Closing in on a year...

I was just sitting here thinking that almost the entire month of April has gone by and I have only posted once. Life has been so busy lately and May is going to be even busier. I can't believe the first year of my 30s will be over in less than a month. I've been thinking a lot lately about what I've accomplished so far and what kind of year it's been. I would definitely say it's been an eventful year, full of highs and lows. I've worked on several of my list items, but I know full well in the back of my mind that I have not tackled any of the really difficult ones, the scary ones, the ones I haven't even yet had the guts to share with anyone, let alone take on head-first.

I'd like to say that the second year of my 30s is going to focus on accomplishing some of these tough goals but realistically, that isn't going to happen. I'm having a baby in about 4 months, and there's going to be an adjustment period, and before I know it I'm going to be 32. I'm OK with this, though. There's nothing on my list that's more important to me than my kids, so they're always going to get the priority. I'm only planning on having two, and I know the next few years of their "littleness" will be tons of work for me and at the same time, will go by so fast. It's not that I won't have any time to work on personal goals, but I just know that time will be limited.

A little while back I posted about how working at home and being a full-time mom was really stressing me out. Things are still kind of frustrating (especially with potty training- any advice is welcomed) but I do have a wonderful friend who is now watching Bennett one morning a week, and I am so thankful! I have to admit that so far I have not even used any of this time to get work done. One week I went to the dentist and another week I spent the whole time straightening up my house for company coming over the weekend. But, it was so nice to have those few hours to myself to get some things done. That little break makes a big difference in my week, and it's great for Bennett to have a change of scenery and another kid to play with as well. So, thank you, "Miss Lela"!

I've also been working hard these past four months- and will be working hard the next four months- to finish all my work for 2011 by the end of August. The baby is due September 4, so s/he better not come early! :) I'm planning to take off September, October, November, and December just to be with my kids and get through the initial transition of 1 to 2. I'm really excited about this. It's a lot of extra work/stress right now, but I think it will be worth it!

In other news, I did try a new recipe recently for Orange Chicken Piccata. While it looked lovely...

...it tasted just OK. Not worth posting the recipe. The sauce was fine, but it turned out tough. Maybe it's the technique but I have yet to find a stove-top chicken recipe that satisfies. I am convinced that chicken is meant to be either baked, broiled or grilled.

I also finished another book- The Last Child by John Hart.

I would classify it as "pretty good but not stellar." I was convinced about halfway through the book that I had the plot twist totally figured out- it focuses on a boy searching for his missing twin sister and the detective who helps him- but I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was wrong. I like a book that can surprise you. However, one of my pet peeves is child characters who are ridiculously mature and insightful and speak in totally unrealistic, adult-like dialogue. I would say the author is guilty of that in this work. 

Back to my busy week! There is a royal wedding going on and it's not for William & Kate. :) Very excited for my friends Tim & Alisa this weekend! Too bad I didn't put "Be a pregnant matron of honor" on my list. :)

Back to the list...

So, if I want to try 300 new recipes during my 30s, I need to try 30 a year, and I'm not doing that great so far. I thought it would be a lot easier, but I guess I'm not as adventurous as I thought, or I just don't take the time. Or, I get pregnant and throw up for a few months and can't imagine eating anything but saltines, let alone trying something new. But even when I wasn't eating much, I was looking forward to enjoying food again and thinking of fun ways to find and try new recipes. I came up with a couple of ideas. The first came by looking at my baking/spices cabinet. This is what it currently looks like:

This picture doesn't do it justice, but it's a total mess. Everything is thrown in there, and it's impossible to find what I'm looking for when I need it. I knock at least four things out every time I look for something in there. It is in dire need of organization! I do have a lot of great stuff in there, though- thanks to my dad's influence and a wonderful spice store we have here in Columbus (Penzey's)- so I know there are limitless cooking ideas waiting for me in there if I just take the time to look. So, one of my goals is to get this cabinet organized and see how many recipe ideas I can come up with based on fun spices and things that I already have. 

My second idea came from looking at the family cookbook. My great-aunt put this cookbook together at least 25 years ago and it features recipes from almost everyone on my dad's mom's side of the family (she was one of 10 kids, so it's a big family). My grandma had a copy for me and saved it all those years to give to me at my wedding shower. I cherish it!

I recently realized that the only recipes I ever really use out of this book are the ones that come from my own little part of the family, specifically my parents. I thought it might be a fun idea to try to "cook my way" through it. I don't know if it will be possible to make every single recipe, though. One of my great-grandfather's calls for at least 30 hens. So that one's probably not going to happen. But a lot of them would probably be great to try, so I'm going to start on that, too.

I've also made a couple of new recipes out of Taste of Home. Ben got me a subscription for Christmas, and it is one of the best gifts ever! I have never made anything out of Taste of Home that wasn't good. Last week I tried this Mediterranean Shrimp Skillet which was labor-intensive but good- thankfully my brother was here to help me saute the shrimp- I always do it wrong and overcook them. I also made these baked tomatoes to accompany the dish- but I was not overly impressed. I love the idea of baked tomatoes, though, so if anyone has a recipe or suggestions, let me know. 

I'm also behind on reviewing books, but I have finished a couple lately. I have to say that I loved, loved, loved Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls.

I loved Walls's memoir The Glass Castle, so I was excited to read another one of her works. This is a "true-life" novel about her grandmother, Lily Casey Smith, who was born around the turn of the century and spent her life ranching, teaching, and raising a family. I love the voice she gave to her grandmother and how she clearly tried to stay 100% true to who her grandmother really was. The dialogue is realistic (something I really love in a book), and it draws you in from page 1- you're instantly transported into Lily's life and want to dive right in. My only complaint about the book is that it ends rather abruptly, and I would have liked a bit more closure on Lily's life. But all in all, I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it! One of the best books I have read this year.