All I Want for Christmas...

is - nothing.

I feel like I have everything I could want or need.

I'm blessed.  But I do know Paul wants to get me something.  I'd like to get him something too.  We are both stumped ... haha  I guess that's better than wanting EVERYTHING.

I voted

Tonight as I filled in little circles on the right of the candidates names I was sure of who I'd select. At the end I was asked my vote on certain issues. One was if I'd vote yes to legalize marajuana use for medical use.

I filled out no. I truly believe its a gateway drug. In a elementary school with signs hung everywhere and thought of their future.

It looks like they are thinking of it too.

Sandy Stinks

That Frankenstorm, Super Storm, or whatever people are calling it was horrendous.  It's aftermath left NY in shambles and left me feeling helpless.

It's not about it ... it shouldn't be, but I'm emotional seeing what my home is going through... for many transplants that left NY ... NY will always be our home.

It irks me how people are calling it a joke... the people who are saying that... I'm quick to delete.  I don't need to associate with people who have zero compassion.

I'm just venting.

Hunkering Down For Sandy

I imagine everyone in the US, Caribbean & most of Europe are well aware of Hurricane Sandy.  I'm sure all the people on the East Coast, particularly in the North East are well aware that as Hurricane Sandy travels North West and is expected to hit land today before it travels up the Eastern Seaboard there is another storm approaching.  A Winter storm from the North that will collide with Sandy creating what Meteorologist have now coined the Frankenstorm.

This is a storm with pressures that the East Coast has never before seen or experienced (at least since such events have been measured & recorded).  I'll be honest - that's what scares me the most.

The part that bothers me the most is my proximity to my family... or lack thereof.

My family is located in Queens, NY.  Thankfully they are a few miles outside of the evacuation zones.  The part that scares me about this is that on Saturday, my Grandma was discharged from the Rehab she was staying at for 1 month, while her broken arm healed.  I don't want her to experience any discomfort or lack of necessary care at home.... that includes losing power or not having enough to eat.  On the good side, she's within very close proximity to 2 of her cousins & 1 of her sons.  The other son is a bit further away, but given decent weather conditions, he would find it easy to get to her if she needed help.  And the saving grace is that my sister & brother in law are in the house with her.  If I was in NY, I'd have definitely hunkered down for the storm at her home with her.

I also worry about my mother & my baby brother and sister.  They live in Putnam county... in lake country surrounded by large trees.  I worry less about flooding because they live at a high elevation compared to the lakes, however, the trees.  Even the smallest storms seem to fall trees causing them to lose power (and thus the ability to cook or have heat!)  A Fireplace only warms the livingroom and even then, only barely.  Thankfully this is the fall and not the winter.

My Mother in Law lives alone... close to my Grandma.  She has a giant tree above her bedroom.  We urged her to sleep in the guest room - because you never know.  I hate that she's alone.

In the end I just hope everyone is safe!

We are prepared here in Boston - Paul & I are working from home.  I made banana bread last night, I bought a case of water and filtered a few pitchers just in case.  I made tuna pasta and a salmon salad - you know, in case I can't use my stove - which I think I still might be able to even without power.  So I think we have what we need... the only thing we don't have is family.

Pomegranates for Chreap

Today I stopped at Aldi to get some staples before the storm And for the week. They had pomegranates for about $1 each so I picked up 2. I never opened one before. They are so weird. This one was on the dry side but still tasty. Paul and I are snacking on them while watching the Giants game.

Seasons: Why I love the North East

I've never lived anywhere other than the North East, but I've traveled quite a bit.  One of my favorite things about home - whether that home be in NY or in MA ... are the seasons!  I don't necessarily LOVE all the seasons, but I do love having seasons.

My favorite is probably early Autumn... I love the cooler mornings and still sunny warm afternoons.  I love the bulky sweaters and thick socks.  I love the colors of the leaves.  I love pumpkins & spice & apples!  I love the afghans sitting on laps while sipping tea.  I really love it all!

Soon comes winter - and I love the quiet of the winter.  Even when living in Manhattan - a snow storm would quiet the whole city leaving a blanket of clean white.  In the country, the snow lasts for days, fluffy & inviting.  Snowboots and wool socks, winter hats & mittens.  The hot cocoa & a treat with a blanket & a book.  The baked pastas & roasted hearty vegetables, the holidays & of course ... the Snowboarding!  I love almost all things winter... but it's a love hate affair.  I hate the mucky slush the day after snow.  I hate the dark mornings & dark nights during the work week.  I hate the draft from our old windows.  I hate digging out my car to get to work.

Spring's longer days become inviting and energizing.  The lime green beginnings of leaves & grass are cheerful.  The warmer days encourage activity and socializing.  But the allergies stink, taxes stink, and the end of snowboard season double stinks!

Summer then comes with it's sweltering humid heat.  This is by far my least favorite season.  Though, beautiful and green, I feel lazy and tired during the heat of summer.  The beaches aren't as entertaining as they were when I was a child.  However, the camping trips, and bike rides & hikes & boats ... and even the beach still excite me during this time of year.  And lets not even get into the fresh produce!  LOVE THAT!

I could never be happy living anywhere else - because I truly enjoy our seasons... I love the change.  I love the cyclical nature of it all.  I love that I know what's next.  I love the variety.  It keeps life interesting!

Butternut Squash & Parsnips Baked Pasta

Last week's CSA share included a butternut squash, parsnips, shallot & leeks... among other yummy vegetables!

My boss mentioned how excited she was to make her favorite pasta dish with her share.  It is a butternut squash baked pasta dish and is a cooking light recipe.  I asked her to share the recipe and it turned out pretty good.  As usual I didn't measure anything - so when the parsnip flavor was a bit overwhelming, I really had no one to blame but myself.

This recipe reminded me a lot about a recipe my friend Jerry made for me a few times.  It was so good and he has taught me to make it but I rarely do because of the thick fattening cream sauce.  While making the recipe from Cooking Light, I realized I can use the same technique in Jerry's recipe & cut much of the fat.  This was a very exciting revelation because I love baked pasta dishes, especially when those pasta dishes consist of squash or sweet potato.  I may just leave the parsnips out and roast those to eat solo from now on.

This is a terrible picture but... at least I took one.... AFTER we ate 1/2 the tray haha

Finances & Budgeting

Have you ever taken a real hard look at where you spend your paycheck every month?  Paul and I recently hired a financial advisor and he made us do just that.  We had to break up our cash flow for an entire year.  When we saw how much was supposed to be left and how much was actually left - we got a good picture of how unrealistic we saw our spending.

Since then, we've both taken a serious effort in being aware of where we are spending money.  By doing this, we've been able to curb our spending quite a bit.  It forced us to look at our cell phone bills, our car insurance, our utility costs, and even our gas costs.  The place we've been able to make the biggest impact on spending has been on groceries & clothing.

I never grocery shop unless I need things that will fulfill a few days worth of meals.  Otherwise, I adjust what I had planned to make for what we have currently in the house.  I'm mostly able to do this because we participate in the CSA providing us with 24 weeks of fresh produce.  Without this, I'd likely need to make at least weekly trips to the market for produce.  We regularly dig into our freezer and stretch our meat proteins as far as we can.  We primarily drink water. 

We also never go shopping for clothes or house goods unless we truly need them.  Granted, we occasionally have an event we'll want a new shirt or dress for, but even then, we look to our closet 1st.  We replace old worn clothing with new, but try and buy on sale and we don't buy things just because we like them.  We only grab them if we know we need them.

Even with these changes - we've still fallen short on saving the amount we are expected to save based on our model.  It's been a lot of work but we've come pretty close.  My goal is to save a particularly large sum in 3 months.  Its pretty aggressive, but I think we can do it by continuing to be smart about our spending.  I hope setting a hard and firm sort term goal will hold us accountable and get us there.

Do you practice any good budgeting practices?  We could use any advice you are willing to dish up!

Patience and Tolerance

“I have learned silence from the talkative, tolerance from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strangely, I am ungrateful to these teachers” - Kahlil Gibran

I lack both patience & tolerance.  Some days I do better than other's but I do know that I need to work on this.  I have many weaknesses, but the most noticeable is most definitely my intolerance & impatience for others & my inability to relinquish control.

I tried to look deeply within myself to think about why I might be like this and I came up with many possibilities during this self reflection. 

1 - all the women & many men in my family are like this... is this a learned trait?

2 - I fear that if I relinquish control, things will not move the way I intended ... but does that really matter?

3 - I always think that I'm right and therefore other's are wrong... no not always, but enough times?

4 - I like the feeling of other's looking to me for help and support when it comes to particular topics... possibly though I'm not certain this is a reason.

I have no idea what makes me like this but I know I am.  I think that my patience & tolerance levels are so low mostly because I fear losing control.  Am I like this with everyone?  Most likely.  I know I've been this way with my husband, my family & my friends.  I've likely been like this with God.  Who knows how many times I stopped something great from happening because I was so busy making sure something good would.

I think I need to learn how to take a step back - and breath - and have patience and allow other people to come in, to allow God to do His thing, and most of all, be at peace when things don't happen as I pictured them. 

Now for my intolerance of certain people & their opinions and views - that is a whole other ball game I need to work on.  With the rise of social media came the rise of spewing ignorance and or opinions.  I shouldn't judge people by where they stand on topics ... especially topics that are so unimportant.  I have been so turned off by my friends & family because of the BS they post on FB and other social sites.  Should I really care about what they write?  No - I shouldn't.  But sometimes I read the negativity that is constantly coming out of their mouths or seeing the hypocrisy behind what they & how they live and it makes me want to call them out on it... but what good would that do me?  What good would that do them?  Then I'd be just like them... spewing negativity while complaining about theirs?  It's like a stupid cycle of ... stupid!

I need to snap out of it.  I need to update my FB so I see only positive feeds lol... which honestly I did start to do - if you see the # of people I'm friends with but are blocked from my news feed, you'd laugh... it's at least 1/2.

Anyway - here is to recognizing 1 of my weaknesses and hopefully making myself accountable enough and encouraged enough to change!

What to do with all our apples?! - Apple Butter & Sauce

Do you have a slow cooker?  If you do - you are in for a treat!  Homemade apple sauce is easy on the stove top but even easier in the slow cooker!  Apple Butter is a long and tedious task on the stove top but with a slow cooker it makes it a cinch!  Try it for yourself!

Apple Sauce 

6-8 medium apples
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon (may omit)
1 cup water

• Peel, core & roughly dice your apples.  I fill my crock pot until it is 2/3 full.
• Add sugar, water & cinnamon & stir 
• Cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours

You can use less sugar if your apples are sweet or add more if necessary.  Extra apple sauce can be frozen.  If you are using glass containers, me sure to leave head space for expanding.

I also made a batch sugar & spice free to use for baking!

Apple Butter

6-8 medium apples
1 cup sugar
1 tbs cinnamon
1 tps freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp clove
1 tbs lemon juice
dash of salt

• Peel, core, & roughly dice apples.  I fill my crock pot until it's 2/3 full which can take more apples if they are on the small side.
• Add lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, clove & salt - stir
• Cook on low for 12 hours - remove cover & cook another hour to allow liquid to evaporate.  You can cook this up to 2 days with no problems.  I usually don't time it and cook it until I have the time to process it.  

You can use less sugar if your apples are sweet or add more if necessary.  Spice can me adjusted for flavor preferences (I sometimes add more cinnamon & all spice).  Extra apple butter can be canned or frozen - leave head space for expanding.

Apples - ready to begin cooking!

Apples after about 12 hours of cooking

Apple Butter with buttered toast or cream cheese on crusty bread for breakfast... mmmmmm

That's it for my apple recipes so far.  If you have any ideas - share, please!

Cloth Pad & Diva Cup Update - TMI ALERT

This will be talking about my menstrual cycle - if this turns your stomach I suggest you stop reading now!

I recently wrote about how I purchased my 1st set of cloth pads here & have written a bit about my experiences using a Diva Cup here and here

Diva Cup Update

I've been using the Diva Cup since August of 2009 and could not be happier with the switch.  I find that I feel cleaner, more confident & less limited while using a menstrual cup instead of a tampon and/or pad.  I still find that on my heavier days I'm able to fill the cup quickly and need to empty it & wear a panty liner or light pad for just in case.

The Diva cup has changed the way I travel, snowboard & camp.  All the activities that became very difficult during my cycle are now within reach.  The clear downside is the cramps! 

Snowboarding with my Period - then and now
In the past I'd load my snowboard outerwear pockets with tampons and many times find that I'd get to the bathroom just too late.  I'd have a mess, no easy way to get out of it, and feel damp and nasty.  Not to mention - the tampons would be crushed 1/2 the time from falls or awkward movements.  Now I don't have to worry about that.  During my heaviest days I still take a few more breaks than maybe necessary just to make sure I don't have any accidents.  I also wear a pad or liner just in case. 

Camping & Rafting with my Period - then and now
I love camping and a rafting trip is always part of the itinerary.  In the past I had to make frequent trips to the camp bathroom which was always damp, dirty & the opposite of private.  After washing my hands of all the camping grime, I'd have to change my tampon.  Before I knew it, I was back in the bathroom doing it all over again.  During rafting trips I regularly found myself hiking my way through poison ivy looking for a private place where I could fish the zip lock baggy of tampons out of my lunch sack and do an exchange.  It was gross and the opposite of ideal.  Now I'm able to bring 2 Diva Cups with me.  I wash 1 while wearing the other and store it in my toiletry bag for when I'll need it next.  If I have access to a bathroom, I empty my cup, rinse it and pop it back in... if I don't, I remove it, clean it off with toilet paper & keep it to clean more thoroughly later while popping in the clean one.  During rafting trips - I just don't do anything at all.  I haven't found the need to change it during the 4-6 hour trips!  It's great!

Traveling with my Period - then and now
Traveling used to be such a hassle... I'd never know if I was going to have my period or not.  I'd take a bag of feminine products only to not need them... then on other occasions have nothing and need them desperately.  Now I have my diva cup (2 in fact) and I just pop it into my toiletry bag and I have it wherever I am.

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How I clean it
The directions say to boil the diva cup at the end of your cycle to sterilize & to wash it during daily use in the Diva Cup soap ... or a non oil based soap that is unscented.  I almost NEVER do this.  I use some unscented Dr Bronners baby soap and water... that's it.  I've been doing this with the same bar of soap I purchased in 2009... and I still have about 1/2 left.  I've seen no degrading of my Diva Cup and the cost savings are obvious.  I know that the website discourages this but many people have used it finding it to be fine!

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Why I do it
I use a menstrual cup for many reasons and I will list them below:

• I am reducing my carbon footprint and my contribution to landfills
• It does not contain leaching chemicals, synthetic materials, dyes, etc.... that have been identified by some as a carcinogen (read here)
• I feel cleaner & it makes my life easier
• I'm more comfortable
• I have less accidents
• I save tons of money!

Cloth Pad Update

I am immensely enjoying my cloth pads.  The only down side is that I wish I had more of them.  I purchased a starter pack from Pleat on Etsy for about $24.  They came with an overnight, a regular & a liner.  I've used all three and have found them to be very effective.

I used the regular during the day during my heaviest day in conjunction with my Diva Cup.  It stayed in place and was very very comfortable.  I did not get any discomfort that I usually get when wearing a maxi pad (especially with the dry weave).  In the evening I wore the overnight pad and found it to be absorbent enough, but a little short.  I leaked a bit similar to how I leak with a disposable.  I found that I'd need an extra long pad for over nights.  The light pad I used during the day to supplement my Diva Cup during a moderate flow day.  I found that it helped up quite well.  There was a tad more shifting compared to the regular & overnight sizes, but still found them comfortable.  The biggest down side was not having enough.

Today I put in another order with Pleat for 2 more liners and 2 more regular pads.  I believe these will be great to use in conjunction with my Diva Cup during the day and for the tail end of my cycle when I prefer just to use a liner.  I did not choose to order another overnight pad as I felt they were too short.  Instead I will look at longer pads through other vendors.

I am currently looking at the Pink Lemonade Shop at Etsy for their 11 inch over night pad & their 13 inch post partum pad.


How I use them
I use them no different than you would a normal pad.  They law on top of your panty and have a small snap to attach underneath.  I don't even feel it there.  When I need to change it, I rinse it under cold water and throw it in the garbage pail that I use for my family cloth wipes in the bathroom.  I find that because I use them to supplement my Diva Cup, I do not have to change them while I'm at work.

How I wash them
Because I rinsed them, they are usually a bit damp.  I throw them in the wash with the rest of my family cloth & run them through a regular cycle.  I use my regular homemade laundry soap & vinegar as a fabric softener rinse aid.  Then I line dry them like I do mots things.

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So far I've been beyond satisfied.  Would you try any of these things?  Do you think they are just crazy?

 

What to do with all our apples?! - Apple Puff Pastry!

Apple Galette Recipe

Apple & Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash

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I felt like desert but I didn't feel like doing all the work.  The galette dough I made ahead was in the freezer and I wasn't up to thawing it out.  So while at the grocery store I bought some puffed pastry.  With some inspiration from The Pioneer Woman & Martha Stewart I made my own.

This is definitely the no brainer cheat recipe!  And I called it a tart and get bombarded with people asking if it was a puffed pastry... bah - its good!  Who cares what to call it!

So here is what I did ....

1 sheet of store bought puff pastry
3 TBS homemade apple sauce (or a good quality store bought)
1 Apple - cored and THINLY sliced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 TBS Sugar
1 egg - beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

• Thaw your puff pastry sheet on the counter or refrigerator according to the box directions.  Slice the thawed dough in 1/2 and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
• Toss thinly sliced apples with sugar, cinnamon & freshly grated nutmeg in a large bowl
•  Brush edges of puffed pastry with egg wash being careful to not let it drip down the edges of the dough.
• Spoon apple sauce into center of dough and spread up to egg washed edge
• lay sliced apples over apple sauce

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown and puffed up


I liked it better hot right out of the oven, but if you prefer to let it cool - enjoy it cool.  Or ... hot with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!

What to do with all our apples?! Apple Galette

To see What to do with all our apples?! Apple & Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash click here
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We of course made another Apple Galette!  They are so good!  Of course we made this immediately!  I was lucky enough not to have to work during the Saturday of our quarter close however everyone else from my team did.  So I made one for them and dropped it off while it was still hot.  They were all grateful and they loved it... even with the whole wheat crust.  To see the recipe check here on last year's post!

Green Onion

You will not believe when I bought these green onions!  I bought these for 99 cents at Aldi back in August.  It's now mid October and I'm still using these green onions!  All I had to do was throw them in a jar with some water and they re-rooted and continued to grow.  I change the water at least every other day.  It makes me feel good that I'm not being wasteful, I rarely have to run to the store for green onions, and I saved money!  Why not!

What to do with all our apples?! - Apple & Sausage Stuffed Acorn Squash!

So far we've thought of many many delicious things to do with our apples!

I found this recipe for Sausage Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash over at http://www.preventionrd.com and felt utterly inspired.  I had very few of the ingredients on the recipe so I made my own adaption and it turned on great!

The Acorn Squash
I lightly rubbed olive oil, salt & pepper on my halved acorn squash & placed them face up on a baking sheet to roast for 40 minutes at 400 degrees.

The Filling
Again I used what I had on hand and I did not measure anything so these are guestimates!

1/2 bulb of fennel
1 1/2 - 2 Sausage Links - Mild Italian
1 Clove Garlic
1/4 Finely diced onion
1 Apple - peeled, cored & diced
3-4 TBS Panko Breadcrumbs
1 Egg
Parmesan Cheese for sprinkling

Brown the sausage without casings until fully cooked.  Drain off oil and add onion, garlic, fennel & apple.  Sautee until tender.  Add sausage to vegetables & heat through.  Take off heat and stir in panko bread crumnbs and 1 egg.  Stir to combine.  Stuff inside cooked acorn squash & sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Return to oven for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Enjoy!

This recipe was soooo good & a definite hit for Paul & I.  We will be making this again - possibly this week! =)

Apples Galore!

We go apple picking annually and some times a few times a season.  We don't particularly love apples, but I grew up going apple picking with my grandparents & mother and cousins and siblings... and basically anyone who wanted to go - we packed the car and went.  We'd spend the whole day at the orchard picnicking with Filipino Fare.  It was so fun, so good, and just loaded with memories.

When Paul and I started dating, I introduced him to this tradition and it's quickly became one of ours.  We've managed to go every year... including a year we decided to go in Kentucky, where he was living at the time. They are always filled with smiles, apples, apple treats & of course apple pies once we get those babies home!

This year we went to Smolak Farms  not once, but twice!  And we've been using our apples ever since!

Here are the photos from today's apple adventure!

This was the sign on the road to the "Secret Orchard" - yes that's it's name.  It's the last orchard they pick from of the season and that's where we were.  They only had Cortlands and Macs left... and that was good enough for me.  I kind of wish I could be a resident though... imagine living on a private road with no neighbors save for a farm... oh wait - and the 100s of weekend warrious there to pick their own at the farm?  Scratch that.

Last time they let me drive the apple truck - this time we thought it'd be fun if Paul got a turn

He always smiles when he gets a good apple!  This smile is how he stole my heart!

 This is his I'm a serious guy face.  I don't believe it much either.

 I told him to stand in the sun so the shadows don't ruin the picture... apparently Paul can't open his eyes when facing the sun... woops!

Yes, he does crazy things like this... and this is only 1 of many awkward public poses he performed at the orchard.  (Picture him crouching and flexing imaginary muscles in the farm store to convince me that buying 1/2 a dozen cider donuts would be bad for his physique!)

Yes, sometimes Paul takes my picture too.  It was a balmy 40 something degrees this morning.

There is our mid-sized carving pumpkin.   It's speckled with green and mostly round with a great curved stem.  I thought it was great.  I think Paul wanted one triple it's size!

I love this farm.  I love the set up, the people & the homey feel... but most of all - I love the view!

 Didn't you know that pumpkins grow on trees?

no you don't believe me?

here is proof!

 Pumpkin tree!

 I liked the Oregon Trail esqueness of this photo haha

No one died of dysentery in the making of this photo

Don't lie... you live in the North East because you love all of the seasonal changes too right?  No?  You don't?  Well screw you and move to Florida!

So many delicious apples!

Our Wedding

Today I thought back to our wedding and jumped onto our wedding website for the 1st time in FOREVER!

http://www.mywedding.com/szatmaryrios/index.html

643 days since we were announced as Man & Wife in front of Family, Friends & God.

Amazing....

Apples!

We have so many apples - apple pie, apple gallette, apple sauce, apple butter, apples apples and more apples!

we also have TONS of cabbage.

And Kale

And Lettuce

And raddishes (I don't like raddishes that much)

HELP ME!!!

Send me recipes & ideas

Most of the other goodies I already have ideas for - many many ideas =)

A Weekend Off

My grandma broke her arm late Friday night of Labor Day Weekend.  She spent some time in the hospital and is now at a rehab facility in NY.  As such, I've been back and forth every weekend to visit her.  That coupled with the fact that since July we have only spent 2 weekends at home.  So I decided that this weekend, we'd stay in MA.  We'd enjoy some husband and wife time, go apple picking & clean our neglected house.  And good timing too! 

Paul's cousins are visiting for a day from Argentina next week.  I don't want them staying in a dirty dusty guest room covered in clothes!

I hope this weekend is good and I hope my grandma doesn't miss me too much!

Unfinished & Other Projects!

This blog post is really just to keep me honest!  I have WAY too many unfinished projects.


Baby Girl Cardigan:
A few weeks back I decided I was going to try a new project.  I grabbed some baby yarn that Paul had picked out and got to work following this pattern - Swing Set Cardigan.  You need to have a Lion Brand account to view it.  Sign up, it's free!

I finally got all the pieces done and put it together.  Aside from one sleeve being a bit wider than the other, I think it turned out pretty good for the 1st time.  I still have to sew on a cute button & weave in the tails.  (I hate that part the most).  I'll be sure to update you with photos!

Face Cloths turned Facial Pads:
I had some cute Red Heart Eco-Cotton Yarn in Candy Marl.  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with it.  I began making a face cloth by following a pattern for a granny square with a rounded center.  I thought it would be an easy project to do on the road since it's small, compact & easy.  As soon as I got home, I changed my mind.  I have a bunch of terry face cloths now and I hardly use those.  What is the sense in making more.  What I could use more of is cotton balls or cotton pads to apply Lavendar Witch Hazel Toner to my face.  I recently had to purchase another package of cotton.  And being tha I want to limit single use items in our home, why not make some facial pads with my cotton yarn.  I think they'd make great scrubbies too for make up removal & exfoliating.  I plan on following the following patterns 1 & 2 ... or just making a simple 2-3 inch round.  Now I'll just need to find my mesh bag for delicates.  I'm sure it's somewhere.

I also plan on sewing some square flannel cloths of about the same size.  I think the flannel may end up better for toner application and the scrubbies better for face washing.  I won't know until I test them out.

I believe that will limit my cotton use to nail polish remover only.  Not too shabby.

Sewing Update:

I haven't picked up my machine in forever, but I seriously need to get onto tailoring a few things or I'll have these stacks of clothes sitting in the sewing basket FOREVER.

Cloth Pads - TMI

Hi folks - As I've written many a time - I use a Diva Cup.  You can read about my adventures using a Diva Cup here & here.

I still use panty liners & sometimes a pad during heavy nights with my Diva Cup.  I fear leaking if I am bleeding heavily.  I realized that there are so many cloth pads out there - it seems silly to go 1/2 way in regards to my cycle & female health. 

I logged onto Etsy.com this morning and found Muffies!  I'm so excited!  They have good reviews & they are cute & pretty and they look like they will work perfectly.  They also are said to be of great quality which means I can use them for years - thus saving money!

I hope to receive them in a week or 2 and I'm almost excited for my period to come ... just so I can tell you about them.

I ordered a sample of 3 - 1 overnight pad, 1 regular pad & 1 liner.  They totaled ~$25 which shipping.  My hope is that I'll find the size that feels right for me and can order more of that particular size.

I'll be sure to update you in about a month!

& Check out Pleat if you are interested in purchasing some of your own! http://www.etsy.com/shop/Pleat?ref=seller_info

Finally Out of a Hairy Situation

My hair has been down to my waist for quite some time.  I can't say that I loved it that long, but I did feel an attachment to it.  I've also felt proud... not everyone can grow their hair nor does everyone have the patience.  But it was long, boring and drab.  It layed heavy and flat and often caused me headaches because of the weight.  My husband was a huge fan as was his family and that probably helped me stick it out for this long... but no more.

I decided to make an appointment and hack it all off ... for a good cause of course.  I'll be donating my hair to make wigs for women who have suffered hair loss due to cancer & it's treatements.

As you can see in this photo - I wore my hair down to work.  It was sort of like me saying goodbye.

In the chair getting my hair seperated and tied so that they could be cut off.

I decided to cut off a foot... I think he cut off a little more!  No matter....

I still have a decent amount of hair and I love my lighter shorter do.

I'll be sending my hair to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths.  They accept hair at 8 inches or more.  I'll be sending them closer to 12.  Though Locks of Love is a popular place to send your hair (and I have sent hair there in the past), I have recently heard that much hair goes to waste there in the wig making process & I've also heard that they turn around and often times sell the wigs on a sliding scale based on financial need.  Though this may be a rumor, this didn't bode well with me.  Research I've done has shown it to be a mixed bag ... going in both directions.   Also their mission is to provide hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.  Pantene's Beautiful Lengths is a partnership with the American Cancer Society (ACS), a large not for profit agency.  They accept monetary & hair donations, make wigs that are then turned over to ACS' wig banks, which distribute wigs accross the country.

I feel a bit more confident donating my hair to Pantene.  And that is where my hair will go. 

Remembering 11 Years Ago

I'm sure most of the readers of this blog will remember where they were 11 years ago.  It was a day many of us will never be able to forget.  For some, it may be a day they try and forget... only for the ability to move on while for others it is their mission to always remember.

11 Years ago I sat in my BCS Class at my computer.  I walked into the coffee shop and saw the news.  A plane?  The WTC?  How is that possible?  I immediately thought it must be one of those helicopter tours gone awry.  I turned on my computer and ignored my teachers constant lecturing of this and that and read what actually was happening... at that very moment.  As a class we watched in horror as the events played on the news in the cafe & on our screens.  One classmates father was flying to NY from Boston that day.  She couldn't help the tears that ran down her cheeks, yet our teacher did not dismiss us.  She said that we'd go on... and she did.  But the students of that class were mentally checked out - we were reading feverishly for news of what was happening... until we got up and left.  (Yes this teacher was beyong crazy!)

Our next class... and those after did not occur.  Teachers couldn't get to school from their Manhattan homes, people needed to contact family members, and people needed to mourn.  I walked into my dorm room and called home.  My Uncle was missing.  He worked for the FDNY... driving a wrecker.  After the 1st tower fell, many many vehicles were disabled ... many fire trucks among them.  He had to remove them to allow other responders to get to the victims.  That day I worried and I cried not knowing if he was near the building as it fell. 

Through the ashes of that day, something interesting happened.  I made my 1st friends in college.  It only took me an entire year.  I received hugs, cell phones to borrow, support, and ... on that day none of our doors closed.  They were left open.  If only to show that we would be there for each other no matter how difficult that may be.

We ran to the top floor and looked out the window to peer at the dust and smoke that replaced the space on the skyline that the towers once stood.

Later that night my grandma called... My Uncle called his girlfriend who called my grandma.  He was alive.  He was safe.  He was tired & sweaty... but he would work on until there was no more for him to do. 

Friends lost friends & family that day.  We prayed for them.

My family... we were still physically whole... but we still prayed for us.

I still pray for those affected by 9/11.  Not just the ones lost, but not forgotten.  Not just NY & her inhabitants.... but also those in Boston whose Mothers, Fathers & Children were on that plane.  Also for those in this country that felt our pain even though they could do little to help it.  Even for those whose compassion brought them to their knees and prayed ... prayed for strangers they will never know and never meet.  I pray for all those people.  I pray that we always remember the solidarity that came from that horrific day.  I pray that those who lost their lives did not lose them for nothing.  That through their loss we can build a foundation of love and support that we have for fellow man... not just fellow American. 

So yes - on 9/11... I pray.

Family Camping Trip

So every year we head out into the woods and go camping as a family.  This year proved to be a bit more difficult.  Since moving to Boston, it's been hard to coordinate schedules... add in my sister taking summer classes and our trip to Argentina and it left us with only 1 available weekend to make this happen. 

Many couldn't come and it ended up being my baby brother and sister, Paul & myself, and 2 of my cousins.  We still had fun and made the best of it.... but we had many hiccups along the way.

Getting out of Boston by 3 still didn't help us avoid that Friday traffic.  We didn't get to my Mom's until 6:30.  My cousins arrived closer to 7, leaving late themselves.  We now weren't expecting to arrive till 9:15.  Driving to the site, my cousin missed the exit, putting us back another 30 mintues.  We arrived at 9:45. 

Pitching the tent in the dark wasn't easy.  It never is... but when you don't know if you are setting up on poision ivy or a big rock, it makes it all the more difficult.  Even with a tarp for extra protection, my cousin's tent got a hole in it from an annoying little branch sticking up out of the ground.  How frustrating.  We stayed up till 1AM chatting by the fire eating pretzles and snacks. 

Little K & I woke up pretty early and took a mini exploration hike down to the brook.  We sat and chatted and climbed rocks.  My brother was super pumped to be on a site all alone in the woods with no other campers for at least a mile.  I have to admit, I get pretty excited when Little K & A get just as excited as I am about this kind of thing.  We ate breakfast burritos after everyone else woke up and quickly got stared making sandwiches to bring on our rafting trip.

Shortly after the conversation turned into this:
Paolo: Hey, Lilia, what kind of animals do you have out here?
Lilia: Black bears, white tail deer, raccoons, possums, skunks.... a lot!
Paolo:  Bears ... nooo?  I want to see a bear!
2 minutes later....
Jomel: Is that a bear?

Yeah - it was a bear.  A big black bear.  Paul said to go to the car... I screamed to get to the car.  We ran to the cars.  Paul had to run back into the tent to get the keys... I was super scared that the bear may charge while he was helpless and back turned inside the tent.  Thankfully the bear just seemed curious and just as shocked to see us as we were to see him.  Paolo got a quick picture in as the bear was walking away.  What scared me the most was the yelling, honking, car alarm, and all other noise didn't seem to scare or startle this big guy one bit.  At the same time... I left those sandwich fixings on the table... hey, my life comes before my lunch... and he didnt go for it at all. 

In the end we were fine, the bear went on his way, and we enjoyed a gruling 5 hour rafting trip and low river depths.  Oh did we get stuck a lot.  But we swam a lot too.  We spotted an eagle, a craine, many eel and fish.  We threw each other off the raft, we goofed off and we exhausted ourselves.  I'd share pictures with you... but I managed to drop my camera in the water in the 1st 5 minutes of the trip.  It's sucky, but it is what it is.  And if it's between being bear meat or losing my camera- I'd pick the camera every time.

K & I went to bed at 8:30 that night after a chicken and veggie dinner while the others stayed up on bear patrol playing Uno ... until 10:30.  We all got a good nights sleep... sorta.  I for 1 was waking at every little crack outside.  Not that I could do too much to protect my family from bear attack, but I damn well was gonna try!

Sunday morning we had some cereal and K & A took their 1st "river bath".  K thought this was great!  Boy is he our little outdoor lover!  We had lunch... one last game of super competative Uno and hit the road. 

Unfrotunately before we could get all the way home, Jomel's car decided to start making some weird noises.  He ended up staying at my Mom's for the night.  Better safe than sorry.  We continued on to Boston.  Unpacking the car and the coolers - but boy do we have a cleanup ahead of us. 



Kids...

Are hilarious!  They are so innocent and funny.... and I wanted to make sure I jotted these down before I forgot them!

"Tobacco Free Zone"

My brother (8 years old) excitedly told me all about his summer baseball camp.  How he worked on his fielding and is much better now.  Batting is still his favorite.  But then he exclaimed "Can you believe it?  They had a sign at the field that said 'Tobacco Free Zone'.  Hello, there are kids everywhere.  It's at a field for kids!"  He was seriously appalled they would go handing out tobacco... for free no less!  I started laughing.  I explained to him that the sign meant this zone is to be FREE OF TOBACCO.  He laughed at himself.  He felt a bit silly but ... I thought it wasn't a bad assessment.  I mean, who thought of the language behind that sign.  As an 8 year old, I'm sure I thought that they were handing out free dip.  It was a baseball field after all.

"Elbow Grease"

Driving from NYC to Boston takes about 3 hours.  Driving from NYC to Boston with my brother and sister in the back seat feels like 5 hours.  But then you talk and you hear things that are gems!  I was telling Paul that I don't like the Armorall the car wash place used on the seats.  It was shiny and oily and felt a bit slimy.  My little brother asked, "Why do you get car washes?  Why don't you just do it yourself?  Or why not let the rain just clean your car!? "  My response was simple, "The car was really dirty.  It was even dirty on the inside.  They really needed a lot of elbow grease to clean this thing!"  He immediately shrieked and said, "EWWWWW, that's what this stuff is?  Elbow Grease?". 

Yes folks, my brother thought that they took the sweaty grease right from their elbows and polished up our seats.  Haha I love a child's innocence.

"That's Not My Name"

Today while chatting over IM with my little sister we were discussing our upcoming camping trip.  Read below:

 Sister:  kk thank you(:
 me:  no prob bob
 Sister:  my name isent bob....
 me:  isent is also not a word so I guess we are even steven
 Sister:  -__-

I may refer to my sister as Bob or Steven until the end of our camping trip =)

Your Eyes My Nose

I started a new blog to kind of take me through this next chapter of life....

Starting a Family and laying down real roots in MA.

Check it out at http://youreyesmynose.blogspot.com/

It's a work in progress but I'll get there with it

I hate House Shopping!

So let me set the stage here….

You move to a new state.  You decide that though it’s not NYC, you like it.  It could be a grand place to raise children.  It’s far more suburban than NY while still maintaining close proximity to a city.  It can work. 

The interest rates are at an all time low.  It’s a buyer’s market.  So you hire an agent.  You start up an MLS listing filter.  You go to showings and open houses.  And you quickly realize that your $350K budget was the most unrealistic budget EVER! 

Paul and I have a bit of a conflict… do we buy a house that will be our forever home… spending the dough and being relatively close to the city or… do we buy a small home… a 2 ½ bedroom if you will.  Call it a starter home and possibly one day… end up being forced to move because we simply grew out of it.  OR do we move further from the city… spend something in between.  Have a doable house, a doable neighborhood with a large yard… and say that one day we could move but we don’t HAVE to.

What to do… what to do…

I’ll tell you what NOT to do.  Don’t go to open houses that are over your budget.  You WILL fall in love.  You will want it to be yours.  You will feel conflicted.

Oh boy that’s what we did. 

It’s not perfect but oh boy is it nice.  And it’s in our favorite area.  And it was maintained oh so nicely.  I said I wish it had a open dining/kitchen… so guess what they did… they opened it!  Oh what more could I ask for???  Well it could be on a street that doesn’t have the Rail running behind it… and it could be $75K less.

Hmmm what to do what to do….

I don’t know what to do!  That’s my damn problem!

Broken Promise

Yep that's what I made you... a broken promise.  No pictures, no updates, no Friday CSA blog.  Oh well... I didn't do it and I have poor excuses as to why...

It's a quater close - that means I'm working 12+ hour days, working on National Holidays... and tired as all heck! 

It's hot as ----!  It's been so excrusiatingly hot in our apartment.  The LAST thing I want to do is be inside near hot electronics. 

House hunting is in full swing!  We've been using every available weekend ot go into a marathon session of open houses.  It's been an emotional rollercoaster.  I'll tell you how I'm feeling in a seperate post a little later...

But rest assured ... I've taken pictures, I've jotted down notes.  And as this heat wave passes, I'll update you on the turnips, the summer squash, the kale, the yumminess that has been entering our home.

Be excited! 

(who gets excited about veggies... oh wait I do)

CSA - Week 1

I decided to write a CSA post every Friday with the previous weeks CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm share box and what I've done with it.  I've only just decided this now so forgive me in the lack of pictures.

Let's start with a link to the contents of last weeks box!  Looks good, doesn't it?



So being the busy gal I am, I thought I'd be forced to be rid of most of my box - but no!  I made a true effort to get through this bad boy and boy did I make good on my plans.

I brought the box home on Thursday last week and unfortunately had to eat out due Paul's 1 year Reunion at Sloan.  Well... whatever!  I started using this bad boy on Friday.

THE MENU
Friday - I had a mesculin salad for lunch with tomato, onion, hakurei turnips and avocado.  I made pork stir fry with bok choi, green garlic, onion and red bell pepper!  It was so yummy and delicious.  I served it over white rice and used only a small piece of pork ... leaving room for a ton of veggies.  I ate 2 servings alone since Paul was at another reunion event.

Saturday & Sunday- I blew it... as we were in NY the whole weekend
Monday - I had a mesculin salad for lunch & I fried up 2 pieces of Tilapia and served it with corn, braised greens with green & regular garlic and made a huge salad of mesculin again for dinner.

Tuesday -  I made a huge salad for Paul and I for lunch.  We had to skip eating home this day too - we had a work function dinner for Paul's job.  We tried this amazing Afghan restaurant in Cambridge.  It was unbelievably good!

Wednesday - Yet another huge salad for lunch and for dinner... Sausage & Broccoli Rab over pasta with a huge salad.  It helped use up more green garlic, the broccoli rab & more salad! 

Thursday - I had some left over pasta for lunch... and for dinner I made some pork stir fry with brown rice!  I included some red bell pepper, spinnach, bok choi, green garlic, carrots, Hakurei Turnips  & some of the cilantro that was salvageable.  I also added some garlic scapes from this weeks box.

What I have left:

• 3/4 bag of arugula
• 1/3 bag of spinach
• Oregano - I dried the oregano and have it all left.  I don't particularly like oregano but may use it during the next sauce making day

 

What I threw away:
I did have to toss some of the cilantro.  It was a shame but I did continue to add it to stir fry, salads, and really almost anything, just to use it up.  But even I couldn't seem to get rid of it all.  I had to toss the last bit since it was approaching the mushy stage.

Reflection on week 1 -
I'm pretty proud of myself for using most of the box despite having to eat out of the house for 3 days of the week.  It's been tough eating the amount of salads I've been eating as an entree and not as a side dish... but hey - that's okay!  Tonight we plan on eating the left over stir fry for dinner & we'll be munching on the rest of the pasta for lunch.  It really forces you to eat more veggies.  It helps you think about what you are eating and where it's coming from.  And it really encourages you to plan your meals around this box of seasonal and local veggies  I'm proud to say that 90% of the veggies in my house right now were grown 22 miles away from my home!  And that 80% of my fruit was grown within the state of MA!