Taylor's Autumn Pumpkin-Banana Bread

       

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
2 large eggs
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 medium)
1 small can (13 oz) pumpkin
splash of orange juice (about 4 Tbsp.)
splash of cranberry juice (about 4 Tbsp.)
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla

Stir sugar and butter until well mixed.  Add eggs and mix again.  Add bananas, mash well.  Add pumpkin, milk and vanilla, mix with a spoon.  You may use a hand mixer to get rid of any banana lumps, if you prefer.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tps. baking powder or 1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
(1 cup chopped nuts, if desired)

Add all the dry ingredients, stir well with a spoon.  Stir in nuts at the end.  Spray or butter baking pan, divide batter evenly between two pans.

This recipe makes 2 loaves, or 1 loaf and 12 muffins.

Bake at 350 degrees- 1 hour 15 mins for loaf, 22-25 mins for muffins

Enjoy!  -Taylor

(Original recipe lightly based on Banana Bread- Betty Crocker, New Edition.  7 ingredients added or altered from Betty’s version.)

Happy Friday, Blogging About Blogging

Happy Friday out there!  I'm so thankful for this upcoming weekend.  It's been a long week here, my husband had to work overtime a couple of days.  About 10 minutes ago, Kellen requested Winnie the Pooh, and I said "Great!" and set it up.  He's sitting on his doggie rug from Grandma, babygirl is snoozing, and I'm sitting on the couch with coffee, writing to you.  So hello from me, Kellen, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, the whole gang.  For Christmas last year, my sister-in-law's family gifted him a Tigger stuffed animal, saying "We thought, is Kellen more a Winnie or a Tigger?"  Oh, he's definitely a Tigger; practically bounces off the walls sometimes!

Last night I finished the "Mondays Always Start Fresh" series.  I really enjoyed writing it, but mid-work I felt like it was getting way too long.  And I did a LOT of editing from the length it started!  Half way through, I wondered if I should just write a short book about this topic sometime.  But nevertheless, I really felt obligated to finish.

I started blogging in the end of September, but realized that my own posting started to go in a direction I don't want to go.  Too long, "article-type" writing.  Okay for sometimes, but not my goal with blogging.  I don't want to write articles that are too long to read!  As a busy mom, sometimes I'm catching just a quick break to check out my favorite blogs.  I'm looking for a short bit of encouragement or words for the day.  My guess is that if you're a busy young mom or working woman, you're looking for the same thing.

So watch for some new shorter posts, and a couple of my favorite recipes, coming soon.

I hope you have a fun, restful weekend.

-Taylor

Mondays Always Start Fresh- Part 3

Settings Goals

I started writing about fresh starts because of some of the things I've been experiencing in my own home, as life has gotten even busier with the birth of my daughter in May.  I've had to think of ways to "make it work" and plan out my time better.  Most of my time management struggle has been with housekeeping, so that's what I'm going to share.  But I think these principles can be applied to any area of discipline or relationship in our lives.

I've learned that people have different personalities, strengths and weakness, when it comes to housekeeping, as well as in life outside the home.  I'm one of those people who- if I don't keep "on top" of things- my house can go to shambles in a second!  I've been trying for the past couple years to build better habits, especially in the midst of caring for my growing family.  Last week my husband paid me the biggest compliment, saying that he can tell how especially hard I've been working these last several months in our home.  He said he can see changes in our home and in me.  It was so encouraging!

Each one of us is unique.  We don't need to do things exactly the same way.  But here are some general thoughts and things I've learned about Setting Goals, that I'd love to share with you:


1.  Decide what YOUR biggest "Priorities" are, and try to accomplish them every day.  That's a great place to start, and you can build upon it. 

For me, it's housekeeping- the dishes and having the entire main living area generally picked up the end of the night, including all toys.


2.  Keep a daily schedule.  It can be detailed or a general guideline.

I'm one of those "creative types," and awhile back I was almost afraid of making a daily schedule.  I thought, "That's sooo boring, and it's going to drive me crazy doing the same thing every day!"  Well, I've found that with a 2 year old, following a basic schedule for our day has not only helped my sanity, but it's helped to give my son some structure.  It's also helped me to get more housework done during the day.  I do schedule in time to get out of the house with the kids at least two or three times during the week, that's so important.


3.  If your house all of a sudden "explodes," just focus on getting caught up.  Don't worry about the extra stuff, like deep cleaning projects.  Don't spread yourself too thin, just do the dishes and pick up the house.

This happened to me a couple weekends ago.  We had illness, overall exhaustion and total sleep deprivation from babies.  So my husband and I ended up just hanging out, resting and watching movies.  It was the weekend, right?!  Well, on Monday morning I realized that my house had become a disaster zone!  I focused on just picking up the house and getting caught up that day.  Actually it might have taken even a day and a half, but best decision ever.


The Best Advice in the World...about Setting Goals

I heard a story about a very successful businessman who claims, "Every day I come in and set three goals that I want to accomplish.  Just three."  At first I thought that was crazy, but I've since learned what a fabulous thought that is.  I love to write to-do lists, so I used to sit down and write a dozen things down, then burn out and not understand why I didn't finish it.  Maybe you already have a daily chore list, or maybe you are new to these kind of goals.  I'm still learning myself.  Start with a few attainable goals, things that you know you can get done.  It that becomes way too simple, you can always add from there.

Don't spend extra energy dwelling on what was left behind.  I don't believe God wants us to spend time dwelling on our past and living with guilt about shortcomings.  Spend a good amount of time reflecting on how you are doing things.  See areas you need to grow.  Between you and the Lord, tell him about the areas in which you want to improve.  Then move forward, with His help.

Set your goals, and start again!

-Taylor

Mondays Always Start Fresh- Part 2

Using Reflection to Set Goals

I believe it's really important to know how to use the tool of Reflection to improve and set new goals.  You may already know I taught public school music and currently teach private music lessons.  Aside from teaching music specifically, I also have a passion for understanding pedagogy and instructional strategies.  These terms are similar and somewhat interchangeable, meaning "How to teach a particular subject?" and "What are the best ways or strategies to teach someone?"  I hope you'll forgive me if time-to-time I put on my "teacher hat" and get a little nerdy with you.  There are some great parallels we can draw to learn about ourselves as women and mothers.

When I was a classroom teacher, we did a book study and workshop on this strategy of Reflection (Classroom Instruction that Works, Marzano).  Reflection is the act of reflecting upon, thinking or considering something.  As I practiced this myself, I learned that teachers need to use reflection often to improve and be effective.

There are times when I found myself immediately forced to reflect about a particular situation.  How did that lesson go so poorly?  Why was that student so happy/sad/engaged/disinterested?  But usually I didn't have time to stop and think in the middle of my day, since I taught up to 5 classes in a row.  So the end of the day was usually the best time to sit, reflect, and begin preparing for the following day.  Deep breath and exhale.  The last bell has rung, students have left for the day and my room was quiet.  I LOVED my students, but teaching takes a lot of energy, and by the end of the day I was often exhausted.  Any parallels?

So, now it's the end of the day.  It's time to slow down and think, sometimes pen in hand.  (I've figured out that I'm a list-maker- It helps me to plan and remember things.)  So I would ask myself questions like, How did this particular lesson go?  Did my students understand what I was trying to convey?  What was the most difficult part for them?  What could I have done better?  I still do this constantly as a private music teacher.  My answers to these questions help me plan my next lesson or tweak a current lesson to make it more understandable.

I think sometimes it's good to schedule a specific time in advance to reflect, like Friday at the end of the week.  Those are times to ask the Big Picture questions.  How did this week go?  What are one or two things that I can focus on doing better next week?

I'm sure by now you're thinking, "Enough about your teaching examples, Taylor.  How in the world does this apply to my life as a woman, wife or mother?"

Stop for a moment and think with me how you can use Reflection in your life.

Reflection and evaluation is something we already do often, probably dozens of times each day.  Perhaps you decide to change something in your schedule today, based on yesterday.  Maybe you just snipped at your child impatiently and need to walk to the kitchen, take a deep breath, and think of how to start again.  Been there, not proud.  But I don't think the best reflection is going to be possible in the middle of the day, unless it's naptime.  Thank God for Nap Time!  Normally there are just too many distractions!  You will probably need to wait until evening when the kids are asleep.  Slow down, make yourself a cup of tea.  Grab your snuggly blanket.  Bring your journal, weekly planner, or family calendar.  Better yet, also bring your bible and specifically connect that time with your prayer life, asking God to help you daily.  Make a focused effort to slow down and think about your life.

Each one of us is different, beautiful and unique.  That's why I'm trying to not put too many labels or specific examples in this.  It's your life, and you will know best what things you need to consider.

But if you need some ideas, let me share some general questions to get you started:

• How did I treat my husband this week?  Was I kind, patient, encouraging?

• How was my interaction with my children this week?  With friends, extended family, or co-workers?

• Did I read my bible and spend enough time with the Lord?

• How was my housekeeping this week?  What is one area that I'd like to focus on improving next week?

I'm excited for you, and hope you are inspired and encouraged.

-Taylor

Watch for Part 3- "Setting Goals"

Mondays Always Start Fresh- Part 1

It’s Monday morning here.  If your life is anything like mine, sometimes the weekends end up more busy than restful, and this was one of those weekends.  It's often caused by a combination of family activities, church, my part-time Sat work, and wanting to spend time with my husband, since he's home all weekend.  This week my Mom was also visiting us from the Seattle area, and we had a great time together with the kiddos.

So while I have the memories of a great weekend, I got behind on my daily tasks.  I usually have a personal goal of finishing the dishes every night before I go to bed, but I failed at that yesterday, so I’m still trying to wrap up last night’s dishes. Yucky.

I've figured out that Monday can really set the tone for the entire week, either positively or negatively.  So how do we start out the week right?

This is the first of a series I'm going to call "Mondays always start fresh," based on a quote from one of my favorite literary characters, Anne Shirley, from Anne of Green Gables.  Anne says, "Tomorrow's always fresh, with no mistakes in it."  Hearing that as a young girl, I always thought those words were sweet and whimsical.  But now I understand how true it is.

I think it's so refreshing that we can always start over.  That encourages me, renews me.  It matters very little how many dishes were left in the sink last week.  Any mistakes we might have made as women, wives or mothers have already been made.  Last week is finished, and we no longer have any control over that outcome.  But we can make choices for our next week to come. 

Be encouraged: know that you can start fresh this week! 

Watch for Part 2- “Using Reflection to Set Goals”


-Taylor