True to my word, I stayed away from the computer while I was on vacation. I had a great time visiting family. On my mothers side, many of us meet in South Carolina. I had a few relatives asking me was I still doing the Vegan thing. You think, they would stop after all these years right? I’ve been veggie since 1992. 😉
I didn’t get around to making any beaded jewelry as I had hoped. I was on the run the majority of the time while visiting family in South Carolina, and now I think I need to take at least a day to recover from our vacation.
My daughter and I had a fabulous time, hanging out with my parents, my brother, and my sweet little three-year old nephew. I took plenty of pictures, made plenty of vegan dishes that were gobbled up by my daughter and some of my non veggie family too.
Now, I’m back home, catching up on emails from clients, and thinking about squeezing in a nap at some point. 😉
Isn’t it Interesting how our best made plans, sometimes doesn’t work out as we’d like? When my daughter was born, I realized quickly that at times, plans will change.
My daughter and I will be away for the holidays, and while I’d planned on having advance posts for every day I’m away. It’s not working out that way. Outside of checking mail, phone calls, and sending a quick email to the lovely Kaozz, I haven’t been on the computer.
Bags are packed, guinea pigs are prepped, errands have been run, and I got a chance to check with a few of my friendly neighbors too. No, no time to do advance posting here. It’s always nice to take a break from the normal routine and do something different. I plan to relax, spend time with family, and soak up the sun rays by the water. We have a condo that overlooks the waterfront.
For those within the United States, I’m hoping you have safe and enjoyable holiday.
Blessings,
Moondancer
Technorati Tags:
Holiday, New Tag, Independence Day
Late this evening (or early this morning – I haven’t gone to bed yet for some reason); I felt the need to look up things related to Narnia. Why, I have no clue, but I don’t mind taking a stroll down memory lane. Besides, I really liked the Chronicle of Narnia series.
Wait, wha….? Ok, what rock have I been hiding under? For goodness sakes, I’ve only seen the first installment! Apparently, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader marks the third installment in the Chronicles of Narnia series.
Ok, ok… I know I don’t watch too much television (days, weeks, months can go by before I turn it on) but I thought I would have heard about this!
Talk about excited…
That simple post, instantly transported me to my childhood days when I stumbled upon a book by C.S. Lewis. That book was The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I was about seven (or perhaps eight) when I read it. Which happened to be the second installment within the series. I didn’t read the entire series until I was in my 30’s.
I was raised Christian, and in my mind I saw some similarities with the Christian faith. Aslan the Lion sacrifices his life to save Edmund. Christ sacrifices himself to save the world from their sins. That right there, made the Bible a little more interesting.
As I read through the book, I would rush to the Bible to see whether I could find any other similarities. No, it wasn’t as obvious at Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan but they were still there! What am I doing now? Why, I’m rounding up the entire series to see whether my seven-year old daughter is interested in reading them. She was three when I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to her. When she was five, she saw the movie too. She absolutely adored it!
Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
My only question…
Will my daughter like the new installment? Ok, we have some time, it doesn’t hit the theaters until December 10, 2010. All right that gives us plenty of time to watch the second installment and perhaps brush up on the first one too. Hmm, might be a good idea to reintroduce some of the books to her also. If she likes them, I know what we’ll be seeing at the movie theater this December!
Photo Source: Jonathan Berry.net
Technorati Tags:
Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
You want to know something? I’ve been finding it hard to sit down and write down the vegan recipes I create.
A few years ago, I created a vegan cooking website where I created and posted Vegan recipes. Thanks to a personal website I owned, I had gotten into the habit of writing down the measurements of whatever I prepared so now it’s simply a matter of doing that again. I’ll admit it’s not easy. At times when we break a routine, it can be hard getting back into it again, yah know?
I’m not one to follow a recipe; I’ve always created my own, when I was a little child I took directions from my mother. I’ve been doing that since I could remember. During childhood, I can think of many bombs I made in the kitchen. I wasn’t afraid to explore, and try new ingredients in whatever I created. However, as I got older that didn’t happen, I knew what would work.
I guess that’s understandable; I’ve been cooking for 35 years now and I enjoy being creative. I first learned to cook on a wood stove. I started cooking when I was four years old. Naturally, I was supervised at that age, and for a few years after that too. I can still remember the excitement I experienced creating simple meals that people actually enjoyed eating! These days I’m passing my love of cooking on to my daughter. It’s wonderful to see that she truly enjoys being creative in the kitchen.
Even though I don’t follow recipes, I do have a lot of recipe books. I find it inspiring to read what others are making, reading their thoughts on techniques, and listening to the stories they have to tell.
Since I’ve always come up with my own recipes I do find it hard to take the time to write down what I’m preparing. My natural tendency is to just create, but I’m trying to change that. Again, I find myself trying to remember to write down the measurements as I cook, so I can pass on the created recipe to others.
The good news is I remembered to do that with the Chana Masala recipe I made earlier this week, so yes Janet I’ll be posting it on Celebrate Life! sometime this week. 🙂
If you like creating jewelry, or simply love looking at pretty things be sure to check out Janet at her virtual home, Singing Woods. Janet’s a jewelry maker and has created some gorgeous pieces, and yes she has an Etsy shop too.
All right back to my cooking ramble, the Chana masala I made a few days ago didn’t last long in our house. It was delicious when it was hot, and amazing the next day when I served it as a cold dip.
Oh, one last thing… I’m publicly challenging myself to post at least one recipe per week on this website. Initially, it will be tough but after a while I know it won’t be an issue.
Just dropping a note to all the wonderful men out there who just happen to be fathers, or are a father figure. You’re definitely appreciated.
I would like to take this time to personally thank my father. Who’s done a lot for me over the years.
Dad, I really appreciate the support and love you’ve given me over the years. You were a tireless worker, who made numerous sacrifices for my brother and me. Of course, you aren’t perfect (who is) but you’re the perfect dad for me. Thanks for being a great dad, and being the only ‘dad’ my daughter has ever known.
My daughter’s father killed by a drunk driver while I was pregnant, so she never met her father. He was a great man, and I know she would have loved him as much as I did. You could say my dad is a father figure/grandad for my daughter. Thanks dad for spending the time with my daughter, and making her feel special too.
Besides the obvious switch from free service to paid, swapping Word Press themes yet again, I’ve made another change. Some of you might have noticed it, since I’ve had a chance to comment on a few blogs. It’s something I’ve wanted to do since I created my WP website a few weeks ago.
Once the the virtual dust died down here at Celebrate Life I decided that there was one thing that needed to go, my user name Nyomomma. Writing Not your Ordinary Momma wasn’t in the cards when it comes to leaving a note on someone’s blog, which is why I shortened it to Nyomomma. Deciding on a name… well that’s always been challenging. What should I choose?
Moon Dancer
Photo Source: Garden of Graphics
No, I didn’t want to have vegan or vegetarian in my name. I’ve been there, done that. I’m Vegan but… I’m more than that yah know?
It took me a while, but I finally decided to use the name… Moondancer. It definitely fits me. I didn’t just come up with that name. It’s a name I’ve used for at least a year.
I’ve always been fascinated with the moon, read quite a few articles focused on the lunar cycle and its effects on humans and animals. Additionally, there are certain things I do depending on the lunar cycle but even though the fascination was there, I didn’t pick the name Moondancer until I started playing a little known MMORPG called World of Warcraft. Ok, so I’m joking about the little known part. Regarding MMORPG’s, WoW has the largest number of players. Moondancer was/is one of my Night Elf Druids in that game. I haven’t played with that character in months, (miss people like the lovely & talentedKaozz.)
I was slightly surprised when I found many with that user name. I guess I shouldn’t be. It’s very pretty. It’s kind of interesting knowing that others enjoy that name too. Moondancer has that earthy vibe that I like, and well… I do love gazing at the moon. I like dancing, and at times I dance while watching the moon. That’s normal, right? 😉
Isn’t the above picture beautiful? I usually dislike websites that have songs that automatically play when I visit their page, but I didn’t mind in this case. The music seemed to fit, yah know? I’ve always been fascinated with Native Americans and so it’s no surprise I’ve learned a lot about the culture and interacted with many over the years.
Perhaps part of my fascination is because my grandmother was Blackfoot Indian/African American/Irish. I never thought about her ethnicity when I was young. Although she did talk about her heritage, she was my grandmom. A very light could pass for white (if she wanted to and she did to get jobs back in the day) sweet little lady who had so much love for others. Yeah grandmom was doing the ‘don’t ask don’t tell’ back in the day. They didn’t ask her race, and she didn’t tell. I can’t say I blame her, times were tough and she and her husband took the jobs they could to survive.
What a great role model she was, and I did my best to emulate her. You want to know something? She was even shorter than me! She was 4’10, small but powerful. I’m 5′. My grandmother was a Rosie Rivetor I simply adored her, and wanted to learn as much about her as possible. She lived a long full life and died a few weeks before she turned 94. Even if she weren’t Indian, I know I would have read up on their culture. Learning about different cultures has always fascinated me. My daughter’s father was an interesting mix of Lumbee Indian, German, and Irish.
Well whaddya know…
My Google search pulled up a song titled Slow Dancing with the Moon by Dolly Parton. I’ve heard many of Dolly’s songs, like most of them, but I’ve never heard this one. I’m really enjoying it. Thanks Dolly!
Dolly Parton: Slow Dancing with the Moon
Lyrics Dolly Parton: Slow Dancing with the Moon
Sweet little cherry blossom, blooming before her time
Moving her lips to her favorite song, cherishing every rhyme
Swaying her hips to the rhythm, humming along with the tune
Lost in her own little dream world, slow dancing with the moon
Watching her I cannot help but go back in my mind
And suddenly I find I am 15 again
Slow dancing with the moon
Oh, the stars got in my eyes long time ago
And I’ve lived my life like a love sick clown
In a bittersweet cartoon
Just a dreamy-eyed kid slow dancing with the moon
Watching the girl I’m reminded she’s quite a lot like me
Trapped in the suburbs of wonderland, lost in her own fantasy
Somehow my heart never grew up, no one ever burst my balloon
So here I am swirling in star dust slow dancing with the moon
Still believe someday my wildest dreams will all come true
And I’ll find someone who’ll make me 15 again
But until then I’m slow dancing with the moon
Oh, the stars got in my eyes long time ago
And I’ve lived my life like a love sick clown
In a bittersweet cartoon
Just a dreamy-eyed kid slow dancing with the moon
Still a starry-eyed kid slow dancing with the moon
Hey, how are yah? If you’re popping by my virtual home on the same day I’m posting this or few days after this post was published, chances are you found me via my old WordPress blog, Not your Ordinary Momma. I know the search engines haven’t picked up my website that quickly!
First, I want to thank you for clicking on the link and stopping by my new home. On my free WordPress blog I mentioned I was growing tired of writing there. I simply didn’t have the freedom to do many things that I’m used too.
I’ve been writing online since the early 90’s, have had a hosting provider for many of those years and just recently tried out a free blog. I didn’t like it at all, and so now I’m back to hosting my rambles under a paid service. Enjoy it, since I have more freedom to do whatever the heck I please, and I can play with my WordPress themes too.
I still have a lot of work to complete here before it meets my satisfaction but I’m happy I’ve moved to a hosted server. Celebrate Life is my new virtual home.
This WordPress theme won’t be staying; I just tossed it up until I have time to play around with themes that interest me.
As with my other personal/professional sites I’m using customized permalinks. It’s great for SEO, and I always thought it looked cleaner than having a number assigned to a post.
It took me a little while to come up with my url, but since my tagline is Celebrating Life I decided to include that in my url. Life’s too short, I celebrate the time that is alloted to me. Negativity is something I go out of my way to avoid; it’s simply not healthy.
Broken links/Things acting screwy…
Although I think I’ve updated most of the links on this site, I could have overlooked something. If you do find something please leave a comment here or send an email to info at imcelebratinglife.com just remember to use the @ in place of at.
On Writing…
A few years ago, I created a website that focused on natural skin care and cleaning products you could make at home. I posted a lot of recipes I’d created over the years; I even sold a lot of my products too. I’ve always enjoyed sharing what I’ve learned with others. I believe in playing it forward. It’s always a great feeling to help others out too. Creating that website was amazing since I was able to interact with more people. I could never meet that many in person. Eventually I’ll bring that website back online, but until then you’ll see me posting organic recipes here.
Protecting our environment, gardening, and enhancing our health naturally are a few things I’m extremely passionate. In fact, it’s something you’ll see me writing about a lot on I’m Celebrating Life.
I do hope that my readers don’t ever think I’m attacking them because it’s simply not my style. If I can make you think (like may writers have made me do over the years) well then that’s great. I’m vegan, but you don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to be healthy. You simply need to make informed choices when it comes to eating.
There’s so much misinformation out there, at times it can be hard for people to cut through the crap to find credible information. It’s my hope that I can pass along tips I’ve learned or at least point you in the right direction.
What can I say, I love Calvin & Hobbes and the above cartoon has always made me laugh.
Small Honey Bee update…
Bees (more specifically honey bees) have been on my brain a lot lately and so I’ve been doing a lot of honey bee reading. I’ve picked up books from the library, chatted with some fantastic folks (like Two-Honeys) online, and thanks to Organically Managed Beekeeping (The podcaster lives in Maryland just like myself) I’ve stumbled upon some amazing podcasts. There’s so much valuable information that I’m taking my time to digest, and savor the wealth of beekeeping information.
Ok, ok… I know I don’t watch too much television (days, weeks, months can go by before I turn it on) but I thought I would have heard about this!
You want to know something? I’ve been finding it hard to sit down and write down the 
Just dropping a note to all the wonderful men out there who just happen to be fathers, or are a father figure. You’re definitely appreciated.
On Writing…