My Dad is a college graduate!

 On May 14, 2011 my dad graduated with a Bachelors of Fine Art degree! I couldn't be more proud of my dad.  He is someone who struggled through school as a child, never really connecting to school, which sadly resulted in him dropping out in high school.  Throughout my childhood my dad was creating amazing oil paintings.  I used to love watching him create amazing landscapes, portraits and still lives, with paint, a paintbrush and a canvas.  When I was in third grade and my sister in second, my parents were not impressed with the schooling we were receiving.  We had just recently moved to Maine and the school system we were in was not the greatest.  My sister and I started regressing and My dad couldn't stand it.  The next thing we knew, we were pulled out of school and my dad started teaching us full time at home.  He was the greatest teacher, and through teaching us he found out that he loved to learn!  He ended up going back to school to get his GED.  I loved being taught at home! It was also great to see how much my dad loved to learn.  He always pushed me to work and try a little harder because he was so interested in the work himself.  He ended up enrolling in a community college when my sister and I started college.  After taking some required courses he enrolled at the University of Southern Maine.  My dad excelled in college, he graduated Magna Cum Lauda! I don't think I know anyone who has worked as hard as he did.  He always gave 200% in everything he did, even the simplest project he would take it to a whole other level.  In fact while I was in college I started pushing myself harder because if my dad could do, I thought, Why can't I?!  So dad thank you for always having my back, always inspiring me and for being my best friend.  I hope you continue to have the desire to learn and may we always have conversations about being open to opportunities and our struggles with gluten (yes I get my wonderful stomach from my dad, but it is OK because I got his creativity too ;-) ).

My father has always been an inspiration to me and will always be in inspiration to me!  So with all that said, you can check out his amazing works at  http://www.maine-artist.com/

Here are a few paintings he has done. 

portrait of my uncle as a child

self portrait

still life

My dad with at his senior art exhibition with his work

Who in your life inspires you?

Peace, Love and Learn,
                                Ashley

The Dangers of Lacking some D

I finally went and got my blood work done! 4 vials later! I thought she was going to take it all when I saw all the bottles, luckily I was just being dramatic and it was fine.  However; the results were completely unexpected.  Everything was fine except for one thing, I am extremely deficient in Vitamin D.  HUH? I was so confused.  I got a letter saying how my labs were great but the vitamin D deficiency was in need of immediate care and I was given a prescription for 50,000 iu's for 8 weeks! Holy cow! I guess I am deficient! Even my 91 year old grandmother was less deficient than me and she is never outside!  I never expected this!  I spend time outside all the time, less time in the winter but still never expected to be this deficient.  I thought it couldn't be right! So I did my research and sure enough I display one major sign, infertility!  WHOA! looks like gluten and IBS aren't my only enemies here.  Vitamin D listen up it is time to replenish baby!  It is so interesting finding this information out, because since going gluten free and changing some other aspects of my diet I have had tons of energy! With a such a deficiency a lack in energy is a big symptom.  Although, I can pinpoint times during my cycle when energy hits rock bottom no matter how I am eating so this makes since now.  First gluten blows my mind now Vitamin D.  I am hoping with the warmer months approaching and with the mega dosage the doctor put me on, that things will level out for me.  I Really hope! Vitamin D deficiency is so dangerous because not only can it cause infertility but it can cause, osteoporosis (calcium needs magnesium and vitamin D in order to be absorbed), autoimmune disease, and even some cancers! YIKES!  I found some very informative articles that I thought I would share;

http://goop.com/newsletter/88/en/

http://www.drfranklipman.com/symptoms-diseases-associated-with-vitamin-d-deficiency/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/women_shealth/3434420/Vitamin-D-can-aid-fertility.html

http://www.naturallyknockedup.com/boost-your-fertility-with-vitamin-d/

http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/best-beach-sport-sunscreens/


Again, I am amazed at this deficiency and all it causes.  I thought that getting out in the sunshine everyday was enough, apparently not.  Hopefully with my current dietary changes as well as the vitamin D boost I will continue on the road to better health and fertility.  The body works in mysterious ways and again I love my mid wife for getting me tested for this, if the other doctor had her way I would be under going IVF right now, which is so not for me at this time.  This might not be the cure all but it for sure looks like it is a step in the right direction!

soaking in some D

Have you had your Vitamin D levels checked recently?

Peace, Love and Vitamin D,
                                       Ashley

Happy Earth Day!

 It is a beautiful spring morning here in Maine (could be a little warmer) but the sun is shining, the birds are chirping and my tulips are just about ready to say hello!  Today is Earth day!  So Happy Earth day to you Earth! I am sorry us humans are mucking you up!  It amazes me how much trash we dispose of everyday.  We are a throw away country, where ease takes over what is good for us and the planet.  I wanted to share a video with all of you that I found so inspiring.  Until I watched this video I thought I was doing a pretty good job.

 

 I just found so much inspiration from watching this video! There is so much more my husband and I can do. We don't do awful, we recycle everything we can, reuse glass containers, pack our own lunches, create about 1 full bag of trash a month, use microfiber dishcloths and cleaning cloths, use paper napkins, bring our own bags when we shop, among other things...however there is so much more we could be doing and so much less trash we could be creating. This next video I wanted to share to remind people that trash doesn't just disappear. It may disappear from your minds but all that trash has to go somewhere. 

Did you know that your diapers (unless you were in cloth) from when you were a baby are still in a landfill?! Nasty! Diapers take about 500 years to break down, meaning they will outlive us.  Now I am just not OK with my old diapers living longer than me! Longer than my children and their children and their children! YIKES! One last video on the breakdown of diapers for you. In case I didn't shock you with the whole 500 years bit.

Alright folks I am getting off my soap box for now but I really thought this information was important to share.  We are all so consumed in our lives and getting things done that we often forget about taking care of our planet :-( Making small changes in your household can create a huge difference for our environment.  Buying less prepackaged food, buying bulk and bringing reusable containers, compost, etc.. There are so many different things you can do.  This changes will not hinder your life, if anything they will make it greater, there is no greater peace than knowing you are doing something to benefit the future of our planet.  My next step is to get compostable toothbrushes , bring containers with me when I buy bulk (instead of using the plastic bags), and finding out how to get rid of pesky junk mail! I am excited about the new changes we are making and hope I have inspired others to make some changes in their lives.  Try something today in honor of Earth Day, even if you just skip out on buying something packaged or bring your own reusable bag when you shop today.

What do you do to support our environment? What is your favorite green thing to do? (mine is my reusable shopping bags, I love them and use them for everything! I even used them to move once!)

Peace, Love and Happy Earth Day!
                                              Ashley

Zucchini here, Zucchini there, Zucchini EVERYWHERE!

I have been absent for almost a month! Sorry readers! Things have been super busy at the Knight residence.  We are getting ready for summer and have been super busy preparing the garden.   The garden prep is going so well this year! I was sitting on my couch this morning with my pup and started reflecting on last years garden.  Last year we had an amazing harvest! Full of wonderful veggies, all we had to do was step outside and grab what we wanted and plan our meal.  We ate a lot of raw dinners last summer.  We had an abundance of zucchini (probably will plant less this year), we were overwhelmed with them! Not only did we have a lot but they were ginormous!  I had to start being clever about how we ate these things because we were starting to get over run, we even walked around our neighborhood and gave a bunch away!  One of my favorite meals with zucchini was zucchini pasta! I took my peeler and went to town. The "noodles" sort of looked like linguine. Paul (my husband) gave me some odd looks when I was peeling them but once he tasted it he loved it! I made some marinara sauce with our own tomatoes and this was a yummy meal all from our backyard!

This once zucchini fed us for three meals!  

  Some of our other zucchini meals included;

Raw Zucchini soup perfect for a hot summer night!

Raw zucchini lasagna from the cook book RAWvolution

  Eating raw is wonderful in the summer time especially when you have a garden full of wonderful veggies! I have been eating warm/hot meals all winter so I am ready for the abundance and variety of vegetables summer will bring us!  This year however; we will cut back on the amount of zucchini we plant!

Paul has just built us a compost and has doubled the size of our garden from last year!  I cannot wait to get my hands in the dirt everyday! Gardening is very therapeutic for me and I cannot wait to start our little seedlings!

Last years little guys! Screaming for more sun!

We will start them beginning of May, with a lot of different things this year, like popcorn! I love popcorn, we buy bulk organic popcorn now but to be able to have it from our own yard would be amazing! speaking of which I should probably order that huh?! YIKES!         


Alright well I will leave you for now.  You know I was actually going to post a blog about some banana ice "cream" I made today.  Hmmmmm it is amazing how your mind takes over sometime. It was like I had no control, I guess my head is in the garden!  I will post my banana ice "cream" recipe soon, this one is too good not to share!

Do you have a garden? What are you planting?  

Peace, Love and Play in the dirt!
                                           Ashley

Pizza Night!

 My husband and I have always enjoyed pizza, I mean who doesn't? However; when you cannot eat gluten enjoying pizza can be a bit tricky. You can make your own and one of my favorite pizza's to make is portabella mushroom pizzas, so yummy! (stayed tuned for recipe) There are some great places like Flatbreads that offer a gluten free pizza dough, and it delicious! Although I do enjoy getting pizza out and making my own, part of my love for pizza is when I do not feel like cooking I love to indulge in some frozen, throw it in the oven pizza!  But what is a girl to do when she does not eat gluten? Easy, your local grocery store has a bunch of options! One of my favorites is Amy's Organics and I just found out they make one of my favorites gluten free! Very exciting news! Hope to find it in stores soon.

Another favorite mine is from the Better Bread Company which is a company from Maine! My husband was at a health food store when they were having gluten free pizza taste tasting! (can't believe I wasn't there!) He said that their pizza was by far the best he had tasted, so he brought one home and my dinner plans for the night were passed onto the next night.  We cooked the pizza and DAMN it was good! The crust was delicious! My favorite is their roasted garlic and artichoke pizza!


http://www.betterbreadcompany.com/
 

So the next time you have a craving for pizza don't fret! There are lots of options available!

What is your favorite pizza topping? Honestly I cannot choose just one, I like it all!

Peace, Love and Pizza!
                              Ashley

Transitioning

So here in Maine it is the end of March and 20 degrees! The days are getting longer and they also seem to be getting colder! I am trying to be patient but come on winter, it was nice for a while but its time for you to go now! Alright well I am done complaining ....for now, but if it snows again there may be more complaints! Anyone else tired of shoveling?

Some hope! come on tulips!

Moving on....I titled this blog transitioning because that is what my husband and I are currently doing.  He is transiting to a new job (one that will hopefully acknowledge his worth) and he is also transiting into quite the craftsman.  He has always been a creative person but lately he is really developing his creativity in different ways.  I love watching what he comes up with, for one he is a fantastic landscape designer!  If anyone wants to have a design drawn up of your yard then he is the person to call, and I am not just saying that because he is my husband (or maybe I am ;-).  He also started blogging about plants, you can read his blog Here.  Another thing he has been doing lately is becoming quite the woodworker!  He makes earring holder frames, boxes and painting frames (which works out well for a family of artists!).  When you have been with someone for 10 years it is exciting to see the changes and the transitions you go through as a couple and separately :-)

Box with coasters, with drift wood handle!

some of last summers harvest!

My transitions, well you all know what they are if you read this blog.  I feel like I am one big transition lately.  I am letting things happen and holding on for dear life!  One thing I am doing is transitioning our diet from our winter staples of root vegetables to more summer vegetables. I like to eat what is locally growing but sometimes you just need to feed your cravings!  Last summer we had an abundance of zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, among other wonderful veggies and when winter approached I was ready for some warming root veggies, however, now that spring is here (sort of) I am craving those wonderful summer veggies once again.  A couple weekends ago I made a rice dish that has some root vegetables (local) and some beautiful summer vegetables (not so local).

My transitioning meal palette included; adapted from one of my favorite recipes here

1 cup Brown Rice                                   
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 yellow onion,diced
1 Zucchini,diced
2 heads of brocolli
3 carrots, diced
1 turnip,diced
1 parsnip,diced
1 can diced tomatoes2 tsp Thai curry paste
2 tbps pumpkin seeds
1 egg


I cooked my brown rice in my rice cooker, while I cooked the vegetables.  Heat pan with coconut oil, then add onion, zucchini, broccoli, carrots, turnip, and parsnip.  Let them cook on medium heat till onion is translucent and vegetables are the way you like (I like a little crunch).  Add tomatoes and stir in red curry paste (can add more if you like it spicy).  then add pumpkin seeds and your egg.  I just crack the egg straight into the pan and then stir till cooked.  This makes around 4-6 servings ( if you don't go back for seconds) I froze leftovers to have for the following week.  Tastes great the second time around too!

How are you transitioning into spring? or in your life?

Spring wreath I made! Come on Spring!

Peace, Love and Spring into transitions!
                                                    Ashley

Feeling blue? Cook with Orange!

Things in my life have been nothing short of stressful lately.  There are many things that I do to fight stress including yoga, walking my dog and my favorite....COOKING!  When I plan my meals my palette always has some green in it.  However; when fighting off the blues the other night, I was inspired by orange.  Orange is such an uplifting color and I needed something uplifting!  So I grabbed all the orange items I could find from my pantry and fridge and went to work building my palette for that nights dinner!

My palette included:

1 cup millet
2 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped)
1 cup canned coconut milk
1 cup water

1/2 can organic black beans
2 tbsp coconut oil 
1 medium onion, sliced
3 medium carrots
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp ginger
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pot put in millet, sweet potatoes, water, coconut milk, Bring to a boil.  Once boiling cover pot and simmer for 25 minutes.  Meanwhile, saute onion and carrots in coconut oil then add corn (I used organic frozen corn), once onions and carrots are soft add black beans and spices then turn on low.

When your timer for the millet goes off open your lid to a beautiful orange surprise! Mash the sweet potato with the millet then add your remaining ingredients and stir together. 

 
Grab a bowl and devour your orange meal, it feels good going down and perhaps will lift away your blues ;-)  Another mood lifter to this meal is that it makes a bunch, so I froze half and then had it the following week when I wasn't feeling the cooking love, so hey it served its mood lifting purpose twice!













Is cooking a stress reliever for you? What colors make you happy?

Peace, Love and Enjoy the colors of your food!
                                                                Ashley