Reality TV?

I am not a fan of reality television.  In the last year, I've become someone who really doesn't watch much television.  When I do watch tv, it'll be the news, evening game shows that we can watch with the kids (WoF and J!), or something "nerdy" like a documentary. 

However....

Sunday night after the Superbowl - which I hardly watched, even for the commercials - was over, I ignored the tv while The Voice came on.  It didn't take long for me to be very interested.

You see, I've quit watching tv - especially reality shows - because they seem to be full of mean people, greedy people, or people that make very poor decisions.  Sitcoms, evening dramas, even morning talk shows - I get so annoyed by all of the "drama" that fuels these shows.  So I just quit watching them.  (And maybe I traded them for facebook and twitter and blogs and pinterest - but even there I try to get away from the drama, taking bloggers off my reading list, unfollowing tweeps, hiding or unfriending folks on fb.)

But The Voice - so far - seems different.  The artists/judges are encouraging.  OK, so Christina was a little mean to that Maroon 5 guy - but to the artists that are auditioning, the judges are generous and caring.  It is such a nice change to see 'good' on television!  

Before Sunday night, I had no idea who Cee Lo was (is?).  I still don't, really, but I know that he was in the Super Bowl halftime show with Madonna.  And when I googled Blake Shelton, I found out that he and Miranda Lambert sang before the Super Bowl.  I missed that part.  And apparently, he's a country musician.  I did know of Christina prior to seeing the show.  In fact, she's the reason I thought I wouldn't like it.  Let's just say that her style is different from mine.  (Here I am blogging about a show that's "nice" and I feel mean for saying that.)

My husband found this last bit terribly funny.  I am pretty out of touch (obviously) with current music unless it's contemporary Christian music.  It's the only thing on the radio that's appropriate for our kids to listen to, so that's where my radio station is set.  Don't get me wrong, I like a variety of music, but I usually listen to it when I'm driving.  And a lot of that time, the kids are with me. 

Even for the songs I like, it's rare that I know the title or artist.  I guess I'm just not that into music.  But I am into The Voice.  At least for now!

My Recipe Collection

I have a mish-mash of recipe cards, cookbooks, pages torn from magazines, and notebooks of pages I've printed out.  Search engines, blogs, and pinterest make it really easy to find recipes online these days, but I'm still a fan of having them on paper in front of me.  Much easier to make notes that way - to double a particular recipe next time, use only half as much of a particular ingredient, or any other note on how I may have varied the recipe. 

Some of my cookbooks and recipes remind me of particular people.  These lists of ingredients and instructions are more than just how I turn basic ingredients into something wonderful.  They come together to form a scrapbook of sorts. 

Grandma's Macaroni and Cheese
Mom's Chocolate Frosting
JA's Blueberry-Orange Muffins
The cookbook that N gave us as a wedding gift
 
Tonight, I was making JA's muffins.  The house was fairly quiet - the kids already in bed and my husband working late - so I was alone with my thoughts.  I realized I was out of orange zest (I usually keep some in the freezer), and wondered if the same thing had ever happened to JA.  I thought about her family.  Thought about how we originally connected (through the internet - I've never met her) and what we had in common (peanut allergy). 

As I measured, sifted, poured, and mixed, I had a chance to not only be thankful for my full pantry, but also to be thankful for my friends and family.  As big and busy as the world can seem, sometimes something as simple as a recipe from a friend can remind me of what's most important. 

Keepin' It Real

Not complaining, but not doing a happy dance right now.  Just telling it like it is.

• The adults are sick.  We had an appointment with the dr this afternoon, and now have 2 z-packs, 4 packs of tissue with lotion, a bag of cough drops, and one bottle of prescription cough suppressant.  We should be fine in a few days.
• In the meantime, we are eating like ... Well, like no one feels like cooking.  Toast, eggs, cereal, oatmeal.  Cookies.  Yes, cookies.  They are oatmeal, at least!  We tried to clean out the fridge before our holiday travel, and came home not feeling well.  It was the weekend, then the holiday, so the dr office wasn't open.  We sat around and felt icky while the kids enjoyed (too many) movies, (not enough) outdoor time, and their new Christmas gifts.  
• Christmas was nice.  I did not stay up until the wee hours of the morning ... waiting ... for Santa, which was nice.  But we still didn't get enough sleep, considering that it was vacation :)  
• The kids got plenty of super-nice things.  Not too much.  That part of Christmas was pretty perfect.  Oh, and I got a new 50mm lens for my camera.  That was very perfect :)  Haven't gone out to do anymore "photo shoots" - I've just been playing around with it and really don't have anything cool to share yet.  Yet.
• Even though I told everyone that M didn't need anymore art supplies, someone (ahem) got her some watercolor paints and paper.  And suggested to a certain aunt-to-be that a crayon tower would be pretty cool.  I just can't help it that I'm in my mid-30s and love crayons.  Also?  We need to add on an art room for the girl.  It's the first thing she does when she walks in the door from school.  Yes, even before unpacking her lunchbox and doing her homework - unless mean Momma is on patrol.  
• We also signed her up for a weekend art class.  She's totally excited - and I'm excited for her.
• Basketball is in full swing this week, with the first game this Friday!
• Miss M asked, "When do we go back to school?" (or some variation of that question) for the first several days of the holiday break.  I think she was pretty happy to go back to school.  I'm sure J was glad to see his friends again, too.
• I did not miss packing lunches - I'm always glad for the break.  I also considered - but only for a moment - letting J and M eat the hot lunch at school.  I read the menu and quickly changed my mind - it would have been a waste of money.  Another reason I considered it...  It was COLD today.  And I typically pack a sandwich, fruit, vegetable - basically, a cold meal - so I was thinking that it would be nice to have something warm in their tummies.  And since we are low on groceries, that wasn't really an option (see above).
• Hoping to get back to a regular exercise schedule - I've already got plans to walk with a friend twice in the next couple of weeks.  We've got quite the cold snap now, but hoping for biking when it warms up a bit.
• And, just because I want to end on a good note, I have to add this thought that I shared with a friend recently.  I was writing a note - probably in a Christmas card - about how big the kids are getting, what keeps us busy lately (school, church, scouts, basketball),  and how much fun they are right now.  I have always loved every stage of their growth and development, though for a long time I would tell folks that my favorite age was "from sitting up to saying no."  That was really a fun time, and I still really enjoy others' kids who are that age.  But I have come to realize that every age - whichever one my kids are currently in - is my favorite.  There's something unique and special about each stage, and it's so much fun to watch each of my kids develop.  Even though M is where J was about 2-2.5 years ago, she does it differently.  And so, while developmentally things progress along pretty much the same path, they each do it with their own style, which makes it brand new and special - and fun.  Love them!

So - there's the 'first installment' - hope to be back with another post sooner rather than later!

Vegan-ish Oatmeal Cookies - 3 Ways

I occasionally check in over at Daily Garnish, and recently read the recipe for these Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Normally, vegan recipes require ingredients that aren't in my pantry (as we're not vegan), but I was eager to try these because I knew we would have all of the ingredients on hand.  You see, even though I rarely purchase bananas, they always, always, end up getting too ripe before they are eaten.  And this recipe calls for a ripe banana - apparently as an alternative to egg.  (By the way, this recipe is a guest post by Madison, who also has ripe bananas on hand.)

Miss M and I mixed them up earlier today, and since we had plenty of bananas on hand (I'm not a fan of banana bread) I went ahead and doubled the recipe.  Then, when it was time to add the mix-ins, we split the cookie dough into thirds and turned two batches of dough into three varieties of cookies.  I let Miss M choose, and we ended up with walnut-chocolate chip, walnut-craisin, and craisin-chocolate chip. 

They haven't been out of the oven long, and I think we've already eaten close to a half-dozen.  While the banana flavor is noticeable, I think it might be less so once the cookies cool.  I'll let you know.  Either way, they are delicious.

Ours aren't completely vegan.  I didn't use vegan chocolate chips.  Also, since I washed it down with a glass of milk....