Everything and everyone must just adore me today. Look at me beam. Okay, never mind. My camera is out of arms reach and so is my camera cord. It's my lazy time of the day so just imagine me beaming. WARNING: Excessive use of exclamation marks (!) will be used throughout this post.
Bread
I made yummy whole wheat bread. I have never made whole wheat before. I have always done a mix of wheat/white/other random flour that I have on hand. They've never really come out good so I've been doing a little bit of reading and learning.
Lesson 1: Whole wheat is denser than white. Therefore, you must lighten whatever you are cooking. In pancakes or waffles, you would increase your baking powder. In bread, you use vital wheat gluten. I haven't done in depth reading on vital wheat gluten so I can't explain what it is or how it works exactly. I bought mine at Whole Foods in their bulk section (awesome bulk section, by the way) because Meijer's (my regular grocery store) doesn't carry it at all. Bread recipes labeled as "basic" don't usually use vital wheat gluten so I hadn't heard about it before. Or maybe I was just looking in different places. It was pricey so it's a good thing that you don't use very much.
Lesson 2: Bread machines are nice sometimes. But if you want really good bread, don't use it. I guess that is a personal preference. I have recently made rolls, cinnamon rolls, and bread without the bread machine. I think I still enjoy the dough setting on the bread machine. But I prefer to cook bread in the oven. My bread machine over cooks. Light crust really isn't light crust.
Lesson 3: Whole wheat bread makes really super yummy grilled cheese sandwiches. Really. Yummy. Yummmmmy.
Jared's assessment: "Chewy. Flavorful."
Lindey's assessment: "Yummy!" with eyes rolled towards the ceiling. I've noticed that she does that just about anything she eats something she likes and so it is not an indication of how much she likes something.
C25K W6D3
In case you don't know, I have picked up running. I choose the Couch to 5K program (C25K) because it laid everything out for me. It was measurable. I found a podcast that had music put together so I didn't have to deal with that. It told me when to run and when to walk so I didn't have to deal with that either. Each week you run intervals for approximately 30 minutes. The first week you ran for 60 seconds and walked for 90. Each week is different. You run each session 3 times except for weeks 5 and 6. W5D3 was the first time you run for longer than 10 minutes at one time. I was ecstatic to make it through 20 full minutes.
I debated on whether to rerun days 1 and 2 of week 6 because I felt like I struggled through both days. After looking at the calendar, I decided to push on. I needed to finish the program before Thanksgiving which is when my first 5K will be. So today I ran 25 minutes (!!!) straight (!!!) and only the last 2 minutes felt difficult.
The podcast pacing has me at a 13 minute mile and the aim of C25K is to have you at 10 minute miles. The pacing will pick up over the next few weeks to get me there. No more intervals in the program! I'm running 25+ minutes now! Check me out! I definitely couldn't do this when I started.
Goodwill
After picking up Lindey from her second day of work (which worked out much better than picking her up from her first day of work), we went to Goodwill which is on the way home. She needed some dress pants. I needed something to wear to youth night tomorrow. We both scored.
The dress I found is almost entirely modest and a shrug will take care of that problem. The best part? It's a size 4!! I fit a size 4!! It maybe a large size 4, but it's still a size 4.
I also got 3 shirts all of which I really like.
And. All clothing was 50% off. Apparently, Goodwill is moving locations next month. Closer to me! By a few blocks...
Oh, and they were playing Christmas music. Christmas, people! I love Christmas!
Old Time Pottery
We stopped by Old Time Pottery on the way home because it was right next door to Goodwill. Contrary to its name, I don't think I saw any pottery inside. But it landed itself on my list of favorite stores. And I didn't even buy anything.
They have large clocks which fit exactly what I've been keeping an eye out for. They have large frames for not that expensive which I have also been looking for. They have rugs. They have a clearance section. They have a super clearance section. They have home decor fabric in small yardage.
Kaelyn
She has been saying "uh oh" lately. It is quite cute even though she will drop things on purpose just to say "uh oh". This morning, as I was cooking waffles, she was trying to stand up to see herself in the lower oven. I must have left the drawer underneath open a little bit because she started saying "uh oh! uh oh!" to tell me that her fingers were smooshed in the drawer and she couldn't get them out.
Giveaway
Last of all, I just got an email saying that I won a giveaway! $20 to a cloth diaper shop called Abby's Lane. Score! I'm not sure what I'll get with it yet though... So many choices!
There's this cute Blueberry Minky One Size Pocket. Or maybe a BumGenius Organic One Size AIO. I should consider a diaper sprayer. Or just get some SuperDo inserts because I love the LoopyDos that came with my Knickernappies.
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I had a great day. :)
