Paleo Applesauce

I was getting ready to do my grocery shopping for the week, and I was looking for a good recipe for pork chops when I came across one for pork chops and applesauce (please tell me you read that with a Humphrey Bogart accent, a'la Peter Brady circa 1970 or something... or my family's dinner table any time pork chops and applesauce was on the menu).  Well, I opted for a different pork chop recipe, but I did all of a sudden really want some applesauce.  This is not something I normally crave (and no, unfortunately, I am not pregnant).

So, of course I adapted the recipe (as I do with 99% of what I make... recipes are just guidelines - unless you're baking) and it was delicious.

Paleo Applesauce
-3 lbs organic apples (I used Gala and Granny Smith)
-1/4 c water
-2 tbsp local honey
-1 tbsp agave nectar (and more to taste)
-1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
-1/4 tsp ground allspice
-1/8 tsp cinnamon

Peel, core and roughly chop the apples.  Put all of the ingredients into a pot and stir.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occassionally.  Reduce heat to low and cover for about 20 minutes.  When apples are falling apart when stirred, remove from heat and stir/mash with a fork to your desired consistency.  Add more agave as needed (depends on the acidity of your apples).  Serve warm or cold.  Eat, and feel like a kid again!

Mommy's Coming

Yay!  My mom, or madge as my sister and I affectionately call her (short for madre), is coming tomorrow!  Yayayayay!  I'm not sure what it is about moms visiting, but it just makes life better.  We have big plans of hitting up Ann Taylor Loft at Atlantic Station (it's her fave), Ikea, a little James McMurtry at Variety Playhouse (she doesn't know him, but we're dragging her along for the ride), Ballard Outlet (which I frequent since it is literally in my neighborhood... no for real, I can walk there), Bloody Marys at Six Feet Under on Sunday after church (bonus of not being pregnant yet... I can make mine with vodka instead of virgin), and just general tomfoolery.

We look nothing alike.  ;)

Loving Today

Yeah, yeah... besides my husband, dogs, family, friends and all that mushy stuff... this.

A little sneak peek of some of the things we've been up to in the living room.  I failed miserably at antiquing mirrors (side note: Ikea Lots mirrors are antique proof), so we just went with a clean version.  Five wide by five tall and framed out with 1-3/8" trim creates an inexpensive mirror installation above the fireplace that has a HUGE (literally and figuratively) impact.  It was also easy and quick... maybe took us 2-3 hours total to put up the mirrors, cut the trim, paint the trim, install the trim, then wood putty/touch up paint.  Stay tuned for more...

{happy dance... I love my house!}

I've got nothing.

Well, hello there.  I don't have much to say except that we've been busy putting the *almost* final touches on the house (you know, in addition to our normal duties like working and cooking and cleaning and caring for our dogs), and I cannot wait to have it done and show it off!!!  Capella is beyond amazing, and the house is looking really good.  My good friend Jenny is going to come take some pretty pictures in a week and a half, so I will be posting them in the next several weeks.  The only thing that won't be done is the Roman shades for the kitchen, so we'll take a few shots of it now but the rest later.  And, the entry way probably won't be done (need a new console and to hang a new light), but that's not being photographed anyway, because that wasn't part of what Capella was doing for us.

Besides that, I'm just feeling a little sorry for myself today and trying to snap out of it.  I hate feeling like this.  I prayed for a long time last night... I thanked God, I pleaded with God, I asked God for contentment.  We want children.  This is not news to anyone, especially Him.  So besides asking Him to get with our program and make this happen (ha!), I am just begging Him to help me be content with what I have (in all parts of life) and thanking him for it.  I don't love my job, but I have a job.  I want to have a baby, but the time that Matt and I have together to ourselves is priceless.  I have so much more than I need.  I am so incredibly grateful for my husband and our marriage. 

And, I know all of this will be worth it... the doctors, the waiting, the hoping, wishing, willing, praying, believing, doubting, hurting.  There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that every little ounce of it will be worth it the first time we hold our child.  I just don't understand why we're being made to wait.  I know this isn't true and everyone has their demons, but I look around and see people that seem to have it all and haven't had a lot of heartache (or seemingly any) in their lives.  And then I look at my own life, and while I have had a wonderful life, I have faced more loss than most.  But, I know people who have had it way worse off, too.  And, I just wonder why we're being dealt these hands?  I am a believer that God won't give you more than you can handle and that He molds faith and character through hardships (James 1:3, James 1:12, James 5:11).  Sometimes I just want to ask if we can catch a break, but then I feel so incredibly selfish and shallow and ashamed of myself, because I know my life is good.

So, you see this little conundrum?  This vicious cycle of feeling sorry about my circumstances and then feeling sorry for feeling sorry about my circumstances.  Yeah.  Maybe I need a shrink.  :)  That is all.  Good day.

P.S.  Apparently I had a lot more to say than when I started this post.  Okay, now I'm really done.