Pickle in a Jar

The word pickle is one of my favorite. In a pickle, my little pickle - phrases I love.

I decided I'd try an experiment. Make some. I I took a look round the world wide web and happened upon a few interesting and fun websites. I opened up Wild Fermentation but I'm not ready for lacto-fermentation yet. (If you are and/or have, please share your wisdom and experience!) I found a simple recipe here and modified it.

Here is what happened, follow along if you'd like.

Take a nice fresh cuke. Slice it up. Take 2 tbs salt. I like the pink kind. Mix it with a cup of apple cider vinegar. [wpvideo 9qiQEf2d] Until the salt dissolves. Bring to a boil. Meanwhile, mix up seasoning. I used a tsp each of whole mustard seed, peppercorn, and fennel, plus a big pinch of red chili flakes. Slide the cucumber slices into a mason jar, because sliding then in while the jar is laying on its side is easier. Take some garlic. Smash it up. Put the spices and garlic in the jar. Pour the brine over the pickles to be. Seal the jar.

Place in the fridge and enjoy this week!

1/52 Found This Week

A Lazy (aka BusyMama) Girls Guide to Heat Styling from Refinery29.comI think I'm going to go shopping for some new heat styling tools - mine are broken.

Bleubird Blog a really lovely blog on style, family life, and weekly cake.

Learning about Bow-hunting. Perhaps its because I am currently reading Hunger Games and I think Katniss is cool, but bow-hunting is something that Nate and I are getting excited about. Bow-hunting? Yes, it's survival skill and it's the skill that intrigues me. Something we can do with the boys that gets us outside and intimate with Nature. Plus, in the case of a zombie apocalypse (or a reaping) you want to have some skills. A great article from one of Nate's favorite sites, the Art of Manliness

[wpvideo 6dmiQg2b] More from Nate, this article on the Family Meeting based on the book The Secret to Happy Families which we have in our library. Here Owen is about a week old and Brendan two and a half. We LOVE the Family Meeting (and dancing and coffee shops)at our house.

I love Brene Brown. Her work has truly given voice and inspiration to the deep longings of my soul for a life well-lived. Through the Daring Interview Series, I found out about Jennifer Louden's The Life Organizer and I now subscribe to the weekly emails. It has been a excellent way for me to sit and listen.

What have I been pinning? Check it out.

Morning Routine

Good Morning!

Make bed later.

Brendan's been up for a while.

Chicken, Piggy, and Frog want to shower too.

Light a candle.

Hi Owen!

 Hi Brendan!

Heat some water. Slice up a lemon and add it to a big glass of warm water. Sip until its gone.

Meanwhile Make oatmeal. 2/3 cups, let soak for at least 10 minutes. You can also do this the night before, but who as the foresight, really?

Feed the LOVE jar.

While the oatmeal is soaking, make eggs. Heat butter over medium-high heat - use a lot. Crack two eggs. Let cook for 2 minutes, then turn down the heat. After about 5 minutes, flip. This technique takes about 7-8 minutes for the eggs to be ready, but they taste like eggs from heaven. Slow cooking seems to have that effect, yes?

[wpvideo 3sqtdMgU] Add seed mix, ghee and/or coconut oil, and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Cover. Turn the heat to low and let cook for 20-30 minutes.

Love on the boys.

Honor the sacred in your home.

Make the bed. Ah, better.

Enjoy!

Alternative Blueberry Muffins

Nothing gets me serious about eating like nursing a child. I am hungry all the time, like all the time. I wanted to make something that would get more nutrients into myself and my 2 year old. Brendan and I had a lot of fun making these the other morning and Owen ate really well that day too. They are tasty, healthy and nourishing.

Seed Mix: In a food processor, 1 parts each sunflower, almond, 2 parts each gogi berry, flax seed.

Laugh. Look at the colors.

Process.

Process again.

Try not to get flax seeds in your eye.

Decantor

Muffin mix: Add seed mix.

Add blueberries.

Add kale, because kale is king.

Add a 2 year old.

Mix.

Bake.

Can't wait until they've cooled.

[wpvideo iWvgxcv0]

10 Direct and Truthful Tips for Postpartum Bliss

I recently gave birth to a baby boy! Yes! Thank you. Baby Owen Raine Bettger was born by vbac at 5:40pm on Jan 8. It was an incredible experience which I intend to share in a later blog post but for now here are 10 (direct and real) tips for postpartum bliss.

1. Have a meal train set up, have house help set up, have shows and movies ready to go, have snacks prepared ahead of time, pack your bag, your partner's bag and you're other kids bags.
2. Get together the following items: "padcicles": frozen maxi pads soaked in healing tea - camomile and comfy are great Tucks brand medicated pads Dermablast pain relieving spray A peri spray bottle Sitz bath salts comfy pants and snap front shirts
3. Sleep, sleep, sleep, hydrate and carbo load in the weeks leading up to your due date. Exercise and eat well in the months leading up to your due date.
4. Mentally prepare for the hardest work of your life. Know that you can do it! But, also know how you will deal with strong strong sensation (aka pain). Take classes on how to birth - your pranamaya and yoga practice will only take you so far. If you want to birth your child naturally without drugs be sure to know i.e. really educate yourself on how to manage pain. Side note: I labored naturally without drugs with my first born, my cervix swelled and I had a c-section. With my second, I labored with an epidural, dilated and effaced with no issue and had a vbac. The vbac was by far the superior birth experience. It was the hardest work of my life.
5. Have pictures taken and journal about your birth experience soon after birth. You may not remember anything.
6. Consider a 40 day sacred time to heal and bond with baby. During this time let the housework and things - even diaper changing to others (preparing and asking for help ahead of time helps a lot), your job then is to heal, rest and feed the baby.
7. Forget about a birth plan. One nurse said that "a birth plan is just a recipe for a c-section" - this was true for me.
8. Smoothies! (Pre-package and freeze smoothie ingredients).
9. If you use a smart phone, get the Total Baby app to track baby's rhythms this will help ease the family into a schedule. I believe in a fluid schedule for sanity.
10. Get a gadget called Baby Plus (in your 2nd trimester). It's a learning tool, but I think it's a magical spell for easy babies.