We’ve been working on some new meals that our kids really love. One of those new meals involves won ton wrappers. If you think about it, cupcake tins would make perfect personal sized meals for little kids. One for the pickier eaters, and two for the normal eaters, and three for big eaters. In a new “app” on my new phone, there is a cooking app that had this delicious lasagna made in won ton wrappers. So…we tried them, and thirty kids ate nearly fifty little lasagnas and everyone wanted more.
Monthly Archives: July 2011
Saturday’s Under the Sun – Vacation Tips
From Chicago Healers.
Summer is the time for vacations, whether it’s visiting family or just getting away for a weekend. The only problem: vacations can be expensive, from gas for the car to flights, hotels, and every meal at a restaurant.
Chicago Healers Practitioner Julie Casserly, MBA urges vacationers to “Position yourself to be lucky to spend the amount of money you actually have for a vacation, instead of going into debt and later on having to pay for past choices. No one likes having what I call a ‘spending hangover;’ it takes all the fun out of going on vacation in the first place.”
- Last Minute Deals – In a world where there are so many things to do, most of the travel websites will have last minute trips at a deep discount, particularly in economic environment. Decide a budget and search online for an all-inclusive trip for the long weekend that falls into that number. The exciting part is that you are leaving yourself open to trying a new adventure or a new place.
- Look At The End, First – Decide priorities for a vacation and what amount to spend, and then build a plan out from there.
- Choose the Day – Choose to travel on cheaper air fare days, say Tuesday – Saturday
- Name Your Price – Rent a car, hotel, or airfare through priceline.com where customers can name a price. Sometimes it can be 30% less expensive.
- Pack the Snacks – If a road trip in the works, pack a cooler!!! No need to spend extra money on those high cost, high calorie snacks and fast food meals.
- One Stop Shopping – Buy in bulk; get airfare, hotel, and car from one vendor.
- Locals Know Best – Interact with the locals to learn the best restaurants and tours, where the prices won’t be spiked just for tourists.
- Set the Plan and Open an Account – Plan for future trips: set financial intentions by opening up a separate savings account that is ONLY to be used for vacations. Set a plan for how much to spend each year on vacations and be sure to put aside an appropriate amount per paycheck that will allow for this later in the year.
Casserly explains further saying “It’s all about what free cash you have to be able to afford a vacation and about what is right for you and your family, there is no right or wrong, it’s about what you have chosen as your financial priorities and making sure that you create a positive energy flow from your spending (spending on a cash basis) and not a negative energy flow (spending with debt).”
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Fearing the Child by Judy Lyden
A young child assaults mom with a push, a kick and a scream. He or she might even say, “I hate you!” and mom recoils in terror.
Wild and Wonderful World!
Conservationists discover more than 1,000 species in New Guinea
Treasure trove of unknown varieties of animal, bird, fish, insect and plant have been identified in the forests and wetlands of the Pacific island over a period of just 10 years
A new type of tree kangaroo, a 2.5-metre-long river shark, a frog with vampire-like fangs and a turquoise lizard are among hundreds of new creatures found and being documented in a report by conservationists working in the Pacific island of New Guinea.
Some 1,060 previously unknown species of mammals, fish and birds have been spotted in the volcanic island over a 10-year period.
The Final Frontier report, which was put together by WWF as part of its 50th anniversary celebrations, marks a brief respite from the escalating rate of animal and plant extinctions which is taking its toll across the planet and has left a quarter of all known mammals on the endangered list.
The species have all been discovered, at a rate of two each week, in the period from 1998 to 2008 by the various teams and researchers who have visited the region and its extensive forests, waters and wetlands.
One team discovered a new bird, the wattled smoky honeyeater, within seconds of leaving their expedition helicopter.
Perhaps the most extraordinary freshwater discovery is the species of river shark which, given its size, has done well to evade discovery until now. The shy fish has been named the Glyphis garricki after the New Zealand zoologist Jack Garrick, who identified it. Because of its rarity it has immediately gone on to the endangered list.
In the salt waters a snub-fin dolphin that comes in a delicate shade of pink was spotted in 2005 and, after much scientific measuring and debating, now qualifies as the first new dolphin species to be found in more than three decades.
Dr Mark Wright, conservation science adviser at WWF, said the report was a fabulous reminder that “the world is full of fantastic and fantastical creatures, of quirky and improbable lifestyles. The more we look, the more we find”.
But he said that species diversity was rich the world over. “Perhaps it is so commonplace we ignore it, or maybe we’ve forgotten how to look. Let’s take flies. Britain is home to more than 5,000 species of fly, and these are not everyone’s favourite, but flies represent 5,000 entirely different responses to life’s challenges.
“For instance, the holly leaf miner, whose nondescript larvae cause leaf blotching at this time of year – their entire world is limited to that tiny strip between the top and bottom of a single leaf. Those same life processes that we go through – feeding, growing, breathing – are still acted out, but now crammed into a creature far smaller than a grain of rice.”
New Guinea is in an area known as the “coral triangle”, a region with the most diverse marine eco-systems on Earth. In the 10-year period in question, 33 new fish species have been found in the waters around the island, including the damselfish, a strikingly brilliant blue wrasse and seven species of zig-zag rainbow fish, an 11cm-long creature which lives in shallow waters. In all, 218 new kinds of plants – including a flesh-like orchid, 43 reptiles and 12 mammals, 580 invertebrates, 134 amphibians, two birds and 71 fish have been found.
“It is precisely that endless variety of form and function that enthrals me, but this exuberance of nature is under threat,” said Wright. “Despite the best efforts of groups like WWF, it is clear that we will not save all we would like to.
“Forest will continue to be felled, rivers dammed and coastlines developed. And species will be erased. Some extinction is inevitable – a consequence of Darwin’s ‘natural selection’ – but humans are imposing intense pressures, leading to ‘unnatural selection’. Nature is struggling to cope, but we have the ability and power in our hands to forge a future in which the environment is truly valued – we must choose to do so.”
New Guinea is the second largest island on Earth, after Greenland, and is divided between the countries of Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. It holds the third largest tract of rainforest in the world and is home to around 8% of the world’s species.
But while its relatively low level of human population had protected its species, illegal logging is now projected to strip the island of half of its forest cover by 2020.
■ To support WWF’s anniversary report, writer and film-maker Stephen Poliakoff has made a short film which will include footage of some of the new species from New Guinea. Called Astonish Me, the film will be shown exclusively online by the Observer later this summer before being shown in Odeon cinemas as a short feature prelude to major films.
Poliakoff said that his drama – which stars Bill Nighy – had been inspired by the new discoveries made in the natural world.
“What astonishes me is there are so many animals out there we are seeing for the first time from the very colossal squid to the largest insect in the world discovered recently – it’s extraordinary in the 21st century that this is still going on. We think we know everything, but we don’t,” he said.
Teaching Tuesday…
We don’t know who replied, but there is a beautiful soul working in the dead letter office of the US postal service.
Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so, and she dictated these words:
Dear God,
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her.
Love, Meredith
We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.
Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, ‘To Meredith’ in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, ‘When a Pet Dies.’ Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:
Dear Meredith,
Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her right away.
Abbey isn’t sick anymore. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don’t need our bodies in heaven, I don’t have any pockets to keep your picture in so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by.
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you. I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I’m easy to find. I am wherever there is love.
Love,
God
The Selfish Child by Judy Lyden
Last night I watched a movie in which a character called Mary – whose only purpose in life was to gush – mostly about herself – spewed the most unbelievable trivia about her own life. She took up everybody’s time with her me, me, me palaver. It was always about Mary. When the man she was interested in introduced her to his new girl friend, the selfishness took a new dimension and poured out of her in an incredible savagery grizzled like a string of shark teeth.
Monday’s Tattler
Sunday’s Plate from the Idaho Potato Commission
Savory Stuffed Idaho® Spuds
Stuffed with fresh vegetables and lean turkey or ham, this delicious dish is a healthy, well-balanced meal packed into an Idaho® potato.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4 large Idaho® Potatoes, baked
- 1 1/2 cups fresh broccoli florets
- 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1/4 cup sliced green onion
- 1/4 cup chopped sweet red pepper
- 1 cup fully-cooked lean turkey or lean ham (optional) diced
- 1/2 cup non-fat plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard
- 2 teaspoons grated Parmesan cheese
- Dash ground nutmeg
Directions
- In a 1-quart microwave-safe casserole dish, combine broccoli, mushrooms, green onion, red pepper and 2 teaspoons water. Micro-cook, covered, on HIGH for 3 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Drain well.
- Add the turkey or ham (if desired). Cook, covered, on HIGH 2 to 3 minutes or until heated through.
- Stir together yogurt, milk, cornstarch, mustard and nutmeg. Add to broccoli mixture. Cook covered on HIGH 2 to 4 minutes or until mixture is thickened, stirring every 30 seconds.
- Spoon over hot potatoes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
Estimated Nutritional Analysis per Serving:
349 cal, 1 g fat, 26 g protein, 59 g carbohydrate, 49 mg cholesterol, 164 mg sodium
Under Saturday’s Sun
Great rooms. Check out Rooms
I love the cheesy loft!
Friday’s Tattler
It was a brilliant trip to Mammoth Cave because it was cool all the way down. We had a good lunch and then took the cave tour. We were with 100 people, and our little guys had trouble keeping up. They were turning the lights out behind us as we went, and I think the kids were more intent on running to catch up than on touring. Next time…it’s a private school tour. Don’t care how much it costs.