A Lazy Rainy Weekend - Cleanse Reboot!

I had a lot of aspirational ideas for today ... and then it rained ... and it was cold ... hence, the lazy bug took over. Granted, we did get out of the house and run to the book store and then Target (which was really the highlight of O's day ... apparently he and D must go there almost every other day.) Then, we came home ... spent most of the afternoon either playing with action figures or reading. Late afternoon, D and I were both so tired, we let the boys watch a movie, and we each took a nap on the sofa. It was a lazy day if I've ever had one.

It was also day one of my three-day cleanse reboot. I was a huge fan of the cleanse I did in January. Not only did it make me feel healthier, introduce me to some new meal options and just in general kick my arse in the right direction at the beginning of the year, it also helped me determine that I have a gluten-intolerance. So, when I was reading my newest issue of Whole Living and saw that they had a three-day reboot of the cleanse for those who did the 21 or 28-day cleanse in January (or for those who just wanted a three day cleanse) ... I was thrilled.

The approach this time is a little different, you eat the same three meals for three days. But on a good note, you make the "big batches" the first day, so then the next two days are fairly easy from a prep standpoint. So, definitely something I needed to start on a Saturday when I had a little more time to prep the food (so I guess I was a little productive amongst the laziness.)

Breakfast is a grapefruit, apple, strawberry smoothie ... and it is definitely zingy and tart. I sipped it very slowly ... I think it took me a good 30 minutes to get it down. Of course, that is part of it right, savoring the moment. For lunch, it was a salad w/beets. I am always apprehensive with beets, but the salad turned out good (and was a lot of food). For dinner, I enjoyed a carrot, bean and spinach soup. You put the hot soup over the spinach leaves and let it steam for a bit. It's spiced with turmeric, and quite refreshing.

And I do have the luxury of getting two "whole food" snacks each day. Frozen bananas pureed into an "ice cream" sprinkled with almonds - divine! I am sure that by the third day, I'll be looking forward to adding some variety into my food. So, here's to three days of whole food healthy!

Farm to Table, Hand to Mouth

Yesterday was the third Saturday of the month ... which means it's time for another adventure for the Wine Club! I love my wine clubbing ladies, it's such a diverse group of friends, but definitely proves the point that we can all bond over food and wine, spending many points of the evening laughing out loud.

This month we ate at Wise Acre Eatery. Wise Acre touts themselves as a food to table culinary experience and I had been wanting to try them for a while ... but when trying to narrow down the selection for April, I was a bit torn based on their reviews. It tended to be a polarizing experience, people either loved them or hated them. They've also been featured a lot lately in local publications ... so, knowing they don't take reservations, could potentially be one of the "hot" places of the moment, and we'd potentially have to wait ... the ladies all decided to meet at five. Which seems super early for dinner ... but based on our Travail experience in January ... we didn't want to take the risk!

The location used to be an old garage, so it has this great retro vibe in a small Minneapolis neighborhood. We lucked out and found a parking spot and got their precisely at 4:55. We were told they don't seat for dinner until five, so we waited in front of their bakery display. (If I ate gluten, I would have been in trouble, they had these doughnut muffins that looked so unbelievable yummy!)

The place isn't huge, but that's what we've been experiencing at most of our places this year, the smaller more intimate restaurant is definitely in (of course this makes the demand higher, right, knowing getting a seat is that much more difficult.).

Our evening started with a popcorn appetizer drizzled in thyme and olive oil presented in a cute baby jar.

I probably ate more than my share of the popcorn, I found it to be that good. Something about taking a simple treat and giving it an unexpected flavor really seemed to win me over.

The next thing that arrived to our table were wild rice cake fritters that some of the ladies split. I didn't have one, but those who did enjoyed them, and there were none left (and I think there were a total of a dozen good-size fritters.)

Then ... probably the only downfall of the evening ... it seemed to take forever for the next course ... which was soup. A lovely carrot-ginger soup ... but I didn't understand the wait.

The soup was really flavorful. The server who brought it out said that we got the last of it (it was the soup du jour) and so it must have been served at lunch as well. The cup was just enough of the delicate flavor of a blend of spicy carrot creaminess. I have learned that I really enjoy soup, and it's pretty much become a staple for me, providing nutrients in a simple and satisfying format. The micro greens on top gave it a nice peppery garnish.

Then we waited a bit more for our next course ...

I had the Shades of Spring Salad, which was greens, a bacon steak, shredded chicken, quinoa, radishes a pickled egg and three vinegar blue cheese vinaigrette. It also was served with a large grilled crouton that the gluten-eaters enjoyed. Let's start with the bacon steak ... salty, meaty heaven. This piece of pork belly I could have just eaten and been completely satisfied with ... the pickled egg was another surprise. I never would have guessed I would enjoy anything pickled. Some of the complaints on yelp are about portion sizes ... but, as you can see by the picture, this was a pretty sizable salad. Even the pescatarians who got the very simple greens salad had a plate full of greens. I didn't really notice the vinaigrette and the amount of quinoa was minimal, but overall, this was a lovely spring dinner.

(They did forget one of the salads, so one of the ladies had to wait a few more minutes... and so that you know we didn't all eat salads, one of the girls ordered their bangers and mash special and raved about it. It looked really good, and appeared to be what many diners were ordering.)

To top off the great dinner, we all opted for their custard:

I chose the vanilla custard and had it topped with salted caramel sauce. (Okay, yes, I am retaining water like mad this morning because of all the salt I consumed last night.) It was delish. One of the ladies ordered the two scoops of custard ...thinking it was just twice the amount we had, but what was brought out was like four times what the rest of us had ... so if you eat there, and want two scoops, something to consider.) The sauce was so good I wanted more, but I was content with my perfect serving size.

To complement this meal I tried a wine I wasn't familiar with ... La Cave de Pomerols Picpul De Pinet from Languedoc France. It was a refreshing, crisp white that had hints of grapefruit (which is my favorite profile in wines for the spring and summer.) It was a nice new treat to add to my repertoire.

(Oh, and I forgot to mention, because of delaying one salad, they didn't charge her for her dessert, so while the service was slow, they made up for it in attentiveness.)

Overall, I would definitely give Wise Acre another try, in fact, I may need to find a reason to go there in the fall when my favorite flavors are in season!

Thatch, I Despise You

D and I have lived in our house for five years ... and we are slowly acclimating to all the responsibilities of being masters of our lawn. Our lawn is very sad (and it doesn't help that one of our neighbors has the most beautiful lawn in the neighborhood ... it just increases the very sadness of our lawn.) We're anti-chemical bathing our lawn to force it to look green, so we keep looking for natural solutions to improve it.

Our latest education was about thatch and the importance of de-thatching your lawn. And our lawn needs it badly. Now with the size of our lawn, we should have just rented a motorized de-thatcher ... but again, going to our eco-passion, we instead bought a de-thatching rake powered by person.

After 90 minutes yesterday, I barely made a dent in our lawn (that's how much it needed this treatment,) I ripped a hole in my hand, and today my hands are sore and while my back doesn't really ache, it's a little sore. Today it's supposed to rain, so I'm not sure how much progress I am going to make, it may take me an entire month to get this little project done. Secretly, I hope D gets inspired and does some of it while O takes a nap the days K is at school.

D was surprised at how long it was taking me ... until he tried it ... then he realized it was a really difficult task. The worst part, we've already filled our yard waste bin for the week. So, even if we do get more time to de-thatch ... we'll have to figure out where we can put it.

Here's to lawn work and the impending summer!

School Days, School Days, Good Old Field Trip Days

I don't know about you, but when I was younger, one of my favorite days in school were the ones where you got to go on a field trip. I remember going to the zoo, going to the science museum, local farms. It was a welcome break from the routine, usually included lots of fun (learning in disguise) and my mom would often volunteer to chaperon.

So, of course, when the opportunity to volunteer for one of K's field trips was presented, I gladly signed up to help out. Of course, things are different today than back then. For example, I remember the parents riding the bus with us to the destination of the field trip. Not so with this experience. We had to drive separately ... and meet the class there. (Normally, this wouldn't be a huge inconvenience, but the field trip was at the museum on the U campus ... land of construction and crowds ... parking was a b$#&Q.)

I beat the bus, and had to spend about 30 minutes just acquainting myself with the museum, checking email, Facebook, etc. When the class arrived, I was thrilled to see K's face light up when he saw me, and the few kids who recognized me all chimed in "K's mom!" There were lots of activities to keep the kids interested, and they learned about many animals, including bears, timber wolves, beavers and snakes. (K actually pet the snake, which is monumental since the kid usually runs away screaming from bugs.) I had a responsibility to help keep kids in line (and also literally in line) and found my self saying the same kids' names over and over again. Overall, the kids were really well-behaved and made it an enjoyable experience.

Then, lunch arrived ... and the sad state of the future of our health and well-being was quickly presented to me. K's lunch was moderate. He ate his applesauce first, then his sandwich and then just a handful of his baked Cheetos (not my choice) with a small bottle of water. Not a prize-winning lunch, but not a horrible lunch. However, the stuff I saw in other kids bags broke my heart. One girl had a large bag of Funyons, two Swiss cake rolls, a bagel sandwich and kool-aid to drink. She ate the whole bag of Funyons first, and then when the teacher said there were only five minutes left ... the girl wolfed down the two cake rolls. I wanted to inject a fruit or vegetable so badly.

What the experience did is solidify my passion around health and nutrition. It's really important for me to instill in my children healthy living ... and now I have a greater picture of what I am up against. Yikes! After lunch, (which was a good two hours later than the kids are used to) I saw my son board the bus, and I was off to go back home and greet my sick toddler and husband. It was such a memorable experience to spend the day with K, and I hope D decided to volunteer in the future. (As an aside, I was surprised out of all the parents that were there to volunteer, the dads outnumbered the moms ... that was never the case when I was a kid, and it emphasizes how the roles of dads and moms are definitely evolving.)

The day also reminded me that maybe I should take my own team out on field trips every once and a while ... we all can use a break in the routine.

The Greatest Robot Birthday Ever

This weekend was truly an amazing weekend. As one would expect when two fabulous people are celebrating their birthdays ... and a holiday caps it off. While I hope that we don't have to share our birthday weekend too often with Easter, this year, it really was the icing on the cake.

But now, let's get to the point of this day's rambling: the birthday party for K. While I don't think Martha Stewart has much to fear, I think I pulled off a pretty good and crafty party ... I also learned a whole lot about hosting a kid's birthday party and will pass along what I learned.

First, let's get to the party, then the lessons:

Setting up the stage. With the party being themed robots, the first charge was creating robot decorations. And I must give all my credit to two great blogs I happened upon: http://www.wendolonia.com/ and http://www.hwtm.com/. Both provided me oodles of inspiration, and templates to use for everything.

Below are the invitations that we sent to his six friends. (yes, I abided by the rule to invite the number of kids that matched his age ... a really smart rule ... which I'll elaborate on in just a bit.)

Then, we had to create some wall decor:

Now, I painstakingly made this robot free-hand by looking at a robot that was on some of the templates. When D came down the day I made it, he was "surprised" by how good it was. I was slightly wounded by his surprise, but I know he meant it in the best way possible. D also got balloons the morning of the party (apparently, we couldn't order them in advance because there is a helium shortage, so we had to go the day we wanted them ... fortunately, the party store opened at 8 a.m.)

When the kids arrived, we played a game of "hot robot" which was like hot potato, but with an Ugly Doll, that kind of looked like a robot. After that, the pizza arrived (thank goodness, as punctual as one could ever hope! I mean, they were here the minute we asked them to be - it was amazing, and may have secured our loyalty.)

With the pizza, we cut up apple slices and caramel and gave the kids some liquid robot fuel to drink:

After the pizza, the kids crafted their own robots out of marshmallows and pretzel sticks. This was a winner of a game, it kept them entertained the longest ... and we put their creations in bags for them to bring home. Then K opened his gifts. This was when I realized were were about a half hour ahead of schedule. These kids were going through my activities too fast ... so I quickly ran to our office and pulled out board games. We played Candyland and Operation. Then it was time for cake:

I found the template for this cake on http://www.bettycrocker.com/, it was fairly easy to  make, and K helped me tint the frosting to the perfect shade of "silver." After cake, I looked at D in desperation, we still had more than an hour before their parents were going to arrive ... and I had one activity left.  We played "Robot Says" which is Simon Says, but you say robot. This was good until one kid wanted to play with the toys instead of the game. I had printed robot coloring sheets, so we had the kids color. In pure hopes that it would kill time. It only killed fifteen minutes. So then we did the worst thing I could imagine ... we put on a cartoon. It kept them quietly entertained for a half hour. Which gave me time to come up with something else to do ... I brought out the Lego's. So, after the cartoon, they built creations. (Now, of course, I forgot to add it was raining, otherwise, I assure you, we would have taken those kids outside!)

Then, when 2:30 came, we sent the happy little kids off  with fabulous favor bags:

Inside, there was a lot of delightful robot-themed goodies:

The Nuts & Bolts mix seems like a requisite item at robot-themed parties, so I put in pretzel sticks, chex mix, chocolate chex mix and silver sixlet chocolate candy. And then the children also were given a glow-stick whistle, a robot puzzle item, Iron Man pop rocks, a flashlight and Rock-em Sock-em robot rings. Frankly, it was a favor bag to defy all favor bags:

And then, after everyone left, I went for a good run to de-stress. Fortunately, it had stopped raining by time I tied my shoes, because even if it hadn't ... I would have still needed the run. So here are my top lessons:
1. Two hours is sufficient. I hosted the party from 11:30 to 2:30. We could have ended at 1:30, the last hour was torture.
2. Don't go it solo. The only reason the party was a success was because both D and I were there. We needed each other.
3. You learn a lot about your kids friends. Like now, we may sort of steer him towards playing with the boy that was so nice and focused at the party, so polite and thoughtful. We may try to steer him a little bit a way from the obnoxious kids.
4. Get all parents cell phone numbers. We didn't need them, but with the parents leaving their kids, you always want to be safe.
5. Pray that they don't all come. This one sounds horrible, but only three of the kids were able to  make it. D and I aren't sure if we could have handled all six kids. But, we also wonder if there had been more kids, would that have tamed the wild ones.
6. Hide your child's toys. Frankly, the kids just wanted to play with all of K's toys, because they were new to them. So, instead of wanting to do the organized activities, they wanted to be down in the family room, playing with his toys or playing on the keyboard.
7. Realize that they will do everything in about 1/5th of the time you think they will. (Which takes me back to lesson 1.)

At the end of the day, I am glad we did it. K had a fabulous birthday (that was topped off with him going to dinner with just me and D, while D's parents watched O.) And there's nothing like the smile and joy on your child's face to make you think all is right with the world.  Thank goodness we're still about three birthday's away from O having a party.

Personal New Year

Thirty-four years ago, the world changed forever ... well, at least my world changed forever, because I entered it. Yes, today is my birthday. This week always brings forth a lot of self-reflection, I always question my personal and professional milestones and decisions and try to determine next steps and what I want to do with the next year.

The day itself I try to always get a massage and maybe treat myself to something special. That was very much on the agenda for the day ... I started out by getting a massage a Hush Therapeutic Massage on Grand Ave. Laura, my masseuse, was great, she listened to wear I needed attention (tight hamstrings, sore back) and took care of me. The 90 minutes went too fast! It was the first time I had a massage therapist actually acknowledge the millions of knots in my back (and I have always had the issue.)

After the great massage, I went over to Allure for a bra fitting ... okay, I hate to admit it, but it's the first time in my whole life I got a proper fitting. I walked out with some very pretty new garments, and I have to say, a well-made bra really makes the difference, I think I look like I lost ten pounds with the new support wear! I have to give kudos to Eva who helped me out.

After a quick stop at a few other shops with out much luck, the last place I stopped was Lululemon. I was in the need of some new running gear, and left with a couple of items. All in all, a good day. Upon returning home, it was time to prepare for tomorrow's big festivities for K's birthday. Handcrafting and theme all ready to go. Cake baked, decorating tomorrow :) Here's to another great year ahead. If the year reflects my day, it's going to be a good one.

Dinner by Candle Light

Somewhere I read that if you eat dinner by candle light, well, it just automatically increases the "specialness" of the event. This was particularly targeted to parents to help make family meal time that much more important. I wish I could recall the source, because I like to credit any idea I tout here.

So, in an effort to make our family dinners even more spectacular, last night we started our "dining by candle light" adventure. The boys were extremely delighted by the increased atmosphere provided at the dinner table. K's eyes lit up, and O declared "hot, hot!" I asked K if having candles lit at the table made dinner feel more fancy and important. He looked at me, beamed brightly and stated, "yes, I love it."

My point, dine by candle light. It really does make dinner feel a little more extraordinary. A simple, sophisticated edge to the mundane of the daily routine. Can't complain about that. (P.S., I think the boys' favorite part is blowing the candles out after dinner.)