Mama Perez's guacamole

If you are like me, you are ready for freakin' summer already! Or, if you live where I do, you are ready for spring to work it out. The other day I was feeling summery and one of my favorite summery foods is guacamole. My mom used to make some awesome, out of this world guacamole and it was always a favorite at family gatherings, birthdays and summer parties. Guacamole for some reason is really intimidating for most people. Do not fear! The following recipe is an easy winner!

Mama Perez's Guacamole

2 ripe avocados*
1 small onion finely chopped
1 small tomato (or a couple Roma tomatoes) diced
1 lemon
salt and pepper
1/4 cup cilantro (optional)

*A note about choosing avocados: choose avocados that are black- the blacker the better and generally, more ripe. Sometimes they will put stickers on that say "ripe." Do not be fooled! What you do is, feel the avocado and give it a little squeeze. If is gives a little very easily, it is ripe. If is does not give at all, it is not ripe and it will be nearly impossible for you to make anything with it. Remember: dark black and soft.

To make the guacamole begin by slicing the avocados in half long ways:  

Next, use a large spoon to scoop out the avocado from the shell. Place in bowl. Scoop the seed out and set it aside. Use a fork or potato masher to mash avocado.

When avocado is mashed, add onion, tomato and cilantro, if you would like.

Mix all ingredients together. Add the juice of one lemon (watch for seeds). Add salt and pepper to taste. I think what make my mom's guac was that she knew the exact amount of salt to use so that it was yummy but not too much.

Lastly, place the saved avocado seed into the middle of the guacamole. It will keep the guacamole from going brown right away. Avocados are one of those foods that go brown pretty quick. If your guac starts to go brown, just give it a stir. I would definitely say to keep it cool, store in a fridge and try to eat within 1-2 days after making it for best taste and least risk of food poisoning. :)

Ta-da! Super-easy! Salud!

Dressmaking hiatus

Uh, I think that is how you spell "hiatus"...

It has been, like, a week since I last posted. It's a total bummer. As it turns out I have been burning the midnight oil working on a friend's wedding dress. I think it is coming along nicely and I will be glad when I can hand it over to her and eventually watch it walk down the aisle. I made my wedding dress and quite a few other garments in the past but never any with two young children (including one that isn't a fan of sleep), in the wake of my mother's passing and about 8 hours of "free time" per week. This might be a good place to note that during my "free time" I have the choice of cleaning the house, sewing or sleeping. Regardless, I am going to make it. And she will be beautiful!

A little sneak peek!

This picture is of the fitting garment. The bride is really excited about the fabric flowers and so we are doing it up. I hope to post soon about how to make them. They are very fun and super easy to make.... unless you are hand sewing 27 of them... no, really, it is actually pretty therapeutic :)

When it is finished and the bride gives me the OK, I will post more. I am almost there. I think I can, I think I can,

I KNOW I can!

Officially concert ready!

Tonight, my yellow mesh stretch polka dot fabric told me what it wanted to be so I could wear it as something:

Turns out it wanted to be a cape/shawl thing. Who knew? It has been sitting around for two months incubating. I was hoping it would get on the train, considering the Arcade Fire concert is Monday. I am super excited- Jamie and I have been waiting to see them for FOREVER. I watched a recording of their performance on Austin City Limits and about cried it was so awesome. That might sound stupid but music speaks to me- theirs especially. I will do a follow-up but until then, get acquainted...

National poetry month

If you had no idea, April is National Poetry Month. For two years now, my best friend of 13 years, Kirstin has encouraged me to write one poem a day. Last year I was all for it and almost made the goal of one per day.  This year, I wrote my first one yesterday. Ug. I am sorry Kirstin. Can we extend into May?

I wrote another one tonight at dinner for our waitress:

There once was a waitress named Grace

Who had a big smile on her face

She brought us good pizza

It was so nice to meet-ha (her)

We will surely come back to this place!

We ate at a local restaurant called Toscani, downtown and it was super yummy. They had paper over their table clothes and gave my daughter some crayons to color on it with. The paper table cloth is actually where this work of poetry was composed.... I hope it brightened her day. Sometimes the littlest things can make all the difference.



Finally comfortable after (almost) 4 years

I love my husband. There is not a day that goes by that I don't thank God for the blessing that he is. Don't get me wrong, our marriage is not always cherries and lolly-pops but we work it and I love him more and more with each passing day. Today I had to laugh when we had this conversation... maybe some of you can relate?

Me: (dancing around silly in the living room for no apparent reason, I put my arm around Jamie) Pick me up!

Jamie: Pick you up?!

Me: Yea, pick me up.  (think romantic walk through a threshold)

Jamie: No way!

Me: You have before!

Jamie: Yea, and I almost buss-ed (busted) my back!


Oh, I see. Well, sorry you had to be romantic! Just kidding but seriously...

Holy week for a Holy Housewife

I hope by now you get that the name of this blog is a little bit of a haha and not me making a serious comment about how "holy" I am. I do love Jesus and I believe I am made holy only by His grace- I have nothing to do with it!

Speaking of holy, this week is it- the week before Easter. In remembrance (and celebration?) we watched The Passion of the Christ tonight. It was the first time I had seen it again since it came out. We watched it with our son (my stepson) Luke. It was beautifully painful to watch. I had the same feelings that I had the first time I watched it- horror, sadness, a sick stomach. Some may say that there is too much blood, that the movie goes too far with the torture and torment. For me it is a good reminder of what my faith is based on. If you are a Christian, you hear all the time, "Christ died for you." It is really easy for us to think of that being really easy for someone who is God's Son or thinking of it sort of like a lethal injection type of death- quick and painless. A Crucifixion is quite the opposite from what I have read. While on this earth I will never really, truly grasp God's sacrifice of His own Son. I know that I deserve nothing and yet I have everything I need because of God's love and forgiveness. That is worth celebrating!

When I was little, I really looked forward to Easter for the candy. I went straight through my catholic Sunday school classes and I knew Easter was special but I still didn't get it. As I grew and my faith evolved I went from structured, ritualized Easter with no meat on Fridays and Lenten promises to unstructured where Easter was still celebrated but much more minimally. As my faith evolves again, I am starting to be more intentional with how I am celebrating Easter. I look forward to the rest of this week as I study God's word and thank Him for my many blessings.

At church on Sunday, we had our annual feet washing/anointing service. It is a great service but unfortunately I missed it due to kids church duty. I know that some people aren't feet people or feet even gross some people out... I gotta tell you, feet aren't my thing either. I love my daughters' feet and my husband's feet and my feet are ok too. Other than that.... I don't know. I guess for this reason, the idea of foot washing is very special.

 ⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
 ⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
 ⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
   Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
 ⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

John 12: 6-9

This Thursday I am going to have a very special dinner for my family.  I will have bread and wine (grape juice for the little ones) - like a pseudo last supper. As a catholic I would have never considered doing something like this, feeling like I wasn't good enough to break bread and drink wine in my own home with my family. How beautiful it is that I trust God will be with us in our home for our meal. I also want to wash my husband and daughters' feet. I want my family to know that I love them and serve them and that they are special to me. I want my daughters to know that I love Jesus and I want them to love Jesus too.  

I want Easter to be more than a sugar high. I am looking forward to it!

Make your own baby ring sling

Luke and Leila- sling time!

At any given time I have a lot of sewing projects going- either physically or in my head :) I am always looking for cool things to make for my girls. When Sofia was little I made a crappy, totally unsafe ring sling and then I wondered why I didn't like it too much. I worked it out this time, though, and I am happy with the result.
If you have a little one or are expecting, you should definitely consider wearing your baby. What do I mean by this, you ask? Well, chances are, you are going to spend a lot of time holding your child. If you already have children, this could be a little more tricky. Why not use something to help you support you and your child during those times... and maybe even give you a little more freedom with your hands? The ring sling is very versatile and you can wear your baby in it for a long time- even then he/she is a toddler if you want.

Here are some ways to carry baby in a ring sling:

To make my ring sling I first sourced fabric and safe rings. I ended up with a light-weight woven fabric, no stretch, from Jo-Anns. It is important to think about when and where you will be using your sling most and purchase fabric accordingly. I knew that I would be outside a lot and I wanted it for summer time so I went with something lightweight and breathable. I sourced by rings from http://www.slingrings.com/. They have a ton of colors and are very reasonably priced. The pricing is per ring set and you can choose from different sizes of rings as well.

Next I decided how I wanted to pattern the shoulder. This was a big mistake with my first try- I didn't think about the shoulder at all. I decided I would go with some close knife pleats (pleating in one direction all the way across).

Before I began to stitch anything I played around with the length and width. I ended up going with 2 1/4 yards for the length (which was more than enough) and 34 inches wide (32-33 inches after hemming).

Here is roughly what I did:

1: Measured and cut appropriate length and width

2: Double-folded 1/4 inch and hemmed sides and one short end.

3: Pleated unhemmed short edge until it was 6 inches across. I pinned each pleat in place and basted near the raw edge and then approximately 7 inches from it. Basting is just a long stitch that hold stuff in place.

4: Threaded the pleats through both rings. This is a little tricky to explain but.... next, I folded the raw edge under about 1/2 inch and folded it up to meet the other basted stitch. I stitched that in place with a standard straight stitch. Then I stitched it again about a sewing foot width apart. Lastly, I added a decorative stitch in between.

5. The final step is to thread it. I folded the free end up accordion style and looped it up through both rings from underneath. Then I folded it over the first ring and back down under the second. From this point you can adjust as needed. The sides of a sling are known as "rails." When you place your child in the ring sling, one rail will be under the child's bottom and legs and the other up over their back.

There are several  websites on how to use a ring sling and or baby wearing in general . These are a couple of my favorite!

http://zolowear.com/Wearing.aspx
http://www.wikihow.com/Wear-Your-Baby

Baby leggings- yes!



My Sofia- sportin' some new leg warmers

 When Sofia was an infant, we thought we would try to do some loose elimination communication with her. If you have never heard of elimination communication your head is probably full of questions. Essentially, it is infant toilet training. It is a (sort of gently radical) way to get your child used to the potty sooner so that "potty training" is easier. We started at about 10 months. I was so proud because we sat her on our little pink ikea potty and she went 4 times the first day! We were rarely that successful after that but still! In order to do this properly, you should allow your child to run around with a loose cloth diaper on your even naked. Yes- naked.... especially good if you have hardwood floors for clean-up! We started this in April, and in Indiana, April doesn't mean anything but fickle weather. I discovered Baby Legs (www.babylegs.com) which are a brand of baby leg warmers and thought- awesome perfect for potty time. The thing is, they are pretty saucy considering pee definitely tends to run down the leg sometimes and you will need several pairs. I found the solution- DIY baby leg warmers. Here is how you do it:

I purchased a couple pairs of Junior's/Women's knee high socks from Target. They were $2 a pair and come is some awesome colors and prints.

Step 1: Cut them just above the heel, together and straight across

Step 2: Set your sewing machine to a wide zig zag stitch like so. A zig zag stitch will allow the knit to stretch and conform to whoever is wearing it.

Step 3: Fold cut edge up 1/2 inch and stitch around. Be sure to back stitch. Do for both warmers.

Step 4: Put them on and love them!

The socks I found are long enough that they are good for babies and toddlers. You can use them for potty training at any time, in the summer when you don't want your kids completely naked running around :) or you can use them to accessorize your toddler's outfit... leggins, jeggins and leg warmers are kind of in right now so it works. Plus, cute kids can get away with almost anything.

Good luck! 

No matter what....

This morning I was woken up by my two beautiful daughters at about 7:18 a.m. (not to be exact or anything). This might not be early to some people but when you are burning it at both ends and your kids don't seem to go to bed before they want to get up again- ug. I am trying to make the most of it, though. It is Friday, afterall. :)

I turned the local Christian radio station on to listen while I made breakfast. I feel like it is a really good start to my day- a way of grounding me before I head out into the world... or even my living room. I really don't know Christian artists very well but one of my very favorite songs came on and I felt so blessed to hear it. It is called No Matter What. When I first heard this last late summer, I didn't really identify with it. It is slower and I tend toward music with a good beat (even Christian music). That soon changed when my mom fell ill and it became my theme song, like I was hearing it for the first time. Every word was exactly what I needed to hear and pray.

Here is the first verse and chorus:

I’m running back to your promises one more time, Lord that’s all I can hold on to, I gotta say this has taken me by surprise, but nothing surprises you. Before a heartache can ever touch my life, it has to go through Your hands, and even though I, keep asking why, I keep asking why,

No matter what, I’m gonna love You, no matter what I’m gonna need You, I know that You can find a way to keep me from the pain but if not,if not, I’ll trust you, no matter what, no matter what.

I have cried so many times while listening to this song. It is a beatiful song, it reminds me that God is past, present and future, and that someone else has felt the same way I do. And it reminds me of the special time that we took care of mom.

I hope it speaks to you too!

Budgeting is essential!

About a year and a half ago we were given the opportunity to take a Financial Peace course through our church, by Dave Ramsey. Until this point I had never really heard of Dave Ramsey, or financial peace for that matter. It ended up being a great course and I recommend it to anyone that wants to get their finances in order. I could talk for a bit about all of the good that has come from us taking this course but one of the best things is the idea of budgeting. Up until then, we had never made a budget... and I don't know how we didn't fall way into the red- ouch! We were just paying bills as they came in and spending willy-nilly. Yikes!

Through the financial peace course we used a budget worksheet designed for the program (which you can find if you just google search it). There are 3 pages. We don't fill in everything but it helps us to have a mental checklist for the month when determining things for which we need to set aside some dough. Budgeting is a way to be intentional with your money, making it work for you. You have to be disciplined and do what you can to stick to your budget once you make it. You have to give yourself an incubation period to get your budget settled on amounts of money for things like groceries and gasoline that don't leave you starving or walking. Budgeting has changed our lives and our financial futures.

With all that in mind... we have not been following the Financial Peace plan as closely as we could be. For example, the program calls for spending more cash and less card-swiping. Do you know that you tend to spend 12-18% more when you swipe than when you pay cash? Did you also know that you tend to spend the same amount more and on top of that when you just "tap" a card instead of swipe one, if you have a card with those capabilities? Very interesting. Anyway, we have been bad about going to the bank and getting cash out on paydays. Because of this I had to work out what we had already spent for the month to determine how much money I had left for groceries. $62. That's not much. I went to the store.

At the store I purchased enough to get us through the week. Enough for three dinners and lunch for me and the girls. I also purchased food to make a friend of mine a meal. I got a garment bag to house the dress I am currently working on. And on the way to the checkout I had the urge to pick-up one of those pre-packaged bags of food for the local food bank. I had no idea how much I spent but I was hoping it was under $62. The cashier rang everything up- $61.10. Praise God! Budget saved. Disaster diverted.

The point is that no one is perfect but financial peace is possible and budgeting is ESSENTIAL. If you don't currently budget, give it an honest try and see how you feel knowing exactly what your money is being spent on. It is liberating. It takes discipline but do you really need another pair of shoes? Always consider your circumstance compared to others who have less and not those who have more. All we really need to live is food, water and love. The rest is just a bunch of stuff someone is going to go through after you leave. I'm not trying to be grim- I'm being for real.

Dancing with Jesus

My mom, Sofia and I- 2009

It's been almost 4 months since my mom passed away. I still can't believe it. I keep wondering when the hurt will go away and I won't feel like I am putting on a pretty face for people- when I will feel "normal" again. I still miss her so much. I try not to think about it because it hurts still like an open wound.

Last night I was putting my daughter to bed. We did the usual prayers and at the end I asked if there was anyone else we should pray for. She said "Grandma Judy!" It makes my heart smile that at only under 3 years old she still remembers my mom and brings her up often. Here is how it progressed:

Me: We should pray for our friend across the street too because her mommy went to heaven today, like Grandma Judy.

Sofia: Grandma Judy is in heaven (she pronounces it like heanen)?

Me: Yea, she is in heaven.

Sofia: (thoughtful) God and Jesus and Jonah are gonna keep Grandma Judy in heaven.

Me: Yea....

Sofia: (still thoughtful) Grandma Judy dances with Jesus.

Me: I hope she does!

I foresee Mother's Day to be a challenge this year.....

Beer

It's got to be a good post if it starts with "beer," right? :)

It's been a good spring break. My husband is a school teacher and so not only was by stepson home all week but my husband also. On Friday my sister watched our daughters so that we could have a date (the 3rd one since my second daughter was born, who is now almost 9 months). We went to a local brewery to enjoy some food and maybe, a brew. Mad Anthony, I am assuming named after the General Anthony Wayne for whom our lovely city is named, is a great place. It has great food, great atmosphere, great bands and really tasty beer. My hubby and I sat at the bar and chatted and ate. He had a Blonde brew and I had a Raspberry/Blonde mix. I have never been a big drinker at all but I do appreciate a good beer now and then. It was yummy and I felt it right away (yes- I'm a total light-weight and proud!). I thought to myself "this is great- I am out with my husband and we are having a great time with great food and we are doing something without the kids and I can eat before my food gets cold..." and then I got sad. Really sentimental. I thought about mom and I even..... cried in my beer a little, sitting at the bar. I felt like a big dork.

It's April now. The sun is shining and today, it is warm. Bare feet warm. Sunglasses warm. I am seasonally affected and so I long for springtime for what seems to be forever. Here it is, and I am crying in my beer. I feel like how a soldier must feel coming back from battle. Exhausted, disillusioned, run-down but alive. What a season of my life this has been. Praise God I am still standing. Even if I am crying in my beer.

On a lighter note, I made some rockin' Shepherd's Pie with beer and since we are talking about it, I think I should share. I just recently re-discovered Shepherd's Pie when my dear friend Kirstin brought me and my family a meal (or two or so) during everything with mom. Her family's recipe is super yummy and my husband made a point to tell me he "really liked it." Score. I have yet to ask for that recipe to I adopted a few different ones via internet and improvised. It's easy and yummy and worth a try. It's a winner for adults and children!

Shepherd's Pie 

You need:
4-5 good sized potatoes
butter and milk (for mashed potatoes)
1 onion chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen diced carrots
1 cup beef broth
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp flour
Beer of choice (I used Moosehead Lager)
salt, pepper, paprika

How-to:

Cube potatoes and boil in salted water until tender.

While potatoes are cooking, saute onions in olive oil for a couple minutes until tender. Add ground beef, break apart and cook until no longer pink. Add peas and carrots and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add beef broth, Worcestershire and flour to create gravy. Stir until flour is incorporated. Pour in a couple ounces of beer, stir and simmer. Salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Transfer to a casserole for baking.

Turn broiler on high to heat.

Once potatoes are tender, drain. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter and milk and mash or blend potatoes to your liking. Add butter, milk, salt or pepper as needed or to taste. When satisfactory, spoon out over meat and veggie mixture and smooth over top. Sprinkle a bit of paprika for look, not taste.

Place casserole in oven about 6 inches from broiler and bake for about 10 minutes until potatoes begin to brown.

Serve! Yum-o!

Conversations with Cinderella

Yesterday my girls and I were in Sofia's room playing. Sofia picks up the Cinderella princess pretend cell phone and begins having a lengthy conversation with her. Then, apparently Cindy wanted to talk to me. We had a nice chat then I gave the phone back to Sofia saying that Cinderella wanted to talk to her again, you know the drill. It is fun to play pretend. A little while later she takes the phone to dad and tells him that Cinderella wants to talk to him. Here was their conversation:

Dad: Hey Cinderella, what's up?
-pause-
Dad: I'm going poop.
-pause-
Dad: No, Sofia went poop yesterday. Do you go poop?
-pause-
Dad: You do? Well, that's good.
-pause-
Dad: Nice talkin' to ya, Cinderella. Good bye.

I had to crack up at the sweet disfunctionality that is budding in my family.

Later that day, Sofia told me that the phone was for me. Cindy. Again. I figured I better brush up on my pretend talk if I am going to keep up with dad. It went like this:

Mom: Hey, Cinderella. What's going on, lady?
-pause-
Mom: Sure, we would love to. Great idea!
-pause-
 Mom: No, we don't have a pair of glass slippers.
-pause-
Mom: Shoe shopping! Cinderella, you read my mind!
-pause-
Mom: Yup, ok. We will meet you there! Bye!

I wonder if Jamie bought it when I told him that Sofia and I were leaving to meet Cindy at the mall? :)

Compost cake

I just looked at my last few posts... one about beef barley soup, one about throw-up and now, one about a compost cake. Yum.... maybe I should have thought this through better?

Last night was bible study night. It was also April fools day. I had originally planned to make some sort of April fools food that looked like something it wasn't... and then I found a recipe for a compost cake from the Disney Family Fun website.

I try not to like Disney because I feel like it could eat the world if it wanted to (just like Wal-Mart and McDonald's) but I can't help it. I love Disney. I long for my family trip to Disney World. I sing to every Disney movie I own. My 2 year old daughter doesn't go a day without reminding me about how mean Ursula stole Ariel's voice and Prince Eric stabbed Ursula in her belly. The only magazine I subscribe to is Disney Family Fun because it really is a great magazine! Ok.... back to the compost cake!

This cake is super easy and yum-o! Here is how you do it:

Compost Cake

You will need:

Chocolate cake mix (and the ingredients to go with it)
Chocolate icing
16 pretzel rods
Oreo cookies to crumble on top
Gummy worms
Other candies and look like they belong in the compost (I found some Wonka brand gummies called Sluggles which were perfect, some sour watermelon gummies and some mini cadbury eggs, white of course)



Compost cake!



How-to:

1. Bake the cake according to directions. Cool. Spread a bit of icing between layers. Ice the rest on all sides.

2. Place pretzel rod (the bin boards), 4 on each side.

3. Top with crumbled up Oreo cookie pieces.

4. Add desired edible compost contents on top

5. Enjoy!

This cake is super- easy. It can be made with your kids to get them pumped for gardening season. It can be made for an environmentally friendly themed party or dinner. Or it can be made for a bible study gathering.... I told them "this is to remind us that God takes all our yucky stuff and works it around for something good." I thought it fit.

Here is where I found the compost cake:
http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/compost-cake-999003/