Spectacular "S" week!

This might be my favorite one yet!

It says our last name over the door to the house.  :)

The top design is of Seattle, a sideways sea-serpent, sunset, starts, shark, snake, skunk, sword in a stone, sand on the shore, I think there's a shell there too.  The 9 year old did that one!  The one on the left is by the 7 year old who was delighted with the idea of snail "slime" shaping the s shape and the snake of course.  ;)

Geoboard design

I switched around the words/letters above our chalk board wall so that they can practice seeing words that start with the letter of the week.  Our last name is up there too!

Build a word search with any words you want!  They weren't super thrilled with this, but it was fun to use some of the words from our chalk board and "S word wall" in the word search design.

Telling a story game!

Curls were popular this week.

We finished up some of our "R week" and started "S week" by going to the zoo and turning in the rocks... which are now called "Stones"  ;)

Close up of the curls. 

The middle one was cranky for some reason.. her older sister was trying to help her smile for the camera..

And cranky pants was trying to hide, but my oldest and I enjoyed trying to identify the birds that had S names...

She especially was impressed with the "southern screamer" we got to see that one just a couple feet from us!

Made lots of Sushi this week!  My favorite is meat and cheese sushi.

 Sushi recipe!!!

2 cups of cooked white rice
dissolve 3 T. of sugar in 1/3 cup rice vinegar and then pour that mixture into the rice.
That's what sushi is!!  "Sweet rice"
Now you need Nori seaweed (I can find it at "Tom Thumb/Safeway")
spread the sweet rice onto the nori  about 1/8 of an inch thick and then an inch from the bottom line the filling.  You can use cheese and meat like I enjoy or canned tuna or other types of fish, or avocado, or red peppers.. or really anything you think would taste good in there!  Then roll it up!  We use "sushi mattes" to help us roll the sushi, but when we started we didn't have those.  You can eat it like a burrito or you can cut it nicely.  Takes a little practice, but is SO much more affordable then going somewhere!
And if you have to be gluten free like us just make sure you get gluten free soysauce because most soy sauces will have wheat in them unless they specifically say they are gluten free on the front.  We also like dipping it in sweet chili sauce.  :)

   What would our week be without the animal antics from A to Z?

We did our other workbox type school and different things... went to the museum and looked for pictures of cats, but I didn't take a ton of pictures.

Practical gluten free baking

I'm going to start with the bread recipe I use and the pizza recipe because they use the same mix and because I made them the same day when I took pictures.  :)

First, I've done an elimination diet to find out what foods bother me and what are okay and I can't have gluten or anything with corn derivatives (which is SO sad because my favorite food ever is popcorn!  No more popcorn for me...)
If you don't have a gluten allergy or see a noticeable difference in how you feel when you do or don't eat something with gluten then don't bother doing all this!  But for those of you who feel better when you avoid gluten here's an easy way to get started and not feel totally deprived

What I look for when cooking is the balance of cost (reasonable) with amount of time spent (gluten free from scratch is pretty intense!) and taste.  If any of these are off I won't do it again or very often.

Note: I HAVE found an acceptable alternative to practically anything that I've craved.  Living gluten/corn free doesn't have to be terrible.  It takes more time yes, but I'm not suffering.  The only real hardship is when I try to eat out or at anyone's house.  It's just so much easier to bring my own food!


And now to get on with the food!

The mix I use is called Pamela's bread mix and I get it from Amazon with their subscribe and save program  I ALMOST follow the recipe they have on the back, but with slight changes.  This is what I do.
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1 and 1/2 cups of the bread mix
1/4 cup olive oil
3 eggs
1 and 1/2 cups of hot water (hotter then your body temperature but not hot enough to burn you)
2 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

Mix it all together (I do this by hand because it's simpler) spray a bread pan with olive oil, put the dough in and let it rise for an hour.
preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 70 minutes
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They do have an egg free alternative and a yeast free one as well.  The yeast free one uses baking powder and you don't have to let it rise for an hour.  WHICH is pretty nice and it's quicker.  The yeast free one turns out much fluffier and more like white bread.  I think the texture, though amazing at first, lasts even less time then the yeast version though.

I don't usually do the yeast free version because baking powder is made with corn starch and baking soda.  Anything with corn just doesn't work for me and I haven't bothered to make my own baking powder (with tapioca starch) yet.

Something to be aware of--
Gluten free baked goods tend to be dryer and crumble more easily and though at first they can taste as good or BETTER then their gluten counterparts-- this bread will only last (really) no more then 3 days (taste/texture-wise).. and by the 3rd day you should probably toast it to enjoy it the most.

As you can imagine, the bread that you buy frozen in the store is naturally going to be the worst version of gluten free baking.  Everything is better fresh, but gluten free things are extremely NOTICEABLE in how they taste the day it's baked compared to even a day later.  Older bread makes great french toast and croutons though!  AND even a base to a breakfast casserole or meatloaf!

It is SO worth it to make your own and this took me about 10 minutes to mix up.  The hour of rising and 70 minutes of baking and 20 minutes of cooling after that are really not a big deal considering how many other things you can do in that time.  Plan your time well and you'll be set!

So here's how I do it.  Throw all the ingredients in a big bowl.

Stir it up with a fork.  You can use a mixer of course, but this is just easier for me to clean and just seems simpler.  I stir it until it's all mixed well.  It's stiff and slightly more like cookie dough then usual bread dough is.

Picture of my tools and ingredients.

Just a little note about how I measure pushing the flour into the cup and smoothing it across the top without even touching it!

I've consistently gotten good results doing this, but your oven might cook differently from mine and you might need to adjust the cooking time or temperature slightly.

I set my timer for 50 minutes while it rises in the bread pan and the last 10 minutes I turn the oven on to let it heat up before putting the bread in.  Total 60 minutes of rising...

When I first put the dough in this pan it was below the edge of the pan and now after rising it looks like this!

70 minutes of baking!  There is no doughyness texture in the center.  It is all fluffy on the inside!  If you make some that isn't cooked all the way through then you'll need to increase the temp slightly next time OR cook it slightly longer.

And now for the PIZZA!!!  While my bread was rising I mixed and cooked the pizza dough!

3 and 1/2 cups of the same bread mix
2 and 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup oil
1 and 1/2 cups hot water (hotter then your body temp but not hot enough to burn you)
you can add italian herbs to the dough and mix it in if you want as well.  I don't usually do that, but I have been known to add a T. of baking SODA to the mixture just to help the crust be slightly fluffier and less like a cracker.
spray oil and flour pan and roll out-
bake at 350 for 10 minutes

Again, throw it all in a bowl and mix it up (basically it's the same only doesn't use eggs)

spray olive oil on pans and sprinkle with gf flour (I just use more of the bread mix)

Divide the dough in half and plop it onto the pans.  Sprinkle generously with more of the flour mix.

More flour sprinkling...

I have this awesome pizza roller that is totally worth it to get!  If the roller sticks at all then sprinkle more of the flour mix and keep rolling till you get it out to the edge.

let the dough rest for a bit (the instructions say to let it rise for an hour, but I can't see much difference when I do that)

Here's what they look like when they are all rolled out.  You could be pickier with how the edge looks, but I don't really care so leave it how it rolls out. 

Bake for 10 minutes

Use gluten free pizza or spaghetti sauce or make your own.  I hand grate my cheese because pre-grated cheese has an additive that bothers my tummy... if you have trouble with the cheese too, it COULD be that you just need to grate your own as well.  See if that helps.  :)

 I often make my own sauce by just buying canned stewed tomatoes that have the least amount of stuff in them.  Blend it in the blender throw a few Tablespoons of sugar in it a T. of basil and oregano and taste it.. if it's too tart more sugar if it's not spicy enough more spices and blend it up (in the blender) till you like it!

It's easier to find gluten free pepperoni or sausage of some kind than to find these corn free.  Many types of sausage have "corn solids" in them or other corn derivatives that I have to watch out for.  Ham as well can have hidden corn in it (the "Honey" for instance is often actually "honey flavor" made with corn syrup of some kind... I wish my body couldn't tell, but it can.)  I've found some hard salami that seems to work for me and my girls can have corn so the gluten free pepperoni works for them.  You can do any toppings that you like though! 

After the toppings are on bake again for 15 minutes or till it's as melted as you like!

Final notes:
I HAVE made even better gluten free bread and pizza than the above, but the price or time didn't make it feel worth it compared to the slightly better taste.  You might feel differently.  Chebe' is another really great pizza crust mix that you can look for.  It's higher in carb/starch content which doesn't hit my tummy the right way as a thing to do often, BUT for a change it's a nice alternative and it turns out fluffier instead of crispier for those of us who love the fluffy crusts more then the crispy.

If you have questions or if you have a favorite food that you'd like to ask if I know a gluten/corn alternative for, comment below and I'll see what I can do!

Visual Journaling and my birthday!

This is my desk area.  And I remember to feed the fish when I sit down to my computer.  I can make breakfast and keep an eye on the stove while I do some internet stuff and planning.

Example of my visual journal page.

I did this one when I first started with Jamberry during my launch party month last November.

THIS however is the first page to my journal.

 I love visual journaling because it's so freeing.  There's no mistakes.. you can't do anything "wrong" in it.  If you don't like something you can cover it up or bend the page over or paint over it or any number of things.  Layer upon layer.  It's about the process not the product.  So, while I'm sharing these pictures of my journal it's not about someone who can or can't draw.  Or who can or can't do art.  It's not about if you like the style or if you don't.  None of that has anything to do with visual journaling.  As a person who's done commission artwork, let me just say that I LOVE not having to worry about "getting it right"... you can get the creative juices flowing without the pressure.

This page has changed a lot since this picture, but that's okay you get the idea.  The butterflies were acrylic with plastic type stamp-like things to make the shapes.

One day I wrote everything that I did.  Everything that I could write down that I did during the day I wrote it.  Lots of mundane things, but a LOT.  This was a nice exercise as it made me realize that I was actually getting things done.  It just doesn't always feel like anything is accomplished at the end of the day when you are sweeping for the 3rd time and the fabric project is tossed all over the living room again....

My 3 year old likes to write notes to me.  They always say "Mommy loves Gracie" she says and she makes a big deal about the presentation.. all behind her back and everything.

The left page was a "list" for the day/week quite a while ago.  I realized that I really like the "bubble" type brainstorming lists more then the ones in order on a line.

This page was interesting because while I was blotting some water colors with kleenex I decided to just add the kleenex with the paint splotches on it into the page!  Hey, anything goes!  The page above was helping me keep track of a Jamberry Facebook party.

The page above transformed into this!  The end of February was Jamberry's "Going going gone" thing before they launched the new catalog.  I love seeing all the consultants freaking out about the new wraps and watching the crazy and excitement and all the fun and "new" going on.  I love helping when I can with making graphics or giving people ideas.

Even "Hedgie the Hedgehog" is into visual journaling.  (That little journal is actually the 3 year olds that she started last fall when we were in Washington.  Good memories.)

For my birthday my Mother-in-law gave me this diffuser!  I am loving it!  Our apartment has always smelled funny to me.. even before we moved in, it just has this weird paint/old apartment smell or something going on.  I don't notice it as much when we are here all the time, but if we go somewhere for a day I can really tell when we get back.  Yep.. same smell.  Ug.

 I bought those Orchids for myself for Valentine's day.  I love flowers and plants and watching them bloom and change!

My husband got me some flowers for my birthday!  Lilies smell sooooooooo good.

 So in March I promoted to "Senior Consultant" which is awesome but THEN I promoted again to "Lead Consultant" which means that I get a $100 bonus on top of the commission I was already getting!  This is coming at a great time because my girls are growing so fast!  I got them a few summer clothes since it suddenly turned warm.

My 7 year old in her new shorts, top and fancy shoes (the shoes will go with the Easter dress she got from her Grammy.)

The 3 year old didn't want her picture taken, but you can see her outfit and sandals.

I've been having SO much fun with Jamberry.. it's totally a hobby that's addictive!  DID you know there are Facebook groups that TRADE half sheets or whole sheets?  There's this whole system about how you do it!  This page of "Tradesy's" has changed a lot, but you get the idea.  It helps me keep track of what I'm trading and when we get the wraps in the mail we write to the person we traded with to let them know we got it.  One stamp for new styles!  Love this!  I've got a bunch of "Pen pals" now and get to chat with a lot of lovely women!  I was really needing to be apart of a group of nice people.

 The Consultant's group that I'm in is probably THE nicest ever.  Everyone is so helpful with information, trading compliant graphics, encouraging one another, cheering each other on!  I'm sure I wouldn't be doing as much as I am or enjoying it like I do if it wasn't for them!  I really enjoy feeling like I'm useful to some people.  I know I am to my family of course, but you know how it is... you make dinner and the kids complain about it or you spend the day cleaning the house only to have it get wrecked right before the husband gets home and then he runs around feeling like he has to tidy it all up.  I love to help other people succeed at Jamberry!  I won't be surprised if some of my recruits outstrip me in rank, but that's okay!!!  I will cheer them on and we will all have fun sharing pictures of our nails and encouraging one another.  :)

I love this page because it's another one of my "lists"... yes, this is totally how I think and makes so much more sense then writing everything on a line in order according to the day in the week.  Eventually I got around to doing it all and I kept adding to it as I went.  My grocery shopping list ended up on this page too. 

 I've always struggled with trying to be more organized.  I'm not great at it.  It's not the usual thing to be good at as an artist type.  My meyer's briggs test came up as the most artistic of types.  As I get older.... thinking about this because of my birthday month of course! ... I'm starting to sort of "get" what my personality is and how to work with it rather then against it.  I feel more organized using the visual journal.  I'd tried other "day planners" and they just stressed me out!  So, this has really been great.  I want to use it even more then I do now, but I'm still developing the habit of messing around in it each day.

Here's a calender page example.  Over all, March has been the best month in a really long time. 

Here's an example of my helpfulness in the Jamberry group.  This picture shows the full sheet compared to the Jr sized sheet and both are compared to the sample sheets.  My nails are on the wide side so I was worried at first a full year ago when I saw the samples and so few of them fit my fingers.  My thumb nail is actually just barely smaller then the second largest wrap on the regular sheet and my big toes are almost wider then the widest (Though they do still fit well!)  Anyway, for people who can't see these in person it's nice for them to have a visual comparison. 

 There are other graphics that show how much you can get from a sheet (2 mani's and 2 pedi's and accent nails all from one sheet) and I made a few more that I shared with the group as well for putting them on kids.

This is my 3 year old showing how much you can get from one Jr sheet.  A full mani and the big toes.  I painted her little toes just to save some time.  Not that it saves time in the long run since they start chipping in a day!  The Jams stay on for up to a week on her!  It's pretty seriously amazing how well they stay on.  The most important thing is how much she likes them!  She chose the cherry ones and was so thrilled with them = adorable.  ;0

This is a regular sized sheet my 7 year old was dieing to get.  One of the wraps I actually used for 4 nails and there's leftover from it too.  I drew on the paper to show how I cut them to fit her nails.

I made a huge splash with my idea to layer the clear design "lost ruins" over "Emerald Argyle" -- you can search for those two at the website to see what they look like on their own.  :)  Then added the "Lady in Red" to it.  This look matches my house a lot more then it matches my clothes, but I really enjoyed them!  I love getting creative with how to wear these!

 I'm not very "fashionable" at all and have never been much into make-up... though I like to do fun things for costumes on occasion, so to me the Jamberry is more a creative outlet and fun art to wear!  They have enough "normal" designs that you could use them more in a fashionable way instead of an artistic way, but there's really something for everyone! 

My 7 year old is in love with the bunny's and she picked out the "budding love" wraps last summer before they were discontinued.  She finally decided to wear them this time!

 My girls love looking through the little photo album that I keep my Jams in to pick their next look.  I try to remind them that which nail they go on is more contingent on the size of the wrap then just whatever they want to go wherever, but for the most part they get exactly what they are looking for.

Her new shoes and feeling all grown up in high heels.  But, got to have the pink bunny wraps on the toes to complete the look!

My oldest chose "Girl Talk"- so sparkly!  Love this!  And they look great with her easter dress.  Hopefully they will last that long, but if there's a casualty nail I can throw another one on this Saturday.  :)

The 3 year old still had some cherry wraps on (she pulled a few off when she was mad at me or didn't want to go to sleep or something or other) so we added a few to replace the ones that were missing.  She chose snowmen and valentine's hearts to go with the cherries and sparkle rainbows?  hahaha.. well, it will match the outfits she comes up with anyway!

"Shine bright" on her toes (all but the yellow, that's from a different design) and she's wearing her new sandals too.

Today I'm wearing "Amore" with "Butterfly Effect" only I wanted to be different (because I can't help it!) so layered over the butterflies.  Picture below.

This is with "Boysenberry Tint" layered over "Butterfly Effect" I love how it turns it all jewel toned to give some visual relief from the sparkles.  I LOVE the sparkles too, but am just really enjoying these together.

My oldest got some much needed tops and some nice sandals.

 It might not seem like a big deal to some people, but we've never had much extra to spend on clothes and nice things (and these are from Walmart so my "nice" is probably not what many people think of when they think "nice"... It's new and not thrifted so it's "nice" in my book!)  I grew up on thrift store clothes so really appreciate being able to spend a little extra on something new.  :)  My girls were thrilled and I know they've felt really special wearing their pretty outfits and shoes.  I love seeing them growing up and growing more grateful.  Taking care of each other and playing nicely together.  It's not always like that, but I can see the growth in that direction and it's a good trajectory! 

So, there's a thing going around "#becauseofJamberry" and for some people it means paying off debt or buying that second car or paying off a mortgage.  For other's of us it's making new friends and being able to pay for the Jam-hobby and getting a little extra money for clothes for the kids.  The second is me and I am loving it!  I've felt alone for so long that it's wonderful to feel apart of something again and have something fun and creative to get excited about.

She's wearing "Raining cats and dogs" on her toes and chose cats for her sandals. She's still super into cats!!!

 As I'm reflecting in my birthday month I'm thinking of a lot of different things.  The things I wish I'd do more of.... like being more conscious of the day and the little things and the special moments... the good things and the changes in the past 5 or so months that I've been working for Jamberry.  I don't know what the next 5 months will look like or where I'll be then, but that's okay.  :)

This is a good thing to remember this year.  Nourish Art.

I'm pretty transparent and honest and I love to help and encourage people.  I'm organized in an artistic sort of way as you've probably figured out from seeing the journal pages.  If you are wondering what Joining Jamberry is all about feel free to check it out or ask questions.  There's no pressure.  I don't "need" more recruits or anything like that.  It's about you and what you would like and what would help you the most.  I love to encourage people and inspire them. 
I hope some of my blog posts have done just that for people.  :)