Churn Babies Churn!

The kids and I just returned from a weekend at the beautiful Sequatchie Valley Institute where I taught several workshops for kids at their 12th annual Food for Life gathering. Anyone who reads my blog musings knows my stance on the sacredness of good, SLOW food. And esssentially that is what the Food for Life gathering is all about.

My first workshop was about making bread and BUTTER! Glorious homemade creamy, to die for butter. So I enlisted the help of my students ranging in age from around 3 to 11 or so to churn the cream into yellowy deliciousness. Half of the butter I left sweet and creamy and the other half we salted. Six pints of cream made 2 pounds of butter and of course some dreamy buttermilk left over. I didn't clabber the cream so the buttermilk was not tart or sour just sort of buttery.

I wish everyone could experience the level of community and sharing and food that we were a part of this past weekend. Perhaps someday we all will.

Farm Markets Open Now!!

No pictures today but I will paint you a visual. All around the country in towns, cities and even suburbs Farmer's Markets are popping up. Ten by ten pop up tents with tables laden with fresh greens, onions, colorful swiss chard, herbs, pasture raised and FINISHED beef in coolers. Real farmers who love what they do are doing this for YOU! Skip the produce section of the not so super supermarket and find out which day your local farmer's market takes place. Meet the people. Sign up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). Learn how to cook things you never tried before.
Savor the locally made jams, and bread. Talk to the artists who make clothing and jewelry. Pick up a tomato plant start or some hot peppers. Localharvest.org is a great site for finding farms and farmers and markets. Also, eatwild.com is a great site for finding pasture raised chicken, cow, pig, sheep and goat. Take a day to visit a farm within 50 miles of where you live... I will be at the 12th annual Food for Life gathering in the beautiful Sequatchie Valley of Tennessee June 3-6th teaching workshops to mostly kids but adults to about many different aspects of our food experience. Composting, garden critters, making bread and BUTTER plus some other great stuff that I will be sharing. Try something new...taste something you never tasted before. What if you couldn't get all of the processed food we have available to us today? What would you eat? It's definitely a question we should all be considering. Would you eat dandelion greens from your lawn for salad? Would you try zuccinni? What about kale, radishes or rutabaga? How would that taste? Would you know how to prepare it?

Booya Birthday!

Chocolate glorious chocolate! The aztecs used it for money! I have found a beautiful source of pure dark delicious chocolate from Nicaragua called Booya Cacao fair trade and organic, with all the ingredients grown under a sustainable canopy.

So, I cooked up a fabulous birthday picnic that we had a Sequatchie Cove Farm for my friend using this wonderful chocolate! First, my daughter and I dipped local organic strawberries that we bought at the Chattanooga Main Street Market on Wednesday into the melted Booya Cacao some we dipped into organic chopped hazelnuts too!

Then I made her an amazing birthday cake...yes, all in my tiny RV convection/microwave oven! Using an Arrowhead Mills organic chocolate cake mix, to which I added, organic chocolate chips, raspberries and  melted Booya Cacao. After baking and cooling I spread more melted Booya in between the layers.

I made this icing with:

1 Stick (8 T.) softened organic butter
6 T. organic all vegetable 0 trans fat shortening (I use Spectrum)
2 3/4 C. organic powdered sugar
1/2 C. Melted Booya Cacao
1 T. Cold Brewed  Coffee
2 T. organic cocoa powder

Then I decorated the cake with chopped organic hazelnuts, bits of Booya Cacao and topped it with fresh raspberries right before we presented it to the birthday girl!!

Check out the Booya Cacoa website and feel good about your love of chocolate! You can also 'like' them on facebook.

Making YUM with leftovers...

Wild Salmon, shrimp and scallops...on the grill last night, topped onto organic greens, some chopped tomato and the food of the gods -  
A V A C A D O!
It is definitely not just for guacamole.

Lunch today with leftovers from that plethora of grilled seafood last night became quesadillas. Also had a few black beans to put on them as well.

Brush a little olive oil on a whole wheat organic tortilla.
Spread some cream cheese, farmer's cheese, goat cheese on the other side.
Throw it on the griddle!


Add your leftover seafood, some black beans and a little salsa.
Fold over your tortilla, make sure everything is heated through.
Cut in half and devour!

Seriously some good stuff...

Gypsy Mama is hitting the road again starting tomorrow. Look for some new blog posts on Farmer's Markets, organic farms, local food, traveling and more!

Open Copyright...

Someone told me the other day that there is a certain company that is too big for us 'little' people to do anything about stopping them and their tyranny on food and agriculture. That statement didn't sit well with me because this world is made up of us 'little' people. Folks like me and you who go about our lives living joyfully and sharing information that may have the ability to detract from our joy.

Genetically modified organisms and genetically engineered seeds, plants and foods have been making their way into the very fabric of our lives since the early 1990's and continue to do so. Mainly because we just didn't know about them. This biotechnology was slipped under our radar of general awareness because a small group of people deemed that we didn't 'need' to know. That as consumers we weren't interested in knowing these things. So a few people get to decide what information is needed and what is not?

The audacity of these people to determine our level of intelligence and desire of the very sustenance of life...food has propelled me into becoming a activist. I may only be one person yet I can do some thing...some thing small or something large. I require no compensation for my work. I give it freely to be distributed to anyone and everyone who is willing to consider it's value. A short one act play written for a small or large cast of players. Easy to read and understand this play could be performed at your church or the local farmer's market. Your homeschool or traditional school group could read it out loud. College students could perform it on campuses. It has a message. It is meant to open eyes to what is happening right now to our food source. How can we change it? Do we care? Can one person make a difference?

All interesting and valid questions. Do we choose to work together for the most basic building block of life? If we use vehicles like this one act play to encourage others to work together for change. My hope is to encourage people to research and learn about these things.

So here it is...my first play:  free to copy, distribute and perform

What’s Happening to Food

A Short Play in One Act

By Tricia Baehr



Playwright’s Note:

Here is a play I wrote...anybody is free to produce this:::pass it on! This play’s cast can be adjusted to be larger or smaller depending on how many people are performing.

Setting:

Takes place in a barn in the 21st century

Cast - 12 parts-Can be adjusted to the number of players available.

■Farmer #1

■Farmer #2

■Farm Kid #1

■Farm Kid #2

■Farmer’s Neighbor #1

■Farmer’s Neighbor #2

■Farmer’s Neighbor #3

■Farmer’s Neighbor #4

■Neighbor Kid #1

■Neighbor Kid #2

■Mr. Monty Santo (Corporate Bad Guy)

■Senator Rand Upton Rheady (Government Bad Guy)



(The scene opens with Farmers and the Farm Kids talking about the growing season coming up. They are looking at a piece of paper with their plots drawn up and their plans.)



Farmer #1: (wiping his brow with a bandanna) Whew! Well I guess that’s it then, here’s our plan for this year's crops.



Farmer #2: We’ve done a great job planning and tomorrow it’s time to start working the earth.



Farm Kid #1: I’m excited about using all that rich compost we’ve been working on over the winter, our plants are going to grow great!



Farm Kid #2: I can’t wait for all the fresh organic fruits and vegetables this summer.



Farm Kid #1: My salad greens that I started from seed will be ready to set out soon now that were almost past frost season.



(In walks the 4 neighbors and the 2 neighbor kids ~ talking excitedly amongst themselves, rubbing their tummies, smiling, etc.)



Farmer’s Neighbor #1: We just wanted to come by and thank you for all the hard work you’ve been doing to get ready for this year's growing season.



Farmer’s Neighbor #2: If there’s anything you need, we’d be happy to help!



Farmer’s Neighbor #3: I love buying your fresh organic produce at the farm stand, it tastes so much better than what’s for sale at the super market.



Farmer’s Neighbor #4: You bet! And I feel good knowing my money is staying right here in our neighborhood.



Farmer #1: We are really grateful to have such good neighbors and it’s a joy growing food for such great people.



Farmer #2: (laughing) It sure does make all this farm work easier seeing all these healthy kids running around!



(The 2 Neighbor kids are running around and playing tag with the 2 Farm Kids.)



Farm Kid #1: I’m growing watermelons for this summer!



Neighbor Kid #2: (laughing) And I’m eatin’ em!



Neighbor Kid #1: I sure do love those cucumbers you all grow!



Farm Kid #2: I help with those in the garden, they make great pickles too!



(Farmers and Neighbors are all talking, shaking hands, patting each other on the back hugging etc.)



Farmer #1: Well, I’m sure glad to share our crop plans with you all. Looking forward to trying out some of those new varieties of heirloom vegetables you all suggested and my friend here (indicating Farmer #2) for sharing seeds with me.



Farmer #2: (smiling and looking kindly at Farmer #1) Isn’t that what being a community is all about? When our bean crop failed last year and you shared part of your harvest with us, it made that little problem okay.



Farm Kid #1: …And we have blackberries and you have blueberries! We love to trade AND share!



(All of the sudden a loud, ominous knock is heard on the barn door. Everyone looks around and surprised since no one around those parts knocks.)



Farmer #1: (stuttering, confused) C..C..Come…In?



Mr. Monty Santo: (authoritatively) Are you the farmer for this land?



Farmer #1: Yes, Who’s asking?



Mr. Monty Santo: I am.



Farmer #1: (nervous) And you are?



Mr. Monty Santo: I’m Mr. Monty Santo with The World Conglomerate Seed & Science Company and we took samples of your crop last year and found our patented seeds growing on your farm. We also have evidence that your neighbor (pointing at Farmer #2) saved their seed and shared it with you!



Farmer #1 (looking shocked)



Farmer #2: (indignantly) Now you wait just a pickle flippin’ second! Those seeds were handed down generation after generation from my ancestors! You have no claim to them!



Mr. Monty Santo: (laughing sinisterly) HA! Before long The World Conglomerate Seed & Science Company will own every seed on the planet. (mockingly) Ancestor’s seeds, don’t be ridiculous you foolish people. You have no idea who you are dealing with.



(All of the neighbors and kids begin whispering and look shocked at what is going on, they can’t believe their eyes or ears. About that time another official looking person walks into the barn.)



Senator Rand Upton Rheady: (putting a hand on the Corporate Bad Guy's back) Hello folks! What Mr. Santo is trying to say is we’re just here to help ya’ll. I’m Senator Rand Upton Rheady and with the help of all my colleagues in government and the help of big companies like The World Conglomerate Seed & Science Company we’re making laws and legislation so it won’t be long before we’re helping to make sure you little farmers don’t have to work so hard trying to supply your neighbors with fresh, healthy organic produce. We’re going to pave the way for new science so you can kill all those pesky bugs and weeds on that stuff your growing and the good crop plants will never die.



Farm Kid #1: But wouldn’t all those chemicals be bad for you?



Senator Rand Upton Rheady: (visibly startled that a kid is that smart ) Now, now you little children shouldn’t be worrying about things like that. We’re here to help you people! That’s what us government folks are doing up in Washington.



Farmer’s Neighbor #1: (yelling) NEVER! I’ll never buy genetically mutated produce!



Farmer’s Neighbor #2: (very upset) Me neither…we will start a consumer revolution!



Mr. Monty Santo: (smirking) Are you kidding me? People are too lazy to even prepare fresh food these days. We can mess with it, put chemicals in it, genetically alter it and no one even notices. We even put the information right on the labels and the people still buy it! Look how many kids won’t eat anything but junk food…they think a french fry is a vegetable, bwhaha ha ha ha (sinister laughing)



Senator Rand Upton Rheady: What Mr. Santo is trying to say is…we’re working on pushing laws into place that will make it where small farmers won’t need to work so hard. All the food will be grown on big corporate farms and processed in big factories to make everything easier on all the people. (nodding & thumbs up to the Corporate Bad Guy)



(The Farm Kids and Neighbor Kids are in the corner making faces at the Bad Guys.)



Farmer’s Neighbor #3: Not if we have anything to do with it! There are more people than there are governments and corporate giants!



Farmer’s Neighbor #4: We’ll start fresh food farmer’s markets and have food festivals that teach people about sustainable food sources. We’ll rally behind our local farmers.



Farmer’s Neighbor #1: We’ll teach our little children to eat organic, local, good food!



Farmer’s Neighbor #2: It may take a while but we’ll never let you win this battle!



(The Corporate Bad Guy & The Government Bad Guy walk out shaking their fingers at the farmers and laughing at the neighbors acting all pompous and like big jerks talking amongst themselves, making fun of organic and farmers)



Farmer #1: Whoa! That’s some pretty scary stuff about owning all the seeds.



Farmer #2: I know, I had heard some rumors about some shady stuff like that going on but I didn’t really believe it. I guess we have some research to do, huh?



Farmer’s Neighbor #3: I don’t suppose we’ve seen the last of them. Let’s help other communities start CSA’s Community Supported Agriculture like we have here!



Farmer’s Neighbor #4: We have to do our part by buying local and buying organic non genetically modified ingredients. If the people speak by not buying that’s the only way to get the message across.



Neighbor Kid #1: I’m going to tell all my friends at school, on my soccer team and my grandparents about all of this!



Neighbor Kid #2: Me too! It’s up to us kids to spread the word about what’s happening to food!



Neighbor Kid #1: (together) We can make the difference!

Neighbor Kid #2: (together) We can make the difference!



(The Entire Cast makes a big circle and holds hands.)



Everyone Together: (shouting joyfully) We can ALL make a DIFFERENCE!





CURTAIN





(c) Copyright 2009 Tricia Baehr All Rights Reserved

Co-Creating Can Be Work

I was inspired by my son's quote..."Anything can happen,but first, you must take the steps to achieve the goal.Without doing anything, A dream cannot become reality." He's eleven this son of mine. Perhaps you have wondered why the Gypsy Mama has not been blogging lately? Probably not, but just in case you have I will fill  you in on my activities.

Several months ago a dear friend of mine mentioned a place. A lovely place, with rolling hills and meadows and 100 year old buildings. A place that is empty and lonely and even a bit sad. So we began to envision this place full of love and light. Full of peaceful people working and living together co-creating for the highest good. Living sustainably, growing food, living spiritually and helping others to learn to live this way too.

Then we began to share our vision. And it began to grow...to expand beyond our talking and dreaming. It is becoming concrete and real. Full of things to do, plans to write, things to research, meetings to have, powerpoints to develop. Whoa! this co-creating stuff can be work. I am really good at the dreaming part but when it comes to the doing....well, I can be good at that part too. Mainly, the doing part has to do with being inspired, being authentic and feeling on purpose.

So lately, I have been doing. Although I often tell myself that I am a being...to be is important. Be with the moment, be with the seasons, be with my husband and children (that's why I love gypsying so much!)
And in this very moment, I am procrastinating on the doing. Even though the illusion of time is ticking away towards this time and place where all of this doing will need to be done. I suppose it doesn't hurt to allow myself a bit of indulgence of just being here now with my blog and you.

Food is Love

Unexpectedly my usually very vibrant and active mother in her mid seventies complained of feeling fatigued. After doctor visits and trips to the emergency room she was diagnosed with a rare type of lung cancer and within a matter of less than a month she left our presence for another world.

That's where the food part comes in. When someone dies people bring food. Lots of food. Homemade food and store bought food. It becomes a way of showing love...something people can do to help when they know nothing else to do. After all, even when your grieving you gotta eat.

My mother loved food. My whole family loves food. My niece mentioned that she thought we were one of the only families she knows that the first question we all want to know is, "What'dya eat?"

So what did we eat...
Ham we have eaten lots of ham... I think we've had four hams.
Macaroni and Cheese, lots of pasta...lasagna,spaghetti, pasta salad
Casseroles...chicken casseroles, corn casserole, green bean casserole, potato casserole
Deli meats, chips, sodas, gallons of tea and lemonade
Bread, rolls, cornbread
Pound cake, apple cake, cookies, jello salads

Now, for those that read this blog I'd like to add a disclaimer that when food is made out of love, bought out of love, brought out of love...it takes on a special healing quality. It changes. All of the qualities that I normally would have disdain for...factory farmed meat, genetically modified ingredients, high fructose corn syrup...disappear out of gratitude for the love in the food.

Love that has replaced those negative qualities with a healing energy because the intent behind the food is love, pure and simple. Losing a parent is practically a Universal experience. If you haven't gone through it yet, most likely you will. So for those who have lost someone close whether it be a child, a parent, a spouse or other loved one we understand the paradigm of food is love.

After all it is life sustaining, food. It provides us with our most basic need and I am so grateful to all of the beautiful people who showed us this kind of love. You fed not only our bodies but our souls as well.
And your presence as you filled our home with smells, tastes and textures of your expession of that love. With hugs, smiles and tears and prayers that kept us going through this time in our lives that came all too soon and unexpectedly.

My Mama loved food. Her deep south upbringing required it. Her Mama loved her and all of us with food too. With heaping tables of fried chicken, butter beans, buttermilk cornbread, slaw, collard greens, apple salad, broccoli casserole, crowder peas, jello salad and sugary sweet iced tea.

Food is love...thank you Laura, Jamie, Jackie, Donna, Tracy, Ric, Melba, Mark, Warren, Belinda, Gail, Jessica, Barbara & Mary. Thank you for taking the time to make, bake, buy, bring and love our family through this loss with food.

Ya gotta love a simple model

How to feed the world ? from Denis van Waerebeke on Vimeo.

I say YES to spontaneous!

I remember not too long ago when we still lived a conventional life how exasperated I would get when my parents would invite us out to dinner...spontaneously...on a school night. I explained to my mother that it threw a wrench into our routine and and wreaked havoc on bedtime and dinner time. My how times have changed! Yesterday out of the blue my dear friend, the mother of my nephews and my children's aunt called up and said she and my nephews were coming to visit us. What a wonderful day we had! Grocery shopping, lunch, carousel rides, children playing in the park. Being a gypsy mama lends itself well to living spontaneously...What adventures are we in store for today?!! Stay tuned...

Warming our hands and hearts

It is cold...really cold. I think that even folks who live in regular houses are cold with all of this arctic weather going on. Last night, we returned from visiting a local restaurant and as we stood outside the door of the RV my husband's key wasn't working. Frantically and freezing I am digging through what my son referred to earlier as the bowels of my purse searching for my set of keys, the two layers of clothing don't seem to be helping at all. IT was 17 degrees!! Finally, I find them and try the door, it opens but the inside screen door seems to be frozen shut. All is well, we all file into the RV and huddle around the heater...my daughter is giggling uncontrollably as we are all hugging each other warming our hands and our hearts. Living this life for the last 16 months has brought about so many family moments. Moments that take my breath away in awe for the love we share as a unit. The five of us, living in incredibly close quarters. Our only escape from our togetherness is the great outdoors. There are no bedroom doors to slam shut, there is no place to hide from conflict...it's all here, right in front of us. And with this arctic blast of weather we are all here huddled together figuring out how to make it all work.

I keep presenting this lesson to our kids about how dealing with personalities, differences and emotions within our family is a microcosm for the macro of our relationship with our brothers and sisters of the greater world around us. Learning to love the things that annoy us the most in our siblings and even in our parents is a hard lesson (heck, I'm 42 and just now getting it) but if doing this work within our own family will help us to connect with the world around us easier and on some deeper level then what a great reward. Having that kind of compassion is difficult in so many ways but there it is everyday...right in our faces, over and over again. It wouldn't surprise me if there are those who think living this way is downright cruel to our kids. Togetherness can be too much of a good thing can't it? But my question is how do we stretch, how do we grow,  how do we come to terms that there is always going to be things that exist in others that just rub us the wrong way?

Many times when I can get really present within my own self I realize that what seems to bother me the most is a quality or issue that I myself have within me. Ahhh! The great mirror of truth, how ironic that it shows us so much that there is yet to be seen. Reflecting upon that mirror I see there is much work to be done. On my path these kinds of revelations keep coming up. I see them in my kids too, with all this togetherness. The two that seem to have conflict the most almost always complain and fuss about qualities and actions that they both have within them. I attempt to point this out sometimes and it just makes them angrier with me and with each other. I think it could be a good thing to push ourselves toward understanding. That mirror always reflects some truth. I know this sounds kind of cheesy but lately when the kids have had issues/conflicts with each other I have asked them to stop and to breathe. I ask them if the thought, the action, the words are coming from their heart. In that moment, with my question, they recognize that it is not. Then I ask them, "Where is it coming from then?" I'm not sure if they actually know where it is coming from exactly, but just the recognition that it is not coming from their heart is a start.

Funny also because it encourages me to practice what I preach as well. I think being their teacher inspires me to greater growth as well. Hopefully all of this togetherness will help us continue to grow the warmth in our hearts for our little microcosm and for the macrocosm of it all.

Creative Journaling...Everyone gets an A!!

Having a positive impact on my children is probably one of my deepest desires other than that attempting to change the world in some other small way is also on my list. I wish to be a splinter in the wood bridging heaven and earth.

Working through the little people in my life has been a blessing on some days and a curse on others. As a roadschooling/unschooling Mom, our life is the lesson plan, the curriculm. Everywhere we go there is something new to learn, a new discovery and a lesson. Some kids have the luxury of only having to learn at school-mine on the other hand are required to be present 24/7!

I discovered SARK the other day on-line through Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Life website... I am always inspired by anyone who let's go of fear and truly lives authentically. So while perusing Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy's (hence the name SARK) planet SARK website. I once again became inspired. The kids and I have attempted journaling several times and we stick with it for a few days or weeks, sometimes even for a month or so. I love writing and of course I want the kids to be inspired to write too. Write about anything poems, letters, stories, feelings, dreams, whatever. My kids are pretty creative (imagine that!) they fill notebooks with drawings, maps, imaginary menus, words, etc. but all on their own time and with out any type of regiment. So after discovering SARK and her amazing "juicy journaling" ideas we piled in the truck and found an art store where we all purchased some blank sketch books. Last night we decoupaged the covers. I went to bed leaving two of the kids up still creating. My daughter shared with me her first entry upon waking this morning. She has given me permission to post it here on my blog.

Here goes:

Dreaming is a good thing.

You can see the positive side of yourself and look on the bright side of things.

You can be whatever.

You can do whatever even go where ever.

copyright 2010 Bailey Baehr

Of course it was written is swirly pink and green lettering. With designs in different colors at the bottom of the page. I was pretty blown away to say the least! She asked me why I copyrighted her name at the bottom of the text and I told her that she has some amazing talent and we might want to go ahead and proctect her work now!

So here we are with the beautiful books full of blank pages for us to write, to dream, to drawn, to scribble in whenever and where ever we want. Kinda like life I'd say, a blank book...we don't have to write on the lines in boring pencil or ball point pen. We can use colorful markers, thick & thin. We can paint broad strokes  or skinny ones. We can make your words with curly Q's or swirlies. We can write in our books with clarity and perfect cursive writing or we can develop our own style of print. We can draw pictures in the margins. We can make up our own rules on how to create our lives and we can give ourselves an A or even an A+++++ !!

Give yourself an A+ today. You get to decide what excellent is...even if it's in a failure. Be you. Get your own blank book and fill the pages with whatever you want. After all it's your story, you get to make it up as you go.

Reflections on 2009

As  I was laying in bed this morning on the 2nd morning of 2010 my mind began to wander through the last year. Although I am not one to live in the past the manifestation of our dream of being a family on the road came to fruition in 2009 and the adventures that we had were amazing, beautiful and full of joy and wonder.
I loved Dawna Markova's book,  "I Will Not Die An Unlived Life" and I can say with certainty that in 2009 I did my share of really living. So I have composed the following list of experiences that we had in 2009...

Watched the fireworks over the Gulf of Mexico
Learned everything I need to know about the natural sea sponge
Paddled in a canoe in the Marshes of Glynn
Rode bicycles all day
Reread "To Kill A Mockingbird" with my kids (outloud and with a southern accent)
Saw an art exhibit inspired by the the book mentioned above
Found the Hostel in the Forest
Cooked Chipati's over an open fire
Participated in a Shabbat Friday evening meal
Ate fresh shrimp & crabs
Saw a red headed woodpecker
Picked up litter just to be nice
Learned how to face paint
Was courted then rejected by a reality TV show
Volunteered to paint faces at the Boys & Girls Club
Road a public bus
Watch the 2nd largest St. Patrick's Day Parade in the country (Savannah, GA)
Rode in a bicycle taxi
Saw the fountains in Savannah, GA with green water
Fed a semi-wild bunny out of my hand
Drank mojitos on the beach
Drummed
Danced on a sandbar at sunset
Built many sandcastles
Walked on the beach in the moonlight
Fell in love with a sea turtle named Joey
Volunteered at the humane society
Cooked breakfast on the beach & watched the sunrise
Saw the sunrise and sunset all in the same day
Volunteered on an organic farm
Discovered Athens, GA
Got pulled over by a state trooper & only got a warning (later found out he was wrong)
Met up with a group of old friends and camped for a weekend
Watched our children play and form friendships
Laughed a lot
Drank too much
Sold a business
Went to a hula hoop workshop
Bought a hula hoop
Discovered CSAs & locally grown sustainable agriculture
Fell asleep to the sounds of frogs, crickets and foxes
Taught workshops to kids on composting, sprouting, tea and gardening
Attended Food For Life @ Sequatchie Valley Institute
Learned from Sandor Katz about tempeh, kombucha, sauerkraut & beet kvass
Hooked an RV trailer up to a truck with  just me and a kid
Celebrated my nephews 5th birthday
Got to drive a convertible BMW for a night
Attended a hip sushi restaurant opening in Midtown Atlanta with 5 kids and FREE sushi
Watched a pod of dolphins frolick upclose & personal for 3 hours while paddling in our canoe
Watched two sea turtles get released back into the ocean
Volunteered to face paint for the GA Sea Turtle Center
Cooked dinner at sunset right on the beach
Enjoyed being with good friends and their kids at the beach
Visited one of the oldest art museums in the country
Made art
Made love
Saw living history
Had a tea party
Watched my daughter dance in the rain
Built a fairy village
Learned how to really bake bread
Watched the star Sirius rise just before the sunrise on the beach
Had an amazing 42nd Birthday
Visited my sister
Danced with my son to Gumbo Boogie
Explored St. Augustine
Lost one of our kitty cats
Watched someone die
Saw a fox
Attended a Thresheree
Cleansed the currency
Prayed for peace
Participated in a Sweat Lodge (3x)
Tailgated with friends for a TN Volunteers Game
Went to a Greek Festival
Walked on the Natchez Trace
Met Joel Salatin
Visited "The Farm" in Summertown, TN
Shopped at Farmer's Markets
Supported LOCAL restaurants and businesses
Watched an old friend perform in TWO theatrical productions
Went to a public school's fall carnival
Cooked food I never cooked before
Watched my high school alma mater play football as the away team
Had fun with friends
Recycled almost everything
Went to the top of the Arch in St. Louis
Ate Kansas City, MO BBQ
Visited a living history museum for the Old West
Saw the documentary film, "Enlighted Up" with my son
Visited the original "Little House on the Prairie" site
Watched my daughter get her ears pierced
Took the kids to Nashville, TN Parthenon and had them teach me about classic mythology
Read many, many, many books
Read the entire "A Course in Miracles" text
Saw the film, "Food Inc."
Heard cookbook author, Mark Bittman speak
Helped build a haunted house in my friend's kitchen
Celebrated Halloween with a dear friend & her family
Celebrated my husband's birthday with wings, beer and football
Helped out on another local organic farm
Saw two shooting stars
Saw a bald eagle
Purchased two new tires
Baked organic cookies with a 97 yr. old taste tester
Discovered Booya Cacao
Saw live music
Stood atop Lookout Mountain
Helped others
Healed relationships
Enjoyed the artwork of amazing artists
Reconnected with old friends and made many, many new ones
Felt gratitude and appreciation
Experienced the immense hospitality of incredible friends and family
Fell in love with my husband over and over again
Allowed my children to learn anything and everything
Drank lots of really good coffee
Cooked incredible meals
Celebrated the change of seasons
Loved myself and others
Became forgiving and accepting
Gave birth to another dream
Visited 11 different states
Chanted
Enchanted
kissed
hugged
meditated
let go of things that no longer served me

I am sure there are things that I have left out but all in all I believe that 2009 was one of my best years yet. I know that 2010 has much to offer as well. Stay tuned!!