easiest biscuits EVER

i've searched and searched for an easy biscuit recipe, because there are two things i hate: biscuits from the can, and making biscuits. sure, store-bought, read-to-bake biscuits are ohsodelicious, but they are so bad, and with river eating more and more solids [and asking for more solids... how can i resist when he comes up to me and says "PAPAPAPAPA!" and signs "more" ?] i wanted to be able to offer something healthy. but like i said, i hate making biscuits. all the cutting of the butter and trying to combine super-dry ingredients and keeping things cold so they turn out light and fluffy is not fun. 


so i finally found the perfect recipe. five simple ingredients. no cutting in the butter. no keeping things chilled. no rolling of the dough and cutting perfect shapes and then trying to get the shapes neatly off the counter and onto the baking sheet, while keeping the shape [impossible. i am the worst cookie-cutter ever.] these are great with either honey or jam, sausage or gravy. so here it is. no frills, no special instructions, because i don't feel like saying "sift" instead of mix. ;)


easy drop biscuits
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/4 cup softened butter


mix dry ingredients. add wet ingredients. plop 'em on the sheet. bake for 12 minutes at 450 degrees. consume.

disclaimer: i never said they were pretty.

we hiked

thoughts, and farmer's market

today is a difficult day for me, for some reason. now that john has submitted his resume, there is nothing more i can do but pray. it's so hard to just sit and wait. wait for how long? every time i think about it i get this whirlwind of butterflies in my stomach. i feel like calling the church and saying, "did you see his resume?! it looks nice huh... don't you wanna hire him? yeah?! don't you want to help us move to pennsylvania so i can be close to my mommy [insert tears] and have lunch with my little sisters and play outside with my son in the leaves [because it's almost autumn, it's almost autumn. but that pretty much means nothing in san antonio!] and dress cozy for winter and go for bike rides in the park and find a small, sweet house to settle my little family in and buy an ikea table? don't you?" 

but, that probably wouldn't be very productive or helpful. so instead, i'm editing endless photos of our time with my family in new york, and every time i think about, a little prayer for pennsylvania slips through my lips and i carry on, trying not to let it get to my emotions. trying. so, here are some more pictures. i think i still have at least two blogs to dedicate to new york photos. 

one afternoon while my sister was in class, josh, john and i, decided to drive around, stopping at whatever caught our eye - a music store, a pet store [yes, we are five years old] and a farmer's market. one thing about farmer's markets up there [this one, anyway]: much, much cheaper than the texas farmer's markets i've been to!

there's just something about locally grown tomatoes. i don't know what it is, but i love slicing a locally grown tomato for my sandwhich. have you ever done that before? you should try.

market pear!

magical market honey sticks! like pixie sticks, but better! i was probably way more excited about this than these guys.

this man said he's been doing this since the fifties. his dad left him his farm. and ten years ago, he could sell his entire harvest in a day, but now, with the economy, that never happens! he had an impressive selection of produce. and i want his shirt.

these strawberries made me think of one of my favorite books as a child, wait for it -- the little mouse, the red ripe strawberry, and the hungry bear. whoo, what a title. the illustrations are perfect. you can practically taste it as the mouse slices a piece and strawberry drips everywhere. okay, just go find the book, i'm telling you.

man, look at these colors! they are gorgeous. real local grapes. yum yum yum. real, as opposed to shipped from thousands of miles away and grown with chemicals. we didn't buy any, but can't you just tell they are delicious? something i learned this past year that i didn't know before: organic fruits and veggies have way more nutrients and flavor than those grown with pesticides and other crap. sometimes, ten times [or more?! i don't know the numbers, i just know it's a lot!] the amount of vitamins and minerals. and the taste is extraordinary. last week, john and i bought some local organic apples, and i swear, they tasted like apple candy. they were so sweet. when we bought "regular" apples this week, you could taste the difference right away. conventionally grown produce is bland compared to the nature's produce that hasn't been messed with. it's how things are supposed to be!

as we were leaving, these guys said, "hey! we don't get any pictures over here?" everyone assumes when someone is taking pictures at an event with an SLR camera, they are working for a newspaper or something. ha, nope, just your every day stay-at-home-mom who writes a blog. ;) but i did end up snapping a photo of their peppers, because they were very colorful peppers.

garden hose

the water was freezing. he didn't care! he drank away and smiled and splashed. afterward we stripped him naked and wrapped him in a towel and had hamburgers from the grill and forgot about his muddy clothes in the backyard. it's all good. ;)

my everyday

playing guitar with daddy


sorting through emotions in new ways

nursing

being extra-cuddly and super-snuggly

reading books

eating books

nursing again

sharing food with the "dah"

getting into, well, everything

dancing

nursing again... again

i am breathing in these moments every day with this little boy my life is written around. his soft, milky skin, his thin, wild wisps of hair, his delicious rolls and crevices. sometimes i just watch him -- like i did when he was two days old, four days old, a week old. those days where i couldn't take my eyes off my fresh, beautiful little bundle. it still happens. i am still enamored by this sweet boy. it gets better everyday.

a cornfield

while in new york, we took a walk to the cornfield.

i've always thought it would be nice 

to get lost in a cornfield. 

now that i've walked through one, 

it would most definitely 

not be nice to get lost in one. 

i didn't expect to feel so overwhelmed and small.

you can barely see the sky. 

there is no clear space, no where to stand 

where you aren't being brushed by plants. 

three rows in, and you can no longer see 

the edge of the field. 

what is in the cornfield 

is completely hidden.

next time i go, i may take a stool to stand on 

every once in a while to make sure the world still exists.

no updates yet, but john will be submitting his resume and a few recordings to the church in pittsburgh tomorrow, so please keep that in your prayers, if you think about it. i would love to move to beautiful northeast america and journey through more cornfields. :)

direction

when i dream about something, i generally do one of two things: i plan, research, and make random lists until it is so close i can taste it, or i fold myself into pessimism because i will never acquire said dream and i would rather just not be disappointed anyway. 


i have had a little dream for the past three years: that is, to move up north east; specifically, to either of the two cities where my families reside. my sites family [my stepdad, mom, two sisters sky and emma, and brother andrew] moved to pennsylvania just before john and i got engaged, which is why i stayed behind in texas. i didn't know it was possible to miss them so much, but i always imagined john and i would have a couple of years to sort of settle, and then move up to be closer to them, without really knowing if that would actually ever happen.

last week, as you may know, we took a trip up to new york to visit my bueno family [my stepmom, sister tori, and brother josh], and whoa, i fell in l o v e. i spent five years of my childhood in rome and continued to visit my family once or twice a year once we moved to texas when i was seven, but i guess i never realized how beautiful upstate new york is. how beautiful, you say? well, if you are familiar with texas hill country -- at least ten times more beautiful than that. i love texas hill country, the fields and the barrels of hay and the gorgeous texas skies. but rome came in the lead with it's long, wind-swept green grass and its yellow and purple flowers that decorate the side of the road like whips of paint and its narnia trees and its rustic red barns and its rain-scented air. yep, rome wins.

one thing that both pittsburgh and rome have in common is this: you can run through an open field without fearing for your life, which is what would happen in texas. almost literally. let me explain.

running through an open field in texas: sharp dry grass, sticker burrs, fire ants, chiggers, spear grass, poisonous spiders, scorpions, rattlesnakes, a stray tick that wants to join in the fun, and possibly a heart attack triggered by the 104° weather/running combo = ER.

running through an open field in northeast america: soft grass, cool, fresh air to breathe in deep, freedom, and okay, maybe a stray tick = dreamy.

i love texas, but there is a season for everything, and i truly believe my season in texas is just about over. i want to live in a place that allows my son to explore nature without a care in the world [even if mainly for my sake than his, because yes, i know a sticker burr and a fire ant aren't going to kill him]. nature is a huge part of my life, and i want so badly for it to be a part of his, and it's just not happening here at this apartment. i want him to experience nature not just at a park, but in the woods and in the fields and in the trees and in the creeks. 

so since before john and i were married i have been sort of dreamily searching here and there for opportunities to move up north, with no luck and not really expecting any. this week, within two days, i found out that there is a woman right outside of pittsburgh who trains doulas [jan s. mallak -- the author, no less, of doula's guide to birthing your way, and the only doula on the DONA website that isn't hours away], a doula service in the city, and the best part -- a church in wexford looking to hire a full-time worship leader position that pays well and is just 13 minutes away from my family's house. john is working on getting some music recorded to send to them with his resume, and meanwhile, i have been searching craigslist for housing, figuring out the distance from the church, to the city, to my parent's house, and to different apartment complexes, looking at the local la leche league, searching for kid's activities in the area, looking for events at the local library, reading up about the local farmer's markets in the area. obviously, i have taken approach #1.

but now, i'm trying to be still. it's hard. ugh, i mean look at this place -- it's beautiful. but i want to envelope this entire situation in prayer, and i don't want my wants to make me blind to what god wants. so no more planning, no more making lists, ha... just prayer. i was praying last night, and i was thinking about what we would do if john didn't get the job, and what we would do even if he did. we don't have the money to move up to pittsburgh. it looks like an impossible thing to tackle. but then, i had this thought: god's plan is already laid out for me. for him, it's not a guessing game. if i want to follow him and my heart is in the right place and i am open to his will, then it will happen. whether that is to stay in san antonio or move to pittsburgh. and either way, am i willing to be content with the situation in which god places me? i want to say yes [i have to get myself there...], because i know he has a plan. and not to say it won't be difficult, but in his plan, he will guide us every step of the way, and he will make possible the things that look impossible. 
...even if that means i have to live in this city for a few more years...


i'm not there yet, but i'll get there. i hope.