this city girl's farm

always dreaming.....

dinner tonight:

organic pot roast! -slowly cooked

MY MADE UP RECIPE: you can alter to your liking

2 1/2 lbs organic bottom round roast (or your choice of meat, i like to try different cuts)

1 big organic sweet yellow onion sliced pretty

1 carton of organic mushrooms (your choice) sliced

4-5 organic red potatoes chopped into pieces

about 10 organic baby carrots, don't forget to eat a few while prepping (for good eyesight)

about 10 dehydrated tomato slices scattered for color (i'm lucky enough to have a grocery market that likes to dehydrate whatever they can, use whatcha got!)

fresh minced organic garlic scattered to your preference (i like alot -i'm italian)

1 can or carton of organic mushroom soup (i usually use half a cup to a cup of organic heavy cream)

garlic salt on roast and then scatter around the pot

italian seasoning scattered around pot to lift the flavor of everything (i promise you, i am not rachael ray -just like to have free flowing fun in the kitchen. i usually make stuff up as i go along. my italian grandmother was famous for cooking this way, so i inherited her fun cooking ways. plus it makes cooking more adventurous. everything is about presentation for me! ask my husband, even his sandwiches are fancy. he loves it. notice how i am rambling when i start telling you to add the italian seasoning, if you could see me, i'm talking with my hands.) ok, next ingredient.....

curry powder just a dash (it makes most recipes complete and gives each recipe just enough mystery to the taste buds)

soy sauce just a couple dashes (you can choose to omit this one if you are concerned w/too much sodium.)

salt and pepper to taste -here a pinch there a pinch, everywhere a pinch pinch, old mcdonald.... oops i'm used to singing with sister bear!

1/2 cup of sherry (feel free to pour yourself a glass of wine -at dinner)

1 cup of water (i use reversed osmosis, it's your choice on this one)

*optional 1 packet of dry onion soup by lipton, i use the kosher stuff!

ok, now lets cook this deelish dish we are about to call dinner tonight!

cook on HIGH for 5-6 hours or on LOW for 7-8 hours. a few hours into it, you will start to enjoy the aroma that fills your home. trust me, i lift the lid a few times to sip the yummy juices.

serve this with steamed organic broccoli and garlic bread or just bread will do! mashed potatoes are another great side dish and corn on the cob are a favorite in my household.

buono appetito

cooked in my new crock pot that i purchased from QVC while in the hospital after i delivered brother bear. i'm sentimental! everytime i cook in it -it's not just a crock pot; it was bought in the middle of the night while i was waiting for the nurse to bring brother bear in, my wrapped little burrito, so i could feed him. the nurses would take him in the nursery only late at night, so i could get a few hours of sleep. they were the best!


my little bundle, he loves his sissy's favorite bear. starting to teeth!

going to sleep last night.......

sister bear: (kisses mama) "goodnight mama"
sister bear: (kisses baby) "goodnight baby"
sister: (looks down and kisses herself) "goodnight sister bear"

"look mama! the pictures are singing!"

sister bear and i were singing along to one of our favorite cd's by laurie berkner and that's what came out of my creative little girl's mouth..... as she was playing her trumpet of course!

someone loves "hee-hore" and being two!

sister bear is watching "a sad day for Eeyore" well sister bear calls him "hee-hore". she was very concerned for him, while noshing on one of her favorite treats.. blueberries.



sister bear is very into her "nite shirts" (mama's old t-shirts) and the color "orange"!



did i tell you sister bear loves buh-zert? her spoon is always ready to dip into something sweet after dinner!

four for brother bear!

so brother bear is officially 4 months today. that is a milestone! he's an amazing little guy, so warm and tender already. he loves to just gaze into your eyes and has the best open wide smile that is usually followed by his laughter and giggley wiggle. he's really just a little love.

he holds his head up so strong and tries to sit up. he loves to do his pull ups (where i hold his hands and he's laying down and i bring him to a sitting position) we started off counting to 3... now just on "one" hes ready to sit up tall! i think he may be one that crawls and walks early. we'll see....

he loves his sissy and whenever she's around, he follows her around with his eyes and waits for her to connect and then it's ALL BIG SMILES from there.

he sleeps thru the night... yes, you read right, my little boy sleeps thru the night. i believe it took sister bear over a year before she would commit to such a thing.





brother bear has been to the "keys" 4 times already, so you could say that he fits right into the gypsy life. papa bear and i both love to travel and when we came together, it just made sense that we would produce off springs that would be born ready to always have a bag packed and ready to sing along to "on the road again".....




doesn't he look ready for big boy food? almost! he's just trying out the throne....

well, i am a blessed mama bear and was given the most wonderful bear cubs to call my own. i truly believe that your children pick you, with God's consent of course. i am just so happy that my beautiful bear cubs chose papa bear and i to be their bearents. we are in love.....

buy local organic

visit your local farmer's markets.

table for two please!

Papa bear and I met on the evening of May 16th 2000. Papa bear was working as a waiter at the Famous Jerry's deli in Studio City, Ca. I came in with my good friend, Stacy for some coffee and some late night gossip, fun, etc. When we were blessed with a hot waiter, hiding underneath a black baseball cap with the "Jerry's" logo. He seemed a bit shy, but charmed the pants off both, Stacy and I. (not literally) He flirted, we flirted back, not sure who was really flirting with who. It was really just a fun, light moment between 3 people. Stacy and I both very into astrology, tried to guess Papa bear's sign. We were both absolute about him being an Aries or a Pisces, I guess some wishful thinking on my end, since I had a strong attraction to both those signs in the past. But after literally going through the entire 12 astrological signs, Stacy and I learned real quick that we needed to read up a bit more on the characteristics of a male "TAURUS". It was very funny, I never like to be proven wrong on my astrology guessing. But I swallowed my pride in the most humble way, winning Papa bear's smile and the famous question an attractive man asks an attractive woman he'd like to date... "Are you seeing anyone?" I was beside myself with flattery and had to catch my breath, because I had been staring at Papa bear's gorgeous, strong, attractive hands all night. I went home that evening with a smile that was as wide as the golden gate bridge. I had left papa bear with my phone number to my pager, for him to use as he'd like. The very next day, he paged me by leaving a voice mail, for me to listen to all day. Later that evening, I paged papa bear back and he called to say that he was about to board a plane to Hawaii and maybe we could meet for coffee. I turned him down as I was glued to my sister's tv, watching the much anticipated finale to my favorite show, "Beverly Hills 90210". A show my sister and I had religiously watched since the first day it aired, 10 years prior. There was no way, I'd bow out for a coffee with a beautiful man I could possibly have a fantastic future and spend the rest of my life with. NO WAY! So I said, "I'll just see you when you get back, have a fun trip!"


our lovely wedding day in kern, california -may 4, 2002

8 years later.... We are happily married for 6 years and parents to two of the most beautiful children (our little bear cubs). The photo on the top of my blog speaks for itself. Life is good in "Bear Country"!


photo taken in the keys, brother bear's first family vacation. may 2008

childhood memories in the making...

these photos were downloaded off of my cell phone, they are from may - aug 2007
for me this is what being a stay at home mother is all about. i'm blessed.

the story of the treehouse....

well when i was a little girl, i played with a vintage kenner tree tots treehouse. it was my favorite toy and i wanted to live inside of it. as an adult, i still want to live in a treehouse. i watch the "berenstain bears" with sister bear all the time and i have bought her most of their books (they offer the best life lessons for your children by reading them). sister bear has learned about "too much TV" a favorite night time read and "giving to those in need". the list is almost endless....



back to my obsession with treehouses. i just love trees, so does my mother -maybe it's in the genes. nature and nurture, two very important things i love and live by. so i guess it all makes sense doesn't it? i have recently discovered a place in southern oregon (a favorite place of mine) called "out 'n' about treesorts" you can google them. i plan on staying there with the family someday! here visit: http://www.treehouses.com





i photograph trees often, they all seem to be unique in their own way, almost as if they are people. they are living things... i find alot of dancing trees, you know the ones with long branches (arms up in the air) reaching for the sky!

trees fascinate me. i fell in love with the redwoods on my honeymoon back in may of 2002. papa bear and i woke up exceptionally early the morning after we stayed in this beautiful resort nestled in the pine trees. we decided to start our day right then, so we got dressed and journeyed thru the giant redwoods. we were the only ones there, as if we had a special invitation that morning. no one else was invited. i hugged so many trees that day. you would've called me a tree hugger. it's one of the things i miss most about living so far away from california. well and my family as well.

the "keys" with nana

july 17th thru 20th 2008 islamorada, florida
siste:r bear 2 1/2 years
brother bear: 3 1/2 months
mama & papa bear: ageless

we visited: key west, mangrove mama's, theater of the sea, papa & mama bear had an evening alone at the monthly "full moon party", the banyan tree garden and antique shop, islamorada sportman's fishing store aka bass pro shop, sands of islamorada pool and uncle's for dinner