Goat Cheese and Arugula Pizza

Last Friday evening I posted a photo on Facebook of the dinner I was enjoying with my family. Piping hot pizza served straight off the pizza stone on our back deck was a perfect end to the week.

Several of my Facebook friends asked for the recipe…I’ll share the pizza recipe with you today.

Slowly over time, I feel like my taste preferences have changed. Maybe I’ve finally grown up?! I am having a lot of fun experimenting with foods newer to my repertoire. Goat cheese, pesto sauce, olives of all different kinds, feta cheese, ect. I know these things are not new in and of themselves, but they’re newer to my menu rotation, and I’m kinda wondering where they’ve been all my life?!

While my family devoured homemade sausage/pepperoni pizza, I tried to restrain myself from eating this entire Goat Cheese and Arugula pizza. It was so good! Loosely based on a recipe I found online, this one was tweaked to my own tastes, and I wouldn’t change a thing. I loved it.

Start with a good homemade crust. Nothing beats homemade. I promise it’s worth the extra effort. And really, it’s almost no effort at all if you have a bread machine. Here is my mom’s homemade pizza crust recipe, made in the bread machine. It’s the only recipe I use, and I think you’ll love it too.

Pizza Crust
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons water
2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 cups All Purpose flour (King Arthur flour works THE BEST. Serious.)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Place all ingredients into bread machine in the order listed above. Choose dough cycle on machine. When ready, divide dough in half, flatten each half onto a pizza stone, poke holes with a fork to alleviate bubbles while baking, and bake at 425 degrees for 7-12 minutes, until very slightly browned. Top with your favorite toppings, and bake in the oven until toppings are hot and bubbly.

Goat Cheese & Arugula Pizza
heaping 1/3 cup of pesto sauce (I used store-bought, but hope to try homemade soon)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
4 ounces plain goat cheese
3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 large handful Arugula
olive oil
lemon juice
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

Top one of the aforementioned pizza crusts with the pesto sauce. Sprinkle minced garlic on top. Crumble the goat cheese on top of the pesto and garlic, and top with the sliced tomatoes. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese, and bake in 425 degree oven until toppings are heated well, 10-15 minutes.

While the pizza bakes, combine the arugula with a good splash of both olive oil and lemon juice. Add generous pinches of salt and pepper.

Once the pizza is hot and bubbly, cool slightly on the counter (5 minutes), and top with seasoned arugula. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

If you’re anything like me, your family will prefer the “normal” pizza, which leaves you with an entire goat cheese and arugula pizza to yourself. Do you devour the pizza in one sitting, thinking there’s no way it will taste good warmed up the next day? No! Here comes my next favorite pizza trick.

Cast iron skillets are the knights in shining armor of my kitchen. Used for everything, I love them. I seriously do love them. When used to reheat leftover pizza, they are a game-changer. We now make extra pizza on pizza nights so that we purposefully have leftovers to re-heat in the cast iron. We think it’s almost better prepared this way.

So, hypothetically speaking, you make the goat cheese and arugula pizza on Friday night. You enjoy a couple slices that night, and then on Monday morning you think two pieces might be good for breakfast. Not that I would ever eat pizza for breakfast…just helping you out in case that sounds good to you. Okay, so maybe I would…don’t judge! Just pull those two slices out of the refrigerator, warm slightly in the microwave (45-60 seconds), and then place in a cast iron skillet that’s been pre-warmed over medium-low heat. Let the slices sit in the warm skillet for a while…10-15 minutes. The crust slowly crisps as the toppings warm. So yummy!

 

I had so much fun creating this recipe. It’s kinda the first recipe I actually came up with on my own, and I’m so glad to share it with you. Hopefully there’ll be more original recipes coming your way. Do me a favor? If you make this, let me know what you think. I really hope you like it as much as I did.

Enjoy your Monday, everyone!!!

Paradox

Lately my life has felt a bit like a living paradox. A life filled with happenings and events that make my heart feel simultaneously opposing emotions. Exciting and important…two words on my heart this morning.

As a homemaker and stay-at-home mom, I am living my dream. As a child I dreamed of a husband, a house filled with children, fresh meals on the table each night, and a white picket fence to top it all off. While I still don’t have my white picket fence, my longings have been fulfilled in so many ways. And in that my heart rejoices. Exciting and important. All at once.

Yet I feel like there’s a false assumption (especially in blog-land) that one must continually find joy in their blessings…that if I always focus on the thanks, my heart will not feel differently. I’ll be the first to admit how untrue that is in my life. While my heart does overflow with thanks to God for all He’s given, there are times my heart senses those paradoxes to which I referred earlier.

Changing diapers…Exciting? No. Important? Yes.

Scrubbing toilets…Exciting? Definitely not. Important? For cleanliness sake, yes.

Clipping coupons and shopping sales on a one-income household…exciting? Debatable. Important? Certainly, and necessary.

Going to bed at 9:30 each night in order to be rested for the 5AM start of the day…Exciting? Hardly. Important? Very.

Wiping runny noses. Cleaning dirty hands. Kissing boo-boos. Combing hair. Endless laundry. Mouths to feed. Clothes to buy. Yard work. Vacuuming. Dusting. Baking. Cooking.

There are times in my life when my many jobs seem both exciting and important. But to be completely honest, there’s also times when they seem not-so-exciting…dare I even say, boring? While I can truly say I’ve never questioned the importance of any of them, I do sometimes find them mundane.

My brother just got a call to visit a semi-professional football team for a possible chance to play for them. My sister is planning her beautiful wedding, amazing honeymoon to Hawaii, and move to a beautiful farm. Facebook friends post summer vacation plans and photos of trips to exotic places. These things? These are exciting! And important. All at the same time. But I struggle to not think of them as more exciting than the daily routine at the Archer household.

And so today, in my heart I am wrestling. Waging war against the temptation to sulk. While this stage of my life might not be super fantastically exciting compared to others, I must still find the joy. The fact that my work is important to the lives of my family members should be excitement enough. I know that. And there within lies the paradox.

Maybe all of these feelings have to do with the fact that as of tomorrow morning, I will no longer be in my 20′s. A new adventure in my 30′s begins tomorrow. Another paradox entirely!

My reason for posting this is simple…I want to be an honest voice in blog-land. To let readers know that while I am entirely satisfied and in love with the life God has blessed me with, there are hard days. Days when I’d like to go on an exciting trip or even try out for a semi-pro football team (okay, so maybe not that).

The point is this…life is (and always will be) full of paradoxes. And that’s okay. These opposing feelings are all a part of my story, and I want to share that story in as honest a way as possible. What’s a fairytale without both a villain and a hero? What’s a novel without both a plot and a happy ending? My story is no different…there are good days and bad, joyful moments and sad, and they all meld together to create a wonderful story. One that I will tell my children, and one that I hope they’ll pass on for generations to come. Will you join me? Embrace your paradoxes? Tell your story? I’d love to hear it.

Odds and Ends

Hmmm…where to start?

The lack of blogging last week was due to my very grumpy mood for much of the week. I just didn’t feel like blogging…quite honestly because I was overcome by emotions that would not have been pretty to write about. Someone said something that hurt my feelings, and I chewed on it all week. I’ll tell you what…chewing on something that long leaves a really bitter aftertaste. Just as mouthwash clears an aftertaste, I used heartwash (also known as lots of prayer and Scripture reading) to rid the aftertaste.

And then I sat down Monday to blog deep thoughts…only to turn around to a kitchen floor deep in water.

And so I continue to learn. Learn that things don’t always go my way, and I need to roll with the punches a little better.

Due to aforementioned flooded kitchen floor, we bit the bullet and purchased a new refrigerator last night. I’ll tell you what, those things are NOT cheap! Who spends $3,000 or more on a refrigerator?!?! We chose one of the least expensive ones…not my top choice necessarily, but one that will suite our needs just fine. And still, it cost an arm and a leg. Honestly. Ridiculous.

I smiled when I got the mail today. This arrived.

A new subscription to Bon Appetit Magazine. I can’t wait to take in all the beautifully photographed recipes, and experiment with them.

The two other items were FREE, and I couldn’t be more excited! The top is an assortment of seeds for growing culinary herbs. I’ve had a few herbs in the past, but nothing to this extent. I can’t wait to figure out how to grow them, hopefully keep them alive, and cook with them.

The small box on the bottom right is a sourdough bread starter I received for free. I’ve been wanting to learn to bake sourdough bread and other baked goods for a while. Excited to start! I think it’s maybe a bit tricky to grow and sustain the starter, so hopefully I don’t kill it.

I’ve been doing lots of reading, thinking, and praying about health and wellness lately. That is for another blog post entirely (or maybe six or eight)! These items that came today…they’ll certainly help in my somewhat new culinary thoughts and aspirations.

Can I tell you all something? Thanks for reading my words. Thanks to those of you who leave comments on my blog. Thanks to those who encourage me to keep it up. While I often flounder to keep in going and interesting, this blog for some reason really does mean a lot to me. More importantly, each of my readers means a lot to me. So thank you. I appreciate you!

Manic Monday

It’s just another manic Monday….really, truly. 

I sat here this morning typing a blog post about what had been on my heart lately. Why I hadn’t blogged at all last week. What God is teaching me. 

Then I turned around to see the ruin that is caused when your freezer water line breaks and empties all 5 gallons of your water purification tank onto your hardwood flooring in the kitchen. 

Needless to say, God must be still trying to teach me something. So while I cleaned up the mess, I tried to have a good attitude. While we decide whether to pay to have an old fridge fixed or spend money we don’t have on a new one, I’ll try to be thankful. 

And now I’ll go wash all the towels that we own, as they were all used to sop up water. Every.single.one. 

Happy Monday! Hope to share more in the week after the chaos settles here. 

A Project & Its Story

Hello friends!

It seems I’ve taken yet another unintended blog sabbatical. I haven’t forgotten to blog…in fact I’ve thought of it often and missed it very much. But the last week or two has been filled with deep cleaning the house and finishing some projects in preparation for hosting a bridal shower for my sister.

I wanted to post a few random things that have been going on, and then finish the post today with photos of my latest project.

Randomness…
*I have newly discovered and fallen in love with goat cheese. Seriously…where have I been?! It’s creamy and tangy in just the right way, and it’s changing my world.

*I now despise my once-favorite store, Goodwill. The prices at my local Goodwill have sky-rocketed, and it’s not even worth looking there anymore. Three hundred dollars for a dresser and $120 for a rocking chair? Hello??? This is a THRIFT store?!? Such a bummer.

*I’ve discovered an even better way to make my morning coffee with my Aeropress I’ve blogged about before. I liked the coffee I first started making with it, but the new way is even better! Check out the sign my husband made for me to hang next to our coffee cupboard:

And now, for my latest project…can I tell you the story behind it?

I have a fetish for desks. Yep, desks. Each member of my family has a desk in their bedroom, and Tanner and I each have a computer desk in our family room. About a year ago I started dreaming about adding another desk to my repertoire. I didn’t tell anyone…after all, we currently have six desks in this house…I thought Tanner would go crazy at the mention of another one. But I had a purpose and a spot in mind for said desk. As my love for writing has blossomed in the last year or two, I’ve wanted a writing desk…a desk free from the clutter of computer cables and screens, free from coloring sheets and homework…a spot to house just my journals, pens, and inspirational items. And the spot in mind? This little corner of our living room. 

Kind of an awkward space to fill, it housed this cute little $5 chair I found. There was nothing wrong with the space…I just felt it could be used more effectively. And my desired writing desk would be the perfect effective use. The only problem was finding a desk small enough to fit there, but large enough to house my writing items. And, it had to be cheep…not a lot of extra cash flowing through our house right now.

And then I saw it. An adorable little roll-top desk posted on a local Swap Site for $15. The size would be perfect, and I saw great potential in it. The only problem? So did a half dozen other people. Someone had already spoken for it, and there were 5 or 6 other people in line for it in front of me. And so, I prayed. Prayed that if I could use this desk for a purpose that would please the Lord, that He’d work it out for those six other people to pass on it. I prayed, and then I waited. Decided not to even check on the progress of it…didn’t even log on to the Swap Site to check on it. That was hard for this control freak, but I knew that if it was really meant to be, God would work out the details.

Several days later, I got an email…I was next in line for the desk, as all of the other ladies had changed their minds about it. Really?! Pure excitement!

I drove my van as fast as I could and picked up this little cutie. Ugly oak and all, I saw great potential.

Using leftover paint from my kitchen cabinets, I immediately gave her a coat of black paint for the undercoat.

Once dry, I rubbed a candle on the corners and edges where I wanted it to look distressed once finished. The candle wax prevents the topcoat of paint from sticking to the black, and effortlessly comes off with a light sanding.

My mother-in-law generously gave me some grey paint leftover from one of her painting projects, so I used that for the topcoat.

Base coat, top coat, distressing…still not totally satisfied. So I experimented with a glaze. Not an expensive store-bought glaze…a “glaze” made with watered down black paint applied with a dry paintbrush. It added just the right amount of character to the piece, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.

A coat of polyurethane finished it off, and I think my heart might have skipped a beat once everything was in place. Love!

The window I hung above the desk was one I already had. A fresh coat of paint re-purposed it for its new home. The black and white family photos in the glass panes speak to one of my greatest passions, my family. What better inspiration for writing! The cute little frame in between the family photos was given to me by Tanner’s grandparents, and it holds a quote I came up with to describe the purpose of this desk.

And that is precisely what I plan to do. To sneak away minutes during my sometimes crazy days to capture memories on paper. To let the feelings of my heart flow through pen and turn to words on paper. To create. And in this I find great joy.

You know what else I find quite joyful? That this entire project cost $20 from start to finish. $15 for the desk, and only $5 for the other materials I needed. Most everything was re-purposed or used from leftover projects. Frugal furnishings at it best!

Blessings to you all. I won’t be blogging more this week as I get ready to celebrate with my sister with several bridal showers on the horizon. Hopefully I’ll be back sometime next week. See you then!

Shared Recipes

Amidst the news of yesterday’s bombing in Boston, the reason for my post today is so trivial. So trite.

Yet, at the same time I find it familiar. Comforting. The simple act of creating nourishment for my family and sharing that with others brings joy amidst pain. Offering nourishment to those in need, I fear, is an aging tradition. Something our grandmothers did weekly, yet something I fear my children’s generation will not see.

You see, I desperately want to bake countless loaves of bread today and deliver it to those in Boston. Cut thick slices of English Muffin bread, slather it with butter and jam, pour them a cup of coffee or tea, and listen…listen to their stories of what happened yesterday. Just listen. And eat. And listen some more.

Homemade food, shared with others, brings a sense of unity and togetherness. It speaks a love language all of its own, and I am learning to speak the same language. Several of you have asked for the recipes for the English Muffin Bread and Granola Bars I blogged about yesterday. I am by no means a recipe developer, so these recipes are not original to myself. However, I’ve tweaked them a bit for our tastes, and I’ll share with you those recipes.

I hope to do more posts like this in the future. Blog posts about food, family, and friends, and the ties that bind each together. My hope is that you’ll enjoy experimenting with these recipes, and certainly please share them with those you love. You might be surprised just how much joy one recipe can bring!

ENGLISH MUFFIN BREAD
5 1/2 cups warm water
3 packages RAPID RISE yeast
2 Tablespoons sea salt
3 Tablespoons sugar
6 cups bread flour
5 cups all-purpose flour

Mix the water and yeast together in a large bowl until it becomes a bit foamy. I used my 6-quart mixer and this recipe fills it to the top. Use a big bowl! Add the remaining ingredients and mix until just moist. The dough will be sticky and messy…that’s okay.

Divide dough into four well-greased loaf pans, cover and let rise until the dough reaches the top of the pan. I usually sprinkle the tops of the loaves with cornmeal, too.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for approximately 35 minutes, then brush the tops with melted butter, and bake an additional 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Don’t forget this step…the added butter is what makes this bread so good!

Cool completely and slice. This bread is meant to be toasted.

DARK CHOCOLATE CHERRY GRANOLA BARS

2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup Sucanat or brown sugar
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 Tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, toasted (spread on pan and bake 15 min @ 350)
2/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/2 cup cashews, chopped
dark chocolate, chopped…not sure how much I used? Maybe 3 ounces?
4 Tablespoons flour

Melt the butter and coconut oil. Add in the eggs and blend. Blend in the sugar, honey, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla. Mix in the flour to thicken it a bit. Mix in the oats, cherries, cashews, and chocolate.

Spread into a well greased 9×13 pan, and bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes. Edges should look slightly brown when done.

Immediately cut into squares using a plastic knife…metal will make it too sticky and it will fall apart. Cool completely, and store in an airtight container.

Multitude Monday

We enjoyed a quiet weekend at our house, which was quite the treat after last weekend’s sickness extravaganza. My heart is filled with thankfulness this Monday for many things, and I thought I’d share a few.

1) I’m thankful for some quiet time at home to color with all three of my kiddos this weekend. It’s the simple things. Really.

2) I’m so thankful for friends at church. I was so encouraged yesterday as person after person asked how Titus was doing, and said they’d been praying for our family last week. For those of you who read my blog and prayed for our sick little boy, I’d like to hug each of you. Thank you for praying, and thank you to those who shared that with me yesterday. What an undeserved blessing!

3) A quick trip to our local public library with my oldest daughter yesterday was a treat for which I’m thankful. She’s a girl after my own heart…she loves to read, and usually has at least two or three books on her nightstand. Her eyes glimmered as she discovered not one, but FOUR shelves of her favorite author’s books at the library. While she giddily flipped through pages, I drooled over the aisles of cook books as I tried to determine which books needed read the most.

4) Per the three new cookbooks I picked up yesterday, I enjoyed some time this morning to bake. The unseasonably cold weather made for a good morning to bake Dark Chocolate Cherry Granola Bars, along with four loaves of English Muffin Bread.

5) I’m thankful that I was able to share the aforementioned granola bars with a neighbor who’s had one too many sleepless nights lately, and I thought she could use a pick-me-up. One of the loaves of bread will be sent home with one of my childcare families to toast and share with their sick little boy. I’m finding that one of my favorite past-times is cooking and baking for other people. I love the opportunity to share!

6) A super quick stop at Goodwill today provided me with a very fun $4.00 centerpiece for my dining room table. It’s cool and unique…made of cast iron and rusty in the most wonderful way possible, this tree-shaped candle holder will be perfect for suppers at home and entertaining others around our table.

7) I am thankful for the opportunity last night to hear from our friends and missionaries to Brazil. They did a live chat during our evening church service, and it was so good to see Teresa’s face again! If you’re reading this, Teresa, I think I realized last night just how much I miss you. While we haven’t done well keeping in touch since you’ve moved, I still smile every time I see a photo of you online, and especially seeing and hearing you talk last night. I miss you, and I really truly hope we can spend some time together when you’re back in the states this summer.

I hope you all are enjoying your Monday, and counting the many blessings that are yours to count…what a privilege! Blessings!

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday! I’ve got several things on my mind this morning for my “Friday Favorite” post.

1) First thing I thought I’d share are two of my new favorite movies. Most movies we watch in this house are cartoons for our kids, and the first of the two movies falls into kid category. Have you seen it?

One of Disney’s more recent movies, this has fast become a favorite in our house. Titus fell in love with it the first time he saw it, and he’s always asking to watch Ralph. A little disclaimer…there are a few things in this movie that I wish weren’t there. Nothing awful, just a few quotes that are actually quite hilarious to an adult, but maybe not totally necessary for kiddos. Don’t get me wrong…nothing that’s going to scar them for life or turn them into unruly children…just thought I’d let you know there’s a few things they could have left out. But, quite honestly, what movie doesn’t have that? Everyone has differing views on this topic, so I’ll just leave it at that. It’s a funny movie for kids and adults alike…just be aware that my views of funny might be different than yours.

The second movie I wanted to tell you about is one that Tanner and I watched over the past two evenings. It was a rare treat…a great movie without anything questionable, and a great motivational story based on actual events. Love those kinds of movies!

The movie follows a young boy yearning to surf the world’s most dangerous waves. The story between him and his trainer is amazing, and even made this girl from Iowa who can’t even swim want to try surfing! Great movie! Highly recommended.

2) Have you ever walked away from a situation in which you later figure out exactly what you should have said? Words escape you during the actual event, but then you re-play the conversation in your head, and you wish you were more witty in the moment? Here’s my favorite in-my-head comeback that happened this week after an especially awful trip to the doctor’s office.

Per the nurse’s advice on the phone, I took Titus in because he had been throwing up and had diarrhea for 5 days. In one day alone, he had 15 really nasty diapers and was throwing up…definitely grounds for taking him to the doctor. A very cocky male medical student examined my son, pushing so hard on his stomach it made Titus screech…refusing to look in my son’s mouth with a tongue depressor because in his words, his greatest fear is that he’ll get vomitted on…yelling at my son to hold still while he examines his ears…telling me there’s nothing really wrong with my son and that he looks just fine.  To which I wish I’d replied…

Young, ignorant, and inexperienced man…you are obviously neither a doctor nor a parent. Until you are either of those, please do not tell me there is nothing wrong with 15 explosive diarrhea diapers in one day. Maybe some day you will be covered from head to toe in your child’s vomit like I was this morning…nothing better than that to cure your childish fear of puke! My son is only a year old…please don’t yell at him to hold still while shoving your odoscope in his ear. You might want to learn how to use that tool better if you plan to continue in the medical field. And, please, whatever you do, don’t ever tell a mother there’s nothing wrong with her sick child. Nobody, I repeat nobody, knows a child better than his mother. Don’t mess with a momma and her sick baby! 

There…I feel better! Not that he’ll ever know that’s what was actually going on in my head, but it feels good to vent. Thanks for listening!

3) Finally, I found some fun things thrifting last night. After days of cleaning up puke and being puked on, Tanner told me to get out for an evening. I spent some time at local thrift shops, and it was good therapy! I found a few blue canning jars to add to my collection… I LOVE these jars! If anyone has any they’d like to re-home, my home would be happy to house them for you.

My favorite find? An antique nut grinder attached to a cute little jar, and it only cost me $1.00. I’m not sure why I love it so much, but I do. So cute!

Best wishes to you all this weekend! Hoping and praying it warms up here soon…Spring is right around the corner, but it can’t seem to make its full appearance. I’m itching to plant flowers and dig in the dirt!

Happy Friday, all!!!!

 

Wellness Wednesday

I remember countless times as a little girl wishing I could change the way I looked. I remember wishing that the opposite of high heels existed…something that would sink my feet down into the ground to make me appear shorter. Starting junior high at over 6 feet tall is not exactly comfortable when you’re thirteen years old.

I remember staring at my dimple chin in the mirror, wishing that something existed that could hide what my siblings called my “butt chin.” Nice. Thanks for the complex, guys! I seriously used to wish I could fill it with putty and cover it with my mom’s concealer.

I remember absolutely despising my overweight state at a young age. I was what they’d now call clinically obese. Oddly enough, the one thing I had the power to change was the one thing I held onto so tightly. Hate my chin? Eat a muffin. Hate my height? How ’bout a donut? Seriously messed up.

Fast forward a bunch of few years, and I have learned to have a completely different outlook on those things I once hated. While my weight is not where I’d like it to be, I’m still 76 pounds lighter than I was at my heaviest weight. That’s progress! I’ve still got a few pounds to go, but I’m learning to focus less on that and more on being healthy…not just thin for thinness sake.

Guess what? My chin still has that dimple. Always has. Always will. But it’s me, and I now love it. I think I loved it the most when I was pregnant with my second child. During a 3D ultrasound, the tech said, “Oh, my! I think this little girl has a dimple in her chin!” Sure enough, at the time of her birth, I was so excited to see that my little Nadia bears the same chin as mine. While not nearly as pronounced as her mom’s, Nadia’s little dimple is an adorable part of who she is.

As for my height, still 6’1″. Thank goodness…otherwise, I’d be worried that early onset osteoporosis had set in! I’m not going to lie…there are still times I feel like a giant. I notice random people looking at me, and then glancing down to see if I’m wearing massive heels of some sort. Last night at my sister’s first bridal shower, I overhead one of the ladies say to the gal sitting next to her, “Look how tall she is!.” She said this not once, but four times. Seriously. Um, ma’am…I can hear you, and I am fully aware of my height. Thank you. But you know what? It didn’t bother me last night. In fact, it did the opposite…it made me want to stand up a little straighter and announce with my posture that I’m thrilled the Lord has given me over 6 feet of life. I guess that just means there’s more of me to go around?!

And so I guess today, as I write a post about wellness, I’m sharing with you that my heart has learned to be well in a slightly different form than others might think. I may not be super-model thin, but who says I have to be? My body bears the scars and stretch marks of birthing children, and trust me, it’s not pretty. But, it’s beautiful in a way that shows that God gave my body the ability to bear three wonderful blessings. I’d choose my munchkins over ripped abs any day!

And so for this gal with lanky long legs and a “butt chin,” I’m learning to be content. It’s a process for sure, but one that is teaching me great truths.

As and added bonus, I think I’m finally starting to drop a few of those last stubborn pregnancy pounds now that I’ve stopped obsessing about the weight. Stepping on the scale this morning revealed a couple more pounds lost, and I honestly haven’t been really trying. Giving up my control and obsessiveness about it has brought freedom, and it’s beginning to show on the scale. Funny how that works, huh?

Be well this Wednesday, friends! Thanks for listening to what’s on my heart.

Project Update

I’ve had to stop on several occasions today and really contemplate what day it is. The last few days have blurred together while I’ve cleaned up more vomit and diarrhea than anyone should ever have to clean. How can so much come from the body of such a little boy?!

A visit to Urgent Care last night provided us with a miracle pill called Zofran. It calmed Titus’ tummy right away, and we thankfully had a full night of sleep last night.

I’ve been missing my blog the last week or so, and just thought I’d pop in to say hello! Hopefully we’ll get back on track here, and I can begin writing again. I think I love to write more and more all the time. In fact, there may be a post coming soon to tell you about my brand new (well, new to me) writing desk, and how I transformed it into a beautiful corner where I can write to my heart’s content.

Speaking of projects, remember those end tables and coffee tables I showed you a while back? Picked up on the side of the road, they were sturdy and useful but in major need of some paint.

I took a vote…white or blue? What should I do? The majority voted blue, and I’m happy to say they’re finished. I love them! The coffee table provides a perfect spot for board games and snacks, and the end tables work well tucked away on either side of the fireplace. The best part? I did it all for $8.00!!!

Enjoy your day, friends! Hope to see you soon.