Thursday, January 28, 2010

Things that make me happy

Well, for those of you that know me, I'm a pretty happy person. It doesn't take a whole lot to make me smile. These days, those little things seem to happen on a regular basis. Maybe it's the fact that I'm now fulfilling my dream of being a wife and mother. In fact, that's probably it. I thought I'd take some photos of things/people that make me happy. This list is not exhaustive.

Buttons. I love them. I try to put them on everything I knit. I collect them. They make me happy.


Cloth diapers. Greta's bummy loves them. We have a fun collection going and to be honest, I'd rather buy a cloth diaper for my babe than a new pair of shoes or purse for myself.


Greta. She's so sweet. Her smile is absolutely contagious. She has an amazing spirit and I can already tell we're going to be great friends.


Yarn. I'm a knitter. I love buying new yarn. I should probably just get to knitting some more projects so I can replace some of the beautiful yarns in my stash.


My man playing the ukelele. He's so talented and has such a beautiful voice that I could sit and listen to him play music all day long. If only he didn't have to go to work.

Monday, January 25, 2010

3 months old

Well, the title of this blog isn't totally true. Greta turned 3 months on January 1st. She was born last year on October 1st. Can I just tell you how happy I am that her date of birth is on a 1. It's so easy to remember exactly how old she is!

Anyway. Greta is about to be dedicated. It's a decision her father and I made. We want her to know that we stood in front of our church, with our family and friends close at hand, to declare that we will support her spiritual life by praying for, encouraging, and nurturing her.

So, to keep the name of my blog truly legitimate to what I do, I'm knitting her dedication dress. I haven't found the pattern yet, and I don't have the yarn but, I'm doing it! I'll post photos of the finished project. I'm thinking something with little cap sleeves and long but we'll see.
Happy Monday.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Banana Bread

I absolutely love the smell of banana bread baking in the oven. To me, truly nothing smells more like home. Well, maybe the smell of chocolate chip cookies baking with a fire roaring in the fireplace. Either way, delicious. My mother recently shared her recipe with me so that I too could bake this goodness in my own kitchen. Here's the recipe.

1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 mashed bananas
1 1/4 cup flour

Mix ingredients well. Grease loaf pan, bake at 350 for 45 minutes to an hour. It should be fairly brown on top. Makes one loaf.
Enjoy!

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Caramel Rolls

Caramel rolls. I love them. There is just something so tasty about a warm caramel roll. I love the way they go perfectly with coffee. I love making them. So, as the weather gets colder and colder here, I bake more and more.

I used the recipe from Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Caramel Sticky Rolls. Super easy to follow and delicious every time.

Here's the pre-rolled out view. Dough had risen, been rolled out, and then coated with butter, brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon. Also, instead of spreading the butter with a knife I used a pastry brush and melted the butter. It covered the entire 15" x 10" piece of dough and worked great.


Here's the caramel topping which is butter (yum), brown sugar, and corn syrup.


Here are the rolls pre-baked. I let them rise, covered, in the fridge over night.


And here are the rolls after we devoured some of them. Yummy.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Our New Year Resolution

I've never read the Bible entirely. Never. I've always wanted to but never done it. Amazing since I graduated from a Bible College and have been a Christian for as long as I can remember. So, I'm committing myself to do it. I want to read, out loud, to Greta every day from the Old Testament and the New Testament. We started in December to see how it goes and she loves it. Well, she loves listening to people talk and "talking" back, so, we're going to stick with it. After our first morning feeding I make my coffee, open up the Word, and get to it. Today we read in Matthew and Genesis. Some of the words spoke to me:



Do not lay up for yourselves treasure on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

I guess my thought is that one day, when Greta is older, I'll give her the Bible that we've read together and share with her about her first year and the wonderful mornings we shared together. I'm so blessed to be able to do this with her.