When are you going to fix the Search feature on Blogger? I knew it. People told me I could trust you again. Not happy.
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Because I tended to lose things, I wasn’t a bag person until Vera. I put off buying a pretty bag for so long, even though the designs were lovely, because I was afraid I’d just lose it. Once I left a shoulder bag at a wedding reception and we were already on the way home and had to turn back to retrieve it! Guess I wasn’t wise enough to figure out that a bag could actually be the solution instead of the problem. So when I got my Vera it had to be a Vera — the biggest one, not easily forgotten. Since then I’ve used it as diaper bag, as book bag, as hide-things-before-a-party bag, etc. I *love* its many many pockets. What would make it perfect would be LABELS on the pockets!!! So I don’t have to check each one to find out what’s in it. What would be even more perfect is a zippable-on-the-sides Vera. So that if I do apply labels they wouldn’t be hard to see in the dark interior. Or maybe I can just bring a flashlight since it would fit Dd-18 wishes there was a sturdy Vera Bradley backpack she can use for all her books. The backpacks are all pretty, but there doesn’t seem to be one that would fit the bill, unless I got her a pullman (!). Her books are HEAVY. Maybe she should write Elit Hoover.  Homemade Bacon The recipe: Go to Local Harvest. Find a farmer near you who offers pasture-raised pigs, such as this one. No, that’s not where I got my pork, but my farmer doesn’t have a website. Ask for a half or a quarter — this will cost a couple hundred $$ but in my neck of the woods that’s actually cheap (esp. considering the long-term benefits of feeding my family well). I love getting the cuts that other people won’t — they’re a bargain and they make for some good eating. Make sure you get some pork belly. Sliced. Thin or thick, your choice. Specify that you want it uncured. This is key, and sometimes you have to repeat yourself several times before they understand. It’s not that the farmer is dense, but that most customers DON’T ask for this kind of thing (they want their bacon ready to cook) so if you say uncured they may think you don’t know what you’re talking about and give you cured stuff — which, even if it comes from sustainably raised pigs, will likely still contain carcinogenic ingredients like nitrites, etc. which you don’t want in your body. I know because it happened to me once, getting the cured version inadvertently, I mean. So now I make sure the farmer understands exactly what I want. Take your pork belly, and marinate it in just enough vinegar to moisten it (it shouldn’t be dripping or soaking, plus garlic (minced or mashed to a paste), some salt to taste, and black pepper. If you want bacon a tad sweet, add maple syrup or brown sugar — just the teeniest bit or your bacon will burn — right before cooking. Or, I’d brush it on the last few minutes of cooking. Pineapple juice is good too Back to the marination. Do that overnight (or two nights). Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a 350 degree F oven, in one layer, for 15 minutes or so. Drain on paper towels and serve. Yum yum. Your kids will love you, if they don’t already. ChocBanWalCranOat Made these cookies today. Pronounced AMAZING by the kids. I saved some nut-less cookie dough for the allergy-sufferers, but otherwise, the walnuts HAVE to be in them. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk together Cream together To butter mixture, add Mix in flour mixture until well combined, then add Using a large ice cream scoop, drop mounds onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 11 minutes or until just golden. Let cool a bit on baking sheet, about 5 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool a bit more. We like our cookies warm so we eat them right away, but you can store these in airtight containers (to preserve chewiness, though they are also DELICIOUS when the outsides have crisped up. Variation: Sub 1/2 cup butterscotch chips for half of the chocolate chips. All kinds of awesome. ETA: I don’t mean the large ice cream scoop used for scooping ice cream into cones (though of course it could also be used for that). I mean a scoop that holds about 1 1/2 tablespoons, kinda like these. Higher Learning? by Anne Hendershott As the mom of a college student (and more coming in just a few years), I keep my eye open for articles such as this which I see as a “state of the nation” type of report. As the mom of a previously-homeschooled college student, you can bet I still keep an eye open for whatever material my child is exposed to at school. Just because our oldest is now 18, a young adult — and very mature for her age, I think — that doesn’t mean our job of parenting and guiding her is over. If anything, we are trying to be ever more vigilant. The dangers are many and oftentimes sneakier. This is, of course, part of the “real world” (whatever that means) that she has to be exposed to, just because we can’t shelter our children forever. For our children to be effective harbingers of peace, justice and love in the world, it is sometimes necessary that they see the unrest, the injustice, the hatred that is around us in their rawest forms. Much as we’d like to continue to shield her from all of that, we realize it is futile, and perhaps harmful in the long term. What worries me sometimes, and brings me to my knees, is the insidious nature of secular thought. I hate to sound paranoid but the fact is that you cannot let your guard down, even for one minute. This is not something to be complacent about. We have spent many years of our lives exposing our child to — hopefully — the true, the good, the beautiful… so that when faced with the lies and ugliness out there, she can distinguish the difference, and make choices in accordance with who she is: a loving child of God. The scary part is that these ugly lies are often cloaked in colorful, shimmering robes that attract and deceive. Sometimes they come full force, with malicious intent, but more often than not the root is something innocent (or ignorant), and can therefore be easily dismissed as nothing of consequence. And that is where we/she might make our/her biggest mistakes. As we navigate the waters of college life, one thing we hope to maintain is that parent-child dialogue that, due to ever-busier schedules, is often hard to find time for. Beyond the usual “How was your day?” there still needs to be time for mother-child and father-child and father-mother-child talks. And so, in a way, the homeschooling hasn’t really ended. None of us have graduated yet. In just a few short months, we have had our eyes opened to this process of enculturation that goes on in the college world and beyond. It is a frightening thing to behold. But it’s also a challenging thing, and therefore exciting. Our college student is bringing home experiences and thoughts and ideas that we as a family need to put under a microscope and examine, with great care. I am thankful that she allows us this scrutiny and joins in with much enthusiasm and openness. My concern right now with this particular child is achieving that balance… somewhere between letting go of this young adult who is stretching her wings and flapping them gently, more strongly by the day… and keeping just enough of a hold on her to keep her grounded, attached to the values and beliefs that she has leaned upon and cherished in her young life. I don’t want to hamper or hinder. I wonder… if the awareness and the vigilance are there, would those be enough? It’s so easy to say, she’ll be fine, she’s a prayerful person, she loves God…. but looking at these politicians and seeing the fruits, I worry. Did their parents see this coming? Or did they see it coming but did not recognize it? Did they say to themselves, he/she’ll be fine — he/she is in a Catholic college/university and that’s *good enough*. Apparently for these people in office, it wasn’t. The following is a paid review of Would You Like Some Cheesecake? Not that I’m still baking cheesecake these days. I’ve long stopped, especially after reading Dr. Weil’s guidelines about cream cheese. I make my own cream cheese these days, out of strained homemade yogurt — yum! It even makes good yogurt frosting for carrot cake. When I perfect it, I think I’ll try making cheesecake again, as it’s something we all love. But getting back to the task at hand… here’s what I think about the Moms Who Thinks’ cheesecake page: I love that there are so many cheesecake recipes on it. Several that caught my eye: Black Forest Cheesecake, Cappuccino Cheesecake, Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake (gotta find out if it *is* a good copycat recipe!), and the White Chocolate Cherry Pecan. I’d rather not try another Key Lime because last time I made that it was soooo sour…. though still delicious. It did take me about half an hour just to squeeze those key limes by hand (now that I have a juicer it shouldn’t be as difficult!). My friend and I ate a good part of a 10-inch one just because we were the only ones in the house, LOL, but I digress… Other things I like about this site: I love that there are recipes by the week, that there are crock pot recipes (need to add to my repertoire), healthy recipes, I especially appreciate the fact that prime rib is in their easy category — it IS easy, but many people think you’ve slaved over it when you prepare it for holidays. And yum, many chicken recipes too. Things I didn’t quite like so much about the site: I always feel like ads make sites impersonal, and makes me less likely to visit often. Not true, of course, of known commercial sites such as Epicurious or Food and Wine. But still. And I really would be more comfortable with the site if it had an “About Us” section, because the one question in my mind that I didn’t get answered perusing the site was “Who in the world is Mama Shirley?” After all, the site is titled “Moms Who Think”. Well, this mom’s thinking. There are times when it appears the only real issue for the Catholic church is abortion. No, it’s not. Only a person who doesn’t pay attention to what the Catholic church says or does can come to this conclusion. They forget the people who are being helped daily in pregnancy crisis centers, the people who are being healed worldwide in Catholic hospitals, the Catholic missionaries who take care of, feed and clothe the homeless and hungry. They forget that the Catholic Church is also made of people who fund these programs because they can’t physically be there to help out. They forget the millions of prayers that Catholics send up for the sick, the hungry, the dying, every single day. They forget that Catholics pray, even for those who are enemies of life, enemies of the Truth, and enemies of peace. And that the Catholic church continues to love and help those who are victims of the Culture of Death. They accuse the Catholic church of myopia, but it’s funny how they only mention the Catholic church when they talk about the issues that go against Catholic teaching. They only talk about the Catholic church when they find something to complain about. When was the last time they actually found something good that the Church is saying/doing? Apparently, they’re too busy to notice. … is open. It’s beautiful! Spacious and sunny, layout well thought out, filled with books and books and books (of course!). It makes me want to go back to my old project (that will forever be unfinished) of going through every single picture book there is, just to ferret out the gold nuggets. Sigh… it’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it. My observations:
When we first started homeschooling the boys, one of my biggest concerns was physical activity. They’re active enough kids that even without sports or other outside activities, they’d still be getting their daily circulation boost just by running up and down stairs, chasing each other, jumping on beds, etc., etc. Those first few years, dh put them in Tang Soo Do and that kept them occupied for a while. For several years they worked 3-4 times a week, memorizing forms, sparring, learning some Korean terminology, burning off steam, getting confident, etc. as they moved up the belt hierarchy. Even after we moved back to Cincinnati we still drove to Pennsylvania, back to their old school, until everyone could earn their black belts. So yeah, there’s 4 in the family. I got left behind as I stopped at yellow — karate’s just not my thing, and 7-yo was too little at the time to get started. And then we moved here. No Tang Soo places nearby in the same organization, so dh and I were looking for SOMETHING for the boys to get involved in that would be good for them, and perhaps would fill in some gaps that were missing in our homeschooling. Enter scouting. They started out in ‘06 as cub scouts, and my thinking at the time was that it was mostly fun stuff, some patriotic lessons, etc. but mostly just FUN. Which is probably how most cub scout programs are. They participated in Pinewood Derbies and popcorn sales. Those were the biggies if I remember correctly. Oh yeah, they also did some Thanksgiving baskets for the needy, which was really nice. Our oldest son soon moved up to Boy Scouts and that’s when I started to see and really appreciate what Boy Scouting is all about. DH was a Boy Scout when he was younger so he was already sold. I had to be convinced that this was going to be a positive influence on our boys long-term. I’m all about long-term. Honestly I was also concerned that the kind of negative influence (in terms of icky peer pressure) we had been trying to avoid through homeschooling would be a natural part of the — in my eyes — secular world of Scouting. Boy, was I wrong. Every single family in our Boy Scout troop is Christian. That shouldn’t surprise anyone who already knows that Scouting’s roots were Eagle projects and contributing their skills and talents to local parks, churches, etc. Of course, the fact that dh took over as Scoutmaster after his predecessor resigned helps a lot. I have great faith in his capabilities as leader. He’s just made for this. Our children are just truly blest that they have a father that’s THIS involved. I used to resent the fact that they were spending so much time outside the home, but with prayers and discernment and, yes, seeing the fruits in our boys, I have been slowly convinced that Scouting is indeed a blessing. Every Boy Scout I’ve met in our son’s troop is respectful, confident, faith-filled and just — overall — kids their parents can be proud of. Scouting, for our family, is a huge investment in terms of time, money, energy, but so far, it has been truly worth it. I’d even go so far as to say that it’s one of the best organizations that work really well with homeschooling. One last plus: I hear that Scouting is a wonderful addition to one’s resume, and that the people that approve scholarships and jobs give high points to Scouts. Looks like we’ll be doing this for a long time still. Today I made a new discovery — the Scouting website and, tadaaa!!! The Scout Shop!! Online! Perfect for Christmas shopping for all my scouts — adult and children alike. ____________________ I said “one last plus” but I just thought of another: Boy Scouts can also work towards Parvuli Dei and Ad Altare Dei emblems. This Catholic mom is mighty pleased by that. So many things to be thankful for today: 1. the sun shining through our windows… beautiful day!!! Pythons by Mary Ann McDonald Pythons by Mary Ann McDonald *** |
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