About

There’s my family, the most important people in the world to me. My flat-out amazing hubby and I have three sons and a daughter to love on every day and try to shepherd through this ever-changing world.

I am a Jesus-follower and Jesus-adorer. Read: this does not make me perfect nor judgmental. I am learning just as the next person is, but I’m so grateful to have such a loving, powerful, gracious Teacher who is always near. I cannot sing enough songs about Him, I cannot speak enough words to describe His awesome majesty, I cannot dance enough miles to show how elated I am that He sent His Son to take my place.

I hope this blog will help someone, anyone, to make it through the day a bit easier. I love learning new and better ways to do things, hacking life into what we think it should be. I honestly think every one of us is just searching for a little slice of heaven down here. The Internet, warts and all, has really helped me to adjust to life as an adult, wife, and parent… I’ve learned new ways to cook, communicate, save a little money here and there, and even decorate my house decently. Heh, that last one is pretty hard to believe, but it’s true.

I promise to keep it real. My kitchen seems to always be in a state of chaos. Under the table usually needs a good sweep AND mop. And once that happens, fifteen minutes later it needs it again. My kids can sometimes be whiny, and I myself have been known to whine a time or two. Shocking, I know. But don’t fall into the deception that our lives are perfect. We are blessed, and happy, but never perfect. Only One Person has ever qualified, so let’s breathe a collective sigh of relief. Keep it real here with me.

Recently, I have begun the long and arduous journey towards a “real food” kitchen, progressing from a grocery cart full of pre-packaged convenience foods to meals that are totally homemade. That means I love things like bacon fat and tallow and coconut oil, grinding my own wheat and fermenting anything living.

Let me be clear on this: I know how intimidating this sounds. Or maybe snobby is the word. I still have a long way to go. We “real foodies” are all in different stages of this adventure (yes, it is, really!), and I firmly believe that no kitchen is 100% perfect. There will always be some plastic somewhere, some store bought mayo and ketchup, but I will never judge you for cooking the way you do. I ask the same from you! Let’s learn together, and, as the book of Proverbs says, let iron sharpen iron. The vast majority of recipes and techniques I share here will be real food or close to it, and there are always so many variations you can make to call it *yours*. You write them down, and then you start a blog too, so I can learn from you!

I’m totally ready. Let’s do this.

peace, love, joy, and bacon fat,

dandy