Dreaming of a future house

Sometime in the future we hope to build a new house. It might be next year or in three years. We haven't made any firm plans but I do love to surf the web for house ideas and floor plans. Here's a few photos of things that I love. I don't have good links because I've saved them on my computer for awhile--if they're yours let me know and I'll credit appropriately!

Above two are from HGTV Dream House. I love the old photos in the mudroom--I'd love to do that.

The above two floor plans are from Sarah Susanka of the "Not So Big House"



What are you looking for in a home? What do you dream of having? I long for a big mudroom to corral all of the gear, coats, etc.

Canning and Freezing

As summer begins to wane I’ve started planning what fruits and vegetables I want to can or freeze. We have a small garden in our backyard and have a few things that I’ll be able put up for winter including peas, zucchini and carrots. I live in a climate with an extremely short growing season (~40 days) and so getting much produce is a challenge. This year my broccoli went to seed immediately without any viable fruit produced. My spinach went to seed and the arugula barely sprouted—ugh! Gardening seems to be a wild and varying experiment every year.

I plan to freeze the following vegetables, usually I quickly blanch them and let them dry and then put them in freezer.

• Corn, approximately one box will last my family of 3 all winter. We use it in tacos, stir fries, green chile.
• Green beans, I’ll buy as many as I can stand to snap the ends off of—one of my least favorite tasks.
• Basil, I use close to a pound of basil and make pesto. I freeze the pesto in small jars or ice cube trays for serving.

For canning I use a pressure canner. I live at 7,700 feet above sea level and it’s the only way to safely can (and it doesn’t take nearly as long). I plan to can the following:

• Tomatoes, approximately one box (20 or so pounds) will get me through the winter. I usually make soup, spaghetti sauce and chili. I haven’t tried making salsa before but this may be the year!
• Applesauce, one box of applesauce will make enough applesauce to last us about 6 months. It’s great in yogurt and in pancakes too.
• Peaches and pears, one box of each would last me quite a long time. I haven’t tried canning fruit before because I’m a little wary of the sugary syrup that usually goes along with it. I think it’s possible to do a light (read: less sugar) syrup so I may give it a try. I usually freeze some peaches also—they’re good for adding to quick breads, pancakes and for baby food if you have a little one.
• Pinto beans. I’m considering beans this year—I hear they’re delicious and really easy to can. We’re not big bean eaters in our family so this will just depend on time.

I love canning and freezing local and homegrown fruits and vegetables. I know exactly where they come from and I don’t have to worry about any BPA’s or nasty chemicals associated with aluminum cans. Honestly, I also feel a pretty big sense of accomplishment and pride that I’m continuing the tradition on canning and freezing that I remember my grandmother doing.

Do you can or freeze? What’s your favorite fruit or vegetable? Check out the Ball website for great information and tips.

Service

As I've been reconsidering what I'm meant to do with myself I've been thinking about service. I think that we all have a specific purpose, set of skills, values and goals that drives our individual purposes in life. I've been thinking a lot about what matters most to me, what I'm passionate about and how I can best use my skills to put my best self and my best service out into the world. I saw a quote today that said "most people would rather be certain they're miserable, than risk being happy." I think that can be an easy trap to fall into. It's so easy to get caught up in the daily grind and the constant to-do list that I lose track of my larger goals and the bigger picture.


So I started this blog as an outlet for some of my desires to write and have a voice. I'm trying to work on some other unique writing opportunities that might be available if I actively pursue them. I want to work more on giving voice to my goals and writing them down so that they become more tangible than just some random ideas floating around in my head--that are often easily replaced by work, family, chores, etc. For me it's becoming increasingly important to shape my future in a way that matches my dreams and goals, rather than just being along for the ride. If I give my goals weight and respect, through identification and acknowledgement, I think it will be more likely that I manifest them.


My goals are to have a career that I feel passion and excitement for. A career that is challenging, energizing--I want it to pay so that I can live and I want some flexibility. My husband sometimes thinks I'm crazy because he says I want it all and we live in a small town where options are limited. He might be right but if I don't try than it definitely won't be possible.

I want to use my life and my energy in a way that serves my community and the causes I believe in well. I want my life and my work to make a positive impact. I'll continue working and evolving to understand what this means for me. I think it's different for each of us and involves so many different things. For some it may be a paying job and for others it may be a weekend hobby. It seems to me that it's most important to find what you love in this life and do it.

A few photos from biking around home lately. I love summer.

Summer cocktails

I found this link to a delicious looking summer drink on Tastespotting yesterday. If you like a gin and tonic I think this drink would be a great alternative. I'm going to make it tonight!

Are you doing what you love?

Is the work (paid or unpaid) you're doing something you love? There are many things about my work that I think are interesting and important but it's not what I feel passionate about. I think I'm generally in the realm of where I'm supposed to be but I don't think I'm using all of my skills and potential in the best way possible. So I'm striving to be open to possibilities and changes that I'm not necessarily anticipating as part of the "plan".


I believe in making a difference and making the world a better place--as cliche as that sounds. For me it's important to feel like what I'm doing matters and in some small way can make a community better or make a difference in someone's life. We all have bills to pay but I'm hopeful that I can intertwine a career that not only pays the bills but satisfies my soul. However, I don't necessarily believe that one's purpose here has to be tied to a career. There are many ways to be your best self and be of your best service--parenting, care taking, volunteer work.


For me being a mom, wife, daughter and friend is the most important part of my life. Family and friends are critical to my well-being. I'm also interested in environmental issues, politics, community and social issues. These things get me fired up. But I spend my evenings reading food and design blogs. I suppose we're all like this there are many things that make up who we are and it's multi-dimensional. So I'll continue working toward fulfilling my purpose and trying to be open to my soul's purpose.

DIY Headboard

After reading lots of DIY and decorating blogs over the past year I was inspired to make a headboard for my guest bedroom. The Collette bed from Crate & Barrel was my high end inspiration. Centastional Girl and Aubrey & Lindsey's blogs put me on the right track.


I bought a 3/4" sheet of plywood from the local lumberyard. It was about $30. My Dad helped me trace and cut out a (mostly) symmetrical pattern on the plywood. We used a jig saw to cut the pattern and then used a hand sander to sand down the rough edges. I bought upholstery batting at a fabric store a few weeks ago. Unfortunately the sales person and I miscalculated how much I needed, so when I went to cover the headboard I realized I'd only have enough batting for one layer. That didn't seem comfy enough so I stopped at Wal-Mart the next day and picked up two packages of quilting batting. I layered all the batting over the plywood, pulled it tight and stapled it to the back of the plywood.


I bought some great oatmeal colored linen from fabric.com for $6/yard. It was a perfect match to the C&B bed. I washed the fabric, ironed it really well and the pulled it taut and stapled it to the back of the plywood.


Finally I purchased a pewter nail-head trim kit from Beacon Fabrics for about $25. It was really simple to install. I just had to nail every fifth nail.


I put the headboard against a wall and I haven't mounted it to the wall yet and I'm not sure I will. It's in the guest bedroom and my little one isn't really allowed to go in there but we'll see.


I love the headboard so much that I'm thinking about selling my sleigh bed (which my hubs and dad likely think is crazy) and making one for my bedroom.

Work balance?

I've recently gone back to work full time, at the behest of my employer, and I'm really struggling to find the balance. It's only been a couple of weeks so I'm really in the transition/getting used to it phase but it's hard! My husband travels about 2-3 weeks out of each month which adds to the craziness.

I try to keep on top of everything like lunches, dishes and the daily stuff but it can start to feel like there's only time for chores. I feel pretty confident that this is what it's like for nearly everyone with kids. I think it's important to remind myself that there are seasons of life and this is going to be one of the busier seasons. I want to make sure we have down time, that there is time at least on the weekends when there isn't something that we're "supposed" to be doing.

How do you keep the balance? Or does that even exist?