Anna by Katie

a little ladies perspective

My daughter, yanti, who is 3 years old recently had a sneaky moment with our little point and shoot camera. There where dozen and dozens of these crazy blurry photos of odd things and I had such a good laugh when I downloaded the stick and found this little surprise on it.

Here I share with you the world through my daughters eyes.

Watching grandma garden

That would be her foot on the dirty kitchen table

Her little brother most likely trying to get his own hands on the camera

Uh Oh a shot of the stove top!

Change is in the air..

There is a definite change in my artwork recently. I've been changing up their faces as I learn how to paint a little better pretty much everyday. My characters look so much better! I'm really happy about this and feel such a sense of accomplishment to see that through hard work and sticking to this I am getting better. yay!

Here's a custom order of my blocks, the request was for blond hair so we accomplished that but also have some much sweeter little faces.

Here are the original blocks that I painted.

A yummy meal

This meal was Salad, Rice, Dhal and Corn Chips.

For anyone who has not had the pleasure of eating Dhal or know what it is here's a little info on Dhal which I got from wisegeek.com:

Dhal is a main dish in India and Pakistan, and certainly one of the most popular. Pulses are inexpensive, which makes Dhal widely eaten among all classes of people.
Dhal is made with the aforementioned pulses, or lentils, and spices such as cumin, cayenne, garlic and garam masala, to produce a thick soupy consistency. The dhal is then served with naan (flatbread) or over rice. It can be a side dish or a main dish and is another ethnic food that can be adjusted to the cook’s tastes.
Dhal is often a mainstay in vegetarian diets, because it is so versatile and such a good source of protein. It can be cooked with spinach, or coconut, with green peppers or cheese. In Indian restaurants that feature a buffet, dhal may be offered with any of these ingredients.
The secret to good dhal is the same as with cooking any bean: long, slow cooking times. Dhal could be made in a slow-cooker, or on top of the stove. It should be cooked a minimum of three hours, perhaps six or seven in a slow-cooker. Cooked portions may be frozen and reheated, if the cook wants to make the most of the long cooking time and make dhal batches in bulk. Dhal is cooked like most beans: add enough water to cover the pulses, turn it on low and start the cooking process. The pulses should be rinsed and sorted, as with other beans, beforehand.
As with other beans, dhal makes its own “gravy,” and this should not be discarded. It is also nutritious and is eaten right along with the pulses. Indian lentils may be black, brown, red, yellow or pink, creating a dish that is as colorful as it is delicious. Indian lentils are available at some supermarkets, and often in Asian markets that sell Indian ingredients.

Its been way too long!

I have not posted for a few weeks, life has been a little crazy and I've been painting like a mad women. Oh so many new paintings and fun stuff that Ive put up in my store recently.

My little boy, dama, has been teething so hes been whinning and complaining and upset all day everyday. His nighttime routine has been completely turned upside down and hes up all night crying and having a hard time, hes a late teether and it takes weeks of owies for those big ones to breakthrough. Its sad to watch.

My first, yanti, had all her teeth by 8 months and they came through so fast, she would teeth for one day and pop them out overnight.

My 2nd to last chemo was a tough one, I think the worst so far. It took me 2 weeks to get back on my feet and I just felt really off track.  Good news though was that this last one that I did just this past Tuesday has been a breeze so far, Ive been really tired and wasted and just a little nauseous but none of the pain and vomiting so I'm really happy and hoping this is a sing that things are looking up.

The garden is coming along well, we're still prepping the soil and mulching the beds but we finally got these two big huge palm trees removed that where just planted in the wrong place. It was a big affair to get them taken out, it took 6 big guys and about 4 hours of digging and pulling and dragging. Now that they are gone the yard is like a different place, its open and has so much more potential. Very nice :)

My dear hubby is promising to build me some gardening boxes, its hard for me to bend down to garden in the beds so he's promising me some raised beds, maybe 2 feet raised up. That would be wonderful so I cross my fingers that he does it! :-)

Ok I'm going to be running late for my hair appointment, need a trim, so better go.

Lots of love and care

Katie

Yummy fresh divine fruit salad for breakfast

Freshly made fruit salad tops my list for breakfast, the only thing missing from this one is two of my favorite fruits, mangoes and passion fruits (lilikois) those two fruits would have sent this bowl of goodness into heaven!

This one has:
1 Papaya
2 slices of watermelon
10 green grapes
1 nectarine
8 Strawberries

I didn't get a photo of it but I put some freshly roasted granola on top which was still warm. It was soooo good!

Here's the mother bowl :-) its all gone now.

Watermelons are a summer staple

We finally dug into a yummy crisp and delicious watermelon! Yay. It was cold and sweet and made for a very happy little clan of munchkins.

It was a huge watermelon and its all gone, yanti's cousins where over so they helped polish it all away. Ofcourse I took some photos to share :-)

My little girl yanti letting the juice roll off her :-) Love this crazy girl!

Delicouse Garden Salad

I had to show you how pretty this salad looks, I chopped it up for lunch today and took a picture before I tossed it - the colors where just so vibrant and sublime together. I always bring my salads to the table un-tossed (not sure thats a word!) I think it stops the salad from juicing and getting soggy while it waits to be eaten. Also they look so pretty this way.

This is a delicious salad heres what I tossed into it

1  head of romaine Lettuce
1 grated Beetroot
2 grated Carrots
1 quarter finely diced yellow onion
8 sliced strawberries
1 small sliced Apple

Topping:
1 Cup of Cashews
1 Cup of Walnuts
2 Tbls sugar
2 Tbls Butter

Roast the nuts to perfection, add the butter and melt, continue toasting then add the sugar and let it caramelize with the butter and stick to the nuts. Take of the heat and let cool, tossing occasionally to help the nuts from setting together.

Bite into a little bit of Salad Heaven.

Here is a photo after I tossed the Salad, still looks beautiful!