Things you learn in nature

My 4-year-old daughter recently walked in on my husband peeing in the bathroom.

"Daddy! How are you doing that?"

A few days later, during a hike through some pretty deserted trails, she started jumping around demanding we return home. I took her behind some bushes and showed her how to squat and just pee outside. We too can be liberated. She laughed hysterically and peed all over my shoes.

Oh, what I wouldn't do for some guy equipment. Not all the time (it's pretty ugly, if you ask me) but definitely at sporting events, at nightclubs when the liquor has poured freely, and most definitely during hikes outdoors.

As green returns to the landscape, we've been spending more time just tooling around our area's green spaces. I can't think of a better way to whittle away some hours than hanging out with my kids in nature. Everything is new and wonderful. (I tried to find an online resources that lists green space, but it's pretty much a local effort. Check with the local parks and recreation department for a list of parks, trails and preserves.)

This morning, I suggested a walk somewhere close. I asked whether they wanted to go to the woods (we live about about a half mile from a small nature preserve) or the playground. My heart nearly burst when my 4-year-old shouted woods.

We even got serenaded with her new song, "I love the forest," on the way. A few birdwatchers let the girls look through their binoculars and told us about the black and white warbler they spotted.

I definitely love spring!

Awesome reasons for line drying

Yesterday, I tumbled dried a load of laundry due to a cold and rainy day. But because I'm me, the housekeeping equivalent of a forgetful nomad, I forgot to take remove the clothes from the dryer in a timely manner and ended up with a wrinkled mess.

My solution? Take the worst wrinkled, which are generally the things that should look flattened like dress shirts and cotton pants, and hang them on my sunny line for a bit.

Sunshine fresh and no iron. Who wouldn't love that?

Eco-healthy

I love how green living is contagious.

I guess it's only in my own family, but maybe you have to be in really, really close proximity to catch an eco-cold.

My husband has hopped on the green-parenting train — well.... the city bus anyway. Since the weather turned more spring-like, he's been taking the bus more often. He likes to read the paper or a magazine, and he's prefers the mile-walk home from downtown rather than catching the transfer because it provides him with some fresh-air exercise after a busy day.

Speaking of getting some exercise, living mostly car free has been challenging after a fierce and exercise-lacking winter. Carting 70 pounds behind me after months of ignoring my thigh muscles is — let me tell you — no easy task. To compensate, and because I recently dog-sat for a farm hound who required much more exercise than my tiny plot allows, I started jogging.

These early morning jogs (check out this really inspiring PBS Nova special about regular people who train to run a marathon to help you set your clock an hour early) merely add to my optimism about enjoying the coming summer, spending time playing with my daughters, focusing on my family's overall health and really just enjoying life.

Wondering where all my self-deprecation has gone? Wow... It only took two years to finally get good at this. Who knew I was just a quick study!

Ready, set... Garden

Our family finally got the time to start our garden project. I'm really nervous my raised-bed plot, which we built yesterday and came out extremely good looking and sturdy despite my family's handy-gene deficiency, will look just as neat and plantless as it does at the moment.

But I began feeling really great about the prospect of growing veggies with the girls this summer.

In fact, I was feeling almost hopeful. That sounds super corny, right! But my daughters got in the dirt with me yesterday, planting our tiny radish and carrot seeds (I read these grow great together because radishes mature first, making space for the slower-growing carrots) and larger pea seeds. And bonus, my makeshift compost pile hasn't yet attracted rodents.

Now I'm thinking, "Maybe we can do this. We can teach the girls about nature, grow some kick-ass veggies and have a great time."


Or maybe it's the April Garden Flu that dies down sometime around the second week of drought and heat in mid-July. And this after $28 on lumber, $14 on topsoil and a few bucks on seeds, probably more than I'd spend if I bought grocery-store radishes every week between now and Labor Day.

Oh well. Now, if I can stop the girls from rolling around in the nice, fresh black dirt (not a joke), then we'll be all set.

But you can't ruin my euphoria, much like you can't convince me that daily red wine is a rock-solid solution to future heart problems. I'm going to go ahead and believe what I believe.

Friday recipes; or Fricipes

In case you weren’t aware, there’s this worldwide rice shortage at the moment. So, sure I’m about to pass along my favorite rice recipe because what the world needs now is more middle American rice consumers.

Anyhow, I love rice. I buy in bulk basmati rice at the local Asian grocer. Whenever I cook rice as a side dish, I always make way too much on purpose.

The purpose? Leftover fried rice. It’s so totally easy and it gets rid of all those leftover veggies about to go bad in the fridge. For whatever reason, day-old rice makes a much better fried rice than fresh rice. So just store about six extra cups in the fridge overnight (even a day or two is fine) and get ready for the best freakin’ leftovers ever.

I made this last night and even had my veggie-hating 2-year-old to devour her dinner, complete with komatsuna. That’s right, komatsuna.

Six cups fried rice
Vegetable oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup oyster sauce (also available at the Asian grocer)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
One clove of garlic
2 carrots, cut into bite size pieces
cups of frozen peas
2 scallions
* Note (the carrots, peas and scallions can be substituted with any vegetable you have ready to hit the trash. Good substitutes are mushrooms, greens, onions or broccoli)

1. Scramble the eggs. I like to use just one pan (easy cleanup) so I drop the eggs in oil over medium high and stir the crap out of them. It’s not like eating fluffy eggs for breakfast so don’t worry too much if they don’t look perfect. Set aside in a bowl.
2. Add some more oil (a tablespoon or so) and add the garlic. If you’re using onion, do that first for about two minutes. Cook garlic for about 30 seconds.
3. Add carrots and peas. Cook for about a minute.
4. Add oyster sauce, soy sauce and rice. Stir until it looks like the stuff you get from your favorite Chinese restaurant. Remove from heat and add scallions (if using) and eggs.

Happy belated Earth Day

So you might be wondering how I spent this annual honoring of all things eco. No? Well, here it is anyway.

I came into possession of a second car. At least temporarily.

My mom had to leave her car behind while she left for Las Vegas (I'm sure to encourage people to conserve water and ban the lawn) and now I have this set of wheels for scooting around town.

What makes the second car so dangerous is the freedom. Some days, when you don't feel like spending an hour on dinner or washing the kitchen floor, a trip around town seems like the perfect solution. Luckily, I've had enough of these car-accessible days during the dreary winter months to know they end up being more irritating than fun.

A day behind the wheel is often tedious and annoying. And with the recent brilliant weather, I see no reason to ditch the bike for an easier mode of transport. Plus, I'm just getting my bike muscles back.

So here's to Earth Day and knowing that just because you have access to a second car doesn't mean you have to use it.

Also.... My mom left her two dogs behind as well. I guess it's time to invest in some of those eco-friendly poop bags.

Choo-choosing a better trip

With gas price, once again, at a record high, I feel really good about my overnight trip to Chicago. Amtrak has, once again, provided terrific service and made this little tourist trip easy on the nerves and the wallet.

It cost $120 for two to take the train at 7:30 a.m. Saturday (arriving about 2 1/2 hours later) and leaving at 5:15 p.m. Sunday. It's quite possible it would have been quicker to drive (2 hours if there is NO traffic or getting lost, an unlikely event with me behind the wheel). It might also have been a a tiny bit more in cash as the 180 mile trip would have cost $40 for gas and about $50 for overnight parking.

But, with no stress about navigating unfamiliar urban roads, the freedom to relax, read and listen to a podcast on the train and the experience of the train, I would always choose Amtrak over Ford.

And somehow we managed to never once use a cab. This meant more money for the important things — fantastic food from some of the best restaurants in the world.