Hi everyone, long time no post!  I do apologize for my absence.  I have had many things going on--this past year has been a bit of a rough but beautiful road transitioning into our new lives here in the sunshine state.

I love Blogger and all its user-friendly functionality, but for now  I have decided to merge my two blogger blogs into one, single, new blog that I update at Wordpress.com.

I have made a commitment to update regularly every day to every couple of days. I'm adding lots of pictures, the occasional video and whatever else I might feel like at the time.  I do hope you will follow me to my new site as it grows and evolves.

http://evervescence.wordpress.com

Peace & Love
~Kadee

I honestly couldn't have said it better myself

My best friend since Jr. High wrote this about why she celebrates the holidays (i.e. Christmas) in regards to how I didn't want to teach my son Jaiden to believe Santa was real and the issues I have with lying to him and convincing him to believe in something that I know isn't real. I had to share. She put it absolutely perfectly and really opened my eyes, that I can still teach Jaiden magic, and what "Santa" stands for even if he know Santa isn't "real". The lessons, the values are real.

Kelli: I understand. I can see how you could feel lied to. We can instill our ideas in our kids all we want but in the end its them who has to choose. I believe in "santa" at least his idea. I feel like my parents created a religious free holiday that put a warmth in my heart and memories I wouldn't give up for anything. If we felt betrayed by being lied to why in the world would we want to continue what we loved about christmas with our kids?? I certainly don't carry on the "tradition" for the sake of tradition. I will always be the gift giver "santa" to my kids, I will always be the "angel", I will always be the knight in shining armor and thy will always be my princesses. Even if not for real the ideas still sit. But in the end you can't teach what you don't believe and I completely understand your reasoning and agree with what you mean. I don't teach my kids about god (any god) or religious beings of any kind but I do teach them of the idea that those beings represent. If I felt lied to or bitter about the magic and the faith in kindness and selflessness that the spirit of christmas represents I wouldn't teach them that either.

I LOVE how she put this, and really I couldn't have said it better myself. I don't feel that what Christmas represents betrayed me or Jaiden, and so I do feel that the spirit is worth sharing and continuing. Selflessness, magic, faith, kindness. Those are all things I value, and we all need holidays. As my great friend from high school Sara said " Nothing wrong with a reason to get together and celebrate SOMETHING during the darkest time of the year." Honestly, I couldn't agree more.

Winter is a hard time for everyone even in Florida. As it drops to the 30's and below this week, and I am without my winter clothes, and heaters from Utah, it has not been fun. Though the sun shines more here and we are still blessed with blue skies, I drive home at night in the dark. Winter is depressing, and what better way to counteract that, than with the magic of a holiday.

I look forward to learning more about the celebrations of my ancestors as well as the celebrations of other cultures to create our new holiday. A holiday that will instill all of the good magic and memories I received from the Christmas celebrations of my childhood that my Mom poured her heart and soul into, into our lives as well.

Amen my friends! Thank you all for listening and understanding me, but also for sharing your light, your wisdom, inspiration and love with me!!

Happy Holidays!!

My new holiday

Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah. What other winter/holiday traditions are out there? I want to learn. In Holland (I'm 1/4 dutch), children put out wooden shoes filled with carrots for St. Nicholas' horse, and he would ride through town at night and leave small toys and/or treats for them in their shoes. My Grandmother is Dutch and her parents left their homes and all their belongings in the middle of the night to ride a boat (that took months to get to America) after which they then came across the country by foot with the Mormon pioneers. Finally arriving in Utah where they spent the rest of their lives and raise their family including my maternal Grandmother. I remember my Grandma telling me this story as a child, though I don't recall all of the details because it was so long ago.

My family never put out wooden shoes at Christmas time and though she was raised that way niether did my Grandma. My parents and Grandparents on my mother's side of the family embraced more of the combination Christmas, combining the religious teachings (from the LDS or Mormon church) with the folklore/mythology of Santa Clause (I think you all know, but just to be clear the fat old man dressed in red that can slide down chimneys and lives at the North Pole).

As an adult, I have chosen not to celebrate the religious or commercial Christmas of my youth and not to raise my son that way. I have decided instead to create our own celebration that reflects our own personal beliefs about the season. I am going to do this by researching the various traditions, folklore and mythologies of various cultures all over the world and how they celebrate at this time of year. I am going to take some of the things I loved from my childhood, and incorporate other beliefs and traditions as well. I am going to make my own hoilday. I mean isn't that what we all do in our own ways anyway? We take what we've been taught by our families, traditions passed down over the years and personalize it? For example the Buddhist that still opts to celebrate the commercial Christmas with the Santa myth, tree, lights, ornaments and presents but does not believe in Jesus? I have participated by having a tree and lights, and still giving presents though I did not participate in the religious aspect or the Santa part of Christmas. We give a gift to someone anonymously as "Santa", and we receive a gift anonymously from someone as "Santa" but we all know Santa isn't real, and we do not lie to Jaiden about it and he still has a really fun time and enjoys the magic of the season.

For my new holiday I love the idea of at least having one pair of authentic Dutch wooden shoes to put out at the holiday time to remind me of my ancestors-- how they celebrated, and all they sacrificed to build a new life where they could have the freedom to believe however they wanted to. I will have Wassail. My good friend Dianna introduced me to Wassail for the first time when I was in ninth grade. I now use a different recipe and sometimes I add spiced rum, but it was she that added Wassail to my list of favorite winter activities and what will become a tradition in my family. In Utah I always enjoyed going to the Dicken's festival and to Temple Square to see the beautiful light displays. Who doesn't love lights? Christmas trees, (though I don't agree with cutting them down) represent eternal life, and are one of my favorite things all year long. I love evergreen trees. Stars, are symbolic to me in many ways and though I don't believe in the story of the nativity, I love the idea of using stars and their significance to me in my own beliefs as well. I adore symbolism, and nearly everything I own has a symbolic meaning to me.

I have much to learn about the traditions of the past, and incorporate them with ideas and things from the present. I think learning about other cultures and traditions will be a fun part of not only creating this holiday but something we will do as a part of our celebration every year. I want my holiday to honor diversity by promoting acceptance and tolerance of other holidays and celebrations.

To be continued....

Is that the cutest thing you've ever seen?

I asked Jaiden as we un-peeled his peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the heart mold, revealing a perfectly shaped heart "sammy". "No, the cutest thing I've ever seen was a kitten in a bowl that was smaller than it's head". I asked him how that was even possible and then he went to explain, but I still don't really understand, but I guess it was the cutest thing he's ever seen.

He's hilarious. Aren't kids great. If only I'd documented more of the adorable things he said and did when he was younger. I like many parents, think I will always remember and as each new year passes, I remember less and less of those memories from the past. When he was a baby, I remember having the camera in hand and taking pictures and short videos all day everyday. Yet now I look back through those videos and it doesn't seem like very many at all, I wish I had more, many more. It's so easy to forget to write something cute your kids say down, or to leave the camera at home, and is also easy to forget all these special moments.

You can never take too many pictures or videos of your kids (or your fur kids if you don't have human children). You probably won't remember every cute thing they said or did, so document it. Keep that camera/video camera in hand, and take pictures, even when you feel like you've already taken a million, take a million more.

You will be so glad you did when those precious younger years are gone forever.

Moments like these are the good stuff life is made out of.

Last night we decided to go to bed early. I haven't been sleeping well since I arrived in Florida and after a few nights in a row, I'm pretty spent and it really starts to wear on me. The last time this happened I actually fell asleep on the living room floor and couldn't get up to get myself to bed for more than an hour of dozing on and off. Me and my weird sleep issues.

Anyway just before turning in early last night, I went to check on Jaiden and remind him to get his teeth brushed and Jaiden said "Mom, you are a good Mom" with a gentle, content smile. Then as he and I were walking back to his room so I could tuck him in and give him a hug goodnight, he turned to me and said "I love you."

This has hasn't happened in a long time. Usually I always tell him I love him, and to that he replies, "me too". Usually he is angry at me and thinks I'm a bad Mom because I won't let him have sugar or buy him toys or have his way with things.

He is growing up though and I think he is starting to understand why I do the things I do, and it is because I love him so much and want the best for him. I'm so happy that the transition from Utah to Florida has been such a good one for him, and the he is enjoying his new house, new school and new environment. He has such an energy of peace about him. I think the limit of sugar in his diet is finally working, no more nasty crashes, just a more loving, even and balanced little boy that I adore.

What a great kid. It's these moments, that make all the hard stuff worth it, and you know every challenge and every sacrifice you make for your little one(s) is paying off. I had a thought the other day that someday I might be a grandma . Jaiden will be an adult in 10 short years. I find it hard to believe that it's already been almost 8 and a 1/2 years since he was born. It is true what people say, they do grow up too fast. One minute you are changing diapers the next they are going to third grade, and well I can't bear to think about anything past this.

Just thinking that someday in the not so distant future I may be a grandma to Jaiden's kids, is just too much. He is already so independent, and he has been his own person from the day he was born. Right now I just need my only child, my little man, to stay little, for a little while longer.

Cs Potluck fun and a tasty dish!

I haven't posted in ages, and many things have changed. We just moved from Salt Lake City Utah, to Daytona Beach Florida and are getting settled into our new lives here. It has been a dream come true. I'm starting a new blog about our lives and adventures. I'll post the link once I get an entry or two added. I will still update this blog as well as this blog is connected to auto-post to my facebook and I find facebook's status update character limit, much too limiting so I've decided instead of always having to limit what I say I will just blog instead, and do my status updates as blurbs from the blog. That way those who don't want more than a blurb, have their blurb and those who want more can get all the details. I hope it will be enjoyable for our friends and family back in Utah who would like to stay updated with what is going on with us since we are now about 2500 miles away.

Jaiden started his first week at his new school and is really enjoying it there. I'm now starting my job search which has me both excited and nervous. Hiram is loving working here in Florida!

Last night we had a wonderful opportunity to re-connect with the wonderful friends that were our couchsurfing hosts in St. Augustine (back in June when we came out to scout places/cities to live and work) at their monthly potluck. We met some new friends as well and had a really wonderful time. It was our first real social event since the move and it was just what we needed. Jaiden came with us and was quite the superstar. He was very engaged in the activities. He enjoyed swimming and playing volleyball with everyone. Hiram would have played but he had to sit out because he hurt his neck riding some pretty rough waves from Hurricane Earl and he is trying to let his neck rest. I hate volleyball due to a very unfortunate incident when I was in Jr. High, so I hate to play but I enjoy watching everyone else play. The sunset last night at the pier was absolutely gorgeous too, and of course like I always do, I tend to forgot to take pictures because I am just having fun socializing.

I took a dish that is vegan and was a huge hit. It was my first time trying it because I love roasted potatoes and it turned out great! I got it from this: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-specials/anns-roasted-potato-salad-recipe/index.html

I managed to snap one quick picture before we got on the road for the drive up to St. Augustine. I will have to add my review to the site as well because I love this recipe so much!

I made a few minor adjustments to work with the ingredients I had on hand (after reading many of the reviews on the recipe). I used regular white onions instead of shallots (I couldn't find any shallots when I was at the store), and honey mustard instead of dijon (totally forgot I didn't have dijon on hand). Italian seasonsing instead of the fresh rosemary and thyme (and it worked great but use fresh if you have them because I bet it would be even better) but I did use fresh basil, that IS a must! If there is one ingredient I think you should not change it would be the basil, it is a key ingredient in this salad. I also did a 3:1 ratio of regular russet potatoes to sweet potatoes to add color and sweetness. The salad was a hit and went fast! It makes a smaller amount of servings than I'd expected, so if you have a really large group I would recommend doubling or even tripling the recipe. I would guess if people took small servings you could probably get eight out of this recipe as is, but I would highly recommend making more because it is so delicious, people want more than just a taste! I know I did. This was an instant favorite and I am thinking about making some more for lunch or dinner tonight, it was really that good.

I am a huge fan of both vinegar and mustard and I really enjoyed the added sweetness of the honey mustard and sweet potatoes paired with the tanginess of the vinegar and the slight minty bite of the basil and onions. It was absolutely delicious and I am so pleased everyone enjoyed it. I didn't have enough pans to make a larger batch (from our recent move) but hopefully I will for next time!

I'm looking forward to next month's potluck and seeing our new friends again already! I love the Couchsurfing network, it has been such an integral part of our move here in many ways, and many great things that have happened for us as hosts back in Salt Lake as well. I've made many wonderful friends and look forward to making many more along the way.

Vegan Stroganoff!

Well kids aside from a weekend during which I ate a cake (I made) that had butter in it, with ice cream (organic at least) and a potluck that consisted of items made with dairy that I ate to be polite (items that were tasty, but I ate them at the expense of my digestive system. Not fun!). I am loving my new In progress Vegan life and have been enjoying non-animal foods. Still eating eggs though very minimally.

It was my son's 8th birthday on Saturday (thus the cake and ice cream). Happy Birthday J-man! We celebrated at Chuck E Cheese with family and he had a wonderful time.

I have missed strogranoff and since I adore mushrooms of all varieties I decided to do a search for a vegan recipe this past weekend. I found one that sounded perfect and I tried it today. It was AMAZING! Even after having to make some tweaks to it, as I didn't have the ingredients it asked for. It seems this dish is fool-proof, and made a wonderful starting recipe. Here's the link to the original:


Seitan Portobella Stroganoff

Here's the recipe the way I made it:

3 1/2 cups seitan, sliced in thin wide strips I did not use any Seitan.

2 tablespoons +1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup shallots, medium onion thinly sliced
1 large RED onion, quartered and sliced in half moons
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cremini 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 4 portobella caps, thinly sliced
1 cup burgundy cooking wine red wine vinegar
2 cups cold water
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder (corn or potato starch will work, too) I just used 2 Tbsp. of flour, but it definitely would have been better with some kind of starch, a thicker more creamy texture.
2 tablespoons fresh thyme, chopped up I used 1 tsp. of "Simply Organic" dried seasoning.
1 tablespoon hungarian paprika (I don't know what hungarian paprika is, but I just used regular).
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 teaspoons dijon mustard (I just used stone ground, didn't have dijon)
1/2 cup original flavored soy milk (I use Vitasoy) I used 1/2 cup of coconut milk, as you all probably know by now, I am anti-all-soy products.
1 cup peas I did not use any peas.

Directions: I used the directions as followed just substituting the ingredients listed with what I opted to use. I used whole wheat thin spaghetti, which worked fine but I think a thicker pasta would have been better.

Dissolve the arrow root in the 2 cups of water, set aside.

Heat olive oil in skillet over med-high heat. Add the shallots and onions, saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic, mushrooms and thyme. Saute for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat a cast iron skillet with 1 teaspoon olive oil, just to coat it. Add the seitan and saute over medium heat about 25 minutes, until it is dark brown and crispy on the outside. If you are using store-bought seitan you need only cook it for 10 minutes.

Back to the sauce: add salt, wine and paprika. Turn heat up high to reduce the liquid, about 10 minutes.


Lower heat to med-high, add water and arrowroot, stir well and let sauce thicken, about 5 minutes. Add nutritional yeast and mix well until it is dissolved. Add soymilk and mustard and bring heat down to low, be very careful not to let it boil now because it can make the soymilk and mustard bitter. Add seitan and peas, cook for 10 more minutes.

Divide noodles into bowls and mix with the stroganoff. It is best to mix immediately so that the pasta doesn't stick. You can top it off with tofu sour cream, but I like it just the way it is.


The final product!

Thank you Post Punk Kitchen for such a great recipe!!

I have to say this was truly incredible. So very delicious even with all my crazy substitutions. This is now going to be a regular item on my menu. The flavors were better than any stroganoff I've had before made with the fatty sour cream, butter and meat. This one is healthy, and full of flavor. I loved the coconut milk, a great healthy alternative that seemed to substitute well in this recipe.