Homework Free Week?

http://hs-survival.blogspot.com/2010/11/national-no-homework-week-revolution-to.html

Go read it.

As a Homeschooler, my children are children. They play and imagine through the day. They ask me to teach them if I'm off schedule. They love to read and are hungry to learn.

Give the public school kids that chance. See if it makes a difference. Try it for a week.

Stuffing Frittata

Using up more Thanksgiving leftovers:
http://mylastbite.wordpress.com/2008/11/28/leftovers-stuffing-frittata/

Pine Sap

We ran off to the mountains today. And brought home a wintery souvenir.

Date Night

Ben took me out for a massage tonight. A new massage parlor opened up with a super good intro price: $20 foot soak & full body massage, and second person for $10. (I don't normally discuss prices, but $30 for two people to get massages??)

And he topped it off with Phó for dinner. Yum!..

Smashed Potato Soup

I based dinner on Rachel Ray's Mashed Potato Soup (http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/mashed-potato-soup/) tonight. I'm sure it's not as creamy as hers (I have smashed garlic "Skinny Potatoes," along the lines of the Swanson site's recipe), but it's tasty. I didn't dump the bacon grease and skipped the butter. The cheese is the only milk in tonight's dinner, unless they used some butter on their rolls.
Here's a glance at the Little Guy's meal:

Turkey Day

What a lovely Thanksgiving!

Our families are out of town, and the closest set of grandparents were unable to have us over this year. We were hoping to host and have them over, but the drive will be too much this year (hoping she heals well). So, we invited friends who also have no local family.

Monday, I was up early and did most of the shopping.
Tuesday, Ben had the car.
Wednesday, I did a quick trip for the last few items and took the children to piano class. I figured that I could get to the mall, pick up some dishes, and be back in two hours. The drive was great, I parked really close, I found the dishes we liked (yes, I was SMSing pictures to Ben to be sure), then I got in line. I think I moved 10 feet in 30 minutes. And I waited till the last minute, and my phone died. Then, I set my boxes on the closest shelf and left. We were 10 minutes late from the traffic on the way back.. And then I was reminded we had scheduled 90 minutes, not two hours. So, I was 40 minutes late picking up the older two.

From lessons, we picked up Ben. Earlier, we had discussed going to pick up flatware he liked at a store nearer work, so we headed there. We didn't find enough of the one he liked best (brushed steel, for the matte finish), but they had a similar one in regular stainless (polished look) that he liked. From there, we went to the mall. Again.

I got in line and pointed out where I'd left the plates. Ben brought them over and then took the children to eat while I waited in line. By the time they finished and were back, I was third in line!

I had been hoping to do the prep work on Wednesday, but all we got done at home was to brine the bird and wash the dishes.

Thursday was actually calm and fun. Ben was up before I was. He was a huge help with prep work, moving tables, chairs, children. He practically took over the kitchen. ;)

We used the Alton Brown recipe (Food Network), starting the bird at 500F, and cooking at 350F, but we cooked it breast-down. After the bird was in, I started the rolls, prepped the stuffing, potatoes, sweet potatoes, all those lovelies. We made our candied yams with orange slices. So good. So, so good. All but the stuffing were dairy-free, one of our friends is allergic to milk. The potatoes were of the Gold variety, boiled in water, then mixed with roasted garlic, chicken stock, olive oil and some salt. I really liked them.

The children enjoyed a big meal and lots of gaming time. Mr and Mrs S- taught us a card game: Shanghai. They brought dessert and Mr C- brought the drinks.

All in all, a day of blessings to end another year to thank our Good Lord for so much that we don't deserve.

Picnic in the Rain

Sunday, we packed some raingear & a change of clothes each and drove over the hills (mountains, they call them around here) to the beach.



We had s lovely picnic at the beach. As we finished our meal, the clouds broke once more and the children played in the wet sand.

C25K

We've had foot injuries, aches, colds & flu. Finally, after a couple healthy weeks, Ben & I started the Couch to 5K this past Monday.
The last time we had tried running, we were going his pace. My shins and ankles, then my heel started hurting. I tried forefoot planting, but the shoes were stiff and I'd soon be landing on my heels.

This week, the pace was slower. We didn't run as long (love the timer on the c25k app), but Wednesday, the shins hurt. Sharp pains. Friday, they weren't as bad, but they still hurt.

When we bought the VFFs today (Vibram Five Fingers: toe shoes), I put them on in the car & just wore them. I'm almost always barefoot at home, so they felt almost natural.. The pinky toe takes a little getting used to.

After dinner, I requested a run. We headed out and I concentrated on stepping onto the ball of my foot. My calves began to ache! Running became the break, it's the natural way to run, but to walk without planting my heel first took effort. (I've realized that I started heel-planting since the Little Guy was born -he was such a big baby, it seemed more comfortable)

We did about half of Day 3 when Ben called it quits. He doesn't usually go sans shoes like me. He puts on the shoes in the AM, heads to work, returns home, then takes them off. He'd commented on how much he could feel through the sole, then his feet grew sore. All told it was probably just under the recommended five minutes of running to start off with, and there's so many nerve endings in the feet, they do a good job of getting a body off them before they're injured.

We got home, looking forwards to an early bedtime, and stretched -oh! my calves! Then Little Guy started throwing up. He hasn't thrown up in at least a half hour now, so I'm off to sleep.. I hope.

Toe Shoes?

A while ago, Ben went on at length about how cool his co-worker's shoes were. They had the individual toes separate and were made to imitate being barefoot while maintaining protection from sharp objects and adjusting to the hardness of the sidewalk. His coworker is a runner and these are supposed to help with using the natural and most efficient muscles. (and, as with most natural things, we city/suburban folks need to Learn How)

Ben took me to the store and we tried them on. I had thought the shoes would be uncomfortable, but was pleasantly surprised.. He tried them on and said a slightly disappointed, "Oh." Ben's 2nd & 3rd toes are webbed.



He asked if they could be adjusted to fit him right. Simple enough, cut a line from one toe to the next (left to right, not front to back) and sew the front the bottom front, across just above the join/toe knuckle and down the back. I used the 'invisible stitch' and think they came out nice. He says they feel great now.

Archery Party!!

We celebrated TJ's first teen birthday & MissA's #8 with an archery birthday party. There were 12 participants (Dads and children!) at the shoot, then they came back & had dinner & cake. The children ended the evening with e-games.. And after the party-goers went home, MissA started a Nerf war from her cardboard castle!

What Do You Speak?

I'm sitting near the door at the coffee shop, studying, when an older trio walks in. I made eye contact & they descend upon me. The man waves envelopes & asks me to decipher the unintelligible gibberish so he can know what to do. There had been an accident, these were insurance letters. I did my best to help him understand what they said & how to get the claim forms he needs, explaining that I'm no lawyer.

One of the ladies shopped the while. The other listened intently. When they understood, the gal asked me, "What do you speak?" At somewhat of a loss, I told her just English. "Where you from?" SoCal..

Now, I realize that because they're foreign they're probably asked most what language they're speaking.. They were asking my heritage. :)

Somewhat Misleading

I picked up the book The $7 A Meal Quick & Easy Cookbook this year. I wanted to see how accurate it is. Today, I'll be making Tilapia Fillets w/Spinach. I had to get all but 4 items from the store (nutmeg, butter, salt & pepper). The receipt totaled $30.43. Let's break it down:

10 oz spinach: $1.29
3 shallots (10 in the pack at 3.49): $1.05
1/3 cup broth (4c/$3.50): $0.29
1 lb tilapia (2 lb/$9.99): $5.00
1/2 c buttermilk (1 pint/$1.29): $0.32
2 eggs (18/$3.39): $0.37
Hot sauce (150 mL/$3.49): $0.12
2 Tbsp romano/parm cheese (5 oz/$3.99): $0.40

Total: $8.84 Plus the ingredients I have on hand, so figure $9. I'll make rice on the side (5 lb bag of brown rice runs about $4-5, so it's another $0.40)

And, the recipe only serves 4, which should be fine for the children & me, but, if Ben's here, we'd need more & TJ is starting to have quite an appetite. During his growth spurts, he can eat 2 or more servings.

So, the book prices are not far off, even though my local store is pricy. The real savings come when the ingredients don't have to be purchased for each meal. I'll have to play with more recipes in here. There are plenty that serve 6, as well.