Homeschooling: A Full Time Job 25 Dec 2015 7:05 PM (9 years ago)

When I take on a project, I try to do it well. Homeschooling is no exception. Now that doesn’t mean I have it all figured out by a long shot. But each year I do my best to find the resources that my children need to increase their knowledge in the necessary areas. Researching those resources takes a lot of time and energy. And as anyone who has taught others knows, different people learn in different ways. So observing and then taking those characteristics into consideration while choosing material also takes time and energy. Then you actually have to implement the material which also takes time and energy.

So for those of you who are homeschooling, remember that this is your job. And there is a reason why you feel that there is very little time for other activities.

For those of you who think that homeschoolers should be able to drop everything at a moment’s notice, consider what all might be involved before being insulted when your friend says she can’t do something. It may be that she realizes she needs to guard her homeschool time so that she can do a quality job.

There is so much more I could say on the subject but I will leave it at this for now even though I feel I am not doing the subject justice at all. But at least it is food for thought.

Household Helps: Grocery Money 17 Dec 2015 8:49 AM (9 years ago)

Setting aside a certain amount of money for groceries each month can be a helpful way of keeping a handle on spending. But what about when that isn’t enough and you find yourself short on grocery cash before the next period?

Split your total amount apart into the number of weeks in your period.

So if you pull grocery cash once a month…split your total into 4. Keep 1/4 out of the first week and set the remaining aside. Then each week, pull 1/4 more out.

Monthly: $800

Week 1; $200
Week 2: $200
Week 3: $200
Week 4: $200

No more stressing because you need vegetables and milk the last week before you pull money again. You have fresh money each week!

Mom Notes: Priorities 11 Dec 2015 1:15 PM (9 years ago)

Do you struggle with taking on more projects than you should?

Does it leave you stressed out with not enough time?

The following idea did not originate with me but it makes a lot of sense. Try rearranging the rocks in your jar and let me know how it goes.

BIG ROCKS GO IN FIRST - What are my big rocks?

-Things that must have my attention - Things others cannot do.

MEDIUM ROCKS ARE NEXT - What are my medium rocks?

- Things that may enrich my life or the lives of others but are not essential

SMALL ROCKS ARE LAST - What are my small rocks?

- Things that would be nice to do but don't add much long term value to my or my family's life

-------------

THE KEY

Say NO when the jar is too small for a medium or small rock!

Freezer Helps: Turkey for Casseroles 26 Nov 2015 7:57 PM (9 years ago)

Today's post is simple but quite handy. Our family isn't a real fan of turkey dinners. But it is nice to pick up meat on a good deal around holiday time. So I will usually bake one and then package it up for casseroles. It ends up being used for chicken pot pie or chicken divan although hot turkey sandwiches is a possibility too.

Freezer Helps: Brown Rice / Quinoa 2 Dec 2014 3:36 PM (10 years ago)

It is great having single portion sizes of brown rice/quinoa mix ready to pull out for a quick lunch or dinner side dish.

I like to bake my brown rice using Alton Brown's recipe as I prefer a coarser texture.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/…/a…/baked-brown-rice-recipe.html

After soaking, I cook my quinoa on the stovetop just like white rice. Simmer 20 minutes covered. Turn off burner and let sit 10 minutes covered.

Using 1-1/2 cups dry brown rice and 1 cup dry quinoa worked perfectly. Once cooked, mix together and fill containers in the portion sizes you use.

Freezer Helps: Spaghetti Sauce 1 Dec 2014 11:28 AM (10 years ago)

Kitchen Helps: Cream of Sorghum 2 May 2012 8:32 AM (13 years ago)

Discovery for the Day

Cream of sorghum tastes just like cream of wheat. 1 part coarse ground sorghum to apx 4 parts milk. Bring to boil and cook until desired consistency. (If you usually make your cream of wheat with water, you could probably do the same with the sorghum.)

I like butter and brown sugar in mine.

Experiments in the works:

Sourdough bread with soft white wheat
Gluten free chocolate chip cookies with amaranth, teff, sorghum, buckwheat, arrowroot, tapioca
Cream of Amaranth and Teff

Spell to Write and Read Expanded 5 Apr 2012 11:33 AM (13 years ago)

This week I made plans for how to reimplement Spell to Write and Read without the boring factor. (I know others do not have this issue but we have several times. I love SWR conceptually but implementation that sustains in the long run has been rocky.) We took a detour and did All About Spelling Level 3 for a bit and now it is time to go back to SWR. But I know for my sanity that it must be more than just dictating and marking word lists with a few enrichments thrown in. So I pulled out my Writing Road To Reading notes to review The Writing Lesson and The Reading Lesson to get some ideas. (I feel that SWR does a good job with The Spelling Lesson.) Then I pulled out my Classical Writing Homer notes because I love how they organize their weeks. Day 2 is working with words, Day 3 is working with sentences, and Day 4 is working with paragraphs. Dd is only in 2nd grade so I am not adding paragraphs in at this point, and the word and sentence work will get more detailed as she gets older. But taking all those collective thoughts I came up with a plan that I think will be workable. I want to add in WRTR Reading Lesson as well but have to put some more thought into that.

I realize with straight SWR that more words per week is what is recommended. But sustainability is what is most important with any program a person uses. So if adding in the extra language components keeps the program alive for us while still laying the strong foundation that SWR provides, the goal has been accomplished

Day 1
WISE Guide Preliminaries: Rules / Phonograms
Rule Page (if applicable)
Dictate word list (If rule page, dictate on Day 2)

Day 2 - Word Work
Read list
One-syllable words - read/unglue sounds/read;
Multi-syllable - read / think to spell in syllables / read
Alphabetize
Vocabulary - What do the words mean
Synonyms
Antonyms
Person, place, thing, idea, action, being, descriptive (Part of speech)
Nouns: Common / Proper; Singular / Plural
Verbs: Tense (past, present, future); Singular / Plural

Day 3 - Sentence Work

Read list
One-syllable words - read/unglue sounds/read;
Multi-syllable - read / think to spell in syllables / read
Write sentences for all words
Pick a couple sentences for further analysis
Parse (Nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)
Diagram (Subject / Verb for now)
Change sentence type (declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, imperative)
Change singular to plural and plural to singular
Change sentence tense
Replace nouns with pronouns
Expand - Add descriptive words
Condense - Take down to sentence shell
Replace as many words as possible with stronger words
Rearrange sentences

Day 4 - Test

-----------------------------------------------------------
Additional Information:

It has become obvious to me as I start to implement this plan that Day 2 is definitely going to take longer than a single day for my 8-year old. But that's okay. These are skills that she needs and I am excited that we have an easy way to reinforce them. So we will take each day as it comes and spend as many days as needed to keep the learning going.

Is Courtship Really More Spiritual? 22 Jan 2012 2:58 PM (13 years ago)

I read an interesting statement this week in an introduction of a speaker. It said that this speaker and his wife were joined together in marriage without dating. I thought that was quite odd as I would be surprised if it was an arranged marriage where the couple had no interaction until their wedding. But it also brought to mind how saddened I am by the idea that seems so prevalent in conservative Christian circles that “courtship” is somehow more spiritual than dating. If courtship works for a couple, then great. But how is it more spiritual than a couple whose lives are led by the Spirit of God but do not follow some man made model of what the road leading to marriage should look like? We really put God in a box when we say that things have to be done by this or that system to be legitimate. What happened to allowing couples to check their actions against the Word of God instead of a list of dos and don’ts? What happened to allowing God to control their lives instead of man trying to control them? I think as a church we have a wrong focus. Instead of being so concerned that our children only court their future spouses, why not concentrate on teaching them the Word of God so they can live a life of walking in the Spirit as it commands in Galatians 5:16? If they learn to do that, they will be in line with God’s plan no matter what road they take toward marriage.

Summer 2011 9 Aug 2011 3:15 PM (13 years ago)

Kitchen Helps: Hot Pockets 19 Jul 2011 12:08 PM (13 years ago)

This is a quick hot pocket-type snack that is easy to make.

Spread 1/4 Tbsp olive oil on a tortilla
Sprinkle 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese
Layer meat and veggies - I use one slice sandwich ham and one slice sandwich turkey slightly overlapping
Spread 1/4 cup mozarella cheese

Fold in sides; Roll up
Brush top with 1/4 Tbsp olive oil
Top with 1 Tbsp parmesan cheese

Bake 425 degrees F for 9-12 minutes until golden brown (I use our toaster oven)

Goes well with a side of fruit or raw veggies and cottage cheese for a light meal.

Kitchen Helps: Crockpot Granola 14 Jul 2011 9:44 AM (13 years ago)

I've perfected my granola recipe since I first posted about it.

I have a 6-quart crockpot and modified my recipe from Alton Brown's.

6 cups rolled oats
1-1/2 cups shredded coconut
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup (I use Mrs. Butterworth)
1/4 molasses
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp salt

Mix and cook in crockpot on low with lid cracked. I stir every hour for the first 3 hours and then at 3-1/2 hours, 3-1/4 hours and then remove from crockpot for a total of 4 hours. My crockpot is not as hot as some of the newer ones.

You can add any other goodies you want to it.

Are You Confused by Spell to Write and Read? 19 Feb 2011 1:36 PM (14 years ago)

Many times I hear that people are struggling using SWR or that it just didn’t work for their student. Unfortunately, many times this occurs when the teacher does not have a clear picture of what SWR is all about. I am hoping I can help.

SWR, an immersion program, has three main components: Phonograms, Spelling Rules, and Spelling Lists. Mastery of the phonograms and rules comes as you work through the steps and the WISE Guide preliminaries and spelling lists. It is also important to realize that SWR requires the teacher to understand what the program is trying to accomplish and to be able to teach her child. It is not a program that you can pick up without study, check off boxes, and truly cover the essence of the program.

Preparation for reading can start long before your child is read to read. From infancy you can expose your child to the phonogram sounds whether through an audio recording or your speech. You can also help train his ear that words are made up of sounds by orally ungluing and gluing words. Motor skills can be trained by first working with large movements and then with the small muscles. It doesn’t have to include pencil and paper.

When your student becomes aware that language is an object that can be analyzed and manipulated in different ways, you know the foundation is being laid. Your child will start to recognize that words can be broken into syllables. He will then be able to hear separate sounds of a language, not just the words or the syllables. The goal is that he is able to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words.

If your student has reached these milestones, you are ready to continue through the SWR steps. These skills are also important to cover with an older student as they might be the very steps that are holding him back. If your student is not ready to write, you can still progress with the material orally. Then you can go back over it using pencil and paper when more maturity is present.

For a more advanced student, you will want at this point to give him the Diagnostic Test found in Appendix B. Don't worry about where he will place. That will be done in Step 11. Just give the test.

Whether you have a non-beginner or a beginner (who you have determined is ready to begin), you now move into teaching how to read and write the first 26 phonograms (and the numbers). An older student is probably going to know how to write the alphabet so you just have to teach the sounds. There is a specific method for teaching the phonograms which is part of why SWR is so successful. You may find it easier working with a mentor to learn the multi-sensory method rather than trying to absorb it from the book.

Having learned the first 26 phonograms, your student is ready for the Learning Log (step 8) and the Vowel/Consonant Reference page (step 9). There are explicit instructions in the red book on how to teach the reference pages. The C/V chart actually accomplishes several things. It teaches 4 rules (#1-4) and introduces the student to the word dictation process and the marking system.

NOTE: There are two types of references pages taught in SWR – Teaching pages (completed all at once) and Collection pages (compiled as you go through the WISE Guide lists). The WISE Guide tells you when to introduce both types. You don't worry about adding to collection pages from the lists until that type of page has been introduced as instructed in the WISE Guide preliminaries. Once a page has been introduced, the WISE Guide will tell you to add certain words from a list to the collection page. (Example: The WISE Guide Preliminaries for Section E instruct us to Start the "SH/TI Page". Then in the body of Section F on the right-hand page (under shot) it says to add "shot" to the SH Page. You will see this all throughout the WISE Guide.)

The Consonant/Vowel Page is a teaching page. The next reference page, Multi-Letter Phonograms, is a collection page. A beginning student will fill it in as the multi-letter phonograms are taught throughout Sections A through I-1. (For a student starting farther into the WISE Guide, this page will be completed in Step 11 before you begin the WISE Guide.)

For a non-beginner, you will now use the test given in Step 4 to correctly place him in the WISE Guide. You want to find the first word missed and then place your student using the Evaluation Table. If you aren't sure which level is correct, ask someone.

After placement has been determined, you are ready to begin daily spelling in the WISE Guide (step 12) using the Learning Log. The red book is no longer your focus. All the lesson plans you need are right in the WISE Guide. You will use the red book for reference to complete the steps as they are assigned in the WISE Guide. One hint on the WISE Guide is that you want to read all the way across the two-page spread and not use it as two separate pages.

The Learning Log is an essential part of SWR. This is where your student is ungluing and gluing words and starting to absorb the spelling rules until both become a part of him. You will teach the rules through the reference pages, and then practice them through the word lists. The student isn't just learning an arbitrary rule but actually has words to apply it to and so it makes more sense. The more words he learns, the more the rules become second nature.

When looking at the top of the 2-page spread of the WISE Guide, the first part is the Preliminaries. These preliminaries can include phonograms to review, phonograms to teach, rules to review, reference pages to review, and reference pages to teach. You will review all the items listed and schedule the best time for covering them during the week. It is probably best to do any new teaching reference pages before dictating the list. (These are the ones you teach all at once.) Collection reference pages and other activities can be covered after dictation or as warm up later in the week. With practice you will recognize when activities will be the most beneficial during the lesson. The key is to not overload the student with too much preliminary work directly before dictating the word list. It is much more effective to dictate a word list when the student is fresh. One thing I do with younger students is to teach a new reference page one day and then dictate words the next.

Once you understand what and when preliminary information needs to be covered during the week, you can proceed to the word list. The dictation process used to teach the word lists is NOT dictation like we use with Charlotte Mason's methods. With SWR, you are teaching your student how to spell each word using a multi-sensory method. There is no guessing. I would highly recommend meeting with a veteran user to learn the word dictation process. It was very helpful for me to see the process modeled and to see how all the senses are used and the importance of each step. From what I have gathered so far, the word list dictation is one of the "DON'T CHANGE" things about SWR. So it is important to make sure you understand how it works.

On a following day(s) after the list dictation, you will want your student to complete one or two WISE Guide enrichments. These might include dictation exercises, prefix/suffix work, early grammar topics, etc. You pick which one(s) fit your student best.

After completing the preliminaries, dictating the word lists, and working on enrichments, you will want to test your child on the words. Your goal is not necessarily a perfect score, although that is great. Your goal is that your child is learning to manipulate words and to apply the spelling rules to them. The more word lists you go through, the more the phonograms and rules will become second-nature allowing your student to apply them to his reading and writing.

I highly recommend making your own teacher learning log to help you learn how SWR works. You do this by going through the WISE Guide preliminaries and lists and completing all the parts that your student will be doing. When I did mine, I covered the right-hand page until I had completed marking my words. Then I checked my syllable breaks and markings. This is a great way to obtain an overview of what SWR is trying to accomplish. You will have many lightbulb moments as you create the reference charts and mark the words in your learning log.

The best thing to do is to step away from the big picture and take it in bite-size pieces. I know how hard that is as I am a major big picture person, but it does work. Give yourself time to process it all. Feel free to ask for clarification on anything. It is a method worth learning.

Rosle Stainless Steel Onion and Vegetable Chopper 3 Feb 2011 9:24 AM (14 years ago)

I don’t know if anyone is like me and chopping vegetables and nuts is not his or her best skill. My old food chopper broke and I thought I would not miss it that much. Wow, was I wrong! So I have been on the hunt for one of high quality as I was tired of dealing with choppers that didn’t do a top notch job.

Then I spotted the Rosle Stainless Steel Onion and Vegetable Peeler from CSN. It looked like good quality from the picture and the reviews were decent. So I thought it was worth a try.

My order was placed on January 12, 2011, and I hoped this would be “the one”. Shipping occurred on January 17th, a little longer delay in order filling than I am used to but definitely not horrible. I received my order on January 21st. Now one neat thing about the CSN Stores is that many items ship for free. Unfortunately, this does not apply to Alaska, but those of you in the lower 48 can sure take advantage of it.

How did the packaging rate? The outer box was well taped and the item was surrounded by paper to provide plenty of protection in transit. There were no instructions included; however, the chopper is plenty easy to use.

My initial impression of the Rosle Chopper was that it is made of durable material and should live up to my expectations. The blade protector even has a little handle for easy removal and cleaning.

Upon testing, those expectations have definitely been met. The rotating blades made short work of everything I tested. Onions diced small in about 6 chops. Pickles, pecans, apples, and almonds all were a breeze to chop. The almonds didn’t chop evenly but that is pretty typical for them. Frozen fruit didn’t even pose a problem for the Rosle Chopper. It made it into nice even slivers. Now I thought dried apricots might cause issues, but it actually worked and I ended up with a nice pile of tiny, diced apricots. Clean up was a bit more of a pain after that since they were so sticky. But with everything else, clean up has been as simple as rinsing out the 3 pieces and letting them drain.

Operating the tools is also simple. The only thing to watch is that your chops are precise and you let the chopper return to the top before your next chop or the food will bind. The proper movement is quite natural making this a very minor issue.

So down to the big questions – Is the Rosle Stainless Steel Vegetable and Onion Chopper worth the price? I would have to say that if you cook or bake a lot and don’t like chopping by hand, it is definitely worth the price. That is saying a lot coming from me as I am pretty tight with my purchases. However, there are just times when I would rather have a high-quality, more expensive product than one that drives me to frustration every time I use it.

I am very pleased to finally have a good quality chopper in my cupboard. It makes it so much easier to make recipes such as granola, peanut butter/apple tortillas, and tuna salad.

Disclosure:A credit was received toward this product by CSN Stores. No further compensation was received. Reviews and opinions expressed in this blog are my own.

11th Grade Core Plans – 2011/2012 2 Feb 2011 5:41 PM (14 years ago)

Jacobs Geometry with Ask Dr Callahan lectures
Write@Home Essay 1 / 2
EpiKardia Research Papers
EpiKardia British Literature
US History
Science Shepherd Biology
Psychology
Learn and Master Piano

9th Grade Core Plans – 2011 / 2012 2 Feb 2011 5:41 PM (14 years ago)

VideoText Algebra
Put That In Writing: Mastering the Essay
BJU Fundamentals of Literature
EpiKardia World History 1
DIVE Physical Science
Visual Basic Programming
Abeka Health

2nd Grade Core Plans – 2011/2012 2 Feb 2011 5:40 PM (14 years ago)

MEP Math 2
Christian Light Language Arts 2
All About Spelling Level 3
McCall-Crabbs
Christian Liberty Press Bible
History reading
Science reading

Birds 25 Jan 2011 2:50 PM (14 years ago)

Birds are like bugs only beautiful. They eat worms and fly like bugs. They sing songs of joy. They eat bread too. I like birds. They are friendly too. The End

Regina / 1st Grade

CSN Stores 11 Jan 2011 3:24 PM (14 years ago)

It's been a while since I've done a review so when asked by CSN if I was interested I thought I might take them up on it. I have heard their name a lot but have never really looked into their stores. One CSN store is TV Stands which offers items such as flat screen televisions, entertainment centers, and media storage units.

I look forward to looking through the other CSN stores and seeing what goodies I can find.

Math Mammoth Light Blue Grade 1 1 Dec 2010 1:04 PM (14 years ago)

This year I decided to use Math Mammoth Light Blue Grade 1 with my 1st grader. I have used other Math Mammoth products in the past and really liked them. It is turning out to be a very good fit. I wanted to ensure that my daughter was being taught to understand math in addition to being able to do the drills. But I also wanted a traditional scope and sequence. Math Mammoth does a great job of bridging the gap between traditional math programs and those that teach conceptual math (like Singapore or RightStart).

Here are a few of the reasons I am liking Math Mammoth this year.

It teaches the process involved in each concept working from concrete (pictorial/manipulatives) to abstract.
It focuses on addition and subtraction to 10 the first half of the year.
It uses fact families which is the method that makes the most sense to me. An example of a fact family: 3+5=8, 5+3=8, 8-3=5, 8-5=3.
It uses wording such as one ten, two tens, three tens, etc. and one-ten one, one-ten two, one-ten three, one-ten four when first teaching tens and the teen numbers. This is the same concept that RightStart Math uses and is a great bridge to ensure that students really understand what the numbers mean.
It teaches completing the ten within equations. Example: 8+5 = (8 + 2) +3.
It uses story problems.
It includes game suggestions to further cement the topics.

The second half of the year teaches addition and subtraction with tens, clocks with whole and half hours, shapes, measuring in inches and centimeters, graphs, and money. You can see the complete table of contents here.

Redecorating 6 Sep 2010 8:17 PM (14 years ago)

My hubby is amazing! And the finish detail is excellent!

Upstairs Bedroom #1 BEFORE

Upstairs Bedroom #1 AFTER

Downstairs Closet BEFORE

Downstairs Closet AFTER

Whom Should Our Children Marry? 10 Aug 2010 12:55 PM (14 years ago)

Our pastor has been preaching a series on the Sermon on the Mount. The overriding message has been that living the Christian life is not about behavior modification or fitting a code but about having a change of heart and being led by the Holy Spirit. This obviously affects all areas of our life but sometimes we forget that this includes what our desires for our children should be.

It is easy to have expectations for them that they will only date a certain type of person, attend certain schools, or follow a certain path. But which is the bigger priority – what WE want or what GOD wants? Does He want them to marry or to stay single? Does He want them to attend college or go a different direction? If college, which college? These questions cannot be answered with the checklists to which we can become so attached.

I had a lady once tell me that she would only allow her children to date someone who belonged to their denomination. But doesn’t this limit God? What about desiring a spouse-to-be who exhibits humility and has a heart that desires to serve God where ever He leads? You might find that spouse who lines up perfectly with the church’s creed, but what about the heart? If it’s all about rules and not relationship, you are setting your child up for a miserable life. And who knows, maybe God has a spouse picked for your child from a different church? How much better to desire what God wants instead of what meets OUR criteria of the perfect mate.

It is easier, on the surface, to be tied to creeds, checklists, and our ideals. But in reality there is no freedom in that. Until we let go and let God change our life from the inside and lead us moment by moment, we are missing out on His plan for us (and our children). So what kind of life do we desire for our children? One led by our expectations or one led by God’s eternal plan?

Kinderbach Sale – ONE DAY! 25 Jun 2010 7:42 AM (14 years ago)

SUMMER SURPRISE EXTENSION!

Didn't you hear!? This is a ONE DAY ONLY sale!
The LAST OPPORTUNITY for the 50% off sale!
50% OFF all KinderBach at Home products!
There will not be a better sale this year.
You will never see prices this low again!

Okay, the sale starts TODAY!
Friday, June 25, 2010 at 12:01 am CT.

HURRY because the sale finishes TONIGHT!
Saturday, June 25, 2010 at midnight CT.

That's right ONLY TODAY!
Use the coupon code:
KBjune2010

(You can use the link on the top of my blog.)

Brown Rice Blues 24 Jun 2010 7:47 PM (14 years ago)

So you hear a lot about brown rice being so much healthier than white rice. And I don’t dispute that. However, if you can’t cook a healthier food so it is palatable, what good is it? That was my dilemma with brown rice. My family didn’t like how it turned out and neither did I.

So I decided to investigate a better way. The first solution I came across was to sauté the uncooked rice with an egg until dry before cooking. This turned out well enough to try again. But I also wanted to keep looking to see if there was an easier way than having to include the egg.

One method said that to improve the brown rice texture you should presoak the rice for 7 hours in an acid base. Another method I came across was “Perfect Brown Rice” posted on the Saveur website. Since I didn’t have time to soak my rice for that evening’s meal, I went ahead and just used Saveur’s recipe. Based on what I had read on this blog, I cut the water down from 12 cups to 6 or 8 cups. (I figured I would go in between the two sets of instructions.) It turned out with a decent texture.

Tonight, since I actually planned ahead, I soaked 1 cup brown rice in 2-1/4 cups water and 2 tablespoons lemon juice for 7 hours. I then drained and cooked it using the Saveur method. I will have to experiment with the boiling time after soaking because I think the rice was a little bit soggier than my first attempt in which the rice was not soaked. But it still turned out very useable. Next time, in addition to experimenting with the boiling time, I want to use chicken stock instead of water.

I am encouraged that with these new soaking and cooking methods I can come up with brown rice that my family pronounces edible.

PS. I read somewhere that you should never use brown rice in stir fry. Well, I have made at least 3 batches with brown rice and they have all tasted just fine.

It’s been a Fun Week! 19 Jun 2010 8:56 AM (14 years ago)

This week has been interesting. I have felt really good and have gotten a bunch of things accomplished.

Cut up a bunch of celery and carrot sticks to keep in the fridge. It is so handy having them ready.
Washed 3 heads of lettuce and put the leaves between paper towels in plastic bags. I am hoping this will help them stay fresh long enough for me to use them. Plus I was left with a bag ready for salad or green smoothies.
Made a batch of bread which finally turned out good. The last couple batches had been too dry. I have no idea what I did differently.
Cut up and packaged a ham ready for the freezer. That should give us about 7 meals. I like to use it in scrambled eggs, omelets, and macaroni and cheese.
Thursday brought about my yogurt experiment. I used a whey-based drink mix in place of the milk and used an acidophilus capsule for the starter. That didn’t work at all. So I added 2 tablespoons of yogurt to the already hot “milk”. That didn’t set up but it will work in place of buttermilk. For the final batch I boiled new “milk” and added more yogurt and extra whey-based powder. It is currently in the fridge setting up. It looks pretty liquidy.
Made refried beans to put in the freezer. I put it in 1-1/2 cup servings and use it in chili. I like them on tortillas with cheese but no one else does.
Broke down a bunch of cardboard boxes.
Read 3 books. This was a surprise as I can hardly get through a book these days.

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