Break the Cycle

Our second trip during Spring Break 2011 included a trip to Sahara Sam's - an indoor water park in West Berlin, NJ.  Everyone had a blast.   I had tickets leftover from December of 2009 - so the trip was free (I like free).  I had to sign waivers so the kids could ride the "flow rider" - sorta like an indoor way to surf.  Of course, since we're just at the beginning of the long course swim season, I reasoned with them that they could learn to boogie board on the flow rider, but no standing - there is no real need for broken  bones this season, right?  They took quite a few spills before they figured out what they were doing.  There were a couple of older dudes there that obviously spent way too much time at the water park - they were able to do all types of tricks, but each session always ended with them wiping out (the wipe outs amused me for most of the afternoon - people would get thrown up the wall of water, and stand up trying to pull their...

Spring Break used to mean nothing to us home schoolers.  If we wanted to take a day off to visit the zoo, we could.  Now with 2 of my 4 in public school - Spring Break took on a whole new meaning.  We crammed lots in during this week, including lots of tennis practices and swim practices.  We also took 2 road trips - one to the local zoo in Cape May County, NJ.  Love the zoo ! Wonderful weather for a trip to the zoo ! Best of Friends These goats had the prettiest eyes. Wonderful opportunity for them to see a real bald eagle. We've discussed getting grandma a monkey as a companion - this would work! This bear was swimming laps - the girls' coaches would be proud !

I've had this plant since we moved into our house 5+ years ago.  It was a bit more than I usually pay for a hanging plant  - but it was an unusual color, and it flowered.  It has survived winters in my laundry room, where I was lucky to water it once or twice during the entire season.  Every spring it would come back as full as when I got it.  This year I put it outside, watered it, and watched it come back to life .... but then ....  a friendly bird decided that our front porch was just the spot for her nest.  Being the home school mom that I am, I figured it'd be a great opportunity for the kids to watch how a bird intricately weaves a nest.  Of course, we helped out by putting out hair from our brushes for the nest, and bird seed to give her strength.  She worked hard on that nest, and then - she sat in the nest.  She flies away when we open our front door - but comes right back as soon as we leave the porch area.  So I held my c...

What a Beautiful Family DD #1 and her best friend DD #3 and my sister Adam is very proud of his award Not just a trophy, but also best attendance ! DD #2 with her coach, his son, and her sister  Kids had a wonderful time at the swim banquet this weekend.  My sister Gige from Phila. drove straight down after a long day in the O.R along with her friend Peggy (another favorite Aunt of the girls') just to see the girls and Adam get their trophies.  Since this was Adam's first full year, and his first big banquet - it was extra special.  How blessed am I ?

www. Actually found time to sew again this weekend, and made my decision - I'm going to put 2 borders around the outside of the stars, and then add the garden maze blocks.   I don't think it's going to end up as large as I wanted, but I don't know about adding more borders .... waiting now for more of the 1895 Hoffman black that I ordered from ebay ...  then I can start on the borders. I do like how it looks without borders around the stars, so glad there were so many that suggested that last week!  To see what others are working on, check out Patchwork Times !

I am so happy to have something to share this week.  About a month ago, I received some inspiration from another blogger on Design Wall Monday - hosted by Judy at Patchwork Times .  I immediately fell in love with the star quilt that Kate from Life in Pieces   had put together using the pattern from Country Junktion .  I knew immediately that I could use it as the center of a quilt, and finally use those garden maze blocks that were sitting in my UFO pile.  What do you think ? This is the quilt made from the BOM pattern alone This is that same quilt surrounded by my garden maze blocks I started sewing the garden maze blocks together to see how big of a border I will be needing around the star blocks.  Now to figure out if I should border around each block, or just around the outside of the stars - what do you think?

I've attended a couple of Adam's art shows now. Last year he did an amazing drawing of a teapot - I had it matted and framed and it is the only thing gracing the dining room walls. This year I'm not sure what artist they were imitating, but he drew himself, cut it apart, and pasted it back together every which way. I can see him in the picture, but I sure would have loved to see it before he cut it apart. He's proud of it, so I am too ! He also participated in a class project - this was done with bingo dabbers !

Some excitement going on here in Jerzyland - there is a chance that MIL may come for a visit, and if I have my way, she'll stay.  I know, some of you may thing "oh, I would die if my MIL came to live with me" - but my MIL is an awesome woman.  One - even though we don't speak the same language, we have always managed to get along.  Two - even though we don't speak the same language, she always manages to side with me when dh and I disagree, which is amazing, because she has no idea of what I'm saying, so she has no idea if I'm right or not (of course, I'm always right.... she's super intelligent and just knows that LOL)  Three - when dh and I do argue, she'll take herself somewhere else, she has never, ever gotten in-between us, she really does mind her own business, and FOUR - most important - she loves to cook, and is pretty good at it.  Here's my favorite story -  about the first trip to Egypt, when we took some legs of lamb and a huge...

Rachael Ray April 2011 Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups frozen corn 2 ounces sugar snap peas, halved 3/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel, plus 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice Salt and pepper Four 4-ounce tilapia fillets 1 1/2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil Directions: 1.Preheat the oven to 425°. Cut out four 12-by-15-inch pieces of parchment. In a bowl, combine the corn, sugar snap peas and lemon peel; season with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture among the parchment pieces and top with the fish. Season the fish with the Old Bay, then the olive oil and lemon juice. 2.Bring together the long sides of the parchment and fold over twice, then tuck the short sides under to form a pouch. Transfer the pouches to a baking sheet and bake until the fish is just opaque, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Rachael Ray April 2011 Ingredients: 1 pound store-bought whole wheat pizza dough, at room temperature 1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped 1 large jalapeño chile, seeds discarded, chopped 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil Salt 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup) 1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder 1/2 pound ground dark-meat turkey 1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise 1/4 inch thick 1/4 large red onion, sliced Directions: 1.Invert a 13-by-18-inch baking sheet onto the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 500°. Oil a second baking sheet and stretch the pizza dough to fit the pan. 2.In a mini food processor, pulse the cilantro, jalapeño and 2 tablespoons olive oil until a paste forms; season with salt. Spread the paste on the dough, then sprinkle with the cheese. 3.In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the curry powder and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the turkey, season with salt and cook, ...

Rachael Ray April 2011   Best if Served Warm Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon espresso powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar 2 eggs plus 2 egg whites 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 2 cups shredded zucchini Two 6-ounce containers low-fat vanilla yogurt A hit of espresso powder deepens the chocolaty taste without adding more calories. Heart-healthy extra-virgin olive oil maximizes moistness. A tangy yogurt topping makes the cake taste sweeter and replaces sugary frosting. Directions: 1.Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9-inch square metal baking pan and line the bottom with parchment; grease the parchment. 2.In a large bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, espresso powder and salt. Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, eggs and egg whites at medium-high speed until pale in color, about 3 minutes; whisk in the olive oil. Stir in the zucchini. Stir in the flo...

This is from Rachael Ray Magazine - April 2011 edition   This is one magazine I'll be keeping a subscription to, as usually get a few recipes I want to try each edition. Ingredients: 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 1/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons light brown sugar 1/2 fresh pineapple—peeled, quartered lengthwise, cored and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices 3/4 cup flour 3/4 cup stone-ground whole grain cornmeal 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce 2 eggs Directions: 1.Preheat the oven to 350°. In a 9-inch cast-iron skillet, heat 1 tablespoon butter and 3 tablespoons brown sugar over medium heat, stirring, until melted. Add the pineapple and cook until tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Arrange the pineapple decoratively in the pan. 2.In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar. In a small bowl, combine the applesauce and remaining 2 tablespoons butter. B...