Miracle MakeOver Party: Pink Saturday

I'm hosting a giveaway in honor of my new linking party! Read through for details!

I am honored to be participating with over 100 other bloggers to celebrate Colette's Miracle Makeover Party. Guideposts Makeover Reveal Party can be seen at Kelee's blog: The Katillac Shack. Kelee introduced us to Colette and she, along with Guideposts magazine, has inspired this great blogging effort today.

Click here to watch the video of how Colette, a cancer patient in need of some encouragement, received a cheerful update to an otherwise dreary healing room.

Guideposts magazine made this happen and is willing to do so again if we join in the fundraising effort. For every comment submitted in the following manner, $1 will be donated toward another Miracle MakeOver for someone in need. You can help by commenting on the following sites:

You may earn up to $5.00 in donations by leaving comments at these four other partner site links:

www.facebook.com/guideposts

Spiritual Sunday @ BloggerSpirit

Country Wings in Phoenix Blog

Pink Saturday @ How Sweet the Sound

http://www.katillacshack.com/

Now, for my own inspiring story:











Everyone loves to hear a story of the miraculous and it's especially meaningful when it involves a child. Many friends, family and readers have been curious about the circumstances surrounding the birth of our newest son, Liam Bradley. (This story is intense but has a happy ending--still, please feel free to skip it if you feel it might be difficult for you to read).

Liam is our seventh child and was our first home birth. With all my other children, I was medically induced at a hospital with Pitocin---which brought on very painful and strong contractions. I was used to a panicky labor and an excruciatingly painful birth. From the time I went into labor with Liam at 12:30 am to the time he was ready to be born at shortly before 5:00 am, my contractions were mild and the experience was calm---I even got rests of up to 3 or 4 minutes between contractions!! Unbelievable!

It was because of this calm labor that I didn't realize I was ready to deliver him at shortly before 5:00...so I got up to use the restroom. At that time, his cord became prolapsed and my midwife called 911. The next eight minutes or so were frantic! My midwife began instructing me on positions to get into and when to push as she desperately tried to maneuver him into the correct position to be born, while also trying to keep the cord from being pinched. The entire time, I was calling out to God, "please Lord, save my baby!" There were five EMTs in my house within just a couple minutes and they were all trying to decide the best course of action. The EMTs wanted to transport me to the hospital for an emergency c-section but my midwife, knowing that Liam wouldn't make it that long, insisted that I stay put and try to deliver him. (The fact that he was my seventh...and that I'd just had a baby last year worked in my favor here!)

Finally, she got him in the right position and seconds later, he was born! He had a steady heartbeat but was not breathing or moving. I couldn't bring myself to look at him as they performed all of the actions to get him to breathe so I just lightly touched his head and continued to pray. Soon, I heard the sweetest little sigh so I opened my eyes and all I could see was this little pink nose. As the EMTs took him out to the ambulance, my husband whispered to me, "you're going to need to be brave because I'm going with him."

I can't really explain exactly how I felt but I don't think it was the normal reaction! I just felt really peaceful. I told my midwife that I thought we'd done everything possible to save him and that it was in God's hands. I really did feel peaceful and knew that whether Liam survived or not, God had brought him into the world for some reason.

About a half hour later, my midwife took me up to the hospital to see him. He was being given oxygen and was hooked up to several monitors. Everyone reassured me that he was going to make it---which actually made me feel a little wary. Were they all saying this just to keep me calm or was it true? My midwife soon assured me that he really was going to make it.

Long story short, Liam was in an oxygen tent for 12 hours (the doctor said initially that it would be 2 or 3 days). He was taken totally off of oxygen after the 12 hour mark but required it during eating for the next couple of days. He developed jaundice on the second day and was put in a bili light bed for 5 days. On the sixth day he left the bili light bed but was still on monitors for 24 hours. On the seventh day, he got to come to my room (the hospital graciously gave me a room so I could stay there with him)! The morning of the eighth day, we finally came home!

Liam is a healthy and strong little guy who just turned 3.5 months old and began rolling from back to front to back again this week! According to the hospital staff, a prolapsed cord is a very rare thing. In fact, one nurse who'd been there for 20 years said he was only the third baby she'd ever seen who had survived a prolapsed cord and the first to be delivered without a c-section.

I have to say that I really believe my midwife saved his life. She kept a level head and knew exactly what to do to allow both of us a safe and speedy delivery. Several people have asked me if this experience has turned me off from the home birth/midwife experience---thinking that I might have felt safer in a conventional hospital with a conventional doctor. My answer is absolutely not! Even the hospital staff said that Liam would have not made it to the hospital had we been transported and probably would not have made it through an emergency c-section if I would have been laboring at the hospital in the first place. In this instance, it was because of our choice to do the home birth that Liam and I both came out of the experience alive and well!

Today I am grateful for God's protective hand on our little boy and for my midwife, Michelle, and her assistant, Melissa, two well-deserving heroes!

Visit Pink Saturday today for more stories of inspiration!

GIVEAWAY: I'm hosting a giveaway in honor of my new Wednesday linking party. Click HERE for up to 5 chances to win!

What's Your Answer Wednesday: My Favorite Place in Time

This is the second week of our new meme! You can read more entries or find out how to participate and post your own by going here.

Today's question is: "What is your favorite time period(s) in history and why?"

I'm a real history buff so it was difficult for me to narrow it down to just one era. I have favorite things about a lot of different time periods but today I'm going to focus on the Edwardian days.

The Edwardian era was the time in history that lasted from 1900 to just before 1920. Although King Edward VII of the United Kingdom, for whom the era is named, died in 1910, the 8 or 9 years following are often included in the classification, "Edwardian".

This is the time of Anne of Green Gables and the Titanic. Beatrix Potter was writing the Peter Rabbit stories during this time and the Wright Brothers were perfecting their flying machine. These were the days of Einstein, Freud and the military brass band. I especially love the clothing of this period in history. The womens' dresses were so lovely and romantic and their hair was done up soft and wispy. I love the jewelry and jeweled accessories like hair combs, purses and shoes.

What's your favorite time in history? I'd love to hear about it! Link up here or, if you don't have a blog, feel free to tell us about it in the comments!

The Pueblo Storyteller

It's time to play BLUE MONDAY! Please visit Smiling Sally and the gang for more beautiful blues!

I'm hosting a giveaway in honor of my new linking party! Read through for details!

As I was looking around the house trying to find just the right blue to present to you today, I spied my shelf of "stuff from Mom" and decided on the perfect thing!

While souvenir shopping for me in Arizona, my mom found these two Pueblo Storytellers and knew they would be perfect for me! The Pueblo Indians have been making these Storyteller themed items since 1964 when the first figure was made by Helen Cordero. She wanted to represent her memories of her grandfather, Santiago Quintana, and his gift of storytelling. Quintana, as well as members of the Pueblo tribes since ancient times, preserved their life stories and traditions through the art of storytelling.

When it was time for a story, Quintana would say, "Come children, it's time". All the children around would gather in as close as possible to hear the enchanting tale.

Storyteller images can be male or female and can have any number of children or animals gathered around. What started with one granddaughter's creative expression has turned into a passion for over 200 Pueblo artists.When my mom brought home my first Storyteller item, the mat, I had only four children. She picked it out because it reminded her of me with all my kids around. When she picked up the figurine a few years later, I had five. Since both images feature seven children, we joked about wondering who the other two would turn out to be. Now I have seven children---I hope this isn't an indication that this is all I will have!

I hope you are enjoying your Blue Monday!

GIVEAWAY: I'm hosting a giveaway in honor of my new Wednesday linking party. Click HERE for up to 5 chances to win!

Super Easy Freezer Jam: No Canning Supplies Required!

My basil tutorial seemed to be such a hit that I thought I'd come back with a second easy one: freezer jam.

Many people would like to make their own jam but are intimidated by the process of canning and the initial cost investment that it requires. Let me say that canning your own food is very, very simple once you get the hang of it and I'd be glad to write up a tutorial if there is enough interest. However, I want my readers to be able to enjoy their own fresh berry jam without worry so I'd like to present you with a few simple steps to making your own freezer jam with no canning supplies required! This method does not take very long---in fact, I made some the other night and it was done before my bread machine finished it's 58-minute cycle!

Please be aware that this tutorial is for BERRY jam only. There are different processes in canning different jams but this process will work with any kind of berry: strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, etc.

Please also be aware that this tutorial is for FREEZER (or refrigerator) jam only. It is very important that you refrigerate or freeze this jam as soon as it has cooled. This will not be safe in your cupboard or pantry and consumption of it will lead to serious food-borne illness. It is VERY safe and delicious when it's been refrigerated or frozen.

You will begin by thoroughly washing any amount of any berry. If they're freshly picked, you'll want to look them over good for any bugs. My bushes are in a shady part of the yard that stays wet for days after rain so there are a lot of slugs and snails hanging out there. I have to check thoroughly for tiny offspring that like to hang out on my bushes! (Ewww...!!) You will probably have the best results if you have at least 2 cups of berries---but really, you can do this with any amount.

Next, place your berries into a bowl and crush them. You can use a potato masher, a pastry blender, a fork, or your bare hands if you don't mind stains! I found out that my Pampered Chef Mix 'N Chop tool works excellent for this. If you don't want seeds in your berries, you can push them through a mesh strainer sieve...but I just keep them in there. It takes less time and I get more jam that way! Besides, if you take out all the seeds then it's not jam anymore...it's jelly!

After this, you should measure your berries to see how many cups you have. You'll need equal parts berries and sugar. So, if you've got 5 cups of berries then you'll need 5 cups of sugar.










When you have an idea as to how much jam you're going to have, you'll need to round up containers. You can use regular canning jars with lids and rings---they work just fine in the freezer and the ring over the lid forms a tight enough seal for the freezer. Again, please don't leave this jam in your pantry as it will not be sealed tightly and will form deadly bacteria. You can use any container that has an airtight seal for storing your jam in the freezer. I've used Rubbermaid-type and Pyrex glass containers with the plastic lids with great results. If your jam is going right into the refrigerator, you could even just pour it in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerated jam will keep for about a month---if it lasts that long!

Now it's time to cook. Mix the berries and sugar together in a large pot. I use a 16 qt. stock pot; however, not everyone has one of those! You can use any kind of saucepan but you'll want to fill it no more than half way. So, if you've got a lot of jam to make but a small pot, you'll just need to do it in batches. You are going to be boiling your jam for awhile, creating foam and splattering. If you've got your pot too full then you run the risk of boil-overs or burning. Burns from boiling sugar are some of the most painful burns!!

When your pot is about half full (or less) with the jam/sugar ratio, grab something to stir with that will keep your hand up as far as possible from the boiling jam. I have a long-handled wooden spoon that works well in my stock pot. You can use any kind of wooden, bamboo, or nylon tool. Pampered Chef scrapers work good for this. If you're not sure you've got the right tool for this, use whatever you have but wear an oven mitt to protect your hand from splatters. If you don't have an oven mitt, wrap a dish towel around your hand!

Put the pot on to cook over med-high heat. At first, you'll only need to stir until the sugar has dissolved. Let it sit there and cook until it begins to boil. Once it begins to bubble, you'll want to start watching it and stirring every now and then to make sure nothing is sticking. I don't have a problem with sticking but it all depends on the quality of saucepot you're using and how well it's distributing the heat. I stir anyway just to be on the safe side!

Once it's come to a good boil (bubbles across most of the surface) then you'll want to start timing. Don't start timing until this point because your jam will turn out a lot runnier than you'd like. (If for some reason this happens, use it for pancake syrup or ice cream topping! Again---keep it refrigerated!)

If you want your jam fairly runny (falls off the sides of the spoon when you spoon it from cooled jar) then you'll want to boil about 10 minutes. If you like it firm then boil for about 20 minutes. The longer you boil it, the firmer it will become after cooling. Important: keep in mind that the jam firms up A LOT during cooling. Do not expect to boil your jam until it reaches it's desired firmness because it will probably crystallize on you once it's cooled and it will not be edible! (Well, it might make some super sweet hard candy? Might have to try that after all...!!!)

Once you've boiled it your desired amount of time, you can either pour or scoop it into your containers. I like to use a soup ladle to ladle it out into the containers and then scrape the rest out with a spatula. You'll want to do this right away as it doesn't take very long to start becoming firm. Make sure and leave a couple inches of room at the top of the container as the jam might expand during freezing and you don't want to burst the container or the seal. If your pan is small and you're doing it in batches, it's fine to ladle the next batch on top of what you've already got in the containers.

You should let the jam cool uncovered in it's container until the container feels just slightly warm to the touch. Then you can mark it, cover it and place it either in the refrigerator or freezer. I like to mark my jam with the kind of jam it is, as well as the date I made it. It is very important that you write some sort of note on the container that it should remain refrigerated if you think you might forget or if it's possible that someone else might use it. I wrote "unsealed" on mine---that way I know that I've not actually "canned" it in a pressure or hot water bath so it's not safe without refrigeration.

I hope this tutorial has proved to be helpful and informative. I would be more than happy to answer any questions or provide further tips to my readers. You can contact me on my profile page.

Enjoy!

GIVEAWAY: I'm hosting a giveaway in honor of my new Wednesday linking party. Click HERE for up to 5 chances to win!

Linking up today with:

Vintage Hats...Score! Vintage Thingie Thursday

I'm hosting a giveaway in honor of my new linking party! Read through for details!

Today is Vintage Thingie Thursday at Coloradolady's blog. Take some time to visit some of the other participants for a look at some great vintage finds! Maybe you'd even consider playing on your blog...it's amazing what you've got around your house that is vintage! Besides, vintage is relative...my Annie doll from 1984 is vintage to me---but many participants feel like 1984 was just last week! Enjoy!












A couple of months ago, I was out shopping yard sales when I came across this box of vintage hats. I was more interested in the hat box than the hats but I figured my girls would have fun playing dress up and I could use the neat box to store pictures or something! I asked what she wanted for it and she asked if $5 for the whole thing was too high. Ha Ha Ha Ha...um..no. So I had myself some hats!

Lynzie, 10, has already enjoyed wearing the white flowered spring bonnet to church on several occasions. It's her favorite church hat! I asked her to model them all for me...well, all except the one I gave to Selah, 4.

Here's Lynzie's favorite. This spring bonnet was made by a fellow Washingtonian...I don't know how long ago. The tag inside says, "Hats by Lee Helmick" and gives an address in Westport, Washington. It is made out of some kind of plastic straw---feels like grocery store bags. There are multi-colored flowers all around it and it has a white tie for under the neck. She looks adorable in it!
















Next up is the Scarlet O'Hara hat. I don't think this one is very old....maybe 20 years but I doubt it. It's got a VERY large brim and a cream colored ribbon.











This next creation is sort of turban-ish. It's a plastic-coated wire frame with tulle wrapped all around it. A big yellow flower is attached to the front (I'm assuming we've got this on right?) Lynzie's not sure but thinks it might be a little gaudy for her tastes. She's keeping it anyway though, just in case!

The fourth hat is my favorite but my hair is too thick for it to look right. Lynzie, whose hair is thicker but head is smaller, wears it just right.

The inside of this one says "Doeskin Felt, 100% wool, Geo. W. Bollmans & Co., Inc., Made in U.S.A." I love how it ties under her neck and just looks so...I don't know...sorta like Miss Grace in the movie Annie.








Lynzie's last hat sorta brings out her artsy side. This is a modern reproduction of a 1920s-30s look. It's a black, crushed velvet hat that she likes to wear sorta sideways.

Now we get to my favorite part, the box! I think this is just the cutest thing. The bottom of the box is black and the sides of the top half are black and white stripes. Here is the picture on the top of the box.











I'm assuming it's just a generic sort of box that any hat-seller would use but I think it's just adorable.




Lastly, we've got Selah modeling her adorable little hat. This one was so small that she's the only one of us three









who could wear it. I think it's a pretty cute little look for her!

I like how the inside of it is lined so prettily.












I hope you enjoyed these lovely ladies and their pretty little hats today! Make sure and visit other vintage thingies at Vintage Thingie Thursday!

GIVEAWAY: I'm hosting a giveaway in honor of my new Wednesday linking party. Click HERE for up to 5 chances to win!

What's Your Answer Wednesday: A Few Memories

I'm excited to be starting off my new meme today! You can read more entries or find out how to participate and post your own by going here.

I wanted to do kind of a "Sarah through the ages" sort of post...but then realized I don't have pictures for my younger years---Mom does. I'll have to get some from her and do a "younger years" one later on.

Here is a classic look from 1990! This was my very first perm! I got it at Spoiled Rotten in Hermiston, Oregon and it took over 3 hours! I wanted to be just like my school friend, Carrie Maxwell, who always had her hair permed. The earrings I'm wearing were a gift from the stylist since I had to wait so long for the perm to set. Notice the crazy bangs and the lovely emblem on my shirt pocket.

Another year, another perm. Here I am in 7th grade with my newest do! This time they used even more solution and had me wait even longer! I had some super thick hair, I guess. Anyway, I got to start at a brand new school with all new people. They affectionately nicknamed me "Mop Head". I even got a mop from a "friend" for Christmas. Guess it does sorta look like a mop... Here I am playing C-Team volleyball. One reason why I was stuck on C-Team was the fact that I couldn't even get the hitting position right. Check out that funky open-forearm pose.

So now we'll fast forward to my Senior Year and my high school sweetheart, Jamie. Well, I guess he was only like the half-way through the end of the last year of high school sweetheart...but he's the one I started my "new life" with...and he's been my husband for 12 years now! I remember being so humiliated with this picture because it shows just a sliver of my tummy...and I felt SO Fat. Ugh...if only I could be so fat again!

This black and white was one of my Senior pictures and probably my favorite. I was posing in front of the college I had been accepted at, Eastern Oregon University. I felt so "Love Story"-ish that day. Well, except for the fact that there was no Ryan O'Neal and I wasn't dying...but, you know...the college thing. Ok...












Here's Jamie and I on graduation day. Our class was right around 200 people and it was no coincidence that we got to walk together. It was the result of me sneaking back quite a few rows after the teachers had so painstakingly lined us up by height. I'm sorry, but I wasn't about to let my fiance walk someone else down the graduation aisle! Yes, that is a National Honor Society collar you see on my gown! No, I did not earn it.

My SAT scores in English were perfect (yes, they really were perfect) but my math scores placed me at fourth grade level. However, since my SAT scores were perfect in English, and English was my major, AND my Advanced Placement English teacher was also head of the National Honor Society...well, you know, some strings were pulled there. I also got away with skipping a couple of PE credits and a Science credit. I still have nightmares. I'm not kidding...maybe we need to do a meme on bad dreams sometime. Moving on...

I have to include this picture with friends...otherwise, you'll all think I just hung out with Jamie all the time. It's probably hard for my three and a half current friends to believe that I ever had a large group of friends or enjoyed being the center of attention. But yeah, I was social once. Upon a time. Anyway, this is Renae, Sally, Angela and me. We were all in Swing Choir together and have lots of great memories of trips for competitions, etc. This picture was taken the night of my graduation. Renae graduated that year also. Angela was a junior and Sally was a freshman.

Here's me in a different school setting. Notice I'm considerably older than my classmates. I taught kindergarten for two years at a Christian school...this was year one.









Don't I look so "teacher-ish"?? The kids here are Daniel, Logan, Deanna, and Britni. They're all driving now.














So here's my most recent school experience...I now homeschool my own kids. Here are Lynzie, Elisha, Michael, Selah and Cainan posing with their toilet-paper-Revolutionary-War people. I did not come up with this idea...they saved tp rolls for a really long time so they could make these! That's LaFayette there in the white.

I hope you enjoyed these silly pictures from my school days. Please link up and join us for What's Your Answer Wednesday!

What's Your Answer Wednesday: School Days

I am so excited to introduce my new Wednesday meme, "What's Your Answer Wednesday". I hope you will enjoy playing along and will pass it along to all your blogging friends who might like to play too!

Because it's back to school time, I'm going with a school theme for a couple weeks. Here's this week's question: What is one (or what are some) of your memories from your time in school? This can be any time from preschool through college. Please be as thorough or as brief as you'd like. You can write an entire post or just answer the question on an existing post and link it up. If you'd like to get the question early in a weekly reminder, please let me know and I'll put you on the list!
Usually, I will add my answer to the end of the post but tonight I'll just link it up like the rest of you so I can test out and make sure I've got it working right! Please comment after linking and use my button on your post so others can come visit too!

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Ace of Base is Stalking Me!!!

AAGGHHH!!!! Get it out of my head!!

We've all had times when we've had a song stuck on repeat in our minds for hours, days, weeks...

For almost two weeks now, Ace of Base's The Sign has been looping over and over again in my head. I've heard it three times now in less than two weeks. First, on the way to Walmart. A few days later it was on the way home from Walmart. Just about an hour ago, a car drove by and had it blaring. This song came out in 1993 when I was a freshman in high school--why is it still around??

Relationships can be that way too. There are a couple people in my life that just seem to keep popping up--even though our lives have taken different directions. One specific example comes to mind: my cousin Amber. Our lives have just seemed to parallel one another, even though there's nothing we consciously did to make this happen.

We first met at church in 1993 (there's that "magical" year again!) when my Dad was dating her aunt Theresa. After they were married, Amber and I began spending a lot of time together and soon became best friends. The funny thing about Amber and I was that, though we weren't cousins in the DNA sense, we looked so much alike that people assumed we were actually sisters. Neither of us really look like anyone else in our families. (I would like to add that I think it is very unfair that she got to stay cute and slender after having children while I got to blow up like a walrus).

Since I was a year ahead of her in school, we did start to drift apart after I graduated and got married. Soon though, she was married too and we both began to start our families. By this time, we hardly saw each other at all and had different circles of friends and activities. Still, we somehow managed to time 5 pregnancies within weeks of each other, give some of our children similar names, and end up moving away from our hometown to the same new town an hour and a half away. In addition to that, we ended up at the same church and she got a job working for the same company as my husband, in the same department as my step-dad. There are many more memories and "little things" that remind us of each other---(in fact Amber, you're even part of my Ace of Base memories...remember Jayme and her CD collection? :)

I've jokingly said things like, "jeez, why can't I get rid of her?" (Just in case you read this, Amber, I wish we still lived close and I miss you!!! :) But seriously, what's up?

Do you have people like that in your life too? How about a certain painting that you see often in different settings and has special meaning to you? A scripture verse? For a long time, I'd see Jeremiah 29:11 ("For I know the plans I have for you....") EVERYWHERE! Guess God knew I needed to get that in my head!

I'm at the point now where I can see that God just might be doing something here. I think some relationships are woven together with our own lives on purpose. It will be interesting someday to sit on a porch swing with elderly Amber and look back at all the times God brought us back around to each other. I wonder if we'll be able to see his plan then?

I just hope that, in the meantime, he'll change the CD for me!

I Did It! Blue Monday

GIVEAWAY: I'm hosting a giveaway in honor of my new Wednesday linking party. Click HERE for up to 5 chances to win!


It's Blue Monday today at Smiling Sally's! When you're finished reading my good news, head over there for more blue-themed posts!

Two Blue Mondays ago, I challenged myself to get back into a skirt that I love but haven't been able to wear. I told you all that I'd update today...and yes, I did it! You can read the original post here.

In all, I've lost 8 pounds since that post! You'll be asking how I did it. Well, I did it the best way possible. I ate about 70% fresh fruits and vegetables each day and drank lots of water. The other 30% of my diet was made up of whole grain pancakes and sugar free syrup for some breakfasts and grilled chicken to go with some dinners. Yes, I snacked now and then and yes, there were a couple mornings when I had gained. However, it all evened out in the end and I'm feeling pretty great about that!

Here's the picture I promised. My husband took this this morning before we left for church.

Happy Blue Monday, everyone!

How to Freeze Basil: Easy Tutorial

                         
I adore basil. It is my most favorite herb! In fact, I love it so much that the name Basil has been on my "names for little boys" list since 1999!

I just finished putting some freshly picked basil away in my freezer and thought my readers would enjoy an easy tutorial!

It's only recently that I've begun to use fresh basil and while the dried-in-a-jar variety is fragrant and delicious, it doesn't hold a candle to my homegrown!

You will know that your basil is at it's best "picking state" when it gets buds on it and begins to flower. 

 Clip as much off as you want but leave a few leaves to soak up the rays for more plant growth! Something to keep in mind with basil: the more you clip, the more you get as basil grows back two new stems for every one that is clipped!

Pick off the big leaves and carefully wash each one. Be aware that little bugs like to hide in the shady places under the dark basil leaves. Wash both sides and run your fingers along to wipe off any dirt or....baby snails!

Take a moment to look for any that might be trying to get away!!

When you've washed all the leaves, place them in a colander and shake or use a salad spinner if you have one.

Then lay them out in a single layer on paper towels or napkins and pat dry--soaking up as much water as possible.

Next, place the leaves in a food processor, if available, and pulse until they're the size you prefer. I don't have a food processor so I used my Pampered Chef Food Chopper.

You'll want to add a little bit of olive oil to the basil to keep it from turning black in the freezer. (It doesn't affect the taste...just the appearance) If you are using a food processor, you can add it in as you're chopping the basil. I just poured some in the bowl when I was done chopping with my food chopper and mixed it up with a spatula. The amount you'll need will vary depending on what you plan to do with your basil, but I just used enough to cover each piece.

Finally, you'll want to decide how you're going to divide it up to freeze. It is wise to freeze each recipe size separately. I divided mine up to have a couple good spoonfulls in each container. I plan to put it in pasta sauce and my pasta sauce must feed a family of 9!

You can freeze your basil in small containers, if you have them. I used these two:

Notice they're not fancy! I got one at the Dollar Store for my daughter's baby food and the other is a little Rubbermaid-type lunch box one. You just need something that will be airtight to avoid freezer burn. If I didn't have these two containers, I would have used sandwich bags and then just placed all the bags into one large freezer bag.

**Update: Several readers have mentioned another great freezing method. You can also measure your basil out into ice cube trays and freeze it that way. Then, once it's frozen, pop all the little cubes into a freezer bag to be taken out individually for soup, sauce and more! I will be designating a tray specifically for this as I imagine the tray would eventually take on the wonderful aroma and color of basil! (Though that little taste of basil in lemonade or iced tea might not be too bad??)

Herbs will keep for many years but you'll get your best flavor if you use your basil within the year. Here are a few facts about basil:

**Basil comes from the Greek language and means "king". Basil has been called the "King of the Herbs"

**Basil is highly poisonous to mosquitoes, (Yay!) but safe for rats (bummer!)

**Basil is thought to be a great treatment for arthritis and has antioxidant and anticancer properties.

**Basil will affect the taste of tomatoes if planted too close together. This could be a good or bad thing--depending on what you're doing with your tomatoes!