Baby's First....Vlog

Hi Again!  I know everyone is busy nursing egg nog hangovers and chocolate headaches while decapitating each other trying to find the perfect gifts, but I wanted to share something with you to help celebrate in one more way this holiday season and of course I never miss an opportunity to embarrass myself. So here goes my first video.



My brother's friend has been an organizer of a crab feed and raffle to benefit charities and organizations for the last few years.  This year, the event proceeds go to two great organizations:

From the website:
The Boys State is an organization by the American Legion that recruits two representatives from each of the 49 Boys States to represent their state at Boys Nation in Washington, where the young leaders receive an education on the structure and function of federal government.

Since Boys Nation began in 1946, a number of its graduates have been elected to public office, including presidents, congressmen, state governors and state legislators. Many others have been inspired to work for the campaigns of individuals seeking public office.
For more information on the Boys State visit: http://www.legion.org/boysnation

The Fisher House is built and staffed specifically for the families of our service members and veterans to stay while their children, spouses or parents are undergoing surgical procedures or working through rehabilitation programs.
Currently, the hospital is unable to supply rooms for families on a guaranteed basis. With the cost of hotel rooms averaging close to $110.00 per night, plus the car rental fee and meals, the majority of families who live outside of the Bay Area are unable to afford to stay with their loved ones through this most difficult time.
The Fisher House occupancy rate is on average 98 percent. They often need to house guests in nearby hotels because it is full.  Fortunately, the funds donated help families pay their hotel bills and offset some of their commuting costs.  However, the Fisher House is much, much more than just a free place to stay.  It also serves as a haven for many of the families.
For more information on the Fisher House visit: http://www.fisherhousepa.com/

How you Can Help:
1. Come to the event!

Enjoy all you can eat crab & wine for a good cause!

When: Sunday, January 9, 2011
Where: The Veteran’s Memorial Building, 3780 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Lafayette, CA.
Friendship Hour: 5:00pm Dinner: 6:00pm
Menu: Marinated crab, salad, garlic bread, wine & dessert.
Raffle: Please bring items to help us raise raffle funds.
Price: $35 early bird price, and $40 after Dec. 15, 2010.
Includes: Dinner, ticket for raffle and door price.

2. Donate Here:
Can’t go, but would like to help? You may also support the event by:
*Purchasing tickets to sponsor a Vet or one of their family members attend the crab feed.
*Make a donation of your choice ($5, $10, $20, etc.) That will go to sponsoring more vets and their families attend the crab feed.
*Spread the word to your friends and family to help us raise more funds.

Thanks again for your time and happy holidays!

How to Make Holiday Cookies

I haven't been doing too much holiday baking and I'm fresh out of holiday parties to attend.  Luckily today I had the chance to make and decorate some cookies.  I know a lot of people get overwhelmed with the holidays, so here is my easy process for making holiday cookies.  Put on your sweats, tie your hair up, and let's get baking!

1. Pick an assistant to help you out. You should check his resume for a list of skillz, but clean hands and a sweet Puma sweat suit are the core competencies for this task.

2. Make the recipe easy and work together- if boxed ingredients leave you more time to play, then do it.  I promise Martha won't come hunt you down every single time.

3. Get the prep work out of the way so you can play.  This is where a second assistant can help.

5. As much as you want to take over, relinquish control.  Little ones work better when they have the freedom.  But this does not give you an excuse to slouch on your posture. Seriously.

 6. Don't be afraid to ask for help.

7. Remember to eat real food on the days you bake to practice moderation and avoid sugar rushes.

8. Sit back and admire your hard work.

9. Make food fun.  Eating contests are good for the soul.

10. Remember to laugh and smile.  That's what the holidays are all about.

Happy Holidays from my family to yours :)

It's Getting Steamy Up in Hurrr

This evening I went to a sculpting class at my cult gathering yoga studio yogaworks.  The class is called Sculptworks and incorporates strength, resistance bands, yoga, pilates, and dance style stretching and exercises in a cardio and strength style circuit.  And I love it when I'm not busy being lazy.

This evening I took the class with one of my regular hatha yoga teachers and he made sure to kick my booty.  The soccer moms in the class agreed.  The instructors usually ask us if we want the AC on since we are the ones moving and they are usually walking around and correcting form.  Although I'm usually cold, it was unreasonably warm when the instructor turned on the AC.  I kept going and thought that I was getting a monumental workout until about 15 minutes later when he realized he had turned on the heater instead of the air conditioner. I'm just glad that nobody passed out like I almost did in my first hot yoga class.  That would have been messy. 

I decided to keep up the hot trend with my soup tonight.  I have to admit that I've been eating the same soup almost every day for the last 3 weeks.  It's a bit of a problem and I'm OK with it.

I also have to admit that I don't 'make' any of it.  Please meet my dream team:

Trader Joe's Organic Tomato and Roasted Red Pepper Soup- delicous.  Add your frozen or fresh veggies and bring to a simmer.  Add some Slap Ya Mama seasoning and your soup is cooked and spicy.

Sometimes I add a sprinkle of parmesan cheese if I really want to steam up my own glasses.

Questions for you:
Have you ever done hot yoga? Yes- and I like it now that I got past the initial trauma
What's your favorite soup? This soup and miso soup

Winter Salad

I don't know about you, but there is nothing less appetizing to me than attempting to choke down the bushels of veggies I can normally scarf down during the warmer months.  I realize I live in California, but 50 degrees is not warm to me. I still can't tell you why I eat frozen yogurt until my lips turn blue on cold days, but that's another story for another time.

These days I have been roasting veggies and adding frozen veggies to my soup and one night I threw this together to sneak in more produce for dinner.

My Winter Salad
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup uncooked wild rice (Trader Joe's)
• 4 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1/4 cup roasted squash, chopped
• 1/2 large apple, chopped
• 1/4 cup dried cherries
• 1/4 cup lemon (or citrus juice of choice)
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

*Cook rice according to package instructions and set to cool.
*Add in the celery, roasted squash, apple and dried cherries, mixing to combine all of the ingredients
*Make a dressing with the lemon juice, vinegar, olive oil and pour over the ingredients, adding salt and pepper to tasked
*Combine and set to cool in the refrigerator

We added this to the rest of our dinner- which I think may have included pizza that night...and probably chocolate.  I loved the sweet, crunchy, and tangy combination.  Hope you give it a try!

Sometimes

Sometimes we all just need to stop and smell the flowers (in our fancy pants business trip salad)

 Sometimes we need to dance like nobody's watching

 Sometimes we need to make a greater effort to appreciate the ones we love

 Sometimes we need to appreciate food for what it is- delicious, nourishing, and good for the soul

Sometimes you need to let someone pick you up and help you just for old time's sake

And sometimes we need to stare into the sunset and find the positive in everything (work trip, again)

I'm back homies.  My break was nice and I had to figure out what I wanted to do but didn't come up with any revolutionary answers, so here I am anyways :)  And I brought my fancy camera.

What's new with you?