Sushi Bowls

My Sushi Bowl all messy and stirred together.
I like eating mine this way because each bite is a party to my taste buds.

Our family has discovered a new family favorite. Sushi Bowls are a great way to use up stuff in your fridge, especially, if you made sushi a few days ago and have left overs--like we did. Visit link to see what we used.

We make rice every day. This is something we have done for years. The kids love it and it's a great easy meal when we are in a hurry. The sushi bowl starts off with a bowl of white rice.  I open the refrigerator and notice I have pineapple, mango, and asparagus left over from the night before. I grab these. Then things just rolled from that point. I reach for a sheet of seaweed and using my scissors, start cutting the tiniest strips. I grab a few green onions, throw a handful of Panko crumbs, and make a small batch of Sriarcha Mayonnaise.  My bowl takes on a life of its own.

My belly says thank you.  That was yesterday.

Today, I make another Sushi Bowl.  

Tomorrow I might make a third Sushi Bowl. 

These sushi bowls are easy. Too easy for a formal recipe.  Use your imagination to create the perfect bowl of UMAMI for your desired taste buds. 

I used: rice, soy sauce, red bell pepper, pineapple, mango, red onion, cucumber, asparagus, sesame seeds, strips of nori (seaweed sheets), and my imagination.  Use what you like. If you don't have any dietary restrictions then this will open up a few more options that our family does not do.

Cory and the kids made it home from our nieces wedding all safe and sound.  That night we sat down to watch a movie while the kids were also settling in for the night.  We thought Isabella had gone to bed but she surprised us with a gentle knock and opening of our bedroom door. She could not sleep.

We turned the movie off until she was tired. We talked for a few minutes about MLK's birthday on Monday.  We watched his speech  from 1963 and talked for about 30 minutes on an important subject.  I wrote this on my Facebook page and took a picture of it. I didn't think I could remember it all again. Overall, it was a valued few minutes to help her understand some important social topics of our time and those of our past.  My role as her teacher never ends. I don't punch a timecard. Moments of learning and teaching can happen at any time and I hope that I am always ready and able to use that time wisely. 

We made hot chocolate mix earlier in the day. Finnley is quickly turning into a little kitchen helper. She wants to help and I am excited to have her help. Our kids all work in the kitchen and I love this about them. They love to help cook, prepare, clean-up, and create. Cooking is a wonderful tool because it allows us to spend time with our kids, it gives us an opportunity to teach them something fun, we are able to make memories, and they are learning something that they will use their whole lives. Cooking opens doors to communicate, to laugh, and to share.  I wouldn't trade those minutes spent in the kitchen with my kids for anything; priceless moments with the returns of eternal blessings.

I hope that you each have a week filled with intention, purpose, and joy.

Sherron

Drake heads to Oregon State University

Wintery only begins to describe the scene this morning as we took Drake to college.  The roads were filled with water, slush, and gravel.  We have lived in Oregon for almost a year and a half and this is the first winter that snow has been a part of our vocabulary.  And not just a little bit of snow, but lots and lots of white fluffy flakes falling from the clouds.

To be honest, I wasn't sure we were going to make it this morning. The forecast was calling for ice. We waited until the afternoon and left when we thought the roads would be plowed and cleared. We were right and ventured over the Cascade Pass and down into Corvallis with little problem.  The trees were dusted with white piles of fresh snow.  Each tree a different shade of green.  It was as if we were driving through a picture.

Arriving on campus was thrilling for me. I could tell Drake was filled with anxiety as the day approached and even more so as we drove pass the stadium.  His reality was becoming more and more confirmed with a decision that he was still grappling with-college or no college.  Arriving we found ourselves parked out front and ready to move into his dorm room.

With key in hand we set out to open his floor door.  With each attempt we saw red, not green.  UH-OH.  Something was not right.  After a few exchanges of cards we were told that we would have to be patient and get assistance each time he wanted on to the floor.  His dorm area is brand new and they were experiencing some technical difficulties.While he ran between the buildings trying to figure out the key, Finnley and I waited with his stuff.

He brought the bare minimums.  Maybe it's a guy thing.  I'm not sure how he is going to manage with so little but he will figure it all out soon enough.  His room mate was out.  It felt weird to drop off our stuff and run but that's what we did.  We still had to buy him a bike, some last minutes stuff, and take him to his job to get his key to open on Monday morning

Against his will, he posed for a selfie of the two of us. I was all smiles and he was over this whole day.

The weather continued to warm up but we were still anxious to be on our way back to the beach in case the roads were icy once the sun went down.  He was anxious for us to leave.

He has been patiently waiting the last four months for this next chapter of his life to start and today it did.  He took the leap and is plunging into college life.  I didn't want to leave.  The energy and vive of the campus is amazing!  The kids were all nice, helpful, and full of life.  I could have stayed there in his place.

He walked me to the car. Said goodbye to his dad. We drove away.

I never looked back. I don't know if he stayed or turned away and went inside.

I know that he is going to have an amazing experience. I'm glad that he made the decision to go to college. Who knows, maybe we will graduate at the same time. I will be a student there this time next year.

He better tell me when parents day is too--I'm coming in all my orange glory to celebrate in his accomplishment of becoming an engineer at Oregon State University.

GO BEAVERS!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year friends!

It's been quite a year for our family with lots of changes and adventures.  As we start this New Year we have a long list of "honey-do's" in mind.  The top three are finishing our garden plans outside, finally completing Cory's office, and completing Isabella's room.

The garden is off to a great start. We bought the Square Foot Garden book, our seeds, and have scouted around for a variety of container gardens and greenhouses.  Now we are reading all things garden related in the hopes that our brown thumbs turn the most vibrant green this summer.

Isabella's room finally is not a kitchen.  When we bought our home we were short a room or had too many kids..LOL  Either way we found ourselves using our second kitchen downstairs as a bedroom for our adorable third child.  We added a door this past summer and yesterday ripped out the counter tops.  YAY for progress.  This summer we will paint, do the floors, and finishing the base boards.

Cory's office is our second garage.  Gotta love our creative resilience to make our beach house work no matter what!  Well, after a year we have decided that he likes his office in the garage and now we need to make it more office like.  This will require some, okay a lot, of ideas that insist I think outside the box.  I am excited to step right into this project.

BUT...first,

I need to finish my next semester of school.  Can you believe its been a year?  Holy cow where did the time go.  I still love it.  I did really well with 42 credits and all A's.  Not too bad for a girl who thought her whole life she wasn't smart enough to go to college.  Never give up on your dreams!

Our kids are great.  We finally had a bit of snow this past week.  The little girls loved it and the big kids had to drive in it.  That was a love/hate relationship.

We got a couple of cats!  Saki and Oreo.  They are awesome.  Except for Saki refused to take a selfie with me--what's up with that?

Oreo, well, she is our princess cat.  She is an older cat that we rescued and her days are spent finding the warmest place in our home and laying there for hours. Rescue animals are the best!

Tomorrow we drive Drake, who also turned 20 last week, to Oregon State University.  CRAP--when did that happen.  Rye is now a manager where she works.  Isabella quit gymnastics and jumped into ballet with zeal. Finnley started preschool.  Our little family is growing up.

I'm hoping to write more on the blog this year.  Nothing fancy or planned out in advance. I simply don't have time for that with 16 credits this semester. I started this blog as a way to document our life for my kids. I need to return to that style. With that in mind, it will be filled with pictures, random thoughts, our daily adventures, and my ups and downs as a mom, student, wife, and pagan.  Expect to see a bit of everything this year.

I cook every day. Our plant based diet is exciting and I have learned so much with this new journey into preparing our meals without meat, dairy, cheese, and eggs.  Are we perfect yet?  Hardly.  It's still challenging sometimes, especially when we travel.  But you know what,  its okay.  We are moving forward with our goals and doing our best.  We still live by the 80/20 policy and find that our tummies are full and happy.

I'm not sure how many readers I have left but thank you to those that are still finding their way to our little bit of paradise at the beach.

Happy New Year!

Sherron

Cascade Head Hike #Oregon

I want to start sharing a few areas in my neck of the woods that are pretty awesome.  We have lived in Oregon for one year.  Our time here has been spent hiking, kayaking, walking, exploring, and looking for the next exciting adventure.  I recently learned that over 1,000,000 people visit Newport Oregon each year.  That's a lot of people!  I think that maybe they might need a few things to do outside of shopping and eating.  Our town is small but is packed with adventure.

Adventure always awaits!

I'm not sure if we will ever get around to everything we want to do while living in Oregon but we are definitely giving it our all.  Every weekend we make it a point to go out exploring and discovering this beautiful state.

Living at the beach has been an amazing experience.  I never knew how much my heart would fall in love with the sound of the waves and the feel of sand in my toes.  It has impacted our family in the best way.  The coast is visually stimulating to our minds.  The beautiful beaches never let us down.

This particular hike is not located in Newport.  It actually is up by Lincoln City which is a 22 mile drive north on Hwy 101.  It is in my county though.  I feel that this hike is close enough to our home to spotlight it for those who visit Newport.

 We happened to pick a very warm and clear day for our hike.  You can see for miles from the top.  Just look at the photo below.  Eye candy for miles and miles.

The Cascade Head hike is a tourist dream for seeing the Oregon Coast from an advantage point. High above the seas with miles and miles of the prettiest blues and greens in sight.  You start out with a wooded trail through private lands and this slowly leads you out from under the canopy of huge Cyprus Trees.  At first you think you may never see the sky again and then with a burst of brightness, it's right there--sky and ocean as far as the eye can see.  The coastline, the river, and the peaks of small islands floating in the sea.  The trail appears to lead you into the ocean only to wrap around and have you climbing from 500 feet to 1300 feet in about a mile. Huffing and puffing we made it to the top.

This is a great link to find out about the trail system: Cascade Head Trail Hike
Oregon Hikers Map link is HERE.
Parking is at Knights Park.  There are no fees or special permission associated with this hike.

That last mile is a killer!  I won't lie.  My butt was on fire (in a good way, of course).  We had to bribe Isabella with a free school day in order to convince her to go the last leg.  She made it.  We all made it. We were all dripping with sweat but wore our smiles proudly.

The feeling of accomplishing something tough is empowering.  I wanted Isabella to understand that she is capable of doing hard things.  She did it and loved it.  In fact, as we came down the mountain, she mentioned several times to hikers going up that the trip was worth the hike.

We originally thought the whole hike was 3.5 miles. HA! That was one way.  We completely understood when we returned to our car and read the sign why we all felt like we had been to hell and back--it was hot, dusty, and at times, a challenge.  Honestly, if we had known that it was that long we would not have attempted the hike with a 2 and 9 year old.  With that being said, we did do it and I will do it again.

I carried Finnley 5 of those 7 miles on my back.  She walked the stairs up and the steepest part of the last mile.  The kid slept all the way down.  Can you blame her?  The girls were so dirty.  Cory and I were dirty too.  You might want to bring bug spray, sun screen, and wear good shoes.

Overall the hike is a must if your are physically fit enough to climb steep terrain, climb about 200 stairs (I'm guessing but there are a lot of stairs), carry a back pack, and have great balance.  There are no bathrooms on the trail.  At the staging park there is one--go before you go on the hike.  Take plenty of water.  They have a strict NO DOG policy too.   The trail is wide in the beginning but narrows as you climb the last mile.

The view is worth the hike.  GO!  Get out there and test your limits.  Push yourself.  These two little girls did!

There is a back way that allows you to park closer to the top and hike about 1/2 a mile.  We met several families doing this route at the top.  Next time we might drive around to this site to check it out.  FYI: this option is closed from January to July.

I can't wait to hike this trail system again!  You can see from the smiles that life is good.  Isabella got a blister but she wants to go back and hike the trail again.

What's Happening in My Life--It's a Long Piece

Hi, It's me.  Did you think I had left you forever?  Maybe.  I thought about it to be honest but the pull to return is too strong.  I miss it.  I miss the friendships, the comments, the interaction with readers who feel connected to me.  I miss you.

I had to take some time away though.  I was in a bad place. I set off to correct a few thoughts and to find my way.  I wasn't happy but I was happy.  Does that make sense?  What is being happy anyways?  I found I was walking in a shell of a body.  My mind was numb and I was going through the motions.  I don't believe I was depressed but maybe I was.  I felt happy most of the time just empty.  

So empty. 

 I felt I had ran this huge race and crossed the finished line only to discover , "why did I run at all."  You may have felt this too about me as you read some of my last entries here on the blog.  I tried to push through and find out what was holding me back.  Why did I have these feelings of numbness? Why couldn't I feel joy like everyone else?  Was I broken?

 So many questions.

Looking back I think there are several reasons for my dip in mood and happiness. I won't spend a great deal of time analyzing them but will touch on a few that I think have contributed to my downward spiral.  I have talked about leaving the Mormon Church before.  This was a huge transition for our family.  Six years later and we are just now starting to feel normal again.  What ever that means but we find ourselves identifying with that word more and more these days.  Secondly, having Finnley was a blessing but it has also been very difficult.  Kids are work and when you are forty-eight with a two year old, it seems like a mole hill becomes Mount Everest.  Tired and worn out only begin to describe my state of being over the last three years.  Finally, my mind was a huge bowl of Jello.  Staying home resonated with me with my first two kids.  These last two little girls are getting a different Mom.  I felt guilty about that.  I didn't want to stay home anymore. I wanted to get out and do something for myself.  The guilt of feeling this way was burdensome.  

So, yeah, I went through some shit.

The good news is I took control of my own happiness and I feel so much better.  Let me back up for a minute.  We moved to Oregon in June 2015 and finally moved into our new home in August 2015.  This was a transitional time for our family.  Drake left home after graduating from high school, Rye stayed with us, Isabella was 8, and Finnley was on the verge of crossing the "terrible two's" bridge.  Cory and I were not in a good place and yet, we were buying a home. What the hell was wrong with us?  We were in motion and couldn't seem to get off the train long enough to repair ourselves, let alone, a relationship.  We hit a cross road.  Two weeks into our new home we said the words "divorce" and "separation".  What had driven us to this point?  It was scary and honestly hurt so deeply.  The hurt of losing my best friend is what gave us the strength to fix what was troubling our marriage.  I couldn't imagine living without him but at that moment all I wanted to do was run away.  I was so tired.  Tired of fighting, negotiating, being homeless (we lived with my sister until our house was closed), dealing with a two year old who felt the need to remind me of why she would be our last-daily, and trying to figure out "what the fuck I wanted to be when I grow up".  

Forty-eight and still trying to find myself.  It's funny--now.  

This has a happy ending.  We figured out a reason to stay together and keep the love alive. To be truthful it had nothing to do with love. We still loved each other very much.  It was out of this love that we felt the need to let each other go. If we were not making the other person happy why should we be so selfish as to not let them go to find the happiness that we each deserved.  We talked about seeing a therapist and opted to try our hand at doing some self care first.  I found two books that, in my opinion, saved our marriage.  They are The Five Love Languages and The Seven Priniciples for Making Marriage Work.  Both of these books are excellent and opened up our eyes to a ton of ideas of how to improve our foundation.  We had the bones of a good house it just needed a face lift and and update.  We needed some new furniture...my feeble attempt at humor!

I'm so glad we made it.  Cory is an amazing father and husband.  What I learned along the way is that what I thought were his problems were actually mine.  I was unhappy with myself and projecting this into the lives of those around me.  I forgot that I was in charge of my own happiness; not someone else. We worked through our issues and found a rekindled appreciation for each other.  We recognized that at this stage of our life it is important for us to do things separate from each other and to grow as individuals. We had forgotten how to fill our own cups.  Kids, moving, buying a new house, family, leaving a church, new jobs, and on and on....had over taken our lives.  We stopped living the good life and found ourselves drowning in a pool of ankle deep water.

Once we were on track again I had to look deep within myself and decide a few things.  In January of this year I returned to school for the first time in 29 years.  It was scary taking those first steps to get admitted, take a placement test, find classes, set up financial aid, and then finally attend.  This single act of kindness that I allowed myself has been life changing. 

My cup is full for now. I work daily on keeping what's inside me flowing.  

Returning to school has allowed me to grow personally. I have found a new drive and direction.  I feel alive.  My only regret is that I did not do this sooner.  I won't spend anytime beating myself over that decision and move forward with my goals and aspirations. 

The amazing thing is my family is okay.  By going to school, our schedule has changed a bit, but I can do both.  I am learning that I can take some time for me, give to my kids, be with my husband, and juggle.  I should have joined a circus act because, honestly, I can do more than I thought was possible. I doubted my abilities, and it threw me into a tail spin.  Thankfully, with a lot of soul searching and self-love, I was able to pull out and stay the course. 

I found me.

 Why am I sharing all of this?  Well, because it's who I am. These moments are not unique to just me.  This is life.  These types of events are happening everyday to families, to mothers, and to women.  We feel at times empty.  We struggle to find balance.  We try to be everything to everyone and leave ourselves in the dust.  It happens. Shit happens.

I have learned a great deal about finding a community that elevates who you are and hope to become. This is an important part of building and retaining my happiness. I feel the road was long and rough at times but these past five years were all worth it.  The home we have created is beautiful.  We love living at the beach.  Our marriage is solid.  Our kids bring us joy.

I am happy.  Happiness does not equate to perfection.  It means that I am able to swing back and forth between the highs and the lows with out hitting rock bottom.  We spend a lot of time at the beach. Our whole family feels a connection to the waves, the wind, the sand, and the smell of salty air.  If I felt lost before I feel found now.  I am home.

This means change.  Change for my blog.  I have tried and struggled to do the whole food thing.  My own eating habits change constantly as we are still trying to figure out what is going on with my auto-immune system. I have recently had all the allergy testing done AGAIN.  I have been told that I have a very sensitive immune system and that I need to visit a rheumatologist and we need to start looking at a possible Lupus diagnosis.  I'm not ready for that so am trying to control my symptoms with diet. I am back to a strict vegan diet.  It is the only things that keep the inflammation, redness, foggy brain, aches and pains at bay.  It's hard.  I am frustrated.  I have felt so alone with this journey and at rock bottom on some days.  I am pulling the plug on my food only blogging format.  It is too depressing because I am so limited in what I can eat and prepare.  I feel the fun I experienced of cooking and creating is gone. I started to pull away last year because of my frustration and this year I made the decision to do something different. When I felt the spark return, while at the beach, which I had originally felt with cooking, I knew the beach was my way to keep writing and to stay connected.

Change is good.

I love the beach and all that it offers.  Through my Instagram account I am finding that others feel the same way I do.  So I am trying to re-brand myself into a lifestyle blog.  I hope to share lots of beach things as well as some food recipes. The ocean is my happy place and I feel compelled to share this joy with others.  The beach is a sanctuary and it is here that I have found a connection like no other place that we have lived.  It might be the coolness of the air and water to my firey personality or the constant beauty that I am surrounded by. Whatever it is, I will never let go.

These are a few things that I have been thinking about writing in several blog updates, and, well, it all came out in one post.  I just regurgitated my last year with its highs and lows for the world to see and dissect.  Oh well.  Life happens and we either sink or swim.

Thankfully, I am turning into a great swimmer.

A few images from my Instagram account below in a collage. I would love to see you visit me over on Instagram. I share daily updates there.  I will try to write weekly on my blog. I am still on Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon.  I have some great Pinterest boards too. My second semester is ending today and I will have a lighter load this summer. I am hoping this gives me the chance to write again.  I love writing. I love the beach.  I'm pretty sure I can weave a tale or two combining my two loves.

Have a joyful day!