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Mama Mia's Bolognese Lasagna

2012-01-29T18:52:00.000-08:00

This was meant to be last night's dinner when we had company. Rule #1 for any cook is to read the recipe and allow the amount of time necessary to complete it. You would think I would know that, but that did not happen. Instead, we ended up eating out at Helvetia Tavern, which I will not complain about at all.

This is a hearty lasagna. I don't usually use ricotta cheese in my lasagna, but I really liked this. The kids thought it was too cheesy. This is definitely a good company lasagna.

Mama Mia's Bolognese Lasagna

Adapted from Lisa Schoeder, Mama Mia Trattoria

Meat Sauce:

1 lb. ground beef

1 lb. ground pork

1 tbsp. olive oil

3 cups finely diced onion (about 3 medium)

1 1/2 cups finely diced celery (about 3 stalks)

1 1/2 cups finely diced carrots (about 3)

2 tbsp. minced garlic

2 14.5 oz. cans tomatoes

Add some white wine for extra flavor!

Bechamel sauce: (I would make extra of this)

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups whole milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Cheese mixture:

1 1/2 lb. part-skim ricotta cheese

1 cup grated Roman cheese

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

For the lasagna:

9 lasagna noodles, cooked to direction

3 cups mozzarella cheese

To make meat sauce:

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the beef and pork and saute until lightly browned. Remove meat, leaving as much fat in the pan as possible. Add olive oil to the fat in the pan and heat over high heat and, once hot, add onions and saute until the begin to soften, 3-4 minutes. Add celery and carrots and saute over high heat; once vegetables start to brown a little around the edges, lower heat and continue to saute until very soft, 7-8 minutes total. Add garlic and saute 1 more minute.

Return meat to pan with vegetables and add tomatoes (if you use whole tomatoes, break them apart). Bring to a simmer and turn heat to low. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook, uncovered, for 1 hour, stirring at least every 20 minutes. If sauce starts to stick to bottom of pan, add 1/4 cup water, scrape up browned bits from bottom of pan and continue cooking.

To make bechamel sauce:

In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, melt butter and whisk in flour until mixture looks like wet sand. Let cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, making sure the mixture does not brown. Gradually pour in milk, whisking constantly to dissolve any lumps, and bring to a low boil. When thickened, remove from heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

To make cheese mixture:

In a medium bowl, use a rubber spatula to blend ricotta, Romano and Parmesan cheeses.

To assemble lasagna:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Spray and 9 x 13 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spread 1 cup of meat sauce on bottom of pan, then top with lasagna noodles, overlapping them slightly in the pan. Top with one-third of remaining sauce. Use hands to evenly dollop and spread one-third of cheese mixture. Spread one-third of bechamel sauce over cheese. Sprinkle evenly with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Repeat process with lasagna noodles, sauce, cheese mixture, bechamel sauce and mozzarella until there are three layers.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until bubbly. Remove foil for last 30 minutes of cooking.

Scenes from my house

2012-01-29T09:45:00.000-08:00

PSA: Don't even try them

2012-01-27T10:09:00.001-08:00

Seriously, folks. Just save your money and don't fall for the cute packaging. These are the nastiest cookies EVER!

Why I'm still not going back to church, part 2

2012-01-26T16:19:00.000-08:00

There are really only two parts (well, technically three since I inserted one) to this story. The past and the present. I must say that what I will be presenting will seem very picky. If you think it is, I agree with you.

We found ourselves back at the one church that we do like on Christmas Eve. Honestly, I kind of dreaded it a bit. Just the going to church part. I knew what my frame of mind would be and I really didn't want to go there. I really do enjoy Christmas time. We follow Advent at home with the kids by reading scripture and lighting candles. I love the time of preparation for the birth.

Christmas has always been a mysterious story to me. Mary and Joseph and their situation. Why did God choose them? The angels. The revelation to the shepherds and later the wise men. There's just so much wonder to the entire story and why God chose to expose himself during this time and in that place.

We sat with our family who was visiting and listened while preparations were still being made. The band started and we joined them in singing traditional Christmas songs. I couldn't watch the people on stage. I've learned that about myself now. I can't watch the people up front because they're too distracting to me. Instead, I watched the words on the screen and focused on that.

After the singing a man came out and did a one-act play as Gabriel. He didn't really appeal to me. I know my Dad will disagree with me on this. I'm not one for plays during a church service. I've also found that I've come to a point in my church life that I don't want to be entertained. This can be said also for the music. I didn't come to watch a show. I want to focus on God and plays and rockin' music don't really help me do that.

The preacher came out for a while. He seemed to come out of nowhere. I didn't really feel like his sermon was all too focused on Christmas. Really, as I'm writing this, I don't even remember what he said. At some point during his sermon a woman came out to give her testimony. She was a cancer survivor and while I was very happy for her that she found strength from God during her time, I felt like her words were too polished and refined. I believe that I have also come to a point in my church life where I want to see and hear people's joys and struggles in their own natural way.

The preacher then appeared out of nowhere again to finish his thoughts. The band did a special song with a gal singing. All I could think of was that she wasn't finishing her words. We sang another song and we were out of there in a little over an hour.

All little nit-picky things, I know. But, this is where I am in my church walk right now. I honestly don't think that I can be a part of a church (in a building) community until I get past this. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but I don't think it's fair to God or the community if I'm just walking in with the mindset that I'm going to be annoyed by them.

Here's what I do know. I'm ok with not being a in a church (in a building) right now. Please notice that I designate church - in a building - because I do believe that I am a part of the greater church as in the Bride of Christ. I have not stopped believing in Jesus. I connect with other believers. I'm just not ready to do church again. I guess that I've done church for so long that I'm ready to be done with what's involved in doing church.

I just want to be with the church. I want to be with people who struggle and who have joyous times. I don't want to be with people who just put on a happy face on a Sunday morning. I want to see honesty from people.

I also don't want to be entertained and I don't necessarily want my kids to be entertained too. They need to learn about how to read the Bible without taking things out of context and what it means to live a life while following God.

I want to be comfortable asking questions about faith. And, I want my kids to feel comfortable with this too. Too many times churches freak out if questions are asked. We welcome questions in our home and I think that God can handle the questions.

I also don't want legalism, but I do want to continue to learn about applying the Bible to today's life. Legalism is going in the wrong direction of faith, grace and mercy. I'm seeing too many churches lean on legalism and I believe that becomes more cult-like. There are too many hurting Christians coming out of legalistic churches.

I also do know that since we've taken a break from going to church, I have been less angry at God and have found some healing from some of the past experiences. I also feel that I have grown closer to God during this time. I have also enjoyed having the freedom of giving to people and organizations that we think are doing wonderful works for God's kingdom. For too long I was angry at the church every time I gave my money to them. I didn't agree with the direction that the church was going and I didn't feel right giving my money to a place where I didn't agree with them. It has been so freeing to give my money to the church at large.

I don't know when we'll get back in a church building. I'm sure we will at some point. Until then, I think we're doing alright. And I would venture to guess that God thinks we're doing alright as well.

Celebrating 20 years

2012-01-26T12:32:00.000-08:00

Here we are 20 years ago this May. Look how young we are! I still feel young even if I'm graying and have gained a few pounds since then.

We're celebrating big time this year. We've booked a trip to Italy for late April! I'm so excited! I told Brian that I thought this would never happen. He asked if I meant 20 years or a trip to Italy. Of course, it's the trip to Italy! This will be the first time since our honeymoon that just the two of us have had a big trip somewhere. We've always gone with friends, our kids, or to visit family.

Friday night, after archery, is a date night to hit Powell's downtown to find some tour books and have a brew. That's how our date nights role after 20 years. I wouldn't ask for it to be any other way.

Math is not his favorite subject

2012-01-24T16:07:00.000-08:00

Today Alex had a topic in his journal titled, "The subject I least like at school is..." This was his response,

"Math sucks cuz its to hard. I have trouble with divizion. It also sucks cuz I'm always told that math is part of your everyday life. So ya."

Poor kid!

Well, today we made math a little fun. We had a Nerf shoot out and Alex was in charge of keeping score. Little did he realize that he was actually doing math. We'll keep that our secret.

Why I'm still not going back to church, part 1b

2012-01-23T21:39:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting tidbit if you haven't read the comments from the first post. Several weeks before I was classified among the likes of Jezebel at the church that doesn't know what to do with women (it must be the boobs), several couples were up in front of the congregation to be prayed over. These couples were going to be opening their homes for small groups, something that I think is wonderful, and essential for a church that size. What I noticed right away was that the wives stood behind the men while the leaders of the church laid hands on the men and prayed over them. I guess they thought that the women would have no influence over the people in the church.

I failed to mention that between this church and the last church we attended a house church. We learned about this house church at, of all places, the above mentioned church. We thought this might be a better fit for us. I did not like the huge crowds on Sunday mornings and, in reflection, we determined the moments we enjoyed the most, and connected with people the most, were in small groups.

We joined this church for about a year. We noticed that there was a huge lack in teaching during this time. The group consisted mostly of people who were unfamiliar with the Bible and some were active in A.A. I think A.A. is a great program, but it became apparent that there was a thin line between A.A. and church. Plus, the person who was viewed as the leader didn't want that role. Add to that, the person who was the designated teacher would essentially open up the Bible to a passage, read it, and then ask, "What do you think about that?" Which lead to some interesting interpretations and times where we were, again, frustrated.

Again, when Brian approached the leader about our concern about there being solid teaching in the group, he was told that this group was not going to be that way. Alex was also being bullied by the leader's son (who chalked it up to boys will be boys). We decided this was no longer a good fit for us.

Why I'm still not ready to go back to church, part 1

2012-01-22T18:14:00.000-08:00

The "thoughtful" post that I've been pondering is coming to light. I think that I've been waiting on this for so long because I know my audience. But, maybe this will help some of you understand where I'm coming from, or, it may continue your thinking that I just need to get over it.

This post is to give you a bit of background of my church going history.

I grew up in the Roman Catholic Church. With a name like Mary Katherine, there's not doubting this first statement. My time in the church really began in 4th grade. I started going to a Catholic school during this year. Church services were offered every day. I'm not sure exactly when I started, but, I would often go to church before school every day. By 8th grade I was helping lead the services by singing.

During this time I grew to enjoy going to church. However, I did not fully understand some things. For instance, I never understood why I needed to go to confession every month. It didn't seem like there was much to confess between the ages of 9 and 13. I would make up some "bad things" that I did. It usually involved lying to my parents, which I never did. So, essentially, I was lying to the priest. I was such a bad sinner! I guess I had to say my Hail Marys and Our Fathers for that. I also never fully understood why Mary and the saints seemed to receive more attention than Jesus.

In 9th grade I switched schools and went to public school. This was my worst school year ever, which could be another post all on its own. I did not attend church at all during this year except for Easter and Christmas.

In 10th grade, we were invited to go to a Christian church in town by our eye doctor. We went, with reservation. My dad did not have much of a church background and my mom said in the car, before we went in, "If they start healing on stage, we're leaving." We made it through the service just fine, even though I didn't understand most of their thinking. But, my family thought that something was missing in our lives and we continued going back. It was during this time, at a youth group night, that I first heard that God loves me. Imagine that! All of that time spent going to church each morning before school and I never heard that God loved me. My dad and I were baptized together and my mom shortly after that.

During my last two years of high school I went on mission trips to Haiti and Thailand. This led in my wanting to study mission work in college, and, as much as I love my parents, I wanted to go somewhere where I could actually do mission work and not be in the middle of a cornfield. Which took me to California and Pacific Christian College. I worked in Mexico building homes for the poor and studied Bible and urban ministry (and have now ended up in the suburbs - another post for another time). During my time in college I attended a church close to the campus and worked with the youth group.

When Brian and I got married, we worked with a small church in many different areas. For a while we were the youth group leaders with another couple. We also led music on Sunday mornings and I worked in the Sunday school and nursery. We were with a great group of people. These were our friends and our family away from family. Honestly, we have not felt a real sense of friendship or community since we left California 13 years ago and there are days where I long for these close, intimate friendships again.

Our move to Oregon changed things. After some church shopping, we landed on a somewhat large church. It was one that had a good kid's program (even though Brianna was one at the time) and offered some small groups so that we could connect with people. That was important to us since we were new (at least I was) to the area. We did have some good and difficult experiences with this church. We joined a great small group that last for at least 6 years. Brian got plugged in to the youth program and I plugged into the kid's programs. There would be times where we were at church 3-4 days a week.

By year 5 in this church Brian noticed a change. This was when Rick Warren's 40 days of purpose hit the churches and it seemed like everyone was trying to mimic what they were doing. We played along. Brian thought something was off, but I said we should just hold on. Brian noticed that the leadership showed very little support for the youth. In a millions of dollar budget that the church had, the youth had zero presence. Finally, I started noticing that people were leaving and that the leadership seemed to only care for promoting themselves and not really reaching out to the community and those in need. I also began feeling angry about the fact that the money I was giving to the church was going to be used in a way that I did not think was right. My rationale was that if I were giving to another non-profit where I did not agree with the direction it was going, I would most likely stop giving.

Finally, after a year of feeling like we were at a watered-down version of church, and being angry each Sunday morning, Brian approached the lead pastor about our concerns. Please take in mind that we were not asking for him to change the way the church was operating and do it according to the way we thought it should, he mainly wanted to express our concerns. At the end of the conversation, the pastor explained that things were not going to change and we had a decision to make. After eight years of serving the community, this was what it came down to. I felt like we didn't care to him and our presence in that community was not needed. We waited until the end of the school year, and other commitments that I had made were finished, and left the church when the youth group took their break for the summer. The funny thing is, a week after we left I received a phone call from the pastor asking why we left. He just didn't understand.

We ended up joining a small community of people that in the end, ironically, met in the same building of our prior church. It was nice being back in a small community, but I still felt that something was a little off about it. I think it might have been mostly me, but I honestly never felt like I fit in to the group. It was a mostly young group (we were the third oldest couple there), which I loved. We had small group at our house. Brian attempted meeting with the high schoolers and I taught Sunday school. But even then, I still never felt like I fit in.

At one point the pastor stepped down from his preaching position and the search for a new pastor happened. Brian was on this committee. One man in the church was determined to become the new pastor. This guy practically strong-armed his way into the position. For example, one night he came over to talk to us about taking over the small group. Instead, the conversation focused on him talking to us about why he was the best candidate to be the pastor of the church. He talked to us for over two hours about this, even though he probably shouldn't have since Brian was on the committee. I felt like it was more of a political campaign. And, guess who ended up being the pastor of the church?

We were not happy with this decision. We called it a church move. The elders decided that this was what would happen and announced to everyone that the committee was on board with the decision, which wasn't true. We were back to being angry with church again. My attitude was bad, and I knew it wasn't right. After one particular night where the pastor yelled at us during the service and proclaimed that he could preach on whatever he wanted because he was ordained by the Holy Spirit, we were done. After looking back on this night, I wish I would have had the courage to confront him during that service. But, nobody confronted him. I always wondered if people were afraid to confront him.

Back to church shopping. Fun, fun!

We went to one church that we had helped for a few months when it was just beginning. Brianna was in middle school by then, so she went to some of the youth events. Sunday morning services were loud, which made us feel old because we thought they were loud. One Sunday morning two of the elders were talking about their finances and said, "We need to start inviting people to church because statistics show that when people are invited to church, they'll continue coming back. Then they'll start giving." Which, to me, indicated that they were really wanting people to come to church so they could get their money and stay afloat. I was not impressed with their idea of equating people with money.

We then went to another church where a lot of the people from our first church fled to. This church is very large. It is difficult to find a place to sit on a Sunday morning if you're not there a half hour before service to save a seat. Most of the people there are very young. We thought there had to be something good going on if you can get young people in Portland to church on a Sunday morning. The pastor was young and wore hip clothes. Everyone in the worship band was young and pretty. We tried it out for a while.

The pastor started a series on Revelation and one Sunday he was preaching on 2:18-29. This is the letter to Thyatira where the church is admonished for following Jezebel, who leads them into doing very bad things. The pastor gleaned from this passage that this is why women cannot be leaders in the church. It's because we're too emotional and can't handle leading men who are more stable. Women are meant to compliment men in their ability to lead the church (I found out that this is called the Complimentarian view of men and women. This is what Mark Driscoll is well known for and many of the new Calvinistic churches are following the way.). I was fuming mad. I'm sure my face was red. I looked around the room at all of the young women sitting in there and wondered if they were ok with this. Apparently they are because they keep going. I told Brian that I would never set foot back in that church and that was our last Sunday there.

By this point, we were exhausted with church. Everything that happened between our leaving the first church and this last church was over a period of three years. We really evaluated each step of the way. Was this something that was just us needing to deal with or was there something more to it? At the first church, hundreds of people left for the same reasons we did. We knew it wasn't just us. At the second church, I felt like we were being spiritually bullied. Brian didn't feel that way as much as I did. At the third church we didn't like how people were equated with money. At the last church we didn't like how women were silenced in the church.

We went off and on to a church in Portland that is known for it's social justice works. We do like this church, and I am impressed with what they do in Portland and around the world. I have always felt like the pastor is not very approachable because you don't see him at all until he comes out to preach. The crowd is mixed with young and older folks, but I notice that it's not a very racially diverse crowd, which I find very interesting.

We went to this church this past Christmas Eve. Have we gone back to being holiday believers? No, we haven't, but that's what I felt like when we went. As I sat through the service, I realized that I'm still not ready to go back to church. And, that folks, is saved for the next post.

Currently reading

2012-01-17T16:03:00.000-08:00

If you look at my reading list on the right, you'll see that I've already finished three books this year! Not bad for 17 days, right? Ok, I admit that I started two of those books last year.

It felt like I started reading Frankenstein ages ago. I finally finished it yesterday. It was one of those books, like Anna Karenina, where it was a bear to read, a relief to finish, and one that I'm glad I read.

Now I'm on to mind candy reading as I have been instructed by my teen to finish The Hunger Game series. I'm looking forward to what's on my reading list so far for this year.

What are you currently reading? Can you recommend a good read that I can add to my list?

I hear a deal

2012-01-17T15:40:00.001-08:00

No, I'm not a hoarder. But, I do get excited about a great deal every once in a while. Usually I get excited about my coffee deals. Who wouldn't? This one was a little different.

I stopped by Office Depot this morning to return some toner cartridges and noticed some earbud headphones clearanced to $.94. I couldn't believe the price! I didn't buy them at first, but brought Brianna back in the afternoon to see if she would like them. Here's what we ended up with:

10 earbud headphones for $.94 each and 5 travel size hand sanitizers for $.12 each. My total cost was $10! By the way, the cashier was telling me that she wanted to bring her daughter in this weekend to look at them. I left her two. I thought that was nice.

The kids each claimed one of each style of headphones for themselves. The others will be saved for gifts.

The hand sanitizer comes in handy since I've been up off and on since 1:30 this morning with a sick kid. I'm repeating my "please don't get sick" mantra. Work will feel long tonight.

Red light, yellow light, green light

2012-01-14T16:50:00.001-08:00

Red light

Alex's Christmas scarf finally got finished.

Yellow light

Mom's scarf is coming out lovely. This yarn is from the stash that was purchased in Turkey. It's on hold right now. My plan is that after each step of my next project I'll knit a little on this. Just so it's not forgotten. We'll see how the plan goes.

Brianna's Christmas hat is still sitting in the closet. In the same place where I threw it. It will maintain it's holding pattern for a long time. Sorry girlie.

Green light

My latest cast on. I just couldn't resist.

Creating

2012-01-13T16:20:00.000-08:00

Last night was one of the first nights at home during the week that I've had in a while. It was nice. After dinner we put some music on and moved on through our night.

Brianna worked on one of her art projects due next week.

Brian worked on processing a picture.

Alex worked on a Lego space car.

I worked on knitting.

It struck me at one point that while we were all doing something different, we all were creating. I don't know why this was so meaningful to me. I guess that I just liked that we weren't all glued to the tv. I also liked that everyone in my family can be creative in different ways.

Yummy science projects

2012-01-12T20:29:00.000-08:00

I haven't joined the Pintrest bandwagon yet. However, I am reaping the rewards of this site by watching what other people post on their blogs about what they're finding on Pintrest. I found a couple of fun ideas for the kid's science.

Before Christmas, Alex studied the moon. As a follow up project, he created a moon phase cycle out of Oreos. He was more than willing to do this project since he got to eat most of the Oreos.

Brianna's science group had lab today. They are currently studying DNA. After doing their experiments they created a model double helix DNA out of licorice and marshmallows. Sitting in the jar behind the notebook is the DNA of peas. Not quite as tasty as licorice and marshmallows.

Science can be fun and yummy!

Quiet blogging

2012-01-11T08:39:00.000-08:00

I've been quiet on the blogging front lately. Maybe it's because after the holidays and with school starting back up, I'm taking some down time. I think it's mostly because there's something I want to blog about, but I need to really think it through first.

But, like I said, we started back up with school and all of our activities. Art class. Science lab co-op. Tests. Bass lessons. Archery.

Back to working a regular schedule.

Back to volunteer teaching. I finished one class last week on abusive relationships. I have a parenting class coming up in two weeks and I need to prepare for it.

Back to knitting. And trying to finish projects so I can start new ones. I really need to finish up my super secret knitting project.

Back to reading. I'm trying to finish up two books that I started last year so I can start on the new stack of books waiting to be read.

Back to routine. It feels good to be in a routine sometimes. Sometimes it feels good to break that routine and just go crazy. Well, as crazy as I can go.

Once I work through my serious thinking I'll work on a serious post.

Archery shoot out

2012-01-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

Last night Alex participated in his third archery tournament. Even though he did not have any practice time since Thanksgiving, he ended up tying for third place.

He had a shoot out against another boy (who ends up winning a lot of tournaments - ok, I'm being one of those parents) and I knew it would be tough for him. He ended up not winning, but, this was the best that he has shot all year!

Way to go Alex!

Another parenting tip and something just for fun

2012-01-05T07:35:00.001-08:00

We're into high school algebra here at our house. It's so much fun. It brings back such great memories. Problems such as this:

A snail was chasing a worm. The worm (at 2"/sec) had a 75 second head start. The snail was really full of caffeine and was really moving at 5"/sec. How long until the snail catches the worm?

Oh the dreaded word problems. These are supposed to be the best way to prepare kids for real life math. And, I guess it does. At least this book takes a more creative approach. I remember doing these types of problems in school and hating them. I never quite got it.

Brianna had this last problem, plus a couple of others, on her last math test. She missed them. I sat down with her trying to figure it out and couldn't. I asked Brian to help her figure it out and he couldn't. The next step was to give the author a call and have him explain to her how to figure it out. I decided to give it one more try last night. He did explain earlier in the chapter how to figure out a problem like this. If two adults and one student can't figure it out, what would that equal?

I read slowly, I transferred the numbers from this problem into the example. And, I figured that thing out! Considering that I did this after my 6th day of work while sitting with a beer at 9:00 at night, I think that's pretty good!

Here's parenting tip #503 - Before your kid gets to middle school math, go back to community college and take some math classes. Not only will you be able to help your kids when they get to middle school and high school level math, but you will feel like you own those math problems! And, by this age, your kids may just think that you actually know something.

**Here's my challenge to you...

Do you know how to figure out the snail/worm word problem? If you can give me the answer by Monday night, I'll send you some cute knitted coasters!

Holding on as long as I can

2011-12-31T23:20:00.000-08:00

I took Alex to the store to get a new pair of shoes. I realized that after this size of shoe he'll be in a men's shoe size.

This is just another example to me of childhood slipping away. This year I've been slowly releasing childhood on my oldest. I'm glad that she still likes to have some fun with us, but it's becoming obvious that she's wanting to become independent. I feel like I must hold on to what childhood remains and enjoy it as much as I can.

My enjoyment at this moment of writing is looking at Alex asleep on the couch. He wanted so badly to stay awake until midnight!

(Un)Reasonable expectations

2011-12-31T22:45:00.000-08:00

I had no real expectations on myself to complete any big knitting gifts for Christmas this year. I did the coasters and gave those to a couple of people. I guess after that easy and fun project the unreasonable side of me showed up. I went to the craft store on December 18th thinking, yeah, I can knit a scarf for Alex for Christmas. I could probably knit a hat for Brianna too. Those don't take too long. After all, Christmas was only seven days away.

Any reasonable person with not much going on in their life might have time to make a scarf and a hat seven days before Christmas. But, I'm not quite the reasonable person considering that I had family coming in to town five days after I bought the yarn. And, I had to work three nights during the week before Christmas. And, there was also massive cleaning that need to be done to prepare for the company. And, there were cookies to bake, food to be bought and presents to be wrapped. Never mind the fact that I couldn't knit these things around my kids because they're presents. I'm with them all day long! Working three nights during the week did not leave me much knitting time.

In my haze of unreasonableness, I only purchased one skein of yarn for the scarf. The scarf didn't get started until the 23rd, and it only got started because the hat for Brianna was taking an incredibly long time (at least that's how it felt in the time continuum for preparing for Christmas). Did I mention that I only purchased one skein of yarn? What was I thinking? I guess I was banking on the fact that he's a kid and a kid doesn't need a long scarf.

December 24th showed up. I worked on trying to finish the hat till 11:30 p.m. It did not turn out well. I was so frustrated and tired that I threw it in the closet. The scarf remained unfinished for Alex, who saw me knitting but didn't ask about it.

December 25th showed up. The hat's still in the closet. I told Brianna that I made a hat for her that didn't turn out well. When I told her what kind of hat it is, she told me that she would like something different. We'll have to sit and find a pattern together. Alex's scarf has run out of yarn and is waiting for me to go back to the store to buy more. I don't know if he realizes that it's for him.

There's also an incredibly irritating scarf sitting on another set of needles for my Mom. I showed it to her and didn't make any promises for it being finished any time soon.

That makes three unfinished knitting projects sitting around the house. And you know what? I don't care! However, I think I'm ready to start on a simple pair of socks.

Is it that time of year already?

2011-12-30T21:44:00.001-08:00

The week between Christmas and New Year has flown by! Blogging has not been happening because we have had family staying with us since the 23rd. And now, tomorrow is New Year's Eve. It's amazing how the time has flown by - I think I say that every year. We had a nice visit with our family. Here are some of our highlights over the past week.

1. I put Grandma, Mom and Brianna to work making ravioli. We made over 30 dozen ravioli. I try to make these each year that we are here for the family. Because this was really our "off" year to be here for Christmas (meaning that we typically travel back to IL every other year for Christmas, but this year my family came here), we only had to deliver ravioli to two families. To my family here in OR that didn't receive any....call me! I have plenty in the freezer!

2. We went to a Christmas Eve service and had chili for dinner. I think that's a nice tradition to start. Chili on Christmas Eve. I'll have to remember that.

Christmas morning was spent opening presents. Sock Monkey Head Boy (a.k.a. T-shirt on Backwards Boy) found some good things for him.

While Brianna found plenty for her as well.

Alex is modeling a hat that my Mom gave me from Peru. It's a long tube hat that that doubles as a scarf! How cool is that? I think I need to make one (or a few) of these! And, aren't the lamas cute?!

Both of the kids received warm, fuzzy blankets for Christmas. I think that they were as excited about these as they were about the iPods from my Mom. I'm excited because they won't be fighting over sharing mine!

On Christmas afternoon, we had dinner with Brian's parents and his sister and her kids. It was nice being with family and having lots of kids around during Christmas.

3. My Grandma has been here once before but my Aunt had never been to Oregon. Brian took her on a walk through downtown where she described the Saturday Market as "just another flee market." I beg to differ.

We took them through the Gorge to see the waterfalls along old highway 30. Here we are with my Dad at Multnomah Falls.

4. Another day we went to the coast so my Grandma and my Aunt could see the rugged Northwest Pacific coast. My Aunt love it. My Grandma thought it was cold, rainy and windy. Welcome to winter in the Pacific Northwest!

All-in-all we had a nice visit. It will be nice to get back to sleeping in our own bed again. And, I'm sure that they're all thinking the same thing too!

Happy New Year everyone!

Parenting tip #217: Most of the good conversations happen in the car

2011-12-21T22:34:00.000-08:00

I am here to report that we, as parents of a teenager, have survived. At least for this time.

Last week was a rough week with our teen. We love her to pieces, and, we understand that she's a teenager. We've been there, done that. It's just that we have never been on the other side. The parent side. Words were exchanged. Glances (or glares) were made. Stomping ensued. Fuses burned short. Conversations were made between friends. And, I'm not just talking on the teen end. It came from both sides.

In the end, a truce was secured - even though it came from me demanding that it all had to stop and even though the teen still did not understand our side. She had to live with our decision we were making on her life for now. Our family was not functioning well. I needed a functioning family with everything going on at this time. Peace is in the house once again.

Today I took the teen to her bass lesson. On the drive she described meeting a friend of a friend. The girl she met is the friend of her friend, who happens to be a boy. Who happens to like this girl. The teen described how the evening went. Apparently when introduced to the girl, she said, "Oh yeah. He's talked a lot about you," and then the girl turned around and walked off. She described the rest of the night as having to listen to the girl ask the boy for everything when "She has perfectly functioning legs and arms and can get these things for herself." Also, the girl seemed to be like a slug on the boy. Meaning: She never left his side.

The teen then made this face:

By this point of the conversation I just cracked up. She had me laughing so hard. I was amused by her descriptions. Honestly, I don't think I ever talked to my Mom about boys - even the boys I dated.

I was just glad that we had enough peace at the moment that she felt comfortable telling me everything. I still wonder if she's told me what she really feels about this boy? She says he's "just a friend," but who knows? (OK, I totally threw that in for the teen!)

Ringing the bell

2011-12-19T13:31:00.000-08:00

I wanted to find a service project for the kids and me during this week that we're off school, so, I signed us up to ring for The Salvation Army. The kids did pretty well and didn't complain much, until the end. And, I felt for them by that point. Even my toes were freezing by the time we were done!

I choose The Salvation Army for one reason. When we were with my grandmother a couple of years ago, she told me a story about my grandfather and his time during WWII. She said that when he was in the hospital after getting wounded, the Red Cross came through and offered cigarettes to all of the wounded with a "get well wish." Later, he said, The Salvation Army went through and offered clothes, blankets, food and (of course) cigarettes. All things that the soldiers actually needed. He told my grandmother that if she wanted to give to a charity, to give to The Salvation Army.

So, today's ringing was my way of thanking The Salvation Army for helping my grandfather and other soldiers wounded during WWII. I also hope that we were able to honor my grandfather in some way for his service to our country.

What's happening?

2011-12-15T08:23:00.000-08:00

I'm a little spotty with blogging right now. There's too much going on at the moment. We officially are on Christmas break as of today! Yay! The only exception is that Brianna has science lab today and a paper she needs to finish by the end of the week.

Now is the time to focus on getting the house ready for company to come. I have a list of things to get done and I look forward to checking them off one by one.

There's also knitting to try and get done. I did finish these cute coasters. They were fun to knit. Most likely the other knitting projects will by I.O.U.s. I'm just being realistic. Fortunate for me, the people I love are very forgiving.

Other than crafting, baking and cleaning, there's not much else going on here. Oh, except that next week we have extended hours at work which means I won't be getting home till close to 10 at night.

By the end of next week I think I'll be ready to join Owen in the best place in the house.

Books read in 2011

2011-12-05T08:09:00.001-08:00

While I understand that there are still 26 days left of this month, I am being realistic about my ability to finish another book. There's just too much to do to get ready for Christmas.

Last year I read 21 books. This year I met my goal of reading more books than I read last year by reading 22 books. It could be 23 if I could ever finish "Frankenstein" but I'm finding it's a laborious read. I'm sticking with it though. It's not what I imagined.

Here are a few books that I enjoyed this year:

Fiction:

Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen

I loved the setting of this book. I found the movie to be quite boring. Maybe it was because I tried to watch it while sitting on a plane for 11 hours.

The Time Traveler's Wife, Audrey Niffeneger

This was a hard book for me to start with. First of all, my brain has a hard time comprehending time travel - especially when someone encounters them self at a younger or older age. However, the book had me captivated. I never saw the movie - I don't want it to ruin the book.

The Help, Kathryn Stockett

This book reminded me so much of my all-time favorite book, "To Kill a Mockingbird." I could not put this down. For our history next year I plan to have Brianna read "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "The Help." Maybe will see the movie next year.

My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok

This was a very interesting book about an orthodox Jewish boy living in New York City during the 1940's. Young Asher desires to be an artist and he tests the confines of his orthodox upbringing.

Nonfiction:

The Year of Living Biblically, A.J. Jacobs

This book was written by a man whose last book was about reading the entire set of encyclopedias from A-Z. Mr. Jacobs is a secular Jewish man who decides to literally live the rules set in the Bible. I found his writing to be endearing and witty. I must say though, my favorite part was when he wife was annoyed with him and she sat on every seat and bed in their apartment, thus defiling them because it was during her monthly period. He had no choice but to sit on his toddler son's stool or the floor.

The only other non-fiction book that I read this year that really stuck out to me was "Forgotten Daughters" by Kay Marshall Strom and Michele Rickett. These two women started She is Safe, an organization that works with women in poor countries around the world. The book is full of stories of women and young girls that they have met around the world. Most of these stories are incredibly sad and some are filled with hope. This book, and others, may be purchased from She is Safe.

That's it for this year's review of books. I know that I'm a year or two (or more) behind on some of the current reads. That just means that I can get them at the library easier, or they'll be available on Paperback Swap, or I can get a steal of a deal for my Kindle. And, yes, I did count some of the kid's books that I read from their schooling. It's still a book, and it was the first time that I read them.

Next year's goal is 23 books! I guess I'll have to start with finishing "Frankenstein."

Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

2011-12-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

Need a soup idea for the cold winter months? Try this inexpensive, easy, healthy and yummy black bean soup.

Salsa Chicken and Black Bean Soup

1 lb. chicken (I put a large frozen chicken breast right in the soup)
1 cup dried black beans
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup frozen corn
1 16 oz. jar salsa
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 cup sour cream

In a crock pot, soak beans overnight. When you're ready to cook, drain and rinse the beans. Add back to crock pot. Put in chicken, salsa, broth, cumin and corn. Stir a little, but try to leave the beans on the bottom. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Take out chicken breast and shred. With an immersion blender (thanks to Lazy Susie!) give the soup a blend to thicken it up. If you don't have one, you can pour one cup of soup in a blender - then pour back in.

Put chicken back in soup and add sour cream. Stir well. Serve with cheddar cheese, crushed tortilla chips, cilantro, extra onions, or whatever else you like with your soup.

This is how the day has gone

2011-11-28T15:58:00.000-08:00

She: "Can I have a piece of gum?"

Me: "Do you need a piece of gum?"

She: "No. Who ever needs a piece of gum? I just want to chew one."

Me: "Then, no, you don't need a piece of gum."

She: "You always say that."

Me: Big *sigh.*

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-23T08:35:00.001-08:00

We've taken some time at our house to be thankful. And, as we have found, we have a lot to be thankful for. I hope you do the same at your house.

An open letter

2011-11-21T15:50:00.001-08:00

Dear Santa (and Grandparents):

I saw an advertisement on TV not too long ago for a children's game. You may be thinking of getting my kids games for Christmas since we do love to play games at our house. However, you may not get this game for my kids.

Yes, with a little help, the dog really poos.

I will just say right now that if this game shows up under my tree this Christmas, you may not be invited back again (Even though, technically, you told me you were coming to visit us.). You see, the kids have a real dog at home that they don't pick up after. I'm not going to allow them to amuse themselves with a fake dog to pick up after. I'm just giving you a little warning.

Sincerely,

Mom

P.S. I'm looking forward to your visit!

Go Ducks! fingerless gloves and scarf

2011-11-21T13:40:00.001-08:00

I took another break from the super secret knitting project to work on some fingerless gloves and a scarf to donate to Saint Child's auction. Go Ducks!

The artist

2011-11-18T14:17:00.000-08:00

Brianna entered her first piece of artwork in an art show. The Beaverton City Library was hosting a teen art show and Brianna entered her "Apples in the Headlight" picture.

Nice job girlie!

Breakfast conversation

2011-11-18T08:28:00.000-08:00

For breakfast this morning I made Alex and myself some oatmeal. Not the pour from the bag kind, but the cook on the stove kind.

While Alex was eating his oatmeal he told me, "Mom, I never used to like this kind of oatmeal, but now I do."

Funny. I don't know why he "never liked this kind of oatmeal." He's had it for breakfast several times. It must be that extra dash of love I add to it.

The incredible changing tree

2011-11-17T15:39:00.000-08:00

"Some national parks have long waiting lists for camping reservations. When you have to wait a year to sleep next to a tree, something is wrong." George Carlin

I've spent the past three years at work admiring a tree. Every fall this tree amazes me. I'm not exactly sure why, but the tree changes color from south to north. The only reason that I could think of is the way the sun crosses the sky.

This year I decided to document the changing of this tree. I hope you find it as amazing as I do. And, I apologize for the poor quality of the first two pictures. They were taken on my cell phone.

Week 1

Week 2

Week 4 (I missed a week)

Week 5

Week 6

Week 7
(All it took was some rain and wind to finish off this tree.)

Always hopeful

2011-11-16T11:52:00.000-08:00

This is my view from the kitchen. Don't let his cuteness fool you. He's not there because he's loyal and wants to protect. He's there because he's waiting to pounce on whatever is dropped.

The Civil Wars concert

2011-11-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

This has been our year to see concerts! Brian surprised me by getting tickets for The Civil Wars, which has become one of my favorite folk bands this year. It was a date night for us last night! We started off with dinner at Henry's Tavern and then worked our way over to the show.

Milo Greene opened for them. I'm still a little mixed on whether or not I liked them. I think this is a band that if I heard their album it might grow on me after time.

The Civil Wars were spot on! Their voices are incredible and instrumental all on their own. Their chemistry together makes it work. Even though they're not married, they look like they are. It's rather fascinating to watch because they blend so well together. And, they're both just fun to watch. By the way, that is not Johnny Depp on stage.

My only complaint about the show would be the venue. We saw them at The Crystal Ballroom and it was a standing crowd. This is not really a band to stand for. By the time the show got done we had been standing for over three hours. Plus, it was incredibly warm in there. The gal in front of me ended up passing out and Brian had to help her out of the crowd. As soon as he left, a woman on the other side of us passed out. Security was not at all prepared to help these gals, which I found interesting. I would think that they have people passing out all the time.

In case you've never heard The Civil Wars, take a look and enjoy!

Here's their video for Poison and Wine.

They performed one of the best covers of Billie Jean that I've heard. This video isn't the best quality, but, it gives you an idea of how they interact with each other.

My two cents worth

2011-11-14T08:05:00.001-08:00

I haven't said anything about the Occupy movement because there are others who have said it better than me. Take a look at Random Thoughts thoughts on this. This pretty much sums it up for me.

The only other thought that I would have to add is that while I understand the sentiment behind the movement, I think that the movement has lost its momentum because the movement wasn't really well defined. I think it was just a matter of time before people got tired of our economic situation and took to the streets. I'm surprised it took so long.

My other thought is regarding Occupy Portland. Portland mayor, Sam Adams, has got to be the most ineffective mayor this city has seen in a long time. While there are some who are taking the Occupy movement seriously, it has essentially turned into a base camp for the homeless with the city only intervening when there has been sanitation issues, an outbreak of MRSA and body lice, and heroine overdoses.

And, the Penn State child sex abuse scandal? Horrible! And the student response to Paterno's firing? Horrible! I think that we are going to find out more horrible information the further this case moves along. Shame on all of them. I hope a lot of people spend a lot of time in jail over this.

My only other thought on this is that I hope that the state of Pennsylvania seriously rethinks its child abuse reporting laws. If the intern at the time had only beat the crap out of Sandusky and then gone directly to the city police, this could have been addressed several years ago. Sadly, with the way that child abuse reporting is addressed in the state, he did the right thing at the time. Except for beating the crap out of Sandusky.

I think Jon Stewart said it best.

Asian turkey meatballs with lime sesame dipping sauce

2011-11-11T15:51:00.000-08:00

I admit that I found this recipe on another website. The only problem is that I don't remember where I found it, so I can't give credit where credit is due. If by chance whoever posted this finds it, please don't be offended. I take no credit. They are, however, very delicious. And for that, I thank you!

I served these with brown rice and broccoli. I ate the leftovers today with peanut sauce. These are a keeper!

Asian Turkey Meatballs with Lime Sesame Dipping Sauce

Meatballs:

1/4 cup Panko crumbs
20 oz. ground turkey
1 egg
1 tbsp. minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. sesame oil

Lime Dipping Sauce:

4 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sesame oil
2 tbsp. lime juice
2 tbsp. water
1 green onion, chopped

Mix all meatball ingredients together. Shape into meatballs and place on a baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Bake until cooked, at 500 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Mix all dipping sauce liquid ingredients. Add green onion.

Transfer meatballs to a serving dish. Drizzle with 1-2 tbsp. dipping sauce. Serve meatballs with remaining sauce.

For the love of fall

2011-11-08T08:19:00.000-08:00

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year for several reasons.

#1 - I think we have the prettiest tree in the neighborhood. All of the trees in front of the houses in our neighborhood have ornamental blossoming pear trees (I think that's what they are). It was standard when our neighborhood was built. Several years ago ours split in half during some high winds. We replaced it with a maple. Now we get to enjoy beautiful leaves in the fall.

#2 - Not only do we have leaves falling in the front of our yard, but we have more falling in the back. Our house backs up to a forested area, so we get a lot of leaves in the back yard. They're not as pretty though. Along with our forested area we have a lot of squirrels and birds that like to visit. Now that blueberry picking is done, I've gone back to feeding the birds. I enjoy watching these little critters fly in and out and bounce around the back.

#3 - It's cooler, so that means it's time for sweaters and sweatshirts and spending most of the day in my pj pants. Hey, we homeschool so we can sit around in our pjs most of the day if we want to.

#4 - Comfort food. I don't like cooking in the summer. I'm uninspired by the heat. Now that it's colder I can cook more comfort food. That means soups, stews, lasagna, bread....mmmmm.

Do you have a favorite season?

I know, it's a little late

2011-11-04T08:38:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know that this picture is a little late. That seems to be how life is going right now. I feel like I'm a few steps behind on what I should be doing. Oh well. No big deal.

We had a fun Halloween night. We went to my sister-in-law's house in Tualatin to go trick or treating with the cousins. Remember the scene in E.T. with all of the kids running around the street trick or treating? That's what it was like! I thought those scenes only happened in the movies, but we saw it in real life. There were kids and adults everywhere. It was quite fun.

Now I'm ready for Thanksgiving. But I'm not ready for Christmas to come. That could wait a while longer. And, it's not because my family's coming out to be with us. I'm thrilled for that! It just means that it's closer to the end of another year. A year that has gone by incredibly fast.

Life moves on and I'm just along for the ride.

Are women grieving for a life they never could have?

2011-11-03T12:01:00.000-07:00

I read this post on Jesus Creed the other day because the title intrigued me.

I can say that where I am right now and what I am doing with my life is not what I imagined it to be. However, with that being said, I am not depressed over choices that I have made at this point in life. Yes, there are some areas in life that I wish were a bit better - mostly with relationships - but, I can't say that I am not feeling bitter about my life as the post suggests some women do.

I'm not disregarding this post either because I do believe that there are many women who feel this way about their lives. I do also believe that there are many men who feel this way about their lives too. But, I do think that women feel more of a pressure than men on having their lives together. But, maybe I'm only saying that because I'm a woman.

Then I heard last night on the John Tesh show (Don't judge. I'm forced to listen to it at work.) that more women then ever are addicted to alcohol to ease stress. I wondered about this. I always question what John Tesh says because he tends to be on the dramatic side. I found this article on the Huffington Post about more women being likely to binge drink.

So, is a woman's state of mind regarding her life and the stress placed upon her a valid issue to respond to?

I ask this because of one of the comments left on the first post on Jesus Creed. The author of the comment said, "The phrase 'First World Problems' comes to mind." I know what this person means, but why say it?

Just because we don't live in a third world country doesn't mean that we don't have problems here. Everyone experiences some problem at some point of their lives. Yes, I'm very fortunate and thankful that I live in the U.S. Even as a U.S. citizen I am fortunate that I don't have to worry about food, clothing or a place to live. I do admit, though, that I am more mindful about my problems when placed next to what others around the world have to deal with.

But does this still make our problems insignificant?

I remember once hearing Dr. Laura say (Again, don't judge. I overheard her.) that we all have our boulders to carry. She meant that we all have things in life that we have to deal with. My problems may be different than someone else's problems. That doesn't make mine or theirs insignificant. I thought this was pretty wise of her to say because if you have this point of view then you are less likely to judge someone else's problem that they are trying to carry.

I feel like this is a ramble. I've tried to capture some of the thoughts going around my head on this subject. The only thing I didn't write about was how the church holds women back. That's a whole other topic that I could get into.

What do you think? Are you seeing more women grieving the life that they always wanted to have but didn't have it? Is it a mid-life crisis for women? Is it a valid concern for women?

Thow mercy out the door

2011-11-02T08:40:00.000-07:00

When we were in Russia, one of the members on our team asked me about my education. When I told him that I went into social work, my Mom's response was, "I don't know where she got that from. I certainly don't have the gift of mercy." I told her that honestly I don't think that I do either, but, I do have the gift of compassion and the desire to help people. Mercy is a whole different thing to me and I admit that I struggle with being merciful toward people sometimes. For instance...

Yesterday I was at Costco and there was a couple in front of me with a young child paying for a loaded cart full of warehouse sized items. They were paying part of their purchase with an Oregon Trail card (which is our state's way of giving food stamps).

Let me say this first, I'm all for helping people when they have lost jobs and need money to care for their families. I do, however, think that it should be used for a limited amount of time (which I believe ours is), and, I think that it should be used for certain items. There have been times when I've seen people pay for a cart load of crap (chips, soda, Top Ramen, ice cream, etc.) with taxpayer money. If we're going to help people buy food, it should be used on items that that are good for you. Fruit, vegetables, rice, beans, meat, milk, cheese, etc. would fall in that category for me. So would diapers, formula and toiletries.

Secondly, I don't think that Costco is always the best place to find the lowest prices on food items. Sometimes it's a deal but most times it's not. You really have to know prices. I don't think that using the Oregon Trail card at Costco is always the best way to spend your money - unless you're buying diapers and formula.

Anyway, back to the couple, there was a small complication with processing their order. The cashier was explaining this to them. The man (customer) said, "Yeah. It's just like playing video poker." At which I immediately thought, "I certainly hope that my tax money isn't given to you because you have a gambling problem!"

Choices, people! Make good choices!

Throw mercy out the door.

Or, take this instance...

I came home from work last night and was immediately asked, "Mom?! You didn't stop and get milk?!" The thing is, I knew that we were getting low on milk because I used some to make our dinner. I didn't realize that I would need to stop home after work to pick some up.

So, this morning I headed out in the cold to pick up some milk from 7-11. It's crazy, but our 7-11 down the road from us has the cheapest price on milk. That's nice because it's so close.

Because it was 7 in the morning, the store was busy. By the time I stood in line, one man was having problems with his card on one cash register. At the other register was a woman with her three kids. My first thought was, hmmm...it's 7 o'clock in the morning. Shouldn't these kids be getting ready for school? I guess they were there for breakfast because each had a wrapped pastry in their hands.

Since the kids should have been getting ready for school, mom stood there looking at the smokes behind the counter. She asked the cashier about one in particular. How much does it cost? Does it come in menthol? The smokes don't ring up and the cashier is at a loss of what to tell her.

Meantime, because it is 7-11 and it's 7 o'clock in the morning, the line behind me is getting longer. I'm standing holding 2 gallons of milk and everyone else has coffee in their hands and is ready to take on their day. The mom's son says, "Mom, we need to get home and get ready for school." Mom's answer? "Shut up Jared!"

Of course, I wanted to tell mom that she needed to get over herself, focus on her kid's need to get ready for school and come back later to handle her need to know about those particular brand of smokes.

Choices mom! Make good choices!

Again, throw mercy out the door.

I really do hope that those kids have a great day at school because it seemed to me that they were a little worried about getting ready in time.

For the kids I can extend some mercy.

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-29T08:26:00.001-07:00

Learning about radar

2011-10-27T08:42:00.000-07:00

Alex finished studying about Venus (yes, even though the open book shows Earth). His final project about this planet dealt with understanding radar. Since Venus has such a thick atmosphere, and the planet is extremely hot, spacecraft have not been able to land on the planet to gather information. They have orbited the planet and used radar to gather information about the surface of the planet.

Alex's project was to create a "planet surface" inside a box. We did this by crumpling up newspaper and pouring Plaster of Paris over it. By the way, I had never used Plaster of Paris until two years ago when we started our new curriculum. It seems that we have some sort of project where we use it each year.

After the plaster dried, I covered the box and drew a grid on top. Alex colored a wooden chopstick with a different color every inch (indicating depth). He then poked through the grid until the chopstick stopped.

Alex then recorded on a separate grid sheet the color where the chopstick stopped. He learned that the highest color meant the lowest point in the box (a valley). The closer the color to the tip of the chopstick meant a higher point in the box (a mountain).

In the end, his drawing represented what was in the box. And, I learned that I should have created some higher mountains for more color.

Preposition bingo

2011-10-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

In Easy Grammar (yes, it lives up to its name!), students learn how to identify parts of speech and parts of a sentence by first learning prepositions and spotting prepositional phrases. The idea is that the students cross out the prepositional phrases and then they can easily identify the subject and verb of the sentence.

I wanted to create a Bingo game for Alex to help him learn his prepositions. I looked at other blogs for how people created theirs. I found a lot of people who laminated cards and attached words using velcro. Honestly, I didn't want to go through all of that trouble.

While I was at Target the other day, I spotted small Post-Its and decided that would be an easy way to create the card. I wrote out all of the prepositions (twice) on small Post-Its, printed out some Bingo cards on cardstock, and Bam! Preposition Bingo!

The kids arranged their words on their own cards - thus, two of each word.

Alex scored the first Bingo. Brianna the second.

Then it was a third game for ultimate Bingo winner. Which turned out to be Alex. However, both kids won. They both got to eat all of their Skittles in the end.

Apples in the Headlight

2011-10-24T21:07:00.000-07:00

Brianna finished her first big project of the year. She had three weeks to complete this very complicated work for her art class. I think she did a fantastic job!

I'm thrown off my groove

2011-10-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Today I made a drive into downtown Portland to return some library books. The kids are at an age where they can stay home alone for a while. And, honestly, they really don't mind. I guess it beats sitting in a car.

When I'm out and about by myself I find that I leave the radio off. I like the silence. I feel like I'm surrounded by noise all day, so I treasure silence. The introvert in me is refreshed by silence.

During my drive I took some time to reflect on how the past few weeks of school and life in general have gone. I also found myself pondering what the smell in the car was. I could smell little boy tennis shoe smell in my car. Then I began to wonder if it was me.

I was telling Brian the other day that I have not felt like I have a grip on school this year. For instance, I'm usually up on when library materials are due back. I returned several DVDs yesterday that were a day late because I thought they were due yesterday. That will be a nice fine. I also realized yesterday that I had not requested any books from the library that we need for school next week. I'm usually up on that too.

I think my feeling of being "off" is due to a mixture of things. We started school a couple of weeks early and then took two weeks off for our trips. Maybe I'm still severely jet lagged. Also, since I changed the school week to begin on a Wednesday, I seem to struggle with getting all of the materials ready on time. It doesn't help that I work the night before, which was when I would generally get the planning done.

I am also finding that I might not make the best high school teacher at a school. Despite the fact that I would have to work with teenagers all day, I seem to forget about keeping grades. Grades are probably an important thing for high school. Maybe I could just do a pass/fail transcript?

I'm hoping that I will feel in the groove with school soon. Hopefully I won't get my stuff together right before Christmas and then we'll take two weeks off. That would just throw me off again.

The law breaker

2011-10-19T22:31:00.000-07:00

I usually arrive to work about five minutes early. I usually sit in the parking lot and knit or read for those few minutes before I head into work. I usually grab my book, a yogurt, and my purse before I leave the van to head into work.

Except tonight.

As I leaned over to grab my items I realized that I forgot to bring my purse with me. My first initial reactions was...panic! I couldn't believe that I forgot to bring my i.d. with me. Then, after settling down, I was just thankful that nothing happened. Like being pulled over by a cop.

I called home and talked to Brianna to ask her if my purse was there. "Why?" she asked. I just wanted to make sure it was at home and that I didn't drop it out the window somewhere down the road. My daughter laughed at me.

I wish I wouldn't have know that I was missing my i.d. I was a little nervous. I drove the speed limit. I even drove with a cop beside me most of the way home. Little did he know that I was driving i.d.less. I guess I fooled him!

I felt a little bit rebellious.

I was just glad I made it home without a ticket.

Once upon a time

2011-10-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

Alex's literature reading for this week has been from Grimm's Fairy Tales. I let him randomly select a fairy tale to read. When he started his reading this morning he said, "Oh, this should be good. It starts off with once upon a time."

He was reading "The Wilful Child." It's a lovely story about a child who would not do what her mother wished so God let her become ill. After she died and was buried she would stick her arm up out of the ground. This happened several times and finally the mother went to the grave and struck her arm with a rod. After the mother struck her child, the arm went into the ground and the child was at rest.

Alex was a bit confused by this story. What a way to end "Once upon a time!"

Review of week 4

2011-10-13T10:31:00.000-07:00

In week 4 our history, literature and art focused on the Romantic period of Europe and France during the early 1800's. We finished learning about Napolean's influence on Europe, looked at a lot of art and listened to many different composers (Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Wagner). I've enjoyed listening to the classical music so I'm continuing with this during week 5. Brianna has not cared for the music but Alex has liked it so far.

Brianna learned about and drew a picture of men's and women's fashions during the Napolean era. Alex learned about and drew a Napolean war medal. Alex has been reading several of Grimm's fair tales. He finds them to be very strange. Brianna has been reading Oliver Twist. She just looooves this book. She can't seem to get past the never-ending sentences.

Brianna finished her second pre-algebra book and has moved into Algebra I. I can't stress again how great Life of Fred is! Math is no longer an issue for us to deal with.

I switched to Natural Speller for Alex this year. Alex has never been a strong speller and I have tried several different programs for him. So far, Natural Speller seems to be working well. At least there aren't any tears on test days.

In science, Brianna started her lab group. The group's first experiments were learning about and using microscopes. They seemed to enjoy being together again and we welcomed some new kids into the group.

For Alex's science, we finished learning about Mercury. Did you know that Mercury is mostly covered in craters? This is because Mercury has no atmosphere, so asteroids crashed into the planet. Alex created his own craters using flour and rocks. Each rock was measured and the size of crater was measured. Observations were made and flour was dispersed. A successful experiment!

The big decision

2011-10-11T12:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday Brianna and I met with the school principal. We had a very nice discussion. He took our request seriously and asked Brianna her opinion and her ideas for what she could do to keep her hair color as a student there. In the end, though, he said that he needed to keep with school policy. Brianna had a choice to make. We could either receive a refund of most of our money and she could apply it toward private lessons with the art teacher or she could conform to the dress code. He reinforced that the recent decision for her to comply with the dress code was not due to her walking in the door with red hair, and, he personally had no objection to her hair color.

We left with her still on the fence of deciding what to do. We went to the store and stood in the hair color aisle for 15 minutes. With tears pouring down her face, Brianna decided that she would comply with the dress code. In the end, I think it came down to her deciding that she did not want to miss out on a year's worth of art lessons with the teacher and the students.

So, we spent the rest of the afternoon quickly finishing up school work and shopping for a uniform. The highlight of the afternoon was hearing her groaning and moaning in the Old Navy changing room while she was trying on the pants and shirt.

So, here's our complying/conforming daughter ready for her art class. Doesn't she look happy?

Honestly, I'm surprised by her decision. I am proud of her for thinking it out because it was not an easy decision for her to make. You can be sure, though, that as soon as the last class is over she will be back to bright red.

Conformity or uniqueness?

2011-10-08T08:10:00.000-07:00

Brianna has been going to a small private school for art for the past three years. She almost did not go again this year because we thought that art classes stopped at 8th grade, but, we were fortunate enough to get her back in again this year. She went to the first class, then had a two week break for our trip, then attended class again this past week.

I received an email yesterday stating that starting immediately, all part-time students must comply with their minimum dress code. This has not been an issue up to now. I guess I assumed that it wasn't an issue based upon the fact that she only attends one day a week for an hour and a half. She's barely a part-time student. So, this announcement came as a bit of a surprise to us, especially since we are technically going into the fifth week of school.

I can't say that I blame them. I can fully understand why they would want all of the students who attend to comply with the dress code. The part that Brianna is having an especially difficult time with is "no unnatural hair color." I called the school and clarified that, yes, her hair color is unnatural. No surprise here.

So now Brianna has a decision to make. She's torn because she really likes the teacher and the students at the school, yet, she feels like coloring her hair right now is a part of expressing herself and is a part of herself. Oh, these tough choices in life that we sometimes have to make. Do we conform to the patterns of the culture or do we try to be different an unique?

A decision needs to be made soon. I find it somewhat ironic that she's being asked to conform for an art class.

Russia - Moscow

2011-10-05T07:53:00.001-07:00

On Friday morning we had to say good-bye to Vladimir. Brianna wanted to stay another week. I think my only regret was that we were not able to spend a night with Pasha and Lena and their family. They are such wonderful people and we will miss them.

We piled into our van and headed off to Moscow. Our drive was wet and long. The traffic was backed up and we came across at least one huge accident that brought us to a halt. After finally getting to our hotel, we headed over to Ismalovo (which was actually the name of our hotel area) and did some shopping. We found our matryoshka guy and made some purchases. Yes, my mom has connections wherever she goes.

After spending most of our money, we headed out on the Metro to the Kremlin. I didn't get many pictures of Moscow because we took so many a couple of years ago. I think that the rain and gray sky made the buildings especially beautiful that night.

When we headed back to our hotel on the Metro I thought we were going to be crushed. We were heading back during rush hour on a Friday night. Have you ever seen videos of the Japanese getting on to their trains? You know those guys that stand outside with white gloves and shove people on the train? Well, we didn't have anyone shoving people on the train, but we were packed. It was at this point that I was not all that thrilled about Moscow.

On Saturday we headed back to Ismalovo because we had not spent enough cash the night before. We were helping spur the Russian economy, right? The afternoon was spent on Arbat Street. This was once a prestigious living area in Russia and was almost destroyed by Napoleon's occupation in 1812 (Hey! We're studying Napoleon this week!). It is now a tourist trap with government run stores. There's no bargaining here!

While it was nice to see some of the "touristy" things of Moscow, I decided that I'm not all that crazy about this city. There are so many people and the prices are outrageous. A day and a half was enough for me.

September 25th ended up being the longest day ever. Our travel back to the U.S. began at 3:30 in the morning. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:45 a.m. We had a stop in Istanbul. I wasn't able to work any magic there and had to wait in long lines just like everyone else. Our flight from Istanbul to Chicago took almost 12 hours. We were late leaving Istanbul and I was a little concerned about making our flight in Chicago.

We had two hours in Chicago to go through customs, passport control, get our bags, check into United, make it to terminal 1, go through security and get to our gate. Let me tell you, two hours is not enough - especially on a Sunday at Chicago! By the time we made it to terminal 1 security, there was a line of 300 people and we had 10 minutes before our plane boarded. I was determined to get on that plane!

After getting a United employee to get us toward the front of security, we ran to our gate and made it in time for the doors to close. After spending almost 12 hours on a plane, you would think that a 3 1/2 hour flight would feel like it would go quickly, but, it felt like the longest flight ever. Brianna was zonked out and I was feeling like I could sleep for days. But, I couldn't sleep because you know how comfortable it is to sleep on a plane.

After traveling for over 24 hours (it was 7:30 p.m. on the 25th when we got home - about 6:30 a.m. the 26th in Moscow), it was nice getting home. It was wonderful being reunited with my guys. I think Owen was especially happy to have all of his peoples home. He has been especially clingy.

We have some wonderful memories of our trip. Brianna's ready to go again next year.

Russia - Wednesday & Thursday

2011-10-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

I failed to mention that on Tuesday we went to visit Stepansovo Hospital. This is a hospital that is in a rural area about 2 1/2 hours away from Vladimir. We took medicines, toothbrushes, toothpaste and medical clothing to Drs. Ivgeny and Svetlana. This couple is very charming and they work hard as the administrators and doctors of this hospital.

On Wednesday, Brianna and I joined our friend Anya to visit Sveta and her children. We took gifts for the family and we were entertained by the girls. I think that it's universal that children love to entertain visitors to their home.

Some of us sewed up bean bags for a game that we never got to play, but we left for the church to use. Only the skilled were allowed to sew.

On Wednesday night we had a church service and said good-bye to many of the people that we would not see again for the rest of the week. It was sad to say goodbye, so we decided it would be better to say, "See you next time!"

I honestly don't remember which day we did this, but a small group of us went to Suzdal, which was once the capital of Russia. This town has been left and restored as a historical town. It is quite charming. We went there two years ago, but, this time we were able to see different parts of the town.

And, I love the birch trees! They were all over the countryside and were starting to change colors.

There are many cathedrals in Suzdal. Most of them are small cathedrals that were owned by wealthy land owners. There are a couple of large ones that are still used for special occasions.

I thought that this woven fence around the gardens was very adorable.

This man was ringing the bells all by himself! We stood and watched him for a while.

Here's one of the more well-known cathedrals - The Christmas Cathedral. I think it was under reconstruction two years ago while we were there.

We found a lovely hotel area to walk around. In Suzdal there is a wooden village and on part of the hotel property there was a wooden playground. We had a little bit of fun and showed off our greatest feats of strength. We also pretended we were storming the castle. I guess we should have looked a little more fierce.

Our lovely interpreters - Roma and Yulia.

Thursday night was my mom's birthday. We had a big party for her. Except that she isn't very good at helping me keep a surprise. She found us buying her birthday cakes at the grocery store.

We had shashlik for dinner, which is Russian shish-kebab. Mmmm.....meat!

This ends our time in Vladimir. We reunited with wonderful friends and we made new friends. We visited some wonderful people in their homes, at a hospital, at an orphanage and at the schools. It honestly didn't feel like hard work. But, it was very rewarding work.

Russia - Monday & Tuesday

2011-10-03T12:16:00.000-07:00

On Monday our group split up in different directions. A couple of groups went to do some home visits and a couple of the men went to give presentations at the school. The school was a new opening for us. One man on our trip, Jim, is a retired firefighter. The schools were having their safety lessons and Jim was invited to speak to the classes. Anther man, Mark, was also invited and he presented the gospel to all of the kids. Talk about an opening! Both of these guys spoke seven times at the school.

My mom and I stayed behind to cook all day. We were feeding the church dinner that night. The challenge with cooking for a group of people outside of the U.S. is making sure that you plan a meal in which you can find the right ingredients. We made zuppa pung, which is an Italian dish that has spaghetti sauce, cooked cabbage, cheese and bread. This was one of my favorite meals when I was a kid, so I was excited to cook!

When Pasha, the church pastor, came in to check on us, he said, "Look! Two Italian ladies cooking together! And, you're even standing in the same position." We had no idea, but thought that was funny that we would be standing the same way.

We ended up cooking for about 60 people that night. Of course, here are some of my favorites... Anitoli and Irina (pastors at an area church), Tatiana and her sister Lena and Luda. Anitoli loves to cook and especially loves it when my mom comes to cook. He made my mom a delicious chocolate orange cake for her birthday.

Pasha will always be around when there's food to be eaten!

The night was supposed to include a cooking demonstration by my mom, but she did not want to do that because of how difficult it would be to "demonstrate" in the room where we were eating. Instead, Pete decided he would do a funny demonstration as a chef from Paris, Illinois. He had the place laughing hard.

Dessert was s'mores. S'mores is not a dessert that they had tried before. They enjoyed roasting marshmallows over the fire. You can't even find the marshmallows that we have here over there. I enjoyed watching their eyes light up as they took their first bite. S'mores was a hit!

On Tuesday we split up again. We were able to visit an orphanage in the morning and the afternoon. This was a surprising experience for us. The orphanage was for babies to 3-year-olds and they were obviously very well cared for. We were told later that the older the kids get in the orphan system, the harder it is for them.

Brianna and I went separately and we both fell for this little girl. Both of her hands were turned in and she had one lazy eye. What attracted me to her was that she had such a "go-get-'um" attitude. She looked like she could take on the world and she had such a fun personality. Brianna was ready to bring her home in our suitcase.

We had another great two days in Russia. What we learned by this point of the trip is to be flexible with the schedule. The schedule didn't follow along as planned, but, God is able to work in changes. We were just along for the ride.

Russia - Our first four days

2011-10-02T14:49:00.000-07:00

We met the rest of our team at the Istanbul airport and left Turkey sometime before midnight. We arrived in Moscow bright and early (1:30 a.m.) but we had delayed wait at the airport for our driver and a long drive to Vladimir. Fortunately, due to the time, we did not have to deal with any traffic and we arrived in Vladimir around 6 a.m. After breakfast and getting our bags in rooms, we headed over to the church to start working.

Here's our team...

And, happy birthday to me and Lena! I had no idea that our birthdays were on the same day. We celebrated quite a few birthdays during our time here.

Our work for the day was unpacking all of the extra bags that we brought and organize all of our materials. We then put together 100 gift bags for all of the women that were coming to the conference.

And we caught up with our dear friend, Anya.

The women's conference was scheduled to start the next evening. The main speaker for the conference was unable to attend at the last minute due to a serious health issue. The first night we watched her message by video. I delivered her message on Saturday morning and then my mom delivered her last two messages.

We were able to reconnect with many women that we had met two years ago. Here is Irina, who is the pastor's wife at a church in a village outside of Vladimir. The bag represents the maternity home where I volunteer. Irina offered to take this to Victoria, who could not attend. Victoria works tirelessly talking to women at the hospital about reconsidering their decision to have an abortion. Abortion is a very common form of birth control in Russia. It is not uncommon for women to have several abortions during their lifetime.

And here is sweet Lena. She and her sister Tatiana are two of the most fun-loving women that I have ever met. She would just hug on us and laugh with us. I'll tell you, I have never been to a church where love is poured out so easily and willingly.

The women's conference went well. Brianna painted nails. She did this for 30 of the women and they loved it! We also introduced them to Bunko. After two rounds of trying to understand the game, the competition was fierce - in a fun way! I stood back and watched the women interact with each other. Many of the women were from surrounding area churches and they only get to see each other a few times during the year. It was like a large family reunion with lots of laughing, talking, crying and praying over each other. Everyone seemed to leave refreshed and encouraged. I was overwhelmed by the genuine love, care and concern displayed by everyone. These women really know how to be the church.

Little princes

2011-10-01T08:59:00.000-07:00

The first two days that we walked around Istanbul we noticed a few little boys dressed up like little princes. They were wearing white pants, white jackets, a white cape with fur around the collar, white hats, white shoes, and they were carrying scepters. We called them "little princes" because that was what they looked like. I wish I would have thought to get a picture while I could, but the best I can do to show you is direct you to this site. Don't read the description of the picture, but scroll down a little to see the "happy boy" in his "festive garments."

The night we met with Omar I asked him about these little boys. When he realized what I was talking about he started laughing and explained that in Turkey, little boys are circumcised when they are 6-years-old. They are treated specially (and for good reason), thus the fancy clothes. They are given a lot of gifts, a party, and taken around to fun places.

When my mom heard his explanation she replied, "It's like lambs being led to the slaughter."

Turkey - Our last day

2011-09-30T08:01:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Istanbul was a free day. Omar invited us to join him with a tour group on the other side of the city, but we were concerned that we wouldn't make it back on time to get to the airport. So, we ventured out on our own to finish up some shopping and do a little more sightseeing.

As if the city didn't already feel like it was packed with people, it felt more so this day. There was a big cruise ship in town and it just seemed like there were more people that we were having to maneuver around. Plus, the prices were way higher than they were the night before.

The first place we went to was the Basilica Cistern. This underground cistern was built during the Byzantine period of Justinian I (remember the Hagia Sophia?). The cistern contains 336 Ionic, Corinthian and Doric style columns. Two of the more interesting columns have Medusa heads at the bottom. When we walked through this, I really got a great sense of how old this city is.

After the cistern, we ventured out to do some shopping. Remember how we went to the rug store the day before? I spoke with one of the men about whether or not they made yarn with their wool. He said "yes" and then told me that I could find a yarn shop down the road and to the right. But, then he told me to "come back tomorrow" and he would show us where. I took him up on that offer.

When we arrived to the rug store, we had to hunt down the man who offered to take us. He looked at his watch hesitantly. I'm sure he wasn't thinking that we would really take him up on his offer. He agreed that he had enough time and off we went.

This is how future potential husband #2 came along. While we were walking along he kept asking me where my husband was. I told him several times that he was on vacation with my son. When that didn't sink in, he sided along with my mom and asked her where my husband was. When she replied that he was on vacation with my son, he said, "I don't understand. Is her husband dead?"

There would have been no way that we could have found the yarn shop on our own. Our guide took us out of the tourist shopping area and into the local shopping area. Which was fascinating! I could have spent some time looking around there, but we were on a mission. He had to stop and ask a couple of times where the shop was, and then....we hit the motherload! As soon as we walked up the stairs of the building, I saw floor to ceiling yarn!

The shop owner seemed pleased to see us and showed me everything he had. Wall to wall, floor to ceiling and displays in between. I picked up 4 skeins of alpaca wool and one skein of sock yarn. When I went to pay for it, I was shocked at the price and asked him to wait. There was more yarn to be bought! When all was said and done, I bought 10 skeins of alpaca wool yarn and one skein of sock yarn for $15! One skein of that alpaca wool yarn here alone would cost over $20.

I thanked potential husband #2 over and over for taking his time with us and showing us the yarn shop. We would have never found this place on our own. He said he didn't mind and he wouldn't accept a coffee or tea from us. While he was useful in helping me score the yarn deal of the century, I don't think that I could consider marrying someone who doesn't find my appreciation of yarn all that exciting.

My new yarn stash includes two skeins of yarn from Moscow (the green on the right). I have no idea what I'll make, but it will be warm and soft.

Now on to potential husband #3, the diplomat. The night before we got Brianna some ice cream. While we were walking by a restaurant, the waiter standing outside asked us, "Where's my ice cream?" Every time we walked by this restaurant during our 2-day stay he would ask us this. Brianna wasn't hard to miss with her bright red hair. Finally, on the second night of his asking I got him an ice cream. I think he was genuinely surprised that we did this for him. When we walked past the restaurant a second time after that, he handed me a rose that he made from a paper napkin and invited us to come back for tea.

We went back to the restaurant for lunch and tea. In between his waiting on people and trying to bring customers into the restaurant, he talked to us about how he is in school and wants to be a diplomat. He was a genuinely good guy - even though he shared that he was a bit groggy from having 4 beers the night before.

By this time my mom decided that she needed to get me out of Turkey.

We spent some time in the hotel lobby waiting for our ride to the airport. Here we met a family from Saudi Arabia. Such interesting people to meet!

When our ride finally came we piled all of our luggage into the van that was shared with a British couple who was being dropped off at their hotel. We were running a little late and we were a bit concerned about making it to the airport on time. Well, this van driver was crazy. He was driving through these little Roman roads at high speeds, going the wrong way down one-way streets, playing chicken with other vans, and sending pedestrians flying out of the way. At one point I told the British woman that it was best just to close her eyes and not even look at how he was driving. We made it to the airport on time, though.

We had a wonderful stay in Instanbul. I could see going back there and seeing other parts of the city that were neglected. I would also love to tour the country a little more. This country is definitely worth spending more time in.

Turkey - Tour day 2, part 2

2011-09-29T07:45:00.001-07:00

After lunch we stopped at a leather store for a "fashion show." Oh, boy! What a show! The goal was to sell you a fine leather coat, pants, purse, or whatever else they had. Brianna and I spent the entire show watching the heel on one of the model's shoes. We thought she was going down on that thing. I would not have chosen to stop here - and it wasn't even listed on our tour information. I guess when you're on a tour you've just got to go with the flow.

We then made our way to Beylerbeyi Palace, which was the summer residence of the late royal Ottoman family. Again, no pictures were allowed within the building. One thing that I learned about the ruling Ottomans was that each one was trained in one specific area in case they lost their position. The rooms were filled with furniture, clocks, paintings and poetry (painted around the ceilings and columns) made by ruling Ottomans.

After imagining living in the harem of the sultan, we left for the Asia side of Istanbul and went to Camlica Hill, which is the highest hill on the Asia side. Isn't it amazing that we could be in two different continents in the same day?

We crossed back over to Europe on the Intercontinental Bosphorus Bridge. This is quite an impressive bridge. To give you an idea of the size, this bridge is almost 5,000 feet long and is 210 feet high from sea level. Our guide told us that races are run across this bridge. Pedestrians are not allowed to walk across the bridge because there were too many people trying to commit suicide.

When we got back to our hotel my feet were done for the day, but we weren't! We rested a bit and then went our for dinner. We also did a little bit of looking in shops but didn't buy anything that night.

When we returned from our night out on the town we found Omar waiting for us. My mom met Omar when she was in Turkey in May and he was her group's tour guide. She and another couple spent a lot of time talking with Omar and sharing the gospel with him. He had seen my mom reading on her Kindle and he asked if she would get him one. My mom and the other couple went in on the Kindle together, and he was giddy over it. He kept pulling it out all night, showing people and would say, "But I've got a Kindle!"

The funny thing about this picture is that the hotel clerk, and potential husband #1, took it. This is the borderline creepy camel guy. After seeing Omar with us potential husband #1 backed off on the flirting, which I was thankful for. When we told Omar what he said about offering camels, Omar's response was, "Well, we don't have camels. But we have goats!" My mom was seriously reconsidering the offer at this point.

Turkey - Tour day 2, part 1

2011-09-28T08:55:00.001-07:00

Our mornings in Istanbul were gorgeous. The hotel we stayed in had a terrace eating area. We spent the mornings eating our breakfast, enjoying the wonderful view from the terrace, and guarding our food from seagulls that roosted on the roof waiting for us to leave our tables.

The staff in the restaurant would make fresh squeezed orange juice to order. Nothing says "good morning!" like a naked girl in your orange juice.

The women who worked at the hotel were as friendly as the men. The first morning that I was sick, one of the women asked why I was leaving breakfast so early. I couldn't reply because I was afraid that I would be sick all over her. By the end of our stay, she was hugging me and calling me her friend. She was such a sweet gal.

Our morning tour started off at the ancient Byzantine Hippodrome. In this area we saw an Egyptian Obelisk which was given to Istanbul from Egypt. I hear that Egypt wants it back but the Turks are saying "no way." I guess they're not into regifting.

In the Hippodrome we also saw the Serpentine Column and the Fountain of Wilhelm II (which I did not get pictures of). From here we went into the Blue Mosque which was built between 1609 and 1616. It is still a functioning mosque today and is used for Friday prayers.

This is the view of the mosque from our hotel terrace.

I was surprised at the number of non-Muslim people that are allowed into the mosque. My mom says that it's all about money. I was also surprised that we did not have to cover our hair. Women who had bare shoulders and knees showing had to cover those. Again, we're looking very touristy with our numbers.

There were several huge elephant columns in this mosque.

From the Blue Mosque we made our way to the Hagia Sophia Museum. This was originally a church designed and built during the Justinian period (it opened in 537 AD). I was happy to know that Brianna remembers studying this time period two years ago. History comes to life!

The church was turned into a mosque in 1453. Because Muslims do not allow portraits in their mosques, they plastered all of the mosaics and paintings. Little did they know that they were actually preserving these beautiful pieces of art work. In 1935 the building was turned into a museum which preserved both Christian and Muslim artwork within the same building of worship.

A view of the Hagia Sophia from our hotel terrace. It was rough to look at this every morning, but someone had to eat up there.

From the Hagia Sophia we went to a rug shop to look at the Turkish rugs. They were so beautiful. And, I had no idea that when you turned a rug around it had a different shade of color. I wish I could have bought one, but they were too expensive. This was where I met potential husband #2. I'll tell you more about him in another post.

From the rug shop we went to the Grand Bazaar. This lives up to it's name. There were over 4,000 shops (stalls) in this place! This interesting historical information about this place is that it was built between 1455 and 1461 as a bazaar and it still functions as one today. I'm sure that there weren't 4,000 stalls that long ago.

After the Grand Bazaar we went to lunch at the same restaurant we ate at the day before. It must be the tourist restaurant. Thankfully I was actually able to eat a meal this day. We would need it for the rest of the day!

"I don't like you"

2011-09-27T13:27:00.000-07:00

This has nothing to do with Turkey or Russia. Sorry to break up the flow.

Yesterday I did my weekly grocery shopping at WinCo. For those of you not familiar with WinCo, it's a very big, very busy grocery store. When I got up to the registers all of them had lines of people. I chose a line and waited. Just like everyone else.

I unloaded all of my groceries, started bagging and paid for them. Shortly after I went back to bagging my groceries, the man behind me walked past me and said low enough so that only I could hear, "I don't like you."

I wish I could convey the tone of his voice. He was clearly annoyed that he had to wait in line behind me. I guess I can somewhat understand since he had a couple of items to pay for.

But, I decided that he probably doesn't like a lot of people. And, if that's the way he was going to be about it, then he deserved to wait just like the rest of us. Never mind the fact that I just returned from spending two weeks of waiting in lines and dealing with pushy people. You don't bother me Mr. I Don't Like You!

Part 2 of our first tour day in Turkey

2011-09-27T08:04:00.001-07:00

Thank the Lord for a full night of sleep! I actually feel like a functioning human being. And, after two cups of coffee, I'm feeling even better.

Let me tell you about one event that happened upon our arrival to Istanbul. We had a lot of luggage because we were taking a lot with us to Russia. After unloading all of our luggage, my mom realized that she had left a bag in the back seat of the van. When we went back to get the bag, the van had left. She lost a camera, a Kindle and a laptop that was being donated to a friend in Russia. The hotel clerk said, "No problem! We'll get it back." When he called the driver, he said that he didn't see a bag. We took this "no problem" to mean that I'm making sure I get half out of this deal.

The moral to the story is that even a seasoned traveler such as my mom can make a mistake. She didn't let it get to her too much and she was able to enjoy our time. The other thing the seasoned traveler didn't warn me about was not to eat salad in a foreign country. But, I should have known better too, so I didn't hold that against her.

The afternoon of our first day of tour started off at a small mosque that was designed by the same architect of the Hagia Sophia (which was saw on day 2). I'm not sure when this mosque was built, but it was quite old.

I will warn you, most of the pictures I took of the places we went are the buildings and the interior design. Buildings and design fascinate me. Especially when they're hundreds or thousands of years old. I was not aware that Muslims do not allow any pictures of people in their mosques. They feel that it detracts a person away from focusing on Allah. What I did notice, though, was that a lot of their designs on the walls, ceilings, and around windows and door ways are very similar to many that I've seen in cathedrals.

Don't we look touristy with our group numbers on us?

We had a couple of Muslim men and women in our group that wanted to pray in the building. The men are allowed to pray on the main floor, the women are allowed to pray on the top floor.

I don't remember what this building was used for, but they are on the outside of all of the mosques.

There was a cemetery at the mosque full of very important old dead people.

After the small mosque we went to Topkapi Palace which was the residence and administrative center for the Ottoman Sultans. This has now been turned into a museum. All of the different buildings displayed materials from the early Ottoman empire throughout the early 1930's, which was when the power of the Sultans was diminished. There were a couple of different gardens - designed for the Sultan and the harem.

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the museum, but I especially enjoyed the weapons room (which the tour guide was surprised by), the room which displayed some clothing and the extremely large jewels (which all of the Japanese and Chinese tourists seemed to like too).

After squeezing our way through the jewel room we were done with tourists. We found our way back to our hotel (which we did not realize was so close to where we were) and relaxed for a little bit. Then we headed out for dinner - and I did not eat salad. The time change caught up to us and we were ready for an early night sleep. It was a good first day in Istanbul - even though looked like tourists.

Turkey - First impressions and part of day 1

2011-09-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

We're back! And, I'm awake....which isn't all that amazing considering that at this time of writing (6:18 a.m.), I've already been awake for almost 3 hours. I was hoping I would sleep through the night since we had a pretty exhausting day of travel, but, my body still wants to be on Moscow time.

We had a great trip and I'll try to write out what we did day by day. I may skip a couple of days and meld them into one post.

Our trip started by spending three days in Istanbul, Turkey. What a beautiful, warm, inviting, and chaotic place! We stayed in the historical part of the city. Which meant that the roads were very small, old Roman roads and crammed with lots of cars and people. And, watch out for those cars! They own the road. People are mere obstacles for drivers.

This has to be the most international city that I have ever visited. We met people from France, Australia, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, England, and who knows where else. Everyone seemed interested in talking to us about where we were from and what we were doing. The Turkish people that we interacted with were delightful and friendly.

The men were a bit overwhelming to me. My mom decided that she could not take me back there again. The hotel clerk jokingly (I think) offered 21 camels for me - including one white one. Actually, this guy was erring on the side of being creepy. The guy that led us to the yarn shop asked my mom if my husband was dead. And, a restaurant waiter gave me a rose he made out of a napkin.

I found Istanbul to be quite charming if you can get past the amount of people (including Chinese and Japanese tourists), cars, crazy drivers and flirtatious men.

Shopping and eating in Istanbul is an interesting experience. When you walk down the street everyone is calling out to you to eat at their finest restaurant in town or shop their best wares.

We ate at this restaurant a couple of times. In this picture, they are preparing a meat stewing in a clay pot. They cook it in a fire or oven and then break the pot open to get the food out.

I wish I would have had this meal the first night we ate. Instead, I had a Greek salad and my stomach was not happy about that the next morning. I couldn't eat breakfast and spent some time in the bathroom. But, I was able to carry on with our tour that day.

Our morning tour for day one started at the Spice Market which had some of the most beautiful spices I have ever seen. And, they were displayed so wonderfully.

After the Spice Market we went on a boat tour down the Bosphorus. This area of water separates Istanbul's Asia side and Europe side. The city is huge! There was no way that we could see everything in three days! We had a beautiful, breezy ride down the waterway.

Fortunately we did not fall asleep during our boat ride. We would have missed so much.

See ya later!

2011-09-09T15:07:00.001-07:00

We're making our way to Turkey tomorrow and then Russia on the 14th. We'll be off the grid for two weeks. Sorry, no posting during our trip!

People have been asking what our flight times are like. Here's a glance:

We leave Chicago on the 10th at 10:20 p.m. and arrive in Instanbul on the 11th at 5:05 p.m. (There's an 8 hour time difference.)

We leave Istanbul on the 14th at 9:50 p.m. and arrive in Moscow on the 15th at 1:55 a.m.

Coming home, we leave Moscow on the 25th at 6:45 a.m. and arrive in Chicago on the 25th at 3:15 p.m. We arrive in Portland at 7:10 p.m. (There is an 11 hour time difference between Moscow and Portland.)

The 25th is going to be a very long day.

Enjoy the next two weeks everyone! I'll see you when I get back!

This week's science with Alex

2011-09-07T14:08:00.000-07:00

For today's science we learned about focusing the sun's heat. We took three pieces of chocolate and used the magnifying glass to focus a ray of sun on the chocolate. We started small and moved out for a bigger ray each time.

We learned that the smaller the ray, the more heat it provides. We had some smoking chocolate! The bigger the ray, the less intense the heat.

We also learned that burnt chocolate neither smells nor tastes good.

Beaded mitts

2011-09-07T08:25:00.001-07:00

One of the beaded mitts is finished. For the most part I'm happy with these. I'm not all that happy with the top of the mitts or the thumb. They flare out more than the bottom. Which, I get. They should since the top of your hand is wider than your wrist. But they seem to flare out too much for my taste. If I make these again I'm going to try some adjustments to the top.

I do, however love the color of the yarn. And it's so squishy soft. These will be great for the cooler fall weather.

I would really love it if I could get the second one done before Saturday. I think reality may give a different result. But, you never know!

Go dog, go!

2011-09-07T07:56:00.000-07:00

Owen loves a good run. He doesn't get that at our house, but, when we go to visit my in-laws, he's free to run. Owen loves "the farm" and I think deep down in his heart he could be a farm dog and just run all day long.

Run Owen! Run!

Doesn't he just look happy? After a hard run a good rest is needed.

Nice placement Owen.

Ray LaMontagne concert

2011-09-05T09:03:00.000-07:00

Last night we headed back to Edgefield to see Ray LaMontagne perform. We weren't as fortunate with our seating options as we were with Amos Lee. The place was packed! We sat at the back along the rock path that seemed to constantly have people walking by. At one point we heard someone hush the people walking and tell them that they were crunching the rocks to loudly.

Ray's concert was not as "entertaining" as Amos Lee's. I use that word loosely here. Even though we weren't standing up and dancing, he has a fabulous voice and provided great music. He is a man of few words, but his music is outstanding.

Making whoopies

2011-09-03T20:37:00.000-07:00

We had some friends over for dinner last night and I wanted to make a dessert that was light. I looked through my recipe file and found the whoopie pie recipe. I remember eating these as a kid and it sounded good for a summer night meal.

Aren't they lovely?

I think my kitchen mojo was off last night. Maybe my body was making up for working so many extra hours and not getting enough sleep. For some reason I struggled with following this recipe.

Here's my result of the lovely dessert.

My friend said that it reminded him of a McDonald's ad. You see the picture of big, juicy burger but when you open up the package all you find is a flat mess.

And, that's how I felt about my dessert. One big flat mess of whoopie.

Recipe courtesy of The Oregonian

Countdown to Russia

2011-09-02T11:29:00.000-07:00

We're down to 8 days before we leave for Istanbul and Russia! My how the time has flown and I still have lots to get before we go. I think I need to make a list so I don't forget anything.

I found out the other day that we have all of our money in! Woo hoo! I am so thankful for everyone who generously donated toward our trip.

I admit that I struggled with worrying about how we were going to raise $4,400 and feeling peace that God was going to take care of it. I never doubted...just worried. And, even while I worried I knew that I shouldn't have worried. It was such a strange sense of emotions running over the past few months and especially over the past couple of weeks. The best was the feeling of relief and gratefulness when finding out that everything was taken care of.

End of week 1

2011-08-31T14:51:00.000-07:00

We've officially finished our first week of school (actually, Brianna's sitting next to me working on math while I write this). I decided to try a different schedule this year. Our school week begins on a Thursday, which allows the weekend for Brianna to have some extra time with any reading or projects that she needs to do. That doesn't mean that we do school on the weekends. I'm not that crazy!

This week was spent with getting used to new school books and some review over the past year. I'm excited about the literature opportunities that the kids will have this year. Right now Alex is reading Island of the Blue Dolphins and Brianna's reading Swiss Family Robinson.

Alex's science project for the week was to hang a model solar system. He'll love having this in his room because they glow in the dark.

Our geography project (which I think will become a first week of school tradition) was to make a cookie dough map of the United States. Initially, the curriculum called for Alex to make a salt dough map of his own created island and Brianna to do a salt dough map of Europe. But, who really wants to keep a salt dough map around? What we end up doing is sticking it in a closet and then wondering when we can throw it away when the kids won't remember it.

A cookie dough map is much more fun and much more yummy! I decided to have the kids both make a map of the United States since we'll be studying through the Civil War this year.

Both kids set to work with chocolate chips for mountains, licorice for rivers and blue sprinkles for water. This is a very serious geography project!

I did learn one lesson today. Always take a picture of the final map before it goes into the oven. Brianna's map was very nice and complete. Cookie dough spreads some once it cooks, so it doesn't come out quite as nice as it looked before going in. Brianna wouldn't even have her picture taken with her finished map because she was so disappointed with how it came out of the oven. Alex's looked like a big cookie.

But, it's the process that counts, right?

Knitting with beads

2011-08-28T20:58:00.001-07:00

I had to put the super secret knitting project on hold to start working on a pair of fingerless gloves. I initially thought that this project would be a challenge for me because it is the first time that I am knitting with beads.

First off, I had a problem finding the right size beads locally. I easily found them online. When I was ready to start, I realized the second challenge was going to be finding a needle with a big enough eye to thread the yarn, yet small enough to string the beads on. I ended up using a needle threader...which broke.

Then, while working, I got stuck and found out that I was going to learn another whole new thing...the picot edge trim. That's the little trim on the bottom. After a few mistakes, a few choice words, and some much appreciated help from folks on Ravelry, I got that done. Check.

After reading through the pattern a little more, I realized that there were some knitting stitches and techniques that I had never done before. This project has turned out to be more of a challenge than I expected.

But, that's all right. I'm all up for a new challenge and it's for a very special person. The real challenge is getting it done on time!

First day of school 2011-12

2011-08-25T10:31:00.000-07:00

It is officially our first day of 5th grade and 9th grade! Two important things here.

1. I now have a high schooler. This makes me feel old(er).

and

2. My youngest is in his last year of elementary school. Which means next year I will have a middle schooler and a high schooler. This makes me feel doubly old(er).

Today we held our annual tradition of going out for breakfast on our first day of school. Here we all are...bright and chipper!

And, we have a change in schedule. I was excited to find out earlier this week that St. Stephen's is offering art for the 9th graders this year. Brianna has gone there the past 2 1/2 years for art classes and she will join them again this year. She will also be "interning" some hours at our hair salon this year. Alex will hopefully be joining the archery team at St. Stephen's. We will find out more about these activities when we return from our trips.

I think this will be an exciting year!

Chocolate zucchini cake

2011-08-24T07:53:00.000-07:00

A co-worker brought this cake in one day. I had no problem inhaling this! It is moist and delicious - even the family thinks so! Plus, it has veggies in it so you can have more than one piece. Right?! Here's one great way to use up all of that garden zucchini.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup oil
1-3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup sour milk (add 1 tsp. lemon juice to milk and let sit for 5 minutes)
2-1/2 cups flour
4 tbsp. cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
2 cups finely diced or shredded zucchini
1/4 cups chocolate chips

Cream together butter, oil and sugar. Add eggs, vanilla and sour milk; beat with mixer. Mix together all the dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture; beat well with mixer. Stir in zucchini. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 9 x 12 pan; sprinkle top with chocolate chips. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

This cake really needs no frosting; it is moist and very tender.

Oaks Park

2011-08-23T08:05:00.000-07:00

Yes, it was that time of year again. The annual "Will Mom Make it to Oaks Park Without Getting Lost?" time of year.

And, I have to report that it was a successful drive to Oaks Park. Although, this does mean that I have made it there three years in a row without getting lost. Hopefully I haven't jinxed myself.

That was the only picture that I got of Brianna. She was off running around the park with her other budding high school friends that we ran into.

And...isn't there something wonderful and nostalgic about the merry-go-round?

An open letter to Oregon homeschoolers

2011-08-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Dear Oregon Homeschoolers,

As an employee at an educational store, I often am asked by teachers if there is a teacher discount on the materials that they are purchasing. Our policy is that in order to receive a teacher discount, the teacher must show current identification that he/she is teaching. This is not unusual for stores that offer teacher discounts. You will find that Staples, Office Depot, Joann's, Powell's and others require the same of their customers.

Our store (as well as others) also offers the teacher discount to homeschoolers. I think this is nice for homeschooling families, considering that I am one among you. I am going on nine years of homeschooling my kids and I know how expensive it is to purchase your own curriculum. This year alone we have spent over $200, and that's just in books.

When a homeschooler comes in and asks for the teacher discount, we are required to ask that you show proof that you are a homeschooler. What amazes me is the response by some homeschoolers to this request. When I explain that a copy of their letter from the ESD is sufficient, most times I receive a confused look and an explanation that they don't think that registering with the ESD is necessary. Some don't even know that they're required to register.

My plea to Oregon homeschoolers is that you please know what the laws are for the state of Oregon in regard to homeschooling your children. We have the privilege of living in Oregon where it is one of the most lenient and easiest states to homeschool in. The requirements are simple:

1. Notify your ESD when your child turns 7 (compulsory age) or after you withdraw your child from school.

AND

2. Test your children in 3rd, 5th, 8th and 10th grades and submit scores to your ESD when requested.

That's pretty much it. Simple.

My concern for those of you who choose not to follow the law is that at some point law makers may catch on that there are a number of homeschoolers who do not care to follow the law, which may then make it even more difficult to homeschool our children. The last few legislative sessions have had heated discussions and changing laws regarding online charter schools - and these are public schools! We don't want them having heated discussions regarding homeschooling.

I am assuming that one of your goals as a homeschooler is to raise and teach your children to be responsible citizens. We would all wish that our children would follow the laws of the land, so I ask the same of you. Be a good example to your children as a law following citizen and honor what the state requires of you.

It may just make me feel a little more willing to give you that homeschooling discount.

Sincerely,

Kathi Bonham

Poor me

2011-08-15T14:30:00.001-07:00

It's a rough day for a renter who has to pay for Park Place and Boardwalk with hotels on each. $1100 went to my capitalist son. He wouldn't even offer a deal to his sweet old mother.

Amos Lee concert

2011-08-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Friday night we took our friend Anita out for her birthday to see Amos Lee at McMenaman's Edgefield. What a great venue and a great concert! We had a beautiful night and the music was wonderful!

The opening band was Calexico. They had a fun Spanish beat to their music. I think that this was the first opening band that I have ever liked.

Me and the birthday girl.

Me and my guy.

We'll be back at Edgefield on September 4th to see Ray LaMontagnae. I can't wait!

Only one month away!

2011-08-10T14:47:00.000-07:00

Brianna and I leave for our trip to Russia in one month! It seems unbelievable. The time has gone by quickly.

Before we step on Russian soil, we will spend three days in Istanbul, Turkey. I am excited to see my Russian friends, but I have to say that I am extremely excited about Istanbul! Here are some of the sites that we will see:

The Blue Mosque

The Hagia Sophia Museum

A cruise along the Golden Horn

The Beylerbeyi Palace

Just hangin' out

2011-08-10T12:37:00.000-07:00

With Ben.

By the bank.

In McMinnville.

Alex's doctor visit

2011-08-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

I took Alex to the doctor's this week to get an annual check-up. It had been a couple of years since he had one, so I thought it was a good time - being a decade old and all. The last time he went he saw his pediatrician, who happened to be a woman. This time I took him to see my primary doctor, who is a man.

Alex was a little nervous. He didn't want to get a shot. I told him he was up to date on that so he didn't need to worry. That eased his anxiety a little. The reason why I decided to switch doctors for him was because I really like our (I say "our" because Brian sees him too) doctor. He's very laid-back in his personality and he gives people the benefit of the doubt when it comes to taking care of yourself.

All went well with the greeting and the checking out of his eyes, mouth, belly area, etc. Then the doctor had Alex stand on the floor and touch his toes so he could check his spine. The doctor and I were chatting when he told Alex to turn around and drop his shorts. He did this in such a nonchalant way that Alex missed that instruction.

"Alex," I said, "The doctor wants you do do something." Alex looked from me to him with a "You want me to to WHAT?" look in his eyes. The doctors started chuckling and said, "Yeah, it's usually about this age that the boys get the deer in the headlights look in their eyes." Alex said, "All of it?" Of course.

"Mom, can you leave the room?" he asked. I turned around and promised not to look. In a few seconds his shorts were back up and he was given a good bill of health.

As we left I asked him what he thought of the doctor. Alex thought he was nice but added that that moment was a little "awkward." I couldn't help but laugh and told him that this won't be the last time in his life that he has to drop his pants for the doctor. Fortunately, Alex has a pretty good sense of humor and he was able to joke about it the rest of the day.

Of course, when we got home he told Brianna about it. Her response was, "Well at least you didn't have to have a camera go up your butt!" Which led to the next question. "Mom, how old do I have to be to have a camera go up my butt?!"

I think I want this

2011-08-04T08:08:00.001-07:00

School will start before we know it!

2011-08-02T15:25:00.000-07:00

The yearly hunt for the cheapest curriculum will officially be over this week. Here's what were looking at this year:

For both kids:

History, Literature, Geography: Tapestry of Grace, Year 3: The 1800's

Writing: Writing Aids

Brianna: 9th Grade

Math - Beginning Algebra (Algebra I) - Life of Fred

Vocabulary - Wordly Wise 9

Science - Biology (Apologia)

Health - Total Health

P.E. - We need to figure out a plan for this

Plus any art electives that she is able to get at Aloha High School.

Alex: 5th Grade

Math - Math 5 (Bob Jones)

Spelling - Natural Speller

Grammar - Easy Grammar 5

Handwriting - Handwriting Skills Simplified Grade 5 (ELP)

Science - Astronomy (Apologia)

All books will be purchased by the end of the week. At this point, I'm thinking of starting school the week of August 22nd. Which means I only have two weeks to plan! Usually I start the Tuesday after Labor Day which is when the school district starts. However, if we start on that Tuesday that would mean that we would only get in 4 days of school since we'll be leaving on our trips the Saturday after Labor Day. I'd rather get a couple of solid weeks in, especially since it will most likely take us a couple of days to recover from our traveling when we return.

I'm sure the kids will LOVE this plan. It's either start early or end late. I'm not sure which one they would prefer.

Things keep growing

2011-07-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

My little garden continues to grow. With the late summer weather the lettuce, spinach and herbs have done great.

But now that it's warmer, I've got cucumbers flowering.

And broccoli on its way.

Now I'm just waiting on the cauliflower.

Catcher in the lie

2011-07-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

Last week we had the chance to go to Evergreen's new Wings and Waves waterpark for a family get-together. We spent most of the day there and had a great time.

The park has four large water slides that you have to climb up several stairs to get to. I went on one of the slides and that was it for me. I must admit that I'm a little disappointed in myself. I used to love all types of amusement park roller coasters and rides, but my body just can't do it any more.

Brianna loved the slides even though they weren't as "thrilling" as they could have been. She waited in line on the several steps for several minutes to go on them over and over. Alex, like me, went once and he was done. He's not our thrill seeker in the house. He's a bit more cautious and I think he just doesn't like the feeling of not being in control of where he's going or how fast he's going. I think throughout the day his cousin was trying to convince him to try another slide. We told him he didn't have to feel pressured to do this and to just enjoy the rest of the park.

We were in the wave pool once when he decided to go off to the play structure to find one of his cousins. I stood at the wave pool for a while watching some of the younger nieces and nephews. After about 25 minutes I walked over the play structure to watch Alex. He walked up so me and said, "Mom! I just went on the green slide and I'm not doing that again!" I didn't answer him for a minute because I was thinking about how long it had been when I last saw him. At this point of the day the wait for the slides was about 45 minutes. There was no way he could have gone down the slide in that amount of time. I caught him in a lie.

I questioned him if he really went down the slide. He answered with a yes. I doubted and he ran off. I talked a little bit later with Brian about this. He didn't believe the story either. He went off to find Alex and talked with him. He sent him back to the table where I was sitting and Alex told me that Dad didn't believe him that he went on the slide. I sat silently.

In a little bit Brian came back to the table and started talking to Alex about it. He reassured him that it was ok that he didn't go on the slides if he didn't like them. He didn't need to feel pressured to try another one. He wasn't less of a person because he didn't like them and we didn't think less of him because of it. Alex started crying a little and admitted that he didn't go on the slide. I asked him if he was being truthful about admitting what he had done or if he just wanted to be done with the talk and go off and play. He said he was being serious. Brian made him apologize to me and to his cousin for lying about it.

So, as a Mom, my heart hurt a little. Alex is known for lying (at least to us). There are times when he says things to me and I always wonder. I must admit that I don't like doubting my kids. But, kids do lie. People lie. I just don't like that it's my kid. I haven't raised him this way. I don't know why he lies or even finds it easy to do so. I also hurt for him because I didn't like him pretending to be someone that he isn't.

But, it does make my heart a little bit happier when he admits to it and you can tell that he is truly apologetic. He might as well admit. We usually find out about it. I don't know why he hasn't picked up on this super power of ours yet!

Here's the cool thing about the end of the day though. Brian took him over to the play structure to watch him on the small slides. He told him that one of the slides is just like those except longer. This one slide in particular did not need an inner tube and it was totally enclosed (one fear of his was going over the edge of the open slides). So, he willingly went up the several stairs to try this one slide. When he came our of the bottom he gave me two big thumbs up with a huge smile and yelled, "That was awesome!" He got one more ride in on that slide before we left the water park.

So, my son was caught in a lie. He apologized. And he conquered his fear. It was a pretty good day.

Portland Timbers Game

2011-07-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my sister-in-law Maureen, we had the chance to go see a Portland Timbers game last night. I am not a huge soccer fan, although, after last night's game, I may have been converted by the Timbers. But, not because of the soccer.

We had a great time, though. All of our local family was there in support of my sister-in-law and her family. For those of you who don't know, her husband Jonathan is a huge soccer fan and is going to be deployed to Iraq for 13 months. Maureen was able to arrange for all of us to go and we took up an entire row of seats all on our own.

This was our first major league soccer game. It was quite confusing to us. First of all, the Timbers colors are a dark green and a neon green. Why in the world were they wearing red uniforms? I'm sure there's a reason for it, but I don't get it.

But even before that, when we were entering the stadium, there was a sign that stated that poles and weapons were not allowed in. While we were waiting for our family, a guy walked in carrying an American flag on a flag pole! How did he get through with that? I asked the security guy and he told me that they allow some flags on poles in for the Timbers Army section. You know, I never did see that American flag flying in the Army section. For all we know he could have been a terrorist.

They played against an English team, so two national anthems were performed. The gal that sang them was wonderful. It was very moving to me - I guess our past year in studying the Revolutionary War and the Constitution did that to me. What was amusing about the entire thing was how the crowd responded during the song. They waved their Timbers scarves in between each verse and then kept them spinning during "the rockets red glare." Brianna leaned over to me and said that she thought it was amusing that our national anthem talks about fighting the British and the Timbers were playing a British team.

Going back to the Timbers Army....I have never seen a group of fans so enthusiastic about a game! They chanted and sang and cheered the entire time! I don't think I could sit in that section. I wouldn't be able to keep up with them. Apparently the cheers were printed out so we could follow along with them. But I could barely make out what they were saying. We were trying to guess the words (which made for a fun game). The only one that we were able to hear clearly was F.C.P.T. Do you know what that stands for? Futbol Club Portland Timbers. I only found that out when my sister-in-law mouthed the words out for me.

Something else that's strange about soccer is that the clock counts up. I did not know that. But the nice thing is that unlike American football, the clock does not stop.

Is it me or are soccer players the biggest fakers ever? I can't tell you how many times we saw a guy laying on the ground grasping his leg in pain and then two seconds later he's up and running. Bizarre!

Ok, now for the real reason why we were there. At half time I took Alex to get something to drink. On our way back into the stadium we saw Jennifer and Jonathan and all of their kids on the field. Tricky Maureen planned more than just getting us tickets to the game! The staff led them to the field with them thinking that they were participating in a family shoot out. Instead, they honored Jonathan for his service in the military and the family as well.

They did a nice slide show of the family and talked about his years of service and his leaving for a year. We were as shocked as they were. We had no idea that any of this was happening.

Timber Joey (the mascot) brought out a framed, signed team jersey. Papa Murphy's gave the family one free pizza a month for a year. They received a free six month membership to the Oregon Athletic Club. All of the kids received free clothes from Addidas. And, Verizon gave Jonathan a free tablet.

We were all in tears! It was such a wonderful way for this family to be honored for the sacrifice and commitment that they give to our country. And, what a wonderful send off for Jonathan! If you can, think of them over this next year and send a little prayer out for them.

Portland Timbers, you've made a soccer fan out of me!

Today's cute is brought to you by the letter O

2011-07-18T09:14:00.001-07:00

Call her red

2011-07-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

Brianna's quest for red hair continues. What do you think of the latest?

Hollywood district walk

2011-07-15T15:27:00.000-07:00

It's a beautiful day in the Portland area! If we had a Portland, OR dictionary, the entry for "Sun" would be - Sun (n) something you rarely see.

I grabbed our Portland walking book and packed the kids in the car.

We headed to Hollywood! The Hollywood district, that is.

We had a nice one mile loop to walk. Along the way we stopped in Trader Joe's to look for their hidden object. In the Beaverton store it's a Ninja Turtle (Turtle Joe) and at the Hillsboro store it's a stuffed monkey (Mojo). When the kids find the object they tell the checker and get to pick a little food prize. At the Hollywood store it's a stuffed Stitch. You know...

We walked some more and found a neat door.

We also stumbled into a cute store, grabbed an ice cream cone at McDonald's and walked around a fish store called The Wet Spot. Interesting name, huh?

Not a bad little walk for a beautiful day. Now, the ride home in traffic, that was another story.

Easy summer living

2011-07-06T07:59:00.000-07:00

It's July! What? Summer's flying by! Before we know it, it will be time to start school. Shhhh....don't let summer know that.

One thing I like about summer is the lack of schedule. The only scheduled thing on my plate is my work schedule. So what are we doing this summer?

I've decided to have a yard sale later this month to help raise some money for our trips. I despise yard sales. I can't stand bartering with people over things that they are already getting a good deal on. However, since we need to funds, I'm doing it. It also means that I am cleaning out the house. Which I love! I'm calling this the 10 year purge since we've been in our house 10 years now.

The kids both finished their summer reading hours for the library program. We went yesterday to pick up their prize packs. It included some coupons for free ice cream, lunch, a movie, bowling and a free choice of book. Of course, we had to use the free ice cream and lunch coupons right away. We're saving the movie and bowling coupons. Those will be nice on a really warm day.

I'm still knitting, even though I'm not giving away what I'm working on. It's a pretty involved project that cannot be mentioned until I am finished. It will still be a while. However, I will want to work on some gifts to take to Russia. I'll need to get working on those soon.

We've seen some family and we have other family coming in soon. We're excited about that! We have a day planned at the new Evergreen water park and a couple of concerts coming up. Besides work, that's it.

Oh, and soon I'll have to start planning school. I'm considering starting a couple of weeks early since we'll be leaving within the first week of school starting here. But, I don't really want to think about that right now!

Easy (and oh so yummy) lettuce wrap filling

2011-06-30T15:33:00.000-07:00

*Thanks to my friend Tammy who inspired this meal.

On nights that I work I try to make quick and easy meals that can be reheated when Brian gets home. This has become one of my all-time favorites. In fact, it's the only meal that I wish I could eat right away because I love the smells that come from the stove while this cooks.

You can use any kind of ground meat you like, although ground beef doesn't sound all that good to me. Throw in any fresh herbs you have on hand. Tonight's meal will have Thai basil and flat leaf parsley from my garden! Serve this with big leaves of lettuce. I like to serve it with rice too because that helps to spread out the meal even more.

Lettuce Wrap Filling

1 lb. ground chicken, turkey or pork
Sesame oil
1 tsp. minced ginger
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 can water chestnuts, chopped
1/2 bag broccoli slaw
Soy sauce
2 tbsp. chopped fresh herbs (such as cilantro, basil, or parsley)

In a skillet brown ground meat. Drain meat. Add garlic, ginger, water chestnuts and broccoli slaw. Drizzle on sesame oil and cook, stirring occasionally. Cook until veggies begin to soften. Add soy sauce, to taste. When cooked through, remove from heat and stir in fresh herbs.

Berry smooth shake*

2011-06-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

*I think shake is not quite the right word. It's more like a drink.

My in-laws gave me a bunch of strawberries not too long ago. They're sitting in the freezer waiting for the right time to make some jam. That may not happen if they keep getting used for smoothies.

I found this recipe for a Berry Smooth Shake and thought I would give it a whirl. It ended up being thinner than a shake. I didn't mind that; it was still good. I used vanilla yogurt instead of plain, which would probably cut out the need for honey. I didn't think about that when I made it and it ended up being sweeter than I expected.

This is a keeper. Next time I'll add a little variety to the fruit.

Beery Smooth Shake

1 cup fresh berries
1 cup cold 1% milk
1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 tbsp. honey
1 banana
1/4 tsp. vanilla
6-8 crushed ice cubes

Place berries and 1/2 cup milk in blender. Blend on high for 1 minute until smooth. Add remaining milk, yogurt, honey, banana and vanilla. Beat for another minutes. Add crushed ice cubes. Blend slowly until smooth.

Put a bird on it

2011-06-21T09:56:00.001-07:00

I think one of my favorite sketches on Portlandia is "Put a Bird on It." If you haven't seen it, take a peek.

Then....

Here's what I found on the mirror in the massage room.

Put a bird on it.

My first day of summer

2011-06-21T09:11:00.000-07:00

Even though the kids still have some math to finish up during the summer, I decided to give them time off this week. Why not? Sometimes we all need a break.

Which means that I've got a break too. No lesson plans. No copying. No finding library books.

So, what's a girl to do on her first day of summer break?

Get a massage, that's what! And, it was the best massage I've ever had.

And since I didn't have to work, I also finished a book, knitted and visited with friends.

If only all this could last all summer.

Brianna's art

2011-06-17T10:30:00.000-07:00

Brianna took her art class with the 8th graders at St. Stephen's Academy this year. This was her last year to take art there since they don't have art classes for the high schoolers. We will miss her being able to take art there again as it was a wonderful opportunity for her to learn under a great teacher.

Here are some of the art projects that Brianna did this year.

This is my favorite picture that she drew this year.

This was Brianna's entry for the Duck Stamp contest. She won Honorable Mention!

Brianna did this picture when she went on a shadow day at ACMA. The teacher told her that she would have earned an A+!

The end of Year 2

2011-06-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

The end has come! We finished Year 2 of our main curriculum! We covered A.D. 450 - 1800, which seems like a huge expanse of time. Due to plans tonight and over the weekend, we won't really have a chance to celebrate the end of our school year. So, I plan on having a Jeopardy type game on Monday night to round out this final unit.

Don't think the kids get off easy the rest of the summer! Both of them test at the end of the month. Brianna still has one pre-algebra math book to work through before she does algebra I in the fall. She will also continue drawing this summer. Alex needs to get his multiplication facts down. Both will read through the summer. Then the planning begins for next year and the following three years for high school.

But, I'm not a mean mom/teacher. Both will have plenty of down time and time to just be kids. Which also means that I'll have a chance to take off my teacher hat. I think we're all looking forward to that!

This year's garden

2011-06-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

The endless rain and cold has finally stopped. Now we just have gray days and occasional rain and sunshine. It's time to plant. Here's what we have in our garden so far this year....

In this box we have cucumbers, rosemary and oregano.

I don't know why Blogger insisted on uploading this picture rotated.

In this box we have a mixture of lettuces, spinach and swiss chard.

In this box we have broccoli, cauliflower, flat leaf parsley and thai basil.

Of course, we need some color to add to our beautiful greens!

Flying free

2011-06-12T21:28:00.000-07:00

I think the kids enjoyed letting them go as much as they enjoyed watching them grow.

Note to self

2011-06-11T17:30:00.000-07:00

When going out to knit and chat with a friend, make sure you bring enough yarn to actually knit. Although, the chatting is always good.

A difficult time of year

2011-06-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

One of the hardest part of our homeschooling year is the end of the year. Not only do we have TWO WEEKS LEFT!!!! (who's excited?) .... but, it's also the middle of allergy season. Spring hits hard at this house. Here is an example...

Alex is trying to finish his math in his dreams.

I tend to give a little more grace this time of year. Schoolwork still needs to be done, but, we'll take some longer breaks or I'll allow some extra computer or tv time. Which, isn't always beneficial because it does make starting back up a little bit harder. Either way it's a difficult time.

But, we're on the verge of finishing up our schooling for the year! Brianna is done with science. Alex will be done with his science this week. Our main curriculum (history, literature, writing, etc.) will be done next week. Both kids test at the end of the month. Math, reading and some grammar will be continued throughout the summer. Brianna needs to be ready for algebra for next year and Alex needs to brush up on his multiplication.

And then it's time to plan high school!

We have butterflies!

2011-06-06T14:21:00.001-07:00

Three out of four butterflies have hatched. They are pretty little painted lady butterflies, or vanessa cardui for you scientific types. We'll probably hold on to them for a week or so and then let them go.

Now the waiting starts

2011-05-31T08:25:00.000-07:00

Slow cooked ribs

2011-05-31T08:15:00.000-07:00

I guess that most people use their barbecue for Memorial Day cooking. We don't, because our barbecue doesn't work right now. So, the next best thing to using the barbecue for making ribs is using the crockpot. Ok, actually, I think the crockpot is the best way to make yummy, tender, meat falling off the bone ribs. And, it's even better with a homemade barbecue sauce!

The original recipe calls for beef short ribs. While those are good, they can be expensive. I have found that any type of rib works well with this recipe.

Slow Cooked Ribs

2/3 cup flour
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 - 4 1/2 lb. ribs
1/4 to 1/3 cup butter
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups beef broth
3/4 cup cider or red wine vinegar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tsp. chili powder

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add ribs in batches and shake to coat. In a large skillet, brown ribs in butter. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. In the same skillet, combine the remaining ingredients. Cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil; pour over ribs. Cover and cook on low 9-10 hours or until meat is tender.