Good recipe

My husband and son loved these breakfast bars. And they are very healthy.

Oat & Almond Breakfast Bars

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1/2 c. honey

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 lg. egg

2 c. old-fashioned oats, uncooked

3/4 c. all-purpose flour (I used wheat)

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. sliced almonds

1/2 c. toasted wheat germ

1/2 c. raisins

3/4 tsp. salt

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Line 13x9 metal baking pan with aluminum foil and lightly grease foil.

3. In a separate bowl, mix oil, honey, vanilla and egg.

4. In a large bowl, with fork, mix oats, flour, sugar, almonds, wheat germ, raisins and salt until combined.

5. With rubber spatula, stir honey mixture into oat mixture until blended, scrape into prepared pan. With wet hand, pat oat mixture evenly into pan.

6. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until pale golden around edges. Cool completely in pan about 1 hours.

7. When cool, transfer using foil to cutting board. Cut into bars.

Hint: I found it would be better to double the batch so they are thicker in the pan. If you don't double the batch watch the cooking time - I think it should be less so they don't get too brown and stay chewy.

Amazing learning

Okay, I am going to date myself here but I remember when I was in school (seems like the dark ages) and we had typewriters. If we made a mistake we had to retype the paper.

Now with all the advances in technology my kids are in a virtual co-op for TOG. They are using TeamSpeak, WiZiQ, and uploading PowerPoint presentations. We communicate through a yahoo chat group to send out reminders and information the teachers want the kids to know.

None of this stuff was available when I went to school. A virtual whiteboard!! A class where the people are from Nevada, South Carolina, Maine and places in between. How cool is that!! And how much smaller the world has become!

It is amazing to me that just through doing TOG my kids have become so computer literate. Who would have thought that a curriculum would lead to such amazing learning? I would never have dreamed of it. No other curriculum that I know of has a community of users that do virtual co-ops. This curriculum just lends itself so well to co-oping - and for those that don't have a local option, they have headed into the virtual arena.

My kids have always loved doing a co-op and now the virtual is even better. It satisfies their love of learning computers. I was kind of scared about this new virtual co-op we found. The women are so amazing and do huge powerpoint presentations every time they teach. I haven't used powerpoint since I was in the working world (dating myself again!). My kids have never used it yet. Well, for the dialectic level's first class they have mini reports due. The mom teaching that class said to send the kids' presentations to her ahead. She will then get them uploaded. Kid's powerpoint presentations for a mini report - REALLY - are they serious?!! That was my first response. Now that I am over that initial shock. I did help my D student start a presentation today. My husband had to give us all a lesson on how to get pictures from the internet into the powerpoint presentation. I am feeling better about my teaching next week. I have at least opened powerpoint and helped my son create a very, simple presentation. Mine for next week will also probably be very simple. Still, isn't the learning amazing. We have had a whole computer course just to be part of a TOG virtual co-op. Isn't that something!!!

digital TOG woes

Well, I am to the point that all I can do is share my woes about the new digital TOG product. (Certainly it is not like the company will do anything about how horrible the product is - but hopefully I can spare some of you from this grief!) I have to use it as we are in a virtual co-op and they are utilizing the redesign version. We love the virtual co-op. That is working fabulous for the boys. Redesign is fine although I like many of the books in the Classic version better. Digital is terrible.

Here is my latest woe --- when you go to print it is set up in such a manner that the last lines on the page - every page are cut off. It simply won't print the last lines. Nice huh!!

UPDATE:

My husband was able to help me change the settings on the printer to print smaller so all the information will show. Still I think that they are putting too much on a page that we have to shrink the print to very small to get it all to print.

Ronald Reagan Quotes

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.

Hearing God

I was reading my bible to be prepared for bible study tomorrow morning at church. We are reading 1 Samuel 3. The bible study guide asked us to reflect on 'when is it hard for you to hear God?' It talked about how busy our lives are and that sometimes we are so busy we find it hard to hear God. We read our bibles but 'struggle to be still and to receive a word from God.'

I realized as I tried to reflect on when is it hard to 'hear God', that I had the TV on and I was trying to do my bible study over the commercials. So do you think it is hard to 'hear God' if one is squeezing Him in on the commercials. (Yes, I did turn the TV off.)

And I realized that while technology is such a benefit to our lives, it gives us so much more free time because machines and technology have lightened our physical load. At least in comparison to the pioneers, we no longer have to grown the wheat, thresh it, grind it, then use it to mix the dough, to bake the bread. We can just buy a loaf of bread. Even if we make it fresh we now have bread machines that do much of the work for us. Think of the extra time saved!! Yet, do we view it that way? Do we view it as time saved for God?

I think many times, instead of it giving us more time for God, technology seems to also prevent us from 'hearing God'. If we are constantly surrounded by noise - the noise of the TV and/or the radio. The noise of the dishwasher. The noise of the washer and drier. It is hard to be still and be quiet. It is hard to stop and really listen for God's voice. If God spoke to us like he spoke to Samuel - would we hear him? Or would the noise of our daily lives drown Him out?

Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

Psalm 46:10

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Psalm 37:7

The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.

Exodus 14:14

'Ah, sword of the Lord,' you cry, 'how long till you rest? Return to your scabbard; cease and be still.'

But how can it rest when the Lord has commanded it, when he has ordered it to attack...'

Jeremiah 47:6-7

Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.

Zechariah 2:13

The Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for this is a sacred day. Do not grieve."

Nehemiah 8:11

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

Mark 4:39

friendship - quote

"True friendship is a plant of slow growth, and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation."

- George Washington

James Madison quote

"All men having power ought to be distrusted to a certain degree."

Boy, he sure knew what he was talking about!!

Art Museum - Calatrava

My husband loves photography. One of his favorite buildings in our city that he enjoys taking pictures of is the Calatrava. He has several Calatrava pictures on his blog --- so naturally I have to have one also.

While I like building pictures, I usually like to have people (especially our kids) in the pictures. Here are our two youngest.

This is the Calatrava from one view.

Here is the same view but focusing in on the entrance to the museum.

This is the view from the opposite side of the building - standing on lakefront side.

dresser problems

We have dresser problems --- as in many of our dressers are falling apart. JJ's dresser has been super glued but still is in bad shape. Thankfully, my MIL loves to shop. She is the ultimate bargain hunter. She will scour the thrift shops and she enjoys stopping in frequently just to see if there is any good stuff today. So we asked her to hunt for us. I just don't have the time to stop in that often to see if there is a dresser available. And thrift shops are hit or miss.

Well, she found one and is bringing it to us tomorrow. We can't wait to see it. She says it is in fabulous condition. Only needs to be wiped down and we can use it. (No refinishing.)

We have spent the afternoon and evening doing through clothes. Throwing out stuff that is spotted and torn. Boxing up stuff that is too small for the oldest - saving it for the next two. It was just a major task as I have not done it at all recently. Very big job.

Now we are trying to get the pack rat (that would be my middle child) to go through his stuff on his desk - so his desk can actually be used. Right now it is a storage area.

He is not happy I took this picture but here is his desk. Can you even see the top of it??? Needs help, doesn't it. The problem he has is that he has packed so many "treasures" into all his drawers and on his shelves that nothing else will fit. He needs to weed out some of his 'treasures' and let me tell you - that is very hard for a pack rat!! Hopefully, we will be able to post the 'we made progress' picture!

photography

Our middle child loves photography. He is in a photography club with my husband. They went on a nature walk (to find mushrooms for science). Here is a fabulous picture JL took. I am very impressed with his composition. He got the flower in great focus. The color against the background of the forest floor is very vibrant.

Great song

Interesting song by Muse called Uprising

The paranoia is in bloom, the PR
The transmissions will resume
They'll try to push drugs
Keep us all dumbed down and hope that
We will never see the truth around
(So come on!)

Another promise, another scene, another
A package not to keep us trapped in greed
With all the green belts wrapped around our minds
And endless red tape to keep the truth confined
(So come on!)

Chorus
They will not force us
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious

Interchanging mind control
Come let the revolution take its toll if you could
Flick the switch and open your third eye, you'd see that
We should never be afraid to die
(So come on!)

Rise up and take the power back, it's time that
The fat cats had a heart attack, you know that
Their time is coming to an end
We have to unify and watch our flag ascend

Chorus
They will not force us anekatips.com
They will stop degrading us
They will not control us
We will be victorious

Hey..... hey...... hey....... hey!
(repeat)

link to their website

Releases

We are so excited. After waiting 4 months, we FINALLY got our releases for all 3 boys.

It is a huge blessing!!

Our kids get to play hockey where they want to play.

Book - The Dream Giver

I read this book a while back but it really tied into the bible study that my son and I our doing. So we did it as a read aloud together - just so we could discuss it as we read.

The whole book is really very, very good. Still I found this passage speaking to me:

p. 118 - 119

"What had the desert years accomplished? When Israel was finally about to leave the desert, Moses told the nation that God had allowed that experience to happen for an important reason: to test and reshape each person from the inside out.

The bottom line of every test in the WasteLand is this: When God seems absent and everything is going wrong, will you still trust God enough to patiently allow him to prepare you for what's ahead?

I've noticed that the bigger the Dream, the longer the time of preparation. Joseph spent years honing his leadership skills in prison (even though he was innocent) before he rose to rule all of Egypt."

I found that really something to think about. Most of us wouldn't view time in the WasteLand as a good thing but it is being done to develop our character - our spiritual character - so that when we have that chance to serve God, to carry out our 'big dream' we can do it well. We will have been honed to a perfection that only God can achieve so that we will have the strength and the wherewithal to be able to withstand the coming fight and win against the Giants.

Isn't that a fabulous perspective!! We should be thankful for our time of trial, thankful for our time in the WasteLand (as he calls it). Our time served is for our benefit and to bring God the glory.

Plumbing problems - yuk

Well, we were suppose to go to Great America today but yesterday we discovered a very major leak in the pipes under the kitchen sink. It needed to be fix right away. So I had to stay home and call a plumber. Kids are very sad but as it turns out - it is not very nice outside anyway. Kind of cold and very cloudy. We haven't had any major storms yet - just drops of rain here and there. Still, it is just not a nice looking day. To the kids though, it is only a minor consolation.