We've Been On Hiatus

If you didn't notice. :)

As with life things can become very roller coaster like and it doesn't allow for much thought processing via the internet since often you find yourself in a knee jerk do it now mode.

Reconnecting with old friends, loosing a couple too, paying bills, daily grind stuff, extended family stuff...it all adds up sometimes. There's not much left for the frivolity of mind dumping on the computer.

Yet birthdays still happen:

My son's 16th birthday cake

Kids grow up and do amazing things:

 

My eldest daughter modeling on a local tv show.

Life keeps on keeping on. Since my own father passed away a little over 8 ago when I was still in my 20's I feel cheated. I know from talking with my other friends who also lost their parents at a young age, it's a common to feel cheated. You didn't get enough time, you didn't get to share big life experiences with them. It can make you long for their presence and do the "I wishes".
There's not much you can do when you are at a loss like that except fill your heart with good thoughts of them and go on. On the flip side, as a parent you can invest that quality time with your kids. Spend as much time as you can with them because life flies by and you don't want your kids to ever say "I wish you would've spent more time with me." They can get over not owning an Xbox because there will be another thing just like it down the road, but never will be more time to spend during their childhood.

I'm not the most successful gal in my business world. I could be more assertive with that if I wanted. I could be making more money and buying more cool stuff, but that takes away from my time with my kids. I'll be honest, this year its really setting in how fast the time flies by. I'm in the months count down mode to when my oldest will be packing up and moving out. That's it. That's all I get. Even if she has to come back home and live with me as many of us had to do, she'll be different.

Thoughts like that come up especially when you see horrible things in the news. It urges you to use your time wisely, you never know what will happen next.

Hug your kids and the ones you love more often.

xo-Thea

Look for upcoming posts on The Senior Year Project.

Potatoes & Berries

Potato Fruits (True Potato Seed) 

The past few weeks have been quite interesting in my garden.
First in the picture above you'll notice some fruit that look like cherry tomatoes, but really they are potato fruit/true potato seeds. In all my years of gardening this is the first time a potato plant has ever done this for me. I've long heard of this mythical fruit but never experienced it first hand.
Yes, you are hearing tones of giddiness over potato fruits.
Yeah- I probably need to get out more...

Potato Fruit of Yukon Gold Potatoes

I've picked a couple of the softer feeling ones and they are hanging out on the windowsill inside. I've heard various methods of extracting the seeds but I'm thinking about doing what I do to get my tomato seeds. Smash/wait/strain/dry/store. This is my first time planting Yukon Gold potatoes which are apparently known to frequently produce these fruits.


Onto the great berry research of 2012.
Can you tell the difference between a blackberry, tayberry, loganberry, olallieberry and a marionberry?
It can be quite confusing.
I have raspberries, blackberries and marionberries in my garden. (In my garden loosely applies to the blackberry because in my parts these fruit bearing vines are spawns of satan that invade everything! It's a weed!)

Marionberries

But after some discussion with a friend (while we picked blueberries on a local farm) she mentioned that she recently went tayberry picking. I mentioned that I preferred loganberries (duh, I'm from Whidbey Island) over tayberries. Her son then asked what those berries were and my friend responded "They're both a blackberry/raspberry cross."
Which they are and apparently they are not alone.

Berry Pedigrees (Graph credit to knewance.com)

Like children each hybrid takes one a trait from the parent. Loganberries tend to be more of a deep red like a raspberry but on the tart side like a blackberry. Tayberries are larger and a bit sweeter than the loganberries. Its a crazy matrix of qualities and characteristics. I spent a good hour or so just reading about them all. How their brambles & vines trail and grow. When they typically ripen in the year and of course their tastes. Personally I jam all of my berries so I guess I am mostly indifferent on preference. I'm definitely no berry connoisseur. How about you?  Did you even realize there were so many choices here? It's kinda fascinating. 

:) Thea

Senior Year - College Tours

Last week I dropped off Jina at her first choice college.
Over the past year we've received a lot college informational mail, but we hadn't received anything from her first choice college. We were a little worried. Mainly because a lot of kids that would normally apply to the big university closest to where we live has cut their in state student acceptance to take in more out of state students (more money). Which pushes in state kids to other colleges in state. We worried for a second that Jina's first choice college was going to pass up promoting itself because their applicants have been upped since the big university has done what it has done.

Then it came.
A special invite for academically high achieving students - WWU Western Scholars Invitational

It's a program that hosts 175 students for a 3 day stay on campus at the student residences. The students got to experience the college, lectures, faculty and local tours. Even discussion on the application process for enrollment into the university which was probably the greatest benefit for the entire weekend if you ask me. If you ask Jina she'll tell you it was all the great people and great places in the university. 

When I picked her up she already claimed to have her roommates picked out for dormitory living (that she met there), sworn off her car and stated she needs a bike instead and griped how she has to live through her senior year in high school. She wants to go to college now. 

She clearly had a great time and great experience with this program. Other colleges must offer this sort of thing but I've only noticed invites for day tours of campuses. Which I do highly recommend, we've eliminated a couple colleges based on those. Although this particular tour was catered for "high cap" students there are tours for the regular student too. Keep your eyes peeled for any tour really. 

So on the mom side of things, I got a taste of departure of my eldest baby. Which is odd to say as I have friends that just had a baby this weekend. I feel so ahead of time, but I started much earlier than most do these days and as we look ahead to a year full of adventures and accolades of high school's Senior Year  I can already envision next year preparing her for real departure to college. It will be bittersweet for sure. 

xo-Thea

"You're Not Special" Graduation Commencement Speech

With lots graduations happening right now I think many caught wind of this great commencement speech.

Wellesley High English Teacher David McCullough advises high school graduates to earn their fulfilling lives. Video courtesy of Wellesley Media

This brought a smile to my face and I hope when my children reach this accolade their commencement speech will be equally as inspirational. What do you guys think?

-Thea

Recipe - Okonomiyaki (Japanese Pancakes)

Okonomiyaki - The name is derived from the word okonomi, meaning "what you like" or "what you want", and yaki meaning "grilled" or "cooked". -Wikipedia translation. 

It actually translates into hella yummy.

Its a great hearty snack that can include a variety of ingredients.  I've made them with shrimp and kimchee before. But the recipe that I am sharing today is my favorite combination.

Things you'll need:

1/2 head of green cabbage finely shredded

3 green onions chopped

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of water

2 eggs

1 tablespoon of Furiake

4-6 pieces of bacon (cut into 2 inch pieces)

vegetable oil for pan

Toppings:

Kewpie mayonaise

Tonkatsu Sauce (I choose this over the okonomiyaki sauce -see why below)

Shred your cabbage.

Chop your green onions. I cut them "fancy style" on the diagonal.

Prep your batter base. Eggs, flour & water. - Mix them well.

Add about 1 tablespoon of Furiake. (I've included an Amazon link but if you are local or have access to an Asian grocer you can easily find this there. I purchased this atUwajimaya locally.)

Add the cabbage & onions to the batter. Coat your cabbage well.

Cut your bacon into 2 inch pieces.

Prep your pan (I used my trusty cast iron skillet that I love dearly) set onto medium-high heat add a splash of oil.

When the pan is hot scoop in a heaping spoonful of the mixture into the pan.

Place 2-3 pieces of bacon on top of your "heaps".

Flip them over when the batter starts to brown. It takes about 3 minutes or so to cook on each side - depending on your pan. 

Set the cooked pancake on top of a few paper towels for a minute to soak up extra oils.

Serve warm.

Top with Tonkatsu Sauce or Okonomiyaki Sauce (the tonkatsu sauce is less expensive and not as sweet as the okonomiyaki sauce) & Kewpie Mayonaise.

Have fun making these & experimenting with things you can add.

Enjoy!

xo-Thea

Originally posted on August 24, 2010

Happy 17 Madison!

May 30th 1995 –  was the day my perspectives began to change.  It was
a Tuesday –I wasn’t due until June 11th but I had been on bed rest for
months on end due to Toxemia (what is now called preeclampsia; ya, I
am so old that medical conditions have been re-named since I had
them).

My mom was still going through her radiation treatment and chemo
therapy for the first round of her fight with the cancer.  I woke up
around 2 in the morning because my back was KILLING ME!  I got in the
shower and hoped that the warm water would lessen the aches and pains.
 I went back to bed and woke up again, this time around 4am.  I
decided to take ANOTHER shower as the rest of the house remained pain
free and tucked in their beds snoozing away.  At 7 am I woke up for a
3rd time, took yet ANOTHER shower, and this time I dried off and
crawled in to bed next to my mom.  I was like a small child who was
too sick to go to school and seeking out comfort from their parent.
She awoke and I told her that my back was throbbing and I was in
sooooooooooo much pain and that I couldn’t stay asleep it was so
intense.  My mom smiled and her face lit up like a Christmas tree and
said “She’s coming!  You’re in labor!”
I looked at her in extreme disbelief.  My mother, the woman who had
not only given birth 3 times on her own but she was also in her Jr.
year of her nursing degree at the University of Utah, and I was
resolute in the fact that she had NO IDEA what she was talking about.
I began to explain to this poor confused soul, who called herself my
mom, that I was in extreme pain in my back, not in my stomach.  I had
gone to Lamaze classes, on her insistence in fact, and the videos, the
visual aids, and the examples all demonstrated exactly where labor
pains were felt and my back was never brought in to the conversation;
besides I still had almost 2 weeks left before my baby was due.  What
on earth did SHE know anyway?.  She insisted I eat breakfast but all I
wanted was some Tylenol, a nap, and some relief.  May 28th, 1995, was
my last night of REAL sound sleep.
The hospital had a VHS player in the room and a selection of Disney
movies (hey, I gave birth in Utah, there wasn’t going to be anything
over a PG rating on that shelf).  I watched the Lion King for the
millionth time as I waited to dilate more.  My baby brother, who was
11 years old at the time, shoveled ice chips in my mouth and I thought
I might die of embarrassment because my then husband was too “bored’
to stay in the room as it (my laboring) was “taking too long”, I
remember thinking there was no way I could do it…no way I could handle
a moment more.  My mom later told me she was kept waiting for me to
burst with expletives and rage but I was almost silent and it scared
her.  She had never seen me react that way to anything, ever.  I
didn’t yell at anyone, scream, or even complain….I was silent.  I was
TERRIFIED.  18 hours of back labor, some added pitocin, and an
epidural that didn’t take later I found myself face to face with my
sweet baby Madison.  

She was amazing, she IS amazing, and I wouldn’t
trade her for the world.  I am still unsure as to how my grandmother,
my mother, my baby brother, and my ex-husband were all present as I
pushed.  I remember refusing the mirror the nurses offered me and my
mom told them to bring it back so that I could watch….instead I then
spent the whole time pushing with my eyes closed shut. My mom cut the
umbilical cord and she cried as she held my daughter in her arms
before my baby made her way to me.
That night I stared at my baby girl sleeping pressed up against my
chest.  My mom and the nurses urged me to set her down and to get some
sleep myself but I couldn’t stop looking at her.  The only thing I was
prepared for when I arrived at the hospital was her name.  I knew she
would be called Madison…not Maddie….Madison.  What I didn’t know was
that I would be so in love with her the moment I heard her cry as she
vacated my body.  She was beautiful.  I wanted to give her the world,
the sun, the moon….whatever she desired.  

My perspective on life changed that instant. My wants, desires,  and my needs had all changed
for the better….I have her to thank for that.  She changed my life
…she halted  my crash course journey I was on…..and at 19 I brought
home the most amazing creature I had ever met.  She has been my
sidekick longer than anyone else in my life.  

She is my friend, my daughter, and my dearest most precious gift.  Happy 17th birthday to
my wondrous “baby”girl.  Madison, I love you and I can’t begin to thank you enough for the joy you have brought to me.

Mother Earth News Fair

This is a cross post from my personal blog but it was so much fun I have to share it here too.

Rebekah's latest Senior Year Project post will be posted tomorrow. Poor thing has been without internet and sick for the past few days. That's cruel and unusual punishment from the universe!

---

Apologies on the lack of crafty posts. I've been up to other things. Ya know, trying to keep my life interesting and enriched. :)

This past weekend I helped out my friend Jessi with her booth at the Mother Earth News Fair in Puyallup, Washington.

It was a totally different type of show of what I'm personally used to but it was a lot of fun.

I felt like I was totally exposed to my friend's "other life". You think you know someone well and then you witness them in "work mode" and its a whole new person.  It was awesome!

Jessi drew a massive crowd for her "What the Cluck" talk. Times like this I go into my "older sister" pride mode for her. She had people who were shoulder to shoulder rolling with laughter while taking notes.

Her book sold out completely. (I've seen this happen at two different shows now!)

And she has really fun garden world friends. I'm totally comparing them to my extremely fun crafty friends. It would be one insanely fun party if those two worlds could collide. Apparently we're all drinkers.

Erica from NW Edible stopped by. Love, love, love her blog and highly recommend it to my local friends.

The super funny Lisa Taylor stopped by the booth before she it the stage. If you ever have the opportunity to listen to one of her talks, you must! She is hilarious.

Jessi's publishing company (Timberpress) reps were so fun! My eyes started leaking a couple times from laughing so hard.

And a special shout out to my new crush Ivette Soler. First she is absolutely beautiful, gorgeous porcelain skin. She is also wise and real - I totally got that from her just from a 20 minute conversation with her. I am totally buying her book The Edible Front Yard.

I could gush about the whole weekend but honestly I'm pooped. I didn't think I would be since I didn't have to do any real work so to speak. It's exhausting to have so much fun!

Here's a slideshow of the pictures I took in case you're interested.

Happy Monday!

-Thea

Happy 17 Jina!

17 years ago I welcomed Jina into the world.

18 years old and a week before my high school graduation.
I had a really rough year and an even rougher pregnancy. I recall watching a lot of the OJ Simpson trial from a hospital bed.
I didn't take any birthing classes.
I didn't even have a significant other. I just went in and had a baby.
I had two friends in the delivery room with me taking a crash course class on how a baby was born.
It seemed like a sitcom episode at times.

Jina had a ton of brown/blonde hair and big doll eyes and had my heart ever since.



Her being changed my life for the better. Not in a whole parental legacy way either, let me remind you that I was a bit of a troublemaker. Having her gave me real responsibility. Truly having to care for someone else besides myself. I had to quit being a jerk and do something good pretty promptly.



Like any aspect of parenting it hasn't always been easy, but its always been "us".
She is an amazing person.
One of my favorite persons.


Happy Birthday Sunshine-