SunRype & Disney Pixar are Teaming Up Again! #SunRypeFamilySweepstakes #PixarCoco #contest #sponsored

We are all about healthy snacks! i keep fresh fruit in the house at all times. With our busy scheduale sometimes we want a quick healthy snack to take with us and it's impracticable to carry around fresh fruit in our pocket/purse. Sunrype Fruit to Go is perfect for those occasions! They are 100% fruit strips that contain a combination of fruit puree, lemon juice concentrate, citrus pectin, citric acid and natural flavor. All the sugar in these comes naturally from the fruit and juices. 

 i LOVE that they contain so much fruit and are gluten-free, peanut-free and vegan.  So many schools are peanut free these days, that it's really nice to find healthy snacks that are peanut free and won't get soft and squishy if left in a backpack for days. 

SunRype is excited to  be collaborating with Disney for their release of the new movie Coco!  Disney shares their passion for health and wellness. Together, they hope to help deliver fun, educational and nutritional information around the power of healthy eating to individuals and families across North America. Disney’s commitment to health and wellness dates back to 2006, when the company became the first major media company to establish a Nutrition Guideline Policy to associate its brands with a more nutritious portfolio of foods and beverages. The company has since marked every year of its Healthy Living Commitment with significant milestones, such as becoming the first major media company to launch food advertising standards for children, launching new content and experiences that inspire healthier lifestyles.

Disney Pixar's Coco arrives in theaters just a few days before Thanksgiving on November 22, 2017. These animated characters are sure to provide fun entertainment for your entire family.  SunRype USA is excited to be a part of Celebrating the release of Disney●Pixar's Coco in Theatres November 22, 2017!

 From October 2nd-20th they will be collecting entries for 1 lucky person to win a Trip for 4 consisting of travel and accommodations for 3 Days & 2 Nights in Hollywood, plus 4 passes for the opportunity to see the Los Angeles Premiere Screening of the Disney●Pixar's Coco film in early November plus some yummy SunRype snacks of course. After that we will be giving away some great weekly SunRype & Disney●Pixar's Coco prize packages up for grabs from October 23rd to November 24th, 2017.

Enter here for a chance to win a Trip for 4 to the Movie Premiere (October 2-20, 2017). 
Enter here for a chance to win a weekly prize pack  (October 23 - November 24, 2017). 

Good luck! We are looking forward to seeing the movie in theaters soon! 

You can find SunRype at select grocery stores.  Where to Buy 

or order by the case online at: Amazon.com

Connect with  SunRype USA 

Twitter- Sunrype USA

Facebook Sunrype USA 

Instagram Sunrype USA 

Pinterest Sunrype USA

*NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. The sweepstakes begins on October 2nd, 2017 at 8:00am PT and ends on October 20, 2017, at midnight PT for the Premiere Trip Sweepstakes & October 23rd through to November 24th, 2017 for the weekly prize packages. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. or D.C. who are 18 years of age or older. The sweeps can be entered ONCE PER DAY. Find a full list of the prizes available to be won, how to enter, odds of winning and drawing dates along with the full rules and regulations at www.facebook.com/SunRypeUSA. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Sun-Rype Products Ltd

*i received a complimentary product in exchange, for my honest and unbiased review. All opinions are 100% my own.

The Last of the Monarchs- Saving monarch butterflies 2017

This year, like every year we rescue the monarch caterpillars off the milkweed that grows on the edge of the road before the county movers come through and mow it all down.  We were able to save and release 17 healthy monarchs this year.

However, not all of our caterpillars survived.  In nature only 1 out of every 10 eggs survived to maturity. There are many diseases and parasites that can kill them. Our very first chrysalis this year began turning weird colors, so i knew it was dead. i was worried at first that it may have had a virus and all of the caterpillars i had would have been exposed to it, but then i saw the hole in the side and the weird little larva on the bottom of the container and i knew it had just been infected by a Tachnid fly.  

Thankfully, the other caterpillars we fine and went on to become butterflies. 

i like to move the chrysalis out of the container so they don't get damaged by the remaining caterpillars, or from opening and closing the lid to refill the milkweed. 

 The last batch of monarchs i collected, looked a little odd. It's hard to tell in the photo, but the black and white lines did not have clear borders. The black looked like it had bled a bit into the white, or like the lines were made with water colors. They just looked a little off, so i isolated them from the rest. They continued eating like normal, and then transformed into their chrysalis. So i was feeling optimistic, that maybe they were all fine.

Several days after the last of the caterpillars transformed, i saw this weird spotting.  This is a sick chrysalis. It eventually turned splotchy dark and the chrysalis died. All the caterpillars with the weird stripping  died in the chrysalis except one, with emerged deformed and was unable to fly.
i'm not sure what disease they had, but i suspect it may have been OE.  It seems that at the end of the season, there are far more diseases than at the beginning of the season.

It always sucks to lose a few, but it's all part of the natural cycle. All of the diseased/infected caterpillars we raised had been exposed to the disease in nature and would have died anyhow. Keeping the unusual looking caterpillars isolated is important to keep viruses from spreading to healthy caterpillars, and sterilizing the containers at the end of the season is also important.

The county movers came through and mowed down the milkweed on the edge of the road, so our monarch season is officially over. i still see a few pass through, and look forward to their return next year!

Marching Band Season

When the kids were younger we spent almost every weekend hiking or going to science museums. Family time has always been very important to me, so i loved to spend a day unplugging from technology and enjoying the world around us.

Over the summer, we really enjoyed kayaking every chance we had. With school starting back so early (second week of August) and Kenan traveling about every other weekend, our kayaking adventures were cut short this year. 

With Sequoia in Marching band, our weekends now consist of Football games on Friday Nights (Just there for the band) and band competitions on Saturdays. Although i miss our hikes and day trips to museums i do enjoy watching my boy perform.

The band always does a fantastic job and are really enjoyable to watch. Last year they played a Queen set, this year the music is from Fiddler on the Roof.  They talked about doing Harry Potter music, but a few of the kids didn't want to for religious reasons. LAME.  

My son has been participating in the marching band for 3 years, playing the Trombone. It's neat to see him progress each year and have an activity he really loves. They often call it the band family, and it really does seem to be. 

We recognize many of the kids from our old Library playgroup, karate and Floyd Jams.  It's neat to see the kids of community grow with the band. My son is the second tallest Trombone player.  He may actually be the second tallest in the whole band. 

We are super proud of him and his commitment to the band.  My daughter has just started band at the elementary school and is hoping to be part of the marching band when she goes to the high school as well. It does take a lot of practice and commitment, but i know they have a lot of fun as well.

So my weekends are now about driving back and forth to band band competitions, and picking up late at night from football games.  There just hasn't been much time for anything else. As the kids get older, i expect this will only get worse. 

The competitions are in different areas of Virginia, so we do get to enjoy a few day trips with different views. Sometimes we look for places to hike/explore while we are there.  i'm still hoping we get to kayak once or twice before the winter hit. The weather is already changing, and we've had a light frost in the mornings. With garden season wrapping up, craft season is beginning for me and we still have a few more band activities on the weekends. Competitions are coming to an end, but there are still football games and a couple of parades. i've really slacked on my blog the past few months, but we live a rather boring life. Not much going on, just working hard and living life. No complaints.

Jade Crate- Bohemian styled Subscription box (sponsored)

Last week i received one of the JadeCrate Subscription Boxes! It actually arrived just in time for my Birthday! i've never purchased a subscription box before, and was eagar to see inside!.
i mean, who doesn't love a suprise?!

Each surprise subscription box is designed to feed your bohemian spirit. JadeCrate's boho subscription box is carefully curated to ensure your satisfaction. They offer two sizes, the Jadecrate subscription box is $49.99 and the smaller Pico boho is $25.

 Your monthly subscription box contains a mix of global, fair trade, USA made fashion accessories, home goods, natural skin care, organic snacks, and more. Not sure about the subscription? They also offer a try it before you subscribe box. My box was full of fun items. 

A few of the items i received. My tween daughter of course tried to claim everything. :) 

My box included a lovely fair trade scarf, a sample of organic tea a bag of organic popcorn, a decorative glass votive holder, a boho themed ring and earrings and a bottle of their natural signature lotion. i really loved that they included a card with information about the featured artist and product that they made.  The tea an popcorn samples were fun, and the signature all-natural lotion is very nice.

My daughter claimed the fair-trade scarf (although i plan to borrow it ;) ), she also loved the ring.  My favorite item is the Elephant earrings and the votive holder. 

You can check out Jade Crate for more info about the different boxes and subscription options. While you are there,  enter to win a Pico box in their monthly sweepstakes!

Also check out their Kickstarter  page for some special deals for pledging.  For a pledge of $40 or more, you'll receive an introductory box with no strings attached! A nice way to try out the box before committing.

Connect with Jade Crate!
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/jadecratebohoboxes/
Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/jadecrate/
Twitter- https://twitter.com/jadecrate


i've always been a bit curious about subscription boxes, but i definitely see the appeal! It was really fun to receive a surprise in the mail!  i liked all the items that came in the box, and really think this would make a fun gift to send to anyone who loves the boho lifestyle!





*i received this Jadecrate box at no cost, in exchange for my review. My opinions are my own.
#sponsored

Garden food- Eating the harvest

With Septemeber coming to an end, the garden harvest is almost overwhelming at this point.

It's almost too much to keep up with despite, canning and freezing as much as i can. So i'm always looking for recipes that incorporate as much garden produce as possible.

Mexican stuffed peppers is a great way to use up some of those fresh sweet peppers.  i loosely used this recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/231514/vegetarian-mexican-inspired-stuffed-peppers/ i used fresh garden tomatoes instead of canned and added some of my homegrown corn. Sometimes when i make this i add sweet potato instead of corn.

Kenan spent a lot of the summer traveling to different glass events.  With him gone and the rest of us really don't drink a lot of milk, and so we ended up with an excess of raw milk so i make fresh mozzarella, ricotta, butter and had left over cream and buttermilk. 

We were able to incorporate the dairy products into several delicious garden meals. i used this recipe for the tomato tart https://www.macheesmo.com/heirloom-tomato-tart/ i was able to use up my ricotta in this recipe. i also made a vegetable quiche which used my homemade mozzarella, tomatoes, swiss chard, shiitake mushrooms (home grown) and some of our eggs.  Vegetable Tian is a great way to use up some squash and tomatoes. http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2014/02/parmesan-vegetable-tian.html

This was taken on Sept. 20th.  Garden season is coming to end, but we are still getting plenty of fresh produce. Our first frost is typically the first week of Oct. but could come at any time.
i'm feeling really good about the amount of food we were able to put up this year, and love finding new ways to incorporate the fresh produce into our meals.

What are your favorite garden recipes?