Week in Review - 1.28.17

It's been a rough week. Not because of anything personally but because I'm having a hard time processing the new administration. It's been 7 days and I'm emotionally outraged and drained. Scott and I have been talking a lot about where to put our charitable funds and volunteer efforts. 

Exercise

Exercise was great this week. I went to SoulCycle on Sunday which was fun. It's a bit too far away to be a consistent workout for me though. The current location is in Bellevue which is a 30 minute drive with no traffic and at least 45 minutes with traffic. I went to boot camp three times and took two Barre3 classes which puts me at 22 workouts for the year. 

Food

Food has been a power struggle with the kids lately. In an attempt to amuse myself, I've started taking pictures of the meals they've rejected and posting them on Instagram. I have been vastly amusing to myself and others seem to be getting a kick out of it too. I've put the whole series on Flickr. 

I ordered from Acme Farms + Kitchen again this week. I got a salad kid, a mini ready meal, a basics pack and some Oat Pancake mix. All of it has been delicious! 

I neglected to mention this really cool smoothie pack that I got from Metropolitan Market last week. They sent me their new Smoothie fruit mix, Ellenos yogurt, Almond milk and a protein pack (which I used and didn't photograph so my usual protein powder is stepping in here). Maggie has been digging smoothies so I've been making them a lot more. I love how filling they are as an afternoon snack. I've been making some for after my boot camp workouts. I make them the night before and put them in the freezer. Then I leave them in the car during my workout and they are ready to drink by the time I'm done. Yum! 

The Girls

Maggie had her 36 month screening done at Parent Trust and was deemed awesome. I've been taking the girls for developmental screenings since birth and have been reassured many times. The screening did help catch Molly's slight speech delay and then we were able to get quickly up to speed. 

Otherwise it was a pretty regular week for us. Molly asked for an at-home day on Friday so we hung around the house which was actually pretty nice. They destroyed the den and I got the living room purged. I'm on a big "Get Rid of Clutter" kick right now. 

Other Goings On

It's been rainy and cold around here so I haven't been the best about cleaning out the chicken coop. In the winter, they like to nestle up in their laying boxes which means they quickly fill with chicken poop. I never worry though because they aren't laying eggs. Well....they started laying eggs again over a week ago but not in their boxes. They built a nest in the clean part of their coop which I discovered when I went out to do a massive coop clean out. So now I'm battling with the chickens to start laying in their boxes again and hoping they haven't gotten a taste for chicken eggs. 

Last Saturday, we joined the Womxn's March in Seattle. It was profoundly moving and something I'm so glad that we did with the girls. I wanted to show them that you fight for what you believe in. While I know I'll be joining in more protests and making more noise, I'm not sure that we'll be including them in every protest. However, I will be teaching them how to speak up for what you believe in.

Project 52 - Week 45

Maggie and I headed to the car wash this week to try to unearth parts of my car that haven't been seen in months. I spent over an hour vacuuming with her help and the car has downgraded from hazardous waste disaster to natural disaster. Maggie loved sitting in the passenger seat as I washed the mats and the rest of the car.

Week in Review - 1.21.17

It's been a busy week but a fun one. I think I'm finally hitting my groove with 2017. It's going to be a hard political year but I'm hoping that it is a great personal one full of growth and involvement. 

Exercise

One of my goals this year is to complete 217 workouts in 2017. I am well on my way with this one. I decided to hit it hard in January to get myself back into the habit and front load my goal in case of unexpected hiccups (illness, vacation, etc). I'm currently at 16 workouts for the year so 201 to go! 

This week, I did three boot camp sessions, one FlyWheel class and one Barre3 class. I am BEAT especially since I did boot camp and FlyWheel on the same day. Exhausted does not describe how I felt on Wednesday afternoon. However, I am also feeling stronger! 

Food

After my FlyWheel class on Wednesday, I still had some time before I needed to pick up the girls so I headed over to WanderFish Poke on Cap Hill. It's been on my list to try for awhile and it was so good! I can not wait to go back again for some delicious poke!

I decided to try out Acme Farms + Kitchen this week. They offer free local delivery of local food directly from the farmers. I love this idea and ordered their salad kit along with a trial size of the Locavore Box. It's not cheap but it is delicious, local, healthy food!

And per our usual, I got our organics box again this week. I'm struggling to decide how to best use the fruits and vegetables. I meal plan monthly but don't know what is in my box until the week before. Sometimes the veggies match up and sometimes they don't. Also sometimes the vegetables go bad quickly. Like if I don't use the lettuce on the day it arrives, it gets all wilt-y and ends up with the chickens. 

The Girls

The girls had their 6 month check up at the dentist and I'm just thrilled that they love it there so much. No cavities and yes, we were told to floss more. Dentists love flossing! 

Otherwise, we have spent the last few weeks getting everyone back on schedule with sleeping, eating, school dayts and at-home preschool learning. We were doing Simply Learning but she's gotten busy and is switching her format to include The Peaceful Preschool. I checked it out and love the premise so we are also switching to The Peaceful Preschool curriculum. I'm pretty excited about some of the offerings. Can't wait to work this into our lives! The girls are still going to preschool at their school but this is just some additional activities for those long afternoons when I'm tempted to let them watch TV for much too long. 

Other Goings On

My Coffee & Crumbs Year of Creativity class has kicked off and I am LOVING it. This month the focus is on inspiration and I'm finding that I am too busy and don't allow creativity to find me. I'm working on slowing down and opening up to creativity. I finished re-listening to Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic this week and I could listen to it again and again. I actually put it on in the car during our weekend road trip and Scott was intrigued. I'm going to have him listen to it too. 

Most of this week was spent knitting Pussy Hats for neighbors and friends doing the Womxn's March today. Scott, the kids and I will be marching! 

Stories Published

Seattle Refined: Maui no ka oi (Maui is the best)
Seattle's Child: 25+ Indoor Things to Do with Kids At-Home & Around Seattle
Seattle's Child: January/February SHOP 

Project 52 - Week 40 - 44

I got really behind on things in December so today's Project 52 is catch up day!

We met some preschool friends for the Christmas Ships on the private North Beach beach. We live so close but don't have access so it is nice when others include us. 

Christmas morning was wild as usual and so wonderful! We spent the remainder of the day in quiet activity after the excitement of the morning. 

I took the kids to Target to get some supplies for a blog post and decided to document our trip in front of the sign. 

Maggie and I had to go to the community center to meet up with the person who hit and ran my car the previous week. This stuffed beaver was too much for us. In this photo she is telling me about how the beaver is dead. 

We took a weekend trip to the Washington Coast and stayed in this great little hotel. It was made for photos!

I love watching the girls bother Scott when he is trying to sleep. It's a highlight for me. 

Missed Connections, Creative Children and March Tips for Parents Are This Week's Links From Around the Web

Missed Connections for Parents - I laughed so hard, I snorted coffee out my nose. Totally worth the stinging pain. 

Anyone taking their kids to the March on Saturday? I am and so this guide from Activist Mama is incredibly helpful!

How to Raise Creative Children

15 Parenting Hacks to Get You Through 2017

29 Achievable Things in January

**I took an accidental hiatus from sharing my weekly links but I'm back at it!** 

Film #1

One of my goals this year is to shoot a roll of film, once a month. I used Kodak UltraMax 400 Speed in my Nikon 35mm for my images this month.

A few weeks ago, I headed to Greenlake. I had heard it was frozen and I needed to check out the scene myself. It was gorgeous and a few of my photos captured this beauty. I'm already excited about this project and about the film lab I've decided to use. I asked Kirk of Mastin Labs where he develops his film and he confirmed my thoughts. He goes to Panda Lab on Queen Anne which is where I took my film. I especially love that they were able to send me the film scans via WeTransfer. I still need to pick up my actual film but I loved receiving them in my email. Without further adieu, here are my favorite images from this month. The full set can be seen here.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Drumsticks

Sports season is here! OK for some people, sports season started in September but at my house, we're not big sports people, except when our local home team (Go Hawks!) starts looking like they might be headed to the Super Bowl. Then my husband starts watching parts of a football game and soon, he's watching the entire game and shushing the kids. After awhile, I begin to wonder what the fuss is and there you go, Sports Season is here! What I never forget about is sports food which I dearly love. I, especially love chicken drumsticks so when I was at Target last week with Maggie, using my Cartwheel app which I'm seriously addicted to and noticed that I could get 5% off Jif and Smucker's products, a lightbulb went off in my head. 

Maggie and I spent a lot of time last week getting the family back into the groove after the holidays and she was more than happy to accompany me to Target while her sister was at school. 

We loaded up the cart with Jif and Smucker's products along with some other essentials. We may have headed to Target twice last week which thrilled Molly since she got to accompany me on our second trip. 

I don't shop in many stores in person but Target is my one true love and now that I've discovered the Cartwheel app, it's almost as if they recognized our mutual affection for each other. But I digress, I was in the peanut butter and jelly aisle where I believe most of our family's food budget goes when my handy app let me know that I could save 5% on Jif and Smucker's products. I may have swooped a few right into my basket while Maggie was grabbing for some bread. Then I remembered sports season and its entry into my home and my love of sports food. I decided right then and there to attempt combining some of my family's favorite flavors with sports food and I came up with the best sports food ever. 

Oh yes, I made Peanut Butter and Jelly Drumsticks and oh they are so good! The kids swear they taste just like a PB&J while I think they taste better. 

PB&J Drumsticks from Rebecca Burgess on Vimeo.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Drumsticks

by Rebecca Mongrain

Prep Time: 1 hour +

Cook Time: 50 minutes




6080660



Ingredients (12 drumsticks)


10 ounces  Smucker's Squeeze Grape Jelly
1/2 cup Jif Natural Creamy Peanut Butter
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
12 chicken drumsticks
Cilantro for garnish




Instructions

In a large bowl, combine the Smucker's Squeeze Grape Jelly, Jif Natural Creamy Peanut Butter, red wine vinegar, hot pepper sauce and salt to make the marinade.

Reserve 1/2 cup of the marinade and set aside.

Place the chicken drumsticks in a ziplock bag along with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Arrange the drumsticks on a greased broiler pan or a greased rack over a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Turn over each piece and baste with more sauce from the marinade bag (not the reserved sauce). Bake for another 20 minutes or until browned.

Once the chicken is finished baking, baste with the reserved sauce. Serve with cilantro as a garnish.



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Don't forget to visit the Target Cartwheel landing page to save when purchasing your Smucker’s and Jif products.

2016 - A Year in Review

As 2016 comes to a close, I have to say it was a pretty good year for me. Yes, the election was devastating and I'm nervous about the next four years but over all, I had a pretty good year. 

1.  Workout 4 times a week - I stayed pretty consistent with this goal and really found my exercise love when I joined Sync Fitness. I also lost almost 20 pounds since May. While I have more to go, I'm feeling stronger, fitter and so much happier. The grief weight was really dragging me down. 

2. Complete Whole30 in January - I did this and thankfully this year, I am not doing it again! 

3. Keep purging the house with the Bowl Full of Lemons 14 Week Plan  - I purged a lot this past year and plan to keep it up in 2017. We have too much stuff and it needs to go. 

4. Complete Four (4) Day in the Life Challenges and participate in at least ten 10 on 10's - This was a fun way to stretch my photography chops. I feel like my skills really grew this year and I am so thrilled with my improvements. 

5. Complete TKGA Master Knitting Level I - I did not complete this but I made some great strides. 

6. Grow a kick-ass Garden! - My garden was so awesome this year. I planted corn and it was fun watching it grow. My tomatoes were gang busters and next year I'm planting peppers earlier because when mine finally took off, they were taken out by frost. 

7. Read for 15 minutes a day - and by doing this, I read 60 books this year! I have a post coming up with a quick review of all the books I read. 

8. Volunteer with two organizations and include the girls - I volunteered with PEPS this year and led two groups - one of which was horrible and one of which was AWESOME! The second group, the awesome one restored my faith in humanity. The girls and I also volunteered with Mary's Place and I look forward to doing more of this. We also did the Treehouse Toy Drive and donated socks to WeCount. 

9. Catch up on my yearly photo books of the girls - Yeah.....

10. Get back to Blogging on a more regular basis and focus more on my writing - Totally did this and I have big plans for 2017. 

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you Peace & Joy and a Happy New Year! 

(Taking one's own family portrait is hard, folks!)

2017 Goals and My One Word

This past year, I went with "Present" as my word for 2016. While there is still room for improvement, I think I did pretty well. In April, I identified my phone as a major distractor and worked to stay present. I'm often in my own head, thinking of other things so this was quite a goal for me. 

This year, my word is "Release". I'm going to work to release the pain and anger around my parent's health and death. I'm gong to work to release stuff from my home. I'm going to release the negative from my life. Release!

In 2015, I worked hard to get my Sh*t Together and 2016 was a continuation on that theme. I am in a much better place now than I was at the start of 2015. Our country is not but I am. I lost almost 20 pounds this year, read 60 books, got super fit, improved my photography, traveled a lot and wrote a bunch. I plan to do a recap of this year later. 

This year, I'm focusing on 10 solid goals, two of which are repeats. 

2017 Goals

1. Workout 217 times in 2017. This works out to 4.5 times a week which is totally do-able! 

2. Participate in the Year of Creativity - I signed up for the Year of Creativity with Coffee + Crumbs where we'll have writing assignments based on monthly themes. I've also decided that I'll do a photo essay based on the monthly themes. 

3. Shoot one roll of film a month. 

4. Complete TKGA Master Knitting Level I - This is a goal that I've been working on for almost 10 years. This is the year that I WILL COMPLETE THIS GOAL! (this is a repeat from last year) 

5. Finish my Miter Square Blanket. I started this blanket in 2007 and it's almost 10 years later! I can't wait to lie under the cozy-ness of this blanket so I'll be finishing this up in 2017! 

6. Read 52 books. I read 60 books this year so this might not be a hard goal to accomplish. 

7. Finish up various House Projects - I have a few lingering house projects that I want to get done. I'll be painting the bathroom and kitchen. I really need to paint the back deck and finish up the basement re-do. 

8. Catch up on my yearly photo books of the girls. Sadly I've only done one for Molly's 1st year so I have a lot of catching up to do. (this is a repeat from last year)

9. Become more politically active and work to be the change in my community. 

10. Learn how to make a really good stock. 

Bonus Goal: Grow two new crops in my garden and add some chickens to my flock. 

Project 52 - Week 39

We spent a morning at the Maui Aquarium on our visit to Hawaii last week and I snapped these photos of the girls doing their thing. They are both getting so big! 

Project 52 - Week 38

We went on a whale watching trip yesterday and Maggie was so excited. Before the boat left, she was excitedly telling my aunt about the whales! I love her little passion. 

Join me for a Day in the Life Challenge on Thursday, December 8th

Starting on Thursday when you wake up, take a photo every hour (or more) to document your day until you fall asleep that night. You can join the Flickr group and/or tag your photos #adayinthelifephotochallenge on Instagram.

Here are some guidelines (adjust as needed for YOU!)

From the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep...

1. Take at least one photo an house (but you can take more!).
2. Post your photos to the "A Day in the Life" Photo Challenge Flickr group when you can. Posting your photos throughout the day as you take them is great (so we can see what everyone is doing in real time), but no worries if you cannot post until later. 
3. Your photos do NOT have to be self-portraits.
4. Include the time of the photo either as the title of the photo or in the description. (i.e. 9:45 am Hilarious Hand Holding! My friend and I had to walk really, really close to each other.)
5. Use your phone or camera - whatever you want to use to capture your day, however ordinary or extraordinary it may be. 
6. Have Fun! 

Since this is my 1 billionth time doing this challenge and I'll be away from home, I'll be shooting on my DSLR and posting later in the day, possibly all at once at the end of the day.  I've set up a new album on my Flickr photostream for December 8th challenge which you can follow here: A Day in the Life 12.8.16. Can't wait to see your photos and your day on Thursday! 

Monthly Goal Check-In (November)

Wow! Seriously, we have just 26 more days left of 2016. It's time to start thinking about my goals for 2017! Until then, here is an update on my 2016 goals. 

1.  Workout 4 times a week 
2. Complete Whole30 in January 
3. Keep purging the house with the Bowl Full of Lemons 14 Week Plan  - This is an ongoing project. I'm considering this done because every day, I'm purging! 

4. Complete Four (4) Day in the Life Challenges and participate in at least ten 10 on 10's - I did another 10 on 10 in November and will be doing my last Day in the Life Challenge this week! 

5. Complete TKGA Master Knitting Level I - Yeah, I have some thoughts on why I'm not getting this done. 

6. Grow a kick-ass Garden! 
7. Read for 15 minutes a day 
8. Volunteer with two organizations and include the girls.

9. Catch up on my yearly photo books of the girls - So yeah, still haven't done this. 

10. Get back to Blogging on a more regular basis and focus more on my writing.