Pecos Blue

Snow is finally melting here..at last our tulips are starting to grow.

2010-03-25T22:57:00.000-06:00

Been a long time

2010-03-12T08:14:00.004-07:00

Still loving life at the canyon. Starting to feel like blogging again. Not sure where I will find the time : )

It has been a lovely winter.

One of the reasons I want to start blogging again is to find other people who have started the adoption process. We are looking into domestic adoption and are starting the home-study process. We are trying to decide between a private lawyer or an agency. Thus far we have been underwhelmed by the agency option. So if you have any thoughts, suggestions or comments we would love to hear them.

This is by far the best time of the year to be at the Grand Canyon

2009-09-16T22:00:00.000-06:00

Grand Canyon at Day Break

2009-06-19T16:42:00.000-06:00

A lot on the plate right now will try to blog more later.

A little piece of heaven for sale in Coronado, California

2009-05-13T15:54:00.002-06:00

Coronado House For California

River Trip In The Grand Canyon

2009-05-10T15:48:00.003-06:00

My husband got to go on a week river trip on the Colorado. Here are some photos of what he saw. It is very beautiful and hot. 115 one day.

Does your phone cause brain cancer? They are not sure anymore

2009-05-02T16:06:00.001-06:00

Know your phone's SAR rating?

10 lowest-radiation cell phones (United States)
Editors' note: When a phone is discontinued by a manufacturer or a carrier, it will be removed from this chart.

Manufacturer and model SAR level(digital)
1 Samsung Eternity SGH-A867 0.194
2 Samsung SGH-G800 0.23
3 Samsung Soul 0.24
4 Samsung Innov8 0.287
5 Motorola Razr2 V8 0.36
6 Samsung SGH-T229 0.383
7 Nokia 6263 0.43
8 Samsung SGH-i450 0.457
9 Samsung Rugby SGH-A837 0.46
10 Samsung Propel Pro 0.473

Audiovox/UTStarcom

More resources
New cell phone reviews
Editors' top cell phones
Cell phone buying guide
World of wireless communications,
From CTIA
Cell phone videos
Cell phone forums
Cell phone features
RF safety program,
From FCC

Grand Canyon Celebration of Art Sept. 2009

2009-04-24T22:35:00.006-06:00

Here are one of my side projects. I am working on this event.

The Grand Canyon Association believes that art provides a unique opportunity to educate and inspire visitors about this world-class park.

The new Grand Canyon Celebration of Art, which will launch in the fall of 2009 at the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, will provide an opportunity for visitors to see the works of some of the best artists in the nation as they seek to capture the beauty of this timeless landscape on canvas.

This weeklong event will include the Grand Canyon Modern Masters Invitational, a juried art competition and show, as well as Plein Air and Quick Draw events.

All proceeds from these events will be dedicated to the creation of a permanent art venue in the Historic District of the South Rim and will help to ensure that future generations of park visitors will be able to experience Grand Canyon art at its best.

This is from one of the artists: Serena Supplee

Grand Canyon South Rim taken last week by a co-worker

2009-04-24T22:32:00.001-06:00

The Butterfly Project

2009-04-17T21:58:00.002-06:00

I heard about this before and then saw it again on Crafty Crow (love this site)

In an effort to remember them, Holocaust Museum Houston is collecting
1.5 million handmade butterflies.

The butterflies will eventually comprise a breath-taking exhibition, currently scheduled for Spring 2012, for all to remember.

As of Summer 2008, we have already collected an estimated 400,000 butterflies.

Please facilitate the
“I Never Saw Another Butterfly” activity and create as many handmade arts-and-crafts butterflies as possible. This project may be completed by all ages as individuals or groups.

Butterflies should be no larger than 8 inches by 10 inches.
Butterflies may be of any medium the artist chooses, but two-dimensional submissions are preferred.
Glitter should not be used.
Food products (cereal, macaroni, candy, marshmallows or other perishables) also should not be used.
If possible, e-mail a photograph of your butterflies, to butterflyproject@hmh.org.

Please send or bring your butterflies to the Museum by June 30, 2011, with the following information included:

Your name,
Your organization or school,
Your address,
Your e-mail address, and
The total number of butterflies sent.
Mail or bring your butterflies to:

Holocaust Museum Houston
Butterfly Project
Education Department
5401 Caroline St.
Houston, TX 77004
USA

For questions or additional information, please e-mail butterflyproject@hmh.org.

2009-03-29T11:37:00.003-06:00

Here is another thing I really like right now.

Lots going on. Joined my son's preschool board and may have a job. So will be in and out for awhile.

Holztiger

Here is what I covet today! Chocolate anyone?

2009-03-03T16:21:00.003-07:00

Chocolate Havanese

My Friend is Here and we are Sewing up a Storm of ...

2009-02-27T09:39:00.002-07:00

We love the site Felt o Rama!

My sewing nook and the next quilt

2009-02-10T15:49:00.002-07:00

It reminds me of snow and we had over 12 inches last night.

This kept me awake thinking.....

2009-02-06T20:42:00.004-07:00

after leaving a retirement home the main character says:

"We mustn't forget any of this, absolutely not. We have to live with the certainty that we'll get old and that it wont look nice or be good or feel happy. And tell ourselves that its now that matters: to build something, now at any price, using all our strength. Always remember that there's a retirement home waiting somewhere and so we have to surpass ourselves in every day, make every day undying. Climb our own personal Everest and do in in such a way that every step is a little bit of eternity."

From The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery.

Now Who is Un-American? First it was me and now????

2009-01-25T13:56:00.007-07:00

Limbaugh recently stated on his radio program that "he hopes the President will fail."

He stated to Fox News "I disagree fervently with the people on our side of the aisle who have caved and who say, "Well, I hope he succeeds. We've got to give him a chance." Why? They didn't give Bush a chance in 2000. Before he was inaugurated the search-and-destroy mission had begun. I'm not talking about search-and-destroy, but I've been listening to Barack Obama for a year-and-a-half. I know what his politics are. I know what his plans are, as he has stated them. I don't want them to succeed."

I hope that Republicans do not listen to this divisive rhetoric because this will mean that we all will loose. The Whole Country!

Then he says "Look, even my staff, "Oh, you can't do that." Why not? Why is it any different, what's new, what is unfair about my saying I hope liberalism fails? Liberalism is our problem. Liberalism is what's gotten us dangerously close to the precipice here."

The more time we spend pointing fingers and not fixing the problems facing us (like achem the last 8 years) then we will continue on this downward spiral.

It is time to end partisan politics it only helps those in power and not the American people. It allows politicans to hide and not develop and create solutions. Problems do not care if you are in a red or blue town or state they are hitting everyone.,

It is time to work together and create real solutions that will work. That requires everyone working together and it the solutions may not be perfect from everyones point of view but they will be better if we put our heads together and spend out time working it out instead of working against each other. President Obama is not having secret meetings with an Energy task force he is asking for everyone to input and come up with Solutions! Why would we want this to fail. That to me is Un-American.

Sorry for the rant but could not help myself.

Cheers!

2009-01-20T14:09:00.004-07:00

Green Toys Made in the USA: Safe Toys I am in love

2009-01-09T12:10:00.005-07:00

Green Toys

We believe the world would be a much better place if everyone said “please” and “thank you", cell phones didn’t ring during movies, and all toys were fun, safe, and made from environmentally friendly materials. Since it’s probably no use holding our breath for those first two, we’re concentrating on the toys.

Green Toys Inc. makes an awesome line of classic children’s toys constructed from recycled plastic and other environmentally friendly materials. This helps reduce fossil fuel use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improving the overall health and happiness of the planet.

I ordered the set for our god-daughter from Amazon and they are thrilled with it.

New Years Celebrations From Around the World

2009-01-01T18:18:00.003-07:00

World Celebration

I love seeing celebrations from around the world! All the best and May Peace Reign.

Happy New Year to All! Peace and Goodwill

2008-12-31T12:20:00.002-07:00

Rats are Cool Too. I just loved this!

2008-12-11T15:53:00.003-07:00

They may not be cute and cuddly, but rats have become man’s new best friend, says The Boston Globe. Because they spend their lives foraging for food, rats have supersensitive noses, which scientists have learned to utilize in two new lifesaving projects in Africa. In Mozambique, giant rats have been trained to sniff out thousands of land mines left from previous conflicts. The rats’ “noses are far more sensitive than all current mechanical vapor detectors,” says Havard Bach, a mine-clearing specialist with an international aid organization. Unlike dogs, rats are so light-footed that they do not trigger land mines. Their amazing success in detecting mines may lead them to be employed in other regions in Africa, as well as in Asia and Europe, where millions of mines that remain buried from previous wars kill and maim thousands of people each year. In Tanzania, the rat’s sense of smell is being used as a medical testing device: They sniff saliva samples for traces of tuberculosis. The animals are able to identify early-stage infections that may not be found by a microscope. Rats get a bad rap, says Alberto Jorge Chambe, a rat handler for the Mozambique project, but they’re smarter and friendlier than you might think—and far less expensive than trained dogs. “Rats are usually considered pests or enemies of humanity,” Chambe says. “But rats are helping my country escape the shadow of death.”

Check out this amazing dog, George

2008-12-06T09:27:00.004-07:00

Voice of the Turtle has trained her dog to sniff out turtles and help with turtle studies. I am still just blown away about the wonderful things dogs can do.

Any ideas for a quilt with these fabrics?

2008-11-29T22:13:00.001-07:00

Looking for ideas!

Will be a twin size quilt.

Grand Canyon Traveling Trunk: Have it come to your school!

2008-11-25T17:20:00.001-07:00

Grand Canyon National Park Travelin’ Trunks are an outreach endeavor of Grand Canyon Association. GCA designed the program in a way that transports students and teachers to one of the world’s premier learning destinations without actually leaving the classroom. Trunks may also be used pre- or post-visit. Most materials and lessons are geared toward fourth- through eighth-grade students; however, GCA also offers a Grand Canyon Primary trunk for kindergarten through third-grade students.
The trunks focus on the ecology, human history, and geology of Grand Canyon. Trunks contain books, videos, posters, slides, maps, and other interesting and appropriate materials. Each trunk also includes lesson plans. Teachers may choose the lessons and activities most appropriate to their learning goals. GCA designed the lessons to align with Arizona Academic Standards and National Science Education Standards. Education specialists created the activities and lesson plans, and appropriate National Park Service staff and other outside experts reviewed the materials for accuracy.

Travelin' Trunks themes include:

Grand Canyon Ecology Trunk-includes multimedia materials and lessons about Grand Canyon Communities and the factors that affect their existence and survival. Desert, desert survival, and canyon-based Web of Life lessons are included as well.

Colorado River Ecology Trunk-based on a hands-on activity that facilitates students' exploration of the ecology of the Colorado River pre- and post-Glen Canyon Dam. A debate activity is included to look at the stakeholders and their points of view with respect to the changes, drawbacks, and benefits resulting from the dam.

Grand Canyon Human History-This trunk provides a general overview of cultural history at Grand Canyon. Profiles of Grand Canyon characters, books, photos, materials for 'hands-on' activities, and information on Native Americans of the area are included in this trunk.

John Wesley Powell Trunk-This trunk allows students to investigate Powell's journey through Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. It includes a fun and challenging boat building activity.

Primary Trunk-Materials in this trunk are designed to give the young learner a variety of means to explore and learn about Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon Geology Trunk-Here students will find interesting materials and activities for exploring the wonders of geology at Grand Canyon. Topics covered by lessons in this trunk include geologic time, Grand Canyon layers, fossils, and topographic map reading.

Travelin’ Trunk Lesson Plans

The Travelin’ Trunk lesson plans are available below as .pdf files. We welcome you to download and utilize any or all of these lessons free of charge. The lessons have been designed to align with Arizona Academic Standards and National Science Education Standards. Education specialists created the activities and lesson plans, and appropriate National Park Service staff and other outside experts reviewed the materials for accuracy.

I won a great giveaway!

2008-11-22T16:34:00.004-07:00

This beautiful mini quilt from Second Sister Suaviloquy!

Thank you.

She does some amazing giveaways. Check it out.

100th Giveaway Winners!

2008-11-21T20:46:00.004-07:00

Blanket Winner from Jill's Fabric and Design

1st prize: Queenie

2nd prize: Cakes

3rd prize: Run and Fetch

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5989353

Please send me via email your address so I can get your prize!

Thank you

Grand Canyon Polar Express Train Ride

2008-11-13T14:18:00.004-07:00

You arrive in your jammies and hop on board with Santa Clause singing, hot choclate and all!. We are getting tickets today to a take the Polar Express Train from Williams and back.

If you have not entered my give away see the previous post!

100th Belated Post Giveaway, My Birthday & A New Future Obama!

2008-11-05T09:53:00.011-07:00

1st prize: Custom made from Jill's Fabric all of her items are one of a kind. Here is a beautiful baby blanket with turquoise minke on one side and a retro hip pattern of flowers turquoise, green and blues. Finsished off in with a silver wavey trim.

2nd and 3rd prize winners will get something cool from the Grand Canyon!

Here is the blanket!

Contest to start Nov. 6-20th. Winners names will be drawn on Nov. 21st.

To participate, please leave a comment here and feel free to add any feedback for Jill about her new estsy store.

If you post on your blog about this giveaway you will be entered into the giveaway 3 times! So help me spread the word. Good luck and thank you for your friendship.

I will notify winners and send the prizes out. International visitors welcome to participate!

CHANGE HAS COME!

2008-11-05T09:48:00.005-07:00

US DECISIVELY ELECTS OBAMA

Hurrah!

I listened to NPR on the radio this morning talking about the parties that sprung up last night and about people and their dreams and how no believed this would be possible and I had to cry..so amazing. Today I am proud to be an Unamerican!

Check out Little Nest's Collage very nice!

Who is American?

2008-11-02T11:31:00.001-07:00

The Daily Show's commentary on the Real America! This is a must see! Why is an interview of the Wasllia Mayor not on the major news networks?

I served in the Peace Corps and have worked in whole career in public service, but according to McCain and Palin I am not the real american. I am un-American and unpatriotic. I cannot say how anergy this makes me that they are trying to divide our country like this and to make devalue other human beings by adding stereotypes. Articles are claiming that people are too hard on Palin, yet she is choosing to divide the country and state that this person is American and this person living here is not!

This is not the America that I know or want to be apart of. I am glad people are standing up and saying that will not tolerate these types of stereotypes anymore. I am an American, Patriotic, God praising, good person and I am a liberal!

I am not sure Palin's apology is very real.

Palin's Constitutional Ignorance
Category: Politics
Posted on: November 2, 2008 9:16 AM, by Ed Brayton

ABC News reports:

Palin told WMAL-AM that her criticism of Obama's associations, like those with 1960s radical Bill Ayers and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, should not be considered negative attacks. Rather, for reporters or columnists to suggest that it is going negative may constitute an attack that threatens a candidate's free speech rights under the Constitution, Palin said.
"If [the media] convince enough voters that that is negative campaigning, for me to call Barack Obama out on his associations," Palin told host Chris Plante, "then I don't know what the future of our country would be in terms of First Amendment rights and our ability to ask questions without fear of attacks by the mainstream media."

Utter ignorance. The first amendment prevents the government from punishing you for what you say. It does not mean that others, including the media, can't criticize what you say. In fact, the first amendment presumes that criticizing and questioning politicians is so important that it is doubly protected, both under the free speech clause and the free press clause.

Being "attacked" for your statements not only does not violate your first amendment rights, it is an example of others exercising their first amendment rights. I would fear much more for the future of this country by the absence of media criticism than by its presence. Thomas Jefferson would agree:

The basis of our government being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.
Perhaps at some point after the campaign is over, when Palin takes a 5 minute break from her reflexive and idiotic persecution posing, someone can tell her who Thomas Jefferson was.

Here was our little Diwali Celebration!

2008-10-29T15:01:00.003-06:00

Wishing you all peace and prosperity!

Diwali is coming!

2008-10-24T14:54:00.004-06:00

We are baking this weekend and getting ready. Here is some information about how to do a puja for Diwali. Any suggestions are welcome.We made chocolate burfi and coconut ladoos!

Diwali 2008 - October 28th

Laxmi Puja, or the worship of the goddess of prosperity and wealth, is the main event on Diwali in North and West India. It is believed that Goddess Laxmi visit everyone during Diwali and brings peace and prosperity to all.
It is s extremely important to keep the house spotlessly clean and pure on Diwali. Goddess Lakshmi likes cleanliness, and she will visit the cleanest house first. This is also the reason why the broom is worshipped on this day with offerings of haldi and kumkum (turmeric and vermilion). Lamps are lit in the evening to welcome the goddess. They are believed to light up Her path.

Tylenol and Childhood Asthma--not sure why this is not out there more?

2008-10-24T13:31:00.001-06:00

Acetaminophen Linked to Childhood Asthma

Drug should only be used to treat high fevers in children, experts say

HealthDay

Friday, September 19, 2008

THURSDAY, Sept. 18 (HealthDay News) -- Children given acetaminophen during the first year of life to reduce fever are more likely to develop asthma later on, a new study finds.

These children are also more likely to develop rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema when they reach age 6 to 7, according to the report in the Sept. 20 issue of The Lancet.

"If this association is causative, it would suggest that acetaminophen use is a risk factor for asthma and may explain the asthma has become more common," said lead researcher Dr. Richard Beasley, from the Medical Research Institute of New Zealand in Wellington.

Since this study can't definitively say that acetaminophen is a cause of asthma, its use for children shouldn't be changed, Beasley added. "Acetaminophen is the preferred drug for relief of pain and fever in childhood," he said.

Beasley thinks, however, acetaminophen should not be used routinely for childhood fever, but reserved for high fevers. "Acetaminophen is still the preferred agent, but the large amounts of acetaminophen used around the world are unnecessary," he said. "Its use should be limited to treat high fevers."

For the study, Beasley's group collected data on 205,487 children from 31 countries around the world. These children participated in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood.

The researchers found that children who were given acetaminophen for fever during the first year of life had a 46 percent increased risk of developing asthma when they were 6 to 7 years old.

In addition, children who were given high doses of acetaminophen within the past year had a more than three times increased risk of asthma. Those who were given medium doses had a 61 percent increased risk of developing the condition, Beasley's team reported.

Acetaminophen use was also associated with an increased risk of severe asthma of about 22 percent to 38 percent, the researchers found.

Moreover, acetaminophen increased the risk of eczema by 18 percent and rhinoconjunctivitis by 32 percent. Among children given high doses of acetaminophen, the risk for eczema almost doubled, and the risk for rhinoconjunctivitis increased by almost threefold, Beasley's group found.

Dr. Norman H. Edelman, vice president for health sciences and professor of medicine at SUNY Stony Brook University in New York, and spokesman for the American Lung Association, said the study adds more evidence to acetaminophen's link to asthma.

"The study is consistent with quite a few others which show that use of acetaminophen associated with an increased in the risk for asthma," Edelman said.

Dr. Geoffrey Chupp, an associate professor of medicine and director of the Yale Asthma Clinic at Yale University School of Medicine, thinks the association between acetaminophen and asthma may be a sign of something else.

"Children who are taking acetaminophen may be getting sick more often and getting more respiratory viruses, and they are getting asthma for other reasons," Chupp said. "It's not actually due to the acetaminophen, but acetaminophen happens to be in the picture, because they get sick all the time."

Another study in the same journal concluded that allergic or not, allergic rhinitis is a predictor of asthma in adulthood.

In the study, researchers collected data on 6,461 patients without asthma. After 8.8 years of follow-up, the researchers found that 3.1 percent of the patients with non-allergenic rhinitis developed asthma, as did 4 percent of the individuals with allergic rhinitis. This compared with only 1.1 percent of the patients without rhinitis who developed asthma.

"This large prospective study provides strong evidence for an increased risk of asthma in adults with allergic rhinitis, and to a lesser extent non-allergic rhinitis... Several clinical trials in asthmatic patients with allergic rhinitis were associated with a reduction in asthma symptoms. However, only interventional studies could be used to conclude that the treatment of allergic rhinitis is effective in reducing the incidence of asthma," the authors concluded.

A third study in the journal found adult asthma has its origins in early childhood.

For the study, researchers from the Arizona Respiratory Center collected data on 849 infants. After 22 years of follow-up, 181 people had asthma. The researchers found that children who had wheezing at age 6 or 7 were four times more likely to develop asthma as adults.

For children whose wheezing persisted, their risk of developing asthma increased 14 times. Other factors in childhood which increased the risk of asthma included low airway function (4.5 times increased risk for asthma) and bronchial responsiveness (7 times increased risk for asthma).

"In over 70 percent of people with current asthma and 63 percent of those with newly diagnosed asthma at age 22 years, episodes of wheezing had happened in the first three years of life or were reported by parents at age 6 years... Our findings support our previous proposition that most forms of asthma have their origins in early life, but we now extend that proposition to asthma diagnosed in early adult life," the authors concluded.

Views of the Canyon

2008-10-21T16:04:00.010-06:00

At last we went up there the other day and spent some time at the rim. It is amazing to live 10 mins from the rim but rarely go there. In my defense I am terrified about having a 2.5 year old at the rim.

Here is a historic photo of the El Tovar Hotel at the rim and the next is today. They have some great food here.

href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_uFPhrXZ4z4Y/SP5SpeQM5KI/AAAAAAAAAVw/igkUHJ369Tg/s1600-h/D0514.jpg">

Depending on the time of year and day the canyon changes. The colors vary and the views intensify or recede.

There is an amazing California Condor program here. That has been fairly successful. The birds went from 20 pairs to more than 60 now. Interestingly they have found now that some birds are getting lead poisoning from eating remains left from hunters using lead bullets. There is a new movement to use unleaded shot when hunting out here now.

That was my contribution to anyone who needs a wine and cheese tidbit to throw out at your next party.

Random goings on!

2008-10-17T13:29:00.002-06:00

Dinner last night. Yummy Coconut egg curry and dal.

Creativity with moving paper in the backyard. He has started drawing lots of circles now. It is fun to watch. He called this the big hole or the grand canyon.

This last shot here is for lettuce who was talking about crazy things we move with us. Both of these are for drinking wine out of. One from Spain and one from Peru.

My Son Wants to Be a Lion For Halloween

2008-10-13T19:57:00.005-06:00

Here are a few cool things I found while looking for a good homemade costume idea. Any ideas are welcome.

THis is just too cool. I would love to know how to make this, she is sold out!

You too can make this crazy mask!

I love homemade costumes. We made all of ours growing up. I mean I understand just going and getting one it is just so easy and when you are swamped... We went to target and really thought about it but in the end, I am going to try and do something like this from Parenting.Com I have a brown jacket so now it is just how to get the mane on the jacket without ruining the jacket. Any ideas?

There are some crazy pumpkins here.

By the Airport has some fun ideas and is doing the 31 days of October for Halloween.

Common Plastics Chemical BHA is Linked to Several Human Diseases

2008-10-10T11:24:00.004-06:00

I have thought for a long time that not all plastics are good. Here is some new information from a report Sept. 16, 2008.

LONDON (Reuters) - A study has for the first time linked a common chemical used in everyday products such as plastic drink containers and baby bottles to health problems, specifically heart disease and diabetes.

Until now, environmental and consumer activists who have questioned the safety of bisphenol A, or BPA, have relied on studies showing harm from exposure in laboratory animals.

But British researchers, who published their findings on Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, analyzed urine and blood samples from 1,455 U.S. adults aged 18 to 74 who were representative of the general population.

Using government health data, they found that the 25 percent of people with the highest levels of bisphenol A in their bodies were more than twice as likely to have heart disease and, or diabetes compared to the 25 percent of with the lowest levels.

"Most of these findings are in keeping with what has been found in animal models," Iain Lang, a researcher at the University of Exeter in Britain who worked on the study, told a news conference.

"This is the first ever study (of this kind) that has been in the general population," Lang said.

Steven Hentges of the American Chemistry Council, a chemical industry group, said the design of the study did not allow for anyone to conclude BPA causes heart disease and diabetes.

"At least from this study, we cannot draw any conclusion that bisphenol A causes any health effect. As noted by the authors, further research will be needed to understand whether these statistical associations have any relevance at all for human health," Hentges said in a telephone interview.

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel of outside experts on Tuesday will hear testimony on health effects from BPA as it reviews a draft report it issued last month calling BPA safe.

"The study, while preliminary with regard to these diseases in humans, should spur U.S. regulatory agencies to follow recent action taken by Canadian regulatory agencies, which have declared BPA a 'toxic chemical' requiring aggressive action to limit human and environmental exposures," Frederick vom Saal of the University of Missouri and John Peterson Myers of the nonprofit U.S.-based Environmental Health Sciences, wrote in a commentary accompanying the study.

BOTTLES TO UTENSILS

BPA is used to make polycarbonate plastic, a clear shatter-resistant material in products ranging from baby and water bottles to plastic eating utensils to sports safety equipment and medical devices.

It also is used to make durable epoxy resins used as the coating in most food and beverage cans and in dental fillings.

People can consume BPA when it leaches out of plastic into liquid such as baby formula, water or food inside a container.

In the study, the team said the chemical is present in more than 90 percent of people, suggesting there is not much that can be done to avoid the chemical of which over 2.2 million tons is produced each year.

The researchers, who will also present their findings at the U.S. FDA session on Tuesday, added it was too early to identify a mechanism through which the chemical may be doing harm.

Animal studies have suggested the chemical may disrupt hormones, especially estrogen.

The researchers also cautioned that these findings are just the first step and more work is needed to determine if the chemical actually is a direct cause of disease.

"Bisphenol A is one of the world's most widely produced and used chemicals, and one of the problems until now is we don't know what has been happening in the general population," said Tamara Galloway, a University of Exeter researcher who worked on the study.

Canada's government in April decided BPA was harmful to infants and toddlers and announced plans to ban some products.

The European Union's top food safety body said in July the amount of BPA found in baby bottles cannot harm human health.

(Reporting by Michael Kahn, Editing by Will Dunham)

Short Video About BHA

Questions and Answers about BHA

Landed and my 100th post

2008-10-03T16:00:00.006-06:00

This is right outside of our living room window. Six cows, two with babies and one bull stopped for a nap the day before yesterday. So incredible to have them be so content so and so close. The male elk is buggeling in the mornings now and it is so weird to hear. At first I thought what a strange dog.

We have a lovely new house just a few minutes from the South Rim of the canyon. It is really beautiful and so many children his age to play with. We joined Music Together. A baby yoga class is available here and play groups! So much to do.

I will do a giveaway soon, I just have to get organized first!

Forest Quilt--I have been madly working

2008-09-19T19:26:00.005-06:00

on this quilt to get it to my friend for her to quilt it on her long arm machine. And now it is finished except for the borders. My biggest project yet. I have been working on it off and on since x-mas and it is great to have it completed.

Currently we are in a state of chaos, the moving van arrives next week and so I will be out of pocket for a week.

Blogging since 2005: I am very excited that I will be making the landmark of 100 posts. In what seems to be becoming a tradition, I am going to offer a giveaway on my site from a friend's new Etsy site to say thank you to all my virtual friends. So stay posted!.

Goodbye Chickens

2008-09-15T08:42:00.002-06:00

We had to say goodbye to our chickens and send them to a new farm. They are moving from out one acre to an 80 acre spread with a pond. Which the duck, Lime, will love. But we were so sad to seem them go. No chickens allowed in the National Park at this point. Perhaps I should start a movement.

We also put our house up for sale! I buried a St Francis to see if we could get his help. With this market we will need it.

Best Pedi

2008-09-10T08:04:00.003-06:00

I will miss my local pedicures in the summer. The guy here does a nice job and I love getting the splashy flowers!

2008-09-04T15:13:00.002-06:00

It is official, we are moving to the Grand Canyon in two weeks. The house goes on the market tomorrow and I am exhausted. It is a lot of work to get a house ready. The garage sale is on sat.

I am looking forward to this move. I enjoyed the time up there this summer and I am happy to make it my new home. I am still working on my header, it is hard to do without a proper graphics program. I am also trying to get a couple of quilts and baby blankets done.

Several posts will follow once I can take pictures of our new pad. We will be living about 10 min from the south rim. More to come soon.

Here is Michael's 2nd Grade Classroom!

2008-08-25T14:05:00.006-06:00

Thank you for all of your help. Michael said he is going to rotate posters in and out and is using the postcards in class and really enjoyed getting them all!

At last a Super Hero Winner!

2008-08-22T20:20:00.005-06:00

The Winner is The O'dea's

O'dea's, please send an Email to Pear Plum Apple!

Thank you for all of your wonderful donations. Michael will take pictures of his classroom this weekend and I will post them next week. It is never too late to send something if you get a chance. Thank you again for all of your support.

Extended to Friday...the Drawing for the Super Hero Cape

2008-08-17T12:36:00.007-06:00

Michael received some more stuff in the mail yesterday so we are going to wait to till Friday's mail arrives to give everyone a chance to get their stuff in....

There is still a chance to send a something even a postcard. Michael pointed out that most of the kids have not traveled much and it is great to get cards from different places! So please even send a card.

Thank you all so much! He has loved getting all the things you have sent!

So put something in the mail today!

i just went through an old drawer and found lots of old postcards from all over.......

Giveaway Inspiration

2008-08-06T09:58:00.012-06:00

Need your help to get the word out.....as of today, anyone who writes a post linking to this Super Hero Cape Giveaway will get 3 extra names in the hat for the drawing. Just leave a note that you linked to this giveaway. Thank you for all of your help.

Here is a photo of Michael's new classroom. He is in the process of cleaning it up and starting to put things up. He is really excited about all the great things you all have sent and looks forward to going to the mailbox everyday. THANK YOU!

There is still plenty of time to send something (poster, card, pictures, something you made or found at a garage sale) to a new teacher's 2nd grade class.

See previous post for more details and enter to win a Cape for the Super Hero in you life. Drawing August 17th.

Michael Chavez

201 Pinnacle Drive

Apt #3622

Rio Rancho, NM 87124

Giveaway for a Super Hero

2008-07-31T10:14:00.006-06:00

This giveaway is for one superhero cape made by PlumPearApple Designs.

You pick the color of the cape, the lining the, shape and color of the emblem and the color and letter for inside the emblem. This a great creative gift for a little one.

This designer is a stay at home mom who just started this business! Call me bold, but I am looking to help two at once.

The giveaway starts today and will be open till the 16th of August.

To enter please:

1. Send something to help decorate the 2nd grade classroom.

It can be a postcard, a poster, used books, stickers, pictures of animals or landmarks where you live or where you visited. Anything of course that you may have made. Just make sure that Michael has your name when you send something.

2. Post on this blog that you have sent something.

3. On the 17th of August, I will pick a name from the blog entries and check it against the names of people who sent things to the classroom to select a winner! You then decide on your cape fabric and colors. The order will be shipped in September. The designer is out of town for 2 weeks.

Be a SUPER HERO and lets make it the best classroom ever.

School starts August 11th.

Address: Michael Chavez

201 Pinnacle Dr.

Apt. # 3622

Rio Rancho, NM 87124

See previous post to learn more about the school.

Lets Make A Global Classroom

2008-07-21T13:54:00.016-06:00

I have a great friend who has just completed and gained his first teaching position at the Roosevelt Elementary School just outside of Albuquerque, NM. The school serves children from Bernalillo, surrounding communities, and neighboring pueblos.

His name is Michael Chavez. I met him while leading cave tours at

Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

He is a great guy and I think these kids are lucky to have him.

Now with his first own classroom, he has to decorate it. He told me today, that he is wants to make it really sweet for the kids! I had an idea.

I want as many people as possible to send posters, or other creative stuff that

2nd grade kids (7 years old) would like .

This is a great chance to help a new teacher and make this classroom filled

with creative things!

Michael Chavez

201 Pinnacle Drive

Apt #3622

Rio Rancho, NM 87124

Postcards, puzzles, pictures of animals, anything you make, crafts, vintage, from a garage sale, just something fun.

It does not need to be new!

If you send something please leave a note here. School starts August 11th.

I will have him take pictures of his room before and after

and lets see what we can create!

Fine Feathers in your Backyard

2008-07-21T10:41:00.008-06:00

It has been awhile since I posted about raising your own chickens....

This couple is trying to overturn Imperial Beach's ban on urban chickens, which is happening all around the country. See Urban Chicken Ordinances.

For more great

information see Urban Chickens.

They are great entertainment and they really do make the best eggs ever!

Amazing Yellow Flowers

2008-07-08T16:04:00.003-06:00

This is my second year going to the Chicago Botanical Gardens. Truly amazing there. In particular for me are these flowers which I saw for the first last year. I have failed now multiple times to find their name, but they are really remarkable. If anyone knows please tell me.

Art Project Completed

2008-07-08T15:56:00.004-06:00

I got this idea from one of my favorite craft sites Book Hour Craft Projects

It is one of her older ideas but I just love her site.

I had my son do the first part for a father's day gift and then my husband defined the flowers and I think it turned out pretty neat.

4th of July--3rd Best

2008-07-06T21:31:00.004-06:00

Evanston claims to have the 3rd best 4th of July parade in the USA. It was pretty good but we saw some interesting stuff....the last shot is of a firework and is the mascot for the parade. Go figure. Happy 4th!

Little Birdies

2008-06-25T20:48:00.005-06:00

Hard to see here, but here are some Black Throated Baby Gray Warblers. As we were walking the rim trail we just by luck saw the mother feeding them.

Headed to Chi-Town for the 4th....not sure if I will have a chance to blog. So have a Happy Fourth of July!

The Language Factor

2008-06-18T15:24:00.002-06:00

We have decided to try and raise our son bilingual or least with big exposure to a second language.

I am an American who lived in Germany and I speak good German. My husband's family if from India and he is first generation american. However his family did not teach him their native language and it is something he really wishes they had done. I still have my german family, whom I visit every other year. So to make a long story short. We decided that we really wanted our son to be exposed to a second language and the easiest for us is German.

I am now hunting for resources and experiences similar to what we are trying to do. My German is strong enough that I could speak only in German to him but it takes more effort from me. Needless to say I am not hitting that mark. I have gotten some basic materials like "teach me german" and some books but I could use some more ideas. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We listen to the Deutshewelle in the morning and sings songs....oh I wish I could find a german play group but at this time I just need some creative ideas.

Here is another site I found

Blogs about Bicultural Families

I am also in the process of trying unsuccessfully I might add to update my blog, please excuse the construction phase. My connection is very slow here.

Summer Digs

2008-06-11T14:57:00.010-06:00

The "Gov" started school. He likes it so much that he told me it was time to go to work mama!

Here is a shot of our humble abode.....

It is really nice and cool high of 76 today with low of 28!

Canyon

2008-06-03T15:57:00.003-06:00

We arrived the day before yesterday. We had a wonderful trip to Germany and loved every min of it. Now it is time to settle in our new temporary home. We have an apartment about 10 minutes from the South Rim of the Canyon. It is set up really nice here. There is even a great playground. Mules, horses, trains etc I think enough to keep us busy for the summer.

Here are some shots from the South Rim. I will take my own once I get it all unpacked.

We are heading West of the Pecos River

2008-04-30T19:14:00.002-06:00

Grand Canyon for the summer! We are out there for a detail for 3 months. All is crazy now. We have a family vacation planned for next couple weeks, but I will post when we get back and settled in our new digs on the South Rim.

Divine Meringue

2008-04-20T19:51:00.014-06:00

We had a wonderful visitor. A friend, invited her Guru come to Carlsbad, New Mexico and she came. I am sure this is the first time a Guru has been here.

Guru Shubhraji

Ever sine reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Glibert--I have been going through an awakening.

It has been coming for awhile, but I did not see it on the horizon until it got here. You know in hind sight either I see the signs now or maybe I am just looking for them. Losing both of may parents in the last couple of years has shaped my life in so many ways and brought me nearly to my breaking point. The birth of my son kept me afloat. My love for him an anchor.

Also, working at Carlsbad Caverns and walking for hours everyday through this mind blowing cave. As I looked around at these beautiful and giant formations I was overwhelmed with the sheer amount of time that I witnessed in their growth. We are such small parts of time on the continuum. Anyway, I feel now like all this happened and has worked or conspired to lead me down a spiritual path that I never thought I would dare to tread. I made lots of boast in the past ....

So here I am getting a wake up call from some crazy book that I cannot stop thinking about. She has a phenomenal way of writing about experiences and I found I related to them and could see myself there. And just as I am wishing for something to help me continue on this path..a Guru arrives.

I was fortunate enough to spend five hours with her. Listening, asking questions and wishing my memory worked. As my subconscious takes it all in --The divine is already within you. God is not in you but you and everything around you are in God. I have no way to capture what she said and what resonated so strongly to me.

I am working to get all this from my head to my heart. Faith I have always struggled with this. I spend too much time trying to analyze and less relying on myself and what I know to be true. She has a taped radio program on her website. It is good and does her way more justice than I am doing...but my heart is there.

As she said, look for the divine in everything and especially in our children. Here is my son enjoying a divine moment for sure.

.

Coming up Carrots

2008-04-15T09:47:00.002-06:00

A great benefit of living in the desert is early harvests! Our first crop is coming in now from our A-frame. The Gov. loves picking his veggies and eating them right then and there. So here he is and one of our carrots.

My First Doll Quilt

2008-04-10T13:12:00.002-06:00

I am taking this to my friend's daughter in Germany. This was sure fun!

Desert Garden

2008-03-24T18:59:00.006-06:00

We have a small A frame and it is growing like crazy. We are putting all our seedlings in the ground next week. There are some advantages to the desert. My friend in PA says she is just starting her seedlings.

Carrot Tops

Butter Lettuce

Beets... I am going to try pink pancakes for my son when these are ready.

Making an Easter Bunny in one hour--for moms with little time

2008-03-16T19:13:00.003-06:00

I wanted to make a bunny rabbit for my son's Easter Basket. It had to be quick, easy and cute. So I looked around and found some great ideas but most were too time consuming. So i made my own up and it really did take about an hour to make. Like Manic mommies saying "doing it all and then some"... http://manicmommies.com/

So we took some old socks, turned them inside out and cut in the middle of the toe for the ears. I used a sewing machine to sew the ears, much faster. I then stuffed the bunnies and closed the bottom with a hand stitch. You can play with this to get it how you want. Then the eyes either just buttons or a circle of felt under the button and sew both on at once. Then mouth and nose and voila..you are finished!

See photos below.

I did not die from cheese

2007-10-13T19:57:00.000-06:00

We tried the feta and it needs some work so we will keep on trying. I have been swamped..another death in the family and work has knocked me out. I will be out for a while more but am missing my time here and talking to all of you.

This eat local thing seems to be taking off!

2007-08-14T09:48:00.000-06:00

I am reading Kingsolver's new book Animal Vegetable Miracle Year Food. And it seems so are a few friends as well.

Kingsolver's New Book

Somehow from all of this I am getting the notion that I can now make my own cheese. My friend Amy says its great. Others claimed you will never go back. So I am ordering the kit today and will make some mozzarella !

So if by some strange chance you are also feeling like becoming a real "housewife" as Kingsolver's book would say by making your own cheese then click here to learn more.....

Ricki's Cheese Making

okay you do not need to be a housewife but an interested cook. Really until I moved out to the middle of nowhere I am not sure I would undertake making such a thing. But the lack of anything like this here in Carlsbad has forced me to learn to make a lot of things.

Chicken fanatics

2007-08-07T14:42:00.000-06:00

I am not the only chicken lover. Come to find out there is a resurgence in urban chicken owners. Perhaps the idea of $3.50 a dozen for organic free range eggs is too much. Chickens are really a lot of fun to have around. I am surprised by it and joke to my husband about chicken TV being better.

Urban Chicken Underground

She is creating a movement.

The Midwest is experiencing a resurgence in urban chicken pet owners and people are trying to change city ordinances across the US to allow pet chickens. Backyard Poultry went defunct in the 1980's and now boasts of over 50,000 in readership. Articles are everywhere like this one:

Man's New Best Friend

Now let me clarify, you do not need a roster to have eggs so this is just the quiet girls that people want to have in their backyards and voila eggs! Howver Urban Chicken has a great point that they are not louder than dogs!

This is a shot of Greta she is my fav.

Quirkee--Found

2007-07-25T09:43:00.000-06:00

Found was started by an aquaintanence of mine and I am just amazed by how big it has become. It really is an interesting concept.

"RMA
FOUND by Kerry Gossage in Washington, DC
I found this Tiffany gift card on a sidewalk outside a strip club."

"I manage some apartments. One night the garbage was overflowing with a plastic bag full of Coke cans. When I opened the bag this "Action List" was inside. Two things strike me as funny. The first is that getting a job is more important than getting off heroin. And second, besides a dozen empty Coke cans there were two empty half gallon jugs of chocolate milk. What happened to number nine?"

http://www.foundmagazine.com/about

PS. pardon my disappearance I have been out of town and just getting settled again at home..... more to come soon..

Beyond Bush --where do we go from here?

2007-06-12T14:59:00.001-06:00

I like the title but even more Fareed Zakaria's article about what the US should be thinking about doing next. It appears that no one is talking about what should be done next. What approaches and stances should the US look to take for the future.

Like become a world player again--not a unilateral cowboy from a bad western. I guess I am giving my politicial leanings away, but would like to know what you all think.

Is there hope of the US and it standing in the worlview?

Here are a couple quotes to get you read this article:

"In a global survey released last week, most countries polled believed that China would act more responsibly in the world than the United States. How does a Leninist dictatorship come across more sympathetically than the oldest constitutional democracy in the world?"-newseek

"They hate you!" says Rudy Giuliani in his new role as fearmonger in chief, relentlessly reminding audiences of all the nasty people out there. "--newsweek

"Giuliani casually lumps together Iran and Al Qaeda. Mitt Romney goes further, banding together all the supposed bad guys. "This is about Shia and Sunni. This is about Hizbullah and Hamas and Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood," he recently declared.

Beyond Bush Full Article

Bush's Public Ratings

What makes me most sad is that reason is no where to be found in politics and as a result we all suffer.

Here is what Obama said "Barack Obama, the only one to answer differently, quickly realized his political vulnerability and dutifully threatened retaliation as well. After the debate, his opponents leaked furiously that his original response proved he didn't have the fortitude to be president."

"In fact, Obama's initial response was the right one. He said that the first thing he would do was make sure that the emergency response was effective, then ensure we had the best intelligence possible to figure out who had caused the attack, and then move with allies to dismantle the network responsible."-newsweek

Sun Screen In your Clothes

2007-06-11T08:27:00.000-06:00

Living in the dessert I am always worried about too much sun for my son and I ran across this crazy stuff that washes sun screen into your clothes. Seems like a great idea instead of having to buy extra or fancy clothes just for the sun.

SunGuard works by washing an invisible shield into clothing that helps block more than 96% of the sun's rays. SunGuard can boost the UPF protection of a white cotton T-shirt from UPF 5 to UPF 30.

So I thought I would pass it on...

Sun Guard

Bandelier National Park near Santa Fe New Mexico

2007-06-07T18:54:00.000-06:00

View of where the long house once stood. Most of these buildings were multi-story.

It seems there is so little focus on the peoples who lived here before modern times and this place is such a great way to understand how advanced societies were that were living here a long time ago. What a great park to visit. We were there last weekend and really enjoyed it. This is a view from inside looking out.

The ancestors of modern Pueblo people built thriving communities in this area about 600 years ago. Several thousand Ancestral Pueblo dwellings are found among the pink mesas and sheer-walled canyons. They were inhabited from the 1100s into the mid-1500s.

For more info check out:

Bandelier

These last two are of photos of rebuilt homes to show how it would have looked.

Simply Spicy

2007-06-02T08:52:00.000-06:00

I went searching for something South Indian to make and ran across this site Simply Spicy: http://simplyspicy.blogspot.com
I really like the unique flavors of Southern Indian cooking and we just love the Manga Curry and the Kori Kari. If you have any dishes to share I would love to see them.

I made them with puri or my cheating version of wheat tortias that I fry in oil till they blow up some. Husband was very happy and my son liked the manga curry alot.

Flowers Galore

2007-05-31T09:28:00.000-06:00

Can't believe out luck with this great weather feel spoiled. I have heard it is La Nina this year? So here are picutres from our backyard.

Rain, Spring and Work

2007-05-17T10:18:00.000-06:00

So much rain we have over half our rainfall already this year. So strange for us. As a result the flowers are out of control and everywhere. Our garden is growing like crazy and while this may be normal for you--the desert is not normally like this.

I have lots of work. My trip was good and fruitful in that it resulted in more work for me but now I have to produce. My son who we nick named the Governor did well. When I came home he clung to his father and cried upon seeing me. On one hand while my husband comforted him I was so sad and on the other so happy to see them bonded like that.

Here we are planting some seeds which have already sprouted now!

So many photos what do I do

2007-05-04T15:13:00.000-06:00

I have continued going through boxes that I had sent here nearly a year ago from my mom after she passed away. It has been so hard to look at them all to see her smiling face and know that she will not be a part of my son's life like I would have liked her to be.

I have been reading old papers and looking at the family tree and learning more than I ever knew before. The pictures below were taken of my great grandfater (maternal) in 1891 when he was a boy. I thought the German outfits kind of cute and interesting.

So many photos, some I know who they are and others I do not. What do I do with all of this? I am going to try and scrapbook some of it this weekend but really there is a lot. Will my son ever want to see pictures like this, if yes, how many? Another wrinkle is that I am adopted so he will not even be related to them? I am mulling this all over in my mind and going like a yo yo on what to do.

I also have more work and will have to travel and leave my baby for the first time next week while he stays here with his papa! I have already cried about leaving. I never thought it would be so hard.

Pearl Necklace

2007-04-20T08:37:00.000-06:00

I have been away at my grandmothers. Helping to go through the house so that we can rent it out. So strange to go through someones life and see what they have saved and held dear. Also a peek into times past and how people dressed.

We found so many gloves, many vintage hats, purses each with a mirror and a hankys.

Also some amazing jewlery that has been in our family for generations. My grandmother and grandfather were stationed in Hong Kong before World War II. Once things got dicey my grandmother was sent home and grandfater stayed behind as a Captain in the Navy. While in Hong Knog my grandfather began gathering pearls for necklace for my grandmother.

He was sent to the Phillipines where very early in the war his ship was sunk and the crew was captured. He has an amazing tale. He was a Prisoner of War for 4 and a half years.

During this time he had sewed the pearl necklace into the collar of his shirt and kept it the whole time he was a POW until he could give it to my grandmother in person. When he arrived home he met my mother, his daughter for the first time who was now 5 years old.

My grandfather and my mother right after the war.

The family a few years later.

April Fools

2007-04-02T08:15:00.000-06:00

Unlike most of the other nonfoolish holidays, the history of April Fool's Day, sometimes called All Fool's Day, is not totally clear. There really wasn't a "first April Fool's Day" that can be pinpointed on the calendar. Some believe it sort of evolved simultaneously in several cultures at the same time, from celebrations involving the first day of spring.

The closest point in time that can be identified as the beginning of this tradition was in 1582, in France. Prior to that year, the new year was celebrated for eight days, beginning on March 25. The celebration culminated on April 1. With the reform of the calendar under Charles IX, the Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved to January 1.

So I tried to get my husband knowing that he would never expect it. We recently read David Sadaris's Naked--great book on tape for a long road trip. We laughed out loud many times.

Anyway in the book he refers to an incident where one of his family members begins using a brown towel as toilet paper. No one in the family knows who is doing this. As you can imagine it is a real bummer when you have just finished a shower. Anyway my husband thought this was so funny.

So mixed up various chocolate mixes and put it on a brown towel.

Voila, he said what is on my towel and I said oops the baby had an accident and I used the brown towel to clean it up. He did not freak out as much as I thought he would. I then told him April Fools.

So tell me did you get anyone good?

Fresh Eggs--get some

2007-03-27T09:55:00.000-06:00

Have you ever thought of keeping a few chickens so you can enjoy farm-fresh eggs? Fresh eggs from birds that eat their natural diet of grass, grain and insects taste far better than the pale-yolked orbs sold in supermarkets.

Anyone can easily setup a small coop, but just be sure you choose a design that will keep the birds safe from predators and still allow them to forage on your lawn.

We have 13 chickens and 1 duck. It is great to have fresh eggs every day.

Here are 5 great reasons why you should have chickens in your backyard:

1. When hens are able to eat green plant material or yellow corn (factory farm hens are sometimes fed yellow dye to color the yolks), the beta carotene concentrates in the yolk making it dark sometimes even orange. Eating red peppers makes yolks red, and some plants can make the yolks green or even black.

2. Fresh eggs have darker colored yolks than old eggs. The bright color of the egg yolk fades as the egg ages. A pale yellow yolk and watery white mean that the egg has been sitting in storage for several weeks, or months.

3. Produced by less-stressed, free roaming hens with outdoor access means healthier for you!

4. Hens will lay eggs without the rooster, so you can have peace and quiet and chickens!

5. You can make all the egg dishes you have ever wanted!

OKAY Attempt number two--Public Art

2007-03-24T19:13:00.000-06:00

These photos are from Santa Fe--part of O'keffe's museum.

Just got back from a quick trip to Chicago for my baby's 1st Birthday!

So hard to believe--so much fun and great to see him enjoy himself. More photos to come soon.

Big Fan of Public Art

2007-03-13T07:50:00.001-06:00

Just got back from a weekend in Santa Fe which is covered in all kinds of art. Makes life more interesting!

So they wont allow my pics and I am not sure how to make them smaller to meet this new requirement. will work on it!

All At Once

2007-03-07T08:53:00.000-07:00

• Both my grandmothers died.
• My favorite cat dharma died.
• Bryn and I got crazy sinus and ear infections, still getting over it. First time baby was really sick and that was really hard. I reacted to the antibiotics and was doubled over…
• My boss came to work with me for two days in the middle of all of this.

I just needed to write some of this down and get it out of my head. On one had does not sound like a lot but on the other it has been crazy juggling time. So why do things like seem to all happen at once, like something is testing your resiliency or ability to deal with more and more. The older I get the larger the challenges and the more tired I feel. I remember my parents talking about this and at the time I did not understand. I mean overall I am okay. I feel I have developed the ability to just look forward and move ahead. I try not to dwell does not seem to do any good. I also have a bad memory (maybe a coping mechanism?). What more can I do beside exercise and meditate both of which I am very lax on as of late.

Help Us Name Our New Kitty

2007-03-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

Two babies

It struk me and I still think about it..

2007-02-25T14:27:00.000-07:00

You have only this second to be happy! I mean right now.. now... now..

You have control of your happiness and we are always choosing how we are going to feel right now. -Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Last night a friend, my husband and I were discussing this, I mean it is such a simple idea but so hard to put in place or think about when things are difficult. Or like my firend said, what if you are in prision? But I do think that this simple concept is possible. May require alot of meditation.

What do you think?

Why is the new year so full of things we say we

2007-01-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

are going to do or try to do or try to remember to do? I feel like time is slipping through my fingers and I do not know where it went. My father used to say "at my age a year feels like a month and week like a day." For the first time I understand.

Holidays were crazy lots of travel and much to see and do. Bryn did great and did not annoy and passengers on any planes I am very happy for this indeed.

We are getting back in the grove of things and watching the days get longer. Beautilful sunsets and even snow on a few days. I love the change of season and snow in the desert is pretty spectacular.

Broode mode thank you for the reminder more to come soon.

Happy Holidays

2006-12-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

Want to wish you all the best this season. We have been on the road to Germany and now to the in-laws for Christmas.

More in the new year.

Halloween Chicken Man

2006-11-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

More fun for us than him I think. We all had a great time.

TV Really Might Cause Autism--from Slate.com

2006-11-01T16:57:00.000-07:00

TV Really Might Cause AutismA Slate exclusive: findings from a new Cornell study.
By Gregg Easterbrook
Posted Monday, Oct. 16, 2006, at 6:52 AM ET
Listen to the MP3 audio version of this story here, or sign up for Slate's free daily podcast on iTunes.

Last month, I speculated in Slate that the mounting incidence of childhood autism may be related to increased television viewing among the very young. The autism rise began around 1980, about the same time cable television and VCRs became common, allowing children to watch television aimed at them any time. Since the brain is organizing during the first years of life and since human beings evolved responding to three-dimensional stimuli, I wondered if exposing toddlers to lots of colorful two-dimensional stimulation could be harmful to brain development. This was sheer speculation, since I knew of no researchers pursuing the question.

Today, Cornell University researchers are reporting what appears to be a statistically significant relationship between autism rates and television watching by children under the age of 3. The researchers studied autism incidence in California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington state. They found that as cable television became common in California and Pennsylvania beginning around 1980, childhood autism rose more in the counties that had cable than in the counties that did not. They further found that in all the Western states, the more time toddlers spent in front of the television, the more likely they were to exhibit symptoms of autism disorders.

The Cornell study represents a potential bombshell in the autism debate. "We are not saying we have found the cause of autism, we're saying we have found a critical piece of evidence," Cornell researcher Michael Waldman told me. Because autism rates are increasing broadly across the country and across income and ethnic groups, it seems logical that the trigger is something to which children are broadly exposed. Vaccines were a leading suspect, but numerous studies have failed to show any definitive link between autism and vaccines, while the autism rise has continued since worrisome compounds in vaccines were banned. What if the malefactor is not a chemical? Studies suggest that American children now watch about four hours of television daily. Before 1980—the first kids-oriented channel, Nickelodeon, dates to 1979—the figure is believed to have been much lower.

Happy Halloween

2006-10-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

We had a contest, which one do you think won?

another spectacular night and moon

2006-10-19T14:18:00.000-06:00

From the backyard

This photo of the moon was taken at 4:50 am

Apple season and picking

2006-10-15T09:21:00.000-06:00

Spent the week on the east coast and enjoyed the change in season--love the trees when they are in flux. This was taken at the apple farm.

New Mexican Sunsets

2006-10-03T19:01:00.000-06:00

This is the best time of year here.

screams, moans cries like i never thought possible

2006-09-28T15:13:00.000-06:00

after three tries and 45 mins. he is now taking his afternoon nap. no one told me that he would keep crying time and time again and that it would be a battle that you must have over and over.

i never thought it would be so hard to hear my son cry but it rips at my very fiber, my being, the core, sorta like i am being torn inside out --i want to scream, shout and do something crazy when he is crying. i cannot stand it--it hurts so much. i find that i start cleaning (or opening the wine) like mad and i begin looking for soemthing to distract myself from his crys and pleas and it is like he knows it gets to me, so once in a while he will throw in a real shril one--peiercing the kind that makes you think something must have happened and then i go in and find that he does not even have a tear! i have never felt like this before.

my husband does not feel this way at all.

whew feels better just to write it down. i am going to have to work hard not to be such a sucker such a push over mother and yet these fibers that attach us are so strong.

being a mother truly is a challenge unlike any before.

Mother-in-law, Changes, DC, Stress and Lavender

2006-09-22T08:07:00.000-06:00

Mother-in-law is visiting and that is always interesting mostly because I am the one who does most of the entertaining--taking care of chaperoning etc. It is good and not so fun at times but it is what it is. Trying at times too to see your husband become a small child again.

To our utter amazement we may be headed back to DC. His old job wants to promote him and have him come back. Lots of mixed feelings about this and our future. Hence the stress factor being higher than usual. I am just trying to go with the flow and not spend energy on speculation but that is hard to maintain and I find myself falling over the edge into what if and what about and how would we......

That is where lavender comes into play--my firend makes homemade soap and gave me oatmeal and lavender soap which really has proven to be a stress reliever.

Spliting 4 ways

2006-09-17T14:33:00.000-06:00

Well we found a new place to get our steer--seems the neighbor thought we were just a little strange.

For more info check out http://www.paidom.com/

What a new way to think about eating and obtaining your food. We have a small green house to grow lettuce, spinach and such and we are raising chickens for eggs and now getting local grown cattle. Not sure I am ready to grow my own broilers. Does anyone out there do this--I have heard it is not a simple task?

Beef Cattle, Organic Twinkies and Pop Tarts

2006-09-15T21:45:00.000-06:00

I confess I am more than a little thrown off about what and how to eat after reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, our latest book club book
If you are fan of Whole Foods you may want to think twice before reading it---I went recently in Santa Fe and it was just not the same. But the farmers market, already a favorite, went up in my esteem. Unfortunately where we live there are no local markets one of the many things I miss about DC . My distress is not limited to how to purchase meat but also
fruits and vegetables--mono cropping of baby green lettuce has consequences as well. So three couples in our bookclub have gone on the quest to aquire a grassfed local raised steer to split 3 ways. What an adventure. It turns out that the guy in out our back view shed raises cattle for slaughter and that yes we could buy one after they go for fattening on grain feed for 60-90 days. When we explain that is what we do not want that we want just grass fed--he already thought we were some crazy city folk and now he has a great story to tell at the bar later tonight. Anyway we can buy one before they are sent out and we just need to coordinate with the local slaughter house which is about 1 hour away. The power of the word.

Newsflash, As I was wiriting this we learned that some cattle are better grass fed than others....more to come soon

Mexican Free Tail Bats and their babies head out for a night feeding

2006-09-14T09:57:00.000-06:00

Who can stand in this strong wind and remember

2006-09-13T10:06:00.000-06:00

Before I had a child I was the one who would so easily--and in my mind it seemed so easy--to mention just let them cry it out or your kid is taking advantage of you or some other strong love statment and then I would go on about how that will help the child later in life yadayada...

Since having Bryn I find myself not wanting him to have a bad day ever or to cry. I want him to be so happy it hurts. Now I hear all of you out there saying that he has to have the bad in order to be normal to be socialized and really to truly be happy. But I must say motherhood is not a very rational beast. Most days I succeed in not going overboard but this is an intense experience. So much more beyond the rehtoric. If you have any stories to share.... I want to gather wisdom for sure.

I used to be respectable and chaste and stable,
but who can stand in this strong wind
and remember those things?
-Rumi

Bryn

2006-09-08T15:26:00.000-06:00

Somtimes you are gone so long it is hard to start

2006-09-08T15:21:00.000-06:00

The birth of our son, Bryn was an amazing expereince and I am in awe everyday thinking about him and caring for him. At the same time I lost my mother and I cannot believe the gap that is there that can never be fillled againl. All the memories lost. All the questions still unanswered--how I can never again ask for her help with Bryn to learn what she went throught with motherhood.....

motherhood is so much more than i imagined--hard to wrap my arms around it to understand the time, emotions, feelings.

Preparing to Climb the Mountain

2006-01-17T12:31:00.000-07:00

It is strange to get ready for something that there is allot of information about -- yet at the same time you read that it will be different for everyone. I am refereing to labor--having a baby. So much to learn, so many variables. If you read enough you hear about hypno-birthing--mothers who give birth and have no pain at all ( I am very skeptical of this one, although my mid-wife says she was with a woman who on her fourth child--was able to have a peaceful birth) and of course the medical births where like a frined of mine you say your schedule is open on friday and you plan a c-section.

What is even more interesting is the amount of mis-information and non-scientifically backed up inforamtion. For example, all the baby einstein stuff has never been foramally tested--NPR did a specail stating that their proof that it works is antedotal from parents. And that is just the begining. You have a doula and you can reduce pain, length of labor and the need for an episotomy (where they cut you) by XX% but where did they get this number from.

So in trying to educate myself it is very interesting because depending on who you talk to midwife or even various Drs. they all have theories and ideas but not much science to back it up with. You would think that as advance in medicine as we claim to be and the amount of profit to be gained in the baby making world of economics that there would be more fact than antedotes.

Now I am not an expert by any means and have only read a handful of books compared to what is out there--but what a challenge. Even though I have been told by 2 doctors that I ask way more questions than most--it makes me wonder why we all aren't asking more questions and asking for more proof than Fisher Price saying that it is so.

My Season is over

2005-11-18T17:12:00.000-07:00

This is from Slaughter Canyon cave and this is a picture of the Christmas Tree. I think it will make a good card for this year.

Anyway, life is funny how when it rains it pours. I was worried about what I would do with my time till the baby comes but it seems to have worked out well. I have 3 consulting gigs and will be very busy. I will have to try hard to make time to get the baby's room ready.

The Bats are Gone and Lime is a girl

2005-11-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

The bats finally headed south for the winter. The first real cold snap lowered the insect populations enough that the bats needed to head out. I did my last program and it was fun but the bats did not fly out for over an hour after I started so I had to talk for a very very long time.

We have also established that Lime the duck is a girl. She has started laying duck eggs for us. Interestingly she digs a hole in the straw and then covers the egg when she is done. It is like an easter egg hunt everyday here.

Not sure when the time went and every time I thought to write it seemed so hard to start again. But the winds of today just died down with the setting of the sun. My cat, Darhma, is curled up next to me and it seemed a good time to write. I am feeling good, only one week of work left and the season will be over. I am excited for the changes to come--still debating names--if anyone has any suggestions I would welcome them. We are focused on Indian names so let me know--esp for a boy it seems hard to find one that we both like.