Falling in with FALL! I love the Autumn. Soups, teas, pumpkins and squash, uggs, cozy fires, brisk nights and leaves coating the streets. YUM!
Pumpkin Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting by Karina Allrich
I found what looks to be a fantastic recipe for moist Pumpkin cake/bread, gluten-free Pumpkin cake. Since I've moved away from Boulder (where the best GF pumpkin bread is made by Aunt Kay's (of Outrageous Baking Co), I haven't been able to find GOOD moist GF breads. It's either a heavy log or is dry as a desert floor. Two weeks ago I picked up the ingredients for this recipe and it has taken me til this evening at 11:00 PM to start making it. Opps! Well I just could not put it off one more day. No ways. Now that it is 1 AM, I have finally made it to bed! I will indulge in my pumpkin bread over coffee in the morning. Can't quite believe that I am holding out on this decadence until tomorrow, but I will be sure to post the outcome. I found my recipe HERE.
YAY YAY! I'm finally connected to the internet. My house has internet. I have internet. We have internet. Connected. Reconnected to the world, thank you! I had to wait two and a half weeks. Crazy eh? Guess we have technician shortage here in the DC area. Any way, as of this past Saturday we had our FiOs cable and internet installed. Somehow the tech guy managed to have the order incorrect and did not have our phone connection listed on his job list.....gonna have to wait a few more days for our house phone. The blackberry can continue to hold the fort down until then.
As we begin to settle here, I have found myself making connections with old friends. Whether through our children's play dates, on the phone or in the grocery store, it is starting to happen. This helps tremendously with the transition and is a sign that we are beginning to take root. It does feel good.
Boy am I exhausted. It is as if for the past year and a half I have been on the fight or flight mode, I've kept my head above water, barely and now that we have found our spot and are taking root and slowing down, my system is starting to shut down. I am in need of some kind of retreat, full of self nurturing, a tune-up. Where I can reflect, acknowledge, make plans, sleep a lot, do yoga, eat well, and move on and forward. This is something I am starting to look into and will make an asserted effort to do even if for a night away. I need this.
This past week showed signs of routine! Henry is in his new school. www.communikidspreschool.com and he is really happy to be making friends and creating new relationships. Maestra Samantha, is one of his teachers with whom he has created a special bond. She cuddles with him a lot. This is a very good place for him and am so happy we found it. On the 21st his class is going to go to Butlers Farm in Maryland to pick pumpkins and apples. I've taken the day off so that I can be a chaperon. So excited about going!
As for the work front, I am keeping busy and enjoying teaching tremendously. There is much going on at the moment. From establishing the class calendars, to finalizing all the marketing...waiting waiting on others is VERY hard. The graphic designer is very talented and has loads on his books, but it is very hard to wait for him to complete things like business cards, to web pages and postcards. It is hard to market the business without these things. YIKES!
This past Friday I went to an excellent organic restaurant for a girls night out with one of my oldest friends Christina. We had a blast! We chatted about friends and family including who what and where. We probably could have stayed for at least five hours longer then we did! Christina and I have many many childhood memories together (the middle school ones are simply the best..puberty is such a poignant time in ones life) and I look forward to creating new ones with her and her family. I am very blessed to continue to have her in my life! We ate delicious swordfish at a restaurant in Bethesda called Redwood. The was the food delicious, as was beautiful, and so is the restaurants decor! It's exterior has mixes of earth (wooden slats) and metal. This continued on through the simple design of the interiors. Despite it's modern decor the (red)wood, creates an abundance of warmth. I will be frequenting this place. The owner has a few other restaurants in the metropolitan area so I will be hopping to those as well!
Yes! It is all FINALLY coming into place. Our move to DC has been one epic journey. We have now, crossed off all our major to do's in order to go from being newly transplanted to being PLANTED! My biggest bridges to cross have been:
Get Pilates Studio up and running
Find a house
Find a preschool for Henry (Spanish Immersion)
Check, check and check! Of course these were being accomplished all at the same time. I've definitely been running around with my head cut off, which is why I've left my blog to linger alone. As Labor Day approaches, I must get ready to move this weekend, prepare Henry to start school on Tuesday AND teach my first classes also on Tuesday. YIKES! Needless to say, I am completely prepared to know that my house will be in complete disarray and that things will not be in "their places" before our big day. I don't want to even get started on what excitement I will have when it comes to decorating my new home too. Yes, I have tons of ideas but must not get hasty here. Breath, and one step at a time PLEASE. Can I tell you how excited I am? Excited that I am back here in DC, that my family is with me, that we have wonderful family and friends around us and that this is our HOME!
As we nest into our new space, I'll be back more, here in my little blog world too!
I am finally feeling partially normal. I guess as I am now getting Henry back on some sort of schedule, poor baba. Still haven't solidified the house, the school as of yet, but I will be meeting the carpet cleaners at the new Pilates studio on Monday! YAY!
As for now, my little one sleeps. I am sitting and enjoying the rain!
Where the heck has the time gone. All my fellow blogger friends, perhaps you've been wondering where on earth I went...I apologize. This moving states twice within one year is definitely taking years off my life! The great news is we made it to DC and are alive! What an epic journey and I am not so sure I want to relive it on these pages it was so darn epic.
We packed house, trucked it by way of route 80 east through Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland and then DC! What an adventure. I've always traveled in the past by way of 70 so I was keen on a new route. I wasn't really sure what to expect in Nebraska or Iowa as I had never been to those two states, but I was very drawn to Iowa. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that my great grandfather was raised there (his Dad had owned one of the first flour mills there), in Walnut Iowa. The landscape was really lovely. Of course there were farms abound (which I had expected), but what I had not, was the rolling hills! There were farms whose corn crops were on tiered hillsides. I've only seen corn growing on very FLAT land so this was a view to behold. Next thing that surprised me were the wind turbines. Whoa! These large wind mills where scattered everywhere like LARGE ants. It was fascinating!
Wind Turbines outside Walnut, Iowa
Wish I could tell you that the rest of the trip was just as intriguing but alas it was not! I will relieve you of the saga. Let's just say it took a whole extra night to get to DC (we planned two but ended up three) which we were not planning on. Henry was a fab little traveler and loved riding in the truck. After having rode in the high truck with huge windows where he could see the world, the Audi no longer cut it. Nevertheless, we made it!
Unloading the Rover.
Can u see Henry is helping out too?
Our first 5 days here were spent recouping, unloading our house in storage and spending time with family. I've moved all my equipment in my Pilates studio and am finishing up the last touches before we are ready to "open shop." The past few weeks I've been juggling so many to do's. To start, I am trying to sort out Henry's school. I've seen a couple of really fabulous schools that have Spanish immersion. Now I am on a hunt for a nanny who can supplement a few hours here and there. The third ball in the air, is finding a place to live. Needless to say I'm gonna need a vacation before I start my new job. Ha ha! Henry has been going through this transition like a super star. He mentioned going home a few times. I know once we get into our own house with his own bed etc, he will be home! Having my family around has been a huge help. This is something I am so very happy about. The support is tremendous. On top of my family affair, I have wonderful friends here too.
Living out of a suitcase has been a challenge let alone a toddler who is running wild! We are staying at my aunts house which has been incredibly fantastic! We get daily swims in, great conversation and delicious food. Speaking of food, my aunt and I saw Julie and Julia! What a fantastically sweet movie. I loved it. I thought Meryl Streep hit Julia Child right on the money! Her mannerisms and body language was spot on! There were points in the movie where both Trisha and I were literally cackling out loud it was so hilarious!
Pool fun!
Any who back to the juggling, the past few weeks...it has been wild. We're hoping to have things settled by this coming week. Will keep you all posted. I've missed my blog friends and my google reader. In the coming weeks I will be back on track. In the meantime do check in here and there to see what's new!
We are officially departing in 9 DAYS. Yes, NINE days, oh, 9! Oh hell. If you could really see my house now.....
Hmmm, got some work to do don't ya think?
What's up with the tent your wondering? As we dig things out of the basement, Henry has found some 'new' toys to play with!
What have we have been doing all this time since my last post about getting organized for a move (which I did do..but did not complete). You see we've been doing a lot of this:
Swimming and eating by the pool!
More eating and outdoor fun!
Eating more and playing with friends (who we will miss incredibly)
Our summer thus far has been loads of fun! And we are doing what we can to squeeze in the bit that we can before we leave in NINE days! Starting to really feel mixed emotions. Life in DC will be fantastic as we have family and many close friends there. I can't wait to settle into my new job and get into the rhythm of life there! And I can't help and feel some sadness too as we are leaving some of our most favorite people and places. We WILL be back to visit!
Come the 31st we will head out on our THREE day road trip!
Oh fun oh fun oh fun! Today I did some of my very own creating! I am learning how to use html language to create buttons for the company Commandos. Very cool. I'll admit, I couldn't do this on my very own and have found a fabulous blog designer, named April, who has listed various tutorials on her site. I found April Showers Blog Design through the lovely Ali over at Holdenittogether. Thank you ladies so so much!
Here are some of my creations!
This one will be good for those who would like to post on their blogs or websites. Nice feature is that it links to the Commandos website.
Use promo code COM-KBKb for 10% off.
This one will be used for those doctors and physical therapist whose practice focuses on patients who experience pelvic pain conditions, like Interstitial Cystitis and Vulvodynia.
Soft cotton alternative for painful pelvic conditions. Click above and use promo code COM-KBK1 for 10% off.
Ok, so these took me all of a few minutes to make so I will definitely continue to play. But at least it is the start to having some more tricks up my sleeve! HA HA!
My dear boy, is exactly 2 and a half! He is my joy, my little love bug, who brings the child out of me. Who makes we want to be the best mommy I can possibly be. My two and a half year old is not only sweet as can be but sensitive too! I love it when on his own accord will tell me "bless you" after a sneeze or will tell me "thank you" for helping get a book from the shelf. I adore it when he sings me made up songs about what he loves. I cherish his spontaneous hugs and kisses. I love him. It is quite hard to believe how time has flown, thinking it was near to 3 years ago that I gave birth to this little being. This child o mine has had quite an adventure thus far. Traveling to South Africa, moving from San Diego to Boulder and now to Washington DC. The countless flights to California and the east coast. His friends, the ranch, his love for books and cars, and his adventures and experiences at bilingual school. I can only imagine what the world will have in store for him. Where will he live? Where will he travel? What will he do for a living? Will he get married? As his parent, I realize what we can do is be as present as we can with him every single day. We can teach by setting examples and nurture his interests. He will get to that point in his life where he will chose his own paths.
"I'll love you forever I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living my baby you'll be" By Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw
Posts
