Experiments in Baking

I made red velvet cheesecake brownies for the ladies I visit teach. I thought it would be a good Valentine's day treat. I took pictures of the whole process and then realized that I didn't take a picture of the finished product! You will have to take my word for it that they looked pretty close to the ones on the recipe. So, here is the recipe.

Eggs, sugar, food coloring, and vanilla look weird together.

Melted chocolate and butter

Mix everything together and add the flour.

Pour it in the pan.

Make the cheesecake topping

Dollop

Swirl

They are really yummy and cute. It was a fun adventure. I really like being in the kitchen and cooking new things. I'll be adding this to my repertoire. 

Wreath Obsession

So, this year I want to make a wreath for every month. So far I have 4 of 12. February, March, June, and December. I finished the March wreath a couple days ago and it is AWESOME! Here is my inspiration:


Thank you to Ramblings From the Sunshine State for the inspiration.

Here is mine:



Here are the pictures and how I did it.

I started by wrapping my round foam wreath form with dark green yarn.

Then I combined my three colors and made a ball for easier wrapping.

It is kind of a pain to wrap all three at the same time, but it is totally worth it. It looks awesome!

Then I took felt and cut out my rainbow flags (2 sides). I attached them with tacky glue to a piece of yarn and tied the ends to the wreath. I took the same felts and cut circles and then spirals to make the rosettes. Once I cut the spirals (I forgot to take pics of that part), I rolled them with dots of glue to keep them together and pinned them to the wreath. The pot of gold is double sided and the coins are just circles of yellow felt. Easy-peasy. 

I am kind of obsessed with yarn-wrapped wreaths! They are so cool looking and way easier than I thought they would be. 

And now, for something completely different!

This is my ridiculously mobile child. He can pull himself up on things, not always successfully, but he is way too good at it for my taste.

Little Changes

I am trying to make a few little changes to help my emotional, mental, and spiritual health. I am doing pretty well on my physical health. Eating healthier foods, working out for 30 mins every weekday. That was a good change. I feel better, I have a little more energy, I am stronger, and getting more toned, which, after a baby, I certainly won't say no to.

I am trying very hard to pray morning and night. I am good about night prayers, but morning prayers are harder with a baby. I have to make an effort to remember to pray when I wake up to a fussing baby. Slowly but surely I'm getting there with that.

I am also trying to read my scripture every day. I have never been able to be consistent and I can feel it when I am not. I feel more energy when I read my scriptures. It seems like it wouldn't make that much of a difference, but it really does for me. I've taken the promises of prophets and put them to the test. Those promises are true.

There are still a few things I want to be better about, blogging for one. Writing in my journal is something else that I really need to improve. I haven't written in longer than I would care to admit. There was a time when I wrote at least every other day. I also want to start reading like I used to, but I am just so tired by the time I can actually sit down and do it that I just end up watching mindless tv shows. I've started going to bed a little earlier and reading for a little while to calm my mind and help me fall asleep faster. Baby steps are my focus right now and I feel like I am making a lot of progress. All these little things make a huge difference to me.

These Are the Days

I have a difficult child. I know that everyone's kids are difficult in their own way, but I feel my difficulties every day, almost all day. Yes, that includes nighttime. You see, Benjamin does not like to sleep. He will take 3 naps, but none of them are more than 30 minutes. He will follow these naps with about 30 minutes of smiles and fun times and then it is back to being tired, fussy, and in constant need of attention. When I put him down for a nap, he screams. When I put him in his crib at night, he screams. The only times he doesn't do it is when someone is over or his daddy is home. He wakes up at least twice in the early morning and cries for food. I have let him cry for an hour and a half before and he will not go back to sleep unless I get up and feed him.

Anyone who knows me knows that I need more sleep than most people. I don't function well without it. That being said, I haven't had a full night of sleep since November of 2010. I am running on empty. My body craves nothing but sugar and I have to force myself to make healthier choices. I love my sweet little boy, but he takes everything I have. I felt strong impressions that we needed to have a baby when we did, but sometimes I wonder why this is that time. What am I supposed to learn from this experience? I don't quite know yet. i hope I figure it out soon so I can move on to a new learning experience that requires less lost sleep.