My So Called Green Life...

Thrift Store Side Board

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Sat, 05 May 2012 18:29:00 +0000

I found the greatest side board at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore this week for $25. And, being my lucky day, I got to spin the "Wednesday Wheel" and landed on 40% off. Yee-haw!

It came with all the hardware, some of which was off in this photo, and it came with wheels! I didn't notice them until I opened the drawers at home so it was a fun bonus. {Try to ignore my hideously messy house. My kids have been home from school for 2 days now and I can't keep up with them.}

The colors in the pillow case below are pretty much the colors throughout our house. Or, they're the colors I'd like to have. Almost everything is green and brown right now. What can I say, I love those colors! I think I'd like to paint the base grey or green (the golden color seems like it would look too bright and yellow).

I love some of the two-tone pieces I've seen on Pinterest, like this dresser from Miss Mustard Seed...

And this one from One King's Lane via Pinterest...

I think grey would look nice for our house. What do you think?

Macy Jane's 8th Birthday Party

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 01:16:00 +0000

It's hard to believe that our little girl is 8 years old today. Three years ago she was celebrating her birthday in a group home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, just days before we became a family.

I was able to convince her this year that a party could just have pretty decorations and didn't have to be SpongeBob or Hannah Montana themed. She picked some bright colored scrapbook paper and we used those colors for the theme.

This little garland on top of her cake was cut with my brand new ~~best friend~~ Silhouette Cameo, with which I am completely enamored.

I'd planned to forgo sweets, with the exception of the cake, but these 1/2 price Easter candies were calling my name and fit in perfectly with our color scheme. We also had fruit and veggies to snack on.

Our craft project for the girls was to let them paint canvas tote bags. In hindsight they may not have been quite ready for a project like that. It was definitely fun, but they ended up with paint all over them and I hadn't thought to provide smocks. (Sorry moms!) I think the girls had fun making them, I just feel horrible about the messy clothes.

The bags probably would have made good party favors in and of themselves, but I also made up these flower pots for the girls. I got the pots, which feel like melamine (?), in the Target $1 section. We also included a bag of potting soil, a little chalkboard sign that said "Thanks!" and a packet of flower seeds that they can plant at home. There should be plenty of seeds for them to plant outside of their houses too.

I wish I could claim the idea as my own, but I actually saw it (and the exact same pots!) on the 100 Days of Real Food blog.

We didn't have a ton of other decorations this year, but I had to try the ruffled streamers I saw on MADE last summer. They turned out great, if I do say so myself and were really easy to sew. I love how fancy they feel.

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Review: The Homesteader's Kitchen & Chard Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 17:06:00 +0000

File this under the category of "better late than never."

I received a review copy of The Homesteader's Kitchen: Recipes From Farm to Table the summer before last, but got discouraged with the way we were eating and on the shelf it went. There was not a chance my family would eat something like Chard Pie.

Fast forward through several food documentaries, books, Ted talks and corn allergies and here we are, on a Real Foods diet, eating as a homesteader would - whole, organic, real foods, unprocessed, straight from the farm. (Okay, and the occasional buffalo chicken wing, to keep the Mister happy.)

In our produce box this week we received chard, so I spent some time pulling cookbooks off the shelf and ran across my neglected copy of The Homesteader's Kitchen. What a beautiful book. I just want to jump into it and live inside some of the photographs. From breakfast through dessert and everything in between, Robin Burnside offers recipes from the traditional (Vegetable Soup) to the exotic (Samuri Breakfast).

We tried her recipe for Chard Pie this morning and, admittedly, everyone was a bit skeptical at first, but all three of the kids asked for second helpings!

Chard Pie

{Makes 6 - 8 servings.}

8 cups thinly chopped or ribboned chard

1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

1/3 cup whole wheat pastry or corn flour

3 eggs, or substitute 3/4 cup well mashed tofu for a vegan version

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast

2 Tbsp minced shallots

1 tsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp sea salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 Tbsp olive oil, divided

2 Tbsp Ghee or vegetable oil, divided

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the chard and green onions, add the flour and toss to combine.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs or tofu, yeast, shallots, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix the egg or tofu mixture evenly into the chard, massaging the mass with your hands.

In a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and 1 Tbsp Ghee, making sure to coat the bottom and sides evenly. Place the chard mixture into the greased skillet and gently press to smooth the top. Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 8-10 minutes, or until the bottom browns.

Remove from heat and run a knife around the outside of the pie to loosen the edges. Lay a flat baking sheet on top of the skillet and with a couple of thick hot-pads, carefully invert the pie onto the tray and remove the skillet. Put the remaining oil and Ghee into the hot skillet and carefully slide the pie back in, with the uncooked side down. Cover and cook an additional 6-8 minutes, or until the pie has set and the veggies are completely cooked. Cut chard pie into wedges and serve hot.

I didn't have nutritional yeast, so that was left out. I also used quite a bit less chard and added an extra egg. It's an easy recipe to make changes to though, and still comes out great. (As evidenced by it's quick disappearance this morning!)

Planting seeds...

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 01:10:00 +0000

With the beautiful weather we've been having it's hard not to sow our seeds right into the garden this week but, realistically, I know we'll have more cold weather before this winter is truly over. Instead, we spent this sunny Spring Break day outside starting seeds in our (reclaimed) seed pots.

This is our first year ordering organic heirloom seeds, rather than buying from Walmart or Home Depot. We purchased through a site called No Thyme Productions which offers a line of seeds from right here in Colorado.

Now they sit next to our French doors admiring the garden where they'll be transplanted in a few short weeks.

Meatless Monday ~ Veggie Wraps

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 23:11:00 +0000

Most of our meals these days are meatless, so I should have plenty to share on Meatless Mondays, but I've been remiss in photographing what we eat. (Funny enough, my family thinks that photographing your food is 110% normal now.)

Today my fridge is exploding with veggies and we're expecting yet another produce delivery box via Door-to-Door Organics tomorrow afternoon.{Note to self: fake a vacation next week.} I've never been an enormous fan of peppers, but I'm learning to like them in small quantities. For lunch today I made a veggie wrap with a whole wheat tortilla, hummus, English cucumber slices, orange bell pepper slices and a few spicy goat cheese crumbles on top.

Everything seems fancier when sliced extremely thin with a mandoline, don'tcha think? After searching the thrift stores, literally, for almost 2 years with no luck, I broke down and bought this one, new from Target. So far I've only sliced off one finger tip off (true story) but it's been worth it. By the way, did you know that you can get fixed up for free at your local fire station when you don't live anywhere near an emergency room? Also true.

{Linked up at: Just Another Meatless Monday}

Real Foods Diet & Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 18:46:00 +0000

My kids - much to my amazement - have made a really good transition to the Real Foods Diet. I've stopped buying them packaged snacks from the store. Instead, I've been giving them trail mix, fruit, smoothies, or the No Bake Energy Bites I posted about a few weeks ago. They call them "granola balls" and gobble them up. Over the weekend I'm planning to make homemade graham crackers and cheddar goldfish crackers.

{Photo: Country Living Magazine online}

While we're eating really well at home, the kids are still buying school lunches, with which I'm becoming increasingly uncomfortable. Our school is much better about nutrition than many but, unless they're making fresh, organic, un-processed meals each morning, they're still lacking in my opinion.

Wouldn't it be nice to have your kids go to a school like this where they see the entire seed-to-table lifecycle?

Browse the Lunch Love Community when you have a few minutes. It's the "...true story of how farsighted and dedicated individuals -- parents, educators, public health advocates, and food system reformers – unite to change how children eat, how they learn in school, and how to restore healthy food systems in a climate-changing world."

Real Food Diary: Day 4 - 6

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:29:00 +0000

Day 4: I'm feeling good, mentally and physically...proud of us for avoiding all the processed junk that's been in our diets for too long. I've been bringing fruit, trail mix and home made snacks for the kids after school and they're not even complaining about it.

Day 5: The Mister and I are kid-free and decide to go out to dinner. I eat well, with the exception of the white flour tortillas, but the Mister admits to crashing and burning that day. Pizza and a soda at school because it was "party day." Admittedly he's feeling confused about what he can and can't eat, since he's going Real Food and corn free. We make a note to do some research, planning and shopping over the weekend.

Day 6: We locate this list of foods / ingredients that contain corn. Go ahead and take a peek. (Holy cow!) I tell him if we're eating real foods we should be able to avoid most of that anyway, but he's jonsing for things like hot cocoa and convenience foods he can bring to school. We shop Walmart because he insists they have a natural foods section (they don't) then Natural Grocers. By then he's gone...sad, confused, hungry.

When we get home, Mister takes his vitamins and immediately has an asthma attack. I discover that both the multivitamin and fish oil he takes have corn. After further investigation, I find that the prescription meds he takes for asthma, GERD and insomnia also either contain corn starch or other ingredients that may possibly contain corn products. Email sent to his pharmacy.

I wonder if he was going through life just feeling crappy all the time - was that his norm since everything he was eating contained some form of corn? I feel very scientific each time he has an asthma attack now and we can pin it on one particular thing.

Real Food Diary: Day 1 - 3

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 16:26:00 +0000

Day 1: Mister and I both have enormous headaches all day. I've heard this happens when you cut out refined sugar. I noticed that I've been grinding my teeth all day too...that probably isn't helping my headache. Dinner is manicotti with all organic ingredients: whole wheat shells, ricotta mixed with sauteed baby spinach, pasta sauce, and topped with a locally made parmesan cheese. Side salad with organic greens. It's a hit!

Day 2: I still have a slight headache, but not as bad as yesterday. Dinner is couscous topped with organic veggies. I cooked it all with organic beef broth for taste. Need to switch to vegetable broth soon.

Today I bought ingredients for trail mix for the Mister to take to work. He chowed down on some after dinner and immediately had an asthma attack. We contacted his doctor to see if tree nuts were on his list of allergies and are awaiting a reply. It was interesting how immediately and noticeably it affected him.

Day 3: No headache today and I'm feeling good! This is only the third day, but I already feel like I am tasting things differently. Is that possible? Without artificial flavors and flavor enhancers, I'm really tasting the individual flavors of each ingredient. Even the Mister said he noticed this.

Dinner tonight: homemade whole wheat tortillas (recipe from 100 Days of Real Food) topped with organic tomato sauce, local mozzarella cheese, and spinach sauteed with onion and garlic. Not only did my kids not complain, they all asked for more. My picky guy even asked for the one with "green stuff" on it.

Real Food Diet

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 20:05:00 +0000

At last my dream has come true. No, not the one about Brad Pitt! The one where the Mister wants to eat only healthy food.

GASP!

I know, right? Those of you who know him in real life think I'm smoking crack right about now, but it's true. After 5 years of Food Inc., King Corn, The World According to Monsanto, The Future of Food, Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, Forks Over Knives -- I'm sure I'm missing a few -- the Mister has decided to make the break from (most) processed foods...at least for a period of time.

Back when we were first married, he went in for an allergy test that showed he was highly allergic to corn (one of the few veggies he actually ate at the time), shellfish, everything outside, and a few others. He did, literally, nothing about this and continued his life as usual.

Long story short, he's faced with the opportunity / possibility of not working next school year (this is not a certain yet), which would also mean no health insurance. As World's Cheapest Man, he's starting to come to terms with the fact that food = medicine and, if he eats well, he may be able to avoid the asthma attacks he has when he eats corn, or lessen the severe GERD he experiences 24/7.

We've heard a lot about the effects of dairy on the types of allergies he has, so he would eventually like to cut out all dairy (again, for a period of time to see if there is a change). He'd also like to cut out meat.

Yes folks, that's what we call vegan. My husband, mister "man can live on steak alone" is considering a vegan diet.

Vegan honestly doesn't make my head spin as much as corn-free does. Check out the amazing article my friend Rose wrote for Modern Paleo: Emergency Guide to Avoiding Corn. You would not believe all the things that contain corn in all it's forms and derivatives.

For now we are trying to follow the Real Food Diet which allows whole foods, fruits and vegetables, local organic meat, dairy and natural sweeteners. See RFD's complete list of acceptable foods, aka "The Diet" here. We're not eating much meat in part because local, organic meat is expensive, but also because we just watched Forks Over Knives (on the recommendation of My Plastic-Free Life). It seems all the factory farm photos and environmental stats didn't sway the Mister, but cold hard facts from doctors did.

We're also avoiding the major corn products: corn, popcorn, corn tortillas, tortilla chips, corn starch, corn syrup, etc. Cutting out processed foods naturally cuts out a large number of things with corn syrup and other corn byproducts. I know from Rose's article that we're still missing lots of sources but, to be frank, I need to take it one step at a time. First the corn I see, then the corn I can't see. Since this isn't a dire health emergency, we're lucky to have that luxury.

So I welcome you to yet another crazy journey our family will be taking!

Zucchini Tots {big hit!}

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 01:01:00 +0000

Just one of the zillion reasons that I love Pinterest... Zucchini Tots!

{Photo by raylynntexas, via Curious Country Cook}

I saw these on Pinterest last week - the same week I forgot to check what was coming in my produce box and I got zucchini, which is obviously not local in Colorado in March. I have to admit that I was happy to see it though. I've OD'ed on potatoes, onions and carrots at this point.

At any rate, I made these "zucchini tots" tonight and got a standing ovation from my kids. They all asked for seconds. My 4 year old even cried when I told him there were none left.

I used a traditional muffin pan instead of a mini, but that's the only change I made. They were fab! Something we'll be making all summer, I'm sure.

My mom's store is having a P-A-R-T-Y & sale!

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 17:24:00 +0000

If you haven't yet made it over to my mom's blog, Antiques by Joy, go see it (right after you finish reading this, of course)! Her retail store, Patina Antiques & Home is turning 7 years old this month! Patina has been featured in magazines like Victoria and Colorado Homes & Lifestyle. They've won 5280 Magazine's Top of the Town (Best Home Accessories category) and the Denver A-List's Top Antique Shop.

Not only are they having a HUGE party on March 9th & 10th to celebrate, they're also offering a generous 20% off discount to all customers that weekend. So if you're in Denver, or anywhere nearby, you'll want to mark your calendar and stop by!

I've just started a Pinterest account for her, so be sure to follow. It's a little sparse right now, but we're adding items that are in the shop as well as little peeks at her home. Be sure to "like" her store on Facebook too! (We're starting to talk about small giveaways for followers!)

Here are a few (poorly lit, my apologies) photographs that I snapped at the store last weekend...

These rusty metal letters are my favorite. They're about three feet tall and hand made.

Wouldn't they look good in your yard, as a centerpiece on the wall, or above your fireplace? Love, love, love.

Protein-packed quick snack.

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:02:00 +0000

When you're on the go with always-hungry kids day in and day out, it's really tempting to pick up less-than-healthy snacks that you can grab and go. For those times, I give you "no-bake energy bites" from Gimmie Some Oven. They're quick and easy to make and taste great! Check out Gimmie Some Oven's recipe and amazing blog which I'll be stalking regularly.

Valentine Gifts for Teachers...

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:40:00 +0000

At Target today we saw the prettiest package of Valentine-themed scrapbook paper. I chose to see it as a sign that I needed to make something special for the kids' teachers for Valentine's Day. We picked up mini boxes of Mrs. Fields chocolates for $1 each, the scrapbook paper for $0.99, printed more of the {free} Be Mine tags from Everyday Occasions, and wrapped it all up with pink and white baker's twine. They're so sweet I can hardly stand it.

On-The-Go Memory Matching Game

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:08:00 +0000

I originally bought these unfinished wooden rectangles for the chore magnets I made for the kids, but ended up only using the circles. With the rectangles, I decided to make a small memory type matching game using bits of scrapbook paper. I figure they can bring it when we go out to dinner or force them to do other super boring things where they need to be entertained.

The Etsy seller Less Magnets sells these in sets of 25 for $3. They have squares, circles, blocks, buttons...you name it. So much potential and great prices to boot.

A few snips of the scrapbook paper and a little Mod Podge later, we had a fun matching game. The kids have been playing it all day, so I'm not even sure if it will make it out to the car in case of a boredom emergency.

Here's the finished product~

Valentine Making Day!

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 23:53:00 +0000

It's Valentines day (not to be confused with Valentine's Day) which is when we break out the craft supplies and make Valentines for all the kids' classmates.

I had some supplies I needed to use up - suckers and bags with hearts on them that I picked up at the thrift store back in the summertime. My daughter loves, loves pink, purple, hearts - the brighter and girlier, the better - so the bags were a no brainer for her. I just printed up some little tags to tie onto them and filled them with M&Ms.

I found a great list of fun, funny, funky and just plain sweet printable Valentines at Sassy Sites that it was hard to choose. I ended up using "You Rock" Valentines from Living Locurto for my 6 year old...

And these sweet Be Mine tags from Everyday Occasions by Jenny Steffens for my youngest. I wish I had the time and energy to make the cookies that Jenny shows on her blog. In our house, lollipops will have to do.

I can only assume if we're sending this much candy out, we'll probably be getting that much back in? {I hope it's all chocolate.}

Fantastic flowers make fantastic rings & earrings!

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:00:00 +0000

I'm bringing back an older post today because I noticed that these sweet little flowers are the deal of the day on Pick Your Plum! For only $2.95 you can get 14 large or 20 small flowers.

I saw these earrings on the front page of Etsy the other day and immediately put them on my "I'd love to get these for my birthday" list. Then I saw that you can buy the supplies and make them much cheaper yourself. Off the list they went, and I ordered the supplies instead. These are made with vintage Japanese cabochons.

Finished products...

These look very orange in the photo, but they are really a pretty coral-ish pink.

I also made a rad ring with a huge cream colored flower. You can purchase earring and ring "blanks" on Etsy as well, then use super glue or E6000 to glue them on. So much satisfaction and cuteness from a 30 second project! Stop by Pick Your Plum and pick some up for yourself and quick and easy gifts.

I wore the coral pair on my birthday. This is my fake sister Renee (and my ham husband). Whenever we go out together people think we're sisters, so we just pretend that we are.

The problem with Pinterest...

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 14:00:00 +0000

The problem with Pinterest is that this...

Is always pinned next to this...

And it takes a lot less time to make the cookie dough brownie happen.

Thrifted Valentine's Day Decor

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 13:00:00 +0000

I hadn't planned to decorate for Valentine's Day. I'm not Martha Stewart for goodness sake. Who decorates for Valentine's Day? Eh, apparently me, that's who. I was scouring Pinterest (crack for the crafter) for new ideas for the kids Valentine parties at school and just saw too many sweet decorating ideas to resist.

I had several red, pinkish and purple-ish wool sweaters from ARC and Goodwill that I'd felted at Christmas time, but never used, so I cut hearts in different sizes and strung them up with embroidery floss to make a little garland.

The large white frame was thrifted from the Habitat for Humanity store. It was originally mauve with an 80's print in it. I tossed that and spray painted the frame white. The three black frames are from a local thrift store, with prints I downloaded via Sassy Sites. I made the Edgar Allen Poe quote "We loved with a love that was more than love." (in red, on the left) in Photoshop Elements because I couldn't find it in a color I really liked.

{You can download the PDF here!}

The three white candle holders - not sure that's really what they are - were also from the local thrift store, and a huge bargain for only $3! Valentine flashcard was given to me a few years ago. I need to find a better place for it...still working on that part.

In all, I spent $8 on this since I had so much of it already, The only new things are the red candles.

The kids were excited, but reminded me that Groundhog Day actually comes before Valentine's Day. Duh. I'd search Pinterest for Groundhog Day decor, but I'm afraid I'd have to re-do my mantel yet again. And, speaking of mantels... I just discovered the site 52 Mantels, where the amazing (or insane?) blogger does a new mantel each and every week. Serious cuteness and creativity. Check it out! {I will not re-do my mantle every week, I will not re-do my mantle every week, I will not re-do my mantle every week...}

Linking up to~ Twice Owned Tuesday | Blue Cricket Design | The Kurtz Corner | Uncommon Designs |

Book Review: The Dirty Life

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:56:00 +0000

I just finished The Dirty Life: A Memoir of Farming, Food & Love, by Kristin Kimball. What a love story. {cue dreamy sigh} Kimball was a writer in NYC who gave up the comforts of city life when she fell in love with a farmer. Together, they moved to Middle-of-Nowhere, New York and revived a 500+ acre farm that had been abandoned years before. They weren't just farming for themselves though, their plan was to start a CSA that fulfilled the complete dietary needs of it's members, and then some: meat, vegetables, dairy, fruits, grains, flour, eggs and even maple syrup.

The Dirty Life isn't just the love story between Kristin and her husband though, it's also about her slow-to-develop love of farming and the blood, sweat and tears that come with it.

If you have ever loved, gardened or farmed, this is a book you'll want to read.

Lego Minifig Storage & Display Box

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 02:39:00 +0000

I admit to doing a little pride strut around the house this afternoon after finishing this project. It took all of about 10 minutes active time, with 30 minutes or so between coats of paint.

Our house has become a Lego City with three kids who love Star Wars, SpongeBob, Harry Potter, Cars and (the actual) Lego City Legos. I can't walk three feet without stepping on one of those little buggers - and they hurt!

But back to the project at hand... I've been looking for an old display box, thread box, printing press box -- anything at all with small compartments -- for a long time, but have come up empty-handed until yesterday when I spotted this shadow box frame at our local thrift store. It was still in the plastic for $3.00!

I took it apart and discarded the glass, since I want my son to be able to access it from the front. The inside was spray painted silver and the frame painted Star Wars blue. Reassemble and fill with minifigs. (The majority of ours are currently on vacation in the Lego City airplane, thus the empty spots here.)

Now that I look at it here, I think I might disassemble it again and paint the backing black with white stars to resemble the opening of the Star Wars movies.

If your little - or big - ones like Legos, check out the Star Wars Lego Birthday party we threw last summer!

Wooden Nickle Chore Magnets

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 03:26:00 +0000

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Am I the only one who has a hard time getting her kids to do simple "chores" like eating breakfast and getting dressed each morning? They have one true chore each week: take the laundry downstairs, clean the bathroom (meaning wipe down the sinks), or set & help clean up the dinner table. Each child keeps a chore for a week, then they switch on Sundays.

Surprisingly it's the smaller things like getting dressed or having their back packs ready for school that seem impossible to accomplish. I tried laminated chore charts where they'd mark off each task with a dry erase marker, but it was messy and the marker was always drying out or disappearing.

Then one day, as I was cleaning out the junk drawer in my kitchen, I came across a wooden nickle drink token that Hubby had brought home from a local bar eons ago. (Also found: random legos, keys from the house we lived in three houses ago, Chuck-E-Cheese tickets, and extremely old chapstick.) But a light bulb went off with the wooden nickle and I immediately ordered some from Etsy. (Search: raw wood circles, unfinished wooden circles, wooden nickles, etc.)

I printed out the kids daily tasks - words for my 6 and 7 year olds, pictures for my 4 year old - and used Mod Podge to stick them on.

You can find loose magnets at any hobby store or Walmart, and I used Tacky Glue to glue them on. It seems to work much better than hot glue.

Now the kids slide the magnets over to the left once they complete a task and slide them all back over to the right at bed time so they can start over again in the morning. Their tasks include things like eat breakfast, get dressed, brush your teeth, check the calendar (for things like Show & Tell, gym class, Girl Scouts), do your homework, read a book, pick out clothes for tomorrow, pack your back pack and pick up toys.

Eating in 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:00:00 +0000

Boy have I been a bad blogger so far this year. I guess that's because there's been a lot of doing, but not much writing about it so far.

With the Mister making a commitment to eating more vegetables this year, I've been cooking up a storm. I also joined the Cook From Your Cupboards challenge on the Frugal Kitchen message board at iVillage. Our goal is to get the processed, boxed, prepackaged junk out of the cupboards and start eating (mostly) freshly prepared foods. With only one week of the CFYC challenge under my belt we've made a noticeable dent in our pantry - and our grocery budget too!

In addition to committing to fresh, organic produce only, hubby has agreed to purchase meat from a local farmer who raises grass-fed beef. (Huge victory!) Factory farmed meat is something we've known the harsh back story on for so long, but have chosen to ignore, based solely on the high price of organic, humanely-raised meats. Ignoring how our meat is raised is something neither of us feel we can do any longer.

Factory farmed chickens (above) and cattle (below).

In general, meat is something we hope to eat a lot less of this year. When hubby and I first met, we ate meat for dinner every night, as the main attraction. Over the years we've decreased our meat consumption by about 50%, but we hope to decrease that by about 50% again this year. It has seemed unappealing - to prepare and eat - to me for about two years now and, just tonight, hubby remarked that "...it kind of makes [him] feel sick" lately.

Last night we watched Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead, a documentary about a man who went from obese and ill to quite healthy in the matter of a year by reforming the way he eats. While it seemed a bit like an advertisement for juicing, the point really hit home with hubs: you are what you eat. Put organic vegetables into your body and you'll reap a lot more health benefits than you will with additives, preservatives, antibiotics and growth hormones.

Between that, my years of nagging, and this Ted talk (below) by Dr. Terry Wahls, who {claims to have} cured her Multiple Sclerosis through a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, the Mister is ready to make a change. I couldn't be prouder and more excited!

Happy New Year ~ Goals for 2012!

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 05:11:00 +0000

I have so many goals for this year that I can't even begin to remember them all. I was talking to hubby the other day and said something about, "One of my goals next year is to..." and he just laughed. I think I say that every five minutes.

In general, I have a lot of the same goals that I have every year: eat healthier, lose a few pounds, tone up, stop yelling at the kids so much, be more patient, get organized, keep up with the laundry...the list goes on and on (and on)!

Parenting

More specifically -- and realistically -- I want to work on my parenting. I'm impatient, I admit it. My kids drive me to the brink.of.insanity more days than I want to admit. I've had the article The One-Week Fix for Bad Behavior from Parents magazine on my fridge for since it came out in October. It includes 7 ideas or steps for becoming a better parent and changing your kids undesirable behaviors. (I hate the term "bad behavior" because much of it is natural or learned, rather than just "bad.") While I remember to employ some of the ideas from time to time, I'm still working on the first: Don't React. {Ear plugs would be a huge help to block out the whining in this step!}

Food

On a more positive note... Hubs has agreed to try eating more vegetables this year! If you're a long time follower of the blog, you know that Hubs only ate meat and potatoes when I met him. He seriously had to have a big ol' hunk of meat with every dinner - and hopefully with breakfast and lunch too. Over the past ten years I've gotten him down to a small portion of meat with dinner a few times per week. He's also grown to tolerate a few veggies like asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, squash and zucchini.

This year, though, he's agreed to go all out and try whatever I want to make. This is a huge step for him - and a huge victory for me. I've stopped making so many meals that I love because of the veggie content, so I can't wait to break out a few old recipes. And, of course, it will be SO good for Hubby's health too!

One of my many goals for the year is to get back to eating more organic, local and sustainable foods. I've already signed back up for a weekly organic produce delivery service and have been trying things that are even new to me. (See my mushroom & kale hand pies!)

Our garden should help with this goal too, though we're no where near being able to grow or preserve enough to carry us through the winter. We do hope to build on the lessons learned over the last few years and be able to grow more for canning and preserving this season.

The delivery service we're using (Door to Door Organics) also just announced that they'll begin offering milk and eggs soon as well, which I'm very excited for. Now if I can just get the Hubs to spring for some local, grass fed / free range meats and chicken, I'll be in heaven!

Another food-related goal I couldn't brush aside any longer was learning to make bread! I picked up Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day from the library a few weeks back and have been making their most basic recipe. I need to buy my own copy so I can try some other types of bread but, until then, the basic boule is highly requested in our house. That's the loaf I made tonight (I forgot to score the top of this one, so it split open.) for Hubby's potluck breakfast at work tomorrow morning.

Last but not least in the food arena is learning how to use the pressure cooker I bought over a year ago. I've heard how amazing they are, but have just been too afraid to use it so far. It also has a pressure canning system with it, which will be great for some of the produce we grow and purchase at the farmers market.

Money

I've been working on reducing our monthly grocery bill, which has meant buying less processed foods - always a good thing! Our cupboards are still bursting at the seams though, so I'm challenging myself to "cook from the cupboards" this month, buying only fresh produce and dairy products. This should help reduce our grocery bill further for the month and pay off a few bills from Christmas.

We always tend to start new years off with a spending freeze. Last year we "compacted" from January through June. We're not really planning that this year, per se, but we are making a conscious effort to not spend money on anything we don't truly need. When you live on a teacher's salary and a part time job, you have to live simply...but I wouldn't have it any other way!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 21:28:00 +0000

I'm taking a little time off until the new year. Our Christmas was fantastically chaotic, but I seem to have caught a cold so I'm planning to lay low for a few days. See you all in the New Year. I hope you have a wonderful holiday!

Finally Christmas at The Browns'

noreply@blogger.com (Kellie Brown) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 03:11:00 +0000

We're just in under the wire. Hubs and the kids cut a tree from our yard (forest) yesterday, we located the missing box of decorations, and it just started snowing. Christmas can officially come now!

The rest of the house is just too messy to show! Hope you're all ready for the big day!