tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9829241258916304572024-03-19T05:39:50.882-05:00verybusymomwith4Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.comBlogger335125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-42074631585923791302011-04-01T06:21:00.000-05:002011-04-01T06:21:00.169-05:00Getting off this Crazy Fun Ride for a While<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My life has been insane. Between dealing with insurance, general contractors, home schooling, special tutoring for Dino, the constant doom and gloom of the news, and Easter--I am about to collapse. I have been reading the book “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jesus-Habits-Exercising-Spiritual-Disciplines/dp/0805431276">The Jesus Habits</a>" and the book discusses the need for quiet time. And I need the quiet time. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So for the next four days, I am going to step away from Twitter, Facebook, Blogger and the entire internet--along with all TV (really!) and focus on what really matters this time of year.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I will be back next week with a great review and give away from “<a href="http://www.singalingo.com/">Sing A Lingo</a>”</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">God bless you and Happy Easter!</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">PS--No, I am not on the computer on this posting day--I wrote this post yesterday ;)</span></span></span></p>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-82522262673840653652010-04-20T11:16:00.000-05:002010-04-20T11:17:25.366-05:00I wave at my life as it passes me by everyday.<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My heart is not in this. It’s really that simple. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I began this blog as a way to express myself but it slowly turned into more--ways to get new readers, reviewing products, keeping the blog going because I had ads.....it turned into something I wasn’t. And it wasn’t very fun.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My life has been crazy these days. Between shopping for literally everything that was in home before the fire to redesigning our home from the studs to homeschooling to the numerous activities to marriage to well sleeping; blogging has not been in the schedule.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I have gone days without even opening my laptop--I twitter or facebook on the iPhone because it’s quick easy and not much to it. If only all comments were limited to 140 characters. ;)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Blog posts are different. I don’t want to offend. I need to be careful about what I say about my older kids because they have friends on the internet that read my blog (!). And it all takes time.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I know there are many of you who do have the time, the energy and wit to spit out those blog posts. That’s just not me. I can’t do it. At least right now.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I am not sure. I do want to help my husband with his real estate website. He is so busy running his business, he has little time to really care for it. And because he is also an appraiser, he has such a vast amount of knowledge in real estate--I could take his thoughts and share them with the world (and hopefully get a few clients out of it--hey don’t fault me, his commissions are literally our bread and butter!). The added bonus here would be more time with my husband--I love that guy!</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">My kids have been pushing me to do You Tube cooking videos. It might be fun in the newly designed kitchen. I don’t know. I’d like it because I could do the videos with the kids but I am not sure.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And then there’s that political side of me. To be honest, I am getting sick of the main media outlets painting me as some whacko terrorist because I disagree with our current president and congress. But that’s another story.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Or maybe I will just breathe.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So farewell for now. I wish everyone the best of the best and I love and appreciate you all! </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">((HUGS))</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">(Don’t worry--I am not disappearing, I will be stopping by the blogs--even if only from my iPhone!)</span></span></i></span></p>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-54225150595092362052010-04-11T13:47:00.001-05:002010-04-11T13:48:46.571-05:00CD WinnerOK--we have a winner!!!!<div><br /></div><div>It is comment #4 from 'Susan'.</div><div><br /></div><div>'Susan' please contact me at verybusymomwith4@gmail.com so I can get your address. I cannot find a link to your name.</div><div><br /></div><div>Thanks to all for playing!</div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-30253079891007136002010-04-06T09:32:00.001-05:002010-04-07T14:48:02.113-05:00Spanish Learning CD Giveaway!<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I have always been a big fan of using different types of media to help enhance learning--half the apps on my iPhone are designed to help pre-school and grade school children--really drooling for that iPad but that's beside the point ;)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Anyway you can imagine I jumped at the opportunity presented by <a href="http://business2blogger.com/">Business 2 Blogger</a> to review a Spanish learning CD by <a href="http://www.singalingo.com/">Sing-A-Lingo</a>. Learning Spanish via music was too good to pass up!</span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> <a href="http://www.singalingo.com/">Sing-A-Lingo</a> is a cute cd set to popular nursery rhymes tunes in Spanish. The songs are actually filled with common phrases such as ‘Are You Hungry?’ (Tienes Hambre) or ‘Wash Your Hands’ (Lava las Manos). I love this part because it's things you actually say on a daily basis!</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Because my kids homeschool and already listen to some grammar CDs, it was pretty easy to switch the CD at lunchtime and start listening. Now before I continue, I must point out my kids do not know Spanish even if we do live in Texas. They are currently learning Latin (et tu?) which I am sure does help but for the most part, they are experiencing Spanish cold here.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">When the CD first started, the kids giggled for the first few minutes. They thought it was cute and funny! It wasn’t long before one of my children asked what they were saying so I pulled out the CD case that included the words in Spanish and English. Quickly she and the others were identifying specific words and having fun, even if they were learning. We were using music to learn Spanish!</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For the next few weeks, I played the CD and they got pretty quick with many of the common phrases. I find this quite amazing because I basically did nothing but play the CD.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Now I will say, I am sure the CD alone will not fully teach a child Spanish. As most homeschooling parents know, you need multiple venues to really teach a language. The website offers a ‘<a href="http://www.singalingo.com/starter-kit/">Spanish All Day</a>’ product that features sticky note word cards, 2 CDs, lyric and vocab cards along with a good night singable book. These items will really enforce the language concepts, especially if your child is learning Spanish at school or it is part of your homeschool program. Also, this CD can really help young children get interested in Spanish--and getting kids interested in a subject is half the battle!</span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">I can really see this CD helpful if you are raising bilingual children--the music just becomes a part of day to day life and the lyrics in the songs are the same things we say daily but the thing I love best about the CD is how I can pop it in the car and we can just listen (and learn Spanish) while driving from place to place to place.......</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Today, I am giving away one of these great Sing-A-Lingo CDs! All you need to do is comment and you are entered in the drawing. Mention this giveaway on Twitter or Facebook and get an additional entry :)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, serif;">I will select a winner this Saturday, April 10. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Buenas Suerte!</span></span></span></p>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-46027756097635138372010-04-05T06:14:00.001-05:002010-04-05T06:14:00.768-05:00A Colorful Menu<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The other week I was tweeting with a friend about the Food Revolution show and how shocking it was that the kids had meals no colorful fruits or veggies. Neither of us can even handle one meal without some color other than brown--it’s just ugly to even look at much less eat!</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It reminded me of when Miley just started to really eat foods and how I would always make sure she had every color of the rainbow at least once in a three day period. It was my little way to make sure she had some good variety and lots of different anti-oxidants. Little did I know this is actually a method many nutritionists use to make sure their clients have a healthy diet.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">In honor of the rainbow (ROYGBIV) I have a menu that follows the well known scheme of the rainbow. I am focusing mainly on veggies here because we usually eat most of our fruit at breakfast.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Monday: RED and ORANGE <a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/pasta-peperonata">Pasta Pepperonata</a> (the red and orange peppers look beyond lovely here!)</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Tuesday: YELLOW and GREEN Chicken stir fry with yellow and green squash (along with a host of other veggies like carrots, asparagus and sweet peas) served on brown rice</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Wednesday: BLUE and INDIGO A very yummy green spinach salad with blueberries, blackberries and nuts and feta cheese. The nuts and cheese add the protein to make this a full meal!</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Thursday: VIOLET and RED (going full circle) <a href="http://leitesculinaria.com/6736/recipes-rigatoni-tomatoes-eggplant-mozzarella.html">Pasta with Eggplant and Tomato</a></b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Friday: ORANGE and YELLOW and GREEN and WHITE Chicken fajitas with carrots, yellow peppers, spinach and mushrooms</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Saturday: BLUE and INDIGO Bison burgers paired with a nice GREEN salad and coupled with blue (and black) potatoes </b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></b></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><b>Sunday: VIOLET Purple cabbage in <a href="http://www.marilu.com/2010/03/08/featured-recipe-from-marilus-table-confetti-rice-rye/">Confetti Rice and Rye</a> along with sauteed salmon</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">For more meal plans, check out <a href="http://blog.chivetalkin.com/">Jen at Chive Talkin</a>’ :)</span></span></span></p>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-70815317114761539792010-03-30T12:57:00.001-05:002010-03-30T13:02:23.439-05:00No I am not the fool<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So here’s the deal. I have been giving the whole ‘organic, lots of veggies and fruits’ diet a lot of thought. Then I turned on the TV and watched Jamie Oliver’s ‘<a href="http://www.jamieoliver.com/campaigns/jamies-food-revolution">Food Revolution</a>’ . You all know how I love Jamie Oliver (my brother-in-law just replaced my favorite cookbook of his that I lost in the fire and I have been over the moon but that’s another story) so I had to watch.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Jamie visited kids in West Virginia that didn’t know what a potato much less a beet was. The kids in school had pasty skin and flabby muscle tone. The parents were literally dying from heart disease (the number ONE killer of men and women) because of their food choices.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Jamie visited one family, got out the food she fed her children and in the sweetest way possible, informed her <b>she was killing her children</b>.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I looked at my children--cheeks so rosy it looks like they had make up on, bright eyes and hair, generally glowing. I feel so blessed to have ability and knowledge to give them a diet to help them thrive. Because of post about saving money, I was about to ignore that blessing.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So we are doing our Dave Ramsey budget. The grocery portion will stay generous and we will sacrifice on other things--my SUV and its 127,000 miles will need to last at least 15,0000 miles more, our home (when we get back to it!) will be our tiny little one story home for longer than expected. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And that’s OK.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As <a href="http://purple11d.blogspot.com/">Dani</a> mentioned, if you are healthy, you are rich. I always knew this. It just took some help from y’all and a TV to remind me!</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I want to thank all of you so much for the great tips on the<a href="http://verybusymomwith4.blogspot.com/2010/03/pennywise-and-pound-foolish-or-am-i.html"> grocery post</a>. I am going to make the time to hit the farmer’s markets, the local farm that has fresh eggs and compare <i>compare </i><b>compare</b> my prices with my newly created ‘price journal’. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now back to the kids and the parents who don’t the time or energy or money to get the ‘right’ food. I am going to be taking a few days off during Holy Week (details on a later post) and pray on a way to help. I just can’t sit back and watch these kids die an early death because of something so easy to prevent.</span></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br /></span></span></div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-91944984736584611932010-03-26T11:29:00.003-05:002010-03-26T11:38:38.364-05:00"Income Equality"--An Analogy for Kids<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Take your typical classroom. There are the kids who get straight A’s--some of these kids are just naturally smart and the tests and papers come easy to them; but more often than not, these kids work hard. They get to class on time, complete their homework and really strive to be the best they can be. They like the A.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Then there are your ‘C’ students. For some of these kids, they do try hard and school is a struggle. They just can’t seem to get it but they put fourth the effort and do the best they can which equates to average. There are also those 'C' students who could be 'A' students but would rather not put forth the effort</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Finally you have your ‘F’ students. Now some of the kids are in bad situations--possible victims of abuse, parents who don’t care, or truly mentally disadvantaged. But let’s be honest (and if you’ve been in school you know this is true) most of these kids don’t care, are lazy and just would rather do something else than their homework.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now let’s say a couple of the ‘A’ students feel badly about the ‘F’ students. They don’t think it’s fair they get an ‘F’ because they have bad homes or true mental disadvantages. The ‘A’ students are smart and focus on these children rather than the lazy ones even if there are some ‘A’ and “C’ students who have similar bad circumstances. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">These students start the cry of unfairness pointing to those ‘naturally’ smart kids--they usually always dress nice, mom is always at school helping and they tend to break the curve in class. They are careful not to mention those 'A' students who do have a tough life but work very, very hard for that 'A'.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">This gets the ‘F’ students, and even a few ‘C’ students, attention. Now the majority of the class sees an unfair situation.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The teacher decides to make things ‘fair’ She talks all the points in a test and divides them among the students until everyone has a low ‘C’--all the same grade (many of the ‘A’ students who protested the ‘unfair’ system petition to get extra points for bringing up the cause to bring their grades up slightly higher--not mentioned to the other students of course).</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now, no one waits to see how they did on the test. They already know what they got.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">The hard workers start to relax a bit---if the work they do is going to be taken away, why bother? Right?</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Slowly, the individual test scores drop until almost everyone is close to scoring the same every time--Ds and Fs. Even the naturally smarter students are doing worse--they feel unvalued and cheated.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Life is not fair, we know that. There are horrible circumstances out there. The glimmering hope out of the hard life is hard work--like it or not. ‘Giving’ someone not doing well by taking away what other kids earn is not right. And helps no one. The kids who never tried will continue never try and the kids who did try will give up. A tragedy.</span></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So does this mean we should just ignore those kids who really got the bad brakes and are stuck with the 'F's? No, but hand-outs won't help. Personally giving them a hand and helping them experience success for themselves is what will help. Everyone deserves a shot at success but to punish those who do find success is just silly.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia, serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">What are your thoughts?</span></span></p>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-57936945393335091182010-03-22T06:14:00.000-05:002010-03-22T06:14:00.528-05:00You can't Spoil a Child who just Lost her Home<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">After our<a href="http://verybusymomwith4.blogspot.com/2009/12/promise-me-this-one-thing-please.html"> fire</a>, our children received a parade of visitors and gifts. Neighbors we never met dropped off bags of toys, fellow moms took my children shopping and bought them whatever they wanted, relatives sent packages daily filled with lots of fun little treats. Even I was more laid back--they got soda at restaurants along with dessert, every store we visited, we got them a toy. I remember taking them to get shoes a fews after the fire and Sarah pulled down some UGGS while Miley grabbed some Michael Kors dress shoes and the boys begged for these fancy light up shoes with a special sole. I bought them not even caring how much they were. They had been in either hand me down shoes or no shoes since the fire. (I did get the boys some very cheap shoes at Wal-mart but they got some pretty bad blisters--flat footed kids!)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And then there was bedtime. They did not want to be alone and strangely neither did Mike or I. We all piled into one of the hotel beds every night. A tight fit but we did manage to sleep.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">There was some attitude creeping in about a week after the fire. I got concerned that maybe we needed to bring back our ‘real’ lives and stop living in this fantasy kid world.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I remember asking a friend who went through her own fire a few years back if she was worried about spoiling her child. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">She laughed, “You can’t spoil a child who just lost his home!”</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I paused to think about what she was saying. I hadn’t really thought much about how they felt about losing their HOME. I was so concerned making sure we had food, clothing and something to put a smile on their faces, I didn’t remember that the place they have been their entire lives was burned and half destroyed. I knew because of insurance our house and all the items in it would be replaced, eventually but then I am an adult. My kids, even the oldest, really have no concept how home insurance works.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I talked to them and we talked about what happened. Spanky, the three year old, cried about how spiderman (his Christmas present) was burned. Dino tearfully said he missed his bed, and the girls--oh the girls--they were sad they didn’t have the stuffed animals they have had since little babies.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And then it really hit me how devastating this was for them. Their world was destroyed. Any sort of comfort Mike and I could provide was needed.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">So we continued the toys and the desserts for a while.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Three months later, there are not as many gifts nor as many desserts (yes even the kids got sick of sugar) and we are starting to reach a new normal. The kids are helping to pick things for the ‘new’ house and are eagerly excited to have a big party when we get home. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And they know we will be HOME soon.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-18296457345364830932010-03-20T12:06:00.000-05:002010-03-20T12:07:08.320-05:00In Honor of Spring--flashback to an earlier Spring Post<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: 11px; white-space: pre-wrap; ">Ahhhh..finally time to discard the lightweight coats in favor of short sleeves. Yes, it's that one week in Texas when we can frolic about outside under the big blue sky without fear of freezing rain or heat stroke. It is the perfect week. But which time honored spring tradition shall we do?<div> <div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">Take an invigorating bike ride?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg41/texasmomwith4/bikeriding.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg41/texasmomwith4/bikeriding.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);"> </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">Pick up a bat and enjoy America's great past time?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg41/texasmomwith4/blastballteam.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg41/texasmomwith4/blastballteam.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">Prepare our feet for open-toe shoes with a pedicure?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg41/texasmomwith4/ccped-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg41/texasmomwith4/ccped-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;">OR wallow in the mud like a spring piglet?</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;"> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg41/texasmomwith4/verymuddybabe.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px;" src="http://i245.photobucket.com/albums/gg41/texasmomwith4/verymuddybabe.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"> </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 255, 51);"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:x-large;"> </span></span> </div><div> </div></div></span>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-60275347251870023152010-03-17T09:03:00.000-05:002010-03-17T09:03:00.384-05:00Pennywise and Pound Foolish or am I the Fool?<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">As I may have mentioned Mike and I are following the Dave Ramsey plan to save and prosper. Anyway, I have been looking for more ways to save and stumbled on another frugal grocery shopper who followed Dave Ramsey via ‘the web’.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">It turned out, I spend three times as much on groceries per week as her. Now true I have a larger family (by 2) but still--three times as much?! I read her money saving tips and one thing stood out. Her fresh produce consisted of one item--3 yellow onions. My produce on the other consistently represents 60-70% of my entire bill. She went on to discuss buying discounted milk in bulk (she freezes it) and then any mark-down meat which seemed to almost always be ground beef--I am not sure what mark-down or discounted means but I am thinking it means about to go bad. She also mentioned she went to a health food store and bought a few items like organic whole flour (no meat, eggs, dairy or produce) but only bought items that were marked down--actually she said she only bought items that were marked down.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I told Mike about her grocery bill and rather than saying ‘we should try that’, he actually said ‘I bet she goes to bed every night feeling like crap."</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Now we are not the world’s greatest eaters but I try very hard to get the best organic produce, dairy and meat (sometimes the meat is only hormone free but it is at least hormone and preservative free---the animal and animal by-products are actually my biggest ‘must’ for being organic (and humanely treated--but that’s another issue)). I honestly feel this has helped our family stay healthy. We don’t have any sort of indigestion issues--no meds or over the counter medicine are in our cabinets (except baby Motrin for when our kids might get sick with very high fevers--and that Motrin always expires half-full). </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">But is this worth spending three times what this frugal shopper is?</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I would love to save more money but I certainly don’t want to risk my health doing it. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">But am I?</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Is it really better to keep your kitchen free of high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils, artifical food colorings and flavors, growth hormones and animal antibiotics with a smaller bank account or is it better to eat whatever the FDA says is acceptable and have extra money in the bank?</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I don’t know. I can tell you I feel well. Head aches, stomach aches, groggy feelings are pretty rare in our home---they mostly show up during a vacation or after a serious ‘out food binge’. But I can also tell you I’d like to save more money. I have talked with other shoppers who shop like me and my budget is much less. This gives me comfort....but spending three times more than this other person----geesh, I dunno know.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Blogger world--what’s your take? Is the healthy diet worth it? Will spending all this money be an asset for my body 20 years from now or will it make no difference?</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-91749822264572856412010-03-15T11:23:00.000-05:002010-03-15T11:23:58.375-05:00A Meal Plan for Spring and The Tourney :)<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Our weekend has been amazing--sunny skies, low seventies, birds chirping, flowers blooming. And what’s even more exciting? The spring produce is starting to find its way to to the farmer’s markets and produce section. Asparagus, strawberries, rhubarb, spring peas--all fresh and yummy!</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Yes, it’s true you can get these produce any time of the year but they have been either stored for months or shipped from the other end of the world--both of these affect the nutritional value and taste.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">In Texas, we get the seasonal fruit and veggies a bit earlier than most because of our weather but cheer up my north of the Mason-Dixon line friends, spring is right around the corner :)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">(Remember if there is not a link, email me for the recipe!)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Monday</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Salmon Teriyaki with Asparagus </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Tuesday</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Rigatoni-with-Italian-Sausage-and-Fennel/Detail.aspx">Baked Rigatoni with Italian Sausage and fennel</a> (make your own tomato sauce with crushed tomatoes, garlic, wine and basil)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Wednesday</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Radicchio, Endive and Asparagus Salad with Grilled Chicken (if I can find a little grill, if not, broiling it) (and of course it’s green--Saint Patty’s Day people!)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Thursday</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Left over rigatoni with a fun salad including fresh berries and nuts (first night of the tourney--no way am I cooking!)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Friday</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Take-out (yep, more basketball)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Saturday</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/rosemary-and-garlic-roast-leg-of-lamb-recipe/index.html">Roast Leg of Lamb</a> (yep--meats have seasons too) with some roasted spring veggies (it cooks mostly on its own so I can watch basketball)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><b>Sunday</b></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">Tortilla crusted goat cheese and asparagus quiche (hoping it works with corn tortillas to keep it gluten free) ( a quick dish so I can watch them games)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">For more recipes, check out <a href="http://blog.chivetalkin.com/">Jen at Chive Talkin’</a>.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;">And GO BUCKEYES!!!!!!!</span></span></span></p><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Helvetica, serif;font-size:100%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:12px;"><br /></span></span></div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-52586127589666780602010-03-13T16:07:00.002-06:002010-03-13T16:16:52.175-06:00Handwriting Tips for Little Hands<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Handwriting Matters.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">One of the most overlooked things in school is penmanship. I find this heartbreaking.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Penmanship does so much more than create neat handwriting. It helps with discipline and focus--both traits needed to get the perfect loops, the perfect lines and the correct spacing.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I admit I am that mom who will crumble a paper my girls have spent time on simply because the handwriting is sloppy. How can you be proud of your work if you can barely read it? Yes, it is a little harsh but trust me, it takes less than a couple times for them to get the handwriting legible! </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dino, on the other hand, has issues with his fine motor skills. The <a href="http://www.drawyourworld.com/grip.html">pencil grip</a> is extremely difficult for him. To be honest, the tripod grip is next to impossible so we have adapted using just two fingers on top. The one thing I won’t let him do is the fist grip--using three (or more) fingers to hold the pencil. You press down too hard with this grip and you can’t get a solid fluid control. If you see your kids holding the pencils this way, please keep reading. (If you are completely in the dark with all of this--check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lM_dia8QGr0 ).</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I have a number of tools to help Dino hold his pencil right--a grip, a <a href="http://www.drawyourworld.com/Catalog/HTML/twistnwrite.html">special pencil</a> and ‘<a href="http://shopping.hwtears.com/product/flip-crayons/prek">flip-crayons</a>’. I love all of these because they force Dino to hold his pencil correctly.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Another thing to help is something as simple as Play-Doh. Making shapes, rolling and other Play-Doh activities actually build muscles in little fingers. A very favorite activity here is rolling letter shapes and placing them on cookie sheets---phonics lesson and fine motor exercise at the same time!</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">“<a href="http://www.hwtears.com/">Handwriting Without Tears</a>” is an excellent program to help kids with handwriting. I love the <a href="http://shopping.hwtears.com/product/Stamp_and_See_Screen/prek">stamp and see board</a>. They use one of four shapes to ‘build’ letters. It teaches how the letters are made and of course more fine motor exercise!</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Dino is not a fan of handwriting but it’s one of those “has to be done” things. With the tools above, hopefully Dino will get the hang of it!</span></span></span></p>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-57965541035638797082010-03-07T07:35:00.001-06:002010-03-07T07:35:57.695-06:00You Can't Always Get What You Want<p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">About six years ago, Miley started a new activity, skating. I put her in skating because she had good balance and was upset she couldn’t wear glitter during her ballet recitals (yes, glitter).</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I was surprised that was actually really good, except that she wasn’t quick enough for her cross overs. The coach explained she needed figure skating skates, not the hockey skates that came with the lesson. So I shelled out a bit of cash for skates, and of course the money required to get the blades sharpened on the usual basis.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Miley continued to skip levels, but was getting frustrated because she wanted to do more, and she wanted to be in a competition.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I asked the coach how we do this, thinking maybe they sign up and then do their own little dance.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Oh silly me.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I was told Miley needed a private coach. And she needed private lessons at least 3-4 times a week.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I decided to go with the private lessons, thinking it couldn’t be that bad.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Ha--add the $35 per half hour lesson plus the $10 ice time plus the program fee plus the costume plus the figure skating membership plus the skates plus the sharpening and multiply the first two numbers by about 12-15 per month......and you have a car payment.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Because I was pregnant with my third at the time, I decided to give it a go for one summer. Miley loved it. She had so much fun---jumped around excitedly for each lesson. And then had her first show.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">She did some Chinese spirals, little jumps and twists. Then she fell and did the most amazing thing. My just turned six year old just got up and continued like nothing happened. Smiling and happy the entire time.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I was so proud.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Then came school time, schedules, a third sibling and of course the tuition that comes with school.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And we had to stop figure skating. She has never stopped asking to go back in the past years. It’s not every day but at least once a week, she asks if there is any way she can go back. It’s heartbreaking---we have neither the time or the income to support this completely.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Fast forward to now. I signed up Miley for track for her physical activity. She hates it. It’s almost every day and she complains each and every time, even if I let her wear glitter (yes, that still matters to my Miley).</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I know she can do track. I know she can handle her tough schedule. But she needs better focus.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">We discussed focus with her and she asked daddy if she focused really hard and fought for a minimum 92 average at school (this is not a small feat--she has a classical Christian education) along with not complaining but really trying at track, could she please please go back to figure skating during the summer?</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">Daddy added a few more requirements along with trying gymnastics for a season. Then added he would send her back to skating if he saw true dedication in everything.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">I gulped.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">She has held up her grade average. She is trying in track.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And summer is closer.</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And I am praying. Praying if skating is what God wants Miley to do (she insists it is), that the Lord will find the time and money for us to get it done. </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;">And if He doesn’t bring that, if He could please put the idea in Miley’s head that track is the coolest thing ever? Please?!</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-69003132884559428222010-03-01T16:18:00.002-06:002010-03-01T16:25:40.743-06:00Monday Meal Plan---Cookbooks are not written in stone<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); line-height: 16px; "><b><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I really love cookbooks, really! I love learning new recipes and then throwing on my own twist because that is where you can really do something different. Unless you are baking deserts (specifically pastries), you can really shake things up! (Deserts usually need to be followed to the letter or you end up with a flat, chewy cake or a blob that is supposed to be pie crust.)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">This week I am going to try some new stuff with of course my own twist. The link provides the actual recipe; the information that follows is my own personal additions. If there is no link and you are dying to find the recipe, make a note in the comment box :)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Monday</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/1912">Ham and Asparagus Frittata</a></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">--After looking this over I am leaning toward just using 6 whole eggs with two additional egg whites. I am also skipping the onion because I am not an egg and onion fan</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Tuesday</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Taco Salad</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">--My own take---crushed tortillas chips topped with some baby spinach, and then bison meat sauteed in taco mix (yes a packet--just make sure it’s no MSG or ad stuff) and then some Mammoth cheddar </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Wednesday</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Pasta Bolognese</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">--I am skipping the bacon (gasp) and upping the carrots. After the veggies soften, I’ll add a few glugs of wine. (no link as it is not yet available---from Jamie Oliver's 'Food Revolution')</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Thursday</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://whatsfordinnermommy.blogspot.com/2008/04/cincinnati-style-chili.html">Cinci Chili</a></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">--This one is mine---I might replace the paprika with just chili powder as I don’t have that spice yet</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Friday</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Lasagna</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">--Using some left over bolognese here. Curious as to how it will work without mozzerella. Not messing with much else here. (no link as it is not yet available---from Jamie Oliver's 'Food Revolution')</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Saturday</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2286">Mexican Stew</a></span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">--Adding more chili powder and some diced jalepenos :)</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Sunday</span></span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">left-overs</span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">For more meal ideas, be sure to check out <a href="http://blog.chivetalkin.com/2010/02/28/mindful-menus--week-of-312010.aspx">Jen at Chive Talkin’</a></span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica; min-height: 14.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></p></b><span class="entry-content" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "></span></span>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-59595655543963643352010-02-25T13:31:00.001-06:002010-02-25T13:31:54.398-06:00What's In a Name?<p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">A</span>t my kids’ school, there are some specific rules, especially in the older grades. For one thing, all the students must shut their mouths and stand whenever an adult enters the room. I didn’t find this odd as it is a sign of respect I thought still took place but apparently it’s not the case. </span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">The other instance is addressing the teachers. Now I personally try very hard to make my kids include each comment, answer, request, etc. with a ‘m’am’ or ‘sir’. Again, something I found common and here in Texas, pretty common. The school is not different. Now there are times students feel very comfortable when the teacher says a joke or the classroom atmosphere gets relaxed. </span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">The other week, one of the boys in Miley’s class addressed the teacher as ‘dude’ as in ‘dude, I had the right the answer’. Immediately, the teacher asked ‘Did you just call me dude?’ and the boy slowly nodded his head. The teacher then said, ‘Sit down and see me after class’. The boy ended up getting written up-- a very big deal at our small school.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">My first thought was the teacher was a bit extreme. I see kids in public addressing older people in that manner often--it kind of creates a more familiar, relaxed relationship. </span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Does it really matter if you call an adult ‘sir’ or ‘dude’?</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">Well, that depends on the relationship you want. When a child addresses you with a formal title, it keeps in mind who is in charge but when you start to speak as ‘friends’, the person is charge is up for grabs. And the adult’s authority goes out the door.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">I am personally a big believer in not being my child’s friend--I am her biggest fan, her biggest helper, her biggest admirer---not a friend. She can walk out the door and get a friend. She can’t just get a new parent.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">As a parent (and also part-time home school teacher), I know it is critical to have her respect. I don’t have her respect, she won’t listen. She doesn’t listen and all is lost.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">It’s that simple.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">So no, a teacher should not be called ‘dude’ or ‘buddy’ or by her first name. Beside the full last name (with the Mr. or Mrs. of course), the only thing that really works is ‘sir’ or ‘ma’m’.</span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"></span><br /></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify;margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;">And that is my soap box for today.</span></span></span></p>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-21564245575831856632010-02-19T13:19:00.003-06:002010-02-19T13:37:18.569-06:00It's Not the Pan that Makes the Chef<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he rental pots and pans and knives we got from insurance are about the cheapest, low quality stuff you can imagine. I am sure most college kids have a saute pan than me.<div><br /></div><div>Cooking is the one thing I really love to do. The one thing that relaxes me and helps me to focus on the good things in life and forget the bad, at least for a little while. It has been a challenge. </div><div><br /></div><div>The cooktop and I got off to a bad start. I burnt bacon. I never burn bacon, that borders sacrilegious here. And then I burnt scrambled eggs--who the heck burns scrambled eggs. Apparently me. So I have been adjusting levels, moving around pans, compensating for the very thin tin that makes up the pan and it's gotten a little better.</div><div><br /></div><div>Last night I decided to go with a classic red beans and rice. I admit I struggled a bit with the cheap chef knife, not my 5 star pro Henkels that can slice paper. Using a cutting board the size of a small writing tablet, I managed to dice the celery, green pepper and garlic pretty well.</div><div><br /></div><div>The bacon had a bit of issues in the pan but all in all, it worked. (I am not getting into the rice--I'll just say I miss my rice cooker.) The family was happy and felt a bit better about my favorite hobby even if I was a stranger in a strange land ;)</div><div><br /></div><div>And today my husband brought home the new Jamie Oliver '<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Jamies-Food-Revolution-Rediscover-Affordable/dp/1401323596">Food Revolution</a>' cookbook. I got this book for Christmas and I had barely a chance to glance at it before it went up in smoke. Glancing through the pages, I am actually starting to feel a bit of me coming back. I found quite a few things I could make without all my fancy tools.</div><div><br /></div><div>I know it might sound silly to so many of you but this small victory is just one step making me feel normal again. And it feels good!</div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-24587528984241945852010-02-15T15:48:00.003-06:002010-02-15T16:07:13.828-06:00Falling<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he hardest thing for me to watch during the Olympics is someone falling, no matter what the sport. I can almost see dreams crashing to the ground as they hit the ground in the middle of a jump, down a slope or on the ice. It kills me. I physically put my arms out wanting to hug whoever it is because I can just feel that pain. <div><br /></div><div>The thing is, the athletes don't let a fall destroy their career even if it's at the Olympics, when all they have worked for most of their young life is on the line. They just brush themselves off and try even harder. And when you hear them talk about the fall later on, they consider it something that helped them in the long run. The fall made them a better athlete.</div><div><br /></div><div>Watching athletes fall is kind of like watching your kids fail. It really sucks to watch. I want to be like the 'Catcher in the Rye' and catch my kids before falling off the imaginary cliff whether that be grades or sports. But if I am always there to catch them, what happens the time I am not there. </div><div><br /></div><div>There are positive lessons in failure. Last semester, Miley bombed and I mean bombed a geography test labeling all the countries in Africa. She insisted she did not need to know placement. She knew the spelling so she figured it would be a piece of cake. Wrong. I hated driving her home the day she got that grade. She cried and cried and cried more. </div><div><br /></div><div>I tried not to cry with her.</div><div><br /></div><div>She decided on her on to study her next continent, South America, much more intently. She made fake maps, found online quizzes, used index cards. And got a perfect. Had she gotten a B on the Africa test, she would not have tried as hard the next time and would not have been rewarded with her amazing results.</div><div><br /></div><div>It was a lesson for both of us.</div><div><br /></div><div>So there is a positive side to failure and falling. It's just really, really hard to watch.</div><div><br /></div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-26638771941092088212010-02-11T13:41:00.002-06:002010-02-11T13:54:55.363-06:00My Little Tim Gunn<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">O</span>ne of my very good friends gave me some sweat pants after I lost my clothes in the fire. I have not worn sweat pants in forever. I do have the cute yoga pants, the stretchy legging workout pants but sweat pants, I have not worn those in forever. Not because I hate them but because in pilates or running, sweatpants just seem kind of cumbersome.<div><br /></div><div>So fast forward to this morning. The snow is pouring, I mean pouring outside. I know I will be going absolutely nowhere today. I pull out the grey sweat pants my friend gave me an put them on, along with a pink hoodie. Because if there was ever a day to dress down, this is it my friends.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was sitting on the couch enjoying some coffee and in bounds little Spanky. He smiles and gives me a morning kiss and hug. He sits by and then looks at my clothes.</div><div><br /></div><div>"You should get dressed mommy," he smiles.</div><div><br /></div><div>I laugh. "Sweetie, I am dressed, see?"</div><div><br /></div><div>He laughs, really hard. "Those aren't clothes mommy."</div><div><br /></div><div>I guess the fashion bug has hit him pretty early. </div><div><br /></div><div>(And speaking of clothing, has anyone see the <a href="http://great-gifts.pajamagram.com/search?catalog=pajamagram&w=hoodie+footie&x=0&y=0">hoodie-footie</a>? Goodness, if I got that as a Valentine's gift I'd have to question my husband's sexuality or at the very least be concerned about out marriage. )</div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-71002688586492799442010-02-10T11:55:00.002-06:002010-02-10T11:59:08.782-06:00WW--Our December 24th Texas 'Blizzard'<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbBlo_6XlhmZu8YNQkrP8ul-7Gu1CknLtp8Tpc1Er_ykcZXqCUaXcNzd7x8OSb12DIijdE3VySESdUp9lxOvdrRlnEcQtLvuo-ot_Cq9PPyE4kykOMH6FtZav5IXNL5zBaTVP7V_VBBHd/s1600-h/IMG_0439.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXbBlo_6XlhmZu8YNQkrP8ul-7Gu1CknLtp8Tpc1Er_ykcZXqCUaXcNzd7x8OSb12DIijdE3VySESdUp9lxOvdrRlnEcQtLvuo-ot_Cq9PPyE4kykOMH6FtZav5IXNL5zBaTVP7V_VBBHd/s400/IMG_0439.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5436675788646990546" /></a>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-55853376729873376262010-02-07T06:24:00.003-06:002010-02-07T06:40:42.163-06:00Just 5 minutes of the 4 hours spent in the car the other day"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">I</span> am going to see Tyrone, and Dino you can see Pablo."<div><br /></div><div>Spanky is jabbering away behind me in the car, deciding his plans for the rest of the day with his brother.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dino chimes in "Yes, and we will play vikings. Sarah, you can play with Tasha."</div><div><br /></div><div>Sarah (who may have been annoyed that she was yanked out of the girls' dressing room after ballet class because she was still chatting with her friends about only-she-knows-what for the past 18 minutes after class, or was even more annoyed that after a day of school work followed by dropping her sister off after an activity and then driving for 45 minutes to get to her only class only to find herself back in the car) shouted "The Backyardigans aren't real. They are ani-mat-ed (she accented every syllable). You can't <i><b>meet</b></i> them."</div><div><br /></div><div>"Oh yes I can," Spanky (who was amazingly chipper after spending over 90 minutes straight in the car driving back and forth and back again) disagreed.</div><div><br /></div><div>"No you can't," screamed Sarah (yes, screamed).</div><div><br /></div><div>"I know you can't," Dino, the boy sitting in the middle wanted to make peace. "But we like to play Backyardigans."</div><div><br /></div><div>Sarah wanted no peace. "Well you know Dino, Lightning McQueen is not real either. Did you know <b><i>that</i></b>?"</div><div><br /></div><div>"He is too, I saw him. He's a car and cars are real," my usually very calm Dino was getting his feathers ruffled at this point.</div><div><br /></div><div>"He can't talk. Does our car <i><b>talk</b></i>? Does it? <b><i>Do you hear it talking</i></b>?" Yes, she is still screaming.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Well our car isn't Lightning McQueen," Dino began.</div><div><br /></div><div>"Just stop OK," insisted Sarah. </div><div><br /></div><div>And Sarah looked out the window hoping for the tornado that would take her to OZ, which is real (in Sarah's world).</div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-24236372819417980562010-02-02T16:12:00.002-06:002010-02-02T16:31:08.934-06:00So there is a country song I like<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">I</span>'m shocked to even write that. I can't stand country. Really can't. I can listen to all the old time big band stuff with Dino, the rock with Spanky, the showtunes with Miley and the classical with Sarah. But I can't listen to that country stuff with. At least all of it but one song.<div><br /></div><div>The other night I turned on the Grammys to try and act under 35. Didn't work too well, I was lost and confused during most of it. Then The Zac Brown Band took the stage and they were <b>really</b> good--guitar playing that really blew me away. Kind of like a Lynard Skynard sort of Southern Rock.</div><div><br /></div><div>And it was a lot of fun.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next day I shocked my whole family and downloaded one of the songs, adding it to the 'morning glory' playlist and the 'hanging out' playlist and yes even the 'clean-up time' playlist. The kids even liked it. And they hate country just like me. Well we did. I just may download this entire cd and enjoy it with some Shiner in my Wranglers and Ropers (OK, more like Joe's Jeans and Sudini Italian boots but close enough, right?).</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/e4ujS1er1r0&hl=en_US&fs=1&"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/e4ujS1er1r0&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-86191420089773841392010-01-31T17:52:00.004-06:002010-01-31T18:28:08.405-06:00No, you can't stay in your house while they repair fire damage<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">I</span> was a deer in the headlights when we had our fire. I remember standing across the street watching the firemen parade through my home and suddenly remembered I did not have a purse, a debit card, a phone or even shoes (and we were standing in snow). I was wearing my Santa apron and had raw meat on my hands from the meatballs I was making. It would be a few hours til I realized I needed to wash my hands and a day until we remembered we needed to eat.<div><br /></div><div>I had a mild panic, wondering where we would go for the next few days while they cleaned everything up. I was lucky and a fireman brought out my working iPhone (Mike's melted but that is a different story). I texted my friend 'house burning down' and she texted 'ARE YOU SERIOUS?' followed by a phone call. I asked her if we could stay with her for a few days while they cleaned up the home.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then Red Cross came and asked if we had a place to stay until we found temporary housing. I said we would stay with friends for a few days and then maybe head up to see my family in Ohio for a little while since it was Christmas break. He gave me a weird look and a number to call if we wanted counseling for ourselves and the children along with a debit card to help with immediate expenses.</div><div><br /></div><div>I called the insurance company to let them know what happened. They asked how long we needed to be in a hotel. Not thinking I said, 'I guess til Monday' (it was Friday)' . They just gave us the name of a hotel and confirmation number followed by the comment that they would check back on Sunday to see how we were on finding temporary housing.</div><div><br /></div><div>I kind of ignored the temporary housing comment. We could just go to Ohio for a couple of weeks.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then the firemen left and a 'disaster repair' company came by to look at the house with us. There were still some walls and I was thinking how we could sleep with a large gap in the exterior wall in the kitchen. We'd have to get it fixed quickly. It was very cold outside.</div><div><br /></div><div>The man from the company told us they would have people to board up the house that day and to remove all valuables and firearms (because there are real jerks who watch the news and rob people who just had a house fire). </div><div><br /></div><div>He went on to discuss how they would take the stuff and clean anything they could and even store it til we moved back in.</div><div><br /></div><div>I was caught off guard.</div><div><br /></div><div>"You mean we can't move back in after you board it all?" I asked.</div><div><br /></div><div>He bit his lip and said, "Ma'm you won't be able to move back in here for at least four to six months. They need to take out everything to get rid of the smoke smell, demo the walls, remove the installation and ........."</div><div><br /></div><div>His voice trailed off and I suddenly realized we would not be home after a quick vacation to Ohio. The term 'temporary housing' now made sense. This would not be a quick job.</div><div><br /></div><div>He then mentioned to try an salvage a few clothes to put on a rush job. I don't even know what I grabbed. I put them in a basket and he said they would get the clothes to us in a few days and the rest of the stuff in 30-45 days. </div><div><br /></div><div>Neighbors brought clothes and shoes. I don't know what we would have done without them. Honestly don't. None of us shoes on when we ran out of the house. Neighbors took us in their home and gave up their plans to help us. And it was Christmas, nothing, not even Wal-Mart was open. </div><div><br /></div><div>That night when we checked into a hotel, I don't remember much but getting into their bathtub and trying to get out the smoke smell (it really is the most pungent smell you can imagine). I slept like the dead, we all did.</div><div><br /></div><div>The next morning was even more of a blur. A neighbor brought me to Wal-Mart the day after Christmas to get things we needed to live. I thank God she was there. I had no idea--we needed toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair brushes, underwear (!!!!), socks, shirts, shoes. I honestly did not even think about fashion or what was cute. I just needed stuff. A month later, I don't even remember what I bought. </div><div><br /></div><div>There was also a flurry of people who stopped by our hotel that day. Every single one of them was so incredible and kind. I was in such shock---I don't remember what we even talked about. </div><div><br /></div><div>Even on Monday when we met with the adjuster (Mike had already spoken with him a few times), I was still in a daze. The adjuster told us to stay in the hotel til we found a rental house (luckily Mike did that stuff for a living so it was easy) and not stress about finding one over the holidays. I had completely forgotten it was the holidays by this point. The whole situation was getting clearer as he explained anything with plastic would be trashed and they would try and salvage whatever we thought was important.</div><div><br /></div><div>Slowly I was grasping things. A company would take all that needed to to cleaned and then demo the damaged areas. And we would need to live in a different home, for a while.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-45791391478939890352010-01-29T10:28:00.002-06:002010-01-29T10:40:02.721-06:00I have the best blog post ideas.....when I am away from my computer. I'll be sitting in car line, waiting for the kids, driving around or just getting ready to fall asleep. And bam, I have an awesome idea! I even think about the title, that 'hook' phrase and then, then when I sit in front of the computer, I go blank.<div><br /></div><div>It drives me crazy. There is so much I want to say. Then I start censoring myself---can't write about that (too boring), don't mention that (too confrontational), and for sure don't go there (people will think you are nuts!).</div><div><br /></div><div>So I end up just leaving my blog posting page and saying some random stuff on Twitter and sometimes Facebook.</div><div><br /></div><div>And now I am wondering. Who is the blog for? Is it for readers--well let's be more honest--to get readers? Or is it for me? I started blogging to get things out of my head and to, in a sense, clear out my thoughts. But that's not what I do anymore. I began this blog trying very hard to open and honest.</div><div><br /></div><div>But I haven't been able to do that, especially recently.</div><div><br /></div><div>I could tell you how I feel like I am going to throw up if I see anything related to Christmas or how my sons have about 5 or 6 accidents a day right now. Adjustment has not been that 'fantastic'. </div><div><br /></div><div>So depressing. I don't feel going there.</div><div><br /></div><div>I could tell you about the remodeling we are doing and how I have learned the difference between French Country and Provential (I know I spelled it wrong!) French. And why the latter is just a really really bad choice if you have kids. </div><div><br /></div><div>But what if someone reads this and has that style with lots of kids. I hate ruffling feathers.</div><div><br /></div><div>I could tell you I truly fear the check and balance system in our government is in danger and that our leader is anything but.</div><div><br /></div><div>Whoa--talk about ruffling feathers! That's politics and a big can of worms I don't have the strength do deal with.</div><div><br /></div><div>So I'll just keep brain storming. Maybe going back to menus or wordless Wednesdays. Or better yet, devote the blog to LOST. LOST will be on soon. LOST will be on soon.</div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-5539836758466131682010-01-26T20:21:00.004-06:002010-01-26T20:33:54.132-06:00Do you love your stove?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">T</span>he 'plus side' of the fire is remodeling the entire home. Now if I had lots of time and discussions with Mike, this could be fun but....no. I pretty much need to decide things like flooring, counters, cabinets and appliances now.<div><br /></div><div><i>And I don't have a clue.</i></div><div><br /></div><div>I am lucky Mike is in real estate. He knows what looks good. He even hooked me up with an interior designer. But I am concerned about the cost. Because insurance will not just replace our laminate countertops with high quality granite ya know ;)</div><div><br /></div><div>Be forewarned, I am going to have lots of posts asking your thoughts on hardwoods, terracotta and even installation grades but I will spare you from that today.</div><div><br /></div><div>My biggest issue right now is the appliances. We need a refrigerator, a range, a microwave, and a dishwasher. We have a scratch and dent outlet out here that we want to check out but I want to make sure I buy appliances that work. My dishwasher was running just fine and it was 12 years old. My mom has had the same Kitchen Aid for the past 25 years. Three of my friends all bought the same pricey dishwasher about a year ago. All have seen a repairman twice, at least. I do not want to deal with repairs. </div><div><br /></div><div>I went out looking today and fell in love with a stove only to talk with a friend a few hours later to hear how her friend had issues with it. *sigh*</div><div><br /></div><div>So my question---do you love your stove, your dishwasher, your fridge? Did you buy something expensive that you feel is worth every penny or did you find the best value that turned out to be a gem?</div><div><br /></div><div>Share, share, share.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>And make it snappy, I need to get my appliance measurements to the cabinet guy.</i></div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-982924125891630457.post-34182399186433139772010-01-24T15:30:00.002-06:002010-01-24T15:48:26.311-06:00Clearly I am Completely Out of It<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">W</span>ith all this focus on getting our home together and moving around like nomads, I have missed apparently a lot. Here's the random thoughts going around my blonde brain these days.<div><br /></div><div>* Brett Farve plays with his pants on the ground. Not sure if this means he is consistently sacked or if he just likes to pull his pants down. </div><div><br /></div><div>* A Republican won the Kennedy seat in MA. According to Robert Gibbs, this is because the people of MA really support what President Obama wants to do. I can't even describe what this thought process might be.</div><div><br /></div><div>* Lots of people like 'Jersey Shore'. I can't get past the hair. Or that dialect. </div><div><br /></div><div>* LOST is going to be on soon. LOST is going to on soon. I repeat this phrase every time I turn on the TV looking for anything to watch (after I watch '24' at least).</div><div><br /></div><div>* Two weeks ago it was the coldest in decades here. Two days ago we were in the 70s. By the end of this week, we are supposed to be below freezing. Just how to you organize your closet space with that type of forecast?</div><div><br /></div><div>* Our rental is a quite large home. I have always wanted a large home. Now I want my small home. The extra space is highly overrated. And cold. Especially on the coldest day in decades.</div><div><br /></div><div>* I miss my Wii Fit Plus that is sitting in the salvage shop getting fixed. I sigh with each and every tweet, post and status update that mentions Wii.</div><div><br /></div><div>* I am actually wondering if anyone has even had just one of these thoughts.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Miss Lisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15430066224876012848noreply@blogger.com7