The Miami Zoo

We went to the Miami Zoo today with Lindsey and her boys. What an INCREDIBLE zoo! There were SO many animals there. What I liked the best was that you were able to be so close to the animals. They were on level ground without high fences that we (kids included) couldn't see through. Instead they dug canyons around the perimeter and that way you could be eye to eye (so to speak) with the animals and see them so well. It was an incredible difference from any other zoo I have been to.

Anteater

Black bear (I believe from India?) Elle and Sammy

I love this tree... they are everywhere here, and they are incredible looking.

Christian taking a break. He walked nearly the whole time (5 hours!) today- just running along playing with the boys. Lindsey's boys (especially Joey) are SO good with him. It was fun for him to get to be "one of the boys".

My little jaguar, Elle

Flamingos...

Isn't that a serious looking frog?

More on next post.

The story of STUFF

This is really well put together, simple, to the point...worth the time to watch. Should be in every school accross the country...
Think about this when you go Christmas shopping! ;)

one more ballet video =)

Another Ballet video

Elle's Ballet

Elle had "parents day" for Ballet this last week. It was ADORABLE. Michael was able to make it and that meant SO MUCH to Elle. I am trying to upload some video's... we'll see if they work.

Read a Good Book Lately? A little peice of my heart...

I don't put very much weight into statistics- I think they are easy to make up, easy to control and easy to come up with to support anything. I recently read one to the effect that more than 70% of Americans do not read an entire book cover to cover after graduating from HIGH SCHOOL! As tainted as this statistic might be, it was still shocking to me as I am inclined to believe that whether that percentage is correct, the truth seems likely to be that there is a vast majority of people who do not read books when they are not required to for school purposes. (whether high school or college or..)

I feel like I have gone back to school since being in Miami. I don't have animals to take care of, (other than my own little ones...and husband...=) ) no yard to tend, no property to maintain, no house to finish painting/building, no family or friends to visit with or go see and on top of all that I have an awful hard time falling asleep. Soooo I read... A LOT. I probably read about 1000 (one thousand) pages a week down here. This is not normal for me by any means. I often go months without finishing a single book. I usually need something to come HIGHLY reccomended before even attempting to get "into it", and even then if I wasn't "grabbed" in the first 15 pages or so- I was done with it.

But reading the way I have been down here reminds me why I love it so much (and nearly got a double major in college in English). When I read, I tend to read books that I can learn from.- Not to say that there aren't many fictional books that I can learn from, many that I read are fictional but most are not.
Reading these books reminds me how small I am.
The more I learn, the more I realize I don't know... And I like that.... It is exciting to me to think of all that is out there still to be figured out and experimented with. It gives birth to hope for new things to be discovered, it reminds me that THIS is not all there is to life and that ideas and opportunities are endless. I can't help but wonder if this "excitement" is lost on a lot of people these days. I'm not big on imposing my "stand" on anyone, I often feel I am too easily misunderstood or don't represent where I am really coming from well enough, but tonight I just feel like sharing my thoughts on this, so if you are still reading this post- here they are... Majority of people are selling their "excitement" for watching television shows that don't pertain to real life at all, don't give any sort of wisdom, no experiance and simply burn time in a day. And for no better term... it is a CRY'N shame! What a waste of life...not just those that do this, but everyone that comes in contact with them (and many that don't).

I will be the first to admit that sometimes an hour spent zoning out watching a show that requires no thinking what-so-ever is well worth the hour spent in order to just get a chance to "shut off" my brain. But I am finding myself more and more impacted by how many people spend 3+ hours a day "shutting off" infront of a tv or game system of some sort and then expecting "someone else" to pick up the slack on what they don't have enough time for. (finding a job, CREATING a job, making real meals, playing with or teaching their kids, learning how to fix things rather than just throw them away and get another for $50, etc...) 24 hours in a day is A LOT.
A LOT, A LOT, A LOT can be done in 24 hours. If you work a typical 8 hour day and sleep a refreshing 8 hours at night that gives you 8 (EIGHT) hours left in your day...(These figures vary for everyone, but please try and just focus on the point)... what do YOU do with it? Seriously. I am curious if you would be suprised to watch yourself on camera for a typical 24 hour day what you would think. Or even just seen documented time slots of how your time was spent for 24 hours.... are you impressed with what you accomplished? If you are, good for you. Really.
 I fear that many, if looking with an honest eye and open heart, may have a life changing experiance by such an observation. 8 hours is A LOT. Even 5 hours if your above numbers differ... I'm just saying... really think about it... THIS is IT. This- right now- is what you get. Are you keeping "it" for yourself or sharing it with others? Using "it" to grow or just to survive?
In under 2 weeks it will be a new year. Many use this to start new goals, new dreams and new ambitions. Why do so many peoples (my own included) "resolutions" fail? I could easily throw in some statistic here about how many people actually keep their "resolutions" for the whole year.. but you know for yourself... have you ever kept yours for the whole year? Know anyone who has kept theirs? Heard of anyone? (point made.) If someones heart isn't changed-their actions will not change. If your heart is changed it is changed-PERIOD. Not "changed" in 2 weeks, not "changed" tomorrow, not "changed" when my circumstances change... CHANGED. Do what you believe you ought to be doing RIGHT NOW. If you really believe (here's where the heart is involved) you ought to (or ought not to) be doing something, isn't that truth for TODAY? Not 2 weeks from now? Won't you be better off with a 2 week "headstart"? I encourage you to be who you ought to be RIGHT NOW. Everyone will be better for it.
I may be more impacted by this post than anyone reading it.

Illegal to grow own food!?

WOW! Interesting video. Scarey.
Be informed.

Useful Kitchen Tips

I am copying this from the Jan/Feb 2011 Coutryside and small stock journal...thought it might be useful for some of you.
"1. Minor Cuts: Apply ground black pepper to stop bleeding. No, it won't sting.
2. Burns: Immediately apply ice wrapped in damp cloth until the pain stops. It may take hours, but there will be no scar.
3. Warts: Make a paste by mixing baking soda with spirits of camphor in a capped container. Apply paste to wart every night and cover with bandage. Remove bandage in the morning. This method also works on stubborn plantar warts on bottom of feet. Here, you may have to use bunion relief pads to relieve pressure. Also shave down top of wart with razor blade to reduce pressure. This works when all else fails, e.g. acid, burn, freeze, radiation, and X-rays. If paste container dries out, add a little bit of rubbing alcohol to paste.
4. Eating raw, cruciferous veggies (Bok Choy, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, or radish), are bad fr your thyroid gland. Only eat these veggies if they are steamed or cooked.
5. Commercial potatoes are sprayed with a (poisonous) sprouting inhibitor. Peel potatoes before cooking then. Cooking with peels on forces poison into potato's flesh. Ditto for French Fries. Don't eat them unless you grow your own potatoes.
6. A cucumber's skin is mildly poisonous and its pointed seeds will irritate gastro-intestinal tract. Peel and seed before eating cucumbers.
7. All parts of deadly nightshade plants (except the edible fruit) are poisonous. This group includes egg plant, okra, bell pepper, potato and tomato.
8. The green parts of are poisonous. Cut off all green parts, no not eat them.
9. Vinegar will keep you from getting food poisoning. Start meal with a salad drenched in vinegar-based dressing or carry a small flask of vinegar with you to add to your drinking water. Sip from glass during meal. Vinegar is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-viral.
10. Lavendar or hops smell will help you sleep better.
11. Treat "garlic breath" with whole milk (not skim milk)."

Interesting and hopefully useful for someone reading this.

Cow Milking Lesson

A trip to the doctor and an attempt to keep Christian entertained there while Elle was being tended to produced this... a blown up latex glove.... which then, once home, turned into a "milking lesson" Elle wanted to show me how to milk "her raw Jersey cow"...

She was actually quite good at it!

Look at that face! HA! This whole thing led into a long lesson (Elle was the teacher, I was the student...of course...) on Raw Jersey milk and properly cleaning her "boobs" (Try as I might, I can't get her to call it an udder!) and making sure she (the cow) doesn't kick over the bucket (the white board on the table) of milk or else she'll (Elle) "never milk her again".... I hope that cow listens to her...she means business...

Another video of Elle's box violin

So apparently I can't load more than one video into a post, so here is another of Elle's violin concert. She is shaking the jingle bells in this one. Again... sorry for the horrible filming...15 month old in arms...Enjoy!

Elle and her box violin

Elle started taking violin lessons about a month ago. She is doing the Suzuki Method that has her start with a "box violin" (made from a ruler and a klenex box). This post is really for family to see her first concert... be ready for a bit of motion sickness! I was having to hold and watch squirmy wormy Christian (the one year old) at the same time I was video taping... =)

Notice her "shoes" I couldn't find her dress shoes that fit and so she just wore black ballet slippers- whatever works! =)

The other video I was downloading here stopped working... I will try again tomorrow... it was the cutest. =)

Her teacher is great and Elle really enjoys going to her home for lessons... partly too because she has cats and Elle LOVES to see the cats. The first thing she asked when we got the concert this afternoon (which was held at a local church) was "Where are her cats? Are they coming?" =)

Christmas Cookies

Elle rolled out the dough all by herself! Not to shabby! We made this dough with the lard we made instead of the shortening the recipe called for. We used the 2nd draining of the lard, (see that post HERE) I am still saving the first for the pie I keep meaning to make... and the cookies turned out GREAT! (How could anything frosted with candies on top not?!)

Thank you mom for the great cookie cutters!

That's my daughter... certainly not skimping on the candies...

Merry Christmas!

The looking glass

I just couldn't help but share these crazy photo's of the kids playing out on the veranda. =)

Spanish lesson

We just got back from the condo gym (basically a place to get out of our unit and the kids can run around, no one is ever in there and the kids LOVE the space to run). We have been working on Spanish since we've been here and Elle is learning quite a few words. Watching Dora the Explorer has been a great way of learning some words as well. At the gym Elle was pretending to be Dora and she had Christian being Boots (Dora's little monkey friend). She kept saying I was "gorilla"... I couldn't recall any episode with a gorilla... but I went along with it... She was pretending to take care of me because I was "sick" and was bringing me "soup" (in the form of a large exercise ball) she kept calling me "gorilla" I then recalled the episode where Dora takes her grandma soup because she is sick. And then it hit me... Abuela is the Spanish word for "grandma"!! HA! Abuela sounds like "gorilla"! Love it! Maybe we are not making as much progress as I thought... =)

Pumpkin Spice Homemade Bagels

I finally was able to find the needed spices to make these bagels. I had hoped to make them a while ago but Allspice and and ground cloves were next to impossible to find here in Miami... Here is the magazine I got the recipe from...

I totally messed up the recipe. Elle was helping me and I didn't notice that I had her put in a cup and 2/3 water, when I only needed 2/3's of a Cup! I was so lost as to why I kept needin to add a bunch more flour than the recipe called for...and they were still so sticky.... But all that being said, they turned out tasteing really good and if nothing else, they made our condo smell DELICIOUS! =) So I still thought I'd share the recipe because it is great to know how to make your own bagels and they are sort of festive.

Let's just notice... these are mine finished....

 Let's see that photo again...

Here is what they are suppose to look like....

Mine are deflated bagel pancakes! =) But YUMMY nonetheless... =)

Here's the recipe... The magazine had it for a bread machine or not and canned pumpkin, but I will show how to do it without a bread machine and I used fresh pumpkin... which I have never done before... Baked pumkin seeds are really good!

Ingrediants:

2/3 Cup water (110-115 degrees for the yeast)- This is where I went wrong!
3/4 Cup fresh pumpkin, or 1/2 Cup canned pumpkin
1/3 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
3 Cups Bread Flour
1 Package active dry yeast
1 egg white
1 Tbsp. Cornmeal (I didn't have this-therefore, didn't use it...)

Directions:
1. In a large bowl dissolve yeast in 2/3 Cup water.
2. Add the pumpkin, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves. Mix well.
3. Stir in enough flour to form a soft dough.
4. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.
5. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
6. Punch dough down and shape into balls with a whole in the middle- see photo above with the flour on the counter... mine were so sticky, this was tough to make "pretty".
7. Bring water to boiling in a large pot (about 3-4 inches of water in there). Place 2 bagels at a time in the boiling water for 45 seconds and then turn them over and leave for another 45 seconds.
8. Remove the bagels from the water and allow to dry on a paper towel.
9. Wisk egg white and brush over the bagels. Coat cooking sheet with cooking spray and sprinkle with cornmeal (I didn't do that). Place bagels 2 inches appart and bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

The smell alone is worth it.... mmmmmmmmmm

Our "back yard"

Elle hardley ever takes naps anymore, but today, she wanted to take one in "our back yard". She hauled the blankets out onto the veranda (is that what this is called?) and cozied down.

I am just trying to ignore the fact that we can't even walk out on this "veranda" barefoot without coming in with black feet from all the soot and dirt that blows up from the street and parking area. Those blankets needed to be washed anyway... I am considering that both kids are napping AT THE SAME TIME a complete victory! =)

Forgotten Dream Cookies

These are my favorite cookies. They were a recipe of my grandma's that I remember helping my mom make as a child.

They are super SWEET...which is of course why they are my favorite...

Here's the recipe:

2 egg whites

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 Cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

6 oz. chocolate chips (I use a bit more)

With beater, beat egg whites until foamy. Add salt and cream of tarter. Beat until whites form stiff peaks. (make sure to really beat them..don't rush this phase) Add sugar gradually while beating. Beat in vanilla. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop teaspoonfuls on greased cookie sheet. Put in preheated 350 degree oven. Turn oven OFF and leave them in there for at least 3 hours or overnight.

They should be crunchy and airy. If they are too sticky or gooey, then you may not have beat the whites long enough.

Mattheson Hammock Park

Michael has been here nearly two months and this last Sunday was the first time he's gone to the beach! Poor guy... every Sunday (his only day off) the weather isn't very good or we have something else going on. But it was beautiful this weekend. Mattheson Hammock Park is suppose to be one of the best beach parks for families in Miami. They made this little lagoon so it offer wave free swimming for the kids. They love it! It is such a gradual slope that the kids can play and we can relax.

Oh and they have these great things someone called "membrane sacks"... I don't really know what they are or what they're from, but Elle loves to play with them... they are slimmy, gooey and all over the place. This is a tiny one...most are much larger.

Christian was making it "snow" sand... that's always fun...

Beautiful...

Open your eyes

Elle wanted me to take her picture. I was trying to get Elle to smile without squinting her eyes... all the pictures of her smiling always have little slits for her eyes... Here is her first attempt...

Here is the second... oh dear...

FINALLY! =)