Maui

I forgot my purse on the airplane.

It had my wallet and iPhone in it.

I'm torn because it's reasonable to be fairly remorseful about such things. But then, I'm exquisitely grateful for so much right now. 

The biggest concequence is that I won't be blogging as much as I expected.

This is both a blessing and a disappointment. On the bright side, I am looking forward to a technology break and a full immersion in the beauty here. 

It's our second day. The boys have logged over 1000 hours in the water so far. Emery has learned to swim. Annalise has walked on the grass for the first time ever. Marcel had made multiple friends. Mark and I are slowly shedding the layers if our life back home. I'll post Mark's phone as often as possible. 

Be blessed! Angie.

We're back

Hello old friends. It has been long time since I laid this blog to rest. But here it is, still on the nets. I need a very quick easy format to post travel pics and adventures that our family embarks on. I have had other blogs/websites/tiny corners of the internet, but all the hassle of hosting and paying fees and hackers getting into my wordpress templates makes this format so much more simple for fun, light projects like family trips. Our next trip is to Maui and we head out next week. We are looking forward to visiting friends, seeing new parts of the island, soaking in the salt water, sun and incredible forests and landscapes. If you are family, friend or just passing by, I hope you enjoy, stay a while, and introduce yourself.

New Blog

Hello Everyone.

I am very pleased to announce that my new blog is up and running. Please check it out and update your RSS feeds to

www.lilacwindow.com

Its still in its infancy, but I am hoping it will grow and become a wonderful resource for supporting creative, sustainable neighborhoods. It hopefully will be a bit tidier and more user friendly but have the same joy and personality of this blog.

I wont be hanging around here too much anymore, as its just too crazy having more than one blog...so I'll see you over there.

Thanks for all the support and fun we've had over the past few years at Mammacomic.

(you may still see mammacomic flying around saving babies and such at Second life... maybe I'll see you there too!)

classes finished, now time to work!

So, my class at Momentum is finished. I had such a great experience there. I would recommend their programs and classes to anyone interested in starting their own business.

I met some great people there who are starting their own projects and developing a presence on the web. I promised I would give you all links to some of their sites, so you can see for yourselves how creative and inspiring their projects are - and to support some local businesses!

Selena's Creations - handmade jewellery. I have seen these pieces she makes and they are truly beautiful. If you want a very special gift made, for yourself or someone else, I would definitely check her stuff out.

fake sweat shop - Serena makes the most adorable plush toys. They are recycled fabrics, pure wool inside and really adorable designs that kids and adults would love. Her site is still being worked on but will be up very soon, so hopefully this link will take you somewhere soon!

Amanda Hawey - Amanda is a personal Estetician. She comes to your home and offers spa treatments and personal care advice. She is also producing a line of handmade Bath and Body products. Her website is still under sonstruction but you can email her at: dayspa.with.amanda@hotmail.com or call 403 399 0356.

So, my business is not exactly straight forward. I have my new blog, but as my teacher pointed out, I need to figure out a way to make money from it, as it takes a lot of time, and, well, we need to eat.

So, I am working on it. I am toying with the idea of art and design classes for the homeschool sector. I love the idea of working with these kids.

Also, I am looking at designing a shopping-list product, that would make grocery shopping more fun, more organized and less time consuming - hopefully allowing us to save money, buy better quality food and eat better. I am developing a prototype just to see if it works as I hope. If you would like to be a tester for it, let me know and I'll send you a mock-up so you can see if it fits with your lifestyle.


Oh, and on the chicken front. Sew liberated - (Meg) just wrote about chickens in Durham (where she lives) I guess they just lifted the ban there too... cool.

blog therapy

The pic is my sister and brother in Bath. You can go too, and have a costume tailored by her included in the deal. Yeah, its pretty cool. Bath, in September...

so I am here for some blog therapy.

It has been so busy around here. A little too busy. I keep thinking of blog posts I want to write, and then I think - "hmmm, I should really be working on my other blog", and then I think "hmmm, I should really be working on all the house projects I've started"... and theres that painting, and then the garden, and then the crying baby who has learned to crawl, (and is, what I like to call, "a maniac in diapers"...seriously, its insane!)

So, there are the comical things going on around here - like the husband trying to jimmy the broken baby gate to the bottom of the stairs to keep little em' land locked...and of course the rest of us nearly killing ourselves as we try to clamber over it.

Theres the ingenious - where I actually make yogurt on the crock pot with this recipe here... and it actually worked. I have started eating yogurt with my quinoa every day and you would be amazed at how fast I go through it. And this is an issue for two reasons -

1) is that its getting expensive,

2) that the yogurt containers are piling up-like mountains high - and in Calgary there's no where to recycle them! (OK, you can recycle them if you have a blue box program which we do - but did you know that they ship them ALL to CHINA where they are then recycled in a very expensive and un-hippy-happy way??!?! read this article for verification...)

Soooo, hence the homemade yogurt. I reuse glass jars, and really what is prettier than a glass jar of home made yogurt ready to eat with my quinoa?? really, what is? no..I mean...really...

OK, and on the yogurt topic, I have stopped buying bread. because I want to stop eating it. But its hard. And we all like a little melted butter and honey with our tea once in a while...(or maybe a few times in a while...) and can you imagine that scenario without the bread?!?!! - STICKY! I tell you!

SO.

I make these biscuits where, in a bowl, I magic up some flour, baking soda, baking powder, crushed flax seed and other bits I can find. In another bowl I mix up an egg, and yogurt and mix it with the dry stuff, till its just wet, then add cheese. Cook on 425 for 12 mins.

yeah, Im not so good on details. but we have these everyday, and so one cant be fussy. Sooooo good with butter and honey with tea. (when you have no bread in the house they also become, sandwich holders, burger buns, peanut butter snacks...you know, whatever!)

then there's the dahl I made, which tastes so much better with yogurt...and the chipates which are better made with yogurt too. I am nearly out of the first yogurt batch already!

OK, so enough already - (even if I didnt get in the home renovations, the camping trips planned, the amazing kids who just dont stop..my class at Momentum...the coming spring...my knitting...my latest paintings... but all that will have to wait, its time to get out the bikes...)

getting warmer

Its warmed up and we are bike riding again. We have a double bike trailer that is actually a miracle in itself. When we bought it Marcel was still a baby and we were wondering if we should buy a double or just a single for him. We were considereing having another kid, but you know, so much can happen in between . You wonder: will you actually have two kids the right distance apart that they can both sit together?

...but then, a few years later and there it is.

They sit so comfortably together, Marcel explaining the sights to Emery as they roll along. its so adorable...


I want to make a website that is a content base for creative sustainability. Since my class was today I wanted to choose a name and have a site ready...

so...

my domain name is;

"Lilac Window"

This name is personal. It conjures a fragrance that inspires me. It inspires an image of home, warmth and beauty. Mark says its a bit feminine, but hey, thats cool.

I'll link it up once its ready.

Its going to be much more organized and specifically about sustainability and creativity. I want to write and promote articles and information on that topic. I also want to have information about education, and the courses I want to offer.

yeah, there are adds on my site. I know, it seems so cheese, but I am learning all about the web and making money online and I am learning how to do all this, so bear with me... a whole new blog is in the works...

too much

hi all,

the pic is of some bits and bobs we made (jewelry really) out of home made air dry clay. check this recipe....

well things have been crazy. I have not been feeling so well. Sorry about the big blog break. Unannounced absences are always inexcusable.

yeah,

so,


back to business.


I have been having so much fun at my class at momentum. Its such a good course, excellent instruction, really cool people. Its all I could ask for...specially when I have to give up two hours with my babies...

So, I have learned that I need to get a domain name if I want to start a business on the web. The problem is I am not so happy with the name "mammacomic". I started that name back when I was actually doing comics, and even then it was more of a placeholder...and now I want a huge mega-website that includes everything that I love, and hey "mammacomic" isn't hitting it anymore...so here are some names I am thinking of. This name is really an overarching name, that then I can branch out from - when I start all my sub companies, and take over the world...

my favorite - Purple House Studios
arty and ambiguous - Burnt Umber
and some more:

little house studios
mamma's paint

anyone have any other ideas????

and then I need to think of names that are not already used. "purple house studios" is not yet a domain name, so I could snag it now...

Anyways, I am going to go have some fun at iweb, and see if I can design a funky page and get it up on the nets some time soon. I'll keep ya posted.

Oh, I met Stacy over at one tiny suitcase, who has started her own business and website and is really doing a great service here in Calgary...

encouragement

yesterday, at 7 am. Marcel crawled into bed with me, put his arm around my neck, and snuggled in. With smiling eyes, he most seriously said...

"you are such a good woman."

words of encouragement from a three year old are always appreciated!

meals matter - meal planner

this is all the paintings in the set on my wall... so you can see how big they are and all that. I put them up so I could really look at what I had done, and figure out where to go. Its interesting that the larger paintings are all deviations from the original set, and thats when I realized I need to do some big works for a while to get into the whole scale thing.

On another note, I have been using the meals matter online meal planner lately and and finding it really useful. I hate grocery shopping so this program is basically used by me to make a decent grocery list. I usually spend a lot of time on my list, as I try to buy enough for a few weeks, so I dont have to go back to that horrible land of windy parking lots, carts that dont roll, crowded produce section, and crying babies....ahhh the grocery store....

This program lets me put in recipes and create a shopping list for each week. I do that and one weeks worth actually usually lasts two weeks because there are leftovers, and nights out, and other such things. I found the first time I used it I spent half the time in the store because the list allows you to organize items by type, so things are grouped together and I spent about half as much money....and over the last two weeks we have really eaten well. Its taken the guess work out of what to make for dinner, and frankly I just don't have the brain power these days...

So, I like this program, but Mark just installed another one called "sous chef" which is supposed to be good too, so if it is better, I'll let you know.

Other ways we are reducing money on food - is to buy organic chickens in bulk - along with our ground beef. see the link on the side bar for locals. Also I have been saving veggie ends when I cook in the freezer, and making stock weekly. I am not buying bread or milk and am going to try making my own yogurt (we eat a lot of yogurt...). I am trying to make most things from scratch. All this is in an effort to spend less money so I can shop at the store I really want to shop at - community natural foods...I think we are well on our way...(oh, and its also healthier to eat like this so yay!!)