worth at least a thousand words

these are my kids–otherwise known as “the monkeys”.  this photo was taken just about a month ago after a performance my daughter had for her ballet studio.  there’s a great deal i like about this photo but mostly i love it because it so clearly and honestly depicts them.

notice the little monkey – can’t control his laughter….hand on face…..trying to stop but himself but just can’t and so is now slightly embarrassed – that’s totally him! and see how he’s in the middle?  enrique’s the youngest but he’s the real middle child in this house.  his brother and sister- they look out for him, love and protect him more than i thought it was possible for siblings to do for each other. enrique has a special relationship with each his brother and his sister.

and see my girl?  notice how she looks taller in the picture? well that’s because she’s standing on her toes.  luis just recently inched his way taller than her and she CANNOT stand it.  dani’s my oldest and she likes it that way!  and luis? he lets her pretend.  he doesn’t run in the fact he’s taller. he’s happy to just know it is so and let it be.  but please notice how those two have their arms around each other.  they’re buds.  always have been and i’m pretty sure always will be

dani and luis are close in age and close in hearts.  they were born 18months apart and for much of their lives, people have thought they were twins.  not just because starting at the age of 3 they looked alike and talked alike.  no, people also noticed this bond they have with each other.  some nights i’ll hear them talking quietly together in a room, giggling away……and sometimes i do get jealous.  they have the kind of relationship i wish i could have with my own brother.  they look out for each other too.  danielle even took a punch in the gut once for luis because she stepped in when another kid was bullying him.

don’t let me lead you to believe that this means things are always cupcakes and kittens between these three.  of course they have their arguments and differences. but at the end of the day, they all hug and kiss each other goodnight and tell each other ‘i love you’ and there are many moments when you can find them just as they are in that photo and no one around has a camera.

my life list 1 thru 10

a little over a year ago, i read this post and it has created a little voice in my head. the voice has basically been telling me over and over again that i should make one of my own and then see what i can do about crossing the items off.  i’ve finally decided to listen to that little voice so often, i say things like ‘oh i wish i could/knew how to do that’ and this is my attempt to finally write down those things i wish i could do and then well, do them….

i’m not quite up to one hundred but it’s at least a start:

1. take a cake decorating class
2. swim with dolphins
3. relearn to play piano
4. travel to and spend time in all 50 states (the ones i visited as a child don’t count)
5. see the Eiffel Tower in person
6. take an extended trip to San Francisco (at least one month)
7. make the recipes i set aside to cook later
8. spend a year in a foreign country
9. learn to knit and make something i won’t be embarrassed to be seen wearing
10. read 1,000 (starting today)

good bite cooking videos!

can you hear the angels singing?!? i’m not one who normally shares videos i find on the net but this is just too good to keep to myself. it’s part of a new cooking site that not only shares new recipe ideas but it has videos that show you how to make them. heeellllooooo my new favorite time suck!!!

i’m not mary nor contrary

but here’s how my garden grows:

these pictures were all taken a few weeks ago. there have been lots of changes in my garden since then.  i’m already harvesting cherry tomatoes and will soon have more than i know what to do with.  we also have a few cobs of corn starting, about 20 meyer lemons on their way, one large eggplant ripening, strawberries blooming, and zucchini starting to sprout.  it’s strange to me how happy i am tending to these plants and watching them grow.  once the kids and i get settled into our summer routines, i’ll put together and update and jot down some of my thoughts and lessons learned from this first attempt at a garden.

a new approach to eating (and a recipe)

Recently I read the book “Food Matters”.  In it, Mark Bittman argues that for a healthier world and healthier self, we should all eat less meat.  His premise is that the meat packing industry is one of the largest contributors to global warming and that with all the hormones, antibiotics and poor living conditions in large scale operations, our bodies are getting a big dose of things it doesn’t need.  He does not encourage or ask that we all become vegetarians but instead, he suggests we all become ‘flexitarians’.

His basic plan is that we consume more fruits, veggies, and whole grains and less meat, animal based products and processed foods with refined sugars (ie – junk food).  His basic rule is to try to avoid eating foods with more than 5 ingredients or anything that contains ingredients with more than 3 syllables – those are most likely a preservitive.  I found this idea intriguing and a much easier approach to watching what I eat than measuring, weighing and counting calories.

I’ve been using this approach the past few days and am encouraged by how easy it is to eat more fruits and veggies.  I’ve also been surprised at how few I was eating before. I’ve also been surprised at how full I feel after making myslef a large salad topped with lots of veggies and how much better I feel too.

I’ve made a few yummy veggie dishes and sides that I hope to get around to putting up here soon.  For now, I’ll leave you with this simple little gem ( I could have eaten all of this on my own and the best part is that according to the “Food Matters” eating plan, I can and probably even should!):