Cute dogs

This is too cute:

Funny Dogs & Even Some Cute Ones!!!

the honey chicken

OK, so I made the chicken. Now, it didn't cook as long, and I had it on high to compensate, so I can't say for sure, but I didn't like what turned out. It was entirely too sweet for my taste. Then again, I only put in six chicken thighs instead of eight, but still...I kind of had a feeling it would be too sweet, but wanted to try it anyway since it's made from 100% SCD legal (allowed on the specific carbohydrate diet) ingredients and since lately it seems like most of my cooking has depended on tomatoes for flavor. Maybe if it were to cook more the chicken would soften up. And maybe the fact that I left the skin on and the bones in changed it a bit. But the main problem was the sweetness - the honey plus all those dried fruits just made it taste like candy. Not my favorite. This one will be going in the recycle bin! Sigh.

Crockpot honey chicken with dried fruit

So I think I'm going to give this a try but with bone in skin on thighs because they are much cheaper:
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup mixed dried fruit pieces
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
Cook for 8-9 hours on low in a slow cooker
http://busycooks.about.com/od/chickenrecipe1/r/chixdriedfruit.htm?p=1
It's basically cooked chicken with honey and dried fruit. I think the recipe needs to explain what goes where in the crockpot -- I know usually you put the veggies on the bottom, but what about the honey and the chicken broth? Do you pour them in on top of everything? Should the fruit go on top of the chicken so as to flavor it, or underneath so it gets moist?

You Tube

This was done 15 years ago. I wonder what this girl is doing now?

Our trip to TN

This is ds sitting on a canon that is in front of my old elementary school. The school is gone now, torn down, and they say they will be building some condos there (this is in an old neighborhood with very expensive houses most of which are old and antebellum style). We went to Tennessee to see family and also drove over to North Carolina to see my Aunt Fran, who is 85 years old and still going strong.

We did too much in too short of a time. I am still burnt and it's been several days since we got back. I had fun to some extent, but it was exhausting. We were staying with my friend Stacy and her husband Paul and their two daughters, who are 3 and 6. The kids played a lot while we were there, and I think it was tiring for all of us. Also, we tried to squeeze in seeing my two brothers, and we went out to eat a lot, so we ate food that wasn't the best for us, and it affected us. I got a migraine, ds had a bad temper (and even hit the six year old). I get so frustrated with him, but when away from home, I have a hard time getting him to behave. I sort of drop my guard or just give in a lot because I don't want to fight him. And he gets more stubborn -- and he already is that. Not a good combination, especially not with exhaustion and jet lag on top of it.

I did enjoy the warm weather, the green trees, and getting to see my family and friends. I hadn't seen my older brother Stan or Aunt Fran since my mom died back in 1996. My older brother's wife and I had a falling out not long after my mom died (and really we never were all that close), so I just hadn't seen him even when I went back to visit and saw my other brother in 1998 and again in 2001. Boy, Stan looks different! He's got glasses now, and is going gray. He will be 50 in June, and while he has a somewhat youthful face, he is definitely older than he was the last time I saw him. But a lot changes in 11 years.

I liked the weather and while I was there and right after I got home, I was thinking again (for the like millionth time) about moving back there, but later had second thoughts. I get so attached to my place. I like how liberal it is here, how the evergreens are everywhere, how the ocean isn't that far away, how you can see Mt Rainier from any hill just about, how you can get pastured milk at a corner store, how low the crime rate is, how many many jobs there are here...I could go on. I know it would be nice to see my family more often, and the cost of living is a lot lower there (although it's coming up lately). I do much prefer 80 degree days to 56 degree days -- I think. Or do I? I think I have less tolerance for heat than I used to, but I also don't like cold either. Give me a place where the high is somewhere between 60 and 80 most of the year, or at least a half of it, and I will be happy. TN gets way too hot, this place is too chilly for my taste. I like to go around in short sleeves, not in layers, LOL.

Anyway, I'm glad to be home to sleep in my own bed again (really ds's but that's what I always sleep in).

the haircut

So, C cut his own hair (with some help cleaning up from mama), and now has very short hair. I think he got tired of being mistaken for a girl, although it never seemed to bother him until he was around a friend's daughters and got mistaken for one of them. He would always correct people, and say "I am a boy, I just have long hair."
You can see his eyes now! One problem is now he's getting sunburned! Have to use sunblock, LOL.

Arsenic in chicken feed

It's ridiculous that they would put arsenic in chicken feed as a growth promoter. Factory farming has always disturbed me -- for years I was a vegetarian at least in part because I wasn't happy with the way meat is produced in this country. Adding arsenic, antibiotics, and hormones to animal feed is polluting our water supply, creating antibiotic resistent bacteria, and raising unhealthy animals that have nutritionally inferior meat, eggs, and milk. I think just about everyone agrees it's bad for us and the environment. A chicken's natural diet is grass, bugs, slugs and snails, caterpillars, and some seeds. Feeding them a monotonous diet of corn, soy and additives is not good for them. Keeping them enclosed, either in tiny cages or in a large coop, may protect them from preditors and make their meat more tender, but it also causes them to be stressed out. Same with cattle -- they are grazers, and naturally eat grass, weeds, and other leafy greens but they are fed in this country tubers, corn, and soybean meal and kept in pens. Their meat may be more mild tasting and tender, but they are stressed and unhealthy, and must be treated with antibotics, etc. That doesn't even begin to go into the environmental cost involved in transporting these animals to huge slaughterhouses (which I don't want to even get into -- not pretty).

What's the answer? Everyone who eats animals should try to eat most of it as grass fed, free range beef and poultry or wild caught fish. Unfortunately, that's often not available, or extremely expensive. The food production system makes it very difficult to obtain, in an affordable manner, healthy food. That has got to change. Each little bit that everyone can do -- like finding locally produced eggs by someone who has some chickens in their back yard or by hunting for wild game or fishing for wild fish -- can help. It's good to eat lower on the food chain if possible -- like eating vegetables instead of animals that eat vegetables -- but many of us need animal protein to be healthy. I know I do! I used to be a vegetarian and was quite sick often, and was also rather depressed (although the latter seems to still be a problem for me).

If I had a house, I would buy a deep freeze and buy my meat from a local rancher, or even maybe game from a local hunter. I would grow as many of my own veggies and beans as I could fit into my yard. Those of in apartments could band together and buy a whole, grass fed free range cow and divide it up among us like people used to do. If I had a bigger storage closet, I'd get a plot in a local community garden, but I don't have anywhere to store the shovels and such, at least not without getting rid of my Christmas and camping stuff.

To sum up, eat locally, eat low on the food chain, and try to get the best stuff you can find for your budget.

Here are some links:
http://www.eatwild.com/
http://www.localharvest.org/
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/localfood_dir.php
http://www.realmilk.com/where.html
http://www.living-foods.com/articles/whywildfood.html
http://www.eatwellguide.org/
http://www.realfoods.org/
http://find.mapmuse.com/re1/interest.php?brandID=FARMER_MARKETS
http://www.beyondorganic.com/

Alfie Kohn

Alfie Kohn believes that children should neither be punished for bad behavior nor rewarded for good behavior, because it's coercive. He also believes that the current school system is not good for them, but I think his kids are in it, because he and his wife both work (at least that's what I hear), and I'm assuming their kids have been either in daycare or with a nanny since infancy. Kind of odd, don't you think? I know in our case, ds being in daycare would be coercive because he won't even stay with a friend for five minutes while I go to the bathroom! I would think it would be a lot easier to be tolerant with your kids if you spent that much less time with them, don't you? Give me 40+ hours a week away from ds and I would bet I would treat him a lot differently. Although getting him to bed would probably be a lot worse of a problem, since he would be wanting to spend more time with me.
I do like more the stuff that Marshall Rosenburg says about non-coercion. http://www.cnvc.org/raisekds.htm

Happy New Year to you!

I heard that April 1 used to be new Years. Sounds good to me! I sure wish it would get above 60 degrees -- the high here today was 48, and it's supposed to snow tonight! I really would like to live in a place that has a real spring! Cold weather for a couple of months is one thing, but half a year -- please!
That's it for today.

How do I fit yoga in with a four year old?

I have got to do my Yoga 4 Fertility video today, but ds is using the VCR. I have the VHS version from the library, they don't have it on DVD.
I think I'll buy the DVD, unless there is a better one. I'd like one that has both short and long workouts. This one is about an hour or more, depending on whether you pause the tape.

gratitude entry for today, 3/28/07

Things I'm grateful for: my friend Becka and her wonderful daugher Amelie, who met me and ds at the park today and played. Playgroups like the Eastside AP, where I can talk to other moms. Message boards, where I can post and read other posts from other moms and people. Books from the library that I can read. Being able to read books. Reading to ds tonight. Holding him as he fell asleep. Watching him play with his friend Amelie, and then another girl later on tonight in our apartment complex. Cleaning up the kitchen and having it not be too bad. I need sleep!

gratitude and joy entry for today, 3/24/07

Things I am grateful for:
1. Having a mommys group to meet other moms -- I actually ran into one of them today and enjoyed talking with her a bit. 2. Having a wonderful son who lives well 3. Having a loving husband with endless patience 4. My health, which is improving 5. the fact that ds's health seems to be impoving as well 6. being able to buy food at the food court at crossroads mall 7. Being able to go to Redmond Town Center and see the new sensory garden and get a backpack with free stuff in it for ds
Things that brought me joy:
1. Sleeping in this morning 2. Playing games with ds 3. eating dinner 4. making yogurt with mango for ds 5. Posting on MDC 6 reading to ds tonight

gratitude and joy entry for today, 3/19/07

I am so grateful to my loving, patient, kind husband, who did the dishes tonight without being asked or reminded. I am grateful for a sweet, loving, happy, funny son who did really well last night, not waking much at all. I am grateful for my yoga video, which is helpful and makes me feel good. I am grateful for my wonderful friend, Stacy, whom I will be visiting and staying with in less than a month. I am grateful for the flowering trees and milder weather -- even went without a sweater today! I am grateful for our warm dry apartment, which is getting cleaner and more orderly all the time.

Things that brought me joy: going to 321 Bounce today with ds and playing with him on the equipment. Doing yoga and having it relax me and help the crick in my neck. Reading to ds. Seeing dh walk in the door, having walked through the rain on his way home from work (I keep the car so we can go places, he walks nearly 2 miles each way to and from work). Breathing.

what do you think of this?

http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=409

gratitude and joy entry for today, 3/1/07

Gratitude:
I am so grateful for my loving husband who did the dishes for me tonight, and also got ds ready for bed (except the teeth brushing, book, and nursing, LOL).
I am endlessly grateful for my wonderful, imaginitive, intelligent, sweet little son.
I am very grateful for my friend Becka, who came over today with her beautiful daughter.
I am grateful for my brothers, who have been there for me over the years.
I am grateful for the sun that came out today.
I am grateful for my Aunt Janet, recently returned from a trip to the South Pacific, who emailed me today. I am picturing her grandson, my cousin, healing from some illnesses that he has had recently.
I am grateful to the earth, for providing us with delicious food.
I am grateful for having a computer to write this on.
Joy:
Cooking black bean soup brought me great joy, as did eating it.
Seeing ds playing with his friend brought me joy.
Holding ds in my lap brought me joy.
Kissing dh when he came home brought me joy.
Seeing dh and ds play together brought joy to my heart. They have so much fun together!

Messages of Love

Messages of Love
This is a website by a really cool mama who sends out messages of love to people. They are way cool.

Isn't this a cool drawing?

My friend Chasmyn introduced me to this artist, William M Perry, who is selling his drawings on Ebay. He's selling them every week so if you sign up to see his new stuff, you will get a new image in your email every week. Pretty cool, huh? And he also sold a cool love poem called "Until Bananas Turn to Ink" which he wrote and illustrated and self-published, and it's really awesome. I bought a copy for DH for Valentine's day and he loved it. I just wish I'd left more positive feedback -- I was stressed and rushed so it was a bit terse: "item in good condition" was all. Oops!

Save money going to college Video!

I don't have the patience to listen to this guy, but the idea sounds cool -- go to college for $11 per day!

gratitude entry for today, 2/14/07

I am grateful for a loving, handsome husband, and wonderful, attached son, great friends, and a healthy, sound body. I am grateful to have a nice place to call home, lots of good food, and fun things to do. I am grateful to be able to stay home with my son full time, and to be able to get around with him in our car regularly. I am grateful to have a mommy's group that meets regularly relatively close by, and to be able to spend time with them and their kids. I love kids!
Things that brought me joy today included going to a mommy's group Valentine's party and seeing C play with the other kids and eat whatever they were serving without any unusual reactions (sure, he was hyper, but so would any kid who ate the sugar and stuff they had). Being with my husband and son brought me a great deal of joy in different ways. I really enjoy seeing C laugh and smile, and playing magic tricks with him really makes him excited, which I love to see. Loving DH and celebrating Valentine's Day as a couple really brought me joy too.

I love Hanna Andersson!

Here is a bid I missed on ebay for C's favorite jammies, Hanna Andersson -- his favorite are the striped ones. They make cute prints, too, but they aren't as soft or durable as the striped ones. That is especially important when you buy them used -- the prints are usually at least slightly faded and definitely don't last as long. Anyway, I need to figure out the best way to win an ebay auction without driving up the price, because these things can get pretty spendy if you keep bidding on them. I can get them new at the outlet store for $28.00, although they aren't always available in the size we want. So I don't want to spend more than say, 20 bucks, shipping included, on them on ebay, but often the bids get way high on the popular ones. I intend to have good jammies for a decent price.

We love Hanna's long johns!