greeeeeeeeeeeen

happy st. patrick's day!

hahaha see an awesome video here
"who all seen the leprechaun say yeah!"

On a cold November afternoon of last year, 

I sat down in my (once upon a time) garden. 

I felt tears in my eyes.

It was gone. 

Our lush, green, personal jungle that we had worked so hard on, and spent so much time in....

gone. 

Wilted and frosted to the ground, limp and lifeless. 

No vegetables to offer.

No bees. 

No green.

Nothing.

Winter had been trying to take over for weeks,

and it had finally succeeded.

I hadn't been back there since. 

Until today. 

We have spent the last few afternoons warming our winter skin in the yard. 

Playing in the grass until the sun sinks lower into the sky (much later now!)

We decided to go back and take a peek. 

It's coming to life.

Mint. 

Oregano. 

Parsley. 

Slowly making their return.

A few tufts of grass. 

Some tiny baby weeds.

Life.

Green. 

Life.

We ripped up the ground cover. 

Pulled out the withered plants. 

The kids dug and dug and dug, oohing and aaaahhhing a worms. 

Dirt smudged faces, muddy fingers and toes.

We filled pots with warm, spring earth, 

and planted teeny tiny seeds, with wishes they would grow. 

Just a few simple herbs. 

To set in our window. 

And let winter know...

....we survived.

the end.

burrito bowls

This is one of my favorite go to meals--we have it at least once a week for lunch, and it's a perfect quick dinner--especially if you already have the rice cooked. 

\\

Burrito Bowls

-cooked brown rice

-black beans

-pepper jack cheese

-avocado

-salsa

-sour cream

-tortilla chips

....is that not the easiest thing you've ever made??

And the good thing is, you can mix it up. As spring and summer veggies come into season, you throw them in too. 

-zucchini

-tomatoes

-corn

-potatoes....really, anything goes.

enjoy!! 

I'd love to hear if you have a favorite, quick go-to meal...

over the weekend.....

....it was quiet. it was nice.

we ate pizza.

we read.

we stood out in the sunshine and declared it to be spring.

we raked. 

snipped.

pruned. 

played. 

took off our shoes, and grass stained our knees.

we liked it.

the end.

friday senses

Eating: 

Chicken and Bulgur Stew

Bulgur wheat makes chicken soup a bit more hearty....this soup is thick and lemony and a favorite comfort food of ours. Bulgur can be found in the bulk section of health food stores.

1 small onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 medium carrots, sliced

2 celery stalks, diced

10 cups chicken stock*

juice of two small lemons

2 chicken breast**

1 cup bulgur wheat (use less if you want it to be more "soupy" rather than thick and stew-like)

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried basil

s&p to taste

chopped parsley to top it off

Saute onion, carrots, and celery in a large pot with a bit of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook a few minutes more. Add remaining ingredients, and bring soup to a low boil, and then reduce heat and let simmer for a few hours. 

*My chicken stock was homemade, and was already very well seasoned with herbs and spices. If you're using canned stock, you may have to add a bit more of your favorite dried herbs.

**If you want a quick soup, add cooked chicken to your soup, and simmer for 30 minutes or so to let the flavors combine.

Top with fresh chopped parsley and enjoy!

look at those adorable hands.

Laughing at: Arrested Development. Watching the three seasons over and over and over never gets old.

Seeing: green grass!!! It's poking up everywhere.

Hearing: Ingrid is singing me lullabies right now. The kids' favorite song this week is 1983 (hey, that's when I was born, and I'm sure that's how my parents dressed.)

Smelling: a breeze. we opened up the windows yesterday.

Tasting: Robby brought me home more Ruby Snap cookies....I cannot get enough.

Feeling: Sweat drip down my forehead, and rolling off the tip of my nose as I worked off every last bite of Tartine this week. It felt awesome.

Reading: Just about done with Catching Fire. Moving on to Mockingjay over the weekend.

Wishing: The littles will sleep in this weekend......fingers crossed.

Loving:  A trip to the zoo on a warm spring day. 

Craving: Watermelon. The kind with seeds. So we can spit them in the summer grass.

Anticipating: We had a 60° day yesterday....looking forward to more! The girl asked when we can run through the sprinklers.

feel free to play along in the comments!

Happy Weekend!

book talk and some photos

I know I know. I owe you a big wordy healthy living post. 

I sat down to write one and....got super distracted. 

I'm finally reading the book series that everyone has been talking about for years.

(um, Hunger Games, etc, not Twilight....ew)

(please don't send me hate mail for not liking twilight)

(please also know I think Edward is booooooring)

(I think I just lost half my readers)

I read the first last week, and I'm now on the second and in no time I'll be on number three (which I hear is not so good...?)

So instead you're getting a bunch of photos, taken out the car window as we drove down I-80. 

The famous Bonneville Salt Flats. 

I can't tell you how crazy eerie it is out there, especially during a sporadic sunset rainstorm.

happy thursday.

the art of doing nothing

an art I have mastered.

Yesterday.

I should have cleaned my closet.....I curled up on my bed and read. 

I should have folded the mountain of laundry that is piling up and threatening an avalanche that will burry my children in mismatched socks.....I feel asleep on my bed, after I read of course.

I thought about making chicken noodle soup with homemade noodles.......I threw some waffles together while I was on the phone.

I should have made the kids pick up their rooms.....but we read an extra chapter in our book.

I should have given the dog a bath.....but....well....I just didn't want to.

I looked at some recipes trying to decide what to make--cookies? muffins? granola?.........we had a handful of trail mix instead.

I should have got into a crazy spring cleaning mood and scrubbed my baseboards......but who does that?

I wanted to be productive......or did I?

I thought about maybe, possibly, regretting not getting much done.....but then I didn't.

phew.

what didn't you do?

(it kinda feels good getting it all out in the open:)

a day in the city

The city: San Francisco

The weather: perfect. 60°. yellow sandals. light sweater. 

The company: He wore a blue sweatshirt. I like him.

The food: where to begin....

-Pamplemousse in Redwood City. This place is adorable and right next to my Dr's office....we will for sure find ourselves there again.

-Tony's. My mouth is watering as I think about this place. I wish I would have ordered a months worth of meals to bring home and freeze. If you find yourself there, be sure to order the baked burrata--burrata is like mozzarella--it was baked with pesto and sundried tomatoes, and then spread over crusty toasted bread and prosciutto....yes. Re-read that, and think about it for a while. It was amazing. The pizza itself was  perfectly cooked--we were right by the oven--and then immediately brought out to us, hot, chewy, perfect.

-Dottie's True Blue Cafe: This place comes with several warnings. 1: Be prepared to wait outside in line for about an hour.
This place is gooooooood, and everyone knows about it--and they only seat 40.

 2. Be prepared to wait outside on one of the stinkiest streets of San Francisco, where homeless men will yell at you and throw their trash in the street.
3. This breakfast is so big, and so awesome, you will be full  for days. Weeks. Sooooo good. We got to sit at the counter and watched in amazement at how quickly the cooks worked in their tiny kitchen. Seriously worth the stinky wait.

-The famous Tartine. I have been dying to go here forever, and I must say it did not disappoint. We had planned on stuffing ourselves with one of their amazing sandwiches and dessert, but we were still feeling the food coma from Dotties, so we did what anyone else would have done in our situation.....we had dessert for dinner instead. I can't wait to get back and try more....one of everything is my ultimate goal.

The doctor: (just joining us? read here )We love my doctor. He is very relaxed, and reminds us a bit of Jimmy Fallon. A super genius Jimmy Fallon who's trying hard to fix me. He was really excited about my progress, and I get to take a break from 3 of the 4 antibiotics I've been on for the past year (hooray!), and load up on a bunch of supplements, magic potions and brews. He's pinpointed some co-infections that tend to go hand in hand with Lyme, and we are now targeting those.....we have found a new path and I like where it's taking me. 

The adventures: We really just love to set out with no plans (except for the food, which is calculated out crumb by crumb), and wander. Friday night we explored the streets, and got our glute workout on those crazy San Francisco hills. Saturday we roamed the park, made our way up to Coit Tower, and hit the farmer's market.

The photos:

the end.

see more san francisco here

reality...

It's really hard to come back from a place where:

-you can wear sandals

-colorful fruits, vegetables, and flowers are happily growing. In the ground. And you can buy them. And eat them...mmm

-the farmer's market runs year round and you don't have to wait until June.

-everything is green, and not dead

-there are blossoms on trees

-you can drive with your window down

-temperatures that start with a 6....a SIX!! (61°!)

......

It's not fair, is it?

....more soon. 

this is the most torturous post, promise.

happy weekend!!

I'm featured over on Collected Blog today! 

check it out HERE

Happy Weekend!

winter to spring

spring 2010

Now I realize that it's not officially spring. 

I know that we will still have snowstorms, freezing temperatures, and doubts that spring--let alone summer--will ever come. 

But hey....it's March!! Which to me means that I defeated another winter. 

I took a short run around the neighborhood last night and couldn't help but notice spring everywhere. 

The sun was shining, bouncing of my white legs, (I was in SHORTS!) and blinding innocent bystanders.

There was a slight warmth to the chilled air, and an orangey pink hue to the sun that was setting.

Summer colors. 

 I could smell grass. 

dirt. 

and mud. 

Snow piles were melting into the streets, and sidewalks were bare.

Quails, robins, and birds of the blue variety were dotting lawns, trees, and power lines. 

Tiny yappy dogs ran out on the street to chase me, and tiny yappy dogs don't come outside in the winter. 

So it must be spring. 

the library.

the end.