Sunday, May 11, 2008

I'm Back

It seems that I have let life take control of me again. I really hate it when I feel overwhelmed by the little things. It's raining outside. And windy. So windy, that I am afraid my rhododendron that has finally bloomed will be nothing but blooms scattered around the yard by the end of it. Already the wind has knocked around what little we have out back. The cover to the grill is in a heap near the wheels, and my rocking chair is upside down. We are supposed to be in for some nasty storms tonight. The skylights in our room actually make it seems like we are 'outside' when it rains. At times, it is soothing to listen to the rain, but when I'm really tired - all it does is make me angry.

On an entirely different note, Matt and I are trying to go green one step at a time. We bought a retractable clothesline today and set it up. We hung out sheets and towels and got about a half hour in before the rain. We don't buy bottled water, but rather have our own 2Liter water bottles that we take back and forth to school. I bring my own cloth grocery bags, and recycle what plastic bags I get. My next purchase will be the dryer balls that are supposed to cut drying time in half (for when I need to use the dryer) and also I can get rid of fabric softener sheets.

I wish our local city government would get their act together in terms of a better recycling program. When Matt and I lived in Battle Creek, we could recycle EVERYTHING. We maybe had a bag a trash a week. Now, we can only recycle #1 and #2 plastic, aluminum cans, glass, and newspapers. It is sickening to see all this potential recycling go into a landfill just because the local government can't get it together. In the news this past week, we even found out that the lawn clippings that were supposed to be recycled into compost were being put in the landfill. What a waste!

Tonight, I am grateful for perserverance and finding my routine again. I am grateful for curling up on the couch with a good book and a cup of hot cocoa. I am thankful for baking homemade pizza and blueberry-banana bread.

Gluten-Free Blueberry Banana Bread
1 3/4 cup flour (I use 1 1/2 cups white rice flour, 1/4 garbanzo bean flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oatmeal
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
(mix above together)
In a separate bowl,
2 eggs
3 bananas, mashed
2 tablespoons canola oil
(blend together and add to dry ingredients)
add 1 cup. frozen blueberries
pour into a greased/floured baking pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.
enjoy!

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