{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo, a single moment to savor and share. 

inspired by soulemama.com

 

 

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo, a single moment to savor and share. 

inspired by soulemama.com

Eat: Curried Quinoa Salad

Oh, you might be wondering whatever happened to our commitment to eat grain free and all that? Well, we lasted a week, I lost 5 lbs and Chris gained 5lbs. I wouldn't call it a fail, I'd just say that way of eating isn't for us. We were committed for seven full days and then we had pizza for lunch. I think more than pizza Chris and I wanted our Lattés back! So, we went back to eating what we always eat and we've lost and gained our 5 lbs each. So, that brings me to my newest fun personal challenge; I'm going to go on another elimination diet. I've been feeling tired, bloated, my joints are painful, the list goes on. So I'm eliminating for the next four weeks: eggs, dairy, peanuts, gluten, refined sugar, soy and corn. Well, this is day three and I can fit my wedding ring on without force, I have been waking up pretty early (and falling asleep without trouble). I also haven't been drinking coffee, I tried one latté with steamed coconut milk and decided to forgo the whole thing. I love black coffee too, but find that I'm dependent on the stuff.

Here's one of the meals I made that fits into this relatively restrictive diet, it's also VEGAN, for all you vegans out there!

Curried Quinoa Salad

1/2 cup quinoa, prepared as directed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 tsp curry (my favorite is Trader Joe's brand)
2 Tbs rice vinegar
lots of fresh black pepper
1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 cup each diced carrots, broccoli, bell peppers, raisins, frozen peas
1 cup cashews (or sliced almonds)

Place olive oil in a large pan, with a medium high flame
Sauté onions until translucent, then add garlic, stir for one minute
Add carrots, broccoli, bell peppers and raisins and cashews. Stir for two to four minutes
Add cooked quinoa, stir
Add curry, pepper and rice vinegar, stir
Add the frozen peas, stir, cover for three or four minutes to thaw the peas
Serve!


You can always increase or decrease the curry and pepper, use whatever veggies you love most. Sometimes we use cranberries instead of raisins, but there is always a dried fruit element in there - you could even try apricots...The three things I always have in there are quinoa, carrots, dried fruit and then add as much veg as I can...

Enjoy

2013 School Auction Project: Finished, Auctioned & Installed!

It's hard to express the feeling of finally letting go the piece that I worked on and thought about for so long. Relief comes to mind, and Gratitude. The auction took place Saturday, May 11. There were a lot of lovely pieces of art the kids made together. Together the works raised thousands of dollars for the scholarship fund for Tara Redwood School. This piece fetched $1,300 for the scholarship fund.

This is the fourth year I've worked on the auction project for Max's school, and the sixth year I've done an auction project with one of the kid's classrooms. This was my favorite project from start to finish - the scale, the kids, the clay, the ability to be in complete control over the process, even the firing. As always, I could not have done it without Chris' help. When it comes to putting a piece together and motivating me to finish on time, he's the man. Together we carried that honkin' piece of driftwood from Potbelly Beach up a relatively steep trail and all together about 3/4 of a mile to the car. And, lest we forget the most important contributors, the children; each with such wonderful, positive hearts and creative little hands.

The cairn sculpture is about guiding people in the world towards positive actions. The kids each made a clay "stone" and decorated it with designs and a wish for the world. Here are the wishes the kids made to help guide us to good places:

Eland: "Be happy to make friends."
Lunden: "I wish people will stop cutting down trees forever."
Michael: "I wish people will have courage."
Simone: "I wish people will get along."
Thu-Ha: "I wish people will be kind to the earth."
Sasha: "I wish people will practice peace."
Hannah: "I wish people will be content with what they have."
Max W.: "I wish the world to have peace."
Samaya: "I wish all people will have love in their hearts."
Dani: "Believe in yourself to create a world you can live in."
Marina: "I hope everybody can be happy."
Ari: "Be Happy."
Max R.: "Be kind to the earth."
Tej: "I wish everyone can have happiness."
Fede: "I wish there were more sharing in the world."

Complete, this baby stands 7' 6" and is already installed in the lucky winning bidder's yard. I got a lot of positive feedback from people about this sculpture, which just made me want to make more. Maybe not quite so many parts. The possibilities are endless, really.

Now, what to do next year...

::Grateful::

I had a most delightful mother's day with my family. I was showered with love and affection. Did a two hour hike. Ate healthfully and enjoyed every moment of my day. 

I hope you moms out there did too..

{this moment}

A Friday ritual. A single photo, a single moment to savor and share. 

inspired by soulemama.com

 

 

2013 School Auction Project: Almost Done!

So long since I posted on this year's auction project! It's been a long, slow process. Largely because I'm slow going and there were some experimental phases to this project that added a bit of time. Also, working just two or three kids at a time in little chunks and not limiting how much time they invested in their piece made for a long beginning to what usually has a heavier back-end time investment. Glaze: so hard to predict if you aren't always working in this medium and have the glazes you love to work with right by your side. This part made me especially nervous that I might ruin the kid's beautiful pieces. They are still beautiful, though and I am really looking forward to seeing the next batch come out of the kiln tomorrow.

There is one major change to the piece, it's no longer going to be a fountain :( . I've never worked with this particular clay before and didn't look up the shrinkage rate. I estimated that it would shrink 13% - well it shrank more and my holes are too small for the water pipe. If I were really dedicated I could file out the holes the extra 1/4 inch I need. But I'm not that dedicated and I don't have that much time, but mostly I'm not that dedicated. It will still be pretty rockin' though.

Grateful: Max

Anyone who knows Max knows he loves animals. He started natural horsemanship riding lessons earlier this year. At the beginning of each lesson Max greets the horse with a "horsey handshake", he cleans their hoofs and gives them a good brushing. He loves his horseback riding lesson big time.

He may leave school feeling tired or down - spending an hour with the horses and his very sweet teacher is like magic. By the time we are on our way home he has forgotten all about how he was feeling before the lesson and just talks about the horses. It makes him happy. I feel really fortunate to be able to get him to that lesson every week. That makes me happy. Last week he had an extra long group lesson for the first time, it was almost four hours and he could have stayed longer.

Grateful for Horses. Grateful for sweet Max.