Paper Starfish

Quite a title there!

A lot has been going on here at Casa Starfish! First of all, I am finishing my last year in the classroom (for at least a while) and moving into administration. I'll be the assistant principal at my amazing school and am very excited. I've missed out on a lot of stuff this semester due to internship and working on licensure but it's been worth it. But... I have been doing something!

These are the four most recent blocks I've made for the modern crosses quilt. I truly love it. I have 18 made and will be making at least five more. I changed the block around a little bit from the pattern in this book. It started out as a gift but I really am not sure if I can part with it. I hope to have the top done this week.

Earlier this year, I started doing some research about essential oils and was really intrigued by their health benefits.

I've been using lavender to help with relaxation and sleep (for the boys too), a blend called Past Tense for headaches, and these peppermint beadlets in place of gum/breath mints. I really feel like the oils are working and have several more on the way including a blend for mosquito repellant for not-so-Baby Starfish. I'm using everything topically except for the peppermint right now.

So, as I was doing all of my research on essential oils and plant based health, I stumbled onto several blogs/sites talking about green smoothies. You see where this is going, right?

My kids are decent eaters for their ages and eat a ton of fruit. They also do okay with veggies but eat almost no dark, leafy greens. I do really well with brussels sprouts and broccoli and beets in the summer. I also eat salad but not enough and not a variety of leafy greens.

Of course, you need a super-duper blender to turn two large handfuls of kale into a drinkable concoction. Again, I researched and found that Vitamix and Blendtec are the best at around $400 each. Yikes! A good friend of mine has a Blendtec and is out of town so she let me borrow hers.

We've done green smoothies for breakfast for two days now and I have to say, I like it! Both boys drink them with me. I put a lot of kale in the blender first (it doesn't look like a lot in that picture but I promise it is!) and then a variety of fruit. The first day we did a banana, strawberries, frozen blueberries and water. Today we did banana, orange, strawberries and a splash of pomegranate juice. I definitely haven't perfected the taste yet but I'm willing to keep going. I also want to experiment with a variety of greens - spinach, chard, collards.

So... do I bite the bullet and buy a blender? On one hand, what if this is a passing phase and then I'm stuck with a $400 blender? On the other hand, summer is here, I'm off work, farmer's markets are overflowing with yummy veggies and fruits and we're all consuming more nutritious greens than before.

Do you have a Vitamix or Blendtec or something similar? How do you use it? I'm thinking about homemade almond butter, lots of easy soups in winter, etc. People say you can make ice cream, sauces, dips, and lots of other things in them. I can't decide!