I'm pregnant!?!

So I've debated on posting this until my second trimester. But I have some worries naturally, as any mother in the first trimester whom has had a miscarriage previously. It all started on March 6th,  took a pregnancy test first thing in the morning I thought I had taken it incorrectly so I took a second. Convinced it was a blue dye error, shrugged,  and went to get some first response tests the next morning, took one and I got a super faint positive the day my period was due. Wasn't feeling too optimistic because by this point in my pregnancy with my daughter I had a very bright positive.  The next day I took another, darker, same thing the following day as well.

Then this past Sunday worried about cramping on my ovary I went in to get checked out blood work was done revealing my levels to be at 328. Normal early pregnancy, they couldn't see anything on the ultrasound which was to be expected.

Time Management

In my last post updating on my large garden this year, I mentioned the issue of time management. You see I have always struggled with this. When you are a stay at home mom  you have time for everything. Laundry was always completed and put away, there was never a dish in my sink overnight, food was properly rotated in my fridge, and no chore was ever over looked. I miss that feeling of togetherness. There was never a rushed feeling of trying to complete everything and still spend time with those you love before you have to leave for work. I've been doing this for about 2 1/2 years now. It quite frankly sucks. I loved being at home, I loved taking care of my home and making sure everything was perfect.

Now for this spring, summer, and maybe even fall I'm returning to being a stay at home mom with my daughter. A blissful retreat from the busy chaos of the world. I haven't yet put my two weeks notice in. It will not be received very well I can guarantee that. But you see here are the dilemmas that I have encountered while being at work. Firstly, if my home was a mess it distracted me at work. Its like running an endless to do list in my brain. Secondly, if my child was ill or I was ill it effected my work ethic, it made me distracted, it made me not able to check in. Thirdly, then when I finally arrived home after a long day on my feet I felt terrible and thought about everything I could have done at work but didn't because I was too busy worrying about home. So I could never shut down "work thoughts" while home and I could never shut down "home thoughts" while at work.

Am I the only one who struggles with this? I know you are thinking who cares everyone struggles with that. But it has more to do with time management in my case than you think. If you can't fully check in to work or home, things don't get completed. And that right there is what truly made me crazy! On a good day when everything was completed at home I could focus at work. Not so much on the off days.

Let me say I have tried everything in the books to assist me in this and I'm just convinced it is impossible without outside help to do everything on your own without driving yourself into complete exhaustion each and every day. SO for this summer only I'm going to get my entire house back into a well oiled machine that will stick so when I do return to work the system shall remain intact. On top of that Alayna will have classes to attend this summer, my garden shall be built and maintained, and lots of adventures this summer in between to show it can be done!

Garden

Starting a large garden has always been a dream of mine. Low cost, organic produce is the ultimate goal. This year I'm finally obtaining my goal with a large raised bed garden. Once I have the frame completed I will be sharing photos of the design. With the cost of food rising, and quality on the decline it has awakened the need for a garden. If we look into the past, most families had gardens and a couple of chickens in the backyard. They never relied too heavily on a grocery store for their needs instead they used their community to rely on. They all worked together. I desire that. I desire self sufficiency as a community not just individually.

As it stands now,  most are heavily reliant on grocery stores, either due to lack of space or time. Most people feel they don't have time in their daily lives to spare, I completely understand that. Some days I feel as if I can't keep up with daily tasks as well. But a well planned and executed raised bed garden shouldn't require exorbitant amounts of time. Not to mention it's great if you have children they get a hands-on lesson on where our food comes from. In addition, when children are more involved in the planting and weeding they are more inclined to eat those vegetables that they have worked hard to bring to fruit.

This is another short update since I have been m.i.a. for quite a long time. The busyness of life has kept me from my blog. But soon I will have the time to continually update and fire up a youtube channel as well :-)

Ps. Over the snow ready for spring, next year I might hibernate.
Pss. Smile at everyone you encounter on a day to day basis. You never know when you will brighten their day.

Journey of Weight loss and Clean eating

Firing this blog back up. New things to come.

Mock chicken fajita salad! YUM

This is a raw recipe that I just came to in my kitchen this evening. :-) Its pretty tasty it's personal sized in my opinion because I turn it into a meal, with no real "dressing" or dairy involved you don't really have to worry about calories or fat!

Mock chicken fajita salad:
Ingredients:

1/2 green bell pepper rinsed and finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper rinsed and finely chopped
3-4 green onions rinsed and chopped
4-5 mushrooms washed and chopped finely
a handfull of grape tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper
And of course ROMAINE LETTUCE

Add all the ingredients and mix well into the salad. Things you can add to this are sunflower seeds, pine nuts, nuts of your choice, Red Wine Vinegar (which is what I use for dressing), and tons of other things! Follow your gut stay in tune with what your body is craving.

Pondering Politely,
Tarynn Wahl

It's pizza night!

 Well its pizza night for my family :-) Just not me! I love this recipe because its quick easy and painless! A fast fix when I have a headache or am not feeling 100%.

Here is the recipe for the dough! :-)
http://www.food.com/recipe/almost-like-papa-johns-pizza-dough-177072

Follow the recipe directions but prior to the recipe lets make the sauce! It's really quite simple I'm not entirely sure why people want to get the cans or jars of pizza sauce when its home made version tastes that much better!

1.) Take one can of plain tomato sauce and add into it 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon garlic salt, and just a couple extra pinches of oregano.
2.) let it simmer for at least 30 minutes
3.) Using a ladle take about a ladle full of sauce and place it in the center of the pizza using the bottom of the ladle move the sauce around the pizza in a circular motion.
4.) Top as desired with whatever you have green peppers, onions, sausage, cheese, pepperoni, ham, pineapple, mushrooms, you know the works. but what works best for my family is simply cheese :-)   5.) Bake at 450 * for another 5 minutes and whammy you are done!

It takes about an hour which is about the same time it takes for delivery so to me there is simply no excuse to order in.

Are you interested in buying a pizza stone?  Try pampered chef this is who and where I got my stone from! :-)

www.pamperedchef.biz/bakingwithlauren

attentively tending,
Tarynn Wahl

Tarynn's Delicious "Hamburger buns"

So this recipe actually is my own! Give it a whirl and I promise you will not be dissatisfied! The term "hamburger buns" is in the quotations simply because I don't actually use this recipe for beef, only chicken and turkey! It is very sweet so bear that in mind its a lot like the "Hawaiian Bread" in sweetness level. I had leftover chicken from the past two nights dinners so I used that to make pulled barbecue chicken sandwiches. My husband had to come back for seconds :-)

Tarynn's hamburger bun recipe  makes 6 - 12 depending on size

Ingredients:

1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
1 cup very warm water (105-110 degrees Fahrenheit or 40.5-43.3 degrees Celsius)
3 Tablespoons Honey
2 Tablespoons Grapeseed oil (Or Organic coconut oil if you have it tried both ways tastes great)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Egg
3-3 1/2 cups Bread Flour
1 egg white (optional)
1 tablespoon water
Sesame seeds (optional
Directions:

1.) Mix yeast and water, let stand for 5 minutes (a.k.a. proofing)
2.) Add Honey, oil, egg, and salt mix well.
3.) Add flour 1/2 cup at a time mixing until combined until you have reached 3 cups
4.) For the last half cup or so take the dough out of the bowl and knead it in, continue needing until dough is well formed and elastic.
5.) Cover and let rise for an hour in a warm place

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

6.) Punch down and form into balls place on a greased 11" by 13" pan
7.) Cover and let rise a second time for about 30-45 minutes until its doubled in size
8.) Take an egg white and tablespoon water mix well.
9.) Take a pastry brush and CAREFULLY brush the tops with the egg white mixture
10.) Sprinkle sesame seeds liberally.
11.) Bake in 400 degree oven for 12-15 minutes until the tops are golden brown and the whole house smells amazing!