And, YES, I did buy her a dress.  Only because Delaney made me.

My step-daughter Katlyn has to give a school presentation on “how to make sushi” in a couple of weeks, so she asked me to help her by taking some pictures of the process.  It was much fun, and the end result was yummy.

First, we made some homemade miso soup.  We needed something to get us thru the next few hours of sushi making! Yum…

Next, we made sticky, sushi rice.  The MOST important part, and the hardest to perfect.  I think we came pretty close though.  This is rice vinegar, sugar and salt.  The key ingredients in the rice.

Not the best presentation, but what can I say?  We were starving by this point, so I just plopped the roll on the plate and took a shot.

When my Mom comes to town, Dave, Delaney and I always request fried chicken.  Seriously, there is nothing better.  My Mom thinks that we want her to come visit because we want to see her.  She’s wrong.  It’s because she makes us fried chicken and mashed potatoes each trip.  

…that you can regrow scallions nearly overnight?  I.heart.Pinterest.

Seriously.  I did. I made magic.

I felt like Harry Potter today, because I took some shredded cabbage, waited ten days while it freaking ROTTED on my counter and I turned it into MAGIC.  WITH the help of the Pickl-It container featured below.  Lord knows what kind of scary stuff I might have brought into my ferment without it.  And NO, I’m NOT being paid by them, and they have NO idea who I am, I just understand the chemistry/biology behind healthy fermentation and understand why it’s important to use actual food-safe “equipment” rather than Mason jars.  It’s your health, don’t risk it.

Hello, my name is Kim, and I am a fermenter.  (Stop eye-rolling people, I’m 41, I HAVE to become eccentric at some time right?  Why not now?)

Anyhoo, if you know me at all, you also know that I am an emetophobic, which means I am scared to death of puke of any kind.  Mine, yours, anyones.   On TV, or in real life.  But, here I am making rotten cabbage on my counter.  And, I going to EAT it.  LOTS of it.  I feel like it’s a step in the right direction, right?  ;)

If you’ve never had REAL sauerkraut, you are missing out.  I had NO idea what kind of flavor could come from cabbage.  And, if the taste was not enough, the benefits of the resulting probiotics are well researched and proven.

And, you are so welcome for this free public service announcement.  :)

Before…After…and then YUM.

That means I have consumed at least one “green drink” per day for the past 30 days.  AT LEAST.

And I feel REALLY good about it.  Like nearly awesome.

BACKGROUND:
On the weekend before April 1st, I sat around on my ass and watched Netflix documentaries.  Don’t ask me why, but I did.  Like, SEVERAL, or MANY.  I got totally sucked in.  And, I became hooked.  My favorite was this one - FAT, SICK & NEARLY DEAD  Now, let me just preface this whole post by saying I’ve ‘poo-poo’ed’ “juicing” forever.  I thought it was lame, stupid, a waste of time, and all kinds of other expletives that I can’t put on here now because Delaney can read.  I knew without a doubt, that juicing wasn’t for me because my blood sugar could never handle it.  I’ve been teetering on the precipice of diabetes since I was pregnant with Delaney, so I knew juicing would be the end of me.  Until…

I had an epiphany.  What about ONLY juicing veggies.  I LOVE me a V8.  I LOVE me a bloody mary only slightly more.  So, why not make my own?  I’m making my own sauerkraut, my own miso soup, my own EVERYTHING these days, so why not a freaking V8?

And so…on April 1st, we bought a juicer.  A sparkly, cheap, Jack LaLanne  juicer from Costco.  And, I made my first veggie juice.  And…

I.LOVED.IT.

And 30 days later, I am STILL loving it, and actually CRAVE my daily juice.  I have tested my blood sugar extensively for each concoction I’ve come up with this month, JUST to make sure I’m not doing more harm than good.  And, I don’t have a juice without some adequate protein and fat, just to make sure it’s not entering my bloodstream too quickly.

Of course, THAT led to a ton of research and I quickly upgraded to an Omega 8004 masticating juicer.  Sorry, Jack. And RIP.

So, at this milestone, I will post my most favorite recipe from the last 30 days.  Enjoy.  (or laugh, cuz I know *I* would have made fun of this post 31 days ago.)

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Kim’s Favorite Hippie-Veggie Juice

2 big fat Roma tomatoes

3-4 celery stalks

1/4 cabbage

1-2  carrots

1/2-1 cucumber (peeled)

1 “serving” of greens – I’ve been using a bunch of spinach, or a few chard leaves, kale, etc.  Whatever is on sale and organic

1 clove garlic (Dave doesn’t like this addition so much)

1 jalapeño (Dave doesn’t like this addition so much either)

1 Granny Smith Apple? (Dave will drink this juice if, and only if I include this, so, someone else may like!)

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I have to give a shout-out to a really great and local company. Every six weeks or so, Delaney’s school arranges a field trip to some really cool places.  Yesterday’s trip was no exception.  We went to visit Stehly Farms Organics out in Valley Center.  A beautiful drive despite some cold and damp weather.  So, this place is a 300 acre working farm that has been owned by the Stehly family for 45 years.  From what I understand, they nationally provide citrus, avocados and berries, and then also grow many assorted veggies for sale in Farmer’s Markets and local grocery stores.  I had just bought a big bag of organic oranges last week from Earthgrown Market, and was so surprised when I realized they were from Stehly Organics!  It was really cool to be able to show Delaney that the bag of oranges that we bought in the store actually came from trees on a farm not too far from her house.  I really want her to grow up knowing and, more importantly, CARING about the source of her food.  Holy crap, I’ve officially turned into a hippie.

When we arrived, we got to hear all about the farm and it’s organic practices and even how to deal with an earwig problem (which I currently suspect are eating my basil plants).  After that, we were treated to a “tractor tour” thru the fields and also a foot tour of the packaging plant.  Super cool to see how a product goes from tree to market.  One of the owners, Noel Stehly was our personal tour guide (that’s him on the right) and an all-around great guy.  He seems to truly love what he does, and I will go out of my way to give these folks my money in the future.

When we returned from our tour, they had set up a fruit/veggie stand where we were able to purchase freshly picked produce for really reasonable prices.  I bought stuff I’ve never even HEARD of, much less eaten.  I mean, seriously, have you ever seen golden beets?  Green garlic that looks like a regular old green onion if you didn’t know any better?  Yum.

And then, Delaney got to ride a horse, which was the perfect end to her day.

So, next time you’re at Jimbo’s, or Earthgrown, or Whole Foods, do keep an eye out for the produce from Stehly Farms.  They are good peeps, a good organization, and I’m sure they would appreciate your business.

A few days ago, I begrudgingly rented the new Muppets movie with every intention of burying my head in my ipad while Delaney watched it and we ate some popcorn and I drank some wine. But, guess what!? It was a movie meant for big kids too!

I suppose there are times in our lives that we become “too cool” for certain things, and, ABSOLUTELY, the Muppets became really LAME at some point in my childhood and I never looked back. In fact, in recent years, I was confronted with a 4D Muppet “experience” at Disney’s California Adventure, and I simply pooh-pooh’ed it and passed it by, since Dave and I OBVIOUSLY carry that “coolness” factor in our genes and Delaney would most definitely be horrified… (that’s supposed to be FUNNY, people)

Well, this freakin’ Muppet Movie out at Redbox right now was TOO CUTE! I couldn’t believe that I had a personal memory of EACH AND EVERY Muppet. Not just Kermie, Miss Piggy, the Old Dudes in their theatre box, Gonzo, Animal, but more… I remembered EVERY one. The funny Chef chasing around his chickens, the weird looking penguins, Scooter, the green alien kid, and countless other nameless Muppets that obviously left a mark on my memory as well as my childhood.

Now, how COOL is that?

Toward the end, when Delaney and I were singing “Rainbow Connection” together at the top of our lungs, I felt such a connection between the two of us. I can’t wait for Dave to watch it with us again, as I know he’ll feel the same way.

Thanks for the great family times Jim Henson, and may you Rest In Peace.

Who can forget this song? (Below) And if you happened to forget (and you’re over 35), SHAME on you! You should watch it again, and then share it with your kids.

Who knows? In 20 years, they may share the Muppets with the next generation of kiddos too.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8N_tupPBtWQ?rel=0&w=853&h=480]

This guy was a love.  He slept like a champ, endured his two sisters fawning (tolerating) all over him, and ate on command.  I wanted to steal him.  But then I thought realistically about it and figured, NO.

Meet Talon Blaze.  (Is that the coolest name, or WHAT!?)

So, it’s probably no surprise, that I’m TOTALLY into this whole “Project Life” MOVEMENT that Becky Higgins has started.  And, I can honestly say, that 9 weeks in, I am still keeping up on a weekly basis, which is the most I can say for ANY scrapbook project I’ve taken on in the past.

Recently, my favorite scrap inspiration, Ali Edwards, upped the game, by suggesting a Day In The Life segment that I have added to my Project Life album this month.  Ali GETS it, and she doesn’t need a fancy SLR camera to do it.  I, FOR SURE, have a girl-crush on her.

The gist is this… you just take pictures of all of your mundane, boring moments throughout an entire day of your life, and then you somehow put them all together.

Now, that said, I look at this crap now and think…BO-RING.  But, guess what?  I look back at some of my scrapbooking from only 6 months ago, at some of my pictures of the “everyday” stuff, and am amazed at how some things have changed, and how much has stayed the same.  I can only imagine how fun this will be to look back on in 5-10 years.  How I WISH I had my mom’s thoughts about her life at different points.  What was she eating?  What was she feeding Courtney and I?  Did she ‘fight’ with my Dad from time to time?  About what?  What were they watching on TV?  What was she THINKING on a day-to-day basis??

THIS is the legacy I want to leave for Delaney, and the lesson that I want to teach her.  That all of our memories are worth keeping.  Even the seemingly boring and mundane.   Because this STUFF?  It *IS* our life.

I’ll post about how I used this layout in my 12×12 Project Life Album in a future post if anyone cares to read about it.

And, really, I would LOVE some comments.  I promise, I am not being paid by anyone associated with Project Life, I just LOVE the concept and am feeling more passionate about something than I have felt in a long time.  Would love to have other friends along this journey.

WHO’S IN!?