Tuesday, November 30, 2010

back home but whatever happened to FALL? {rushed}

anyone else feeling rushed?
maybe it's because we never really get or got fall here.
it's my fave season. my season for relishing every last moment. i live the entire year for fall.
 i LOVE wearing my Uggs, beanies, sweaters, layers, blankets,cool brisk air, soups,hot drinks, leaves changing, pumpkins & squash, baking,  absolutely ALL things fall.
bummer we just skip right over it in So Cal...it's always spring here. 
no leaves changing, always 70 degrees, no apple farm visits, pumpkin patches in shorts (just not right, why bother) we didn't even have our harvest party this year, etc... so we go visit fall. 

 so sad this year we hardly even acknowledged my old friend fall. didn't even exist. we only went to visit fall twice. once was last week for our trip back home. 
BUT when we got there, it was already WINTER!  rain, freezing cold temps, so unexpected we didn't even pack coats.
 Thanksgiving Day flew by. DONE! Black Friday insanity (not for me thanks!). DONE! & like overnight on to the next holiday already...what is the rush ?!? where is my relishing?!? geez!
 now we're back home in sunny So Cal. its all warm & sunny everywhere, even though it seems like almost every other state is already onto winter. paradise right. so why am i complaining?
I STILL WANT MY FALL! 
 we ended up having one of the most fantastic family vacations we've ever had...(didn't start that way!). LOTS & LOTS of family & friends. plenty of pix. happy, fulfilling & exhausting!
but I'm still feeling kinda ripped off about the whole fall thing. guess there's nothing else to do, but hurry it up get over it & move right along like everyone else in the world. or be left in the onward & forward mover's dust.
 i'll just have to embrace this 70 degree winter...in my flippies & tank tops...at the beach *sigh*.

ok kiiinda kidding. we've been having unseasonably record low overnight & morning temps here (fantastically warm & sunny day temps).
i am wearing my Uggs. we have a morning & evening fire going...but only because our house has no heat (or AC) & we have an entire house of polished concrete floors & counter tops...which we LOVE! but its cold in here.

{beautiful fall photos taken in Julian}
 *back in town, happy to be home, the sun is shining. we're trying to hurry up get back in the swing of things & on to the next...like everyone else in the world ... ok well kiiinda...we want to relish in our laziness a tad longer :)

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

family. family. & more family. love it.



my poor little neglected bloggie. we've been busy BUT NO CAMERA grrrrr!!! my mama has been visiting almost 2 weeks. the woman does more laundry than i can keep up with but has been a HUGE lifesaver. to begin the week i had a stomach bug & cold on top of it. yet i still had to do a 2 day field trip with Miss 3rd grade (it was FANTASTIC!)
*(BTW yellow school bus ride thru very windy back country...never a good idea when your stomach is bad. i even asked to be let off the bus, but was out of cell range to call for a ride home, so i had to suffer thru it. the next day i drove my own car!)
 that week...i was COMPLETELY worthless.

good thing i was feeling much better by the end of the week because my brother's family came & brought my fat juicy baby Coco. WE HAD A BABY IN OUR HOUSE!!! the girls couldn't get enough. Saturday we had a family BBQ with even MORE family. (but guess what...no camera!)
 i truly miss all of this being away from home. my family is so much fun & was ALWAYS TOGETHER! so happy to have them although we were missing my sister's fam & my daddy. i had such a full heart this weekend. i LOVED having my house trashed & full of family again.i missed them as soon as they drove away...good thing my mama is staying another week.

this week...(one of the reasons i miss my own private school & hate using a charter school although i love this particular school itself)...
benchmark assessments.
BOOOOO!!!  back to boring.

next week...going back home for vacation! we can't wait to see more of our family.
 & yes...i hope to have my camera.

Friday, November 5, 2010

quinoa, kale & the color orange

we've been having one of those INSANELY busy weeks. actually, i'm making a delivery & we have an away soccer game tonight so it ain't ova yet. BUT we have a much needed mellow weekend planned & i have reinforcements coming. with a week as such everything else has been neglected.
so today...i must cook & clean.

 {quinoa,kale & the color orange}

usually i make a pot of quinoa & a pot of brown rice & store them in the fridge to be used when ready. i've been lagging but today i did. after i turned the heat off the quinoa i added a few leaves of chopped kale & let sit to steam. i cook the quinoa according to the pkg directions. you can also cook the quinoa in chicken broth to add more flavor.
i made enough quinoa & cooled it to make this salad. black beans, corn, tons of kale & cilantro, chopped tomato, ortega chili's, scallion onions, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin & chili powder (all too taste). i REALLY wish our avocado trees produced! we scooped this salad up with tortilla chips. 
 this super hot & uncomfortable Santa Ana weather has us feeling orange & icky..so much that it inspired my cooking.
i roasted butternut squash, sweet potatoes & carrots in canola oil & a little salt. didn't want to season them too much because i'm using them for different things. 
  1. roasted butternut squash sauteed with kale, toasted pine nuts, sage, in garlic & olive oil over parm ravioli (when it cools off outside).
  2. i'm going to mash the squash & sweet potatoes up & top them with cinnamon, maple syrup, vanilla & pecans sauteed in coconut oil as a side dish when my company arrives.
  3. the carrots, some of the squash, different variety of kale, quinoa, beans & brown rice are going into a tomato & herb based soup.
by the way this Band of Horses CD is FAB to listen to while your cooking esp in the heat! this is my fave song.

Monday, November 1, 2010

topsy-turvy fridays & things you just cant find IN the classroom

fridays we usually have a fun & kicked back school day. finish up the week & left over work, do corrections, research topics, math games, computer games, science labs, art, bake, run errands, ok mostly play play play (educational play of course). right. usually they go like last friday.



  • sleep in
  • scrounge around for breakfast & morning tea/coffee (thanks to my dear neighbor the girls have become sophisticated & have been enjoying hot low fat, caffeine free, hydrogenated oil free capps. DELISH hot or cold)
  • get dressed in play clothes
  • watch sesame street (10am)
  • corral the herd into the classroom
  • remember our pet chores. go outside (bad idea) to feed & water.
  • notice the garden weeds...pick them over meditation & conversation for @ 45 mins
  • play with the millions of earthworms
  • decide to go in the classroom to do school
  • kids hop on the play structure as i get sidetracked & water the plants on the side of the house i forgot
  • turn over a pot (feed the chickie girls the slugs) & discover a CREEPY CREATURE!!!
  • run inside to research this super long, flat, slippery, strange worm with 2 leech like "heads" on each end. AHA! land planarian. *pix below*
  • sqeemishly add it to the living kitchen counter lab for further observation.
  • research more fantastic flat worms online for a few hours. (you should check them out! esp the beautiful marine ones)
  • go back outside & search for more creepy wigglers. which turns into a hour nature walk w/ the doggies.
  • find fresh macadamia nuts, pomegranates, ANOTHER snake (#5) & dogs get chased by a coyote. which of course turns into MORE research. (ok cant remeber BUT i think this part may actually happened the day before, but something like this ALWAYS happens!)
  • happily never make it back inside to the classroom to finish up last week (yet still managed to learned a ton).
  • add last week to my to do list for this week...i'm sure we'll get to it eventually :)


 land planarian
 (photos from the same source)



happy to find out these creepies are NOT harmful...unless you are a earthworm because then they'd suck your insides out!