School is out for Summer!

And boy do I miss my son and the free time I was able to have with him before he went to school full days. I miss those lazy afternoons and exciting days at the park, or those late nights watching a movie together. Having my son in full days was a big adjustment not only for him but for me as well and I honestly feel it just isn't natural to be away from our children for such a long periods of time.

I am looking forward to stress free days of playing in the park or swimming at the beach, snuggling on the couch reading stories and eating Popsicles in the back yard.

To new adventures and discoveries I hope summer brings something new for everyone.

Knitted "green" Tote

My first attempt at knitting a bag and I have to say it was a lot easier then I thought it would be. This is a one handled bag knitted in 100% cotton yarn. You can really use this bag for anything and everything. I thought it would be great in the summer for the beach as the sand will just fall through the holes and with it being cotton it will dry fast if it gets wet. These bags are also perfect for groceries as they are easy to wash and keep clean of bacteria and mold from food.

Green Living Tote: by Lion Brand

TOTE
Base

With 2 strands of yarn held together, cast on 44 sts.

Rows 1-30: Knit. At end of last row, do not turn. Rotate work and pick up and k14 sts along adjacent short side of Base, 44 sts along long side of Base, and 14 sts along rem side – 116 sts.

Top
Note: Work will now proceed in the round. Join, being careful not to twist sts. Place marker for beg of rnd.
Rnds 1-3: Knit.
Cut 1 strand of yarn, leaving a long tail.
With 1 strand of yarn, work Rnd 1 of Lace Pattern. Rep Rnds 1-4 of Lace Pattern until piece measures about 14 in. (35.5 cm) from Base, ending with a Rnd 4.

Handle Shaping
Next Rnd: K 44 sts, bind off 14 sts, k44 sts and sl to a holder, bind off 14 sts – (2 sets of 44 sts for each side of handle).
Rem 44 sts will be worked back and forth in rows for first half of handle.
Row 1 (RS): K2tog *(yo, k2tog), rep from * to last 2 sts, k2tog – 42 sts.
Row 2 and all WS rows: Purl.
Row 3: K1, ssk, *(yo, ssk) to last 3 sts, ssk, k1 – 40 sts.
Row 5: K1, k2tog, *(yo, k2tog); rep from * to last 3 sts, k2tog, k1 – 38 sts.
Row 7: Ssk, *(ssk, yo); rep from * to last 2 sts, ssk – 36 sts.
Row 8: Purl.
Rep Rows 5-8 until there are 8 sts rem, ending with a Row 8. Work rem 8 sts as follows:
Row 1 (RS): K1, (yo, k2tog) 3 times, k1.
Row 2: Purl.
Row 3: K1, (ssk, yo) 3 times, k1.
Row 4: Purl.
Rep Rows 1-4 twice more. Bind off loosely. Re-join yarn to 44 sts on holder and work same as for first half of handle.

FINISHING
Sew ends of handle together.

Border
With RS facing and 1 strand of yarn, beg at handle seam, pick up and k100 sts evenly spaced around one side of handle and top of Tote. Join, being careful not to twist. Place marker for beg of rnd.
Rnd 1: Purl.
Rnd 2: Knit.
Bind off loosely.
Rep border on opposite side of Tote. Weave in ends.

Blueberry-Banana Bread

I have made this bread a few times in the past. I was looking for a recipe that contained no refined sugars and found this one. It truly is very yummy and my kids devour it every time I make it. I have changed a couple of things from the original recipe, but only to substitute what I had on hand. Please visit fatfreevega.com for the original recipe.

Blueberry-Banana Bread

• 3 large over-ripe bananas


• 2 tablespoons lemon juice


• 1/3 cup (80 ml) Almond Milk (or apple sauce)


• 1/2 cup (120 ml) maple syrup


• 2 cups (240 g) whole wheat flour


• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder


• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda


• 1/2 teaspoon salt


• 1 cup (240 ml) blueberries(fresh or frozen)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

If you love Chocolate and Peanut Butter you will LOVE this smoothie. The best thing about it, it is SUGAR FREE!!

Enjoy!

• 2 cups almond milk or other non-dairy milk




• 2 large ripe bananas -peeled, broken into pieces and frozen




• 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder




• 3 tablespoons unsweetened and unsalted peanut butter or almond butter




• ¼ teaspoon instant espresso coffee(optional)




• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients; blend on high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes.

When I make this, I make it without espresso, but I can only imagine it is very good with it.

recipe adapted from Silvana's Kitchen

http://silvanaskitchen.com/2011/01/gluten-free-dairy-free-chocolate-peanut-butter-smoothie/

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EDITED recipe

I have experimented with this recipe and came up with a very quick yummy version.

• 1 cup chocolate almond milk or rice milk(rice milk is sugar free)or cows milk



• 2 tbsp peanut butter



• 1 frozen banana (or unfrozen)

blend it all up for a very simple yummy smoothie. The frozen banana will give this a milkshake consistency, but if you don't have any then just use a ripe banana for the flavour. You could also try adding some ice for that smoothie consistency.

The Fit

Here today, gone tomorrow. Just like that our little black car(the Honda Fit) is completely smashed due to some crazy kids running a flashing red light.
First and foremost, my Husband is 100% ok, amazingly not a scratch to be found, maybe a stiff neck and back that could use some physio. He walked away a little shaken, he ended up T-boning a full size van(Toyota Sienna) with a bunch of teenagers driving after curfew, no full license behind their names and passengers that were illegally present in the van.

What have I taken from this experience? Many things.
The Honda Fit is amazing at safety! My husband went from 60k to 0k in 0 seconds flat with a head-on collision and lived to tell about it.
I learned my husband has a lot of strength to move forward from situations that I otherwise would probably be traumatised about for weeks if not months. I already knew I loved my husband more than anything, but when I saw our little car and what was left of it I got very choked up and realised how lucky we really are that nothing serious has come from this.
On a down side, I am saddened that some young kids think they are invisible to risk their lives and others for an evening out. I am also upset that our brand new car(only 1 year old to the day!) is gone and we have to fight with our insurance company to get out of this in some way benefiting us. I find it funny how the accident is not even our fault yet we might have to fight for our rights.

Live each day like it is your last. Hug your spouse, snuggle your children and eat some good food!

No to Facebook?

I did it, I left Facebook and all the time wasting energy behind.

With some recent events happening in my life I had this overhwleming feeling that Facebook was really nothing but a times waster and I was letting it enable me to do just that.

I actually feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders and I feel so free now. I might not know when Janet ate her last cookie, or when Sally goes on her next vacation, but I do know that everyone I care deeply about will stay in contact with me through e-mail, phone and coffee chats(which are the best!).

Gingerbread cookies

My little peanut and I made some yummy gluten free/dairy free ginger cookies today.

I have been having so much luck with Slivana Nardone's cook book(Cooking for Isaiah) that I look forward to the next recipe I might try. I like to keep some sweet treats in the freezer for those short notice play dates, or tea with my girlfriends.

These ginger cookies are very good and they have very little sugar, which is a plus. The only negative thing I can say about Cooking for Isaiah is the amount of sugar in the recipes. I have successfully cut the amount of sugar in half when the sugar content seemed to be very high, with great results I am happy to report. But this recipe only has 1/2 a cup of light packed brown sugar and it seems to be the right amount.