We got to watch this sweet girl this week

She is starting to say a lot of new words including my name, emmy. I'm kind of 

stoked about that.

MY CAR LEAKS COOLANT, SO EVERY NOW AND THEN I GET TO ACT LIKE A BOSS.

My Jeep and I have gone through a lot since we first met each other.... and it has a problem. It likes to leak coolant. 

When I got my car, I had no clue exactly what coolant was or what it does until I was driving on the interstate, on my way to school last year. Think blue skies, warm, and no clouds. Suddenly I noticed little drops of something showing up on my windshield (I think rain, so I started looking for clouds. nope, no clouds)... it got worse and I could not see anything. I decided to used my windshield wipers. Guess what? It smeared. Now I really couldn't see a thing... I then had just a little corner of my windshield to see out of. I got off the next exit. By the time I called dad, my car was smoking like crazy and making sizzling noises... and I was on the side of the road. The entire time I kept thinking, "My car hates me!" I was also thanking the Lord for keeping me safe but also asking Him why He gave me such a car.
                                                                                                                                                                      
      To make a long story short, dad drops my car off at a local shop, he takes me to school (taking time off work so I wouldn't miss my test; he's the best!), and we find out my radiator hose had a hole in it. As you probably guessed, all that smeared whatever on my windshield was radiator fluid. (By this time, mom was ready to just give my car away.) After it was fixed, we started paying a littler more attention to the temperature gauge and noticed it was overheating randomly, so we started checking the coolant level.

     It's been a little over a year since then. I actually love my car even with its quirks and problems. The Lord gave me the exact car I wanted, and I am so grateful! Today, I needed to check the radiator fluid level. Pop the hood. It needs more. Unscrew the lid. Add some extra coolant. I feel like a boss.  May be a little bit like Rosie the Riveter.... 

MEET HARLIE

Give me some bread. please?

 

I am a huge bread-eating fanatic! I could get fat on the stuff. The cold weather we've had for the past few weeks has inspired me to start making it regularly again; I love making it without the bread machine (we haven't been on good terms lately anyways). There's something about making it the 'old fashioned' way. So, without further adieu, here is the simplest bread recipe ever:

3 cups flour
3 tbs oil
3 tbs sugar or honey
3 tbs gluten (optional- but it does help make a fluffier bread)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm/hot water (kind of in between that)
2 tsp active dry yeast

Put your yeast in a cup and fill it with 1 cup warm/hot water. Let it sit. In a bowl combined your flour, oil, sugar, gluten, and salt. Add your yeast water. Mix it until it forms a ball of dough. It should be soft and pliable. Knead it for about a minute or two. Be careful not to over knead it because you'll end up with tough dough, which will cause your bread not rise as well. Place your dough in a slightly greased bowl and cover with a towel. This will keep the heat in. (I like to cheat; I stick my bowl in the oven after I've slightly warmed it. It's also a safer place for it at my house). Let it rise until it is double its original size. Knead it slightly, and place in 2 greased bread pans. Let it rise until double (the same way you did it the first time). Bake between 275-300F until the top of your loafs are golden.
Note: based on your altitude, you might need to add some extra flour. This chart should help.
If your bread doesn't come out right the first time, keep practicing! 

P.S. If you have a favorite bread recipe you'd like to share, I'd love to try it!