Snow days.. yes in southern CA

This weekend the boys and I headed to the mountains.. (about a 45 min trip from the beach) The sky was blue, the sun was shining and there was about 5 to 6 inches of snow on the ground.  A beautiful sight! This was our first trip to Mt. Laguna. Why, I dont know? But, believe me we will be going back. We already have a list of things we could have used.. waterproof gloves.. would have been a good choice!
We took our boogie board as this is the only sledding device we have..  however, we did see some people with plastic laundry baskets. Which actually work really well!
It was so nice to walk around the forest and explore with the boys. Not to mention the sledding brought back some really fun memories for me! Growing up in VA in the winter we had some really fun sledding days! Super cold though.. But warming up to a nice cup of hot cocoa with the icing on the cake!  This trip we did not have a cocoa, but we did eat lunch by the fire in a little restaurant called The Eagle and Bear Cafe.  The food was filling. And lucky for me they had a vegan White Bean and Kale soup. It warmed me right up!
So if you are up in the Laguna Mountains stop by.. I understand it is under new management.

wow - where does the time go.....

here is a glance at what has been going on...

Luis and Mary

The past couple of weeks have been really busy! I am excited to show you some pics of this amazing couple and their family I got to photograph on New Years Eve day.  They have both been married before, and have children of their own. The love that they show for each other warmed my heart! They are genuine and truly lovely. We had such a fun time, they are full of laughs and love! Congrats

Welcome Baby Abigal!

Yes, we had a new baby join daycare.  Three 6 month olds! They are so sweet together.  So much fun to watch them interact. They are so curious especially with the hair. Boy do babies love to pull hair! Not just my hair but each others hair and sometimes their own hair. It is fascinating.

New Years and Black-Eyed Peas - 2012

Well, being from Virginia I have been brought up on the tradition of eating Black-eyed peas every New Years day for good luck. Now, as the years have past and I have children of my own, I still do this tradition. I dont do the traditional recipe with Black-eyed peas called  Hoppin John with involves cooking the peas with a hamhock. This year I did a couple of different things: A Vegetarian style "Hoppin John" and  a black bean and black-eyed pea salad. Both Delicious!

I am sure some of you know already, but I though I would share, what I know to be the origin of this tradition: It has been said that eating black-eyed peas for luck dates back to the Civil War. General Sherman thought them to be a humble crop and would not steal them as he did with corn, collards and other crops. Perhaps this was the luck of the pea as it became a major food source. 

Now, not being a superstitious person, I still find that year after year I continue to eat this savory little bean on New years day. In a conversation with my brother on New Years day he has decided not to eat the bean and see how his luck goes. I think he is going to do fine beans or no beans! I wish him and everyone the best in 2012!! May you all prosper in what makes you happy

For those interested, I am including my recipes for Vegetarian Hoppin John and Black Bean and Black-eyed pea salad:

Vegetarian Hoppin John

Ingredients

2 cups dried black-eyed peas, rinsed 
1 medium yellow onion, chopped 
1 teaspoon dried thyme 
1 cup uncooked long grain rice 
2 strips tempeh bacon, chopped 
1 medium green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped 
Pinch of cayenne pepper 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
Ground black pepper to taste 
Tabasco (optional)

Method

Put black-eyed peas into a large bowl, cover with water and set aside for 6 hours or overnight. 

Drain black-eyed peas, then transfer to a large pot. Add 6 cups clean water, onions and thyme and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until black-eyed peas are tender but still whole, about 45 minutes. Add rice, tempeh bacon, peppers, cayenne, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Season with Tabasco, if you like. Ladle into bowls and serve.

Black Bean and Black-Eyed Pea Salad

INGREDIENTS:

2 cans corn or one bag frozen and thawed
1 can black beans
1 can black-eyed peas
1 red onion chopped
1 bunch cilantro
2 Tbs olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all together and chill.

Next Time will have photos! So good did not have time to take!

Enjoy

What are your Intentions?

It seems that the year just started.. 2011 that is. I cant believe that it is ending... R u ready for 2012?  have you set your intentions for the New Year?  I am setting my intentions with in myself. Trying to find more peace, to live more simply, and always to do better than the day before.  How about you? Comments section is below!

Cant wait to hear from you!

Ocean Beach Pier

Well here in Ocean Beach..OB as we call it, the fog has just rolled in and boy is it cold! Well maybe not really cold, but for us weather wimps its pretty darn cold.
However, during the daytime it is quite lovely! The sun is normally out and it is usually around 65 degrees this time of year.  However, the past couple of days it has been really warm. Brining out more people to the beach. I took the children for a walk on the pier and we were trying to see if we could see Daddy surfing... later to learn he went to Mission Beach to surf..... Anyway, here is what we saw.. 

6 Months!

where does the time go? The babies are getting bigger! Grace and Paxton are 6 months now! They are so fun to watch rolling all over. Sitting up and trying to push themselves up to crawl.  I love my work. To be able to see these amazing wee ones grow is a real treasure!

Humphreys Family Photo Shoot

what a great time I had with the Humphreys! They are super enthusiastic and photogenic! A great combination!  It turned out to be a great day at Liberty Station for the shoot.

Waldorf Education

 rolling beeswax candles

 knitting

 making lanterns for lantern walk

 lanterns

 stories

 writing

/

classroom tasks

As some of you may know I am a huge fan of Waldorf Education. Our oldest son attended the mixed age kindergarten at the Waldorf School of San Diego in 2009. And we loved it.  I am grateful for the year he had there and for the families I met. In 2010 we switched schools to a more main stream school, this however, was not quite the fit for our family at that time. Since we have been lucky enough to have found the Sparrow school http://nuasparrow.org . So far it amazing and they pull from Steiner (waldorf).  We are lucky to have an amazing teacher who is doing the Waldorf teacher training as well.  Check it out and let me know what you think!