Chili with Kale

On my quest to be strong enough to surf in Hawaii this year I have been trying 2 new things; Crossfit and Paleo.  The results have been amazing and I will share more another day but today I just wanted to share this amazing new recipe!  It is a bean-less chili and it was so very yummy.  Of course we ruined the Paleo-ness of it by making a batch of corn bread to devour with it.  Oh well baby steps right?

Chili with Kale
Serves 4 generously

1 lbs hamburger
1 32 oz jar of tomatoes
1 onion chopped
1 teaspoon of chili powder (more if you like it hot!)
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
1 dash of pepper
1 teaspoon of salt
1 bunch of kale chopped (stems included)

In  pot bring tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, and oregano to a boil.  Turn down to simmer add the kale and cook for 10 mins. In a pan cook hamburger until nearly all the pink is gone and add onion.  At this point you can cook the onions more or less depending on how crunchy you wan them in the chili.  I cooked them for about 5 mins.  Add pepper and salt to the meat and cook one more minute.  Add meat and the rest of the kale to pot and simmer for additional 10 mins.  Enjoy plain, with cheese, sour cream or a nice slice of corn bread!

I am a Librocubicularist

I was the kid that followed the rules

House Rules

I have been joining in on a parenting group here in the valley.  It is called Parenting in the Park and it has been a wonderful way to get out of the house this summer and connect with other parents.  Last week we had a discussion on Loving Discipline.  

One of things we discussed was house rules.  Rules that are set and therefore not a battle to enforce.  That said depending on the age of the child there will be some daily struggle to teach and remind them of the rules.  The following is a quick format of what has been working for us right now.  Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments.

1.       Feeling are ok

a.       Hurting people because of feeling is not

b.      You may stomp your feet or go outside to yell or punch your pillow.

2.       Use your words to have a better day

a.       Use calm pleasant voice when asking for things (no whining or yelling)

b.      Phrases to encourage

                                                               i.      I need some help

                                                             ii.      Please stop

                                                            iii.      No thank you

3.       If words aren’t working take a deep breath and try again or walk away

4.       Respect others turn/wait your turn

This is just a general idea for what we do around our house. 

One of the things that help us the most is to talk things through before the situations happen ie: We are going to walk to the park to day.  I need you to listen to me and stay close because we will be crossing streets with cars and bikes and we want to stay safe.   We are going to have some friends over and they are going to want to share your toys.  Remember when you were at Ella’s house and she shared her toys with you.

First Day of Summer

It felt like a good first day of summer anyway.  Picking strawberries and getting a box full of veggies at the farmers market.  And how could I not let her play in the freezing cold fountain.  Look at how happy it made her!

Who is the grown up little girl?!  She is only and already 3!!!

I am giving up Clutter for Lent

No I am not Catholic or any religion that actual observes Lent.  I just like the idea of giving something up to renew your life.  My general plan is to try for 40 bags of clutter/trash/junk out of my house.  I got this idea from Clover Lane (love her ideas and her encouragement for the week posts).  Not only am I getting rid of clutter but going to attempt to fix the problem that created clutter in the first place.  To do this I will buy shelves, place bins, and beautify the spaces.

Now to the first space.  Kinda of a weird one but as my husband put it he was tired of having to put on shoes to go do laundry.  Our laundry room is build into the garage and is very much a little narrow hallway of a room.

Everything cleaned out and my darling husband scrubbing the floor.

As  you can see the floor is very ugly and stained and very unappealing.  And this is after we he cleaned everything out!

This the sink which was full of "things" to be washed.  And those are the cupboards that you hit your head on if you try to use the sink.  My plan is to remove them to the garage, put up shelves that will take up less space and leave the room feeling more open.

Here is a picture of everything that was shoved into the room.

Yes that is a bag full of garbage (#1 of the 40) and the two laundry soap containers are empty I was saving them for the time I would make my own soap......
The pile of clothes are half clean and half dirty (now mostly clean because I can move in the room again!)

On the floor we decide to use the same peel and stick tile that we used in our hallway bathroom. And the change is amazing!

Now I feel the need to fix and paint the walls. And can't wait to move the cupboards out but that is all for another day.

February 3rd-Winter or Spring?

This afternoon we spent a half hour in the garden digging in the dirt and cleaning up one of four raised beds.  After which I came inside and opened all of my windows!  This is crazy people! I live in Oregon in the Willamette Valley (last week with snow and flooding!). 

Not that I am complaining especially the part of me that wilts with the sun goes behind the clouds!

And look at the progress we made!  Aili and I were really happy to find lots of worms working to make the soil great for spring planting.  It feels like that is just around the corner!

Snow

A rare snow day on the Valley floor and some good news!  First the snow.

The good news is I have reached a blogging milestone (at least it is for me!)  I have reached over 100 views of a single post!  Check it out here!

Thank you all!