Five Question Friday

1. What is your favorite "eat" on Thanksgiving?
pie is my favorite!  Apple, Pumpkin, Peach, Blueberry.. :)  My favorite ways to eat turkey are actually turkey salad and turkey soup.

2. What is the name your best girl friend and the best trait about her or how you met (or heck, both!!)?
My best girlfriend is Susan.  The best trait about her is her sense of humor, followed quickly by her acceptance of others as they are.  I met her during our freshman year of high school 19 years ago!

3. What would you say is one of your "weirdest" quirks?
I have a LOT of quirks. Sleeping best wrapped up in my own covers not touching anyone else is my current big one.

4. What is your favorite genre of music? (Hip hop? Classical? Rock? etc.)
Celtic, followed by Christian and 80s music.

5. Are you a Night Owl...or an Early Bird?
Night Owl.

Wordless Wednesday - Annelise

Wordless Wednesday

Maddie's chop-job

she had cut so much into the back that we had to take this much length off to even it up

Small Talk Six

6 stores at which you wish you could

register for Christmas presents for yourself

 

1.  IKEA

2. Brighton

3. New York and Company

4. Pottery Barn

5. Target

6. Itunes

Wordless Wednesday - Eilean Donan, Scotland

Taste Test Tuesday - Scalloped Potatoes and Franks

Ok, so this recipe seems to be one that you either love or hate.  I grew up with this as a regular meal every few weeks, and it is a comfort food of mine now that I am married and have my own family.  Some of you may cringe, but this was back in the day of pork chops with cream of mushroom soup over it, koolaid all the time to drink even if you woke up thirsty in the middle of the night, and ham potato and pea casserole.  (yeah that last one is just as disgusting as it sounds too. Wugh!)

So far, 3 out of 4 of my kids don't like Scalloped Potatoes and Franks. I think maybe because it is such a departure from the non-casserole food I serve, and maybe also because of the way it looks.  But seriously?  A hot dog casserole?  With cheese?   I can't figure out why they don't like it. What's not to love??

See what you think.  And husband, if you read this, refrain from commenting in the negative.  Other people are other people :) 

Scalloped Potatoes and Franks

Ingredients

2 cups raw sliced potatoes
1 onion, sliced
1 can tomato sauce
1 package hot dogs (nitrate free if you can)
4-6 oz cheddar cheese
2T butter
2T flour
parsley
salt
pepper

Directions
Put sliced potatoes and onion in water to cover.  Boil 7 minutes.  In casserole dish, slice hot dogs, cube cheese, add butter, salt and pepper, and 1/2 of the can of tomato sauce.  Drain onions and potatoes, and add them to the casserole.  Stir to mix.  Top with other half can of tomato sauce and parsley to taste.  Cover and microwave 10 minutes on high.

Friend Makin Monday

TeriLynne blogs at Pleasing To You .  She is a passionate follower of Christ, and has been married to her husband, Scott for 13 years. She and Scott have a daughter, Casiday, who is in fourth grade. TeriLynne writes and teaches women to live empowered, confident lives in Christ and HIS strength, and it is a dream come true for her.  She is working on her first book inbetween teaching Bible studies, volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center, helping with homework, and trying to conquer laundry mountain. And she's a pastor's wife too! She is learning to blend the sacred with the secular in daily life in her writing style ... from sharing how she studies and prays to helping others laugh as they learn to see the spiritual in moldy shower curtains. TeriLynne prays that others will find the great joy and peace that she has found in Jesus Christ.  Her goal is to encourage, challenge and inspire others to pursue lives that are pleasing to God.  I have recently started talking to her on a daily basis on Twitter, and am so glad to be getting to know her.  She is a strong and encouraging woman, full of wisdom and integrity.  I hope you will stop by her blog and/or follow her on twitter!


 

Manic Monday Meme

I happened upon a site from someone I follow on Twitter who has made a Manic Monday Meme.  I was searching for something entirely different, and ended up in a different place than her current postings, so I took a few of the questions I saw and decided to use them for my Manci Monday Meme this week!  I will also be doing a Friend Makin Monday, but I liked these too.


1.When and with whom was your first kiss?

May 1987, with Scott.  He was my first crush and was also my first kiss.

2. Do you usually wear perfume/cologne? If so, what's your current favorite?
I usually wear Mary Kay Tribute or Victoria's Secret Vanilla Lace.  More often, I am wearing Bath and Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena.
 

3. What's the last book you've read that you thought was really good? If you don't have one, what looks promising on your to-be-read list?
I really loved Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. I highly recommend that.  I am currently reading Mad Church Disease by Anne Jackson and it is really good too!

4. Are you a saver or spender?

I am a spender.  Oh my gosh am I a spender.

5. Do you prefer to walk around barefoot in your home? Socks? Shoes?
Barefoot in summer, socks in winter.

Thankful Thursday

A short entry because it is way late, but I wanted to write about some things I am thankful for today.  I am thankful for my family, our health, our food and shelter.  I am thankful for our community of friends and our church.  I am tahnkful for new friends on twitter who are helping me focus and develop ideas for my blog and for the business I want to start.  I am thankful for my blog readers, too.  I am so glad you make a stop to visit me, and I want to get to know you better!

Wordless Wednesday

Earth Footwear Exer-Walk Shoes & Change Your Body in 30 Days

Some of you might be aware that I applied to be on of the "Mamavation Moms" at BookieBoo.com last month.  I was not one of the two moms selected, but have started my own fitness program.  Still being involved with the ladies at BookieBoo, I was recently chosen to be a part of the Earth Footwear "Change Your Body in 30 Days" program!

My sweet friend and BookieBoo editor/cheerleader Jen over at Savor The Thyme attended the Mamavation twitter party the night the winners of the Mamavation contest  were announced, and she won a pair of Earth Footwear shoes.  She chose to give them to me as a gift, hoping that they would help in my weight loss efforts! Can you imagine?! I was floored!

When BookieBoo found out that I had been given the shoes as a gift, she asked if I would be interested in being part of the Change Your Body in 30 Days program.  I will be wearing these awesome and sleek looking Earth Footwear Exer-Fit walking shoes for the next 30 days, and will be tweeting periodically, and blogging at day 15 and day 30 about the results I am seeing.

The Earth Footwear site has this to say about their innovative Exer-Walk shoes: 

"Kalsø® Negative Heel Technology®

The most defining feature of Earth footwear is Kalsø® Negative Heel Technology® – a unique inclined sole that positions the toes 3.7º higher than the heels. The slight angle shifts weight subtly back over the heels, and can help strengthen and tone the body while also burning calories.

Anatomic Arch Support

To complement Kalsø® Negative Heel Technology®, all Earth footwear features reinforced support through the arch. The arch support maximizes the effectiveness of the heel design in promoting a natural walking motion.

BioFoam™ Cushioning

Inside all Earth footwear, a form-fitting footbed provides exceptional comfort with BioFoam™ cushioning. The proprietary material molds to the shape of the foot, displacing and absorbing shock with each step, and is environmentally-considerate, using 70% recycled content."

And finally.. the technology and the research behind the Negative Heel Technology®.

Thank you again to

and

and Earth Footwear  for providing me with both the tools and the encouragement to reach my goals! 
Keep watching my blog for more information and my experiences with the Exer-Walk shoes!  They have certainly tweaked my workout in a good way already!

The Modern Baby - a Poem by William Croswell Doane

The Modern Baby

"The hand that rocks the cradle" — but there is no such hand;
It is bad to rock the baby, they would have us understand;
So the cradle's but a relic of the former foolish days
When mothers reared their children in unscientific ways —
When they jounced them and they bounced them, these poor dwarfs of long ago—
The Washingtons and Jeffersons and Adamses, you know.

They warn us that the baby will possess a muddled brain
If we dandle him or rock him-we must carefully refrain;
He must lie in one position, never swayed and never swung,
Or his chance to grow to greatness will be blasted while he's young.
Ah! To think how they were ruined by their mothers long ago —
The Franklins and the Putnams and the Hamiltons, you know.

Then we must feed the baby by the schedule that is made,
And the food that he is given must be measured out or weighed.
He may bellow to inform us that he isn't satisfied,
But he couldn't grow to greatness if his wants were all supplied.
Think how foolish nursing stunted those poor weaklings, long ago —
The Shakespeares and the Luthers and the Buonapartes, you know.

We are given a great mission, we are here today on earth
To bring forth a race of giants, and to guard them from their birth,
To insist upon their freedom from the rocking that was bad
For our parents and their parents, scrambling all the brains they had.
Ahl If they'd been fed by schedule would they have been stunted so?
The Websters and the Lincolns and the Roosevelts, you know.

William Croswell Doane

Homeschool Update

It has been a good long while since I wrote anything about our homeschool.  I hve also been remiss in writing in my homeschool blog!  Ella is on a year round schedule, being in school for 9 weeks, and then having 3 weeks off.  So the first 3 weeks in October were her weeks off.  I did not do much in the way of structured lessons during those three weeks off, but we did do things here and there a few days a week.

We decided to withdraw Annelise from her preschool, which was a big decision, as spots are limited and hard to re-enter if you change your mind.  The first reason is that she tends to sleep late.  I mean LATE.  Generally if she goes to bed between 8 and 9, she still wont get up until 9 or 10.  I think we'd have to get her to bed by 7 if we wanted her up at 8 each day to get dressed and eat breakfast before she left.  The second reason is that she is enjoying being homeschooled. She is doing well with the first grade work I am having her do with Maddie (who is the first grader), and with the work we are doing separately from Maddie.  She wants to start doing school and doesn't want to stop until she is bored or tired.. so it might be several hours!  I just try to provide as much enrichment as I can on top of the curriculum, in case she wants to go beyond that, and most days she does.  She will want to do 6 or 8 pages of math, pattern matching, or alphabet printing. 

Maddie is doing wonderfully in both math and reading, and she is also taking a science class with the neighbor up the street.  She is taking a sewing class once a week and an art class as well! 

One of my favorite homeschool websites for young children is http://starfall.com and Annelise has been spending a lot of time there lately.  Lots of educational games!

I will try to get better about updating the homeschool website too.  It's http://mimzywood.blogspot.com