Being Prepared

When you live in the woods in the mountains, you have a lot of... interesting neighbors. Like the dairy farmer who makes goat cheese every day. And the church organist who practices late at night. And the engineer with the top secret security clearance. And the felon with the chihuahua named Nacho. And the crazy lady who looks like Grandma Death from Donnie Darko who lives in a house with no running water... on purpose. I'm going to let that one sink in for a minute.

Gross, right?

You might also have some neighbors who live in the woods because they believe the world is going to end. Not in the "everyone knows that in billions of years the sun is going to expand and swallow the earth" way. In the "who would you like to have on 'our' team when the sh!# truly hits the fan? This is a very serious question. When the whole world is going to hell in a hand basket... who do you want at your side?" way. And yes, that is a real quote from one of my real neighbors. You can't make this sh!# up. There's this super secret club that Hubby and I were invited to join because Hubby cleared a tree out of the road during a storm and the other guys decided they want him and his chainsaw at their side when the sh!# truly hits the fan.

Anyway, I wanted to see what kind of hilarity would happen at a secret preppers' club in the woods, so we went to one of their meetings. Supposedly, we would be learning how to use acorns for food like the Native Americans did. In reality, one guy had made cookies with acorn flour before the meeting and then described the process to the group. I checked out after a woman asked what kind of sweetener you would use in the apocalypse. After I suggested that you're not going to worry about how sweet your acorn cookies are if you're in a survival situation, I casually mentioned that I'm planting a sugar maple tree so I can try to make my own maple syrup. It almost felt like one of those mic drop moments.

Even though I don't think the world is going to end soon (although with our current political situation, who really knows?), I do think it's a good idea to try to be a little more self sufficient. My sugar maple arrived today, and I know just where it's going. We're starting to run out of sunny places in the yard to put more apples, strawberries, grapes, blackberries, raspberries, pomegranates, figs, nectarines, potatoes, garlic or anything else. But I'm sure we'll figure something out. Or we'll have to start stealing acorns from the woodpeckers to make flour.

Impractical Stuff

I seem to be having a slight identity crisis. It's more like a clash between my whimsical side and my practical side. Or between my youth and my adulthood.

I know, in the grand scheme of things, it's basically nothing. But it doesn't feel like nothing.

Hubby and I are trying to declutter. Again. Still. It feels like we're always fighting a losing battle with stuff.

We always seem to acquire more stuff than we get rid of. Especially clothes, so I decide to start there. I quickly run into a problem. I have a lot of clothes that I like and are cute and completely impractical. Like the strapless red party dress with the short poofy skirt that I love that I've worn once. It's not something that's really mama-esque even if I did miraculously have an occasion when it would be appropriate to wear it. But I don't want to get rid of it. I'm just not ready to let go of that part of me. So, even though it isn't practical, I'm going to put it back in my closet. At least until the next time I try to declutter.

Why I Don't Cover Up When Breastfeeding In Public

I've always been modest when it comes to showing my body. Don't get me wrong, I wear short shorts and tank tops in the summer. But I try to keep it classy. No pretending that sheer tights are really leggings and/or can be worn instead of pants.

So when it came to planning how I was going to feed Baby, I wasn't quite sure what I would be comfortable doing. I knew I wanted to breastfeed, so I expected to carry around one of those cute breastfeeding covers that doubles as an infinity scarf. Baby is here, and I don't own one. And I probably I wouldn't use it if I did.

One of my defining breastfeeding moments happened in Target. (I feel like everything happens at Target. I love Target. Anyway...) Baby and I were most of the way through the store, and he decided he was HUNGRY. So I pulled down my shirt and we breastfed in the toothpaste aisle in Target.

Because that's what Baby needed, and the hell with anyone else.

Although I will say the furniture section is a much more comfortable and relaxing place to breastfeed than the toothpaste aisle. If Baby can wait that long. If we're being real, the backseat of the car is even better. Better for me, that is. What's better for Baby is whatever fills his little hungry belly faster, so that's what we're going to do. And if that means a few strangers see some boob, so be it. They're not really even my boobs; I didn't get them until Baby, so I'm pretty sure they belong to him. And for the foreseeable future, they're his whenever he decides it's boob time.

Easy French Toast

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Happy Sunday! Today, I'd like to share with you my easy recipe for French Toast. It's delicious and passes the "can I make this with one hand while wearing a baby" test. My recipe is for one adult-sized serving, but it's easy enough to double or triple or quadruple (you get my drift) as needed.

Ingredients:
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
1 splash vanilla
1 dash cinnamon
2 slices bread

How-to:
Stir together first 4 ingredients in a small flat-bottomed dish (I use this one--it's almost exactly the same size as a slice of bread). Dip both sides of both bread slices to coat. Cook in skillet until slightly browned, flipping as needed. Serve with fresh fruit and maple syrup.

I used my new copper pan. I absolutely love cooking with it because it's the first truly nonstick cooking surface I've ever found. This is how it looked after I finished the French toast. I didn't use cooking spray or butter on the pan, which means there's no extra fat or chemicals in the food, and those bits that are leftover can literally be wiped off with a sponge. This pan is so amazing it makes me not hate washing dishes. You'll be seeing a lot more of it in future posts.