New Year’s Eve Countdown to Greener Rainbows!

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Photo credit: Optical Illusion via flickr

Really… are we SERIOUSLY only hours away from the countdown?! WTF! Where did this year go? I can’t believe I became a mother of two this year. What??? I’m in disbelief at how quickly this year time has slipped by! It’s been a great year but it has also been filled with a whirlwind of events. Since having Clark I feel like it’s been go-go-go! I’m really hoping for more relaxed time in 2010… more concentration on family!

I did a reflection post in September and haven’t added much else to the list. Except, that I do intend to read , do yoga and even play outdoors more. The hub and I are planning to hike Mt. Whitney this Spring with the boys in tow. This year we hiked to Vernal Falls in Yosemite with them and it that was awesome.

This year was filled with many events! I turned 30 in January – gave birth at home in the water to a 9lb. bouncing baby boy in April- had a root canal (the most horrible moment) -started to vlog and share more with you-  like celebrating all the wonderful events of toddler hood… having a 2 yr. old boy is a lotta work sometimes…. LOL!

With all the work Tyler had to take on this year and the many weekends he worked…in 2010 we vow to take on less side jobs and concentrate on the greenhouse we started to build this year. Not to mention, all the other tiny side projects here … for instance our bathroom that still doesn’t have a working sink!!! Yes, projects in here get put on the back burner when your husband is doing everyone else’s projects!! It’s all good though.

I can’t believe 10 years has passed.In 2000, I became a mom for the first time! Well, to a dog anyway. I was the new owner of a Golden Retriever puppy, Heinken. Luckily, my father was the landlord and didn’t mind much. A year later, the hub and I bought our first home and became owners/parents of our second Golden Wonderful, Durgen. It’s crazy to think that I’ve been in the same place for 10 years and so, so much has taken place.  The fact that we had two children in our own home in the past 3 years… and all the memories we made here. It makes me teary! Especially, since Durgen has been sick (I’ll spare the details for another post!).

Being green has been a journey in and of itself. I try not to set myself up for failure and only make changes that are within my limits. Honestly, when I started I didn’t think I’d be where I am. I actually didn’t know what to expect out of the bloggy blog world but I’m so happy I chose to start blogging even if I can’t post every single day. I’ve made some really great connections and have shared some great memories and my green lifestyle with YOU which makes it all so worth it!

2010 is going to be filled with many new adventures and experiences… I’m ready to ring in 2010!! Are you with me?

Cheers to greener rainbows!

Peace & Love

&

Happy New Year to you!

A very UN birthday & misc eats!

Hola everyone! I’m considering this my {Meatless Monday} post.  Hey, better late than never! LOL!

My hubby’s 31st birthday was just last week before Christmas! I wanted to celebrate in rawkstar style so I decided I would make him a RAW cheesecake.

No, it doesn’t mean I put all the standard cheesecake ingredients into a bowl and asked him to eat it. LOL!  It went a little something like that but not quite. I could not believe it only took me approximately 15-20 mins TOPS to make this! The hardest part was waiting for the no cheese cake to freeze up and harden.

I looked around for an easy recipe and found this ONE!

It had a macadamia nut crust and cashew cream as the filling.  The only thing I did differently was use maple syrup rather than agave! I haven’t been using agave since I heard it scales close with High Fructose Corn Syrup! Crazy! As you can see in the picture above I topped it with fresh organic blackberry’s from the farmer’s market.

The uncheesecake was fabulous and delish! A friend of mine who had leftovers commented that at least she could eat the entire piece over the real thing! I agree… I could of eaten the whole cake. Everyone at dinner that evening seemed to enjoy it … even my husband for his very un birthday!  Score!

We can’t wait to mix and match and play with the ingredients some. Mmm! I’m thinking strawberries whirled in next time would be oh so superb.

I also made these raw thumbprint cookies by Earth Mother… they were nutty, sweet and flavorful.

AND I want to mention, I had the opportunity to make Gena’s Carrot Falafel with Tangy Tahini Sauce a few weeks back and it was super!

The only problem… no pics were taken we gobbled em’ up so fast (actually I had quite a few Falafels leftover which was awesome)… I do believe my Nikon battery took a dive on me that night! In any case, were planning to do a remake of this yummy dish and I pinky promise to take pics.

So if you’re planning any meals that are raw/vegan- dairy free… and the like … these three recipes are kick ass!

P.S.

I was gifted a VitaMixtavegamin for X-Mas! Yahoo!!!

What have you been making in the kitchen?

a recycled post, gearing up for 2010, & homemade recipes!

Hiya RYD readers!! How are ya? Hope you had a wonderful holiday.

Here’s a post I wrote about last year… if you need any ideas for what to do with your X-Mas cards!

Donate Your Christmas Cards

I’ve been looking at last year’s Green Vision’s and thinking about what some will be in 2010…

My vision board is a work in progress as I find pictures and words to summarize my goals and future!

Lately, I’ve been doing my best to meditate and visual what it is I truly want and what makes me happy. I also focus some time on my boys’ and our future together as unschooler’s. It’s going to be a great journey. I can only hope  we make it the greatest experience.

{Anywho}

I mentioned in an earlier post; I was going to make homemade gifts/goods for Christmas and that’s exactly what I did. ( I didn’t get any pictures of the green cleaning supplies; but I promise I made them.) I bought 2 new squirt bottles and reused and old one. I filled them up with…

1/2 cup of vinegar

1/4 cup of baking soda

10-20 drops of peppermint essential oil

put contents into a glass pitcher and add 1/2 gallon (2 liters) H20!

That’s it! You’re ready to go clean as it is an all purpose solution!

I put the squirt bottles in a reused gift bag along with a sample of Dr. Bronner’s Almond scented soap,  a glass mason jar filled with baking soda and a coconut scrub brush. The Dr. Bronner’s and baking soda make a good soft scrub in case you didn’t know. Something I’ve been doing for years.  I HEART Dr. Bronner’s soap. I highly recommend buying some- you can even find it at Target. A little goes a long way… it’s an all purpose soap. It’s amazing. 2 squirts to 2 gallons… is the recipe on their bottle.

Since my bro didn’t get any Dr. Bronner’s soap; I reused a baking soda can added in more baking soda, put in about 10-20 drops of Tangerine essential oil and sealed it with it’s lid. Poked holes in the top- voila’ it’s an instant carpet deodorizer! He’s always complaining about smells in his house… he’s a bachelor with roommates… so you know what I mean. LOL!

I also made a salt scrub for a close friend of the family. She loved the one I made for her on Mother’s Day so I decided to whip up a winter batch she would like!

Here’s what I did…

Bath Salt Scrub

1 cup of sea salt – fine works best… if you have course you can blend it down into fine using your blender or food processor.

1 cup of epsom salts

1/2 -3/4’s of oat powder (oats put into the blender and pulverized)

20 drops of essential oil of your choice … I chose peppermint for the holidays!

1/3 cup of organic EVOO

Stir all ingredients in a stainless steel or glass bowl for 2min’s or more then put into a glass mason jar! Or whatever dish suits your fancy.

For mother’s day I added in a lot more EVOO… you can do more or less depending on how slick you like to feel when you get out of the shower.

Enjoy!

P.S.

I will attempt to post a Meatless Monday recipe today! We’ll see…

Merry Christmas!!

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Christmas is Here!

Hola RYD readers!

Season’s Greetings!

I’ve been in the kitchen these past few days making up all sorts of home baked goods. From apple jelly candies, to lemon curd, homemade doggy treats, pumpkin bread, gingerbread cookies and banana nut bread… + homemade green cleaning supplies & bath salts. We also celebrated Tyler’s 31st birthday at his parents. I made a raw cheesecake (which was really good) and his mother made her famous Texas cake. It was a great night.  Needless to say, it’s been non stop!  I just finished wrapping a few gifts for the eco tot and baby C. Still have a little more baking to do.

We plan to do Christmas morning with Ty’s parents and dinner with mine. Luckily, both parents are in the same town so we don’t feel too stretched. I signed up to make the Pioneer Woman’s turnip gratin. I made it at Thanksgiving and it was a hit! It’s nice and fattening – just what the Christmas table ordered! I’m also planning something raw (not sure what yet).

It will probably continue to be quiet around here. I’m still trying to figure out what I want to do with my site design… but I promise you it’s coming! I’ve really enjoyed this month and I will be sad to see the holiday spirit go. We made a lot of fun festive crafts that are so nostalgic; I want to save everyone of them (not practical, I know).

Maybe, if I get a chance I’ll upload some pictures… I have been taking a few here and there. The line for Santa was REEdicUlous last night! We had to leave and promise the eco tot we’d return today. So far, the hub has not called from the mall yet!

Oh! What us parents must do & worth it!

Well… it’s officially the EVE of Christmas.

Have a wonderful holiday & Happy New Year!

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