perspective

perspective.

i wish i could know or see the bigger picture sometimes.

it might help my perspective.

my hopes and dreams see attainable yet disappointment runs along side.

my sister just wrote an interesting post about surprise & disappointment.

a topic heavy on my mind.

also on my mind is the thought of

joy in the journey.

what does that look like?

daily? monthly? yearly? and beyond?

what is my perspective?

more importantly my Heavenly Father's perspective?

"I know the plans I have for you" says the Lord (jeremiah 29v11)

the perfect after-school snack

a gas stovetop

pot with lid

popcorn kernels

olive oil

pop. pop. pop.

add salt

add 2 kids

add hot cocoa

share. share. share.

...

food is always on my mind.

always.

i am so not happy with the way the i look or feel.

but

i think about food all the time.

all the time.

ack.

if only i could think about exercising as much.

oh, i think about exercise.

but wait, i started doing 5 push ups and 5 jumping jacks a day.

funny, huh.

i read an article in O magazine about a woman who set out to change her life by changing 2 things...one of which was doing 5 jumping jacks a day.

it helped her.

i am also jotting down 5 things i am grateful for everyday.

maybe 5 is my number for 2010.

maybe.

the way i see it is 5 leads to 10 and 10 to 20 and so on.

oh, blather. blather. blather.

a thought

a toss up

2 terrific breakfast or lunch options.

can't decide which i prefer.

almond butter with banana slices or bread pudding?

do you have favorites?

photography

There were no resolutions made only thoughts, ideas and hopes for improvement in many areas of my life.

One of which was to photograph more.

sunchokes

These are sunchokes,

aka Jerusalem artichokes.

A gift from farmer Bob to me.

Something new to learn about and try to cook.

Have you had sunchokes before?

Heard of them?

I had heard about sunchokes but had no idea about them, a first for me.

First I googled, then off to wiki and then onto a recipe site.

Perfect,

sunchoke gratin.

Anything gratin sounds good to me.

Anything baked with a cheese topping.

First you peel the knobbly ginger looking chokes,

toss them into salted boiling water until soft but not mushy (10 mins)

butter a baking dish, slice chokes and place in pan like a tile roof (overlap), top with parmesan cheese and dot with butter (I added a few leftover breadcrumbs too),

and bake at 400 until bubbly & browned.

Taste.

Super tasty...like really flavorful potatoes only better.

I would make sunchokes again but I will say the peeling is laborious.

...

oh-no, I might not make it again.

hungry cravings blog post explains a few things to me I didn't know about.

...

OKAY I WILL NOT BE EATING SUNCHOKES AGAIN...THERE IS A REASON THEY ARE NOT A MAINSTREAM VEGGIE!

A bonus shot of my messy kitchen for those of you who think my kitchen is always tidy!

a certain boy

a certain boy wanted gel for his hair, thanks to tip from a certain auntie.

a certain boy child is growing his locks and is a bit elfish these days.

nice, buddy.

slideshow 10th try!

2009 iFam slideshow from nicole iwawaki on Vimeo.

okay, let's try this again but bigger.

music by celine dion.

2009 slideshow

Just a quick video capturing a few highlights of our year created by John.

ifam new year

kid and dog photos galore.

not pictured:

street football

duck feeding

food frenzy

wii playing

13 adults

1 cat

...

an ifam tradition

new years day.

2010

...

more photos