Bulls On Parade

I love a teacher who is filled with so much enthusiasm for their craft, that their students can't help but love it too. These kids are rocking it out and talk about no fear!!! This is so good. I love that girl in the red.

So Happy Together!

We're new members of the Subaru family and it makes me smile, really hard. Think psycho eyes and lots of teeth.

Thankful Thursday

A Few Reasons I LOVE Having Kids

1. Teenagers keep your music current. My oldest makes me the BEST Cd's and keeps me from becoming an old fart.

2. When I was in High School there were a couple of years I tried to be athletic. TRIED.... not so much successful. Now that I have athletic kids, I enjoy so many different kinds of sports and even understand them a little better. That's pretty cool.

3. They keep my reflexes sharp.

4. Scripture study can be difficult some nights with kids, but then after years and years of trying, one day they beg you to keep reading because THEY WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. Where did those plates come from and all of those bones?!!!!!

5. They tell you when you're getting out of shape. Yes, this is a good thing.

6. You can't be a hypocrite. Well, I guess you can, but you'll get called out as a horrible example.

7. They ask great questions and if you're like me, you go straight to Google. I've learned a lot.

8. Theme dinners. IRISH TONIGHT of course! I'll tell you all how that goes later.

9. They can reach really high when they are teenagers. It's very helpful.

10. While moms' kisses can heal serious booboo's, kids hugs can heal broken hearts and remind a tired mom just how important what she does is. So so SO IMPORTANT.... and hard.

Comfort Food

This recipe is called, "To Die For Blueberry Muffins" and the folks at allrecipes.com weren't lying. I tried it and I love it.

1. Preheat oven to 400 and line muffin pan.

2. Combine 1 1/2 C flour, 1/2 C sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking powder.

3. Mix in measuring cup, 1/3 C vegetable oil, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla and enough milk to equal 1 cup.

4. Add wet mixture to dry and fold in 1 C of blueberries.

5. Fill 12 muffin cups with the mixture evenly. Then top with THIS:

1. Mix 1/2 C white sugar, 1/3 C flour and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Cut in 1/4 C of butter cubed.

Bake for 20 -25 minutes and enjoy!

Infinite Power of Hope

The news coming from Japan is so sad. I cannot even imagine what those families are going through right now and my prayers are with them. I'm going to hug my family a little more today and tell them how much I love and appreciate them. Sometimes all a person can do in the face of tragedy so far away is count their blessings and be grateful for each day we have to make the world a little better!

Thai Chicken in Red Curry

I love Thai food, not as much as Korean food but close. So tonight I threw together some Thai chicken in red curry and it was DELICIOUS! Completely unauthentic, but delicious and easy:

*Heat 2 TBSP cooking oil in a large pot and add:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced thin and lightly salted

*Cook until the outside of the chicken starts to turn white. Then throw in:

3-4 small potatoes, chopped

*Stir that up until it's nice and hot and add:

2 TBSP or so of Thai red curry paste

*Stir and cook for about 5 minutes, then throw in the:

1 red bell pepper sliced

1/2 green pepper sliced

1 large onion sliced

1 zucchini chopped

1 container of small white mushrooms

*Cook until the color of the veggies get nice and bright. Stir in:

1 can of coconut milk + 1/2 can of water

a couple drops of fish sauce

2 spoonfuls of brown sugar

*Cook on medium heat with the lid on until the potatoes are just done, under 10 minutes and salt to taste. Serve over rice (never use Minute Rice, use a good, authentic, sticky Asian rice) and top with a little cilantro and/or basil and garnish with a lime. It's good, try it!

Canon PowerShot S95 Miniature Effect (Intersection)

So I'm still obsessing over cameras. I know it's a little crazy, but cameras cost a lot of money and I want to make sure I get the just right, perfect one. It's difficult to navigate through all of the various capabilities and gimmicky stuff the companies advertise as must have. I try to see through that stuff and not be a sucker, BUT here is one effect I think I might not be able to live without. It's the "miniature effect" or "time lapse effect". Incredible!!! It makes everything look like a toy and leaves me wanting more. I wish my eyes could see like this all the time.

You got me Canon, you really got me.

March is Looking Good!

Aaaah, February is OVAH and March is so here to stay! Well, at least for 20 something more days. I can't lie, February is my least favorite month of the year. Cold+Dark+a mediocre holiday= a Debbie Downer.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting back outside. There is only so much inside the house a person can take, and my garden beds are looking mighty shabby! St Patrick's Day is way better than Valentine's Day too. I happen to love cabbage, so that helps as well.

The World's Most Typical Person

I saw this earlier and thought, "Huh, go Han Chinese". Asians are typical, very interesting.

Calling All Photographers

One of the best things about blogging is being able to pick the brains of my very creative friends en masse!

We are trying to pick out a new camera for everyday use because our normal camera and video camera are both breaking. Unfortunately, I have no idea what I'm looking for and had no idea how many different kinds of cameras there are. There are TONS by the way! I only know a pretty picture and that's what we want.

So I started emailing people individually and then realized how dumb that was when I could just ask right here. WHAT DO YOU THINK? I want a camera that can take good pictures and records videos all in one. Is there an advantage to the slr's if you're not going to change out the lenses?

Canon Rebel vs. Nikon vs. Sony point and shoot vs. whatever??????

I know, this is a really hard problem to have, right? Please help me.