Long time no see

This summer has been rough! Husband home, kids home, work busy, etc.
.
I've got a little bit of a break right now--hubby and son are at Boy Scout Camp. Son left with his troupe on Monday, and hubby left yesterday morning. Just me and daughter.
.
I've felt kind of bad for daughter this week--I've been really busy with work and she keeps coming over to me and asking when I'll be done. I have to tell her I'm not sure. I guess I never realized how much she and her brother entertain each other. I kind of made it up to her yesterday--I took her out to dinner.
.
I'm also having some lifestyle issues right now. It's easy to live a vegan lifestyle, but eating that way--not so easy. I have been just craving dairy--ice cream and cheese, mostly. I know what it is; it's stress. I am fighting getting back into that lifestyle that had me so fat. I used to eat when I was stressed, eat when I was happy, eat when I was with friends, eat when I was alone, etc. I've made successful alternatives for most of my eating triggers, but stress it so hard for me.
.
And the thing is that even when I am eating something I'd rather not eat, I'm almost nauseous thinking about it but I keep on eating. When I have time, I've been trying to do some reading--stuff that got me motivated toward this lifestyle in the first place. The problem is that I haven't had much time lately.
.
Lack of time and a feeling like I've had people looking over my shoulder is why I haven't been blogging lately. Today, with just daughter and I home and her watching a show, I feel like I have a moment.
.
Oh, my garden! We had a ton of really good broccoli. Our cauliflower was buggy and gross so it got chucked. Our cabbages have been huge and wonderful. I need to go get the first of our zukes today (none at all and now I have 6 I can harvest). The tomatoes are just starting to ripen--we've had just a few and when they go, I'm going to have a million all at once. I have one yellow squish (yes, we call them squish at my house) I can harvest. My cukes are still a ways off.
.
We've been eating in waves--all broccoli, all cabbage, and next is going to be all zucchini. When the tomatoes go, I want to dehydrate a bunch. We also had a bunch of cherries--We ate a ton, I made a cherry cobbler, and I put up like 6 quarts of them. I could have done like that many again, but they got wormy--gross.
.
Well, that's my life right now. I need to get back to work.
Ciao for now.

Whew, I have been busy

I can't truly say why--work, family, etc. but nothing horribly out of the ordinary.
.
So here's "It's a Small World". They changed it since the last time we were there--they added dolls dressed in Disney movie character outfits. It was kind of fun trying to find them all. Here are two kids and some pirate's treasure. When I was a kid, the island at Disneyland was called "Tom Sawyer's Island"; now it's the "Pirate's Lair". They change things to keep current. Their shirts, by the way, came from Excalibur in LV. Several Disney employees noticed them and commented that they were "Phantasmic" shirts. Nope, sorry.

And here, as I promised, is a picture showing the crowds. There were lines up because a parade was supposed to be starting in about 45 minutes, but the crowds were like that all day Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Thursday morning was better and Friday we were at California Adventure and it wasn't nearly as bad.

So I'll give my vacation a rest now. How about on to some food?

.

Sunday, son wanted pancakes for breakfast. I took my regular recipe and tweaked it a bit and they came out light, fluffy, and wonderful. I think they were the best I've ever made! I took the recipe and wrote out my tweaks so (hopefully) I can replicate the results. The were 100% whole wheat and had banana instead of egg and no dairy. I was impressed--usually when I make pancakes they are really hit or miss. One time they will be good and fluffy, the next time they will fall flat and have a crepe texture, or something like that.

.

Saturday we went to the farmer's market and got Bok Choy--it was the first time I had ever had it. I stir fried it with onions, peppers, and garlic and a touch of teriyaki sauce. It was really good. Hubby said the leaves were tough but he liked the rest. We also got a big head of red romaine lettuce. I had several huge salads out of it.

.

I need to harvest the garden again. I wish our tomatoes, squash, bell peppers, and cukes would get ripe--we are still at broccoli, onions, and kale.

.

Well, I think I'll get back to work.

Ciao for now.

Reliving my vaca--a little bit at a time

Here are the kids out in the ocean on the beach at Newport, CA. Son was a little freaked out about the seaweed. But they had a great time. We walked up the pier and back and then played in the ocean for about an hour and a half and then had dinner at Rockin' Baja Lobster. Here are my kids in the stockade--they really got in trouble at Legoland and I had to lock them up.

And speaking of Legoland, I thought the bathroom signs were really cute. Little Lego people that had to go potty.

Well that's enough vaca for today--coming tomorrow (maybe): Disney crowds and pirate's treasure.

.

For lunch today, I made a broccoli and kale salad (garden kale) with nut cheese mixed in. Son said it was good, but he didn't eat very much of it.

.

Last night dinner was sauteed veggies with olives, mushrooms, and a can of diced tomatoes served over whole wheat pasta. CCV mentioned yesterday about putting vinegar in stuff, so I put a bit in the veggies and it really added something. I make a pasta with capers and marinated artichoke hearts in it and the vinegar in my regular veggies gave them a similar flair.

.

Today, daughter is over at a friend's house and hubby is helping another friend out with some work on his place. So it's just son and I. I could get used to this (although it is better with both kids in school and hubby working).
.

Also, I have exercised 2 days in a row. (Yeah Me!) And my relationship with food is getting back to where it needs to be. (Yeah Me, again!) I just need to keep going.

.

Well, back to work.

Ciao for now.

Garden Bounty

Here's a pic of us at LegoLand last Wednesday. When we got back, even though it had rained the whole time we were gone, our garden had really jumped up. Yesterday we basked in some of the bounty.
.
For lunch, I had a kale salad made with two kinds of kale from my garden.
.
For dinner we had broccoli from the garden. (Does anyone know if broccoli keeps producing or if once you harvest the crown it's done?)
.
That's all I have right now. Son is working, daughter is watching TV (I really need to get her busy this summer), and hubby is at a doctor's appointment. I'm back to work.
Ciao for now.

We're Back--a little bug eyed and big eared, but back

We made it and we had a wonderful time! We did Disneyland, California Adventure, LegoLand and Newport Beach. This is a pic of the kids after we saw the 4-D show, "It's Tough to be a Bug". They have their bug eyes on and their ears on--so cute.
.
There were a lot of people in Disneyland! I have never seen that many people there! So Sunday and Monday were a bit frustrating because of that, but the rest of the time was good.
.
In Newport, we walked out onto the pier and there were people fishing all over. The kids were really interested when one guy brought up a sand shark. So another guy showed us a sand shark he had on a rope swimming around under the Pier. It was disgusting--the rope was like through the poor shark's nose and he was just swimming around down there. It kind of made me nauseous. We did have fun at the beach, though.
.
I didn't stay vegan while gone, but did stay vegetarian. I had some items made with milk and eggs but I'm not going to beat myself up for it--overall, the world is still a better place for the choices I make. I eat the way I eat as a choice and I made the choice to change it up a bit for vacation. (I actually had planned on eating better while gone, but got frustrated at the lack of choices since we had to eat out for every meal.)
.
Saturday, lunch was at a Mexican place and there was a rolled up tortilla left over. So on Sunday, we gave the dried up old tortilla to Little Girl. She was so proud of that silly tortilla! She carried it around in her mouth all day Sunday and until it got too soggy to stay together on Monday. It was like "I got a tortilla from Disneyland!". Silly dog.
.
Well, I ought to get back to work.
Ciao for now.

I'm out......

Just letting you all know that I won't be blogging for a couple of weeks. I'll give full details when I get back. (When I get back and caught up, that is.)

Yes, we have no bananas

So I'm almost out of everything fresh, but we do have a good supply of bananas! Got some yesterday because I couldn't deal with no bananas. I had one yesterday afternoon, one in my oatmeal for breakfast and will probably have another here after a bit for a snack.
.
Things at work are starting to move along so I'll be in a good place to leave for vacation. Tomorrow, I'll work, do laundry, and we'll all pack and then we're off Saturday morning. Can't wait.
.
My folks were exceedingly nice yesterday. I needed new batteries for my old camera (actually, it was a hand me down from my parents) and it takes special expensive ones and I hadn't had time to go shopping for them. Dad actually did some shopping for me and told me where I could get the batteries and how much they'd be etc. but I never got around to getting them. So yesterday, he called me and said that they had a camera I could use that just uses regular batteries. It is a really nice one and it's small (my old one is a huge beast). Thanks Dad!
.
It has been really weird weather here. Just a few minutes ago, the sky opened up and we had rain like we rarely have. It's still coming down, but not nearly so hard. The sky is still rumbling.
.
Son's building with his Lego's and daughter is playing the Wii. And I'm just finishing with lunch (a steamed sweet potato and a bocca burger w/ Veganaise on Ezekiel bread).
.
I've got to go out to the bank here in a bit--I hope it quits raining soon.
Ciao for now.

Still counting down to vacation

Time can't seem to make up it's mind! On one hand, it's going way to slow--I am so ready to head out of here for vaca. On the other hand, I have lots to do before we go and I can't seem to get things done.
.
Right now, daughter's in the shower, son's raking weeds out in the pasture, hubby's at a class at Job Service, and I'm sitting at my computer working (or not working as the case may be).
.
I'm trying to use up all the fresh produce before we go so last night we had a vegetable lo mien and tonight we're having spuds & onions and steamed kale. Tomorrow is going to have to be a throw together. And for lunches, today and tomorrow, I'm having sweet potatoes. Then I think we'll have all of the fresh stuff gone. I did ask hubby to get some bananas on his way home from his class, though. We are fresh out and we can't seem to live without bananas these days.
.
Well, back to work.
Ciao for now.

Vacation Countdown

We leave in T minus 5 days............

.

We are going to do California this year. We have our motel reservation, our Disneyland tickets, and 2 of our Legoland tickets.

.

I'm a little concerned about eating on the trip--a lot of salads, is my guess. I was craving some ice cream here a while back and, after my last episode with dairy, I decided to "test" myself. Sure enough, I had dairy and just over a day later, I was stuck in the bathroom. So I am going to have to be really careful about dairy while we're gone. The problem is that so often, dairy and eggs are hidden in things that you wouldn't think they'd be in. And I just won't eat meat--yuck. I told hubby that we may need to find a grocery store and keep things like banana, apples, and baby carrots in the motel room.

.

At the top is a picture from our last trip--2 years ago. I was better than 100 pounds heavier in that picture than I am now. I am really looking forward to not having my feet hurt this time. Last time, I was literally crying one day because my feet and legs hurt so bad; and on the way home, my feet swelled up so bad that I could hardly get my sandals on, let alone any shoes.
.

This is a picture of my kids taken on that trip. They have sure grown!

Son actually started a summer job today. He's on the "Bug Crew". They monitor and count and transplant bugs that kill noxious weeds. Today is training in the morning and then they spend the afternoon in a field making sure that they can actually identify the plants and bugs that they'll be working with. He is an alternate on the team, but the lady told me that often, the alternates work more than the regulars because they cover absences for vacations, summer camps, illness, etc. He's really excited. And it's nice because his best friend is on the crew, too.

.

Well, I'm back to work. I have to get stuff done this week so I don't come home to an even bigger pile--my job is one of those where the work just waits for me if I don't get it done.

Ciao for now.

Proud Mama Post

I haven't been good at posting. There seems to have been a lot going on and when I've had the time to post, I haven't had the inclination (due to feeling like people were looking over my shoulder. Anyway, here's a summary of life since last post--"proud mommy bragging" alert! The kids had their piano recital--there is a picture of them with their trophies. The trophy was for getting 3 consecutive "Superior" ratings at the annual Jr. Music Festival competition. Both kids got one. They played really good at the recital. They could have been better, but considering the fact that they had to prep their songs without the aid of a piano teacher I think they did great. (We had to quit piano lessons after hubby got laid off a couple of month's ago, but their teacher didn't want them to miss out on the recital so she gave them their songs and included them anyway--that was so nice of her!)
.
Daughter was invited to join the "Magnet Classroom" for 4th and 5th grades. They did 3rd grade GT (gifted and talented) testing throughout the district--both public an private schools--and out of those tested, 26 were invited to attend the magnet classroom next year. This is a specialized class that caters more to the individual kids. They don't necessarily follow district curriculum and they go a lot deeper into some areas. The kids are also helped to advance in their individual strength areas. I am really excited for her! I think she will do really well.
.
Son got the "presidential award for educational excellence" at his 6th grade graduation. The criteria were to have gotten all "A"s in elementary school, gotten "advanced" and a certain percentile in the ISAT tests, and gotten certain scores in the DWA and DMA tests. (There was something else, but I don't know what it was.) There were only 2 kids that got it and son was one of them. I am really proud of him as well.
.
I warned you that this was a "Proud Mama Post" and that I was going to be shamelessly bragging on them.
.
School's out for summer, now. Yesterday was their last day. Since I work from home and hubby is not working, they will be home this summer--I'll let you know how my sanity fares with 2 kids and 1 husband home with me all summer. (So far, I don't think it's going to be an easy summer.......)
.
Well, I am going to get back to work now.
Ciao for now.

Yesterday got away from me

But I'm here now. Not much happening--work is going to get busy soon, but until then..........
.
So I'm taking a few minutes to blog.
.
Tonight is the kids' piano recital--it's a jazzy, swinging kind of theme. Daughter is playing "Heart and Soul" (I fell in love with you; heart and soul; just like a fool would do; madly; that little kiss you stole--it got me heart and soul.) Son is playing a piece called "Surfboard Boogie" (sorry, no words for me to sing). Daughter's still a little rough on her piece but son has his down pat. Her piece is actually harder than his. I think he chickened out a little--after we had to quit formal lessons, he was afraid he wouldn't be able to do a harder song on his own so he switched to an easier song. Daughter actually switched up to a harder song just because she liked the song. (Son is doing daughter's original song.)
.
Let's see, what else is going on.......well, for one thing, hubby really, really, really needs to get a job. He's starting to drive me nuts.
.
Also, daughter was invited to do the "magnet classroom" for the next two years. They choose certain kids based upon teacher recommendations and tested them for the Gifted & Talented program and out of those that are tested, a certain number of them are also invited to be in the magnet classroom. It is basically just a non-traditional classroom where the kids are catered to more--the math is on the computer at their own pace; science is all lab; reading/language is done using novels instead of the textbooks, art is done every day, etc.
.
It worked out that only 26 kids (out of 7 public schools with 3 to 4 third grade classes each and a number of private schools) were selected. So it really is an honor. I think it will be really good for her, but I was kind of concerned about her being separated from other kids. When I was a kid, I was in GT and was pulled out 2 days a week. I felt like I was ostracized--"the smart kid"--and never really felt like I fit in. I voiced my concern and a dad, whose older child had been in the first magnet classroom, spoke up and talked about how his daughter had just blossomed in the program. That made me feel better.
.
Daughter decided she did want to do it (I think I would have pushed if she hadn't). She is shy and didn't want to leave her friends because she has a hard time making new friends. But I assured her that she can still get together with her two main friends so she decided she was OK. She will have to change schools, but the school where the magnet class is held is actually closer to our house than her current school is. And when she found out that the school mascot over there is the mustang, that sealed the deal (she loves horses.)
.
They just started this two years ago so son missed it. His experience with the GT program was less than stellar. In fact, he says that he's glad he's done with GT now--they had an online computer group that met sporadically and had assignments that weren't much different than what he was doing in class. He was doing the same math program that daughter will be doing (he tested 'end of 7th grade' even though he's actually just finishing 6th grade). But he was put up a grade in math in 4th grade just to keep him from getting bored--not as part of GT.
.
Last night for dinner, I spiral cut some butternut squash and put tomatoes and zucchini hummus on it--so good.
.
Well, that's all I can think of.....
Ciao for now

Yesterday's food and weekend wrap-up

Yesterday's food:
I started with Strawberry Ice-cream (frozen strawberries, soy protein powder, and 2 dates. I added just enough water for the Vita-mix to be able to blend it into ice-cream.) I made 4 servings so we all had it. Lunch was a salad of spinach, carrot, and fresh picked parsley. The dressing was zucchini hummus that was diluted with some apple cider vinegar to which I added some salt, pepper, and paprika.

Dinner was brown rice and a sauteed veggie mix that tasted like a cooked Cole slaw. (Cabbage, carrot, celery sauteed in a bit of coconut oil. I then added salt, pepper, ginger, paprika. It still didn't taste like I wanted it to so I added some agave and some apple cider vinegar and cooked it down. It was really good.)

I don't have a picture of dessert, but son made another recipe from Ani's Raw Desserts--Blueberry cobbler. Except that we didn't have blueberries, we only had blackberries and only canned and not nearly as many as the recipe called for. So he quartered the recipe and made 4 mini cobblers in dessert cups. It was really good.

.

Now the weekend wrap-up. We went to Salt Lake for the weekend Saturday we did Lagoon (Corn on the cob was the only thing there I cared to eat) from 10-3 and then went the hotel and then to Sages for dinner.

.

At Sages, they had a special going on--one of two appetizers (carrot pate or corn chowder), one of two pasta dishes (mushroom stroganoff or pesto pasta), and one of two desserts (Brownie sundae or tiramisu). Hubby had one combo and I had the other. The special was the same price as just the pasta. I noticed they had scaled down the portion size from the last time hubby had pasta, but that was a good thing--it meant we were able to eat everything and be full but not stuffed.

.

Excellent. I would recommend that restaurant to anyone. It is located in Salt Lake two blocks back toward the capitol from Trolley Square and one block back toward the freeway. I don't know the exact address, but that's how I find it.

.

Then we wandered the Gateway and then went back to our hotel. Sunday morning was a bit rainy. We went and rode the trolley from the Energy Solutions arena up to the University and back. It was still raining so we decided to wait a while before heading back to Lagoon. We saw a Whole Foods Market (it was right between Trolley Square and Sages) and I had never been in one before (we don't have one here) so hubby took us there.

.

I like Whole Foods! I wouldn't be able to shop there much, though. It was quite expensive. I'm too frugal (I have to be in order to make ends meet).

.

Then we had lunch at Noodle and Co.--it was right by Whole Foods. It was good. I had a dish that had rice noodles with veggies and a spicy peanut sauce. I would eat there again for a fast-food type meal.

.

The rain was slowing down by then so we headed back to Lagoon. We still got some light showers, but we had a ball. I had some french fries when the others had snacks.

.

Then we headed back home. By the time we ate I was hungry and crabby as heck. Daughter burst into tears when they didn't have the drink she wanted and son complained the whole time how slow they were. We had waited way too long to eat and my kids and I are all quite adversely affected by hunger. The reason we were so long in eating is that we decided to head up the road to a Mexican place--when we got to it, it was closed and then we couldn't really find anything.

.

We ended up doing Denny's. I had a dinner salad w/ vinaigrette on the side and grits (no butter or milk) and some of the grapes that came with daughter's meal. I complained about it to the family (just because I was hungry and tired and grumpy), but it was OK. Daughter and son both perked right up after they ate. I was beginning to think we were going to have to get son a second meal, but he finally slowed down after eating all of his dinner and half of hubby's. (How would it be to have the metabolism of a 12 year old boy?)

.

Then we came the rest of the way home and got here about 10:15. We emptied the car and went to bed.

.

Yesterday, we slept in and then had breakfast and goofed off. Then mowed the grass and had lunch. Then went to visit the cemeteries. Then came home for a while, had dinner, and went to the grocery store. Then came home for dessert, and got ready for bed.

.

Yesterday at the cemetery daughter really was into talking about the baby I lost prior to son being conceived. Both kids are sure that child was a girl. Daughter was concerned that we hadn't buried that child so there was no grave we could visit. And in fact, until son was about 5, he used to talk about having met his big sister up in heaven prior to coming down to be with us. Maybe that child was a girl and maybe my kids did know her before coming to be with us. It gives me the chills to think about, but it's also nice.

.

Well, this has gone on quite a ways. I need to get to work.

Hope everyone had a great weekend,

Ciao for now

Dinner last night

Just a quick post here. First of all, everyone have a good weekend.
.
We're going to Salt Lake. We'll do Lagoon and have dinner with my sister and her partner. And I don't know what else. We usually have fun. I can't wait to show my sister my new tattoo. It is so pretty.
.
Last night, we had corn on the cob and steamed broccoli. I knew that wouldn't satisfy hubby so I told him to figure out what he wanted to go with it. He chose pork chops. The kids didn't want any pork--they just wanted the broccoli and corn. He was quite put out! But what could he say? They had the same dinner I did and I was fine (in fact, I was a heck of a lot better than him).
.
So I'll probably talk to you all on Tuesday (or post to you all, anyway).
Ciao for now.

Ani's Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake Review

EXCELLENT!!
.
OK, review done.
.
No really, it was really, really good. My only concern is that the cookbook says that it makes 4-6 servings--I think that was unrealistic. I cut it so it made 8 servings. And even with the smaller servings, I was the only one that ate my entire piece. It is really rich and you eat it really slowly. But, oh so good. I think a tiny piece was plenty.
.
So if you make this, don't worry about making a double batch if you need dessert for more than 6; just make smaller slices.
.
Ciao for now.

Kids cooking

So I told you we got Ani Phyo's dessert book via UPS today. The recipe son wanted to make was the Raspberry Ganache Fudge Cake minus the raspberries.
.
Here's the recipe
Here's the cakes. Here's son pitting dates for the frosting. (One for the frosting; one for me.)

Son hard at work at the food processor.

Ta-Da!!While son was slaving away over a hot food processor, daughter and I were having a tea party. (Sorry for the poor lighting.)

Kind of a weird day

I just can't get used to hubby being home so much! When he's been home, he's done some work outside, but more sitting on the couch watching TV. And in the mornings, he has the TV on really loudly as I'm trying to get kids ready for school. It drives me bats! When I have a frustrating morning, it sets a tone for the whole rest of the day.
.
I did get quite a bit done, work-wise, today. But nothing else. Usually, I get something done around here. I haven't even exercised the last 3 days because of him being around--I don't like exercising in front of him. He has been in and out as he's looked for work and been outside doing stuff, but I never know when he's going to walk in so I don't start anything.
.
Son is playing the piano and daughter is doing homework. Hubby just left for a computer class through the Job Service. Maybe he'll get good enough that I won't have to fill out the online applications anymore.........
.
Something good--UPS showed up today and brought me a present! Actually, the present was from Ingrid at Raw Epicurean. Here a while back I won Ani Phyo's Raw Desserts from a give-away on her website and I got it today. It is a really great book. The desserts may be healthy, but they are definitely not for everyday. I can't see eating that many nuts--almost every recipe has lots of nuts.
.
When son is done practicing, he wants to make something. I can't wait!
Well, I'm off.
Ciao for now. (I really need to take pic and post it, don't I? I'll see what I can do about that.)

Poor grades update

I heard back from daughter's teacher. Daughter has made up the missing assignments, they just haven't been posted yet. Whew!
.
She also told me that if it looks like there are any issues after she gets them entered, she'll let me know.
.
Again--Whew!

Scoliosis and poor grades.......

Last night was son's physical for scouts and school athletics. Ever since I was a kid, a bunch of health care professionals have gotten together in the spring to run mass doctor's appointments. The kids check in and then go through a series of stations (height/weight, pulse/blood pressure, vision, physician exam, and physical therapist exam). They do it assembly line-ish so the kids go through one station and get their results recorded and then get in line for the next station.
.
Mind you, these physicals are only for the basically healthy youth. They are low-cost ($15 dollars and nothing is submitted to insurance--in fact, the only records are the school/scout physical forms that the clinic takes a copy of). But, all that being said, it seemed to be rather thorough. I think the doctor took more time with son that his regular doc took at his last regular visit. And the physical therapist took a good piece of time with us, too. (You never get your joints and backs checked like that at a regular visit.)
.
So the physical therapist noticed something with Wyatt's back so he closed the door, had son take off his shirt and re-examined him. It turns out that son has a slight scoliosis--side-to-side curvature of the spine. Apparently, it's not uncommon in boys that are just getting ready to hit growth spurts. So he showed me the curve (it was obvious once I knew what to look for), and how I could recognize the symptoms that went along with it and what to watch for to see if it was progressing.
.
If he grows out of it after a growth spurt--no problem. If it stays the same--no problem (apparently, it's mild enough that it wouldn't need treated even if it remained at that level forever). If it progresses, they would want to do something (back brace or surgery maybe). And if it starts progressing, they would want to know as soon as possible because it's much easier to treat when mild than when it is more progressed.
.
So, I'll be watching son's back like a hawk. (The funny thing is that he had a regular well-child visit just a few months back and the doc didn't notice his back--I'm not sure the doc even looked at his back.)
.
Other kid now, I went online and checked daughter's grades. I usually don't do that, but I was checking on something for son and figured I might as well look. The work she has brought home has all been very good and I haven't heard anything from her teacher, so I had no reason to even suspect there were any problems. She has an F in Reading and a low C in Language! Both grades are due to missing assignments. All of the rest of her assignments are in and have excellent scores--she averages a high A in both areas based upon the grades that are there.
.
Now if a third grader had all As in the work turned in, but had an F for the subject, wouldn't you question it? Well I did. I e-mailed her teacher and if I don't hear back today, I'm calling in. I know a third grader is getting to where she can be more responsible, but still--she's only in third grade. And as a parent, I am a little upset that I wasn't notified. I'm hoping that it's an error--maybe the teacher isn't keeping up at putting the grades in the system so it shows zeros for the assignments not entered or something like that.
.
I feel bad because I freaked out a bit and had daughter crying this morning before she went to school. I tried to calm her down by letting her know that we would get it figured out.
.
So that's where my mind is. I need to get it back to something else.
Ciao for now.

Whoa--Monday again already

I turned my back for just one second and it was already Monday again! Sometimes the time just flies by toooooooo fast.

.

So, let's see, what's been going on......

.

Wednesday was daughter's Girl Scouts "Bridging Ceremony". She is no longer a Brownie. She is now a Junior. There's her pic.

Thursday was a Girl Scouts pot luck. (I brought a New York Burrito since the food at the potluck consisted of chicken, scalloped potatoes, etc.)

.

Friday was grocery shopping (fun, fun, fun).

.

Saturday, son got to fly! In scouts, his troupe is doing the aviation merit badge so a pilot took them up, 3 at a time, in a 4-seat Cessna so they could actually fly. He was so excited!

.

Then, there was the Boy Scouts spaghetti feed. They sold tickets to raise money for scout camp this summer. I talked them into doing a plain tomato sauce in addition to the meat sauce; I brought a vegan creamy avocado dressing to have alongside the ranch and thousand island; and I made vegan chocolate cupcakes for the dessert table. It may not have been much, but at least people (like me) could have the choice to eat compassionately if they so wished.

.

I also did more dishes that night than I think I've ever done in my life!

.

Then yesterday, we finished planting the garden and did some work outside.

.

It is finally warm here! I am so glad that I don't have to freeze anymore! It was in the high 70's yesterday and is supposed to be in the 80's today, then back down to the 70's. Perfect weather.

.

I am getting back to eating better again today. I seem to eat more and worse on the weekends and then eat less and better during the week. I'm maintaining my weight and I feel good, though, so I think it's OK. Maybe that's just going to be my normal. I'm not yo-yo-ing or anything, I just eat different when my schedule is different. I have more cooked food and am more likely to do desserts on the weekend. I guess that's fine as long as I'm cognizant of it and don't let it get out of control.

.

Well, I'll get back to work. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Ciao for now.