Family Photos

This past Christmas my mom bought us a family photo session with photographer Deb Schwedhelm. Her work is amazing and I am so inspired by her story. She just picked up a DSLR camera only 3 years ago! Folks, she has a thriving photography business and she is a stay at home mom to 3 kids while her husband is deployed. Incredibly talented, she utilizes all natural light and oooooh, if I could peek inside of her head to know how she sees things artistically, I'd consider myself lucky. Very talented. Read all about her here. And to sneak a peek of our family portrait, which is SO fitting for our goofy family/lifestyle go here and scroll down to the bottom of the page.

Yummy Eats: Hoppin' John-ish

Okay, I had to post one of my favorite easy to make meals. It's a one pot dish and if you serve it up right with some cornbread, it is complete. It is a take on Hoppin' John, a Southern dish and it is easy as pie.

You take a Trader Joe's Turkey Kielbasa and cut it into bite sized chunks. (or spicy Andouille sausage, but I have the kids to think about so Kielbasa it is...) Throw it in a skillet with a little bit of oil and an onion and 3 cloves of chopped garlic. Brown those up. Then throw in a can of rinsed Black-Eyed peas and two Bay leaves. Stir in a can of no salt diced tomatoes with liquid and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Add a 1/2 cup of broth, veggie or chicken. After 10 minutes of that, spoon in 2 tablespoons of cider vinegar and a pinch of salt to taste. Now, here is the good part; Throw in 2-3 cups of mustard greens in the mix and stir it up. Let it simmer for a minute and then either serve over rice or cornbread or just dish it out as is, lemme tell y'all, it is easy and it is GOOD! And it is even better if you have some okra to mix in. I didn't so I just had to deal. Hope you like it, low in fat, high in fiber and good 'ole Southern Luck.

Photo credit: from http://www.andthesethygifts.com

Trains

Hi all, National Train Day is coming up so if any of you have interest in that sort of thing, or have little ones who are, check out all the info here. Los Angeles is hosting an event at Union Station Mother's Day weekend. Choo Choo!

Texas

I just returned from a wonderful trip to Texas. Austin, more precisely and it was terrific! The weather was great and it made for a fun filled mini-visit. Naturally, I am partial to Texas as I am a Texan (and very proud of that). I dipped my toes in a creek and almost caught a frog, but it slipped through my fingers. I walked amid old live oak trees, found cicada wings, stared at bluebonnets, went cave exploring, licked a sno-cone, munched on Dunkin' Donuts, rode a miniature train and ate smokey BBQ, all with the kids in tow. It was so nice to share the memories of my childhood with my children and husband. There is something very special about the land out there. The people. The FOOD!

Living in Southern California I mourn that my kids will probably never swim in a lake on their home turf (most of our lakes are all reservoirs boats can go in, but people can't). They might not ever see fireflies glow in the warm summer nights or hear the hum, hum, hum of cicadas or the glitter of sparklers waved in the nighttime air.

Perhaps I'm waxing nostalgic a bit. What my kids do get to experience is an idyllic So. Cal. neighborhood where friends are abound and conversations over the fence are many.

Plus, we've got a whole big ocean of sunsets.

TV is LAME

Okay, maybe it is just the television programing that my husband watches. It is such trash! I usually skip it. Tonight, however, one show caught my eye. That show was the worst car wreck ever. It is called "I Was Bitten" on Animal Planet. It is so gross, yet very informative, very graphic, verrrrry disturbing. Tonight I learned about something called Botfly larvae. Look it up and learn about how and where this little creature lays it's eggs. Enough said. Don't hate me. And wear your mosquito repellant.

True Love

Em: "Mama, I really love you"
Me: "Why, because I gave you a cupcake?"
Em: "Yes"
Me: "Is that the only reason you love me?"
Em: "Yes."

Ah, l'amour.

Sundays

There really is no excuse for missing out on this. After all, I can see it from my house! When I don't go, I feel this immense guilt.
Church? Nope, I'm talking about the Farmer's Market on Sunday. photo courtesy of Hober's photostream on flickr

I am set when I go with the kids. I go up to the big orange coffee truck and get a great cup of Joe. Then I walk up and get a portable breakfast for all of us, walk a little further up and plop down on a mat in front of the musician's tent. They play anything from bluegrass to alt. country and I soak up life as the kids dance and clap their hands. After sitting a spell, we go on the hunt for veggies and the last stop I make is for the organic vendor's "I swear I just killed it yesterday" $20(!!) whole chicken, with a foot thrown in for free (for the kids to look at)! Wild huh? Sunday roasted chicken, recipe here, with a bounty of veggies for supper. It's become quite a tradition. What are your favorite things to buy at the Farmer's Market?

Pink for my Boys

Today I decided to make pink pancakes for my boys, in honor of Valentine's day. The experiment was this: add beets and ricotta to the mix and see what happens. Vibrant pink! I loved it so much! I think next time I will add some kind of very sweet fruit to the batter to mask the beet flavor. Hope your Valentine's is spent with those you love, or things you love to do.

Magazine Junkie

It seems that as a busy mom of two boys, the only time I can indulge in reading magazines without someone in the home needing something from me, is when I am alone. AND the only time I am alone is when I am in the bathroom. Baths are few and far between, and you can't bring a mag in the shower so that leaves one place to catch up on my "news". That, my friends, is the toilet. Seeing that I loveeeee reading cooking magazines, it really grosses me out to read one of those while my buns are resting on porcelain, SO, I'm in a predicament. When do you find time to read magazines, or do you find time at all?

To Move, or Not To Move?

Short and simple today, we are in a predicament. We looooooove our house and our neighborhood, but with our growing family, the house/yard has just become so small. We are planning on having another baby someday and would definitely need another place. Bigger homes in our desirable neighborhood are just soooo expen$ive. We're talking over a million, easy. So what's a girl to do? Can't I walk to coffee and have an acre? All kidding aside, we know how lucky we are to even have a home in these times.

I think we'll just hold out in a stall position until we find a great fit. What do you say?