As far as my Art and Jewelry goes

I have stopped taking bellydance classes for now. It was fun but I think a little pricey for what I got out of it. I am no dancer!

I have re opened my etsy shop.
I find that when my older son is in school, my younger son is very compliant to play on his side of my studio with his art stuff while I make jewelry. I have been able to get so much more done. I need another outlet, I only have things at the gallery and on etsy. so once I build etsy back up, and have alot on hand, I will have to search out other galleries and shops for another place to sell.

There are a few things which have been bothering me which I will not write here in case the wrong people happen upon my words.

I have been working at the gallery on Sundays for more than a year and soon I think I will be working Thursdays also. I am so grateful for the job! and the opportunity to sell my jewelry here.

I have a new artistic interest though. glass. I haven't tried anything with it yet, but I have read and watched videos and learned quite a bit. I understand how to operate my kiln to work with glass now. I have on order the items I need to fuse glass into a mold to make my own "gems"
with these "gems" I will make PMC works of art! I have high hopes that this turns into something I enjoy and can make into beautiful pieces. otherwise I will have to eat $55 in materials and chalk it up to "I tried".
so as far as this new endeavor you will have to come back in a couple of weeks to see how it all worked out. until then check out my etsy shop - click on the widget on the right of your screen.

Long time no post

Well I am at work right now and have some time to post. My photos are all on my desktop computer at home though so wordy post here we come.

First, garden update

we have been harvesting and eating
cabbage
onions
corn
tomatoes (big red ones and little yellow ones and little red ones)
cucumbers
lettuce
spinach
squash
zuccini(sp)
a beet is ready (haven't picked it yet though)
green beans
broccoli

have yet to harvest
jalapenos (any day now though)
green pepper (any day now, they sure are pretty)
carrots (it will be a while)
cantaloupe (we shall see it will be a while)

The bugs are crazy! the worms that got on the broccoli made me not want to eat it! they were small and the same color as the broccoli, there was no way to be sure I wasn't eating worm!
small black bugs are on the corn (just saw them yesterday)
there are some beetles out there though they haven't devastated anything yet.
If we leave the tomatoes out there long enough to get red they are destroyed (I think by birds) so we have to let them ripen on the countertop.

I am not a fan of pesticides but will use them every now and then to keep the bugs to a minimum.
It is time to plant the fall crops, or soon will be. some space in the garden just opened up where the cabbage was and where the broccoli and spinach was. I think all these can be grown during colder months too, and guess what - in colder months bugs won't be such a problem.
we just weeded the garden again, finally got a day that wasn't scorching hot.

Garden is going good this year, hopefully we can maintain it year round!

cabbage and Lantana

our cabbage is gorgeous - I am fighting the caterpillars for ownership!


Lantanas are still doing wonderfully!

They're heeeeeeeerrrrrr!!

the day I have been dreading since beginning my garden, the day the caterpillars show up!
they are eating my broccoli leaves and my cabbage leaves. I don't really want to put pesticides on my edibles, and if I didn't try something less toxic quick, R would have had them covered in seven dust already. And that could still happen if my homemade insecticide doesn't work.

I have tons of cayenne peppers in the freezer left over from the garden last year, I never got around to making hot sauce. so I made a mixture of cayenne - garlic- veg oil - and soap and water - I sprayed my veggies real good tonight, so tomorrow will tell if it is gonna be a seven dust alternative.

what to believe

Its crazy how many differing "opinions" there are for what is good for you. sure some things are generally accepted - fried food = bad and fast food = bad
but I have seen conflicting articles on Agave (xagave) being just as bad as HFC or the best sweetener you could use. Chocolate is hailed as a super food in a book I just got, and there are ppl on the internet now claiming that raw Cacao is toxic.
Meat = good or bad
dairy and butter = good or bad.
vegetarian,
vegan,
raw
what is the right path?
Then there is the fact that we don't even really know how our food is produced. you have documentaries out there like Food Inc. demonizing businesses and big farmers for their farming methods, which are atrocious, but the gov't subsidizing corn is just as atrocious, it causes the cows to be fed a non natural diet of corn fostering e-coli. which gets spread to organic food.
Soy used to be god of food, now ppl are avoiding it because it is genetically engeneered to be more productive. which feeds more people. Is it bad for you?

then there is ornanic vs non organic. I don't like the idea of introducing chemicals into my body but in growing my own garden I realize how devastating it is to wake up in the morning to your crop eaten overnight.

what is right?
I like that I have a garden and can't wait for it to be productive.

Raw Honey

I have been waiting for SO long (since fall) to get some raw honey. it tastes so much better than the sweet gooey stuff from the market which has been pasteurized and all the enzymes are dead.
So walking downtown at the Azalea Festival this morning there was a local honey seller, he assured me his honey had not been heated at all, and it was from South Carolina - local enough for me.
I can't wait to get home and try some! Every jar you buy has a unique taste depending on the type of flower the bees visit and the time of year. Honey can be exciting!

Update

I really should post pics but I am at work and can't right now.
We recently (about 3 days ago) re-planted our carrots, beets (only 4 came up), and cantaloupe. I hope they sprout this time.
Our Cabbage, Spinach, broccoli, Onion and Lettuce look fabulous, getting big and lush. I hate to report we had to sprinkle with 7 dust already they were beginning to get eat, by something and the ants were beginning to take over! well we spread it and it rained within 24 hours - so it is all wash off now and the bugs are gone for now.
I hate not growing organic, but I also hate putting so much work into something for it to be destroyed overnight! I am gonna plant some marigolds to repel bugs and hopefully keep the pesticide treatments to a minimum! I am not putting pesticide on my herbs, for a couple of reasons, 1- you eat the herb directly (not like carrot where you pesticide the leaves and eat the roots) makes sense in my head anyway) alsoo I really haven't had much issue with my herbs getting eaten by bugs, I don't know why but they just don't bother my herbs.
speaking of which my chives came back with a vengence, they are awesome! My oregano is gonna take over my side garden - literally, they are spreading alot each year! my basil came back really pretty, and my rosemary looks pathetic but did come back - I hope it decides to flourish.
back to garden stuff though, our squash (planted last week) have 4 leaves each now and growing fast! and we have itty bitty tomatoes starting on one of the tomato bushes. Gonna go to the herb farm and get a roma tomato plant tomorrow - haven't been able to find them yet, but shelton was down at the Azalea festival and had some, but I want to get more herbs so tomorrow we shop! My pickled squash from last year is gone - NOOOOOO! I am looking forward to making some more!

garden update

this week we have noticed sprouts in the garden, everything except canteloupe, carrots and (I am not sure about the sugar snaps, something is there but may be weeds) There are alot of weed sprouts and being unable to distinguish between them and some plants I can't pull them. It seems to be taking a long time for actual plants to be out there, but that is probably me just being impatient. It hasn't rained much so we have had to water with the hose. I am gonna start some more canteloupe seeds in the house, my hills keep wearing down exposing the seeds, I have seen two with sprouts.
We did plant tomatoes last week, (its a bit early, but it will be OK if we protect them from any cold nights)

squirrels and no sprouts

I don't understand why we have so many squirrels around this year. I have caught them digging in my mint out front and in the garden. My dog will chase them off but she is so spoiled all she wants to do is be inside so that isn't much use to me.

I haven't seen anything in my garden sprout yet, maybe I am just being impatient but it seems like it has been long enough, and we have been watering everyday. It hasn't been raining, though it is supposed to today, I hope so - too chilly to be out playing anyway, I like mid 70's not low 60's.

The past three days

I have eaten horribly! I ate about 4 slices of dominos pizza tuesday night before bellydance class. I did it for the sake of feeding the kids easily before leaving them with grandma at dinner time, and I just went ahead and partook. then yesterday we did a big grocery shop in which we did a wonderful job not buying anything processed mostly veggies. so last night hubby wanted to make pierogies stuffed with butternut squash. Tell ya what, they were yummy, but he fried them in butter, not the olive oil I would have used. So today, my mom calls and asked us to come over, she had brownies (yup I ate one). she sent me home with a plate of food she got from church. it contained fried corn bread, black eyed peas, lasagna, rice with gravy, potato salad.
out of convienence (I mean come on it was in my hands) I ate the lasagna rice, potatoes,
Hubby made a fruit salad for desert which we put whipped cream on top.
Oh and last night I enjoyed sangria hubby made from fresh fruit and some nice wine which was on serious sale at Harris Teeter.

I had gotten down to 116 lbs, now I have put a bit back on from the past few days. And I have noticed a difference in my energy level on my treadmill workout in the mornings, not as fun to run when the body is screaming NOOOOO, but I pushed through.

OK now that I have confessed I will get back on the healthy train.

We planted yesterday!

the items highlighted in green are not planted yet
the items highlighted in yellow we are either baby plants or seeds planted yeasterday.
if you click the picture it is big!



Newly annexed garden. we added about 3 feet back and the section where that trailor was sitting. its adds alot!


Last year I didn't mark things, so I made markers this year with popsicle sticks and a sharpie.

yesterday we put down some Miracle Grow plant food - it should feed for 3 months

felt we needed it since this is the third year for our garden, I don't know how much nutrients have been sucked out of the soil.

just a quick post about jalapenos

I LOVE jalepenos! I hate the fact that I buy them from the grocery store right now and they taste like nothing - no heat, no flavor! They were probably harvested early in Mexico and shipped here. At any rate I can't wait until I have my own again! (right now the only way to get any flavor is to buy them in a jar, not fresh)

What I planted today

Hubby and I went to the local herb farm and purchased some spinach babies, some mixed lettuce babies, and went to walmart and got some onion babies. along with many seeds. I planted all the babies in the garden today though 3/6.

so now in the garden I have spinach, lettuce (actually in a pot), cabbage, broccoli, onion,

I got my boys a "wonder egg" plant - it is basically a decorative eggplant, I think you can eat the tiny fruits though. They will enjoy taking care of it though.

I need to take out all of my saved seeds and see if I can get them to sprout.

South East North Carolina - what to plant NOW

This is a list of veggies I can plant in my planting zone right NOW before it is too late
On my list is suggested varieties too - I will note what I use when I plant it.
This list is just for my personal reference

Beets ______2-1 / 4-1 _____8-15 / 9-15
Broccoli ____2-1 / 3-15 _____8-1 / 9-15
Cabbage ____1-15 / 3-15 ____8-15 / 10-1
Carrots _____1-15 / 3-1 ____8-1 / 8-15
Kale _______2-1 / 3-15 ____9-1 / 10-15
Leaf Lettuce__2-1 / 3-15 ____9-1 / 10-15
Head Lettuce__2-1 / 3-15
Mustard_____1-15 / 3-15 ___8-15 / 10-1
Onion Sets____1-15 / 3-1
Garden Peas___1-15 / 3-1
Irish Potato____2-15 / 4-1
Rutabaga_____1/15 / 3-1 ____8-15 / 10-1
Spinach______1/15 / 3-1 ____8-15 / 10-1

Asparagus (2 years to mature - I am not that patient)
Turnip ___not planting these - i don't like them__
Radish " "
Cauliflower " "

Pics of the Carrots mentioned in previous post

Hubby working on tiller - it didn't want to work, but he finally got it.
this pic shows the carrots before harvesting them, and the garden before tilling it.

Carrot tops - still in ground



this is all of them - dirty

and then rinsed



and then with the tops cut off ready for real cleaning

pretty huh - they were a bit tart but still sweet at the same time, very edible

My Garden

Last week hubby tilled up the garden for the upcoming season. but first I pulled up all the carrots which have been there since spring of last year. I pulled up alot of carrots and they were huge and mutated looking. I brought them in and washed them off and my kids and hubby ate them as I got them clean. what they didn't munch on got sliced in the food processor and frozen for stews and such. there were alot and I will edit a photo in probably tomorrow, I am not on my desktop where my photos are.
so anyway end of Feb. garden is tilled and ready.
we will be putting broccoli and cabbage in the ground today.

Eat Your Veggies

Growing up, my parents both worked and my dad was in charge of dinners. Me and my Brother would get home from school and either play outside or watch TV until dinnertime. My dad would get home at 4:30 and immediately start t dinner every night. He always made sure it was ready and on the table by 5:30 when my mom got home. I have to say it was almost never nutritious, but bless his heart he made sure we ate together every night.
One night we would have kraft macaroni and cheese (thats it), another night it would be Chef Boy R Dee spaghetti out of a box. the next night it would be polska kielbasa with green peppers onions and yellow saffron rice. I don't remember what the other nights were but there wasn't alot of variety. I can remember anytime something unusual showed up me and my brother weren't very appreciative of the variation from routine. And every Friday night we went out to the Cafeteria for dinner.
Needless to say when I went to college I gained a bit of weight, my metabolism wasn't working for me anymore and I was clueless about nutrition, I didn't know how bad that huge slice of chocolate cake was for me or all that soda I was drinking, I never had to really think about it before. But when my dad mentioned I was gaining weight - well I hadn't even noticed. That shocked the bejeezus out of me, how do you put on 20 lbs and not know it. That is when I started learning. I got that weight off (not the healthy way), but it stayed off until pregnancy. I had learned that I needed to watch my portion sizes and exercise. It was fun watching the pounds go, and not too difficult (I had the help of xenadrine at the time too - man that stuff worked and gave me energy to boot!)
I have tried to go meatless many times, but always sunk back to my old processed food and meat ways.
My reasons for going meatless was simply I felt that my habits were using meat as a main course and the veggies come secondary. This always felt backwards.
Now I am at a place where it makes sense to me that if I want maximum energy I need the food most closely associated with the sun's energy. That is plants. why do I really want my energy from a middle man - the animal who consumes the plant when I can just go to the source.
I may still take a bite of the animal stuff I make for my family, but never more than a bite to see if I cooked it good and animal protein is still good for you, just not in large quantities.

I have stores and stores of energy now, I feel amazing almost like I did when I was taking xenadrine - only this is purely natural!

Going back to my childhood eating habits, I have never tried more than a handful of veggies, there are over 30,000 edible plants out there, and I have tried maybe 30.

It is my goal to try a new veggie (or edible plant) each week if I can.

I am gonna make a list of my dislikes here - because there are some plants I just can't stand.....

celery
turnip
brussel sprouts
coconut (its the texture)
radish

and I recently tried parsnip (the jury is still out on that one)

I have recently made and eaten artichoke and love it!
and I have recently started eating raw broccoli - its good I am really getting used to it raw

I am eating alot more raw foods, again I feel like I am getting untainted energy as close from the sun as possible. and I feel wonderful for it.

food porn

I just wanted to share some pics of what I have been grubbing on lately, I have been enjoying my diet greatly over the past couple of weeks.

I couldn't decide on just one photo so here are several of the same dish...
I sauteed zuccini and broccoli in Olive Oil, black pepper, and garlic.
put that on a flour tortilla with tomatoes, red bell pepper, and cilantro.
so yummy!

next ....

I wanted something sweet
so we have banana drizzled (ok doused) with agave cocoa sauce and dabbed with AllFruit spreadable fruit (strawberry) and sprinkled with powdered sugar - it was OK but not OMFG great!



Then I wanted to try another wrap, still having a sweet tooth, my body was really craving pineapple....This was spectacular!
On top of a sundried tomato tortilla I put pineapple slices, avocado slices, green bell pepper, raisins, cilantro and jalapenos. drizzled with tamari
so good!

next....

I felt I was needing more protein so I tried some Quinoa (Not sure of spelling here) I had never tried it before, it looks kinda creepy, but tastes fine.I mixed in raw carrots, cucumber, cilantro, mushroom, raisins, and nutritional yeast.
I put the mixture on a steamed cabbage leaf.
I unfortunately had to put salad vinegar on top, the cabbage just wasn't edible to me otherwise, not a huge fan. but a satisfying, healthy meal in the end.


I made this pizza for my child, he ate it all up....
Next I used portabella mushrooms as my "meat"
I was craving pasta, really badly, so I cooked up some noodles, sauteed some portabella mushrooms in olive oil, black pepper, garlic, then plopped in some onion to saute with those drippings and added tamari. I put that along with fresh tomato, cilantro, raisins on top of my noodles.

I have to say one thing, I never thought warm food in one's mouth could be so very satisfying. I have been eating cold food here lately and wow, warm to hot food was magical!
This dish definitely hit the spot.

and tonight for dinner I tried something new, the food itself wasn't new but how I served my children was. I simply put alot of cut veggies on a large serving platter, and had tortillas handy, had a small saucer of pork from the chinese restaurant handy if they wanted some, and a small dish of sweet and sour sauce and a dish of green goddess salad dressing right handy for dipping. I called them to the table and said "go for it" and they ate quite well. here is the pic of my platter. It was devoured!


In this platter, sauteed portabella mushrooms, sauteed onion, fresh Orange slices, fresh spinach, fresh cucumber, fresh carrot, fresh tomato

dinner last night

I have to write this down before I forget how wonderful it was.
I took a sundried tomato flavor tortilla and filled it with raw pineapple, cilantro, raisins, avacado, and green pepper strips, sprinkled a tiny bit of tamari on top, wrapped and enjoyed, it was fabulous!

It's a New Year

A little late for New Years resolutions, but who needs em to change for the better.
2009 was a terrible year in many ways, way too stressful, I see better times ahead, I feel more optimistic than I have in a long while.

Last year I did not keep up with logging my gardening activities very well. I want to use this journal to document dates, and procedures so i will know how to make my garden even better the next year.

I have enjoyed the jarred squash all winter, I gave some away as gifts, I call my squash from last summer a success! I got a pressure cooker for christmas, I am looking forward to being able to can some things I couldn't before. Like tomatoes.

My eating habits have gotten bad, I will snack on things like "goldfish", or cheezits, or cookies, and I over eat almost every night. I strive to make yummy dishes for my family, and I succeed, I cook good now. But I am a little bored with what I make, almost always the same veggies, meat and spices. Plus I cannot lose the 15 pounds I have wanted to llose for the past year. I am not fat, I just find the muffin top belly pudge to be uncomfortable, and I hate my double chin since when I gain weight it goes straight to my face. Anyway I have a friend who eats raw food often, I am seriously intrigued by this, it is not something I have ever considered, but it is quite a bit more complicated it is much like cooking without heat. Problem is when you find recipes often times there are ingredients which make you say "huh, WTF is that?" I like that there are ingredients out there which are new and undiscovered to my bored taste buds, but they are expensive and hard to find. which means if I undertake this it could be a slow (due to funds) and wasted experience (if i don't like the things I buy). I wish it was easier to sample without buying the farm. I have grown up on processed foods. Now I try to cook using fresh veggies and meat. I have two kids, one is open to new things the other is soooooo picky.

I think I will start simple with dessert type items. who doesn't like desssert, if there aren't any raw desserts which my fam and i will eat then that will be the end of the raw food journey.

I care not for political reasons to eat any certain way, I simply want to put them most pure energy producing cleanest products in my system possible.
I have high cholesterol, I fear heart disease (its in my family history) and I fear cancer, which is also rampant in my family history.

what you eat is what you are right, well I want to be clean and pure and that is it, that is my reason, simple!

so I am off to search for my first raw desert recipe, I will post my findings and all that goes down with my first attempt.

edit - I may not be able to do much at all, I don't have a food processor which it seems is pretty necessary for most recipes.