Gabbing with the Gafford's

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Gratituesday-Jan 18

This post is linked up over with Laura at Heavenly Homemakers. If you're grateful for something, head on over to her blog and link up!

Today I'm grateful for:

1. My sweet husband for going to work everyday so I can stay home and raise our daughter. I know not everyone can do this, and it's a huge blessing for us!

2. A healthy 6 month old baby girl. We went to the Doctor last Friday and she's on the right track for everything, and above all for others. She is the length of an 11-month old and the weight of a 9-month old. We have a big, strong and healthy girl!

3. I'm really thankful for a pantry and refrigerator stocked full of food. I went grocery shopping yesterday and got everything on my list, plus a few more things and I know not everyone is able to do that.

I've been thinking a lot about hunger in our world today. It's in our world, our country, our state, our county and our city. While I don't see it very much, I know it's there. I've never experienced being hungry or going without a meal, I can't imagine what it's like. So the past couple of weeks I've been extra thankful for having all the food I could possibly need!

What are you thankful for?

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

Bread rising tip

It's cold outside, basically in every state. It's been cold here in Tennessee, that's for sure. We usually have mild winters with a few days here and there or some pretty cold weather, you know 20's. That's cold for us down here in the South. :)

We keep the thermostat pretty low in the winter too, saving those dollars and energy. We keep it set at 68 degrees about 90% of the time. We'll turn it up first thing in the morning and at night when we're getting ready for bed, just to warm it up a bit.

My problem with the 68 degree temperature set, my bread doesn't rise well. I love baking bread too, especially in the winter. A nice, crusty french bread to accompany some soup... count me in!

So here's a tip on getting your bread to rise, even in the colder months.

Put in in the greased bowl as usual and cover with a towel. Place it in the oven. Turn the oven on to KEEP WARM and set the timer for 2 minutes. You don't have a "keep warm" setting? Then set your oven to 170 degrees F for 2 minutes. Don't forget that timer. Once the timer goes off, turn the oven off and leave the bread in, don't open that door and let that warm air out! No peeking!!! Let your bread rise as directed on your recipe. As soon as it's done, open your oven. Did it rise? Great! This has worked for me every time I do it. I even do it in the summer, so I know it will always rise!

Enjoy your bread!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Menu Plan Monday-January 17

Not an overly busy week this week, which is good. I've got a couple of play date's scheduled over the next couple of weeks, which I'm very excited about. I have got to see more people and get out of this house a little more than I've been doing! So the play dates will be great for Nyla, but great for Momma too!

And I'm planning 7 meals a week, 5 dinners a week and lunches for Saturday and Sunday.

January 17-January 23

Pizza

Down-Home Cheesy Bacon Chicken

Chicken and Pepper Pasta Bake

Taco's and Rice (homemade taco seasoning mix-It's so good and a BIG money saver, those little packets add up!)

Creamy Beef and Noodle Bake

Leftovers

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Thursday, January 13, 2011

2011 Goals

I have so many goals for this year, thankfully I wrote them all down in my handy-dandy notebook and hopefully I'll be able to check them off at the end of the year. If not, I WON'T beat myself up about it and feel guilty. Too many times I've done that in the past. I will not do it this year. I will take it one day at a time, one goal at a time. If it doesn't get done, fine because life does happen and I can't do everything!

Here are my goals:

Family and Budget:

-plan 7 meals a week, 5 nights for dinner and lunches for the weekend

-eat at the table 5 nights a week as a family, with no electronics

-date night with Hubby once a month, no baby

-proper wills and insurance

-tithe $ to our sweet church

-stick to grocery budget and menu planning monthly

-plan a schedule for housework, 1-2 things a day

Personal:

-keep up with both blogs, update twice a week each

-weight loss goals (see below)

-drink 64 oz of water daily

-re-goal monthly where necessary (mostly weight loss)

Spiritual:

-follow the "Slackers" one year Bible readings as best as possible, not beating myself up if it doesn't get done

-attend Connection Class (that's Sunday School in our church) and church regularly

-talk to Hubby about what we've been reading and studying in our Bible studies

-pray with Hubby (this one is hard for me b/c prayer is SO personal for me)

-memorize 1 scripture weekly

Puppet Ministry:

-recruit 2 new people for the Spring show

-have 2 big performances for the entire church this year

Weight Loss:

-weigh-in last Saturday morning of every month

-set goals for the next month after monthly weigh-in

-workout 5 days a week

-2 days of cardio (Wii Fit, walk, run, video)

-2 days of weight training (Core Secrets, Wii Fit)

-1 day of Yoga or Pilates (I've got to work on my flexibility)

-rest 2 days a week, doesn't matter what days

I have written out in my notebook the last Saturday of every month that I'm supposed to weigh-in and I have a space to re-goal for the next month. I lost 20 pounds before I got pregnant and I want to get back on track with that, I have a lot more to lose.

I weighed in last Saturday and I have the number I want to be at by the end of the month. I will do this every month so that number is with me each day, giving me determination to get there!

I'm not setting unreasonable goals, but realistic ones. I know when I work out hard and eat the right foods, good things will happen. It's just a matter of putting my mind to it, praying for strength and being proactive and just getting it done.

Those are my goals for 2011. I know, they're pretty ambitious! Some I've done in the past, some I did last year and want to continue and some are new. Writing the goals down keeps them real. They're always there for me to flip back and look at. I can re-goal at any time and I won't beat myself up if things don't get done. Life does happen and we do have a little one and things just don't happen as we plan, God has other plans sometimes.

What are your goals for 2011? It's never to late to get some and write them down!

Check out my recipes!

I've have indexed all my recipes to make it easier for you to find them.

Look up on the left of your screen. Do you see "Recipe Index?" Great! Go there to see all the recipes.

I promise to start posting more recipes, because I actually do cook 5 times a week, sometimes more, so it's not like I'm short on recipes!

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Having a Baby Makes Blogging Hard...

I've come to the realization that being a full time wife and mother makes my blogging, well, not really happen a lot of weeks. Sorry about that. I'm trying to keep my sanity most days and blogging just doesn't come as easy these days.

I've made a goal for 2011 to blog twice a week. I feel like that's all I can do right now. Between taking care of the baby girl, keeping up with the piles and piles of laundry and all the other housework, cooking dinner, visiting family, spending time with Hubby, keeping up with my Bible studies, trying to read other books and picking up all the stuff that having a family brings, blogging is last. I do hate that. I love to write. I love to post recipes. I love to have this blogging outlet.

Lately, I've struggled with keeping up with everything. Lately I've struggled with who I am now. Wife? Mother? Housekeeper? Cook? Friend? Daughter? Sister? Yes to all and so much more. I wear so many hats these days. I am tired a lot. I love my life. But I'm tired. I'm frustrated. I have no time for myself. When I get a free moment I'm picking up stuff and cooking.

But I'll figure it all out. I have a wonderful support system. I have a loving husband and a wonderful family who is more than willing to help out when they can. And they do, very often.

Blogging will come back to me. It just takes time. I cook 5 times a week so it's not like I don't have recipes to post. But I cook and I want to eat, not take pictures and worry about posting stuff. But I'll be back. I know I've been saying that lately. But blogging is an outlet for me and I need an outlet. A place for me to talk and express myself. I've made some friends through blogging and it's time to keep up with it all.

Thanks for being here. Thanks for your patience.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Recipe Index

While I'd love to share all these recipes through this blog it seems impossible for me to get to them all so this recipe index includes the few recipes I have on my blog, recipes from my favorite blogs and links directly to Google Docs for recipes I have uploaded there. I've made these yummy foods over and over again in our house and they are favorites. I hope you find some good food and inspiration to keep on cooking!

(If you find a link doesn't work properly let me know so I can fix it. Thanks.)

Breakfast/Brunch:

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bread

Apple Muffins (great freezer breakfast)

Applesauce Loaf

Banana Bread

Blueberry Banana Muffins

Breakfast Pull-Apart Rolls

Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Cinnamon Roll Toast

Citrus Streusel Quick Bread

Cranberry Nut Bread