The Magic of Camp

Jackjack and I recently enjoyed a “Family Camp Weekend” at my childhood summer camp--Camp Gold Hollow in Nevada City, CA. We slept outside, made s'mores, and enjoyed lots of typical camp activities like canoeing, hiking, and dutch oven cooking.

We had fun with old friends and new friends. There’s much more to camp than just sleeping outside and singing around the campfire, though.

Camp is a truly magical place. Here’s why.

No electronics. There’s no cell service and electricity is hard to come by. Why play on a tiny screen when you have all of God’s creation to enjoy?

No strict timelines or schedules. There are activities scheduled all day, but you don't have to rush from one to another like you're late for a meeting at work. Really important events, like meals, are announced by the camp bell.

Upon arrival, each family signs up for one chore. Everybody contributes and nobody is stuck cleaning all day.

At camp, you aren’t weird, awkward, or shy. You can be your true Authentic Self. Do you snort when you laugh? That’s OK. Have a few gray hairs around the temples? Nobody cares. At camp, there's no such thing as too fat, too skinny, too young, too old...you get the picture.

Acceptance is the norm. We met single-mom families, mom-and-dad families, and two-mom families. We especially enjoyed playing with twins whose moms had adopted EIGHT kids through the foster system. How cool is that?!?

When it’s time to eat, everybody walks into the lodge together and remains standing until we sing grace. Food is served family style, and “table talk” topics help everybody get to know their fellow diners. Everybody clears their own plate when the meal is done, and remains at the table until announcements are complete.

There are no office politics or personal agendas. Our bunkmates might have been investment bankers or they might have been baristas. Jobs and titles don’t matter when everyone is enjoying the outdoors and each others’ friendship.

Why can't real life be more like camp?

 

Flicker of the campfire, wind in the pines;

Stars in the heavens, a moon that shines.

A place where people gather, making friends of all kinds

A place where all mans' troubles are always left behind.

Give me the light of the campfire, warm and bright!

And give me some friends to sing with, I'll be here all night.

For love is for those who find it, I've found mine right here

Just you and I and the campfire and the songs we love to hear. 

Zesty Jicama-Carrot Slaw

On Saturday, I bought a 10-pound bag of organic carrots at Costco for less than 5 bucks. What can I say? The price was great. That sure is a lot of carrots though.

If you follow me on Facebook, you've seen some of the different carrot dishes I've inflicted served to the family. Papa insists on eating them "undefiled" (i.e., uncooked) but the kids have at least tried each one of them.  I bet Papa will eat carrot cake, though...

Jicama-Carrot Slaw holds up great in the fridge and is perfect to take to a potluck or picnic because it won't spoil in the heat. (4th of July, anybody?) The dressing gives it a little bit of zing, but it's not too spicy for the kiddos. 

Ingredients:
4 cups of carrots, julienned (I used 7 carrots)
1 small jicama, julienned
1 small red onion, julienned
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/3 cup olive oil
6 Tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
3 Tablespoons lime, lemon, or orange juice (whatever you have on hand will work!)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Combine all ingredients and let sit for at least 15 minutes to meld flavors.

Tips:
If you don't have a mandoline slicer, I highly recommend the Borner V-Slicer. It took me just a couple of minutes to julienne all the veggies--and look how nice and even they are.

Wouldn't this look great as a layered salad served in individual mason jars? The colors are so vibrant.

We still have about 6 pounds of carrots to eat...can you share some recipes? And follow along on Facebook as we plow through the rest of the bag!

This article was shared on Your Great Idea, Small Footprint Friday, Simple Lives Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Fabulously Frugal Thursday, Party Wave Wednesday, The Thrifty Home, and Wildcrafting Wednesday.
Disclosure: some links in this article are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission from any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting me!

How to Make Hummingbird Feeder Solution

We love feeding and watching the birds in our backyard. Our birdbath and seed feeder have lots of guests all season long, but my absolute favorites are the hummingbirds.

Here in Sacramento we mostly see Anna’s Hummingbirds. They love to drink from my fuschias and the neighbor’s trumpetvine. Since the males like to fight over the flowers, I put a feeder right outside my kitchen window so they have an alternative dining area. This also gives them a constant food supply.

Hummingbird feeder solution is easy to make: 1 part plain white sugar to 4 parts water (e.g., 1 cup sugar with 4 cups water). Bring it to a boil to to kill any bacteria and allow it to cool completely before putting it into the feeder.

Important tips!

• Keep the ratio exactly as listed. If you dilute the solution with more water, they’ll have to drink too much and won’t get enough nutrients.
• Only use plain white granulated sugar. Don’t use brown sugar, agave nectar, honey--which can kill hummers--or powdered sugar, which contains cornstarch.
• Don’t add any food coloring to the water. The feeder has plenty of color to attract them, and the birds can’t process all the chemicals in the food coloring.
• Not all hummers migrate! You can keep your feeder out all year as long as you keep it full and clean.
• Place your feeder out in the open, out of reach of Neighbor Kitty
• If ants start invading the feeder, put some Vaseline in a ring on the pole or on the feeder itself. It’s like a giant oil slick that keeps them from the liquid.
• Change the solution and wash the feeder every 2-3 days, more often if it’s hot. Be sure and wash the feeder every time, even if they’ve drained it dry.

Our hummers love to drink from our feeder, and it's great to watch them as I'm washing a pile of dirty dishes. It sure beats thinking about all the other chores that I'm not doing.

Sometimes I swear I can watch the water level go down as they sit there and slurp! Case in point: this little gal is so relaxed she's sitting down to eat.

This article was shared on Simple Lives Thursday, Thank Your Body Thursday, Fabulously Frugal Thursday, Party Wave Wednesday and Wildcrafting Wednesday.

San Diego Vacation on a Budget

Vacations are a special treat for our family. We can get weekends away every now and then, but since Papa owns a small business we almost never take off for a week at a time. We were really excited to be able to take a family trip to San Diego this April.

Of course, we did our trip on a budget. But because vacations are so rare for us, we struck a balance between convenience and cost. For example, we flew rather than taking an entire day to drive there. We also got a rental car instead of juggling carseats, kids, cabs, and buses.

We had tons of fun and got to see everything we wanted: The San Diego Zoo, Legoland, the USS Midway, the Fleet Science Center, the Air & Space Museum, a Padres vs. Giants game, and the Old Point Loma Lighthouse. Oh, and we took lots of trips to the beach.

Here’s how we did our San Diego family vacation on a budget.

Consider the time of year. Hotels are $100 a night cheaper in spring than in the summer. We weren’t worried about pulling Jackjack out of school, since he has good grades and his teacher sent home the work that he missed.

Pack light. Each of us had a backpack with clothes, books, and toiletries, and I wore Little Peanut in her Moby wrap. We brought enough clothes for half the week and did laundry while we were there. Since we didn’t check any bags, we avoided fees and didn’t have to wait around at the airport.

Using the Moby came in handy on the USS Midway, too. Can you imagine trying to navigate a stroller through those halls?

Choose your hotel wisely. We picked a place that has kitchens in every room and complimentary breakfast. They had cribs, so we didn’t have to bring one from home. It was also within walking distance of several yummy restaurants.

Shop around for your rental car. I found the best price from Thrifty, and then made the reservation through Ebates to get 4% cash back.

Try a different venue. We wanted to catch a Giants/Padres game, and knew it would be cheaper in San Diego than in San Francisco! We got our tickets on StubHub and used what we learned from previous Giants games to make sure we didn’t break the bank.

Get the best prices on tickets by buying ahead of time. I checked my work discounts, AAA discounts, and ended up getting the best deals with a Go San Diego card. Because we went to four attractions, we got 20% off the ticket price of each one.

Shop when you get there. We packed light and hit Target for supplies on our first day. We got diapers, an umbrella stroller, and groceries. It was cheaper to buy the stroller than to rent one at Legoland and the zoo, and we were able to use it at other places like the Fleet Science Center, below.

Pack a lunch. Every place we went allowed outside food and drinks, so we brought lunches we had prepared at the hotel. We enjoyed a special treat at each place, like the apple fries at Legoland. (Note to self: figure out how to replicate apple fries from Legoland.)

When you eat out, eat smart. Since our hotel had complimentary breakfast and we packed our lunches, the only time we ate out was for dinner. We tried a couple of places from Diners, Drive Ins, & Dives and loved every inexpensive bite. When we splurged and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, we used our AAA card to get a discount.

What are your tips for vacationing on a budget? Share with us in the comments!

Disclosure: some links in this article are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission from any purchases made through them at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting me!

This article was shared on The Thrifty Home, Wildcrafting Wednesday, and Party Wave Wednesday.

The Impossible Task of Buying Clothes for Little Girls

Everybody knows that I'm not a girly-girl, right? These fingers haven't seen a manicure in years, and I'd rather be in the garden than sitting under a dryer in foils to get my color "just right."

While that's the path I've chosen for myself, I want Little Peanut to make her own decisions. Blaze her own trail, ya know. Embrace her girly-girl if that's what she wants.

In that spirit, I moseyed over to Target to pick up some shorts for her. Maybe something pink, with sparkles, Hello Kitty...I dunno. This is what I found:

Um....excuse me?!? Kids' clothing designers? I already took you to task about footy pajamas. Apparently now we need to talk about little girls' shorts.

I got no problem with the ruffles.
I got no problem with the stripes.
But for Heaven's sake, how about an extra couple of inches in the length?!?

Yes, I know I'm ranting. I know she's a little, innocent girl and shorty-shorts are "cute." But it's just not going to fly around here.

I'm sure she can blaze her own trail and embrace her girly-girl while wearing boys' shorts.

No paparazzi, please!

Do you have clothing standards for your little girls? What are they?

This article was shared on Thank Goodness It's Monday.

Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette

Almost a year ago, I shared a disappointing attempt to make balsamic vinaigrette from scratch. Everything seemed right--it tasted fine--but I just couldn't get over the look of it. See what I mean?

After gathering your advice in the comments and on Facebook, I started experimenting with different combinations. With or without dijon? Fresh herbs? Shallots? Garlic is automatically included, of course.

Many attempts later, I have a recipe that I'm not ashamed to share. It also has the added bonus of not looking like brown slime (thank goodness).

Easy Balsamic Vinaigrette
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspon pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl or canning jar. Shake or whisk until everything is incorporated. Don't use a mixer or immersion blender--you'll end up with brown slime!

Serve with the tasty salad fixins of your choice and some homemade croutons.

What's in your salad? Share with us in the comments!