A Weekend Excursion

This weekend, my family took a little excursion to Crater Lake. This was a long-awaited excursion that we had been looking forward to for months (and I have been wanting to see Crater Lake for years!). Unfortunately, things didn't quite go as planned.....
First of all, the weather forecast was for cold and lots of rain. So, what we planned as a camping trip, was changed at the last minute to staying in a cheap motel in Eugene for 2 nights, with a day trip to Crater Lake in between. We had all really wanted to camp, but camping in the rain with 2 dogs and a toddler is not exactly at the top of my "sounds like a good time" list.
Todd was already going to be in Eugene, so Finn and I drove down to meet him on Friday. I will spare the details, but the start to my trip went something like this:

• Was up all night Thursday because Moshi (the new puppy) was up every hour with diarrhea. Debated on if I should even make the trip on Friday, as traveling with a sick dog is no fun. Fecal results from the puppy's stool sample that I had dropped off Thursday morning were still not in.
  
• Decide to pack up and get on the road. Stop at grocery store to get lunch for the road. Start driving to Eugene. Later realize that the sandwich I ordered has avocado (which I am deadly allergic to) and so I cannot eat and my soup is not the one I ordered... instead it's a blue-cheese soup, and since I am pregnant, that was a no-go too. So, my yummy lunch on the road turned into a disaster.
• 9 miles from Eugene Moshi has diarrhea in the front seat of the car. Then she steps and sits in it. Then she has diarrhea again. Then she vomits. Poo and puke is sliding into the crevices of the car and all I can do is hold onto the dog so that she doesn't track it all over the car.
• Get to hotel. Clean car and dog. Talk to vet and find out Moshi has giardia. Go wait at vet in Eugene for an hour so we can get her meds to help stop diarrhea.
  
• Get to concert we had tickets for late, as the vet took longer than we hoped. Enjoy second half of first set. Then the monsoon-like rains begin. We made it a few songs into the second set before we were all soaked and Finn was begging to go back to the motel.
• Wake up Saturday, eat breakfast, and start the drive to Crater Lake. Finn tells us he needs to poop, but since he is newly potty trained, will not go without his potty seat (which is still at motel). So, we put a diaper on him and keep driving.
• Finn poops. A lot. Slightly resembles Moshi's bowel movement (this is way too much information, I know). Comes out sides and top of diaper. Use all wipes cleaning it up and we are still not sure we got it all.
• Get undies and pants back on Finn and he decided he needs to pee outside the car before we get going. He misses and pees all over the only pair of pants we have with us. We put him back in the car seat naked from the waist down.
• Get to Crater Lake. Put clean undies and Todd's socks on Finn instead of wet pants. So much fog and rain that we can barely even see the lake.
  
• Drive around the whole lake and see practically nothing. Drive back to Eugene in the rain. Go to sleep at cheap motel . Wake up. Drive home.

So, essentially, this trip was a disaster, and not at all the trip to Crater Lake I had been envisioning for years. However, somehow, I think we all still managed to have a good time (mostly) despite the cards that were stacked against us. This just reminded me how important family is, and how sometimes, the worst of adventures are still wonderful and memorable solely because you are spending time with those you love.

Here are a few pictures from our trip... we didn't take many because we mostly just saw fog, but the glimpses we did get were beautiful. I hope to make it back again one day, with a less-adventurous adventure.




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Spelt-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

I guess this pregnancy has made me food-obsessed or something, because my last 3 posts have all been about food! Anyways, today I experimented with my regular oatmeal cookie recipe and decided to switch the refined flour out for a whole grain version. I decided to use spelt flour (spelt is an ancient form of wheat), and they came out great! I thought I would share the recipe with you here:

What You Need:

• 1 stick butter, softened
  
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 cup whole-grain spelt flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional?)
  
• 1 1/2 cups uncooked whole oats

What You Do:

• Preheat oven to 350
  
• Beat butter and sugars until smooth. Add egg and vanilla.
  
• Mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to butter mixture.
• Gently mix in oats and chocolate chips
• Drop tablespoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

These cookies are delicious, but the spelt flour does make them have a slightly different texture; more chewy than regular cookies. So, I found they were a little more difficult to get off of the cookie sheet without falling apart, but they sure do taste delicious! Plus the whole grains give them more fiber and protein, so you can feel a little less guilty enjoying them.
This recipe makes a fairly small batch... enough for a family. If you plan on sharing, I would double it! Pin It Now!

Good to the Grain: A Review

Whole grains are all the rage these days, and for good reason. Studies have shown that a diet rich in whole grains can help to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. Whole grains have more protein and more fiber, and therefore take your body longer to break down. This means you don't get a rush of carbohydrates (basically sugars) like you do when you eat refined flours.
I try to eat whole grains as much as possible, but we all know that our taste buds often prefer refines grains, especially when we are dealing with treats and sweets. Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce is filled with recipes on how to turn whole grains into delicious (and more nutritious) breads, breakfasts and desserts.
I haven't yet tried any of the recipes from this book, but I photocopied quite a few before returning it back to the library (by the way.....I had to wait months to get this book from our public library.. apparently whole grains are no secret in Portland!). I will keep you posted as add some of these whole-grained baked goods to my repertoire! Pin It Now!

Tasty Dahl Delight!

This is a version of a traditional dahl recipe that our family modified one night based on what we had around the house. It was a last minute thrown together meal, and I must say that it was delicious!

What You Need:

• 2 cups dried red lentils
• 1 Tbl olive oil
  
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 cup tomatoes, diced
• 1 medium-large onion, diced
• 1 cup peas (fresh or frozen)
• 1 Tbl. tumeric
• 1 Tbl dried ginger
• 1 jalapeno, diced (this can be left out or decreased for non-spice lovers)

What You Do:

• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add onion and sautee for about 10 minutes
• While onions are cooking, add lentils and 4 cups water to a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer until lentils are tender and water has been absorbed.
• After onions become translucent, add tumeric and ginger and still for 1 minute. Add tomatoes, jalapeno, peas and coconut milk. Simmer.
• Once lentils are ready, add to the onion mixture. Let simmer until all veggies are tender.
• Best served over brown rice. This makes about 4-6 servings.
  

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Garden Disappointments

So this summer has been an awful year for gardening in Portland. We had rain all the way through June, which left slugs attacking EVERYTHING, and then the rest of summer just didn't have the hot and sunny days that it normally does. That can be bad for the spirit, but it is terrible for those of us who love to garden. Last summer I found myself spending hours in our garden, taking photographs, munching veggies, and embracing the power of soil. This year I have mostly been avoiding my yard, mainly because I have been so sad and disappointed with the turnout. Last year at this time we had 25 pumpkins, an abundance of butternut and spaghetti squash, more zucchini than you could shake a stick at, tomatoes coming out of our ears, and a whole host of other goodies. This year, not so much.
Well, yesterday I decided that I was sick of sulking, and I got out into the garden, took some photos, and decided to appreciate the (much smaller) bounty that we DO have this year. So maybe we only have a few measly zucchini and yellow squash, and maybe our heirloom tomatoes are slow to ripen, but we do have a bunch of cherry tomatoes (more than we can eat!), some potatoes on the way, and some peppers that are getting close to being ready. We also have some treats that we didn't have last year, like the world's smallest ears of corn (seriously, they are that tiny... my neighbor asked me if they were the kind you put in stir-fry and salad) and some Japanese eggplants. We also harvested some beets last night and roasted them for dinner. Yum!
So, even though our harvest was not nearly what I expected, at least we are producing some of our own food in our front yard. And, even though our yard doesnt look nearly as spectacular as last year (25 pumpkins look pretty awesome, let me tell you), it is still much nicer than a lawn of nothing but grass. And, although I have basically given up in the garden for this year, I am that much more motivated for spring and to have the plentiful garden that we had hoped for this year.
Wishing you all bountiful harvests this fall! Pin It Now!

My Big World of Wonder: A Review

My Big World of Wonder: Activities for Learning About Nature and Using Natural Resources Wisely by Sheri Griffin is a book that is worth checking out... especially for those of you who are early childhood educators or homeschooling mamas/papas. This book is filled with activities divided up by season; activities range from simple activities like stories and discussion to more hands-on activities like nature walks, bug collecting, seed collection, tree rubbings and many more. Each activity comes with discussion questions to get the children thinking, as well as optional art projects based on the activity.
This book seems like it would be best for preschool age children in a school setting, however, there are many ideas from this book that I will likely use at home with Finn. Some of the ideas were a little bit on the iffy side (like making bacon to discuss where our food comes from.... how would that be using natural resources wisely?), but all in all there are some good ideas in here with some good questions to spark discussion. Pin It Now!

This Moment...

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
Inspired by SouleMama:
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