December Wrap Up

Another hectic and whirlwind December this year. Here are some highlights in pictures.

Lots of snow this month.

B's 6th Birthday

Visit with Santa

Making a Gingerbread House on Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning

B woke up at 4:30 am and couldn't go back to sleep so we opened presents so early it was still dark out.

Not shown:

* I finished up another (4.0!) semester

* I won another scholarship (my third!)

* B had a Christmas performance at his school (he sang his heart out)

* B finally asked why he doesn't have a dad and after I told him he does but that he chose not to be a parent B began planning a trip around the world to find him (heartbreaking)

*Christmas parties, chopping down our Christmas tree, late nights shopping on Main St., and Christmas hayrides and buffet at the casino (all while both of us were sick most of the month)

Happy Thanksgiving

I want to wish all my friends and family a happy Thanksgiving and take this time to let you all know how much you mean to me. B and I are having a low key Thanksgiving this year with just the two of us. I do so much commuting as it is that I just really wanted to relax for a few days but the invitations for dinner were greatly appreciated.

B had a feast at school on Tuesday that was very reminiscent of the school Thanksgiving celebrations of my own childhood. Living in a rural area means that the schools have not caught up with the politically correct tides of change. For my California Teaching Permit I am specializing in cultural diversity in early childhood programs so if my professors saw me volunteering at this event I would have had a lot of explaining to do.

I am planning a simple menu for dinner tonight:

-Gardenburger Herb Crusted Cutlets

-Homemade mashed potatoes (I get to try out my new Kitchen Aid Pro Mixer)

-Cornbread and pomegranate stuffing

-Sweet potatoe fries

-Fruit salad

We will probably pick up some dessert in town when we go and see the new Disney movie "BOLT" after dinner.

Here's a picture of the cornbread and pomegranate stuffing that I did a test run on last week. I'll have to post the recipe I came up with by combining a few recipes I found on the internet and then veganizing them because it came out so beautiful and delicious.

Empty Bowls

Back in September I took B to a fundraiser called "Empty Bowls" with proceeds going to benefit the community food bank. For $15 a person we were served bread, soup catered by local restaurants, and dessert. Each person also got to choose a hand made bowl donated by the high school ceramics class students to take home as a reminder of those who have limited amounts of food to fill their bowls. I wanted to use the event as an opportunity to introduce B to the concept of helping those who are less fortunate then us and so the night before the fundraiser I explained where we were going the next day and why. I realized my lesson was completely lost on him when his eyes grew wide as a tray of cookies and brownies were delivered to our table and he declared, "it's a good thing some people don't have any food so we could come here and get these cookies". Okay so B is not much of a philanthropist yet but I'll keep working on him.

They also had a raffle and B took a lot of time deciding which prizes were worthy of his tickets. He really wanted to win a potted plant for his grandma and a prize box from "Going Postal" (a mailing center) because it had a stuffed toy in it so he decided it was a prize for kids. Much to his delight he won the prize box and for some reason was most excited by the mouse pad that was included in the box. One last note: B was the only kid at the event which I thought was strange but it didn't bother him at all and he quickly became the star of the event.

My Summer of Squash

Knowing how prolific summer squash can be once it gets growing I tried to play it smart this year and planted just one zucchini and one straight neck, only to find the supply was still outweighing the demand. Through July and August I was cooking with this vegetable every other night which took some creativity to keep from getting bored. Here are some of my favorites:

Zucchini bread. I so wished I had written down the recipe for this bread. I found a recipe online and substituted the eggs with powdered egg replacer and applesauce and used half the amount of sugar (sugar in the raw) and some squeezes of Agave. It turned out to be the best zucchini bread I have ever had.

Straight neck on pizza. I went through a phase where I was obsessed with making homemade pizza dough. I found a basic whole wheat dough recipe and each time I made it I would add a little something to spice it up, such as flax seeds or chopped herbs from my garden.

Breaded and Baked Zucchini. Sliced zucchini was give a dip in a bowl of olive oil, a dip in a bowl of Italian style breadcrumbs, and then baked until they started to brown.

Stuffed zucchini. Really easy to make -brown rice (cooked), soy meat crumbles, onions (sauteed), bell peppers(sauteed), chopped basil, chopped parsley, seasoning, and tomato sauce mixed together and then spooned into hollowed out zucchini and baked until tender.

Another favorite of mine was marinating sliced squash in garlicky herb marinade (Vegan Planet) and then sauteing or grilling them on the BBQ. The only squash I was able to get B to eat was in the zucchini bread. He much preferred stealing the large zucchinis off the counter and using them as baseball bats.

School Sucks

One week into the semester and I am hating it all ready. I just want to quit school and work full time. I am tired of being broke, commuting 2 + hours each way, and trying to keep up with deadlines while my son is begging for attention from me. No more financial aid because I dropped my summer class and leaving me to beg my mom for gas money to get to and from school is my punishment from the government.

Because of the holiday on Monday I haven’t even started my required Library Science class or Health and Safety for Children class which I am sure will include creating ‘healthy’ menus loaded with milk and cheese (gag).

I was excited about my Anthropology class which focuses on Native Americans but the teacher had to go and crush that emotion by making me write papers and take tests. And my math class, oh man, I am seriously a math idiot. I placed in the lowest class possible and as I started the first chapter’s work of simple addition and subtraction (no joke) I was thinking I may actually have a shot of passing this class. Now that I have made it to chapter three with fractions and square roots I am realizing that I must have been born with the math part of my brain missing. I need to go buy some multiplication flash cards and reconsider this whole degree thing.

Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

I have tons of Romas ripening in my garden right now so I decided to grab a few more ingredients from the garden (peppers, oregano, thyme, basil, and parsley) and attempt some homemade spaghetti sauce. It was really easy to make this sauce as I just threw all the ingredients in a slow cooker and let it simmer all day. Peeling and de-seeding the tomatoes was the tedious part but trust me it is worth it once you taste the sauce.

After the peeling and de-seeding the tomatoes went for a spin in the food processor and then were thrown into the slow cooker, along with the chopped herbs and a bay leaf. I sauteed chopped onions, bell peppers, and garlic in olive oil and then added them to the tomatoes and herbs. A few drops of Braggs, some pepper, and a few dashes of salt free Spike and I was done. Half way through the day I remembered some organic rosemary that I had in the fridge and added it, whole, to the simmering sauce and then removed it, along with the bay leaf, before serving.

The sauce turned out to be very tasty and the texture was perfect. The secret is definitely to simmer all day. When I attempted homemade sauce last year I cooked it on the stove for only an hour or so and ended up with a watery sauce.

Since B enjoyed the sauce too I wish there had been enough for leftovers. For the next go around I am going to sneak in some pureed Kale and try to make a much larger batch so I can freeze some for future use. I am trying to cut salt out of my diet so this homemade sauce is a much healthier alternative for me over canned sauces.

The King of Kindergarten

With a heavy heart I dropped my little boy off for his first day of kindergarten yesterday. Luckily he doesn't take after his mom and so there were no tears or anxieties on his part. Upon entering the classroom we found B's name on the board under the heading "Leaders", which I later found out meant he got to be in the front of the line all day. When I picked him up the only bit of information I could get out of him about his day was that he drew a picture of himself with "hands coming out of his head and Squidward eyes" and that he played Spiderman at recess.

Today, his second day of school, he got a star on his paper, went on a hunt for the gingerbread man, and was sent to the "lonely table" to finish his picture by himself because he was talking instead of working.

Good Times at Jellystone Park

A weekend of camping at the Yogi Bear themed camping resort in Pine Grove was the perfect way to celebrate B's official end of summer (he starts school this week). This was both mine and B's first time camping so luckily we were joined by good friends and expert campers K and L.

Our weekend was filled with BBQing, roasting marshmallows for smores, swimming, miniature golf, tie dying, and even making friends with the little boy at the campsite next to us.

The biggest highlight of the trip for B was winning a medal for our group winning first place in the treasure hunt. K and I worked our asses off running (yes, I actually ran!) all through the camp grounds gathering the clues and then deciphering them to solve the puzzle, all with the kids in tow. It was so exhausting but all worth it when we finally came across Yogi's picnic basket and opened it up to reveal the 1st place card inside. Later that night at a communal campfire we were awarded our medals which delighted B and L to no end.

It was a great weekend, we all had a blast and look forward to doing it again next year. For me the trip was also a reminder of what kick ass single mothers me and K are; we put up a tent, built fires, jump started a car, and beat out all the other families in the treasure hunt.

Batman Wings

B finally saved up enough money to buy these Batman wings he had been dreaming about owning. When doing chores for money wasn't adding up fast enough he pulled some empty water bottles out of the recycling bin, filled them up with water, and had me make him a sign that said "water for sale $2". He set up his water stand at his train table and after many purchases from mom and grandma he raised enough for a trip to Walmart for the purchase of his wings.

Mission: A Clean yet "Green" Floor

Here's my latest purchase in my attempt to clean in more environmentally friendly ways. It's a HAAN steam floor cleaner with microfiber pads. Supposedly my kitchen floors are to be cleaned and sanitized with only the heat from the steam; this means no chemicals like with a regular mop and because the microfiber pads are washable there is nothing to throw away like with the Swiffer type mops that are popular now. I also bought a carpet attachment that allows me to sanitize my carpets, furniture, and mattresses.

I've used it twice in the kitchen and the floor does appear to be clean. My only complaint is that it takes a lot of strength to push it but other than that, so far so good. Hopefully it holds up and I can finally have a satisfactory way to clean my floors.

Independence Day

For me...from school...for the summer. I dropped my Critical Thinking English class which means I will have a few government agencies on my ass in the not to distant future. We had our first big essay due and I couldn't find any information on the racial conflicts of suburbia at my local closet- sized library so I am throwing in the towel. If I was feeling really motivated I could have driven down to Ohlone on Monday for some research and come home and written my paper in one day, all with B in tow, but I just feel blah and incapable right now. I don't know what is going to be worse, a "W" on my record or now knowing what is in store for me when I take this class again next semester.

"My First Tooth that Falled Out"

B lost his first tooth on Sunday night, oh how they grow so fast. He wanted to save the tooth so he decided to leave the tooth fairy a note asking her "not to take the tooth but just leave some money". She not only left money but an awesome new water gun. B is now eagerly awaiting his next loose tooth.

Black Bart

My summer semester of school has started which means I am back to blogging as the only way I get anything done is if I have something else I am supposed to be doing.

Last Saturday B and I went to Sutter Creek's Black Bart Hold Up Days - "celebrating a 125 year legacy". Why in the world a town feels the need to celebrate someone who robbed stagecoaches in the late 18oo's ( 28 robberies the brochure proudly claims before serving time in San Quentin) is beyond me. Or I guess the better question is why in the world would I take my son to a place that was going to have shootouts in the streets all day and reenactments of the stagecoach robberies. My answer to that would be he likes weapons and I like History so there you go.

Sutter Creek Goldmine had a booth set up for people to pan for real gold flakes. B took a turn and everyone gathered around in disbelief at the size and amount of gold he found. His gold was placed in a vile of water and handed to him with the remarks that he could take his mom out to a really nice lunch. B proudly carried his vial of water and gold in his pocket for the rest of the day, taking it out many times to admire in. When we got home I sat down at my computer as B ran to the bathroom. He emerged a few minutes later proudly showing me that he had refilled his vile with fresh water. I asked in a panic where the gold was and he shrugged and said he dumped it down the drain! Turns out it wasn't the gold he was enamored with but the vile, which for the next two days became his "energy" against bad guys and went with him everywhere including the pool, the bath, and to bed.

Southern Comfort

B and I have returned from our much needed vacation to Southern California. To celebrate the end of my semester we went to visit Devon and spend a few days at Legoland. B loved the rides and water play at Legoland but his fondest moment came with the purchase of a new sword and shield. With a whole section of Legoland devoted to knights, castles, and dragons B was in Heaven to say the least.

Other highlights of our trip include lunch at Souplantaion (another name for Sweet Tomatoes which B has missed dearly), a visit to watch the sky divers at the drop zone, and B making a new friend in Tank the dog.

Heat Wave

The last few days here in Volcano have been HOT - making the town really live up to it's name. With temperatures well over 100 degrees and our AC broken B and I escaped to one of the local rivers. At one point B spotted a large snake crossing the water and well you can tell what family he was raised in because he thought it was cute and didn't even consider getting out of the water. Our perfect day was topped off by a visit to Jamba Juice for a nice cold all-fruit smoothie before heading home.

Turkey Hunting

With B banned from his Nintendo we had some extra time last night and, inspired by the gobbles coming from our yard, decided to go on a turkey hunt. We grabbed binoculars and a camera and set out on our adventure.

We found that turkeys are very fast runners and they always managed to stay one step ahead of us on our quest for a photo. After walking and running across all 14 acres we finally decided to give up and head home and that is when it happened... a turkey stepped right out in front of us to cross the street. I grabbed my camera and snapped this photo right before it bolted off into the walnut trees, terrified by B's screams of joy I am sure.

Happy Mother's Day!

This is the mess I had to clean up today, not exactly my dream day of lounging in bed with a good book, a coke, and some peace and quiet. B and I finally got to work planting our vegetable garden. We planted our usuals: watermelons, bell peppers, tomatoes, squash, eggplant, pumpkins, and cantaloupe. We also added a new member to our herb garden bed, Stevia.

I was too broke to take us out to dinner so I made a beautiful cheese free veggie pizza, complete with homemade whole wheat and flaxseed dough, which ended in ruin because I forgot to spray the pan before cooking. I think that pizza may be cooked onto that pan for life…