Day Two of Clean Eating... And, Spring is Coming?

Ok... a few observations.  Eating "truly clean" requires a lot of work.  But, I absolutely love to cook.  So much.  And, I have a brand new kitchen so even washing the dishes (in my new farm sink!!!) is exciting. 

I could never do this much prep work each day if I worked outside of the house. I have such great respect for the many friends that I know who do work full time and take the weekends to pre-plan and prep their meals for the week.

Next... the food preparation has been a blessing.  It has slowed me down. I find that I am thinking a lot more as I cut, chop, mix and wash. I've come up with a few good ideas for my business and I've thought deeper about some things that have been weighing on my mind.  

Back in 2008, I started baking bread with my girls each Friday. 

We have since lost that disciplined routine, although I hope to bring it back... but one of the things I noticed back then was how the time involved in making the bread for the family must have, in itself, been a gift.  An excuse even... to just slow down. "Something as simple as baking was probably a time for mothers to slow down and go within. A time to process life."

I have trouble slowing down. I've realized it's not from lack of desire. I know the importance of it.  I've noticed lately that oftentimes other people in my life and society in general are putting the pressure on me to keep it moving. Faster. More. Produce.

I know how short life is. I am happy to produce but I'd also like to just enjoy and BE.

As much as we shouldn't need an excuse, having a reason such as baking, cooking for the family, exercising and more is definitely a gift in this fast paced world. At least you can say you are "doing" something, right?  Ugh - how horrible! 

When you commit to eating non-processed foods and cooking clean, you are filling up your days with more work. This I realize but I welcome it and the opportunity to slow things down a bit.

My girls love all different types of foods. I've tried to expose them to different things since they were young. We make cooking, trying new recipes and restaurants fun and so they are not afraid of different flavors and textures most of the time. I'm very thankful for that.  

I've also noticed that since I've gotten my beautiful new sink - I want to hand wash my dishes more.  I know, I know - this will die a quick death.  But for now, I've been washing and happy to do so.

Lastly, Facebook has really taken away from blogland.  I used to feel an obligation to post every birthday and milestone here and now I am content because I posted it on Facebook. My oldest daughter just had her 21st birthday and to say I am proud of her is an understatement. She is just simply amazing.

Which one of us is 21?

Tomorrow is the Spring Equinox.  I would love to offer something fun for all of you to celebrate.  We are expecting a snowstorm here in Connecticut so it's actually pretty funny that it will be the first day of Spring.  

Be sure to check back here tomorrow to see what I come up with.  You just may get something FREE.

xoxo

Garden in Bloom and More

I can finally share some garden photos.  The ground really wasn't even ready for planting until early June this year so I feel like things are moving slow for us.  We expanded the garden by three more square foot boxes and planted all different types of vegetables this year including:  romaine lettuce, eggplant, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, peppers, melon, watermelon, pumpkin, kale, acorn squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, leeks, potatoes, radishes, onions, celery, asparagus, peas, green beans, snap peas, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, oregano, rosemary, sage, spearmint, peppermint, thyme and basil. 

Whew that was a mouthful!

I've already been dealing with my share of pests.  Flea beetles, cabbage worms (were SUCH a nightmare last year and I'm having anxiety that they are coming back), beetles and more.  So far, I've managed ok just picking them off but it's tedious.  I'm committed to keeping everything organic but it sure isn't easy.  In addition to veggies, we have a few beautiful flowers coming up too. 

In other news, I was unsuccessful in convincing my husband to allow me to get chickens but he did agree to rabbits.  We named our first bunny Jellybean and fell in love with her right away.  We didn't want her to be lonely so I educated myself about how to identify the sex of bunnies and found another beautiful female bunny for her.  Things were going wonderfully at first and they were truly bonded.  Then, one day, I went to pick them up out of the cage and they were snuggling but I noticed blood.  Then I noticed the new bunny's ear was bitten off!  I'm not kidding you.  Bitten off!  I was prepared to spay them as I know females can get territorial but they were still very young.  Look no further if you are squeamish... 

Needless to say, they now are in separate hutches.  Something leads me to believe that chickens would have been a lot easier but what do I know!

Moving forward... many cool things are taking place around our yard.  My daughter Maia was surprised to see that her Softball Helmet was occupied by a Mama Wren who wanted a safe nest for her babies!  How cool is this?  

Can you see her?  We now have five baby eggs on our front porch that we can wait and watch until they hatch!  

Dee is not coming home this summer.  It's hard because I miss her so much.  But she has been provided with a wonderful opportunity working with her Dean on an amazing internship.  We've set her up in a summer dorm.  She did come up for a long weekend last week and the girls (and me!) were so happy to have her here.  You are never really ready for them to fly the nest and then after they do there are all of these other "letting go" moments you didn't expect.  I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it.  

School is out and we celebrated by going to the beach with friends.  The last few days we've done hardly anything... just hanging around reading, doing puzzles, swimming and relaxing.  It feels good but the girls do get bored easily.  Luckily, I know that boredom breeds creativity so I'm hanging tough.  I look forward to a really great, old fashioned type of summer with the girls.

And finally, I wanted to host this little spider as my next Identification Contest but I CAN'T FIGURE OUT what type he is!!!! Does anyone know?  I've found some photos that are close but just not it.

Life Moves...

It moves fast sometimes... bringing you here, there and everywhere in a blink.  That's often what I feel... like my life is flashing by.  So many beautiful moments but hardly time to keep up with them all, never mind document.

If you are still here in my space reading.  Thank you.  I know my posts can have long pauses in between...

This month has been a busy one... it's also awakened me to many things.  First things first... my wonderful, sweet daughters... we've had celebrations that I have not had time to post...

My oldest daughter has turned 20 years old.  Is that possible?  I must seem very old to you... I swear I'm not, I'm not!

But somehow - some way... I raised an adult human being.  Here she is:

She is beautiful and wonderful... so brilliant and deep.  She is loving and sensitive and wants to save the world just like me. I believe she will.

I also have a child entering teenagehood.  Such a confusing and emotional time but this beautiful, sweet girl has strength and a knowing that is guiding her.

Keira had a "backwards" party with all of her friends and we did EVERYTHING backwards... hair, clothing, decorations, cupcakes, you name it.  It was SO much fun.  I am very lucky that she allows me to know her so deeply and that she lets me into her world and to get to know her friends so well.

Besides many fun games, we went outside and enjoyed making S'Mores by the fire.  The girls played flashlight tag and it reminded me so much of my own childhood when I was a little older and I moved to Connecticut.  I am so grateful that my girls have the ability to make these beautiful memories with their girlfriends.  I am even MORE grateful that my daughters have such wonderful and kind friends. 

In the meantime, we've been waiting and waiting for Spring but it just doesn't totally come.  We started our seeds and plotted out an amazing garden this year. 

Indoors Spring has gone very very well...

Outdoors... well... not so much:

But eventually the snow melted and once in awhile the weather warmed up and we kept on with our gardening... we recently planted a bunch of fruit trees - cherry, peach and three apple trees.  

And, I begged for chickens but my husband would not agree.. so I got myself a sweet little bunny instead.

And she will be an indoor bunny but will have time during the Spring and Summer months to spend in fresh air outside.

These types of "catch-up" posts seem rushed to me as each topic could have been a post of it's own but I'm glad I can at least document these moments, even briefly.  

I've spent a lot of time these last few months putting my energy toward places that I really felt I was making a difference.  And while I was, I was neglecting many parts of my life that took decades for me to find and embrace like writing, gardening, crafting and creating.  After a few new experiences, I am going to once again try to find where my energy is best served and refocus a bit.  I hope to be back here more as a result.

Happy Spring!