Last night was a little rough. I’m not sure if it was the running around all day and not eating regularly scheduled meals or what but I had a huge sweet tooth craving. All on all it hasn’t been so bad so this one caught me off guard. Plus I crashed when I got home, had to take a nap. Yesterday did me in. I need a day of rest.
It snowed again overnight so Dean is back to work. Keeps our bills paid. Shabbat service was cancelled so we’re staying home today.
Three days left, officially. Looking forward to continuing on with only low glycemic “sweets” and mostly trying to stick to fruit sweetened foods. The occasional adult beverage. Just overall making wiser food & drink choices.
Another day of snow removal for Dean. It’s been a busy week for me just not what I had planned to be busy at. But time well spent.
Kids got to go to the pool twice this week, which for us is unheard of. But all this running around has me wanting to hibernate.
My sleep schedule, eat schedule, everything schedule is messed up. Trying to get back on schedule for grocery shopping and necessities too. I’d like to go do the shopping locally once every two weeks. Plus a buying club delivery. And not have to do this constant running around stuff.
Here I am still doing well with my no sugar quest tho. I’ve found myself being more diligent in checking labels even for the kids food. Trying to source lower sugar items for all of us.
Well guess what? It’s snowing again! The guys are out hauling snow again today to make room for the snow that’s coming down today.
Such is winter life in Alaska!
All this means I’m home again today! It’s nice to be here and get some extra time with the kids, catch up on domestic things and sleep in a little.
What to do with myself today? I’m going to work on school with the kids. Make some peanut butter date energy balls (more not cookie cookies) and other mundane things.
Had a birthday party and those cupcakes didn’t even catch my eye.
Today’s plan is to head to the Ninilchik job and see if we can get in. So much snow and wind, most likely drifted in…
Going to work was a bust. The driveway is too drifted in and the snow plows have the pull off buried. So it’s back home. I’ll get time to finish up that school paperwork now.
I loaded up my weekly supplements last night. I’m more likely to remember them when they are all ready to go. I’ve been hit and miss the previous couple of weeks. Hoping to get back into the daily habit. I added a colon cleanse capsule for the next week. With a little over an hour drive to work I’m already thinking maybe that wasn’t such a good idea…. 😳
Lil Bit and Lil Mister have been working on a Rainforest Lap Book lately. We’ve watched lots of YouTube videos about rainforest facts: animals, vegetation, and conservation.
Lil Mister’s cover.Inside
They’ve colored and pasted their bits and pieces together to create an informative little folder. And today we topped it off with making rainforest gum from scratch.
Wrapping gum pieces in waxed paper.
I like having them do lap books because they can take as little or as much time as they (or I) like creating and gathering information. It’s hands on so better for their learning style. Having something that they make to eat or drink is always fun. Experiential learning, tasting their lesson.
They also learned about medicine that comes from the rainforests of the world like quinine. So they got to sip some tonic water to taste it! Not exactly their next favorite beverage.
Lil Bit’s coverInsidePages under the flapLast page under the flapBackside of the flap, the info about the gum we made.Lil Bit’s lap book is more elaborate.
Next on the list is a desert lap book. Woo hoo, more fun times. And I think we’ll get some cactus to cook and eat.
I’ve read a few blogs recently where they focus on canning something different every month. Usually something in season, like Salmon in June or garden produce in August. During the off-season they still find something to can like beans or meats. This keeps the pantry stocked and adds variety, which is always good.
I love the concept and I’m thinking of giving it a try. It’s more motivation to keep me on a regular schedule.
I managed to get my turkey soup canned up on the last day of January (WTG me!) and so I’m ready to figure something out for February.
First thing is to check the pantry and see what’s needed. Well, not fish, for sure. Or jams/jellies, we’re pretty well stocked. I’m down to one jar of canned black beans, out of soup (good thing I’ve got some fresh jars to move into the pantry today) and out of canned beef and moose. I still have some canned chicken.
Soups are an important mainstay in our winter diet. Soup and sandwich for lunch on a cold day is so warming and filling.
I think that’s where I need to focus. Beef stew sounds good but I’ll have to keep my eye open at the grocery store for special deals, that will be my deciding factor. Bean soup sounds hearty and tasty too. Our local butcher, Echo Lake Meats, makes a beef Canadian bacon that is so tender and delicious. It would work to sub out for the ham in this recipe. Mexican chicken soup sounds delightful as well.
Homemade cream of mushroom sounds good too… Or this version of you want a already thickened cream of mushroom soup. And I just happen to have some mushrooms on hand. But I could also make this, decisions, decisions.
Off to gather ingredients!
I settled on making some beef stew and bean soup in pints. Processed 11# for 75 minutes. That will give us a nice variety for our work lunches!
And just like that, I’m off to a great start with once a month canning!!
One more day of snow removal for Dean means one more day home for me. Plus we have a new weather system hitting today that promises up to 6″ more snow from Nikiski south to Homer. Who knows when we’re going back to work!
I ended up with 9 quarts of turkey soup and three pints of dog food. There was enough leftover for a large pot of turkey & noodles last night. Which was a hit with the kids. (For the dog food I put everything in the jar that we didn’t eat, some skin, cartilage, small bones, scrapes of meat, organs and broth, and can it. She will get a spoonful of this mixed into her regular dog food for extra protein and taste. So one jar lasts a while. She loves it and there’s no waste!)
Today I’m going to take advantage of the canning stuff being out and work up a batch of something or other, time will tell what I come up with!
And also figure out dinner… All these other people in this house always want to eat. 🤷🏼♀️
Alaska on my mind... 