A few new links in my blog roll.

I find myself delving more and more into the world of foodiedom, and all the while finding foodie blogs to read for inspiration.

I'm also finding myself drawn more and more to vegan sites. While I'm not a vegan, I do like cooking like one.

The Fat Free Vegan is cool because it mixes weight watching with no meat. I find vegans to be disgustingly skinny (disgusting, like, I want to be just like them!) So, it's actually hard to find ones that focus on watching caloric and fat intake. Don't get me wrong - almost every vegan I've ever met is heath conscious. They're just not always calorie counting.

Post Punk Kitchen is done by a couple of well known vegans that have written the books Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, and Veganomicon. I actually just picked Veganomicon up from the new bookstore in town, and I am way excited to try it out. What I love about these books is the wholesomeness often overlooked in veganism in favor of meat substitutes. I love how most everything is natural. Already the spicy tempeh sushi has completely caught my eye.

The Vegan Dad: who DOESN'T love a Dad who can cook?

I have a few more blogs that I've added that are neither vegan nor vegetarian:

A Veggie Venture is just an all around great site totally focused on vegetables with lots of references to Weight Watchers.

The Gourmet Momma is another Mom that loves to cook. I completely identify with these sorts of blogs and felt at home when I opened it. There are lots more Foodie Mommy Blogs there too.

I think that I just have Oregon on the brain right now, but I'm loving Northwest Noshing. I especially love that he reviewed Mother's, as I recently did the same after my trip up north.

Anyhow, a few more good reads for you while I gear up for the new school year. Then it won't be so noticeable when I don't post everyday! (I hope, I hope..)

Happy Mother's Day

In my home, today is a day of rest. When God said that Sunday was the sabbath, and we were to break, that must have been directed at the men and children. My typical Sunday involves a frenzied several hours of preparation/cooking/sorting laundry, all that leads up to nearly two hours at our church. We arrive home at approximately 12:30PM, which means lunch, a little TV, and bed time for the kiddos. The husband and I take several hours to get things accomplished, those which are more difficult with our two year old underfoot. My non-napping three year old usually has "quiet time" with a video and her blanket. I bake cookies, start dinner, make foods for lunches, and of course - do laundry. I also prepare the kids' materials for the week, make sure the house is clean...blah...blah...blah...

This all boils down to the fact that my only time for me might come on Saturday. Sunday really doesn't have a chance. So, when contemplating Mother's Day - I only wanted one thing: A break. I have a loving husband who is willing to let me have it, but the reality is that I am still Mommy. I still orchestrated getting out of the house for the early church service a full hour before we are normally out the door. I still managed the kids, what they needed, not coloring the pews, etc. We got pictures of our daughter's Sunday school performance, then home to make fresh blueberry pancakes. I meant to make them last night, but just ran out of hours. When they were done, and my husband and I grabbed our breakfast (at 12, 4.5 hours after we woke up), I finally sat down to enjoy my coffee and news paper. The rest of the day should be easy enough. Yesterday, I managed to finish my share of the laundry (all the washing and drying, only the kids' folding). I deep cleaned our dining and living rooms, cleaned up part of the kitchen, and wiped down the bathrooms. All I have left today is making the kid's lunches, a task I'm hoping will be easy after grabbing Mother's Day dinner from a local gourmet pizzeria.

In doing all my "duties" and still managing my household even on my "day of rest," one thing is painfully clear: I can't shed the title of "mommy" for a second.

Before I became a Mom, I had no real understanding of what that meant. You cannot comprehend how all-consuming motherhood is without experiencing it. Mom is your title, whether those kids are with you or not. At the grocery store I think about what foods are best for them and what they would like to eat. At the mall yesterday, I spent the entire time finding some shirt perfect for my daughter, or shoes for my son. I can't look through a magazine or walk through Target without seeing some toy that my kids would be crazy for, or a movie I would love to grab them. While I'm at work, I think about how I want my kids to be proud of me, and how important it is to me that my daughter sees that women can take care of themselves. When I drive, I try to be extra cautious, so I don't rob my children of their mother. Everything I do - goes back to them. Yes, motherhood changes a person. We've all heard that. However, the reality of that statement is much greater than one can comprehend.

I know this will continue on for years to come. I will trade my late at night "checks" for waiting up until curfew. I will trade my curfew nights for drives home from their college. I will trade college for weekly phone calls. I will trade my children for adults. I won't worry about SIDS, but I will worry about STD's. My greatest concern won't be a bully on the playground, but an attacker on my childrens' way back to the dorm. I won't have to stress over my daughter finding out her crush has his own crush on another young lady - but I will have to worry about her losing the love of her life.

This reality of motherhood only makes me appreciate my own mother more. Those hours that she spent tending to and caring for us. How she made us healthy food and kept our environment natural. How she always taught us to fight for what was right, and made sure to model just that. How she taught me right from wrong, good from bad, polite from impolite, moral from immoral, Godly from unGodly. I learned that women could do anything, should do everything, and never depend on a man to take care of her family. Education was a necessity, and it was never too late to accomplish something new. I learned that a woman had high expectations on her - but those high expectations were a blessing. A blessing because, when done right, the rewards are about as consuming as the responsibility.

So on this day, as you shuffle around your kitchen, mutter under your breath, and wonder why you can't have just ONE DAY, look at your kids. You are creating adults. Adults that will (likely) become parents, and celebrate their own Mother's (or Father's) day. Adults that will mutter, and stress, and feel overwhelmed, until a light bulb goes off. Suddenly they will realize exactly how hard you worked to raise them, and although the role has changed, how much they still need you. Parenting does not deliver constant rewards for output, nor are they equitable in frequency or duration. Regardless, the rewards are worth every second.

I love you, Mom!

Good Day, Sunshine.

I've had the most fantastic weekend. It was perfect,wonderful, happy, and joyous.

What did I do?

Well, I stayed home, of course!

My life is really hectic. I work early (7 AM), and leave work at any point between 3-4:30. Then I pick up the kids and do the Mommy thing until about 10 PM. I'm not saying this to gain sympathy - I know I'm right in the thick of it with all the other Moms out there. I'm more trying to get the proverbial "amen, sista!" My day is almost more hectic when I get home. As soon as we walk in the door we wash our hands (who knows what kid came to school with which virus that day), get milk, then dinner, then I start dinner for the ball and chain. Oops, someone spilled their applesauce. Oh wait, no you cant have any fruit snacks until you finish those chicken nuggets. Then Daddy walks in the door and it's like I don't exist, until they realize they're hungry again. Then it's playtime, an apple, playtime, an orange, more playtime, clean time, more apples? Nope. Too late. Then baths, books, bedtime, lunches, laundry, cleanup, and a "do I know you?" to my husband.

So, a weekend like this, where I went no where (except for Lowe's), got some sun (tan lines to prove it, my dermatologist would NOT approve), and watched the kids play in their new kiddie pool, seems like a trip to the Bahamas. Well, maybe that's an exaggeration, but it's close.

Now, we did do some productive things. I finally got around to planting my herb garden (two kinds of basil, dill, chives, and mint). I got caught up on laundry (we took a weekend away recently and I haven't been caught up since!) And, I did some cooking.

On Friday I made these, which is yet another wonderful thing to do with rice. Excellent, excellent, and totally modifiable. I ended up adding some lime juice and cayenne pepper. Made some fresh guacamole to go on top, along with some Newman's Own salsa, the husband was a happy camper. I also ended up making this rice dish, which is now 48 hours old (in the fridge) and tastes better each day.

Saturday I made these cookies, which will forever be called the cookies that I will never make again. Oh, don't get me wrong, they were excellent. I just can't have them in the house ever again. The frosting was screaming to be used on scones. I will have to remember it for that. I'm thinking a nice cranberry walnut scone (or muffin) with the orange frosting/glaze.

Today, I made pizza on the grill and pasta salad. Usually, I like to make a good leftover dinner on Sunday. However, the nice weather just screamed for our grill, so I gave in. We still have some rice pilaf but we needed something else for lunches. So, I made my pasta salad.

Practically Fat free Pasta Salad:

(1) Boil 1 lb of pasta (as instructions dictate). I like tri-colored rotini, but monotone and bow ties will do fine. I don't care for macaroni or ziti-like pasta for this, it doesn't grab the dressing as well. Drain in colander, rinse with cold water, and place in large bowl. Add 1/8 cup olive oil.

(2) Chop and add your vegetables. Now, this is where YOU can get creative. In today's bowl, I added:

• 2 small tomatoes, seeded and chopped.
• 1 large cucumber, seeded and chopped
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 1 large green pepper, seeded, and finely diced
• 1 1/2 dill pickles chopped
• 1 can large black olives, cut in half

YOU can add whatever you like and have on hand. Some ideas include carrots, celery, baby corn, corn kernels, feta cheese, Parmesan cheese, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, black beans, kidney beans, ham, turkey, shrimp, the sky is the limit! I just wouldn't add chickpeas as they tend to get dried out and not good. I also would caution the tomatoes and cucumbers - do NOT add without seeding first. Those "innards" of the cucumbers and tomatoes just bleed water into the salad. This will make it uneatable in the coming days.

(3) when all has been incorporated, add 1/4 cup water and two packets of zesty Italian dressing mix. Toss together, and add red wine vinegar to taste. If you want to add to the flavors, consider Brags Amino Acids, Chipotle Tabasco sauce, salt, pepper, garlic, and cilantro.

This makes a LARGE bowl of pasta salad that you can eat off for days. It is low in fat, diet friendly, and a great way to use up unused vegetables.

Now I must go back out and enjoy the last few minutes of my weekend. If your weekend was even half as wonderful as mine, you are lucky indeed. Hug your family, they're what you do this for.