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.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
My Little Boy Loves Me!
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!!!
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!!!
Friday, September 9, 2011
A&P Class - Day 1
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.
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.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
New Page on my Blog
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.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Kind. Smart. Important
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
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.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Orange Infused Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
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 325ยบ. 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.
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 325ยบ. 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.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Staycation Chocolate Chip Cookies
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
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.
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