Saturday, October 25, 2008

Cooking, Exercising, and Sale

Well, it looks like the cooler fall weather has brought on a new passion for me. All of a sudden, I want to bake bread and cook fabulous casseroles. So in light of this, I purchased two new cookbooks. The first is Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I have been using my breadmaker to make bread from scratch, and our family of five eats a 2-lb. loaf in about 2 days. This book is sort of an extension of that for me, making the dough and refrigerating it to bake later. A friend of mine has been blogging about her experiences with this book, if you'd like more information.

The other book is The Best Casserole Book Ever. I'm trying to get back to the all-in-one-dish, nutritious but cheap meals. Everyone is feeling the effects of the economy lately, and I am no exception, so I am trying to get the most out of my dollar. Not to mention how easy it is to throw a casserole together.

I have also decided, after all my life of hating it, that I like to jog. I am not a hardcore runner, I have just started, and it is because I'm looking to improve my fitness level. I have been a brisk walker for years, but my 2 year old egged me on from the stroller the other day. She kept telling me, "Faster, Mommy, faster!" as I pushed her through the colorful leaves on the sidewalks. So what do you know, I jogged, and it was fun. I was out of breath afterwards, of course, but not unbearably so, and it felt good.

Last on the agenda today, I have had slow (read "no") sales on my Etsy shop as of late. I was recently asked by a previous buyer to custom make a sweater, and when I agreed, she never got back to me. It has been about two weeks and I sort of gave up on that one. But if anyone is looking for gifts or stuff to get ready for the fall and winter seasons, take a look at these.