A Desire to be Heard

Parent Directed Education

2012-02-07T21:46:00.002-07:00

Our homeschool is in for a shake-up. Plans are not yet hammered down, so I do not want to share details, but for us it is big.

In light of the changes, I have become increasingly annoyed by the lack of support for parents who are just trying to do what they feel the Lord wants for THEIR family.

Jimmie inspired me to make a blog button of my own. My old "Proud Homeschooling Mom" just wasn't fitting right for now, so this is my attempt at replacing that button.

Details will be forthcoming with what I think will be a long editorial. For right now just let me say, I am clinging to my Father for guidance.

HOW many steps???!!!

2012-02-01T21:26:00.005-07:00

Do you have people living in your home who cannot just wait to get to their (BIG breath) Xbox, texting phone, DS, Ipod, computer, TV, etc., etc., etc.?

We seem to have that problem.

I decided to come up with a solution.

It's called PEDOMETERS.

I placed an order on Monday for three pedometers. (I have had mine for a little over a week.) Did you know that you are supposed to walk 10,000 steps each day? You are. I am not going to require quite that much. But I am going to require 6,000 steps. We will increase that number over the summer. Each person who desires screen time must log 6,000 steps on their pedometer first.

Excitement currently abounds. The little step trackers have been in our possession for all of thirty minutes. We will see how excited everyone is tomorrow.

As for me, I am excited and will continue to be.

Works for me!

New Year -- New School Plan

2012-01-10T11:35:00.002-07:00

We are two days into our new school schedule--so far, so good. However, I have learned to not count on 2 days being a predictor for future days. Tomorrow will throw a wrench in our day as it is the day I have staff meeting and Snickerdoodle (a/k/a "The Daughter") has riding lessons right in the middle of the day.

I have started using a workbox system for DS #2. He seems to be liking it. He likes to work through the numbered boxes. I have to find stuff to put in each , but that makes it more exciting.

DS #1 is using his new history curriculum. We LOVE it. I wish that Notgrass would come out with curriculum in every area. But I still have Math-U-See.

Snickerdoodle is working hard on her science and Starting Points. She is getting a head start on her assignments for Starting Points and, as usual, I am very proud of her.

The husband and I got to exercise together yesterday and today, first thing in the morning. We hope to continue that. I actually made the kids breakfast both mornings--no cold cereal, although we love cold cereal. But the point here is to keep tummies full until lunch time so we don't get derailed by scavenging for food.

Hope we can keep it up. It takes 7 weeks to form a habit, right. Yikes! Two days down, 33 more to go.

Keeping my fingers crossed!!!

"Hi, my name is ****, and I am a recipe-a-holic"

2012-01-05T21:01:00.002-07:00

*I don't use my real name on my blog, so . . .

I have a bit of an obsession. I LOVE recipes. Used to be I would surf the web and e-mail myself recipes. Matter of fact, there are eleven pages of recipes in my recipe folder on my e-mail account. Now, well, now I have Pinterest. I should make a resolution to actually make the food represented by these recipes, but that will never happen. I use them occasionally, but I will never get around to using them all. I will say, it is a much cheaper hobby than some. I get to enjoy the wonderful looking food and I don't gain a pound. But, seriously, it is a little crazy.

*sigh*

Next Year Will Be Different

2011-12-26T22:36:00.004-07:00

Christmas day has come and gone--yet still let's keep the spirit living on.

From Thanksgiving weekend until now, my life has been a whirlwind of holiday activities and the business of regular life. I finally feel I can breathe--at least for a day or two before I have to dive into the second half of the school year.

We had a good Christmas, but not a wonderful Christmas. The kids are happy. The husband and I are happy, but I am left with a feeling of unease. Things will have to change next year.

Next year, we will focus more on the reason for the season and the beauty that comes from such reflection. Top on my list is to take my children to a live performance of Handel's Messiah. This year I only heard a small snippet of The Hallelujah Chorus in the lobby of a hotel. I do not think that is sufficient, and besides my children do not even know what Handel's Messiah is.

Next year, we will open our immediate family gifts with just our immediate family. I love to take our time opening gifts, savoring each one whether it belongs to you or not. We open one gift at a time and enjoy each other's receipt of the gifts. Alas, our family is growing and there is too much noise and confusion. We love to open gifts with everyone else, but we don't have to share in ALL of the opening. We will exchange gifts with our loved ones and open those gifts together. The gifts that my dear husband and I exchange and those that we give to our children will simply be enjoyed with the ones with whom we share daily life.

Next year, I will start planning in advance--12 months in advance to be exact. That is exactly what I am doing with this post. I do not want December 1, 2012, to creep up on me without a solid plan in place. Lists need to be written and edited throughout the year. December is an extremely busy month. The first weekend of December this year, I was in charge of our children's Christmas program at church and while it is so enjoyable to see the children up on the stage putting their spin on the program that has been laid out for them, the planning and execution are stressful. Even though it is in the Lord's service, it is still stressful. The second weekend of the month, we had two parties to attend. They were very enjoyable and we had a blast, but it was still activities outside our own family's celebration and they were the source of more hurrying around. The third weekend of the month, the children had sports competitions and DS#1 got the opportunity to attend his first ever lock-in. We were shuttling kids back and forth--very early in the morning, I might add. Making sure tummies were filled and all necessary items were in the possession of whomever might need to possess them. In the middle of that, I took a beginning photography class (the location of the aforementioned hearing of The Hallelujah Chorus)--it was wonderful and I am so glad I took it, but again, hurrying around.

Then, low and behold, Christmas week was upon us. Our tree was not up. I was in a state of confusion as to exactly where we were in the month. Now THE DAY is over and something just doesn't feel right. I felt like I was swimming through mud trying to bask in the joy of the season--the reason we celebrate. We attended a Christmas Eve service at a church other than our own for the simple reason of my wanting to just enjoy the service without thinking about work. It was a change--it was very different from what we were used to, but I think I captured a little of the blessing of Christmas; still I want more.

Next year, things will be different.

Homeschooling--Finding Curriculum that Works for You

2011-11-16T06:00:00.002-07:00

We are in our 9th year of homeschooling. We (and by “we” I mean “I”) have floundered from year to year. We started homeschooling because we simply did not trust anyone else with our children. We do not agree with/like a lot of the things public school teaches and we did not want to submit our children to the public school's version of these things. Our thinking then morphed into “We can provide a better education for our children at home.” I still agree with that. At home we can tailor their curriculum to fit their learning styles and interests.

We started out using Abeka. I had a 3 year old and a nursing 1 year old in addition to my kindergartener and I needed easy. I thought easy was something that told me what to do and say and when I should do and say it. I was a dyed-in-the-wool Abeka homeschooler. But God had different ideas. I was introduced to Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks for Homeschool Curriculum. God tilted our homeschooling world and set it to spinning. We ditched the “drill and kill” Abeka math. Don't get me wrong, Abeka is a great curriculum and children gain a wonderful education with it. However, for us, it just wasn't working. I didn't see the point in frustrating my children with 20 long division problems at one sitting. I discovered Math-U-See. Thank God for Mr. Demme, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart. Please, please, PLEASE come out with Science-U-See, History-U-See, Grammar-U-See, etc. Math-U-See is short, simple and to-the-point. I have learned so much, like, WHY we do what we do in mathematical operations. I have had several “Ah ha moments” with this curriculum.

Then we turned to our grammar program. We had a few false starts. Learning Language Arts Through Literature sounded wonderful, but after a while it just got too boring and tedious. Then I discovered Easy Grammar. O.K., so maybe there is a Grammar-U-See, it is called Easy Grammar. And, boy, is it easy! I actually enjoy looking for parts of speech in sentences. We did deviate for the daughter this year and went back to Abeka grammar, but I wish we hadn't. There have been several occasions when I have said to her, “Get rid of the prepositional phrase, the answer will jump out at you.” I mean, giddy excitement on my part to discover that simpler really is better. Grammar should be grammar, not art class. (Unless you are the artsy sort, then, by all means, turn grammar into art.) I can't stand trying to draw all those lines to put parts of speech into their correct place. I am referring to diagramming—I can't abide it. We will do a little bit of it at some point because I want my children to at least know what people are talking about, but for now, I am all about getting rid of those prepositional phrases and going on a noun, verb, adverb (you get the picture) hunt.

I did find Science-U-See. It is called, get involved in a science co-op. Thank you, Lord, for the wonderful lady who is teaching the daughter and several other children using Apologia science. I have some science stories that I will share soon. Science and I don't get along so well.

History-U-See? Well, probably that would be Sonlight. But I have a slight problem. I fall asleep during read alouds. Not polite when someone else is doing the reading. Downright troubling when it is I who am doing the reading. I love the concept of Sonlight, I simply struggle executing it. Hey, I'm a busy mom. I stop moving and start listening to a voice droning on and on, and my body thinks it is nap time. Bad, bad mommy-teacher.

My conclusion: find a curriculum that works for you. Better yet, find a curriculum that you can work with. You and your children will be happier. They will learn. Life is our classroom.

True Confessions

2011-10-31T22:35:00.003-07:00

Somehow I tell a better story than I write. Maybe I am out of practice. Maybe it is the fact that when I verbally tell a story, I have a live audience. But I want to be able to transfer that skill to paper (or computer screen as the case may be). I thought I would give it a shot here. Try to write out the story of my day as I would verbally tell it. Maybe it will stretch me a little and get me back into the practice of writing.

My morning started like most mornings. Up by 6:00--check e-mail, fold a little laundry. Presumably I would get to exercising by 7:30. Nope. I do not like to exercise. I do not like it here or there, I do not like it anywhere. Even though I make myself actually do it 4 to 5 times each week, I do not usually enjoy it. I may enjoy parts of it, but never the full session. It is just one of those things that has to be done.

So I did not get around to exercising until 9:30--procrastination, baby! DD and DS#1 were awake by this time. They got their breakfast and got to work on the assigned school work. DS#2, still in bed. Not a bad thing for the rest of us. The house was quiet. We were all doing our thing. All of that changed at 9:45. DS#2 woke up. Within 5 minutes he was asking me for the keys to our vehicle. Why? Evidently he had left some of those teeny, tiny DS games in the truck. You know the ones. The things that are approximately 1" by 1.5" and cost upwards of $35.00+. Who came up with that design?!!! Someone who does not have children, that's who! Silly little things. Back to the dilemma at hand. I informed DS#2 that we had taken the vehicle to be washed and vacuumed the day before and that any of those little, teeny, tiny games that had been there before probably were not there now. So off he went to look. He didn't come back in the house and he didn't come back in the house. DD and DS#1 went out to look with him. They returned with empty hands. By this time I am lying on the floor trying to do my prescribed exercises and remain very calm at the same time. I did not succeed. I marched into DS#2's room with trash bags in hand and started filling them with everything I could. Visions of zero Christmas presents flashed through my head. And I mean zilch. Lucky for the son, I calmed down and I found the games during my pitching spree.

The good side to this story is that DS#2's room has needed serious cleaning for quite a bit of time. That was taken care of. Probably he will get Christmas presents. Although, his DS is now residing in my room and may be there for quite some time to come.

News "Headlines" That Actually Made Me Smile

2011-10-29T08:02:00.002-07:00

I typically tend to avoid the news--in print, on the radio, on television, on the internet. But occasionally I do scan the headlines and I found two clips that made me smile and brought tears to my eyes. I am SO tired of all the bad "news" out there. We have enough bad that happens I long for reports of the good and happy. These two clips fit the bill:

Elmo's Voice and Girl Calls 911

Books I Enjoy - I'm WAAAAY Behind

2011-10-18T06:48:00.004-07:00

I did not set out to be behind. I really did want to keep up on this quest, but life got in the way. And, really, for me, life was the point of doing the 31 Dayers project. My life, more specifically. So, I am going to throw in a random post about a book I enjoy.

Here's the thing with this particular book--I haven't actually finished it yet. I have a strange relationship with this book, and I will explain.

Last month, I had the opportunity to go to a Women of Faith event. It was my first trip to Women of Faith, and although I enjoyed it, it was a little out of my comfort zone. You see, I grew up in a church that did not really embrace such gatherings. The ins and outs of that life experience are topics for other posts. However, I did glean some wonderful bits and pieces from the event.

One of the speakers was Andy Andrews. Now I have to admit that his presence caused a little bit of distress for me. You see, one of the main reasons I decided to go to WoF was because Tim Hawkins was supposed to be there. So, on Friday morning, the hostess of the event got up on stage and launched into an introduction. What I caught was, "We do not allow many men to come to Women of Faith . . . this man is really funny and entertaining." To be perfectly honest, I missed a lot of what she was saying because I was sure it was Mr. Hawkins. Imagine my immense disappointment when it was NOT Mr. Hawkins. So I had a little bit of a let down to surmount. To the stage came Mr. Andrews. I had no prior knowledge of this particular person, I only knew he WASN'T Tim Hawkins. I tried to settle in and listen to him, truly I did. But he was all. over. the. place. In his speaking and physically. He moved around the stage constantly. He was up and down the stairs meandering around the audience who were seated on the floor. He would start up the stairs, then turn around and run back down the stairs. And his speech--he seemed to jump from one topic to the next, and he just wasn't double yourself over and laugh funny like the aforementioned Mr. Hawkins. To compound the problem, my friend, who was sitting next to me, really wasn't enjoying Mr. Andrews and that constantly reminded me that I wasn't enjoying Mr. Andrews.

I decided that during his talk would be a good time to take a bathroom break--before the crowds of ladies converged on the concourse. Mr. Andrews completed his session and there was a break. When we all returned to our seats, there was a question and answer session with Mr. Andrews and Patsy Clairmont (LOVE her!). Bless his heart, but he was still all over the place--verbally only this time as he was seated. He would start a line of thought then jump to something else, then jump again. My friend was still not happy and I was just confused. Then it dawned on me. He behaved in a manner consistent with ADD. Ahhhh! THAT I could work with. My little boy behaves in a manner consistent with ADD. And my friend has had that experience with her son. Once I pointed out this fact, we both were able to settle down. Mr. Andrews was making points that connected, it was just necessary to flush out the connection. He is such a passionate person and just has so much information he is excited to share.

What, you might ask, does this have to do with a book. I will tell you. Imagine my surprise when I found that the only book I really wanted to read from one of the WoF speakers was written by a speaker at the conference whom I did not really enjoy listening to. Yup, I am currently reading one of Mr. Andrew's books. And in hindsight, I realize that I did enjoy what he was saying, I just had to change my frame of mind. The book is The Traveler's Gift: Seven Decisions that Determine Personal Success.

I am not really going to talk a lot about the book, because I think it is something each reader should experience without any prior knowledge--that is what made it interesting to me.

As far as Mr. Andrews goes, he has my respect and admiration. He really is quite the storyteller and does have wonderful, wonderful points to make. Sometimes it is good for us to have to dig through and find that nugget of information that we really need in our lives, he gave me that opportunity.

By the way, I have reserved 3 more of his books, and I am going to have to order The Butterfly Effect. Unfortunately my library does not own a copy.

Books I Enjoy - Days 6-10 Junie B. Jones series

2011-10-10T08:47:00.007-07:00

O.K., so no more catch up. I am using the Junie B. Jones books to get caught up to the current day because the series has 27+ books. I am not going to misuse that number, but I really hate being behind and since I am a ~~perfectionist~~ frustrated perfectionist this is bothering the stew out of me. From here on out, I intend to post daily as planned.

Down to business . . .

I know that Junie B. has created a lot of controversy. She is mouthy, uses bad grammar and tends towards having a bad attitude. Not qualities we wish to see in our children. However, the entertainment factor is almost off my chart. My kids and I listened to Junie B. in the car. (A practice I HIGHLY recommend. Not necessarily with Junie B., but you can get some great, and some just-for-fun, literature in this way. And it keeps the drive-time bickering to a minimum.) We laughed so hard and have picked up many "Junieisims". My personal favorite is "I am a hoot I tell you!" I would like to put that saying on a shirt, but I am afraid too many people just wouldn't get it.

Ms. Parks did a marvelous job writing this series from the perspective of a child. If you can get past the bad grammar and the mouthiness, it really is worth using this book to look at the world through a child's eyes. We as adults tend to just drag our children along with us on the crazy roller coaster ride we call life. They really are good sports about it, but bless their hearts, it must be so confusing.

I will submit that these books were probably a lot more enjoyable because we listened to the audio versions. I would not have had the patience to just sit down and read them for myself. The audio version was read by Lana Quintal and she did a wonderful job creating the character of Junie.

My personal opinion about the grammar issues--if you are teaching your children proper grammar, they will be able to spot the incorrect grammar used by Junie. It is part and parcel of the character. The children know when she is misbehaving. It is my belief that they are not going to learn bad habits from Junie any more than they are going to learn to fly from Harry or command water at will from Percy.

Hmmm, I think it may be time to invite Junie in from her shelf at the library again--speedy quick, and I mean it!!!

Books I Enjoy - Day 5 Plain Wisdom

2011-10-07T19:04:00.004-07:00

I have always held an interest in the Amish. I can't explain why. I have no desire to live without electricity or under the legalistic guidelines by which they order their lives, yet, they still interest me. I have learned a lot in recent years about the Amish by reading novels written about them, but something was missing.

I figured out what was missing when I read Plain Wisdom. What was missing was the story from the side of someone who has actually lived the life--and was happy to do so. Not from someone who was raised in this lifestyle then made the decision to live in the "English" world. Not from the mind of an English author writing a fictitious story based in that community. Miriam Flaud provided this voice. Along with Cindy Woodsmall, she has written calm, peaceful wisdom and laughter and gentle correction that is delivered to the reader in the form of a book. Amish mothers are much like English mothers. Common ground has been found and a friendship formed between the two authors. The bridge between the simple life and the life that most Americans live is not that long. Sprinkled among the tidbits of truth are wonderful recipes--none of which I have had the opportunity to try, but I know a good recipe when I hear one and I would love to dive into a few of those tummy pleasers.

The book is not written totally from Miriam's viewpoint. Cindy includes lessons she has learned during her life. It is clear she and Miriam are friends and the difference in lifestyle is not a deterrent to that friendship.

If you are looking for a calming book that will speak to your soul, I would recommend Plain Wisdom. While you probably won't want to give up your computer, Ipod or cell phone, I think you will appreciate the simplicity of life and the peacefulness it brings.

30 Gifts to 30 Strangers in Sydney

2011-10-06T18:02:00.001-07:00

I think this is so cool!!!

I do not agree with the idea that man's first responsibility is to be happy, but I love this idea of giving out gifts to total strangers. What a great birthday for that guy.

Veggie Pasta Sauce

2011-10-06T13:25:00.002-07:00

Have I mentioned how much I love throwing ingredients together to create something delicious? Yeah, probably I have.

Here is another creation:

Veggie Pasta Sauce

2 cans (15 oz) tomato sauce
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 white onion, peeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
dried oregano to taste
water as needed

Throw everything into the Vitamix and blend away. Add water until desired consistency is reached. I let mine blend for several minutes to heat it up. Toss with pasta of choice (three cheese tortellini, in our case).

The kid's tummies are full and momma is happy because of the hidden WHOLE veggies.

Books I Enjoy - Days 3&4 - Marta's Legacy

2011-10-06T11:37:00.004-07:00

Today I play catch-up.

In my ever-to-be-humble opinion, Francine Rivers is a master storyteller. Her Mother's Dream captivated me and left me wanting more. This story follows Marta from her teenage years in Switzerland where her father was harsh and unloving toward her. She left her family to do the job her father thought best for her and started on a journey that shaped her life.

She eventually marries and comes to America. She has 3 children, including a daughter she loves so much but is so worried about that she doesn't effectively convey the love that Hildie needs to thrive. The cycle that was started with Marta and her father now finds its way to Hildie. Hilde believes her mother does not love her because of how she is held at such an emotional arm's length away from her mother.

Hilde grows up, marries, and has a family of her own, and the cycle starts to repeat itself with her daughter Carolyn. In Her Daughter's Dream Carolyn's grandmother, Marta, comes back into the picture and wants desperately to undo all the wrong she did for so many years with Hildie, but it just causes more resentment to build and drives more of a wedge between Hildie and Carolyn.

Carolyn grows up feeling just as lost and lonely and unloved as did her own mother. When she has a daughter, May Flower Dawn, once again the cycle of hurt and misunderstandings is begun.

It is not until May Flower Dawn becomes a mother that the horrible cycle starts to be broken and decades of hurt begin to heal.

These books kept me up past my bedtime for several nights. I learned so much from them. I feel blessed to be given the chance to read fiction and learn so much. Mrs. Rivers is a Christian author and weaves Biblical truths throughout her stories. These books encouraged me to speak out in my own family--to do so with love, but to let my loved ones know my thoughts and feelings so they do not get stuffed way down inside and cause me to imagine problems where there are none. It is so important to keep lines of communication open--especially within families. There are so many hurt, broken families that could have been spared so much pain if they had just communicated.

I highly recommend these books as they will be entertaining, but at the same time encourage you to form stronger bonds within your own family.

Books I Enjoy - Day 2 "Farmer Boy"

2011-10-05T06:32:00.004-07:00

Yes, I know, this is a children's book; however, I think this is one of the books that has had the most impact on me. (Not including the Bible, but I hardly think the Bible can be categorized here.)

If you homeschool, you have probably heard of "living books". Living books are wonderful. They engage the reader in a story yet impart so much knowledge. Farmer Boy did that for me. There have been countless times I have remembered some tidbit from the book and have used that information in my daily life. Even now, as an adult. The Wilder family worked hard, yet enjoyed life.

If you know anything about Laura Ingalls Wilder, you know that Farmer Boy is just one book in her Little House on the Prairie series. All of those books are living books and they all have had a huge impact on me. I grew up without television, so the television show Little House on the Prairie was not a big part of my life; I got my information from the books. While I read and re-read and re-re-read all of those books, Farmer Boy remains my favorite. When I introduced my children to the series, this was the book we started with.

If you have read this book before, read it again. If you have never read it, please do so. Please, please introduce it to your children. Work was hard, but times were simpler, and we can all use a little simplicity in our lives, can't we?

When life gives you bland bread make . . . fritatta

2011-10-04T17:14:00.004-07:00

Did you know that yeast breads need salt? It's true. Salt in your yeast breads help keep the yeast from going crazy. See, yeast thinks itself to be big and bad and wants to make your bread rise and rise and rise. However, the flour can only take so much of yeast's big bad self. Salt to the rescue. Salt keeps the yeast from just going nuts by making him slow down and give a nice steady rise to the bread. What happens when salt gets left out of the party? Mr. Yeast goes nuts! He makes the bread rise like crazy then Mr. Flour says, "Enough is enough!" and pulls him back. The result is a terrible, terrible looking loaf of bread.

So, guess who forgot the salt in the yeast bread today? Yup. That would be me. I made wonderful dough and rolled it out. I sprinkled one loaf with cinnamon sugar and the other with mozzarella and garlic powder. All of our mouths were watering. But something was terribly wrong. When I went to put the loaves in the oven to bake they looked really weird--like they didn't rise all that well. Once they were out of the oven and I sliced into them, I quickly discovered the reason--NO SALT!!!

O.K., so it wasn't the bread's fault. It deserved to be eaten. So what's a airhead baker to do? Change dinner plans.

On the menu was a fritatta. The base was supposed to be diced potatoes, but I am nothing if not versatile. I changed out the potatoes with bread cubes.

Grilled Zucchini and Ham Fritatta

Layer in a 9"x13" pan:
*Bread cubes--Enough to cover the bottom of the pan. This took just about my whole homemade loaf.
*Grilled zucchini--I diced up 5 zucchini, drizzled them with olive oil and salt and threw them in my grill pan on the grill. Can I just say, "YUM, YUM, YUM!!!!"
*Diced ham--Amount to your liking
Scramble:
*1 dozen eggs--I made these like our family makes scrambled eggs. We use water, garlic powder, salt and pepper. This time I threw in dried basil because that is my herb of choice and dried oregano because that is my budding chef boy's herb of choice.

Pour eggs over bread, zucchini and ham. Pop into a 350º oven for 35 minutes or until eggs are set.

Books I Enjoy - Day 1

2011-10-04T10:04:00.003-07:00

The first book I want to talk about is The Help. I first learned about this book when watching a movie. The previews included the trailer to the movie based on this book. My ears perked up when the announcer said that the movie was based on a book. I came directly home and reserved the audio book at my local library.

You have to know that a book is good when you are inventing housework to do at midnight just so you have an excuse to keep listening. That is exactly what I did.

The whole slavery issue has always hit a sour cord with me. Not that it doesn't with most people, but I am just in such awe (in a bad way) that people actually thought it was o.k. to "own" people. The setting for this book happens many, many years after slavery was abolished, but the attitudes people had towards African Americans is just unbelievable.

The characters in this book who portrayed maids had such wonderful, sweet, strong spirits. They accepted their "station" in life, but had to do so against such strong feelings of wrongdoing. And they were totally justified in feeling that way. These ladies loved and cared for the families they worked for, then they went home and loved and cared for their own families. All they while, they lived in a community where the majority felt they were little more than lower than dirt.

The white character who wrote their story was so brave in that she wasn't afraid to voice the words that many were feeling but dared not speak aloud. She wasn't the one suffering and I don't consider her to be the heroine of the book, but she was the gateway for those women who suffered so much.

This book is guaranteed to make you laugh. It is highly capable of bringing you to tears. And definitely will make you look at the world through different eyes.

Be kind -
Consider your fellow man.

Be smart -
Stand up for what you believe in.

Be important -
God made you that way--you are the only you there is. He does have a purpose for you.

31 Dayers

2011-10-04T07:11:00.015-07:00

Day 18 (yes, I am behind) The Traveler's Gift
Days 6 through 10 Junie B. Jones series
Day 5 - Plain Wisdom
Days 3 & 4 - Marta's Legacy
Day 2 - Farmer Boy
Day 1 - The Help

I am so excited! When I saw the 31 Dayer challenge, I really wanted to participate, but couldn't think of what to blog about. Last night as I was drifting off to sleep, I thought of blogging about books that I have really enjoyed. I am a couple of days behind, but I think that is o.k. Maybe I will play catch up.

As much as I want to get started now, I have to wait because my duties as homeschooling momma have to take precedence. So, I will concentrate on those books for a little while, then come back to this.

I can't wait!!!

Tortellini Primavera

2011-10-03T12:22:00.004-07:00

Do you use your blog to store stuff you want to remember? I do, and this is one of those posts.

I love it when lunch comes together with bits and pieces.

Bits & Pieces Tortellini Primavera

Trader Joe's dried 3 cheese tortellini (I used the amount for four servings)
Sliced carrots
Chopped zucchini
Leftover broccoli
Or whatever vegetables you have on hand
Leftover cooked chicken breast
Alfredo sauce (I used a mix from Azure Standard and had to substitute olive oil for the butter)

Cook tortellini in boiling salted water for 6 minutes. Add uncooked vegetables (carrots and zucchini in our case) and cook until pasta and vegetables are tender. Drain. If using a mix to make Alfredo, make that in the same pan you cooked your tortellini in. Add in your pasta, vegetables and chicken. Cook through.

Enjoy happy, warm, full tummies!

To Thine Own Self Be True*

2011-09-28T22:08:00.006-07:00

So here's the deal--I love to cook. Being creative brings me joy. I am very interested in homeschooling. However, I did not start this blog for those reasons. They are a part of my life so they will creep into my blog. But I started this blog because I wanted to give myself a voice. And usually my voice is probably rambling on about stuff that is small potatoes, but they are my potatoes. So I want to use this blog mainly to voice my thoughts and opinions. Up front I want to say that I am well aware that they are just that--opinions--and that they may differ from what other people think and/or feel. I am o.k. with that and I hope you will be o.k. with that, too. I am absolutely not right all the time. I am probably not right most of the time. But I feel strongly that I have a right to my opinion just as does everyone else.

Here's the thing: I get pretty passionate talking about stuff. When I see something that needs to be discussed, I want to discuss it. That does not mean I have a desire to cause trouble, it just means that I believe that if no one speaks up for what they believe, things will never change. Look at our country. What if the founding fathers had just idly sat by because they did not want to be trouble makers. However, when only one person starts to speak up, even though they may share the same thoughts and feelings as other people, they are labeled as a trouble maker.

I don't want to be labeled as a trouble maker, so the safe place to be vocal is here, on my little home on the web. I would like to incite change, but not to my detriment. Am I a coward? Maybe. But although the cost would not be near as great as the price paid by our founding fathers, I do not know that I am willing to pay the piper. Not on my own.

So I need to keep my thoughts and feelings general, but I do need to voice them. I am literally going crazy by not speaking what I feel.

So buckle up and hang on. It may be a bumpy ride.

*No, this is not a Biblical saying. And, yes, I believe we are to be true to God and God alone. However, I also believe that God created us to be individuals. We need to guide our individuality by Bible truths, but He did not create us to shove deep down inside us the individual He created us to be. Truth can be spoken without gossip. Speaking up can cause a person to walk a fine line, and everything that is spoken should be tempered with what is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, and virtuous (See Philippians chapter 4). But we do need to stand up for what we believe.

My Little Boy Loves Me!

2011-09-28T20:46:00.002-07:00

I was away from my family this past weekend. A couple of days before I left, Bubbie Boy told me that he was going to make me a cake for when I got home. I told him I would like a chocolate cake with chocolate peanut butter icing.

On the way home, I called my husband to let him know that I was about 1/2 hour away from home. He told me that Bubbie Boy had a surprise for me. And, boy, did he! He made a chocolate cake FROM SCRATCH!!! And it had chocolate peanut butter icing.

A couple of days later, I asked him where the recipe for the frosting was so I could put it in his recipe book. (He is taking a cooking class and does actually have a recipe book.) He told me that he didn't use a recipe, he just melted chocolate chips and mixed in peanut butter. Smart boy!

The cake was awesome. I am loved!!!

A&P Class - Day 1

2011-09-09T20:38:00.003-07:00

Assigned reading: Pages 19-27. Stop at "Mighty Mitochondria"

Each class meeting is 1 hour long. I debated as to whether I should extend that time to 1-1/2 hours; however, now that we are into the semester, I am very glad that I kept it to 1 hour.

*I have a plastic dish pan that I am using to cart all my materials to and from class each week. This is working very well. I keep it in my dining room and add items as I go through the lesson in preparation. This way I can also take a quick look and make sure everything I need is there and ready to go. I suggest weekly items of paper towels and hand sanitizer.

Since this was our first class meeting, we had a little bit of a get-to-know-you time. I asked the students to tell everyone his or her name and link it to something that begins with the same letter sound. For example: "My name is Mary and I like milkshakes." I think the children thought it was a little silly and embarrassing, but it went a long way in helping me remember their names which was really the purpose of the exercise anyway. I am always so worried that I will forget kid's names. I know how important it is to remember people's names and I try really hard, but I am not that successful at it.

The next thing we did was go over the assigned reading material. I am not asking that the students learn vocabulary word for word, I want them to be able to explain what something means, not spit back a bunch of words that they have no idea the meaning of.

During this class we did the following activities:

1) Mummified Apple
Materials needed: 2 apples, vegetable peeler, two bowls with lids (A size to hold the apples with some room. I used 4-cup size Gladware containers.), baking soda, salt, measuring cups

The directions for completing this activity are found on page 21 of the text.

This activity need to sit for at least a week. We opened the containers during class the following week. At that time, I realized that I should have asked the students what they thought would happen to the apples. It was a little late to ask them once they saw the results.

We expanded on the activity by cutting the "mummified" apple in half, returning 1 half to the baking soda/salt mixture and placing the other apple in a container of water to further compare. We did this, then examined them during the third week of class. It was interesting to see what happened. I don't want to tell you because I had a picture in my mind of what was going to happen and it was fun to see if I was right or not.

2) Water Magnification
Materials needed: plastic wrap, medicine droppers or pipettes, water (I brought a pitcher from home to carry the water to the classroom and little disposable drinking cups to pour the water into for the children to use.)

The directions for completing this activity are found on page 26 of the text.

This is pretty straight-forward. The lesson I learned from leading this activity was: make copies of the word the children are supposed to be magnifying. My book bears the marks of not doing so and the pages are wrinkled and warped from getting wet.

I would suggest that a little research be done regarding water droplets and their shape and size and how that affects the magnification.

New Page on my Blog

2011-09-08T20:18:00.001-07:00

I'm branching out and expanding my blog. I've started a page on a homeschool co-op class I am teaching on anatomy and physiology. Follow our progress week by week and maybe get some ideas for a class of your own.

Kind. Smart. Important

2011-08-02T23:23:00.015-07:00

Have you read the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett? Have you seen the movie? If you can answer "Yes" to either of those questions, you know what the following is based on:

So how did this come about?

Well, Bubbie Boy is trying really hard with his school. He wants a good report card. The other day he missed 1 question in math and had a meltdown. He made a sign for his bedroom door that said, "I'm stupid."

Well, I can't have that, so I decided to make a sign of my own.

I got onto Adobe Photoshop and set up the words how I wanted them. With my apologies to Ms. Stockett, I did change the grammar. However, I hope she will excuse me as I do not want to promote improper grammar whilst I am trying to drill into my little boy's head how smart he is. Behind each of the words Kind, Smart, and Important, I put a very light-colored "You are."

I then took a very inexpensive 12x12 artists canvas and set about painting it. I used a wonderful shade of blue in an acrylic gloss and gave the canvas several coats. Then I used a white acrylic gloss that I had watered down and gave the paint some visual texture.

I then cut down my piece of paper I had printed the quote on and got out the mod podge.

I am so pleased with the results. Bubbie Boy likes it, too.

By the way. If you have yet to read the book and/or see the movie, I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend both. I hope to get my thoughts on both into a blog very soon.

Linked to Weekend Wrapup at Tatertots & Jello

Orange Infused Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

2011-07-15T15:27:00.007-07:00

On a regular basis I hear from Bubbie Boy, "We need to go shopping. We don't have any food in this house." Of course, we do have food, just not the snacky-type stuff he desires. So in an attempt to help remedy that situation, I made the following muffins in mini muffin tins.

Orange Infused Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (or Bread)

5 very ripe bananas
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
zest from 1 large orange
juice from 1 large orange
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup brown sugar
3 cups white wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325º. In a large bowl puree bananas until pretty much liquefied. I used my immersion blender to do this. Add the yogurt, orange zest, orange juice, eggs, oil and vanilla. Blend well. Add the brown sugar and blend well some more. In a large separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Add the banana mixture to the flour mixture and mix with a light hand. Fold in desired amount of mini chocolate chips.

Grease your muffin tins and scoop in your batter. It took my mini muffins 16 minutes to cook. I put the rest of the batter into loaf pans and they took about 55 minutes to bake.

Linked to Weekend Wrapup.

Staycation Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-07-07T15:29:00.006-07:00

This week, our family is on staycation. We really aren't doing much--that is the 'cation part of it. At any rate. DH decided to make omelets for what ended up being pretty much lunch this morning. About an hour after eating those wonderful things, we were all in the mood for something sweet. So Snickerdoodle and I whipped up some chocolate chip ~~cookies~~ bits of heavenly delight!

Staycation Chocolate Chip Cookies
Snickerdoodle and Momma

2 sticks unsalted butter--use the real stuff, please
1-1/4 cups turbinado sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons REAL vanilla
2-1/4 cups white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Melt butter in microwave. In mixing bowl, combine melted butter and turbinado sugar. Turn on mixer and let it mix away. (The sugar and butter will not cream and the sugar will not melt. This is a good thing.) Add egg, egg yolk, milk and vanilla. Turn on mixer again, and allow to mix while doing the next step. (If you do not have a stand mixer, just mix really well with your hand mixer.)

Combine flour, salt and baking soda. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and mix only until combined. Add chocolate chips with a light hand.

Drop, preferably with a LARGE cookie scoop, onto parchment-lined baking sheets.

These baked to perfection in 17 minutes in our oven. Adjust time to your oven's temperament.

*Enjoy warm right out of the oven with hot coffee or cold milk.

*These can also, most definitely, be enjoyed while not on a staycation. Matter-of-fact, you may need them more during your regularly scheduled life.

Linked to Tatertots & Jello Weekend Wrapup!

Parenting is Like a Bowl of Cherries

2011-06-18T07:51:00.001-07:00

If you have been a parent for any length of time you have become aware that there are just some things that you:
A) have not been told about the journey,
B) you really do not know how you will handle certain situations (even though you were 100% positive that you would know exactly what to do), and
C) you need help.

I will attempt to explain--

No one tells you that there might come a time when you will be awaken in the middle of the night by the sounds of a child who is having a major explosion from his/her nether regions and did not quite make it to the proper seat in the house. Such an occurrence might result in you dragging out your mop bucket and a gallon or more of bleach and cleaning the bathroom from top to bottom.

On a more serious note--

No one tells you that boys get rather, ah, hormonal, pretty much in the same fashion as girls. But here's the thing: moms are not boys!!! Moms know what to do with the girls. Been there. Done that. "Sure, honey, you take some Tylenol, eat a piece of chocolate and go take a nap. You want the heating pad?" With boys??? I can answer technical questions, but do I really have the right to? Since I homeschool, I am with my boys much more than their dad. No fault on his part, he is doing what he is supposed to do--go to work to support his family. But "guy" questions do not come up between the hours of 6 PM and 7 AM only. They can come up at any and all times. Also, no one talks about boys being "hormonal". Any mom who has sat by when their pre-teen or teen son has resorted to tears for a minor thing knows what I am talking about.

Can you guess that I am in the middle of boy hormones? Can I say, "Yikes!!!" So I am in need of some guidance. I found a source of guidance in a place I wasn't looking--here. I do not remember what took me to this blog: probably something to do with homeschooling or natural eating. At any rate, am so thankful that she is posting these wonderful gems. I have not yet decided if I will purchase Brooke Meglothlin's book, but I am enjoying going through these verses. I am looking forward to sharing them with all my children, male and female alike. Here's the thing, parenting is not always a bowl of cherries. Well, maybe it is a bowl of cherries. God did know what he was doing when He made cherries. Tiny bites of pure happiness wrapped around a rock-hard pit. Have you ever eaten a cherry and bit the pit? It absolutely hurts. So, yes, I will say that parenting is like a bowl of cherries, pits and all. It is dealing with those pits that is so difficult. Getting to the heart of behavior is what is necessary, but I do not always know how to hit behavior at the core. I tend to take care of symptoms; something I despise in the medical community. The trick is to figure out WHY the child is behaving in a particular manner and to guide him or her to the correct heart position. Hmmm, not so easy. For me, I am at a total loss. I want to say, "It's wrong. Just don't do it." But that method doesn't work so well. It is necessary to make a child, or ourselves truth be told, seek out the reason why behavior is inappropriate. That is what fosters the desire to change the behavior. Discipline and correction for a symptom does not heal the problem. This requires work on my part. I have to research and pray and do some deep thinking in order to discover what is right and why. In the process, I learn a thing or two and most likely have to correct a hundred things or two hundred in my own life. But in the long run, it is worth it.

So, I will continue to eat my bowl of cherries and do my best to deal with the pits.

Ahhhhh

2011-06-17T22:26:00.002-07:00

Well, our VBS is behind us. We have worked hard for the last two months. (Well, it has been two months for me. For the wonderful ladies I worked with, it has been longer.) The week went well. The children learned and had fun. Four children made decisions for Christ. This experience was fun, hard work and a learning opportunity for me. Also, I got to know some people better and THAT is a blessing.

Now it is time to begin planning for our upcoming school year. Hopefully I will have a framework in the next two weeks, and we can begin work. I have a lot of ideas swirling around in my head for things we should do and things I would like to do.

For now, I am looking forward to hitting my pillow and having panda-free dreams.

Beautiful Song

2011-05-30T08:58:00.001-07:00

At the graduation ceremony for our homeschool group this year, this song was played while the parents were seated. It brings me to tears, but it is such a blessing.

Tatertots & Jello Hosted Give-A-Way

2011-04-25T13:37:00.002-07:00

Jen over at Tatertots and Jello is hosting a Word Whipped Give-Away.

My personal favorite is the Custom Family Rules signs.

Check it out and sign up!

Happiness is . . .

2011-04-22T21:57:00.002-07:00

hearing your children say how happy they are to have clean rooms. Especially when they are the ones who did the cleaning. We had our carpets cleaned today. In preparation, I had the children pull everything moveable out of their rooms and dust. We cleaned baseboards. After the carpets were cleaned, (CLEAN CARPETS, YEAH, BABY!) they put everything back into its place. We are happy, clean campers here.

*P.S. Bubbie Boy wants to make sure that everyone knows that he moved his dresser out of his room all on his own. And he is 8.

A List of Blessings

2011-04-19T05:51:00.004-07:00

Several weeks ago I received a weekly sales email from CBD in which was advertised a book called One Thousand Gifts. I looked at it and even visited the author's website. For some reason, I decided that it is not a book that I wish to read. This morning, I received my daily email from Heart of the Matter Online and it contained a giveaway for this book. I read through the post, entered the giveaway and decided to join the blessings link-up. You see, the reflection on what I am thankful for calmed my spirit and made me even feel like my body temperature dropped a couple of degrees. In no particular order . . .

A little boy who LOVES, LOVES, LOVES me
A beautiful daughter growing into a lovely young lady
A son growing strong and tall much sooner than I thought possible
A husband who provides and protects
Juicy, ripe, sweet strawberries
HEALTH
Music
Encouragement from others
Croaking frogs
Singing birds
The sound of water

Hmmm, I could get carried away and that would be a good thing. Maybe I will come back and add later. Probably I should.

Bathmats & Veggie Treasure Box

2011-04-08T12:20:00.003-07:00

Please do not measure the accomplishments in my daily life by my blog posts. I have been keeping myself occupied during the last two weeks, I just haven't said much about what has been going on. But now . . . I have a couple of bloggy minutes.

So, I have this weird thing about bathmats. I do not like the cute rug type mats that have that strange rubber stuff on the back. When you wash those, you have to lay them out to dry. Then, if you are me, you forget about the mats and they end up decorating your back yard and disintegrating into nothing in the hot sun. In the mean time, you end up using bath towels to stand on when you are dripping wet.

Now, I do like the bath mats they have in hotels. Low pile, thick towel-like mats. Alas, those are too pricey for frugal little me.

What's a girl to do? I really do not like using out bath towels as mats on the floor. They are, after all, going to be used once again on our freshly showered bodies. Yes, they will be washed, but it is the idea of it all.

I thought I had come up with a solution. I was at Target and found these wonderfully colorful 100% cotton rugs that I thought would fit the bill. I brought them home and discovered they were very slippery on our tile. No problem. I am resourceful. I simply cut a piece of drawer liner to put under them. Problem solved. However . . . new problem—they were approved for spot clean only. Who, in their right mind will just spot clean a bath mat.

So, back to the drawing board. And am I ever so happy now! I bought an inexpensive towel from Wal-Mart, cut off the decorative edges, then cut two 18” wide pieces. The ends are already finished. On the cut ends, I added colorful bias tape. These work great! They add a splash of color. And the cost? Wait for it . . . $2.50 to $3.50 each. I have already sewn four, pinned bias tape on two more and will probably make at least two more. (We have three bathtubs/showers, and doing laundry . . . well that should be a post in and of itself.)

O.K., so one problem solved. Moving on to the next thing. Remember my Vitamix? I still love it, but I didn't love having to wash veggies every time I wanted to blend something. So I scrubbed and peeled, allowed the freshly-washed veggies to drain dry, then loaded the whole kit and caboodle into a large plastic container with a lid. Boy this little guy makes me so happy every time I pull him out of the fridge. I can whip up a soup or a salad in no time. Then I just pop the lid back on and put the whole thing away. Hey, I just realized that I am also saving myself the aggravation of digging through the fridge for all the bags of produce, then stuffing them all back in each and every time I need veg. Yea, me!!!

New Toy

2011-03-21T13:41:00.003-07:00

"I got a new toy-oy! I got a new toy-oy!" (Imagine sing-songy voice.)

Last Monday, the boys and I went on an innocent little trip to Costco. Innocent--yeah, right!

Guess who was there? The Vita-Mix Lady, that's who. The Vita-Mix Lady and her Vita-Mix machine and her baskets full and ice chest full of goodies. We got to sample juice blended COMPLETELY smooth from whole fruits, ICE CREAM made in this miracle machine, tortilla soup to die for and whole fruit smoothies*. "Hmmm," said I, "I want one of these. However, I do not have the necessary dinero." So sad.

That was Monday. On Thursday, St. Patrick's Day, I made mint chocolate chip milkshakes. And guess what? My blender didn't like mixing that guy up, that's what! What visions started drifting through my head? Oh, yeah, Vita-Mix, baby. So on Friday, I concocted a plan. After punching a few numbers in on my phone--"Hi, Babe! Can I borrow some money?" That wonderful man of mine? He said, "Yes."

"Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to Costco we go!" (Imagine sing-songy voice again.) And the nice Vita-Mix Lady? She mixed up more wonderful goodies for us as I picked up Mr. Vita-Mix box and put him in my cart.

That night, I made that wonderful man of mine chocolate hazelnut banana ice cream. I used chocolate hazelnut milk, frozen bananas and ice. That was it. He was amazed. But, My Lovin' Man being who he is, he had to give me a hard time yesterday. "You know, every time you turn that machine on, the lights flicker." (Imagine deep manly voice.) So I whisked him off to Costco, because yesterday (Sunday) was the last day that Vita-Mix Lady would be at Costco. She made us more tortilla soup, more ice cream and a GREEN smoothie. He was convinced.

Today, I made the kids a green smoothie. The ingredients?

white grape juice
1/2 banana
1/2 apple (don't remove the core)
thin slice of lime (with the peel)
1/2 cup pineapple chunks
couple spoonfuls of the pineapple juice the pineapple was packed in
2 handfuls spinach
about 1 cup ice

And, Mikey, THEY LIKED IT! You CANNOT taste the spinach! Honest to Betsy.

Another great thing about this machine? It is just about self cleaning. You put some warm water in it with a drop of dish soap, turn it on, and presto-cleano!

We're having some delicious fun over here! Yeah, I will be broke for the next few months (I did mean borrow when I asked DH if I could "borrow" some money), but it's worth it. We are loving us some yummy treats. Hey, I didn't even add peas to the kids mac & cheese at lunch today--they drank spinach and fruit!

*Video demos are available at Vitamix.com.

Homemade Yogurt Tutorial

2011-03-14T11:49:00.003-07:00

O.K., I haven't done a tutorial before, so bear with me.

I blogged about homemade yogurt here, and decided I would post about how I make yogurt. There are instructions all over the web, but I have my own little way of doing it. Here we go!!!

You will need:

1/2 gallon of milk--I use 2% simply because I need a little fat to help me feel full for longer. You can use whatever percent you choose. Just know that the further away you get from whole milk, your yogurt will not be as firm.
Powdered milk--I use non-instant that I get from Azure Standard. I used 1/4 cup the first time I added this and 1/2 cup the second time. I didn't see any difference in texture between the two. An added benefit of incorporating the powdered milk is that it adds protein to your yogurt.
3/4 cup plain yogurt with live and active cultures. I prefer to use Mountain High, Cascade, Brown Cow or Trader Joe's.
Whisk or fork and a spoon
Measuring cup
Thermometer--a candy thermometer will work well. I have a digital meat thermometer that I attach to the side of my pan with a clothespin. I like that because it beeps when it reaches the right temperature--allows me to do a little less babysitting.
Jars with lids or a glass or ceramic bowl with a lid. I used a casserole dish for a couple of years. Now I use quart sized Mason jars with plastic lids. They take up less space in the fridge. (My picture has metal lids because all my plastic lids are currently in use.)
Playmate cooler with hot water (about 118º to 120º) OR large heavy bath towel

Pour your milk into a large pan. Slowly whisk in the powdered milk with your whisk or fork. Set your burner to medium heat. Put your thermometer into the milk. Allow the milk to come up to 180º. When it does, remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool down to 118º. I found that placing the pan on a wire cake rack allows the milk to cool faster than leaving it on a solid surface.

If you are using a cooler to incubate your yogurt, go ahead and get this ready. You will want enough water in the cooler to come up to at least the mid-line level of your jars. Make sure that water is not over 120º. For several years, I simply used a heavy bath towel folded in half to incubate my yogurt. I just made sure I placed the jars in a relatively warm place. This using the cooler and hot water is new to me, but it feels like I am doing more to make the yogurt. I always worried that the temp was not good enough just leaving it covered on the counter.

While the milk is cooling, place your yogurt into a bowl. When the milk reaches 118º, spoon some of the warm milk into the yogurt and whisk it up. This is similar to tempering eggs. Pour your yogurt into your pan of milk and mix well. I really like using a whisk as this will break up any "lumps" of yogurt. Pour your mixture into the jars or bowl. Wipe the lip clean with a damp paper towel and put the lids in place.

Put the jars into the cooler or in a warm spot in your kitchen. Close the lid to the cooler or cover with the towel. You want to leave this undisturbed for 6 to 8 hours.

When the time is up, carefully look to see if the yogurt has solidified. If there is a yellowish liquid on top, don't worry. It is just the whey. You will see more of it as you begin to use the yogurt. You can dump it out or stir it back into the yogurt. If you decide to dump it out, I recommend saving it in another jar in your fridge. The whey can be used in any recipe that uses buttermilk. Let me tell you, it makes wonderful pancakes! You can also line a strainer with cheesecloth, dump your yogurt in, put the strainer over a bowl and place it in the fridge. This will give you a thick Greek yogurt-like consistency. You can also use this in the place of cream cheese.

Oops, I digressed. Once your yogurt has cultured, place it in the fridge to cool completely. You do not want to dig in until it cools off--it will be a runny mess if you do, and really, who likes warm yogurt.

There you go. Save some for your next batch. After a while, it may lose it's potency and you will need to buy more plain yogurt to use as a starter.

Happy yogurt making and eating!

Ahhh . . . homemade

2011-03-08T12:27:00.002-07:00

I love to make food from scratch. I made yogurt for several years, then burned out on it and started buying it again. However, price drove me to make my own again last night. I am SO GLAD I did!!!. I added powdered milk this time, something I hadn't done in the past. And it is definitely firmer. I just feel so good about feeding my family made from scratch goodness.

So that brings me to my current post. I live down the street from a day old bread store. It is an Oroweat store, so the bread is not full of junk like high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils--not a bad deal. But here's the thing . . . the bread just didn't smell right to me. It had a sour smell. Not the good kind of sourdough smell, but a smell that made me wonder if it was o.k. to eat. So I started back making my own bread. It tastes so much better. DH was not too happy only because of the size--the loaves tend to be on the short side. Of course, that can be solved by making the recipe bigger to make bigger loaves. Ah, the problem: my KitchenAid does not handle the larger amount of dough very well. I have the 4-1/2 quart model. I LOVE my KitchenAid. But from necessity, I have started looking for another mixer. KitchenAid does make a 6 quart model, but still I wonder if it will be powerful enough for my whole wheat flax seed bread. Enter the Bosch mixer. Ahhh, now THERE is a mixer! It claims to be able to handle 15 pounds of dough. That's a LOT of dough, but for, well, a lot of dough. Hmm, what to do.

Yes, yes, I could make bread the old-fashioned way--kneading it by hand. That was nice BC/BH (before children/before homeschool). Now I have the opportunity to make the most of my time while feeding my family with the most nutritious food I can. Kneading bread does not lend itself to maximizing time.

Disclaimer: This is not a post of complaint. It is simply musing in type.

Time 4 Learning Review

2011-02-24T14:24:00.002-07:00

One of my favorite things to do is search the web for blogs for ideas from like-minded people. One area of like-mindedness is homeschooling. Today, I came across Accidentally Homeschooling and found out about this opportunity.

I thought I would give it a try, and in accordance with the rules of participating, I am posting this disclosure:

I've been invited to try Time4Learning for one month in exchange for a candid review. My opinion will be entirely my own, so be sure to come back and read about my experience. Time4Learning is an online educational program that can be used as an online homeschooling curriculum, afterschool tutorial or as a summer study tool. Find out how to write your own curriculum review for Time4Learning.

I am looking forward to this opportunity.

One Recipe Three Ways . . . So Far

2011-01-22T19:59:00.003-07:00

One day, I decided to make pizza for the kids for lunch. But I needed a quick pizza dough recipe. Is there such a thing? Why, yes, there is. The recipe can be found here. I was amazed by how this recipe turned out. However, far be it from me to leave a recipe alone. I mean, I cannot simply allow myself to make recipe after recipe only using white flour. So I have made this recipe substituting all the flour with white wheat, I have also cheated from time to time and only substituted a portion with white wheat flour. (NOTE: I do add an additional 1/4 tsp. of yeast when I use the white wheat flour.)

Imagine my absolute joy the morning I decided I wanted cinnamon rolls, but did not want to wait the 2 to 3 hours it would have taken to make them. I added more sugar to the recipe (and used the aforementioned white wheat flour), rolled the dough out, sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar. Viola, cinnamon rolls!

Tonight, I made pigs-in-a-blanket, but I didn't start early enough to make the usual recipe. What to do? Turn to the miracle recipe. This time I had to make a few more changes:

Quick and Easy Crescent Rolls

1/4 cup warm water (110º-115º)
1 tsp. sugar
2-1/2 tsp. yeast
1 egg, beaten
3/4 cup warm milk (110º-115º)
1 Tbs. sugar
2 cups white wheat flour
2 Tbs. oil (I used olive oil)
1 tsp. salt
Unbleached white flour as needed.

Combine water and 1 teaspoon sugar. Sprinkle yeast over water and allow to sit until frothy (5 to 10 minutes).

In mixer bowl, combine beaten egg and warmed milk. Do this slowly so you do not have any curdling. Add sugar, yeast mixture, white wheat flour, oil and salt. Using dough hook, start to mix. Add unbleached white flour as needed until dough forms a ball and cleans the bowl. Allow to knead for 8 minutes.

Let rise for 15 minutes (I have even let this go for an hour before with no problems).

Preheat oven to 400º. Divide dough in half. Roll one half into a circle. Cut into eight wedges and roll up from wide end. Repeat with other half of dough. Place rolls on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.
--------------------------------------------------------
If you are using this for pigs-in-a-blanket, roll your hot dog up into the crescent roll when you are forming them.

Hip, hip, hooray for recipes that work!

Fairy Tale Life

2011-01-20T14:52:00.005-07:00

"Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life,

Love gives us a fairy tale!"

For some very odd reason, I am nostalgic and weepy. It is not hormone induced--of this I am sure.

Last night, I was at church talking to a friend. Her very cute little boy was looking up at his mommy with such wide eyes, innocence and trust. It is obvious he loves her so much. That was when I got weepy, and it hasn't stopped.

Today I was looking through pictures of my little ones from when they were babies, preparing to make a photo book, and the weepiness continued.

My advice to all moms out there--take LOTS of pictures OFTEN. Your little ones grow up too quickly, and those pictures will remind you of wonderful days past.

Convenient, Made-From-Scratch Pumpkin Muffins

2011-01-19T23:03:00.005-07:00

Did anyone else just feel the earth just shake? O.K., O.K. so I had an "aha" moment. For years I could never figure out why anyone would want to buy convenience mixes in the store. It really doesn't take that much extra work to make stuff from scratch. And, besides, homemade tastes WAAAAY better. Also, I couldn't figure out why anyone would make up their own mixes. See extra work reasoning above. However, when we went away in December, I did make up some of my own mixes, because, face it, who wants to get a divorce over something like, "But, honey, I NEED to take the canisters of flour and sugar." I did not, however, use all my mixes on that trip.

But tonight. TONIGHT! I made from scratch pumpkin muffins after I got home at 8:45, and in less than an hour after arriving home, I was pulling those muffins from the oven. I am now a convenient, made-from-scratch mix believer.

Here's my recipe:

Measure into a quart-size ziploc bag:
1 cup oatmeal, ground
1 cup white wheat flour (this is a milder whole wheat flour)
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder

When ready to bake--
Combine in a small bowl, mixing well:
3 eggs, beaten
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 small can pumpkin

Preheat oven to 350º. Pour dry mixture into a medium sized bowl and mix well. Stir in pumpkin mixture with a light hand--just to moisten dry ingredients. Scoop into greased muffin tins (or muffin liners). Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

Enjoy! (BTW, we love pumpkin muffins no matter the time of year.)

Repurposed Jeans Apron & Potholders Set

2011-01-13T13:31:00.006-07:00

I made this set for my mom for Christmas. I was so giddy about how it turned out.

For the potholders, I followed Cheryl's tutorial at It's A Pretty Cool Life. She did a great job explaining the process. The one thing I did differently was use a different material for the back of the potholders--in this case jean. It also gave the potholders extra insulation.

I will try to explain how I made the apron.

I used a pair of jeans my son had outgrown. I seam ripped the inside and outside leg seams. Once the two pieces were separate, I laid the front out as flat as possible. Then I used my quilter's ruler to cut straight across both legs at the crotch. I seam ripped the curved area and tucked one side under the other and resewed it so there wouldn't be the pucker caused by the crotch.

After removing the rivets from the pockets and re-tacking the pockets down (I also had to trim the inside pockets off) I turned the seam allowance back in on the outside and tacked that down with a straight stitch. At the waistband, I simply cut straight up the waistband, then used fray check instead of hemming it.

For the skirt, I cut the fish material about 1-1/2 times the width of the jeans edge. I hemmed the bottom and sides, then gathered the top and sewed it to the jeans.

For the tie, I decided how long I wanted the ties to be, then cut my material that length and twice as wide as I wanted it to be. I used a cup as a pattern for the curve at the end of the ties. I folded it in half, right sides together and sewed it with a straight stitch, leaving an opening for turning. After turning, I top-stitched. I threaded this through the belt loops on the jeans and tacked it down under the loops so the stitches wouldn't show. My tie was wider than the belt loops and I gave it a little gather when I tacked it down.

This isn't the best tutorial, but I am posting this as an afterthought. I did not document my steps with pictures.

Entered at:

Wordless Wednesday

2011-01-12T13:49:00.000-07:00

Finding My Crafty Gal Self

2011-01-04T07:44:00.003-07:00

Once upon a time BC (before children), I was a crafty gal. From a young age I liked to make gifts and create. When I got older, I entered craft shows. I spent my lunch hour walking the aisles of Michaels. Then my children came along, and my crafty gal self went away. However, my baby (my BABY) is now 8 and my wonderful, wonderful, WONDERFUL husband has been very good to me. Last year, he had a new room created in our house. We took a third of our living room, enclosed it and put a door on it. It is now referred to as THE SANITY ROOM. In the sanity room, I can set up my sewing machine and ironing board. I can put my cutting mat on the floor which can be scattered with pin cushions and scraps of material. This year, dear, wonderful husband installed cabinets. My glorious (albeit small) stash of fabric has been liberated from the containers that kept wonderful treasures of material hidden. I can simply open the door to a cabinet and SEE what material I have available to me. So glorious! I no longer have to use the excuse of having to pull all my supplies out of hiding (er, storage), lug thm in to the kitchen table and set up only to need to stop and make dinner then clear off said table so we can eat. I can step into my sanity room and sew or craft for a few minutes here and there and step out leaving everything where it was to resume my life as a wife and mother.

Thank You to Our Vets!

2011-01-01T22:24:00.004-07:00

For Christmas this year, one of my husband's presents was a DVD set of The Pacific.

*Disclaimer: This series is FULL of terrible language (Marines during WWII), and too many (by my standards, 1 is too many) er "intimate" scenes. Consider yourself forewarned should you choose to view this series.

This series is based on several real WWII vets. I sat dumbfounded at the absolute horror. I do not know how any of these men came home alive, and as we know, many, way too many, of them didn't.

These men gave of themselves for our freedom. That is something that we all hear over and over, but I think we are desensitized to the truth of it. Our news media makes over everything so much, that we tend to turn it out. But this series brought it home to me.

I wish that the language was not so terribly awful and that there were no bedroom scenes (honestly, those scenes are never necessary to a story line). I would like to allow my children to watch this. I want them to know what our troops did for us. What my grandfather experienced during WWII. What their grandfather experienced during Vietnam. Unfortunately, as it is, they will probably be adults like me before they get the opportunity to really get a feel of what these brave men went through for our freedom.

I would like to say a personal, "Thank you," to those who fought. Those who gave of their lives and their mental freedom so we can live free.

Cute, Cute, Cute Accessory

2010-12-09T19:06:00.004-07:00

On Sunday the 19th, I am singing in our church's Christmas Cantata. The powers that be have decided that everyone should wear black bottoms and white, white tops that can be accessorized with Christmas colors. I do not own a white, white top, so hi-ho, hi-ho it's off to shop I go went.

This is what I found. Super cute, right? However, I was not happy with the pointy collar and my arms are really long, so the sleeves were not quite long enough. No problem! I am a crafty blog hound. I have seen many a restyled outfit. It is now my turn to restyle.

So far, I have gotten to removing the pointy collar and resewing the collar band, and removing one cuff. I have purchased material to make new sleeve endings and I will post as soon as I have completed my restyle.

But my big, big news is I made the cutest accessory. I found the instructions here at Infarrantly Creative. Of course, I took creative liberty and made mine more colorful. But I am in love with these necklaces.

Pictures in the Park

2010-11-29T10:41:00.003-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, Bubbie Boy was invited to a birthday party that was held at a park we have never been to. It was the perfect place for pictures, so the kids and I went back and took (embarrassed gulp) 300 pictures. What? I was trying to get the perfect picture.

Menu Plan Monday -- Week of October 11, 2010

2010-10-10T23:24:00.008-07:00

*Hosted by Laura at orgjunkie.com

I am starting our second week of making our main meal at noon. The days that it actually happened last week went great. It was a wonderful feeling to have the cooking for the day done in the afternoon. We went to our evening activities and I didn't feel rushed. There was a good meal waiting for my husband when he got home, and the kids and I enjoyed a hot meal together in the afternoon. (My husband is working a lot of hours at the current time, and doesn't get to eat dinner with us right now.)

There were a couple of days that I didn't get this accomplished for one reason or another, but my goal this week is to see that I am able to for at least Monday through Thursday.

Possible Breakfasts
oatmeal, cereal & cheese sticks, muffins, pancakes, smoothies, egg sandwiches

Light Meal
Sandwiches--PB&J, egg salad, tuna, meat, ABC (apples, bread & cheese)

Main Meals
Monday - Sausage Lentil Soup with Spinach, biscuits
Tuesday - Chili & cornbread
Wednesday - Chipotle Chicken Burritos
Thursday - Shredded Pork Sandwiches, carrot sticks, roasted cauliflower
Friday - Grilled Chicken, quinoa, broccoli
Saturday - Grilled Pizza
Sunday - Chicken Stew with cornmeal dumplings

Looks Yummy in the Week of October 4, 2010

2010-10-06T10:23:00.008-07:00

I am going to try to make a post each week that will highlight recipes that I have found that I am interested in trying. This could potentially be a big post--I LOVE looking at recipes!

No Bake Granola Bars
Pumpkin Granola
Candy Corn Popcorn Balls
Caramel Apple Muffins
Homemade Cracker Jacks
Chocolate Malt Cake
Monster Mash

A New Plan of Attack

2010-10-04T12:36:00.011-07:00

Two new things:

1) I am making our noon meal our big meal--the one I do all the cooking for. Our evenings are simply too crazy and getting everyone fed has been all but a nightmare. So, I will make a nice hot meal for the children and myself and fix a plate for my dear husband to warm when he gets home. Not the best thing in the world, but my hope is that I will feed him happier food this way. I know that I am pretty happy about it as it is our first day, and I have this feeling of weightlessness because I do not have to cook this evening. Also a bonus, the children and I had a nice sit-down meal together.

2) I have been looking at "Menu Plan Monday" for quite some time now. It is hosted by Laura at Organizing Junkie I never seem to actually menu plan anymore. That ended sometime around the time Bubbie Boy was born, I believe. However, I am not going to post my menu plan for the entire week. Hopefully each day I will add what I made that day. This is more for me to keep up with what I have cooked, and hopefully have a better source of ideas to pull from. So . . . here goes!

Monday

*Grilled Turkey Tenderloin
- marinated in soy sauce, apple juice, garlic powder, ground ginger and canola oil. Sorry this was an eyeball and dump kind-of recipe--that is the way I cook.
*Steamed Brussel Sprouts
*Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Tuesday
*Meatloaf
*Potato Soup
- I winged this one. Diced some potatoes, carrots, garlic and onions. Brought that to a boil in chicken broth, then reduced to a simmer to cook through. Added a can of drained corn and some half & half. Then pureed slightly.
*Steamed Broccoli

Wednesday
*One Pot Italian Pasta
*Doctored Green Beans

Thursday
*Biscuit-Topped Chicken Pot Pie
*Homemade Applesauce

Friday
Hubby called and said, "Let's go out tonight." NO PROBLEM!!!

Saturday
*Gourmet Hamburgers
*The Best Potato Fries

Sunday
*Grilled Pizza

It's the Great Pumpkin Muffin, Charlie Brown!

2010-10-03T22:38:00.003-07:00

We LOVE pumpkin muffins around here. And, as you can probably tell, I try to make everything a little healthier. I think this one fits the bill.

The Pumpkin Muffin according to A Desire to be Heard

2 bananas
1 can (15oz) solid packed pumpkin
2 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1/4 c. oil + applesauce to make 2/3 c.
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. yogurt or buttermilk
2 c. white wheat flour
1/2 c. oatmeal, ground
2 T. flax seeds, ground
1/4 c. wheat bran
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/8 tsp. cloves
roasted, unsalted pumpkin seeds, optional

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease muffin tin or line with cupcake papers.

Using a hand blender (or other kitchen implement that will "smash"), combine bananas, pumpkin, whole eggs, egg whites, oil + applesauce, brown sugar and yogurt or buttermilk. Blend until very smooth.

In another bowl, combine flour, ground oatmeal, ground flax seeds, wheat bran, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

Gently fold dry mixture into wet mixture--use a light hand.

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full. Top each muffin with pumpkin seeds, if desired.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy! Makes approximately 18 muffins.

This is linked to Colleen's Kitchen Recipe Swap.

Menu -- Thursday, September 23, 2010

2010-09-24T14:16:00.002-07:00

Bar-B-Que Stuffed Bell Peppers
1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 can corn kernels, drained
Trader Joe's bar-b-que sauce (I used between 1/2 & 3/4 of the bottle)
bell peppers (tops cut off, cleaned, and boiled for 3 minutes)

In skillet over medium heat, saute onion in a little chicken broth. Add the ground beef and cook through. Combine ground beef with rice, corn and bar-b-que sauce. Stuff your bell peppers. If you have people in your household who won't eat cooked bell peppers, just surround your filled bell peppers with the rest of the filling and bake that way. Bake at 350º for about 30 minutes.

Apple Coleslaw
2 cups cabbage
1 medium grated carrot
1/2 chopped green pepper
1 chopped apple
5 tablespoons yogurt, lowfat
1 tablespoon mayonnaise, lowfat
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dill weed (I didn't have dill weed. I used celery seed and I was happy with the result.)

Wash the cabbage. Cut it into fine shreds, until you have 2 cups of cabbage.

Peel the carrot. Grate it with a grater. Chop half a green pepper into small pieces. Remove the core, and chop the apple. Put the cabbage, carrot, green pepper, and apple in a large mixing bowl. Stir together.

Put the yogurt, mayonnaise, lemon juice, and dill weed in a small bowl. Stir together to make a dressing.

Pour the dressing over the salad. Toss to mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Butternut Squash
*Just baked this in the oven, then mashed it.

Lapbook Lessons Giveaway Event

2010-09-14T22:05:00.002-07:00

Lapbook Lessons is hosting the Back to Homeschool Giveaway Event. The current giveaway is for a super membership to In the Hands of a Child. Boy would I LOVE to win this. Take a look for yourself.

Homemade Graham Crackers

2010-09-09T14:43:00.003-07:00

I purchased some graham flour from Azure Standard approximately two months ago, and it has been sitting in my pantry ever since. Until today. Today, I finally broke down and made graham crackers

2-1/2 c. graham flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
4 Tbs. butter, softened
6 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 c. honey
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350º. Combine graham flour, salt and baking soda in mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, brown sugar, honey and egg until well combined. Add butter mixture to flour mixture. Blend until it holds together.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Dump dough (it will be dry and stiff) onto parchment paper, and roll to desired thinness with a rolling pin. Cut into desired shapes and prick with a fork.

Bake for 9 to 12 minutes, until lightly golden. Allow to cool so they will crisp up.

Verdict:

Mine turned out more like soft graham crackers--I didn't roll them thin enough. Also, they were a touch too salty. I will try to use 3/4 tsp. salt next time. Also, they were a tad too sweet. I will reduce the amount of brown sugar next time.

100 Things About Me

2010-09-07T21:14:00.004-07:00

So, o.k., maybe this is a little dorky. I have seen it on other people's blogs, and I enjoy reading them. And probably I'm not doing this so much for other people to read and I am to see if I can actually think up 100 things about myself. And, for the record, I struggle with doing this because it feels a little like I am trying to promote myself--totally not the point.

1)I am a daughter of THE King.
2)I believe God made the sweetest strawberries just to see us smile.
3)My career goal in college was to be CEO of Disney. At the time it was Michael Eisner's job, and I fully intended to take it from him.
4)This career goal came to an abrupt end during the first trimester of my first pregnancy. I was in class, took a good look around and decided that no one in that class had any idea of what was really important.
5)I was in Junior Miss in high school.
6)I never skipped school.
7)I went to high school with Emmit Smith (2 years behind).
8)I sing soprano.
9)My secret dream is to be a recording artist.
10)I had my daughter's name picked out twelve years before she was born.
11)I once had the desire to have twelve children.
12)I absolutely no longer have that desire.
13)I eat precisely twelve M&Ms almost every night before bed with hot tea or decaf coffee.
14)I exercise for forty to fifty minutes at least four days and usually five days a week.
15)I hate to exercise.
16)I listen to a lot of books on tape (MP3) while I am cleaning.
17)I love books.
18)My favorite food is pancakes—especially with peanut butter and cherry preserves.
19)I had all three of my children at home.
20)I was in high school before I knew my middle name begins with a “K” and not a “C”.
21)I have entered the Pillsbury Bakeoff.
22)I make really good granola. (Sorry, I won't share the recipe. I might want to sell granola one day.)
23)My husband gave me pearls on our wedding day and I almost didn't wear them. I didn't want to hurt the feelings of a friend who had given me a necklace to borrow. (I ended up wearing both.)
24)I wish we had gone to the court house to get married.
25)My dream vacation would be to stay in a house that had a pool and lots of things for the kids to do. There would be a cook, who would cook to my specifications, and a housekeeper, who also did laundry.
26)I love to collect recipes.
27)I hardly ever follow a recipe exactly.
28)I memorized LOTS and LOTS of Bible verses growing up.
29)I have a terrible memory for memories.
30)I don't have a favorite color.
31)I prefer carnations to roses—they last longer.
32)I hate my handwriting.
33)I am not a risk-taker.
34)Rainbows make me smile.
35)I really dislike long car trips.
36)I almost always fall asleep during a long car trip.
37)If I am taking a long car trip, I want to know why we didn't get there yesterday.
38)I hate shopping for clothes.
39)I hate shopping for shoes even more.
40)I am a second generation homeschooler.
41)I used to make up quadratic equations to do during church.
42)I listen better when my hands are busy working on something.
43) I like soggy cereal.

. . . to be continued.

Chicken Tortellini Spinach Soup

2010-08-06T22:20:00.002-07:00

Some of the best meals in our home happen when I go to the pantry and just start pulling stuff out. That is what happened tonight.

In a large pot, heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Saute 1 large diced onion for about 5 minutes. Add 1 pound sliced carrots and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Pour in 2 quarts chicken broth. When it comes to a boil, add in 1 package dried 3 cheese tortellini. Allow to cook for 10 to 12 minutes then add 2 cans chunk chicken. Cook to heat through. Add as much fresh spinach as you would like, and allow to cook down.

Everyone loved this. Another happy meal!

"Mom, what's for lunch?" Link Up

2010-08-05T19:16:00.018-07:00

Today was a weird day. I am trying to get school plans done. But life goes on in the middle. And wouldn't you know, those kids wanted to eat somewhere around 12:00 noon.

We needed something quick, easy, healthy and tasty. A look in my fridge revealed a bowl of grated zucchini. My computer-like mind remembered a recipe for zucchini patties I had seen in an Amish cookbook. So, I set out to make said zucchini patties. I only kind-of sort-of followed the recipe. I also looked one up on Allrecipes.com. The amounts I used are approximate:

3 cups shredded zucchini
3 large eggs
1-1/2 cups shredded low-fat cheese
Italian bread crumbs (enough to soak up the excess liquid)
Olive oil
Marinara sauce

Combine all ingredients. Heat a griddle over medium heat. Add a bit of olive oil to the griddle--just enough to keep the patties from sticking. Spoon heaping tablespoons of the zucchini mixture onto the griddle. Cook until golden brown, then flip over and do the same to the other side. Serve with warmed marinara.

These definitely fit the prescribed bill. And . . . the kids liked them.

So, I got to thinking, "What if we could start a beginning of the homeschool McLinky to share easy, quick, healthy lunch recipes.

Of course, that set me into a search on how to make blog buttons and how to set up a McLinky. I have a feeling there are a couple of bugs, but, hey, it's my first try.

Come join me. Add your recipe, and link up.

Grab a button!

Testing making a button

2010-08-05T19:11:00.004-07:00

I am following directions I found at Following the Footsteps.

Our School Room

2010-08-04T10:58:00.008-07:00

I am putting some thought into this topic for this week's blog hop. We don't have a school room per se. Learning takes place everywhere. It should take place everywhere. I tell my children that if we are ever out and someone asks them why they aren't in school, they should say, "I'm homeschooled. Every minute is a learning opportunity."

As far as "doing" schoolwork, Horse Girl has a loft bed with a desk underneath. She likes to work there. Also, this year, she really wanted backpack. I think it is a little funny for a homeschooler to have a backpack, but she really wants to experience a little more of "real school."

Pea Picker and Bubbie Boy do most of their work at the kitchen table--the most convenient place for mom.

Last year, I invested in a basket for each to store books. It has been a wonderful organizational tool.

Also, my wonderful Lovin' Man made a white board/organizational board. The white board is on the right. On the left are bins for storing papers (and other stuff) and clips for displaying artwork, etc.

Here's to a wonderful, productive school year no matter where our children choose to learn or where they learn best.

♫ Go, Ashley, it's your birthday . . . ♫

2010-08-03T22:44:00.004-07:00

Yup, today was "my day." Interesting day. I woke at 4:30 this morning to a sick child. He swallowed pool water. He got a nasty intestinal bug. Not so much fun . . . for him or for me.

However, all-in-all it was not a bad day. My friend, Marianna, took me to a new restaurant--Picazzo's Organic Italian Kitchen. SO YUMMY!!! I had the Avocado Delish: (cue music and smooth announcer's voice) "Light and flavorful, Gobetti with pan-seared organic tomatoes, black olives, garlic and lemon zest are topped with fresh sliced avocado. (free-range chicken, added)." As an added bonus, I now have a new restaurant to add to my very short list of restaurants where I like to dine.

Then, if that wasn't enough--Orange Leaf Yogurt. I am in love with their completely sugar-free, no artificial sweetener added, vanilla cinnamon yogurt. Yummy in my tummy!

So, when I got home, I needed to spend some time with Pea Picker. He and I made brownies. Not just any brownies, however. There were a couple of recipes I had been wanting to try and they are non-traditional. The first one, Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies comes from Finding Joy in my Kitchen. The second, Fudge Brownies, is from Jillian Michaels. I saw it on "Losing it with Jillian," and couldn't rest until I tried it.

I give you fair warning: these are not traditional brownies. My kids were a little taken aback by the ingredients, but I told them, "Hey, it's my birthday. On your birthday I make the cake you want. This is what I want."

Gluten Free Black Bean Brownies

1 can (15.5 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 eggs
3 T olive oil
1/4 C cocoa powder
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 C brown sugar
1/2 C chocolate chips

1) Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease an 8x8 inch glass pan.

2) Using a blender or food processor, combine the beans, eggs and olive oil. Then, puree the mixture.

3) Then, add in the cocoa, sugar, baking powder, pinch of salt and vanilla and puree until smooth.

4) Pour the brownies into the pan.

5) Sprinkle chocolate chips over the top of the brownies.

6) Pop the brownies into the oven and bake for about 30 minutes. As the brownies bake, they will pull away from the edge of the pan... that's a clue they're getting close to done. Check with a toothpick to make sure the batter is done. The brownies will be moist, but not gooey.

7) Cool, then slice. Enjoy! If they stick around, you can keep them on the counter for up to 2 days... then pop them in the fridge to keep for another day or so. These brownies are almost melt-in-your mouth due to the fine texture, and they are quite moist, so they will not keep as long as "regular" brownies.

Fudge Brownies

Ingredients

Olive oil spray

2/3 cup mild honey, such as clover or orange blossom

1/3 cup natural, unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/4 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large egg, at room temperature

3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray an 8" square pan with olive oil. Set aside.

Place the honey in a large glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until the honey is runny and just bubbling, 45 to 60 seconds. Add the cocoa and stir with a fork until well combined. Let cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, place the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Whisk until well combined.

In a large bowl, combine the applesauce, oil, egg and vanilla. Whisk together until well blended. Add the honey and cocoa mixture, then whisk until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture and stir until no traces of flour remain. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake until the surface looks dry around the edges of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it, about 25 minutes. Do not overbake. Place the pan on a cooling rack and let cool completely before slicing into 16 two-inch squares. Store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Results: I added extra salt to the black bean brownies because I had cooked the black beans and hadn't added salt, so I was worried they would be a little flat. I shouldn't have done that. They were a little too salty. The texture is a little weird. Once the fudge brownies cooled, they kind-of rocked. Of the two, I will probably make the fudge brownies again.

Not Back to School Blog Hop: Curriculum

2010-08-03T17:38:00.002-07:00

We are planning on beginning our 8th homeschooling year on August 16th.

Horse Girl is in 7th grade. Her subjects are as follows:

Wordly Wise 7
Easy Grammar 6
Math-U-See Zeta
A Reason for Handwriting E
Apologia General Science (co-op class)
Sonlight History Core 6
Lemonade to Leadership (co-op class)
Starting Points Worldview Curriculum (co-op class)
Institute for Excellence in Writing (co-op class)

Pea Picker is in 5th grade. His subjects are as follows:

Wordly Wise 5
Easy Grammar 4
Math-U-See Delta
A Reason for Handwriting C
Apologia Exploring Creation with Botany
Science Detective
Sonlight History Core 3+4/Core 6
Lemonade to Leadership (co-op class)
Institute for Excellence in Writing (co-op class)

Bubbie-Boy is in 3rd grade. His subjects are as follows:

Wordly Wise 3
First Language Lessons
Flashmaster, Calculadder, Math-U-See Alpha
A Reason for Handwriting A
Apologia Exploring Creation with Botany
Sonlight History Read-A-Louds from Core 3+4 & 6/Readers from Cores 1 & 2
Piano

Mini Rant

2010-07-23T23:06:00.004-07:00

So, you would think that flies wouldn't like sour stuff, right? WRONG!!

I am trying out this special water drink recommend by Jillian Michaels (66 oz. water, 1 dandelion tea bag, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon cranberry juice--the REAL stuff, it's sour, not sweet). So I went to get my glass of it, and what did I find? I twerpy little fly. Man, I had to dump the last swigs of my water down the drain.

Did I mention that I. HATE. FLIES.? I do believe that God has a very good reason for everything he created. I am anxious to hear that one.

Twerpy little fly.

Happy Food

2010-07-13T14:01:00.003-07:00

When I find something I like to eat, I can eat if for days without getting tired of it. This holds true for my current "happy food."

Happy Food - def. - food that makes me want to dance and sing and lift my hands to heaven and shout, "Hallelujah!"

O.K., so here we go: Place soft corn tortillas on a plate. Microwave for 30 to 45 seconds to soften. Spread mashed black beans on top and sprinkle with low-fat shredded cheese. Microwave again to heat beans and melt cheese. Top with chopped purple cabbage (trust me, it works), low-fat sour cream and salsa. The extra crowning jewel would be avocado (I was out today) and/or chopped tomatoes (fresh from my garden on this one.

Can I get a "Hallelujah!" please!

Quasi Muffin Tops

2010-07-13T13:56:00.003-07:00

Hmmm. Something occurred to me as I typed the title to this post. "Muffin top" has taken on a totally different meaning since the mid-90s when those pans for baking your muffin batter into the delectable "top" came out. Made famous by Seinfeld, of course.

That was a total digression. I apologize. But it WAS fun, wasn't it?

Back to the reason for this post. SnoWhite over at Finding Joy in my Kitchen, posted a recipe for Blueberry Cornmeal Breakfast Cookies last week. This got me to thinking. DS#1 (Pea Picker) likes to pick at the muffins I make. I asked him one day, "WHY?!" "The top is the best part!" was his answer. For the record, I AM his mother, not Elaine. At any rate. SnoWhite's post got me to thinking. Why not make muffins, and cook them on a cookie sheet. Immediate muffin tops without an extra pan. So that is just what I did this morning.

Banana Muffin Tops

3 cups white wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
4 mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup oil
3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt

1.Preheat oven to 350º.
2.In a medium bowl mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.
3.In a separate bowl cream oil and sugar, add eggs and mix until smooth. Stir in milk and mashed banana and mix well.
4.Fold in flour mixture into the liquid ingredients until combined.
5.Using a large cookie scoop, place batter on parchment-lined baking sheet.
6.Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 15 minutes or until golden.

Results: No more ravaged muffins.
Added bonus: Delighted shouts of "Cookies . . . for breakfast!"

Fondant Fun

2010-06-28T20:57:00.003-07:00

O.K., so I live with my head stuck in a backwards time warp. We do not have TV. Well, we HAVE a TV, but we do not get basic cable, cable or satellite. No TV stations come through on our set.

We do however have Netflix. And we do log onto Hulu.com. So, through Netflix, I discovered Cake Boss. I got hooked, so I took myself down to the local Michaels, and signed up for a cake decorating in fondant class.

Tonight was my final class, and I just had to share my "masterpiece."

Ravioli Salad

2010-05-11T12:45:00.003-07:00

Last night, I was late getting started on dinner. Really late. Like 7:30 PM late. So, what to do on short notice for something good, yet fast and filling. Solution. Rob the pantry. Here's what I came up with. It will be a regular for us.

Ravioli Salad

2/3 package Trader Joes mini cheese-filled ravioli

½ cup olive oil

6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon ground pepper

1 pound cooked, diced chicken breast OR 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 cucumber, peeled, quartered and sliced

2 carrots, grated

¼ cup fresh basil, chopped

¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook ravioli according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, combine olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sea salt and ground pepper in serving bowl. Mix with a whisk to emulsify. When pasta reached desired tenderness, drain and add to serving bowl, stirring to coat. Add chicken, cucumber, carrots, basil and Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Serve warm or cold.

Eureka Spaghetti Sauce

2010-05-02T19:37:00.002-07:00

I crave spaghetti and meatballs on a fairly regular basis. I try and try to make the spaghetti sauce I crave, but cannot achieve it--until now.

This is the spaghetti sauce I made this evening. Here's the thing, though: very rarely do I follow a recipe. I just like to cook my way. So the measurements are approximate.

Eureka Spaghetti Sauce

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 large cloves garlic, diced
1 lb. ground beef
1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste
2 cans (15 oz.) tomato sauce
1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. ground dried thyme
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. granulated sugar
1/2 to 3/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup fresh basil, minced

Heat a large skillet or pan over medium heat. Add the olive oil. When warm, add the onion, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring often for 5 minutes. Add ground beef, and cook until no longer pink. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook until heated through. Add oregano, thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, granulated sugar and red wine. Cook for 20 minutes. Stir in basil when ready to serve.

This is the spaghetti sauce I have been looking for. I will have to try it with meatballs, but this is IT. I think the secret of the sauce is the red wine.

Swimming upstream

2010-05-01T09:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, I had a busy day planned. I was sitting at my table writing down exactly what I was going to do to accomplish my goals for the day, when I heard, “CRASH! BANG!” from my youngest child's room. I went running, only to discover complete chaos.

He had built a “fort” from blankets and chairs that encompassed almost the entire room. He was doing some rearranging by picking up a chair to move it, when the chair came in contact with his beta fish bowl. The bowl when flying. Stinky fish water drenched blankets, sleeping bag and floor. We desperately tried to locate little Razzy (the fish) to no avail. He was not among the glass rocks that covered the floor. He was not sitting in stinky fish water that stood on the desk.

What was a mother to do? I started cleaning up the disaster area. Dripping blankets were put in one pile. Toys and art projects had to be removed from the desk and wiped down to prevent permanent fishy water smell. There was water under the computer, all over the desk, and, of course, soaking into the carpet.

The seven year old? He was crying. The older two were fussing. I decided to call a family prayer meeting to pray for comfort, strength, and forgiveness for the loss of the fish.

Even after I had gotten all visible water cleaned up, there was still no sign of Razzy. I pulled the desk away from the wall to wipe down dripping, running water, and there, behind the desk was the fish. At least 10 minutes had elapsed since the accident. Surly he was a goner. I instructed my son to pick up the fish with a tissue. Crying, he decided that he should dispose of the fish in the toilet. Second later, I hear, “He's alive! He's moving!” No. He couldn't be. But, yes, he was, and he was trying to swim down the toilet.

I donned rubber gloves and retrieved Razzy from his porcelain grave. I didn't give him much hope. He wasn't swimming well. He was kind of laying on his side. My son decided to pray. He wanted me to pray with him. Trying not to verbally doubt, I bowed my head as he prayed.

More than 24 hours later, Razzy is still swimming around, and there is no lingering fishing smell!

Ice Cream Maker Giveaway

2010-04-26T11:47:00.003-07:00

SnoWhite over at Finding Joy in my Kitchen is hosting a wonderful give-a-way of two Cuisinart automatic ice cream makers!

My ice cream maker recently died. I have to say that it died in the middle of making a batch of ice cream. We had everything mixed up, went to turn the thing on, and . . . NOTHING. I had to stir the stuff by hand. Not the most fun thing ever. It turned out O.K., but I was still down an ice cream maker. Needless to say, I am excited at the prospect of winning another.

Hop on over and visit SnoWhite's blog. You will love it!

Yummy Tummy Stromboli

2010-04-20T20:09:00.005-07:00

Yes, it has been a while since I posted. I haven't really cooked/baked anything I felt worthy of a blog entry--until tonight.

Today was stressful. I had intended to go help in my boys' science class, but I was given the opportunity to catch my breath, so I came home to cook. Here is the result:

Yummy Tummy Stromboli

1 double recipe Quick and Easy Pizza Crust - modified as below

2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast OR 5-1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast

2 teaspoons honey
2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

3 cups white wheat flour
1-1/2 to 2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons dried basil

In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and honey in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Stir in flours, salt, oil, garlic powder and basil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes. (This is the direction for the original recipe, and it really does make great dough this way. However, I had to go pick up the boys, so mine rose for an hour. I used the Kitchen Aid to mix it and allowed it to knead for 8 minutes before the rise.)

FILLING:

olive oil for pan
1 onion, sliced
several cloves of garlic crushed (to your taste)
1 10 oz. bag sliced crimini mushrooms (from Trader Joes--regular white mushrooms would work, too)
2 large zucchini, quartered and sliced
1-1/2 pounds chicken Italian sweet sausage
goat cheese

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in olive oil, and cook onion until soft. Add garlic, mushrooms and zucchini. Cook, stirring often, until soft. Remove and set aside.

Brown sausage in same skillet. Add sausage to vegetables and mix to combine.

Divide dough in half and roll each half out. I used a flexible cutting mat to roll my dough, and rolled it to the dimensions of the mat.

Put half the sausage veggie mix onto half of the dough. Top with goat cheese - amount to your preference. Fold the other half of the dough over the filling and seal the edges. Move to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Repeat with other half of dough and filling.

Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Allow to rest for five minutes before slicing.

Enjoy! Oh my, yummy, yummy, yummy!

Bubbie-Boy's Science Lab

2010-04-06T11:18:00.002-07:00

My little chemist. I pray he doesn't 1) harm himself or 2) blow up our home.

Pea-Picker's Breakfast

2010-03-16T09:52:00.004-07:00

I couldn't resist taking a picture of this creation.

I make my own yogurt and this is the first time I sweetened and flavored it before allowing it to culture. It turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself.

So, this yogurt parfait started with our very own vanilla yogurt. Then I layered on blueberry flax granola and chopped strawberries and repeated the layers.

It just looked so pretty, I had to share!

Oven Baked Corn Dogs

2010-03-12T19:29:00.005-07:00

Today we had a snow day. (Yes, we live in an area that is normally not associated with snow, but I will talk about that in a different post.) On the way home, I got a hankering (yes, I'm a Southern girl) for corn dogs. Corn dogs are not on my short list of foods I eat. Way too much fat. So, I improvised. Bubbie-boy and I made:

Oven Baked Corn Dogs

1-1/2 cups cornmeal
1-1/2 cups white wheat flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup milk
2 pkg. hot dogs (we like 97% fat free by Hebrew National)

Preheat oven to 425º. Mix together dry ingredients. In a separate bowl (or measuring cup) beat together eggs, oil and milk. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Dip hot dogs into cornmeal mixture. I found it best to coat one side, place that cornmeal side down on a parchment covered cookie sheet, and spread more cornmeal on top. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown.

Remember when I said, "Bubbie-boy and I made . . ." Well, if it had just been me, I would have tried to make our corn dogs look a little better. But really, I feel much happier knowing that the Bubbie-boy felt good about himself because he helped Momma make dinner.

Home or Science Lab

2010-03-12T07:01:00.003-07:00

Well, science lab may be taking it too far, but this year has been one consumed with science for us.

Our homeschool group has a science club--Quest Science Club. This was the second year they had a science fair. We entered last year and got hooked. (O.K., momma-teacher got hooked. The kids just didn't stand a chance against getting out of it this year.)

This was the first year we participated in the regional science fair--SARSEF. This fair included students from homeschools, public schools, private schools and charter schools.

I have to say, I'm pretty happy with the results:

Horse Girl's project was Fluffy Stacks of Perfection. In this project, she tried to find out what liquid and leavening agent produced the fluffiest pancakes (buttermilk and baking powder, in case you are wondering). At Quest, she received a $25.00 culinary award and a certificate to make hand-tossed pizza at a local pizza restaurant. She did not place at SARSEF, but we are very happy, non-the-less.

Pea Picker did a project with his dad. Being the trap and skeet shooter he is, Pea Picker did a project along those lines--Shooting Up a Pattern measured the patterning effects of steel and lead shot (lead patterns better). At Quest, Pea Picker took the WOW award from Mad Science and he also won the best notebook. At SARSEF, he won a second place prize in his grade level.

Bubbie-Boy is my chemistry guy. He loves to mix potions. In The Amazing Inflating Balloon he mixed different household liquids (vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, lemon juice and Coke) with substances (yeast, pop rocks, baking soda and Alka Seltzer) to see which produced the best chemical reaction to blow up balloons. At Quest, he won best display board with good science. At SARSEF he took a second place prize.

I am tired and ready to hang up my lab coat--oh, wait, Horse Girl will be starting her project for next year in a couple of weeks. Maybe I will just give my lab coat a good washing.

Multi-Grain Pancakes (+ Additions)

2010-03-11T13:31:00.003-07:00

My dear, sweet friend and neighbor, Lara, shared this recipe with me. She brought over the mix and the recipe card, and we were able to mix up pancakes when we needed them. We think they are our new favorite pancake recipe (and we LOVE pancakes).

Multigrain Pancakes
1 cup oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup butter, melted*
3 Tbs. syrup*
2 eggs, beaten

*Because I cannot just leave well enough alone (and believe me, these pancakes are good just as they are), I always have to change something in a recipe. Today Bubbie-boy and I made them with the following changes:
replaced butter with oil
replaced syrup with 2 Tbs. brown sugar
added 1 tsp. vanilla
added 1/2 cup chocolate chips (Bubbie-boy's request)

Combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and cook on a hot griddle.

Lemon Bundt Cake

2010-03-09T20:07:00.003-07:00

Wow! I'm on a roll! Two posts in one day.

Don't get too used to it.

So, where we live, it is the time of year when lemons are in abundance. Hubby likes bundt cakes and I have a huge bowl of lemons, so . . .

Lemon Bundt Cake

1 cup white wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1-1/3 cups granulated sugar (I used turbinado sugar)
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
zest of 1 lemon
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 cup confectioner's sugar

Heat oven to 350º. Combine dry ingredients in mixing bowl. Mix in lemon zest. Add oil, juice, milk, vanilla and eggs. Beat well. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until it tests done. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then loosen from sides of pan. Warm 1/4 cup lemon juice in microwave for about 40 seconds. Mix in confectioner's sugar until dissolved. Pour around outside edges of pan. Allow to sit for 5 minutes, then invert onto a plate.

Beef Noodle Bowl

2010-03-09T14:37:00.002-07:00

Yes, I know it has been a while since I have been here, but I think about my little spot on the web quite a bit.

Last night I made a recipe inspired by http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/. I customized the Beef Noodle Bowl for our family.

Beef and Noodle Bowl - Kraft Foods (Modified by Snow White and Frog Prince)
*further modified by A Desire to be Heard

1/2 lb. linguine, uncooked
*five serving size
3 C broccoli florets
3 carrots, peeled and sliced (about 1.5 C)
*I think I used four carrots total
1 lb. beef sirloin steak, cut into strips
*1-1/2 lbs.
*1/2 red onion, sliced
*garlic cloves, to taste, minced
*1/2 head cabbage shredded
1/4 C Kraft Fat Free Zesty Italian Dressing
*I probably used about 1/2 cup total Kraft's Light House Italian
1/4 C Soy Sauce, low sodium
*ground ginger, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes to taste

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain. Toss with approximately 1/4 cup salad dressing. Set aside.

Steam carrots and broccoli to desired tenderness.

Heat about 1 tablespoon canola oil in a pan. Add onion and minced garlic. Saute for about 1 minute. Add beef, and cook, stirring, until cooked through. Add cabbage. After a few minutes add about 1/4 cup salad dressing, soy sauce, ginger, garlic powder, onion powder and red pepper flakes. Cook for a few minutes longer until sauce is thickened.

Combine noodles, carrots and broccoli and beef mixture.

Serve and enjoy!

"Thanks, SnoWhite, for the recipe.

Our New Year Celebration

2010-01-01T08:24:00.003-07:00

Well, it's 2010. Hmmm . . . I don't feel any different; only amazed that an new year yawns before me. 2009 went by very quickly--it's unbelievable.

So, last night, we allowed the kids to stay up past midnight (they get such a kick out of doing that). I am pretty done with killing myself cooking, so we had a simple meal:

Grilled Chicken Sausage in Snuggles from Sprouts
French Fries with a cheese sauce from Trader Joes
Sour Cream and Onion potato chips (a request by DD)

For dessert:

Quick Yellow Cake*

2 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shortening**
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs

Heat oven to 350º. Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. Add shortening, milk and vanilla. Beat on medium*** for 2 minutes. Add eggs and beat for 30 seconds more. Bake in greased 13x9 pan for 35 minutes, or until pick comes out clean.

*I halved the whole recipe and baked in an 8x8 pan.
**Replaced shortening with oil
***I didn't feel like dragging out the mixer, so I used a whisk, and I didn't beat for the allotted time.

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

1 cup cocoa
1 cup hot water
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
pinch of salt
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Place cocoa, hot water, sugar and salt in a large saucepan (allow room for stirring). Stir the ingredients until they begin to blend. Don't worry about the lumps--they'll dissolve during cooking. Then turn heat to medium and stir constantly (burns easily) and carefully. When it comes to a boil, continue cooking and stirring for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Store in the refrigerator.

Cream Soup Mix

2009-12-15T19:23:00.005-07:00

Several years ago, I attended a class on Once-A-Month Cooking. I got a recipe for Cream Soup Mix during that class, and it has been a staple in my kitchen pretty much ever since. Here is the recipe for you to try:

Cream Soup Mix

2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3/4 cup cornstarch
*1/4 cup instant reduced sodium chicken or beef bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. dried basil leaves
1/4 tsp. white pepper

Combine all ingredients and mix well with wire whisk until blended. Store mix in an airtight container.

To prepare as a substitute for one can of condensed cream soup in recipes, stir together 1/3 cup dry mix and 1-1/4 cups water in a saucepan. Cook and stir until thickened.

*I do not add the bouillon granules. I add my bouillon at the time I reconstitute the mix. My current bouillon of choice is Better Than Broth.

Blog Much?

2009-11-16T20:19:00.002-07:00

Well, it's obvious that I don't get here as often as I would like, but my little home on the web is not forgotten.

This coming weekend my DD and I are headed off to Mother/Daughter Cowgirl Camp. Unfortunately, the weather has turned chilly (hey, those of us who live in Tucson absolutely CANNOT take the cold). I am thankful it is not in the 100s, but warmer weather would be welcomed for camp. We did this back in April, too, and it was chilly then. But this time . . . we WILL be prepared. Knitted caps and scarves, thermal underwear, wool socks, down sleeping bags. We will be the warmest cowgirls in the west!

Learnin' 'Bout This Bloggin' Thing!

2009-08-27T11:08:00.003-07:00

Please bear with me. I am so new to this blogging thing. I am experimenting--trying to find "my look." Having fun while doing so!

Generous Book Give-away

2009-08-08T14:36:00.003-07:00

Click on over to http://ladybug-chronicles.blogspot.com/2009/07/perfect-mess-by-lisa-harper-blog-tour.html. For a chance to win The Hope of Refuge by Cindy Woodsmall. ABC Mom of 3 is being so great allowing us a chance to win something. Thanks ABC Mom!

Playing Catch-Up

2009-08-08T13:49:00.007-07:00

O.K., so probably, the really good bloggers blog every day. And I'm glad they do, because it can be rather entertaining. However, I am not a really good blogger. I am a beginner. And probably I will look back on this and cringe. But it is what it is for now.

So . . . I have a lot of catching up to do today.

My Birthday 2009

Monday was my birthday. Now, I had originally planned on starting school that day, but I hit a couple of snags: 1) The Heart of the Matter Online Conference started that day with Sheila Wray Gregoire speaking on "Living Up to the Potential of Homeschooling." I love this gal. So part of my present to me was to listen to her first thing in the morning (6:15 AM). 2) My mom called me to say that she had asked off work for the day so she could spend it with me. Well, school could wait a day. So my mom came over and made french toast for breakfast. She used a bread she bought at Safeway that was made for making french toast. It actually had maple syrup baked into it. Anyway, this was a huge treat for me, because I tend to shy away from yeasted breads. But, you will be happy to know, I enjoyed it to the fullest.

Now, here's where it gets a little funny. I had decided to give myself the day off, right? So, why at 11:00 AM in Tucson (can we say, "Hot!") did I decide to go outside and do serious work on my pumpkin patch? We moved vines and pumpkins and mowed under them. We raked up grass. We were very sweatish. Well, I know the reason why: it was something I had been wanting to do, but wouldn't give myself permission to do because of all the other things that need my attention during a normal day.

So after a nice shower and a little nap, what did I decide to do next? Clean out the dirty, nasty, yucky, icky, gross pee trap in one of my children's bathroom sinks. Yes, I have a weird way of celebrating, don't I? But I was happy. This was something else I needed to do, but so many other things always pulled me away.

Dinner of the Birthday Day

Mom made Taco Rice for dinner. Basically this is what she did:

Browned 2 lbs. ground beef
Added taco seasoning and tomato sauce with a little water
Added cooked brown rice

This was served with all the usual taco fixings. Yummy, yummy to our tummies.

For dessert: my husband made me a Butterscotch Apple Cake. Can we say ohh, ahh? Why, yes, we can; and, yes, we did.

Heartfelt Presents

From mom: Pink roses and a day without having to cook or clean the kitchen (Happy dance!!!)
From sis: Dove bar (Dancing, again!!!)
From hubby: This may sound a little weird, but he got me a plain wedding band. Now, I asked for this. We take karate, and I am not allowed to wear my wedding rings to class because of the setting. So I take it off for class, and several days later I realize I haven't put it back on. So now, I can still let everyone know that I am a happily married woman who goes to karate.

Here's where I choke up: This was the first year my children spent their own money on a gift for me. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I have been waiting for them to spend their money on me, but this is a MILESTONE, people! For an 11 year old and a 7 year old to go to the bank (or piggy bank), take out money, plan on the gift they want to buy, then ask Grammy to take them to buy the gift . . . that's big.

From 11 YO DD: Pier I gift card
From 7 YO DS: New yogurt bowl (I eat yogurt and cereal practically every morning for breakfast, and I like deep bowls with lots of room for mixing), new cup (that matched aforementioned bowl) for, "Anything you want to drink, Mom.", and a new mug. How absolutely sweet and precious?

Thus ended one of the happiest birthdays I can remember.

Simple Woman

2009-08-07T11:42:00.005-07:00

FOR TODAY Friday, August 7, 2009
Outside my window... my basil plant needs harvesting.
I am thinking... we need to get back on task.
I am thankful for... a wonderful husband and great kids.
From the learning rooms...(in a few minutes) Sonlight Core 3+4.
From the kitchen... homemade pizza.
I am wearing... jean capris and a tee shirt.
I am creating... a blog.
I am going... to the library.
I am reading... "Women's Intuition" (Lisa Samson).
I am hoping... we will be calm in the face of upcoming changes.
I am hearing... the A/C.
Around the house... the kids are independently keeping themselves busy.
One of my favorite things... cherry fruit spread.
A few plans for the rest of the week: work on school schedules.
Here is picture thought I am sharing... Our first cucumber from our garden!

Join "The Simple Woman's Daybook" http://thesimplewomansdaybook.blogspot.com/

Anxious to Start Our New School Year

2009-08-02T21:52:00.008-07:00

Well, it is almost here--the beginning of our 7th year of homeschooling. When I started with my DD in kindergarten, I had a 3 year old and a nursing 1 year old. I needed something simple. Something that told me what to do when. I grew up in Pensacola, Florida, so I had some knowledge of Abeka. So that is the route we went. We used Abeka up through fourth grade. Then last year, I got a hold of Kathy Duffy's 100 Top Curriculm Picks. Well, from there the Lord took me on a little journey with Charlotte Mason. I didn't do everything the Charlotte Mason way, but I really like the philosophy. So this year, we are going to use Sonlight for our history. We are doing Core 3+4. I am trying to get my daughter in a good position for high school. We still have three years, but it doesn't hurt to prepare, right?

So, always in the past I have felt we should do arithmetic and language first. This year, I have decided to start our day with history and science. I want to get started at a more regular time each day. My older two children will work more on their own with their math and language, thus giving me the opportunity to get my 2nd grader reading better. Lessons will be scheduled, and if they are not finished, there will be homework. I want to get down to business. We need a little more structure. The last two years have wrecked havoc on our school day--we have had A LOT of major changes, and we have not done what I would have liked to. I think we learned a lot--at least I did about schooling and knowing my children. The last two years weren't wasted--they were good for me. But my daughter has desires for her life, and I want to help her realize those desires.
To that end, I am going to try very had to keep us at home much more this year. Last year, we participated in a co-op, and while it was great, it took a whole day out of our week. With little things that sounded great here and there, time was just eaten up. WE ARE STAYING HOME THIS YEAR! If something isn't planned, it won't be done. And things that are planned will be watched carefully for time.

My goal is for me to be up, have exercised, showered and dressed by 8:00 so I can fix breakfast and start school by 9:00. I would like the kids to be up at 7:30 so chores can be done. We will do the schooling we need to do together first, then break off into individual studies. Lunch will be between 11:30 and 12:00. Back to the books by 1:00 and hopefully done with our day by 3:00. This is what I would like, whether or not it happens remains to be seen.

I am excited though. I have very happy thoughts about this year.

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Give-a-ways:

We get to choose which give-a-way we would like to win. My top picks are:

1) Circle C Adventure books

2) $50.00 Rainbow Resource Center gift certificate

3) $50.00 Currclick gift certificate

My Own Personal Homeschool Conference!

2009-07-22T06:09:00.005-07:00

I am really so excited. The Homeschool Conference that I would normally attend was last weekend. For months I have really been wanting to go, but I just could not bring myself to spend the money--tickets to the conference, gas, hotel, food, etc. I have been looking at "conferences" held online--where you can listen live or download the chats for later. Still, the one I found was a little more expensive than I was willing to spend. Then, through The Homeschool Lounge, I came across the Heart of the Matter online conference! The 2009 conference costs $12.95. I got to digging, looking, and found that I really like the topics from the 2008 conference. I was bummed! I missed those. And, yet, hark! I was able to get all the downloads from 2008 as well as a ticket to 2009 for $19.95! Yeah! I have my own conference going on while I am cleaning and doing dishes. Although, I need to sit down and re-listen to a few because I need to take some notes.

Dinner of the Day - Well Dinner Last Night

2009-07-18T06:41:00.003-07:00

I made one of my quick and easy-to-love dinners. Spaghetti in a pot. I made spaghetti sauce (I have also used jarred sauce before). When it was hot, I added in a box of whole wheat rotini noodles and a cup of water. It went into the oven on 350º for about an hour. I served it with green beans.

In the past, I have cooked this entirely on the stovetop. I have also put it in the oven at 275º when I was going to be gone from the house for a little while.

Thoughts on this meal: Quick, easy, filling, yummy. Not anything overly exciting, but not anything to sneeze at either.

Dinner of the Day

2009-07-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

Egg Casserole

Over medium heat, saute 2 tsp. minced garlic in approximately 2 Tbs. olive oil. Add fresh baby spinach (amount depends on taste). Cover and cook over low heat until wilted.

In a 9"x13" pan sprayed with cooking spray, layer 1 pkg. Simply Potatoes (diced with onion), wilted spinach, 4 ounces chopped ham and crumbled goat cheese (amount to taste). Whisk 1 dozen eggs with milk or water and seasonings (I used salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder). Pour egg mixture into pan over potatoes and spinach. I baked this at 275º for about an hour and 15 minutes since I had to run kids to karate. It could also be baked at 350º for a lesser amount of time. Bake until a knife comes out clean.

I served this with:

Banana Blueberry Muffins

I simply made my favorite banana muffins:

2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup mashed ripe banana
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Adding: 1 pint blueberries.

Topped with: Crumbs from blueberry granola

In a medium bowl mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.

In a separate bowl cream oil and sugar, add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth. Stir in milk and mashed banana and mix well.

Fold in flour mixture into the liquid ingredients until combined.

Fill greased muffin tins two-thirds of the way full.

Bake in a preheated 350º oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Thoughts on this meal:
It's a keeper! Everyone loves eggs. It was quick and easy and I was able to let it cook while I was away. I really need to stock up on blueberries while they are on sale ($1.00 a pint!) Got the bananas at a great deal--$.89/3 pounds at Costco.

First post on a new blog

2009-07-16T21:49:00.000-07:00

O.K., so why am I here? Not the BIG "Why am I here?" Just why do I want to blog. Well, I feel the need to be heard. The thought occurs that I may not be heard by anyone in particular, but I will have at least put my thoughts out there.

What do I want this blog to be? I want to keep track of my day to day life. What I am doing with my children. The meals I am preparing. I want to have a place to comment about things I see in my world. And I say my world because even though the world is so large, my little corner is so very teeny tiny.

So to start. I have recently been on a quest to feed my family less meat. Not for any noble cause like I have compassion on all the animals (although I am not without feelings for them). But I was in Sprouts one day shopping. I looked down at my cart and was simply disgusted my the amount of meat I had in the cart and the lack of vegetables. I put all the meat back that day and strolled around the produce section. I came home that night and made roasted vegetable and black bean burritos. I had started a new journey for us. Now it is my goal to greatly reduce our meat consumption--though not completely. It is my hope that this blog helps me keep track of what meals I have prepared thereby making a template for me to shop and cook by.