Project 358: Days 87 - 94

Day 87: Ha. Ha.

This made me laugh out loud. Still, I'm not sure if it's really funny, or not funny at all.

Day 88: WTF?

Remember that beautiful loaf of whole wheat bread I made a couple weeks ago? So, umm, this atrocity pictured above is whole wheat loaf #2. Yeah. Not so appetizing, right? The recipe I followed (for both loaves) gave instructions for a 1.5 lb. loaf and a 2 lb. loaf. First try, I did 1.5 and it turned out perfectly. Second time around I thought, Hey, why not try a two pounder? We eat a lot of bread...It'll last longer. Big mistake, apparently. WTF happened here??

Day 89: The Family Bed

I recently attended a required preschool parent meeting and when I returned home, around a quarter to nine at night, this is how I found my family. Don't you just want to snuggle right into that photo? Okay, you probably don't. But, gosh, I sure as hell do.

Day 90: Good Things Come in Small Packages

Okay, so I use reusable bags for the grocery store and Target, but have been feeling like I need something smaller to whip out for small or random purchases. You know, a couple CDs, a tank top, or a small batch of farmer's market produce, that sort of thing. Inspired by my older sister, who always has a handy reusable bag (or two) tucked neatly inside her purse, I decided to peruse Amazon and buy one for myself. Pictured above is the bag that I chose. It folds up neatly and discreetly into this charming little strawberry. I made sure to get my hand in the photo so you can see just how teeny weeny it is. Not a bother at all to pop it in my purse, and below is what it looks like in its full form.

Tada!

Pretty cool, no?

Day 91: Evan's "Rainforest" 

If I had to guess Evan's favorite activity of late, it would definitely be drawing. It's the first thing he wants to do in the morning, the first thing he wants to do when he gets home from school, the last thing he wants to do at night before bed. He will sit at the kitchen table for literally hours on end, drawing elaborate pictures and telling even more elaborate stories about them. I hope he never grows tired of creating art. I will certainly never grow tired of admiring it.

Day 92: Pensive Little Man

Oh, Evan Samuel, my how you've grown.

Day 93: Soaking In The Sun

Flip flop weather is here again, hallelujah!

Day 94: Good Morning!

One of my favorite ways to start the day is with a green smoothie. It's such an easy and delicious way to get in a couple servings of leafy greens, first thing in the morning. For this one, a tried to use the following recipe, which I got from VegNews Magazine's online component:

Vegan Southern Sunrise Smoothie

3 cups collard greens

1 banana

2 cups strawberries

3 cups peaches, chopped

2 cups non-dairy milk (I used almond)

(I also added some blueberries, even though the recipe didn't call for them.)

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Makes 2 servings.

Now, I don't know what kind of industrial-sized blender the author of the recipe used, but there was no way I was going to be able to fit all that stuff into my very normal-sized KitchenAid. So, I had to improvise a little bit with the numbers to get it to work. I think I may have been a little heavy-handed with the collard greens because when I first tried it, it tasted very, very green. I squeezed the juice from one lemon into the concoction and gave it another spin in the blender. The acidity of the lemon completely cut through the bitterness of the collard greens and allowed the sweet flavors of the fruit to shine. Even the kids liked it! I thought they might be turned off by the color, but they actually thought it was really cool and sucked their servings down in no time flat.