Camera/Workout DVD Suggestions

Hi all,
I need to get a new camera since mine died the other day. It was a Sony Cybershot and I really liked it. After borrowing my sister-in-law's camera (for last weekend in Flagstaff-Evan & Jose's 1st time seeing snow!!), I realized that I don't want a Nikon...it took forever to get ready for each photo! So frustrating! So, if you all have any recommendations, I would appreciate it. Right now I have been looking at Sonys, but I am a little worried about them breaking, since mine went out after 2 1/2 yrs. I know my dad has a Kodak that still takes great pictures after almost 4 years!

Also, do any of you have any suggestions for a good workout DVD I could do at home? I was thinking something like kick boxing...something that doesn't require a bunch of stuff to buy and store in my tiny little house...as Christina knows, I don't have a basement and my garage is getting pretty full! I also want something that keeps me on my feet...I bought both Yoga and Pilates DVDs but they didn't work since my kid thinks its fun to tackle me while I'm trying to do it. So if I could avoid that, I would be happy!
Thanks!

Yummy...

This is what happens when you make a pecan pie without the egg yolks! Our neighbor is allergic so I usually just omit the yolk and things turn out fine. Surprisingly, it still tasted really good! Huge thanks to Christina for posting the vinegar info. I let as much of the goo burn to a crisp as I could without burning down the place and then soaked a rag in vinegar and left it on the rest of the mess. It cleaned up pretty well!

Eva, Eva and Me

OK, so it's not just my baby. This is Eva Elizabeth (also known as Granny) holding her little namesake, Eva Mae (my daughter). Eva is Eva's great-great grandmother (97 years young). This is when they met for the first time. Isn't God good!

Wedding dress

Hi all,

I thought I'd put this out there. I got married in August of 2003 and my dress is still hanging in the same bag I put it in 4 years ago. It's too long to fit in my closet so it's been hanging on the outside of the closet door for that long! 4 years! I can't believe it, it's time for me to do something about it. The question is what?? I want to hear from you as to what you all did with your dresses. I may be making a mountain out a molehill...I tend to do that sometimes.

Have a blessed day,
Brenda

Melissa's Kid Pic

Evan Making Cookies

Screaming for Advice

Okay girls. So Mcclellan will be 11 mos. old in like, a week. He has taken to the lovely task of making his voice known and testing the limits of its range and pitch...a.k.a., screaming. Its getting too loud, too often and its getting to be in context. Like when he's mad, he screams. When he's being impatient, he screams. When he's bored, he screams. Not screaming like ongoing, warbly screaming. More like a loud, hig-pitched shriek.

Today, out of desperation for a mode of discipline, I flicked his cheek, close to his mouth. I don't want to follow him around all day, flicking him whenever he screams. Right now it consists of: Shriek, flick, accompanied by a firm, "No. Don't scream. Too loud." and then a few tears and a refractory period of clinginess before going on his merry way. To scream again.

AAaAaaAhhH! Any suggestions? Do I just let it go and put up with it as a developmental phase? I don't want him shrieking during church or mealtimes. When do I intervene? And if its okay to shriek now, why isn't it okay 6 mos. from now. Where is the lesson?

Thank you!!

Cute pic day

My little Luke

Vinegar

Hi all,

I soaked my wedding ring in diluted vinegar last night. I had actually forgotten about it so it ended up soaking for about 4 hours. After scrubbing it with hand soap and a toothbrush, it is now nice and sparkly. Before the soak, it was very grimey. I admit it, it had been close to a year since I'd had it cleaned, so you can imagine the ick on it!

Thanks for the tidbit on vinegar. I just can't bring myself to by a jar of jewelry cleaner. :)

Post-a-picture-of-your-cute-kids-day

Since my old computer crashed my old pic wouldn't show up...so here you go, a new one Mcclellan.

Thai Stir Fry Recipe

Funny how this is turning into a recipe blog...

Thai Stir Fried Rice Noodles with Chicken or Tofu

Ingredients:
approx. 1 c. fresh chicken pieces/strips or 1 c. cubed tofu (we've only ever used tofu in this recipe, and it is goooood)
2 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 3 T. soy sauce (this is the marinade for the meat)
3 cloves garlic
1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, sliced thinly into matchstick pieces (so you can pick it out when you eat it- no one likes a crunchy piece of spicy ginger...well maybe some of you do)
1 c. shiitake mushrooms sliced (I loathe mushrooms so I omit these)
1 red bell pepper (I've substituted green)
2-3 c. bean sprouts
8 oz. very thin dried rice noodles (or vermicelli, rice stick, glass noodles, whatever you want to call them)
1/2 c. chicken or vegetable stock
approx. 2 1/2 T. oil for stir frying

Stir Fry Sauce:
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. fish sauce (I use oyster sauce because that's what I always have on hand)
1 tsp. sugar
1 T. lime juice (I use lemon for the same reasons as above)
1/4 c. chicken or vegetable stock
1-2 tsp. chili sauce

Soak noodles in warm water for about 10-20 min. just til "al dente." Not totally squishy because you'll cook them more when you fry them.

Marinate meat in cornstarch/soy sauce mixture and stir to coat. Marinate while noodles soak.

Combine all stir fry sauce ingredients in a cup and set aside. Drain noodles, toss with some oil and set aside. Heat a wok or large frying pan over med-high. When hot, add 2 T. oil and swirl to coat pan. Add garlic, ginger, meat (with marinade), mushrooms and a few T. of the stock. Stir fry 5 min. or until meat is cooked. If pan becomes dry, add more stock. Add pepper (I usually throw in something else green- beans, broccoli, peas, whatever we have) and more stock if necessary. Add noodles plus stir fry sauce. Use two forks or tongs to mix in noodles. Add bean sprouts last and fry for another minute.

Recipes aside, I need prayer requests for the next 3 days as Matt will be in Wichita and I will be home alone, solo-parenting 24/7! Thanks to those of you who've offered to hang out with us!

Now I'm off to buy some UTEE (thanks to my hubby's permission!). :)

Mac and "Cheese"

Alright, my mom got us a really great cook book for Christmas with all sorts of yummy vegan recipes in it. I know, what you're thinking... vegan? I use real butter instead of margarine so it's not really all that vegan but the recipes are great. Believe me, I had my doubts, but we tried this one and it was great. It uses nutritional yeast which is not the same as brewers yeast. It's yellow and flaky and you can buy it in bulk at the MERC but the new grocery store down town has it for almost 1/4 of the price. Please, if you try this recipe don't tell the people who eat it that it doesn't have cheese in it. We both knew what it was before we tried it so we'd love to know what someone would think who didn't realize there wasn't any cheese.

Cook 3 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
In a saucepan, melt 1/2 cup margarine (or butter) over low heat. Beat in 1/2 cup flour with a wire whisk and continue to beat over a med heat until it is smooth and bubbly. Whip in 3 1/2 cups boiling water (I put the water in my kettle when I started the butter melting and it was ready just in time), 1 1/2 teasp salt, 2 Tbs soy sauce (I think next time I'll only use one), 1 1/2 teasp garlic powder, and a pinch of turmeric. Beat well
The sauce should cook until it thickens and bubbles. Then whip in 1/4 cup oil (the recipe doesn't specify so I used canola) and 1 cup nutritional yeast flakes.
Mix sauce with noodles and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes until the "cheese" is melty and yummy looking.

Stephanie's Black Bean Hummus

Wow, I finally made this today and it's great. Thanks for sharing the recipe Stephanie, hope you don't mind I posted it.
Black bean hummus

• 1 clove garlic
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans; drain and reserve liquid (I used dry beans and cooked them)
  
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tahini
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mince garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Add black beans, 2 tablespoons reserved liquid, lemon juice, tahini, cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper; process until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed.