Gingerbread Awesomeness

Our first Gingerbread house. It was a real challenge, but it's finished! Yum.

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Sent from my Helio Ocean

I Love Fish

I'm too disturbed to sit still and not talk about this anymore. It's a real problem in my household and I won't act like I don't know about it anymore. Fish consumption. More specifically - over-consumption. I Love Fish. I really do love fish - we have fish in our diets weekly. And most often, it's the stuff from the warehouse club that I can buy a ton of & keep in the freezer. Recently, it's been Tilapia. Now, Tilapia is Eco-OK list. There are three catagories...

Eco-Best

Eco-OK

Eco-Worst

We received our seafood selector pocket card at the sea lion exhibit at the zoo. They're easy to come by, and there are places you can print your own. Please do.

Back to the rant.

Our over-consumption of fish is a real thing. The orange roughy is a fish that matures after 30 years and lives to be 120! It's like clear-cutting an old-wood forest. They don't just grow back! It's a great example of the problem, but there are hundreds more like them.

And be aware of the 'new' fish that are showing up in the freezer section. These names are just to make the Slimehead Fish (Orange Roughy's original name) more appealing.

To this day, I know people that think that the ocean is an un-depletable cornucopia of sea life. And the trouble is, it was...until the 80s. And the way we fish now - very accurate, but not surgical, is exactly like clear-cutting forests. It kills everything in it's path. You've gone from jungle to plowed field in one pass of a boat. The nets are capable of fishing MILES below the surface. Does this sound in any way romantic? Not a man and a boat anymore.

So.

We have to - as consumers- make smarter choices. Enjoy your Alaskan Sablefish, relish your U.S. Farmed Tilapia - but be aware - and tell your loved ones.

At the zoo

This photo is just too cool not to share. Sydney and this large lioness had a moment on their class field trip. The weather was crisp, but most of the animals loved it. Gorgeous.

The 60th Birthday Ta Da

Wow!

A surprise party for my mom? Are you crazy? She cannot be surprised, she knows too much about too much. Well, we tried anyway. The surprise was that tons and tons of mom's friends and relatives came to party with us. I had 7 of them staying at our place! It was intensely lovely. I had so much fun seeing everyone & being steeped in family for the weekend.

Maggie in da house!

Margaret Adele is sharing her time with us in kansas city. Even though the weather has been dreary. It's fun!

Soccer Star

Logan is playing on the new fields at the Overland Park Soccer Complex. It's very nice and Logan's loving it.

Timberlake - Day 4

Last night was cook-out night at Camp Timberlake. It is a night that we go to our cabin and fire ring and we are there all night building the fire, cooking dinner and s'mores, and playing games. I think the s'mores part was the favorite.

And that was the last night. I'm grateful to have been able to get to know this fun group of girls. It's not often that I get to duck out of my life for a week to be with my daughter. Sydney loved it, too.