I was loving Monday

I didn't get here to the computer yesterday, read thru my google reader list this morning and realized that I missed loving Monday's on just my second week. This might be why I'm not a big fan of resolutions. So, loving Tuesday's because:
1. we got my grandfather safely moved form his own house to a senior appt.
2. my kids are home on vacation this week.
3. we had friends over last night for poker- very fun
4. I found some old cookbooks of my grandmothers and have come up with a great idea- a monthly (maybe, or 2 times a month??) round up of family recipes. I'm still mulling it around in my head.
5. I think I am finally feeling better today!!!

Anyone have any interest in joining with me in a family history cooking round-up?
Or how about a cooking with kids round up- another one of my resolutions. I really need to start cooking with them instead of always for them.

I was just going to post 5 things- but a couple more just popped into my head:
6. Rock Band for the Wii- fun for me & the kids
7. Lego's- has kept my son very entertained for the last couple days
8. my husband- for Valentines Day he gave me many thoughtful things, as well as all the kids, and then my parents, aunt and grandfather too!
9. hubby again because he went down to help with move even when I couldn't go
10. I have 3 of my 4 grandparents still with us. love them!!!!

What's local now- more than I thought!

I spent the day finally catching up on all the blog postings I missed while I was on vacation. Really, it was Zen Habits that I still needed to read- everyone else I had caught up with. Leo's sight was going to take some time to read and take it all in. Most interesting I found were two guest posts by Scott and Jonathan about eating raw & simple foods. And that got me to thinking- yes, I should be eating more foods raw, but what a hard thing to do in the winter without feeling like your food has travelled the world to get to you. And then back to my winter dilemma- sigh, I wish I was eating more "local. " Then I went to the fridge and saw the local Arruda's milk and thought, I wonder what else is local right now in my kitchen. There was more that I thought, what a pleasant surprise!

A new bag of potatoes I bought for the corn chowder. Which, by the way, had only one entry in the vegetable chowder division at that chowder cook off I wanted to enter. So I would have won a ribbon no matter what it came out like! :-)

Here is the pantry shelf- jams & jellies, relish, couple kinds of pickles, dried cherry tomatoes are in the front. Some strawberry sauce and vinegars are in there too.

My favorite wines- I can walk to the vineyard from my house.

And the fridge- some of the same stuff from the pantry, cranberry sauce, cranberry mustard, brandied cranberries (see a pattern here??), some apples and my mother in laws chimichurri.

NOT this!

Hers is my freezer- some cranberry lemon sorbet, tomato sauce, strawberries, blueberries, more soup.

My measly herb pot that I was able to bring inside in the fall. I had hoped to bring more of the herb pots in, but they were all overgrown and scraggly but the end of the fall.

I have another shelf of canned items that I forgot to take a picture of- applesauce, spiced apples and tomatoes. So- I really have a lot here. Now, If I can stop feeling like I have to hoard them all and use more, I'll be all set. But that is another topic for another day.

I'm loving Monday because...

I have been following Danielle LaPorte's blog, White Hot Truth- and I just love some of the things she has to say. I feel like I am coming out of the "babies" cloud I have been hiding under for the last 11 or so years and trying to find out what is going to come next. My youngest will go to kindergarten in the fall and then what?!?! Anyway, Danielle's blog speaks to a lot of those issues. She has a loving Monday's list- sounded like a good idea to me. So here goes-

1. skiing with my family on Saturday night was great- and more importantly no one got hurt.
2. yesterday morning was spent relaxing with my husband & his brother and sister in law, just joking around and talking.
3. I spent an hour walking this morning with my friend at the track.
4. I finally figured out the hyperlink thing- thanks to my hubby!
5. it was warm enough to walk this morning & that I can see the grass & flower beds again.

I did not enter the chowder cook off this weekend because we decided at the last minute to go skiing for my husband's birthday. It was great & I'm glad we went. But, now I have stuff in my fridge for two gallons of chowder and my family didn't like it that much! Thanks to Deb for your encouragement, maybe next year.

And I didn't contribute to Tyler Florence Friday's again this week- but I did make another cake! I better get back to the healthy cooking and away from these cakes because today started Shape up RI and the competition of increasing exercise & dropping pounds which is not going to happen cooking like this! We celebrated Friday night, because ice cream cake does not travel well, with a home made ice cream cake, dad's favorite! I used the Better Crocker cake right out of the box and a new Breyer's flavor with peanut butter ice cream, peanut butter cups and ribbons of peanut butter mixed in- can you guess what his flavor is?

I got some help with the best part form my little man.

I used a cake pan my friend had gotten for me years back as a thank you for watching her house. I have only used it a couple times- but I have visions of a nice summer cake filled with whipped cream & berries- yum.....