Goodbye Facebook

Thats right to heard me....no more Facebook. Why you ask...because it makes you compare your life to others and takes joy away from the family and life that you have. Who said the grass is always greener on the otherside? My grass looks a lot greener now that I am not staring at the nejbors.

Take the challenge...look at your life more than others :) 

<3 p="p">
Patty

The Jones Bakery

I love to cook.... specially...I love to bake. I love to experiment and try new things and from what I have been told, I am pretty good at it to. I can cook pretty average, I can do basic things like pot roast, whole chickens and basic sides like casseroles. But baking....that is my best.

I feel a sense of pride when I bring something to someone or serve people food that I made from scratch with my own two hands and time. Not that anyone who does not is any less than I, but its simply something I feel joy in doing.

I bake cookies, pies, cakes, breads, granola, basically anything. Not only do I bake...but I bake from scratch. No box mixes, no bread machines, and no counter top kitchen aid mixer (as much as I would love one!) When I bake the only things I measure are yeast, flours, and sugars. I just eyeball everything else. So if you ever eat something I bake twice, it may not taste the same because I could have added something or less of something. I even wear and apron because things get messy!

 I am kind of old fashioned when it comes to baking and cooking. I have always loved reading about the early 1900s when people lived off the land their homes were on. When they needed vegetables for dinner they went in the garden and picked them, when they canned for the winter, and baked bread every other day. Don't get me wrong, I love modern technologies and I love modern medicine. But to me there is something simple and desirable about this lifestyle. Since I love this time period and I cook using methods of the first half of the 1900s, I try and use recipes/cookbooks from this time.

Published in the 1950

Published in 1960, this was my Grandma Jane's cookbook, she went to be with the Lord in 2011.

This is my Hamilton Beach handheld mixer. It weighs 8 pounds! I love this because it was also my Grandma Janes.

Anyway, today was no different at our home. I was baking. I made my staple banana bread and something new, summer coffee cake. My banana bread I don't even use the recipe anymore because I make it so often. I found this recipe in the top set of cook books and I have tweaked it to make it my own. I have been told by many people, its the best banana bread they have eaten. :)

This is what things look like when I bake...

Oh another thing to...I don't use cooking spray. Why you ask...because I think using good ole fashion butter and even sometimes flour work better.

Here is the banana bread right before it goes in the oven...I added a little brown sugar on top this time...

And the banana bread after...

Summer coffee cake before...

Summer coffee cake after...

Now don't you wish you were coming to our house for small group tomorrow morning :)

Love, 

Patty

Labor-Less Day

I love family time. I love spending all day with my family...I don't mind if its in the house or out and about. As  long as I am with them, I am happy.

This of course is one of the reason I love Labor or what I call Labor-Less day weekend. I spent the whole three days with my family! Don't be fooled ladies and gentlemen, you don't need lots of money to have a blast out and doing things with your family. In fact, this whole weekend we spent $1.56 on our outings.

On Saturday we spent the day around the house, we did go grocery shopping which is an event in itself because we have a toddler, mommy, and daddy that are trying to get everything on the list, man the calculator to stay on budget all while keeping said toddler entertained.

On Sunday we had lots of fun. We started attending the 4:30pm service at church so we have the whole day to ourselves! After Parsons morning nap we decided we wanted to go on a picnic at the park, but it was 88 degrees outside. So we took the next best thing, the mall. We packed our picnic lunch and drove to the mall. We ate our lunch at the mall food court and then let Parson run his wiggles out at the indoor mall play park.

Picnic Lunch!

Climbing the airplane

Note the nifty jingle bells on his right ankle :) 

We left the mall in time for Parson to catch is afternoon nap and then headed to church. It was another fantastic sermon on family dynamic and how our actions effect all our loved ones around us. You can hear all the sermons at www.futurefamily.org.

Monday (today) was our bonus Labor-Less Day weekend day. We did the same thing as on Sunday, packed a picnic and headed to the mall. We ate our picnic lunch and spoiled ourselves and bought a cookie to share (that's were the $1.58 came in). We ended the afternoon by spending time with our wonderful small group from church.

Parson: "Mom! I am going to jump ship"

Me "Ahhh! Don't jump! (runs frantically to catch)

"Dad...please with the pictures...I am playing here"

At Old Navy "Hum, I wonder if that comes in 24 months"

Love,

Patty