Culture Crazy - DIY Sour Cream

This week, I started fermenting foods, and I haven't stopped.  I never realized just how good sour things could be until I came across using bacteria for my personal gain.  Just by putting certain cultures in dairy products for certain amounts of time leads to pretty awesome conclusions that can heal your gut and make you feel even better!  One you probably eat regularly is sour cream!  And here's how simple it is to make.

You take 1 cup of cream and two tablespoons of buttermilk and mix them in a glass bowl.  You can also use kefir or yogurt instead of buttermilk to culture the cream, though I have no idea what the difference in which culture you use would be.  When I find out, I'll let you know.

Then you let it sit on the counter for 12-18 hours.  Next time, I think I'll let it sit about 24 simply because I like it more sour than what 18 hours did.  Once that time has passed, you put it in the fridge.  Once it cools, its ready to use/eat.

Easy, right?

Conquering the Lazy Bug

Recently, I read an amazing post by an awesome goal oriented blogger that talked about lazy bugs.  She compared them to lice and honestly, she is totally and completely right.  Just like lice, lazy bugs are almost impossible unless you take the right steps.  Here's where I step in and tell you how I am going to find the cure.

"Mom!  Let's play the Wii!" Says Aria every chance she gets.

I've been doing many things all day.  I've worked and wrote then worked out and wrote more.  After that I cleaned, and crafted and spent time with the kids playing legos.  Everything stayed picked up and the house kept its order.  I cooked dinner, and did what cleaning up I could handle while cooking.  Once that was done, everyone helped set the table and we all sat down to eat...  The lazy bugs though, they sat in the dark depths under the table, snickering and chuckling at the thought of their brilliant plan.  The entire day, they patiently waited until that crucial moment in my day when the family sits down to eat.  Suddenly, as I take my last bite of bbq crockpot meatball, the entire colony of lazy bugs jumps up and bite down as hard as they could on me.  These things bit so hard that metaphorical blood began dripping off my chair.  There I sat wanting to do nothing all of a sudden.  I couldn't believe that with just one activity, my entire motivation drained.  

You see, every night it seems the lazy bugs bite in some form or another.  Tonight, it was sheer exhaustion from the day.  Last night, the kids wanted to play the Wii, and who can resist that?  Sometimes, the husband wants to watch a movie with me, others I just want to take a bath.  The problem?  My routine crashes when I don't clean up the dishes after dinner and give the kids their baths.  I like to also get their rooms clean, but alas, that doesn't seem to happen either.  When none of these things happen because of that lazy bug, it spreads.  Soon, the next morning comes and I don't even want to get out of bed, let alone make breakfast, workout, or keep the house in order.  And those legos?  Forget the effort, there's already a huge mess!

My point in all this is that I mustn't let the those pesky bugs ruin my routine, evening, and effort just because they found me vulnerable.  The cure, my friends, is to keep going and do even if you reallllly don't want to.  Sure, the first week or so of work sucks and you're exhausted.  You don't want to move, let alone finish those dishes, but I tell you now, do it because the benefits will be reaped.  The reward is always greater than the work in this case, and after the initial umph, life is much easier and you'll find more time to do those things you never thought you'd have time for.

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Projects I want to finish

The top ten tuesday blog carnival is hosted over at Many Little Blessings.   My friend over at Momma in Progress introduced me to this awesome weekly linkup, and I greatly enjoy participating when I can.  Go check it out here and perhaps participate yourself.  Afterall, top ten lists can be quite exciting.

1. My quiet books.  Here's where they stand right now.  I even had to scale them down from the original size so they'd fit in the kids' travel backpacks.  I also used paper for most of the remakes.  Several posts coming about these, as I'm actually almost done!  Almost.

2.  Crocheted baby legs.  Ok, I admit I haven't actually started these yet, BUT I fully intend to.  Maybe.

3.  Slightly waterproofed underwear.  I may or may not make more of these, but I was definitely aiming for this pinterest post except in boy styles (which is completed pin number 4! this year.  Yeah, I'm slacking.)

4. These (a similar style anyway) simple napkins which I've turned into "paper" towels too!  (Pins number 5 and 6 right there.)

5.  Wipes/kleenex/bath rags of sorts.  (pin 7) These are simple and easy, I just haven't had the time to sit down at the sewing machine to finish them.  I probably should soon though.

6.  Clean my basement.  It still has the eventful mess created on thanksgiving down there..  Don't worry, no food.  :D

7. Fermented soda!  I have a "cream soda" version actually brewing on the counter and has a whole post in the works on it.  I just want to make sure it turns out first. Not gonna count this pin until my post is complete!

8. My nursing pads.  I've had these cut out since, oh, probably July!  Just haven't taken the time to finish them since I obtained a sewing machine in November.  (pin 8!)  4 layers of flannel and one of either fleece or PUL.  Haven't picked a favorite back fabric yet.

9.  Catch up on some posts that I just haven't finished yet.  Look, a sneak peek into the future!  I have a post in the works about what I use my vitamix for, the rest of the catch up posts, annoying things about moving, several fermented things, and internet finds.

10.  To find pictures for this post!  They're on the desktop where I am currently brainwashing my children with movies so that I can write this.  Perhaps they're here by the time you read, perhaps they're not.  (Yay, I've finished this one!)