No Refined Sugar Chocolate Dip

Clearly, the children gobble this one up. It is so easy and delicious. You may want to alter the amounts to suit your sweet tooth!

Chocolate Agave Dip
Perfect for Fruits, Nuts and Veggies

1/2 cup unsweetened peanut (or other nut butter)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 c agave nectar or pure maple syrup
1/4-1/2 cup coconut milk

Playing with Mimi and Papa

What a wonderful, fun-filled, week we spent in California. Enjoy some of the highlights!

Riding the Carousel at the Pier in San Francisco.
Swimming like crazy in the pool...
Spending countless hours playing card games, barbies, trains and anything else the little ones could coerce their amazingly tolerant and loving Mimi and Papa into...
Hitting the links on occasion...scantily clad...
Ever so graciously enjoying snuggles with Great Grandma...again, scantily clad...
Some of us really enjoying our sweet, wonderful Great Grandma, whom we love so much!
Reliving the High School Dream of #10 to #1. Known by local groupies and football enthusiats as "The Mormon Connection." Hoping for a second generation...maybe if Emmett and Josh watch the highlight films a few more times...as if we didn't get enough while we got the two families together...
An astonishingly cute bunch of children....thanks to Josh and Jennifer for a wonderful afternoon swimming and catching up...
Becoming dangerously intimate with Mimi cats, at risk of spending time covered in hives and swollen eyes...darn it, we discovered Callista inherited my cat allergy...after this little cuddle session...
Timeless memories on all counts...

Back from Vacation

I try to be a bit discreet when we venture out of town so the entire world doesn't come rob our house. (Which btw my neighbor did call because someone was crawling through our kitchen window! I will post about that...it is its own unfortunate story) We spent the last 8 days in California visiting Brents family. It was wonderful. Get ready for some fun posts!

Fast Food at the Davidsons?

My recent pleasure reading includes a book called "Original Fast Foods" by James and Colleen Simmons. While the majority of the information was not new to me, I still found it enlightening.

This book outlines how American's diets have changed over the past 100 years. We have moved from obtaining 70% to 7% of our calories from fruits, vegetables and grains. During this same time degenerative diseases have skyrocketed. The authors do a nice job of presenting a convincing case to change your diet to mainly fruits and vegetables and some grains. By so doing, incureable conditions are reversed, proper weight is attained, and maximum vitality restored.

My problem with allopathic medicine is its tendency to treat symptoms and not underlying conditions. A wholesome diet addresses the root problems of degenerative disease.

I went into the doctor several months ago for an infection. My blood pressure was elevated. The doctor was adamant then and there to put me on blood pressure medication. This was the first time I had seen this doctor. She didn't know me, or my medical history. I have "white coat syndrome." In other words the moment I step into an office my blood pressure goes up.

After arguing and, I will admit, verbally placating the doctor I finally got out of the office. All blood pressure, cholesterol, acid reflux etc medication to is mask or treat symptoms. While there is a place for medication, it should be shortlived.

On many fronts I feel my family is well on our way to eating as outlined in this book. The more knowledge I gain the more convinced I am of the myriad benefits of this diet. The diet plan is accomodating of 10% of your intake derived from animal products. Those not interested in a vegan diet will find this comforting.

What is most disconcerting is learning about the powerful influence and control the dairy and animal industries wield over the nutrition information (or disinformation) we receive. The food pyramid has been universally debunked as leading to the obesity and heart disease so prevalent in America. Brent and I saw a decent movie lately called "Food Inc." Most of the movie was information I was familiar with. In fact, the way meat is raised and processed commercially is the reason I gave it up almost 20 years ago. I recommend the movie. Disturbing but informative.

The book is also chock-full of recipes. I am anxious to try them. A few of the chapters, full of intense meal tracking and goal setting weren't of interest ot me. Overall, I recommend the book. Even if it isn't up your alley, it never hurts to be educated. I bought mine from their website Original Fast Foods.

Soaked Buckwheat Breakfast Cereal

Here is a raw version of breakfast cereal I picked up at my class. Emmett and I love it. The rest of the family are not huge friends. Brent and Callista will eat it but ask for the mulitgrain hot cereal.

Raw Buckwheat and Goji Berry Breakfast Cereal

Soak 2 cups hulled, organic buckwheat and 1/4 cup dried goji berries overnight. You may want to rinse a few times. In the morning some fruit and sweetener of your choice. We like raisins, strawberries and pure maple syrup. Top with almond milk.

I have to confess...I do warm it up a bit. It just tastes so much better.

A New Coop for the Chicks

For 6 weeks I struggled at designing the perfect little coop for our chicks. I scoured the classifieds, local farm stores, and online designs. The trick was finding something which looked decent, blended in with our yard, and fit our budget. People are really selling coops that are nicer than my house, and they cost over a thousand dollars. Not for us.
Finally, last week we had a fortuitous find. A local carpenter was selling a partly finished coop for $50. Now that was my style! Brent picked it up and within a couple days our charming chicks have some fancy new digs.

We added the door, nesting box, roosts, roof, ladder, and then stained the entire coop. The final results are great. When the hens start laying we will add an additional door that accesses the nesting box, so the kids can help collect the eggs.

It is actually a bit larger than I planned and could fit up to 12 hens I think. But it still sits below th,e fence line, which was important to us. I went out to snap a photo tonight of the little gals in their new coop and this is what I found.

Heartless, cruel chick owner comes to mind. The poor little things all huddled together in the corner. Maybe they aren't quite as grown up as I thought.
Brent and I went to the garage and brought the brooder out to the coop. We set it next to the coop and put the little chicks inside with a blanket over top. Hopefully they will sleep more peacefully now.

Today I caught them enjoying a dust bath together by the fence.

How is it having backyard chickens you wonder? So far so good. I would estimate over half our backyard is quite "wild and wooded." The chicks have a hay day scratching around at rotten fruit under the apple and peach trees or foraging for bugs and other miscellaneous treats. They tend to stay in the woodchips as does their little chicken poop. If ever I catch them in my strawberries or garden they get a quick spray with hose or chase from the kids.

The chicks spend the entire day outside. From 7 am until 7 pm. I noticed today they went into their coop a couple times for water and some easy grub. So far we haven't felt a need to build a run. They are not a nuisance at all. I may change my tune later. We'll see.

Spudman 2009

I will not be posting yet more pictures of myself in my lavender and gray triathlon outfit. I think we have all seen enough of those....But the race turned out far better than I anticipated!

We brought the whole family up to Idaho for the first time for this race. We splurged with a stay at the local Marriott. The kids had a blast swimming until all hours of the night. We also spent a great evening at Brent's friend Ryan's childhood home in Burley.
The girls demonstrated exemplary bravery in barreling down this "slide" into the Snake River. They couldn't get enough of it. Ellery even flew on the rope swing into the river.
Goo Bear was happy as a clam with his father on a jet ski. He even took a spin with me. Their private dock and play area was wonderful for the kids. We had a great time. Thanks Ryan!

So...about the race. Back in January I set some fitness goals for myself. For the Spudman I wanted to conquer my fear of the open water swim and achieve a PR. Proud to say....Mission Accomplished! In fact, with flying colors.

This is the best I felt about a race since the St George Marathon last October.

Here is the breakdown...

Prepping for the Swim

The day before I decided to jump in the river and swim a portion of the course with my wetsuit. I am glad I did. Just looking at the water flooded me with a wave of fear, reminiscent of last year. Read about it here. After a couple minutes of swimming and breathing I was under control. I spent about 20 minutes in the water floating around...dragging Ellery on my feet, fighting the current to come back upstream. I also tried to find the current. My friend Desiree (a former river guide) gave me a great tip. Look for the bubbles on top of the water. There you will find the current. It worked! Finally I felt confident.

My nerves were definitely on notice but I wasn't cold this year and that made a huge difference. I swam the entire course without a single pause for breathing or navigation. I did lose the current for 6 or 7 minutes but finally found it again. I ended up shaving 2 minutes off my swim time......16:58.

Transition 1: Wow I wish I had a Picture!

As I rushed out of the water, I pulled my wet suit top over my head (I am a force to be reckoned with in "The Black Pearl" you are laughing at this comment if you have seen me in "the black pearl") and it got stuck. Of course being the competitive idiot that I am I continue running blinded by the black pearl...and head straight into the fence.

Now this, I really wish I had a picture of. The race official was concerned and started trying to see if I was okay... thankfully the adrenaline was pumping and I finally just kept running. Now I have the bruises, cut and swollen elbow as proof though. Miraculously, I only added 3 seconds to my transition time from last year.....2:26.

The Bike

The bike course was pretty brutal. After 5 miles I thought to myself "I have 20 more to go." Thankfully there was an ultra tall girl just beyond me and I pumped my guts out the whole time to try and keep up with her. Unfortunately, I got a snazzy new bike this year (that part is fortunate) and my rear end does not love my expensive new seat. Maybe it is too big (my rear that is)? My muscles were very tight. I came in at 1:09.24 thirty seconds faster than last year. This was a huge disappointment to me until I learned the course was actually over a mile longer than last year! They had to make a last minute change to the course because of gravel.

The Run

Most excrutiating of course was the run. I'm sure it is because of the fatigue. I was aiming for 7 minute miles, I came in slower than that at 46:35. I was frustrated most of the run, trying to push my body but it wouldn't go. I crossed the finish line and ended up collapsing again. Sigh...memories of Ogden. My legs were so exhausted I couldn't hold myself up. There is something invigorating about having nothing left in you at the end of a race. After just a few minutes I was fine. For all my frustration my time over 2 minutes faster than last year. I passed a bunch of women and hoards of men on the run. There was one woman who sailed past me. She came in at 4o minutes. Wow.

Overall Finish

My overall time... 2:16. Five minutes faster than last year on an average 3 minute longer course. I'm counting this as an 8 minute PR.

My overall finish was the 13th woman. Up from 23rd last year. This year I was only 6:15 seconds off the winner. Last year I was 17 minutes off. Not a bad showing.

I also won a random bag of really cool prizes. I don't know how, but a semi-odd, rather homely looking race official just gave it to me. Tires, wireless bike computer, specialized jersey...nice stuff.

On second thought...this is a brutally long post without pictures. Probably some pics in the lavender duds would have helped.

Almond Milk...What am I, Nuts?

My first can of worms I am attempting to tackle is dairy. In some ways this is easy. But in many ways it is hard. I am not a dairy person. About 4 years ago, I cut out most dairy. My children don't drink a ton of milk but they love cheese. "Cheese worms" (grated cheese) are a daily favorite. So this will be a bit of a transition. I'm starting with the easy first. Milk. We are now going on 3 straight weeks of almond milk. (Brent did protest last week and bought a gallon of milk...but the kids are milk-free.)

How to Make your Own Almond Milk

Soak 2 cups of almonds for 48 hours in spring water (or as pure as you have access to) I like to change the water a few times...it gets kind of grimy. Also I store all my nuts in the freezer and they last forever.

Pour almonds into blender. Add 6 cups fresh water. I do it in 2 batches as I am not yet blessed with a large vitamixer. I love my bosch and it does the trick. Blend for a couple minutes until smooth.

Pour into a cotton bag. This is one is organic cotton I bought from my seminar. It would have been a piece of cake to make too. But for a few dollars I bought it.

Squeeze milk out into bowl until only pulp is left. Save the pulp in the freezer for toppings and other treats or crackers.

Some people like to add salt and a sweetener like agave. I decided we like ours plain. This tastes delicious on our multigrain hot cereal and in smoothies. It makes 2 quarts, and we have found it to be the perfect amount for our family for a week.
Give it a shot. Think of it this way. Why do we humans insist on nursing from a cow? Cows milk is designed to turn a tiny calf into a 1 ton heffer in mere months. Is that really what you want? Heffer in months?

On a personal note...this is close to my heart because of the struggle with Ellery and Emmett. I don't remember if I have posted this before but to the best of our research and years of investigations with countless doctors, we believe they have a genetic condition called primary ciliary dyskinesia. Basically the cilia in their body is malformed and cannot move mucous through.

The symptoms this would explain include the struggles they had at birth, the constant, unchanging, never ending flow of mucous from all possible outlets, the ears, the constant, unchanging, bronchitis cough...just to name a few. It hangs over me to try and rid their little bodies of as much mucous as possible, since they can't do so themselves. However to cleanse the body of all the excess requires a raw, vegan diet. Sigh...this is a huge hat to put on small children. I'm not sure where I am being led yet.

Uncle D's Boat

Here are some pictures of a great afternoon spent on my brother's new boat. He is single, owns a home, a boat. a bachelors and a masters degree. On top of all that he is cute. And single.

Did I mention he is single? If you know any cute 20 something girls, let me know. Thanks for a great afternoon Derald.
The highlight had to be Emmett. He relaxed like boating was old hat. Too cool for all of it. For 3 hours he reclined in the corner, munched on some oatmeal cookies, sucked on his nukie (pacifier), and on occasion tossed the nuk overboard and attempted to tumble headfirst after it as it floated away.
The only time he cried was when we attempted to extract him from the tube with his father.
Cousin Elizabeth spent a few days with us this week. She was a little unsure of the boating, but still had a great time.

A Little House on the Prairie Moment

I could just hear the music in my head as I watched Ellery, Callista and Elizabeth race across the fields from Grandma's to Charlotte's. My sister just moved down the hill from my mom into an amazing family house on 4 acres. A collapsed housing market does have its upsides.

The girls running down to Charlotte's, her house is right past the line of trees.

After spending the weekend on 10 acres at the Full Circle Ranch...Brent looked at me last night as we sat on the deck in our backyard and said "It's almost as if we are in a little cage...our own little brooder, and like the chicks, trying desperately to get out." We had a chuckle together on our "Two Tenths of a Circle Ranch."

The idyllic scene depicted above was soon interrupted by 2 large bounding dogs charging full speed ahead out of the neighbors house. This is Callista panicking and trying to wade through the weeds to safety. They are friendly dogs but it certainly makes my heart plummet. Being the victim of a dog attack, you are never quite the same.

Loving the 1990 Jet Ski

I'm not really sure what to say about this. But yes, this is Brent with his jetski in my sisters 18'' deep pond. Why could we get it to work in the pond and not the lake?

12 Hours and the Opening of 5 Cans of Worms

Sometimes knowledge can almost feel like a curse. Curse is probably not the right word, instead a burden. Burden might not be precisely right either. Daunting. Responsibility. Action. I guess knowledge can bring a slue of emotions.

Saturday I attended a 12 hour class at Agi's Raw Foods. Agi is famous for her marvelous flax crackers found at Whole Foods and health food stores nationwide. Her bag of tricks is full of flavorful raw food recipes.

Wondering about those worm cans...

Raw Foods...this one I peep open every so often, but this really opened it wide! The almond milk I made this week has been our new best friend.

Wheatgrass...I am just dying to get my house covered in wheatgrass and with my children taking shots every morning, but since my thumb is anything but green...this should be an adventure.

Dairy...did I really want to know how horrid this was....sigh...

Cleansing...I wonder how many days I could live on apple juice? How many pounds of disgusting slime are in my colon? And more importantly Brent's (colon cancer is a beast I don't want my husband to face).

Herbal Medicine...why did I try to kill all the dandelions in my yard? Cant I find some use for the clover so voraciously beating out my grass? Joking aside, this was absolutely fascinating to me. Botany 101 and 105 came flooding back. My moldy leaf collection. I can still smell it. I am prepared to learn.

Curse...didn't I already have enough going on in my life? Thankfully I don't even really attempt to leave my house after 8 am.

Burden...there are so many worms in these cans, I see them slithering everywhere in my pantry and I really think I felt some in me. Additionally there is sifting which needs to be done. More research to take those parts with fit with my family, religion, values, and resources.

Daunting...I think I ordered over 200 herbal identification cards. Can I really get something to grow. Maybe as long as it isn't a raspberry, bean, strawberry, squash, cucumber, tomato or brocolli. My garden is really struggling this year...sigh...

Responsibility...now that I know a little, I better start to learn alot.

Action...what good is knowledge without action. It is great to know there are herbs that will bring down my little childs fever, but if that herb is not available, and I am clueless in how to prepare and apply, it is of naught.

Be prepared for some crazy adventures ahead!