Vegmom Moments

Dropping the Cheese

Hubby said he's dropping Cheese.... Could it be so?  Could it be true? 

This is the most exciting thing I've heard since he gave up Meat for good.... Now if we could just get him to drop the eggs?  Baby steps....

Imagine, no animals harmed in the aging of my Hubs... Not to mention the aging of my Hubs will go much more smoothly.... Hooray, for Plant Based diets....And to my Hubby for giving it a try!

PS. All his Idea, scouts honor...*wink* 

OK, Maybe I showed him a little video about the link between Milk and Cancer... Maybe, it talked a little about arthritis and sinus problems... Maybe it mentioned a little something about what is in the milk...

Hmmmm... Maybe I should have showed him that video along time ago!

Day of Surprises

Well today was just one of Surprises...

• Found out my in-laws may be coming TWICE in one month
• Hubby made decisions that will alter our summer plans (see post before this one)
• My Favorite Veggie Restaurant gave me the wrong dressing today, and I didn't realize until I poured it all over my salad (it looked the same as I normally get but did NOT taste the same),,,, I'll just have to go back tomorrow since my craving is not solved... Simple as that! 
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• Hubby got a red-light camera ticket in the mail, which he denied UP AND DOWN, until we played the video..

I'm not sure why, but that was actually pretty funny.   Especially when he said "That's not mine"...

<Ummm, well then someone else must be driving your car Bud.....Here are the pictures.....>

"Yeah well, the pictures show my brakes... I stopped before turning right"....

<Yes, but the video shows you didn't stop long enough>...

"There's a Video"...

<YUP, let me show it to you!!!>

Can you tell I'm anti-butterfly today?

• The Vegman is good at "Multi-Tasking"......... So he said while brushing his teeth and walking at the same time... (Did we even know that phrase when we were kids????)
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• We opened up the Newspaper to find an article of my little love bug... He was Soooo proud!

And...... I came home to little baby tomatoes growing in my basement. They finally popped out of the flowers and are soooooooooooo Cute!  Can a tomato be cute?  Not Bob the Tomato, but just a regular one?

Maybe I should call him Bob...

And this little Pepper just gets cuter every day.  I'm not sure I will be able to eat it... It is just so darn cute!  It has a lot of siblings today too.  They all poked their little heads out!  This one is by far the leader of the pack.  It even points like an arrow straight to my kitchen! 

A Day of Surprises Alright!  Some good, Some not so good, and Some that I WILL MAKE GOOD!

Because when life gives you Lemons... Make a Sweet Green Smoothie!

Good Night!  *smile*

My Happy Place was Invaded

A long time ago, I posted this about Butterflies and my Hubby. We haven't discussed butterflies since then.  But when I go out of town for work or take Veg to see his Grandparents, I always hide punched out butterflies around the house.

He finds them while we are gone and it gives him a smile....  he'll call all giddy that he found one.

Well today my Happy Place was Invaded with thoughts of all the new things thrown at me that I have to figure out this summer.  And some of which I have to figure out by TUESDAY, because my sweet Hubby made some decisions TODAY without considering how that will work for everyone else in the household or distant family or most importantly my Vegman.

Then, my Sweet Hubby with words that could frankly be thrown out the window decided to say what was on HIS Mind... and let me tell you....  I took what was said and moved it in to the garbage bucket of my brain... In case you have forgotten, I have buckets in my brain (see, told you I was weird)

• The recycle bucket - for OFF things that happen in life that I can turn in to good
• The Garbage bucket - for things that are negative, and serve no purpose worrying about because they can't be changed
• And the Keeper Bucket - All the Memories and things worth worrying or laughing about.

Sooooo, The Hubby words quickly went in to the Garbage bucket!  (this is how I live happily in case you were wondering) 

But the stuff I have to worry about, will be going in to the Recycle Bucket.  If I'm going to worry about it, then I mise well do something good with it...Right?  Just have to figure out what that is... and quick!

As for the Butterflies... Well at last count he had earned quite a few....  as of today, he is in the hole by, oh lets see.... Hmmm.....   1,549, 652!

Good Food Choices

While I'm still eating a lot more raw food then the average bear, my time to prep the food has been limited.

Which means my variety, has been limited....  And that means my food choices have not been the best.

But this week, I'm making a conscious effort to try new things again, as well as get my greens!!

So here are the events of this day:

Morning Green Goodness:

Spinach, Kale, Avocado, Celery Root, Banana, Fresh Coconut Chunks, Apple, Peach, Kiwi, Coconut Water and Ice...

 

Peach Goodness - Organic Peaches from the Farmer's Market... I do love Farmer's Market Season... especially when I can find peaches.

 

Awesome Salad Goodness:

Romaine, Kale, Carrots, Cucumbers, Sunflower Seeds, Sprouts, & Avocado Dressing.

My first batch of home grown sprouts are finished.. Veg said they taste like dirt.

But I kind of like them..And when thrown in his stir fry, he won't know the difference.  As for me and Hubs.  We'll eat them raw on our salads and by the handful.

Sprouts are Good for ya!  Or so I've been told.

 

Here is the Salad dressing I concocted today:

1/2 Avocado guts mashed, then mixed with a little olive oil, a little lemon juice, dash of Agave Nectar, sprinkle of Garlic Salt and some fresh chopped basil from my Deck Garden.

 

Do you see the GREEN Theme today???

Now these are NOT Green, but look what Hubby harvested from the real garden this week:

 

Anyone need some potatoes? 

<NO MOM - I won't eat those raw!  *smile*>

After all that Goodness, I accepted an Anniversary Dinner Invitation from my Hubby and our Kiddo...

That nice Dinner date consisted of Veggie Fajitas (not raw) and a shared Vegan Brownie for dessert.

It was a GooooooooD  Food day!!

As for the Anniversary.. It is #19, Which is just CRAZY Talk... Just Crazy! 

I can't believe I've been married to this  Wonderful, Funny, Annoying, Sweet, Aggravating, Loving, Strong, Silly, Caring Goofball for 19 Years...  Wow... I usually reflect on our anniversary and leave a nice blog post with all of that reflecting.. but for some reason... This year, I'm just saying WOW!

So I'll leave you with that!  Some Green Goodness and WOW!

HomeMade Compost Tumbler

Yay... Its almost done!!  Needs a couple holes for air flow, and finishing touches on the door and handle... But it works... and fits... and Mr. Wheelbarrow can fit right underneath to haul our happy dirt off to the Garden..

Assuming we get some happy dirt... First we have to find some happy worms.  But I'm pretty sure this will save us 80% of our current waste!

He's been working on it all day... and a little yesterday..... And in to the night:

 

Our Compost Tumbler is now in its permanent home:

 

It spins, it has extra rods inside to help the mixing happen and is fastened for life to the posts of our deck.

The Barrel was free as it was an extra from a Farm that Hubby was Volunteering on.  They get these from a Winery and use them on the farm for Rain Barrels...  Hubby had a different plan for our barrel as you can see.

The supplies ended up costing about $50, but only because he needed a couple tools.   PLUS decided on getting bigger pieces of things then he needed, so he would have extra for other projects. 

Extra Time involved, was taken because he had to figure out what to use for all the moving parts... That would be strong and last, and then couplings, to make it look decent. 

But also because our barrel didn't have a LID... So he had to cut that hole in the side and then come up with a good door.  That was functional, but secure.

And of course we had to keep it away from critters, not too close to the house, but close enough that we didn't have to walk through Dog Poo to get to it....  This Composter thing was a MUCH bigger project then Hubby planned.

I'm pretty happy with the outcome.... And guess what.......I HAVE A COMPOST TUMBLER!!!!  Yippppeeee!!!!

Thank you NB and Hubs for the suggestion!!!  And thank you Farm Lady for the Barrel... Of course thanks to the Hubby for all his planning and working....

Oh Happy Composting!!  *smile*

A Festival Kind of Day

We left Hubby at home this morning to work on our soon to be Home Made Compost Tumbler:

At this point the door was being cut and the holes in the side's were already drilled. 

Veg and I took off to An Earth Festival... which was HUGE fun, we were there for Several hours. 
We learned bunches, got some free goodies, and some not so free goodies...  And of course the Kid Activities which are always educational and fun.

After an outdoor Veggie lunch, we came home to use the "facilities" save hubby from his Compost Tumbler building, and dragged him to another festival with us... This one was all about Chalk... On the side walk kind of chalk...

It was Very Very Very Cool....

 

 

We walked around for quite a while, had more Veggie food, and then came home to play in the yard.

Should I say.. Veg and I played in the yard, while Hubby got back to his Tumbler... he was on a mission!!  (no pressure from me... nope...none....)  *wink*

After a while, I decided to leave them both in the yard and go for run... Sometimes these days I just want to RUN!!!  So I put on my Happy Shoes... And got in a quick 2 miles...  When I came home, Veg said....

"Oh Mom, when you got out of my site I thought I would cry forever"  Awwwwww.....  Such a Love bug... At least when he likes me... that doesn't happen all the time these days.   *smile*

Needless to say, it was a day of Festivals and one of being outside!    A Wonderful Day!!!

PS.. it is 8:16 and Hubs is still working on the Tumbler...  Stay tuned... There will be a completion photo soon.. I can feel it!!!

Recycle Reuse Fort

I posted Here about getting a Screen/Glass Door...  Well that night, Hubby mentioned the box for Said door would make an awesome Fort...

The Vegman Agreed...  I had no idea what those two had been plotting... Yes the box was big... But really DID NOT realize HOW big!!

Until I came home to this:

Veg, came up with the Supply list.. Hubby drew what ever was asked of him, and Veg colored in the pictures.  The thing is pretty Awesome if I must say so myself.

They used Veg's Plastic Nuts and Bolts to hold everything together and enforce the frame.

The "Door Bell" is some jingly bells that my crafty friend may remember from a few years ago.

The Roof is an old Fitted Crib Sheet

The Door Handles are old tires from a building set....

It even has a Peep Hole...to check for Parents:

I see you in there!!

The Side is decorated with everything he wants in our garden but can't have:

Window boxes with flowers, Bird Bath, Bumble bees, Mountains in the distance, Lattice up the side...

You can click the picture to see their handy work.

But Even the windows open.. and my Pup loves to look out the windows:

Yes, that little blue bolt is holding the "Lock" because all windows and doors need locks.

We have to knock and get permission before we can enter, because this is VEG's Spot!   All Seven year old boys need a "spot" right?  Or maybe just mine... I dunno!

Recycling and Reusing at its finest!! 

Sometimes the Hubby can drive me to drink (Coffee and tea) but times like this... He AMAZES me!!  :-)
 

 
 

Vegman 1 Hubs 0

This morning I put on one of my New Sweaters with a smaller pair of jeans... Because, well, They fit!  Woohoooo!!

I walked up to Hubby and said "Do I look like a Grown Up?"  because that was my mission while shopping with friend.  And he says with a snarky tone...  "Yeah, who you trying to impress?"  Then went on with his business...  

You would think after all these years, I would learn NOT to ask questions that you may not like the answers to :-)

I'm thinking he doesn't like me looking like a grown up... *wink*

But then Veg comes around the corner and just happy as can be says...  "Wow Mom, you look like a Teenager" and gave me a great big hug... he said "I love your new sweater"

Awwww.... Thanks Bud!!   What a charmer!!  Not sure where he gets that from!  *wink*

The Garden is Back

Hubby spent several days last week volunteering on a farm.. While there, he learned lots about our own Garden and decided to give it another try.

This time we have Potatoes & Garlic from the Farm.  Then Chard and Carrots from our last year's stash.  I hope to get some Beans also. 

The farm lady said we may or may not get the Garlic but wanted us to give it a try.  The rest, has a better chance this year then last as she gave him some tips, including covering with leaves during a freeze.  We shall see. 

Smoothie Deprived

Poor Hubby was stuck drinking my Green Juice the last couple days, as I ran out of Morning time to make smoothies.  That pitcher came in very handy... I had enough  for a giant glass each morn, and one for Hubs.

Well tonight he said with all his sweetness "Will you PLEASE make a fresh Smoothie in the Morning?"

Hmmmm?  I think I can do that!  *wink*

Hubby Vs. the Ladder

Hubby was outside trimming shrubs and tree limbs away from the road and house today...  The ones near the house required a ladder...  and a chain saw....

I have a long time fear of the Chain Saw because I know the damage they can do...  My Dad had one almost chop off his hands once upon a time... Still has the scars..

But Mix Hubby, on a Ladder on an incline WITH a Chainsaw, and my fear becomes reality....(almost)

Sure it was 30 degrees today, but we had the house to ourselves and I made a Picnic on the deck... While setting the stuff on our picnic blanket, I see in what seemed like slow motion........

The ladder tip, hubby lost his footing, and they both come tumbling down!!  It was about an 8 foot drop, and he landed between the now sideways ladder and on top of a large tree root that was poking out of the ground.  I thought for sure he was broken in half. .... The Chainsaw... still running, landed about an inch above his head, splattering earth and not blood....  Shewwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!

At that point I could breath enough to run down and make sure he was alive....  If the chainsaw had been chopping him to bits, I'm not sure I could have looked....  But As Hubby says, God stepped in and saved him from what could have been much much much worse!  His faith is one of amazing strength, and instead of worrying about his possible injuries, he was thanking God for protecting him.

When I got out there, he was already walking, shaky, limping and breathing heavy, but alive and mobile....  Not much else matters....  A little while later, parts of his body were feeling numb, his fingers and arms the worse, he thinks he may have tweaked something in his back, but other wise, was doing Alright!

He is currently playing his video games so I know all his fingers are working again... and the limping was from his ankle but that is barely bothering him now.  Outside of being a little stiff, I think he is going to be OK!

And surprised to say, he doesn't have a single bruise....  Give that boy some more Kale!  *smile*

Sweet Card

A while ago, I made this card for Hubby, just because, and set it on the counter with his coffee pot for early morning viewing.

The other day, I noticed the card, and so I stuck it in the fridge with his Morning Smoothie, so he would see it when he woke up.   He told me that when he sees it now it brings a smile... so I planned to leave it hiding for more days to come.....

It says "Have I told you lately.... I love you" and a hand written note on the inside....

 

Well, tonight when I got home, look what I found on my pillow:

 

He went through my Card making stash, found stamps, inks, punches, scissors and made this cute little card...

I'm beyond impressed..... Even the little flowers in the little circles... hee hee... And the hearts for the corners.... he went all out!!   And his note on the inside is Sooooooo sweet... he even used my scrap paper, rather then dipping in to the full sheets.

And And And, he cleaned the stamps, and put everything back where he found it....

Awwwww, I think he loves me!  *smile*

MORE ON THE ASKING

I posted yesterday about needing to ask my Hubby for things I want done... And I can tell you that since I figured this out, I'm no longer needing to do "everything".    Instead of expecting, I ask... and it is a wonderful thing!

Thankfully, I have a Hubby that I can communicate with and ask "What were you thinking?"  in most cases he will say "I wasn't"..... So when I saw this Video about the Nothing box, I was laughing too hard....

Then I talked to a friend who had her own scenario, and I was able to discuss with my Hubby to find out the Man's view....

OUR BRAINS ARE DIFFERENT

Hubby and I had a great talk tonight about things of the past and how we've improved.... It was ironic that some of the topics came up, because I was having the same conversation about him with a friend the other day.

So I began to ask him, WHY?  "Please explain to me how you don't just see something with out me asking. Why do I have to leave a list?"  And he said "Because I'm a guy, and we are different"... 

Then we talked about these two scenarios.....

A LIST

There is a fine line with Hubbies where leaving a list could be Nagging or Helpful.... You can cross that line very quickly in our house... so my Hubby-Do-Lists tend to be only the Manly variety...

But the other day I left a different kind of a list...  as in cleaning showers and toilets kind of a list.... Woah!!!  I wish I would have done this sooner.. :-)

I have come home the last couple days to some of the cleanest rooms in my house of all time..  As in moving furniture kind of cleaning... Dusting the high stuff that I can't reach kind of cleaning... Showers, toilets, floors, laundry....kind of cleaning...

He even put my stuff away... maybe on the wrong color hangers... but I can get over it!!

That Old Guy may drive me nutso, but I sure do love him... and Kudos to him for making my week 1000 times easier!

Aren't Lists Wonderful... Especially when they say "HUBBY-DO-LIST" on the top!

COMPLIMENTS?

Hubby looked at me today and said "Your starting to get your Girlish figure back"!

Well Thank you Dear!  I'm not sure if that is a compliment or not so much!   Coming from his mouth it was a very big compliment, he doesn't get much more genuine then that...  But I'll keep him...

In the mean time if I didn't have a "Girl'ish" figure before today, then what did I have?

DON'T ANSWER THAT!!!  *smile*

NO NEED TO EAT OUT AGAIN?

Ha, as if WE would stop eating out??  Well we can pretend...

Today we all decided not to leave the house and it left much time for napping, Scrapbooking (caught up through mid-2009, yippee).. and a little bit of food...

Throwing some dinner together on a cold rainy day, we ended up with a small bowl of Vegan Chili.  Yes Cooked, but to make myself better, I threw some raw Spaghetti Squash on top... Yum!!

Anyway...  While eating this bowl of goodness, Hubby LOVED it.... Veg LOVED it.... I'm actually sad, that they liked my Chili so much, because it is the only thing my Hubby cooks.... and now he is off the hook... they will only want mine from now on...  Phooey... wishing, I had made it not so good...

Well, they started talking about all things I've made that they like and how they don't have to eat out any more...

Veg then chimes in and says "We even have our own Smoothie King, right here in the house"

I thought he was talking about me, so I said "Hey, I'm a Smoothie Queen, thank you very much"

And he said "No, I was talking about Mr. Vita-Mix"

Ahhhhh!  Yes, he would be a KING! 

Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix, I haven't said that lately.... He has given us, Ice Cream, Green Smoothies, Shakes, and Nut Butter this week.  Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

A SECRET IS OUT OF THE BAG

Since I didn't do a Random thought Monday... I'll add those random thoughts to this post.

Why do we say "Out of the bag" anyway?  I really never put the secret IN the bag....

But here we go... Hubby Turned 40... Happy Birthday HUBBY!  Yes I'm telling the world that he is officially on top of the Hill...

Umm... Pause for a moment?  What does that mean?  "Over the Hill?"  Why does age have anything to do with a Hill?  I'm just sayin!

Moving on....

So Knowing that his birthday was coming, I planned a surprise for him... It was a Grand surprise that took hours upon hours (more then I thought) to get in order... And all was done in secrecy...

BUT.... I made it... almost 3 weeks... I didn't say a word... I didn't even smirk.. Everything finally came together and I kept it all in my brain...  It was the first time in my life that I made it this long without saying something.  I was soo very proud of my self.    Really I was... This is HUGE for me...

Then.. About 2 days before his Birthday... I couldn't take it anymore.. I spilled the beans....

OK, there we go again... Where did the Beans come from???

I just blurted it out... I was like a mouth explosion... It was like KABOOOOMMM.... and all my words just flew out of my head, I couldn't control it... Really, there was someone else controlling my words.

And so I say it here for all to hear (read) that I failed the test... I didn't make it to the Birthday without stating the surprise... I couldn't do it.. I broke.. I mean my mouth broke... I mean the words flew out of my head....

Ah, whatever... I TOLD!   And man did it feel good....  

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUBBY!! 

NICE AND CRAZY

I told Veg and Hubby that I would clean up a board game mess so they could go do something else. 

Veg says:

"Hey Dad, Sometimes wives can be so nice"

Hubby agrees and says:

"Your right, and my wife is the nicest on the planet"

Awwwwwww..............Give them a couple kudos points......

Veg then says without skipping a beat:

"But sometimes they can be crazy too, right Dad?"

Hubby Agrees:

"Yes Son, YES they can"

MINUS 10 points to both of them.......Immediate Deduction, No passing go!

TODAY, WE RACE

A couple months ago my friend said she was going to do this 5K in honor of her Mom and asked if I would like to do it with her... Of course I said YES!  

Turns out my friend couldn't make it, but I was going to go regardless because I said I would..... And it was a really good cause.

But I didn't have to go alone.... Veg and his Dad wanted to go... REALLY... they came willingly... We walked (didn't run) and finished the 5K... Hubby's first one, but Veg's 3rd.  I think Hubby might be hooked.  He really really really enjoyed himself.

I was surprised at how many people were walking it.  I'm sure they had record numbers.  Looking down a hill, there were so many people that you couldn't see the road.

Here's proof that they were there... along with 1000's and 1000's of people... It was INSANE how many people.

 

Hubby gave this guy a High Five:

And when the race was over, we walked another mile'ish to and from a Veggie Restaurant... Mmmm Yum!!

It was quite a bit of fun, I must say! 

A WALK, DOG, AND RECYCLE BIN

Today was such a variety one....See here:

• Wake up in the morning, make Green smoothies - head to soccer
• Home for a pit stop and take care of Dog
• Off to our Fav. Veggie eating place (now a Saturday Tradition)
• Then to our Fav. Coffee place (also a Saturday Tradition)
• That is when a dog found us... a sad sweet dog looking for his family with no collar tag.
• Dog followed us for a walk to the park, sniffing for his family the whole time... he'd befriend different people and other animals and eventually left us....he'd continue on his way..
• Veg wanted to keep dog and was very angry that we didn't
• But following dog and Veg who began following dog led us to a Recycling event at the end of the park..
• We didn't know about recycling event.. Dog found friends there, and we hoped he would be OK
• We found a free Recycle Bin and Free posters which was pretty thrilling
• Recycled Crafts were there too, and lots of them.. Some pretty nifty things...
• Walk all the way back to car with Recycle Bin and posters and sad Veg (who had to leave the dog)
• Then off to the New Pet Supply Store by our house.. He loves to watch the critters inside and we thought it would cheer him up...
• Little did we know they were having an Animal Rescue event that day... Oh yes... Cats, Dogs... LOTS OF THEM... Veg now didn't want to leave... he wanted to take them ALL home!  Especially a creepy little looking white cat.
• And so we promised the Leaf Jumping Pile when we got home.. This would cheer him up (again)
• Hubby joined in the fun... Leaves, Leaves and more leaves
• Then I spent several hours on line trying to figure out new insurance choices...whether or not to Refi the house and updating this blog....
• We had some good dinner, tried New things
• Played some board games
• And called it a night

So you see... Random, Variety... Fun, Enjoyable.....yet sad regarding dogs with Chelsea fresh in Veg's mind.  But Good food, and nice company (and some grumpies), Beautiful Day, yet parts were freezing...

A little of this and a little of that!  Variety at its finest...

Speaking of which, my new favorite Tortilla:

 

With Vegan Pizza Fixin's:

Oh My YUM!!!

Hubby stole one.. Really, he did... Took it, and ate every last bit... So I made another, which Veg claimed as his own... So I made another....and another.. You get the idea... Everyone liked their little pizzas.

A STORY ABOUT SOME LEAVES AND A BOY

Once Upon a time there were some trees with pretty colors on them:

Then the colors were no longer as pretty and a fierce wind blew!  Down came the leaves.  

A Veggie Mom and her son were raking these leaves in to a pile....

The pile grew big enough for a Veg Boy to jump in and hide... If you look close you can see hat on head of Veg Boy...

Where's Veg Boy..

 

But then a Super Hero Hubby came along and said, "Those rakes just won't do... move out of my way"

And brought in his sidekick  TORO:

This made the Leaf Pile very happy!  And Very Huge...

And it made a Soccer Veg boy very happy too... as he got ready to take off across the drive way and fly head first in to a massive pile of fun stuff!

Thank you Leaves, Trees, Hubby and Toro for some GREAT Fun! 

Veg Boy jumped and flipped in the leaves until the sun began to go down... Free Entertainment at its finest!

PEANUT NANNER CAROB SHAKE

This is not Raw goodness, but it is my special Non-Raw Treat.   Hubby created his concoction while I was on vacation and when I came home he surprised me with this goodness.  He said it took him a while to get the perfect combo. 

Now we make them about once a weekend.

The Fixins:

4 or 5 Ice Cubes, 2 ripe bananas, and an over ripe sliced frozen banana, handful of carob chips, Two or Three TBS of Peanut Butter, 1/2 cup of vanilla soy milk and 2 TBS of Vegan Vanilla So Delicious Ice Cream.  (amounts are approximate and can be increased or decreased as needed)

Sorry for the dark photo, but OH MY YUM!!! 

Creamy, Thick, Peanut Buttery Goodness.....

Thank you Hubby, and Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix!!!

 

P.S. My difference between a Shake and A Smoothie is the liquid we choose.  If I use a Juice or Water, then I usually call it a smoothie.  If I use Ice cream or Soy Milk then I usually call it a shake....

Does that matter?  No!  They are both just blended goodness!

LOOK WHAT HE DID

Hubby was very busy yesterday... Look See... Yes, we ate it too fast for pictures... but you get the idea:

He taught himself how to use Mr. Dehdrydrator and Mr. Freezy Contraption....And did a pretty good job..  I have lots of saved goodness waiting for me to use.

Thank You Hubby!
 

DOLL OR ACTION FIGURE?

A couple years ago, Hubby and I got in to a debate about dolls. 
So I made the comment about GI Joe, he corrected me quickly that GI Joe is an action figure and NOT a Doll.

I carried the debate in to work and, instantly girls  said "Doll" boys said "action figure"  As if it were stuck in our genetic pool.

Well to my surprise, with my Vegman knowing none of this story, he got a GI Joe from his Grandmother a couple weeks ago.  And I said, "Don't forget to grab your doll"

"ITS not a doll" he yelled!  "Its a TOY"  I was cracking up... I asked if Barbie was a Toy?   And he said "NO, she is a doll" And he'd get so mad at me if I said otherwise.  So I asked him what made it a TOY vs. a DOLL and he had very specific reasons....  Which were all the same as Hubby's from a few years ago. 

Makes me wonder if the little swimming buddy that helps decide if baby will be boy or girl, actually carries the boy manual with him upon egg impact.   Then when the boy passes through the birth canal it gets tattooed in his brain.  Much like the inability to move things in the fridge to see if something is behind it.  Or sticking his tongue out when getting in to a video game.  Anyway...

So I ask, what is the difference?  A toy, A doll, An Action Figure....  And Hubby said "An action figure actually does things"

Well the "doll that drops water in the toilet really does something too, does that make it an action figure?"

NO, THAT IS A DOLL?  So then the explanation of an Action figure is quite weak, I must say!  Which is it?

Personally, I think they are all toys, but what do I know?

CLOTHES GETTING BIGGER

The Hubby is doing an Amazing job sticking with exercise the past few months.  He's walking outside or doing something inside on the equipment at least 4 days a week, but mostly 5 days.  

Recently, he dropped one scoop of his morning coffee sugar In addition to all the other diet changes he's made lately..  But the coffee sugar is a HUGE step.  And while going out to eat, he's getting tea or water, and stopped ordering Pop.  This is also HUGE...  And of course he is still meat free.  I'm really really proud of this Hubby of mine.

So with all the inches lost, he is facing a dilemma.  He's down to the last hole on his belt.  Which means the next option is buying smaller pants or punching new holes in his belt.  I'm sure he will go with option B. 

Hmmm..... Now, If I could only decrease the cheese in his diet....  Oh Yeah, I have... Silly me... 

Isn't it fun, when your the only person who does the shopping, you can choose what they eat while they are in the house...

Muah ha ha!!!  *wink*

NICE WEEKEND

This post is a random one with nothing too exciting to report...  Veg enjoyed helping with chores today, we all had a nice lunch, a short walk, did our shopping together... And got some stuff ready for our trip.

The boys went to bed before I had a chance to Pre-Prep my food for the week and I don't want to make too much noise... this means tomorrow will be a busy one.

Yesterday I went to the Farmer's Market and sadly found NOTHING!... So bummed... Never been this time of year, but I was expecting lots of stuff..... Probably the same thing happened to their crops as mine.... 

Thinking the rain washed them away... My poor sprouts... Not so much happening in the garden now.  *sigh sigh*

We had a nice lunch yesterday too (do you see a theme here)... Went for a nice short walk, had some amazing pumpkin spice soy latte's at a small local coffee shop.  The best I've ever had actually....

We went to Soccer, where we sat for an hour because of pictures that didn't even grab smiles from ANY of the kids that we had to pre-pay before even seeing that no one smiled.  (can you tell I'm a little bitter about the pictures) 

Then the kids played... My boy's team was short 4 players due to the flu bug, So there were 7 on the field the entire time against 8 from the other team.. we tied 2-2 which isn't so bad considering we were down 4 players... 

My young one, blocked 2 shots as goalie which made the coach pretty happy.  Now, as long as he can stop playing in the grass, taking off his shoes, and doing cartwheels during the games, he may actually get to play a little offense sooner or later.  But at least he's having fun... and Coach said he was "hero" for the game because he stopped a ball and went up against a kid 3 times his size.  All was good...

When we got home, hubby was working out... "YAY HUBBY!!"  So I went for a 2 mile run "YAY ME!!", before it got dark!  And we both lifted weights when I got back....then I did some Balance Ball exercises... Veg joined in by jumping on the little trampoline thing... "YAY VEG!!"

We were an Exercising Family!  It was tons of fun to have everyone doing this together... I've been flying solo on this front for way too long.  Nice to have Hubby back in to the mix.

Here we go with the random'ness...

I was just checking out Endless.com with all their free shipping and shoes and bags... And while I'm not a "shoe" person per say, I like finding Vegan selections where I can...  So while searching, I found these:

Garmont Kiowan Vegan Hiking Boots  I haven't purchased them, but was having fun looking through all the selections.

And how cool are these Reusable Shopping bags... I have a feeling these will be gifted to someone this Christmas..  They had packs of 3 and 6... I could buy a multi-pack and throw one in every box.

Now, why was I looking at that site??  Because I found it, while going to Amazon.com  to look for this book that I wanted to show you here.

My Kid has Skipped the step 1 and step 2 readers.... He has gone straight to the big reads.....They are reading this at his school (the teachers are reading to the kids) and while at a book store yesterday he found one and HAD to have it...  Then I get home and look at Amazon at the reviews to discover some interesting facts about the Author and the book... hmmm?  (click on the picture to see what I'm talking about... whoops!)
 

FYI - I'm in a Quandary regarding how much to sensor now that he can read on his own.  Before, when he wanted to read World War 2 books for example, I was doing the reading, and could skip the parts that weren't so kid friendly... I'm thinking that has gone out the window... about as much as hubby and I spelling words to each other that we didn't want him to hear... HAHA... Do all parents do that??

He's read through the 3rd chapter in two days... Not me reading... HE READING... And even took it to Soccer with him.  Told the kids he'd read it to them before the game, but warned that their aren't any pictures.  The other kids weren't too interested.  *smile*  Which is probably a good thing, after reading the Amazon reviews.

***UPDATE***  Got a note from the teacher that content is NOT SO Appropriate... Great, Now What?  Apparently the teacher was filtering when reading it to the kids.... Not so much the case with him reading it to himself... oh my!

We also got one of these, its about dinosaurs though... I totally couldn't stand these as a kid, but Veg loves it... And he is so Silly as intended.  But cool because the Junior versions help teach nouns, adjectives,etc.  Plus writing and reading skills.   So he's had a blast the last couple days with this thing... And will make for a very good road trip toy.

Did you know Trex had a pig snout, 6000 arms and liked to eat bananas... Now really, what could be more fun? How could I not like this stuff before?

And so there ya have it... A weekend of a whole lot of nothing... But a pretty nice weekend at that!

Hope yours was great where ever you are!

SOME AWWW!! MOMENTS

So the reason I didn't get a lot of sleep last night was this... I went to bed a little earlier then I used to but still later then I have been.... While Hubby was out with some friends...  I left him a note when I went to sleep of which he enjoyed... (should always leave notes... its just a nice thing)

When he got home in the middle of the night, the garage must have woke me enough to realize I needed to use the bathroom.. (which is a good thing considering the alternative)  which made him come talk to me about the note, of which I don't remember a single bit... But I remember sitting there listening.. just have no Idea what he said.

Eventually I went back to sleep and was woken up by a very very very Upset little boy in the other room SCREAMING at me for stealing his carrot... I can say I have NEVER stolen a carrot from anyone let alone my young lad. 

And yet, he was convinced I had.  It took both Hubby and I to calm him down from his bad dream...

Leave it to my kid!   Of all the things he could have a bad dream about , it was a Garden Vegetable.

Poor Guy, I guess in dream land, I'm not a very nice Mom??

OK... so back to the lunch with Co-Workers and Notes.... While at lunch, some how the topic of purses came up and so I thought it would be funny to show them all the things I carry in my purse... YES I have a MOM Purse...

But in my wallet I found an old Love note from Hubby that was written at least 17 1/2 years ago.  when he was about to head out to sea and I was at work.. he left me one of many notes....I totally forgot it was in my wallet. and don't remember the last time I actually read it.  .I joke that he wrote the love notes back when he loved me.... I know he still loves me, but the note was just DIFFERENT!!!  From a different time and place... I kept reading it and got all squishy inside.... (different squishy then the veggie burger kind... this was the nice kind of squishy)...  Think I'll go read it again...

He loves me, he loves me not... In fact, I think I'll go find the box from that time and place and dig out all those old notes.  How fun would that be?  Ah young love....

YOU WANT AN APPLE?

Alright so here's the deal.. my Pre-Prep foods have not been what they were a few weeks ago based on time constraints.  But I've still been eating mostly raw foods.  Just grabbing what I can.  

And lately, my Hubby hasn't been so good at helping us get out the door, and so with it being all me, I do what i can...

Hubby has still been eating a lot better then in the past.  He's been doing really well..actually

Then last week he had what we call a bad food week.  he ate out 6 (yes I said SIX) times and made less then stellar food choices.  He had desserts, and junk and pop and.... Well he felt like CRUD... bloated, full, and uncomfortable.   Then he stepped on the scale. 

The Boy gained 5 pounds in 3 days....  WHOA!!!!!!!!  He came storming upstairs and said "Why aren't you doing that raw stuff any more?  Are we going to do this raw food thing or what, you haven't made a smoothie today or anything and I've gained 5 pounds" and blah blah blah

Ummmmm.... I've been doing the Raw thing, where have you been???  Somehow, some way, he decided to blame his weight gain and discomfort on me....  Well if you recall from my other post, I was a bit moody... This blaming didn't go over so well.... Here was my answer....

"If you want a smoothie, you can make one yourself, and if you want to eat more raw foods, then open up the fridge door.. find an apple and stuff it"

Told you I was Moody!

And then this morning, My sweet sweet Hubby woke up to make Veg breakfast, and help make his lunch and care for the dogs, so I could make us all smoothies and get my lunch prepared.

AH, Bliss!  :-)  And the smoothies were GOooood!  Then tonight while he was HELPING with dinner, I got some pre-prepped stuff for tomorrow.  Pre-Prep stuff is GOOD!

This is a good food week *smile*

DRAW THE LINE

So, I came home yesterday to find cut up bananas in the freezer separated by WAX PAPER in a Glass Bowl with a now cracked plastic lid.

This just WON'T DO!!

 

I mean, I have one of these????   

 

Why would the other have occurred??....As much as I try to ignore the green laundry mixed with the whites, or glass bowls not placed in size-metrical order, I can even ignore the clean shirts being put away while still inside out... there is a point however, where even I have to draw the line and re-do some of Hubby's handy work.

AH, All Better!!!  The Freezer is right again.. Can't say the same about the cracked lid from my bowl.  But you win some, you loose some.

But then he cut some of this:  If you look closely, even the bowl is smiling.  We like Watermelon, so does the bowl.

Then I was surprised with a change in the bathroom too...  He took the old broken Kinked shower heads off.

And hung up one of these?  Woah!!!  Talk about a monster shower head.  It's bigger then my dog.  And if you don't want the rain sprinkly type shower, then you push a little button and you get blasted with the water from the smaller grey circle area.

I'm sure this isn't the most environmentally friendly shower head, but I can tell you, it feels GOOOOoood!

And so I think I shall forgive Hubby for the little Banana incident.  He did try, after all...