Sealed My Sleeping Fate

My husband snores.  Horribly some nights.  Much more so the older we get.  And since 95% of the time he's in bed and sound asleep before the thought of sleep even crosses my mind, I often find myself trying to drown out the noise coming from his side of the bed in an attempt to drift off myself.

A couple of years ago we had a mini-sleep study done on him.  Nothing too extensive -- just one night here at home he was hooked up to a couple of monitors that watched his heart rate and his breathing through the night.  We did find out that he has a very, very minor case of sleep apnea.  The doctor that ordered the test recommended surgery to fix a deviated septum, remove his tonsils and shorten the uvula.  This trifecta of problems would help to reduce the snoring and correct the apnea.

C was hesitant about the procedure to begin with from the horror stories he'd heard about having your tonsils out as an adult.

I can GUARANTEE it's never, ever, not in a million years, going to happen now.

You see, I had a deviated septum fixed last Friday.  As well as the rest of my sinus cavities roto-rootered to remove some cysts and a pocket of "chronic" sinusitis.  Suffice to say the pain and recovery that goes with this procedure is not to be taken lightly.  I'm 4 days out and still hating life.  

I told him on Saturday that if I'd had known how much it would suck I don't think I'd have opted for surgery; I would have dealt with the sinus headaches.

It's a done deal: I should invest in ear plugs now.

Strength

"Some of us think holding on makes us strong;
but sometimes it is letting go."  ~Hermann Hesse~

This quote has been rattling around in my brain for a few days now.  The more I try to take on, the louder the cacophony gets.  

I need to do a better job of really listening to it--not just letting it rattle. 

I can't keep beating myself up over to-do lists that get longer and longer; I can't keep worrying over dirty floors and weedy flower beds;  I can't keep worrying about things that are out of my control.

I can only do what I can do.  

I need to be more grateful for the blessings I've been given and the memories I'm making.  

The rest will come together as it should.

Change

As the temps begin to drop low at night and the kids head off to school, it's evident that the change of seasons is creeping upon us. 

In homage to the season change, I thought it fitting to mimic this transformation.  

Maybe it will be good all the way around.

If not, it's only cosmetic.  At least here on the blog.

Rained Out

The baby was up just before 6am this morning to nurse.  As I laid her back in her crib shortly before 6:30 I thought briefly about crawling back into the warm cocoon of my bed, pulling the covers up over my head and trying to ignore the sun  infiltrating the bedroom.  Instead I resigned myself to shutting the alarm off and enveloping myself with steam from the shower.

An hour later I was dressed and ready for the day (including hair AND makeup), C was gone for work and both kids were still sound asleep.  I grabbed my cup of coffee and headed to the back door to enjoy the peace of the backyard for a few minutes.  As I raised my hand to push the door open I heard the unmistakable sound of soft raindrops on the patio.

I can hope that it's just a mere coincidence and not an indication of the day to come.

Long Overdue

For the first time ever, we actually went on an honest-to-goodness family vacation.  Someplace that didn't include tents, camp trailers, hunting, fishing, or days without running water.  Something other than 3-day weekends into the wilderness or cross-country treks to visit family (not that visiting family isn't good, I'm not saying that).  Someplace that we'd never imagine ourselves vacationing.

It took a tremendous amount of convincing, but C finally agreed to spend part of a week with his family in the Outer Banks.  We all hung out together in a a fabulously huge, and just fabulous in general, beach house with ocean access.  A beach house.  And we absolutely loved it.

KT spent the days running like a wild child after her cousins, doing cannonballs into the pool, collecting shells on the beach, splashing in the surf and catching sand crabs after dark.  She was up early with the sun, crashing for a 2-3 hour nap in the bliss of air conditioning in the afternoon and then back at it full force until well after the sun went down.  If you'd ask her I'm sure she'd say it was the best week of her life.

Baby Girl (which reminds me that I have yet to nickname her here on the blog) spent the days playing on the floor with her cousin and enjoying being passed from person to person to person.  To person. And then back to me when she was hungry.  After a couple of attempts she finally warmed to the idea of the pool and splashed in the water for an hour or so.  On one single afternoon.  The next day we tried the ocean and it was a disaster.  Upon trying the pool again we were met with the same blood curdling screams.  So she continued to enjoy spending quality time on the laps and in the arms of family.

C and I enjoyed not only the time way, but each other.  For the first time in longer than I can remember we both relaxed.  There was no stress of jobs, no worrying over housework, laundry or other domestic responsibilities.  There were no laptops to snag our attention for hours at a time, no sitting on the couch watching television for hours.  We hung out in the pool together while the girls napped in the afternoon, walked on the beach hand in hand after they were asleep for the night.  For the first time in longer than I can remember, we didn't get into petty arguments about anything.  We had real conversations after everyone else in the house had gone to sleep, we laughed while attempting to play pool when it was too rainy to be outside.  It reminded me of why I fell in love with him 12 years ago and reminded me how much I still love him.

It reminded both of us how important our family is and how vacation is about so much more than visiting places and people.  It reminded both of us how important our marriage is and how we need to give ourselves that uninterrupted time more often.

Hopefully we find ourselves packing for vacation sooner than another 12 years from now.

Makeover?

It's been a while since this place has had a facelift.  Maybe it's time for a change again.  Let me see what I can come up...

Moonlighting

Two week ago our Pinto Bison (he was lovingly nicknamed that years ago) had a quick surgery to remove a fatty deposit/lump by his front shoulder.  About 4 days after the surgery --just when the fur started to regrow and the sutures started to itch-- he started incessantly licking close to the wound.  He couldn't reach the wound itself due to its location but could get about 2 inches away.  He licked and licked and licked and licked until he started to make the skin raw.

In true fashion, we were too lazy to drive across town on a Friday night to buy an e-collar (ie. Elizabethan collar, cone, etc.) to hinder his lapping.  After being scolded repeatedly, Pinto Bison emerged from our bedroom sporting this ensemble.

Luckily for him, the attire secured him a late-shift waitressing position with the restaurant famous for well-endowed waitresses, tiny white t-shirts and buffalo wings. (Or so I hear, I've never set foot in such establishment.)  

After a few hours he picked up a new nickname -- Destiny.  A name befitting of any waitress worth her salt.  Especially one that wears tiny white t-shirts.

Apparently he wasn't as amused as we were.  If he had fingers, he'd probably have a gesture or two for us.

Today's Tip

(Today's tip is brought to you as a Public Service Announcement to all sleep-deprived mothers.  Please don't ask how I know this information.)

When there is plastic melting on the burners of your stove top, quickly turn the heat off before it catches fire and then allow the burner to completely cool down.  While doing this it's appropriate to curse at yourself if you're the cursing kind and run your burnt fingers under cold water if necessary; it helps to pass the time.  After the burner is completely cool, the plastic should just peel off in pieces.

File this under "things you certainly hope to never use but may come in handy someday".  You might thank me for this random tidbit.

Yogurt, Part 2

A couple of things I forgot to mention in the other post:

• when incubating the yogurt you need to maintain the temperature around 100 degrees for the cultures to flourish.  With the light on in the oven mine hovers between 102 and 104.  
• after incubating the yogurt allow it to chill before trying to strain it.  I tried to strain it warm today and suffice it to say it only created a mess.  A BIG mess.

This Ain't No Yoplait

Often at the end of the day I'm scrambling to get just one more thing done before heading to bed.  It always seems that my to-do list is exponentially longer than the time I have available to work on it.  My hubby politely reminds me that projects like this aren't helping the situation.  

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A few weeks ago I got fed up with spending $0.50-1.00 on a container of yogurt.  Especially ones with ingredients on the label that I can't pronounce.  So I put in a request to a friend and started on a new adventure--making my own yogurt.  I was amazed at how simple the process actually is.

Between yogurt cultures and sourdough starters it appears as though, perhaps I should have been a microbiologist instead of a soil scientist. 

All you need to get started is a couple quarts of milk and a small amount of unsweetened, plain yogurt with active cultures.  After you make the first batch you can use use some of your homemade for future batches.  (I've used whole milk both times I've made it now, but will try 2% the next time.  I've read that you don't want to use less than 2% or it will get "grainy")

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2 quarts of milk = 1 half a gallon.  Pour it into a heavy saucepan.

Over medium-high to high heat heat the milk to 175-180 degree Fahrenheit, stirring frequently.  A candy thermometer works well because it clips onto the side of the pan.  Next time I might snag C's nifty beer brewing thermometer (sterilized of course!) as it has an alarm that sounds when you reach your designated temperature.

Remove from heat and allow milk to cool to a temperature between 110 and 120 Fahrenheit. 

I usually cheat at this point and drop the saucepan into the kitchen sink, filling the basin with cold tap water.  With constant stirring it drops the temperature of the milk to it's desired range within a couple of minutes.

Take about a cup of the warmed milk and whisk it into about 1/4 cup of your unsweetened yogurt.

After whisking, pour mixture into the saucepan and mix everything well.

Wrap the saucepan in a heavy towel and put into a conventional oven that has been preheated for about one minute.  Turn the oven light on.  Let it sit and incubate for 10-14 hours.  The time varies depending on the environment and how thick you want your yogurt.  Mine typically takes 12-14.  I start it after dinner and let it go overnight, pulling it mid-morning the next day.

When it's done incubating, pull the yogurt from the oven and stick it in the refrigerator to chill.  

If you want regular yogurt go ahead and stop here.  If you're like me and want to try your hand at Greek yogurt, keep going.  

After pulling the yogurt from the oven I strain it to thicken the consistency.  My system is weird but it works well -- I line a strainer with muslin, put the yogurt into cheesecloth and then the cheesecloth goes into the muslin-lined strainer.  (It's cheaper than buying a $75 bullion strainer and a standard kitchen strainer doesn't have a fine enough mesh.)  To speed the process I place a plate on top of it all and add some weight.

Then I let it sit for another hour or so.

I let it go until it quits dripping whey into the collection pan.

Ideally you want to reduce it by half.  I've found that getting about 3 cups of liquid out makes for a perfect consistency. 

Then put your thickened, creamy yogurt into a tightly sealed container and refrigerator.  It will thicken more as it cools.

Apparently I got so excited about the finished product that I forgot to take shots of the yogurt before it went into the fridge.  Oops!  But it doesn't last around here long so I'll try to get some on the next batch.

So far this has been a huge hit.  I bought some vanilla Torani syrup to sweeten it and it works really well -- toss in some fresh fruit or granola and it's hands down better than anything you could buy at the store.