Over the past few days, I’ve noticed my cast was really loose.  It caused me a LOT of pain because I could move my hand in there.  My hubby told me to call the doc, because I might need a new cast and its better than going the four weeks and doing it wrong.

So I call and the receptionist tells me if the cast is loose, I need to come in.  So I go, and the nurse wants to ask the doc’s opinion.  She leaves me for a bit, then comes back to take the cast off, because I’m going to get a new one anyway.  She wanted to ask the doc about splinting instead, so I could have it be tighter.

I’m in the middle of washing my arm – feels so good! – when he comes in.  He seems annoyed my cast was off.  Then he goes into explaining how they don’t have a full arm splint and why I needed the cast with my arm bent, to prevent looking at my palm, and to prevent the side-to side motion of the wrist.  I told him I understood that, but that there was a lot of play in my cast, which hurt when unscrewing the lid to the milk jug, etc.

I was shocked at his look of shock.

Doc: “You’re not supposed to do that!”

Me: “Well, I didn’t pick up the jug, I was just taking off the lid.”

Doc: “Doesn’t matter, ANY action of the wrist, even small ones, won’t allow it to heal, and I can’t send you to the hand surgeon until we’ve proved this treatment didn’t work.”

(Basically, even if he thinks this won’t work, he’s gotta do it first.)

Me: “I have no problem wearing the cast, it’s just that it was so loose that it allowed for the side-to-side motion.”

Doc: (somewhat mollified) “Okay, then I’ll see you back in a few weeks.”

But now I’m kind of mad because no one told me I couldn’t do ANYTHING with this wrist.  The lady who put on my first cast even told me she’d give my fingers some room to grab things…  True, she’s not the doctor, but it would have been nice if someone (re: the doc) outlined what was expected in the first place.  All he told me was it would be hard, I’d need people to help out, and I’d have lots of physical therapy after.

SIGH

So, doc leaves, and the nurse puts on cast #2, and all the while I’m thinking the doc just chewed me out (dramatics added for effect) for doing the right thing by coming in and changing my cast.  Even the nurse said sometimes the arm shrinks in there, swelling goes down, etc., causing the cast to get loose.  I just feel like the doc thinks I’m whiny.  The splint wasn’t even my idea and he marches in there as if to tell me I will wear this cast, by gawd… (again, dramatics added).  And I was a little miffed that he couldn’t see the evidence of my loose cast for himself because the lady had already taken it off.  It was like he thought I was being whiny and there probably hadn’t been anything wrong with it.

I understand his decree of total rest, I do.  But if I’d been TOLD THAT in the first place, I might not have had so many issues.

Still would have needed a new cast, though.

I decided to go purple with the new one.  But I’ve still got glitter!  It’s much skinnier than my first one and it feels SO MUCH BETTER!  Oh my gosh, night and day difference.  Can’t move anything around in there.

Doc’s probably off some place shaking his head that his patients are dumbasses.  LOL  Or maybe he woke up on the wrong side of the bed.  He *was* wearing a full suit, whereas the other times I’ve seen him, he was business casual.  Maybe he was stressed about something.  Maybe I just blew it all out of proportion.  But I’ve got news for ya, doc.  NO ONE wants this wrist healed more than I do.

And that’s a fact.

I did notice that while my elbow was somewhat tender, I could bend it all right once I was out of the first cast.  But my wrist – forget about it.  It hurt to just hold it while the nurse prepared the new casting material.  My ulnar side was much more swollen that it had ever been.  This does NOT bode well for getting the cast off in 3 weeks…

My daughter said, “Wow, Mommy, your arm looks much skinnier in that cast!”  I said, “I wish the rest of me looked skinnier.”  One of the nurses going to lunch in the parking lot snickered as she overheard me.  LOL

Anyways, here’s to doing/holding/carrying/twisting/lifting absolutely nothing until February 9th.  For all intents and purposes, I’m one-handed.  And yes, I’m typing one-handed right now.  Yes, it IS a giant PITA.

Pic of purple cast:

~~Becka

After weeks of pain, my Doc is confident my pain is due to a tear in my TFCC, better known as the Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex.  It’s a collection of ligaments and cartilage on the outside of your wrist that allows for mobility of the joint and helps hold everything together.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM_O2cnlgh8

I had a bit of swelling along with bouts of going numb in my pinkie and ring finger that would sometimes go up my arm like someone smacked my funny bone.  So just to be safe, the Doc sent my to a neurologist to see if I had Ulnar nerve entrapment.  But my test was normal.

So my ortho did one more test with me after I told him exactly where the pain was.  He grabbed my ulna and radius and moved them back and forth, opposite of each other.  OMG what a weird combination of strange, creepy and tickly.  I could feel the weakness in there.  He did it to my right wrist and everything felt fine.  That cinched the diagnosis for him.

He told me I had two options.  One is to get a full arm cast for four weeks followed by physical therapy afterward.  The other was to go to the hand surgeon, get a painful dye injected into my wrist to see where the tear was on an MRI–then get casted for four weeks followed by physical therapy.  LOL  Well, since I didn’t want to go any longer without what seemed to be the only form of treatment, I decided to get a cast.  Talk about a shock!  I totally wasn’t expecting that.

So as you can see, I decided to have fun with it.  I got the pink, and the lady was nice enough to give me spray-on glitter!  Figured the only way to stay positive with a full arm cast where my arm is bent for 4 weeks on top of a small baby, 4 other kids and a house to take care of (not to mention my writing) was to have a little levity with the situation.

Now we’ve got to get used to the adjustment.  When I broke my wrist as a kid, I had a full cast for 4 weeks then too.  I remember getting it off and not being able to fully extend my arm for maybe a week after that.  It was painful.  I also remember the pain of bending my wrist for the first time.  Doc said, “Yeah, you’re not 13 any more.”  Hence the PT I’ll need.  **shudder**  But it’s not just because of the cast, the PT is also to help the TFCC strengthen and regain mobility.  Not looking forward to that.

I’m hoping this mode of treatment works.  The only other treatment is surgery to suture the tear.  Now, it’s an out patient procedure, but it still hurts like hell and can take weeks/months to recover from.  DO NOT WANT!

So, that’s the news from this end.  No writing for me for awhile.

How did I injure myself, you ask?  Well, I don’t really know.  It’s been hurting since early December.  The only thing I can think of is when I pushed myself off my couch three or four different times and felt something in my wrist like someone plucking on a guitar string.  It didn’t hurt at the time, just felt odd.  Shortly thereafter my pain began.  That may or may not be how it happened, but it probably was.

However, good news!  Champagne Books just bought BLACK ANGEL!  That’s my fantasy novella about the hero with obsidian black skin and wings!  I love that story and will be proud to see it with Champagne!  Woohoo! 

~~Becka

When I was 13 years old, I was riding home from school on my bike.  I had a book in my right hand because I didn’t have a backpack.  Then I hit a patch of gravel.  Couldn’t stop the front wheel of the bike from jack-knifing and down I went, breaking my fall with my left hand.

Of course, that fall resulted in a multiple fracture.  I’d broken three bones in my wrist and hand.  The bone in your hand that goes to your thumb, one of the larger bones in your arm (not sure if it was the ulna or the radius) and one of the many little bones in the wrist itself.  Doc said I must have hyper-extended it.

All these years later, I’ve had problems with it.  My thumb especially.  I can’t straighten it fully like I can with my other thumb.  And it aches so much during cold weather.

Last month, my wrist really started hurting.  I thought huh, weird.  Maybe I’d strained it somehow, but it wouldn’t go away.  When I was wrapping Christmas gifts, it really started to hurt, and one day when I was mopping with my twist-head mop, I thought I was going to die.  That’s when I knew I should get a wrist brace.  So my hubby got me one and it felt wonderful, but the pain wasn’t going away.

To make a long story short (too late) I made an appt. with an orthopedic surgeon.  Saw him today and got some x-rays done.  Good news is, there is nothing wrong with my bones.  Bad news is, thus begins the hypothesizing on what it could be.

I’d done some research online and latched onto something called TFCC, where the “triangle” of ligaments in your wrist gets a tear, making for pain along the outside of your wrist, the ulnar side, the side with your little fingers.  It hurts when you rotate your wrist, even for mundane things like turning a doorknob or starting a car.  And forget about holding that gallon of milk.  Well, my pain wasn’t exactly like that.  The sharp pains came every now and then, but mostly, it just ached, up the ulnar side of my arm and along my little and ring finger of my left hand.

Doctor spent about 20 minutes with me doing different wrist tests, and he asked if it was tender to the touch.  I told him yeah, but deep down, like it was underneath something.  So he dug on down in there, and yup, he found it!  He asked if my hand/arm had ever gotten numb.  I told him not all the time, but it sometimes has that weird, dull sensation after you hit your funny bone when it aches.

Then, he bent my arm and did a few more tests, then informed me he thinks it might be my ulnar nerve.  You see, when he bent my wrist, he hit my ulnar nerve at my elbow (where you hit your funny bone) and I didn’t have a reaction.  No reflex.  Well, hardly one.  I barely felt pins and needles in my pinky.  So, he thinks I have a pinched or compressed nerve in there.  Which makes sense, since it’s not sharp pain, but more like a dull ache that buzzes.

So, next Monday, I’m going to a nerve specialist to see where the problem with this nerve is.  If it’s in the elbow itself, my ortho. surgeon can take care of it.  If it’s compressed in the wrist, I’ll have to see a hand surgeon.  Seems to me it would be weird to be in the elbow if my wrist is what’s hurting, but I’m not a doctor, and I have no idea how nerves work.

Anyway, they’re going to stick electrodes in me and send pulses into my nerves to see if the problem is elbow or wrist.  He said it’s not pleasant.  But I have every confidence I’ll live through it.  It cannot possibly be as bad as the time I had to rotate my broken wrist on the x-ray table to be perpendicular to the table.  Despite having 5 children and enduring labor pains and a broken ankle, tailbone, and big toe, I still believe that one wrist x-ray with that radiologist torturer was the most painful event in my life.  I was screaming in there, I remember that much.

However I do believe it’s in my wrist.  Things just don’t feel “right” in there to me, and even the doc was feeling my tendons and such for a few minutes with his furrowed brow.

So for now, I’ve got to wait another week and keep wearing my brace when it gets to be too much to bear.  Like right now, for instance, writing on my laptop with my arm resting on the table, further compressing that nerve.  UGH.

Well, that’s the saga.  No writing this week at all.  Might not be for a while to come.  We shall see…  I just hope it’s not really messed up in there.  Don’t want any surgery.  Especially with a nerve.  Scary stuff!  I’ll keep y’all updated.  In the meantime, I’ve got another week to get through.  Joy of joys.  :-/

~~Becka

So this past week, my hubby had a pot-luck at his work.  He had the awesome idea of bringing chicken enchiladas.  But he didn’t want to bring them cold and not warm, nor did he want to make them early in the morning and bring them to work hot as they would still be cold by lunch time.  So he needed a way to keep them warm and/or warm them up.

His brilliant idea was an electric skillet.

But the one we had was old and sad.  It was this little 12″x 12″ deal, that looks like it has seen it’s fair share of world wars.  Most of the “non-stick” coating is scratched off, not to mention it just wasn’t big enough for the shindig at DH’s office.  This thing is literally a dinosaur; a gift from DH’s grandparents on the occasion of our wedding nigh 15 years ago.  It was well used, but now, we needed an upgrade.

I got out of the habit of using an electric skillet because my family is so huge and I didn’t have a big one.  My pans were good enough, as I have a jumbo iron skillet I use all the time.  But, we needed the skillet to do the enchiladas, so off to Target I go.

I found a couple in their selection of bigger skillets, one a $30, the other $60.  Seems a no brainer, right?  Quick giant skillet for a one-time pot-luck, right?  Well, I stood there and weighed my options.  The $30 was indeed the size I needed, but there was some assembly required.  The $60 one was already ready already.  It had rubber feet so it wouldn’t slide on the counter.  And it had a lid that is held down with buckles.  AND a pour spout on one of the corners.

Okay, sold!  Here it was, already nearing 8pm, and we still needed to make the enchiladas!  I don’t want to put together the fricken’ skillet with a screwdriver while browning the chicken.  But it was indeed the pour spout that ultimately sold me.  Browning beef?  No prob, merely lock the lid down and drain.  Awesome Sauce.

So I brought it home, we made the enchiladas, put them in the fridge overnight, DH took the entire skillet to work the next day, plugged it in on 300 degrees an hour before the pot-luck and voila! Perfect hot, melty enchiladas.

That night, it was so easy to clean, just wipe out with a sponge, the non-stick coating is so super-sweet.

So last night, I decided to make frozen burgers for the family.  The thing held 6 big ol’ patties from Costco with no problem, enough to feed everyone without having to do a second batch!

I’m thinking I’m in love with this thing.  It’s definitely the best $60 I’ve spent recently, and I cannot stress how happy I am I didn’t get the less expensive skillet.  With the lovely coating, the lid, the spout and the sheer size of it, this bad boy is now going to be a staple of my kitchen for many years to come.

I love it when you buy something you thought you didn’t really need and it turns into something you can no longer live without. 

Five stars from Becka, for the $60 (Okay, $59.99) 16″ electric skillet by Hamilton Beach.  Well done, guys!

http://www.hamiltonbeach.com/skillets-premiere-cookware-electric-skillet.html

~~Becka

Didn’t take long for the agent to get back to me.  She wants me to send her my synopsis and the first 30 pages of RENEGADE!!!  Yay!  I was so nervous I didn’t want to open the email. LOL So I’ve printed everything out, now I need to send it on via snail mail, which I will be doing in the morning.  Woohoo!!  I don’t think she’ll get back to me as fast for the partial manuscript, but I’m hoping she’ll like it enough to request the full.

Now, she can still tell me to take a hike after she reads this partial.  Heck, even after she reads the full.  Nothing is set in stone until the “Hey, let’s talk about representation” talk.  And that hasn’t happened yet.

But it’s a step in the right direction and I’m pretty happy about it!  Woohoo!  I’m delerious!  Overusing my exclamation mark!  LOL

~~Becka!

(just to see if you were paying attention. Heh)

Just recently, I finished my historical western RENEGADE.  For those of you following me on this journey, you’ll know I’ve been working hard on this book for the past few weeks.  Personally, I believe it is THE. BEST. Western romance I’ve written.  Why?  Because it’s packed with more emotion and a deeper plot than the others.

That’s not to say I don’t LOVE my other Westerns.  But this one flowed out of me.  Despite the fast pace of the romance, the characters are thrown into a desperate situation and emotions and feelings are heightened because of it.  Both of them learn about each other and about themselves.  Both of them teach each other something, and both of them will fight tooth and nail for each other.

In fact, I love this book so dang much, I’m actually in a funk now that I’ve finished it.  My only hope is I’ll be asked to write a book about the sexy sheriff to revisit the characters.  (lol)

Okay, so here’s the thing.  I’ve been looking for an agent for awhile.  I’ve perused the ones my friends have contracted with and found one I liked at the Bradford Literary Agency.  My good friend Beth Williamson (who I’m buddies with in the Leather & Lace Anthology at Samhain) is with them, and she highly recommended them.  It was because of her glowing recommendation I decided to query them.  Now, it’s just an emailed query letter, I haven’t sent her anything other than the following blurb (see below), so she can still tell me to take a hike without reading a word of my manuscript.

Hopefully she won’t.

Because seriously, folks, I honestly feel if I can’t land an agent with THIS BOOK, then maybe I was never meant to write for New York.  It’s that good.  And I’m not just tooting my own horn.

Okay, so I am just a little bit.  But seriously.  Seriously.  I. LOVE. THIS. ONE.

While I have queried an agent, this book still has a long, harrowing road ahead of it.  If this agent decides to pass, I have a Plan B agent in the corner pocket.  If THAT agent passes, well, I’ll send it on to Samhain, as I do so LOVE that publishing house.  If THEY pass, I’ll probably question my prowess as an author (again lol) and try Champagne Books.  If THEY pass, then dammit I’ll offer it as a free read!  Somehow, in some way, shape, or form, you WILL read this book.  I don’t even care how much $$ I make off it…  It needs to be read.

I’ll keep y’all updated on what happens with the agent.  I’m hoping she’ll want to read at least the synopsis and the first three chapters.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!  I need some good juju after my Samhain rejection of BLACK ANGEL!!

Without further adieu, here is RENEGADE’s blurb:

For the love of an outlaw, she’d risk her life to prove his innocence…

Coyote Bluff, Arizona Territory, 1874

Olivia Hughes is alone.  Ever since her husband demanded a divorce, her father, the honorable Judge Hardison Black, has disowned her for it.  Due to the hospitality of a friendly old widow, she now lives above the laundry shop and manages to support herself, despite the looks she gets from the townsfolk.  A new start is what she needs, but she won’t find one in Coyote Bluff.

Thomas Langston is an outlaw, wanted for a murder he didn’t commit.  He’s convinced Judge Black took a bribe to send him to the gallows, and he won’t rest until he learns the truth.  He kidnaps Livie to force the judge’s hand, unaware her father wants nothing more to do with her.  Now, he’s on the run with a woman in tow, and he still has no idea how to clear his name.

Livie is Thomas’s one hope of redemption, but her offer to help only has him dreaming of other things.  It doesn’t take long before their mutual attraction turns into an all-consuming passion.  But when Thomas gets caught, the situation turns desperate, and he finds himself at the end of his rope.  Can Livie succeed in clearing his name before he’s found guilty and hanged?

The query letter I wrote to Laura Bradford was probably THE  most important query letter I’ve ever written.  If she decides to take a gander and then represent me, it would change the face of my writing career forever.  I’m seriously nervous here, folks.  But I’m so ready.  Chomping at the bit.  Wild horses couldn’t tear me away!  And I can’t think of a better genre to bust into New York with than a historical Western.  Bringing the Western romance back, one cowboy at a time.

YEEEHAAAWW!!!

~~Becka

Five years ago, I wasn’t published, but I’d submitted a novel for publication at a small, online Inspirational publisher, By Grace Publishing (who is now defunct).  In October of 2004, I signed my very first contract, and by January of 2005, I was a published author.

Why am I telling you this?

Because I’d just had a distressing thought.  Five years ago, I had a goal, and that goal was to be with New York by now.  Everyone has those “in five years” hopes, and mine was to be with a New York publisher.  Well, here I am, still rockin’ the small publishers, not that there’s anything wrong with that.  I’ve made a name for myself, that much is true.  I’ve confused people by writing both mainstream and Inspies (back in the day).  I’ve since stopped writing those tender romances, and focused more on fantasy, westerns, and paranormals.

I have a fairly good reader base, at least, a few people beyond my immediate family.  I think most of my friends know I write books, but only a handful of my friends have read any of my books, and even then, none of them are avid fans.  Would I like them to be?  Well, sure, I suppose.  Perhaps that’s why I never talk about my writing much, because everyone I know in real life doesn’t have any more than a passing interest in what I do.

But I’m not here to cry you a river.  I’m reflecting on my five year goal, the one that hasn’t come to fruition.  So, I find myself taking stock, and asking myself what I really want with regards to writing.  I WANT to be with New York.  I WANT to KNOW my books are in stores without “hoping” I’ll randomly run into them if I’m lucky.  I want to get paid an equal compensation for the work I fricken’ put into this process.

However, does being a successful New York author jive with being a full-time mom and homeschooler of five children?  Can one woman “do it all?”

I have no idea.  But I have made a decision.  In TWENTY years from now, much less five, I don’t want to look back on my life and think, woulda, shoulda, coulda.  I don’t ever want to pass on a dream I’ve had for most of my life simply because it’s hard work, time consuming, or a little scary.  If I try and I fail, well, at least I gave it a go and I can give this small press thing all the attention I can throw at it.

Therefore, I’ve decided my next full length novel will be going to New York.  I’ll probably be sending it to an agent, as I want to write the way *I* write and see if they can fit it somewhere, rather than trying to adhere to a specific publishing house’s rules.  This process is going to take awhile, as it takes a few weeks for an agent to respond to a query, then it takes a few more weeks after they request a partial, then a few MORE weeks IF they request the full manuscript.  From there, they shop it around, which takes more weeks, and once it’s sold, it can take months before it’s actually published.  This is going to be a long process.

I’m going to give it a good two years.  I can write a book, submit it, and find out about publication within that time frame.  In FIVE years, I want to have more than one book in New York.

And in that TWENTY year scenario I mentioned above, I want to be able to look back and be thankful I decided to finally kick my ass in gear and get the lead out.  No  more excuses.  I’m ready for the big leagues.  Bring it on.

~~Becka

As you may or may not know, if you follow me on Twitter (and why wouldn’t you, may I ask?? http://www.twitter.com/rebeccagoings), I’ve started making homemade baby food for my baby daughter Sophie.

It’s kind of weird I never thought to do this with any of my other five kids.  Perhaps being “older” I now have the perspective of being “wiser” as well, who knows.  In those early days, I longed for ease, and the easy thing was to go grab a jar off the shelf and dig in.  Who wants to be slaving away in the kitchen making baby food all day long?

But as I got older, I’d tried my hand at making jams and canning, which turned out to be quite fun.  After I had Sophie, I wondered if making baby food could be as fun.  So I began to look into it.  Seriously, people, it’s NOT hard, not at all, nor is it really “time consuming.”

In fact, (if you followed me on Twitter you’d know) I’ve started a You Tube vlog, and two of my videos are about how to make baby food.  (Vlog addy: http://www.youtube.com/user/beckabecks – check back, as I’m hoping to get some more vids posted soon.)

Basically, if you have a blender or a food processor and know how to bake potatoes or steam veggies, you can make your own baby food.  It’s so easy because young babies don’t get spices until they’re between 8-10 months old anyhow.  You’re simply cooking the fruit/veggies and pureeing them, then freezing them for later.

Bananas and avocados don’t need any cooking, as they’re soft enough as it is (I know! You can give your kid an avocado. Who knew?? I sure didn’t before I started this endeavor).  If you are leery about cooking veggies, start with these two.  Throw them into your food processor and whirl away.  Now, you do want to puree them for a few minutes to make sure you get all the chunks, as a first foods eater can’t have chunks.  If your baby is older, you don’t have to worry about the chunks so much.

Don’t worry about the avocados and their penchant to turn brown.  They won’t lose their flavor.  If it grosses you out, put only a miniscule amount of lemon or lime juice in it.  Citrus doesn’t agree with baby until they’re older.  A little spritz of the juice won’t hurt, but never feed an infant straight orange or citrus juice without first asking your doctor.  Recommended age for that is around one year old due to the acidity.

Once you’re done with the puree, spoon the mixture into ice cube trays, cover, and freeze for about 24 hours.  If you want to feed the baby immediately, you can refrigerate a portion.  The ice cube trays are genius, because each cup is about an ounce of baby food.  So one or two cubes and you know how much your baby is eating.

The beauty of bananas and avocado is they don’t need any water to puree them, either.

Some other veggies, however, need some water to get that baby food consistency.  Sweet potatoes is one.  Prick ‘em with a fork, cover them in foil, and throw them in the oven for an hour like you would baked potatoes.  When they’re nice and soft, cut them open and spoon out the “meat”, don’t use the skin.  Puree with a little bit of water for about 3 to 5 minutes to get rid of chunks, and repeat with the ice cube trick.  Once they’re frozen, just pop them out of the trays and put them in Ziploc baggies.  Be sure to label what it is and the date, because some foods can look the same as others in your freezer.  You might want to run some hot water over the bottom of the trays and use a spoon to pop out the food.  They’re not as dense as water ice and won’t crack out of the tray easily.

You don’t want to water-bath can or pressure can your baby food, because young infants are more prone to botulism, I’ve learned.  Their guts aren’t developed enough yet to fight off any bad bacterium that may or may not infect your food.  Freezing, therefore, is the best option.

Making the green beans was fun, as I had a bag of frozen beans that could be steamed all at once in the microwave (it was a special steaming bag.)  So, I pulled it from the freezer, threw it in the microwave, cooked it in the bag, then poured the contents into my food processor with a little water and pureed for a few minutes.  Easy peasy.  The beans, however, won’t get to be a fine puree like storebought beans, because Gerber has more of a straining system than we at home have.  So green beans should probably be given to a baby whose used to eating little lumpies.

Pears are easy.  Peal them like potatoes, cut them into chunks and steam on the stove for about five minutes.  Puree & freeze.

Apples, do the same, however, you’ll probably have to steam them for a little longer as they’re not as soft as pears.  You can also bake apples in a dish with some water in it, then puree with some of the reserved baking water.

Making baby food is great in more ways than one.  First of all, you know exactly what you’re giving your baby.  JUST sweet potatoes.  JUST pears.  No preservatives or added flavoring.  Second, it’s cheaper.  Gerber charges between $.50 to $.65 cents for a two ounce jar.  Compare that to my $.06 an ounce for bananas ($.12 for two ounces).  $.11 an ounce for green beans ($.22 for two ounces).  Over time, that adds up.  And two large sweet potatoes makes 30 ounces of food!  Not to mention the fact you’re not making any more trash than you need to.  Sure, you can recycle plastic or glass baby food jars, but it’s less work for all of us if you make your own baby food.  And, your pantry space doesn’t need to be taken over by jars and jars of food–a big issue for me since I’m already hurting for shelf space after a grocery run due to my ginormous family.

All in all, this was the route I decided to go.  Sure, I’m a stay-at-home mom with some “time” on my hands, but anyone can make baby food, even if you take time out of a Sat. or Sun. or even while you’re making dinner for the rest of your family during the week.  A little effort goes a long way.  With minimal effort, my freezer is now full of bananas, pears, sweet potatoes, green beans, avocados, acorn squash and applesauce.  And the cool thing is, if I want to mix and match flavors, the sky’s the limit, really.  Just defrost some different flavors together and mix ‘em up.  Your baby will LOVE it, if my baby is any example.  And the wonderful aromas in your kitchen will only reinforce what a great idea it is to make your own baby food at home.

It’s just gotta taste 1,000,000 times better than that processed store-bought baby food!

~~Becka

(who confesses to having 4 jars of store-bought baby food on the shelf only for when we go out and about and I don’t want to worry about defrosting ice-cube foods in public… )

This past week has been a beautiful week here in Oregon with temperatures in the high 70’s and bright, clear skies.  It’s about this time when we let our cats out, as they’ve had cabin fever all winter and spring.  Our cats usually don’t wander too far from home.  In fact, of our three cats, we only have one who has wanderlust.  Amazingly, though, he hasn’t wandered too far away since the one time he ended up in another neighborhood and some Good Samaritans called us to come get him.  Heh.

Well, the cat still hasn’t wandered far, however, he did happen upon a nest of scrub jays.  I don’t know where it was, although our neighbors say it was in their tree.  But I never saw the nest.  What did happen was a little traumatic, though.  My kitty grabbed one of the baby scrub jays and brought it back into the house.  Alive.

My kids were yelling for me because they heard some screaming chirps and didn’t know what was going on.  I went downstairs only to find the cat toying with a baby bird that didn’t know how to unfurl its own wings yet.  It still had it’s grey feathers, but was just beginning to grow it’s blue ones.

After chasing the cat through the house (because he’d grabbed it again and took off), I picked it up and examined it for wounds.  It wasn’t bleeding, and didn’t cry out when I moved it’s wings or legs, but finding it’s nest and putting it back was pretty much impossible at that point.  I had no idea where it was, and even so, my cat now knew the location.

And to make matters worse, when I went outside to look for the nest, my damn cat scooted by me despite my kicking to keep him in the house.  I suppose juggling an injured bird and the back door is a situation a determined cat can take advantage of.  After searching for the cat and the nest to no avail, he came back a few minutes later – with another baby bird in his mouth, the bastard!

The second little bird was dead, the poor thing. 

After yelling at and smacking my cat, I kept thinking to myself, what am I going to do now with the poor little bird I was holding?  I mean, the thing was pathetic, opening it’s little beak as if I were it’s Mama giving it food.  I scoured the back and front yards for a place to put it where it wouldn’t get found by my dog or cats, but that “place” was not to be found.  I laid it in a crook in a tree just on the other side of our backyard fence, but I still didn’t feel good about it.

Going back inside, I felt more and more guilty just leaving it out there.  Despite it’s injuries, it was going to die anyway, whether by getting found by an animal, or just starving without it’s mother.  As I was doing dishes, that little voice in my head kept on nagging… “Just call the vet! What could it hurt? See what they say.”

FINE!  If it will let me feel better, I’ll call the danged vet.  They suggested I call the Audubon Society, as they don’t take random birds.  I look it up online and give them a call.  Sure, they’ll take the bird!  And I don’t even have to pay a fee or anything – they just ask for donations.

Unfortunately, they’re 15 miles away, and it’s already 3:45pm, people are getting ready to come home from work and I know by the time I get home I’ll have to hurry up and make dinner.  Well, I’ve already wasted most of the afternoon looking for the nest, and I figure I’ve come this far with the little thing, I should get it the help it needs.  And despite the pain in the butt, it’s a good lesson for the kids to learn.

You see, in my mind, I can’t profess to live what I believe if I don’t help out the baby bird.  Sure, some could argue to let nature take its course, but all I could think about was my Bible verses…  “His eye is on the sparrow” and whatnot, meaning, God watches over every creature of His creation and they all are important to Him.  Who am I to decide if that bird should die in my backyard?

So, I pack up all the kids and take a drive to the Wildlife Care Center with the birdy all snug in some crocheted dishtowels.  Once we get there, they take my info and take the bird, dishtowels and all, giving me a number just in case I wanted to check on the little guy later on.

I decided to call them today to see how he was doing.  He survived the weekend, but unfortunately, he died early this morning.    You might think all I did for the little bird was in vain, but I don’t believe that.  I made the decision to help the little guy, and the people at the Audubon Society were more than happy to help him out as well.  But his injuries were too extensive in the long run, and ultimately, it was the Good Lord who decided to take him, not my lack of intervention.

Sure, maybe I did “waste my time” in trying to save a little bird who would have died anyway.  But I taught my kids a valuable lesson; that we should take care of God’s creation, no matter how insignificant (a common scrub jay) they may be.  A life is a life and it’s our responsibility to help out if we can.  Hopefully, they’ll take from this experience to be kind to animals and be good stewards of nature.

Godspeed, little Jay.  May you be flying the skies of Glory!

~~Becka

Wildlife Care Center

503-292-0304

www.audubonportland.org

urbanwildlife@audubonportland.org

As you may or may not know, the familia and I went to go see my favorite Christian singer last night, Chris Tomlin.  (No, we didn’t take the baby, we got a sitter, but we did take the other four children.)

I bought the tickets the moment I got the pre-sale email back in December, so we were able to get really good seats.  In fact, they were better than I thought they’d be.  We were in the sixth row back, however technically, we were in the second row, because the first four rows were folding chairs (they created more seating next to the stage .

The concert was held at Rolling Hills Community Church in Tualatin, OR.  It’s a pretty big church.  If the Christian singers don’t go to the Rose Garden Arena, they pretty much go to Rolling Hills around here.

Israel Houghton and New Breed opened for Chris.  You might think, que?  Who’s that?  But Israel has written lots of songs we all sing in church every week – Here I Am to Worship, Lord You are Good, Friend of God…  He was really good, sang some songs off his new album which is released on March 24th.

After a brief intermission, Chris Tomlin took the stage and I was able to snap a few pics from my iPhone.  Of course, my iPhone doesn’t take the best pics in the world, but take my word for it – that’s Chris up there.  LOL  Here’s a pic I took of one of the giant monitor screens.  It’s sad that I was just a few rows away but the best pics of him were from the monitor.    If you’re a Chris Tomlin afficionado, you should be able to tell by the lyrics what song we were singing.

Here’s a pic of him on stage:

He was singing his big hit How Great is Our God here, same song as the other pic, but he went to the piano and sang it for us in Spanish and Russian while giving us stories about how the different countries worshipped.  In Brazil, they were dancing in the aisles a la The Blues Brothers.  LOL  In Russia, they were pretty stoic.    It was a funny story.  Guess you had to be there.

I was so jealous of the guy two rows in front of us, because he was able to get a full body shot of Chris.    I was tempted to hand him my phone.  LOL  Take pictures for me!  Hahah

This is the best I could get – but at least you can tell how close we were in this one.

Chris sang most of his songs from his new album, Hello Love, but he did a few favorites.  Everyone wanted him to sing Indescribable, and I think he was planning on doing that one for the encore.  BUT, he didn’t do an encore.  **sniffle**

I know, people.  I KNOW.  No encore?  That’s like…  not leaving a tip for your server.  The crowd was into it.  The crowd wanted it.  Chris left stage and the lights stayed dim for about a minute before the house lights came on.  You could hear the crowd give a collective, “Oh!” in a bummer way.  It was weird.  DH noticed it was straight-up 10pm when they turned the lights on.  They’d made mention of Day Light Savings and how a lot of the people in the audience had to go to church the next morning, so maybe that had something to do with not having the concert continue.  Or maybe they were just tired.

But that was very disappointing. 

I’ve only been to one other concert where they didn’t do an encore, and that was Blink 182, and that was only because they gave a temper tantrum because the crowd wasn’t singing their songs.  LOL  They left the stage with some profanities.  Great way to lose some fans, there.  While Chris didn’t leave the stage cursing the crowd, it still stung a bit.

WE ALL WANTED TO HEAR INDESCRIBABLE!!!  Darn it, Chris, if I ever meet you, I’m gonna hug you – then smack you.  LOL

The kids had a great time, however, even though they got a bit bored towards the end.  They couldn’t see over the crowd well, so they were stuck watching the monitors.  I had a great time as well and I think I made eye contact!  Woohoo!  Heheh

Anyhow, just wanted to share my experiences.  If you go to Chris Tomlin on this tour, be sure to shout out not to jip you on the encore. 

~~Becka