Life Update

I must make this update short, but I did want to update my family and friends on life here with my fantastic husband and our crazy life!

Our life looks very similar to this:

We are one of these monkeys throughout the week. haha :-) No... Life has not been crazy-bad, just crazy-busy. So what's going on?

Garden

My sweet husband formed a perimeter of a garden for me as a surprise for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. Since then, we have tried to work in the garden at least once or twice a week to prepare it for planting. Thus far, we have laid the bricks for the perimeter of our garden and laid the stepping stones leading to the garden. (It doesn't sound like much, but we worked hard for a couple of hours a day for about three days.)

The weather has been our garden's foe these past couple of weeks. Our weather has not been able to make its mind up, as to whether it would like to be cold or warm. The past two weeks have been mostly beautiful with one day hitting nearly freezing temperatures, one day being below freezing with icy roads and sleet, and one day being below freezing with potential for snow (but no snow).

I have also attempted to begin a compost for the garden, but I have not looked at the compost since the freezing temperatures. Our next steps on the garden are to till up the area inside our garden and plant our seeds/starters!

School

I am back in school. My schedule rotates between working at an elementary school (for student teaching) and studying at the university. The Lord has been so gracious to keep me organized this semester and help me to stay ahead of readings and assignments.

My darling was going to start school, but the class was postponed for various reasons until March. He will finish up his schooling, then, at the end of May.

Cooking

Ah, cooking! A very important topic. :-) I have only cooked breakfast for me and my husband the past two weeks. This week I am cooking dinners for the whole family! I have actually really enjoyed it. I went grocery shopping on Tuesday and bought groceries for the rest of the week and into the next week for $40 from a discount grocery store. Tuesday night, I cooked broccoli and cheese soup. Wednesday night, I cooked black bean burgers and a sunshine salad. Tonight, I and my husband are grilling veggies and chicken for fajitas. Tomorrow, I plan to make pomegranate chicken and a spinach salad. On Saturday, I will make a veggie stirfry.

Those are a few things about our life lately! I need to work on some school work before I begin dinner. The Lord is so faithful!!

God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel

Meal Plans January 12-25

These lists are my own meal plans. They are not in any way to be nutritional advice, fail-proof recipes (remember, it's my first time making the majority of them!), or anything that challenges the way you meal plan or your eating patterns.

I put a LOT of time and effort in putting these plans together. If you would like to copy them for purposes other than your individual in-home use (for example, blog, cooking party, print offs, etc), please give me credit. :-)

(Click on the document you would like to view.)

Monthly Meal Plan
Grocery Shopping List
Recipe List 

God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel

Listen to Your Body

Source: Google Images

 

The Body's Design

The past few days, I have been dealing with sinus issues. A cold seems to be trying to creep up on me. Thank God He designed my body to fight against illnesses. As I was working yesterday, I could feel waves of heat hitting my face and neck, subsiding, and then hitting my face and neck again. My body is raising its temperature so that the sickening bacteria cannot thrive. I noticed several other mechanisms my body is trying to use in order to work against this cold (running nose, coughing, et cetera). Our bodies are equipped with an immune system that will attempt to restore homeostasis (or balance) to our internal components.

The first question is...

Will you listen to your body? As our bodies wage the war internally, we can actively take part and assist its cause for better health. Listening to your body is not literal in the sense that your body is audibly talking to you, and you must connect with this energy/force to understand... That is not what I mean (least anyone should misunderstand). In contrast, listening to our bodies means responding to signals it gives us. Of course, as we become more conscious of the signals our bodies gives, we will be better able to respond to them appropriately.

Baby Steps

Let's start with two common signals:

--Feeling the need to go to the restroom: Think about the purpose of going to the restroom. The purpose is to eliminate waste from the body. We certainly do not want to hold waste in our bodies and allow it to become a breeding ground for unwanted bacteria. Holding poo can lead to constipation, hemmoroids, anal fissures, and damage to the internal sphincter. Holding pee will likely make you pee yourself before it gives you a bladder infection, but it can begin to breed bacteria in the bladder and cause issues with the kidneys.

--Craving food/being "snacky": Pregnant women get a lot of attention for craving weird foods, but cravings are not exclusive to pregnancy. Craving food is the same as being "snacky" in the sense that you get home, you're not really hungry, but you go to the refrigerator, open up the door, and search for something to eat. You eat your snack, and then a little while later, you pick up a cookie on the counter. Not too long after that, you snag a chip or two or three from your spouse. Cravings/snackiness can be the signals for:

• Hunger: Who knew? Maybe you actually are hungry. Listen for the hungry signal from your body to determine whether you need to toss the cookie aside and cook up a stirfry or make a quick sandwich. If you absolutely cannot satisfy your hunger at the moment, have snack options available to you that are more nourishing: carrots, healthy granola bars, kale chips, a piece of fruit, hummus and crackers, et cetera.
• Dehydration: One of the main reasons for snackiness is dehydration. We need water, water, water! (Refer to above informational poster.) I have heard that before choosing to eat a snack, drink a glass of water and wait fifteen minutes. Well... if you're like me, once you walk to the refrigerator to get "water," you're done for. Out come the blueberries (my delight the last couple of days). The key is to stay hydrated all day long. Keep water with you as often as possible throughout the day and sip or gulp as available.
• Vitamin Deficiency: Another reason for cravings and snackiness could be a signal that your body needs specific nourishment. [Pregnant women apply!] Craving sweets can be a signal from your body that your blood sugar is fluctuating and its trying to balance itself. Craving salty foods can be a sign your stress hormones need balance. Craving chocolate could mean you need more magnesium [me! me! me!]. The list goes one. Snackiness can be the result of a poor diet, and your poor body is trying to tell you-- "GIVE ME MORE NUTRIENTS!"

If you are "new" to listening to your body, try listening for these signals first. They are so common/well known and so frequent that they make great practice for listening for other signals. Eventually, you will be able to listen for other signals. For example, a headache can mean many different things. Listen to your body. Perhaps you need to cut caffeine. Perhaps you are over stressed. Perhaps you are coming down with a sickness. Finding the root cause will ultimately be more satisfying than taking a pill to make the symptom subside. Listening takes practice, and sometimes it takes research, too. Be encouraged as you practice listening to your body!

 

The second question is...

How will you respond to your body's signals? You hear the signal loud and clear. The choice is now yours to ignore the signals or assist your body in its mission for balance. If you hear the signal, I encourage you to do what you can to find the cause of the signal. Once you find the cause, give your body what it needs. Some signals are easier to find the root cause of than others. For example, I have been drinking a lot of water lately because I am fighting this cold and because I have been snacky.

Signal: cold and snackiness
Cause: dehydration and low immune system
Response: increased water intake

Interestingly enough, I find that I naturally drink more water during times like these because my body has been through this process before. My natural (learned, really) response is to increase water intake, and it works. On the other hand, my body has sent me another signal the past couple of years, and I am still trying to find its cause to act on it. Sometimes it takes time and research to recognize patterns in a signal or to learn more information about a signal.

The journey to better health is worth the effort. I encourage you to listen to your body, and know your body. Find the cause of a signal, and respond to that need. Your body will thank you for the attention and nourishment each day by giving you the capability to function.

God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel

Disclaimer

I am not a physican, medical expert, or nutritional expert. I write from personal research. Please consult with your source(s) of health advice and information for further information specific to you or before making any changes in your health routine/lifestyle. You are responsible for the actions you take or do not take toward your health.

Meal Plans January 5-11

Photo Credit: Google Images

These lists are my own meal plans. They are not in any way to be nutritional advice, fail-proof recipes (remember, it's my first time making the majority of them!), or anything that challenges the way you meal plan or your eating patterns.

I put a LOT of time and effort in putting these plans together. If you would like to copy them for purposes other than your individual in-home use (for example, blog, cooking party, print offs, etc), please give me credit. :-)

(Click on the document you would like to view.)

Monthly Meal Plan
Grocery Shopping List
Recipe List 

God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel

Psalm 55:22

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

This Morning

Whew... What a morning! The time where I am now is 4:58am. My husband and I woke up at 3am so that he could leave for work by 3:30am. As I was cleaning up breakfast, my handsome man called me.

'We forgot to get your car.'

Rats.

Yesterday, my dearheart had picked me up from the university. I had taken public transport in to school and parked my car at a park and ride near our house. My husband was in the area when I finished at school, so we carpooled together. Thankfully, my husband realized our forgetfulness, and brought me to my car. (Even though it would make him late for work. He is such a sweet husband and a very hard worker!) I would not have been able to get to my elementary school this morning if we had forgotten my car. After picking up my car, I was home by 4:05.

Since I usually wake up at about 5am, I decided to just stay awake. I have found an interesting read to pass some time.

In case I forget, I am on page 13! Haha...

But now is the time to get ready for the day. Exercise, shower/ready, devotions, school bag/lunch bag/water bottle packed & ready, then to the elementary school for my first day back in third grade since when I was a third grader!

God bless you and keep you. I hope you have a REALLY marvelous day!!

~Raquel

Saving Money by Staying In-House: Haircuts

 

Yes. My sweet husband is the center of this money-saving escapade. ;-) Can you imagine why this poor expression is on my husband's face?

The dear man is about to get his hair cut. By a first time barber-- never trained, without a clue what to do. As I prepared to cut his hair, I was extremely nervous, too. On the bright side, we had a brand new set of hair scissors, a hair razor, and several safe guard clip sizes. Plus, the cost of the hair cutting set is covered by using it only two times! Whoo hoo-- $15 every two to three weeks is now going into our savings. Not to mention that if I completely messed up, his hair will grow back again, and he has several hats/caps to choose from. ;-)

Before I tell you about the experience, let me show a couple of "after" pics.

<--- Front    Back--->

See? All turned out well! :-) Maybe next time I will video the process.

I love my husband's hair, so this was a very nerve-wracking process for me. As I began cutting and getting into a "groove" of sorts, I became more comfortable and confident.

To begin with...

I took a pretty large size safe guard (third largest or so), placed the razor against his scalp, and "shaved" up. I started at the sideburn on one side of his head and shaved up to just above his ear. I went around his head to the other sideburn along this imaginary line (just above the ear). Everything underneath this line was shaved up using this safe guard.

**Tip: In order to help with blending between sizes, shave up, and then roll the razor up and away from the head when you reach where you want to blend. Do not keep the razor against the scalp when you reach the point where you want to blend.

Next

I took an even larger safe guard size (the largest size I had), and went above the imaginary line to cut the rest of his head. Although I was going to cut above the imaginary line with scissors, I knew I wanted the amount of hair I had to actually cut to be lessened. My darling man had a lot of hair on top, so using the largest safe guard worked. If you are touching up on your man's hair, then you may just want to skip this step and go straight to the scissors.

**Tip: As you cut the hair, brush through it with a comb continously. Brushing through the hair helps to get any cut hair out and to give you a relastic view of the damage you've done. ;-) (Just kidding about the damage part. haha)

But I was scared of the scissors...

My husband has SUCH GOOD LOOKING hair! So far in the process his hair looked fine, but scissor cutting is scary.... OooOooOoo! I decided to cut the hair around the ears with the left and right ear guards. To help trim up the ear, neck, and sideburn areas, I took the safe guards off and used the razor itself. I was very careful when not using the safe guards because I did not want to cut my husband. My movements were very deliberate and steady. I combed his side burns down and trimmed the sideburns up to the place where they naturally stop growing. I combed his side burns to each side and cut to the place where they naturally stop growing. I trimmed in the same manner around his ears and along the edges of his neck.

**Tip: Tilt your ear guards at an angle away from the scalp so that you do not create a bald spot on your man's head. :-/

Time to face my fear....

I couldn't back away from the scissors any longer. My husband had to show me how to scissor cut. Figuring out how to hold the scissors and the hair also took a little bit of fumbling. I combed all the hair forward toward my husband's forehead and began by trimming what hung over into his forehead. (I didn't trim much because I wasn't sure how it would look when combed the way my husband would comb it to style it.) After trimming what hung over into the forehead, I ran my fingers through a small section of his hair (in the opposite direction of the forehead). I held that small section in between two fingers, adjusted the length that was above my fingers, and cut what was above my fingers. In this same pattern, I covered the top of his head until the length was to my liking.

**Tip: On the top of my husband's head, I cut with the hair in my fingers going up and <--> horizontal. On the side of my husband's head, I held the fingers in my hands such that the hair in my fingers was going out and vertical.

**Tip: Wet your comb and the hair. It's much easier to see how the hair will look later on after you finish.

**Tip: Take your time! My first time cutting took me over 30 minutes. I wanted to make sure I was doing every right: choosing the right safe guards, getting the right amount of hair in my fingers, and getting the right look. It's better to use a larger size safe guard at the first and decide to use a smaller one to make the hair shorter second than it is to start with a smaller size safe guard that ends up cutting the hair way too short. Same with scissor cutting. Safer to keep the hair longer at first and then shorten than it is to cut it short from the beginning and realize you cut it too short.

Concerns and Complaints

My dear husband complained about only one thing throughout this long process: the safeguards had somewhat pointed comb edges. Since I am not quite as graceful and gentle as I would like in my haircutting skills yet, I did poke him several times. They don't cause bald spots or an actual puncture or wound. It's more or less just a poke that can be uncomfortable.

After cutting his hair, the clean up was pretty intense.... Clean all of the safe guards I used. Clean the blade. Clean the scissors and combs. Dump out the water I used for the combs. Sweep up the hair. Shake out the cloth that covers the person getting their hair cut. And both my husband and I had to take a shower afterwards because of the little pieces of hair everywhere. So yes... clean up was pretty crazy. If it were not so chilly outside, we would have done the haircutting out there, which would have made the cleanup more manageable.

Hopefully, I will remember to video the next time I cut my husband's hair! It's such an honor to be able to take care of this little "chore" for my husband. (Think about it: I get to be near him, put my fingers in his hair, stand super close to him.... ahhh! How wonderful it is to be married!) More importantly, what a privilege it is to be able to bless my husband.

God bless you and keep you,

~Raquel

Week One Meal Updates

I plan to post updates on the meals we cook after making (and eating) them. The first week of January included many introductory posts to this blog, so I did not update on the foods we cooked in individual posts. This post is to update you on our meals: how they went and any recommendations for preparation, process, or serving.

Photo Credit: Google Images

 

Eggs Benedict

I love my husband SO much! That's why I attempted making one of his favorite ways to prepare eggs. Eggs Benedict. I followed the instructions in the recipe, but I learned two main things.

First, when you drop the egg in water to poach it, the water turns a murky white. I thought I had completely messed up. I couldn't see the egg I was supposed to be scooping up, but I remembered where I had placed the egg. The egg came out perfectly. The second egg I had placed in the pot didn't come out as pretty. Because the water was so murky, I ended up piercing the egg and its contents spilled into the pot. From now on, I think I'm going to focus on one egg at a time when poaching.

Secondly, I blended up the hollandaise sauce, and it looked pretty good. The directions said to leave it near the hot stove, but not on the hot stove, as I waited for the eggs to finish up. Our induction stove, however, uses magnets to heat pots-- not actual heat. So the stove top does not get warm. I knew this, but I hoped maybe it would work anyway, so I set the sauce near a pot that was heating. After a few minutes, I changed my mind (because it wasn't getting any heat). I put the sauce on the stove top at a simmer. I changed my mind again because the recipe said NOT to do that. I took the sauce off. A few minutes later, I noticed my beautiful, smooth sauce had fallen apart. It had separated. I whisked it frantically, hoping it would come back together again.

My wonderful husband had watched a video clip about making hollandaise sauce. He told me to add about a tablespoon of warm water and mix it with the sauce. I trusted him, and the sauce came back together! Hallelujah!

I also learned that the sauce can be kept at a low, steady temperature for about 30 minutes. I had changed the temperature twice, which had not helped.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Banana-Oat Bars

Banana-Oat bars are such a healthy, filling, easy to make snack. BUT-- they do come with a little bit of getting used to as far as texture is concerned. I think the texture is caused by the banana being the base & the oats not being crunchy. In the future, I would like to make my own granola using oats, nuts, and seeds. I would like to mix this granola with the banana for a hopefully more crunchy and normal-texture granola bar.

Photo Credit: Google Images

 

Black Bean Burgers

Winner! Winner! Winner! My husband is eating one of the last bean burger leftovers now. These were so simple to make. They were delicious, and they were filling. I added just a couple of tablespoons of hot sauce, as well as a few personal favorite seasonings in moderation. I will definitely be revisiting this recipe to delight in its deliciousness!

Photo Credit: Google Images

 

Sweet Potato Fries

The sweet potato fries tasted fine, but they were a little disappointing. They were not as crunchy or as fry-like as I would have hoped. My grandmother-in-law and my husband actually sliced them like chips, so I am sure that is why they were not like fries. When I reheated the sweet potatoes in a convection oven on a medium-low temperature (200s) for about ten minutes, they became very chip-like. I think I will make the sweet potato chips in the future as a snack, but try again on the sweet potato fries.

Photo Credit: Google Images

 

Cauliflower Curry with Chickpeas and Red Potatoes

Sooooo disappointing.... My husband and I love curry. I was holding out high hopes for this recipe, but it did not deliver. The family and I decided it was just not a good recipe. If you choose to make this recipe, it tastes fine. (Better with crackers...) But it just seemed like it was "missing" a taste. My husband and grandmother-in-law are excellent cooks who seem to be able to find the "missing ingredient" quite easily. They couldn't figure out what was missing. It just wasn't a great recipe, and I will not be using it again.

I hope you can benefit from what I learned in cooking during the first week of January! If you try any of the dishes, or if you have made any of these dishes before, please do share your experience with us in the comments below!

God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel

Meal Plans December 29-January 4

Each week, I plan to add a week's worth of meals to a monthly meal plan document and share the document at the end of the week. I say "document," but it's actually three documents. They are:

1. Monthly Meal Plan
2. Grocery Shopping List
3. Recipe List

I use these documents to organize my meals and to determine what I need to buy in order to meet the minimum requirements of these meals. That being said, these lists are for me, and if you can benefit from them, I want to share them with you. Right now, though, I do not have the time to add the extras (recipes that I wouldn't otherwise write in the Recipe List or ingredients that I already have to the Grocery List, etc).

Monthly Meal Plan...

is organized by week. Each week is categorized by Breakfast, Snack (2 per person), Lunch, & Dinner. I know how many of each I need to make each week, and sometimes it varies. I am not planning for 7 breakfasts, 7 (x2) snacks, 7 lunches, and 7 dinners every week. I am planning for what fits my family's needs.

Grocery Shopping List...

is divided according to weeks. I am considering subcategorising by type of item (dairy, produce, meat, etc). Right now, I am not buying enough groceries to need to do that. The grocery list only includes items that I need to buy. It does not include every ingredient for every recipe.

Recipe List...

is what I will use when cooking and is categorized according to meal type (breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner). I like putting all the recipes in one place so that I am not having to find websites or pages in books. If I am using a particular recipe from an online source, the name of the recipe is also a link. I use my computer, iPhone, or my husband's iPad when cooking. The links come in handy when the original website has pictures or user comments, etc.

The Links

Okay! I think I have explained these lists enough. These lists are my own meal plans. They are not in any way to be nutritional advice, fail-proof recipes (remember, it's my first time making the majority of them!), or anything that challenges the way you meal plan or your eating patterns.

I put a LOT of time and effort in putting these plans together. If you would like to copy them for purposes other than your individual in-home use(for example, blog, cooking party, print offs, etc), please give me credit. :-)

(Click on the document you would like to view.)

Monthly Meal Plan
Grocery Shopping List
Recipe List

To further clarify a point: I plan to post about my experience using the recipes I list immediately after I prepare a recipe. At the end of the week, I will post my meal plans. My reasoning is so that I can experience the recipe first before recommending it to you. My meal plan may include recipes that are no good, and I want to give you that heads up before you use the recipe. Or I may have my own comments on modifications to the recipe that you may find helpful when preparing it also.

This first week of January has had so many other "introductory" posts, and I forgot to take pictures of the meals I made this week. This first week's update on how the meals went will be different from the following weeks. (P.S. All the foods turned out fine this week, but I was not quite satisfied with the sweet potato fries and the curry recipe is not a keeper. More in a later update.)

I hope you can benefit from these meals!

God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel

Insecurity in the Kitchen

Credit: Google Images

My mom is a phenomenal cook. She loves looking for recipes, and she is fantastic at spicing them up. She could write a cookbook (because she's also a very good writer), and I know several people would buy it just for her gumbo recipe or zucchini-pineapple bread recipe. Yum!

I am praying that with experience in the kitchen, my confidence in cooking will increase, as well. Maybe I have my mom's talent for cooking hiding deep, deep, deep inside. ;-)

It's not the baking...

Baking is not an issue for me (breads and desserts; not meats and vegetables). My favorite food to bake is homemade bread. I try to bake challah bread every week. (I will put my recipe up & how I braid perhaps another day.) When I am looking for baking recipes, I feel confident in choosing a recipe and using it. I can modify baking recipes by adding extras, like nuts and dried fruit or cinnamon and nutmeg-- no problem.

Put me above the oven, though, and I worry constantly! When I met my husband nearly two years ago, I was quite inexperienced in the kitchen. In fact, I was somewhat intimidated, although very impressed, with his cooking skills. My husband thinks, Hmm... I want to make.... And the next thing you know, he's created this delicious and amazing meal! I have found that as I cook with my husband and experiment on my own, I learn the spices, the methods of cooking particular items (like sauteing onions or keeping sauces from clumping, etc), and what tastes good with what.

Spices

Two years ago, I hardly knew how to use salt and pepper to season a dish. I definitely did not know what curry, turmeric, or even cayenne pepper are. Fortunately, I experimented mostly on myself and not my husband at first (as a single woman). I have eaten a LOT of tastless or even nasty meals, believe me. I didn't want to waste the food or spend time making something else to eat, so... I swallowed what I could and saved the rest for another day... :-\

Today, I am more confident with using spices in dishes simply because I have been exposed to them and have experimented with them. I commonly use giner, garlic, turmeric, cayenne, curry, seasoning blends, pepper, etc. I do want to experiment with basil, thyme, oregano, and those kinds of spices more. Some of the other spices/seasonings, like coriander and other spices in the cabinet that are unmarked, are still a mystery and very much untouched. ;-) I do not know a lot about spices and need to focus on learning spices and what spices help accentuate what tastes in foods.

A funny story... Probably 9 months ago or so, I made homemade chicken noodle soup just from the top of my head (no recipe) based on what I thought would taste good and after reading the experiences of others. I spiced it with several spices, and... it tasted good... but it was missing a very important flavor. I couldn't figure it out. I had made a medium sized pot, so I had plenty of leftovers, which I freezed. Some time later, I had already eaten the majority of the frozen leftovers, and heated up another bowl. I thought, Hmmm... I've added everything I know to add. But it doesn't taste like chicken noodle soup. I'm just going to add some chicken flavoring and see what that does. Wow. That soup was AMAZING. All it needed what more chicken flavoring, but it took me a couple of months to figure it out. :-)

Recipes

Not just the spices! Actually knowing what recipes will be good recipes has been-- and still is-- a learning curve. I feel so much pressure when choosing a recipe because if I buy the ingredients for that recipe, spend the time making that recipe, and the meal is not good... I have just wasted money, food, time, and energy. Round 2? I used to say frequently, and sometimes still do say, "How am I supposed to know if this is a good recipe or not? I've never made it before!"

I have found that experimenting (it's key!) with different combinations of foods in a meal helps me to better judge whether a recipe will be good or not. My mom could take a recipe and change it up because she thought, Oh, this would taste good in here. or Ehh... I don't want to put that in there. I could not do that when I first began cooking. I HAD.TO.FOLLOW.THE.RECIPE. PERIOD. I am only now becoming a better judge of recipes and how to modify recipes.

Another important way I have learned to judge recipes is to read reviews others have written about the recipe (if the recipe is online or open to comments). People write comments like, "This recipe has way too much of this in it. I substituted with this instead, and the meal turned out perfect." Reading their comments and taking the overall consensus is very helpful. Sometimes a person describes a particular taste they were trying to create with the recipe that I want to create, as well. We are not alone in our cooking endeavours!!

Working on Insecurity

My husband will tell you... Listening to me while I'm cooking in the kitchen is a lot of, Oh no! I think I did this wrong. I don't think this is going to come out right or taste good. Uh oh. I think I messed this up. And more specific comments that basically mean, "I don't feel confident in what I'm doing!"

The two biggest learning curves for me have been 1) learning how to spice foods and 2) learning how to judge recipes & modify them according to our budget and tastes. In both cases, I have found that jumping in and just experimenting (not randomly throwing things together, but maybe having a skeleton recipe, looking at what others have done, etc) is the best way to learn to cook. I do not like to waste money or food, but sometimes it happens when learning to cook. Honestly, though, more often than not, the food comes out just fine and totally edible.

My insecurity is the result of inexperience. As I become more experienced (more successess and more failures), I become exposed to different tastes and foods, and my confidence increases. I am still pretty insecure in the kitchen, but I can look back and see the growth.

One more thing before I go... I enjoy cooking. Sometimes it is SO FRUSTRATING. But I do enjoy preparing a meal and seeing how it turns out. I want my family to be well nourished and to take delight in their meals. That's the main reason why I persist in my desire to learn to cook. Cooking well is just one more way that I can build my home and family. What an honor and what a noble task is set before me!

God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel

Our Life Situation

So that you better understand our journey to a more wholesome and simple life, this post will explain our life situation. Through this explanation, you may better understand our limitations or our capabilities in this journey.

Credit: Google Images

 Jobs/School

My husband works for UPS as a package handler. His shift during December was from 2:30am-9:00am. We anticipate his shift will change in the new year to be from 4:00am-9:00am. Next week, and Lord willing, he will begin coursework for SAP Materials Management certification. (You are welcome to look that up.) His class schedule will be from 10am-1pm three times a week. In April, his certification will be complete, and he will be looking for a career in the SAP field. My husband received a scholarship which will enable him to take the course without accruing debt.

I am not currently employed, although I do attend university full time (and then some). I am completing a Teaching & Learning degree for early childhood through sixth grade. Lord willing, I will graduate in June 2014-- one year ahead of schedule; whoo hoo! This past fall semester and the coming spring semester are student teaching plus university coursework. My university rotates our time in the field and in the university classroom, which have two different schedules and two different locations. I also attend university on scholarship, and so I will graduate without debts.

Credit: Google Images

Home/Transportation

My husband and I live with his father and grandmother in a large two-story home. We have two rooms. One is our bedroom and one is our office/personal living room. We all share the kitchen and living rooms downstairs.

Food

As of last week, a "grocery/cooking/taking up space in the refrigerator" arrangement has been made for our household. My husband and I will pay for and prepare our lunches and breakfasts (with the exception of Saturday). We will also be responsible for three dinners a week. Mimi will be responsibile for her and my father-in-law's breakfasts and lunches and four dinners a week. Saturday's breakfast is a colloborated family meal.

Cars

My husband and I each own a car. No payments! Whoo hoo! :-)

 

Future Plans/Goals

Lord willing, we will be moving permanently to Ireland for missions. Our goal is within five years, but we know the Lord will work in His time.

My husband would like to establish a career in SAP. I would like to work in the public education field until we have children or are moved to Europe. I plan to homeschool our children and would love to write curriculum.

God bless you and keep you,
~Raquel