In pursuit of organic eating...

so, it's been over 10 years since i switched over to eating organic, but this is the first time we've bought beef in bulk. we are getting a quarter of an organic-bred cow. Phil and i had been discussing for months about this and we finally decided to take the plunge. we bought a freezer for our basement which will arrive on friday and then this weekend, Phil will go and bring our quarter of a cow home. the benefit of this is that we will get cuts of meat that are usually way too expensive for us. my mind is already swirling with the possibilities. :)

while we're on the topic of organic food, i recently read Michael Pollan's "the Botany of Desire". it was an interesting read - he discusses how the apple, the tulip, marijuana and the potato have shaped our society and lives. i have to say, i found the potato chapter the most interesting because he discusses the potato farmers. and while i knew conventional farming methods could be pretty bad, i had no idea to what extent. i don't think i could ever look at a potato the same way. the book did reinforce our need to think about what we eat and where our food comes from.

Practical aid to Haiti

for those of you who are still looking to contribute aid to Haiti, Phil and i would like you to consider this option. it's the Lifesaver Bottle - it was invented by a man who was moved to help in some way after the tsunami. please go to the link and watch the videos on there where the man demonstrates how his bottle works, as well as the video of how it can help people in disaster areas and in places where clean water is difficult to find.

Happy 70th birthday to my mother-in-law

today, we celebrated Phil's mother's 70th birthday at our house. the girls put on several dances, played the violin and had a grand time. Phil cooked a delicious meal of pasta with clams and mussels. following in the trend of my diy projects, i tried out my hand on making my own "real" birthday cake for the first time.

here are some photos from the day:







ok, so the flowers on the cake don't look quite as real as i wanted, but i thought it wasn't bad for my first attempt. you'll get to see pictures of many more attempts in the months to come - i am completely inspired by this new cookbook i got by Sarah Magid, "organic and chic". her cakes look so fabulous and artistic!! as for the taste of the cake, i won't be ashamed to admit i had 2 slices!! and a 3rd slice later on in the day. :)

belated movies

here are two movies i just uploaded, one from Skye's ballet recital and the other from our new year's eve party (our hostess was very creative and put down strips of bubble wrap for us to jump on to make a terrific noise since we didn't have firecrackers). :)

Skye's ballet recital from slkim on Vimeo.

New Year Eve 2009 from slkim on Vimeo.

New Year Eve 2009

hmmm...it would be nice if my new year's eve was a bit more exciting, but with kids, i'm far too tired to party into the wee hours of the morning. instead, we went to a friend's house and had the countdown in Rio de Janeiro time (it was midnight there at 8pm Madison time :)). and now that everyone has gone to sleep, i can catch up on my blog.

i've wondered about new year resolutions, but it's hard to come up with goals when i know life is going to go into full chaos once this third baby arrives. but i am going to try my best to chillax a little more and try my best to roll with the punches. i do still have a list of things to accomplish before the baby arrives, so those are in the immediate future, but other than that, i'm going to try to embrace whatever life has in store for me this year.

here are some pix from yesterday when we drove up north to my sister-in-law Megan's parents' lake house by Dutch Hollow Lake. the girls had a great time opening up more gifts and having a second Christmas. they went sledding down a great hill and built a snow fort. Skye went for a walk to the frozen lake with Phil and Uncle Mike.

Christmas activities

so i thought our Christmas would be sort of low-key this year. we had some friends over for dinner Christmas eve and then it was just our family for Christmas day. the girls had a great time opening gifts and spent some time outside with the sleds. but on Boxing day, we drove to Chicago so Skye and i could attend the Joffrey Ballet's performance of The Nutcracker. Phil took Claire to the children's museum while Skye and i were at the ballet. thanks to my friends at the Joffrey, we got great seats. i was a little nervous about how Skye would do, if she could sit through the entire performance - and she did! she loved it and was mesmerized by the dancing and the music. it was a real treat for me too - it has been so long since i went to an adult ballet performance. don't get me wrong - i love going to my daughter's ballet recitals and watching her dance, but it was so inspiring to watch the Joffrey dancers doing what they are great at. we ate some good Korean food while in Chicago and of course had to give the girls a taste of Chicago pizza. and on Sunday, we drove back home. it was an exhausting weekend, but lots of fun.

the girls open their gift of PJs on Christmas eve


Christmas morning



at The Nutcracker

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! 2009 from slkim on Vimeo.