Lovely

~

I love to bake! Not just for the sweet benefit of enjoying the tasty treats but also for the satisfaction I get from throwing a bunch of ingredients in a bowl, watching it develop into a beautiful creation(okay, so they aren't ALL beautiful but anyways)as I mix, stir, roll, pat, shape and bake into my, one of a kind masterpiece!! I love the smells they create, the intoxicating melancholy fragrance that you drink in and makes you feel at home.
I may not be great at baking, in fact, I'm pretty much an amateur but because of my know-it-all independent, experimental attitude, I rarely follow a recipe to the T.
Because of manufacturing my own versions of recipes, my family rarely gets the same thing twice! It's great! Except for when something turns out awesome and I can't remember exactly what I did to make it that way!
The beginning of the week, I made these Almond whole wheat strawberry rhubarb tarts! Woosh! That's a mouthful... only because I added the almond flavoring to the wholewheat crust and added a rhubarb strawberry spread instead of just strawberry like the recipe called for! (: Typical Mommy... that's me! They were delicious, with a nice steaming cup of tea... lovely.

On another "lovely" note, things are going so well here at our zoo home! Having 5 wonderful children, and they are sweet kiddos, obedient for the most part, despite that... it has still been a long time coming for me to get my energy and organization back. I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, oh so faintly, I see it! I feel it. Thanks is all due to my God who has brought us through thus far, unscathed, as I have said before. He has held my head high. In fact just yesterday I was feeling GREAT! I had the house fairly clean, the kids nicely dressed, hair done, plants watered... we even made it out the door on time(okay, well maybe 5 minutes late) to get my second in command to her beloved gymnastics class! After dropping her off, I even had the energy to grab a coffee(I suppose that was for energy) and get to the grocery store for some shopping with my four other beautiful children. As my eldest pushed the cart, I had my hands free to sip my coffee and be pleasantly met with bumping into a few friends and
acquaintances and as I freely flipped my hair behind my shoulders feeling so empowered with my makeup clad face and curled flocks, so organized and on top of it all, I was thankful, thankful for a

beautiful day, a lovely outing where nothing had gone awry............... only later... as I took Anna potty and used it myself... did I realize, yes, feel downright aghast and slightly devastated I must say about my complete failing in the perfect department.... to find, that I had been strutting about... with my fly open... open to my friends, my acquaintances and open to the world. Lovely.

Ah well, feeling as perfect as I can in my flawed humanity, and being on top of the world will just have to wait for another day.
~

Yummy.

Mhmmm... there's just something about walking into a kitchen while some delightful delicacy is baking in the oven. The aroma surrounds and grabs hold of all the senses, wraps them up in comforting warmth and goodness and makes everything else melt away.... these zucchini muffins, topped with sour cream frosting were delicious and recently enveloped our home with it's warming fragrance.

Yummy.