Vegmom Moments

SILLY APPLE PUMPKIN DAY 2009 - THE END

Sheww, this was a busy silly day.. Soccer was canceled so we took our extra time this morning to create festivities that were fun for the whole family.. Hubby even had some fun and we all ate some good food...

If you don't know what Silly Apple Pumpkin Day is, read all about it here!

Started with Vegan Pumpkin Spice Pancakes:

And apples for breakfast:

Then on to carving Mr. Pumpkin... Which we all took part in... Our silly Pumpkin had three faces... And he was the silliest best Veg House pumpkin of ALL Time:

 

Veg's Face:

Hubby's Face:

And My face with the Silly Apple Nose:

 

Then a shot, with Mr. Pumpkin near a Mirror, shows all three faces at once.... He was a very Cool Mr. Pumpkin:

The seeds.... Ahhhh the seeds.... 

We started with a Seed Shooting contest... Which I lost in a big way... Those suckers can fly when squeezed between two fingers, I tell ya!   I used the muffin tin as a target, and Veg was the only one to make a shot.

We then started shooting the cleaned ones down the hallway and trying to hit different doors for our targets... It was messy I tell ya!   But Hubby was the fastest and best seed shooter in the house.

Then it was time to Cook them seeds....  We did three different coatings...  A Parmesan and Italian seasoning version.  A Vegan Worcestershire sauce version, and a Cinnamon/sugar/all spice version....  

Oh My Yum!!  They were tasty.  Baked at 350 for 12 minutes. 

We did some Bobbing for apples, Even Spunk joined in the games...

 

 

Played spin the bottle (with paint not kisses).. Filled the bottom of a small recycled bottle with orange paint, and then secured the lid, and rolled back and fourth. 

We played a game that if it touched a person's leg then you were out.  So had to keep it rolling..  Lots of fun...

And made this cute little pumpkin head with craft paper and stickies...He was cute, in a creepy kind of way.

We Gutted an Apple, to make an awesome Carbonated Apple Juice Cup... Veg and Hubby thought this was the coolest thing...

On top of all our home fun events... We went to a friend's church festival to help her celebrate a birthday.. There was a bounce house, which lead to the bloody lip of said friend *sigh*...  And Potato Sack races, Bobbing for apples the sanitary way (catching them from a stick), Pumpkin Painting, and much much more.

By the way, I LOVE this tree...  nothing to do with Silly Apple Pumpkin Day, but I'm just sayin' I love this tree!

And its orange... Very Very Very Orange.... I'm putting in this pumpkin day post!  So there!

We went out to dinner for yummy veggie food and their famed Pumpkin Pie (with carrots added in..)

So there ya have it... Darkness and quiet has come over the Veg House and Silly Apple Pumpkin Day has come to an end...  A Success?  I think so!  *smile*

Don't forget to change the clocks tonight.. And we get an Extra hour of sleep in the Morn...

OH - and I planned to make Candy Canes, based on the crisis mentioned earlier this week.  But Veg was happy with his Vegan no dye Lollipops and said he didn't want candy canes.  Shewww!!!

I think each year this Silly Apple Pumpkin day gets better and better!!

Hope you had a great day where ever you may be!

LOOK - COUPONS

Thanks to some Local Momma's and a little magazine, I found more coupons... And they are even for things that I use in our house..  ..

Not all of them, but some of them... I even found some for Spinach and Lettuce... How cool is that?

Of course I live under a rock, because you people doing this for a long time probably already know about these little tricks.   But it is all new to me!

Money savings, HERE I COME!

Thanks to  Organic Deals , I Found these:

Delicious Living

HealthESavers

Sadly I'm wasting paper by printing all these coupons.. But I'll recycle the parts I don't need...  Or use as crafts for the Vegman...

And he is in charge of cutting out the coupons by the way...  Did I mention that I saved $29 at the health food store AGAIN this week.

WooHoo!  Money savings is Good Stuff!

SILLY APPLE PUMPKIN DAY 2009

It all started here... 2007 and then the results of all the planning, it turned in to so much fun we agreed to have Silly Apple Pumpkin Day every year...

2008 was a last minute Blast  And now we have 2009...

Silly Apple Pumpkin day Year 3...It will be HUGELY busy!!

A soccer Game, A Birthday Party, A Pumpkin Carving... and LOTS of delicious foods!  

Will there be crafts?  I dunno!  Will there be Leaf Jumping?  Not sure, the rain hasn't been our leaf jumping friend.... Will the Vegman kick and scream because I couldn't find Vegan/no Dye candy canes?

I hope not!  But I do know that we'll have some fun... and we'll be together... and I'm thankful for that... Oops.. wrong holiday!  Don't even get me started on Thanksgiving Spaghetti and Christmas Mexican fiesta...

Isn't it fun how a tradition can be what ever YOU want it to be, and not what the world says it should be... Especially when you have your own family to share it with...

Do you have silly traditions?

THE CANDY CANE CRISIS

For the past two years on Silly Apple Pumpkin Day we did something really Silly.... Had Vegan Christmas Candy without dyes and preservatives and animal guts (gelatin)..... 

Including Candy Canes, Gummies and Dark Chocolates...  We also had Homemade Vegan Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes and baked apples.... lots of apples!

This year Veg informed me that If he didn't have Candy Canes for Silly Apple Pumpkin day that he would be disappointed and would never celebrate with me again.... OH SIGH!

Off to the health food store I go.... I got the Pumpkin Spice Soy Milk....  I got some Vegan Lollipops, Some Gummies, and some Dark Chocolate...  Lots of apples....  We are ready for our version of Non-Halloween... with healthy alternatives, no spooks, no begging and a Hubby that is happy we aren't thwarting his beliefs... 

So We are prepared.... Ummmm Except for the Candy Canes... For the first year in several years our store doesn't have their Christmas stuff out early....  Oh What to do???

A Candy Cane Crisis....  Woes Me!

MOUTH SHUT (NOT EASY)

While on vacation, I watched a family member with his Acid Reflux, stomach and Heart Meds in one hand, being chugged down with a glass of Soda and a bag of Doritos in the other hand, after just finishing a pot of coffee, 1/2 carton of ice cream and adding salt to his already salty dish......

In case you were wondering, Pop, coffee, ice cream, and Doritos are not so good for reflux or stomach issues.  And by the way.. none of that stuff is so good for heart problems....

Can ANYONE believe that I didn't say a word?   And how absolutely gut wrenching it was to keep my mouth shut?

Really, I had to hold my lips shut, then fasten with my hand, and then cover with a pillow, and wrap with a blanket...

Keeping my mouth shut is NOT easy during normal circumstances let alone this amazing moment to say:

"What the heck are you thinking?"

But I didn't... because by a certain age, people have to take responsibility for how they feel...  And it is easier for them to pop a pill then change a lifestyle...  Maybe avoiding the poor food choices of the day would have removed the need to take those pills in the first place.. But hey, since he's there, why not add more to the mix?

Watching this happen to someone you love is beyond frustrating!

So over time, he has to pop more pills because the ones he was taking weren't strong enough, or they've caused other symptoms, which now have to be treated.... And then those pills cause more problems and he has to be treated for those symptoms.. and it goes on and on and on..... Until people like my Family Member are taking 15 pills a day just to function.  

It is the never ending cycle of feeling like C.R.A.P...

C.R.A.P. = Clueless. Run Down. Aggravated. Pathetic (just made that up if you couldn't tell)

Really it all makes no sense to me... I was talking to a friend today about a similar topic which got me thinking of the one I just typed, and I don't understand...  Maybe you can't fix years of bad habits.  Maybe you can't fix damage already done (although sometimes you can)....  But you can fix how you feel from this day forward!

Its a Good thing I have this blog, because keeping my Mouth shut is too hard without it!!!

P.S. Typing doesn't count... mouth still closed

P.S.S. Hopping off soapbox

   

STARE IF YOU WILL

I was sitting around a conference room table this morning... with all the sniffles and coughs happening around me.... 

The table was filled with top of the morning drinks....Regular Sodas, Pop (what ever you call it) Diet Sodas, Green-Yellow Diet Sodas, ,   a couple with coffee and their artificial sugar packets... You know, all those great things that will help guide nutrition for the day, offer bounds of energy and offer immunity to those sniffles..... NOT!!!!!!!  

And then there was me...

I had my Green Smoothie..  filled with Lettuce, Zucchini, Spinach, Coconut water, ice, apples, bananas, grapes and hemp seed.  Man was it good... but that's another story!

The funny thing is that, I was the one getting stares for my odd colored Green Drink.... But no one said a word... They just looked at me as if to say "Really, she's drinking that?"  Yes, Yes I am!!  Thank you for asking?

And I shall happily chug down every single bit of my Green Goodness filled with Nutrients, Immune power, and energy greens....

Say what you will, Look if you choose... Stare as much as you want!   Hey, Take a picture it will last longer, and then make one for your self, This is the Good Stuff!

BANNERS

So if you happened to be looking at my blog the past couple days, you would have noticed I was playing with settings... For over a year, I've been trying to make banners, and never could get them to do what I wanted to do.  So I always went back to the plain default. 

Which I really liked by the way.  Because I like Plain... But then I went to visit my Mom, and saw my Blog on her computer, which looked like nothing more then a thin strip of text.  That is when I realized that what I see on my machine isn't quite what other's see.

And I've been determined to fix that since I've been back....Afterall, this blog is really for my Mom.  So I want it to look nice...  I figured starting with the banner, would help me decide what else to change.

Here are a few I've come up with (Hubby helped with the first one)... And then I ended up with a version of #2 Below...:

What do you think...  Should I have left it alone?  Is it too busy now?  Should I switch to one of these above, or does it even matter.....

Thoughts, suggestions?
 
 

RANDOM THOUGHT MONDAY

There is a break in the madness, I have a stress headache, and my day is just beginning.....I need to clear my brain to alleviate the stress.... What a better way to do this, then a first of the week random thoughts post. 

My brain will thank me, I'm sure of it.

Or is Sunday the first day of the week?  Hmm... guess it depends which calendar your looking at.

Why can't all Calendars be the same?  At what point in the making of calendars did someone say... Lets change this one a little bit and call it fiscal, and oooh, we need one to call broadcast because those advertising people need to be messed up just a little more....

Now I'm not even sure what day it is.... Seems to me a Calendar should be a Calendar... But for my Purposes, today is the first day of the WORK week and therefore it is MONDAY!

OK, Back to my Random thoughts.... 

Why is it the day drags on until its 5pm and then suddenly your in a hurry to get every thing done?

Why do they put brighter lights and magnifying mirrors in "make up" areas when your trying to look good?

If the Energizer Bunny never stops, then how come I've never seen him for real?

Why is it called Morning Sickness, when I've never known anyone to EVER get sick only in the morning?

How is it, that you can feel tired or frumpy all day long, but just before bed your wide awake and can't sleep?

Is Frumpy a word?  I dunno!

If you have a laptop and two monitors, and you move a window from one to the other, where does it go in between?  And how does it know that my mouse is pointing to one or the other?

OK, thats all I've got for now.. Maybe will add more later....  Do you have a random thought?  Now is your chance to share!  Leave a comment or link to blog in comment....

**News Update** had a widgit here so you could add your "random thoughts"... But my page acted funny and now that its not Monday anymore, seems odd to add it back even though the widgit guy said it is fixed....  So I'm going to Nix the widgit for now and go back to my regular friendly comments.

In the mean time, I have to give a shout out to Life with the cowans that played along with my silly game, and had some really fun and TRUE random thoughts... Thank You! for playing... 

SOME RAW FOOD AND NOT SO MUCH

It was a good food day here at the Veg house... So I'll get right to the Nitty Gritty!  

Silk is back with their Pumpkin Spice Soy Milk.... And my first container of the season happened to have this recipe for Pancakes... 

• 1 Cup Flour
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1 Cup Pumpkin Spice Soy Milk
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 2 Tbs Oil
• 1 Egg

Mix wet ingredients in one bowl, and dry ingredients in another... then combine and make on a skillet or how ever you make pancakes at your house...

Well I doubled the recipe, vegan'ised it with banana to replace the egg, added some baking soda to make them a little more fluffy, and cinnamon for added flavor... and got these:

We also made a batch with carob chips.  Ended up with 3 plates full of pancakes, and I have not a SINGLE pancake left at the end of the day.  My boys devoured EVERY last Nibble....  And we decided this was a great kick off to Silly Apple Pumpkin Week...  It was also decided that I MUST make them again on Silly Apple Pumpkin day...   And so off to the store for more Pumpkin Spice Soy milk...

Mr. Vita-Mix was busy making delicious Green'ness this morning also:

I finally figured out my perfect Consistency...  7 Ice Cubes per 1 1/2 cups of liquid per glass full...  So if I need two glass fulls (one for me and one for hubby), I need one full tray of ice + 3 cups liquid... Then all the fixin's I desire.  This one was PERFECT!  Not too thick, Not too liquid, and awfully delicious.

Apples, Pineapples, Ice, Coconut Water, Coconut shreds,  Spinach, Cucumbers, Banana, Grapes and Elderberry.

 

For my lunch, I made my first Vita-Mix Raw Guacamole:

OH MY YUM!!!!!!!!!   Thank you Mr. Vita-Mix...  And Sooooo Easy!

The gunk from 2 Avocados, 2 Tablespoon lemon juice, Handful of grape tomatoes, 1/2 tsp salt, some garlic salt and cumin to taste.  There was enough to last a couple days...

That is until Hubby got home... and he had some for lunch and for dinner... So I probably will have just enough to take with me for one lunch.  But oh it was sooo good!  I will be making more for certain!

Veg opted for a  Muffin Tinner (tin+dinner) tonight....

Fresh Apple Sauce, Carrots and Butternut Squash chunks, lots of Broccoli, Cucumbers, the final pumpkin spice pancake, some Celery with Peanut Butter and Carob chips "ants on a log"  as Veg calls them for dessert...  Nothing fancy, but he liked it!

And after the Vegman went to bed, I started prepping this weeks food....

Hello giant salads:

 

These lonely left over lettuce leaves from the Farmer's Market will make it in to my smoothie in the morning:

 

And my fridge....  pre-prep shelves....Salads, lettuce, carrots, Fresh Guac, Raw Banana Pudding, onions, and grapes.

And so there ya have it...  Some Raw food, and some not so much raw food.... Some prep for the week and some that didn't make it the week...

But all really tasty, really Vegan, and Really delicious!

FEEL BETTER QUICK

My Vegman inherited Migraines from his Father's side of the family.  He also inherited the strange ability to turn a greenish grey'ish color when he is about to get one... 

We have been Migraine'less since July... so when he turned this color on Thursday night without any other symptoms, warnings or any food triggers, I knew something bigger was in store...

Then the words I love to hear just before bed (NOT!).... "Mom, I feel like I'm going to throw up tonight"....  This goes nicely with the green'ish grey'ish skin tone.   And would normally mean a 3-4am wake up call with the sick bucket.  Because of his cyclical vomiting, it will ONLY happen at 3-4am, very strange, but it IS our life...

The good news is, we had warning... So I jumped in to action... and knowing this had to be bigger then just a migraine, I threw in some immune boosting goodness also... 

He ate a dark chocolate square to stop the migraine... I got him his cool washcloth with Tea Tree Oil for migraine and breathing...  Then after he fell asleep, I Rubbed some Garlic and willow bark Oil on his nose... dabbed some ACV in his nose, and Oregano oil on his feet....

Once he smelled like a delicious salad, I went off to sleep myself in case the night became long....  BUT it all worked!  He slept all night with NO Throw Ups!  Bonus!!!

And then he woke up in the morning...  "Moooommmm, every time I move my ear hurts"

AH!!  And that would account for the migraine... Little bugger had an ear ache!  But came on suddenly with no other symptoms or signs....  Which means something bigger is still waiting to exit his body...A cold perhaps?  A sinus clog brewing?  His voice was a little scratchy, so I knew something was in there... He caught a BUG!

Now it is time to help that body fight off the yuck....  Make his ear/head feel better and keep anything else from entering.....  I go in to major Mommy Action....

Garlic willow bark oil goes in the ears and around the ears...along with behind ear massage... Ah, instant relief  (we did this once in the morning and once at night)

Sniffles homeopathic drops go under the tongue to help his nose drain the fluid from his ears.

Echinacea/Goldenseal goes in some juice and down the hatch for some immunity and infection prevention

A Delicious Green Smoothie with some elderberry for drinking to help with hydration, immunity and all around goodness.

Later a nice bath with Eucalyptus/Mint/Tea Tree/Aloe bubbly stuff.... Just to feel good in addition to hydration, and healing, through the skin, and get all the brewing gunk in his head to come out.

At bed time, a eucalyptus/tea tree and multi-oil rub on his feet....

Of course, a day of rest, good whole foods, lots of fluids...... a bunch of sneezes to exit the bad stuff...and VOILA!  

Next morning.. he was ready to go!  No earache, No headache, No Drugs, No Doctors, NO PROBLEMS! 

Sick bugs are just not allowed in this house... and if they find their way in... they will be Squashed!  DO YOU HEAR ME SICK BUGS..... YOUR NOT WELCOME HERE!!! 

(yes, I know they can't really hear me..... I haven't totally flipped my lid) 

THIS COUPON THING

My Mom made a special request that I hurry up and post a bunch of stuff so that my Dog Stories are no longer at the top of the blog page...  Apparently every time she looks, it makes her cry, and my blog is supposed to make her smile.  And so crying is not a good thing!

Of course I've been a tad busy this week...  ya no, getting back from an awesome vacation to find my dog 1/2 dying on the floor + 1800 emails waiting for me at work + a monthly visit upon my body + a child that came up with a sudden earache + 2 last minute soccer games in one week +  the list goes on...and so my blog posting has been spotty at best...

But I got a good night sleep two nights in a row, Veg is quickly all better, I took a nap today, ate lunch at my favorite local eating place...and went shopping last night to find some great deals.  Things are back on track!

So NeeNee... Per your request, I will throw up some posts... This one is about the Coupon Thing..       

Everyone is talking about it.... Mom's all over the country are moving forward with this whole Coupon Thing... I however never got it... I didn't understand what the big deal was.... First of all, finding coupons for Healthy all Natural foods is not likely... And then buying multiple items just because they are cheap to fill up my house with clutter or things that will expire before I can use them, seems like a bad idea... AND not to mention buying things just because they are on sale, but not because you would "really" buy them normally doesn't make you "really" save any money...

Then I went to my Mom's... and she was needing some help... so I was determined to figure this out for her... and we did!  It seems there are a whole lot of resources on line to get coupons... and many stores have them hidden as well.  And then Manufactures have them as well... and so you can save little bits here and there which add up to a lot more then the typical Sunday Paper clipping of yesterday.... 

I GET IT NOW!!! 

Then yesterday I went to my local health food store and grabbed a little coupon book... turns out the items in the coupon book, also had manufacture coupons stuck to the containers, and they also had a store special that day...  So I ended up getting some items that I really needed, healthy and natural for 1/2 or 3/4 the cost.

And I started realizing that many products had those manufacture stuck on coupons + they were the same items on store special that day.

When I walked out and looked at the receipt, I had saved $25.75 from the HEALTH FOOD STORE... And I'm not talking main grocer...   and thought this Coupon thing is pretty darn cool...

Now finding the time to find the coupons, and/or always getting lucky that my coupon would match a store sale that day, is the tricky part.  Also finding things I really need and not just buying because they are on sale becomes even trickier.

I printed some of these coupons from Mambo Sprouts for my next shopping trip..  And signed up for their email thingy too, figured that was a start.  Check out their little coloring sheets for kiddos also.  

Who knew this coupon thing could be so fun?  *smile*

11 YEARS AGO

Over 11 Years Ago we moved out of Apartment life and in to our first home owning house...A dog found me while I was visiting the local pound and she became mine in an instant...

After all, who could resist this freckle face nose:

 

I didn't have any of these bundles over 11 years ago:

And would have NEVER thought this was possible back then:

 

Blogs were not heard of, I didn't have a computer, and still had to buy film if I wanted to take pictures.

The thought of carrying an Ipod would have been laughed at, as we didn't even have a CD player then.  Cassette Tapes and the Radio... And a Gigantic Walkman... were the options in our house... We were broke, to say it nicely. 

9/11 hadn't happened then, Flying on an Airplane was fun and you mostly got to your destination on time.  Our Jobs were very different, Gas was much cheaper, I was driving a Ford Aspire... HA... now that's funny!

If you told me 11 years ago that I would be a Mom, let alone a Soccer Mom, I would have laughed at you in a big way.

I didn't have any nieces then or a sister-n-law for that matter.  My Bestest Michigan Friend wasn't even married yet (let alone with 2 kids)..

A LOT can happen in 11 years, I tell ya!!

Do you ever wonder what will be different in the future?  What new things we'll have 11 years from now?

All I know, is that We may only have one Canine Baby now... but something tells me, the next 11 years will be just as great..... 

What were you doing 11 Years Ago?
 

RANDOM THOUGHT TIME

It's time for a random thought post... Why?  Because I said so.... and its my Pitty Party week so I can say so...

Why do we say for Petesake?  What does Pete have to do with anything?

What is the point of those "Baby on Board" signs?  Really, I wanna know? 

Why do they put "Student Driver" on the back of those Student Driven cars?  Are we all supposed to say "Get off the road, he's coming through"?  Seriously, how does that warning help me?

Why do pet stores sell Pet Scorpions?   We saw some today, and I'm thinkin?  How is a Scorpion a pet, or a tarantula for that matter... HELLO PEOPLE they are bugs... and by the way, can I just say Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!

How is it that when things at work are slow for a few days, no one bothers you.  But as soon as things are so crazy busy that you can't think straight, the phone rings 100 times, and every problem on the planet is brought to your attention?  Spread out evenly would be a little better.  I'm just Saying!

Why, when kids are tired, they don't want to sleep... but then cross in to "Over Tired" and can't sleep... Seems the more tired you are the more you would sleep.  Not so much.

How is it the weather people can predict when a hurricane season will be next year,  but have a hard time getting the weather right for the next 2 hrs.

Why do they charge $12-$18 for dog toys that will last maybe 5 minutes to a dog that would be big enough to have that toy in the first place?  But only charge $4.99 for a collar that will last years.

Why do my running shoes feel good when I run, but hurt my feet when I walk?  Its the same shoe and same feet?  Whats the difference?

Why am I still awake typing this goofy blog post?

Good Night!!

FROM THE MOUTHS OF BABES

While I did find more laughter today, I still was a little weepy at times... You know, leave it to my Pup to decide its time to go during PMS...  The nerve?

But My Vegman is NO help in this matter.  His sweet nature of yesterday was quickly passed by his new game of today called... "Lets see how many times I can make Mom cry"

"Mom, Chelsea died yesterday right?

<Right>

"So she's Dead right?"

<Yes she is>

"And your last memory of her was watching her die, right?"

<Yes it was>

"So you saw her head fall to the ground?"

<Yes I did>

"Mom, why are you crying?"

Hmmmmm... I dunno?  Let me think about that.... Stinker!

FINDING LAUGHTER

I know there are steps to the grieving process, but mostly I'm not like most people... I have grieved today about saying goodbye to the dog I've had barking at me for 11 years.... I cried more then I thought I would and I shall go to sleep early to rest my eyes.

By tomorrow, I will be trying to find laughter... That is what I do..... And I'll have moved past the experience at the Vet.   Obviously I'll still miss my Old Gal tomorrow, but my emotions will be in check.  This was good for her, and what she needed.  So I should be celebrating and not crying.  I should be happy that she is no longer hurting.  And celebrate that.  I should be laughing again...

And tomorrow, I will be... After I rest my eyes...  But for tonight.. I must snicker just a tad at my Vegman...

He said he would marry me tonight if he didn't love me so much....  Awwwww....

And then he asked why we couldn't bring Chelsea home... he said, we'd set her up a section near the recycles, and could pet her when ever we wanted....

In Mommy Words, I explained that her fur wouldn't be the same and petting her wouldn't be good after she has passed. 

Then Daddy Chimes in....  "She'll decompose and we'd have maggots in the house"

Ooh, Thanks Hubby for the Visual...  How did we go from Marrying me to Maggots... I dunno, but it turned fast!

"Mom, What does decompose mean?"

Ah, who has time to grieve when you are explaining things like Decomposing dog bodies.  Because if you know my kid, you know that the questions don't stop... 

"Well how long does that take?" 

"What happens to the blood?"

"How do the maggots get in there"   Hubby, I'll let you take it from here!  Thank you very much!

But to say my Vegman took this well is an understatement.  He gave me lots of hugs and lots of smiles, even got some belly laughs.  He didn't even need the day of tears.  He went straight to laughter....

Sure am lucky to have that little guy.... Now, on with my sleep... I have to rest my eyes after all.

SWEET DREAMS CHELSEA GIRL

Our house is short a family member today... We woke up this morning to find a mess that I won't even describe here.   But lets just say walls, carpet, dog, and floors were involved...

After getting her and the rest of the mess clean, I set her on a mat in the garage, and I noticed Blood coming from her bottom... That can't be good, Right?

So back to the Vet we went... They saw us right away, and didn't offer any other options, she was old and her days were done...  Never did really find out what was wrong with her either, but maybe that is a good thing.  I dunno?

Anyway, it was harder then I thought it would be to say goodbye... My real sadness comes from her canine brother that hasn't been the same all day.  And what our Lil'veg will do when he gets out of school. 

The first loss of his life.  He'll probably handle it better then me, but either way, its a sad day here at the Veg House. 

We'll miss you Chelsea Girl... Even all your barking, and snoring, licking the carpet, and eating my craft paper, and running out the door and making us chase you....  You will be missed...

Not that a dog would read a blog post in doggy heaven or on earth for that matter, so I'm not quite sure why I'm writing this to her as if she'll see it... But regardless it makes me feel better....  So There!!

Sweet Dreams Silly Face!

 

SHE'S MOVING

I still have nothing funny to post, but had to show this picture.  My Old dog couldn't stand her brother sitting next to me any longer without coming to join us.  It took her a while to walk to the next room, but for the first time in a couple days she did it...

SEE!

Whether she snaps out of this or not, I know that some day she will leave our home... and I fear that her canine brother will be the hardest hit.

After all, who will bark at him uncontrollably, who will push him around at every little thing,  who will sit on top of him every time he gets comfortable , who will lick his face every time he falls asleep...

While Hubby could take on the roll of barking and pushing, and I can get the snuggles, I'm pretty sure NONE of us will be licking his face when he falls asleep... YUCK!

IF ONLY

If only a Green Smoothie could make my Old Gal feel better...  We had to take her to the Vet this morning because she was unresponsive and unable to move.  Thought the end was near and I don't have a desire to make her suffer.

But when we got there, she started walking, all on her own... had a strong heart, good blood and healthy breathing.... They diagnosed her with a new heart murmur in addition to a Stress Disorder (from us going on vacation) and the effects of her not eating, then eliminating what she did eat, caused everything to roll down hill....

They Gave her IV Fluids, Some medicine, Some special food and a Few shots... Then sent us home....

Funny how I can find all the natural remedies in the world to keep the humans in my house healthy, but don't know anything that will help my Canine family members feel better when they are sick.  If only a Green Smoothie would work... If only some ACV or Aloe Juice.  Some Garlic... Anything...

If only I could give her a kiss and a hug and make her feel all better....  If only she didn't have to suffer...

But here she is on my Kitchen Floor tonight still not moving much...  And for those of you that know my Chelsea Girl, this is not her...She didn't even flinch with the camera flash.   I hope she is in there somewhere and knows that we love her...

Maybe she will bounce back tomorrow like the Vet says... But for now, I'm sad for her... If ONLY!

P.S.  Sorry for the grim post... I'll come up with something funny soon.
 

A DRIVE AND A GREEN SMOOTHIE

We made the long drive back home yesterday, starting while dark, and enjoyed the longest sunrise I'd ever seen:

 

 

And then a couple hours later, ShaZam!  Soo pretty!! 

Thanks to my Mom searching Happy Cow, she found a Whole Foods close to our route back home... I typed the address in to Garmin and Voila!

 

They happened to be having a Kids festival that started just when we arrived... he got to pick  a free Pumpkin (it was huge)

 

And got some other free goodies and was able to do some crafts...

We ate this for lunch.. A tofu Sample.. Veg's favorite was the stir fry'ish stuff at the bottom.  My favorite was the patty at the top.

 

And then we got this for dessert:

There is a story about the Green Smoothie that I shall share.... I expected Whole Foods to have a grand juice bar/smoothie thing... And although I liked the rest of the store and the people were SUPER friendly.  I can say that the smoothie guy wasn't my friend....

Turns out the selection of smoothies all come from a pre-mix juice bottle and they didn't put any fresh fruit in it.  Then, when I asked if he could add spinach, he looked at me like I had 10 heads.  And said "NO, I can't its not part of the juice"  I asked if they had spinach (as it was on the menu) and he said, "YES, but that is for the juicer, not for smoothies" 

I saw their vita-mix, and knew that it could pulverize spinach... so I begged for the spinach as I really needed some green energy for the rest of my drive home... He finally obliged but charged me an extra dollar... 

For Juice/ice and spinach it was like $6 (for a small)  But so worth the flavor.... Anyway, I still think Whole Foods is grand.. but at least the one we stopped at, the drink area was not what I expected.

OK so back on the road, and of course my young lad.... crashed out again....He was the best travel companion I could have asked for... Slept when he got tired, and played happily while awake.  He read books and worked on mad libs... Out of all 6 days he only fussed once (our last night there)

 
And then we see home in site..... HELLO Mountain Tops, We missed you:

But it was COLD in them mountains.... and we still had a long way to go.

 

Time to eat a Michigan Honey Crisp Apple... Still need energy.. and Um, these are GOOooooooD

Thankfully I brought many of those home...  The pups were glad to see us, one of them isn't doing so well though.. My old girl is just looking older. 

Hubby was glad to see the food we brought him (I mean happy to see us)

He did real well while we were away, lots around the house, had some peaceful alone time, and even lost a few more pounds.  He's down a whopping 21 pounds since changing his diet and exercising several days a week.  So proud of him.  He may gain 10 pounds from the food I brought.. but it was all by his request.... 

He even broke down one day and used Mr. Vita-Mix to make a smoothie... Good For him!!!

As for me.. I ate really well on our trip... Lots of Apples :-) Even some smoothies.  Fruit every morning.  My Mom made me breakfast in bed one morning with watermelon, apples, concord grapes and oranges.  She made me GIGANTIC salads almost every night with Romaine, Spinach, carrots, celery, avocado, cucumbers and pea pods..

While out to eat, I got mostly veggies, some cooked some raw, and only a few pieces of bread.   

BUT.. I did allow my self the luxury of Starbucks while taking long drives, and Donuts from each of the cider mills and some cider too. 

Funny that last year, I could have eatin' a half dozen of those donuts in one sitting.  But this year, one or 1/2 of one was plenty...

I didn't get any exercise except maybe my body trying to keep warm for hours upon hours while my kiddo played outside on all of our adventures.   And still lost a pound by today...

So my grand total to date is 12 pounds... The donuts did make my face break out, so I'll have to get back on track now that I'm home.  Other then that I didn't have any food issues!

It was a GREAT TRIP!!!  Really and truly a GREAT trip!  Visiting friends and family, the food, and all the activities...

But it is always good to be home... and so here we are!!

Hope you had a great week where ever you are!!

RAW FOOD LUNCH AND LOTS OF HUGS

Today was intended to be a "Visit three different Grandma's" Day.  This means driving all over creation during normal circumstances.  But add in some Yummy Raw Food Goodness and a Cider Mill... and our driving continued to be all over creation....

YES, RAW FOOD!!!  We found a restaurant on happycow that I think Melissa suggested we go to a long time ago... (whom just had a baby... Congrats Melissa)..

Called the Red Pepper Deli in Northville Michigan.. (sorry can't find website)... It was a TOTAL Deli, as in small tables for eating in, but mostly a carry out place.  And the food choices, juice, smoothies, desserts, almost all RAW, and Vegan.... OH MY YUM!!!

We Dragged NeeNee with us to this delicious little eatery....  I walked in with my Giddy Self, and told the lady at the counter "They don't make these places where I come from!"  And she said "Then how do you know to eat this way?"  :-)  Blog land!  hee hee

My Raw walnut Taco, was soooo good and filling, even had to bring some home, so I could save room for dessert:

NeeNee got a Raw Pesto Pasta... I had to explain to her that there would be no "PASTA" in the Pesto PASTA... that it was going to be Zucchini noodles.. MAN was it good!!!

NeeNee Liked it too... But don't tell her because she won't admit it.  I have proof though... she ate every last bit...

Veg's lunch was quite Yummy too, while not raw, it was brown rice and raisins, and butternut squash soup along with some dehydrated pumpkin seed crackers (at least I think they were pumpkin seed):

We got some Cashew (dehydrated) Crackers to go for our trip back, along with some Banana Leather... OH MY YUM YUM YUM!!!  I'll have to make these with Mr. Dehydrator at home.

And then I saw Mr. Vita-mix times 3 behind the counter and HAD to order a smoothie.  I was FORCED to do so.  It was calling me, I couldn't control myself....  I went with the Coconut/Pineapple concoction.. 

Well, Veg wanted a nut free dessert.... And they happened to have something that fit the bill.

Raw Coconut Cream Pie:

 

He had bites before I could even snap a photo...  OH, WAS THIS GOOD!!  I will be trying this at home for sure!

So while it was true that we drove all over creation......It was sooo good... Veg and I both got lots of hugs from different loved ones today... not the kind of hugs that bother my germophobe self.. These were nice friendly family hugs that are worth a million bucks.    We also got some good pictures, to keep these memories strong for my Vegman.

I'm so glad that he is at the age where he will remember this trip forever and always... And because of that, I'm throwing in some extra special goodness... He has requested 4 Cider Mills... and 4 we shall do... After today we are at #3...  And so there was raw food goodness... Three Grandma Visits.... AND A cider mill with Play area... A perfect day!

And Yet again for the 4th day this week, my little Luv Bug took a car siesta between stops... I really really really wish he did this at home...  Something about the cold air... Yeah, thats it! :-) 

And did I mention it was Ccccccooooooooollllllddddddddd...... I'm talkin' December weather cold in October kind of Cold!

But were loving it!   Every Single Bit!!!

GREEN SMOOTHIE AND SOME KIDS

Besides lack of sleep, lots of driving, and eating cooked foods along with a tad of JUNK, this has been a wonderful vacation...

My Mom even borrowed a neighbors unused blender so we could make Green Smoothies this morning... She was hesitant, but my Mom drank, and LOVED IT!  In fact, she has agreed to make many more of her own and asked for the recipe..... Go NeeNee...Go NeeNee....

We had another fun day getting the Boys together.  We met at a Cider Mill where it was crowded and cold, but we got there at a good time for the crowds to begin leaving.  Sadly the cold didn't leave though, so it just got colder...  The kids were all real troopers from the freeze factor and could have kept going like the Energizer bunny if us Moms didn't need some hot cider..... I think the freezing rain beating on my face is what done me in...

They played Putt Putt:

We went through a corn maze:

Lots of play structures and touristy activities.... We even got a cute photo shoot with all of them together... could I get all three to smile at the same time??? NOoooooo!  But a few good shots anyway.  And then back to our Friend's truck for a Donut Party... Instead of showing faces, I'll show the donut... Yum Yum...

Nothing in this world like a Michigan Cider Mill donut....N-O-T-H-I-N-G... Except maybe that Veggie dish I ate yesterday?  Hmmm just maybe.... Nah!!

Guess what else we did today??? 

Froze Bananas for some Banana Whip Ice Cream... Can I hear an Oooh Ahhhhhh? 

Now, Can the little Glass Blender stand up to the challenge of mashing frozen bananas?  Tomorrow shall tell the tale.  

And so there ya have it... Another day gone!!   Another great day!

ENDING WITH SLEEP

Today was another amazing one... This was a day spent with a Friend, her Kids and my Mom...

How cute is this trio?

"Mom, what time are we going to be there?" we hear at least 1000 times from a little voice in the back seat..  This made me laugh, because on our road trip to Michigan, I told the Vegman that I knew it was a long drive, and that I didn't want to hear "Are we there yet?"  Or "How much longer" with a whiny voice..

That I will tell him when we get to each state and when we are close.  We made a deal and even shook on it.  Then about an hour in to our drive he said "Mom, what time do you suppose we will reach our destination?"

I gave him a look... and he said "What?  I didn't say any of those things you told me not to say?"

Well I suppose he was right, because I didn't imagine he would ever say the word "Destination"... Ha, but now I know... I will add that to the list on the way back....

Now back to my story... The "Destination" that my friend's little one was so eager to get to, was the Hands on Museum in Ann Arbor. And no wonder he was eager....

It was really really really cool.....  We had a Blast, as did the boys (and a NeeNee)....

Some fun things:

This was a big screen thing and you moved in front while changing the light patterns by pushing buttons... The image on this screen is my little guy (I think)

Here is NeeNee the Angel
 

This is my Mom and Me being silly... but after looking at this picture when we got home, it seems an Alien jumped in to our picture.  Can you find her? 

The museum had gears, and lights, and waste exhibits.  It had learning and more galore.. Even a real Ambulance... Some sound stuff, a Green Screen and Mock Television Studio.  A bubble thing that you can pull up over you... It is HANDS ON!!!  To the fullest extent.

Here was one of the Light Rooms.
 

Had a bounce house, and a rock climbing wall:

 

We left the museum after a couple hours of chasing tots and watching them have soo much fun at their "Special Place"... It was just great!

Off to Putt Putt... because they needed another special place according to one little cutie.

But this was no ordinary Putt Putt... It was a glow in the dark Putt Putt... and not a normal Glow in the Dark Putt Putt... This place was Cool!

And then it was time to part ways... We all said our goodbyes... But our day wasn't over....We hit a Mexi-Dinner place that I can only get when visiting my Mom (yes two cooked meals in one day) 

Then stopped by this playground for the Vegman... It was seriously the biggest playground I've seen in my entire life....  This picture is only HALF! 

The boy had a blast....

 

And as goes the theme of the week... The day ended with a sleeping boy in the back seat.  Now, if I could only get him to do this when we are home?  I guess home just isn't as exciting though?

 
 
As the Travel Days Continue.... Can't believe we are already mid week... I know it will be sad for us to go, but what a great time we've had....

 
 
 
 
 

SEVA DELICIOUS

Delicious as my Mom would say... I found this place on line, and then BEGGED my friend if we could go... Please oh Please, I said many times over.

My very cool friend got directions and this is where we went for lunch today:

Notice the word in purple... The Vegetarian word.... OH MY YUM... Not only could I have ordered EVERYTHING on the food menu (except the eggs or cheese dishes), but they also had Juice Bar, and Vegan Deserts, and Vegan Appetizers, and Vegan replacements and non "milk" shakes... and oh... it was soooo good! 

Pretty sure my Carnivore lunch Companions thought I'd totally flipped my lid when I said for the 100th time how good my food was... Hey guess what?  IT WAS Gooooooooood!

Veg and I shared a Tofu Appetizer (which my carnivore lunch companions even tried....)

My main course was this brown rice, veggie dish, with some amazing sauce and seasoning.  All things Raw went totally out the window... I had to eat this food...Cooked or NOT it was going in my belly.

 
 

The Vegman ate the tofu, some veggies, some raisin bread w/vegan butter and scrambled eggs (yes I said eggs... his new favorite... but hey, it could be worse) finished his meal off with a Soy Milk Shake/smoothie with Strawberries and Bananas.  Oh, he even ate some of NeeNee's sesame crackers... The boy was an eating fool. 

But I was hoping he'd pick the Orange Vegan Cake so I could dabble just a tad.  But he slurped up his "milk" shake in about 10 minutes... and that was all his tummy could handle.

Besides, by then, the littlest lunch companions in our group had about all they could take of sitting still, I took way too long to eat this delicious food, and they were good sports.

Oh and don't say anything, but I think my Carnivore Lunch companions liked the tofu... Shhhhh!  Don't tell.

Yum!!  Thank you Seva... And Friend for getting us there!

MICHIGAN TRAVELS

A day in the life of a Michigan Veggie Traveler...

The Trees:

When there are interstate signs that say north south east and west at the same time:

 

I'm glad to have one of these:

So we can visit some family members and go here:

 Which brings us Donuts, Cider and THESE:

Spicer's also has lots of fun:

And then some shopping, and some golfing..  Yes Golfing...Veg wanted to GOLF in the 40 degrees... why not?  After all, we are on vacation, right? 

This is what happens to grass when I go to a driving range.... The Grass wasn't happy with me....  Can someone please tell the grass that this was my first time... And the broken tees also? 

BUT, I did hit the ball a couple times.  Believe it or not..

 

Veg had much better luck on the real course then I did on the driving range:

And then a walk around Grandma's Garden.. I found this pretty leaf all by its lonesome... Just waiting for a picture.  Hi little pretty Leaf....

 

 
 A great day that left my traveling companion.... Well... how can I say...... TIRED! (again)

And so it was back to NeeNee's House... Which is where we find this little gal...

And this waiting our arrival:

 
 
 
 Oh my yum!!!  Thank you NeeNee...... Even if I only have pictures of a salad.. hee hee

A GREAT DRIVE

Veg and I set off on a journey... and it was quite a good one... We hit some Fog..

But thankfully it was after day light broke or I would have been in a pickle

We saw lots of these:

 
 
And the colors changing were quite a site:

The sky looked like this the whole way:

And at some point we saw this sign... Tell me?  While going 70+ on the interstate with a bridge coming up... If you saw this sign and had a large truck, WHAT YA GONNA DO ABOUT IT?

I had to say good bye to Mr. Vita-Mix... sigh sigh sob sob
 
 

But ate good on the road, so I can't complain:  This was my front seat stash.. Veg had his own back seat stash to munch.

And I don't think my Back Seat travel partner minded the lack of Mr. Vita-Mix either.
 

It was a good travel day!  
 
 
  
 
 

TRAVEL DAY FOOD

While preparing for a trip, food is required...

Some of this:

And some of this:

Some of this kind of stuff:

A lot of this:

Oooh oh oh... and This:

 
 But when your going here to see my Mom:
 
 

You arrive to something like this:

And realize it will be a Goooood Food week?  Could I have expected anything less?  Noooooo!!

Good Food week, Indeed!
 
 

MORE ACV GOODNESS

Adding to my previous list...Some more things that Apple Cider Vinegar helped me with..  I felt a cold coming on yesterday morning, and unless you haven't ever read my blog before, you will know that I wage war on sick bugs... I'm just NOT HAVING IT!!!

Well a couple days ago, a coworker said that the cold and flu bugs enter through the nose and if you stick salt water up there it will keep them from attaching and you won't get sickly. 

Now I'm just not fond of sniffing salt water up my nose...  but thought I'd give ACV a try... After all I've seen ACV stop a cold and flu in its tracks by drinking it, so why not dab some in my nose?

For the heckadoodles... I stuck some ACV on a tissue and dabbed on the inside of each hole of my nose... I didn't sniff or suck, just dabbed.... Not sure it is good for you or even safe (so research yourself before trying) but it worked... dried it up and killed what ever was trying to make its way in my head. 

Not a tiny bit of symptom after that... Told the Vegman that we will be rubbing ACV on our noses each day this week and possibly even on our trip to keep all those sick bugs from entering our bods.... Who cares if we smell like cider on our trip?  We'll fit in with the cider mills perfectly.....

And then I had fruit flies... all the bananas on my counter are bringing fruit flies... I remember reading that if you put ACV in a bowl on your counter that the fruit flies will go away...  Well my bowl caught 6 of them, and the rest never re-appeared.... so I'm thinking they ran for the hills.... I've since read that your also supposed to put dish soap and water in the bowl to stick the flies in to the bowl.  But mine worked just as well.....  YAY ACV!!!!!!!

I'll keep adding to the list as I think of things.... Do you use ACV?  What have you used it for??

A HISTORIC NIGHT

I posted a while ago about Veg choosing a Historical figure for his class project that no one quite knew... He was determined to use this person for his project and the teachers agreed, due to his excitement.

But became our duty to find info for him to research.  We found info on line which lead us to a local museum, where the very kind man gave us more information...  Then we had to find clothes for this person (life size clothes).... In every picture we found of the Gentleman, he was wearing a suit with collared shirt and specially folded pocket thing-a-majig. 

But we had nothing of the sort.... and so Hubby went to the thrift store and purchased a suit, with shirt, tie & pocket thing-a-majig.

Then we needed Pantyhose, of which we had none... (yeah, we don't dress up much in our house, if you couldn't tell)....  So thankfully someone at work donated a couple pair to the cause.

The kids spend days and days, weeks, preparing... they make life size paper mache heads.  Paint and decorate them. They make their own wigs with 100's of knots created in yarn.They study their historical figures, and create a limerick to say in front of the kids and all their parents.  They create the bodies on the final day, made out of the clothes that we brought, newspapers and pantyhose.   Then attach the wigs to heads and heads to bodies...

Then they place all their historical figures around a very beautifully decorated table, by candle light.... And the children repeat their limericks.....To the showing of parents, grand parents, children, friends, aunts and uncles....  Weeks of preparation all summed up in about 20 minutes.

My Vegman stood proud to his first ever audience and had no trouble reading his words...  Needless to say, I had some proud Mommy moments. 

UNTIL..............

I found out we had to bring the historical figure home.... YES, ALL Life Size and did I mention Paper Mache Head... as in DOLL ....as in life size CREEPINESS.... Not that the historical figure was creepy in real life... but his paper mache replica...VERY CREEPY!  And sitting in the back of my car no less.... Now that was a lovely image driving down the road, I'm sure to passersby...  And what am I to do with a life size man paper replica in a suit anyways?

BUT........  then we went to dinner, just Veg and I (because hubby was home with a hurt head... ~don't ask) and ran in to some school friends by surprise...  So we all left our paper mache figures in our cars, and ate together in the restaurant... had a wonderful meal and great conversation.

Turned in to a Historic Event that we won't forget anytime soon!!

FUN MATH

Conversation with the Vegman when we ran out of apples this morning.....

Veg:  "Having an apple in my lunch every day is very healthy"

Me:  "Yes it is, so if we both have an apple in our lunches every day, how many do I need to buy at the store?"

Veg: "Hmmm, Well if we both need an apple, that's two apples a day times 5 school days, so we need 10 apples"

Me: "But I need one for each day of smoothies too"

Veg: "Well thats easy, 5 times 1 equals 5 plus 10 = 15 Apples"

Me "Cool, so how many bananas do I need to buy, if I plan to make pudding, popsicles, ice cream, and smoothies?"

Veg: "Hmm, let me think?  OK, you need 4 for popsicles, 4 for pudding, 5 for smoothies, 4 for ice cream, and 2 because I just want to eat them.. That equals 19 bananas"

Then out of the back of my car comes this little tidbit...

Veg: "Hey Mom, so if Apples=A and Bananas=B... then A+B=34.. You will be buying 34 items in total..."

Well yes I will....  Who knew math could be so much fun?

RAW BEET SALAD

I finally found something to do with my Beets, and and and it uses my favorite thing in the kitchen... Apple Cider Vinegar..

(is it still raw if I used ACV?  not sure...)  But anyway.. here is the pretty picture... YUM!!!

And here is the recipe  (its the one with beets, onions and ACV)  Super Easy, and Mr. Vita-Mix did the job in two seconds.

Only thing I learned from this was not to use as much onion next time.  Everyone will want to stay away from me when I chow on this for lunch.. but man was it tasty!!

Yay... who knew I would like raw beets?