Fake It 'Til You Make It

.....or should you? I think everyone, at some point in their life, fakes it in the hopes of making it to whatever it is they are trying to accomplish. I know I have- in school, in work, and in life. The most common fake "thing" that I believe we see every single day is the all-to-common question: "How are you?" Really now, how often do you answer that question honestly? Probably not that often, I would guess.

A few years ago, I had decided that being fake was just.....dumb, for lack of a better word. I was tired of feeling like everyone was trying to keep up a certain façade, and just wanted to be real. Not just for me to be real, but for everybody to be real. Without going to the extreme, I did try to be real. And, I tried to engage other people that I knew fairly well into being real with me. I had more than one conversation, I think, with a few folks about why can't we just be real; to talk about the hard things, to acknowledge when life is tough, and to not pretend like everything is ok. I know I didn't succeed at being one hundred percent real, or maybe honest is a better term, all of the time but, I was a lot more aware of when I was faking it then I used to be. I think the year that I was pregnant with Little Pumpkin the being real, or honest, idea was even more prevalent in my mind.

During that year, I recall meeting and conversing with a lady that just always came across as faking it. And, it really irritated me. Especially when I knew that life was tough for her at various times, and yet, she was always happy, super sweet, and appeared as though life was peachy-keen. I had a conversation with someone about "why can't we just be real," and brought up this lady's perceived "fakeness" as an example. They, too, knew this lady, and gave me their perspective and insight into her personality, as well as some words of....wisdom, I guess. My biggest complaint at that time was that I just wanted people to be real; to know that other people's lives aren't perfect, that other people have struggles or hard times, and to share them with others. One of my points was that if we never share the real-ness of our lives, than we can never share in how to get through the

Recipe Reviews! Week 9

I feel like we tried a lot of new recipes this week as opposed to previous weeks. Maybe one of them will be new dish that you'd like to try! This week's recipes included...

Stroganoff Sandwiches

This recipe was invented by one of my brothers-in-law, James, and I actually recall hearing about it many, many moons ago. But, I have never

Brewing Scooby Update

 If you read my previous post, Brewing Up a Storm, you will know that I had started my very first batch of kombucha. During it's brew time, we experienced some colder weather, and our house was too cold for Scooby (the name of my brew) to maintain optimal brewing temperature. I ended up wrapping it in a heating pad, but it's temperature still fluctuated quite a bit, which is not the best for brewing kombucha. Or so I read.

On day 7 of Scooby's brewing, I brought it out of Jason's office (sometimes the warmest part of the house) for a test.

For those that are curious, you can kind of see the SCOBY floating in there, and the new baby is on top.

I don't want to gross anyone out with pictures of the SCOBY, or the baby, but some of my sisters are actually curious about it. This is the least gross looking photo of it, and it is the only direct photo I will post of my SCOBY and baby.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Shout-out to Jackie for my little sampler cup![/caption]

 I used my little pipette to get a small sample to taste, and tried to test the pH without disturbing the baby too much. The sample tasted really sweet, and not very tart at all, so I decided to let it brew a few more days. I also inspected the SCOBY and baby to make sure it hadn't started molding, or turning bad, with all the temperature fluctuations it had experienced.

After letting Scooby brew for a few more days, I did another taste test, and a pH test. It still tasted really sweet, but had a little tartness to it. And, the pH was right in the middle of where it was supposed to be. Since we were still experiencing a lot of temperature fluctuation, and I didn't want to risk my SCOBY and brew molding, I decided to go ahead and bottle my Scooby for the second ferment.

Since I don't have the cool, long-necked, glass bottles that are recommended to get the best carbonation during a second ferment, I just used my pint canning jars and lids. I had about 7.5 pints of brew total after removing a full pint in which my SCOBY and baby will reside for the next month. I did choose to flavor 4 of my pints with fruits. The flavors are, from right to left: fresh Apple, fresh Strawberry Banana, frozen Blackberry, and canned Pineapple. The plain Scooby is in the 4 jars on the left. After capping all the jars, I set them in the cupboard above the refrigerator to ferment for 4 days, and to hopefully carbonate. The instructions said they needed a warm, dark place, and that is the best I could do.

 Today was about 4.5 days since I set my bottled brew up for the second ferment and carbonation. I got it all down, and set it in the fridge to chill about an hour ago. The flavored ones definitely turned different colors depending on the fruits that were in them. I also noticed that some of the jars grew what I'm assuming is a baby SCOBY: a thin, clear-like membrane on top. But not every jar has that. I checked my brewing guide to see if that's normal, and I believe it is. The brew definitely fermented during this period, as the jar lids are puffed up, as opposed to being flat. Hopefully that also means it carbonated well; not that it has to carbonate, but it just adds a nice little fizz to the drink.

For the first taste of my own, home-brewed kombucha, I'm trying a jar of the plain brew. When I opened the lid, it made a nice "fwop" and "sssss" sound, or sigh, like you get when opening a bottle of soda. You could also see the carbonation bubbles sizzling up to the top, which was a good sign that it carbonated.

This plain jar smelled tart and a bit vinegar-like. I'm not sure that I've ever had plain kombucha before; I've always bought the flavored bottles, and when I tried some on-tap kombucha brew, I think it was also flavored. When I tasted it, it tasted like it smelled: tart and a bit vinegar-like. Although, if you're one of those apple cider vinegar drinkers, this tastes a lot nicer!! It definitely lost a lot of the sweetness that it had when I tasted it prior to bottling, but it's still not as harshly tart as actual vinegar. I think real vinegar makes you pucker, and I wouldn't say that my plain kombucha makes you pucker. It is definitely carbonated; that was apparent after I drank about half the jar.

I really want to try my flavored jars, but I also don't want to open all of them and then lose the carbonation as they sit in the fridge. So I haven't cracked any of them open yet. They do look really pretty, though, I think! I will probably open up the strawberry banana blend in a couple days after I finish off this plain jar.

When I was first introduced to kombucha, I was told that you shouldn't drink more than a cup a day ( I equate that to about 8 ounces). I haven't researched the validity of this claim yet, but that's the rule of thumb I've always used when drinking kombucha. I have figured out that if one brew batch makes about 8 pints, it will take me over 2 weeks to drink it all. Especially since I'll be the only one drinking it, unless Jason decides he likes one of my flavored pints. He had been a good sport and sampled Scooby every time that I have, but he wrinkles his nose and says it tastes like vinegar, which he doesn't like. He also told me that when he bought the kombucha kit for me, he had no idea that it used a SCOBY, or mother, to brew. And, that kind of grosses him out. If he had known about the process......he may not have gotten it for me!

Since I don't need to start another batch of brew right away, I have put the SCOBY and baby back into the jar with 2 cups of the original brew. It is supposed to be able to hang out in that for up to 4 weeks before I either need to brew again, or feed it. If I faithfully drink my Scooby every day, I'll probably start another batch this weekend. If I lived near friends, or family, that wanted to try kombucha, I would probably brew again right away and give it to them. But, alas, they all live too far away.

If you were to be a close-living friend or relative, what flavor of kombucha would you be willing to try? It doesn't have to be fruit-flavors; I could do cucumber, mint, lavender, ginger, cayenne, rose, and lots more, I'm sure! Give me some ideas to try that you might want to try yourself!

Brewing Scooby Update

If you read my previous post, Brewing Up a Storm, you will know that I had started my very first batch of kombucha. During it's brew time, we experienced some colder weather, and our house was too cold for Scooby (the name of my brew) to maintain optimal brewing temperature. I ended up wrapping it in a heating pad, but it's temperature still fluctuated quite a bit, which is not the best for brewing kombucha. Or so I read.

On day 7 of Scooby's brewing, I brought it out of Jason's office (sometimes the warmest part of the house) for a test.

For those that are curious, you can kind of see the SCOBY floating in there, and the new baby is on top.

Product Review: Bissell Upright Vacuum Cleaner

Bissell Clean View Complete Pet, Multi-Cyclonic Upright Vacuum Cleaner

About the Product: Bissell vacuums have been around since 1876 when the first one was invented by a crockery shop owner, Meville Bissell. According to the Bissell website, Queen Victoria insisted on her palace getting cleaned with a Bissell vacuum every week. This specific vacuum that I am reviewing was advertised as having great suction, special features to insure sweeping up pet hair on both floors and furniture, bag-less, washable filter, and "one-pass technology" that gets all the dirt on the first pass-over. As you can see, this is an upright vacuum with a canister that you take off and empty.

Recipe Reviews! Week 8

This week was my first week at my part-time job, and I was gone 5 afternoons/evenings in a row. As it turned out, this week's cooking seemed to be a lot less than any of the past weeks. I didn't think I'd have any new recipes to share, and I tried to put some together at the last minute. So, the recipes that I do have for this week are...

 Crustless Bacon & Cheese Quiche

I'm not sure where this recipe originated from. I obviously copied it down from somewhere, but I have never made it. I made a half recipe, as I

Brewing Up a Storm!

Last month, Jason made a few online purchases and told me to look for some packages to be delivered. But, I couldn't open them and he wouldn't tell me what all he had ordered. He kept implying that maybe he had ordered my birthday present, but my birthday is still several months away. The one thing I did know that he was getting was a Mead Making Kit. When the packages started showing up, he always opened them in secret, and only showed me the stuff for his mead making. One night, he randomly mentioned that he had my birthday present in a good hiding spot. A day or so later, he randomly said that maybe he should give me my gift now; he said it could be a "happy day gift" instead of birthday. I tried to tell him that he could wait until my birthday, but he said he didn't want to wait. And, after disappearing for a few minutes, he returned with a gift bag. I asked again if didn't he want to wait until my birthday, and he said no, it should be a "happy day gift," and to open it. This is what he had gotten me:

A kombucha brewing kit! I was shocked, for sure. I'm almost positive that Jason does not like kombucha, and typically does not participate in all of

Kids Book Review: Hop on Pop

Hop on Pop

Author & Illustrator: Dr. Seuss

The Simplest Seuss for Youngest Use

This book is one of Little Pumpkin's favorites right now, a gift from Aunt Rachel, and Jason really enjoys reading it with her. This specific copy is a hardback book with regular paper pages. Pumpkin is at the point where she can turn the pages in a paper book by herself pretty well. Although, with her constant chewing on her fingers, sometimes the page gets wet which isn't the best for a paper book.

As with all of Dr. Seuss books, the illustrations are whimsical and very colorful, and can hardly be said to be true to life. Most of the characters

Transitioning to Finding Normal

It seems as though we (Jason and I) are unable to stay in one station, season, time, or whatever it's called, of life very long. And, I feel like we are frequently transitioning from one "station" in life to another "station," or spot, or season, or whatever. Because of that, it seems that we never really have a "normal," although "normal" is very subjective and different for everyone. For the most part, I think transitions and changes are by choice; choices we make with our jobs, in how we live, and in what we choose to do. But is there ever a "normal" that stays? Are we too "transient," for lack of a better word, to ever have "normal?" Or, have we just not accepted the "normal" that is our life?

When Jason and I were first married, he was working full-time, and in the Army Reserves. I was working full-time, a Monday-Friday job, with an hour commute. Jason worked Friday-Sunday, and was gone for the Army a lot that first year; about 6-8 months, collectively. At the end of 2013, he took a night-shift position that was Monday-Thursday, and I tried working closer to home, but had to work at least every other weekend. Jason was still gone a lot for the Army, though not as much as the previous year. (My friends joked that Jason was just a figment of my imagination, as he was always gone, and some folks didn't meet him until after we'd been married for 2-ish years!)  I also decided to go back to school and get my Bachelor's degree through an online program. After about 6 months, I was fortunate to get a full-time, Monday-Friday job with set hours, and continued school full-time. Later that same year, Jason got a day-shift position that wasn't on weekends, and for the first time, we were able to go to church together. (As such, we got to go church shopping. But that's a completely different topic.)

In the fall of 2015, Jason decided to go back to school for his Master's degree through an online program. I changed jobs at the end of the year, right after I had graduated. Jason was still working his same position, and was studying hard for his Masters. Early in the spring of that next year,

Recipe Reviews! Week 7

This week's Recipe Reviews is a bit short as we were gone on vacation this past week, and I didn't do near as much cooking as normal. But, I'll share with you the recipes that I did make. This week's recipes included...

 Beef Stroganoff

I grew up with this recipe, and it was one of my favorites as a kid. I especially loved the mushrooms in it! When I made this the other week, I used

Tuesday Tip: Packages of Multiples

This week's Tuesday Tip actually comes from my sister, Rachel, who shared this method a few years ago.  Unfortunately, I don't feel like I had some great examples to show you, so I'm working with what I've got!

When you buy general household goods, and even some groceries, there are a lot of items that you can get in packages of multiples be it bulk packaging, or individually packaged items grouped together in one large package. If you shop of Costco, Sam's, or other bulk-type stores, you will have a lot more of this. Some examples are: toilet paper, tissue boxes, wipes, toothpaste, canned foods, etc. Hopefully you get the idea.

The tip for this week is when you return from shopping, completely un-package, or unwrap, everything that is packaged in multiples. Or, for items like toothpaste (and other things I can't think of right now), go ahead and take it out of the box before putting them away in storage. Rachel said her little kids loved to help unwrap everything after a shopping trip, and also helped put it away.

Here are my few examples that I have available to show you:

What Makes Home "Home?"

We have been on vacation this past week, and just returned home Saturday. I think most people would agree that usually arriving back home from being away is a relief. There's just something comfy about being back in your own space, even if your time away was amazing. But what is it that makes your home "Home;" that comfy space that is your own?

I thought I knew what the answer was. But, I don't. Driving home Saturday, to this house and space that we have lived in for exactly one year, five weeks, and four days, I didn't really want to return here. At the risk of sounding like I'm a sappy, emotional person, I'm going to admit to even crying a little bit while we were driving home because I didn't want to come here.

It is said that "home is where your heart is," and "home is with family," and all kinds of other little cliché sayings about home. People also say that home is wherever you are, or wherever you have a roof over your head and food to eat, or wherever it is that you determine in your mind to make "Home." Over the past year, I have come to despise all those sayings, as none of them have come true for me since we moved to Kansas. If home is truly where the heart is, then I honestly have no idea where my heart is. 'Cause this definitely does not feel like home, and I have no flippin' idea where I feel at home anymore.

I have really struggled with our entire move to Kansas in more ways than I ever imagined, and probably more than anyone will ever know. It has been baffling to me, though. I have moved many many times in the past 11-12 years, and have never hated a move, or living space, as much as this one. I have lived in an apartment, a duplex, two basements, a single-wide trailer, the main floor of a house, a few bedrooms, two little houses, and now

Product Review: Adam's Natural Peanut Butter

4/15/18: The winner of the Adam's 100% Natural Peanut Butter give-away is Rachel W! Congratulations!

Today's product review features my first blog give-away!! Read on for the details...

Adam's 100% Natural Peanut Butter

About the Product: The original Adam's Peanut Butter Company was in started in 1916 in Tacoma, Washington. They were locally known for their Hot

Recipe Reviews! Monster Cookies

This week's Recipe Reviews are all about Monster Cookies!!

I have not made Monster Cookies in ages. My brother-in-law recently made, and sent us, some of his special Monster Cookies. After getting his recipe, I decided to dig out all of the Monster Cookie recipes that I had (there were five) and compare them. Two of the recipes were exactly alike, and the rest all had something different, be it an amount or an ingredient.

I decided to make all four different recipes, have a group of people do a blind tasting (not knowing which cookie came from who's recipe), and take a vote for the best cookie. That happened just yesterday; I had five people (four adults, one child) taste and vote for the best Monster Cookie.

My disclaimers for this event: I only made a 1/4 batch of each recipe (and they still made over two dozen cookies each!!). I followed the recipes exactly while using the alterations from the people that gave me the recipes. I formed the dough ball sizes according to the recipe instructions (using the ice cream scoop when it called for it!).

The Final Products

Now, for the different Monster Cookie recipes!

My Reading Reviews: The Chronicles of Narnia

Since I'm still figuring out how to do book reviews, I'll re-post these disclaimers just as a reminder.

• I'm not 100% sure what a book review looks like, and it's been a while since I wrote a book report for school.
• I think book reviews are subjective to the reviewers personal, and natural, propensities, opinions, and beliefs.
• I am going to try and be objective.
• I am open to your thoughts and constructive criticism regarding my book reviews, and suggestions on how to be a better reviewer.

This month's book review is on an entire series once again. I'm not sure if that's a good thing, or unhelpful to you guys.

The Chronicles of Narnia by the author C. S. Lewis

There are seven (7) books in this series, and that number may not be a coincidence though I can't say for certain. The books are titled:

1. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe
2. Prince Caspian
3. The Voyage of the "Dawn Treader"
4. The Silver Chair