Monday's LLL meeting

I was at my monthly La Leche League meeting on Monday, and there was a woman there who was just visiting the states. She and her family live in the middle East while her husband goes to school. Apparently the country they live in there is ONE La Leche League leader. So she is training to become another one. It knocked me out. How amazing is that? To be right there, right there making such a HUGE impact in the lives of all those women. It was really so inspiring, and so motivating. I have been thinking about her and her journey for days now and just really pondering my own path and what I am really truly wanting to do with myself.
For years and years a huge passion of mine, my sort of day dream if we ever won the lottery, was to open a clinic for women and families that offered holistic care options for the poor. Offering midwifery care and doulas and breastfeeding help with IBCLCs, having a place to have LLL meetings and parenting classes, the place would offer whole food cooking classes and have a community garden. You could come in, have your child's eyes checked, sit in on a LLL meeting, work in the garden, take home some fresh food with a recipe on what to do with it, have your child sit in on a story time or an art class while you get a free back rub my a licensed massage therapist. There would be a food bank and weekly community dinners, local people would come and do talks, offer services, and there would be a lending library. There would be mom groups and play rooms for the kids. Maybe even a clothing exchange. I am not really sure what all this has to do with the LLL meeting that I went to on Monday, except that that woman's story reminded me of my dreams.
At the moment I am working on becoming a leader myself, and also becoming a IBCLC. Maybe a childbirth educator with in the next year as well. I just love the idea of working with women, with moms and helping them along this journey of motherhood. I just don't feel we are suppose to be this isolated in motherhood. I think the whole idea of a nuclear family goes against all that even makes sense. Mothering is not a job to be done in isolation, we are suppose to be surrounded by other moms, other families. And yet, here we are. Everyone in their separate houses, living lives of quiet desperation (sorry, a wee bit of Thoreau thrown in there). I have to say my motherhood journey only became more amazing, less exhausting, more uplifting when I found a community of like minded, happy, strong, beautiful families to share it with. Not only have my children gained so much from having all these great people in their lives, but I too, have grown, changed and become so much more than I was before.
I want that for all women, for all families. That feeling of NOT being alone. That is what I feel that one woman will be doing when she goes back home, that is what my lottery dream is also about. That is why I want to become a LLL leader, an IBCLC and a childbirth educator... to offer community to families in a society that doesn't seem to value it so much.

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny in the weekly Wednesday Yarn Along! 

 I made this on Sunday... in one day!! It is so fun to knit, and easy. (Although I had a wee bit of trouble with the capped sleeves.) Instead of a ribbon, I made an I-cord to use as a belt.

I also worked on another shawl, similar to the last one, but I used Chunky Mochi which is super sweet to knit with. It feels so good and knits up so quickly. I gave the shawl to Audrey, I hope she loves it... I call it Audrey's technicolor dream shawl.

And finally I learned how to do the mattress stitch and was able to finish up Fiona's winter set of goodness. It turned out so cute, she is such a doll in it. It makes me so happy. I closed up the sweater with a red owl button and sort of just pull it over her head (the pattern doesn't actually make button holes) and I didn't sew up the cuffs, which I think looks really cute.

I have been reading the very awesome pie cookbook Mike got me for my birthday "A Year Of Pies", and this very cool book "Farm Anatomy". They are both such nice books, I am really enjoying them.

And one last picture of Fiona in her rainbow madness sweater. :)
oh, and a wee bit of love... I really like both versions of this song, but I picked this one. :)

Recipe Tuesday

Our favorite snack right now is popcorn. I think I make it, ohhh, about every single day. My mother in law was so generous last Christmas and got us an airpopper for popcorn. It was like a miracle or something. I wasn't too hip on microwave popcorn and I seemed to always burn the popcorn when I cooked it on the stove top... so yeah for airpoppers.
So this recipe works with whatever way you get your popcorn made, you just need a BIG bowl of popped corn.
Then 3-4 TBSP melted butter (you could use olive oil... but butter is waaaaay better in my opinion)
a good sprinkling of coarse sea salt
a few shakes of garlic powder
and a couple kid sized handfuls of nutritional yeast (not brewers yeast. Nutritional yeast has a nifty cheesy sort of flavor)
Then just mix it all up and hurry to get a handful.
The boys literally can eat a whole big, big bowl full in under ten minutes.

{ this moment }

Joining Soulemama in a weekly ritual, a single photograph from the week, a moment I wish to pause, savor, and remember.

On turning 40

I turned 40 today. 40!! That seems so old to me, well it did, now I guess not so much. I have been in such a mood about this turning 40 thing. Which is weird, because I am not really like that. I am not one to cover up my aging, but this whole thing has just hit me hard.
I was talking to a friend today, and telling her all my worries, all my dreams, all my fears. And she gave me some amazing advice... I can either follow my dreams or hide away and do nothing but either way I will grow older. Imay not be able to do all I want right at this very moment, but I can take the steps in that direction. Because sitting here and not doing it isn't making me happy, it is not fulfilling. So as a birthday gift to myself... I joined the LLL of Arizona (which I had been meaning to do) and I am finding a child birth education class I can take so I can be trained to do that and I have contacted the school I wish to go to to become a lactation consultant, so I can get that ball rolling. So what if it takes 3 years, I either start it today or I wait, but time will still be passing either way.

Yarn Along and GIVE AWAY!

 I started and finished a pebble vest for Fiona over the last couple of days. I used my few skeins of Panda silk in DK weight (apparently they are discontinuing this, it is a shame). I used two strands together to sort of make a worsted weight yarn. I had three colors, more of the green then the blue and purple. I combined the purple and blue with green and then did one of just green. I really like how it came out. I followed a couple of changes others had made to make the vest for larger children (here and here). I cast on 90 stitches and added 10 extra row to the bottom and 4 rows to each strap. It came out a bit big, but it looks really cute, sort of smock sized on her.
I am on the hunt now for some cute buttons for this one too. I would LOVE to get some cute fabric covered ones like the one's from Bread and Buttons but the etsy shop is still closed, or those lovely heart ones from Wooly Moss Roots, but they are just a bit out of our price range, still... maybe.
Oh, and I messed up on the straps. LOL I stitched the one strap set closed that was on the button side. So now you have to pull it over the head. Oh, well.

I haven't been reading much. For some reason I just can't get into any books. I even went to the library and got myself a few books. I wish I could figure out the reading and knitting thing... that would be great!

Now, for the give away! This is some sweeeet yarn. It is Maxima in colorway of Mojave. The company is fair trade and supports 400 artisans in its cooperative. The yarn is 100% extrafine merino wool and kettle dyed. This skein is about 219 yards per 3.5 oz/100g. Gauge is 18-20 sts per 4 inches using size 6-8 US needles. I made a baby pebble vest and hat with a skein of this and still had a wee bit left over.
Just leave a comment and I will be picking a winner on Friday night. (Also, please leave a way to contact you!)
And the winner is:

A Faithful Journey said...

Gorgeous vest...and gorgeous yarn!! Would LOVE to win! Thanks for the chance! 

Thank you everyone for entering. :)

Joining Ginny's Yarn Along!

~ Recipe Tuesday ~

this picture does not do justice to the awesome goodness of these muffins

I love muffins. I love chocolate. What better way to start the day then with yummy chocolaty muffiny goodness? I can't think of any. I was messing around on line trying to find a good triple chocolate muffin recipe one day, I found this one, which was a good jumping off point. I like the idea of zucchini in them, I like fooling myself that the zucchini add loads of healthiness to an otherwise evil good muffin. BUT at the time I didn't have zucchini, and I felt like the cocoa powder was just really not enough. So I tweaked it a bit. Here is what I did:

Triple chocolate goodness muffins:

1 cup sugar (I used raw sugar)

3 eggs

1 cup melted butter (that has cooled a bit)

1 TBSP vanilla

3 cups flour (you can do any sort of mix of this you want. I just use unbleached white, I'm not fooling anyone.)

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together sugar, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla.

In another bowl whisk flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cocoa powder.

Slowly add dry to wet. DO NOT OVER MIX (I do this often, you end up with stuff muffins.)

Fold in all the chips.

Place in prepared muffin tin (either grease down the cups or use the paper liners. One's with polka dots are the best.)

Bake about 20 minutes, but check for doneness at about 15 minutes. You can easily over cook them and again all you get are stiff muffins.

To help with moistness I read to put a pan of water in the oven when cooking the muffins. I do that now. I am not sure how much it helps, but my muffins have come out more moist. It could be the steam and the fact that I try not to over mix everything now.

This makes about 18 muffins. You could stretch it to 2 dozen if you don't fill up the muffin cups to the top like I do.

ENJOY!