Peaceful Mamma

January 14th, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-24T09:56:00.000-08:00

I just got my film back from last week. So I can now catch up on my posts for my photo project. Working with film again was extremely enjoyable. I forgot how inspiring film is and how different it is to digital. For the next two days I will update my photo project with lots of posts. Enjoy!

"I can chance the world!" Yes, you can, my son! Yes, you can!

These film pictures were shot with a Pentax K1000 using Ilford Delta Pro 400, Black & White, 35mm film.

Menus & Always Remembering

2012-01-16T05:46:00.000-08:00

Today we remember an inspirational peacemaker, Martin Luther King Jr. Really everyday we should remember him and all the other peacemakers that have changed the course of our history. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for what he believed and for that we should all be grateful. But this is bigger than being grateful, it is bigger than remembering..it is about bringing peace into our homes, our neighborhoods, our countries, and our entire beautiful world. Everyday we should be taking steps, big or small, towards a compassionate and peaceful life and world. This is not for us..this is for our children and our grandchildren. The biggest and best thing we can do for them is to show our children about compassion, acceptance, and love. This is the first step towards a more peaceful and more accepting world. Martin Luther King Jr. proved to us that this can happen...that this dream can come true. Thank you Martin Luther King for standing up for peace!

I'm going to end this post with our menu for the week. I hope everyone is still doing what they can to know where their food is coming from and eating whole delicious foods!

MONDAY: Homemade whole wheat pizza, kale chips, and a green salad

TUESDAY: Double Broccoli Quinoa Bowl

WEDNESDAY: Out to dinner

THURSDAY: Vegetarian Taco Salad

FRIDAY: Ginger & Cilantro Baked Tilapia over brown rice

SATURDAY: Attending a friend's wedding

SUNDAY: Vegan Tofu Pot Pie

Peacefully,

Alyson

"Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend."-Martin Luther King Jr.

January 13th, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-13T14:09:00.000-08:00

More brother love! It is just to wonderful not to capture!

For the next five days I am going to be shooting film. So I won't be posting the pictures till after they are developed. So in about 6 days I will be catching up on my photo project posts. But in between that time I will be writing some regular posts. Stay tuned! Thank you all for reading my blog!

January 12th, 2011- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-13T13:36:00.000-08:00

My love for homemade goes beyond just love....it could be considered an obsession. I want to make everything....EVERTHING!!! With this includes learning a lot of different skills. One would be crocheting and knitting. I hear knitting is hard...so we are starting with crochet. My aunt who is amazing with crochet is teaching me. So far I am a pro at the first chain! Which isn't hard at all! With time I am hoping to be making lots of different things and of course will be sharing it on here.

January 11, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-13T08:33:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things in the world is to sit and watch my boys play together. Their relationship grows every day and I feel blessed that I get to sit and watch this happen. Their sweet love will last forever and it is sure to be as real and true as any love can be. In an instant, their laughs together will light up our home and our hearts. To me it sounds like music!

"A brother is a friend given by Nature." -Jean Baptiste Legouve

January 10th, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-12T07:05:00.000-08:00

My apple monster! In choosing treats, my son will choose an apple, orange, or grapes over cookies, candy, or chocolate. True story! It baffles me sometimes but we love apples in the house! Well we love all fruit!

January 9th, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-11T23:44:00.000-08:00

Early morning....matching pajamas....brothers....books.....love.....

January 8th, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-11T13:18:00.000-08:00

I opened this book today in preparation of the gardening and growing season that will be soon approaching. It may still be winter but before we know it little seeds will need some dirt and water. We are starting our little seedlings at the end of February, beginning of March so we can grow everything we want because just like every year I have plans of eating, preserving, freezing, cooking, and just enjoying our fruits of labor (pun intended)! Cheers to gardening and living sustainably!

January 7th, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-11T06:45:00.000-08:00

Seven years ago, when my hubby and I made the decision to move three hours away from home together as a fresh new couple we met a lot of pretty amazing lifelong friends. Out of these new friends, we met a great family who we have remained close with after all these years. When we moved back to my hometown, they moved here shortly after wards. They are a great family with similar beliefs and a similar outlook on life. You know when you have those friends that just fit right with who you are as a person and as a family....these are those people for us. We love them and we love that they live close to us! We had a great evening with them Saturday night. Brian (the amazing chef) made a great dinner and we followed it with a fun game of Shuffleboard. Thanks guys for the wonderful evening!

We might have a crawler soon!

These two pictures of their little boy in his pretty awesome hat and stache are taken by my husdand! But I took at all the rest, so they count in my photo project! And here is another picture of my oldest son, protesting against leaving. He was having too much fun for it to end.

I took some pictures that night of my dear friend's amazing tattoo! It is one of my favorite tattoos I have ever seen. I think it has a lot to do with what it says and how it applies to my life. Another reason why we get along so well!

"Pause, breathe, simplify, reflect, connect, meditate, inspire, evolve"

January 6th, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-06T23:42:00.000-08:00

Today's photos are very random! We went on a drive to visit a dear friend for her birthday. So I have lots of random shots from our day. I will let the photos tell the story of today with a few shorts words.

Birthday Fun!

I spend a lot of time in my car nursing in a variety of parking lots especially on long car rides! I really wanted to document this since it is a pretty big part of my life as a mama. It was tricky....self-timer, on the dash board, low light, slow shutter speed! I had to do about 15 pictures to get one I liked. It isn't perfect but it perfectly captures my life as a mama!

At home for some cuddle time with dada!

January 5th, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

Today was a full day, but I was able to sneak in a quick photo! Aunt Katie + story time = the best part of the day. My boys love there Auntie and it is always so fun when she comes to spend time with them. The minute she walks into our home she brings lots of joy and laughter. Her energy is perfect!

This weekend I am working on some regular posts including my menus, sewing posts, and our New Years Intentions. So stay tuned!

January 4th, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-06T07:13:00.000-08:00

Mellow day with naps and lots of love. While my oldest napped (very rare), I got to play with Asher and the camera! We even got some doggie kisses!

January 3rd, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-05T07:39:00.000-08:00

We love being outside! Love it! Enjoying everything our earth has to offer us is one of our priorities as a family! In the winter it is so hard to get outside but we try to just bundle up and enjoy the elements no matter what they are! I was so bad this last month of getting outside! So I'm getting back into the groove of being outside. Maybe we will get some snow soon because walks in the snow are by far the prettiest! Here is our first walk of the new year and MANY MANY more to come!

January 2nd, 2012- 365 Photo Project

2012-01-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when you are really trying to get a cute photo of your son and his very best friend since birth....this is all you can get! It may not be the picture I was wanting but it sure shows how life can be sometimes. You just got to roll with it!

GO DUCKS!

365 Photo Project- A year in photos- January 1st, 2012

2012-01-04T07:48:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year intentions is to expand my knowledge of the camera and my love for the art of photography. I want to challenge myself to be better and faster with the camera. Luckily I have a very good teacher here at home who is an amazing artist with the camera (and the professional)! So I decided to challenge myself by taking a photo a day and posting it here on my blog. When I first thought about this I thought I had gone crazy! "How the heck will I be able to keep up with a photo a day on top of my already busy schedule!" Well, then I realized how easy this will be...all I have to do is take my camera EVERYWHERE with me. This is not just about me getting more comfortable with the camera it is also about saving memories of my children and family. How can I NOT do this??!! So I may not get the perfect picture but I will get a memory frozen forever no matter what!

I hope at the end to put this all in a book. My youngest is only 6 months old so we still have a lot of firsts happening and this will be a fun way to document it all. Then maybe if I just love doing this...I will do it a second year. Let's see how far I can do this. I have faith in myself! It may just be one photo a day or it may be 10...whatever the case I will always tell a little story with the photo. And my regular blog posts will get squeezed in between these photo posts as well. I also plan to throw in some film photos done with our old film cameras as well! Believe it or not film is NOT dead! So I hope that you have fun looking at my photos as I do taking them!

I was out of town for the holiday weekend so I am a little behind posting BUT I did take photos everyday. Which might happen throughout the year. I give you my word that I will take a photo a day but sometimes I might not get to posting it on my blog on that exact day. So some days I might have several posts to catch up! What can I say....I am a mama and a mama first before anything else!

January 1st, 2012

My guys in the "hot pool", as my son calls it. We were out of town for the New Years weekend visiting friends and relaxing at a cabin in one of our favorite places on the planet!

Sewing and Menus

2011-12-17T06:24:00.000-08:00

One of my goals this year was to get more comfortable with my sewing machine. Doin' it and lovin' it! I haven't gotten too fancy with the machine but I feel pretty comfortable with the few projects that I have done. It feels pretty darn awesome to be able to create my own things even if they aren't perfect. But I actually love the imperfections in my creations. In my eyes they are perfect and in my dreams my grandchildren will think they are perfect too.

My latest creation was my Christmas tree skirt. I found one I loved online but it didn't have any kind of tutorial. So I asked my aunt if it was doable and she said it would be pretty simple. I went to her house two days in a row and got it done (with her amazing help of course and two kids in tow)! My husband was out of town with our camera, so unfortunately I didn't take any pictures except for afterwards!

Since I don't have any fun pictures to go along with this.....I will share a short version of how I made my tree skirt. It was pretty simple!

-Using two yards of burlap, I cut out a 50 inch circle with a slit and circle in the middle.
-I then cut out some muslin to match the burlap in size. I then pinned the burlap and the muslin together.
-I wanted a ruffle, so I took some soft scrim style fabric and tea-stained it. Then I took the fabric and pinned it between the burlap and muslin.
-With all those pins in place, I sewed the edge of the circle, slit, and middle circle together leaving about a 6 inch gap.
-I then turned the fabric inside out through the gap and GASP......a tree skirt. It was exactly how I wanted it.
-I then added some strips of satin ribbon to the slit for ties and sewed up the gap.

It isn't perfect but it is definitely perfect for me and I love it! I can't wait to start sewing more things and especially my own children's clothes. A HUGE goal of mine! What a better way to be sustainable then to make my own children's clothes! There is just something about putting your own time and sweat into something you use and wear! The sewing machine can be a bit intimidating but I will share more of my creations (and difficulties) as I get braver with the machine.

Here are some pictures I took of the skirt after it was all done.

I am posting my menu SUPER late this week. It is a busy time of year but I still wanted to share some dinner ideas for you all! My Christmas week menu will be up on Monday! Even with all the temptations this time of year we are doing our best to eat organically and as healthy as possible. But we are still enjoying some pretty delicious food!

MENU:

MON: Whole wheat spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce and a green salad

TUES: Garlic Tilapia Pasta (used less butter and less spice)

WED: Veggie stir fry over brown rice and Egg Drop Soup (We used veggie broth instead)

THURS: My husband's work Christmas party

FRI: Snowman Pizza and green salad

SAT: Baked salmon, baked potatoes, and steamed broccoli

SUN: Leftovers and a big green salad

Peacefully,
Alyson

Memories are stitched with love. ~Author Unknown

Cows and Menus

2011-12-06T07:43:00.000-08:00

This is a short post because I am working on some long ones for this week. I thought I would share some pictures my husband and I took while driving home a few weeks ago. One of our goals for the new year is to take a photo a day and to go on more photo excursions. This is one of those..."wow, look at all those cows, look at the lighting, quick turn around and lets take pictures" moments! Thought I share these pictures of these fabulous cows!

On to our weekly menu which doesn't include any cow!

MENU:

MONDAY: Homemade pizza, kale chips, and a green salad

TUESDAY: Inside Out Lasagna and a green salad

WEDNESDAY: Broccoli Cheddar Chowder

THURSDAY: Leftovers

FRIDAY: Cilantro Lime Cod and Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Avocado, & Cumin-Lime
   Dressing

SATURDAY: Veggie and Tofu Stir-fry with brown rice

SUNDAY: Maple Bourbon Glazed Salmon, Roasted Parmesan Potatoes, and Waldorf Salad

Extras: Cinnamon Almonds (recipe soon)
   Spicy-Sweet Almonds (recipe soon)
   Homemade Granola (recipe soon)
   White Chocolate topped Gingerbread Cookies

What are you baking this week?

Peacefully,
Alyson

“To eat is a necessity, to eat intelligiently is an art.” La Rochefoucauld

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-30T22:37:00.001-08:00

"I've got peace like a river in my soul."- Elizabeth Mitchell

Conscious Gifting and Menus

2011-11-29T07:15:00.000-08:00

One of our goals as a family is to make a difference in this beautiful world and our local community. During the holidays I feel like there are more opportunities to strive for this goal. One of ways we work towards this goal is the way we buy gifts. This year we made 4 guidelines on our gift giving. We must buy gifts that are either......

1. Local
2. Handmade
3. Eco-friendly
4. Educational (books)

In our world at this time I believe that we need to be way more responsible for our consumerism and our footprint on this planet. By buying locally we are keeping the dollars in our community and during these tough economic times we need this more than ever. Really there are a few hundred reasons why buying locally or handmade is better for our country, planet, and ourselves. Some of the reasons why my husband and I have decided to do this are.....supporting our local small businesses and artists, lessening our carbon footprint by buying things that are NOT shipped from over seas, staying away from toxic plastic yucky toys and gifts, and buying/making things that are unique, thoughtful, and with LOVE. I am also making a few handmade gifts myself which I am having a ton of fun with.

Now, I must say that I did buy a couple clothing items that were not from a local store or locally made. Which was kind of a bummer but I needed to get these items and the sale was amazing! BUT I do feel like I am doing an awesome job with the rest of the gifts. I'm making the right steps and maybe in a few years I will be making my own clothes or shopping all local. Plus, small steps will make it easier to achieve my big goals in the future. Taking the steps towards my goal of conscious gifting and sustainable living is what feels right to me and I am glad we are doing this.

There are a couple items that my son is wanting for Christmas that we really want to get him and that I am hoping we find locally. One being a telescope. There are a couple locally owned toy stores in our area that I will check out first. The other being books. Of course I will buy any books I can through our local bookstore. We also look for eco-friendly options instead of plastic yucky toys. Now a days, you can find lots of toys made out of recycled plastics or non-toxic materials and I hope to find these at a locally owned store as well. This has been an extremely fun challenge for us, one I hope we do year round when thinking about gifts for people.

Have you thought about conscious gifting this year?

For fun, I posted pictures from Christmas last year!

These last two photos are my favorites. On the left, Ayden is hugging on my aunt and uncle's doggie! On the right, he is on the rocking horse that once was my mother's and all her siblings. It is still being enjoyed in the family!

On to this week's menu. Which is a little sparse since we will be out of town a few nights.

MENU:

MONDAY: Spaghetti bake with mushrooms, olives, and broccoli

TUESDAY: Veggie Stir fry over brown rice

WEDNESDAY: Leftover and a big salad

THURSDAY: Out of town

FRIDAY: Out of town

SATURDAY: Out of town

SUNDAY: Creamy Fettuccine with Brussels Sprouts & Mushrooms

For more meal plan inspirations, visit I'm An Organized Junkie every Monday.

Peacefully,
Alyson

"May peace be your gift at Christmas and your blessing all year through!" -Author Unknown

Winter Crops and Menus

2011-11-21T01:39:00.001-08:00

I waited till the last minute to finish but I did it. I got all of our winter crop in our backyard garden done and in the ground. Garlic, shallots, kale, spinach, and broccoli are in the ground and ready to grow. Grow my little green babies...grow so you can nourish our bodies and souls in the spring! I love that we are able to grow in the winter and I love that we do it! Every year we do more and more to live that sustainable life that we strive for! I am excited for our little family!

For fun a picture of two of the three of my amazing boys!

The busy days and magical moments of the holidays are upon us now. I do believe that they get more magical when you have children. Watching the pure and true excitement of the holidays through their eyes is pretty much amazing and heart melting. Such a warm wonderful time when we can gather with our loved ones and celebrate what is important and good! Thanksgiving is this week and I look forward to all the special quiet family time we have coming up. Here is our menu for the holiday week!

MENU:

MONDAY: Grilled cheese with homemade tomato basil soup

TUESDAY: Cod with Fennel Butter, Kale & Quinoa Pilaf, and sauteed green beans

WEDNESDAY: Homemade pizza and a green salad

THURSDAY: HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Bringing to my family gathering: Green Bean Casserole (we use fresh green beans instead of frozen), Autumn Chopped Salad (omit the bacon), and Homemade Apple Pie

FRIDAY: Leftovers and a big salad

SATURDAY: Crockpot Potato & Leek Soup (recipe coming soon)

SUNDAY: Salmon salad and leftover soup

Extras:
Pumpkin Bread (One last batch before the season ends!)
Apple Cookies
Canning Apple Butter

What are you cooking this week?

Peacefully,
Alyson

"Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter

lies a miracle...a seed waiting to sprout,

a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl.

And the anticipation nurtures our dream." - Barbara Winkler

Slowing Down and Menus

2011-11-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

Before I had kids I was always on the go, working two jobs, rushing to get here and there, and wanting more all the time. The minute I found out I was pregnant with my first son, I forced myself to slow down. Knowing there was a lot for me to learn and a lot of changing about to happen...I slowed down to embrace it all. I wanted to embrace every second of my pregnancies....the amazing times and the uncomfortable times! So that is what I did! I knew my little ones would enter this world when he or she was ready so I did not feel rushed to go into labor. Plus I wanted all the time in the world to prepare my body and mind for childbirth and motherhood.

Everyone I know who had kids before me, warned me of this time warp that was about to occur. Everything happens at lightening speed! I kept thinking to myself that everyone was just exaggerating. Man.....they were SO right! It's like the minute you bring your precious little one into this world a button gets pushed and everything starts happening fast. This tiny little one that once was small enough to by in my belly will start growing and it happens in the blink of an eye. So I kept it slow and I continue to keep it slow with my new little one. Especially in these first few months of life. We can never relive these first few moments with our children, so I have to let everything else go and just be a mom. Being in the moment and soaking in these amazing souls that so blissfully call me their mother is exactly where I want to be. The fast paced world can wait, I am raising my children here! I am embracing every stage my new little baby boy is in and not rushing to get to the next stage. He will get there when he is ready for now we are enjoying the rolie polie, raspberry sounds, grabbing on to toys, and laughing stage.

My first! Look at how big he is now at 3 1/2 years!

My newest little! Almost 5 months!

And all this growing calls for some good healthy whole foods! On to our menu of the week!

This week's MENU:

MONDAY: Sauteed Cod with Garlic-Shallot Butter, Colcannon Potatoes, and steamed broccoli

TUESDAY- Out to sushi

WEDNESDAY- Veggie stir fry over brown rice

THURSDAY- Fish tacos and black beans

FRIDAY- Simple Vegetable Soup and a green salad

SATURDAY- Memorial for my amazing great aunt who I miss dearly!

SUNDAY- Healthy Tuna Melt, Spinach & Apple Salad, and Kale Chips (recipe coming soon)

What are you making this week?

Peacefully,
Alyson

Always kiss your children goodnight - even if they're already asleep. -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Halloween and Menus

2011-11-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

My littles were cute as could be this year (but I think I will say this every year). My oldest little man was Mario and his baby brother was Toad (toadstool). My lovely friend's mom was so nice to make both of my boys' hats! I can't wait to learn how to crochet so I can make hats like crazy! We had a little family/friend Halloween gathering to celebrate Asher's first Halloween and went trick or treating around the neighborhood! One trick or treater, 10 adults, and 2 little babies! My son needed a whole entourage of people while trick or treating. It was fun even if all of us adults went......we are all kids at heart anyways! My oldest little has been very shy about trick or treating the past couple years but this year he was all for it with no fear involved! Except the fear of wearing his Mario mustache! He was very iffy about this fake mustache being pasted on his face but after he realized how cool mustaches really are, he was sporting the thing! There is something truly magical about watching your children in costume running through the leaves on a crisp fall night! It brings such a smile to my face and reminds me why being a parent is honestly the biggest blessing of all!

Here are some pictures of our month long preparation for this fun holiday......crafts my children and I made, decorations I made, my favorite wreath that I have ever made, pumpkin hats my aunt made the boys, my favorite white pumpkins, our carved pumpkins, and Halloween night! One of my favorite holidays ever!

I'm a little late posting my menu this week but that is how it goes as a mama sometimes!

This week's menu:

MONDAY: Halloween feast: Vegetarian chili, cornbread, and a green salad

TUESDAY: Baked salmon, Gratin Potatoes, and a green salad

WEDNESDAY: Leftovers and salmon salad

THURSDAY: Out to dinner with the family

FRIDAY: Zucchini, black bean, and rice skillet (we use fresh tomatoes instead of canned)

SATURDAY: Broccoli Quiche (we will use mushrooms instead of bacon) using homemade whole wheat pie crust and green salad

SUNDAY: Hungarian Mushroom Soup, Hearty Kale Salad (omit the bacon), and homemade whole wheat bread

What are you cooking this week?

Peacefully,
Alyson

"Witch and ghost make merry on this last of dear October’s days." -Author Unknown

My lil pumpkins.

2011-10-28T06:58:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am that mom that puts their baby in a pumpkin! But look at how precious he is in that pumpkin! And surprisingly he was very content in there. He could have sat in there for awhile and been happy! And of course, big brother had to give it a try!

Pumpkin Patches and Menus

2011-10-26T07:20:00.000-07:00

We went to three pumpkin patches this fall! Three! Yep, three! Maybe I am a little crazy but we love them. We love farms (hence my obsession with living on a farm), we love fall time, we love being outdoors, we love fresh vegetables, we love apple cider. So, of course, we love pumpkin patches! Plus, it is a great activity to do with my littles that can be free if you want it to be!

Pumpkin Patch #1

Nursing my sweet baby boy at Pumpkin Patch #2

Pumpkin Patch #3

Thank you to my hubby you took most of these photos!

THIS WEEK'S MENU:

MON: Green Pizza and Apple, Walnut, and Endive Salad

TUES: Veggie fajitas with homemade spanish rice

WED: Shrimp and broccoli in a garlic sauce over whole wheat angel hair pasta

THURS: Broccoli-Cheese Chowder and a green salad

FRI: Leftovers

SAT: Out to dinner with my boys and friends!

SUN: Baked Dijon Salmon, Au Gratin Potatoes, and a spinach salad

EXTRAS:

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll (We use fresh pumpkin instead of canned)

Warm Apple Cider

Iced Pumpkin Cookies

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Jack O Lantern Cookies (for my son and his friend to help make)

What are you cooking this festive week?

Peacefully,

Alyson

While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about. ~Angela Schwindt

Cooking With My Littles and Menus

2011-10-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

One of my many passions is being in the kitchen cooking or baking for my family! I love creating something that is delicious and is good fuel for my family's bodies. Ohhh...but it wasn't always like that for me in the past. I hated cooking when I was in my early twenties. I would have rather gone out to eat. Plus, I never felt like I was a good cook. I mean I could barely cook grilled cheese! It wasn't until I met my husband and we started cooking together that it sparked a passion inside of me. But I still wasn't that great at cooking! It was when I got pregnant with my first son four years ago when I realized how important it was to know what I was putting in my body. Then I knew that cooking my own food was the best way to be healthy. So it began, my mission to cook and to cook good food for my body, my husband's body, and my sweet children's body.

I think being a good cook was always inside of me since I come from a family of amazing cooks. My mom has always been such a health conscious, wonderful cook and same with most of the woman AND men in my family. It just took me starting my own little family to really bring that out in me. And my husband couldn't be happier.

With my passion of cooking comes my passion of teaching my little ones how important it is to grow our own food and to cook it. So since day one, my children have always been in the kitchen with me....wearing them, sitting on the counters, or standing on stools!. They are right by my side learning the ways of the kitchen and how to fuel the body that houses our soul. I hope one day to pass on my love for food and cooking to my amazing children!

THIS WEEK'S MENU:

MONDAY: Thai Green Curry Coconut Shrimp with Basil (We added broccoli and cut the curry by half to make it less spice for our son).

TUESDAY: Eggplant-Zucchini Lasagna

WEDNESDAY: Homemade minestrone soup and a green salad

THURSDAY: Veggie stir-fry over brown rice

FRIDAY- Baked Salmon, Zucchini & Yellow Squash Gratin (I will use half the butter and use milk instead of cream), Fried Green Tomatoes with a Remoulade Sauce (Just using the sauce in this recipe).

SATURDAY- Leftovers and a green salad

SUNDAY- Green Pizza and Apple, Walnut, & Endive Salad

Since it is the holiday season is starting I am going to add to my menus the extra baking and cooking I will be doing for the season!

EXTRAS:
Zucchini bread (some for now, some for freezing)
Canning homemade tomato sauce
Canning homemade applesauce for my baby boo
Homemade pesto for freezing
Caramel Stuffed Apple Cider Cookies

What are you cooking this week?

Peacefully,
Alyson

"Mother's love grows by giving." - Charles Lamb

Wordless Wednesday!

2011-10-12T14:31:00.000-07:00

There's no other love like the love for a brother. There's no other love like the love from a brother. -Astrid Alauda

Harvesting and Menus

2011-10-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year again....harvesting time! This is when we are drowning in tomatoes and zucchini and we struggle to keep up with the basil and parsley that grow faster than I can run! I love every second of it! Now starts the scramble of preserving of it all....tomato sauce, salsa, zucchini bread, pesto, dried herbs, you name it! All of this will be canned, frozen, or dried so we can reap the benefits all year long. I will be sharing pictures and recipes soon of everything we are making and preserving!

We heart tomatoes!

I love watching my three year old run around helping us harvest and picking fresh veggies off the vine to eat right there. Our 3- month old just loves to be carried around the garden or laying on a blanket soaking everything around him. Raising our children to know how to grow their own food and eat healthy has become an important part of our family. I am feel blessed that my parents taught me these lessons, so I can pass it on to my children.

Stay tuned to some preserving recipes and for what we will be planting for our winter crop!!!! Here is our menu for the week!!!!

MENU:

MONDAY: Whole wheat spaghetti with fresh homemade tomato sauce and a green salad

TUESDAY: Zucchini, Black Bean, and Rice Casserole with whole wheat tortillas (We use olive oil instead of canola. And we use fresh tomatoes instead of canned.)

WEDNESDAY: Homemade Tomato Basil Soup and a grilled cheese sandwich (We use fresh tomatoes instead of canned.)

THURSDAY: Leftovers and a big green salad

FRIDAY: Baked Dijon Salmon, Parmesan Stuffed Tomatoes, and Balsamic Roasted Potatoes

SATURDAY- Dinner at a a good friends home. We are bringing fresh baked bread, a green salad, and Apple Ice Cream with Caramel!!!!!!

SUNDAY- Fish tacos with black beans

What are you cooking this week?

Peacefully,
Alyson

"As a child, one has that magical capacity to move among the many eras of the earth; to see the land as an animal does; to experience the sky from the perspective of a flower or a bee; to feel the earth quiver and breathe beneath us; to know a hundred different smells of mud and listen unself- consciously to the soughing of the trees." -Valerie Andrews

Red Raspberry Leaf Tea Mocktail

2011-09-23T06:32:00.000-07:00

Summer is coming to an end and the cooler weather is starting to show its face. But I have to share this yummy summer drink especially for all you expecting mamas out there or even any woman for that matter because this drink is for all of us woman!

Red Raspberry Leaf is considered to be the "woman herb"! It holds so many benefits for all woman especially pregnant mamas! It has been known to help with the flu, morning sickness, diarrhea, gum disease, fever, hangovers, postpartum depression, balance out hormones during the postpartum time, breast milk supply, menstrual flow, and most popular helps during labor. This herb has been shown to help strengthen the uterus in order for it to contract more efficiently during labor. Which can help make childbirth easier and possibly faster. So of course this should be considered the "woman herb", look at all these benefits just for us ladies! This is an herb with centuries of safe use but please check with your midwife/doctor before using it.

I drank Red Raspberry Leaf tea throughout both of my pregnancies and continue to drink it for all the vitamins and benefits it gives! Maybe it will even make me a super woman! Let's hope! So with this last pregnancy, a close girlfriend of mine shared this yummy summer drink recipe with me. It was perfect on the warm days when I was craving something cold. I loved it when I was pregnant and continue to love it!

So for all you ladies out there, especially the ones growing a precious lil babe, try this out!

RASPBERRY LEAF TEA MOCKTAIL
Brew 5-6 bags of Raspberry Leaf Tea in 1 litre of boiling water for 5-6 minutes and chill.

Mix in 2 cups of apple juice, and 2 cups of soda water (you might want to play around with quantities here, to get the taste exactly right for you.)

Pour it over some ice and go crazy with the garnish. I love it with fresh raspberries, a wedge of lemon, or even a sprig of mint.

Enjoy!

Peacefully,

Alyson

"We have a secret in our culture, and it's not that birth is painful; it's that women are strong." -Laura Stavoe Harm

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

Brother Love and Menu Love

2011-09-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

Since the minute we told my three year old son that he was going to be a big brother, he had many questions that led to a ton of excitement. We had lots of talks about if the baby was going to be a brother or a sister, what it means to be a brother, and who mommy and daddy's brothers and sisters were.

But I don't think he fully grasped the concept of being a big brother till our little one was born. I will never ever forget the moment when Ayden met Asher. I will forever remember the way he tried to hide his pure excitement behind his shy smile and his big eyes wide open with curiosity! It is so hard to describe the emotion, excitement, and love Ayden had that moment in time. I couldn't help myself but to cry those tears of overwhelming love when I saw Ayden look at Asher for the first time. Ayden was so calm and compassionate to me and Asher. He kept giving Asher little kisses and then he would look up at me and just put his hand on my cheek so softly. It was the sweetest moment in my life. My heart was so full and so warm. I knew from that moment that these two boys were going to be the best of friends.

With all the sweet moments that come with sibling love, we are still working on what it means to be gentle and calm around little brother. I believe it could be like opening a Christmas present that you can't play with right away. Ayden just wants to play with his little brother who he loves so dearly but is trying so very hard to understand that his little brother just can't play quite yet. It has been a challenge but we are working on it.

So for now we are working on singing songs to little brother, making him smile, and showing him all the amazing things that big brother wants to show him.....footballs, books, bubbles, jumping skills! Soon the wrestling, digging, soccer playing, and fort building will be happening!

Now that my baby boy has been more awake and noticing the world around him, he has been in awe with his big brother. Asher will just sit and stare at Ayden with this look of amazement. I can tell from just the little looks and smiles he gives his big brother that he loves him so much already! It is incredible to just sit and watch them together and watch their bond grow!

Okay...On to menu planning. I am back! I am back to full on menu planning! After my son was born we had so many of our amazing family and friends bring us meals, that I didn't have to think about what to make for several weeks. It was such a blessing and we are so grateful for our loved ones who helped us out. I also froze several meals as well. I didn't even have to think about menu planning till the past month! I am excited to try new recipes and share them. And pretty soon I will be including a whole section of this blog to making your own baby food. One of my favorite things I did with my first son! Stay tuned! Of course all of our meals are organically and sustainably made as much as possible! This weeks menu is full of vegetables that we grew ourselves in our backyard and our little farm we grow on!

MENU:

MONDAY: Salmon burgers, green salad, and kale chips

TUESDAY: Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup

WEDNESDAY: Spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce and spinach salad

THURSDAY: Leftovers

FRIDAY: Baked Salmon, Parmesan Stuffed Tomatoes, and Green Bean Salad

SATURDAY- Quinoa with currants, dill, and zucchini topped with a fried egg

SUNDAY- Healthy Tuna Melt and Avocado-Corn Salad

What are you cooking this week?

Peacefully,

Alyson

"Sometimes being a brother is even better than being a superhero." ~Marc Brown

Happy Anniversary to my best friend

2011-09-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

Today in my home we are celebrating two years of marriage and love! Two years ago I married my love, my best friend, and soul mate. I feel blessed every day to be walking this journey with him. I couldn't imagine my life without him. Plus I am super blessed to have a husband that goes along with all my crazy ideas! Thanks babe!

We were blessed with the most beautiful day on the Oregon Coast! Very rare! It was almost like the day was meant for us to be there in that exact place uniting our love!

I usually end my posts with a quote but today I am choosing to share with you the song we chose for our first dance as a married couple. We choose this song because it symbolizes the friendship we have on top of true love for each other. Plus it is one of our favorites to road trip to and sing obnoxiously loud in the car together. Enjoy!

P.S. I am joining the blogging world again with a full force next week. I needed to get a good routine down in order to find time to blog. Late night blogging here I come. Stay tuned to more frequent posts about babies, preschoolers, mommyhood, pregnancy, life, and saving this planet one blog post at a time!

And then there were four......

2011-08-11T10:38:00.000-07:00

Where have I been for the past month, you ask?! What have I been doing? Well....this precious beautiful little human has taken us on a new journey. We have been soaking up some newborn love!

After a long and warm summer solstice evening, on the morning of June 22nd my husband, my son, and I welcomed our new beautiful baby boy into this world and into our growing family with so much love. He entered this world in a complete natural state with a mighty 9 lbs and 4 oz. We have been spending these days snuggling him, taking in all that he is, cherishing every moment, and adjusting to our new roles. I am in love!!!! Welcome to this world, my new love, Asher.

As some of you know, my dream was to have a home birth but because of circumstances out of my control, I had to have a hospital birth. But that didn't stop me from having an incredible birth team....my husband, my mother, my doula, and my incredible amazing midwife. I was able to have an intervention-free and drug-free birth in a very peaceful, spiritual, and respectful environment. After delivering a 9 pound baby completely natural I feel like a warrior!

I feel so blessed to be the mother of two boys. I am so ready for the fun adventure that lies in front of me. The world of boys is quite an exciting world. My husband and I don't find out the sex of our babies before they are born. We love the surprise and being able to find out the sex together as we hold our little one is a very magical experience. I wouldn't want it any other way. Also, for myself and my husband, we feel that it is more natural for us to get to know our children this way then the typical "girl" "boy" image you get from an ultrasound. This is strictly only our opinion and how we like to do things. Of course every family is different and you must do what is right for your family. Nevertheless, we are overjoyed to have two boys and to watch them grow together!

Parenthood has been the most amazing, incredible journey we have embarked on. Being a mother has been more rewarding and more beautiful than I ever could imagine. Life just makes so much sense after I have held both of my sons for the first time. The instant feeling of unconditional love is beautifully overwhelming. I feel blessed to have experienced this love yet again with my new beautiful babe. Oh, its incredible!

I am working on Asher's birth story now, as well as my first son's birth story! I want to be able to share my birth stories to you all in effort to help normalize birth in our society! Stay tuned to these stories and to my weekly menus that will be coming back!

I am ending this blog with a blessing that I read to my sons. I actually read four total but I am going to share the other three in later posts.

Apache Blessing

May the sun bring you new energy by day,

May the moon softly restore you by night,

May the rain wash away your worries

And the breeze blow new strength into your being,

And all of the days of your life may you walk

Gently through the world and know its beauty.

Peacefully,

Alyson

Birth Goddess

2011-06-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

"Creating life is goddess work. You are stronger, more powerful, and more focused than you’ve ever been. Life force is coursing through your body and you are living life in a heightened state of awareness…What might make you feel vulnerable also makes you fierce. In this state, you are amazing. You are going to access parts of yourself that you didn’t know existed. You are going to face your fears…You are a birth goddess and you will do what needs to be done."

-Quote from the book, Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein

This quote is true in every sense. I felt very empowered after having my first baby! I honestly felt like I could climb mountains afterwards! Truly pregnancy and birth prepares you for motherhood....those mountains I felt like I could climb are mountains I climb every day as a mother and a parent. If you are expecting or will be expecting in your future...take this quote and read it every day. Empower yourself to be a birth goddess and a mama goddess!

Peacefully,

Alyson

Preparing and Menus

2011-06-06T10:43:00.000-07:00

As I sit here and drink my warm cup of pregnancy tea, I feel over joyed and excited to be meeting our new bundle of joy in the next few weeks. The excitement can sometimes lead to nervousness but that is a part of pregnancy and welcoming newness into our lives. As I am feeling all this excitement, nervousness, and joyfulness...I know there is a lot to be done around here. My before-baby list fills up a huge piece of paper right now but at the same time I don't feel rushed. I know that no matter what I will be ready for this sweet little baby, when this sweet little baby is ready to come. Inside of my belly is a sweet tiny life patiently waiting for their arrival and my little family and I are waiting patiently as well with love. So everyday I am doing small things here and there to prepare for this sweet little one. From washing those precious little clothes & hats, getting all the cloth diapers together, yoga, walking, reading, cleaning the Moses basket, freezing meals, and just cuddling with my little boy! There is actually a lot more on my list to do but I'm just taking it slow and easy!

Friday was my cloth diaper day with lots of organizing and cleaning! I got them all cleaned and organized by size. The little newborn cloth diapers are by far the cutest things in the world. They are so incredibly small! It was so fun to pull out all the cute little prefold, covers, and wipes, to clean them, and put them all away. It brought back some amazing memories of when my little boy was a little baby! Geez...it goes so quickly!

So here is my green mama advice for all you mamas out there who want a green, eco-friendly, toxic-free detergent for cleaning your sweet little baby's diapers, clothes, and blankets. Baby's skin is very sensitive and I believe that the typical store bought detergent can be unhealthy for a new baby and the environment. So here are my top 3 detergents you can use to save your baby's skin and planet.

Charlies Soap- We started using this soap when my son was first born. I love it. It is safe, non toxic, and biodegradable! It seems kind of expensive at first but it lasts a lot longer than most detergents. There is free shipping online through their website or you can find it at some local Whole Foods stores and baby stores. Their website also shows different retail stores that sell their products in your area.
J.R. Watkins Natural Home Care Laundry Soap- We just started using this soap in the past month or so. It is very similar to Charlies Soap.....all natural, eco-friendly, and toxic-free. I have only seen this at one local store here in Portland. But you can find it online.
Make your own detergent! I have yet to do this but have wanted to! I hope soon I can give it a try! If anyone has any great recipes for laundry detergent, send them my way!

Enjoy some pictures of part of my cloth diaper stash!

And now on to my menu for this week! I am doubling a couple of my meals this week to freeze for when the baby is here. As usual we are using food that is either grown sustainably, organically, or locally! It is important for our bodies, our planet, and our souls to eat as healthy and sustainably as possible!

MENU:

MONDAY: Tortellini Salad with tuna (sustainably caught tuna) and sauteed swiss chard

TUESDAY: Spinach and Mushroom Quiche (recipe posted soon) and a big green salad.

WEDNESDAY- Homemade minestrone soup (recipe posted soon) and a big green salad

THURSDAY- Veggie tofu stir fry over brown rice

FRIDAY- BBQ Black bean burgers, grilled pineapple, and Strawberry Spinach Salad

SATURDAY- Leftovers and a big green salad

SUNDAY- Mustard-Crusted Salmon, kale chips (recipe posted soon), and whole wheat couscous

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

What are you cooking this week?

Peacefully,
Alyson

"Be Content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." - Lao Tzu

Menus & Nature Walks

2011-05-19T09:31:00.000-07:00

I am back! I took a short leave from blogging to concentrate on my pregnancy and my family! I have a lot to share and a lot of new fresh ideas for the blog, so stayed tuned!

The sun is here, even in Oregon when it feels like rain is an everyday occurrence! I absolutely love being outside, so I have been getting out every time there is a break in the rain. We have had quite a few nice days and I am taking full advantage of it with lots of walks. The perfect exercise for pregnant mama. My son and I went for a little hike along a river trail in one of our local parks, which my son calls the "exploring park". I think we walked about 4 or 5 miles! It felt so good to walk that much, to enjoy the fresh air, and explore our outside world. My son was on a full search to find.....a butterfly, fish, pig, duck, and spider. We looked very hard for all five of these earth creatures but only found a duck and a spider. That is okay though, we will find the others on another adventure. It was a blast. Enjoy some pictures from our adventure.......

And here is my menu for this week. From now on I plan to post my menus on Mondays. That is a "plan" and sometimes plans change...but I am shooting for every Monday! Even without my menus being posted on this blog...I still manage to continue menu planning. It really works so well for our family that if I don't menu plan for just one week, things just go haywire! I am so elated that the growing season is here and that my recipes can include more of our favorite fruits and vegetables that are now in season! As usual, we strive to eat our food as organic, local, and sustainable as we can!

MENU:

MONDAY- Whole wheat spaghetti with homemade tomato and veggie sauce

TUESDAY- Homemade pizza with homemade pizza crust and kale chips (recipe to follow).

WEDNESDAY- Orzo & Broccoli Pesto Salad with shrimp skewers

THURSDAY- Black bean burgers and grilled zucchini and pineapple

FRIDAY- Dinner at a good friend's home!

SATURDAY- Salmon Chowder and fresh green salad

SUNDAY- Leftover soup and veggie sandwiches!

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

What are you cooking this week?

Peacefully,
Alyson

"Laughter is brightest where food is best." -Irish Proverb

Happy Earth Day!

2011-04-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

While everyday is Earth Day in our house, today we also celebrate our planet....mother nature...mother earth...our home! She is absolutely magnificent and deserves such a celebration, especially everyday! It is time for us as a whole human race to be kind to her! Our planet is our home, and we are all connected as one big family! It is time we set aside our differences, reach out with love and kindness, and help each other and this planet. We need to listen to what Mother Earth is saying and tred lighter on her. This needs to be done so our children and grandchildren have a safe and healthy place to live.

So go outside today and do something kind for our planet. Then try it again tomorrow and the day after. There are many small things that can be done every single day that leads to a earth friendly life. It doesn't take much! If everyone started taking these small steps to help our planet and each other....things will get better. Our earth will start to heal! And we need to do this with love....lots of love!

Here are list of things you can do today and everyday to celebrate our Earth and to do something kind for her......

Plant a tree!
Plant a garden/work in the garden
Cook and eat an organic, local, sustainable dinner
Thank & hug a farmer
Go on a nature walk
Hug a tree
Avoid this nasty thing called....plastic!
Pick up litter
Clean up your favorite park or beach
Sit in a beautiful spot outside & meditate
Attend local events that promote earth friendly activities.
Stop buying stuff
Reuse and upcycle what you already have
Share with others
Make something instead of purchasing it
Be creative!
Watch a documentary that expands your knowledge. My favorites....No Impact Man, King Corn, Blue Gold, Food Inc, Tapped, Fresh, Garbage Warriors, Dirt-The Movie, Bag It. Oh I have so many but I will stop there

I truly could go on forever! There is so much that can be done! So I hope you get out and enjoy this day while doing your best to do something kind for this planet. I'm off to enjoy the sun with some planting of trees, vegetables, and flowers! Then a great "earth dinner" with my little family! Tomorrow is our local Earth Day Celebration that we will be attending!

I got permission to use this image from the amazing Brenna @ Almost All The Truth! Check out her blog!

Happy Earth Day!
-Alyson

"The care of the Earth is our most ancient and most worthy, and after all our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it and to foster its renewal is our only hope." -Wendell Berry

Menus and Bellies

2011-04-21T17:06:00.000-07:00

30 weeks today! Two more months! I feel like this pregnancy has gone so fast yet at the same time I can't remember what it was like NOT being pregnant! My belly is growing right along with my little one and I am feeling great at the moment! I am trying to walk as much as possible and doing my yoga routine more frequently! And nesting....that is already in FULL effect! For the next two months...I plan to send some "organic" pregnancy tips your way. Maybe I will even keep doing it after the baby is born! The pregnancy and birth world has really become a passion of mine and I LOVE to talk and share information about it. Since I am working on becoming a doula, I feel writing on here about pregnancy and birth will only expand my knowledge about it! So stay tuned in the next week for some awesome organic pregnancy talk!

My belly at.....28 weeks!

Sorry the lack of posts the past week or so. This spring weather has kept me outside...planting, walking, playing, enjoying! I am not going anywhere though. My blog is staying and soon with a fresh look to it. I am excited to share it with you all! On to my menu for this week! We have quite a few simple recipes for the week and then some fun ones for the fun weekend we have ahead! Since this is Earth Week.....remember that one of the biggest things you can do to help our Earth is to cook and eat organic, local, and sustainable foods. The foods we choose determine the health of the earth and our bodies!

MENU:

MONDAY: Baked salmon, sauteed asparagus, and brown rice

TUESDAY- Vegetable Stir Fry over brown rice

WEDNESDAY- Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

THURSDAY- Dinner at a good friend's house

FRIDAY- Happy Earth Day! Light & Creamy Asparagus Pasta (We will be adding local sustainably caught shrimp to this dish). I am also making Kale Chips as an appetizer. Recipe to follow!

SATURDAY- Green Pizza with homemade dough

SUNDAY- Happy Easter! Having a family dinner at my aunt's house. Making and bringing a Broccoli & Garlic Quiche! Recipe to follow!

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

What are you cooking this week?

Peacefully,
Alyson

"Eating Is An Environmental Act." -Alice Waters, Restaurateur/Environmental Activist

Music for the Soul- Ziggy Marley

2011-04-10T20:35:00.000-07:00

If you walk into our house music is usually playing and you will find that a lot of the time that music is reggae or a form of reggae. We absolutely love to shake our booty to some reggae! Shorty after our son was born, we were given a CD by Ziggy Marley called "Family Time". A CD full of family and kids songs all by Ziggy Marley.......YES!!!! The moment we heard the whole CD, we knew it would be a family favorite for years and years. Just like most of Ziggy's music, this album is filled with messages of love, unity, generosity, compassion, fun, and peacefulness. In my opinion, the perfect recipe for great encouraging childrens music! Plus this CD really opened up the world of reggae music to my son and he loves it. When asked what music he wants to listen to he either says "Ziggy" or "Rock N Roll." And when we play Ziggy, my son knows every single word!

It's so hard to pick a favorite Ziggy song, especially from this album. So I had to pick two to share with you all. Enjoy these great songs with your kids....or even if you don't have kids!!!!

The first one is called "Family Time". We absolutely love this one, since it really enhances how special family time really is!

This one is called "I Love You Too". This is our absolute family favorite song of all! It's all about love....what more would we want!? As a family we are constantly telling each other that we love each other (like probably 100 times a day) and this song just helps express that when we sing and dance to it. LOVE....LOVE....LOVE!

Enjoy the music,
Alyson

"I think Americans should have a policy of love. That should be the foreign policy, love. Export Love."- Ziggy Marley

One Small Change- April

2011-04-06T09:08:00.000-07:00

It's Earth Month! The celebration and communication of our love for the planet is circulating this month! Which in our household is EVERY month but this month always has an extra focus on the earth, with planting and being outside more. We have a lot planned this month for our changes that will lessen our carbon footprint. I can't wait to get to it.

For those who are new to my blog...I am part of a campaign that challenges people to make a eco-friendly change monthly. It doesn't have to be big, just something that will lessen your carbon footprint. Check my first One Small Change blog here or the One Small Change Blog to read more about it. I just learned that the blog who hosts One Small Change has chosen to end One Small Change blog to allow more time for herself and her family. I am sad to see it go but totally understand where she is coming from, I have felt the need to do this a few times. I think I will continue my own little version of One Small Change, because it helps me to write and share about my goals and wishes for this planet. I might call it something different but I will keep you informed with it in May.

As usual, I am doing more than just one small change. I just find that there is so much to do that I can't pick just one thing! Here is my long yet fun list of changes for the month:

Making my own green, toxic free, all purpose cleaner and bathroom cleaner. We only buy toxic free and green cleaners in our home but I thought I would try making my own. It will be less packaging and better for our bodies & the environment. I am in the middle of researching the best way to do this. Before April ends, I will post my recipe, pictures, and how it went. Once I get these done, I will move onto other cleaners and household products. My goal: removing most or all toxins out of my home!
We are doing two tree plantings! One is in my parents backyard. The other is at a local park. My son will be involved with both. I strongly believe that children should be a part of helping our beautiful earth at an early age. They are our future! We have already done one planting in February and he loved it.
The city is also putting on a Nature Walk at a local park for 3 and 4 year olds. My son and I will go check it out!
Attending an awesome Earth Day celebration, that City Repair puts on every year. The event will be full of booths with sustainable living information, music, food, kids activities, community art projects, and community service projects. We will make this a family day and enjoy the celebration of our earth and all that live on it.
For Easter, we will be making our own natural toxic-free color dye to decorate our eggs with. We will definitely take some pictures and post them.
I am also continuing my "green" spring cleaning. I am actually going to dedicate a whole blog about this, because its a fun subject with a lot to write about.

Wow....that is a lot! I like keeping myself busy, as long at it involves my family! On top, of all of this we are also doing most of our planting for our backyard garden and our co-op farm. Planting and waiting for the seeds to sprout is my favorite part of gardening....well besides eating the fresh produce that you grow yourself!

What changes are you making this month to lessen your carbon footprint?

Happy Earth Month,
Alyson

"I'm not an environmentalist. I'm an Earth warrior." ~Darryl Cherney

Menus and Organics

2011-04-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

My mama rocks and I think it is funny that the way of living that I want for myself and for my children is what she has taught me all along. It wasn't until I had my own baby that I realized this. I cherish everything she has taught me and continues to teach me. Especially in the way of loving our earth, our fellow humans, and ourselves. She is a smart lady! My mother and I spent some time together yesterday going to some maternity/baby shops around town and we stopped in two sustainable living shops. These shops were pretty much exactly what I had been wanting to find for some time now. I didn't buy much, but got some good ideas for my home and how to reuse things I already have. My husband and I are really doing our best to bring sustainability to the way we live and eat. It is refreshing to be living this way and we know that this is a lifestyle that we will continue for the rest of our lives.

I found this poster at one of the stores I went to, and I want to share it with you. I will get some photos of it soon. I love what it has to say about "growing and becoming organic". It pretty much sums up our belief on being organic!

Going organic takes patience, curiosity, open-mindedness and humility. Organic growing acknowledges a cooperation with nature and a collaboration with its intrinsic balance. When we commit to a non-aggressive approach, we begin to view nature, not as a foe, but as a friend and partner in our garden.

Imagine Your Garden
Cultivate the Earth
And Our Connection With It
Greet the Sun
Feed the Soil*Let It Breathe
Welcome Earthworms
Thank busy soil organisms hard at work
Compost
Cherish The Treasure of Stones
And Bones and Broken China
Practice Non-Aggression
What Works in the Garden May Work in the World One Day
Bless the Seed You Sow
Observe weather
Welcome the Gifts of the Seasons
Weed Early And Often
Leave Wild Spaces
Mulch
Feel Your Whole Body
Know the Cycles of the Moon
Keep a Garden Journal
Charm Fairies
Explore Companion Planting
Flowers & Herbs Love Fruits & Veggies
Welcome Beneficial Insects
Discourage Foes
Work in Harmony With Nature
Don’t Use Chemical Herbicides,
Pesticides, or Fertilizers
Take Pleasure in Your Garden As
A Gift to the Birds, The Bees,
And the Children
Dance In The Fields
Teach And Learn
Save Seeds*Tell Stories
Look At Stars
Rotate Crops*Rest The Earth
Observe* Adapt*Enrich
Sustain*Preserve
Savor The Abundance
Share the Harvest
Give Thanks

-Melinda Matzell

Our backyard winter garlic that will be ready in a month or so!

With that being said....let's move on to my menu for the week! I am moving over two recipes from last week because our weekend got busy fast and our dinner were rearranged a little.

MENU:

MONDAY: Veggie and tofu stirfry with brown rice

TUESDAY- Spinach Enchiladas (recipe posted soon)

WEDNESDAY- Homemade pizza with homemade pizza dough and a green salad

THURSDAY- Mustard-Crusted Salmon and Potato Casserole (recipe posted soon)

FRIDAY- Leftovers and a fresh spinach salad

SATURDAY- Poached Cod and Asparagus

SUNDAY- Family Dinner @ my aunt's house. I am making Creamy Spring Asparagus Soup to bring! (Side note: We use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth)

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

What are you cooking this week?

Happy eating & cooking,
Alyson

"Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food." -Hippocrates

Cod with Fennel Butter

2011-03-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

I want to share this recipe that I prepared a couple weeks ago. It is a wonderful light dish that goes well with any vegetable. I served roasted potatoes and steamed artichokes with it. The recipe is from "The Cook's Encyclopedia of Four Ingredient Cooking" by Joanna Farrow. I did change it slightly though, it called for Haddock fish, which is expensive and hard to find. I instead bought cod fish for it.

A note about buying fish: Overfishing and trawling have drastically reduced the number of cod in the Atlantic Ocean and destroyed its sea floor. A better choice is Pacific cod (a.k.a. Alaska cod); it is more sustainably fished and has a larger, more stable population, according to Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch. I always try and buy sustainable seafood. Marine Stewardship Council is a great organization that provides labels and information on fishery companies that are operating in a environmentally responsible way. When you buy seafood with the Marine Stewardship Council blue ecolabel on it, you will know that this fish was caught in a sustainable and ocean friendly way. I am also very blessed with a brother who is a fly fisherman and occasionally brings me fresh caught fish. He of course catches his fish in a sustainable way too!

COD WITH FENNEL BUTTER (The Cook's Encyclopedia of Four Ingredient Cooking by Joanna Farrow)

Ingredients: (4 servings)

1 1/2 pounds cod fillet (or haddock), skinned and cut into 4 portions
1/4 cup of butter
1 lemon
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fennel

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Season the fish on both sides with salt and pepper. Melt one-fourth of the butter in a skillet, preferably nonstick, and cook the fish fillets over medium heat briefly on both sides.

Transfer the fish to a shallow ovenproof dish. Cut four wafer-thin slices from the lemon and squeeze the juice from the remainder over the fish. Place the lemon slices on top and then bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish is cooked.

Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in the skillet and add the fennel and a little seasoning.

Transfer the cooked fish to plates and pour the cooking juices into the herb butter. Heat gently for a few seconds, then pour the herb butter over the fish. Serve immediately!

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking,
Alyson

Menus, Babies, and Bellies!

2011-03-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

As most of you know my husband is a professional photographer (and my personal photog tutor) and we have decided to throw a really fun mini-session portrait party! SO...for all you Portland mamas out there check this out!

This is a great opportunity to save over 50% off regular session fees! I will be there assisting any moms or kiddos that need it! I will also be providing light snacks as well as discount coupons and information on local companies who support local mommas! There is limited space available, so please book your session time NOW!! I hope to see all you glowing mamas there!

On to some pregnancy musings. I have been researching a lot about cloth diapers the past few days. We did cloth diapers with my son and loved it. When we first started, so many people said it was too hard and we wouldn't be able to do it. HOGWASH, I tell you! It was much easier than anticipated! We had a cloth diaper service for the first couple months that my son was born, which made it SO incredibly easy. But even when we no longer had the service it was just as easy. With the easy factor comes the green and toxin-free factor. Happy babies, happy planet, happy mamas! Cloth diapers have little to NO toxins, which protects our precious little one's bottoms! Keeping disposable diapers OUT of the landfills, helps our beautiful planet....our home! The average child goes through 6,000-10,000 diapers from birth to potty learning and these diapers sit in landfills for over 300 years! GROSS!

So, why am I researching cloth diapers if I already know about them? I want to learn about all the different cloth diaper products that are out there. Let me tell you....there are LOTS!!!! We used Bummis and BumGenius diaper covers with organic cotton diaper prefolds! We really loved both products and kept them all. We plan to use the ones we kept but I want to add to my cloth diaper stash. I want to try a different brand! So my research continues. If any of your mamas out there recommend a different cloth diaper brand, send it my way. I plan to put together a whole blog about cloth diapers, how to use them, and tips for all you mamas out there! Keep an eye out for that!

And for our menu this week! I hope everyone is taking steps towards a healthy organic way of eating for your body and our planet!

MENU:

MONDAY: Vegetable Polenta Bake (moved from last week) with a green salad

TUESDAY: Egg Salad Sandwiches with a green salad

WEDNESDAY: Shrimp Tacos with black beans

THURSDAY: Spaghetti with homemade veggie/tomato sauce and steamed kale

FRIDAY: Veggie & Tofu Stir fry with brown rice

SATURDAY- Vegetarian Cobb Salad and leftovers

SUNDAY- Potato Casserole (*recipe to come) and Mustard Crusted Salmon

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

Peace, love, and understanding,
Alyson

"The best medicine in the world is a mother's kiss." - Anonymous

Menus and Greenhouses

2011-03-24T10:03:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we spent some time at our farm. We almost finished our greenhouse. All we have left is a small part of our roof and the shelves to build on the inside. Our goal is for it to be done by the end of this month. Our seeds should be here in a few days and we will immediately get some of those started in starter trays! We have added two other families to our co-op farm this season. We now have 6 families total and very excited for them to be joining us.

The greenhouse plastic use to be huge industrial plastic bags. One of the families we work with on the farm had it stored in their garage for a long time, so we decided to cut the huge bags and use the big plastic sheets for our greenhouse! I am proud of ourselves for keeping the plastic out of the landfill and thinking of a great way to reuse it!!!! We have been so conscious about our carbon footprint and impact on this earth, that it is starting to just come natural to us. Reducing our impact on this earth has fit its way into our daily rhythm, that it is just a part of our lives now. That is how it should be and what I hope for everyone on our earth. It's not hard work to nurture our planet!

Our neighboring farmer's bees! They are working hard!

Our neighboring farmers torn down their shed and told us we could use any of the wood! We got way too excited over wood! This wood is perfect for making shelves for the inside of our greenhouse! Again, we were happy to be recycling and reusing this wood!

My husband being cute!

Ready to drill!!!

It was quite muddy out there! I am surprised I could get this picture around my big pregnant belly!

Meet Chalo! He is awesome! He works for the farm we lease land from. He is always stopping by to chat, see if we need any help, or take the kids for a ride!

The kids exploring and having fun in the mud!

Bringing me the pitch fork! Yes, I know he is barefoot! Have you ever walked in mud barefoot? It feels so good! Don't worry I made sure there wasn't anything dangerous he could step on.

Our greenhouse almost done! Just need to finish the roof and put up shelves!

More farm adventures to come!

On to our menu for this week. We are doing so well with our menu planning and continue to try new things! We do everything we can to eat healthy, organic, local, and sustainable food! It is harder in the winter months but we are getting better and better at it. I am glad my son is growing up learning the value of healthy food and knowing where his food is coming from! This is a big life lesson that I am glad he is learning now!

MENU:

MONDAY: Vegetable & Barley Soup with a green salad (moved from last week.)

TUESDAY: Angel hair pasta bake

WEDNESDAY: Vegetarian Cobb Salad and leftover pasta bake (*recipe to come)

THURSDAY: Creamy Spinach Asparagus Soup and baked lemon-pepper salmon (substituting the chicken broth with vegetable broth)

FRIDAY- Dinner with some good friends!

SATURDAY- SOLV's Beach Clean-up! Eating at one of my favorite little restaurants on the Oregon Coast.

SUNDAY- Polenta & Vegetable Bake and a green salad

What are you cooking this week?

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

Happy cooking,

Alyson

"We have forgotten who we are, we have lost our sense of wonder and connectedness, we have degraded the earth and our fellow creatures, and we have nowhere else to go . . . " - Earth Charter

Reusable Produce & Bulk Bags and the Beauty of Upcycling

2011-03-20T23:45:00.000-07:00

Time is slipping away from me. Things are happening fast and I am finding it harder to sit and blog. That means it is time to re-adjust my daily rhythm. Which makes life fun!

I am finally finding some time to blog about the reusable produce & bulk bags I made last month with my mama. I was so intimidated by my sewing machine but found it a lot easier than I anticipated and it gave me some much needed practice on my machine. I am ready to start making some more fun things!

Needed materials:

Organic Muslin fabric (We used some that my mom already had and we bought a couple yards at a fabric store. I strongly believe since it will be used for food, that I shouldn't use any dyed fabric. I don't want any color dyes to get onto my food that I will be consuming.)
Cording or thick string (We upcycled gift bag handles. We took off all the handles of any gifts bags that were no longer reusable at my mom's house)
Sewing Machine
Hooking tool
Wood Kebab Skewer

Steps:

I cut the fabric using a cutter and a cutting mat. I first wanted to make a smaller bag, to make sure I knew what I was doing. So I fabric measurements that I cut were 26 inches long and 9 inches wide. The smaller bags are perfect bulk bags for flour, sugar, oats, almonds, any grain, etc.

I then took the cut piece of fabric and folded it in half. I then sewed the sides at an 1/2 inch. On one of my sides I left about 3/4 inch unsewn at the top. This is provide an opening for the cording/string to fit in.

Then I took the top of the fabric and folded about 3/4 inch.

Next was to sew the top fold. Make sure to leave an 1/2 opening for the cording/string.

Turn the fabric inside out.

Take cording/string and push it into the top opening with a wooden skewer. Once you get the string/cording half way in, put the hooking tool in the other side and pull the cording/string out.

Tie and enjoy your finished project!

You can of course, change the measurements for the size of bag you want or personalize it however you want. You can also upcycle in fabric or cording from you house to make these bag. What better way to make an green impact on this earth but to upcycle for a reusable bag. Get away from those nasty plastic bags! Put your creative hat on and have fun with it!

I really enjoyed this project and plan to keep making bags, all different sizes and for all different uses! It has motivated me to keep on creating, especially items that promote an ecofriendly environment. My sister gave me a book called "Rubbish! Reuse Your Refuse!" by Kate Shoup. This book shows you how to give everyday household items a new life. With more than 30 creative projects upcycling and reducing trash, I will be one happy "green" mama! Keep a look out for some fun eco-friendly upcycling projects posted on here.

Happy Creating,
Alyson

"Every day is Earth Day." ~Author Unknown

Menus and Sending Hope to Japan

2011-03-15T10:08:00.001-07:00

As I sat yesterday to write my menu for the week, I felt some guilt come over me. I am sitting here worried about what I am going to make for the week and the people in Japan and many others in this world are worried if there are going to eat at all this week. My small issues are so trivial compared everything going on through out this world especially Japan's devastation.

The day of Japan's earthquake I awoke at 5:30am and couldn't sleep. I decided to get out of bed and get online to check my normal things, coming to find out about the devastation that was occurring in Japan. I sat watching the footage with tears rolling down my face. It is hard to even grasp or truly understand the severity of it all. My heart and love goes out to all of our brothers and sisters in Japan. I know that we are so far away from the devastation in Japan but we are connected. Our planet is our home, we are all a family and we are all affected. This is so big! It is time we start listening to our planet. She is tired and trying to tell us to be kinder to her and to one another. To tread lighter on her. As I watched the events unfold in Japan this weekend, I was wishing that I could do more than just watch from overseas. So, when a friend shared a link with me, it motivated me to help a little. Even though we can't do much, I know that even a little bit will help someone in Japan who has lost everything. The link my friend shared is from Mother Nature Network (a great website), who lists all the different ways you can help Japan! Click here....How to help Japan now! We have chosen an organization on this list and donated to it. If you are in the Portland area, you can also go to the Japanese Gardens to view the Wish Arbor as a Memorial for the victims in Japan. Click here for more information on the memorial. One planet, one family, one love!

I am posting my menu this week, wishing I could prepare each meal for all the victims in Japan.

MENU:

MONDAY: Vegetable egg stir fry with brown rice

TUESDAY: Homemade veggie pizza and fresh garden salad

WEDNESDAY: Slow Cooker Vegetable Barley Soup and leftover pizza

THURSDAY: Happy St. Patrick's Day! Veggie sausage, Red Potato Irish Colcannon, and roasted aspargus

FRIDAY- Leftovers and a green salad

SATURDAY- Cappellini with shrimp, lemon, and basil (*recipe posted next week)

SUNDAY- Almond Crusted Salmon, steamed broccoli, and whole wheat couscous

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

What are you cooking this week?

Peace, love, and understanding,
Alyson

"When things are at there worst, people rise to be their best " -Santana

Music for the Soul AKA Song of the Week

2011-03-13T23:23:00.000-07:00

I have SO much to write about this week and SO little time. Is it against the blogging "rules" to blog more than once a day? But then again, do I even have time to blog more than once a day! I was traveling this past week and have a lot of blogging "catching up" to do. I am back with lots to write about!

I use to do Song of the Week, where I would post a song I love weekly but began slacking on it the past few months. After many comments and requests from friends who loved the Song of the Week, I am bringing it back but with some changes. I will be posting it on Sundays and renaming it to "Music for the Soul." As I said in my first Song of the Week post, I am in love with music and I have been since the day I was born. My mother and father brought me up in a household where music was always playing and it taught me to appreciate music. I truly believe that music is the international language that will unite all humans and bring peace to this world. It is important to us as a family and we listen to music almost all day long. My taste in music is in a very broad spectrum...from bluegrass to underground hip-hop. I like it all! Check out my first Song of the Week post for more about why I am in love with music and why I want to share with you all some of my favorite songs!

Tonight I am sharing two songs! This musician/activist is just too good to pick only one song. Xavier Rudd is one of my family's favorite musicians. We first heard Xavier about 6 years ago and instantly fell in love with his amazing lyrics embraced by his acoustic, tribal, reggae style music. From Australia, his music brings us socially conscious lyrics focusing on environmental and human right issues. The first time I heard Xavier I felt my soul and spirit awaken and become refreshed. His music sends a message of unity and global awareness that we all need to hear. My husband and I feel blessed to be able to see a lot of musicians play but have yet to be able to see Xavier. I was beyond ecstatic to find out he was playing the week of my birthday here in my hometown. I told my husband, the only thing I wanted for my birthday was for him and I to be able to go see Xavier Rudd play. I can not wait to hear him play and especially hear his amazing talent on the didgeridoo!

This first song is called Better People. Everything about this song is beautiful. It is one of our favorite songs and we play it constantly at home. You could say it might be our "theme" song. Please take a few minutes to really listen to the lyrics and his message.

The second song I choose to share with you all is called Messages. This was the first song we ever heard from Xavier back in 2005. It is one of the most powerful songs I have ever heard. We are so blessed to be living on our beautiful and incredible planet! It is changing....we are changing! We need to nurture it and protect it so that our grandchildren can see the beauty it holds! The message of this song also speaks about us as humans changing and following our own path....something I hold dear to me as I have listened to my heart and started a journey that was true to myself and who I truly am inside. Enjoy and embrace!

Happy Listening,

Alyson

Three!

2011-03-05T08:31:00.000-08:00

My little baby Ayden boo is turning three today! He truly is an amazing, magical, imaginative, hilarious, kissable, caring, love of a little boy. He is my bundle of joy and brings his dad and I sunshine to each day. I feel honored and blessed to have the privilege to be his mama.

He loves me. And I love him. He has the greatest giggle and it spreads like wildfire in our home. The instant joy and love he brings to our home is pure and amazing. My life truly didn't start till he entered this world.

Thank you, my lovely, for being you and for showing your dad and I what life is truly about. Happy Birthday my sweet sweet, silly, lovey, little man! I am so glad you are here!

Just hours old!

My 3 year old!

One Small Change- March

2011-03-02T10:18:00.000-08:00

My February One Small Change(s) went amazing, as usual. It has felt so good, to be doing all of these changes for our planet and for us. People ask me if it is too much work but it is mostly pretty simple. Simplicity is the solution to most of these changes. We did have two hiccups this past month when trying to achieve a couple of our goals. The first one was having to reschedule our SOLV's neighborhood clean-up. Life happens and sometimes we can't do everything we hope to do! We rescheduled to do the neighborhood clean-up in the beginning of April. I will make sure to tell you all about it. Our other hiccup (and the saddest) was our point and shoot memory card was lost with all of our pictures of our tree planting on it. Major sad face! I hope it shows up soon so I am able to share the pictures of the awesome time we had planting.

During the month of February, I had a great time with my mama making our produce and bulk bags. I will share how I made them on a separate blog this week! The tree/bush planting was so much fun. My son had a great time and I am so glad he was able to experience this at a young age. The weather was quite bizarre this past month with some rain, sun, snow, and ice. Every chance we could, we got outside. I will continue being outside more this coming month.

Here are a couple "teaser" shots of when we made our own produce bags. By the end of the week I will post a blog all about how I made them.

My March One Small Change Plan:

We are joining SOLV with their Spring Beach Cleanup. I have done this in the past with family and enjoy my memories from it. We usually pick the Manzanita, Oregon area since it my absolute favorite beach from growing up there. If you are in Oregon, please check out SOLV's website and join the clean-up. Help keep our beautiful beaches and ocean clean!
My son's birthday is this week. We are having a small party with some of his little friends and our family. I am choosing to do eco-friendly party favors in place of a plastic or a sugar coated favor. Since Spring is around the corner, we are going to be giving out little growing pots with a packet of seeds. Pictures will be up of this!
I am starting my spring cleaning the "green" way. I am only going to do the first three steps of my spring cleaning this month and will be at it full force next month in preparation of our new little one arriving in the summer. My first step of spring cleaning this month is reducing our stuff. I will be carefully going through every corner of my house and making a pile of stuff we don't need anymore. My next step is reusing! I won't be throwing away this pile of stuff we don't use anymore. My goal is too keep most of it away from our landfills. I will go through it and make sure there is not another use for it either at our house or our farm. My last step for the month is donating. All the stuff that I know we can't reuse will be donated. I have a few plans of where I want to donate this stuff to and let you all know. I will share the rest of my green spring cleaning steps (there are 10) next month.

I will share how this went with pictures at the end of March. Check out my first One Small Change to see why I am doing this challenge or if you are new to my blog. Also, check out the One Small Change blog for more ideas about environmentally friendly changes you can make.

What changes are you making to lessen your carbon footprint on this planet?

Happy March,

Alyson

"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not." -Dr. Seuss, The Lorax

Menus and Seeds

2011-03-01T06:16:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lack of posts the past two weeks. My husband did a lot of traveling the past two weeks which caused our scheduling and rhythm to be a little jumbled. Then of course when he returned we needed a few days of straight family time. So I chose to put my blog on the back burner while I focused on other things. But I am back full force and with lots to write about! Today it is all about seeds!

I have been overly excited about Spring and find myself talking about it all the time. It is driving my husband crazy since he is ALL about winter time. His other love (besides me and his children) is snowboarding....oh and I guess photography too. But come winter time, he is in love with that board of his. So every time I talk about spring, he puts on his sad face. Poor guy! As he is tries to ignore the signs of Spring, we still will be ordering our seeds for the farm this coming week. I am really excited and I think he is secretly excited!

We are buying our seeds through Abundant Life Seed Company because they are local and they have mostly organic seeds. At our farm we are required to grow only organic seeds because the land we are growing on has been certified organic by the Oregon Tilth. Anything that we can't find through Abundant Life, we will be getting at Naomi's Organic Farm Supply (which is an amazing store). Today I just wanted to share with you all the different types of seeds we are growing this year at the farm.

Vegetables:
Arugula
Beans- (4 different varieties)
Broccoli
Beets
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Corn
Carrots
Cucumber- (3 different varieties)
Eggplant
Kale
Lettuce- (3 different varieties)
Melon
Mustard Greens
Onion- Scallions
Peas-(2 different varieties)
Peppers- (1 sweet variety, 2 hot varieties)
Potatoes- (3 different varieties)
Pumpkins
Radish
Spinach- (2 different varieties)
Summer Squash/Zucchini- (2 different varieties)
Swiss Chard- Rainbow
Tomato- (7 different varieties)
Tomatilllos- Purple
Watermelon
Winter Squash- Acorn

Herbs-
Basil (2 different varieties)
Cilantro
Chamomile
Dill
Fennel
Oregano
Parsley
Thyme

Flowers
Bee's Friend
Marigolds
Nastutrium
Sunflowers
Zinnias

We already have garlic and strawberries in the ground and growing! I can't wait to get my hands dirty and all the seeds planted.

What are you growing this year?

Tomato sprout from last season!

With all this seed talk, let's bring it into my menu for the week. I am glad my husband is home this week and we can have our family dinners back. It was really hard to plan and cook for just me and my son, basically cooking for one and a half. So I cooked only quick easy dinners. This week I am reconnecting with my food and the cooking process that I love. I am still using one to two recipes a week from the cookbooks I have at home and will post a separate blog with the recipe within a week.

MENU:

MONDAY: Vegetable stir fry with brown rice

TUESDAY- Whole wheat spaghetti with homemade tomato/veggie sauce and steamed broccoli

WEDNESDAY- Egg salad sandwiches and Warm Red Quinoa Salad

THURSDAY- Fish tacos* and homemade Spanish rice *recipes coming up next week

FRIDAY- Spring Asparagus & Broccoli Soup and Baked Lemon-Herb Salmon

SATURDAY- A family dinner in celebration of my son's 3rd BIRTHDAY! Homemade pizzas and a big fresh green salad!

SUNDAY- Baked potatoes and leftover soup (for hubby and son).
Work party/dinner for mama!

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

Happy growing & cooking,
Alyson

“Every gardener knows that under the cloak of winter lies a miracle…a seed waiting to sprout, a bulb opening to the light, a bud straining to unfurl. And the anticipation nurtures our dream.” – Barbara Winkler

Awards? ¿Para poco mí?

2011-02-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

After making the decision to take my blog to a more "professional" level and at a faster pace, I wasn't really sure where it would really take me. I am so happy and pleasantly surprised at all the positive responses I have been getting. I have been connecting to other bloggers and moms from all over the world, sharing ideas and visions. Emails and messages have been coming in from all different areas of the world with questions, praises, thanks-you's, and ideas. It has blown me away. I am truly excited for what is to come of this! It has been very therapeutic for me to be able to write about my musings and thoughts. Thank you all for the ongoing support and for reading what I write. I feel a little shy and humble about all the wonderful responses that are coming my way but I seriously can't thank you all enough for giving me so much love. My husband and I have been doing some serious brainstorming on what other steps and ideas we want to bring to my blog. I am excited to try some new things out!

In the past two weeks my blog has received two awards!!!! WOW! I am overjoyed and honored to receive them. One was The Versatile Blogger award. The other was The Stylish Blogger Award. Both from two different awesome bloggers!

The Versatile Blogger award was from Christine at Our Family of Four. In a very lovely poetic way, she writes about being a mama, a photographer, and loving crafts. I have enjoyed reading her musings about the love for her family and her love for taking photos. She has the cutest little family and I look forward to reading more about them. Check out her wonderful blog, Our Family Four.

The Stylish Blogger Award was given to me by Crystal at These Happy Michie's blog, which she likes to call her journal. She writes hilarious stories about being a mama and all the joys that come along with it. She also owns a dayhome where she cares for 6 other children. She writes to keep memories stored and savored for years to come. I have enjoyed reading her musings, check her out.

Thank you both Christine and Crystal for sending these awards my way. I feel incredibly honored. I am going to combine the rules of these awards since they are SO similar. The only difference is the Versatile Blogger Award asks you to pick 15 bloggers to send this award to and the Stylish Blogger awards ask you to send it to 1 blogger. I am going to choose 2 bloggers...one for each award. I know....I am changing it up a little!

The Rules:

1.) Thank and link back to the blog that gave you your award
2.) Share seven things about yourself.
3.) Award 15 recently discovered great bloggers. (I am doing only 2 bloggers)
4.) Contact the bloggers to let them know you've given them an award.

Seven little things about little me:

I work better under pressure and with a close deadline. My husband thinks it is crazy!
I am pretty strict about where everything goes in my kitchen. Everything must have a spot in my kitchen. The rest of the house...not so much!
I am obsessed with writing lists. I have several notebooks with several lists inside of them.
I have a goal of making my children clothes, soon!
I love it when my husband plays with my hair.
I day dream way too often about my future dream family farm house! I might need a day dream intervention.
My power to love keeps growing as I get older.

Two incredible blogs to follow:

A Banana Medley, written by Anna

She writes a very fresh feeling blog abut life. Her love for photography, thrift shopping fashion, and yummy recipes keeps me intrigued. She writes a weekly gratitude post, thanking four people or things that have brought her a smile that week. I love it. Check her out!

Living our Own Lives, written by Julie

I started reading Julie's blog about 3 or 4 months ago and we started communicating through comment love. I seriously feel like we would be great friends outside of the blog world. She writes about unschooling, her family, gardening, peace, and urban homesteading. Just my style! I love reading her blog and feel like I learn something new all the time from Julie.

Check these ladies out, you won't regret it.

Thank you all for sending me so much love through my blog. It is very much appreciated and keeps me going!

Happy blogging,

Alyson

"Gratitude is the best attitude." ~Author Unknown

Yearning for Spring

2011-02-15T17:41:00.000-08:00

I am ready! I am ready for more sun! I am ready for mother nature to paint some colors on our trees, flowers, and bushes. I am ready to get my hands and feet dirty while digging, planting, and tending to our garden and farm. I am ready to get our baby chicks (yes, I said chicks. I can't wait). I am ready to watch new growth outside. I am so ready for spring!

I am so ready that for the past week I go outside every single day and look around to see what new growth I can see. I watch to see if the tulips and daffodils have started poking through the dirt. I watch to see if the trees are starting to bud. I listen for all the birds and maybe just maybe I can hear a baby bird. When I do see new growth....I get REALLY excited! So excited that I have to show my little family. My husband thinks I am funny when I pull everyone over to see this small little green thing pushing through the dirt or forming off the end of a tree branch. But I notice the small things and that is why he loves me.

We have started our preparations for the growing season to start. Our green house at our farm is up and will be finished in the next few weeks. We are having a farm meeting this week and making our final decision on the seed order. Then ordering the seeds! YES! We are preparing to get our chicks very very soon! I can't wait to get out to the farm and to our back yard garden and start working. I read that pregnant women who garden and farm have easier and better labors. So...I will be out there on the farm everyday till I go into labor.

For those of you that don't know, we lease certified organic land with two other families to grow organic produce on. Last year was our first year and our learning year. This year, we have a better understanding and a feel for how mass gardening and farming works. We are working on being able to provide CSA boxes for our local community and finding ways to educate the community on growing food and eating healthy. Everything on our farm is done organically and with a positive impact for this planet. Check out our Seed the Farm Organics facebook page! I will be blogging a lot about this in the next few months......with recipes using our grown produce, how to preserve what you grow for the winter months, gardening tips, lots and lots of pictures, and updates on what we are growing! We do have a Seed the Farm Blog, which is somewhat in "under construction" mode. I will be blogging there too but linking back and forth with this blog.

32 days till the first day of Spring!

Enjoy my "new growth" pictures.....

Tulips!

My hydrangea bush is budding!!!!!

What are you growing this year?

Happy growing (soon),
Alyson

"Spring is nature's way of saying, "Let's party!" -Robin Williams

Menus and Love

2011-02-14T16:29:00.000-08:00

Happy Love Day everyone! In our house, we celebrate our love for each other everyday, so today is just like yesterday! BUT we do have a little fun with different projects, treats, and card making when celebrating Valentines Day. Today I am just going to share with you a couple pictures of how we prepared for our "love" day.

Last week, we did some watercolor painting on recycled watercolor paper. We then cut hearts out of the painted paper and made homemade cards with them. All of our card making was from materials I already had at home. The only thing I bought was the recycled watercolor paper, recycled card stock, and a cute owl stamp. We had a lot of fun creating our own cards.

This morning I made chocolate chip pancakes for my boys. They were delicious! My son and I then continued our morning with decorating organic chocolate cup cakes that I made last night. At Whole Foods I found organic red licorice hearts and red sprinkles that were naturally dyed from beet juice.

On to our menu for the week. Last week was unusual for us, our menu got a little messed up at the end of the week. We are usually pretty good at sticking to our menu but life happens and we just go with it. At the last minute my husband got an out of state photo job and had to leave for the weekend. So the menu for the weekend, got a little rearranged. SO you will see a couple repeats this week because I didn't get to them last week. Recipes and pictures will be coming soon for the cookbook recipes. With the seasons slowly changing, I am getting excited for the growing season to start and fresh produce to start arriving. Eat smart everyone!

MENU:

MON: Cod with Fennel Butter, Steamed Artichokes, and Roasted Rosemary Potatoes (*Recipe will be posted next week)

TUES: Huevos Rancheros with Kale

WED: Homemade Veggie Pizza with a fresh garden salad

THURS: Salmon Croquettes and a fresh green salad (*Recipe will be posted next week)

FRI: Farm meeting and dinner at our good friends house.

SAT: Falafel Pita Sandwiches with homemade Hummus and Tabbouleh

SUN: Out to dinner to celebrate my amazing Mother's Birthday!

EXTRA COOKING:
Kale and fruit morning smoothies

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

I hope everyone has a great Valentines Day and a beautiful start to your week.

Happy loving,
Alyson

"Where there is love there is life." -Mohandas Gandhi

Saving the Planet through Play

2011-02-10T08:51:00.001-08:00

One of my One Small Change Plans for this month is being outside more and enjoying what we work so hard at home to save...our environment. I think I have done a pretty good job with this. While my boys sleep, I go for early morning walks almost every morning either with girlfriends or with my mama. My family and I have been going on lots of mini adventures outside to our backyard, on walks, or the park.

When we go on these fun adventures outside, it usually become a small little learning experience for my son. We have been talking a lot about Planet Earth and what our planet gives us. I have been sharing photos with him of the planet, animals, trees, different beautiful sites from around our world and I am amazed on how much he is loving it. My son is the future and if we want this world to be a better place, we need to start with our children. They hold our future and what happens to it. So the first step, is showing our children how beautiful and amazing this world is and in return they will naturally want to protect what they love.

When we go outside on an adventure, everything we talk about at home starts applying itself. My son will see the trees and say.."Those big trees help us breath." Or he will find a earth worm and state..."He is BIG. He is crawling around all this dirt and helping it." I get a great big grin on my face and then it opens up to a wonderful conversation about trees or worms or whatever subject he picked all by himself. This becomes not only a learning experience for my son but also for myself. I am learning so much about myself and this world just by being a mother. It is truly amazing.

Here is an organization called, Cool Moms Care, that helps mothers encourage their kids to change the world around them by helping the environment, other people, and themselves. They provide tips and ideas for "5 minutes of caring." Since being a parent is full time, this site gives moms (and dads) tips that are quick and easy to apply to any busy schedule. I just found this site and can't wait to read more. It is also a sister site to Cool People Care, that provides more quick tips for everyone (not just parents) on how to make a positive impact in this world. All you cool people out there, check out these sites!

Here are a few pictures from our park adventure on Tuesday. They are all taken by my husband, who is the master mind behind the camera and who teaches me everyday on how to be a better photographer.

Happy playing,
Alyson

"All the woulda-coulda-shouldas layin' in the sun, talkin' 'bout the things they woulda-coulda-shoulda done... But all those woulda-coulda-shouldas all ran away and hid from one little did." -- Shel Silverstein, Author

What is support?

2011-02-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

I want to share with you all a poem I received during one of my Doula Training Classes. I went home the night I received it and read it over and over again. It really made me think about what kind of Doula I want to be and what I want to offer to mamas. This poem also made me reflect on the support I have given and was given to me in my past and present. I realized that this poem isn't only for mamas in labor but also for the female relationships in my life. My mama, sister, grandmothers, aunts, girlfriends, cousins, coworkers, and all the females in my life. It is so important to support each other and to do it the right way by always being there unconditionally. Being surrounded by positive, encouraging, and supportive females is a necessity in life. If you look at past and present tribes from around the world, the women of the tribes always worked together and supported each other in a generous circle of love and kindness. I think in today's American society we need to remember our female relationships and think about the support we give them. Can we reach out to women we don't know but that needs support? Can we love more? Can we support more?

WHAT IS SUPPORT?

-Anonymous

Support is unconditional.

It is listening...

not judging, not telling your own story.

Support is not offering advice...

it is offering a handkerchief, a touch, a hug...caring.

We are here to help women discover what they are feeling...

not to make the feelings go away.

We are here to help a woman identify her options...

not to tell her which options to choose.

We are here to discuss steps with a woman...

not to take the steps for her.

We are here to help a woman discover her own strength...

not to rescue her and leave her still vulnerable.

We are here to help a woman discover she can help herself...

not to take responsibility for her.

We are here to help a woman learn to choose...

not to make it unnecessary for her to make difficult choices.

Peace, love, and understanding,

Alyson

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

2011-02-08T13:43:00.000-08:00

My husband and I love this soup. We make it a lot, especially in the winter months. It is perfect with a piece of warm homemade bread and a fresh green salad.

This recipe is actually a family favorite from when I was a little girl. My mom loves this soup and she has been making since we were little. It comes from The Moosewood Cookbook by Molli Katzen. I highly recommend this cookbook and any of her other cook books. Her handwritten recipes are all vegetarian and easy to prepare! I have fond memories from my childhood of playing "restaurant" with my brother and naming our restaurant Moosewood Cafe. We even made a menu based on the cookbook. I think my mom might still have it and it would be a blast to see it again!

HUNGARIAN MUSHROOM SOUP (from the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen)

Ingredients: (yields 4 to 5 servings)

2 tablespoons of butter (I actually substitute olive oil instead of butter)

2 cups chopped onion

1 1/2 to 2 pounds of mushrooms, sliced

1 teaspoon salt

2 to 3 teaspoon dried dill

1 tablespoon mild paprika

2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoon flour

2 cups of water

1 cup of milk (I use non or low fat)

black pepper, to taste

1.2 cup sour cream (I use non fat)

finely minced fresh parsley, for the top

Directions: (1 hour to prepare):

Melt the butter in a kettle or Dutch Oven. Add onions, and saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms, salt, dill, and paprika. Stir well and cover. Let cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally . Stir in lemon juice.

Gradually sprinkle in the flour, stirring constantly. Cook and stir another 5 minutes or so over medium-low heat. Add water, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in milk; add black pepper to taste. Check to see if it needs more salt. Whisk in the sour cream, and heat very gently. Don't boil or cook it after this point. Serve hot, topped with freshly minced parsley.

ENJOY!

Happy Cooking,

Alyson

“Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.” -Louis P. De Gouy

Menus and Voting

2011-02-07T12:15:00.000-08:00

I am so humbled and honored that the judges at Paper Mama decided they liked my photo and placed me in the Top 30! I am thrilled to be chosen with so many other great photo submissions. YAY! I am really excited! So the next step is to get my friends and family to vote for me. The top four with the most votes will win! I can't believe I even made it to the Top 30. Like I have said before, I NEVER win things, so this is new and fun for me!

So if you feel so inclined, would you pretty please vote for me!!!!! I would SO very much appreciate it. My number is 24 and it is under Peaceful Mamma. Go to the Paper Mama post and vote at the very bottom. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

My husband and I decided to put our cook books to more use. I use a lot of online recipes when making meals, which is great and very easy but I have a huge collection of wonderful cook books. I will be choosing at least two recipes from our cookbooks a week. The following week, I will be posting the recipe with pictures to share with you all! I am excited to share some of these delicious recipes. My Hungarian Mushroom Soup recipe will be posted this week.

As much as possible, we make sure the recipe ingredients are organic, fresh, in season, and sustainable. We do very well with not using canned or boxed items. If the recipe calls for a canned item, we will substitute with a fresh item if it is in season. If it is not in season, we use what we have frozen or canned (in glass jars) from our summer/early fall season (like tomatoes). Some of our local grocery co-ops also have a great frozen section with lots of local frozen produce. Of course it is hard to get away from certain canned items, like olives and coconut milk. To be honest, those are the only two items I can think of that we buy canned!

During the summer months, we preserve and can in glass jars a lot of produce. I can't wait to share the recipes this summer with you all. I hope you are all doing your best to fight for the food revolution and eat healthy, organically, and sustainably.

MENU:

MONDAY: Leftover Hungarian Mushroom Soup and Apple, Walnut, and Endive Salad

TUESDAY: Whole wheat spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce and steamed broccoli

WEDNESDAY: Cod with Fennel Butter and roasted potatoes & brussels sprouts. *Recipe will be posted next week

THURSDAY: Vegetarian Taco Salad (We omit the tomatoes, for season reasons-more about that in a later post.)

FRIDAY- Homemade Pizza with homemade dough.

SATURDAY- Salmon Croquettes* (recipe will be posted next week) and a green salad

SUNDAY- Polenta & Vegetable Bake (Not using the vegetables from the recipe. Instead we are using all the leftover veggies from our week and our homemade preserved tomato sauce.)

Extra Cooking,
Valentines Day Baking & Treats (I will dedicate a whole blog about this later this week.)

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

What are you cooking this week?

Peace, Love, and Understanding,
Alyson

“Don’t eat anything your great-great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food. There are a great many food-like items in the supermarket your ancestors wouldn’t recognize as food (Go-Gurt? Breakfast-cereal bars? Nondairy creamer?); stay away from these.” -Michael Pollan

My Heart Is Yours- Valentines Photo Challenge

2011-02-04T20:34:00.000-08:00

I am joining Paper Mama's Valentines Photo Challenge today. I have been practicing a lot with my photos and editing, which in turn has made me more comfortable and quicker with the camera. So this challenge was a great exercise for me. My husband and I don't usually use a lot of heavy Photoshop editing with our images, we like the natural and organic look, so I had to think outside of my elements a bit. It was lot of fun! I might have to do this more often. The original photo is in the post about my Valentines Heart Felt Wreath.

My son definitely has my heart! It truly is amazing how much love you instantly have for that little person! It is endless and bottomless!

Thank you Chelsey @ Paper Mama for having such an fun challenge.

Happy creating,

Alyson

"The greatest science in the world; in heaven and on earth; is love." -Mother Teresa

Valentines Heart Felt Wreath

2011-02-04T10:53:00.000-08:00

My goal to be more crafty and start making my own decorations, clothes, curtains, blankets, etc is all becoming real for me. I am enjoying the process of learning new crafts and projects and excited to get them going.

For St. Valentine's Day I found this very cute wreath at a blog I have loved reading for a couple years now, The Idea Room. It looked pretty easy so I decided to try it. I loved it! It was a fun experience, from going to JoAnn's to get the materials, preparing the felt (with my little helper), to finishing, and taking pictures. The Idea Room suggests buying 3/4 yard of felt and that was a perfect amount. I had a few scraps but I will be using them to work on my sons felt board that I am making. No waste!!!! I finished yesterday and I am enjoying it hanging up in my living room.

You can find the directions to this wreath at The Idea Room or at Design Sponge.

Here are my pictures of the process.

My materials.

My lil helper bringing me more felt circles!

Half way done!

All done

What a cute model!

He is my heart!

What are you making this week?

Happy crafting,

Alyson

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body." ~Elizabeth Stone

Menus and My lil Kitchen Helper

2011-02-02T13:54:00.000-08:00

I have said it before and I will probably say it a million times more.....I LOVE baking bread and that includes all kinds of bread. Pizza dough, pie crust, rolls, biscuits, and all the kind of yummy bread you can make! Last week, we made homemade pizza and every time I make pizza I always make the dough myself. It tastes so much better and we stay away from any preservatives or processed ingredients that store bought dough might bring us.

My son has showed an interest in cooking and helping in the kitchen. YES! Every time I walk in the kitchen and start cooking or even cleaning, he drags in his little chair, steps up on it, and says "I want to help, mama." I love it. So last week when we made pizza dough, I made some extra so that he could help and have his own dough to play with. He made us bread sticks! While waiting for the pizza to cook, we enjoyed them. I told my son, "Your bread sticks are so good! I love them." He responded with, "the trick was rolling the dough ssssloooowly." There you have it everyone, the secret cooking trick of a 3 year old! My husband and I giggled, it was so incredibly cute. Our son has been quite witty lately!

Enjoy some pictures of our dough making experience.

The pizza dough before the final rise.


Concentrating

Enjoying the bread sticks he made!

Last week menu went well! The Jamaican Curried Shrimp & Mango Soup was delicious. We really enjoyed it and plan on cooking it in the future. I am not trying any new recipes this week but making some family favorites. We are still doing everything we can to eat organically, sustainably and as healthy as possible.

MENU:

MONDAY- Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Lemon, Basil, and Salmon

TUESDAY- Out to eat with my little family @ Hopworks Urban Brewery

WEDNESDAY- Black Bean Soup and Spinach Quesadillas

THURSDAY- Spinach Ravioli with homemade pesto sauce. Steamed kale and a fresh green salad.

FRIDAY- Fish Tacos and homemade Spanish Rice

SATURDAY- Hungarian Mushroom Soup and Baked Potatoes. (Soup recipe will be posted on Saturday)

SUNDAY- Super Bowl~ Bean Dip and Homemade Pizza

Extra cooking & baking: Pretzel Bites (my hubby LOVES these)
Bran Flax Muffins (great breakfast muffins)

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

What are you cooking this week?

Happy cooking,

Alyson

"While we try to teach our children all about life, Our children teach us what life is all about." ~Angela Schwindt

One Small Change- February

2011-02-01T09:32:00.000-08:00

I never win things. Never! But yesterday I won! I entered my January's One Small Change at the One Small Change blog giveaway and they choose ME! Little 'ol me! I won a homemade eco-friendly coozie from Peaceful Peacock. I am so excited. Thank you Suzy from One Small Change and Julie from Peaceful Peacock!

My plan for February's One Small Change is, as usual, going to be a few small changes. There is just always so much to do to help this planet and the people on it, that every month I usually come up with more than just one change.

February's Plan:

I will be sewing and making my own produce and bulk reusable bags with my mama. We always use our own reusable grocery bags but find that I am still using the plastic produce and bulk bags. I did reuse the plastic bags but they eventually get torn or yucky, so I end up throwing them away. UGH....it kills me every time I throw away those bags. So I ordered some reusable produce bags from reuseit.com and those will work perfectly. BUT I wanted to make my own bags, so that I can make them more personal-able and practice my sewing skills since I have sewing plans in my future. My mama and I will be using muslin fabric because it will hold my bulk purchases as well as any produce.
I signed up for one of my city's tree plantings in a local wetland. My husband and son will be joining me on this one. I believe it is important to always involve your kids in activities like this, to teach them about "being the change." If you are interested in tree plantings in your area, check out your city's website and volunteer information.
I also signed up for SOLV's neighborhood cleanup. We will be going to Portland's NW industrial neighborhood to help clean up garbage and litter. I am excited to bring my camera and take pictures in this area too. SOLV is a wonderful organization that focuses on cleaning up Oregon's land....beach, rivers, parks, and streets. I have worked with them before on the beach clean-ups and plan on doing it again this year in March to help clean-up, Manzanita Beach, my favorite beach and the one I grew up on!
I will also be focusing on my family and I being outdoors more this month. Why work so hard to save this planet and not go out and enjoy it? Of course, we love being outside and we do lots of outdoor activities but with the weather being cold and wet the past two months, it has been hard! So I will be refocusing on outdoor activities. With the seasons changing soon and our farm getting ready for Spring, we have lots planned to be outside and to enjoy our beautiful mother nature.

I will be sharing how all this went at the end of February with lots of pictures. Check out my first One Small Change to see why I am doing this challenge or check out the One Small Change blog for more ideas about environmentally friendly changes you can make.

What changes are you making?

Happy February,

Alyson

"He that plants trees loves others besides himself." -English Proverb

Mtuzi wa Samaki & Yemarina Yewotet Dabo

2011-01-31T11:46:00.000-08:00

I am loving all the international food recipes we have been trying lately. I was really intimidated about cooking international foods but it isn't as hard as it sounds. Both of my African dishes turned out delicious and I am proud of myself for trying them.

Mtuzi wa Samaki is a Kenyan dish of white fish in coconut curry. We served it over Jasmine rice and it was very yummy. We love curry dishes and the way it engulfs our house in a delicious aroma. The recipe called for white fish, so we bought sustainably caught cod fish. The fish guy at the counter helped us find the right kind of white for the recipe! I always tend to strike up a conversation with the fish department employees when buying fish. I have learned a lot from them about different types of fish and how to cook it. The Kenyan curry recipe also called for coconut milk. I decided on the "lite" coconut milk, to cut the calories and fat content down a little. We only used a tablespoon of lemon juice because we didn't want the lemon to take away from the curry flavor. I highly recommend this recipe. Don't be intimidated like I was, it is always good to open up your horizons to new things! For the recipe- click here.

Yemarina Yewotet Dado is a Ethiopian honey bread recipe. I can't say enough good things about this bread. YUM YUM YUM! We really enjoyed this bread, even my 100 pound yellow lab enjoyed it when he stole a piece from the table. What a stinker, but I am glad I could share. I really enjoy making bread. I think I get this from my mother, who baked bread my whole life and taught me how to do it the right way. There is something very therapeutic about kneading bread for 10 minutes straight! One of the best smells in the world is the scent of fresh baked bread. I want to bake some bread just talking about this! I would not change a thing about this recipe and I will make this over and over again. Try and enjoy it! For the recipe- click here.

Here are some pictures from the Ethiopian honey bread. I missed taking pictures of the curry dish because dinner time tends to be a very busy time of day for us, so taking pictures was forgotten about. I baked the bread during the day which allowed me more time to take pictures and to use the natural light from the windows.

Ha...trying to take pictures and pour at the same time!

I hand grounded the coriander.

Happy cooking,

Alyson

"The best of mankind is a farmer; the best food is fruit." - Ethiopia Proverb

January's One Small Change Wrap-Up

2011-01-28T15:34:00.000-08:00

My December One Small Change, of getting rid of junk mail is starting to show that it is working. You should see how slim our pile of mail is everyday. It is amazing! We still have random junk mail coming, and I will immediately call or email that company to get us off their mailing list. It feels good! I urge everyone to do the same.

My January One Small Change was supposed to be three small changes but I found out a little fact that shocked me, so it went down to two. I focused my small changes on recycling this month. I wanted to take steps to recycle everyday household items that we tend to throw away. So I researched how to recycle light bulbs and batteries. I hate throwing these things away and knew if I did some research I could find out how to recycle them. While doing my research I found that you can not recycle household incandescent light bulbs any where in Oregon, other than the florescent kind. I hate throwing away all these light bulbs! Maybe I need to think of a crafty way to reuse them! Any ideas?

We use a lot of batteries in our home between cameras, flashes, toys, and electronics. Every type of battery we use has chemicals inside of it. The worst chemicals you can find in some batteries are lead, cadmium, and mercury. I know that sending any type of battery to the land fill will lead to these chemicals getting into our soil, air, groundwater, and surface water. So my goal is to make sure these batteries stop going into the landfills. So this month, I grabbed a glass jar and set it on our desk and this is where all of our dead batteries go. Come to find out, my husband had been keeping a stash of old batteries in a drawer, knowing that they can be recycled. I love that we share the same goals and how in sync we are with our thoughts! I did some research on where I can take household batteries to recycle. I started at the Portland Metro website (awesome organization & website!), they have a tool that tells you where you can recycle all different types of household items. This tool will definitely be put to use by my family. It then directed me to Pride Recycling Depot, which will take up to 1 quart of batteries for free. SOLD! This Monday I will be taking my batteries there and I will continue to do this every time that glass jar fills up. And what a fun learning field trip for my son and I! I am curious to know where the batteries go after Pride takes them, so I am going to ask them when I drop it off and report back to you all!

For those of you that are local to the Portland area and looking to recycle household items that they don't pick up curbside, go to Metro's website. For everyone else who isn't local, Earth911.com is a great resource and can lead you to your local recycling centers.

My other small change was signing the Oregon Ban the Bag petition. In Oregon we are urging our state legislature to pass the Senate Bill 536 that promotes the use of reusable bags and bans the use of plastic check out bags. These petroleum made, plastic check out bags are one of the greatest environmental horrors that we face today. It contributes to the large amount of plastic that is found in our oceans and garbage around our streets, hurting our wildlife. It also requires 12 million barrels of oil a year to make these bags. YUK! Please sign this petition!

Thanks for reading my really long One Small Change blog. I had a lot to say this month, I guess! Next month I kind of have a big project that ties in with my One Small Change. I also signed up for a local tree planting and a SOLV street clean-up for the month of February. I will write all about my February changes this weekend. If you would like to read why I joined the One Small Change, click here or to join the campaign click here.

Be well, friends,

Alyson

“Don’t blow it - good planets are hard to find.” -Quoted in Time Magazine

Valentines Sneak Peak

2011-01-26T23:59:00.000-08:00

It is way past my bed time, but I wanted to share a little sneak peak on what I am creating this week. I got all my materials last week and when my little man is asleep, I am able to work on it. I will post my finished project this weekend. This project will also turn into a photo challenge I am going to enter. Two in one! YES! I got the idea from an awesome craft blog, which has inspired me since 2009. I will post the link with my final project!

Before pictures:

Happy crafting,

Alyson

“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.” — Henry David Thoreau

Menus and Nutrition for a Mama

2011-01-26T16:55:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I am considered a "pescatarian." Which means, I don't eat any kind of meat except fish or seafood. As my husband, jokingly says, "don't label me." It is not a label to us, it is a lifestyle. We have chosen as a family for health and environmental reasons to not eat meat. It has been 6 years with no meat for me and about 10 years for my husband. So this means, when I am pregnant, I really have to pay attention to my diet and make sure I am getting all the nutrients I need to help this precious little baby grow inside of me. The BIG thing....PROTEIN.

Protein plays a very important role in helping to grow a little baby. The amino acids that make up protein is what helps build cells in the baby, the development of the baby's brain, and builds a healthy placenta. So, being a "pescatarian" I have to really pay attention to how much protein I am getting and eat the right foods. As a pregnant mama, I need 70-80 grams of protein a day. That is a lot when you don't eat meat at every meal. Yes, eating fish helps with the protein but I have to limit my intake of fish to twice a week because too much fish or seafood can be unhealthy in a pregnant diet. So I have to be creative with......beans, brown rice, tofu, whole grains, green veggies, leafy greens, eggs, any kind of dairy, peanut butter, and other nuts. It has been kinda fun finding different ways to get some protein. Usually my snacks include cheese, yogurt, pb & j sandwiches, a glass of milk, etc. Those all help my protein rise. On top of making sure you are getting enough protein, eating a very well balanced diet from every food group is SO important.

How do I even keep track of this all? That was the hardest part for me in the beginning of my first pregnancy....so I started a "protein chart" with my first, and I continued with this pregnancy. I want to share this with you, in case, there is a pregnant mama out there that wants to keep track of their protein or diet. I bought a dry erase board for my refrigerator. On the board I have a few different boxes that say...water, protein, veggies & fruits, dairy, grains & bread, fish & beans, and exercise. I use tally marks to track everything on a daily basis. Protein- I tally every gram of protein I get that day. Water- I tally every ounce of water I drink. The food groups- I tally every serving I eat. Exercise- I tally every time I exercise that day. Does this all makes sense? Here are pictures to better understand....

I love it! I love being healthy and knowing I am doing everything to help my little bean grow!

On to our menu for the week! Last weeks meals were awesome and our African dishes were delicious. I am preparing to write about them in the next two days. I am continuing my interest in cooking international foods and trying a Jamaican dish this week. I am excited to try it! Our last weekend got a little mixed up with our meals, because I was feeling under the weather. So I moved a recipe to this week. No biggie, we roll with it.

MENU:

MONDAY- Spinach and Lemon Orzo Pasta (We used only one lemon. It probably would have even been fine with a half of a lemon.)

TUESDAY- Baked Spaghetti with roasted broccoli and homemade tomato sauce.

WEDNESDAY- Homemade pizza with homemade dough! (A family favorite)

THURSDAY- Baked salmon, mashed potatoes, and steamed garlic broccoli

FRIDAY- Leftovers and a big green salad

SATURDAY- Jamaican Curried Shrimp & Mango Soup served with brown basmati rice

SUNDAY- Broccoli and Mushroom Quiche and a green salad. (We love to make quiche and to eat the leftovers for breakfast!)

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

Happy cooking,

Alyson

"Children and mother never truly part. Bonding in the beating of each others heart." -Charlotte Gray

CARE

2011-01-21T21:35:00.000-08:00

My husband and I don't usually do things the "normal" and expected way and that included our honeymoon. We paid for a lot of our wedding celebration and being a new family, we didn't have a lot of money to go on an extravagant, fancy honeymoon. And to be very honest, I am so glad we didn't!

We decided to drive down to San Francisco and join our favorite musician, Michael Franti, celebrate his annual Power to the Peaceful Festival. This was by far one of the most memorable and amazing experiences of my life! We got to see Franti play three times and meet him personally during our stay in San Francisco. The festival was three days long full of music, yoga, workshops, food, and forums. On the last day of the festival, Michael Franti held an intimate gathering at the San Francisco's Herbst Theatre. This gathering was a Celebration & Global Action Forum with the organization, CARE, which he is an ambassador for. The celebration included workshops on what we can do as individuals to stop poverty, defend girl's & women's rights, and fight global hunger worldwide. The day ended with a reception and an intimate acoustic concert by Michael Franti, where we were able to meet and speak with him briefly. He even signed his childrens book for our son. It was such an eye-opening and motivating experience. This celebration introduced us to the organization CARE and I instantly new I wanted to learn more about them. I have been wanting to write about CARE, since our honeymoon and finally after a year I am doing it.

Click here to see more from our trip

Since our trip, I have followed CARE through their websites and have desired do more for this organization. CARE is a humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. They have a special focus on working with poor women because equipped with the proper tools, women have the power to help families and communities escape poverty. They have many campaigns within their one organization. One that I am drawn to and hope that I can be apart of one day is Mothers Matter. Mothers Matter is a campaign that helps educate pregnant mothers and keep them safe during labor in poverty stricken areas. They provide educated midwives, doctors, and doulas to these areas to help reduce the high percentage of maternal mortality while maintaining the respect and honor of their cultures. They help educate and build strength in these mothers, so they have a chance to have a safe and healthy pregnancy and labor. AMAZING! I really hope to work with this program one day or one just like it.

Pregnant mamas and giving support during labor is a passion of mine especially mamas that come from poverty. They need support just like everyone else. That is why I am so drawn to this organization and why I write today about them. The other campaigns are just as amazing by providing education, resources to help adapt & avoid climate change, tools to protect and educate against AIDS/HIV, and resources to allow women to start small businesses throughout Africa. It is an amazing organization that works globally and might even be in an area close to you. I have connected with some of the individuals who work at CARE and they are sending me an "action kit", which will provide me with tools to be able to help spread the word of CARE. Which is the point of my post today. They need advocates, volunteers, donations, and voices from so many. I hope that this can inspire some of you to check out their website.

Links

CARE

CARE- Get involved

CARE- Letters to send to our elected officials asking for help and change

JoinMyVillage.com (You can help, just by clicking.)

Happy caring,
Alyson

“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” -Mother Teresa

Menus, Becoming a Doula, and Remembering

2011-01-17T18:18:00.000-08:00

I feel empowered, I feel amazing, I feel like I made the best and biggest step towards this amazing journey I am about to embark on. My first class in my doula program was perfect! I went into this not knowing what to expect.... and within 5 minutes of being in the class I knew I was in the right place. I was following my heart! I have some big dreams with becoming a doula. I eventually want to see my dream become an organization that would provide prenatal, labor, and postpartum support to mamas who are low-income, poverty stricken, non-English speaking, incarcerated, or single mamas who don't have much support. My motto.....Everyone deserves a doula!

I have had many people ask me what a doula is. So for those of you who don't know, here is a definition according to the DONA website....."A doula is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth." Many studies have shown that when doulas are present in birth, labors have fewer complications, babies are healthier and will breastfed easier. Helping mamas with pregnancy and birth seems to come natural to me and I am beyond ecstatic to follow my heart with this natural dream.

As we speak of dreams, today especially, but also every single day we need to remember one of our peacemakers, Martin Luther King Jr. and his dream. As we remember, we need to realize why it is important we bring even more peace to this world. It is important that we can reach out to our fellow humans no matter what color, sex, religion, race, sexual orientation or economic status. I know there is a lot to be done in this world to achieve peace, which is why I practice compassion. In order for us to make big strides, we must start small. If everyone did little things to practice compassion...our world will slowly become a more peaceful place. We can do it!

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

On to our menu of the week. I am wanting to learn how to cook more global and international foods, so this week I am trying out a couple African recipes. I am going to dedicate a whole blog post to these recipes with pictures and my experience. Stay tuned!

MENU:

MONDAY: Dinner out with my family. Salvador Molly's! YUM!

TUESDAY: Skillet Tuna Noodle Casserole

WEDNESDAY: Mtuzi wa Samaki (white fish in coconut curry, from Kenya.) with Yemarina Yewotet Dabo (Ethiopian honey bread).

THURSDAY: Veggie Fajitas

FRIDAY: Homemade Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese

SATURDAY- Spinach and Lemon Soup with Orzo

SUNDAY- Leftovers and a big veggie salad

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.

Happy cooking and peacemaking,

Alyson

"Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King
and recognize that there are ties between us, all men and women living on the Earth.
Ties of hope and love, sister and brotherhood, that we are bound together
in our desire to see the world become a place in which our children can grow free and strong."
-James Taylor- 'Shed a Little Light'

My Little Word of the Year

2011-01-12T23:46:00.000-08:00

After much thought, I have finally decided on my little word of the year and finished our special intention list with my husband. Just like last year....I had to take some time to reflect and meditate on my amazing year and what I wanted out of this new year. I am excited for this new year! I am more motivated, feel more at peace, and ready to face some amazing changes. I know this year will bring more learning, more growing and more reasons to celebrate life and this earth.

So my little word of the year....the word that I believe will sum up my 2011 year....the word that will be my guide.....the word that my little family will all practice together.....the word that I believe is strong and powerful.....

Compassion.

Compassion. Noun. Sympathetic consciousness of others' distress together with a desire to alleviate it.

This definition is part of the reason why I chose this word because I want to bring more compassion into our household this year. Since I was little I have always felt a desire to help others in need and I have carried that desire into my adulthood. I want to do more for others and I want to teach my children about compassion and helping others in need. With that being said, personally, I feel like I need to twist the definition of compassion a little. I don't feel that compassion should be limited to just people with distress. I feel that we should bring compassion to all living things....trees, animals, all human beings alike. It is important that I do my best to bring peace to this world and teach my children the same. I feel that compassion to all living things is the best start towards peace. So this is my little word of the year. I am excited to start doing things with that word in my mind.

My husband and I wrote our intentions list and hopes of this promising new year. We are using my intentions list/blog from January 2010 as a guide because we want to carry our ideals into the new year (with some slight adjustments and new additions).

Our wishes and hopes for 2011:

That we live in the moment and be present with everything that surrounds us especially our children. We don't want to miss a beat with our kids for they will be all grown up before we know it. Everything else can wait, while we enjoy our kids now!
To continue to stay peaceful and respectful to all living things
That we see the joy in all things
To continue to be a guide, to nurture, to protect, and to unconditionally love our son and our new little one!
To love and be kind with all of our hearts.
To show our children all the beauties of the world.
To continue to love each other unconditionally with respect and understanding.
To always remember to cherish the relationships we have with those who do love and support us unconditionally.
That our passion and love for photography continues to grow in our business.
To have a healthy pregnancy and birth.

Our list of intentions for 2011:

Staying fit through this pregnancy and after. Continue my love for yoga and meditation.
Continue our journey of sustainable, organic, healthy, local foods.
Start our 2nd year on our farm with some amazing friends, growing organic produce together.
Continue our goal towards buying a house. We want a house on some land so that we can have a little farm, grow some wine grapes, and build a photo studio. We have extended our goal to 2015, knowing that realistically it will probably take that long since we are putting some traveling ahead.
Continue my long time process of organizing and rearranging our home and life.
Begin the studying and research of homeschooling vs. public schools for our son.
Tour a couple of Co-op Preschools. (This will help with the research above.)
Becoming a doula. I am starting my doula traning program this Sunday. :) I have a strong passion for wanting to help women with emotional support, encouragement, and wisdom throughout labor, birth, and the postpartum.
Continue to build our marriage and family with communication, understanding, respect, appreciation, and love. Raising our children in this environment is important to us.
Continue saving!
More travels this year!
To learn how to knit and crochet. I am hoping my Aunt will help me with this.
To use my sewing machine more.
To show our appreciation to our loved ones more!
To continue to work towards finishing my schooling.
Continue the need to help others especially the smallest ones. And teach my children this importance.
LIVE sustainable and green! We are taking steps towards a greener earth and living as sustainable as possible. Upcycle and recycle!
To keep our house peaceful and full of love!

Of course, I will be using my little word of the year, compassion, to achieve every one of these.

For years to follow, I will use my 2010 intention/hope list as a base with adjustments on what is new in our lives. I like that it's a good refresher for the beginning of each year! It is time to wrap up the amazing past year, and welcome the promising new year.

Happy New Year to you and yours! May 2011 fill your hearts will all sorts of love and peace.

Be well friends,

Alyson

"If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion."-Dalai Lama

Pay It Forward....

2011-01-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

I had a whole different plan for what I wanted to write about on my blog today but when I read this story and learned about the fundraiser, I knew right away I needed to change my plan for today.

I stumbled upon Kelle Hampton's blog late last night. She is a photographer and a mama of two little girls. Her youngest little girl, Nella, was born with Down Syndrome. Her blog is her journal of the challenges and blessings she faces as a mother with a child with down syndrome. Grab some tissues before you read her blog for it is amazing, touching, and inspirational. I will be a long time reader of this blog!

Kelle's story also grabs at our heart just a little bit more because my husband's youngest brother has down syndrome. Brigham faced some health challenges when he was a baby and Dr's said he could expect only 15 years of life. He is now healthy and very high functioning at the age of 21. He has accomplished more than any 21 year old I know. He has sang the National Anthem at the National Rodeo in Vegas, at the Salt Lake City Bees game, his high school football games, a motivational conference, and many other public events. He has met the President of the United States of America, the Governor of Utah, and the whole BYU football team. He and the Attorney General of Utah are on a first name basis! He has been the homecoming king and a motivation to almost everyone he has met. Brigham brings so much spirit and inspiration to any situation he is involved in and I feel lucky that he is my brother in law and that we are a part of his journey! He absolutely makes our life richer!

So in the name of Nella, Brigham, and all the other sweet down syndrome children and adults in this world, I ask you to be apart of this fundraiser. Kelle Hampton has started a fundraiser through the NDSS (National Down Syndrome Society) in honor of her baby girl turning one this month. The NDSS mission is to raise awareness to Down Syndrome and to create a culture that fully accepts and includes the individuals with Down Syndrome. The NDSS also puts on a walk fundraiser in cities throughout the US in awareness for DS called The Buddy Walk...I have been involved in the one in Bend in 2008. You can find her NDSS fundraiser page here.......Nella's ONEder fund. Even $5.00 will make a difference.

Here is Kelle's blog and post about her fund........Pay it forward
Here is her story of Nella's birth...........A birth story (grab a tissue)

Enjoy a video of Brigham (my brother in law) meeting the entire BYU football team.

Love, peace, and understanding....

Alyson

"Children remind us to treasure the smallest of gifts, even in the most difficult times." - Allen Klein

3 + 1 = 4

2011-01-07T17:55:00.000-08:00

This new year is bringing us a new beginning and a new adventure. In the beginning of the summer we will be welcoming our new lil bundle of joy to our family. I am due June 29th and we couldn't be more excited to be expanding our little family. I am now 15 weeks pregnant and growing my baby bump every day. In fact, when I first found out I was pregnant at 4.5 weeks, I swear my baby bump showed up right away. My body new exactly what was happening....like it was saying "Oh yah...I have done this before!"

Being a mother and having a growing, loving, amazing family has always been my dream. I am happy!!!! Happier than I have ever been with myself and my life! I absolutely love everything about being pregnant.....the excitement yet nervousness when finding out, being tired, my lovely lady bump, having this amazing little person growing inside of me, helping to create life, bringing a little one into this beautiful yet scary world, striving to be the healthiest I ever have been in my life, meditating with my mind and my little baby inside, having my husband and son rub my belly and give kisses to the baby, and all the extra love I already feel. It is an amazing feeling! I could be pregnant 20 times over again. NOT joking! :) Though I am beyond ecstatic about being pregnant again, it also brings me nostalgia and sentimental feelings. This will probably be my last pregnancy. Though Drew and I want to continue to grow our little family, we have decided that there are a lot of babies and children out in this world that don't have families. Someday, way far into the future, we want to adopt another child. This will be in years to come.....like 5 or 6 years maybe more but it is something we have always talked about.

So I am cherishing and soaking in EVERY single feeling and moment in this pregnancy. I am going to embrace it all, even the days when I am feeling like poop. So I may write and talk about this pregnancy a lot.....bare with me here. We are hoping to have the baby in a birth home or at our own home.....that is if our insurance comes through for us (which is a whole other topic). I am yearning to have an out of hospital birth and hope that it can happen. We have started a relationship with a wonderful midwife at Alma Midwifery and hope that we can continue that relationship. We will be doing lots of hoping and wishing that the insurance company does the right thing. Happy thoughts only!

We want to continue with the "A" names just like the rest of our little family! So we are in search of more "A" names. Do you have any suggestions? Feel free to leave a comment with any "A" names you may think of!

The last time I will probably see my feet for few months!

Be well friends,

Alyson

"I loved you before I knew you." ~ Unknown

Menus and Holiday Treats

2011-01-05T14:12:00.000-08:00

You are all probably sick of seeing holiday treats or holiday related pictures but I wanted to share some treats I made this holiday season. I didn't take pictures of all of them and didn't get to all of the things I wanted to make but there is always next holiday season. This holiday season I only made homemade food related gifts. I have a desire to make more homemade household items......clothes, tableclothes, hats, scarves, blankets, bags, napkins, etc. I was hoping to be able to make some of those items this holiday season but oh man.....did time fly. I lost track of time and didn't get to some of the things I wanted to do. This year I feel more dedicated. I have a sewing machine that I have used very little and I want to start getting more use out if it. So I will be working on making some fun things this year and writing all about my adventures making them.

Here are some of the items I baked/made this year:

Applesauce

Apple Muffins

Cranberry-Almond Granola

Spiced Almonds

Thumbprint Cookies

Christmas Sugar Cookies with my aunt, mama, and son!

Chex Mix (no picture)

Butterhorn Rolls (no picture)

Here is our menu for the week:

MON: Homemade veggie pizza with homemade dough

TUES: Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry over brown rice. (Bumped from last week since we had a last minute change.)

WED: Vegetarian Hot Pot and leftover stirfry

THURS: Spaghetti with homemade tomato and veggie sauce. Fresh garden salad

FRI: Dinner at our good friend's house. We are making something for it but not sure what yet.

SAT: Out to dinner with good friends from out of town.

SUN: Black Bean Burritos

Happy Cooking,

Alyson

"Happiness is homemade" -Unknown

December's One Small Change- Stopping Junk Mail

2011-01-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

I am bringing One Small Change back into my blog world. We have taken steps throughout the year to lessen our carbon footprint but I haven't written about it. Now every month, I will be writing about the changes we will make each month to make a positive green impact for ourselves and this beautiful earth we live on. Please check out my blog from last Feb about why I am doing One Small Change or the actual One Small Change Challenge Blog.

Oh the grand annoyance of junk mail. How many times do you open your mailbox and it is full of unsolicited junk mail? Sometimes you get a bill or an actual letter from someone. I am sure that everyone would agree that receiving this huge amount of junk mail in our mailbox daily is a nuisance. On average, an American adult receives 41 pounds of junk mail per year, most of it unwanted. According to the EPA, over 50% of this unsolicited junk mail ends up in landfill annually.

Here are some pretty shocking statistics:

More than 100 million trees are destroyed a year to produce junk mail.
The junk mail industry uses 10-24 BILLION gallons of water each year.
Creating and shipping junk mail produces more greenhouse gas emissions than 9 million cars.
You waste about 7-8 months of your life dealing with junk mail. What a waste of time!

So with the New Year approaching, our family took steps to get rid of this nuisance, not only to help in saving our planet but also to save time and to stay organized. Here are the steps we took in the month of December to get rid of this grand annoyance! Please use these steps to get rid of your junk mail as well!

1. I started with the DMA and this is the first step before anything else! Visiting DMAChoice will help you remove your name to more than 3,600 companies. They want to help you choose what mailings you receive by customizing your mail preferences.

2. Pre-Approved credit card offers by far bombard my mailbox more than any other kind of junk mail. Yuk! I went to OptOutPrescreen.com to remove my name from the 3 major credit report companies.

3. We don't receive magazines at our house but we do receive lots of catalogs. Everything you see in a catalog, you can see online at the companies website and save tons of paper and trees that way. I contacted the catalog companies personally to stop from receiving their catalog and also went to Catalog Choice. (This site is similar to DMAChoice.org but each cover some different areas.) Catalog Choice helps you find and choose the catalogs you don't want to receive and a BIG bonus....it helps you with getting rid of phone books! Phone books being left on my door steps in big plastic bags is seriously one of my biggest pet peeves!

4. With any other unwanted mail, I have started personally contacting those companies that send me junk mail. We get lots of unsolicited mail from local insurance companies and they come for both my husband and I. It creates a lot of junk! So I personally have started calling each company and eventually I will get to each company!

Well until all these steps start working for me, what can I do with all this junk mail?? Here are a few things I have done in the past and plan to do until the junk mail all goes away:

Recycle it!
Compost it! Most paper you can compost. Avoid the glossy paper and any paper that has any kind of plastic on it. Put it in the shredder and it is easier to break down in the compost bin.
Package it! If you mail a package or need to store breakables in a box. Crumble it or shred it for sustainable package material.
Craft it! My son and I can do lot of crafts with unwanted mail and paper!

I am excited that we have done this as a family and welcome everyone else to try this as well. It will be such a relief to get rid of a huge annoyance and take a step towards a greener planet.

What is your small change?

Peace, Love, & Happiness,

Alyson

"Only when the last tree has died and the last river been poisoned and the last fish been caught will we realize we cannot eat money." - Cree Indian Proverb

Menu....just a lonely menu

2010-12-28T16:40:00.000-08:00

I am keeping my menu post short today. Usually I like to write a few paragraphs of a certain topic that I want to write about but not today. I am planning on blogging everyday this week because starting the first week of the New Year, I will begin my path towards a professional blog. So I want to cover a few things this week before that happens. I have big dreams and goals and I have EVERY intention on achieving them! So stay tuned for lots of musings from your Peaceful Mamma!

Here is our menu for the week:

MON: Out to dinner with a girlfriend.

TUES: My wonderful sister's birthday dinner. My hubby and son will join my family while I work. I will join them all for dessert after my work shift!

WED: Cheese Ravioli with homemade tomato sauce, steamed broccoli, and homemade bread

THURS: Tofu vegetable stirfry over brown rice

FRI: Staying at cabin on the mountain for New Years with some great friends. Our night to make dinner: Artichoke-Spinach Dip (recipe to follow), Spaghetti feast, garden salad, and garlic bread.

SAT: 2nd night at cabin. Big Taco Feast

SUN: Brinner (Breakfast for Dinner) French Toast and Egg Scramble

For more meal planning inspirations, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie every Monday.
Happy meal planning & cooking,

Alyson

"Live simply so that others may simply live." -Ghandi (My favorite quote of all time)

Menus and One Small Change

2010-12-15T12:50:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of this year I joined a campaign that is designed to motivate people to reduce their carbon footprint on this planet. If you know me, you know how passionate I have always been on this topic. Honestly, I was born that way. My mother has always been "green", even before it was popular. In fact, in elementary school I was made fun of for recycling and not having Oreo's in my lunch. I am sure the same people who made fun of me, have now joined the "green" bandwagon. Which is good...the more people who do more green things, the less impact we will have on the planet. I would like to thank my mom for teaching me such a big lesson at such a young age. I am glad that I can continue my love for this planet and saving the planet into my adulthood and into my children lives.

The One Small Challenge is designed for everyone who joins to make one environmentally friendly change each month. The change can be big or small. The point is to take these small steps, which in turn will make big steps. When I started this challenge at the beginning of this year, we had already been doing some pretty major things to reduce our carbon footprint but there is always more we can do and room for improvement. Even though I only blogged about my One Small Change once, we continued to make changes throughout this year. Now that I am moving my blog in a faster direction, I will be blogging about our changes every month. My December One Small Change will be posted this evening.

Here are just a few of the changes we have made before this year and during this year:

Composting ( I grew up doing this and continue with my growing family)
Doing our best to eat locally, organically, and seasonally
Growing our own food
Preserve and freeze the food we grow for the winter months
Use our own reusable grocery bags...no more plastic grocery bags. (This we have been doing for a long time now)
No longer buy or use zip-lock plastic bags.
No longer use paper towels/napkins. We only use reusable fabric napkins.
We try to carpool or limit our driving. (This is a HUGE challenge, but we are working on it.)
We reduce buying & bringing in plastic into our home. (This is also a HUGE challenge. It is so hard to avoid plastic.)
When purchasing something, we choose the purchase with less packaging.
We recycle EVERYTHING we can. I am pretty sure our recycling bin is always fuller than our garbage can.
Hang dry our clothes.
Many many more changes in our home.

I am excited to continue this challenge and hopefully motivate others to do the same. Check back later this evening for our December change.

Now...on to our menu for this week:

MON: Roasted Cod w/ Warm Tomato-Olive-Caper Tapernade served over angel hair pasta and steamed broccoli

TUES: Homemade Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

WED: Homemade Veggie Pizza and a fresh salad

THURS: My husband's company holiday party

FRI: Garlic-Dill Salmon, Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, and Crunchy Pear and Celery Salad

SAT: Potluck Party with some friends. I am bringing my famous Artichoke Spinach Dip. (I promise I will post it this week.)

SUN: Vegetable Dumpling Soup. (My grandma made me this before. It was delicious. This is not her recipe but I am going to try it. I can bet you my grandma's is better!)

Extra Cooking & Baking: (Most of these are for gifts)

Puppy Chow
Spiced Almonds (My wonderful friend, Jess, gave me this recipe. It will be posted this week.)
Cranberry-Almond Granola
Homemade fudge
Christmas Sugar Cookies (My aunt's delicious recipe. We are having a big cookie making day with my aunt and Ayden)

It is a busy week! :)

Happy Cooking and Baking,

Alyson

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children. ~Native American Proverb

Menus and Storytime

2010-12-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

I love to read! I love to pick up a good novel or a book about something that I am passionate about. Right now it is mostly Dr.Seuss and The Very Hungry Caterpillar that I read, but that is okay with me. Later on, I will be able to sit an enjoy one of my books that is waiting for me to open. As for now, I am enjoying sharing the love for reading with my son. I am so excited to see him already picking up on how wonderful books are. We read tons of books together daily. He loves it, he literally sits and reads books for over an hour sometimes. I love my lil reader!

I decided that it is about time we start attending our local library's story time weekly. Our first time going was two weeks ago and I was SO impressed with all games, songs, and stories. The lady who runs the program is awesome and very energetic! Watching Ayden dance, sing, and intently listening to the stories is amazing to watch. Ayden loved it and I am pretty sure I loved it just as much as he did. We are now going every week! Being a mom is kind of like being a kid all over again.

For all you parents out there...if you don't already go to your local library's story time, I highly recommend it.

On to my weekly menu. I am posting this really late week but sometimes that is how it goes. As I am reading my new book on blogging, I am learning on how to write more with less computer time. I will get there soon! I have some fun, new things happening soon that I want to blog about, so I need to make sure I am consistent with this blog. I am enjoying the seasonal cooking this month and the baking bug has gotten me! A lot of my holiday gifts to others this year will be food items, baked treats, and canned goodies. I am having a lot of fun being creative with it. Don't you worry....I have some posts coming all about it.

MENU:

MON: Bronzed Sea Bass w/ Lemon Shallot Butter, Garlicky Green Beans, and seasoned brown rice. (This was supposed to be our Sunday dinner but we went out to dinner with some friends instead. And I replaced the Sea Bass with lean cod to save money.)

TUES: Mushroom Stroganoff

WED: Vegetarian Taco Salad. (We subsitute the meat for Yves Meatless Taco Meat.)

THURS: Spaghetti with homemade tomato and veggie sauce and a fresh garden salad.

FRI: Fish Veronique with Garlic Broccoli & Mushrooms w/ Rosemary

SAT: Mushroom Swiss Quiche and a fresh garden salad. (Quiche recipe will be posted tomorrow!)

SUN: Broccoli-Cheddar Chowder with leftover quiche.

Extras cooking and baking:
Thumbprint Cookies
Apple Muffins

Happy cooking and baking,

Alyson

"So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray, Go throw your TV set away, And in its place you can install, A lovely bookshelf on the wall." - Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Imagine

2010-12-08T14:54:00.000-08:00

I will be starting my Song of the Week back up soon but for this week...I am posting a song in remembrance and in hopefulness.

30 years ago today, John Lennon was shot to death in the name of hate and ignorance. John Lennon was a beautiful human with a message of peace, hope, and truthfulness. He touched this world with his music and beautiful words of peace. I was born the same year John left this world, but I am glad that my parents played his music for me throughout my childhood. Listening to his music as a child, helped me open my eyes to music and peace. I will continue to dream of peace and do everything I can to spread peace. Spend a few minutes today remembering him and refreshing your mind on why peace is important.

Think peace. Act peace. Spread peace. Imagine peace.

Peace, love, and understanding,
Alyson

"I see the world through different eyes now. (But) I still believe in love, peace, and understanding." -John Lennon

Menu Plans and Dreams

2010-12-02T15:16:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I just have to take a break from blogging when life gets busy. Traveling, work, holidays, and being a mom/wife had to be put first the past two weeks. I am back in the game and ready to start working on some dreams I have made for myself. I love blogging....every since I started in 2008! I love being able to express myself in my own way and to sort out all my crazy thoughts through writing. After lots of thought and talking to others I have decided to try and do it "professionally". Yes....people have made this into a profession. Since my husband's photography business is really started to grow rapidly, I will be at home helping him more with that business. I couldn't think of a better way to do my own style of business and step this blog up a bit. It will be a lot of work and it won't happen overnight but I am ready to make this dream come true.

My mother-in-law recently gave me a copy of book that teaches people how to blog professionally and spend less time in front of the computer. I just started reading it and I will let you all know how it was in a small review when I am done. Spending too much time in front of the computer is what has kept me from trying to blog professionally and everyday. My family and being a mom is #1 in my life and I don't want anything taking my precious time away from that. My hope is that this book will give me some tips and the knowledge to be able to be successful with my blog while keeping my family and kids #1! So, keep a look out on some new changes but be patient...it won't happen overnight! I am excited!

Here is my menu for this week. I love being back in my kitchen again after some traveling! We continue to be a part of the food revolution and eat as local, organic, and healthy as we can. I hope that you are too!

MON: Driving home from my in-laws. We found a cute little local Thai place in Boise, Idaho

TUES: Vegetable Fajitas

WED: Vegan Tofu Pot Pie

THURS: Vegetable StirFry

FRI: Salmon with Red Wine-Morel Sauce, Vegetarian Stuffing, and Steamed Broccoli

SAT: Civil War Game!!!! We will be snacking all day at a friends house. I am bringing my famous spinach artichoke dip. Recipe will be posted on Saturday.

SUN: Bronzed Sea Bass with Lemon Shallot Butter, Garlicky Green Beans, and seasoned brown rice

My Extra Cooking:

Homemade Applesauce and Canning
Dulce de Leche Apple Pie

What are you cooking this week?

Happy thoughts,
Alyson

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."-Dr. Seuss

Menu Plans and Breathing

2010-11-09T23:16:00.000-08:00

Frustration.....this is something I felt the past two mornings. It is a common emotion that occurs in daily life that we as humans have to learn how to deal with in a healthy way. The frustration that I have felt the past couple days wasn't from my husband leaving a dirty dish on the desk, my toddler not wanting to take a nap, the guy who cut me off on the freeway, or when that persistent sore throat just won't go away. Those are such small issues that I refuse to spend any energy being frustrated or angry when they occur. This frustration that I am talking about has been swirling inside of me for awhile now, to the point that I feel annoyed that it is even there. I want to let go. I want to put this frustration in a little box, lock it up, and send it off to sea. I especially want to release this frustration because at this time in my life I need to be my healthiest...mentally and physically (I will write more about this special time in a special blog tomorrow). I need all toxins out of my body right now and I believe that frustration to a point can be toxic. How do I let this go? How do I cleanse my mind and soul of something that has been bugging me so much?

I decided to read...I read an article and some passages written by Thich Nhat Hanh whom is a Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist. He is an extraordinary person with many amazing teachings to share with the world. After reading some writings from Thich Nhat Hanh, I realized that my frustration is my own. I need to take responsibility for it, embrace it, breathe, and release it. Sounds easy....it really isn't. So I am learning...I'm learning to meditate, breathe deeply, and let it all go. I am going to bring some things back in my life that I have pushed away..... yoga and meditation. Which all really ties together quite well. I have decided to make a small comfy space in my home that I will use in the early hours of the morning when I will get up before my family does for some thinking, reading, breathing, and meditation. And my first yoga class in several months will be tomorrow evening. I am making a better routine for myself and my family. This is all to better myself as a person, mother, wife, and woman. Don't get me wrong...I'm not this big ball of walking frustration. I am an extremely happy mama for I am so blessed with many amazing things and people in my life and I am so grateful for all of them. I just have a couple things that keep arising when I think I have let them go and every time they arise, I realized I haven't. So I feel it is time for me to conquer these couple things and move forward with a clean slate and a soul that is ready to start a new beginning.

Now for some organic sustainable food talk! And what a great way to nourish your body and soul but with some healthy delicious food. I think I might have become a foodie. I am okay with that! We have another great menu planned this week with some new and old recipes. Last week we had a couple fun things come up and so our menu plan got a little scrambled. That just means...we can move a couple recipes into this week, which makes it a little easier for me. Anyone found any yummy new recipes lately? Feel free to share some of them on here! I hope your love for organic healthy food is still growing!

MENU

MON- Breakfast for Dinner- Mexican Breakfast Casserole and vegetarian sausages

TUES- Alpine Mushroom Pasta

WED- Homemade Pizza with homemade dough and Garden Salad

THURS- Fish Tacos and homemade Spanish Rice (I will post my recipe this week)

FRI- Dinner at our wonderful friend's new home.

SAT- Pad Thai Noodles and Miso Soup (I will substitute the chicken for tofu.)

SUN- Rustic Italian Tortellini Soup

Peace, love, and understanding,
Alyson

"Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion." — Thich Nhat Hanh