Tea Eggs & Me

http://www.tinyurbankitchen.com/2009/09/tea-eggs.html

http://globetrotterdiaries.com/recipes/chinese-tea-eggs

A simple way to eat eggs. These can easily change up the hard boiled egg option for brunch. For the tea lover, it's another way to enjoy tea flavors, savory style. No need to make Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern to try these, they are not scary at all.

Sunday is my Fun Day! Art Gifts for Loved Ones

Instead of buying a gift, this Holiday, I'm thinking of making art either a photograph or a silhouette of my children and placing it in a frame.

-henryhappened has this great DIY for creating silhouettes of your children.
HOW TO MAKE SILHOUETTES OF YOUR KIDS

-jaimemoorephotography has these fabulous photos where her daughter posed as these famous life-changing women. not just a girl 

Menu Planning

Crazy as life in our home usually is, it is also full of happiness and laughter, and spending time together at home, sharing a meal is the warmest part of the day.  No matter how busy, we tried to mix things up from home-made to home cooked. We have been lax with our carbs this week, hence the mac and cheese and bagel bites/pizza, but next week, we will do better.

Here's our work week menu:

Monday Lunch Oatmeal, Chia Seeds, Flaxseeds, Almond Butter, Frozen Berries

Monday Dinner Turkey Burger, Turkey Bacon, Salad, and Sweet Potato Fries

Tuesday Lunch Bagel Bites

Tuesday Dinner Dinner out with Friends

Wednesday Lunch Fabio Vivani's | Baby Spinach Tomato Tortilla

Wednesday Dinner Oven Baked Breaded Cod Fish with Parmesan Broccoli (Boiled Broccoli with freshly grated Parmesan)

Thursday Lunch Steamed Artichoke with Dip A Kid Friendly Steamed Artichoke Recipe

Thursday Dinner CPK Pizza Frozen

Friday Lunch Annie's Mac & Cheese with Broccoli 

Friday Dinner Shrimp Scampi with Zucchini Spaghetti Linguine with Shrimp Scampi

Dreaming of Soft Boiled Eggs

Soft Boiled Eggs

4 Large Eggs

Season with Salt & Pepper

Fill a medium size pot with water and bring to a steady boil. Add eggs and cook them for exactly six minutes, maintain the heat at a simmer, then drain and rinse them briefly in cold water.

To leave the egg in shell, hold the egg vertically, the narrow side down, with a paper towel to shield you from the heat, tap a spoon or knife around the circumference, about 1/2" below the top so you can remove the shell and serve with a spoon.

Serve with toast

Top Eco Friendly Gift Guide for Father's Day

Digital Subscription of NY Times

Digital Experience so your dad has the times at his fingertip, whether he is waiting at the airport, commuting, or just sitting in his favorite chair catching up on the latest news. He will love the access as well as not having to corral all those loose newspapers for the weekly recycle pickup.

Before They're Gone: A Family's Year-Long Quest to Explore America's Most Endangered National Parks by Michael Lanza

Give your father a gift of adventure. This book is a memoir about a father and his children on a one year trek. Facing the unknown as a family adventure, this book will warm your father's heart, and maybe you can plan a visit with him to see an animal, witness the changing environment, or visit a park that has it's natural inhabitants facing extinction.

Jack Black 'Double-Duty' Face Moisturizer SPF 20 8 oz $48

Protect Dad's face with Jack Black products. Double-Duty moisturizes and protects the skin, although SPF of 20 isn't enough, you should still add sunscreen, but it's great to have some SPF protection rather than none. Dad will love the quality of the product.

Bulldog Natural Skin Care

All-Natural Skin Care Products that is based in UK. Their products eliminate the synthetics such as parabens, sodium laureth sulfates, synthetic fragrances, and artificial coloring. Dad will love the feeling of great skin care minus the synthetic stuff. You'll love how great he looks!

Panasonic ES8243A

Stop your father from throwing out all those disposable razors! The Panasonic ES8243A is a top shaver for your dad's daily grooming needs. It works dry or wet, and provides a close shave as equivalent to the Braun's top electric razor for a better price. You'll father will love this as a tool for his daily grooming.

Novara Forza Bike - 2013

Recreational cycling provides a workout and appreciation for the great outdoors. Your dad will love it for the freedom the bicycle gives him and will love a date with you out on the road.

If your father enjoys a day on the green, you can surprise him with Dixon Golf Balls. They are 100% recycled, although they won't break down, if you send it back to Dixon, you can allow them to recycle the used balls and receive a discount or credit for it. Dad will love that they are performance driven balls, and that he is using balls that used recycled materials.

Review of Dixon Eco Golf Balls

Dixon Golf

Eco Friendly Golf Tees from ecogolf

Mirimichi Golf Course

For the ultimate surprise, book a trip to Tennessee to experience Justin Timberlake's Eco Friendly Mirimichi Golf Course. Situated 15 minutes away from Memphis, Tennessee.

Top 10 great places to go for the green — and be green

Also, for those whom wanted to know, US TODAY's article on how green is golf? is linked below.

How Green is Golf?

Milton S976 Dual Head Chuck Service Gauge

If your father loves all things cars, such as driving, commuting, or enjoys cruising, an excellent Tire Pressure Gauge will help him save money by keeping his gas mileage in check by letting him know if the tires are properly filled. He'll love you for your thoughtfulness. You'll be happy knowing you saved him money and help being eco-conscious.

goPoint Technology GL1 OBD-II

This cable will allow you to connect to your car's On Board Diagnostics (OBD) data to your apple product- iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. You run the app and find out the status of your car. Fixes that pesky DTC gas cap warning message. Your father will love this tool for car maintenance. 

Solio Solar Power Charger

Your dad will love having power in his pocket wherever he is when the sun is available. Solio's updated charger even charges Apple products, great for camping! The ultimate Eco-Friendly gadget for the tech loving dad.

shwoodshop canby sunglasses

Sunglasses made from sustainable wood is the perfect Eco shades for your stylish father. He will love how it protects his eyes from the sun, and looks good too!

Clarisonic Mia Graphite $119

Take care of dad's face with the Clarisonic Mia. It keeps his face smooth, clean, and healthy by lightly exfoliating and is gentle enough to use daily. He can bring it with him into the shower. Dad will love his healthy fresh and clean face.

Kikkerland Ace Bottle Opener

Sleek bottle opener that looks great at Dad's personal bar, or at his office. He can fantasize about life in the Mad Men era with the drinks, the cocktails, and this cool bar tool.

Appreciation Gifts: End of the Year Teacher Edition

ENVIROSAX Super strong, holds 44lbs

As the school year is coming to the end, you can give the gift to your child's favorite teacher for an amazing year.

REI Lunch Cooler $17.50

Gifts that focus on R&R is always a hit! It's Summer Time, so after a year of rushing to work, your hard-working teachers deserve to enjoy the summer and relax and recharge. Give a cooler or reusable shopping bag packed with some summer time fun like ice-tea cup, some magazines, sunscreen, bug spray, or a beach towel.

"Thank you for quenching my knowledge."

You can gift Teas, Green Teas are great for the anti-oxident properties! or Breakfast, Black Teas, Iced Teas, etc.

"Thank you for helping me grow this year." 

Plants are a nice useful gift. You can give a basil plant in a pretty terra cotta pot along with a recipe for pesto or bruschetta. Any other herbs can work too, like mint, parsley, lavender, rosemary, dill etc.

Cosmetic or Toiletry bags are great for your teacher. It comes in handy for traveling, or day to day organization. You can get it monogrammed or fill it with tissues, band-aids, and wipes. Also, you can pack it with bath salts, scented soaps, and a travel size lotion, tooth-brush, paste, and mouthwash.

Add a photo of your child with THANK YOU! or a note written and signed by your child.  Below is a sample note and a link for older children.

Thank you teacher from a young child 

Dear Mrs Smith,

Thank you for being my teacher. I enjoyed your class very much and most of all liked your art lessons. 

You were always very kind to me and helped me with my reading.

Thank you.

Examples of Thank You Note for Teachers

It's always appreciated by these hard working men and women who's passion each day is to teach children. To teach with relentless energy, love, and possess such amazing work ethics, they are the true heroes. A small gesture of appreciation is the least any student or parent can do.

Screen Free Time with Your Kids

Time at home with younger kids require lots of activities. Rule of thumb is 1 hour of TV iPad iPhone Game time per day, but I find myself reaching for some sort of video distraction, while trying to get my child to eat, or as I do some cooking, cleaning, showering, etc.

If the weather permits, a trip to the park is always a great idea. Packing a soccer ball, a bike, or scooter, or other outdoor toys makes a trip to the park a good one.

At home, a section with construction paper and a pair of scissors (child-safe and blunt) is a great activity. Playdoh with all it's shapes and tools is another busy activity.

For rainy or wintry days, a game of indoor basketball, we use a beach ball which we throw into an empty hamper as an indoor-friendly version keeps the kids happy and active. Also, a blow-up punching bag, weighed down with sand is another energy buster. When in doubt, play some music and dance and jump around! That is always a mood buster.

You can also provide quiet time with books, Legos, and even sit down and do an impromptu reading. If you are spontaneous, the simple action of changing things up is always a trigger for FUN!

The main idea is to play with your children, sprinkle the day with active and quiet time, and hopefully by bedtime, they will be worn out from the days activities!

Celebrate with a Brunch or an Afternoon Tea Party Ideas for Mother's Day

We are looking forward Sunday's Mother's Day! For the Whole30 Challenge, we are thinking of hosting a warm and fun day with our family.

Some ideas for keeping up with the Whole30 Challenge to surprise her on that special brunch day:

BRUNCH IDEAS

PANCAKES

FROM Time2SaveWorkshops.com Heart Pancakes DIY Tin Foil

FROM UltimatePaleoGuide.com Paleo Pancakes

EGGS just the way SHE or they like it with BACON, SAUSAGE, PROSCIUTTO 

LOX SPREAD + (Red) Onion Slices + Roasted Red Peppers + Tomato Slices + Cucumber Slices + Capers 

AFTERNOON TEA IDEAS

Use Cucumber as "Bread" be inspired to add Nova Lox, Egg Salad, Radishes, Tuna Salad, Chicken Salad, etc.

Spring Salads | Cucumber + Dill Salad or Cherry Tomato + Artichokes + Dill Salad | Potato swapped by Cauliflower Salad

Spring Quiche Tart

FRUIT SALAD | BANANAS + BERRIES + KIWIS (Your Mom's Fave etc.)

BEVERAGES | FRESH JUICE or BLACK COFFEE or ASSORTMENT OF GREEN, BLACK, HERBAL TEAS (Check out Mariage Freres Marco Polo for something special) or WATER (still or sparking with lemon slices)

Add Flowers, a copy of a book she is wanting to read, and some coupons that are good for something she will appreciate, such as house sitting, no whining day, tech and screen free day, etc. In the end, it's to acknowledge what an amazing mother she is, the daily sacrifices she has made is appreciated. Being a mother is the hardest job, and the better the mother, the harder she works at it to let her children know just how important and loved they are.

Whole 30 Challenge 2013? Challenge Accepted!

I've been changing my diet to a primal or paleo diet along with my family, but had been recently eating quite poorly with the Easter candies and other not good for you food. So when my family decided to jump back into focusing on eating better, we decided to take on the Whole 30 Day challenge.

This program allows us to eat meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and good fats. That also means no processed foods, alcohol, no sugar, dairy, legumes, white potatoes, and grains. 

So far, it's been pretty interesting, eating in this naked manner. Already, the family is on it's 3rd day, and the fruit taste sweeter, and flavorings are intensified.

Whole 30

The link above will have additional links if you are curious to learn more.

We hope to eat better, and so far we've been including lots of vegetables into our day to day meals.

This week we are looking forward to sweet potato fries, grilled greek chicken, chicken tortilla-free burritos, Spicy Caulifornia Rolls , zucchini hummus and much more!

Primal, Paleo, and Whole 30 Challenge, are all versions of Clean Eating. Like most lifestyle choices, these ways of eating aren't necessarily a DIET, but actually a lifestyle. Eating this way, demands you to read labels, to cook, and to work things out on what you can and cannot do, from cooking, prepping, and bringing in lunch, to finding ways of eating out with the rules in mind.

We are looking forward to completing this challenge, and so far, these 3 days have been good in re-aligning the general paleo philosophy.

As we are approaching Cinco de Mayo, we'll look up some Guacamole, Salsa, Mexican FAUX Rice, Creamy Shrimp and Avocado Ceviche, and other recipes while we stay within our Whole 30 Challenge.

Pamper, Relax, Taking care of your Body at Home

Soften Foot Callouses

Baking Soda

Lavender Oil

Water

First, soften the callouses: blend two tablespoons of baking soda in a basin of warm water and add a few drops of lavender oil. After a nice long soak, scrub them away using three parts baking soda, one part water, and one part brown sugar. Follow with an application of a rich moisturizer and a warm towel foot wrap. Let sit for 5-10 minutes.

Read more: http://www.prevention.com/beauty/beauty/amazing-baking-soda-beauty-tips/3-soften-tough-calluses#ixzz2Ri5pKcGV

Green Tea Sugar Scrub

(This sugar scrub can be used on the face and the body.)

Granulated Sugar
Green Tea (tea bags or loose tea)
Hot Water
A container with a lid that can be refrigerated, preferably glass

Step 1: Brew green tea in 1/4 – 1/3 of a cup in boiling water.  Let cool.
(It can still be lukewarm when you use it, it doesn’t need to be cold.)

Read more: http://kindredspiritmommy.com/green-tea-skin-recipe-natural-beauty/

Peppermint Foot Scrub

1/2 cup almond or jojoba oil
1 cup Epson Salt
5-7 Peppermint Oil

Pour Epson Salt into a bowl and mix in almond oil. Add 5-7 drops of peppermint oil and mix well.

Read more: http://www.funhomethings.com/2012/12/peppermint-foot-scrub.html

Peppermint & Tea Tree Oil Foot Spray

1/2 cup Witch Hazel
5-7 Peppermint Oil
5-7 Tea Tree Oil

Pour 1/2 cup Witch Hazel into a spray bottle. Add 5-7 drops of peppermint oil, 5-7 Tea Tree Oil and shake well. Natural Antiseptic and Deodorizing Foot Spray cools feet and helps keep odors at bay.

With everything in life, you need to slow down once in a while. If you don't have the means to book a spa, taking care of yourself at home, with home-made natural products can be essential as you recharge your batteries. 

Each week flies by, and there is no stopping of commitments, work, sports, doctor visits, birthdays, holidays, and the calendar gets jammed pack with appointments. Set time to exercise, for yoga, or a brisk walk/swim, as well as a nice shower or bath. Practice meditation, or clearing your head, play your favorite music, write in your journal, or break out your paints and paint, draw, and photograph.

The most important thing is to take some time for yourself, the daily grind will always be there, time for your daily joys, that has been easily sacrificed, and you need to get in touch with that to re-ignite your passion.

Consider an ECO Green Mother's Day

 Ice Portraits of Vanishing Glaciers by James Balog

Chasing Ice

It's that time again, and if you were thinking about what tokens of love you wanted to surprise your favorite mother with, might I suggest either an incredible hard cover book of Glaciers- Ice Portraits of Vanishing Glaciers by James Balog, or the documentary of photographing vanishing glaciers, Chasing Ice, also by James Balog.

 ECO Optics Eyewear made from 95% recycled materials

Another great gift are ECO optics. Where they use 95% recycled materials as well as plant a tree for every frame you purchase. You can pick up sunglasses or glasses for your stylish mama and contribute to the awareness movement.

Family Recipe

DIY Martha Stewart Recipe Book

Other ideas such as the simple gift of placing all the families recipe, as well as your famous dishes in a personal recipe book as a thoughtful and heirloom gift.

As for the festivities, keeping things simple, usually is the best, if you don't want to focus on the consumerism that adds to the the unnecessary and harmful impact of waste from packaging, cards, etc. Perhaps you and the children can create cards on recycled paper, or instead of gift giving, plan a date with your mom. You can take her on a hike, to the beach, setting up brunch at home or on a picnic, or a lovely afternoon tea with sandwiches and scones are some fun ideas.

You could also do an at home spa, complete with a foot or body soak, aromatherapy oils scenting the room, facial masque, and foot or body soak, and supplying salts and essential oils for her laid back treatment, or just let her relax with books that she has on her wish list and allow her some peaceful reading.

Most importantly, you can write her notes, and express just how much she means to you. You can also spend the day at a museum, play, or musical, take her someplace special and meaningful. It would mean the world to her that you put some thoughts into celebrating the day with her and respond to what she wants or needs.

Whatever you plan, if it comes from your heart, it's the best token ever.