Kefir Pics!

Before too much happens, I wanted to share some pictures of what's been happening in the corner of the kitchen.

Here is the Kefir on Day Four (Monday, yesterday) in the morning. It hadn't done as much as I'd hoped but maybe it wasn't getting enough warmth. I decided to let it continue another day 'as is' without changing out the milk.




And here we are on Day Five (this morning) with the same milk as above. Now it's clearly been working! While that curd looks a little scary being a novice at this, the smell is surprisingly light!





It was time to switch out the milk so after stirring it and straining it through a big metal strainer into a bowl, the Kefir grains have become noticeably larger with one tablespoon having become almost three. Meanwhile, I figured I might as well try making a smoothies with the Kefir'd milk so I poured it into a blender with a few ice cubes, some almond milk, little fruit juice, ground flaxseed, and frozen peaches and blueberries.

Here is the result and the flavor was a wonderfully yummy good morning! :-)



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Kefir waking up

On day one, I put the tablespoon of Kefir grains into a quarter cup of milk and by morning, it had solidified into a big curd I guess you'd call it. :-). Not being sure what pure unsweetened kefir is supposed to smell or taste like, it did smell a little tangy and seemed okay. Lol
By the afternoon, I strained the kefir grains out and transferred them to a Ball jar to which I added a half a cup of milk. By this morning (day three), it hasn't solidified but seems to be doing okay.. I'll have to sniff it. ;-)
This afternoon, I'll strain it again and let the grains sit in 3/4 a cup of milk.
We're getting there! :-)

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Kefir Arrived!

After a week of anticipating a win on eBay and awaiting the little package to appear in our mailbox, it finally arrived. Yay! Seriously, yay! :-) And now, as the little grains sit in a quarter cup of organic homogenized (NON-Ultra) Clover brand milk, it dawned on me that it may be a good idea to document my experience. :-) Will this ultimately help me lose weight? Feel great? Will the aches and pains go away and will I regain the energy levels of my 20's? Time will tell. So just in case.. yes, I'm documenting it. *cheesy grin*--no pun intended. ;-)

Here's a list of the Kefir recipes I'm going to make after this 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup, etc., revitalization process completes.

1) 2 cups 12 hour standard Kefir
2) 2 cups 24 hour standard Kefir
3) 2 cups 2nd fermentation Kefir with lemon peel

I'd really hope to like enjoy the 2nd fermentation Kefir as "the usual" since it has so many more nutrients.

Santa Barbara's Ty Warner Sea Center

A couple weeks ago, Hubster had some meetings in Santa Barbara so the kids and I tagged along. Having already been to the zoo, I decided to go someplace new and the Sea Center (part of the Natural History Museum) seemed the best choice.
We arrived at the pier in the morning, I loaded them into the dually stroller, and we headed in.
One of the first exhibits that caught Tylerbear's eye was of the Moon Jellies. :-)


Connor-pillar liked them too!


It was pretty quiet being a weekday and when Tyler dropped his binky which rolled far under a cabinet, a staff member was nice enough to fetch it for us. Then he introduced Tyler to their top billing, the Swell Shark who came up and let Tyler pet him!


They both had a great time and the only casualty may have been a sea cucumber who was squeezed a little tighter than he may have liked. ;-)

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Thanksgiving Preparation

I'm glad that the only prep I need to do is pack up the kids and Hubster then go. Wait,.. I'm lying. I do wish I was cooking up a huge spread from scratch for everyone that comes with ooh's and ahh's--turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, pies, casseroles, and a few odd & interesting side dishes I've heard about along the way. But alas, with a toddler and wee one, that fantasy is best put on hold. ;-)

Tomorrow we'll be heading out to Nanay's house for Thanksgiving where Hubster's mom and grandma will be joining us. Here's to hoping we remember everything!



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Turkey Time!

November is the month we wait around for all year because turkeys go on sale. Hubster brought home a nice 24 pounder and it made it's way into our oven then into our tummies. Yummy!

Health
It was also my first successful gluten-free day. Yay! Hard boiled eggs for breakfast, all beef hotdogs for lunch, and turkey, baked potatoes, cranberry sauce and yams for dinner. Satisfying!

Summary
Other than that, it's raining tonight. Tyler and Connor are already asleep and I'm gonna set to playing a little Warcraft and continue reading the Paleo Solution book.

Good night. :-)

Starting afresh?

Maybe now that I've moved my PC upstairs into the bedroom, I'll post more often. If nothing, I have less of an excuse as to why I haven't posted! :-)

So, since there's no beginning to begin at, I'll begin in the middle: Right here, right now.

School
I've received all the transcripts I ordered except for the one from high school. There's LAUSD's Rush Fee of $35 plus transcript fee in motion (or lack of?). As soon as I receive it, I'll go ahead and call the college counselor for an appointment so I know what classes I need to take in order to transfer to Cal Poly. At this point, I'm going into engineering although there's a slight pull toward some health profession calling. Not sure. Whatever it is, it will need to pay decent money and offer great benefits. This age is no age to fool around!

Health
Been reading, "The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet", and it is a really long choo-choo train of OMG, OMG, OMG, etc. The cause-effect explanation of nutrition explains why I am and feel this way (Blech!) And it will take some willpower to wean off the addictions to wheat, dairy and legumes. Wish me luck cuz I'll need it. o_O

As for supplements in my attempt to normalize, I'm taking a big Vitamin C, a Cal-Mag-Zinc, a B-complex, Fish Oil and a Prenatal Multi. I haven't gotten nor skipped to the back of the book yet to see the recommendations but expect to be doing that any day. One of the pluses with taking so many pills is that it's up'ed my water intake. :-)

Summary
Well, that's it for tonight--easing my way back into blogging. Til Tomorrow.

Fall Gardening

We're in Zone 7! :-)

To Do List

Worm Bin
Cinder Block Garden
Soil Prep
Watering System in place
Plant Seeds / packs

Leafy Greens (from seed)

Spinach
Mache

Root Crops (from seed)

Rutabegas

Brassicas (from packs)

Broccoli
Cauliflower
Kale

Cloth Diaper Novice