My Happiness Project~~Part 7

I realize it's already the middle of April and I'm just now writing a happiness project update, but unlike my procrastination to publish this post, I have not been procrastinating in my April happiness goal.

April: get serious about hobbies.

I told myself I would "figure out sewing" and make time for crafts. And I've done it! I figured out sewing so much that I've almost completed 2 sets of curtains. And I've made so much time for crafts that today I am officially launching my Etsy shop: TheCraftyChristine!

All funds raised at the shop between now and June will go toward my missions trip to Europe so I am, of course, shamelessly using Shepherdessing to promote my sales.

Here's the link! Please visit!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheCraftyChristine?ref=search_shop_redirect

Mighty, mighty coconut sugar!

As many of you know, I have cut out white flour and white sugar from my diet completely (except for my one cheat meal per week, which I highly recommend to any dieter in the world). As a baker and dessert lover both, this was not a fun change at first.

But then...I discovered coconut sugar.

Coconut sugar is slightly less sweet than white sugar and is made from the sap of coconut flowers, so it is completely natural and plant-based. The glycemic index is lower those of white or other processed sugars, so it doesn't peak your blood sugar so harshly. And it's yummy!

With coconut sugar, I've tried out a number of recipes, but my favorite has to be my version of a chocolate coconut cookie (though coconut sugar doesn't exactly taste like coconut, it pairs well with actual coconut shreds). Try it for yourself!

Healthy chocolate coconut cookies:
1 c. coconut sugar
1/2 c. agave nectar
1 c. butter, softened
1 t vanilla
2 eggs
2 c. quick oats
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. cocoa powder
1 1/2 t baking soda
Pinch salt
1 c. chocolate chips (you can make these yourself with coconut sugar too!)
1 c. unsweetened, shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350. Combine first 5 ingredients and mix well. Combine next 5 ingredients in separate bowl. Combine two mixtures, add chocolate chips and coconut. On parchment-lined cookie sheets, scoop out rounded tablespoons of dough. Bake 10-12 minutes. Enjoy!

Eyes, Ears, Mouth, and Nose~~December

I've been into a lot of fun things this month, namely Christmassey things. December has been so busy and I must admit that though the post-Christmas blues are no joke (meaning I will really miss Christmas), I am glad to be moving into a new year. January always feels so clean, doesn't it?

The main accomplishment I must report is this: my book is finished (for now)! I wrapped up the editing process on Christmas Eve and ordered the first print copy. I'll be passing it around to a select few who will serve as my actual editors before making a sale-ready copy. Hopefully this project will be completely completed in the next couple of months.

Besides writing, I've been really into Christmas movies. They began feeling like a waste of time, so I resolved to only watching a Christmas movie if I was working on a Christmas project (i.e. crafting or wrapping). And Christmas projects I did achieve. I made headbands out of decorative rope this year.

In the kitchen, I was into treats of course. Mom, sis, and I made our traditional platters of decorated sugar cookies, rolo cookies, and chocolate dipped pretzels. As far as non-dessert items go, I made a good deal of meatloaf this month. Bacon was also a common ingredient in pasta and breakfast dishes.

On the music front, the She & Him Christmas station on Pandora was my favorite for the yuletide season. I got the new Mumford and Sons and Lumineers albums for Christmas too, which were both nice surprises. Other media intake included The Hobit (I started reading it and listened to it on tape but oddly enough have not yet seen the movie) and The Guilt Trip. That movie was hilarious. I also read a couple American Girls Christmas books...I have a thing for children's literature and bought all the Christmas books in the series as a gift to myself last year.

So that's what I was into this December. Onward and upward, I say. 2013 shall be great!

Oktoberfest Pumkin Muffins

Here's the situation: It's pouring rain, I got done with work early, and I am CRAFTING AND BAKING AND WATCHING PERSUASION. On a day like today, I am so thrilled to have time for hobbies. Thank you, kind Lord.

Out of my (half) day off, I've created a recipe to share. These are healthy pumpkin muffins that are smelling up my kitchen right now so lovingly. They are missing lots of the fat and high-glycemic-index sugars of other muffins and they'll make for great breakfasts!

You'll need:
3 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. white flour
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
1/2 t. cloves
1/4 t. nutmeg
1 c. raw sugar
1/2 c. agave nectar
3/4 c. cinnamon applesauce (I made mine from scratch so it's chunky, but premade works too, of course.)
4 eggs
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 t. vanilla extract
1 t. maple extract
1and1/2 c. buttermilk

Mix first 8 ingredients, set aside. Mix next 7 ingredients, sifting soda and spices. Add dry to wet and mix 'til well-combined. Add buttermilk. Pour into greased or paper-lined muffin tins. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 min. Yield: 2(large)-3(smaller) dozen. (If making smaller muffins, bake for 15 min.)

Enjoy!

Recipe developed from Ellie Krieger's recipe here.

Making home.

I recently told someone--"When I get home from work, I don't feel like doing anything remotely domestic." Maybe this is why my cottage is often such a mess.

However on a good day, when I get home, I do still want to pour myself into a domestic activity...because I am a homemaker. And even though being a nanny is very similar to being one's own homemaker, there are great differences between the kinds of domesticity that take place at work versus in my own home.

It is Friday evening, yes. But I am absolutely doing laundry and baking brownies exactly the way I want tonight. There is something truly refreshing about doing activities like laundry or cooking that I do every day in other homes for myself. I have my own standards for the ingredients that go into my food...for the level of "clean" that pleases me...for how my home should feel and function. And if you're new to my definition of homemaking, allow me to explain.

I believe homemakers are a distinct breed of women (no, men are not excluded, but I side with the persuasion that *women belong in the kitchen*...I say this loosely, yet with conviction, so cringe if you must...perhaps a whole post on this thought is necessary). Human beings need home and woman-begins need to create home. This takes on thousands of forms. But my main agenda in this arena has to do with disassembling American society's typical definition of homemaking. A stay-at-home mom is certainly a homemaker, but who says a 22 year old unmarried woman cannot be? Homemaking includes the family, but I believe just as the word "home" is a flexible one, homemaking should also be a flexible term.

I make my home.

When I was 14 and moving into my new bedroom in the front of the house, choosing the colors and decorations that suited me at the time, hanging photos of my best friends, and every once in a while utilizing the new lock on my door, I was making a home.

When I was 18 and moving into a dorm room for the first time with two strangers, buying my bedding and coffee grounds with my own money, learning how to use my laptop and printer, and getting to know the girls on my hall, I was making a home.

When I was 20 and moving into my first apartment, trying to buy decorations on a $40 budget, learning how to cook without following recipes, and having friends over to "my own place" for the first time, I was making a home.

And now that I'm back at home, living in my parent's back cottage, I strive to be hospitable. I strive to be both a good daughter and tenant. I strive to come home and keep house even when I'm exhausted from keeping others' houses...because home is important. Everyday, I am making my home and I welcome the many, many definitions of "homemaking" that my life will yet encompass.