I love the idea of gardens full of produce.  That beautiful cornucopia of squash, tomatoes, beans, and all things fresh and good.  Don’t forget those delightfully green and refreshing cucumbers!  I love gardens.

I don’t have a garden but I am hoping that 2011 will be the year of my first garden.  We will see…

While I love the idea of gardens, I am not always sure what to do with the produce that my wonderfully generous neighbors pass onto me.  So I decided that this summer will be the year that I learn how to feed zucchini to my family.

I don’t find zucchini by itself all that exciting.  I think it is stunning to look at.  I love the bright, vivid green and yellows motled together on a smooth shiny surface.  I just love it.  However, eating it has always left me a bit disheartened.  I don’t find the flavor as exciting as I wish I did.

So to remedy my bias toward zucchini I have decided to learn some recipes that will utilize its true yumminess.  Here are a few that I have found:

Lemon-Zucchini Cookies (See my comments below before attempting these delicious cookies)

Stuffed Zucchini with Potatoes and Peas

Zucchini Oven Chips

Zucchini Gratin

Double Chocolate Zucchini Brownies

Zucchini Bread

I have made two of these recipes (the lemon-zucchini cookies and the zucchini bread).  Both turned out super yummy.

Now before you make either of those, I have a confession.  I hate following recipes.  I am what you might call an “organic cook”.  Not organic in the sense that I only purchase organically grown items, but organic in the artistic sense of the word.  I like to use recipes as guides.  I rarely, if ever, follow a recipe exactly as it directs.  I add a little bit of this and a little less of that depending on how the fancy strikes me.  My results are not always consistent but usually they turn out great.  Some people might call that a flaw, but I just call it Cooking Character.  I have Cooking Character in spades.

The bread recipe above turned out delish!  The only change I really made to it was that instead of egg substitute I used actual eggs.  I think I used about three eggs, maybe four.  I also used my whole zucchini which came to more like 3 1/2 cups instead of the 2 1/2 the recipe calls for.  I do really like the amount of spice in this recipe.  It turned out quite flavorful.  Kind of heavy, but I don’t mind heavy.

The cookie recipe was all wrong, in my opinion.  It turned out amazingly delicious but I just wanted to warn you that I am recommending a recipe that I completely changed.  Hear me out first before you skip that one by.

I started out making it as Martha Stewart recommended but I thought it was too runny and not really sweet enough.  As is, I think it would make a nice tea type cookie.  That’s not really what I was craving so I added about 1/2 C brown sugar and added more flour, maybe about 3/4 C.  Then I decided to add a few eggs because I have a huge carton of fresh, delicious eggs sitting on my counter.  Why not?  I also added some baking soda so that they would rise a bit.  Oh also, in the interest of full disclosure, I added some applesauce as well.  Ok, ok, ok, I also doubled the recipe, did half butter and half applesauce, and in the additional flour that I added about 1/2 C was whole wheat flour.

OK, so basically I made an entirely new recipe but I think if you try the recipe Martha Stewart suggests, you will like it.  That’s all I am trying to get across here.  It also makes a great jumping off point if you want to experiment and try it your own way.  I have eaten way too many.  I’m feeling a little ill.  Like WAY too many, not just a few too many…

The next recipe I am going to try is similar to the zucchini gratin recipe above.  My mom was telling me about it over the phone.  You basically make a quiche type dish with eggs, zucchini, bread crumbs, cheese, etc and bake it until it is solid in the center.  I might make that tomorrow night.  I think it will be super yummy!

Finally, the old stand by recipe in our house for using up zucchini and other summer squashes is a stir fry.  How can you go wrong with that?  It’s always fresh tasting and (dare I say this word one more time?) delicious!

Do you have any favorite zucchini recipes?  Please share them in the comments.

My sister and I have been talking about working together on a bunch of projects this year.  We are both very excited to make both things for our homes and for ourselves and our children.  Today we spoke for a little while and solidified our intent to get our craft on.

She started making a tangible list of projects and that has inspired me to make a list of projects too.  With the thought of creative list making in mind, I was wondering what blogs inspire you.  We have discussed it here on MDM in the past, but I was wondering if anyone had any new inspiration blogs to offer.

A few that I have been enjoying and gleaning inspiration from are:

Burdastyle – a site dedicated to sewing and altering patterns to express your own individuality.  There are a whole bunch of free patterns that you can download and and print out, and some that are offered at very low prices.  Their blog is very active and frequently makes say out loud, “I want to make that!”

The Purl Bee – While I would classify myself as NOT being a knitter, I do enjoy fiber arts and one day will put myself in that category.  Until that time, I find a lot of inspiration for projects from the Purl Bee.  They have many knitting projects but they also have a lot of other types of projects too.

Nap Time Crafts – I love this site because it constantly reminds me that even with small children I can still make time to work on projects.  She has really colorful and cute projects for herself and her home and often puts together tutorials for the things she makes.  She’s very big on sharing knowledge and telling her readers how she made things and I LOVE that attitude.

The Little Green Notebook - This site is run by a woman who is a great home decorator.  She is getting back into the game and opening her business after having children.  She posts projects she has worked on for both herself and her clients, things that inspire her and how she did the occasional project too.  I find a lot of inspiration from both her designs and in where to buy certain items.

Steep Street - As a photographer, I have been finding great inspiration from this blog.  She always inspires me with her creative use of PhotoShop and her ability to capture the light and see things in angles that I might not think of.  She has really inspired me to learn my software better and be able to use my tools to create more creative art pieces.

What has been inspiring you lately?  Are there any projects that have been bouncing around in your brain lately?  Are there specific colors or themes that have really been catching your eye lately?  Where are you finding your creative inspiration?

I am much more happy with my results since I discovered these five tips.  I want to share with you, dear MDM readers.  These tips helped me take my photography to another level.  Maybe they will help you.  I am much more happy with my results since I discovered these five tips.  You do not need a fancy camera (though it doesn’t hurt to have good tools).  You can achieve results you will love with any camera by following these simple guides.

Tip List:

• Get close.  Get real close.
• Get down on their level.
• Focus on the eyes.
• Be aware of your background.
• Be flexible and take lots and lots of shots.

My first tip here about getting really close was a huge change for me.  For some reason I avoided taking close ups like they were the plaque.  I just didn’t do it.  Once I broke through my photographic mind block I really enjoyed these new shots I was getting.  You can really focus on one person and get a feel for your subject’s zest for life.

The tip of getting down on their level was something that blew my mind.  I could not believe what a difference it made.  Suddenly my shots of my kids went from a boring “adult holding a camera” view to suddenly seeing the world at the child’s level.  If you incorporate this into your photos, you will possibly jump for joy by how much of a change this brings instantly to your shots.

Focusing on the eyes is a great way to make sure that you get the attitude and expression you are looking to capture.  You don’t always have to have the eyes in the center of the frame but if they are a prominent feature and in focus, you will enjoy your results much more.  Sometimes you will get so captivated by the eyes that you will ignore all the gunk stuck to their hair and face!

Being aware of your background is a huge subject that takes lots of practice and thought.  The basic idea is that you want to avoid backgrounds that are distracting or detract from your subject.  A classic example of this is to take a photo and then you realize that there are trees or sticks in the background that appear to be growing out of their head or body.  Realistically we know that nothing is growing out of our children but it can be distracting and unpleasant to look at.  Think about the background and a neutral background is not what you are going for, try something fun.

Taking photos of children can sometimes get frustrating because they don’t always want to do the things you would like them to do.  Children have a mind of their own and love to exercise that independence.  In order to save your sanity remember to be flexible.  Try new things and if possible make your photo shoot into a game.  The most important thing to remember is to take tons of photos.  With digital photography you can take many more shots then you might have been able to justify with film.  Don’t be afraid to take as many shots as you can.  The more shots you take, the better the odds are that you will end up with a few that you really love.

The last bit I want to pass onto you is that once you have learned these tips feel free to expand on them.  Feel free to try new things and ways of looking at your subjects.  The old adage about rules being meant to be broken is a fun thing to apply to photography.  Let your creativity guide you and you will love your results!

A house in which babies are being raised is not an art gallery, a stuffy museum, or a showplace.  It is more like a factory where you expect a certain amount of confusion and clutter as part of the “production process.”

So You Want to Raise a Boy? by W. Cleon Skousen

Whew!  That makes me feel a little bit better.  I was feeling too tired to finish cleaning up the kitchen and to insist that my boys pick up all their toys before they went to bed.  Nights like this I tend to ignore the bit of mess and pretend it doesn’t exist.  If it existed then that would mean I was a bad mom.  Right?

Wrong!

I can also breathe a little better because my house is not perfectly decorated.  It’s not an art gallery.

Yet.

It is a work in process and so are my children.

That simple little quote really made me feel a lot better tonight.  Maybe it will help you as well.

I’m a serious emotional nutcase.  I fly off the handle at the slightest thing.  I can sometimes see that this is regulated by my hormones but other times I don’t see any cause other then me possibly being slightly crazy.

For the most part, my inability to control my emotions is not necessarily a bad thing.  It doesn’t bother me too much and it doesn’t bother my husband or family too much.  The times that it really bothers me is when my children are acting up and I have a difficult time staying calm and dealing with the situation in a logical, firm and loving way.  Sometimes I do this better then other times.  Somedays I feel like my children are in time outs all day.  Some days are tiring and not fun.

I am a firm believer in fun.  I believe childhood should be filled with fun.  Life should be filled with fun.  Motherhood should be a daily exercise in fun.  It is hard to encourage fun when you are having a difficult time staying happy.

So, the other day as I lay down with my 2 year old to put him down for a nap, I was focusing on saying a silent prayer.  I was telling the Lord about my concerns with how I was feeling quite upset and not enjoying Motherhood that day.  I was telling Him that I really wanted our home to be a place where the Spirit is in abundance and we treat each other kindly and lovingly.  I was praying that I would find some kind of help, inspiration and guidance to help me be a better mom and help my home be a more loving place.

Then I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up a bit later with this song running through my head.  This particular verse is what I keep singing.

Mine is a home where every hour is blessed by the strength of priesthood power, with Father and Mother leading the way, teaching me how to trust and obey; and the things they teach are crystal clear for love is spoken here.

I can often feel the Savior near when love is spoken here.

I really feel like this was an answer to my prayer; kind of a reminder that I have to really focus on my tone of voice and make sure that love is spoken in my home.  As mother and primary care giver in our family, I have to remember that this is my responsibility.

Since I woke up with that song in my head, it has replayed over and over many times.  I found myself mentally singing that song this afternoon when a trial reared it’s ugly head.  I focused on speaking with love and that trial was vanquished!

My personal list of things that I have to do to make my home a better place is this:

• Read my scriptures daily
• Pray often.  Don’t forget to pray when I am feeling angry or upset.
• Sing this song and other wonderful songs from the LDS Children’s Primary songbook as often as I need.
• Play the mp3′s from the LDS Children’s Primary songbook as often as needed, as well. (Which can be downloaded along with other collections for free here.)
• Be aware of my tone of voice.  If something is coming out negative sounding then I need to stop, mid-sentence, and fix that problem.
• Read the scriptures to my children at bed time.

It is very important to me that my home is filled with love.  Some of these things I do regularly, some of them I need to work on.  All together en masse, I should be a force to be reckoned with!  No negative feelings should be able to enter into our home.  Now I just have to do this and make it a habit.

That, I am praying for.

I kind of want to add a disclaimer here:  My children are wonderful.  They are inherently sweet, loving little boys.  Our house is not a home filled with major strife and contention. I am not an angry mom who is yelling and hitting her children all day long.  I just want to be a better mother and homemaker and I know that I need the kind of help that I can only receive from the Lord.  You don’t need to fear for their or call CPS on me or anything.  I’m actually not that crazy!:)

Among the things I was thinking about, one in particular was that I needed to do a major cleaning job on my kitchen.  I had let it go for two days and in that short period of time it had come to resemble the wake of a Class 5 hurricane.  Pretty bad.  Worse than bad.

After I finally decided to get up, I went upstairs to the kitchen and began the morning’s cleaning; unloading the dishwasher, filling it up and so forth.  I fed my boys.  Then I turned around three times and the kitchen was a total disaster again complete with oatmeal smeared on the floor, the table, the chairs and a few spots on the living room carpet.

I had a minor conniption fit while basking in my self-pity and uselessness.  I ran downstairs and vented to my husband for a minute or two and then attempted to pull myself together.  I was struggling with the suffocating feeling of being overwhelmed by all the chores I had to do this day.  I was feeling let down because I had been so motivated just an hour or so before.  I was feeling like I would never get all the rooms clean and my mental to-do list would never get complete, especially when my kids were seemingly running behind like some kind of elves and undoing all the work I had just done.

So while I was trying to get my motivation back, I spent some time looking over Fly Lady’s site.  I watched her Shine Your Sink video and read the first few baby steps.  That was the inspiration I needed.  I decided to follow her advice and tackle my jobs in smaller increments and I decided to make a list of all the things I wanted to get done this day.

My list looked like this:

• Put up new bedside lamp
• Change light bulb in laundry room
• Shine kitchen sink
• Put away dishes
• Re-fill dishwasher
• Wash kitchen floor
• Clean off my dresser
• Fold laundry
• Wash/Dust TVs
• Make a box for the cat to sleep in on the deck

Not the most elaborate list but detailed enough so that I wouldn’t loose track of what I was supposed to be working on.  I find that I get side tracked pretty easily.  There is always something else that needs to be cleaned, put away, scrubbed, folded, shopped, chopped, watered, baked, etc.  I’m a mom.  That’s life.  I turn around and there is another project staring me down.  If I look at the whole house and all of the daily projects and chores that need to be done, I get overwhelmed and then shut down.  Then I spend the entire day on Facebook refreshing my browser hoping that one of my friends has updated their status or searching Craigslist for cute antique couches that I can’t afford to buy and I’m not really sure that I want anyway.

My bite sized pieces were the thing the kept me going today.  I was able to come back to my to-do list after cleaning up my son’s broken piggy bank and know what I should do next.  Like a buffet, I can pick and choose from my list the items I feel like doing at that particular moment.  I was able to maintain momentum and even found joy in performing the mundain tasks such as changing the light bulb in the laundry room.  I had so much fun doing that task that I was inspired to change all the light bulbs in my bathroom to the energy efficient bulbs.  Maybe I’ll save a couple of cents and can buy a new notebook when this one gets full of my To-Do lists…

Tomorrow is a new day with a new list.  I will carry over a few of the items such as Fold Laundry.  All those clean clothes that I washed in between checking off items on my list are still piled up on the floor in the family room.  I’ll be honest, they might be there for a few days.  But that job will also be on each day’s new To-Do list and eventually I’ll happily cross that nice bite-sized chore off.

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