Huge waves in Hermosa

What a day this was.  March 1, 2014 We had had a couple of days of rainy weather and man did the waves get big.  I took tons of pictures and videos because for us to have a weather event is rare.  Enjoy!

Happy Earth Day 2010

I love this day so much and unlike other holidays...this one can and should be celebrated everyday! I wrote last year about some of the things my family does to help out the Earth, and I am glad to say we have added to our list, well, just a little. But every little bit helps, right?!

In addition to last year's list, here are a few things we have added:

1.) We no longer buy plastic water bottles to keep in the house. The only time these are purchased is for a party or to take when feeding a group of kids. Otherwise, we use our re-usable containers and drink our water from the tap or filtered from the frig.

2.) We finally got an energy efficient washer and dryer. They are great! They hold so much more, so I am doing less loads of laundry. I can also customize my settings which helps out with not wasting energy.

3.) We only buy organic dairy, egg, and (almost all) meat products for use in our home. It has resulted in a slightly higher grocery bill at the end of each week, but I feel if you don't put priority into what goes in your body, then you have your priorities mixed up. I don't mind paying extra for certain clothes and material items, so why not what I eat. Our health is the most important thing, so it is worth the extra cost. So what does this have to do with the Earth, you might ask? Well, animals are part of our environment and are a part of the life cycle and if they are being unnaturally subjected to hormones and anti-biotics then that is harmful to the Earth. A cleaner Earth is what we should strive for. Less of this type of stuff where it is not needed. I would eventually love to be vegetarian all together, as not to harm my animal friends at all...but this is requiring baby steps on my part, but steps nonetheless. I been very intrigued by Alicia Silverstone and her book the Kind Diet and her blog the Kind Life. I strive to get a little closer to this everyday.

Along the same lines of food....it is also important to try and eat locally. That is why I want to remind everyone that the Keller Farmer's Market is back. You can read about it HERE. I have blogged about it on my other blog...Le Petit Hameau.

There is also a new magazine out in the DFW area all about eating locally. It is called Edible. Go to their link HERE to read more about it and subscribe!

So those are the few changes we have made in the last year.

Some other things I want to share with you today are as follows:

The new Disney movie OCEANS is out today. If you go see it within the next 7 days a portion of the profit will go to saving the coral reefs in the Bahamas! I can't wait to take Sarah. I think the earlier you start your kids thinking about saving the Earth, the more it just becomes second nature to them. For Sarah, recycling is not a concept we are trying to get her to grasp...she already gets it and is teaching Lauren. She talks constantly about doing good for the Earth.

I have recently come across this product that I will be purchasing this week. It is called Lunchskins. They are basically a re-usable form of baggies for your kids lunch. Since Sarah does not like to eat what is at the school 90% of the time (I am a glad...we need a little Jamie Oliver to make a stop by), we use at least 2-3 baggies everyday. So that is about 360 baggies per school year. So, if I use these, just think how much plastic I am keeping out of the landfills and the environment in general. They are too cute, too!


I have a another blog I like to read in addition to The Kind Life. It is called Nature Moms Blog: Guide to Green and Natural Parenting. She has had so many good posts on so many topics. Check it out if you have some free time. Go back and read some of her previous posts, too!

Hope you have enjoyed some of these tips and ideas and strive to be (not perfect) but a little greener everyday!

Bluebonnets: A Texas Tradition

It does not get more Texas than photos of your kiddos in the native flower. Every year I swear I am going to hire a professional to do these photos. It is always so hard to get them to cooperate, especially for the same picture. Either on is smiling or the other, but rarely both. I should have learned by now, that these pictures do not have to be posed. They do not have to both be looking at me with smiles on their faces, they just need to be natural. I wonder sometimes how a professional would get them to do what he/she wants, then I think, they are probably just capturing what the kids give them. And they will give you a full range of images to capture....smiling, looking away, studying the flowers, running away, being scared of a bee, etc....you name it they will do it. So....this year after we were done and I looked at the photos I had taken, I decided to vow to never have a professional take these photos. I expected to not get but 1 or 2 shots that were decent, but then I found I had so many more than I could have hoped for. Each one was unique and captured something about my girls that I love, and I am so glad that I, captured it. Next year, I plan to relax, wait and see what they do, not stress about smiles and looking into the camera! What a great way to spend a warm, spring afternoon.

I didn't even realize I had taken this one until I got it on the computer!

She looks like a little lady

Striking a pose...but really probably wondering if she was in ants

I love them checking out the flowers. Love Lauren's eyelashes!

Eyelashes Again!

My sweet Sarah...

....Loving spring and the bluebonnets

Keukenhof Gardens - Netherlands

It is that time of year....actually the only time of year to go and view the tulips in the Netherlands.

My first trip to see the tulips took place in May of 2000. My husband was working in London and had a football game to cover in Amsterdam. So I got my college roommate to go with me and we were on the search for the fields and fields of gorgeous tulips and the Keukenhof Gardens. We searched and searched. I swear the guide book said that you could see tulips into May, but however, I guess that did not really mean the end of May. There was nothing but empty fields and when we finally found the Keukenhof Gardens it was like showing up at Wally World. Closed down....done...not opening again until March of 2001. There wasn't even a guard we could harass to let us in and enjoy it all to ourselves. Probably because there was nothing to enjoy. It was literally 'dead'.

So I was very fortunate to have a second opportunity in the Spring of 2003 to try and see the tulips. This time...I did my research and actually found out what the best week to go was. Again my husband was working in Europe and my in-law's were living in Belgium, so I was staying with them. So on my husband's off day we all drove up to Amsterdam and visited the Keukenhof. This time it was mid-April. This time tulips were all around. This time it was perfect.

Keukenhof Gardens: outside of Amsterdam

I highly suggest you make this trip once in your life. It is gorgeous and if you have kids...it will be an experience they will never forget. I showed Sarah these pictures the other day and she was in awe! I can't wait to take her some day. (She was technically there, as I found out I was pregnant with her just a few days before, but you know what I mean!)







Not only is the Keukenhof amazing, Amsterdam is a joy of a city as well. It is gorgeous with the canals and everything is easily accessible by walking or bike. It gets stereotyped so much for it's red light district and "coffee shops", but it is truly a great city and very kid friendly. I would for sure do the Anne Frank house. Older kids will especially get something out of it. It is truly amazing to see how her and her family lived and truly amazing they did for so long. Very moving. Also...the Van Gogh museum is great. There is good shopping, there is a Hard Rock Cafe if you need a break from European food and need a nacho fix, and there are even boats you can take out on the canals. Amsterdam and the area surrounding is so pretty and should be added to any one's European travel plans...especially in April!

Snow Day #3

This morning I woke up at 4:30am and checked outside. The ground was already white. So I went back to bed, just knowing it was going to be a great morning to sleep in and a fun snow day with the girls. Our local ISD had other plans. They decided that it would be a good day to have everyone venture out into the 4+ inches of snow and therefore making the day a lot more stressful. SO normally I would have just the kept the girls home anyway...but I had to go to work. This was my first day watching the shop while my in-laws are on a buying trip to Europe. If they were still in town, I would have stayed home from the beginning.

But, in the end it all worked out. They cancelled school a little early. I got my kiddos, and we made it home safe. I did have to shovel snow for about 15-20 minutes to get my car in my garage, but I did it and got my workout in for the day! Go me! So we went inside and before you could say "It is great to be home", we were back out in the snow building this:



Here are some other pics from this frigid, snowy, stressful, but oh so beautiful day. It is still snowing almost 20 hours after it started. We are now up to about 9 inches. It is gorgeous! We get a real "for real" snow day tomorrow!

Wheathering the Stormy Wheather

What a night of storms....It didn't even look that ominous and I was not expecting at all what happened. It started out for us at CPK. We were having dinner and slowly the wind began picking up. Before we knew it trees were blowing and the wind was gusting. So much so that huge branches were being ripped from trees like they were a sheet of paper being ripped in half. I had never seen such huge branches just flying off like it was nothing. I started to get nervous at this point because CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) is practically a green house. It is wall to wall windows. At one point they shook, but luckily no shattering. We waited until the storm let up and then came home only to find our power out. When this has happened in the past we have always seemed to be the last neighborhood to get it back. Last night was no exception. Everyone else had power before the sunset that we could see, but we did not get it back until about 12:15. So Lauren went to bed easily and was out like a light. The darkness did not seem to bother her a bit and neither did the storms we had throughout the night. Sarah on the other hand is a little fraidy cat, so we set her up in her tent in our bedroom. She had a blast!

It is still storming this morning. I see lots of lightning as I type and it is very dark outside. I love the rain, just hate for the power to go out.

My favorite thing about May

May is great month....Spring has arrived for good, school is almost out, the days are getting longer, but most of all, my hydrangeas begin to bloom! Last year was sort of an off year, but this year they have come in with a bang! I have them in all shades of pink and a little lavender, as well! My favorite is blue and I have bought some to add to my collection. Maybe by next year I will have a ton of blues ones, too! At current count I have around 200 blooms. That is not counting the ones I cut for the May Day Tea Party and the ones I have in my kitchen! Hydrangeas are by far my favorite flower. I will take them over roses any day!

Happy Earth Day

Everyday should be Earth Day, but use this as sort of New Year's Day, if you will! Make some resolutions to be "greener" in your everyday lives! This is your Day 1! Being green will actually save you money, make you healthier, and leave this Earth in better shape for future generations. I can't stand to think of my kids or their kids not having clean water to drink, clean air to breathe, summers so hot you can't enjoy them, no north pole or south pole (try explaining Santa Claus when the North Pole is now just the North Sea), having to deal with major health issues at younger and younger ages, no glaciers to go visit, no New York city or Venice, Italy b/c they are underwater, ....this is just to name a few. This issue is sooo important and I hope everyone can resolve to make changes for the benefit of our amazing planet and our future generations.

Preparing for Earth Day

Some of you may or may not know that one issue I am very interested in and pretty passionate about is the environment and saving the planet. I know that my time in CA sort of turned me into a beginner tree-hugger, but it is really what I have learned about since then that has made this a big issue for me. We try and teach Sarah on a daily basis about things such as recycling, the importance of saving energy, and to appreciate and take care of the environment around her. If I can teach my daughters the importance of taking care of the only home we have and have them turn into Earth conscience adults, then I will be very proud. Although I wish I could be 100% green and be a perfect example to my kids, it is hard in daily life to do so. I would like to share with you all some of the simple things we do so that you might find something you could change in your daily routine. Earth Day is Wednesday, so maybe you can come up with at least one thing you can change or do to celebrate the day!

1. Electricity from wind energy: At the end of last summer I did some research and actually found that switching to wind power for our electricity was really not that much more than we were already paying. My monthly bills would be slightly higher, not drastically higher. I even found that my current electrical carrier of Reliant had a wind plan that I didn't even know about. I thought the only one was Green Mountain and Reliant was actually cheaper.

2.) Drive a hybrid car or flex fuel car: If only BMW made a hybrid!! If it were up to me we would have a Prius in the garage, but I must admit I love the Beemer. Our other car is a Highlander Hybrid. I use this one the most carting the kids all over the place. As soon as I start seeing ethanol at the gas station, a flex fuel car will be next on my list. (seriously, though, driving a flex fuel car, but using regular gas is not being "green")

3.) Use Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs: We have switched about 60% of our regular light bulbs to these. The reason they are not all switched is because they haven't made a small wall sconce bulb that is a CFL. We did see at Target the other night the CFL bulbs encased in a globe to mimic a regular light bulb. So if you don't like the crazy spiral CFL look, go buy the ones at Target!

4.) Reduce Energy use: We don't leave any lights on in other rooms when we are not in there and have our thermostats set at 75/76 in the summer and 72/73 in the winter.

5.) RECYCLE: This is the easiest one of them all. Why people I know don't do this I still haven't figured it out. The bins are free, I can get as many as I want, and they pick it up once a week. Sarah even knows what goes in the the bin and what doesn't. This is being "green" 101.

6.) Cloth Bags at the Market: I will admit that I religiously take my cloth bags when I go grocery shopping, but can't seem to remember when I run up to Target. I did calculate that at the grocery store alone, for one year, I used about 300 plastic bags. I have been using my bags now for going on 3 years now, so I have saved about 800+ bags from going in the landfill....just me alone!

There are other small/minor things we do and have in our home, but those are the biggies and the ones that I think are so easy to do. It just about making it a priority. Next on my list is to: buy a more energy efficient washer/dryer, plant a couple of more trees, try to start eating more organic and locally grown foods, maybe even start our own little garden, and try to figure a way to catch rain water to use for watering to cut down on our water usage.

In closing, I want to share with you a website to check out. www.thedailygreen.com It is a great "green living" tool. You can find information on toy recalls, organic recipes, political blogs, and many ways to live green, just to name a few. Also..please go out and rent and watch An Inconvenient Truth, regardless of your political party. It is a great, eye-opening movie. The 11th Hour with Leo DiCaprio is also great!

Bluebonnets 2009

If you live in Texas, this is pretty much an annual tradition. Some years the bluebonnets are not that great, but this year they were. It is always a challenge with young kids to get great photos, so that is why I took so many. I love that the bluebonnet is our state flower. They are so pretty!