Here's our route we are planning on!

Here's our route we are thinking of driving!   This route we get to stay at all our favorite west coast cities.  Leaving from Portland on Nov 1st, 1st stop...Arcata! Then San Fran! Then LA! Then through Albuquerque, over to Oklahoma City to see Flaming Lips singer Wayne Coyne's house! Stopping in Memphis, then to Nashville all the way to Asheville! It's going to be a great road trip!  Hopefully my cat Lucy Lou will do alright in the van, and Evie Lou will have a blast, definitely will be listening to alot of Rockababy cds!
http://mapq.st/SVWi3i

We're moving to Asheville, NC!

We got a house in Asheville, NC & we leave Portland on Nov.1st!  We love living here in Portland and love all our friends here, but we feel the urge to move closer to family.  We are so excited to be able to drive up to MI for holidays & other important events we've missed out on these past 13+ years living on the west coast.  Eva Luna is one years old now, and growing so fast! She is the happiest baby & so easy-going.  Evie always puts a smile on my face & has a way of making any day into a great day, and that makes me so grateful for my new best friend in my life. 

Don't forget to check out this blogs' photo/video section on the right!  I try to keep adding photos & videos as soon as I get the chance--->

Eva Luna is turning 11 months in less than a week... That means we only have one month left till her 1st birthday!! Time flew by so fast, so hard to capture all the cute moments to share them with family.

Alas, here are some photos from the holidays, when Evie was 6 months till present.  I'll be adding some new videos to the video section of the blog as well. Hope all is well with those who are reading this, and a happy birthday goes out to Grandpa Rossi!

Eva Luna Louise Update

Eva is the love of my life.  Everyday she amazes me with her cuteness & smartie pants personality.  I'm super proud of her already for being a healthy intelligent wonder baby!  I am in the process of editing/uploading the bajillion photos & videos I've taken of our Lil Eva.  Its a lot of work, don't think that I'm slackin! Stay tuned by later today, you all should have your fill on photoage & videos from the vault.   

Eva is growing so fast, its hard to keep up with her! She's over 9 months, but it feels like she's already a year old! She is standing up on her own, able to clap her hands at the same time.  Almost walking, but still doing the slide crawl, looking like a gorilla.  

Evie has about 8 teeth already cut, more probably that I can't see in the back.  With her happy demeanor I can't ever tell if she's in pain from them, but I still give her chew toys & put some homeopathic gel on her gums every now & then.  

Evie Lou has mumbled something that sounds like "Dada", but is more inclined to say "Dat" whenever she sees a cat, which is often.  Soon enough she'll be singing her favorite shows song, Wonder Pets.  She already claps when they save an animal, or when the song comes on.  

As for food, she's been eating a lot more often, beyond her daily breastmilk.  Some of her favorites include sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, avocado, blueberries, kale & spinach.  I'm starting to give her some of my green smoothie everyday as well.  She'll eat her cereal pellets all on her own, she even figured out how to open the container they are in!

As for mama, I have been focusing on peace this 1st week of Spring, and where I might find my inner peace within.  Its so important to remain peaceful through stressful, challenging times.  To not be ignorant or unaware of your surroundings that you are not able to see the light in yourself or others.  This is often hard to do, as I seem to be a mirror when it comes to the feelings & energy of those around me.  Why is it so hard for some to hear that they are wrong? Why do some hold such high expectations of themselves that they can't feel comfortable admitting wrong doing or mistakes?  How do we grow as compassionate people without making mistakes?  How are we supposed to know what the best way to handle something without trying different tactics & solutions?  Honor change & diversity within, and maybe then we will ~lighten up~and grow~and love one another more. 

"If you would truly bring peace to the world, identify with that place within you where you are Peace." -♥ Ram Dass 

The Vegan 100!

Alright, here it goes.  66/100  currently tried.  I'll check back in a few months to update the list, for anything not in bold that I still need to try.  Copy & paste this into your blog, if you have one, or just try some of these yummy vegan foods if you haven't already.  Happy Eating!

The rules:

• Copy this list into your own blog, including these instructions.
• Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
• Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
• Post a comment here once you’ve finished and link your post back to this one.
• Pass it on!

1)  Natto

2)  Green Smoothie

3)  Tofu Scramble

4)  Haggis (I'm so trying this recipe first!)

5)  Mangosteen

6)  Crème Brûlée

7)  Fondue

8)  Marmite/Vegemite (Interesting history, but Kraft, which I avoid due to animal testing, is one of the main suppliers of Vegemite ! Marmite is made by Unilever, which is in the process of using alternative testing methods, but also test on animals!)

9)  Borscht

10)  Baba Ghanoush

11)  Nachos

12)  Authentic Soba Noodles

13)  PB&J Sandwich

14)  Aloo Gobi

15)  Taco from a street cart

16)  Boba (Bubble) Tea

17)  Black Truffle (Underground mushrooms sounds cool! My mom always talks about these!)

18)  Fruit Wine made from something other than grapes

19)  Gyōza

20)  Vanilla Ice Cream

21)  Heirloom Tomatoes

22)  Fresh Wild Berries

23)  Ceviche

24)  Rice and Beans

25)  Knish

26)  Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper

27)  Dulce de Leche

28)  Caviar

29)  Baklava

30)  Pate

31)  Wasabi Peas

32)  Chowder in a sourdough bowl

33)  Mango Lassi

34)  Sauerkraut

35)  Root Beer Float

36)  Mulled Cider

37)  Scones with buttery spread and jam

38)  ‘Jello’ Shots

39)  Gumbo

40)  Fast Food French Fries

41)  Raw Brownies

42)  Fresh Garbanzo Beans

43)  Dal

44)  Homemade Soymilk (I haven't tried soybeans, but I have made sesame & hemp milk)

45)  Wine from a bottle worth $120 or more

46)  Stroopwafel

47)  Samosa

48)  Vegetable Sushi

49)  Glazed Donut

50)  Seaweed

51)  Prickly Pear (cactus fruit)

52)  Umeboshi

53)  Tofurkey

54)  Sheese or Teese

55)  Cotton Candy

56)  Gnocchi

57)  Piña colada

58)  Birch Beer

59)  Scrapple

60)  Carob Chips

61)  S’mores

62)  Soy Curls

63)  Chick Pea Cutlets

64)  Curry

65)  Durian

66)  Homemade sausages

67)  Churros, Elephant Ears, or Funnel Cakes

68)  Smoked Tofu

69)  Fried Plantain

70)  Mochi

71)  Gazpacho

72)  Warm Chocolate Chip Cookies

73)  Absinthe

74)  Corn on the Cob

75)  Whipped Cream, straight from the can

76)  Pomegranite

77)  Fauxstess Cupcakes

78)  Mashed Potatoes with Gravy

79)  Jerky

80)  Croissants

81)  French Onion Soup

82)  Savory Crepes

83)  Tings

84)  A meal at Portabello

85)  Moussaka

86)  Sprouted Grains or Seeds

87)  Macaroni and ‘Cheese’

88)  Edible Flowers

89) Matzoh Ball Soup 

90)  White Chocolate

91)  Seitan

92)  Kimchi

93)  Butterscotch Chips

94) Yellow Watermelon

95)  Chili with Chocolate

96)  Bagel and Tofutti

97)  Potato Milk

98)  Polenta

99)  Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee

100)  Raw Cookie Dough

Happy Spring Equinox!

A time of rebirth & transformation is upon us.  What better time to start blogging again, right? Andrew & I have been busy enjoying our new life and our new beautiful daughter, Eva Luna Louise. We have been living on what we call, "Evie Time".  She determines how our time is spent mostly, which is a nice reminder to take the time & enjoy the small things.  Our life is full of blessings, every day, and I want to express my gratitude.  The world is constantly changing, there is a lot of suffering going on, and many shifts taking place.  I only hope that we all can remain peaceful & aware of these changes, and continue to live a life where we respect mother earth, and all her beings.  Spreading awareness, opening our hearts & minds, finding our truth, and expressing ourselves through love & compassion.  "Awareness is Peace.  It is Peace! " -Ram Dass

We're all still waiting for Eva's arrival, but please don't worry!

We are anxiously waiting to meet our lil girl, but we understand that growing babies take time! especially super special creative beautiful ones like our Eva ;)  So please don't worry about us or lil Eva, she is doing fine, and feels all the love & support from all of our loved ones.  Its very common for babies of 1st time mama's to be late, up to 18 days after their expected due date.  So she has up till June 6th till we would start to induce, & but that won't happen because she will be born all natural & at our waterbirth center, not a hospital!  In the meantime, we have been doing certain natural things to help "induce" her into this world, such as acupuncture, eating certain foods, exercise & other activities.   Tomorrow if she's not here yet, we will unfortunately be getting an ultrasound  mostly to put other people's minds at ease that everything is ok.  I am though excited to see baby Eva tomorrow even if its just on a screen :)  Thanks for all your kind words, love & support, you all mean so much to me!