Sun Mamma

My new blog is ready!!!

2009-04-22T08:29:00.002-04:00

Check it out :) Please leave a comment so I know you found me :-)
http://sebrinawilsonphotographyblog.com/wordpress/

Some beach pictures :)

2009-04-19T12:00:00.005-04:00

Can't leave the last post without pictures :-)

Looks like I will be moving :-)

2009-04-19T06:42:00.002-04:00

I have royally (insert bad word here) up my blogger template and I am frustrated by bloggers limitations.. so I am in the process of moving. Not sure how long it will take but as soon as my new home is ready I will let you know!
xo Sebrina

Under construction

2009-04-18T07:30:00.000-04:00

Happy Saturday..

"I will always remember the day the sun shone dark on your hair & I forgot where we were & kissed you lightly on the nose

2009-04-17T13:21:00.011-04:00

& suddenly there was no more secret" ~story people~

Seems lately that I am utterly obsessed with light! Even when I don't have my camera I am studying people to see how the light is falling on their faces. I took the kids to the park today at about 11:00am. The sun was bright and gorgeous.. but that does not make for a good picture so I didn't bring my camera. But at one moment I saw my oldest son Ryan standing up on the top of the slide and I thought how great a picture it would have made, but then I looked at him closely and saw all the dark shadows under his eyes from the high sun. I walked around to see if their was a better angle, but there wasn't. The only way I could have made that shot would have been to get a reflector under his face to push light back on him and fill out the shadows. Anyways regardless of whether I did or didn't have my camera or make the shot.. I am learning these invaluable tips.

Last night I took my son Jayden out at about 6:30pm, 1.5 hours before the sun set and that is my most favourite time to shoot. The sun is low, the light is golden.. it's wonderful!! I really wanted to try backlighting, probably my most favourite type of light but it can be tricky. I used my spot metering and metered for his skin. Then I converted to black and white in photoshop and used the dodge tool to bring some of the reflection back into his eyes. If I had a reflector this step would not have been necessary. I must put a reflector on my wish list :)

I hope you all have a lovely weekend!!! It is 18 degrees Celsius today and sunny and beautiful and I have been outside most of the day. Tonight we are going to the beach to get some sunset pictures with the kids!!

xo Sebrina

Practice makes perfect :-)

2009-04-13T12:00:00.006-04:00

My kids are to getting so sick of me chasing them around with a camera! But there is so much to learn when it comes to photography. Just clicking the shutter is only the beginning. Well that's not entirely true. It's sort of the middle because first you need to pay attention to your surroundings and more importantly your light. Getting your lighting right can make all the difference in a picture. Bad light can just ruin it! So with that said I have been trying some side lighting like in the picture above. The problem that can arise if you are not careful is one half the face in a shadow and the other half way over exposed. Another tricky lighting situation is backlighting. This can be beautiful but it can also ruin a picture with the background too over exposed and the subject in unflattering shadows.

The other thing I have been working on is my processing skills. The trick with processing is to enhance the picture, not edit it to a point of looking fake. Processing is a personal thing and everyone does it differently. I really enjoy a de-saturated look. Almost vintage but not too much! I am currently trying to learn how to use Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. I have been using Lilyblue's presets and actions. Her photo's are very close to what I want for mine.

I hope you don't all get sick of seeing my kids. Hopefully very soon I will have some sessions with other children to show you all!!
xo Sebrina

Moms Around the World

2009-04-11T11:02:00.002-04:00

I've been tagged by Toni from The Daily Vignette to share 5 things I love about being a mother.

1) I love their genuine enthusiasm for pretty everything from finding a worm in the dirt to getting an icecream cone to blowing bubbles at the park

2) I love when they first wake up in the morning and come to my room rubbing their sleepy eyes.

3) I love spending one on one time with each of them. They are different when they are apart and I love that I am able to have that time with them.

4) I love the very real difference between boys and girls and the fact that I get to experience them both.

5) I love their little made up stories. Their imaginations are fabulous!

So I am going to tag Colleen, Kristen and Rachel

The anti cancer lifestyle

2009-04-10T14:42:00.003-04:00

April is cancer awareness month. My life has been touched very closely by cancer. My grandmother died from cancer. My dad has had cancer twice, prostate and testicular. My aunt died from leukemia, my other aunt is a breast cancer survivor. It quite obvious that cancer is very much in my family, which may put me and my children at greater risk. I certainly cannot worry about that, but I can live my life so that we reduce our risk as much as possible. To me that means implementing strategies to help prevent it.

For my children it has been easy! They have been on a whole foods, healthy living diet since they were born. I also reduce the number is phthalates they come in contact with by keeping the plastic toys to a minimum, storing food in glass, storing water in stainless bottles ect...

For Mike and I this lifestyle has meant getting ourselves to healthy weight and more importantly getting rid of the more dangerous belly (visceral) fat . I am super happy to report that my wonderful husband has lost 35 pounds and counting!! I have lost 15 pounds! And to lose this weight we have been concentrating on a healthy Mediterranean style diet which I believe is one the healthiest and most delicious diets you can follow. We eat alot of fruits and veggies, whole grains, olives and olive oil, nuts and seeds, dark chocolate. We eat very little meat and when we do it's either fish or chicken.

We have been exercising as a family. Walking almost every night. I run in the mornings about 3 times per week and I practice at least 10-15 minutes of yoga every morning.

I think another component of our anti-cancer lifestyle is reducing stress as much as possible. Stress in my opinion can be just as toxic as eating junk or smoking. Yoga really helps with my stress. Mike and I are in the process of hopefully doing something about something that has been a HUGE stress in our marriage for years now :-) and I believe that our entire family will be better off if we can eliminate it.

I hope that by sharing this information I can inspire other families to follow their own healthy living lifestyle!!

xo Sebrina

Sebrina Wilson Photography

2009-04-06T17:28:00.005-04:00

Please check out my new website and tell me what you think!! I have asked two of my friends if I can photograph their gorgeous families to use in my gallery. I am hoping to get some maternity shoots and newborn shoots :-) I wish I knew some pregnant ladies!!! If you know of anyone in my area that is looking for some free pictures in exchange for my right to use them in my portfolio let me know!!

I think I will be ready to start actualy promoting and advertising my business by June!

xo Sebrina

Happy Anniversary!!!

2009-04-03T17:12:00.002-04:00

Yesterday was the 2nd anniversary of Gabbi's homecoming to Canada. Her anniversary with her daddy and her brothers! I can't believe it has been two years already! I remember that day.. the longest day of my life. I was terrified something was going to go wrong. I am not sure that everyone reading here knows the whole story, but basically on February 28th my mom and I left on our journey to Ethiopia to get Gabbi. Our trip was supposed to be simple. We would get Gabbi and spend a few days in Ethiopia and come home. Our trip was supposed to be 7 days. Well everything that could have gone wrong went wrong and we ended up there for over three weeks waiting on Gabbi's Canadian Visa to come. The pouch that brings the visa from Nairobi to Addis came every Thursday and we waited for three Thursday's and no visa came. We had no idea when it would come. I had to make the choice to hire a nanny for Gabbi and leave her there and come home. It was awful, every horrible thought you can imagine when through my mind. I seriously thought there was a chance I would never see her again! It took two more Thursday's after we left for her visa to come and then my adoption agency flew her home to us. I did not sleep the entire time. So when you see that video that I posted weeks ago of me in the airport clinging to Gabbi and crying.. that was why! I was so happy that she was home.. you have no idea!!!

We actually didn't do anything too exciting yesterday. Gabbi is still a bit young to understand, but I did take the above picture of her, we went out for ice cream, played at the park and were just thankful we all found each other!

I sometimes wake in the early morning & listen to the soft breathing of my children & I think to myself, this is one thing I will never regret...

2009-04-02T09:41:00.000-04:00

& I carry that quiet with me all day long. ~Story People~

I carry you with me into the world,

2009-03-31T12:34:00.002-04:00

into the smell of rain & the words that dance between people & for me, it will always be this way, walking in the light, remembering being alive together

~Story People~

Today would have been my papa's 89th birthday! He died last July. It's weird to describe death this way but it was beautiful! He left this world surrounded by love. My nanny was holding his hand, my mom, my stepdad, my aunt and uncle and myself all creating a circle of love around him as he moved from this life to the next.

My grandfather was an AMAZING photographer and what is weird is I barely picked up a camera my whole life. I felt the urge to by a DSLR about two weeks after he died and I have been hooked since. I wonder if he transferred something to me as he passed. (does that sound weird??)

My only wish is that he could have seen some of my pictures and I could have gotten his opinion of them!

Happy Birthday Papa!! Rest in peace!

I've been doing these Chinese stretches that are supposed to make you live longer, he told me. I just hope I'm not this sore the whole time.

2009-03-31T08:32:00.000-04:00

~Story People~

We have started walking as a family for exercise. I have been walking for a while now with some friends but whenever they are not available I never go because I don't really like walking by myself. It's a pretty long walk. We walk very fast and I never imagined that my kids could keep up. We bring the wagon for Gabbi and in case another child gets tired there is space for them to take a break. But they keep up and we have been doing the walk every evening when Mike gets home from work. I still do my 20-30 minute run in the morning with our dog Zoey. I do the run 3 times per week and I finally seeing the scale move. I lost about 10 pounds really fast but then the scale just got stuck. I think I have reached what they call a plateau. I knew I needed to either cut more calories or get my butt moving, so I chose to get my butt moving. I really love doing the family walk because it's good for everyone.

Happy Tuesday my friends!!!!

"there came a moment in the middle of the song when she suddenly felt every heartbeat in the room...

2009-03-30T13:43:00.000-04:00

& after that she never forgot she was part of something much bigger" ~Story People~

You know what I love!!!!

2009-03-29T06:39:00.001-04:00

I am sitting on my computer (obviously) with a cup of coffee, it's early, no one is awake yet except me, and it is so quite I can hear the birds outside my window singing their morning song! It's beautiful!! Happy Sunday everyone!

Everything changed the day they figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in their lives.

2009-03-27T17:32:00.004-04:00

~Story People~

So do you have any plans this weekend?? I am going to my moms tomorrow for lunch with her and her friend and her friends daughter. Then I think we are watching The Secret Life of Bees. Love that book!! I hope the movie is good! Tonight after the kiddies go to bed Mike and I are watching Twilight. I am a little nervous because I don't like scary movies...Not sure if this one is scary or not. I started to read the book and then, well I don't know what happened, lol.

We spent the day at the beach today!! It was lovely out. Haven't uploaded any of the pictures yet so here is a pic of me :) lol

On Sunday Mike and I are going out for lunch... alone!!! I cannot even remember the last time we were out alone but it was before Gabbi came from Ethiopia. so over two years! Crazy!!

Have a wonderful weekend my friends!!! And don't forget lights out tomorrow at 8:30pm for 1 hour!! Let's all VOTE EARTH!!!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

2009-03-25T06:50:00.001-04:00

I won't tell you how ~~old~~ young she is today :) Hope you have a great day!

I got nothing :-)

2009-03-23T14:35:00.002-04:00

Nothing really to say. I took this picture today because I felt the need to take one and put myself out there. No make-up or hair to hide behind. It felt good actually.

So a little diet update. Mike has lost 30 pounds!!! I have lost 10. I seem to not be losing anymore though. I probably don't really need to lose anymore but I would like to get a little more toned so I have started running/walking a few times per week in addition to yoga. But mike is doing so awesome. My mom can vouch for this. He is so strong. Iron willpower! I am really proud of him for taking his health seriously for the first time in our entire marriage. It provides a good example for the kids and hopefully ups his chances for being around a really long time :-)

Have a wonderful week my friends!
xo Sebrina

"She said she usually cried at least once each day not because she was sad, but because the world was so beautiful & life was so short." Story People

2009-03-19T17:54:00.001-04:00

If you haven't checked out the Story People.. you really must!! be careful.. it's addictive!

"St. Patrick's Day is an enchanted time - a day to begin transforming winter's dreams into summer's magic" ~Adrienne Cook

2009-03-17T08:36:00.001-04:00

Happy St Patrick's Day!!!!

A little colour for you!

2009-03-16T12:24:00.003-04:00

I bought these flowers today and some yellow and pink ones too! It's gorgeous outside. warm breeze, gorgeous sun. Doesn't get any better then that!! I hope you all have a fabulous week!!!
xo Sebrina

I won :-)

2009-03-15T12:37:00.006-04:00

I was just saying yesterday that I never win anything and I woke up today and won a lovely prize from Shutter Sisters. The Shuttersisters are having a monthly contest for 12 months called "the oneword project". Every month they choose a word and we interpret that word into a picture and submit it to the group. Then they choose a picture every month to win. The word for March is "beautiful" and this month I believe their are 4 winners. So today they chose two. Mine and the lovely Kelly's. Our prize is a Lomography Camera and a book called "Everyone is Beautiful"

I am so moved that they chose this picture. It was really quite hard for me to post this picture.. and then to use the word beautiful to describe it....

Thank you Shutter Sisters! You inspire me everyday!!!
xo Sebrina

“If it's not fun, you're not doing it right” Bob Basso

2009-03-12T16:04:00.000-04:00

Body Image

2009-03-10T07:11:00.003-04:00

I wonder why we women struggle so much with body image. Why have I, for more then half my life, hated my body! How could I hate something that does so much for me. How can I hate my stomach when it helped to carry my lovely children. How can I hate my legs when they bring wherever I want to go. How can I hate my eyes when they allow to see this gorgeous world. What Do you see when you look in the mirror? Do you see the beauty inside? Do you put yourself down? I have been known to look in the mirror and say the most hurtful things to myself. Things I would never dream of saying to my friends.. and yet I say them to myself?

This year I have been on a journey to treat myself better. I put only healthy things into my body. I have tried to take this journey before but I wasn't ready.. but something is different this year. I can now look in the mirror and see beauty, finally after 32 years I can! I can look at this picture and not think "eww my legs are too long, not shapely enough, too skinny". Instead I see that they are beautiful! Since beginning this journey I have completely changed the way I eat.. and in turn I have lost 10 pounds, cleared my skin and have tons of energy!

My wish for all my friends is that you too can learn to love yourself. Learn to see beauty that we all have in us.

xo Sebrina

Pretty Pink Party

2009-03-09T17:00:00.005-04:00

This Tuesday's pink theme is pink party :)

I have a cute moment to share with you all. A conversation with my (almost 9 year old son)

Ryan: mommy can you teach me how to sew and bake and knit today
Me: well i can start teaching you but that can take a little while. Why don't we start with baking.
Ryan: ok but i need to learn how to sew and knit very soon too.
Me: why so soon?
Ryan: because if I learn how to sew I can sew pillows and blankets for homeless people so they will be comfy when they sleep and if I learn how to knit then i can knit scarfs and sweaters for them so they won't be cold and if i learn how to bake then i can bake food for them and they will never be hungry.
Me: bohoohoohoohoo

isn't he the sweetest little guy!!!!!!

I really love my children's innocence.. they seem to keep it longer since they are not in school. Today we were at the superstore and I decided to buy some tulips. They had so many gorgeous colours that I just couldn't choose so I told the boys pick... they all chose the pink!!! They have no clue that "pink is for girls". Oh and as I type this they are upstairs celebrating the fact that I am moving their bedtime from 7:00 to 7:30. They are so happy about that!!!

Don't wait to make your son a great man - make him a great boy.

2009-03-07T18:56:00.001-05:00

Happy Saturday!

2009-03-07T07:15:00.001-05:00

We've been having some lovely weather the last couple of days. Spent the day at the zoo yesterday!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!!
xo Sebrina

My new toy

2009-03-03T16:09:00.002-05:00

I got my new macro lens today!! I am so excited and it came at the perfect time because I am was feeling a little uninspired the last few days. But seeing things through a macro is like seeing things for the first time. The above picture is my very first shot with the lens. I have to say a big huge thank you to everyone who bought pictures from me. In total I have sold 12 and that helped to pay for the lens along with gift cards from my parents (and mike sacrificing his birthday present for me.. he will use this lens too though.. if he can pry it out of my hands)

Happy Tuesday everyone!!!!
xo Sebrina

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift ...that's why it's called the present. ~Oogway. Kung Fu Panda

2009-03-02T10:11:00.002-05:00

I love this quote. I hope to raise my children to live this way!

2 years ago today

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I held my sweet girl in my arms for the first time!! I can't believe it's been two years. In a way it seems like only yesterday, but then it feels like she has been with us forever.
Here is a montage I made when I got back from Ethiopia with some pictures and video. I travelled with my mom to get her and my husband and boys stayed home. The trip was supposed to last 1 week and she was suppose to come home with me. But the Canadian Embassy did not issue her visa so she couldn't leave the country. I ended staying for almost a month and still no visa. I had to hire a nanny and leave her there to go back home to Canada. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done in my life. But I had no idea when they would issue her visa and my husband had taken too much time off work and I was running out of money. 2 weeks later they issued her visa and my adoption agency flew her home to me. That's the little video you see at the end of the montage.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Warning: You might want Kleenex before you watch :-)
xo Sebrina
ps; I know it's not techncially spring yet but I figured if I put up my spring banner then the weather would have to change.. right???

Happy Birthday Mike!!!

2009-02-27T14:07:00.002-05:00

It's my hubby's birthday today :) This is so not good for the diet....

Happy Friday!

xo Sebrina

Sebrina Needs

2009-02-26T15:55:00.002-05:00

Saw this on my friends blog. Basically you type your name into a google search with the word needs after it (sebrina needs) and then write down what it says. I had to change the spelling of my name to the 'correct" spelling (sabrina) or google got all mad at me :)

So here is what I got

1. Sebrina needs her faith more then ever

2. Sebrina needs a daily walk on a leash (sure!!)

3. Sebrina needs a bookkeeper (already did my taxes)

4. Sebrina needs your attention (always)

5. Sebrina needs structure and consistent discipline (oh yes I do)

6. Sebrina needs money (well we have already established that one)

7. Sebrina needs some buddies

8. Sebrina needs to run and move quickly (hmm not really)

9. Sebrina needs her ass kicked (sometimes yes!)

10. Sebrina needs a parisian makeover

Lol, fun!!!! let me know if you decide to do this.

xo Sebrina

“Opportunities

2009-02-26T06:14:00.004-05:00

many times, are so small that we glimpse them not and yet they are often the seeds of great enterprises. Opportunities are also everywhere and so you must always let your hook be hanging. When you least expect it, a great fish will swim by.” Og Mandino

I took the kids to a local aquarium the other day. It's just a place that sells tropical fish but my kids just love it there! And the best part.. it's free!! I brought my camera and asked the shop owner if he minded if I took pictures.. he said not at all so I snapped away. It's REALLY hard to take pictures of fast moving fish through glass.

One day I would LOVE to have a salt water fish tank. The start up is so expensive though so for now I will enjoy them at the aquarium!

xo Sebrina

Pretty Pink Themed Tuesday `Sin`

2009-02-24T11:54:00.001-05:00

choose your sin...
Greed
Lust
Sloth
Gluttony
Anger
Pride
Envy

I guess this depends on who you are :-)

I must be pretty sinful since i had two submissions for this week :)
Pretty Pink Lust

What am I doing??

2009-02-23T07:44:00.003-05:00

A couple people have asked me how I am losing weight and what plan am following. I am not really following any plan in particular. I guess one book I read that I am loosely following is The Flat Belly Diet. This diet is a Mediterranean diet with an emphasis on healthy fats. They recommend eating 4 times per day at 400 calories each time (for a woman). And including a healthy fat at each meal. Examples of the healthy fats are olive oil, canola oil, olives, avocados, nuts, seeds and dark chocolate. Here is an example of my day in food.

6:00am wake up-coffee. I drink 2-3 cups with a little bit of cream (100 calories)
8:30 breakfast-1/2 cup oatmeal cooked in 1 cup water, dash of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, 1/2 an apple grated, 1 tbsp pumpkin seeds, 1 tsp sugar 300 calories
So that's 400 calories for breakfast. I pretty much eat this everyday.

11:30 lunch- today I am having my tuna with chick peas which is 350 calories if eaten with lettuce, no bread or crackers. Sometimes I have it with bread or crackers, I just take less of the salad.

2:30 second lunch - today I am having a yogurt parfait. 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1/4 cup homemade granola, 1/4 cup fresh blueberries, tsp honey. This is 350 calories

5:30 Dinner- today we are having grilled chicken breast with spinach salad. In the salad I have baby spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, sliced green olives, feta cheese and Renne's yogurt dill dressing (1 tbsp). Dinner is 400 calories

8:00 snack. Since I have 100 calories left I usually have a Chai latte for a snack which is about 100 calories.

So that's my usual day. As you can see I am eating every 3 hours so I am never really hungry. I drink a ton of water and herbal tea in between meals. I don't drink milk or juice. The first two weeks I was measuring everything.. but now I am good at eyeballing it. As of yesterday I have lost 7 pounds and Mike has lost 12. Now for guys you can have more calories. So Mike does 5 meals per day at 450 each meal that gives him 2250 calories per day although most days he comes in under that because he says he is just not that hungry when he is eating every 3 hours.

I didn't really have a goal in mind when I started this but we have a wedding to go to on May 31st, so my goal is to lose another 14 pounds by then. If I do I will weigh what I did when Mike and I got married :)

The keys to to our success, I think, are writing down what we eat, measuring smaller portions and supporting each other by doing this together!

Happy Monday my friends!!!

Detoxing

2009-02-22T14:10:00.003-05:00

It's been three weeks since Mike and I started this "diet". Mostly it includes tons of fruit and veggies, very few grains, beans, legumes, some protein. Prior to this I was eating way too many grains, fried foods, chips, sugar.. not good. I think my body is detoxing. I have been breaking out like a teenager. And have a bit of a ahem "gas" problem :) I have also been feeling kind of tired and headachy. I realized yesterday that maybe I am detoxing. This weekend has been the first time in three weeks that I have had energy and no headache. Hopefully my body is done and I can get on with being healthy!! I feel especially good today. Full of energy, my skin is healing and looking much more clear and the gas.. well lets just say my family will now once again sit beside me :)

Happy Sunday my friends!!!

Wishing you all a fantastic weekend!!!

2009-02-20T16:43:00.005-05:00

Are you ever so happy you could burst!! That is how I am feeling right now. My hopeless feeling is so gone!! I am concentrating on all the amazing things in my life and their are so many!!!

I just want to thank you all for coming here and reading about me and supporting my photography. It means so much to me!! I have met so many amazing friends online and I am so thankful for that!

This is just me playing around with Adobe Lightroom. I downloaded the free trial version and I think I am in love!!!

and celebrating the fact that I can put my jeans on and breath!!!

Tonight we are watching High School Musical 3. I think they are such cute movies!!!

xo Sebrina

Week of food `Dessert`

2009-02-20T05:39:00.002-05:00

So my dessert is pretty low key. I have quite a few over the top dessert recipes but they all involve chocolate. And I cannot control myself around chocolate and since I am watching my weight I will save those recipes for the cookbook?? lol

Peanut Butter Cookies

cream together 1/2 cup butter and 3/4 cup peanut butter, add 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup white sugar. Add two eggs. In a separate bowl mix together 1 3/4 cups flour (I use whole wheat), 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda. Add this to the peanut butter mixture and mix well. You can add chocolate chips at this time which is sooo good!!! Roll the dough into 1 inch ball and roll the balls in sugar. Flatten each ball with a fork on the baking pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minute, until cookies are golden.

Happy Friday everyone!!! I just wanted to send out a big thank you to all who have bought photo's from me! I have sold 10 prints this week!!! And I am thinking about the cookbook and would love any all advise about that. I'm also thinking about Calendars?? And I ordered a few blank note cards. I'm feeling really good about this and I appreciate you all pushing me to do it! Sometimes I need a push!
xo Sebrina
Thanks to Sherrie over at Frenchy Finds for hosting this week of food! I have enjoyed it so much!

Scroll down for week of food

2009-02-19T13:12:00.003-05:00

Just wanted to pop back in with a Mango Lasse for you all. It goes wonderful with the curry. It's just plain yogurt, milk, frozen mango chunks, dash of cardamon and some honey!

Week of food `Vegetarian`

2009-02-19T11:28:00.001-05:00

Here is my vegetarian dish for today.

Chickpea potato curry with mango chutney

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
1 can of chickpeas rinsed and drained
5 medium sized potatoes diced
1 tsp salt
fresh cracked pepper
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp paprika
1 can of tomato paste
2 cups water

In a heavy bottomed pot cover potatoes with water and boil until almost fully cokked, but still a bit crisp

In a pan saute onions in olive oil. Add chickpeas, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper, cook for about 5 minutes. Add in tomato paste, water and drained cooked potatoes. Simmer for about 15 minutes (add more water if the sauce gets dry.

Mango Chutney- I never use a recipe so here is sort of what I do. Take about 1/2 cup diced mango (can use frozen), 1/2 a small onion diced, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 1/2 juice of one lemon and a few shakes of your fav curry powder, cook until everythng is soft and mash the mango with a fork.

Serve the chickpea potato curry with a dollop of chutney, a dollop of plain yogurt, some mint, some naan bread or some basmati rice or whatever the heck else you like :) But don't skip the chutney.. I promise it makes this dish!!!

Week of food `Dinner`

2009-02-18T07:27:00.005-05:00

Before I get on with recipe I have to mention that I have sold 7 prints!!!! Yeah!!! Thanks so much for your support!

Split Pea Soup with Sausage.

1.5 cups of dried green split peas rinsed
1 quart of chicken stock
3 cups of water
1 onion chopped
2 carrots diced
2 stalks of celery diced
1 pound of sausage sliced (I use chicken)
salt and pepper to taste
lime juice

In a heavy bottomed pot add the split peas and cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes, add more water if needed.

In a large dutch oven heat some olive oil and add the onions, carrots and celery and cook for a few minutes, then add the sausage. Cook until the sausage is browned. Add the chicken stock, water and cooked split peas. Simmer for another 20-30 minutes and add salt and pepper to taste (don't add the salt until the end of cooking as it can toughen the skin on the peas) Add a good squeeze of fresh lime juice to each bowl before serving!

Check out what the other participants are cooking up for dinner!

Week of food-Lunch

2009-02-17T07:29:00.002-05:00

Sherrie over at Frenchy Finds is hosting a week of food this week and today is lunch! This is a lunch the kids and I have once a week. It is so versatile and you can eat it so many different ways.

Tuna Salad
1 can of tuna drained
1/2 can of chick peas rinsed and drained
1/4 cup minced red onion
3 dill pickles chopped
1 carrot grated
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp of yogurt (or yesterday I used Renne's yogurt/dill dressing.. yum!!)
1/2 juice of 1 lemon

Mix together and serve over spinach leaves, with rice crackers, with pasta or even on bread!

Week of food-Breakfast

2009-02-16T05:39:00.003-05:00

Sorry this is a cross posted photo from my year of mornings :)

My recipe today is for homemade granola. I just made up this recipe this weekend. I really LOVE the Nature's Path Pumpkin Flax granola, but it is such a small box. And it's pretty expensive so I looked at the ingredients and came up with my own version.

2.5 cups of rolled oats
1 cup of brown rice crispies (Nature's path makes this or you could just use regular rice crispies)
1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup of raw pumpkin seeds
.5 cup of flax seeds
pinch of sea salt
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/4 cup of brown sugar ( I used organic cane sugar)
1/4 cup of maple syrup or honey
1/4 cup of oil (I used Presidents Choice Omega oil, which is a mix of grapeseed, olive and flax, but any veg oil would work)

Mix together well and spread out evenly over two baking sheets. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes turning every 10 minutes to prevent it from burning. Remove from oven let it cool and store in an air tight container. The parfaits in the pictures are layers of plain yogurt, fresh berries and granola. yum!!!

Visit Sherrie's blog for a list of other participants in food week!

a week of food

2009-02-15T07:03:00.002-05:00

Sherrie over at French Finds is hosting a week of food this week. The schedule goes like this:
Monday - Breakfast
Tuesday - Lunch
Wednesday (you guessed it!) - Supper
Thursday - Vegetable (a vegetarian vegetable dish)
Friday - Dessert

I just love cooking and sharing recipes so this week will be alot of fun for me! All the recipes I post will be healthy and frugal.
See you tomorrow morning for breakfast!

Happy Valentines Day

2009-02-14T12:03:00.005-05:00

I have to tell you all a cute story. A few days after Christmas I found 3 $20 bills underneath my lamp in my bedroom. I asked Mike if he put it there and he said no. I told my mom how I had found it and she also thought it was weird... but I chalked it up to me forgetting I had put it there (I don't dust very often, lol). So this morning I am sitting on my bed and I look over and see 2 $20 bills folded and under the lamp. This time I know I did not do this! So I called my mom, thinking she put it there last week since she knew how broke we were. My step dad answered the phone and I tell him the whole story about after Christmas and today, he is silent.... I asked him if he put it there, he says "I will neither confirm or deny this" lololol. So it was him both times!! Too cute. How sweet is he :-)

Wishing you all love and light and good fortune!!!
xo Sebrina
PS; I have sold two pictures!!!!! Thanks so much!

Friday at last!

2009-02-13T11:50:00.003-05:00

I'm pretty sure this was the longest week of my life!! Being so low on food is really really hard. I think what I hated the most was feeding my kids crap! The cheapest bread, the cheapest peanut butter, no veggies or fruit. AcK!! But I tried to remind myself that at least they had SOMETHING to eat and that is more then alot of people in this world. We went shopping this morning and after eating the cupcake above (they were giving them out free at the Superstore) they sat down to a healthy lunch. A bowl FULL of grapes, blackberries, strawberries and blueberries, carrot sticks and hummus, cucumbers, rice crackers. That makes this mama so happy!! I did pretty good with our budget. We have $400 for two weeks and I spent $180, so that leaves $220 to shop next weekend. A tip for those of you near a Superstore. They discount their meat by 50% on Fridays.. seems to be every Friday. That saves a lot of money if you are a meat eater. I got Mike and I a T-bone steak for tomorrow night for $4.00.

Speaking of my lovely hubby.. a little update. He has lost 9 pounds in 11 days!!!! And I have lost 3. We are both finding this extremely easy. Just making little adjustments here and there and keeping track of how many calories are in the foods we eat is what is doing it. Tonight is movie night and we would usually have some sweet treats but tonight we are going to have chai tea lattes with a small shaving of dark chocolate for our treat. And tomorrow for our Valentines dinner we are splitting a smallish steak and on the side instead of the usual baked potato and caesar salad we are going to have a spinach salad. And Lattes for dessert :)

Happy weekend to you all!!!
xo Sebrina

Thank you all for your support

2009-02-12T08:49:00.002-05:00

It really helped me yesterday and I have a little news. I took your advise and opened up an Etsy shop. I have only listed a few things because I want your opinions please. Opinions on price and also what I should be listing. Do you think I should list food and coffee pictures? Or just nature? What about my kitties? I eventually want to sell greeting cards and such too. But the cost for that is a bit high so I will wait and see how the pictures sell.

Hopeless

2009-02-11T09:14:00.003-05:00

Have you ever felt hopeless? I mean you have a problem and you cannot think of a way to fix it no matter how hard you try! I want to keep this space happy but it's hard because that is how I am feeling right now. Especially today. I guess everything is just hitting me today (must be pms, lol). And I feel guilty for feeling this way because there are people so much worse off then me right now My god!! But just crap!! crap crap crap!

We are freaken broke! I mean.. zero cash until Mike gets paid on friday and a very empty fridge. We have food, but not alot. I hate that feeling. I hate telling my kids they cannot have a glass of milk cause we need to save it for cereal. I hate telling them they can only have 1 apple today because we need to save them so that they will have 1 for tomorrow. I hate counting out the soy milk for Gabbi to make sure she has enough for her bottles.

This year seriously sucks ass financially for us! Mike's pay was cut by $300 starting in January. Plus we have so many unexpected bills. License renewals, parking ticket, dentist for the kids, car problems.. it just goes on and on. We only have 1 credit card and it has a low limit.. we need to keep it clear because we may have to put our property taxes on it which will fill it completely. We have a maxed line of credit. I know alot of people will turn up their noses and say we got ourselves into this mess and that is true! Totally, but what is a mother to do when she only has a certain amount of money each month for food and she runs out! Is she suppose to let her kids go hungry.. or does she take money off the line of credit and buy her family food! Is she supposed to not buy her daughter a winter jacket! Is she to have no presents under the tree for her kids! Does she tell her kids that Santa won't be coming this year!

It's not like we don't have people in out loves that we could ask for help.. but then how do we pay them back? That's just borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. We were counting on a bonus and raise for Mike but instead he gets a pay cut and told to be thankful he at least has a job. Which we totally are!!!

Anyways I just wanted to vent.. I actually feel a little better. thanks so much for listening :)
xo Sebrina

ps: Please feel free to commiserate with me. share your story. whatever :)

"Blue jeans and trucks...

2009-02-11T07:14:00.000-05:00

Scrapes on his knees, Running in the dirt, Being a tease. Making a face, Build and destroy! There’s nothing like Just being a boy!" Unknown

Pretty Pink Themed Tuesday `Valentine`

2009-02-10T08:02:00.001-05:00

As you can se this is quickly becoming my fav day of the week :)

And I have to give a little woot woot for Mike! He has lost 6 pounds in 7 days!!!!!! And is doing so amazing!

Love you babe!!!
xo Seb

A new journey...

2009-02-09T19:18:00.002-05:00

I have been asked to photograph a one year old!!! She is a friends daughter and she wants to pay me but I just cannot take money from her. Plus if I take money I think that will make me even more nervous!! Anyways I am excited about it. I was chasing my kids around today with the camera trying to get some practice. I got the above shot of Gabbi just after her bath.

xo Sebrina

Sending Love and Light and Prayers...

2009-02-09T08:13:00.001-05:00

To everyone affected by the Australian Wildfires.

"A brief candle; both ends burning
An endless mile; a bus wheel turning
A friend to share the lonesome times
A handshake and a sip of wine
So say it loud and let it ring
We are all a part of everything
The future, present and the past
Fly on proud bird
You're free at last." Charlie Daniels

Recipes!

2009-02-08T08:51:00.006-05:00

I wanted to share a few recipes here with you guys that we have been enjoying lately! The first is German Apple Pancake. It is originally a Martha Stewart recipe but I have changed it a fair bit to make it more healthy.
-In a large cast iron skillet melt 2 tablespoons of butter. Add 1/4 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, few shakes of nutmeg, shake of cloves and 2 diced green apples
-Saute for 10 minutes
-Pour batter over caramelized apples and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
Batter:
-4 tablespoons of melted butter
-2 tablespoons of plain yogurt
-2 eggs
-1 1/2 cups of whole milk
-1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
-1/4 cup sugar
Mix all ingredients until smooth.
Here is the nutritional breakdown for this. It makes 6 servings so this is per serving.

The second is a greek inspired couscous salad (you can also use quinoa instead of couscous, it's very similar and healthier.

1/2 cup of couscous or quinoa (cooked according to package directions in water)

dressing
2 tablespoons of olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove of garlic minced

In a large bowl mix together the dressing, add in the following
1 red onion chopped
7 large green olives sliced
5 chopped sun dried tomatoes
3 chopped jarred artichoke hearts
1 large cucumber diced
1/4 feta cheese crumbled
3/4 cup canned chick peas
then add the cooled couscous or quinoa and chill for about an hour.

Here is the nutritional info on this recipe which makes 5 servings. This is great with bbq chicken or turkey sausage or a chicken breast.

First week of "changing our ways"

2009-02-08T06:11:00.002-05:00

So we have completed our first week of our new way of eating in this house. It was MUCH easier then I thought it would be. My lovely hubby lost two pounds. He thought that he should have lost more but I reminded him that it isn't good to loose weight too quickly and that 1-2 pounds a week is good. He said he was surprised that he hasn't been hungry. I have been making him breakfast every morning. Either oatmeal with grated apple, pumpkin seeds (and a little sugar) or two eggs with two pieces of whole wheat toast and sliced tomato, or plain yogurt, sweetened with honey, topped with granola and frozen blueberries. All of these are about 450 calories. I have him eating 5 times per day at 450 calories (approx) each meal. Based on his height and weight he gets to eat 2250 cals per day and still loose weight!! (men, not fair! I only get 1600 calories if I want to loose weight).

Lunch is easy for him because he brings in frozen lean cuisines or something like that and they are all around 400 cals each. He needs to eat twice at work so I send him with a sandwhich, piece of fruit and granola bar, plus he drinks coffee and tea. The nice thing is he isn't coming home starving. What has been shocking to me is realizing how much calories are actually in things we eat. And how much smaller our portions should be. It's no wonder we are gaining weight! For instance last night I made pasta with bolognese sauce. It's something I make once per week because it's cheap and my kids love it! So just the pasta alone is 300 calories for only 3/4 cup. Then depending on how much sauce you use that is another couple hundred calories. We would usually have a caesar salad and sometimes garlic bread with it too! Easily this meal can be over 800 calories. So we cut the salad and garlic bread and we used salad sized plates and ate smaller portions. We certainly were not hungry when we were finished, but both Mike and I said we could have kept eating! I guess we will have to get used to stopping eating when we are satisfied and not continuing on until we are stuffed!

Since Mike is eating 5 times per day that means he can have a snack before bed (contrary to popular belief this does not make you fat, it just depends on what you eat. Eating often will speed up your metabolism). I am only eating 4 meals per day at 400 cals each (in the hopes of loosing a few pounds myself, I lost 1 pound last week). But I cannot sit there and watch him eat at night so I have been having a chai tea latte every night. I make it with 1/2 cup of milk and a small shave of dark chocolate on top. It works out to be 90 cals and it's just perfect at night!) Mike has one too but he also has a bowl of whole grain cereal with sliced banana's or a smoothie or a muffin.

The other change we have made is including what's called a MUFA at each meal. It stands for monounsaturated fatty acid, a type of heart-healthy, disease-fighting, "good" fat found in foods like nuts (almonds, walnuts, peanut butter), olive oil, canola oil, avocados, olives, even dark chocolate. "Numerous studies show that a diet rich in MUFAs is linked to a reduction in LDL cholesterol, the kind that clogs up arteries, and a boost in HDL, the kind that sweeps cholesterol out of the arteries and clears it from the body. They can also lower the risk of heart disease and improve insulin." Studies also show that eating MUFA's at every meal can shrink belly fat. You can read more about MUFA's here

So it's pretty easy to include these things into our meals because we LOVE this stuff!. Salad's with olives, guacamole, dark chocolate (in moderation). I have always used olive oil so that was easy. I just add nuts and seeds to oatmeal, nut butters on toast, tapenade instead of mayo on sandwiches.. ect.

Happy Sunday everyone!!!!
xo Sebrina

Happy Friday!!

2009-02-06T17:24:00.002-05:00

We have got nothing exciting going on around our place this weekend? What about you?

Well we do have two kitty birthdays to celebrate :) Brahm and Harrison turn one this weekend!

2 years ago today

2009-02-05T06:37:00.002-05:00

I got an email from my adoption agency. V called to tell me that the Ethiopian courts had decided in favour of our adoption and that Gabriella was legally our baby!!!! V and I cried on the phone. I felt such a rush of emotion. Happiness, relief, but then a little later, sadness. Gabriella's Enat (birth mom) had come to court and given up her parental rights to this beautiful baby! What a selfless thing to do. What a sacrifice she made so that her daughter could have a better life. I will always be grateful!

Later that day I was sent this picture of Gabbi! She was so tiny and sweet. I started making my plans to travel to Ethiopia with my mom to get get her!

And here is my little princess today!

Pretty Pink Themed Tuesday

2009-02-03T16:43:00.000-05:00

Today's theme was pretty pink makeover!

Loving yourself and your loved ones

2009-02-02T10:59:00.004-05:00

So in my last post I talked about love. In that same spirit I wanted to talk about taking care of yourself. Respecting yourself enough to treat your body like it deserves to be treated. Eating healthy, exercising regularly. These are things we know we should be doing, but how many of us do... I really believe this goes to how we feel about ourselves. For instance. I feed my children REALLY well. I mean they eat mostly organic, whole grains, little dairy products, little sugar, fruits and veggies (even if I have to sneak it to them). And then what do I eat for lunch after I fed them?? A bag of chips... or worse.. nothing! This year I have been trying to eat more healthfully, more mindfully. I have been making an effort to eat more fruits and veggies. I have also gotten back into regular exercise. Nothing major, but walking a bit more, doing yoga in the mornings, that sort of thing.

But I also want to help Mike. He is over weight and his BMI is dangerously high, which scares me. Luckily for me. I am a healthy weight, I would LOVE to loose 15 pounds, but it's not a big deal. But Mike does need to loose weight. And I am going to help him. Usually he leaves here in the morning without breakfast, drinks coffee (with tons of sugar) all day. Grabs a candy bar or something from Mcdonald's, then eats alot when he gets home because his body is starving. Not a good cycle! So we talked this weekend and I am going to start preparing breakfast for him every morning, and sending him with a healthy lunch and snacks. It is not something he will do for himself because he is so busy at work and at home. But I want to do this for him. He usually gets a good dinner when he gets home, and he has to make the effort to not eat before bed. It's not so much a diet as it is a lifestyle change. He is in amazing shape tough. He can go out a run for miles, it's amazing!!! So I know for him it's all about the food.

Wish us luck!!

(the above picture has nothing to do with this post, lol)

Love month!

2009-02-01T11:39:00.002-05:00

February means two things to me. Love and chocolate! I know some single people find Valentines day hard but I don't think that the love has to be just a love you share with your significant other. How about the love you share with your children, or the love you share with your family... your friends! Or most importantly. How about the love you have for yourself??? I know that Valentines day can be commercial. Mike and I don't do the whole card and present thing just because someone says we have to. We do that all the time. Send each other cards, buy flowers, surprise one and other with chocolate. But I think that the month of February can serve as a good reminder of loving yourself, now why is that so hard? Why don't I treat myself as well as I treat everyone else in my life. Well this year for me is all about change. Change in the way I see myself inside and out. I really didn't like what I was seeing before. But slowly I am feeling a shift in that. And if I love myself then I can love everyone else the way they deserve. I can be happy for other people instead of jealous of them. We should never underestimate the power of self acceptance!

Lentil Soup

2009-02-01T10:50:00.002-05:00

Lentil Soup Recipe

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion chopped

2 stalks of celery chopped

3 cloves garlic minced

1 can of tomato paste

1 cup green lentils

1 cup water

1 quart of veggie or chicken stock

fresh thyme

salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven heat olive oil over medium heat and add onions and celery. Cook until golden then add the garlic. After about 1 minute add the tomato paste. Then add the lentils, water and broth. Add a few springs of fresh thyme stems (just throw them in whole and pick out the stems later). Cover and cook for about 40 minutes or until the lentils are soft. You may need to add more water if you like it less thick. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed. Enjoy!

Lets Celebrate!!

2009-01-31T08:03:00.000-05:00

The last day of January! Yeah we made it and now we only have 28 days in February :) Goodbye January. Can't say I am sad to see you go. I know it doesn't matter what I say.. you will be back.. but thankfully that is not until 2010! "You'd be so lean, that blast of January Would blow you through and through. Now, my fair'st friend, I would I had some flowers o' the spring that might Become your time of day." - William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, Act IV Scene 4.

Children Learn What They Live

2009-01-30T10:52:00.002-05:00

My mom posted this poem on her blog and I just love it.

Children Learn What They Live

If a child lives with criticism ~ He learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility ~ He learns to fight.

If a child lives with ridicule ~ He learns to be shy.

If a child lives with shame ~ He learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance ~ He learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement ~ He learns confidence.

If a child lives with praise ~ He learns to appreciate.

If a child lives with fairness ~ He learns justice.

If a child lives with security ~ He learns to have faith.

If a child lives with approval ~ He learns to like himself.

If a child lives with acceptance and friendship ~

He learns to find love in the world.

Dorothy Law Nolte

You know what!!

2009-01-28T06:00:00.003-05:00

I am so lucky!!! Seriously lucky! I have everything I could ever ask for. I have an amazing husband that loves me more then words! And not only do we love each other, but we like each other. We have a pretty incredible relationship. We can talk about anything and we respect each other. I have 4 of the most gorgeous (if I do say so myself) children in the world. They are awesome and funny and amazing! I have a lovely home with beautiful things. Sure it needs to be painted, sure it may not be the most expensive furniture and alot of it is hand me downs, sure my dishwasher is on the Fritz.. but who cares. I have a pretty simple life and that's exactly how I want it. I have the luxury of being home with my children all day. I get to watch them grow and blossom into wonderful adults and I will never miss a moment. I have wonderful friends, both online and in real life. I have great parents that I also consider my friends.

I have shoes that make me happy :) And I have the sun streaming into my room and it is making me feel peaceful and calm. I have a wonderful camera that allows me to see the world in a way that I didn't before. I have been trying to capture the light in my pictures lately. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for the glorious sun.

Someone commented on my photo's over at flickr. She said "they are characteristic, "sunny" (=bringing good and positive emotions), excellent technically and beautiful...." and I thought about what she said for a while and I realized that the reason for this is because I have been so happy lately. I have been so grateful for my life. There isn't really anything I would change right now, in this moment. I feel complete!

xo Sebrina

Mirror Mirror on the wall...

2009-01-27T05:29:00.004-05:00

"She barely had a bite in her mouth when she fell to the ground dead. The queen looked at her with an evil stare, laughed loudly, and said, "White as snow, red as blood, black as ebony wood! The dwarves shall never awaken you." Snow White

"from this slumber you shall wake, when true love's kiss the spell shall

break" Sleeping Beauty

These are my two submissions for this weeks theme "Pretty Pink FairyTale". It's a flickr group that I belong to and it is quickly becoming my favourite group. It really sparks some gorgeous creativity from everyone. You really should check it out.

Mike was a good sport this weekend to help me out with these. Although I don't think he minded that it took 7 takes to get the kiss right :)

Happy pretty Pink tuesday everyone!!!!

Carrot Ginger Soup with Roasted Garlic

2009-01-26T11:16:00.002-05:00

Two posts today.. why not :) Here is my soup for the week.

2 medium sized onions, chopped 2 pounds of carrots, washed, peeled and chopped 1 or 2 tsp of fresh grated ginger (dry works too) 1 quart of chicken or veggie stock 1 cup of water 1 head of roasted garlic salt and pepper to taste plain yogurt for topping fresh chopped basil for garnish In a large dutch oven saute onions in olive oil until they are golden, add chopped carrots, ginger, stock and water. Cook until carots are soft. While that is cooking roast your garlic according to these intructions. When the carrots are soft add the cloves of roasted garlic (yes ALL of them.. trust me). Then puree. Taste and add salt and pepper to taste. Top each bowl with a dollop of plain yogurt and fresh topped basil Enjoy!

Blue Moon

2009-01-26T07:47:00.005-05:00

“Every once in a blue moon, something new comes along

that scrambles your preconceptions.” Anonymous

Happy Monday everyone!!! Please check in with my here tomorrow. It's Pretty Pink "Fairytale" themed Tuesday and Mike helped take some really fun pictures this weekend to submit to the group

xo Sebrina

all I need is a moment

2009-01-25T07:25:00.002-05:00

I have been working on another little project with some really talented ladies. Please check it out when you have a moment (pun intended). All I need is a moment

Some bird friends

2009-01-24T07:16:00.003-05:00

"Seagulls: Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine.
Nigel: Oh would you just shut up? You're rats with wings.” Finding Nemo
Yesterday was unseasonably warm. Above zero in January is just lovely, especially since today it's -30 degrees Celsius! Glad we took advantage of the weather and headed to the beach. These are just a few friends we met there.

"Just because swans mate for life, I don't think its that big a deal. First of all, if you're a swan, you're probably not going to find a swan that looks much better than the one you've got, so why not mate for life?”
Jack Handy

Comfort week~image

2009-01-23T06:31:00.004-05:00

I could not choose just one image that brings me comfort so I decided to make a mosaic from some of the images from my friends on flickr. Some really gorgeous stuff and I realized when it was done how comforting the whole mosaic really is. I just love it!!
You can click on the image to be taken to my flickr page, there you will find all the credits for these gorgeous images. I encourage you to check out their photostreams!! Really gorgeous stuff!

Thanks so much to Sherrie for hosting this week. It was alot of fun for me. You can see one of my comforting morning pictures here

My heart is broken

2009-01-22T13:42:00.006-05:00

I saw this video on my friend's blog. I don't usually post these emotional video's but this one I had too. I am typing this through tears right now because I feel helpless. I feel ashamed when I look around at my home and all the things I take for granted every day. How we just toss aside our furnishings and clothes because they aren't new anymore. I don't really have any words right now but I did want to share this.

I'm back after the tears have subsided a bit to add this link. My lovely friend Donna did some link following and found this catalogue of affordable things that you can donate. Please share this with everyone you know. We can all make a difference. I really believe that. After watching Obama's inauguration speech the other day I feel full of hope and I think the world is ready for a change.

Week of comfort-Routine

2009-01-22T06:00:00.001-05:00

So today for comfort week Sherrie has asked us to share a habit or routine that brings us comfort. For me that is cooking. I love to prepare food for my family. I love to cook soups and bake muffins. It makes me happy :)

I love food. I love to eat. I love to talk about food. I have a friend that every time we talk on the phone we always get hungry because all we do is talk food. Love it!

If you want to see my morning routine, habit that brings me comfort click on over to my year of mornings.

32

2009-01-21T06:40:00.000-05:00

(my mom did a little post on me today and if you want to see some baby pictures then go here
Today is my 32nd birthday so I thought I would tell you 32 things about myself.

1. I am 5'9" tall
2. I LOVE food, especially sushi, olives, cheese, chocolate and soup
3. Mike and I were together less then 6 months before we got married
4. I am not afraid to try anything once
5. I am very impulsive
6. I hate being alone
7. I travelled to Europe with my highschool boyfriend when I was 19. We spent the summer there and visited Scotland, England, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Amsterdam.
8. I'm a perfectionist
9. I have a tatoo on my lower back of angel wings
10. I am not allergic to anything, but codeine makes me loopy :)
11. The reason my email and screen name and blog is sunmamma is because I am crazy about the sun. But the actually idea for the name came from a cartoon called George Shrinks.
12. My favourite colour is blue
13. My middle name is Kristine
14. I secretly love Lucky Charms (never tell my children, they think it's poison, lol)
15. I don't like to follow rules. In fact if you told me not to do something I would probably do it just because.
16. Photography has changed my life! Changed the way I think about the world and the way I see it.
17. I need 9 hours of sleep every night and I never have any trouble sleeping.
18. I LOVE coffee and tell myself it is healthy
19. I love bigmacs from Mcdonalds, even though I almost always feel sick after eating one
20. I have worked as cashier, waitress, nanny and insurance broker
21. I love being a stay at home mom, and homeschooling my kids.
22. I am not religious but I am spritual. One of my favourite quotes is "God has no religion" by Ghandi
23. I want to learn to play guitar
24. I'm an ENFP
25. I'm a very forgiving person
26. I'm finding this list hard ;-)
27. I'm eating potato salad as I type this list and it's 7:00am
28. I was born the year of the dragon and even though mike was born only 37 days later (in the same year) he was born the year of the snake because of how the Chinese calendar works
29. I wish I was 29 and could end this list here
30. I would love to loose 15 pounds, but I am not stressing about it
31. I love to cook
32. I'm very shy

yeah! Done :)

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Week of comfort-place

2009-01-21T06:00:00.002-05:00

I could wonder around for hours surrounded by books. I just love bookstores. Chapters is the big bookstore here in Ontario. I get lost in them and then before I know it I am in line with a stack of books. I have often thought it would be fun to get locked in their after the store has closed. Yup a good book and a hot cup of starbucks coffee, heaven!

Check out Sherrie's blog for a list of other participants. If you want to see my other most comforting place (especially early in the morning) then check out my morning blog. (hint it has lots of sand and water, ducks and boats :)

Week of comfort-home

2009-01-20T05:57:00.004-05:00

“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams.”

The most comfortable place in my home is my bedroom. It seems to be the place that everyone else spends time too. Especially in the winter because I have a huge south facing window and when the sun is shining it just streams onto my bed. We live in a townhouse/loft and all the bedrooms are on the main level. My bedroom is right beside the kitchen. The computer is in my room so this is where I sit first thing every morning with my coffee. My bed makes me feel comfortable with warm quilts and tons of pillows. I play with the kids here. They jump on my bed. Gabbi watches movies on the bed. I read on the bed. I love my bedroom!! You can see another picture on my year of mornings. Please check out Sherries blog for a complete list of everyone who is participating!

Comfort week~Food

2009-01-19T06:00:00.001-05:00

Well this is no brainer :) Soup of course is my ultimate comfort food and lucky for me I am making soup every week. This week it is one our favourites. Affectionately called "green" soup by my kids. It's really "cream" of broccoli soup. Although I sometimes use asparagus which is also amazing! The cream part of the soup comes from cashews which get blended into a "milk" and give the soup a really creamy almost parmesan flavour. So good!

"Cream" of Broccoli Soup

1 onion diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 potato peeled and diced
1 head of broccoli chopped
1 quart of chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup cashews
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

In a large dutch oven heat some olive oil and saute onions until translucent. Add in garlic and cook a few minutes. Be careful not to burn. Add in the potatoes, broccoli and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook covered until all the veggies are soft. In a blender add the cashews and water and blend on high until smooth. Pour into the dutch oven and either use an immersion blender or a regular blender and blend until smooth (leave some lumps if your children will allow it :) Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy with bread of any kind!! yum!

Check out my year of mornings to see what my morning comfort is
See you tomorrow for more comfort week

Comfort Week

2009-01-18T07:14:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow marks the beginning of comfort week. I will be joining in the fun that was started by Sherrie She has all the insructions on her blog Here are the themes for each day

Monday: food: your favourite comfort food (with recipes, if possible!)
Tuesday: home: the most comfortable (or comforting) thing in your home
Wednesday: place : the place most comfortable to you
Thursday: habit: a behaviour or routine that brings you comfort
Friday: image: a picture that represents total comfort to you; either an image of your own or a link to one you love

I'm looking forward to sharing with you what comforts me. Please let me know if you are going to join the fun! See you all tomorrow!

Just a wee little vent

2009-01-17T09:19:00.004-05:00

So I had a lovely person email yesterday and we chatted back and forth about homeschooling. She posted on her blog about the fact that she is struggling with this decision and doesn't know what would be best for her family. Totally understandable. But why is it that when she posts this she gets people telling her all about the social aspect of homeschooling. How the homeschooled kids they know are socially stunted! Of course this is an argument I hear again and again and again. I mean seriously. To those of you who do not homeschool your kids, how many homeschooling families do you even know? Before I decided to homeschool I had never met a homeschooling family. Now of course I know many. I know some homeschooled kids that a weird for sure.. but you know what?? I know some schooled kids that are weird too, lol. Hey I am weird and I was schooled for at least 12 years. Seriously I went to school and I am very shy and a little socially stunted. Why do we blame schooling or homeschooling for the outcome of our children. Are they not born with a personality of their own? Do we as parents not take responsibility for our children and how they turn out? If I send my kids to school and they get wonderful grades and are really smart do I thank the school for doing such a great job? If I send my child to school and he fails everything and get into trouble do I blame the school for that?? What if I homeschool my kid and he becomes a lawyer or a doctor do I give myself a big pat on the back? Or what if I homeschool my kid and he ends up in jail? Is that my fault? Is he in jail solely because I homeschooled him? Had I sent him to school would he be a better person?

The fact is some kids are gonna go to school and do really well and some are going to be average and some are going fail. And same goes for homeschooling. Some homeschooled kids are going to do amazing, go off to college and get some big wig job and be "successful". And some are going to be average and some are going to do poorly. My Jayden is one smart kid. Intellectually speaking he is reading at a grade 4 level ( he is only 7). His math is better then mine ( I am not joking here). And because in this society we value those intellectual traits, then I am rewarded as a mother for raising him. I am given a big fat star as a wonderful homeschooling mom. My oldest son Ryan is behind his grade level for reading. In fact he is behind in most everything. But Ryan is years ahead of his peers emotionally. His empathy blows me away. But we do not value this trait as much as the intellectual traits so I am failing him as a mother, a homeschooling mother. Hey if he was in school then we could blame it on them right?

We all make the best decisions we can for our families and what works best for each of us. And those choices are going to turn out the way they turn out and we are going to deal with life the best we can... ok rant over now.
xo Sebrina

"Exercise is a dirty word... Every time I hear it, I wash my mouth out with chocolate." Anonymous

2009-01-16T06:55:00.001-05:00

I actually don't mind "exercise" but I don't call it that :) I do about 10-15 of yoga almost every morning. And when the weather is warmer I walk a few evening a week with Zoey and two of my neighbors for about 40 minutes. I also run/walk for about 20 minutes every morning (again this is totally weather dependent. I hate the cold). I tried to join a gym but it just doesn't seem to be working. I am not a weight lifter and I hate using machines like bikes or treadmills. Not my thing I would rather be outside actually bike riding or walking. Plus I think chasing after 4 kids all day could be considered "active" ;-)

Happy Friday everyone! Hope you have a fabulous weekend!! I plan too.. it's my birthday weekend!!!!

Around my home

2009-01-15T11:06:00.001-05:00

Smile

2009-01-14T07:21:00.002-05:00

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.
Mother Teresa

This has been another of my intentions for the year. I make a conscious effort to smile and make eye contact with strangers everyday. It makes me feel good :-)

Is your birthday a big deal?

2009-01-13T08:34:00.003-05:00

My birthday is next week.. no big deal to me. Birthdays were never made into a big deal when I was growing up. I remember a few birthday party's but I remember Christmas being a much bigger deal. Bigger presents, bigger party.. ect. Guess that is why I love Christmas so much. But now that I am an adult Christmas for me is not a day. It's a whole season, it's a feeling in my heart. That's what I love! But in Mike's family Birthdays were a much bigger deal.. and I tend to agree with that now that I have my own children. When their birthday's roll around I get all excited. This is a day to celebrate! The day that brought my children into this world whether I was birthing them or not it is still so special to me. I will always make a big deal about it even when they are grown. Mike makes a big deal about my birthday. He gives me a whole weekend. Whichever weekend is closer to my actual birthday is my birthday weekend and of course I get the actual day too. I get breakfast in bed, special coffee's, he usually takes the kids out to give me time at home alone. He wants my dinner to be perfect, he wants me to have the best cake. I know if we had more money he would buy me the biggest gifts. So why I wonder, do I not make a big deal out of my own birthday. Why do I not celebrate the day of my birth like I do that of others. This year I am trying to change the way I think about myself and since my birthday is coming up I plan to get excited about it. I am going to celebrate my own birthday :)

Minestrone

2009-01-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

My soup this week is Minestrone. So good! It calls for italian sausage but you could easily leave that out to make it vegetarian.

5 cloves of garlic
1 onion chopped
2 carrots chopped
2 stalks of celery chopped
3/4 pound of italian sausage
a few shakes dried italian spice
1 quart of chicken stock
1 can of tomatoes
1 can of water
1 can of cannelli beans
a handful of two of rigatoni pasta

In a pan saute the onion, garlic, carrots and celery with italian spice for about 5 minutes. In a large dutch oven simmer the chicken stock. When the veggies are all soft dump into the simmering chicken stock. Remove the sausage from the casings and add to the pan and break up with a wooden spoon. Once it's browned add to the dutch oven. Add the can of tomatos, a can of water and a can of (rinsed) cannelli beans. Simmer for about 30 minutes. In a separate pot bring some salted water to a boil and add the rigatoni. Cook until al dente and add to soup. If there will be left overs make sure not to add the pasta to the leftover portion because it will get soggy...

Grate some fresh parmesan on top. It's really good!

Mamma Mia Party

2009-01-12T08:52:00.001-05:00

Here is a little collage I made from our Mamma Mia Party. It was so much fun. The food was incrediable! You can get the recipes for all the food we ate here

Sunday Afternoon

2009-01-11T15:04:00.002-05:00

Chai Tea Latte

A tribute to my babies!!

2009-01-11T06:49:00.002-05:00

I posted these pictures along with a description of my babies on flickr but I know alot of you don't go there so I thought I would post them here (these are especially for you L. I know you want to see more kidlets)
Ryan Michael Alexander

Ryan! My first born. My oldest son. Empathetic is the word for him. He is the sweetest, most caring child I have ever met ( and I am not biased, lol). He genuinely cares for others. He is helpful and has an amazing ability to share with others. He loves animals and I suspect will grow up to work with the less fortunate or helping animals in some way.

Ryan does things in his own quirky way! He is a little comedian and always try to get a laugh out of people.

Jayden Matthew Anthony

Tenacious is derived from a greek word and means stubborn and determined. This very much decribes my second son. Jayden is so incrediably smart. He is a born leader. He almost always gets what he wants :) Jayden will do something great one day!

Zander Julien Richard

Amiable
having or showing pleasant, good-natured personal qualities, an amiable disposition. Agreeable; willing to accept the wishes, decisions, or suggestions of another or others. Lovable or lovely.

Perfectly describes my little Zander. When Zander was a baby people used to say "Their is something about this baby that makes you want to be near him". It's so true! Zander was born with a birth defect. His one eye is very noticeable smaller then the other and he is completely blind in that eye. But this little "handicap" in no way affects him. He doesn't care when people stare at him or ask him what happened to his eye. He is an amazing athlete and he is my budding mini photographer. He takes amazing pictures and loves cameras.. yeah!!!!!

Gabriella Raine Sintayhu

Gabbi! My girl. My baby. My super funny, sweet, loving daughter. We adopted Gabbi from ethiopia. She joined her forever family at 5 months old. She has been a joy, a wonderful dream come true! She is happy, warm, loving and one of the funniest little babies I have ever met.

The making of a brownie

2009-01-10T06:00:00.005-05:00

Here's the recipe :)
2 sticks unsalted butter, plus more for pan
8-10 ounces dark chocolate (use really good quality)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tsp of pure almond extract (this really makes these)
1 cup walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.Line a 9 by 9 square baking pan with parchment paper, making sure paper hangs over the edges. Grease paper with butter so the brownies don't stick. Melt butter and chocolate over a double-boiler and stir gently until smooth and shiny. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt into a mixing bowl and set aside. Whisk together eggs, sugar and almond extract in a mixing bowl until combined. Pour in chocolate mixture and continue to whisk until combined. Gradually add flour mixture, then add walnuts and incorporate with a wooden spoon. Transfer batter to baking pan (and give bowl and spoon to nearest child to lick, or lock yourself in the bathroom and lick it yourself :) and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the pan. When done, invert onto a cutting board, remove paper and cut into squares. Garnish with powdered sugar and serve.

This recipe is based on Tyler's Ultimate Amaretto Chocolate Brownies with my own changes.

The brownies are for my "girls day out" today. I am going to my mom's with a few friends to watch Mamma Mia :) You can read all about what she has planned for us here. I'm going to take my camera and take lots of pictures :)

Happy Saturday!!!!

Joy

2009-01-09T06:00:00.001-05:00

Joy give you wings
In difficult circumstances;
The problems don't go away,
but you can rise above them

Joy is not just a feeling or emotion
Joy is the pleasure of life
Life in itself cannot be life without Joy
Life is hard, but Joy can overcome it

Joy is only there if you accept it
Joy can be found at any time of the day
Say Joy were an angel, it would save you
Say Joy were a demon, it would haunt you

However, Joy can be anything you like or love
Mainly Joy comes to help you through life

Times of trials comes
Times of sadness comes
Joy is in the heart
Joy is bigger then sadness

Joy gives you wings to live another day
Joy is the reason why people smile back at you
Joy is Joy when you accept it

Jake Erkens

I'm not usually one for cut flowers

2009-01-08T06:24:00.004-05:00

To be honest I thought they were a waist of money since they only last a few days. But now that I am photographing everything in sight I have come to appreciate them much more. The fact that I can capture their beauty forever makes me so happy. Mike bought me a bouquet of flowers the other day and I have been having so much capturing the little parts of them.

When you have only two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other. ~Chinese Proverb

A flower's appeal is in its contradictions - so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small in size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long on effect. ~Adabella Radici

Happy Ethiopian Christmas

2009-01-07T07:40:00.002-05:00

Or Happy Ganna!!!

This is one of the orphanage caregivers performing a coffee ceremony for my mom and I back on our March 2007 trip.

We don't really have anything special planned for today. But I certainly didn't want to day to pass without mentioning it. When Gabbi is a bit older I plan to take her (and the whole family of course) to an Ethiopian restaurant to celebrate every year for Ganna.

“My feet shall run because of you,

2009-01-06T06:00:00.002-05:00

My feet, dance because of you, My heart shall beat because of you, My eyes, see because of you, My mind, thinks because of you, And I shall love because of you” anonymous

When I first started this blog I was planning on doing a "theme" everyday. You know like "Quote Tuesday" or "Wordless Wednesday" or "Food Friday". But the more I thought about it the more I realized I wouldn't be able to stick to that. It's just not me. I am all over the place with he thoughts, my interests, my passions. So I hope you all will enjoy my all over the place blog :) Sometimes you may come here and find a quote, sometimes a recipe, sometimes a picture with no words, sometimes a long rant about something!

xo Sebrina

“To feel safe and warm on a cold wet night,

2009-01-05T06:00:00.006-05:00

all you really need is soup.” Laurie Colwin

So my next New Years Intention is soup. Sound silly? It probably is :) But I intend to make a new soup recipe every week ( I will post the recipe here). So the first soup of 2009 is

Tomato Roasted Red Pepper Bisque

1 onion quartered

2 red peppers halved and seeds removed

8 cloves of garlic peeled

olive oil

1 quart chicken stock

1 can of tomatoes

cream (if you want it creamy, this optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the onion, garlic cloves and red peppers on baking tray and drizzle with olive oil. Place in oven and bake for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile in a soup pot add the chicken stock and canned tomatoes and heat over low/medium

When the peppers are done take them out of the oven and place them in a bowl and cover with saran wrap. Let them steam themselves (this helps the skins come off more easily). After they have cooled enough to handle remove and discard the skins. Put the peppers, onions and garlic in the pot with the tomatoes and cook for at least 20 minutes or as long as you want. Puree in a blender or with an immersion blender and add cream if using.
This soup tastes really good with a piece of fresh buttered sour bread on the side!

Sunday Afternoon

2009-01-04T14:33:00.000-05:00

Sunday Morning

2009-01-04T07:16:00.000-05:00

I am afraid to show you who I really am, because if I show you who I really am, you might not like it--and that's all I got.” Sabrina Ward

2009-01-03T06:00:00.009-05:00

Inner work is hard thing to do! My biggest problem is breaking the second agreement
"Don't Take Anything Personally: Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering."

This is one intention I plan on working on this new year. It's so hard for me because I am only just figuring out who I am as a person. I have always taken my opinion of myself from the opinions of others. I thought I had to look a certain way or act a certain way or be able to do certain things in order for others to like me.

"You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition...What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself. " Alan Alda

xo Sebrina“

Book Love

2009-01-02T06:00:00.005-05:00

My next intention for the new year is reading. I love to read but it seems to be the last thing on my list that I get to. Not anymore! I am going to make an effort to read at least 12 books this year. I am starting with an easy read. Tales of Beetle the Bard by J.K Rowling. I may be cheating a bit here since I will be reading it to the kids as well but......

I absolutely adore Harry Potter so when Mike heard about this book he knew he had to get it as a stocking stuffer for me.

Happy Friday Everyone!

A new blog and some inspiration

2009-01-01T06:00:00.005-05:00

I think the end of an old year and the start of a new one is a great time. A time for letting go of the past. A future full of possibilities. I have a few "intentions" for the new year. "An intention is a purpose held in mind, a desired goal you want to experience. It's more than hope or a wish. It's a steadfast fixed idea. Just thinking about having, being or doing it gives you pleasure. There's innate power in intention." Each one of my intentions focus on me being the best person I can be. So over the next few days I will tell you about them.

My first news years intention is appreciation. Appreciation for others work. We all love to receive comments on our blog posts and flickr photos but I think it is just as important to leave those comments (this is not me fishing for comments, lol). I plan on leaving many more comments of appreciation for wonderful blog posts and beautiful pictures that I come across.

The other day I was looking at a GORGEOUS photostream on flickr and I decided to send her a private message telling her how beautiful I thought her pictures were. Then about an hour later I got a message from a completely different person telling ME how beautiful she thought MY pictures were. I guess what goes around come around :)

Happy New Year!!!!!
xo Sebrina

The above quote taken from this site

Happy New Year My Friends!!

2008-12-31T06:00:00.004-05:00

“Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.”

Dr. Suess