lazy days

Just checking in for the week. I have the chance to teach a friend about vegan lifestyle and particular getting more protein in her diet. She isnt vegan but her diet lacks variety. One of the great things about my lifestyle is it never has to be boring. I let it get that way, but I think we all have our ruts we get in.

Tonight we are just making a pasta dish, but I hope to have some good posts, reminiscent of vegan mofo's consistent posts.

Sweet dreams :)

While we were out snowboarding the kids went to the snowmobiles.
Here we are with the girls after ice skating for a few hours. 
This is frosty, they were doing a movie of some kind and asked us to skate around with frosty.
But instead while frosty was skating backwards and Jerami was spinning the girls on the sled... Frosty got tripped up!
And here I am.. yes doesnt this look graceful? I fell 2 seconds later!! :) 

We forgot to bring cameras during the snowboarding. But it really happened! I was able to get up on the board, not heel side like I tried last time.. but toeside instead. We went for about six hours or so while the kids were off snowmobiling with the grandparents. I had to snowboard backwards most of the time.. which I was totally fine with, I just couldnt seem to get control while going down faced forward. I started to feel that my shoes were too small, and I ended up walking down one of the longer runs.. Maybe I walke 1.5 to 2 miles? I did however stop and sit down when there was a pretty spot to enjoy the view.

We had a great trip, and some friends came out to ski while we were snow boarding. What a fun weekend! Hope you enjoyed the pictures, I found my camera!!! yay!

Where did I put my camera??

I just have to gush for a minute about VeganDad. We had his winter vegetable pot pie, and this is our third time this year to have it!! I really am so impressed with his blog and the hard work he is doing making great food. I dont have the culinary ambitions that he has, but I hope to add a good collection of wonderful recipes like his to my great endeavor of cooking for the kids.
did that make sense? It IS 630 am as I write this!!!
Anyway I cant find my camera. If you know me, then you will know that in one word FLAKE describes me best. My best friend from college says my life quote is "where is MINE" since I am always losing things... ha ha ha ha
(maybe its also cause I am a little spoiled hee hee)
So today our weather is FREEZING.. yesterday though it was 12 degrees we had a wind factor of -9!
We are heading to a place called poor richards, that has a play area, coffee shop, and toy store all rolled together. Susan has been trying to spend the money in her piggy bank... so here is the chance. Its supposed to have some great vegan options, and I am feeling a bit adventurous.
This weekend we are going to Keystone and I am hoping to get up "heelside" on the snow board, I had such a hard time on that last time..
But most of all today I want to BEG you to read.. please please please... go get "the time traveler's wife" by Audrey Niffenegger.
I read it and wanted to see if she has written anything else, and when I googled it I saw they are making a movie out of it.
I think it will be like the notebook, and not just because Rachel is playing the leading woman!!
If you have read it, will you let me know what you thought??
I am still suffering from time travel envy.. lol

Where have you been?

You know, I want to say.. though I may not be posting much, I do still enjoy reading your blogs! Thanks for the kind nudge to get back.
So what is new?
Well, I am 29! Yes this really is the first time being 29 and I dont feel so old that want to "be 29 again, next year."
But I did however wake up with a horrible viral thing that made me think I was on the fast track to being ninety. I had sore joints all over and a weird rash on my joints. Luckily they blasted me with prednizone for five days and I feel better.
What else is new? Well I am glad you ask... I got my cholesterol down to 170... from 205 in July. I worked really hard, you know.. making great vegan meals and cupcakes.. it was such an effort, I cant imagine how anyone could live like this.. okay so I am kidding!! Anyone could choose to live like this.
Now, its not ALL pretty here. I did try to make a seitan loaf and it was a big flop! I dont know if I did something wrong, but I know I didnt follow vegan dad's way... so I am not giving up yet.
So now I am trying to figure out what to do next. And that is why I am quiet. I am sorry. I am looking into lots of books, on arthritis, on heart disease and on cancer. All things that are in my family and I am predisposed to. I feel like after giving my cholesterol the old 1-2-punch, that I want to tackle other things.
We are also looking at maybe getting a house, and I dont know if I will blog about that... I guess it does go along with how we are growing.
Lastly, I want to say that I got a cute pair of peacock earrings that I saw on a fantastic blog I LOVE. It makes me feel a little bit connected even though I know I have been in hiding.
So here is to "more to come".

If you want help with your cholesterol with out living off cheerios I would love to help. Even if you do still occasionally eat meat, I would love to help!!

Merry Happy Chrismachanakwanzica

With so many of us celebrating our diversity and individual beliefs I didnt want to leave any on out! We have been very busy here. I promise to add my photos soon. Today I just wanted to wish you well. I hope today you do only what you want and what you must and that you enjoy those that you get to be with and dont miss too badly those that cant be there. I hope if you asked Santa for something special that you got it, or if you had something extra that you could share it with someone else in need.
I hope what ever meal graces your table that it is a meal you can be proud of.

Did I steal a post from YOUR blog

So often I enjoy finding great blogs and reading them. Is it becuase I can relate or because they make me feel normal, maybe they inspire me to go a little further???

This one just makes me laugh.. in a .. yeah me too isnt that funny sort of way. So I stole this from a great blog and here it is:

If I only have 30 seconds before I have to leave the house in the morning, and I have the choice of:
a. pouring a travel mug of coffee so I can function in my community
b. putting on makeup to hide the sagging bags under my eyes
c. making sure my kids are not dressed like orphans
d. making the beds

I'm choosing D hands down.
Now do you think I'm nuts? Huh? Now do ya?

http://www.confessionsofametromama.blogspot.com/

my meals cant keep up with my camera

Burnt cookies (set a timer why dont you!!)
How yould you like it if a house fell on you? (our trip to the Oz Museum in Kansas)
Natalie Decorating the dyed vegan sugar cookies... (Yes sadly the icing isnt vegan.. with the margarine in the background.. But the cookies were so awful we didnt mind wasting margarine to ice them.. they will just hang on the Christmas tree)
Susan doing the deco. She looks so big here. I cant wait to get a recipe we love and make this a new tradition!
the world famous vegan zucchini bread from ppk. I finally got a bundt pan and isnt it beautiful? I still had some uncooked parts, but it was dark and I didnt want it burnt. Any suggestion?

On to my regular rantings etc....
So this week (well five days) we have been hitting the gym everyday. It was kinda easy when Jerami was home on Mon Tues and Weds.. we went in the a.m. or early afternoon. I kinda got dependent on him to be there and do things like put the girls coats in the cubbies and get my towel.. so when I went in on friday I had to keep back tracking because I forgot everything. Its been a week of great work outs but I am so tired and sore.. honestly, it seems like so much work for such little reward. I will remind myself of this pity party once I go down a size or increase my weights for strength training!

Anyhow, we have been living on smoothies and steamed veggies and occasional salad. That is until tonight. We picked up our 20 pounds of apples and 25 pounds of carrots (for juicing) and had a wonderful spaghetti dinner and I had a FANTASTIC salad with the miso and tahini dressing from Veganomicon.. I will even post the recipe!!

1/4 c miso (light but I used dark)

1/4 c tahini

1/3 c warm water.... whisk and tada! It was so amazingly delicious. Maybe I was just starving.

I will be making the baby bok choy again this week and will have that posted. I have been busy with work, work outs.. and working on posting things on craigslist for sale.. that I apolgize about my posting and lack of... I have also missed reading your blogs.. I should get them delivered to my email!

Hope you are all doing fantastic, Melanie