Revelations of Missy

Quick update...

2012-01-20T11:41:00.000-08:00

Well I'm still on my nutritional cleansing kick! Weighed in today and I'm down a total of 18 lbs.!
I expected to lose weight but honestly this has been such a painless way to drop some weight. I'm convinced that what I am doing could change so many other people's lives. That is why I am talking about it so much!

Other than that, life has been moving along nicely in our neck of the woods. School is back in session for the kiddos and work is taking up a lot of my time. I've been knitting a lot more than I had been last year so that feels good. I still have loads to get done but I'm feeling so blessed and I'm trying not to fret over things that aren't too terribly important. I feel bad for neglecting my blog but I just don't have a lot to say right now. I think of things to write and then they get absorbed by my brain before I can sit down and collect my thoughts. I feel the same way about my songwriting lately. I know I have plenty to say but I can't concentrate long enough to say it. So instead I keep busy with my cameras and try to capture the moments that inspire me and even the ones that frustrate me. I guess either way I am doing something with my creative energy so I shouldn't complain. I'm sure someday I will have too much time on my hands so I'll just enjoy the craziness of motherhood.

Not resolutions. More like plans...

2012-01-04T13:03:00.000-08:00

So I usually post my resolutions or goals I hope to accomplish for the new year. I haven't thought much about what I'd like to do this year until right now when I had a few moments to myself. I started thinking of some things that would really be fun to try or things that I've always wanted to learn. On the top of the list is photography. I have a pretty nice camera and I am a pro at my iphone camera apps but I'd really love to take a class just to get familiar with basics. I've already had two paying photo gigs last year and wouldn't mind learning more so that I can pursue a side job in photography. Or, perhaps getting some of my prints up on etsy to try and sell??? Sometimes I have a hard time believing in myself or my abilities and hopefully I can gain a bit of confidence this year. I've learned that life is short and I'd love to spend mine at least attempting new things and going on tiny adventures just to say I did.

Another thing I'd love to do is knit more. I'm getting paid to knit a few things for an acquaintance and I've been practicing my still very novel skills. I have also purchased some unfinished wood frames and plan on painting them bright colors to display my 4x4 photos. Pretty crafty eh?

So along with the usual "lose weight" and "keep active" goals, I can add "get more crafty" to the list.
And that reminds me. I still need to post photos of my homemade recipe books I made for Christmas. They came out nice for being put together last minute.

So what about you? What are your plans for 2012?

New Year, New Things...

2012-01-02T10:50:00.000-08:00

Well I'm still alive. I had such a busy December that I neglected this poor blog. Sorry about that :)

So what do I have to show for my long absence?

1. Started a nutritional cleanse December 3rd and it ended yesterday. I lost a total of 11 lbs. and 18.5 inches. Today I am taking a day off to have coffee but I'm going in for another 30 day cleanse tomorrow to shed some more pounds and inches. The best part for me is that the product I am using is 100% organic and natural (and vegetarian too). And all of the nutrient rich supplements and shakes are giving me so much energy. Energy that has me actually taking two hour long gym classes back to back. Not typical of me at all!

2. Christmas was crazy! I feel like it all went by like a blur but the week leading up to it was pure chaos. I received many nice things including a new camera bag from jototes.com and a wonderful vegetarian cookbook. The best part was watching the kids open their gifts and spending the day putting things together (ha!)

3. Birthday parties!!! Mazzy had two parties last week. One for boys and one for girls. Both were fun and although I am tuckered out after two days of celebrating, I have another party to throw for Remy next week.

4. Mazzy got her first bicycle for her birthday. It has training wheels but one doesn't work so basically she is already a step ahead. We took our first ride around the neighborhood yesterday. I also took a ton of photos that I will share next time.

I guess I'm up to date now. I'm looking forward to a new year with new adventures to share here.
Wishing you all a happy new year as well!

xoxo

Lasts and firsts.

2011-12-01T12:32:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow is my birthday and I will be doing my best to live it up (responsibly) and in the presence of friends at one of my favorite local mexican eateries. You see, I must indulge as much as possible today and tomorrow because come Saturday I will be starting a 30 day cleanse. It isn't as crazy as it sounds. As a gift, my family has given me the ability to try this and from my research it should produce some very desirable results. If nothing else, it will be the jump-start I need to get back down to the weight I'd like to be. I'll keep weekly notes and blog my progress. But for now, I look forward to my favorite cake tonight and some yummy margaritas tomorrow night! I'll be the big 33! Also, I will be documenting my margarita consumption on my camera. There will be pictures!

Preview

2011-11-28T12:19:00.001-08:00

I started my secret project.

Happy Foodsgiving

2011-11-26T11:49:00.001-08:00

I'll be posting recipes to go along with these in a few days.
Hope you all had a very nice holiday!

Un-pause, press play.

2011-11-21T10:45:00.001-08:00

So I was just saying how crazy it seemed to me that it was November and here we are almost at the end of it. I've been MIA on my blog due to more important matters and I'll admit, laziness. But I'm checking in to give you some details on the weeks ahead.

First of all, Thursday is the big day! A day of celebrating and over-eating and in our case, playing pictionary... Every year we rotate which family we spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with. This year it's Thanksgiving with my husband's family and Christmas is with mine. It keeps things simple really. Holidays are usually more chaotic with my husband's family because there are so many of them! It's still a lot of fun visiting and catching up with people I only see once or twice a year. Since I became a vegetarian last Spring I will be in charge of the stuffing and possibly a salad. My brother and sister in-law are also vegetarian so I feel my veggie meals will be enjoyed by more than just me. Actually, just about everyone should enjoy these veggie dishes because I am going to make them tasty! First on my list is a vegetarian stuffing complete with veggie stock, cranberries and apples! I'm all about the fruit stuffing! The salad I plan on making will either be a kale salad with some type of homemade dressing or one of my old favorites, a pesto or avocado dressing salad. I've got a couple of days to decide. I also need to take advantage of my 11 days off and do something to the messy piles accumulating in my house! I have high piles of laundry I would like to conquer today and I am putting the oldest child to work to earn some money. Of course I've spent my morning on the computer so I'm not expecting to get much done unless I ban myself from the computer for the remainder of the day. That is likely happening when I hit publish.

Truly I can't get over how quick this year went by. I'm looking at 33 in a couple weeks and I have no idea what I want to do. Typical for me. I'm always down for margaritas and good convo so that will most likely be how my birthday will be spent. Even I am too wrapped up in the holidays to think about my birthday this year! I'm so focused on finishing my super secret project (that I have only just started to work on) and I'm trying to be done with my shopping. We only have one more kid to buy for and we are done! This is a new record!

So as I banish myself to the laundry room and kitchen I want to say Happy Thanksgiving week! May your week be filled with only joy as you do whatever it is you and your family love doing together!

xoxo

November Already?

2011-11-05T22:50:00.000-07:00

Well how did that happen? It seems like a few days ago I was watching the kids slide head first down the slip-n-slide and indulging in popsicles. Today we experienced some cool temperatures and had to actually put on light jackets when we went outside. Mazzy was mad because I made her wear tights to dance class. That girl does not like restrictive clothing, which I'm hoping is a trait she carries with her through her young adult years.
I have failed to remove the fake spider webs from the front porch yet. Pretty soon real spiders will take over so I'm thinking tomorrow that should be my priority. I've been busy running around from one place to another, trying to organize my life (as always) and trying to finish projects that have been neglected. All in good time.
And speaking of time... Wow! November! Time changes! Holidays! So much to do, so little time. I know in the end it will all get done but it is still very overwhelming planning everything that needs to be planned. For instance, I am working on a top secret gift for family. I have very little started. I'm still trying to figure out all of the logistics and outline how it'll all go down. This is some super secret stuff. Maybe, if you are nice, I'll give you a sneak peek. But not until I actually have something to let you peek at.

Stay well my friends. Remember to find time to be thankful, especially this month. Times are tough but we still have so many things we can count as blessings.

xoxo

Sneak peak from my first photo shoot.

2011-10-31T09:43:00.000-07:00

So I mentioned in my last post that I had shot some maternity photos for some friends. This was my first time really taking photos of anyone other than my husband or kids and I had a blast!

I was a little nervous since I really hadn't ever done anything outside of portraits of my kids but I got a few pointers thanks to the internet and in the end I am very proud of the job I did! I think that my photography skills are getting a little better each year and I could totally see myself taking photos as a side-job. I don't think I could do it full-time (yet) but I wouldn't rule it out in the future. Three out of the four photos below were actually shot with my i-Phone and I posted them here because the happy parents-to-be have already seen these. I'm saving the ones shot on my Canon (with the exception of the black & white below) for their eyes first! I asked them if I could snap a few on my phone so I could mess with some cool retro edits. I already have plans to shoot some portraits of the new baby when she arrives so I can get some practice. Additionally, my aunt and uncle have asked me to take some portraits of them next week. I'm pretty excited!

Autumn days...

2011-10-25T10:18:00.000-07:00

It's starting to resemble Autumn a bit more with the exception of these blasted 80 degree days, but leaves are changing and falling, pumpkins (and squash) are being decorated and warm pots of soup are being consumed. The last few days I have been snapping photos of everything from beautiful trees, to painted pumpkins and we are eagerly awaiting the cooler weather so that it feels more official.

We also ventured downtown and snapped some long overdue family portraits thanks to a friend of mine who just happens to be an excellent photographer. I'm pretty lucky in that a have a few really awesome photographer friends! And while we are talking about photography, I had the pleasure of shooting some maternity photos for a friend yesterday and for my first time I am pretty pleased with myself. I have a lot to learn but I could see myself taking my photography to new levels eventually. But back to Autumn...

I haven't made a ton of the soup recipes so far this season but I will. My crock pot is going to be working overtime in the next few weeks! This recipe was on a whim- pasta stars in veggie broth with veggies and basil. Pretty yummy!

Mazzy got a cute book a couple of years ago called The Ugly Pumpkin. So in honor of such a cute book, we opted to decorate a squash instead of a big ole' pumpkin. I did buy mini pumpkins for the kids to paint. I'm far too lazy to mess with scooping out pumpkin guts this year.

As I said, the leaves seem to be slowly changing this year. The weather has been still a little too warm to really feel like Fall. I think this week, things look a little better as far as weather is concerned.

Here's Remy painting his pumpkin.

Here are some more leaves just days away from falling. This is one of my favorite times to take photos.

Mazzy taking a break to think about which colors to use next...

Pumpkins in waiting...

One of the brightest red leaves I've seen in a while. I felt like a kid again picking up and examining the leaves at a recent visit to the park.

And there you have it. Loving every minute of the changing season. This time of year is my favorite. It's always been and it always will be.

New things: October edition

2011-10-19T15:44:00.001-07:00

Last Tuesday I found myself looking anxiously at frames after my eye exam. Apparently my left eye is causing some vision issues (nothing major) but driving at night has become something I'm not fond of. Anyhow, I was hoping I'd find something that looked okay since I've never had luck choosing sunglasses.

So far, no one has pointed and laughed so they must look okay...

Cheesy pictures of me in my new glasses in 3, 2...

Campy

2011-10-12T16:16:00.000-07:00

We arrived home a couple days ago from our anniversary trip to San Simeon State Park. The campground was nice. Hot showers, flushing toilets and a very short walk to the beach made it a place we are very likely to visit again. We didn't do a lot that didn't involve walking, sitting in chairs around a fire or trying to decipher raccoon language. Typical camping activities... We did see a lot of pretty scenery and Brock happily jumped for many photos. It was nice relaxing sans children and with premixed margaritas while we sat around a warm fire ~~evaded a raccoon army~~.
The drive there was nice. Not a lot of traffic and we made pretty good time, especially since it took us forever to get out of town. Cambria is a wonderful mix of trees and beach. Perfect recipe for a vacation spot if you ask me. Once we arrived (at the right place), we found our campsite, pitched the tent and started getting into the camping spirit (by actually drinking spirits)! The weather was sunny, breezy, frigid at night and foggy in the morning but the sunset we saw was gorgeous and the beach was empty for the most part. We had zombie kid camping neighbors the first day/night which sorta defeated the "no child" purpose for us but they did leave Sunday and they weren't loud at night. Sunday's neighbors were almost worse than screaming zombie children. They were loud surfer dudes (emphasis on the dude part) and if we had taken a swig from our "beverages" each time they said the word "dude" we may have needed our stomaches pumped. Their conversations provided some live entertainment. We got to hear all about their trance music that "isn't your typical rave sh*t." and the one who said dude the most confessed he really wanted a rocket launcher (as he lit his homemade Dasani water bottle bong). See? Live entertainment! The only thing that distracted us from the gnarly bros next door were the creepy pair of green raccoon eyes fixated on us as darkness fell. We scared it away after flashing our lights but he wouldn't be easily deterred, or so we found out the next evening...

Day two we took a hike into the hills (almost mountains) where oddly enough, we got great phone reception. I was able to post a few photos which made me really happy. After we walked a while, we decided the beauty wasn't worth the risk of poison oak (which was everywhere) so we walked back and prepared some yummy vegetarian chili. Later on we walked to the beach again so we could get some more jumping photos and so I could try to snap some sunset pics. It was so beautiful. Upon returning to camp, I started up my gourmet-ish dinner while Brock got a fire going. Dinner was tomato soup and grilled red potatoes with rosemary, garlic, vegan butter and onions. As it cooked in the foil the yummy scent filled up the air. I secretly wanted all of the other campers to be jealous of this amazing meal I was making for my husband but it turns out my meal invited guests I hadn't intended. Instead of seeing a pair of creepy eyes in the brush near our site, we see about 6-7 creepy pair of green eyes. This time, our flashlights were no match. We made noise and tried to scare them but they started getting bold and climbed the tree over our tent. They even sent out a decoy (some random fluffy bunny rabbit appeared out of nowhere) and we decided to get in the car and let them check out our campsite. We had put all of our trash and food away so there was nothing but a lone empty box on the picnic table. They sent one raccoon to check out the box and he sniffed around and quickly left. We thought that was it until they kept on staring at us through the bushes with the creepy eyes and at one point started making loud raccoon noises. I think my fragrant potato dinner had attracted the small raccoon army but the food was long gone and they were probably not willing to give up easily. After way too much time spent flashing lights on them and jumping in leaves to make noise, we decided sleeping in the car sounded like a good idea. Yeah, not so much. We woke up stiff and cold and not very restful.

Damn raccoons.

Our campsite was against a lot of brush and thick greenery. Obviously the perfect spot for a raccoon invasion.

Here we are imitating the zombie kids, except we were joking about vegetarian zombies and yelling GRAINS instead of BRAINS.

Here I am being cold.

Here is my camping beverage of choice "pomegranate margarita."

More trees.

Brock likes to jump and I like to photograph him jumping.

On our hike. This is a wetland/marsh where lots of critters live. We didn't see any critters besides lizards.

A proclamation.

Waiting for the sun to set. But not on this love. This love is sticking around.

I have a confession...

2011-10-08T10:00:00.000-07:00

I've always pointed and laughed (secretly of course) at anyone wearing skinny jeans. Unless you are a baby, you just shouldn't be wearing them especially if you are a teenage boy and they are the color red...
I guess it's just because they look funny to me. So imagine my surprise when I tried on a pair at Old Navy the other day. I picked them up because the tag said "HIGH RISE" which is like the only kind of pants any store should sell ever. The low rise party has been in effect for far too long and I am not boarding that butt crack train EVER! It's bad enough I am short and nearly every pair of jeans is too long or is shaped so oddly on my body. I remember the good ole' days when I went to the thrift store for all of my clothing needs but these days I really have to search for a good pair of jeans.

So back to the skinny pants.

I tried them on and instantly fell in love. How on God's earth could that be possible???

They are tight near the ankles so I can wear them with any kind of shoe.
They are comfortable, much to my surprise.
They are high waisted like every pair of jeans should be. I'm in love with my skinny jeans...

I came home with my skinny jeans and I never looked back. Don't get me wrong, I still think they are funny looking on skinny emo kids.

Almond soup recipe

2011-10-07T12:03:00.000-07:00

It occurred to me yesterday that I hadn't posted any recipes in a long time and I needed to fix that. This particular recipe was inspired by our recent trip to Santa Monica to revisit Real Food Daily, which is a fantastic vegan restaurant with such a great menu that I believe can be appreciated by vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. The first time I went there I was not yet a vegetarian and we had a vegan burger with cashew cheese and tempeh bacon. I could hardly tell it was vegan! A year later when I decided I wanted to go meat free, I wanted to try something different when we went back for another visit.

Their soup of the day was Spicy Almond. It immediately grabbed my attention on the menu because hello? I love almonds and I love spicy. It was one of the most divine soups I have ever tasted. I have a habit of trying to copycat certain recipes when I really love them so this was my mission...

Ingredients:

2 cups almonds

(use more or less depending on the thickness you prefer)

1/2 a large onion (or whole onion if you prefer)

1-2 tablespoons of minced garlic

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

pepper to taste

3 cups of vegetarian broth

sliced almonds and shaved carrots for garnish

*I also added Sriracha hot sauce to add some zing and zip.

Directions:

Add chopped onion and garlic to a pan with 2-3 tablespoons of butter (I used Earth balance which is vegan.

Cook onions and garlic until slightly brown and then remove from heat.

Add almonds to pan and slightly cook (1-2 minutes) and then remove from heat.

Add onion and garlic to a mixer and puree until smooth.

Add to crock-pot (or to a saucepan if you are cooking over the stove.

Add veggie broth and stir.

Use mixer to grind almonds and breadcrumbs into a fine consistency and then add to the pot. Stir and add pepper to taste and the hot sauce (if you want it spicy).

Heat on low for 1-2 hours in crock pot or on stove until desired temp is reached.

Top with shaved carrots and additional almonds.

Verdict for us is that it is mighty tasty, filling and plain ole' good for you! If you try it please let me know! I'd love to hear what you think or if you add anything new to the recipe! I will definitely be making this again!

Scallywags (an update)

2011-10-05T11:10:00.000-07:00

My house is being taken over by pirates!

At least they don't have scurvy...

This is my attempt at making you smile. Hopefully you get a kick out of my kids as much as I do!

So, let's recap the week shall we? It was pretty good. The weather has been AMAZING with cool mornings and evenings and our first rainfall in a long time is coming down today. I've been in the baking mood and the sweet treat of choice has been peach crisp. It's a variation of traditional peach crisp and it's so easy, the prep time is literally 2 minutes. Other wonderful reasons this week has been kind to me is finding Mazzy's Halloween costume on clearance for $7.50. Saving money always contributes to a better week in my opinion. Now I just have to convince Remy to pick a costume and we'll be set for the upcoming holiday. I got some side work in this week at my former place of employment. Its nice earning a little extra income especially since we are celebrating our 8th anniversary this weekend with a camping trip in San Simeon. Our plan is to stay here and relax, hike the trails, drink some margaritas and just enjoy the beauty. I am missing our trips to Tahoe but trying out new vacation spots is always fun. There will be jumping photos and nature photos so expect some exciting posts upon our return. In the meantime, I must get through the rest of this week.

Musical musings...

2011-10-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

So, now that we have launched the new local music site brought to you by Kern Radio, I can tell you a lot more about what the goal of the website is, and how I plan to contribute.
We have a lot of amazing local talent in these parts but it feels like maybe something is missing in regards to the music scene. Mostly, the fact that people don't go see live shows as frequently as they do in other cities and it's not due to lack of talent. This city is a source of many diverse groups of musicians and the website will hopefully be one more positive tool we can use to make live shows the place to be once again!
I have said it a hundred times. I am not a writer. I write and people read it but I don't consider myself to have a ton of experience writing for other people. This is why I am getting out of my comfort zone and writing for this new site. First and foremost, I believe in our music scene and I am saying that as a lover of music and as a musician myself. So my goal is to try to get out to as many live shows as my pocketbook (and my children) allow. I want to let people know why they should invest in our local musicians and I want to uplift other artists because we are all in this together. We need to work together to make our scene what we want it to be and I feel this website is a very good start! I also want to do monthly band interviews. My first interview can be read here. In doing this I can get a little info out about a band and hopefully get some buzz going for them. In addition to the interviews, there are also articles on the shows themselves, a podcast, a weekly song pick and a place to submit band photos, flyers and to upload the shows themselves into a calendar. It's still under a week old but already it has been a great experience to be a part of this site.

Teaser Alert!

2011-09-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

I mentioned last night I was working with a few others on a fun secret project. Well, I still can't divulge full details but I can give you a preview right here. And how about I pat myself on the back for posting on my blog two days in a row! I've been queen of blog slackerville lately so this is quite an accomplishment!
And without further ado...

The above is just a glimpse of what is to come.

More soon. In the mean time, check out a song from my band. It's a live acoustic performance of Hurricanes.

xoxo

New things.

2011-09-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

Why I am even still awake right now is beyond me. I am so tired and I have been wide awake since
5 AM. Blogging should not be occurring at this very moment. But alas, it is. I guess I'll blame it on some new and exciting things I am looking forward to. The first being a new music related website that I will be contributing to. I am going to be going a bit out of my comfort zone with this but I think I'm ready. While I don't consider myself to be a writer, I do enjoy sharing my thoughts and I suppose I come across coherently enough to attempt such a project. Here's hoping!
Another fun event I am looking forward to is our Anniversary camping trip to the coast in a little over a week! We are celebrating our 8th anniversary in October and what's better than spending some quality time near the ocean with my love?
So as I countdown to exciting events and new adventures in my life, I will no doubt be sharing these things with you.

First Harvest!

2011-09-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

Well, I can say I have successfully kept my garden alive! My first harvest of jalapeños has been picked and I have more that will be ready to harvest soon. Since I only planted four things and I planted them late, my cucumbers have been almost destroyed by a super dumb incredible hulk worm. Unfortunately I didn't purchase ladybugs so aphids also did a bit of damage. I'm going to be more diligent when I plant again. I made up a bottle of earth-friendly insecticide and it has helped but I think ladybugs would have been a bigger help. My mint was nearly overcome with bugs and I uprooted it. Thinking it was hopeless, I found new roots sprouting and replanted in a container. So far, so good. The strawberries? We shall see. I won't know if those were successful until after winter.

I have learned it is possible to grow things in a tiny garden, and that it can be done organically. I have also learned which veggies and fruits will have a better chance. It's been fun. I can't wait to plant more!

Bon Iver @ The Shrine

2011-09-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Monday night was date night for the husband and I. A trip to Santa Monica to eat at Real Food Daily, a vegan restaurant, a walk to The Coffee Bean and then another quick drive to The Shrine Auditorium was just what we needed!

My pictures aren't the best but the show was amazing. So glad we decided to get tickets!

Clarity

2011-09-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

I've just survived an emotionally draining few days. These things happen. It's life. It's okay, but things have changed.

Never in my life have I been so emotionally bullied to the point of tears. Until last Wednesday.

Okay maybe one other time I've been near that point, but it wasn't due to the hurtful words of someone I consider family.
The things that upset me most were the unfair judgments made about me. And to add to the utter ridiculousness, these absurd exchanges were made through messages on Facebook.
Yes, I could have spent hours defending every last accusation but why? This person already had their mind made up about me so I felt doing anything besides trying to gracefully fend off the attack would be pointless.
Everything I did say was spun as the person unsuccessfully attempted to make me admit things that just weren't true. I'm sure this person has deeper issues in which they must face and maybe I am an easy target for their frustrations, but I have a hard time excusing this behavior. For someone who claims to love and respect me, I really don't think this person can back up this supposed love and respect with what they wrote to me on Wednesday.
After all, isn't the way you deliver the message more important than the message itself? And is it ever worth destroying a relationship over differing opinions? No! Of course not! But I'm afraid that a heartfelt apology is the only thing that will help heal the hurt caused.

Summer's last splash...

2011-09-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

I've been busy. Too busy trying to break us into new schedules, routines and such... Obviously I've been left with little blog time. Boo!
I think that maybe the worst is behind us. We seem to be getting to school on time so that's something.

So to quickly run through what we've been up to I will start with work. Work is most excellent! I have a new schedule where I only watch P three days a week instead of the random schedule that I had last year. Random schedules make it harder for me to make it to the gym, plan appointments, volunteer at Mazzy's school, etc... So I am totally excited to be working the same three days every week. Mazzy is loving school. The only issue involves a little wanna-be bully who has tried to bother her twice. I'm sure it's nothing serious but I do plan to stay on top of it. Mazzy has no problem standing up for herself but sometimes I think she gets targeted because she is so sweet-natured and very social. Definitely my child (believe it or not I was pretty darn sweet)!
Phoenix is enjoying middle school as far as I can tell. He was placed in advanced classes for English, History and Math and decided to take orchestra. He's trying his band at the upright bass this year. So that makes four instruments he has played in school. As long as he is too busy to get in trouble, he can play as many instruments as he wants!
Remy is my daily lunch buddy. He's also my gym and shopping buddy. One more year and he'll get to go to school like the others. That will be so bittersweet for me. I'm not sure how I will deal with having all three of my babies in school. I"m sure I'll eventually get used to the idea though.

Besides school and work, everything else is a-okay. During the 3 day weekend we enjoyed family time to get one last BBQ in. It was fun but I'm completely ready for Fall. And luckily the temps are dropping. Sadly, dropping a few degrees from 100+ but I'll take anything at this point. I know I can count on some 80's as soon as the fair comes to an end later this month so there is an end to this heat in sight. Hopefully I can share some Fall pics with you all soon.

Weekly Winners (8/21-8/27)

2011-08-28T11:48:00.000-07:00

This week was our first week back to school and of course I was super busy and now super exhausted just thinking about doing it all over again for the rest of the school year...

Either way, I guess keeping myself busy is better than the alternative!

All photos were taken with my beloved iPhone 4 and edited with love. Enjoy!

Here is my fuel. Sometimes I refuel multiple times a day. It's necessary for my survival

(and maybe yours).

Here are the two youngest on the first day of school. Phoenix started Jr. High and was not going to willingly let me take his photo. I will get one soon though. Mark my words.

Mazzy is now a first grader and Remy has one more year at home. He's in this picture for moral support.

Here is how I spent my Wednesday evening. Very nice way to unwind if I do say so myself. We have been recording this album for 2+ years and seeing a light at the end of this tunnel is such a great feeling! I'll be blogging more on that soon.

Here's dinner from Tuesday. Salad with strawberries, avocados and raspberry dressing with a side of red roasted potatoes as well...

Here is something I found on Pinterest. They turned out pretty good. It's basically a baked scalloped style potato but with a lot of yummy flavors.

And soup. I have been craving soup and decided to revolt against this stupid heatwave and make it anyway. It has wild rice, assorted cheeses, milk, flour, garlic and kale. Definitely will be made again but with a few tweaks in the recipe.

And last but not least... We spent a lot of our Saturday playing dress-up.

I told her to make a serious cowgirl face. She's got it down, right?

So there you have it. My week in pictures (mostly). Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out more Weekly Winners here.

Back to school!

2011-08-24T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well it's here. And we all survived. The first day back was pretty uneventful and as you can see, Mazzy was ready to tackle whatever 1st grade decided to throw at her. Phoenix wouldn't let me get a picture (surprise) but he has had a great first few days too. Of course he was practically born ready for college so that wasn't a shock to me. He's got a great schedule that includes three GATE/Honors courses and he has decided to continue with the cello. We are also going to start piano lessons for him. He wanted to start this Summer but with his busy traveling schedule, we didn't. The lessons are basically his birthday present from last year. He really wants to learn all of his favorite Beatles tunes on the piano. Man I love that kid!

In other news that has everything to do with music, The Bird Channel is going back to the studio to record the last four songs on the album. Tonight Brock and I will lay down guitar tracks for my old-new song Horsequeen. We are very excited! I call it old-new because it was written about fifteen years ago. I just recently decided to play it again and change it up a little. I'm so glad I did!

Bedroom paint project

2011-08-16T10:15:00.000-07:00

I mentioned a few months back that we purchased new curtains. These curtains had so many amazing colors and the pattern was pretty and a bit retro (which I loved the most about them). There was a slight problem though. They didn't match our wall color or our bedding. We decided to repaint our room to match the curtains because we loved them that much!

We had to wait several months before we could afford to repaint and we weren't exactly sure which colors to go with so we picked a few contenders and thought about it for a while...

I know that there are a lot of different colors in the above photo but really, we wanted to make sure we checked all of our color options. In the end we decided on "Plum Good" for the wall where our bed is, and "Monterey Bay Teal" for the three other walls. We bought samples and painted them side by side to make sure we really wanted to go as bold as Plum but there wasn't much argument that we loved the colors and the way it really livened up our room!

A nice tree decal or a painting will likely find a home on this wall. I've been hunting for ideas on Pinterest. That website is far too addicting but such a great way to get inspired! We'll also be shopping around for a new bedspread. Something in a solid shade that compliments the Plum.

And here is a sneak peek of one of the finished teal walls. It still feels weird going from a calming green to a bold blue but it really does make the room stand out. I can't wait until it's all finished.

Before After

I'm also going to be painting my old kitchen chairs. They are currently a very light wood finish. I am painting them "Mediterranean Blue" and I think it'll be just what my poor old kitchen table needs. I'll be sure to show you all my progress.