I actually saw this solution on Jon & Kate Plus Eight (before they imploded). The stores sell tiny handbroom and dustpans, so I purchased one for less than $2 and designated it for counter top use ONLY. It is also useful in transferring chopped veggies to the pan and can be easily washed with dishsoap.

Problem #3: The Dreaded White Tile Kitchen Counter tops. Now, I am extremely grateful to God for our home, including our tile counter tops, but they are tremendously difficult to keep clean.
Enter Weapon #3: The semi-ugly vinyl tablecloth. I keep a vinyl tablecloth on our kitchen island and direct ALL food prep to the island. The tablecloth lasts through several months of cooking, cleaning, and sanitizing before it needs to be replaced. It is not the prettiest thing but has saved me HOURS of cleaning time because there are no grout lines for junk to get caught in or stain. So, until we are able to replace our tile with the quartz that we desire, the vinyl tablecloth will do. On a side note, disposable plastic tablecloths are wonderful to put down on the dining table when the kiddos are playing play dough, painting, coloring, etc. I will stop in to Party City a few days after a holiday and pick up a stack of disposable tablecloths for a quarter each, and let the celebration continue all year!

Problem #4: ANTS, ANTS, ANTS, I'm so sick of ANTS!! These are obnoxious little water ants who come inside in the summer and aren't considerate enough to limit their travels to the pantry, but show up in the bathrooms, bedrooms, closets. AAAHHHH!!!!
Weapon #4: My mother gave me this recipe for Natural Ant Bait/Killer and it is a very inexpensive and natural way to get rid of them for good (at least for the season)!
ANT KILLER RECIPE
1/2 Cup Water
10 oz Caro Syrup
2 tsp Boric Acid (can be purchased at any drugstore, it's used for an eye wash)
Heat over low until well blended and let cool completely. Put some drops in various places in the path of the ant trail, either directly on the surface they're on, or on pieces of paper or bottlecaps.
IMPT NOTE: The amount of ants will greatly increase for about a day as they all come to drink, but by day two the amount will have markedly diminished, and day three should see all ants gone from the area! Apparently, the ants take the boric acid laced sugar back to their nest and the colony eats and dies, thus keeping them from returning to your home. Note, this works on ants not aunts, sorry! ;0)

I hope you're able to benefit from one or more of these weapons and would love to hear about your weapons against house destruction.

Does size matter?

A new issue has recently begun to occupy some of my thought time; are bigger ears really better? Now, our culture tells us that the bigger the ears the better and I think most of us in one way or another subscribe to that notion. I myself had been endowed with fairly ample ears for most of my life and this was a non-issue to me. Now, though, the ravages of exercise and mothering 3 boys has taken it's toll and my ears just aren't what they were. Culture has gotten me thinking that my ears are now somehow inferior to the ideal.
However, a marvelous new world has opened to me, housing a vast array of wonderful new earrings that I could never wear before. There are SO many cute varieties of strapless earrings and they actually look cute and stay on my ears. Because of my smaller ears, the rest of me looks smaller-it's amazing how much bigger big ears can make a person look. I mean, look at Minnie Mouse and Dumbo, major porkers, right!?! And Jessica Rabbit; HUGE ears! There's no longer any more danger of my earrings popping open at will. I am more streamlined in the pool, much less drag!
So, to all you folks getting ready to jump on the ear-implant bandwagon, stop and consider the wonderful advantages to keeping the ears God gave ya'!
Of course if my ears start to hang down to my shoulders, I might be singing a different tune!

3!

Oh to be 3 again!
Life is at your fingertips, and coordination has become your friend. You believe yourself to be fully capable of making your own meals, like apple butter and ketchup sandwiches. You aren't satisfied to merely fill the bowl to the top with cereal, it must be overflowing, thereby affording you the joy of spreading it to the farthest recesses of the house. The pantry is a jungle-gym of delight, each shelf featuring yet more treasures and potential for terrific messes.
Alas, suddenly one day you find yourself barred from this bastion of delight by a strange lock thing completely out of your reach. Oh, the agony and despair...until you remember that the fridge is not just for smearing hand prints across and letting ice and water tumble down in a glorious cascade. No, it also holds untold riches! You run gleefully (yet stealthfully, you are a secret agent after all) to it and yes, it does hold wonderful things. Watermelon, as delicious to eat as it is to drop all over the floor and track into the next room. Milk and chocolate sauce, you "skillfully" combine as you wondrously realize that you don't need someone else to make chocolate milk for you, and oh, the resulting puddle is perfect for finger painting! And there are shelves to climb in here too! What fun, what joy, oops some one's coming, run!!

Ah, the office, what fun it is to pull a paper from the bottom of the stack and watch the entire stack come fluttering down like Autumn leaves. The whiteboard markers are perfect for the tribal tats that you've been meaning to apply to your arms and face, and (if you have the time) your entire body and part of the wall. Just for good measure, you dump out a container of crayons making sure to evenly distribute them over the entire floor, and knock off a few shelves of books looking for that specific story you've been meaning to read.
Then, it's on to the bathroom. The bathroom is almost as much fun as the kitchen, here you can unwind (the toilet paper) and relax (by squirting out the bottles of lotion and bubble bath) you can finally get to all that washing (of the aforementioned toilet paper) and read a good book (ripping out the most important pages for later reference).
But, the best room of all: the playroom!! There, you can dump out several hundred thousand Legos in 25 seconds flat (you've been working on your speed), scale the heights of the bookshelf to bring down brother's airsoft bb's (these are THE most fun to sprinkle about the room), there's tub after tub, shelf after shelf, drawer after drawer to dump and comb through for the wonders they contain(ed). You are drawn out of your blissful stupor by a single question you faintly hear your Mom asking: "Who made this mess?" Your reply, "Not me!" and merrily you continue on your way.
Oh, it's marvelous being 3!