Greenery

It's funny that I enjoy plants now.  As a child I couldn't stand them.  My mother had and still has a ton of them and they were always blocking the windows.  However, things have changed and I grew to appreciate them.   This is one of the "mini-gardens" in her place.

I love this space and look to it for inspiration.  One of the things I didn't inherit was my mother's green thumb.   It's crazy but I even manage to kill succulents, which is supposed to be one of the easiest type of plants to maintain.  I have about 7 plants and they have been the lucky bunch that have survived living with me.   They are mostly tropical plants and I have found that putting them outside until the temperature dips helps to rejuvenate them.  One plus for our yucky east coast heat and humidity!  I water them every few days or so, weather depending.  

I wish I had taken before shots, so you could see how they looked before.  I will probably be adding two more plants soon, a snake plant and something else that's hard to kill! 

Do you guys have any tips to share?

Making time for my girl

So the baby is finally here and.....It's a boy!!!!  Its been about a month since my last post as I have been quite busy with the  kids.  Anyway, I have learned a few tricks along these last few weeks which I will discuss in another post.  One of them has been learning how to squeeze in some much needed one on one time with my 21-month old daughter.  She is definitely in toddlerhood and although she loves her brother and is learning how to be patient, she needs her Mommy time.  So whenever I can, I try to give her my undivided attention.

Some days its impossible, and she makes do.  Today it was playing out in the backyard and a few days ago, we managed to make cookies.  The fun thing about toddlers is they enjoy doing pretty much anything.  So I do manage to get some chores done, although they take forever with my "Little Helper!"  And she loves, loves, loves going for walks.  Today, we played with her toys and then attempted to re-pot some plants.  She was scared of the earth, so I ended up repotting by myself. The gloves were a hit though!

It has definitely been more difficult to get acclimated to life with a new baby this time, but slowly, make that very slowly, we are getting there.

Do you have any tips to share?

Home again

We have finally returned from our trip and like always, its bittersweet.  I love California!  Its beautiful, its laid back and the light there is unlike anywhere else I've been, not to mention, I will thoroughly miss my family.  However, its so nice to be back in my own home and easing back into our routine.

I didn't have a good internet connection while there, so I decided to forgo adding looking for a wifi spot to my daily activities and skipped blogging while there.
This trip was quite a different one for me, which I will go into further detail in another post.  I don't like to be on a schedule per say, but I do make a list of things I'd like to do when I vacation.  That way I can usually get to most of them, as I please but also have chill days.  What I noticed to be a recurring theme on my list was choosing outings which allowed us to take advantage of California's greatest resource....the outdoors.

One of the places we visited was Muir Woods National Monument.

Oh my, it was majestic!.  The forest is located in Mill Valley (right outside of San Francisco) and is full of beautiful, huge redwoods.  They have several hikes you can take, which vary in intensity and length and can show you such locales as the coast.  We decided to take a short one hour hike through the forest.

I took photos, which as hard as I try, can't grasp the true beauty there.  Maybe its because while hiking you are inhaling the fresh, crisp air, and enjoying the forest sounds, which without sounding too crazy are intoxicating.  While walking we came across a sign that had this written on it:

In every walk with nature,

   one receives far more

      than one seeks.

                    -John Muir

This said it all for me!  If you are in the area, definitely check it out....

How to chose the perfect melon

One thing I love about summer is the large variety of my favorite fruits, like melons.  It took me a while to learn how to pick them, but I have it down now and thought I'd share!


Cantaloupe
Color-should be tan-yellow, avoid the green ones
Firmness-should be slightly soft overall, avoid ones with soft spots
Smell-smell where the stem would have been, it should smell like cantaloupe

Honeydew
Color-Light green-yellow
Firmness-should be slightly soft overall, avoid ones with soft spots
Smell-When you smell at the stem area, it should smell like honeydew

Watermelon
Color-Green, with a yellow spot (that's where it has been lying on the ground during the growing phase)
Firmness-should be firm and sound hollow when you knock on its rind
Smell-I haven't noticed a significant smell

Also, if they're really ripe, they can almost smell like they've gone bad, but will be super sweet.  Once you've chosen your perfect melon its time to cut it up.  Here's my method:

If you go to the store and there aren't any ripe melons, you can still get one and let it ripen on your counter for a few days!

Enjoy!

Let it Go

Working is for the birds!  I'm over it at the moment and I still have at least 30 more years to go.  It feels like such an interruption in my life.  I think its mainly because I have the baby and I'd rather be at home doing home stuff.  Some folks think I'm nuts.  They can't imagine being at home all of the time and prefer getting away from the kids.  I understand that too, but getting away from them to go to a 9-5?   I do like my job, thankfully, but I want it all!

I was getting that overwhelmed feeling again.  I felt like the day to day tasks were piling up.  Planning things on paper made it all seem do-able.  However, that didn't take into account the days I was tired or my child was at home sick from school and I was busy taking care of him or my normally chilled out baby was cranky and wanted some extra snuggling.  I kept trying to keep some semblance of a neat and tidy home and having dinner made at a reasonable time, while trying to do things that were enjoyable, but I couldn't.  At least not all the time.  I ended up feeling like I was working all day and never getting anything accomplished.  I know women that are able to maintain it all...but how did they do it?  I wanted in on the secret!
Then like a ray of light, my husband said to me, "Just leave it.  Stop worrying about doing it all."  Something so simple had such a huge impact on me.  I felt like it released me from my own unrealistic expectations.  This is the only time the kids will be this small and I want to look back on this time with enjoyment.  Its okay for my house to look lived in and not something out of a magazine.  I can have days that I lay around and do nothing.  In fact, its good, I am in better spirits and have energy for the children.  Now, the entire house is not clean all at the same time and if I do laundry, but its not folded for a few days, who cares?!  The kids are fed and clean and most importantly my family is HAPPY!

Look who's on Youtube + Teething Tips

So, I had the bright idea to make a youtube video.  I just uploaded the first video, Teething Tips.

It was weird talking to a camera, but fun at the same time.  And, if you pay close attention, you'll notice I was nursing at the same time!  Always multitasking! Check out my youtube channel BeingCashu for fun and helpful videos.

Sewing the Curtains

A few weeks ago, I posted a picture of some fabric I purchased to make some curtains for my bedroom.    This was quite the task since I don't know how to operate a sewing machine.  In spite of that my sister encouraged me to get the fabric and she would help me when I went to her house.
She showed me how to pin the fabric to prepare it to make hems and a little ruffle on top.  This took the longest to do, but made it easier when it was time to actually sew.
Next up was learning how to thread the machine and arrange the bobbins.  Then a quick tutorial and I was on my way.  I made four panels.  My sister helped me troubleshoot when problems arose and the project took longer because a cute and cuddly baby needed me from time to time.  So after the kiddies were down for the night, we cracked open a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc and turned on Russell Peters and I finished up.  Sewing was very relaxing (or maybe it was the wine =0) and I intend to sign up for a class at Joann's to learn how to use my own machine, there are so many projects I'd like to tackle!

Nails

Going to the nail salon is fun but for me it feels like a waste of money and time.  I do go occasionally though, as a treat.  And, I did go faithfully during the last two months of my pregnancies.  You gotta keep them toes looking right even when you can't reach them anymore!  I have found that the manicures I give myself last just as long as the manicures I get from the salon and come out great, as well.  Here's a link that explains how to give yourself a manicure.
These are the tools required: cotton balls, nail polish remover, nail clippers, emery board, buffer, cuticle oil or cream, cuticle stick, small bowl (to soak your hands in), lotion, and polish (a color of your choosing, and a base and top coat.)  If you're going to do a pedicure also, you will need a larger basin ( for your feet) and a pumice stone.  All of these products can be found at your local drug or beauty supply store.
Picking the color out is the best part for me.  Sally Hansen, Essie, and OPI  all have great colors and most recently I purchased some polish from Revlon called Mint Mojito...I love this color!  I usually do my nails while catching up on a favorite show, then the drying process doesn't seem to drag on as long. Enjoy!

Lessons

This weekend we visited family in Virginia.  My sister told my son that he could earn points for doing some chores and she would take him to buy a new video game.  My son, ever the hustler, devised this list of chores and with my sister's help assigned points to each chore.  One of the chores he came up with was to polish the shoes.  He told her he knew how to do this, which was news to me, since we never do it.  We have the supplies, but I never think about it.  Its weird, when I was a child my parents wouldn't let us leave the house unless we could see our reflection in our shoes.  I clearly remember my mom sitting me down and teaching me how to shine my shoes.   Nowadays, children usually wear sneakers (well, at least my child) and don't really need to know how to shine shoes.  So, I had never instructed him.

This gave me the perfect opportunity.  It got me thinking about a lot of things that children don't get the opportunity to learn and perfect anymore because of modern day conveniences and changes in standards.  Things like ironing, answering a telephone (we got rid of our house phone a while back, but recently got a line again), writing script (they don't teach it in certain places) and I'm sure there are more.  These are things I will have to teach him.  I think he did really well with the shoes though and he earned some points in the process!