The Perfect Pizza

Yesterday I successfully made homemade pizza. 

(It could due be in part to the fact that Josiah had a nice long nap on the couch in the sun. That was nice for Mommy!)

The definition of success in our house is whether or not hubby would like to go back for seconds. Last night, he raved about it the entire time....even before it was put in the oven!

They came out looking delicious as ever! And we had the first of hopefully many pizza nights to come.

I need to make a shout out to the Craftsy "Perfect Pizza at Home" mini course. I found it to be incredibly helpful and really enjoyed the course instructor, Peter Reinhart. You should check it out! There is another free mini course that teaches knife skills that I have benefited from as well, but that is another topic for another time. 

When We're Together

Josh and I were dancing around in the kitchen yesterday morning to this song. I love my dear husband and am so thankful for him! He sure has brought a lot of joy to my life! 

What's in a Name?

I just wanted to give a brief explanation as to the reason I chose this name specifically for my blog. 

First--cultivate. The images that come to mind first are involved with gardening. It is one of my favorite things to do. Just to sink my hands into the soil in order to coax a lovely vegetable out of the ground makes me smile. I also feel like I am cultivating things inside my house too. I have several foods/beverages that ferment or grow on my counter top. Josiah is also on my list of attempting to cultivate into a godly individual. And of course, joy. That is something I desire to work on and keep growing in.

Second--joy. It is something, generally in the winter, I struggle with (inwardly, mostly). About two months ago I was at an all-time low. I was very dissatisfied with how life was going and was struggling to find any joy in the tasks I was doing. I really would like this blog to be a place I can remind myself of the many joys I do have, big and small. I also want to be able to encourage others to do the same.

Boxing Him In

I am occasionally inspired by Pinterest. When I remember it exists, I go spend awhile perusing through those thousands of ideas. Sometimes I will find something that catches my interest and will save it. But, I am one of those people that actually wants to try the things that inspire me.

I am happy to say that this week I finally have a child that is old enough to help me complete one of those "save for later" pins. 

It was this post that I originally saved. And, here we have a happy kid (I think this lasted at least 15 min!) 

Blogging

It has always been there in the back of my mind. And it has always been something that I thought only people with lots of skill could manage (I mean, after all, the final product looks so detailed and I wouldn't have time to figure it all out!). I had successfully written it off as a pipe dream that I probably wouldn't have time for until I was old and retired.

Then, I wrote a nice post on FB that my aunt thought would be worthy of a blog post instead. It sparked that little desire again and I began to think...

and ponder....

and dream again that I could maybe be a blogger and fit it into my life. 

So, here is my attempt at doing something I've always dreamed of.