6/26/14

Gray morning clouds my second day walking

Today I got up and went!  Today is just over halfway to making it a habit. Today my brain got me going, yesterday it was my body.  One of these mornings I am sure it will be the dog making sure I don’t slack off.  I have been walking every morning for eleven days!  I even made it through the dreaded first weekend!

And the next day I needed sunglasses!

I am using the app Map My Walk and it sent me a summery a couple days ago.  It was really amazing to see the progress.  My pace per a mile has decreased by about a minute and my body has started to change shape. 

All this is great and makes me feel good but the benefit that has made me the happiest is that I have now have more hours in the day!

My third harvest of baby radishes.  I prefer them this way when I have them for breakfast.

It has given me time to be fully awake when my daughter wakes up.  It has given me time to have breakfast and do the first load of dishes for the day. It has given me time to work in the yard and garden.  I have radishes and eggs from my own yard for breakfast.  I have time to write!  And to read.  And to dream.

Yum!

Back to Me

I have been thinking a lot lately about the healthier times in my life.  Years ago (years it can’t be years!) I was playing football and I loved it! Then I decided to be a mom and put that on hold and the team moved out of town.  While I was pregnant I walked with the dog nearly every day.  It was great for the dog and great for me.  The latest was my jump into Crossfit.  I love it!  It was amazing! The support, the sweat, the pushing past the mental blocks.  It was the best workout I have ever had and the people were amazing.  Then my box (gym) fell apart.  It was one big mess and it was miserable.  So fast forward a year and a half and I have let myself go.  And I am not talking about weight I am talking about muscle and strength and stress relief. 

So I have been trying to get outside.  I have been working in the yard.  And it has been great!  But not quite enough.  I looked into Crossfit again but at this point I cannot justify the $100 a month!  So I jumped back to the last time I was consistently moving.  Back when I was pregnant and being healthy was a whole lot easier because it was not just for myself.  I was walking every day.  The dog was happy!  I was happy (gotta love that vit D).  And I lost over 15lbs while pregnant!  

So I decided I needed to change my brain a bit. It was easier when it was for two not just me but I am realizing that I am do need to be healthy for my whole family. My husband, my daughter, my dog, and most of all me.  I am not doing this to lose weight.  Whenever I think about losing or try to lose I always gain.  I have realized I need to focus on being strong and liking what my body can do. I like being the woman that can lift the furniture that move that load of brick.  I especially love being that mom that can get in and really play with her kids, I mean really make of fool of myself playing!

So today I started on the new journey to make myself happy.  I got up early (ugh) and took the dang dog for a walk!  Just her and me!  I will be working on no excuses and no giving up.  And the weather decided to test me yay rain for my garden!  I did it.  It was a start of one mile and twenty minutes but what matters is I was out there and I will continue to push to make my body work for me.

My Biker Babe!

Biker Face!

   So she comes running in wearing the enamel bowl we use for chili while camping telling me to come look at her riding her motorcycle.  I tell her I love it and I do!  I love her imagination and her resourcefulness.  She amazes me everyday.  She makes me smile, laugh and feel like a kid again.  It is amazing how fast you can go from that to being a very scared parent.  As you might notice the bowl has a handle that is also metal.  Not too long after this picture was taking she decided to sit up to the table and color.  No biggie does it all the time.  I am in the kitchen cleaning!! Yay for clean dishes!  Also talking to my sister to help me through the cleaning. Yay for sisters!  

   When clang! Screaming child....screaming child and freaking out child.  She had fallen off the side of the chair and hit the bowl on the step up into the next room. The impact dented the bowl just enough that the handle was pulled out and tight against her neck.  Enter me---- dropping the phone trying to stay calm while I try to calm her and figure out how I get the thing off (while in my frantic mind wondering how much air she has, where the bolt cutters are and how long an ambulance will take to get here)! Next is getting her to relax and close her mouth while pushing the handle in and off!  Holy smokes! 

   No permanent damage no temporary either.  And she only continued to cry because I wouldn't let her put the bowl back on her head!  It doesn't actually fit anymore.....good?  And off she ran to next adventure while mom tells herself she did not have a heart attack.

This is my helmet and my motorcycle Mom!

We got your 6 Cody Patterson!

This last Sunday I witnessed something amazing please read about it below.

Today I witnessed an amazing gathering of people.   Thousands of people who gathered together with one goal in mind: protect the peace so that a well deserving family could celebrate the life of a loved one.   Their young man gave his life doing his duty.   And they got a peaceful supported memorial for their son because thousands (thousands!!!) of people showed up.   That is it all they had to do was show up!  They stood proud, strong and united.   People who did not know Cody.  People who drove for hours to stand for hours.   People who do not support the war.   People with their own lives and families and obligations gave their time so that this family could have theirs unmarred by the threats of others.   And it worked.   It worked so well that most of us have no idea if the dealers of threat and hate even showed up.   It was such a sight to see I feel inadequate to describe it.   I just know that on this day love and peace won over hatred. 

http://www.gazettetimes.com/gallery/slideshow-service-for-army-spc-cody-patterson/collection_84a1b006-e185-5cbe-b732-919d7bf444d2.html#22

http://www.gazettetimes.com/news/local/thousands-turn-out-in-show-of-support-at-cody-patterson/article_f2ef48e4-39e0-11e3-a363-0019bb2963f4.html

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!

Happy Birthday and New Year!

Hello!  I would love to share some wonderful things I did last year and maybe some wonderful things I will do this year!! I am sharing these on my birthday because I was too lazy to do them on the first it seemed more fitting than on the first!

Photo Credit: Salvatore Vuono

Last year we (hubs and I) sat down and took a good hard look at the budget.  Oh yuck!  It is no fun to sit down and see how much money you do not have but it had to be done.  We did a combination of Dave Ramsey's (the envelope method and savings plan) and took some advice from Gussy about budgeting every last dollar.  The only money we didn't budget was my income from Scentsy since it was so irregular; we instead used it to pay for unforeseen bills or it went directly to debt.

Now I was all for paring down to no extra money but the hubs needed some extra money to have a little fun with so the compromising began!  And we worked it out without killing each other!  And  to tell you the truth it was a lot easier having a budget than not.

End result: Paying off the windows on our house ($11,000 on a credit card), a trip to Hawaii for me without putting any money on a credit card, and the piece of mind that we will be living freer in 2012!

We will continue along the same path with adjustments to the budget as needed until we have all debt paid off (student loans and house remaining).  But it feels so amazing to look back and see that if you do set goals and make a plan things really do happen!

Nieces and Nephews Oregon Coast Dec. 2011

Next was/is a personal goal of mine, to get outside more.  To go hiking, biking, walking, work in yard and go letter boxing/geocaching.  I did get out more than I did the previous year but there were still way too many days we stayed inside.  Days where I convinced my daughter to do other activities instead of going for that walk.

This year I will write out my goals and make them measurable (and maybe get a better raincoat) so that I will have no excuses not to just get out and go!!

Oregon Coast Sunset Dec. 2011

Another very personal goal was also set by my husband and I.  I will not go into details but pretty much any parent will know how important this type of goal is....adult time for  mommy and daddy.  We followed the advice of this woman.  And I have to say if any of this at all sounds like you and your spouse try it!! Do it (hee hee) for 2 months and tell me if it doesn't change your (sex) life.

My last goal was made part way through the year and that was TO BLOG MORE!!!!  And if you have been following along you will know that I have met that goal.  So for the year to come I will change that goal to blog more consistently and learn how to take better photos by doing projects like this! Thanks for following along and have a great new year!!

{this moment}

{this moment}

inspired by Soule Mama

Hanging with Big Papa

Today I....

• nearly had a heart attack
• got finger printed
• got knocked to the ground

Today I am grateful...

• that the guy behind us knew how to swerve
• that I didn't get put behind bars or see more of that inmate that was wearing only a towel
• that I didn't get hurt (more than turf burn)

Today I learned that...

• sometimes it is safer to run the yellow (especially when the guy behind you is tailgating and pulling four cords or wood)
• dealing with a home invasion can last a really long time (going on a year and half)
• I haven't forgotten how to play soccer but my body can't do what my brain remembers doing 10 years and one baby ago!

Pancake Review

After several questions about my pancakes I decided to write a little follow up.  This recipe is not touchy at all!

• You can mix and match any whole grains from both recipes or with whatever you have on hand; just make sure the total "flour" amount equals between 1 and 1.25 cups.  i. e. Corn meal or ground oats make a good replacement for Malt-o-Meal
• If you don't have lemon juice vinegar works for making the buttermilk.
• You can cook these at waffles!!  I would lean a little more towards 1.25 cups on your flour if you are going to try.  
• Have fun!  And please let me know any variations you try.  My latest has coconut flour, almond meal, rice flour and cornmeal.  It was soooo yummy!

Please let me know if you have any other questions!

My daughter having leftover pancakes for
dinner along with oven roasted potatoes!

Chewy Lemon Lavender Snowdrop Cookies

The Great Blogger Cookie Swap is here!  I have received all of my cookies, check out my first two here, the last box came on Saturday. And they were delish!! They were a lovey chocolate and mint (peppermint?) cookie from Jenny at Jenny Creates.

Jenny's lovely cookies which my husband demolished.

I was so nervous and excited to pick out a recipe to send to three lovely ladies.  I wanted to have a unique cookie and it needed to be one that would travel across the country well.   

I found both of these with my Chewy Lemon Lavender Snowdrop Cookies.  Using the chewy lemon snowdrop cookie recipe from sophistimom as a base I dove into my first great cookie adventure. 

Brown Paper Packages Tied up with Strings!

The Lushers' packaging was so pretty I almost didn't open it!

Yay!!!! A few days ago I received my first and my second cookie exchange cookies in the mail!  How exciting to get something so yummy from someone so far away.  That was one of best reasons for signing up for the the great food blogger cookie swap! Check back on Monday the 12th for the link up and my recipe.

{this moment}

{this moment}

inspired by Soule Mama

My sleeping babies!

What happens when.....

you fall back to sleep on the couch in the morning and your 2 year old doesn't.

What to do with a sick 2 year old

Sung to the tune of Drunken Sailor.  What to do with a sick 2 year old... put her in some beans!

Speaking of Pirates!