A New Routine...

It's officially started today... the need for a new routine. Our old routine is no longer an option. Gone are the days of waking up at the last possible moment... savoring every last bit of sleep before it was imperative that I wake up and get ready for work... or be late!

Here upon us are the days of waking up early...

rousing a sleeping baby (ok I know she isn't a baby anymore!)

convince Little Miss to get dressed, brush teeth and hair, eat breakfast and make her bed (HAHAHA I know... but hopefully one day!)

Gather lunches, backpacks and purses and head off to work/school.

The hard part, as if getting up early isn't going to be difficult enough, will be our new night routine...

Come home, unpack lunch boxes, make lunches for the following day, make dinner, eat dinner, dinner dishes, quick clean up of the house, family time, early bedtime for Little Miss, unwinding time and the early bedtime for the grown-ups... rinse and repeat!

Things are going to get interesting around our house!! At least for a little while until this new routine becomes habit! I can't wait to get things dialed in... and perfected!

Here I go again!

In 2004 I saw a stack of pamphlet at a Starbucks for the Susan G Komen 3Day in San Francisco. I picked it up and thought... this sounds like it could be fun; I could do that! It got me to thinking about the family friends that had fought hard to be a Breast Cancer survivor or were currently waging their own was on cancer. Soon, I went from "I could do this" to "I should do this!" to "I am going to do this!!" I recruited my best friend/mom to join me on the journey and off we went!

Day 1 of the walk came up fast. We had both reached our fundraising goals and started our 3Days determined to take it all in! Along the way we met amazing women and men who were happy to share their story.... some survivors, some widowers, some daughters who lost their mothers, some who walked in honor of those who couldn't. Each and every story touched my heart. (As I sit here writing this I have chills thinking of each of those stories.) We even met some fun cute little San Jose Police officers who happily provided a safe escort through our day's journey. I'll never forget Office Naughty (as we dubbed him)... he was a ton of fun along the way! When day 3 came to an end... after the closing ceremony ended, we took our tired bodies and feet to the car and headed home knowing that my 3Day journey wasn't over.

I quickly decided to do the San Diego 3Day in 2005. This time around my neighbor friend Tali wanted to do it with me. Her mother was a survivor and she wanted to walk in her honor! I had never been to San Diego, so walking 60 miles through the town along the beaches, through the communities was amazing! There were such beautiful views and people along the way. We met up with a friend of mine from So-Cal (Aimee) and her mom and friend... so there were 5 of us walking strong! As Day 3 came to an end I was happy! I felt great and I wanted more!

In 2006 I registered for my 3rd 3Day and started fundraising. Within a few weeks I found out I was pregnant and would be 38 weeks along at the time of the walk. My 3peat would have to wait. As the next couple years passed by life got a little crazy and money got a little tighter and my network for fundraising shrunk as I became a stay at home mom.

Fast forward to present day.... I discovered that 3 of the lovely ladies I used to work with had signed up for the San Francisco 3Day this October 1 - 3. I immediately decided that if they would have me as a teammate / tentmate.... I was all in! I asked my hubby what his thoughts were and he said to go for it... so here I am! Yesterday I officially registered for my 3rd 3Day adventure! This time around, I'm looking forward to sharing this amazing journey with Evelyn, Meghan and Nicole! They are tons of fun, lots of laughs and I don't get to see them nearly as much as I'd like to! If I can't see them every day at work... they'll be stuck with me for 3 glorious days!

If you would like to sponsor me for the 3Day you can do so by visiting here

A Change is going to come!

I can't believe I'm about to say this..... I've been waiting such a long time for these words to pass by my lips! Oh what an exciting day this is!

Changes are going to come....

changes that frighten me..... excite me.... make me happy... make me anxious..... make me nervous... make me giddy and want to jump for joy!

OK, here goes...... JASON GOT A JOB!

Yes, people... you heard it hear first! As I write this entry, he is meeting with HR signing all his new hire paperwork, taking his drug test and discussing his start date! (We think he'll be starting as early as Monday!)

So, here's why I feel the way I do about it:

I'm overjoyed that finally after years of looking someone finally saw his potential and said "We want you to be a part of our team!"

I'm in mourning..... for 5 years Jason has been the #1 reason our house doesn't look like a tornado blew through! He's done the majority of the cooking and cleaning and laundry and grocery shopping since I returned to work 2 years ago. I'm losing my househusband! I'm going to have to start cooking (which I don't mind), cleaning, doing laundry, grocery shopping, scrubbing floors/toilets/windows, etc!

I'm excited that after all these years, we'll be a 2 income family again! Things are not going to be as stressful financially as they have been! We might even be able to afford to have date nights and family vacations!!!

I'm nervous because, although my baby girl is 3 1/2, we have never had to entrust anyone with her day to day care. Either Jason or myself were home with her for every day of her life! She'd have sleep overs with the grandparents... and we'd have a sitter for her for an few hours here and there.... but never away from one of us (or a grandparent) for more than a few hours. Soon, she'll be in day care! We're lucky enough that for the summer.... she'll be spending 3 days a week with our amazing friend Nicole (who has her masters degree in early childhood education!!!!!) The other 2 days she'll get to spend with her Auntie Chandra and another great friend Mishelle (another Masters Degree in Education!!!) Once summer ends, and school starts back up again Keira will start pre-school. We're thinking that since she'll be starting Kindergarten in the fall of 2011, she should start Jr. K this fall. We'll see what we find by way of pre-schools and waiting lists!

I'm anxious because this is a big change for our whole family! We have a routine now... and it's going to go out the window! We're going to have to make some major adjustments to everyone's sleep schedule. We're going to have to change up dinner time, wake up time, breakfast time etc. We're going to have to start putting together brown bag lunches for the whole family! We need to figure out a new schedule that is going to work for the whole family.

With all the mixed bag of emotions... I am most of all proud of my husband! He's been overlooked, under appreciated, criticized and judged for the last few years. It's been a rough road to get where he is.... not everyone understands the roll of a stay at home father. I know it took me a while to stop resenting him for me having to go to work every day while he stayed home with our little girl. Once I let go of my anger (at the situation - not him) I realized that if I couldn't be home with our little girl.... there was no one I'd rather have home with her than her father! He is an incredible father... he has raised a happy, healthy, well adjusted little girl. Most of all... I have been so happy to have witnessed the bond between them grow stronger and stronger every day! I am so thankful to have met and married such a good man!

Enjoy this last day with our little one... then it's off to work you go!

Wow, time flies!

The last couple weeks have been so much fun... they have just flown right by.

As June arrives.... so does "Birthday Season" in my family and circle of friends! In just my closest friends and family there are 15 birthdays in June. Throw in the mix Anniversaries, Graduation, Father's Day, the start Summer and it makes for a very busy Amber!

Last weekend, to kick off Birthday month, I went to Reno, NV to celebrate mine with one of my closest friends, Mishelle. It juts happens that her birthday is 2 days after mine! Out husbands thought it would be a treat to give us a "break" from mommyhood and send us away for the weekend. It was a treat. I've somehow over the last few years forgotten how to let my hair down and have fun.

In my day to day, I feel like I have to be the responsible one. I have to be available to anyone and everyone who might need me at the drop of a hat. I enjoy an adult beverage here and there... but it's a rare occasion that I over indulge. Well, over indulge I did for my birthday retreat! We ate some incredible food, played cards, hung out by the very full and flowing Truckee River and enjoyed a few (many) adult beverages!

One of the things I wanted to do on our trip was check out at least one of the many Diners, Drive Ins and Dives along our route and at our destination. I made a list of the featured restaurants in Sacramento and in Reno figuring we might stop to eat on the way up on Friday. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the Sacramento locations. On Sat night I was determined to go to one. We didn't want to move my car (because parking was severely limited due to the Euro Fest) so we tried to figure out where we could walk. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that the Gold n Silver Inn was just a couple blocks away from our hotel. It didn't disappoint! I had the Trip Tip Sandwich and Mishelle had the Sourdough Melt! SO YUMMY! We finished up the night celebrating our birthdays at the Euro Fest, where we indulged in too manyJägermeister shots and Über Beers! We had too much fun!

When I woke up at 5am (WHAT?? WHY???) I thought for sure there would be no way humanly possible that I could leave the room... let alone drive home! Thankfully, I was eventually able to fall back to sleep until around 9am. We woke up and decided it was time pack up and get the heck out of dodge. We headed off for some much needed food and coffee! Soon we were pulling into Truckee to have breakfast at the Squeeze Inn, which had been featured on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Being a little bit hung-over from the previous nights festivities… I found the menu a tad bit overwhelming! Seriously…. Over 40 different types of omelettes? How do you decide between the Racy Tracy, Hot Sweaty Busboy, Your Mom or the Dirty Dick? Or Band Geeks United, Ditz Crew, Hangover Helper or the F.N.A. In my slightly diminished mental state I struggled to decide… so I went with their version of my standard favorite… the Denver Omelet…. The Gare Babe’s Denver. Now, this wasn’t just any Denver Omelet… it was quite possibly the best Denver Omelet I’ve ever had! The PERFECT Hangover/Birthday Breakfast!

The Drive home from Reno was tons of fun! A drive... fun? Really?? We didn't rush home, though I missed my potamus like crazy! We stopped several times.... stopped to check out scenic overlooks, stopped to play in the snow and throw snowballs at Shelle.... stopped at Ikedas to pick up some stuffed olives for my honey... and of course stopped at In-n-Out for Shelle!

When I got home I was pooped! I was ready to relax and go to sleep, but when I opened to door and my baby girl was there with my honey.... and they greeted me with a homemade cake and a birthday song, my heart was happy and there was no where in the world I'd rather be! (I didn't even mind watching Stanley Cup Playoffs on my birthday!

Up to my ears in Strawberries!

After joining the Live Earth Farm CSA, I discovered that they offer "Community Days" several times through the season. During the community days, they offer tours of the farm, hedgerow plantings and U-pick opportunities. For the U-Pick, they might offer Strawberry, Raspberry, Apricots, Apples, Watermelon, Pumpkins and more. They even let visitors come down on Friday nights and camp out on the farm!

On Saturday morning, Brittany, Keira, Grandma Dub and I headed off to the farm. We gathered our baskets, gloves and hats and hiked down to the strawberry fields. We were warned that the walk to the fields would take about 30 minutes, however I had no idea that it was all downhill. (Not a problem going down, but returning with a couple full flats of berries was a different story!)

I have never seen such beautiful strawberries.... perfectly ripe for the picking! Many of the children in the field sat happily picking and eating berry after berry! They all wore the tell tale red stained mouth, cheeks and fingers giving them away!
Keira thoroughly enjoyed picking them, but rather than eat them, she was excited to fill our baskets.... as did the rest of us!


After we quickly filled the first flat, we decided to get another.... after all, $15 for a full flat of organic strawberries is unheard of around here! We had visions of jams, ice cream, margaritas, and smoothies in our heads! After filling the second flat, we headed off to the staging area for the tractor ride to the top of the hill. We quickly decided that the wait was longer and the exercise would be welcome! (We had quite a few strawberries to work off!) The hike back was a little tougher, but we still ended up reaching the top before the first load of tractor passengers and we were on a time schedule; Brittany had to be at work soon.

Once we got back to Grandma Dub's house and saw Brittany off to work, we started the task of washing, hulling and mashing strawberries. During this time, I also made my batch of bread for the week. This was by far the best batch yet! Warm weather and fresh yeast! What a glorious combination!
We ended up making 3 different kinds of freezer Jam. Option 1. Low Sugar, Option 2. Liquid Pecton with Lemon, Option 3. Liquid Pecton with lemon with 10 minute resting period. Option 4. Cooked Jam (shown below).

We also ended up with 3 gallon sized freezer bags full of frozen strawberries, perfect for smoothies and Margaritas. After several hours, 24 - 8 ounce bottles/containers of jam we were still left with 4 or 5 baskets of strawberries. We hulled and sliced a couple baskets to use for strawberry shortcake and ice cream, but those would have to wait till tomorrow. Mom and I could hardly stand to be on our feet any longer, Keira was starving, and she and I needed to get home.

It was a great day! Next time around, I hope to have a few more sisters around to help with the post picking process, but Mom and I survived... and we had a great time together!

What a beautiful spread!

We picked up our first CSA share this afternoon. Wow, I'm glad that we're sharing this with Mom.... cause right now, I don't think that the 3 of us could eat all of this in a week if we didn't. I do hope to start incorporating more vegetables into our diet... but for now we get our 3 - 4 servings of greens and a couple servings of fruit.

The spread this week is beautiful! There are things that I've never had before... that I haven't cooked before, that I wasn't quite sure what they were. Everything we got though.. I am excited to try. Here's what we received this week: Arugula, Broccoli, Carrots, Chard, Escarole, Fava Beans, Green Garlic, Lettuce, Pac Choi, Young Onions, Spinach, Summer Squash, Tatsoi, 6 artichokes and 2 baskets of Strawberries.

We split everything up and packaged up Grandma Dub's portion and then started thinking about our "plan of attack" for eating everything before it goes bad. We decided to wash and put away all the greens. I packaged up our strawberries, carrots, onion, squash and artichokes. We ended up cooking all of the broccoli and some green garlic in a garlic/broccoli/spinach dish that Jason makes using some of our homemade beef broth. Mmmmnnn!

After dinner Keira wanted dessert, so I washed and sliced up all the strawberries. I topped them with a little homemade whipped cream and they vanished in minutes! I love that she's excited about a bowl of strawberries as dessert! (on a side note, she was quite distraught when she discovered that her "weekly strawberry" from the garden was eaten by a bird!)

I think we're going to be quite happy with our weekly CSA order! Thanks MOM!!! You rock!

Just say "NO" to GMO!

So, now that I've taken off my blinders and started looking at the food I've been feeding my family I have a vast range of feelings.

I am angry

I am scared

I feel HOPEFUL!

I feel EMPOWERED!!!

I'm making a push to switch over to an organic diet. I've already started making a lot of what we're eating from scratch, but it's time to take things further. I never realized how much of the processed crap in the stores is made using Genetically Modified/Manufactured/Mutated ingredients! What scares me is that companies are not required to tell you that their products are made using these GMO products. In fact, one way to guarantee that you aren't buying these kind of products is to buy Organic. I also discovered that Trader Joe's line of foods are all GMO Free. I found quite a few resources on "How to avoid GMO" and a shopping guide with a detailed list of Brands containing GMO and ones that don't.

We don't have a big budget for groceries so it's hard sometimes to think about spending more money on Organic Milk ($6/gallon) versus Generic store brand milk ($3.49/gallon). However, if spending a little more money on quality, healthy, and natural products will make an improvement in our health, I'm all for it. If spending a little more money helps support our local farmers, I'm all for it.

Every time we go to the grocery store, we "cast our vote" and what we buy lets the big food manufacturers know what we want.... and if we're buying crap, that's what they'll g ive us more of... an if we want some thing better than what they are offering... they'll hear us! Maybe then a real Food Revolution will start... and just maybe more an more people will start taking back their kitchens!