Eclectic Lotus

 If you are living under a rock or not into Google, you most likely did not see this picture:  So, if you did see this and think: how cute! Let me click on this. You already know. So, today is December 21st which is the winter solstice. If you are in the Northern Hemisphere, it marks the astrological first day of winter is the longest night of the year. What you may not know is that two planets are aligned so it appears as if they are giving each other a "high-five". They call this a conjunction when planets are aligned. How cute, right? They have not been this close since 1663, so this is an epic event. So, you will be seeing something that Galileo saw when he devised telescopes. This event happens every 20 years but every 321 years or so where you can see it in great detail. Both of these planets are beautiful, not like Earth but beautiful. Now, if you are like me and live in an area of light pollution, most likely you will see a star and a planet. Here, in Chicago proper, ...

 (The above picture links to it's source- Forks over Knives- which is a great site for starting the journey to plant-based veganism. I recommend first to seek your doctor before conducting a huge lifestyle change.) Now, I can look at my kitchen again to make some muffins for the morning! Thanksgiving was fun but man did it make a lot of dishes! We had to wash them in shifts and I am sure you understand my pain. This morning, I decided to stop the chaos of processed sweets! My husband has a knack for buying donuts and cookies for the kids and while it saves me time from having to cook anything at all it is also leads to some pretty nasty mood swings. I can't lie, I do indulge in the sweet treats, but that is why I am vegan-ish and not full-on vegan. Those donuts call to me! Once in a while, he gets Oreo's and they are vegan so yeah, I indulge. This morning, I made muffins! Oh yeah! I had three bananas sitting there, getting very ripe and I am sick of throwing these golden tr...

 Ok, here it go! THANKSGIVING!! Or, I like to call it the vegan marathon. When I first became a vegetarian in 2010 it was so difficult to figure out what to eat. TEN YEARS LATER- I have removed egg and dairy and the only reason I don't know what to make it because the ideas are so expansive! WOW!!! I could make a full seven-course meal or do something small. I have seen it all. . . cabbage "turkey", tofurky, Gardein. . . YOU NAME IT!!! https://youtu.be/tkk1_WwRl8Q So, the things I hope to do in later Thanksgivings: 1. Do the Turkey Trot     Kind of difficult to make a full meal but get up at 4AM to get to the start line to run 3-6 miles and then come back home and continue the Thanksgiving meal. I know it is in the cards for me if I do plant-based the week before and remove the carbs. That tends to give me a boost of energy. Will post the link on here but not directly for the Chicago one. Most races are virtual this year and this year I may actually take the leap and go f...

  对不起. I have not been present these few days. I have been astounded in the world of scheduling, learning, and trying to have only about two languages spoken in the home. Ok, maybe three as I just threw out language number three. Working has been more difficult with two kids and the boy and I have picked up piano lessons through the book! Too much to mention! I have slacked on science experiments and began working with the children on their emotions on top of language. The girl is even picking up on the fun as she wants to do twinkle twinkle little star. So, the main topic is food. Beyond Burger To stay true to my Wisconsin roots, I was bored so I decided to grab some beyond burger patties from the store. I neglected to take a picture of me cooking them next to hubby's standard burger. I added some steak seasoning and a dash of liquid smoke to the patties before throwing them on the skillet. If you are looking again, yes I grilled the bun as well. That is how we do it in Wisconsin....

 This past week with birthday planning, nature walks and homeschool have been a lot but great to reflect on it all. The Boy Birthday This has to be one of the times where I actually used Pinterest for planning This was not my son's birthday set up. I pulled up pictures of cakes to get one close. While contacting bakeries, they ranged from $50-$150 Well, here are the pictures that we came out with. So, if you have not guessed, my son is very much into space. He has been very specific that he wanted to be an astronaut for Halloween. Since there is a possibility that there will be no trick or treat, let's get him dressed up for his birthday as an astronaut. We all wore NASA shirts and had balloons that had the infamous symbol on them: Boy Astronaut Costume Birthday candles Set up package  (I had so much stuff. I did not use the solar system hanging decorations due to the ceiling being really high in our place. The cupcake sticks were not used either.) NASA balloons Another balloo...

 To go from homeschooling my oldest to putting him into school, remotely, this meme is a bit of an understatement. All the preparation was not for naught. So, here it is- one month in and we are getting the hang of it. . .most days. Unlike the masses, I did not set up a whole station for him. He is in the kitchen with the whole kiddie table to himself. While he is there, it is space between him and his sister who is a bouncy 3-year-old. We began to get frustrated as I seemed to have to remind him where to go and what to do next. He seems to not listen to the teacher at times and after school, he seemed drained. Between breaks, he is outside and I have enforced the "schedule" on the kitchen dry erase board. The schedule gets changed twice a day in case I am in a meeting or busy with the girl. He is mostly on his own and some days are better than others. If he thinks the material is too easy, which happens a lot, I bring out some second or third-grade work for him to work on. O...

  "They're creepy and they're kooky, Mysteriously spooky, They're all together hooky. THE ADDAMS FAMILY" A true classic. In the 1960's and 1970's there became this genre of "dark comedy" that seemed to rile the senses and give us a laugh of things scary. The Addams Family was released in 1964 and shortly after, the Munsters and Bewitched. Dark Shadows was released in 1966. How we currently conceptualize monsters living among us can be traced to these early TV shows as we now have, "Vampirina" and "Monster High" which is for little kids and let us not forget about the more recent "monster" shows that have taken our hearts and minds for a ride such as "Supernatural", "Vampire Diaries", "Charmed", and "Lucifer" with many being those shows being the ones you want to hate and wondered when they would end, like "Sleepy Hollow" and the ones you wonder what happened to them s...