I'm still 30...and I made Indian food

Life has been a little better lately. Circumstances haven't necessarily changed, but I've just been making a real effort to be content and to make the best of things the way they are right now. It helps. But life is still going by so fast. I really psyched myself up for turning 30, but lately I'm just feeling old. Then I look in the mirror and my feelings are confirmed. Then I look at my list and tell myself I need to get moving. I promise there are more exciting things on my list than cooking and sewing and reading, it's just a matter of getting to them. I realize that being a working mom is more than a legit excuse for not getting a lot of stuff done beyond the basics. But I also realize that I'm not going to look back when I'm 40, 50, 60 and be satisfied with that reason for not accomplishing my goals. So expect some more progress from me- as soon as I finish this freelance project, catch up on laundry, find the DVD Bennett wants to watch, figure out when I have time to take a shower.......

I did try a new recipe a couple weeks ago. I have no idea if this recipe is truly Indian food or not, but I thought I'd try it. It's another one I came across in Better Homes & Gardens, and you can find it here if you're interested. I love almost all kinds of food, but Indian food is not something I've really had a lot of. I had one homemade Indian dish many years ago, and I hated it. A few years ago, Ben spent about a month in southern India and he loved the food there. He felt good eating it and lost weight. Since then, I've always intended to be more adventurous about Indian food but it just hasn't happened. When I saw this recipe I thought it would be a good first try. I have to admit I cut back on both the curry and the ginger out of fear of the unknown. I also used chicken breast instead of chicken thighs. I really liked this dish- and even more so because it is low in calories and fat- but I didn't go crazy over it. Ben liked it more than I did, and my parents liked it, too. Another plus is that it's a crock pot meal- I love anything that cuts down on prep time.

In the beginning, God

Time to reveal another item on my 30 in my 30s list. It sounds like everyone's typical New Year's resolution- I'm going to read through the entire Bible! As cheesy as it sounds, it's an important thing I want to accomplish. I can't tell you how many times in my life I've set out on this task. I usually start in Genesis, Psalms, and Matthew, and try to read a chapter at a time in each, basically giving myself three different "starting points" so I can get through faster. I usually fizzle out somewhere around Deuteronomy, Jeremiah, and Acts. It isn't that I never open my Bible and read it; it's just that I can't say I've ever read the whole thing cover to cover without stopping and starting over a bunch of times.

So, I've decided that I want to read through the Bible at least twice during my 30s. For the first round, I've decided to just read it straight through, from beginning to end, in Eugene Peterson's version The Message. I'm trying to approach it like I would a novel, just soaking it in and letting it make me think, just enjoying it for what it is. The next time, I plan to read it through it in a study Bible and dig a little deeper, maybe getting some commentaries as well.

The Bible has been a part of my life for the past 30 years, but I'm trying to look at it through new eyes. It's so many things- a beautiful piece of literature, God's letter written to us, a guide for living, a comfort and encouragement through anything we might face, an anchor in a crumbling world. There is no other book like it! If you've never read it, I encourage you to read it along with me. The Message version is a great place to start! I'll keep you updated on my progress here.

Sweet September

It's the first of the month, and I have my book review ready. But first I just have to say how excited I am that September is here. I realize it's still technically summer, and Labor Day isn't even here yet, but to me, September 1 has always been the unofficial start of fall. I won't lie- this summer, the first few months of my 30s, has been a very trying season for me. Lots of pain, heartache and frustration in my life and in the lives of people I love. I'm ready for a new season. I know that things have to get better. So, for the unofficial beginning of autumn, I celebrated by putting a fall wreath on my front door today. I just had to have one "fall-ish" thing around.

I'm looking forward to football (especially going to the Ohio State-Miami game next week!), hockey, cooler weather, taking Bennett to the pumpkin patch and dressing her up for Halloween, a cruise with my best friend at the end of the month, a trip to Atlanta to see my cousins, and the Iowa family coming out for Thanksgiving. It should be a great few months coming up.

Now, for my book review. The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane was another book I read while we were in Cabo. Historical fiction is my favorite genre, and this novel switches back and forth between modern times and the Salem witch trials of the 1600s. Basically, a contemporary Harvard graduate student finds a lot more than she bargained for in her research and discovers her own family ties to the famous past. It was fine for a beach read, but I can't say that it's a great book. I think the author was attempting to bring a fresh perspective to a well-known event in American history- that perspective being that some of the women really were witches (though benevolent)- but it was kind of lost on me. I like historical fiction that's a bit more grounded in fact and less in fantasy. It wasn't terrible, but there are just so many great novels out there that this probably isn't one to waste time on. I'm into a better book right now, though, so I'll look forward to reviewing it next month.

Fabric scrap pillow

So, I didn't think I'd have another sewing project finished so soon, but I had leftover fabric from Bennett's drawstring bag (below) so I decided to attempt making her a little pillow to match it. The only new thing I bought for it was the crown applique, which I got at Jo-Ann's (I know it's just Jo-Ann, but I can't help saying Jo-Ann's) for about $1.75 with coupon. Here's a pic:

I made a beginner's mistake by leaving the open part at the corner when I turned the pillow inside out to stuff it. I started stitching it by hand and knew I would have to come up with another solution because my hand stitching is terrible. So I decided to close it up with fabric glue- I figured that I had been glued together instead of stitched after a couple of my surgeries, so why not this pillow too? It turned out great. Fabri-Tac is awesome! I'm excited for my next project, though I don't know yet what it will be!

Bennett's got a brand new bag

So, if you read my little "about me," you'll see that I call myself a novice seamstress. That might be an overstatement. The extent of what I've sewn is a curtain (under the strict supervision of my cousin, who is also my sewing inspiration), a pillowcase (under the supervision of the teacher at Jo-Ann Fabrics), and a very sad and lopsided-looking pin cushion.

I've really wanted to learn how to sew for a long time now. It always seemed like fun to me and I've always hated buying things that I could make cuter and cheaper myself- if I only knew how. So I asked for a sewing machine this past Christmas, and my in-laws got it for me. I set up a small sewing area for myself in our loft and invested in a few nice tools, like Gingher scissors and a rotary cutter and mat. I went to the library and got a couple books with ideas, then went and bought some fabric and materials. And that is basically as far as I've gotten...until this week.

I just don't have time for sewing; at least, I don't make time. But I know I'm never going to get any better if I don't practice. Right now, I'm still in that "I'm terrible at this and I can't measure anything right or cut anything straight and I think I just sewed this together wrong and I hate this" phase. But completing something, even if it's imperfect, is such a good feeling. I don't really miss going to school, but I miss learning new things and getting better at them. Teaching myself to sew is a challenge, and I need more challenges like that in my life.

To be honest, the only reason I worked on sewing this week was because I had the material to make a project out of a book from the library, and I renewed it so many times I can't renew it anymore, and I'm racking up fines and I didn't want to return it without making the dumb project. I've had this book for months, and when I finally sat down to do it, it took me less than an hour to complete and I actually had fun. And, it helps me with another item on my 30 in my 30s list, which is to complete at least 100 sewing projects. 1 down, 99 to go. Here are a few pics of Bennett's new fleece bag (and yes, this was a project out of a book called Kids Can Do It). You have to start somewhere, right?