Poco Mountain Girl

March came in like a lamb up here on the mountain!  Whether or not that’s a good thing, we thoroughly enjoyed it. 🙂

Pierogi and Pippa, munching alfalfa.  Where is Waldo-tine?

The inside of my clay bowl–still drying.  I can’t think of anything I’d rather see hiding under my salad than a goat, hehe.

Valentine.  Yesterday Cash brought me the box of valentine cards that Zia’s classmates had given her, and asked me what was inside.  “Zia’s valentines,” I told him. “Yeah!” he said happily, “And where are my Pierogies?”

When life gives you snow, WEAR OUT your snow pants.

This morning I set breakfast on the table and Cash said, “It’s like a birthday!”  Haha.  Bacon, a blueberry pancake, and bean & cheese burritos–just like a birthday.  Love that boy.

It’s snowing again, but that’s okay.  We have three new pairs of snow pants to wear out, wood to carve, clay to shape, canvas to paint, and goats to play with.  Not to mention an amazing God, a good place to live, and kids who see birthdays in breakfast.

How is your March shaping up?

February has been a fairly delightful month, I’d say–at least for us.  (I’m sure there are quite a few people on the east coast who wouldn’t agree.) We’ve been getting to know our goats, had a week of sunny warmth, a couple of weeks of bitter freezing temperatures, lots of snow, and time to make things indoors.

The kids worked with Sculpey clay yesterday.

Zia made a whole menagerie, starting with this dove.

My green smoothie, topped with coconut flakes and melty homemade chocolate chips.

Starting a wooden baby spoon!

Goats in the basement.  It gives us and them something fun to do.

Karate kid(s)!

Getting to the clay studio sometimes usually doesn’t happen–so I started making pottery on my own in the basement.  It’s not quite the same without a wheel, but hand building has a certain charm of its own.  Sometimes I like it even better.  Besides, who can beat goats for company?

Zia’s creations.  She painted them with acrylics, then coated each one in glittery gold paint.

Another bear in the works!

Waking to winter wonderland mornings.

Making things=happy, silly kids.

This bear isn’t a Santa Fe bear, like the first.  He’s a Colorado bear…in springtime.  Notice he could use a little more chub around the waist. 🙂

Zia’s dove and eggs.

The baby spoon, carved and with its first coat of tung oil.

Zia’s field mouse and a nest of babies.

Last night, roasting marshmallows.

Although February was a good month, I’m looking forward to March and all that comes with it. Around here, of course, that means…MORE SNOW!  Yippee.

Linking up with SouleMama…a moment from our week.

I recently found this photo of us from November 2005.  We had been married almost a year, were living in Kansas City, and at the time of this photo, visiting Caleb in NM.  That was almost six years before he came to live with us!  His granny took this picture at her house.

It’s funny to see how tiny and different Caleb was.  And me–goodness.  I had a full baby face (although I was 30) shiny, spiral curls (lost those when we moved to Colorado!) and OH that brilliant lipstick.  Hehe.  And David–he’s just awesome, right?  Love that guy.

After I found that picture, I dashed around the house taking shots of us, just for a little comparison.  Here ya go:

Still awesome after all these years.

But just a notch or two crazier. 🙂

The same goes for me, of course.

And apparently I’ve turned out to be a rather cool mom…

Caleb now has a completely different life from that quiet, only-child existence he once had.  He just takes it all in stride.

These two were still flapping around in heaven back then

not much differently than they do down here, I’m sure.

So that’s us, over nine years ago to present day.  Time flies when you’re having fun!

I just thought I’d post this dark chocolate recipe I came up with a week or so ago.  I’ve never really been a chocolate lover–probably because sugar makes me feel so crummy–but lately I’ve kind of gotten into making a sugarless variety.  I am really loving this recipe, and I’ve been having a piece or two just about every morning.  David and the kids are more of a milk chocolate breed of people, but even they ate some.  Cash is entirely sold on it.

The recipe contains coconut oil (a super healthy fat) and xylitol, a natural low-glycemic sweetener that is really good for your teeth.  (Chocolate has its own benefits–the greatest being taste, of course.)  Xylitol looks and tastes like sugar, but does not dissolve as easily.  I powder it in my VitaMix before stirring it in, but it still causes the chocolate to come out a tiny bit crunchy.  I actually like that–but then, I’m a crunchy kind of girl.

My face in chocolate.

Here’s the super-yummy, fat-and-crunchy, tooth-loving recipe.

1/3 cup + 2T melted coconut oil

1/3 cup + 2T cocoa powder

1/2 tsp vanilla

a tiny pinch of cinnamon

a tiny pinch of sea salt

1/3 cup powdered xylitol

After melting the coconut oil in a heavy pan, add cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt.  Stir until everything is melted together.  Add xylitol and whisk until smooth.  Pour into a mold (we like goats around here) or onto a piece of parchment paper.  Chill until no longer shiny; remove from mold or peel off paper.  Keep it cold–the coconut oil will melt if it gets too warm.

You can also use a different sweetener if you’re not into xylitol–it has a 1:1 substitute ratio for sugar.  This recipe makes 6-7 oz of chocolate–I’m not sure exactly because I tasted just a tiny bit before it was finished.

Yum, yum, yum.

Update: I now use erythritol for the sweetener instead of xylitol–I like it better (less tummy-rumbling effects) and it has all the good qualities of xylitol. 🙂