I received my first order from Kitazawa Seed Co. a few days ago. I ordered a few things that caught my interest- Pho berry, AKA Gooseberry, Hakurei turnips, Early Bulam, PingTung long Eggplant, Edible Amaranth (Red leaf), and Thai basil.

Everything I have never planted before. Well, with an exeception of Ping Tung long eggplant, it is a Taiwanese varity that I grew up with. I already have an Aero Garden with a varity of herbs growing in my kitcken, so I didn't order any other herbs other than the Thai Basil ( I only have the sweet basil in my Aero Garden, and I use the Thai basil in the Vietnamese soup/Pho I make at home). Since I don't have any experience with the veggie seeds I ordered, today I have been spending sometime researching how to plant, maintain and harvest. I am also mapping out my grounds to see where each plant should go.

Most of the seeds I can't sow until late Spring, however I am messing around with the Poha berry seeds. I am germinating them and I think I am going plant them in the front yard, along side of the sidewalk. Poha berry flowers are yellow with a purple center, it would really look good with the existing Rhaphiolepis indica shrubs. Poha berries are also known as Gooseberries, raw Poha berries also a good source of Vitamin A, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber and Vitamin C. Chefs world wide are using them in recipes as they pair very well with meats- check this out-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkpTlZdc8dQ

Also along the planter in the front yard, I want to plant sweet potatos/ yam by the Poha berry plants. Sweet potatos have lush vines and deep green leaves. My parents used to plant sweet potatos for the delicious vines and leaves, often not for the roots. I miss this island delicatecy, HOW COOL would it be to be able to grow my own sweet potatos to be able to enjoy them again!

BACKYARD~As far as backyard goes, I am still planning the zones out. I am watching and calculating the hours of sun light each area gets and trying to figure out where to put everything. Since I have sometime til LATE SPRING...I am learning to be patient and plan it better. My north sideyard gets about 6 hours of sun light, and the south side yard doesn't get direct sun light for the most part- I am VERY tempted to get some Shiitake mushroom logs for that area instead of planting other veggies (I grew Shiitake mushrooms in upstate NY before when I lived there for 4 years, and it was a BLAST!). Across my backyard, it's lawn, but I have an area planned to be coverted into a garden, just need to figure out how to properly do it. But the lawn area gets a good 8 hours of direct sunlight. Hmmmm...I wonder how David (my beloved Fiance) would feel if I replaced the entire lawn area with ediable landscape???

SOIL~I still have a ton to learn about soils, PH in soil and etc. but I think I do have 'good' soil here (lol forgive my newbie language), just from the fact that when I was transplanting some tropical plants (yes we do have a little corner of Paradise with tropical plants including a Queen Palm), I dug up some big fat earthworms! Woohoo! Where are some good sources/websites I can turn to for good soil info??

WORM BIN~that's one thing that I can say I have done well in, when we were living in the condo in Carlsbad, I started two worm bins with red worms and they have come to the new house with us.  The inital regular soil has turned so dark, the so called Black Gold. I was so excited! I am keeping the worm bins to compost my fruit and veggie scraps, the worms work pretty damn hard!

Well, I do hope tomorrow gets warmer so it's comfortable enough to work longer in the yard and get a nice tan!! Oh and more pictures of the BEFORE garden are to come!

By the way, more gardening blogs will be posted on http://www.freedomgardeners.org/Findsandy/

New Love Letter at www.findsandy.com

Check it out. I spent an amazing anniversary at the Cardiff by the Sea Lodge back in Oct. 2008. Yes, I finally wrote a review about it. :)

You can find the review here

As you know, my last blog was on the Vitamineral Green drink I have been drinking on the daily basis. For those of you who tried it, you would know the color of the drink is not the most appealing and for the longest time, the people in my life just thought I was nuts drinking those Green drinks.

However, lately, everyone has been asking me to make them a Green drink, where they can get a bottle of Vitamineral Green, how to mix the drink and etc. They said they've noticed that I am constantly running around with 10,000 things to do and still am always in a vibrant mood and always have a ton of good energy. That made them want to drink the 'dirt' (as they called it before they tried it).

Good thing, somehow I always have my bottle of Vitamineral Green with me. :) I am so stoked that the word is spreading and it's just awesome to see people feeling healthier.

The cutest thing is that one of my assistants bought a bottle of Vitamineral Green and her almost two year old daughter goes around the house drinking her Green drink in her sippy cup, just absolutely loving it.

I am also happy to see my skin detoxing and getting a healthy glow from all the natural nutrients from the drink alone. I haven't been hitting the gym as often as I'd like to (at all!), however I am adjusting/ going down to my ideal weight for my body type. I noticed my waist was also slimming down. I never really had the intention to lose weight, and I'd like to still hit the gym to tone my body, but I am just amazed with how positively my body is responding to the abundance of nutrients from the Green drink.

I do intend on not adding as much sugar in the drink, even the sugar from the fruit juices, without making it less delicious. I am gonna play around with it a bit more...more updates to come. :)

Love this song, I could relate. I AM lucky in love with my bestfriend.  :)

It's really ironic indeed.

Two years ago, I knew NOTHING about being healthy, nor did I care to be healthy. I was young (I still consider myself young NOW, but YOUNGER two years ago. ;P ); I worked out, though not eating the best things for my body (I doubt Tequila is the best thing for my body), in my mind, I really didn't need to pay too much attention to what my body needed.

Oh the crazy 'un'healthnut I was. I was ignorant towards my own health. Now looking back, I think my ignorance towards health and wellness had a lot to do with a deeper emotional issue (and that's a whole other topic to blog about).

I started working with a small group of wonderful women in my new office about a month ago. I brought my ginormous bottle of Vitamineral Green to work; The girls have also seen me walking in with my green smoothies in the morning, therefore I was the other health freak in the office (aside from my boss Sheryl). With 'a little' convenicing, and twisting arms :P We had the rest of the girls in the office try my recipe of the Vitamineral Green Drink, and the rest is history.

The girls felt the boost in energy, awareness and even work performance after the drink. They've gone out to buy their own bottles of Vitamineral Green at our local Boney's. We are going to make it a tradition to get our morning green drink on, instead of coffee, which this office goes thru a TON!

Yummy Greens. Here's what I usually mix it with,

*2 large spoonful of Vitamineral Green powder (beginners please read the bottle and adjust the amount according to your taste liking- VitaGreen is superfoods, not supplements, and it is all natural, so there really isn't a typical limit on how much you can take a day)

*Lemonade- you can make it homemade, try using agave instead of your pantry        sugar.

*Acai berry puree or juice

* For a treat, if you have on hand, add fresh rasberry puree or juice


And, this green drink is delicious!!!  It always guarantees a beautiful start of a morning. :)

The New Year just gives you that energy, another dose of that sense of urgency, to improve, to take another leap, to dream bigger, and to succeed.

At the age of 25, I really gained a good sense of woman hood and with  new years approaching and my birthday right around the corner (ok ok it's in two months), I am curious and motivated to see what can, or WILL be done.

Career wise, I have discovered many possibilities, and narrowed them down to several options I'd like to explore; I am still taking small steps toward the food and hospitality field since it is one of my ultimate passions in life; I am also strengthening my skills and knowledge in community management- I couldn't pass up on the wide variety of knowledge I was getting being in this industry (landscape, laws, pest control, plumbing, marketing, construction, HOAs, and etc), on top on that, I am looking forward to learning more about real estate and obtaining my real estate license.

Love is also a big motivation in my life- I am having the time of my life adding more fuel to that love wild fire, and most important of all, maintaining it. 2008 really was a great year getting the solid foundation built with David. I think we both did great figuring each other out- the basic characteristics, values, morals, beliefs, reactions to different situations, and etc. The most exciting thing is that, we are growing with each other! I know that's so hard to find, speaking from my past experiences and from what I have seen around me. I am ecstatic! 2009 will be a major milestone year, we will continue to  enhance each other with our strengths and share our experiences with you. :)
We all like to see love as fairy-tales, which it can come pretty close to be one, but it still needs constant TLC, I like to call it, Loving Consciously.

Goals and Plans- are always motivating, especially when you set them around New Years. You know, looking at the 'Big Picture". So looking at my Big Picture, I have decided that I have 4 years to travel before kids and the first stop will be Costa Rica.
:D God, I love setting travel plans, now we just need to follow through and make it there!

Personal Empowerment- is a stable. 2009 opens up the door a little wider for more growth to come. I titled myself "Findsandy" simply to name my effort to discover, understand, and improve myself. I need to understand and love myself in order to understand and love others BETTER.

So these are some of the motivations in my life, what are yours?

Embrace your ethnicity. Embrace the World.

Fell asleep to Jack Johnson last night, sung by Dave. :)
In the mood for Jack. My favorite songs- enjoy!

Melting in the palm of your hands

Tingling finger tips

Working your hands down my back, pressing and releasing,

each breath,

with the motion of your hands, and your heartbeat,

pulling the strings of my soul, dancing.

We are one, we declared.

Brushing my fingers down your back, I whispered.. I believe.
 
So thankful for your love, soul, and touch.