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Going Green…Smoothie That Is!!!

Well, like I wrote in my last post we are ordering the Vitamix 5200.  So I have been searching a lot of green smoothie books, lifestyles, recipes, etc.   I have read some truly remarkable testimonies from then tasting so good and helping people with a lot of health issues.  I ordered two books from Amazon to get us started on this raw lifestyle.  Not that we are going 100% raw but I will definitely be making breakfast green smoothies.  I also plan to make the chocolate beet cake and cannot wait for my books to get here so I can read all the healthy filling recipes.  I also read a lot about group produce buy ins on the local level.  Also buying Raw nuts in these group buy ins.  I have so much to learn but it is such a wonderful thing to be on a quest for knowledge, after all we should die learning. 

The health benefits from the green smoothies and the raw food diet is great energy, strong immune systems, better overall health, low cholesterol, good blood sugar and so so much more.  I am really excited to see how the kids will like these smoothies.  A great way to make sure they get all those great fruits and veggies in every day. 

So our new quest is going green and I am so looking forward to the whole process.  I will be standing and waiting with bated breath for the UPS man to arrive with our new beast of a blender and great new books chock full of recipes and inspiration. 

So I bid you goodnight for now and sweet dreams to everyone.  Me, I will be dreaming in green of my new VitaMix 5200.


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To Vitamix or not to Vitamix…that is the question.

Well, no mystery here that hubby and I like gadgets.  We also both like to cook and bake so we are looking into a high-powered emulsifier blender.  There are a few choices but it was down to the Blendtec and the VitaMix.  After watching an episode of “Whatever” with Martha Stewart’s ultra friendly daughter they had the Blendtec inventor on.   He was demonstrating his machine and bragging it does not need a tamper stick like the VitaMix.  However, he did need a tamper stick and that with all of the reviews we have been reading, videos we have been watching cinched it for us.  We have decided to go with the VitaMix 5200.  This model appeals to us for a variety of reasons.  Some of the most prominent are that it has a very large container that is BPA free, that it has a good reputation and is favored by most chefs above any other blender. 

Now that we have made a decision I can hardly wait for it to get here.  I am so looking forward to eating RAW.  I cannot wait to make delicious, healthy green smoothies.  The health benefits are many and I am anticipating being able to fill up on delicious low-calorie  but filling and nutritious smoothies and the fact that they most often lead to weight loss.  I also think it will be great for the babies and to be able to make them fresh natural applesauce with the skins, seeds and stems adding fiber and vitamins and minerals.  I also like that fact that I can put a variety of fruits and veggies in and make a delicious drink that they can drink that will give then so much nutrition in a drink.

I will let you all know how it goes when we receive our unit.   I cannot wait to whip up some delectable concoctions with this jet engine blender.


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Technology

I am all for technology.  I could not live without my laptop, survive without the internet or sustain my family without Amazon.com.  Well, maybe that is a tad exaggerated but it would be so difficult.  I have completed my bachelor of science through online university classes, I have shared my last two pregnancies and made some great mom friends through online groups for moms expecting the same month.  I have had a wealth of information from researching the best baby swing to the best cheesecake recipe at my fingertips.  I have been able to search for more details on an interesting real life mystery I have seen on TV.  I can find out how old anyone is even when they don’t want to tell.  I can connect with old friends and relatives who I would never be able to find without hiring a private investigator. 

We are a very technologically  current family.  We all have the latest Droid phones and our internet with us at all times.  So given all this, you think I would long have an Amazon Kindle or its competitors.  However, while I do have the Kindle app on my Droid I do not own the device.  I just still love to feel a book in my hands, turning  the actual paper pages, and having  something more tangible to hold rather than a flat screen reader.  I do read a lot on the internet.  Most of my text books were e books, I read my newspapers online, magazines online but there is still the occasional magazine I enjoy reading in print.  I read a real Bible and my novels, books and definitely all the kids books are real paper and ink creations.  I am a big advocate of sharing my love of reading with my kids.  I have their shelves stacked with old classics and new favorites. 

I remember when my son Raymond wrote a story when he was in fourth grade about how his sister had brought down a plane with the weight of her books.  Then they landed on younger brother Michael’s leg and broke it.  Alexandra never went anywhere without a book and was an avid reader, and so inspired her brother to write this story which was read aloud at a special classroom function.  His teacher who taught Alexandra and himself just loved the story especially since she could clearly see how he was inspired. 

So I would guess at some point I will break down and get a kindle but it is something  right now that I cannot do it.  I really have no desire to read books on a hand-held reader.  So, I will hold off for now, not from technology but from giving up the feel of a good book in my hand, the smell of the ink and paper, the thrill of turning the page and falling asleep reading a book you cannot put down.  Some things are just harder to part with than others.  For now I choose books.


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Fall is here!!!

Well, it is officially Fall.  I have to admit we actually are having a pretty nice one this year.  Albeit only the 8th of October and that all can change in a day or less.  I am going to try to remain hopeful that we will have a true Fall this year.   The weather has been very mild, still taking walks, although it is getting dark much earlier and I dread changing the clocks because that will mean it will be dark even earlier.   I really hate that part.

Alexandra is still working in Potsdam but will be home next month!!!   We miss her and she misses us!  Ray had a meeting with the Navy recruiter and all went well, he took Michael with him because Michael wants to join as soon as he graduates this year.  Ethan and Luke are having a good time as usual.  Ethan is a great big brother to Luke.  He tries to teach him the right way to eat with his utensils, play basketball and other things.  He is always encouraging with a “Good Job Luke” even when he is less than successful in shooting a basket.  Of course they still have their moments of bickering but it is better for the most part.  Ethan is understanding that Luke is getting very wise and the idea of giving him a rock or a stick in trade for something like a tractor is not going to cut it anymore.  He is also pretty receptive if Luke cries, he will say “Come on Luke, stop crying.”   So for the most part he is a loving brother but there is still the occasional body tackle.

Jimi and I are very busy with the laser business and it is very time-consuming but we are so grateful for the opportunity we have to do something like this.  Jimi had his birthday on September 15th.  I made him a yellow cake with my signature dark chocolate buttercream icing and it was delicious!!!

I am missing the garden as it is past its season.  I loved going out and having the inspiration for a zucchini, eggplant, tomato pasta right there in front of me.   Oh well that is the chain of life and we will start planning for next year.  I hope the winter is not too bad in terms of ice.  Ice is the worst, no one can drive on it no matter if you have 8 wheel drive.  I have a good start on Luke’s birthday presents,  and not too bad of a start on both little one’s Christmas presents.  I even have some stuff for Alexandra already.

Jimi and I and the little boys had a nice outing at local horse farm a couple of weeks ago.  We went on a tractor pulled hay ride the boys just loved.  They also had their first pony ride which was a huge hit.  Luke is starting to talk more in sentences and is such a character, he loves saying things like, “Look, see the tractor!”  He is really developing his personality.  Ethan is having a great time as usual and enjoying playing sports and with his tractors and trucks.  He loves phonics DVDs and I am going to start working on some preschool reading, phonics and math with him.  He likes counting things but is that any wonder?

The boys are monkeys for Halloween, in fact the Halloween photo cards just came in the mail today and they are so cute.  I hope it is a nice day on Halloween and not a deep freeze.  I think Ethan will get a real kick out of it this year.  Last year Jimi and I took them out shopping in their costumes, they were still too little to really understand.  This year I know Ethan will have a blast.

Well, I better sign off for now as I have a thousand and one things to do.  Hope everyone is having a wonderful, blessed Autumn!!!  God Bless!!!


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Fall is coming!!!

In a few short days and the days are getting shorter, it will officially be Fall.  When people tell me that Fall is their favorite season and talk about apple and pumpking picking, I always look a bit skeptical.  See, I would like Fall too…if we had a Fall.  Unfortunately in these lovely Catskill Mountains we don’t really have a fall and we move very rapidly from Summer right into Winter.  This makes for a very long Winter and maybe if we are very lucky we will have a whole 2 weeks of Fall and most times those are not consecutive days.  I remember the “Fall” soccer games of my older kids where the kids were playing with winter coats and it was snowing.  These are not the pictures of Fall that I think of, this is not the image of October that most people have in their heads.  So I do feel a bit melancholy at the ending of Summer which is my favorite time of year.  Yes, there are things that I do like about Fall but for me it is a bit depressing and is leading up to Winter and we have harsh Winters here and you can only build so many snowmen.  I am going to try to embrace Fall this year and hope we truly have one, even though the other day the temperature fell way down and w have had to put the heat on.  I also hate to see the garden die and all the trees lose their leaves as there is something so lonely about Winter.  I mean yes, the first snow is beautiful but driving and trying to get around in it really well…sucks.   So prayers for a long mild Fall for all.  Happy Harvesting!!!


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Summer Fun!!!

I know, I know!!!  I have not been a very good blogger of late.  Blame it on the Summer.  We have been having a wonderful summer and the weather has been great.  Let me get you up to date on what we have been doing.  Sylvia and I are still doing our walks and becoming even more ambitious.  The other week we took our longest walk ever!!!  It was getting dark and we saw a black bear on our way home which made us walk very fast!!!  We literally walked from my lake to another and back again, we did not clock it but it was easy over 6 miles.  It was all very good until the bear, then as we sang our way home in the dark we had a few scares.

We have also made a couple of trips to the Old Cochecton Train Station.  One time with just Jimi and I and then two little babes and another with the entire family.   We had a great time on both occasions.  We also got some great pics that will make great prints on my new gallery wall I am creating in the family room.  I could not believe how much fun even the biggest boys had at the tracks, throwing rocks and goofing around.  Good family fun!!!

After the family train trip, Alexandra and I got to head off on a girls’ night out.  She was home for the weekend before moving up to Potsdam for a new position in the political arena.  She will be there until the end of November so we had to do some major shopping and then a nice dinner at Cracker Barrel in Binghamton for some good southern comfort food to ease the fears of relocation.  She will do fine though and she knows it and we are all so proud of her.

Throw in there the lake picnic of which Jimi is the new vice president of the Lake Owners’ Association, swimming, walking, dog issues, gardening, oh what a garden we have!!!

Well let me post some pictures of some of the things mentioned and I will try to visit my blog on a more regular basis.  Enjoy the Summer while it lasts!!!


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I have joined the Keurig generation!

I really did not think I would do it.  I fought it for a long time.  It seemed so frivolous, so expensive, so wasteful.  When my daughter told me her friend had brought a Keurig coffeemaker for their dorm I gave her a lecture about how expensive K-cups were and that she should just make instant coffee if she wanted to make a cup at a time.   So it came as a big surprise to her when I purchased the Platinum top of the line Keurig.  It was when I was walking with my friend Sylvia and she mentioned she had just bought one and loved it that it really made me think I should look into this Keurig coffeemaker. 

With five children, the youngest two being 1 and 3 I definitely need my share of coffee.  So after a night or two of good research I ordered my new Keurig.  I also ordered 2 boxes of glazed chocolate donut coffee.  I have to say my hubby was skeptical when it arrived but after his first cup he was sold.  We are big coffee drinkers, we don’t drink alcohol and we don’t smoke so I rationalize we deserve to have some good coffee made fast and fresh.  This Keurig also makes hot chocolate , hot and iced tea and iced coffee so the whole family is loving it.   I’m a Keurig, he’s a Keurig, she’s a Keurig, wouldn’t you like to be a Keurig too?


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Please Don’t Eat The Daises…err Cornflowers!

We have been Bulldog owners since 2008 and we have learned a lot along the way.  We have learned they will eat almost anything.  This includes much more than food items.  It includes cedar porch spindles that I will add have to be hand milled now at $15.00 a piece because we have run through all the extras we had when we built the house.  It also encompasses the weather-stripping of storm doors and that would most likely result in a trip to the vet because the dog had trouble passing the strip, not that I speak from experience or anything.  Obviously the kid’s toys, balls, shoes, UPS packages, and whatever else you would like to add can be included.  When first dealing with this it was a bit frustrating but I guess that is why God made American Bulldogs so darn cute and lovable because even with all this we would not trade them.

Last September I was in the yard with Ethan and Mack our 1.5 year old American Bulldog.  Loyal and true are two great words to describe him   I was taking photographs of them in front of a huge patch of Black Eyed Susans.  Well after a few shots Mack decided to take a taste and I could not resist a few pics.  You see by now I was used to it.  So he does a little pruning here and there, it’s not a big deal.  It also made for some darn cute pictures but when a few short days later we lost our majestic buddy to a severe diaphragmatic hernia it really put everything in perspective.  One of the last things I told my husband as he spent the last few minutes of Mack’s life with him was that I forgave him for everything he had ever eaten which was spoken through my tears.  His death ripped our hearts out and we could not imagine our lives without him.

Since his death we have added two American Bulldogs to our lives and I have to say have had our share of eaten items.  So the other day when after planting most of my new perennials I could not find my purple Cornflowers, I was a bit perplexed until I saw the container and the identification strip leading me to conclude that one of my dears had indeed ingested my lovely Cornflowers.  I had a moment or two of anger, but when I realized it was Echinacea and probably good for their immune system and that I could replace the flowers but never the dogs it put it all in perspective.

So, let them eat the Cornflowers, having since went to the local nursery and buying two more.  I realize my flower beds will never be Martha Stewart worthy.  I realize  there will be trampled flowers and such but that’s why I love perennials because they come back stronger every year and exactly what we need here.  So my flower beds will never be perfect, they will never be photographed in some famous garden magazine.  You know what though, that’s fine with us as we are far from perfect nor are our lives.  We embrace the perfectly imperfect lives we live and try to go with the flow and where it takes us.  We would rather have the chaos our teenagers, toddlers, and pets bring to our lives then to live in a pristine world with no fun.  We are so thankful for the joy that  chaos brings into our lives.  So if you eat the Cornflowers could you try to leave a few?  If you can’t…well, we understand.


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Wednesday, Rainy Wednesday!

Today was a more fall like than near Summer rainy cool day.  I definitely did not have to worry about watering the gardens or flower beds today.  Days like this we huddle inside cozy and warm and enjoy some movies.  Ethan chose, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Homeward Bound.”  Luke watches them as well in between honing his new-found walking skills.  Since learning to walk finally on June 2nd he has been a walking maniac. 

Yesterday Sylvia and I took another marathon walk and at the end we ran into the local farmer who told us that the new store they opened in the bordering town has a full cider mill as well as produce and meats.  I look forward to taking the kids to see the cider pressed in the fall.  I miss visiting the cider mill because with the older kids the one in town was functioning and it was always a fun activity.  I am glad the little boys will be able to experience such a thing so close to home.

This Sunday we are planning to go to the Tractor Parade in Callicoon.  I know the boys will just love it as they are both into tractors and trucks and anything with wheels. 

I am also trying to get Ethan signed up for swimming lessons and attempting contact with a woman who I was told was opening a pre-school in the fall.  So far I have not had my call returned but I am hopeful I will soon.

Well tomorrow hopefully will be nice as Sylvia have a nice walk planned and I am looking forward to it.


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Embracing Dandelions!

All Winter Ethan has been waiting for the “wishy flowers” aka Dandelions.  He has tried to blow on many other variety of flowers but nothing gives him the satisfaction of seeing the little seeds take to the air with a simple puff of his own air.  Little children love to cause a big change.  This is the reason they love to throw rocks in the water because they can cause such a big reaction.  Well, when that first Dandelion went to seed and he saw them again he was elated and spent a great deal of time going from one to the other and spreading their seeds.  Now, many people would be mortified to find these “weeds” on their lawns, in fact they labor over eradicating them from their property.  Not here, here we embrace Dandelions. 

I am proud of our natural, organic, chemical free lawn and that comes with Dandelions.  I cannot fathom how people put pesticides and chemicals all over the lawn that their children and pets walk and play on.  I cannot even understand companies with the name ChemLawn.  I mean really…let’s just pour poison all over our lawn.   I know that my son revels in the Dandelions and that a perfectly manicured weed free lawn would never bring him that joy.  Let’s face it, if Dandelions were hard to grow then everyone would want them.  We however will just leave them and when we cut the grass they are gone for a few days and that is okay with us.  After all God created them and we know he does not make mistakes.   At our house we will continue embracing Dandelions.


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