Ooey- Gooey Homemade Mac & Cheese

What a pretty, snowy weekend we're having here. Travis and I have been lazy all day today. We ran a few errands in town, played on the Wii, and laid on the couch reading and drinking hot tea. Is there a better way to spend a snowy Saturday?

We ran to the farm & ranch store in town, to budget how much new stuff we will need when we buy chickens. Only around another month until it is time to go pick up the little peepers! We are going get going on the coop pretty soon. We already have the wood, chicken wire and the plan so now we just have to find some motivation.

In our contiunal quest to avoid spending money at the grocery store, last night I made home-made Mac and Cheese. Kind of made up the recipe, here it is:

4 cups cooked pasta
1 tsp butter
1/4 c milk or 1/2&1/2
1/4 c cottage cheese
2 TBSP sour cream
4 1/2 c Montery Jack Cheese (honestly, I think it would be better w/Sharp Chedder but I didn't have any)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 slice American cheese

Stir togeather over med heat until warm and and super cheesy. Prepare to feel five years old again & enjoy!

Pilates

Can I shout out to the Internet how much I love Pilates!!!!! I feel so loose, stretched and NON-achy from head to toe. Amazing.

Control

Last year I read a couple articles here and here. Now, if you do a little research it is easy to find lots of people saying this is not a great idea, that the study is misleading, etc, etc. However (Alert - TMI - Alert)BC makes me insane and nobody really cares for condoms, do they? We're married, happy together and want to have kids. If something happened, the timing wouldn't be perfect but we would be happy. BUT what really surprised me was a recent conversation with some college friends. None of them are in long term or serious relationships, they get all twitchy talking about marriage, kids, etc. And not a single one of them are using any kind of birth control other then pulling out. These are all educated, intelligent women - so why aren't they doing what every health class and public service announcement advocates?

Some are like me, they don't like condoms or the Pill. Others are more hippy dippy and don't like taking synthetic hormones. Although I am making the same choice they are, it seems so easy to judge. Many are still in school, or working part time, low paying jobs. They don't want kids for 5-10 years yet are doing something that seems so risky - maybe even irresponsible?

Bottom line - I worry about them, a little because I think they are courting an unwanted pregnancy, but mostly because they are eschewing even the attempt to prevent STDs.

On a less controversial note, here is my leaning tower of German Chocolate Cake that I made this weeked. Yum.

I'm Saving Up . . .

I think one of the hardest parts about the economy & Travis not working as much as usual is that we had planned on trying to have a baby this winter. I guess maybe it wasn't meant to be right now . . . First I had a health thing and now this. But it is so hard - I could practically see little blue eyes & we had even picked out names, figured out where to put the crib in our tiny home. But now our savings are being used to just get by so we have to put off our plans. I miss somebody who has never even been conceived.

On a positive note my cake turned out pretty good. German Chocolate isn't my favorite but my father in law loved it.

Last Hurrah

Well, today was the last hurrah when it comes to fancy recipes that use lots of ingredients. I made Trisha Yearwoods' German Chocolate cake for my father in law's birthday. Apparently it is one of Garth Brook's favorites and tell you what - I can see why! But oh so bad for you. Usually I try to modify recipes to make the healthier but never the first time I make them. Here where I found the recipe: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=6772149