Misdirected Nesting

Ben and I had rough week last week. His epilepsy started acting up and it took about 3 days to get under control and about another 3 of resting to recover. I think between it and the rain he worked maybe one day. We don't have to worry about him overworking himself, his body simply will not allow it. He's been stressing about his job too which is the major factor in losing control of his seizures. But, he's all better now and his business is starting to pick up which means he will have something to fall back on once the yard work slows down. Hopefully we can keep this under control.

I, on the other hand, have been hording food. I think it's my nesting instinct kicking in in an unusual way. Last Friday morning (the 14Th) I got up and pulled all the veggies out of my fridge that were about to go bad and cleaned and peeled the last of the 10lbs of potatoes, cooked and then canned them (apperantly we were making vodka and didnt realize it). I would have frozen them but with the peak of hurricane season very very near and the likely hood of us losing power for numerous days just doesn't make freezing very economical. Now, I have been freezing meat. I always take advantage of Winn-Dixie's buy one get one free deals and as of late, due to freezing leftovers, I have started running out of room.

Yep. I know that after the baby's born I'm not going to want to hover over the stove for an hour and try to make something to eat. I've also read that its a good idea to start freezing meals ahead of time. You can just heat them up and eat and not have to worry about splitting your attention between cooking and the baby(much). Since this has started, the freezer has been getting a little crowded - I mean watch your toes when opening the door crowded. Luckily the old deep freeze that we put in the shed about a year ago still works and isn't stinky from post hurricane Gustav defrosting. I've started putting my BOGO extras and frozen left overs in it and in the event of a hurricane, it will keep stuff frozen for about 4 days. I don't think that we're going to get hit by any hurricanes this year anyway. Maybe I'm in some kind of hormone induced denial or maybe its gut instinct. Whatever it is, I think we're in the clear, aside from a tropical storm or two.

anyway, aside from the food hording, I've been drawn towards hording other things. I went onto amazon.com and seriously contemplated buying 6 containers of All Free and Clear laundry detergent for $50. I know that I would use it and I know that I would save at least $20 since they run about $12 each at the store, but where would I put it. Then I started thinking about putting shelves in the laundry room, which I could really use. But then I pictured those shelves loaded down with laundry detergent and numerous tubes of toothpaste and toilet paper and numerous other items bought in bulk and realized that as much money as I would be saving, i would be overdoing it a bit. Besides, Ben and I would be overwhelmed with extra stuff and we're only having 1 child. Maybe by kid number 3 I will actually be able to justify shopping in bulk.

In addition to the canning and hording, I started a sourdough bread starter. I read an article on baking your own bread and immediately my head was filled with visions of fresh baked bread being pulled from my oven. I wanted to start right away but don't have any yeast so I opted for the sourdough starter. Sure it takes longer, but I also worked this weekend and wouldn't have been able to fool with it anyway. I'm on day 6 now and its smelling pretty fermented. If it all works out then pretty soon i will be adding loaves of fresh baked sourdough to my deep freezer.

I think about cleaning. I want to clean. But I feel compelled to store food like a damn chipmunk facing potential starvation. It nearly consumes me. Maybe once we have the dresser finished, the room ready and have the shower and I'm able to gain more perspective and direction and I'll be able to nest in a more "normal" way.