All About Bread!

I bake bread on almost a daily basis. Here are my favorite supplies and recipes

Supplies:
1. Wheat Montana Natural All-Purpose Flour (White and White Whole Wheat) - sold at some Walmarts, but cheapest in bulk here on Amazon (I go through a LOT of flour)

2. Bakers Joy (non-stick cooking spray with flour)- Great for all baking. Cheapest at Walmart ($1.99)

3. Red Star Yeast - can be bought in a jar at grocery stores, or in a big pack at Costco. The average person will not use up the Costco pack, but it is cheaper than the jars at the grocery store.

4. Dough Conditioner - not required but helps with the texture of the bread and helps bread last longer.  I add about 1/4 teaspoon to all my bread recipes

5. French Bread Pan,   9 x 5 Loaf Pan,  Baking Stone

6. Bread Slicer

7. Re-useable Bread Bag and/or Bamboo Bread Box

8. Kitchen Aid Mixer with dough hook (if you can afford it and have room, get a bigger one)

9. Bread Machine with dough cycle (I do not like baking bread in a bread machine as the texture is off, but the dough cycle is handy for some things).

------------------------------------------  
Favorite Bread Recipes:
I'm sharing 3 right now: My favorite bread for sandwiches, french bread, and sourdough:

Ciabatta Sandwich Bread

Adapted from http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/PrintRecipeOld?RID=R286&radio=1

This bread begins with an overnight sponge, which means the finished loaf has just the barest of sour tangs. As the sponge ferments, it creates certain acids that not only give the bread flavor, but affect the gluten, making the bread chewier. The use of a sponge will also increase the loaf's shelf life.

The bread can be shaped into an oval log but if baked in a pan it will be better for sandwiches.

Sponge
1 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (Wheat Montana Brand four is recommended)
1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough
sponge (from above)
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or White Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk
1/4 to 1/2 cup water (depends on your altitude/climate. In San Diego, I routinely use 1/3 cup)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

1. Sponge:

Mix the sponge ingredients, in a small bowl or in the pan of your bread machine, until well combined (program the machine for Dough, then cancel it once the ingredients are mixed, after a couple of minutes). Let the sponge rest overnight, covered, or for up to 24 hours.  (I make it the night before and bake my bread the next evening.

2. Dough

Mixer Method: Place all of the dough ingredients into the bowl of your mixer, and beat it at medium speed, using the flat beater, for 5 to 8 minutes. The dough will never completely clear the sides of the bowl, though it'll begin to acquire some shape. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours; it will get very puffy.

Bread Machine Dough Cycle Method: Place all of the ingredients into the pan of your bread machine, program the machine for Manual or Dough, and press Start. Allow the machine to complete its cycle. (the break can be baked in the breadmaker at this point, but it wont be as good)

3. Rise
Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with Non stick cooking spray (Preferably Baker’s Joy). Gently scoop the dough into the pan with your hand. Try not to over handle the dough. You can gently poke your fingers into it to even the dough

(If not using a pan -Lightly grease a large cookie sheet, and your hands. Handling the dough gently, stretch it into a log and make a large oval of dough.)

Spray a piece of plastic wrap with traditional non stick cooking spray and cover the pan (or if not using a pan, loosely cover the dough)

Let it rise about 45 minutes. Near the end of the rise time, preheat the oven.

4. Bake
Bake the bread at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Turn the pan over and the bread should easily come out of the pan. Set the bread directly on the oven rack and bake for 5 more minutes. Turn off the oven, prop the oven door slightly open and allow the bread to cool in the oven.

-----

Hearth Bread  French Bread

recipe adapted from http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/PrintRecipeOld?RID=R121&radio=1

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon (1 packet) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups warm water (not over 110°F)
5 1/2 to 6 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (or replace 1-2 cups with Whole Wheat Flour)

1 tablespoon salt

To mix: Using a Dough hook in a stand mixer, Mix together the first three ingredients. Let this stand until the yeast, sugar are dissolved. Gradually add the flour and salt to the liquid and mix thoroughly until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.  Turn the mixer up to medium high, and “knead” for about 5 minutes.
(If not using a mixer, Mix in a large bowl. Then,  Turn the dough out onto a floured surface to knead by hand. Fold the far edge of the dough back over on itself towards you. Press into the dough with the heels of your hands and push away. After each push, rotate the dough 90°. Repeat this process in a rhythmic, rocking motion for 5 minutes, sprinkling only enough flour on your kneading surface to prevent sticking. Let the dough rest while you scrape out and grease the mixing bowl. Knead the dough again for 2 to 3 minutes.)

Let It Rise: Let the dough rise in the bowl. Spray a piece of plastic wrap with non-stick cooking spray and cover.  Allow the dough to rise until it  doubles in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours.

Shape it: Cut the dough in half and shape into two Italian- or French-style loaves. Place the loaves on a French Bread pan, baking stone, or cookie sheet generously sprinkled with cornmeal. Let the loaves rest for 5 minutes.

Bake it: Lightly slash the tops of the loaves 3 or more times diagonally with a serrated bread knife. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and sounds hollow to the touch. (At the beginning and ending time of baking, you can put ice cubes or hot water in a tray at the bottom of the oven. The steam will make a nice crust on the bread)

Ideally, allow bread to cool before cutting into it.

-----

This one is harder, but if you like Sour Dough Bread try

Extra-Tangy Sourdough Bread

My Story -18 years ago but still this vivid in my mind

My Story -18 years ago but still this vivid in my mind

On the Friday before school started our football team played a scrimmage game at our school. Afterwards, my friend Jessica, along with her brother Frank, headed home. Jessica would usually give me a ride home because the city had recently put Domenigoni Expressway – a new highway right behind my house that created a shortcut from my house to hers. “Shotgun” I called out as I hopped into the front seat. This was the last time in my life I ever called “shotgun.”

            As we drove around a corner on the new highway I saw the brightest white light I have ever seen coming straight at us. None of us had enough time to figure out what it was, but I knew it was about to hit us. I curled myself up into a ball and a split second later I heard the car crushing felt the car spin off the road as if it were spinning in slow motion. All three of us were silent through the whole crash, it happened too fast to be able to interpret and react to what was happening. I opened my eyes to find the dashboard pressed into my right leg and my leg pressed into my chest. My left leg laid stiff and twisted out to the side in a position I could never demonstrate. The air was filled with dust and an eerie feeling. Pieces of broken glass trickled down on me every so often like a light sprinkle of rain. My legs and the shattered windshield that dangled a few inches from my head was all I could see. After reality of what had actually just happened began to sink in, Frank spoke first. “Are you guys OK? I thought about his question as all the pain in my body began to radiate from my deep in my bones up to the surface of my skin. My back felt as if someone tried to fold my spine in two, and my legs just felt numb. I finally answered in a soft spoken voice. “No… I, I think I’m paralyzed. I am paralyzed.” Jessica took off her seat belt, jumped out of the car and began screaming, “Oh my god,… oh my god.” Frank’s door didn’t budge when he tried to get out so he crawled out the driver’s side door and went to calm her down. I didn’t even try to move, I had no choice but to sit there completely trapped between the seat and the dashboard. I didn’t know what injuries I had, I just knew my body hurt worse than I could ever imagine possible, worse than I will ever be able to remember. “Jessica” I told her, “ If I die you can have everything in my room”. Saying this made her go hysterical, but I remained quite calm as I sat there in my state of shock.

            Finally a few cars stopped and one man took Frank to my house that was only about one minute away, to call 911. Those who stopped seemed so useless, there wasn’t really anything they could do for me. “Where is he?” “Does anyone have a flashlight?” They were all looking for the man on the motorcycle who had hit us head on. I couldn’t see a thing that was going on outside of the car, I just sat listening, trying to figure out what there were talking about. “We have to find him.” Find him… I repeated to myself, what do they mean find him? He better not have just driven away and left us here, I thought.

            It seemed like the emergency crews were taking forever. I thought I had been quite patient but I could no longer take the pain as it just kept increasing through my body. Being one who has never cussed, I yelled “When is the freaking ambulance going to freaking get here?” I couldn’t understand what kept taking them so long. Finally, the firefighters showed up first. I felt relieved and less alone, but the pain still had control of me. As the pain continued to seep into my bones, I didn’t feel much emotion, good or bad. I never felt scared, sad, angry, reassured, or hopeful as I sat stuck in the car. It only felt like I had been stripped of every emotion I would be able to feel and left with an empty hole that could only be filled with vicious pain. “My back hurts and my leg hurts” I told one firefighter as he approached me. He touched my big toe which comforted me a lot more than his cheesy line that went something like, “Everything will be OK, we will get you out of there as soon as we can”. I felt his finger as he touched my toe and I then knew for sure that I was not paralyzed. I felt completely relieved for a second, but then the all the pain I felt came back to haunt me some more. I sat there, moaning with every breath I took, telling them, ’I don’t care what you do, just hurry and get me out.”

            Most of the emergency personnel did not come to check on me. Like the others who had stopped, they were attending to the motorcyclist. When a firefighter came to check on me I asked him, “Is he dead?” He hesitated before he replied, “I don’t know… they are checking him out right now.” I knew he was lying and just didn’t want me to get upset. “Yeah right” I thought. “He is dead, I know it,” I said quietly. I didn’t emotionally respond to the fact he died, I had too much of my own physical pain to deal with to care about him at all.

            Finally they came with the jaws of life. I expected it to take as long to use the jaws of life and is takes to use a can opener, but that is not the case. I sat, under a white sheet – same ones they cover you with if you die as they slowly welded away at tearing open the car. After over an hour of being squished in misery, they  finally had the car cut apart and put me on a stretcher and into an ambulance. “Do we get to turn on the sirens?” I asked the EMT. They looked at me funny for asking, but said yes. The rest of the night became pretty blurry after they gave me a high dosage of Morphine. In the hospital, the doctors discovered I had two fractures in my left leg, a fractured ankle and three fractures to the lumbar vertebrae in my lower spine. Then I felt alone again, stuck in a small pink room with my back in a brace, a leg in a cast, a tube in my arm, and a pan to pee in.

            After the investigations began, I learned more about the accident, and the man on the motorcycle. The man in his thirties worked construction on a new dam they were building near my house. He went to a bar after work. He asked at the bar for a ride home and the people there ignored him.  So at 10:20 that night he attempted to drive home. When turning onto the divided highway, he started driving down the wrong side of the highway, into oncoming traffic. He met us on a curve in the road and drove his motorcycle straight into my friend’s car. He hit only the front right passenger side of the car, the “shotgun” seat I was sitting in. His motorcycle was ripped apart into two major chunks and many little pieces. He died instantly when he hit the windshield, then flew over the car, and landed on the side of the road.

Please don't drink and drive... or let others do so.

When Something Good comes out of a Bad Situation

Most who know me have heard the story. When I was 16 years old, a friend was driving me home after a high school football game in Hemet. A drunk motorcyclist was driving the wrong way down the expressway and hit us head on. All the impact was on my side of the car. He died instantly, I fractured my lower back in 3 places, broke my leg in two places, and fractured my ankle. I spent a few months on home-hospital and was initially in a wheelchair.
I healed almost completely and went off to college and moved on with my life, but always felt bad that I didn't do more with the situation. I had thought about joining MADD or doing something else similar but it just never happened.
I've always thought that things happen for a reason. Even at the time, I thought- if he didn't hit us, he would have very likely hit the next car coming down the road. What if that car had a mom and a baby? I was fine with taking the hit, because I felt I was strong enough to take it.
However,  I never saw any concrete good that came from my experience. I know sometimes you never see how everything is impacted from one event, but still.

1 1/2 years ago I learned (through a facebook friend's post) that there was an accident at a high school in  Hemet. A student plowed through a crosswalk while a group of students were crossing (unintentionally - still debatable if it was brake failure or if he was fooling around and lost control, but that's a different story).
 I emailed the pricipal, told my story and offered to help in anyway I could. The principal passed on my email to the parents of the injured students.
One mother contacted me.  Her daughter we will call V fractured her pelvis and her arm was cut very badly. I communicated with her mom via email regularly that first month after the accident. I shared my thoughts and ideas about what V might be feeling, how it might show up in her behavior, what her mom should and probably shouldn't say/do, and gave examples of ways she could empower her daughter, and bring back a sense of normalcy.
It's been a year since I have communicated with the mom. Honestly I forgot about the whole situation. She emailed me today and asked if I could call her. When I did she asked me a few questions, and then thanked me many times. She said I was the most helpful of all to her and V after the accident and they really appreciated my words and advice.
I  know there were grief counselors brought into the school, along with the school psychologist and doctors they visited. I have never met them in person, so I was surprised, yet honored for her to say I was the most helpful in helping them get through the accident.
So 16  years later, I feel a sense of completeness. Now I see for sure, that something good came from my tragedy, and for that it was worth it.

Will Speaks of his Prenatal and Newborn Life and Memory of Heaven

Will speaks on his prenatal and newborn life, and on Heaven

Will, almost 5 brought up being a baby again – the first time in a while.

When he talks about it, it is usually out of the blue, and makes very sporadic/fragmented conversation.

There might have been a little more to it, but here’s what I remembered.

I wrote it down as soon as we were done talking because I didn’t want to forget more.

So sitting at the dinner table….

Will: Mom, do you remember your first day on earth?

Mom: No, do you remember your first day on earth?

Will: Yes

Mom: What was it like?

Will: I wanted you to hold me and you didn’t

Mom: Ahh, I’m sorry.

Will: You didn’t push me out, the doctors took me out

Yes, that’s right.

Mom: Do you remember seeing dad on the day you were born?

Will: Yes.

Mom: Did you know who he was? Did you know he was your Dad?

Will: Yes.

Mom: Did you hear him when you were in my tummy?

Will: Yes, I hear him talking to Westley…Made me want to punch Westley

Mom: Were you jealous he was talking to Westley?

Will: Yes

Will: I wanted to punch the water bottle.

Mom: What water bottle?

Will: Your water bottle

Mom: When you were in my tummy?

Will: Yes

Mom: There was a water bottle in my tummy?

Will: Yes… I wanted to touch it.

Mom: I drank water in your tummy

Will: I loved you before I was born… I loved you in Heaven.

Mom: Were you in Heaven before you were born?

Will: Yes.

Mom: Did you meet Jesus in Heaven?

Will: Yes

Mom: Did he talk to you?

Will: Yes

Mom: What did he say?

Will: He told me to be good

Mom: Did he say anything about me?

Will: Yes he said be good for your momma

Two Trophies

-->

I was a competitive baton twirler from the age of 4-15 years old. I competed in hundreds of competitions including the annual state, regional, and national championship. Between my sister and I, we had over 500 hundred trophies that topped every dresser, shelf and open space in our house. Some were second place trophies from small competitions, some were first place trophies representing and important title and job well done. Over the years, they have pretty much all blended together… I don’t really know which ones represented a great win and the best performance. Of all the trophies I have they all remain in at my parent’s house (many now boxed out in the garage) two I have brought to my home. These two trophies  I remember well and now carry the most importance.

One of these trophies I received when I was 13. At the regional competition each year, there was a Miss Congeniality award. All the baton twirlers voted for one fellow twirler whom they respected and admired not necessarily for their twirling talents, but for their personality and friendship. I was surprised but honored when I was announced the winner of that trophy.

When I was 15, I sprained my neck practicing for the national competition. Like many serious competitors, I tried to compete in the nationals even though it was not healed. I ended up losing feeling in my arms and legs during my first competitive event and left the weeklong competition on a stretcher. Healing from that took a year, but when I was 16 I planned to twirl again. Before I did, I was in a car accident, hit by a drunk driver, leaving me with a fractured back , broken leg, and fractured ankle. This recovery was much harder and longer.

I was lucky to be able to go off to college and work towards new goals, but I hated how my baton life ended. So, on winter break of my freshman year back at my parent’s house. I picked up my baton when no one else was home. My ankle was still weak and when I tried to spin around just once I fell hard to the ground. I repeated this many times, practicing only when no one was around as I knew they would worry and try to stop me. But once I practiced to where I could do at least some of my more basic tricks, I called my mom outside to watch and asked if I could do just one more competition.  Like old times, my mother, sister and I packed the car and this time drove to Las Vegas for a competition. For whatever reason, there weren’t many entries in my category, there was just me and another girl. The other girl was very good and I did not care if she beat me. I just wanted to make it through my routine. Dressed in my old costume and with my ankle wrapped up, I twirled two batons in front of the judges. I made it through and I was very proud of myself. Now I could retire the batons with a sense of pride. I did get a second place trophy that day. Normally taking home a second place trophy if there were only two competitors in the event was like a slap in the face, but this time it was a treasure.

As with a competitor in any sport, winning was important. There are pictures on a winner’s podium of great smiles standing on the top #1 and some of fake smiles holding back tears when standing on #2, #3, or even on the floor next to the podium when below the top 5. But all these competitions, along with the coaching of my teacher and mom, and the companionship of my fellow twirlers are what taught me the most important lessons in life.  They built in me a positive character, a sense of respect, good sportsmanship, personal motivation, and the desire to strive for goals and not give up. When I look at my two trophies, that is what they represent.

Stuffed Bell Peppers- Asian Style

I created a new recipe, and I really liked it!

I was craving stuffed bell peppers, and lettuce wrap Asian chicken, so here is what came of it.

Stuffed Bell Peppers- Asian style
serves 4

1/2 pound of ground chicken breast

1-2 cups of brown rice

1 package of Simply Asian Kung Pao Stir Fry sauce (or you could make your own)

1/2 onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup shredded carrots (cut so they are not too long)

1/2 cup zucchini finely chopped

1/4 cup chopped cashews (peanuts would work too)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 red bell pepper (orange or yellow bell peppers would be good too)


Cook the brown rice.
Heat oil in a skillet, begin cooking the chopped onion and carrot shreds on medium-medium high heat. When soft, add the ground chicken and cook until done (lightly browned). When the meat is almost cooked, add the finely chopped zucchini. Add the sauce, then add the the cashews.

Mix together the cooked brown rice with the soy sauce. Then, add the chicken mixture.

Cut the bell peppers lengthwise and cut out the seeds.

Spoon in the chicken/rice mixture, packing as much in as you can.

Top with sesame seeds (if desired)

Bake for 45min at 350 degrees.


The Kung Pao Sauce is spicy, but when mixed with everything else, the end result is not too spicy. If you like spice, you can easily top yours with Siracha sauce before or after baking.

Water chestnuts and green onions would go well in this recipe if you like those things (which I don't)

You cannot taste the Zucchini in the recipe.

We ate ours alongside some steamed broccoli. I mixed the broccoli in with this as I was eating and really liked it. So, broccoli could easily be added to the recipe, but the bell peppers fill up fast.

Honey Wheat Oat Bread

I have been working on testing and perfecting this recipe. I love this bread!
I slice it, lightly butter each side and grill the bread on a griddle, then use for sandwiches. So good, I am now a homemade bread snob and I cannot even eat a sandwich on regular bread anymore.

Honey Wheat Oat Bread

5 cups unbleached flour

3 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

1 ½  cups oats (I use Coach’s Oats, but you can also use, old fashioned or quick cooking)

4 1/2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon salt

2 1/2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup canola oil (or vegetable oil works too)

1 tablespoon flax oil (optional)

3 1/2 cups hot water

1/8 cup vital wheat gluten flour (optional- helps it rise though)

In a very large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, oats, sugar, salt.  

In a 4 cup measuring cup or medium bowl whisk yeast, honey and oil into the water.

Stir the water mixture into the flour mixture, until blended. (I use my dough hook on my mixer).

Then add the vital wheat gluten and mix just until thoroughly blended

Put a cup of water in the microwave for 2 minutes. Then put the bowl of dough in the microwave to let the bread rise (if your bowl will not fit, then you can let your bread rise on your counter top) Let rise until double in size.

Spray two loaf pounds with Baker’s Joy (or Pam, but Baker’s Joy works better for non-stick)

Spoon dough into the loaf pans  let rise again until they reach above the top of the pan (you can do the microwave rise again if you want)

Bake at 375 for 45-50 minutes (halfway through, gently cover  the loaves with foil to prevent the tops from getting to dark).

Cool in pans on wire rack for 5 minutes. Then remove from the pans and cool loaves on wire racks.

Dear Professor

 Teaching is often frustrating and exhausting, but getting feedback like this makes it all worth it.

Dear Professor,

            I was assigned to write a letter to a former teacher who has made an impact on my life. You were my first choice, for you’ve taught me more than most I’ve ever known or remember. I have never had another teacher or professor from any school support me in the way you have. What you did for me in my first college class last year made such an impact with me and helped me to gain assurance and strength to carry on with my education in college courses. When I was at my worst with so much frustration and close to dropping not only your class but out of college altogether, you were able to get me to focus on the positive, understand my personal situation, and give me self-confidence to complete your class.

            I have continued my courses knowing I can do what I need to do to accomplish my goals. I’ve learned to not put so much pressure on myself to be perfect. I continue to think of you and remember the lessons you taught me throughout my first class with you. Your structure and attention to detail was just what I needed to help me be successful.

            As I begin to work with children, I plan to use your style of teaching, attention to detail, structure in planning, and understanding that we all are people first. I will think of you as I help students overcome their difference and other obstacles they may come across. I plan on communicating with not only my students but also their parents in a timely manner as you have with your students.

            I have been blessed to have you as my “first” official college professor and I don’t believe I’d be continuing my education if it wasn’t for you support and believe in me the way you have.

Thank you,

Westley told about Angels, Jesus, and Heaven after his Great Grandma died

-->

Just days after her 94th birthday, Grandma Nellie May Franke passed away. Westley was 3 at the time. We wanted to wait a few days until closer to the funeral to tell him she had died, so we were careful not to talk about her death.

5/17/10 I just made this picture my computer desktop picture. Westley (who didn't know yet that Great Grandma died) came over and looked at it for a minute, and then pointed at the picture and said There's God. He said there's two... one's a birdy-man. I asked if the birdy-man had wings and he said yes. I got him close to the screen and asked him to show me where God was. He pointed to the white area above Grandma

5/18/10 Westley was reading a book about seasons, nature and animals  with Grandma Kathy. He pointed to part of the top of the page and said "that's where Marni is” (Marni is my cousin who passed away last year). Kathy asked "what is that?" and he said "Heaven" She asked who else was in Heaven and he said Great Grandma. (I had still not told him that Great Grandma died)

5/19/10 I sat down with Westley today before his nap and I was going to tell him Great Grandma had died and was now in Heaven.

Before I mentioned Grandma he brought up her name and told me she doesn't live at her place anymore. I said that was right… that she lives in Heaven now and we won't see her again until we go to Heaven.  He asked why she wasn't in the hospital anymore, he said "cause it didn't work?" ( I think referring to them healing Grandma) I said, well it helped some and she got out of the hospital but it must have just been her time for her to go to Heaven. He told me "sometimes it isn't your time"  (not sure where he got that from, it’s nothing we have ever talked about before) I said that's right. I told him Great Grandma saw Jesus when she was 84 but he told her it wasn't her time yet, so she lived here on earth until now when it was her time..

That's all I remember. He didn't cry or seem emotional - he was very matter of fact about it and acted like he already knew. 

5/20 I continued to talk about Grandma to remind him why we would be going to Hemet. I mentioned angels taking Grandma to Heaven. He said “No, first she gets her wings.” I confirmed, “They give her her wings and then she is able to go up to heaven?” He said yes. I asked him where he learned that as it isn’t something we have said before, thinking maybe he heard something at church. But when I asked “Who taught you that?” He said “Jesus told me… when I was a little little baby.”

I asked him if he had been to Heaven, he said “yes” but then quit answering me.

Story for My Grandma

Today is My Grandma's birthday. She would have been 96. She died days after celebrating her 94th birthday. My Grandma loved to write stories about her past and about family history. For her 94th birthday her grandchildren wrote her stories. She was read these stories in the hospital a few days before she died. We also read them out loud at her funeral.

I am so glad she was able to hear the stories we wrote. It is a great reminder that if someone means a lot to you, tell them right now, because you never know when you may lose your chance to do so.

This is the story I wrote for my Grandma.

Passing on Grandma’s Love & Values

By Gina

I am Grandma’s youngest grandchild. For years she was the oldest and I was the youngest at family gatherings. We learned to watch out for each other and had a special bond. Being the youngest I also probably spent more time observing my family, and began to realize how truly special my Grandma was and how I wanted to strive to pass on some of her finest characteristics and values.

I shared with Grandma a love for the beach and for nature. I remember as a young child, many of the adults did not want to go swimming in the ocean. Grandma was never afraid of the cold water or getting sand in her bathing suit. It was special when she would take me out swimming and we would find the perfect spot, way out in the waves, but not too deep. I hope that when my children ask me to take them out in the water, I too, put aside the fact that I will get wet and cold, and have sand in my bathing suit and we will enjoy that time together.

 I remember spending time at Grandma’s house on Palm Avenue when I was very young. It seemed like she was always making fresh bread. It was a fun new experience to make something with her, from scratch. I remember there would be flour and bowls everywhere. Sometimes we would take the flour, put it on our cheeks and just laugh together. Then, we would have to wait for the dough to rise, which is a long process to be patient for. Grandma had that patience, but I didn’t. I would always sneak off a little pinch of dough to eat when she was not looking. Now days, with bread machines and box mixes, most people no longer cook and bake the way Grandma did. Probably the only type of dough most children are familiar with is cookie dough that comes in ice cream. Remembering the experiences that I had makes me prioritize some time in the kitchen and show my children what it means to make something from scratch.

As I got older, I would occasionally run errands with Grandma or attend meetings with her and her peers. While these were not always our most exciting adventures in my opinion, it was interesting to see how others related to her, those who were not part of our family. Every where we went, Grandma knew someone, and would stop to smile and say hello. After she introduced me, her friends would always tell me that my Grandma was the sweetest lady they knew. I believed them, because Grandma was one of the sweetest people I knew as well. I do not ever remember Grandma ever saying anything mean or bad about anyone. She demonstrates the importance of accepting, and not judging others. This brought peace to her life, as well as to those around her. I’ve got a ways to go, but I work to live my life by her example, acknowledging the value in truly respecting others.

Grandma was also the one who showed me God’s love. She always shared her church  with all of us. She showed me how to pray and always reminded me that God loved me, and loved everyone. Grandma told stories of how she had met angels on more than one account. I think it’s even likely Grandma is an angel herself. By her example, her stories, and unconditional love, Grandma helped me become a believer in God and his Glory

Thank you Grandma for being you, and teaching me such important lessons in life. I know I am fortunate to have had such a wonderful, caring grandma and I think it’s so special that you have had the chance to meet handfuls of your great grandchildren. You will always be in my thoughts and in the stories I tell as I teach my children about the beauty in the world, precious times together, love and kindness, and worshiping God. 

Dannon All Natural Vanilla Yogurt- The Best Vanilla Yogurt!

Will loves yogurt. He has eaten yogurt everyday since he was 1. Our favorites are the little cups of yogurt from Trader Joes, but they are made with whole milk so it is good that they are in little cups. Those are great for kids though as the yogurt is thinker and they can feed themselves without much dripping.

The other favorite, is Dannon All Natural Yogurt. It comes in the 32ounce size. Many stores have the plain, the Vanilla can be hard to find, but it is the best vanilla yogurt. Best taste, best consistency, no high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners.

Often we mix in some plain just to cut down sugar content ( I do that to all yogurt) but it is good straight out of the carton as well.

The Vanilla (and the plain) can be found in the 32 ounce size  at Walmart and Ralphs. Usually we buy it at Walmart for $2.49 or $2.79 as regular price at Ralphs is like $4

March 14-March 20 Ralph's has it on sale for $1.49! I have never seen it this cheap in my 3 years of buying it. Stock up - check the expiration date and buy as many as you can eat before that date.

Project Complete! February = Spend $0 (or as close to it as possible)

We made it!
What an experience! I recommend everyone should try it!
It was stressful at times, but a good learning experience.
Also, it helped me be even less wasteful (and I am a pretty frugal and non wasteful person anyway)
We didn't really throw away any food. I was extra conscience of making sure we ate it before it went bad and had to be tossed.

We did not spend $0, but we did very well.
We likely spent $1,000- $1,500 less than we otherwise would have.

In this past week, I just had a $5 target purchase I used a giftcard for, and $10 charge that went on the credit card for milk, bread and bananas

Kevin is doing home improvement projects this week, so he had spending from those from the last 2 days, but didn't have any charges of eating food/drinks out or anything like that.

Spending less than usual made it easy to spot another wrongful credit card charge. We had $620 worth of charges on the credit card we are sure were fraudulent. I think we would have caught that anyway, but we are getting good reminders to always check your statements very carefully.

We did a pretty good job of cleaning food out of the freezers this month. We have a few things we are still going to eat up this week. Otherwise, we get to start fresh, which was needed.
My pantry of boxed foods, canned goods, snacks, etc. Is still pretty full. We could probably go another month (or 2 or 3) of buying only dairy, eggs, bread and meat. I like it well stocked though so I'll think about that. I stock up when foods are on sale, that way I never have to buy foods at full price. It works very well, but some things we don't eat regularly so they have been sitting and need to be used.

We ate out a few times with gift certificates and coupons. We didn't even use all those up.

Again, I encourage everyone to try this. You could be a little more flexible in your food buying than I was and still have it be a success.

This project saved us $500 in credit card/bank errors!

so our Costco credit card bill came, Kevin opened it and grumbled "$500... so much for no spending month" and put it down.
I said no way! There must be some mistake, It should be like $50. There was no way that was possible!
He looked again more closely to see that it had our previous month's total still as that we owed it, plus a late fee.
He checked our bank records and confirmed we did pay our last bill. He called the Costco Credit card company and got the error taken care of, removing the $450 bill with late fee.
There is a very good chance that if we were spending money as usual he would have just sighed, paid the bill and been done with it.
When looking up the records to figure this out, he saw that the last couple of months the bank has been charging our account a $25 account fee. Since our statements are just online, it was easy to miss this fee from the normal view of account, (AKA- hidden fee?) But he called the bank and they apologized and removed the fees, giving us back $100.

Good reminder to check all bills very carefully!

Week 3: Spend $0 in February (or as close to it as possible)

Week 3

Day 1 & 2
no spending

Day 3
Kevin got gas- put some on an old gift card, the rest went on the card $30 or so
Costco- had to get water and eggs  and some other food I am blanking on $15
Kevin went to Denny's while at work, but had a free meal code from doing a previous satisfaction survey

Day 4
no spending

Day 5
Kevin went to the store and bought milk and 2 bananas about $7

Day 6
I went to Target- got bread, Will's pasta, and special frosting and baking cups for a baseball themed cake we had to make for T-ball. Used a gift card about $15
Went to Trader Joes- passed up the neat looking cinnamon sugar grinder shaker, got yogurt and cottage cheese. $5 on the credit card
Went to Stater Brothers - bought Will's favorite noodles (that they only sell there now - Nature's Way Pasta Roni) Could have just got one, but bought 4, as I had a coupon for $1 off 4, and because I don't want to have to be going out of my way to Stater Brothers all the time just for these noodles  $4 on the credit card

Day 7
Spent $14 at the Post Office, on the credit card, paying to ship some textbooks I sold on half.com. But I made $160 from the books :)

Day 8 (I guess this should be counted in next week, but oh well, since I already advertised about my Sprouts trip)
Went to Sprouts $8 on the credit card for produce- but got a lot for $8 as there were good sales!

Weekly Totals:
$ put on credit card = $68
$ put on Costco credit card = $15
cash spent =0

Summary

T-ball is expensive :)

Selling books on half.com made up for all our spending :)

This project has made me plan meals more closely. We have had less food waste. And, I think I have lost 2 pounds :)

Week 2: Spend $0 in February (or as close to it as possible)

We are still working on our goal to spend as little as possible for the month of February, keeping our usually credit card, which is usually a couple thousand dollars a month to as close to $0 as possible.

Week 2

Day 1
no spending

Day 2
I had to get gas. $30 did co on the card :(

Day 3
Had to pay some t-ball related expenses for shirts and team banner. Total $35. I think we are about even now on the money we got reimbursed from our sign up fees for being team manager, so that purchase is fine.

Day 4
no money spent

Day 5
I saw a groupon type coupon I really wanted for ice skating. We went once before on a coupon deal and the boys had a great time and keep asking to go back. This was definitely not a justifiable purchase though, so I had to get creative. I bartered with my sister. She bought the deal for me, now I owe her babysitting and a loaf of pumpkin and banana bread.

Day 6
Needed some produce.
Spent $6.75 at Sprouts.
Spent $18 at Walmart on bagels, yogurt, and pull ups that Will wears at night.
These purchases went on an old gift card we got from a rebate that we had.

I had found 2 old groupon type codes for Papa Johns. I thought I had used them up, but realized I hadn't. It said on them that they expired, but I tried and it worked. So we got pizza without spending any money tonight. It tasted really good... especially up against all the freezer food we've been eating

Day 6
no spending

Day 7
Valentine's Day!
I had a few things I bought a long time ago so I made little gift cups up for the boys. I wanted to decorate but realize I didn't have any crepe papers or balloons or anything. We had many valentine picture crafts Will had made so I hung them all up. Grandma Kathy was here with us and had gotten 2 mylar balloons at the dollar store so that livened things up too. She took us out to lunch on Valentines day. Thanks Grandma Kathy!

Weekly Total:
$30 on credit card (gas)
$28 on gift card (food and night diapers)
$35 cash (for Tball stuff)

February = Spend $0 (or as close to it as possible)

So Kevin and I took on a challenge for the month of February. The goal is to spend as little money as possible for the whole month. We put all our monthly purchases on our credit card. Then we pay it off at the end of the month. Our system works well with us, and we are fairly frugal people always so we always can pay our bill. But often it is higher than we hoped for.
This month We are going to eat the food we have in our house (just buy dairy, bread and produce - foods I need to feed my boys because I do not want their nutrition to be affected) not spend money eating out, and not spend money shopping or for entertainment.
We did not stock up on anything in preparation of this month

Week 1
Day one - I had to go to Costco. Will lives on peanut butter and honey tortillas and I give him the multigrain with flax seed tortillas I get at Costco. I also needed eggs and AAA batteries. I could have not bought the batteries, but they are for some flashlights we have for emergencies. I couldn't stand the idea of there being an emergency and needing them and I didn't have them because of this project. Also, Kevin needed yogurt. So I left spending $44. This isn't bad considering our usual trips to Costco are $150 or more. I passed many food items I normally would have saw and bought. I didn't even go near the clothes or other non food items. I have enough tortillas for at least a month so we shouldn't have to go back there to be tempted again this month.
We saved $65 today by canceling our YMCA membership. We haven't gone in a few months, so we finally took the steps to canceling, preventing the monthly charge for February

Day two- Kevin had to buy gas. Like I said, we didn't stock up in preparation for this month, so that is an expense we just have to deal with.
We had a bowling groupon to use up. It included bowling and food. We ordered just enough food to reach the groupon limit. We don't want to short others with this challenge, so Kevin did tip $5 cash

We saved $4.50 on newspaper subscription. Before I was told that $6.50 was the cheapest way to get the newspaper. I only wanted it Sunday but they said it was cheaper to get it everyday. So we have but rarely read it on other days. Funny that when I went to cancel it altogether I was then offered a special for Just Sundays for $2.00 a month. That's all I wanted all along

Day three- I went to Sprouts. I don't want my children's nutrition to be affected, so while we could survive without fresh produce I didn't want to do that. I had a Mastercard type giftcard we have had a for a while I used and I spent $11 on produce that was on sale (so no charge was put on the credit card).  Many times I buy produce and I don't use it all and we end up throwing some away. I bought just what I needed, we have been eating all and are not throwing any away. Usual Sprouts bill is $30. The week previous I bought a watermelon there. As soon as I cut into it I could tell it was no good. Normally I would just throw it away. I saved it, took it back and exchanged if for a new one. So in a sense, we got a free Watermelon.
Kevin wanted to spend some one-on-one time with Will while Westley was in school, so he took Will to Legoland (we have annual passes) Will wanted to get ice cream, so I found a free Milkshake coupon we had for Chick-Fil-A and they got that on the way.

Grandma offered to watch the boys for us to have a date night. We had some old movie gift certificates and a Ruby's gift card which were still valid, so we used those for dinner and a movie.

Day four- Kevin bought $20 worth of girl scout cookies. Again, don't want to short others and me stingy even though we aren't spending. He used cash, so at least no purchase on the credit card.
At work Kevin went to Denny's He had a free meal coupon he got at an SDSU game so he used that to pay.

Will needs more sweaters. I thought about buying them, but knew I couldn't. I asked a mom friend I give baby stuff to if she had any from her son. She brought over two. I avoided clothing stores

Day five- I went to Albertsons. I had a $5 in rewards to use. I bought Milk, some cooked chicken strips that were on a good sale and I had a coupon for to make them just 50 cents. After my $5 reward my total was $2 that went on my Mastercard gift card

Kevin was asked (begged) to take on the manager/coaching position for Westley's newly starting T-ball team. Bad news is T-ball has some expenses, like $40 for pants, cleats, cup, and belt. But the good news is we get a full refund of the money for registration. Not sure how much it was, I think around $100?

Day six- I went to Walgreens. I never go there because they are expensive, but I had a $10 gift card I got  as a baby gift when pregnant with Westley (6 years ago) I bought children's ACT for the boys and a package of shredded cheese. I have $1 left on that card.

Day seven- I had a $2 off groceries coupon for Vons. It expired today. Usually I miss using these as they expire quickly. But I made a point to use this one- at 10:00 at night after teaching my class. I got a loaf of whole wheat bread and bananas. Total cost after coupon 60 cents. went on the Mastercard Giftcard. It should still have like a $5 balance on it.


Summary:
It was surprising how much more aware I became of things. The first day Will asked for cereal, once I poured the milk he didn't want it anymore. I got the idea of how people feel who do not have much money. Usually I would be annoyed that he didn't eat, this time I was upset... he just made me waste the milk!
Despite the project we have been eating well. I have made good meals with frozen meat I had. I also made more things from scratch including crepes and a new healthy banana bread.

This week totals
$45 on Costco Credit Card (tortillas, eggs, yogurt, emergency batteries)
about $90 on regular Credit Card (for Gas and T-ball Supplies)
$25 in cash (tip and girl scout cookies)

Backstock of Groceries, Toiletries, Shoes & More

For years I have been a coupon shopper, and sometimes have a excess of a certain food I got on a good sale. I called it my backstock.
While I still do this when I can get a great price on something (I check the expiration date and calculate how many I will use buy then to decide how many to buy)
I have started to expand it.
I am trying to have a backup of every item we use. I have been working on this for a couple months, and look to have 2 of everything. When something is on sale I buy at least two.
So there is always in my house extra package(s) of toilet paper, plastic bags of every size, flour, sugar peanut butter, rice, salad dressing, meat & a loaf of bread (in the freezer), eggs, butter, cereal, toothpaste, shampoo... pretty much everything milk and fresh produce that expire too quickly

Since I have made this attempt, I am loving that I am doing this. It is so nice that when Kevin says "ugh, we are out of tinfoil or mustard or whatever, I can say OK hold on, and walk into my pantry and pull a new one out. It is so nice not to run out of much. I can pick out a new recipe when the kids are asleep  I can likely make it without having to wait for them to wake up and drag them to the store.
Occasionally I still run out of something, but it is becoming a rarity in our household.

I have also tried to do this with clothes and shoes. Will is easy, there are always clothes and shoes in the next size waiting for him, but with Westley, if his shoes get too small, he would have to wear him until I had time to get him some new ones, which could take days.
So now I do the same, I look for good sales on shoes and clothes in the next size or two up. This way, when I need them they are there.

Besides the convenience of having things readily available, I also think there is another good reason to do this - disaster preparedness. If something happened temporarily, I have a bit of a cushion by having the house well stocked.

I encourage you to consider doing what I am doing, and try it out. Let me know what you think!
Just start by paying attention to sales. When things are on sale, buy 2 not one, and build it up.

Birth Trauma Resolution Therapy

Through education and experiences with Will, I am a believer that experiences during prenatal development, birth, and infancy have more impact on a person's psychological well being, developmental progress, temperament and personality than most people would think.


To read our story, please see my new blog http://birthtraumaresolutiontherapy.blogspot.com/

For more information on Perinatal Psychology and the effects of birth trauma, visit

http://www.birthpsychology.com/

I encourage anyone with a young child who can talk to ask the child if they remember being inside mommy's tummy, being born, or being a baby. You might be surprised, like I was, to get an answer. (If you do get an answer and don't mind sharing, I'd love to hear about it)

Book: Heaven is for Real

Heaven is for Real
This easy to read book is a true story of a 4 year old boy who got very sick and almost died. Over the next year his parents pieced together things that he was saying to discover that he had gone to Heaven and come back. After my little experiences with Westley after my Grandma died I believe children have a better understanding of God and Heaven than most adults. It was interesting to hear him describe Heaven and Jesus. What he said matches up with scripture.
Even if you are a skeptical person, I think you will enjoy this book.

Right now it is only $6.99 on Amazon. If you can't pay that let me know. I will send a copy to you.

Grocery Store Sales

My last post inspired this one. I am a dedicated sale shopper. I used to be a crazy coupon shopper, but coupons aren't as good as they used to be (the economy even ruined that) and I have less time deal with them as I used to, but I still use some.
Mainly, I shop based of the grocery store ads. This is pretty easy to do, once you get used to doing so.
The key is to watch the sales, when something is on sale you stock up so you don't have to buy it when it is not on sale.
Better yet, clip coupons for foods, then use them when you can buy the item on sale

I am speaking for Southern So Cal:
Grocery store sales typically go from Wednesday-Tuesday.
Usually the ads come in the mail on Mondays or Wednesdays.
Watch for them.
Then, see what is on sale at each store.
Going to more than one store can save you a significant amount of $ sometimes.
Watch for special 3 day sales (usually on weekends) and for coupons in the ads.

Some of the produce/natural markets, like Henry's have double ad Wednesdays -so the previous week and coming week's sales are both in effect.

Wednesday mornings... that's where I am  :)

This week
Wed 11/3 - Wed 11/10
Blueberries, Blackberries, and Raspberries are on sale at Henry's for $1.50 each.

Blueberries haven't been on sale at any major grocery store in 2 months, so I am excited!

As winter approaches and is dominated by boring apples and oranges, I encourage you to get your berries while you can :)