Autumn Cleanse: Day 4!

I am feeling a little weird about displaying my eating habits for all to see. Honestly, I think my feelings are orbiting more around the guilt-o-sphere at clogging up the blog with such boring fodder. In my defense... It helps keep me on track knowing that someone might really read this and hold me to it. So, again with the thanks.

The nosh of the day:

-1 banana.

-10 almonds.

-8 green olives.

-salad: mixed greens, cherry toms, cucumber, garbanzos, 1 tsp. mild salsa, a splash of olive oil & balsamic.

-whole juice (concord grapes, 1 apple, ice & water). These daily salads are only about a Cup & 1/2 total.

-2 tsp. almond butter.

-2 Cups soup (chicken broth, carrots, onions, celery, peas, corn, olive oil).

-2 Cups popcorn (in corn oil - no butter).

-lots of water.

-vitamins.

-green vibrance.

-50 minute brisk walk.

Yep, I decided it was time for some popcorn. We had movie night at home... It was sort of required. The other craving that is making itself all too known is the peppermint hot mocha. I don't drink enough coffee to miss not drinking it, and when I do it is decaf... but it is that time of year when I enjoy a delicious holiday themed latte. So far water is getting me through. Maybe a good peppermint tea will fill that void. I am thankful for more energy and all around calm. Hooray for lightening up!

Autumn Cleanse: Day 3!

Low-key, laid back day. Began with a nice family walk and some time at the park to appease the kiddo. Ended the day with a whole lot of lazing around.

Foods of the day:

-whole grape juice (yellow-green grapes from our vines, water + ice).

-1/2 Cup Veg juice (like V-8).

-2 Cups herbal tea.

-lots of water!

-salad (mixed greens, cucumber, asparagus, cherry toms, garbanzos & a hint of olive oil/basalmic).

-1 Cup Autumn Rejuvenation Ration.

-1 gala apple w/1 TBSP almond butter.

-2.5 Cups home made veggie-chicken soup (chicken, broth, onion, carrots, peas, celery, corn, olive oil).

-vitamins.

-Green Vibrance.

-1 hour walk (30 minutes brisk).

Okay, yes to chicken. Strange... I don't usually eat much meat. I realized today why the meat crave is kicking in (aside from the obvious lack of grains and limited sugars). It's that sneaky moon time... you know, aunt flo and all that. Alrighty, T.M.I. moving right along.Once every month I get an insane urge to eat meat. It's usually the only time I *really* want some red meat. Not so this time. Looks like chicken and fish will suffice.

Still feeling good and a lot less hungry today. Thank you, protein! Oh yes, and there was an insane energy burst mid day. Bas napped. I cleaned the kitchen, baked mama milk muffins (recipe to follow - I resisted eating them! Made a batch for Bas and stuck 'em in the freezer to thaw out as needed), cooked up some carrots for Bas and I to snack on over the next few days & began the soup. Settled down to eat the apple and almond butter when the energy overload began; shaking, spinning and motor mouth are side effects. Once again, protein brought me back to earth.

Packages for Sebastian!

Oh boy. There isn't much that stirs up excitement quite like getting packages in the mail; especially when you are almost 2 years old. Multiple packages score BIG points.

"ELMO, mama!" - Who could know this kid so well? Grandma Winnie (my mom). He points to the jammies and says "Gramma Weenee".

The book is Elmo, too!?!? It's zoo themed?!?! He made us read it immediately... three times. That was followed by ten minutes of him pointing out to us who was who and which animal was called what.

If the tiny smile doesn't tell you he loves his gifts, the kiss below should. That kiss is sent straight over to you, Grandma Winnie. He says "Thank you! Oh my goodness! Elmo. Cookie monster. Happy.".

Grandma Winnie happened to tell me that there are a couple other packages coming in the next few weeks. Bas is going to be silly excited when he gets mail again. How much do you want to bet he insists upon escorting mama to the mailbox every day? I'm looking forward to it.

Autumn Cleanse: Day 2!

Oh my goodness: Benjamin and I had a real DATE! I vaguely remember those from way back when - ya, know...

pre kiddo. I planned it all out and it actually came together! Being 2 states away from most of our friends and family (+ a lack of desire to welcome strangers into our home to care for our kid) means we don't go anywhere without Sebastian. Overall we are completely fine with that. Lately, however, we have been feeling the need to spend some together time a l o n e. Ben's dad "Dud" offered to watch Sebastian for a few hours. I was thinking that might just be too much for both of them... but I worked it out so that Bas went down for nap 20 minutes before we had to leave to make it to the movie (UP! *Such* a cute movie. Also, incredibly tear jerking). We took our cell phone just in case. When I called to check in on them after the movie, Bas was still sleeping! Yeehaw! We were afforded extra time to get some dinner up the canyon at our fave restaurant, Ruth's Diner.

You may be wondering how this post classifies as autumn cleanse material? Imagine how hard it is to resist the only food I have actually been craving... popcorn! Okay, not so hard since we don't usually eat the popcorn at the theater. So, imagine how difficult it might have been to find something on the menu at a diner that is famous for its delicious mile high biscuits, burgers, omelets; etc. The strange thing is that it wasn't so hard to resist some of my faves as it was to find something that fit in with my cleansing plan. It seems obvious to me that a cleanse would immediately rule out meat. I knew that I didn't want to consume any dairy or wheat. Since fish isn't something I get enough of, Smoked Salmon Salad saved the day. Yummy, clean and full of protein. It was so good to have some time with Ben and stick to my cleanse.

Here is the menu of the day:

-whole grape juice (concord grapes from our vines, water & ice - blended).

-2 cups herbal tea.

-lots o' water.

-1 Cup Autumn Rejuvenation Ration.

-1/2 Cup kidney beans.

-1/2 Cup Bolthouse Veg juice (similar to V-8).

-Smoked Salmon Salad (mixed greens, cucumbers, a whole tomato, smoked salmon, toasted almonds & a carrot salsa).

-1 apple.

-vitamins!

-1 hour family walk (40 mins. brisk).

Feeling lighter. Thinking quicker. Farting less (hahaha... Ben was inputting). Seriously, feeling good enough to keep this up.

The Yums: Autumn Rejuvenation Ration!

This is straight from a book that I believe everyone should own, The Detox Diet by Elson M. Haas, M.D. Haas credits this particular recipe to his business partner, Bethany ArgIsle.

Autumn Rejuvenation Ration:

3 Cups spring water

1 TBSP chopped ginger root

1-2 TBSP miso paste (do not boil!)

1-2 stalks chopped green onion

chopped cilantro to taste*

1-2 pinches cayenne pepper

2 tsp olive oil

juice of 1/2 lemon

Boil water. Add ginger root. Simmer 10 minutes. Stir in miso paste to taste. Turn off burner. Add green onions, cilantro, cayenne, olive oil & lemon juice. Remove from burner and cover to steep 10 minutes. May vary ingredient portions to satisfy flavors. Enjoy!

*I reeeeeeeeally dislike cilantro. A LOT... so I substituted it with parsley.

Also, I tripled the recipe since I plan to be drinking this broth all day for a few days. I opted for 4 TBSP ginger, 5 TBSP miso paste, 6 stalks green onion & 5 pinched cayenne. All other ingredients were just tripled.

Autumn Cleanse: the beginning.

I can already see the outcome of too much-ness in my future. If the season change keeps inspiring me to bake (and eat) sugary treats, my middle & mood will suffer. So, I figure beginning the season with a cleanse might just clean me out *&* put me on track. For the next short while (3 to 10 days) you will find a food journal and various detox recipes here if you check in. I will surely do my best to sneak some non-foodie posts in, as well. I'm looking to lose those last 10 baby weight pounds (and another 30ish beyond that) and this is the first step. Thanks for bearing witness.

I have found over the years that a good cleanse means eating light, eating whole foods & keeping hydrated. I am opting to throw out rigid plans this time around and go with how I feel. The commitment is to do a fruit smoothie (no milks or juices) each morning, a broth, a simple salad, herbal tea, lots of water + daily vitamins (I take prenatals, B-12, Omegas, vita C & Green Vibrance daily). Some might wonder: why the vitamins while cleansing? I'm still nursing. My body needs to keep up supply and have plenty of nourishment for both self and baby. The big cleanse will come when the nursing stops, but I think that is still in the distant future.

Today looked like this:

-A.M. fruit smoothie (concord grapes fresh off our vines blended with water & a few ice cubes).

-3 Cups Autumn Rejuvenation Ration* (enjoyed 1 cup at a time throughout the day).

-3 Cups Tazo CALM herbal tea (Chamomile, mint, rose; etc.).

-1 shiny delicious gala apple.

-P.M. small salad (mixed greens, cucumber, tomato from garden, asparagus, kidney beans, olive oil & a touch of balsamic vinegar).

-Green Vibrance (1 scoop in water).

-Vitamins (listed above).

-about 70 oz. water.

-25 minute brisk walk.

*Autumn Rejuvenation Ration recipe to follow in next post.

Family date day: petting zoo fun!

Today was what Sebastian calls "date" day. He's coming to love his dates with Mama, but today was even more exciting: family date day! We ventured off on our first petting zoo trip of the season. Goats, pigs, sheep, a calf, ponies, chickens, geese, bunnies... major good times for a 21 month old. There was much exploration, animal petting, rock climbing & talk about all of it for the rest of the day.

The fun was found at Gardner Village in West Jordan, Utah. Awesome place! They host an annual month long witch fest complete with Breakfast With a Witch (sold out! shucks!), Witches' Night Out, Witchapalooza dinner theater & Extreme Witch Makeover (for 30 bux you get witchy hair, nails, makeup; etc.). I need to make friends with some super cool ladies before next year so we can make it to Witches' Night out. Lack of photos of anything aside from Sebastian can be blamed entirely on low battery power. Oops! Most of you want to see him anyway, so I suppose I am forgiven. Can you believe how big this kid is getting?

Another sweet date gone right. Hearts.very.happy.

The Yums: Autumn Abundance Muffins!

I'm still in baking mode. Blame it on Fall. This here is my own silly experiment. A first (of hopefully many) original muffin recipe(s).

Autumn Abundance Muffins:

2 Cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 Cup whole wheat flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice*

1 tsp. salt

1 stick of salted butter (8 TBsp.)

1 Cup raw/turbinado sugar

1 Cup light brown sugar

4 eggs

1 Cup applesauce

1 Cup pumpkin

1 tsp. vanilla

2/3 Cup orange-pinapple juice

3/4 Cup golden raisins

3/4 Cup craisins

3/4 Cup walnuts

*1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice is: 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, 1/4 tsp. ginger, 1/8 tsp. cloves, 1/8 tsp. nutmeg.

Cover raisins and craisins with boiling water and set aside for 10 minutes. Mix all dry ingredients together. Mix all wet ingredients together. Drain raisins/craisins and fold into mixture along with walnuts. Grease muffin tins (I use butter) and fill with mixture. Bake at 350 degrees. 24 mini muffins bake for 18 minutes. 12 regular muffins bake for about 30 minutes. Freeze extras. So far they do thaw well (and I think they taste better after being frozen - Of course it is hard to beat hot out of the oven with butter and a tad bit of honey). This mixture is fluffy and rises well. Dense/hearty muffins. Could do with less sugar, but are tasty as is if you like a sweet treat. Tastes like Autumn! If you try this recipe out, please let me know what you think (or if you make any changes). I think that some chopped candied ginger added in at just after the walnuts might just perfect this muffin. Enjoy!

30 days of happiness: Living a joyful life.

It has been a lovely journey tagging along on the 30 days of happiness train with Erin fromBluebirdbaby. It was just the motivation I needed to seek out the joy and abundance that surrounds me. I confess, too, that part of me is sad to see it all come to a close. Of course the happiness will continue and is sure to shine through in the posts to come... but it was inspiring to be a part of something so simple and sweet and (dare I say?) communal. It has been fun to light upon beautiful blogs that were last month unknown to me; bloggers who also joined in on the 30 days posting. Most of all, it has been refreshing to realize that I spent the better part of a month focusing on the beauty of life and not much thinking about the fears, worries, state of the economy, or any of the nasties that can drag one down. So thank you very much, Erin, for lighting the way... & thanks to all of you who dare to reveal little snippets of your daily life; little snippets that stoke tiny fires of creativity in our hearts spurring many of us onward into peaceful action. You all rock!

And so I leave you all with some tiny snippets of my own... glimpses of my life today: food in the garden, tons of play in the yard, cool weather, togetherness, growth (chickens & Sebastian) & the turning of the foliage as a reminder that we are always cycling. May the joy, love, abundance & light of this little corner of the world be radiate forth.

30 days of happiness: Hail & welcome, Autumn!

Autumn came and went without a proper celebration... We can't have that now, can we? Sunday nights are our family meal night, meaning that the father-in-law (Dud) joins us at the table for dinner and wine. It seemed fitting to theme this night to fit with the emerging of a new season. So here it is: While Bas and I were at UU church this morning, Benjamin harvested tomatoes. He harvested potatoes, too... but that is for another post. Here is the first tomato... Have you ever seen one so large? I know that it is 2 fused together, but still...

Seriously, what are we going to do with such tomatoes? Soup is a good start; cream of tomato-parmesan soup to be exact. But then there are so many more tomatoes to take into account. Take this bucket-full for example (& there are more on the vines!!!):

Chopped & prepped for dinner:

Dinner! Said soup, french bread, simple salad:

+ wine:

+Creamy Pumpkin Rice Pudding (from the current issue of Better Homes & Gardens):

Ummmm.... yeah. Perfect family Autumn celebration meal? Yes. All bellies are happy tonight. ;) The real detox beings tomorrow.

30 days of happiness: 1st art!

Bas is suddenly interested in painting, so we gathered up some supplies and had at it. We tried his hand at finger painting... Oh my! So messy. Fun, though. We found watercolors a bit less stressful, but not as easy to get good color out of. Sebastian had a preference for the deep blue and green in the finger painting set.

The result? Time spent creating together *&* his first piece of art on the fridge. Awwww, I feel like a real mama now.

It's going to be so awesome to watch my boy get adventurous with color & evolve his technique over time. Daddy is hoping that Sebastian loves to paint as much as he does. I think we both just hope he keeps on having fun.

30 days of happiness: AUTUMN!

I think someone was just a bit off when they referred to the Winter holiday season as the most wonderful time of the year. Truly... There is something so magical about the fall. I woke up yesterday with a yearning to bake something. Anything. I went through a whole spiel with my husband about baking bread from scratch. I started pulling out the yeast and the mixing bowl. Then I decided maybe cookies would be better. Or bread pudding. That's about the time that I spied the peaches in much need of consumption.

Aha! Peach cobbler. I'd share the recipe, but this was one of those concoctions I pulled entirely out of the moment. (If anyone adamantly requests it, I think that I could closely reconstruct the recipe... so holler if you're interested).

We couldn't resist such golden brown goodness... and so we ate our slices fresh from the oven around 11am. I wasn't kidding when I said that I woke up ready to bake.

This is how I know it is Fall. I get that itchin' to straighten up the home (I mopped the living room and rearranged the furniture, too!). Also there is that urge to just soak up the last bits of sugary sunshine: in an afternoon bath, of course.

Is it just me or do any of you out there have a ritual around bathing? I fill the tub with cool water (not too cold, but cooler than lukewarm), plop in a stone to set the tone (this time it was Rose Quartz), set out some crystals, burn a little sage & pull up the shades so the window crystal can usher the little rainbows in. Oh yes! Can't forget the bath salts (this time around it was 18 drops of lavender + 3 drops of attraction oil from Ancient Ways in Oakland, Ca.). I climbed into the tub in a sort of trance and found myself melting into bliss. My heart swells to capacity when I find myself in little moments like this; baby napping, clean house, smell of fresh baked goods & a little corner of quiet just for me.

I hope this Fall is beginning as sweetly for you. I dare you to open your eyes and/or heart to something wonderful today! Happy Mabon!

30 days of happiness: Sebastian's new friend!

Tanith! She's cute, she's fun, she's all around fabulous. The kiddos had loads of fun over 4 and a half days together. There was a trip to the zoo which included a mini train ride & carousel ride, a drive up the canyon, a walk around a lake, a couple of hours in Park City, lots of silliness around the abode & much teaching of new tricks (as evidenced by the pic of T in the tv stand).

That's Ben rescuing a fully clothed Sebastian from total dunkage. The only thing we didn't do was go in the pool. Ahhh, well there is always next time. My evil computer seems to have eaten all of the pix from the day trip up the canyon and around the lake. I'll get them up on here as soon as I figure out how to retrieve them.

30 days of happiness: Trying for a nice reunion photo.

After 15 years apart, my pal Heather and I still know how to have goofy fun.

Oh yes, a couple of those faces I am making are a tiny bit embarrassing... but way too silly and fun to leave out. I had so much fun, Heather! So when are you moving into my neighborohood? I'm not going to stop dreaming it up, you know. ;)

30 days of happiness: Heather Feather & Tanith!!!

My friend Heather is here!!! She brought her daughter, too!!! Okay, I am excited. I've been worried about having to drive to the airport by myself for months. Funny thing... Today was the day and I didn't even think about it; just got in the car and made it happen. I'm thinking that the driving anxiety that resulted from postpartum fallout is on its way out. Hooray! Anyway, they are here. We are relaxing and enjoying. There are possible trips to the zoo, up the canyon, Oktoberfest, and more planned. We are keeping our options open, though. We get them for 4 whole days, so the possibilities are multiple. Heather is my good friend from way back when... This is the first time we have been able to spend with each other in 15 years. It is so sweet to have this time together and to watch our little ones playing with one another. We're floating on clouds over here. Expect pix of our shenanigans in the next few days.

30 days of happiness: The coop has risen!

It's done! Yep, except for a handful of mini details, the coop is complete & inhabited. Benjamin has been working his tail off the last few weeks. I definitely think that the wait was worth it. I had no idea just how fantastically handy my guy is. I mean, I knew that he could fix things... but build them? This opens up worlds of possibility. Methinks that the honey-do list is going to get a lot more complex.

Benjamin chose the jungle green to blend in with our wild garden foliage. It's a bit hard to tell, but the trim matches the sky on a clear day.

Today was moving day for the chicas. Two of them got a little crazy and flew around the coop a bit. Besides that, they settled right in. Looks like we will be trimming wings in the next few days.

In case you were wondering: 5 chicks in all. We are rubbing our hands in anticipation of the 5 eggs a day to come.

Not that the chickens care, but we are having a little trouble naming them. I'm firm on the white one being Clementine. I'll probably nickname her Darlin'. Ben wants to call the black one Knight Rider. Leave it to the boyfolk to come up with the weird names. It is almost certain that Knight Rider will be shortened to Kit. We've got to have a Mabel or Matilda or something. I'll keep you posted. Any suggestions?

Not 5 minutes after getting those girls into their new space did Miss pretending-to-sleep show up. That's my little stalker girl. If anything goes wonky coopside, I will know who to go questioning first.

It is so good to witness Ben's satisfaction at having completed a looming goal. I can't wait to see & share what he dreams up next.