Sep 30, 2006

I'm an Aunt...again!

We found out the other day that Jessica, Jason's sister, is expecting her first child! This means I'm an Aunt again! :) And Christopher also has his second 1st cousin...did that make sense? :) Please keep Jessica and her baby in your prayers throughout the pregnancy. Her due date is June 3rd!

In other news...Wednesday I attended a Mom's group at our Church. It was so awesome to be around women again! There were about 15 of us and they all had children under 18 months of age. The Pastor, Fr. Xavier, gave us a wonderful talk about marriage. He's so fatherly and kind. I've been so impressed by all the priests at St. Dominics. On Sunday we met Fr. Steve, the prior. I had made some cookies on Saturday afternoon, so we took some with us to Mass for all the priests. It was great to meet and talk to Fr. Steve after Mass. I also met a wonderful Mom, Katie, and her 9 month son, Jude.

Well...gotta sign off here...gonna watch a Friday night movie with my awesome hubby! :)

Sep 24, 2006

Sour Dough Bread

Back when my parents had the Sawmill we knew a Mennonite family. They were allot like the Amish in that they never used electricity or cars. They grew much of their own food and generated their own electricity for some things. They made all their own clothes and had a huge loom as big as our living room at which they made their cloth or blankets. My brother Duke would go down to help them make Maple Syrup every February. They had a grove of mable trees which they would collect the sap from and then boil it down into Maple syrup. Every time Dad would go down to visit them for business (they had a metal shop and made Dad's shaving mills) they would send him back with fresh vegetables from their garden or fruit from their orchard. One time they sent back Sour Dough Bread Starter. It was awesome! The basic premise is that you have the basic starter which you "feed" every week taking some out to make the bread. I would make the bread every week, but it was gone so fast that I started 3 batches of starter which I would rotate through the week, so I could make 12 loaves each week. It's really pretty easy and tastes great! Once when we moved the starter was thrown out and I haven't been able to find a recipe for "starting" the starter! Well...the other day I was looking online and came accross this recipe and it's the same one I used all those years ago...so I thought I'd share it with you all!

SOUR DOUGH BREAD STARTER

3 tbsp. instant potatoes
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. very warm water (A warm Lukwarm...not scalding...it will kill the starter if it's too warm, but you will know by how much it "bubbles" after sitting out all day.)

Mix well and allow to set out on counter five days then refrigerate seven days.

Put initial starter in refrigerator 3 to 5 days, you can feed on the third, fourth or fifth day as follows:
3 tbsp. instant potatoes
3/4 c. sugar
1 c. very warm water

Mix well, add to starter, let stand out of refrigerator 8 to 12 hours (all day). When bubbly, take out 1 cup for bread. Return starter to refrigerator. Wait 3 to 5 days to feed again. If you don't make bread after feeding three times discard one cup or give to a friend. This is to avoid deflating starter. Starter may be frozen, for future use.

SOUR DOUGH BREAD
1 c. starter
1/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 c. warm water
6 c. Flour

In a large bowl mix all ingredients. Grease large container, put bread in, turn to grease top, cover with foil. Let stand overnight. Do not refrigerate. Next morning punch down and divide into 3 parts, knead each part on a floured surface 8 to 10 times. Put in greased loaf pans, brush with oil. Cover with waxed paper and let rise 4 to 5 hours. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. Brush top with melted butter. Can be frozen. If putting bread in pans on work day to rise it can set all day.

Timing breakdown:
Feed starter in the morning like 8 or 9 a.m.
Then at 8 or 9 p.m. make up dough to set overnight.
Make bread next morning and put in loaf pans to rise until supper time then bake.

ENJOY!!!!

Sep 21, 2006

Beautiful!

For those of you who have seen the A & E BBC Pride and Prejudice...do you remember when Elizabeth is climbing up the rocks and overlooking the valley below? The view is awesome and she utters, "Beautiful!" Well, that is how I feel every time I go to the beach/ocean. The weather has been really nice lately and Christopher and I have been trying to take advantage of it. Yesterday I took him for a walk on the beach and he fell asleep, so I layed him down on the beach and read while he slept. It was so nice! I'm used to East Coast Beaches where it is very flat and houses or cities are built just off the coast...and the beaches are totally covered with people. Out here our beach backs up to a beautiful golf course, there are mountains just beyond the golf course...and there are very few people on the beach.

Well...it finally happened! Christopher has his own room and has made the transition from the bassinet to his new crib! It took a few nights of getting up allot, but now (I hope) he's starting to settle into the new bed. His new room is really great. Jason and I finished putting it together. For the window I did something a bit unique and different, but it looks really good. Christopher was given a big dolphin/under the sea poster by the Rohr's and he just loves it because of all the different colors. I hung that picture in the middle of the window (it covers the whole middle section of the window) and then hung deep blue panels on either side of the poster. It's perfect because his changing table is just under that, so it gives him something to look at when we change him.

About a week ago I got an e-mail from my Credit Card Company (which is actually my debit card company). I had signed up for a points thing every time I use the card and since I never thought twice about it since, I had allot of points saved up and so I could choose something in exchange for the points. Well...we got an icecream maker! I've made frozen berry yogurt twice now and it's really awesome and SO heathly! Sunday I'm going to try and make Dove Chocolate Icecream!

Oh, I also just found out my brother, Duke, is getting married on October 28th. That means we are trying to get back to VA next month! Please say a prayer for Duke and his fiance, Amanda, as they prepare for their wedding! Duke and Amanda are paying for their own wedding, so it will be rather small. If those of you who know Duke would like to get them something for their wedding, feel free to contact me for their address.

Well...gotta run get some rest! I'm finally just about over a bug I've had for the last week and a half. It's great to be feeling better!

Sep 15, 2006

Newest pictures of Christopher!






Sep 11, 2006

AWESOME CHURCH!!!

Yesterday we went to St. Dominic's in the city. It felt so much like home! They have a Solemn Novus Ordo Mass a lot like the Sunday Mass at Christendom College. And...on top of things they have a great choir (ok...not quite as good as Christendom's) and a good organist! We met Fr. Francis (how ironic that the first priest we met at a Dominican Church was Fr. Francis, huh?) and Fr. Anselm after Mass. Fr. Anselm is a priest from Germany and is a professor of Philosophy. We are looking forward to getting to know these priests better and having them over for dinner soon. We will probably also check out St. Francis National Shrine, but Jason and I both really felt at home at St. Dominic's. St. Dominic's also has a Mom's group which is meeting at the end of the month, so I'm looking forward to hopefully meeting some other young moms. St. Dominic's also has lots of parking and isn't too far from Jason's school, so I can drive in and meet him for Mass on his busy days in the city. And...to top it all off...there are TWO Starbucks within two blocks of St. Dominic's! For those of you who don't know, Jason and I have had a weekly tradition of getting coffee after Mass since before we were dating! Yay for traditions!

Yesterday afternoon we drove up to Windsor, CA in Sonoma County (about an hour drive) to meet/visit my maternal relatives. I hadn't seen my cousin Brent since he held me as a baby! He is now married to a wonderful woman, Anna and they have a son Jonathan. Brent's Mom and my Aunt Nancy Rose (my Mom's sister) was there as well with her husband. It was so wonderful to be around family again...even if I don't know them really well...something our time out here will remedy I hope. :)

I went to the grocery store today...I love how cheap the produce is here! It's so awesome. I'm really proud of myself cause I saved 30% on our grocery bill by buying sales and such. :) That feels good! I'm going to try out The Grocery Game. I had looked at it while in VA, but never put much effort into it. I'll let you guys know how it works! :)

Well...off to walk on the beach! Thanks for all your prayers! Jason's first day of classes went well and he was able to switch out a class, so he's taking animation this semester! He's so happy...and so am I! It's amazing how God works out all things for His glory and our happiness when we trust in Him!

Sep 7, 2006

Classes start!

Well...tomorrow is the big day! Jason has his first class! It's a class in 2D Animation. Please pray that it all goes well for him! Tuesday was his Orientation and it was awesome to see him come home Tuesday night so happy. He was so excited and full of energy...I haven't seen him like that in a long time and it was wonderful!

Well...lets see...in other news, Christopher is now eating rice cereal each evening. He is growing up so fast! I also have finally trained him to only take two naps/day. His first nap is in the morning from about 9-11 and his second nap is in the afternoon from about 2-4. I then keep him awake from 4-7:30 and then he's down for the night! Well...at least till about the midnight feeding! This has given Jason and I some much enjoyed time together in the evening.

We are currently reading two books. They were both recommended by some good friends of ours in Virginia. The first is entitled "The 5 Love Languages" and it talks about the 5 most common ways individuals give and receive love. It's really a great practical book! The other book is "Men are from Mars: Women are from Venus." Jason's already calling me his "little venecian!"

Christopher's schedule is also allowing us to play WOW together again. (For those of you who don't know, WOW is a game that Jason got me into...my first game. It's allot of fun cause it's played online and with other people.) We are trying to get into a guild together. It makes for a great date night for us cause it's free and something we can work at together. :)

Today we went into the San Fran with Jason's grandmother who gave us a lovely driving tour of the city. We had a wonderful lunch at the Sourdough Bread Factory and then made our way home along the coast.

Sep 4, 2006

Christopher Pictures!

Pictures of our cute little one...ENJOY!!!






Pictures of our view...

Here are some pictures of our new view. These were taken on our deck which wraps around our apartment and overlooks Sharp Park Golf Course. I'll try and take some pictures of the beach soon. :)







Sep 3, 2006

1st Meal!

Christopher had his 1st meal on Saturday!!! He seemed to really enjoy his rice cereal. :) It is so amazing to see this little guy grow up. This morning he woke me up and gave me the most awesome smile ever! Now that's a good way to wake up...seeing that you mean the world to such a little person. I'll try and take some pictures today of the little guy and post them up here.

I'm really enjoying our little home here in Pacifica. It is WONDERFUL to be so close to the ocean. Taking walks in the sand with Christopher is such a good workout...while at the same time so peaceful. Yesterday I got a package in the mail from my Grandmother who got Christopher a wonderful snowsuit outfit for wearing on the beach since it can get rather chilly down there with the wind. It's a blue two piece outfit made of warm insulated fleece. I've posted a picture of a green one I saw on Ebay.



We took Christopher out in only the first layer yesterday. It was awesome! His little hands and feet weren't even cold when we got back. Thank-you God for awesome Grandmothers!

Gotta run give Christopher a bath before Mass. Have a wonderful Lord's Day everyone!

Sep 1, 2006

New Bed? I think not...yet...

Well, we tried to put Christopher into his crib last night. He slept for about a half hour and then woke up crying. I left him thinking after 5 minutes he might just fall back asleep...but no...he was pretty mad at me when I picked him up and just wanted to snuggle. I think maybe I'll put him in the crib for naps for a week or so and then try again at night.

Christopher is so cute right now! :) I love watching him grow...he's got these 2 fleece night outfits that I LOVE to put him in...not only is he cute in them, but he feels so wonderful and snuggly!

Today is another beautiful, sunny, clear day in Pacifica! I'm making Beef Ribs for dinner...Yum! Then tonight Jason and I are going to have a movie date night in our living room. Christopher usually goes to bed around 8:30 - 9:00, but I'm going to try and keep him up from now till about 8:00 and then try and lay him down. He is such an awesome baby! :)

Manak Family © 2008 Por *Templates para Você*