Southernisms

Today I was posting a comment on Homemaking Dreams and I used the word "strow". I have never actually had to spell that word before and seeing it typed out made me wonder if it was a real word. It just looked funny on the screen. So I googled it. It is in fact a real word. It means "to scatter". I was very relieved that it was a real word because I have been using it since I was little and I would hate to have sounded stupid for 27 years! :)

Anyway, it got me to thinking about all the awesome things we southerners say. I'm not sure if "strow" is strictly a southern term, but it does come from Old English, or at least that's what Google said, and many of the so-called quirky things we say in the south come straight from the old days of England.

For example - "Boot" in North Carolina is not just a type of footwear. It's actually the trunk of a car. And that's the word they STILL use in England for it (or at least according to Google!)

I find it interesting to see how our language is indicative of where we came from. I mean, obviously most Americans speak English which of course came from England. But have you ever heard true England English? It's very different than the American version, which is why I think its so cool that we still have a few very English words left over in our vocabulary from 2 or 3 hundred years ago.

How we saved up for our mortgage

Amidst the current mortgage crunch I'm thankful we saved up the standard 20% down payment for the purchase of our current home. We did it by saving, saving, saving AND by cashing out our old home just as the real estate wave was cresting in our area. One way we were able to save money is by taking out an equity line on our old house to pay off our big ticket debts, like car loans and credit cards. Thanks to our home's appreciation, we were pretty confident we'd be able to pay back the equity line through the sale of our home, PLUS the equity line payments were something like $500 less than what our combined debt payments were before. So we saved all of that money. Then when we sold our house – Ka-CHING! No more car payment, no more credit card debt, and best of all – a 20% mortgage savings to put down on our new home. Hurray us.

Possibly, Finally...a Tooth?

Could it be that Goose is finally getting his first tooth? After months of "teething" and spontaneous irritability? This morning Goose BIT me while trying to nurse. Now, this has happened before, but lets jsut say it did not hurt like this time! I definitly a SHARP pain. But when I rubbed his gums with my finger I felt nothing...It must be just under surface. Here's hoping!

Menu Plan Monday

It's getting harder to come up with easy, cheap "veggie" meals. We are not vegetarian but are trying to eat to lose those post-partum pounds (both hubby and myself!) I have come up with a few recipes that I love but I feel like there's just only so much you can do with seasoned veggies. Here's what I've managed for this week:

1. Salad w/Craisins and Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
2. Kung Pao Tofu (never actually made this from last week, so I'm trying again!)
3. Soup and Veggie Sandwich on Homemade Bread
4. Salad tossed with Flax Seed Dressing
5. Salmon Fillet with Tasty Sauce

For snacks we have:

1. Homemade Granola mixed with Soy Yogurt
2. Fruit Smoothies
3. Fruit Salad

Here's my Fruit Smoothie Recipe:

Banana, Frozen Strawberries, Frozen Blueberries, Milled Flax Seed, Soy Milk and Honey. I just eye-ball how much of each to put in, making sure to use enough Soy Milk that the blender will churn up the ingredients. I also love honey so I use a lot of it. This makes a yummy smoothie that is very healthy.

Fruit Salad:

Chopped Cantaloupe, Chopped Honeydew, Grapes. Top ingredients with Honey and Lemon juice. Keep covered and refrigerated. Again I just eyeball all ingredients, I guess that makes me a bad recipe giver... :( Anyway it's still good!! :)

SCREAMING

My child is currently in his crib taking a nap - which means it's naptime in the Goose house but nobody's nappin'! In fact what I should call it is the 9am ScreamFEST. Or the 12pm Screamin' Spectacular. How about the 10.30am Screamin' not-so-good-time?!

I am trying very hard to remain calm as my baby learns how to take a nap. He has been SCREAMING for 30 minutes. NO - nothing is wrong with him. I have checked on him several times and I promise I have attended to his every need, want, desire, everything. Everything, of course, except pick him and not make him take a nap. What is it with the screaming? Bedtime is no problem anymore. He's been doing great. Sometimes not even a whimper at bedtime (knock on wood), - but the naps. Oh My Good LORD.

And it isn't just one nap a day or every other day. It is literally, every...single...time...a nap is supposed to happen. What can I do? I can't not have him sleep? The poor thing needs sleep! Sigh....

What's that? Did I hear a pause in the screaming? Is he sleeping? Please oh please oh please oh please....

Menu Plan Monday

Happy Monday to all! Here's our menu for the week:

Monday: Roasted veggies w/Beet Greens
Tuesday: Soup and Honey Orange Glazed Carrots
Wednesday: Lemon Herb Salmon w/Italian Salad
Thursday: Greek Salad
Friday: Kung Pao Tofu

Lemon Herb Salmon:

Cut Salmon into individual sized portions. Rub with Lemon Herb Seasoning. Wrap in tin foil with a bit of butter on top. This incredibly easy to make and very very good.

Aqua Tots Class!

Ages 6 months to 3 years. Getting kids familiar with water. One happy Goose.

Home-made bread!

I' ve been way under-utilizing my bread machine lately. One of the reasons is that I just don't like how the bread comes out when it's cooked in the machine. So...I decided to take my mama's lead and have the machine MIX the dough and then bake it in the oven. It came out GREAT! We've been using it for sandwiches and snacks. Here's the recipe I use for Whole Wheat Bread:

1/2 cup water
3/8 cup soy milk
1 egg
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
1 1/2 tablespoons honey (use the same spoon as the oil and the honey will come out much more easily)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/4 cup milled flax seed

Bake it in a 5x9 loaf pan for about 30 minutes or so (I actually didn't time it yet...shame on me...I just sort of went on instinct). It makes a great sized loaf for sandwich bread, or put some honey on a hot slice right out of the oven for a yummy snack.

Southern Weather

Another beautiful late winter day yesterday! The high was 75 and it was sunny all day. Goose and I went for a walk with the dog. We left the windows open in the house. I even fixed the porch door where the dog could come in and out as he pleased. It was so nice. I started planning my spring flower beds, and I noticed some of my neighbors outside doing the same. I am so excited for spring! It literally puts a little more "spring" in my step. I have so much more energy when the weather is nice.

For example, yesterday I somehow managed to get Goose into FOUR naps, change the cat litter, fix dinner, clean out our disgusting microwave, hide the easter candy from hubby (which he found already!), and vacuum the whole house.

NOTE: Yesterday I posted our menu plan for the week, and we were scheduled to have Gourmet Roasted Veggies last night. I was a bit wary, because I have never been a huge vegetable fan. Let me tell you - it was DELICIOUS. And it looked amazing. Since the recipe called for beets, I even googled "beet greens" and found out you can cook those too. YUM. Definitely recommend.

He reached for me!

Goose reached for me this weekend! Amazing. He was playing with his toys and suddenly he just turned towards me and put out his arms. I thought he was just being silly, so I picked him up and put him back down again to test what I thought had just happened. He did it again! Oh God I love that baby!

Our almost frugal new couch!

YES! We finally purchased our new couch this weekend. (Old couch is getting old - cushions are supported with plywood to keep the couch from basically eating you when you sit down!) We had been waiting until tax refund time and that time is here! We selected our new couch (pictured here) a week ago, but decided to hold off. Thank goodness we did, because I found a 29% off coupon in honor of Leap Day. This made the entire purchase, including taxes, shipping and delivery, and a "fabric upgrade", $65 less than the original cost of just the couch itself. Hurray for us!

One sneaky thing to look out for if you are furniture shopping - fabric upgrades. We got a little duped on this one. The fabric we chose last week is apparently not an in-stock fabric. They have to "special make it". Funny, no one told us there would be $100 upgrade fee for this selection until AFTER they had begun processing our order. I was a little peeved about that. I almost opted to change our color selection, but we really liked the color we chose and decided it was worth the extra since we would have to live with it for who knows how many years. So if you're looking to buy a new piece of furniture, ask about the fabric cost before finalizing your selections!

Weekly Meal Plan

I must I must I must - get back on track with meal planning. For the longest time, Hubby and I were eating just soup and salad, but due to boredom I've been throwing some other healthy items into the mix. So, that means I need to get organized again and plan ahead!

Monday - Gourmet Roast Veggies
Tuesday - Veggie Burritos with Salsa
Wednesday - Marinated Tofu???
Thursday - Cucumber Sandwiches (YUM)
Friday - Salad w/Homemade Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
Saturday - DIY sandwiches and salads

Though the menu looks it - we are actually NOT vegetarian. I bought some tofu the other day simply because it was about $1 per pound cheaper than beef. And all the vegetables are because I'm trying to keep things super low-calorie. By the way, I am not a cucumber fan AT ALL - but those cucumber sandwiches were amazing and incredibly filling. A very good diet food.

A new skill or a scary behavior??

Goose decided to try, horror of horrors, TUMMY sleeping last night. I am terrified he will stop breathing if he sleeps on his tummy!! I know it is not likely, especially since he CAN roll over on his own - but still. Aren't they supposed to back sleep for 12 months? Ugh. I turned him over and I think he slept for most of the night on his back, (I know this because I'm nuts and actually set my alarm for 3am to check on him and he was on his back at that time still). But when I got him up at 6 - he was on his tummy up against the crib railings! He was calm and just kind of entertaining himself while he was waiting for me to come get him, but I was nervous to see him like that. I hope tummy sleeping at this point is ok!