Still here...

Working so much and trying to squeeze in a workout or two. Time to schedule some intense writing...

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Two Things I Have Learned Through Online Shopping

Full disclosure:
I like to hold on to my money for as long as I can.
I also hate HATE paying full price for ANYTHING.

Since all my kids are now in a public school I have been working part-time.
Getting to (or wanting to) go shopping has been really low in my want to-do list.

Online shopping is now back on to things I love to do but now because of it's popularity many online stores or dot com stores are offering free shipping.
Recently I discovered 2 things:
           1. When you create a "favorite list" and check it a week later at least one                of the items will be on sale.
           2.  If you add things in a "shopping cart" a few days later they will email                you reminding you of your items AND they will offer a discount offer                like 10% or free shipping.

How awesome is that!

I had some items recently in a yarn shop and offered they offered me in an email 20% off PLUS free shipping!!!

Online shopping is so much more fulfilling and a little bit dangerous.

:-)

5 Minutes

This morning I watched the sun rise from behind the mountain. 
It was lovely shade of orange against blue and gray skies.  It was humbling to watch that this morning.  
Sometimes we really need to press that pause button and take it all in.  
Today I realized I can take 5 minutes to just breathe and count my blessings.  
5 minutes of no movement.
5 minutes of not thinking about my next hustle.
5 minutes of not thinking about my next move.
5 minutes of phone silence. 
Emails, texts, social medias can wait.
I am reclaiming my 5 minutes of quietness.
My 5 minutes of just looking out my bedroom window and take in what God has put in front of me. 
Orange, blue and gray skies.

This is an old pic but just an idea of my view.  It's autumn so most of the leaves are gone.  Maybe after my 5 minutes of meditation I'll take a pic.

My New Addiction and New (to me) Grocery Store

For about a year I have been loving Daiya shredded cheese.  During my recent trip to Whole Foods I discovered their sliced cheese and pizza!
I did buy the sliced cheese to have with my veggie burger.
Two minutes before taking burger off the pan I added a slice of the Daiya cheese.
It melted and it was awesome!
I need to remember to take my phone into the kitchen more often to take pictures.
The burger was delicious!

I am a big fan of the library and more so with trying new vegan recipes with the cookbooks that I have found.  Right now Betty Goes Vegan is my newest find.  Beautifully written with a guide to vegan products, tips and tricks.
One brand it mentioned I've never heard of.
After googling it I find that there is a (new to me) vegan and organic grocery store a little over 2 miles away.  I can't wait to check them out and add them as my go to store for vegan products.

They have a way too easy guacamole recipe that I tried and my teen loves.

Dan's Guacamole
(serves 4-6)

2 large ripe avocados
2 tbsps lime juice
1 minced garlic clove
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp onion powder
1 diced jalapeno (I omitted this ingredient and it was not missed)
1 tsp hot sauce (I omitted this ingredient and it was not missed)
crushed pink Himalayan salt and crushed black peppercorns (sea salt and pepper was just fine)

mash your avos into a paste and mix in the rest of the ingredients.

My teen loves to use this as a spread for her sandwiches!

Enjoy!

Vacation time is over...

and we're back to school!
It's official.
All of my kids are out of the homeschooling years and into the public school years.  It's been great thus far.  Homeschooling have truly prepared them in their studies.  They have learned to work independently and look for the resources to help them with various projects.

We've had a wonderful summer driving cross country and visiting my mom in Florida.
The kids reacquaint with a few cousins and hang out with Abuela. We visited all Disney parks and even brought home some mosquito bites!

All in all, it has been the best vacation we ever had.

My only complaint is that I had a hard time finding vegan products in the area.
We had to take an almost 30 minute drive to the nearest Whole Foods to find tofu, nutritional yeast, and other vegan eats.




*My writing is a bit more rough than usual.  I guess I'm still in vacation mode. ;-)