Hot Pizza Dip

Superbowl* or no Superbowl, this recipe's a winner. I've hauled this dish to many a party, and it's always popular. It's usually far more popular than whatever drivel is on TV, but HEY. That's food for ya. A real show-stealer.

You'll see that this dip has a few tablespoons of green pepper and onion, so there ya go! VEGETABLES! Which, sadly enough, will likely make it the most nutritious plate at the party.

I recommend making at least a double batch of this. It's that good.


Hot Pizza Dip

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
8 ounces pizza sauce
2 tablespoons green pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons green onion, thinly sliced
Breadsticks or tortilla chips

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and Italian seasoning. Spread in an ungreased 9" microwave-safe pie plate (or square glass dish). Combine mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses; sprinkle half over the cream cheese. Top with the pizza sauce, remaining cheese mixture, green pepper and onion. When ready to serve, microwave, uncovered, on high for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is almost melted, rotating a half turn several times. Let stand for 1-2 minutes. Serve with breadsticks or tortilla chips.

*Don't let my use of the word "Superbowl" convince you that I know A THING about professional sports. I had to look for the date of the Superbowl UP ON GOOGLE before I created this post.

And those Steelers' shirts? Were Christmas gifts from the in-laws. We wear them when we read the dictionary at home.

More recipes over at Boomama's Diptacular, The Grocery Cart Challenge and at Ann's Food on Fridays.

Subscribe to this blog's feed and follow me on twitter!

Resources For Cooking With An International Flair

The most ethnically diverse food I ate growing up was French fries.

Or was it tacos?

TOUGH CALL.

In my mom's defense, the world was not the Global Village in the 70s and 80s that it is now. Back then, it was a big adventure to use the new and exciting "taco seasoning" and then wrap the meat in a tortilla.

Or a "tor-TILL-uh," as I'm guessing we first called it.

But since then, I've been slowly branching out in my Adventures With Food.

Going to China a couple years back was a shock to my system. A good shock, mind you. But still a shock. Until then, I hadn't even eaten Chinese food in the states. (Gasp!) But the whole trip was such a fun adventure, and out of a love for my girl and her country, I tried as many new things as I could.

And you know what?

Mikey liked it! He really liked it!

Okay. There were a few things I didn't like. Pig skin, pig fat, bouncy undercooked mystery meat, and gristly meat on the bones (a.k.a., "chainsaw chicken.")

But still. It was a great adventure, and it was in China that I made this promise to myself:

I'll do what I can to help my kids love the adventure of trying new foods.

I wanted that to become part of our family culture, if you will. Not just a love for the people around the world, but an appreciation and enjoyment of their foods as well.

We fortunately live in an area with a lot of ethnically diverse restaurants, but HELLO, that gets to be really expensive for a family of five. But when I set out to cook some new foods at home, I don't even know where to start. The internet is great, but whoo! OVERWHELMING.

I finally found a set of books for beginners like me: The Easy Menu Ethnic Cookbooks. I doubt these cookbooks win any "food photography" awards, but they do offer just the right amount of variety, and the recipes use basic ingredients you can find around town. Simply looking at the set of recipes each book includes helps me get a grasp on the Types Of Foods Eaten Around The World.

There are many titles in the series. I have organized them into regions:

Africa
Cooking the African Way
Cooking the East African Way
Cooking the North African Way
Cooking The Southern African Way
Cooking the West African Way

Asia
Cooking the Chinese Way
Cooking the Indian Way
Cooking the Indonesian Way
Cooking the Japanese Way
Cooking the Korean Way
Cooking the Thai Way
Cooking the Vietnamese Way

Australia
Cooking the Australian Way

Europe
Cooking the Austrian Way
Cooking the English Way
Cooking the French Way
Cooking the German Way
Cooking the Greek Way
Cooking the Hungarian Way
Cooking the Irish Way
Cooking the Italian Way
Cooking the Norwegian Way
Cooking the Polish Way
Cooking the Russian Way
Cooking the Spanish Way
Cooking the Swiss Way

Middle East
Cooking the Israeli Way
Cooking the Lebanese Way
Cooking The Mediterranean Way
Cooking The Middle Eastern Way
Cooking the Turkish Way

Central and South America
Cooking the Brazilian Way
Cooking the Caribbean Way
Cooking The Central American Way
Cooking the Cuban Way
Cooking the Mexican Way
Cooking the South American Way

Multiple Regions
Vegetarian Cooking Around the World
Desserts Around the World
Holiday Cooking Around the World

At our house, I use these cookbooks alongside our study of the different countries of the world. I also have a daughter from China, so the Asian books come in handy for the different celebrations we do throughout the year.

Help a girl out. What are some other ways we could put these books to good use?

Applying Sticky Medicine To Kids

I can't count the number of times I've gone to fix dinner and whatdoyaknow, my hands smelled like Desitin. Mmmm.

I'm on my third kid now, and have been applying diaper rash cream to red bottoms nonstop since 2001. It took me seven years of having "Desitin Hands" before this little trick occurred to me.

I'm not a smart man, Jenny.

But now! Because I'm a problem-solving genius! I just squirt a little of the miracle stuff ONTO THE DIAPER ITSELF and then use that to gently wipe it around on the bum.

Therefore, the Desitin now no touchy my handsies. No moresies.

It's an environmentally friendly, cheapskate tip too, because it keeps me from using 37 wipes and a gallon of hot water just to get the devilish Desitin off my skin.

This works with other tube medicines as well. Most recently, I've been applying pain-relieving antiobiotic ointment DIRECTLY TO THE BAND-AID, versus squirting it on the cut itself (ouchy and unsanitary), or putting it on my finger first (messy and unsanitary) and then on the cut.

Vicks is the last in my list of medicinal nemeses. It's a little trickier since it doesn't come in a tube, but that's nothing that the inside of a kid's sock can't solve. Dip the inside of the sock in the Vicks, apply it to the foot, and then turn the sock right side out again to put it on the child.

Voila. No more sticky, stinky hands. At least not from meds.

For more tips and tricks, head over to this week's edition of Works For Me Wednesday.

Or you can check out the rest of my other (often) ridiculous tips as well. I've gathered quite a pile.

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I never really liked Asian food until I traveled to China. It was there that I found the dishes to be flavorful and complex; wholesome and exciting.

It's been nearly two years (TWO YEARS!) since that wonderful trip to adopt my daughter. Since the the Chinese New Year is this weekend (January 26, 2009), I thought it appropriate to pull out a favorite Asian recipe to share with y'all.

No, I didn't eat anything like this in China. Yes, it's Americanized, but H-E-L-L-O, it's good.

Blessings, happiness, and prosperity! (gung hei faat choih)


Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce (such as Sriracha)
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 dash sea salt
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
8 Boston lettuce leaves (about 1 head)
1 cup fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup bean sprouts 1 lime, cut into 8 wedges
chopped peanuts or cashews

Combine first 9 ingredients in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Reserve 2 tablespoons oil mixture. Place remaining oil mixture in a large Ziploc plastic bag. Add chicken breast halves; seal and marinate in refrigerator for 1 hour, turning occasionally. Remove chicken from bag, and discard marinade. Heat a large nonstick grill pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken to pan; grill 12 minutes or until chicken is done, turning once. Let stand 5 minutes before thinly slicing. Divide chicken evenly among lettuce leaves; top each lettuce leaf with 2 tbsp mint, 1 tbsp sprouts, and about 1 tsp reserved oil mixture. Serve with lime wedges. Garnish with chopped nuts. 4 servings.

Thanks to my friend Katy for introducing me to these and making them for our "coming home" party for our girl. And thanks to my friend Kelly for reminding me that these wraps exist, that they are good and I should eat them, and that the New Year is upon us.

More recipes over at the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Confessions Of A Sneaky Organic Cook

In the category, "There Ain't Nuthin' New Under The Sun," I present you with this:

Confessions of a Sneaky Organic Cook (Or, How to Make Your Family Healthy When They're Not Looking!)

Sounds all hip and trendy, right?

Wrong.

The copyright is 1971. Nearly 40 years ago.

And here I thought my finely honed skill of table-time deception was cutting edge.

Come to find out, I'm greatly outdated.

Ain't nuthin' new under the sun THERE, either.

My Dad picked that book up at an auction and sent it off to me. I read it cover to cover, and most of the nutritional tips are spot on with what's being introduced as "healthy" today.

However, there was the "Get Smart -- Use Brains" chapter. I thought for sure it would contain some amazingly new information about eating good fats to enhance the brain. But! Au contraire! It was all about eating brains and how to best disguise them.

I can assure you I plan on hiding those brains so well that I ain't never finding them in my house, let alone in my food.

But! (Brain!) Because I am an equal-opportunity blogger with an open foodie-type mind, I'll leave you with one of the recipes.

Don't say I never gave you anything.

Brain Fritters

1 set calf's brains
Cold water to cover
2 tablespoons vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 eggs
1/4 cup soy flour
3 tablespoons cold water
Pinch of sea salt and paprika (Pinch, pound, whatever)
Hot oil for seasoning

Cook brains (!) in water with vinegar (getting worse!) and sea salt 25 to 30 minutes over moderate heat. Drain. Remove membrane. (Excuse yourself to go puke.) Slice 1/4" thick. Beat eggs, stir in flour and cold water to make a thick batter. Add salt and paprika and beat (your head against the wall) 2 or 3 strokes. Dip sliced brains (!) in batter and fry in hot oil till nicely browned on both sides. Serves 2 or 3 (very twisted people). (And might I add, WHERE'S THE SNEAKY PART?)

I have no doubt my site stats will soar after posting that tasty treat.

But don't take my word for it.

Believe the book from the 70s.

Thanks, Dad. It's the thought that counts, right?

Chinese Language Videos For Kids

Yep, that's my girl right there.

The dancing-to-the-TV, complete-with-belly-shot, cheerleader-with-chopsticks kind of girl.

She's Chinese, in case you're new around here. Oh, and I am not, as you can see from my pic (*eyes to the left*) in the sidebar.

In my ideal world, my girl would be bilingual, speaking both English and Mandarin Chinese with fluency.

In case you needed help with the word "bilingual."

Anyway, I looked into Chinese language classes, but at the low, low cost of $300 a month, I decided that keeping the family alive through this miracle called "food" had a slightly higher priority.

Plus, there's the whole "running around like a chicken with my head cut off sticking my two-year-old in an ongoing structured class" thing that gets my panties all in a wad.

AS IF THEY AREN'T THAT WAY ALREADY.

So, instead of traipsing around town to a class, I stick my girl in front of the tube.

MUCH BETTER.

But you know--when used in balance--that TV is a godsend. There are days we overuse it, but there are just as many days it's underused. Really! It's the Information Age! We can learn anything! Everything! Become even geekier than we already are!

So in my quest to find Chinese language DVDs that my kids would not only watch, but learn from, I ran across what has become my two-year-old's favorite collection: Learn Chinese with Mei Mei. I'm not sure what's so magical about this particular series, but it works. My girl interacts with the Chinese speakers, and she's picking up the language in the process.

Disclaimer: I've been around kids long enough to know that even the best materials will not work with every child. I happen to have a daughter who is all about holding a conversation with the TV.

Here's the list of what's currently available in the series:

Play & Learn Chinese with Mei Mei Vol. 1

Play & Learn Chinese with Mei Mei Vol. 2

Play & Learn Chinese with Mei Mei Vol. 3

Dance & Learn Chinese with Mei Mei Vol. 4

Play & Learn Chinese with Mei Mei Vol. 5

Play & Learn Chinese with Mei Mei, Vol. 6

Play & Learn Chinese with Mei Mei Vol. 7

Speak & Sing Chinese with Mei Mei (CD)

I recommend trying one out for a few weeks to see if it works before making any kind of decision. Check your local library, which as we know, is God's Home On Earth.

I have several Chinese adoptive parents in the crowd (Come out and say "hi!"), but if that's not you, consider forwarding this post to someone who is. Trust me; they will file your address under "spam" thank you.

Or as they say in Chinese, "Xie-Xie." (shea shea)

Books I'm Hogging From The Library: The January 17, 2009 Edition

I'd find more time to read if All The Good Shows didn't start on the very same week. How can I focus on a book when there are sangers to mock? Office politics to shock? Cylons gone amuck?

(We'll just see who can Name Those Shows, in less than three notes.)


Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids :: This makes me feel like my blogging has a purpose, and like I have a detailed plan for the rest of my life. (I do. It's called, "Survive." I'm bound to be successful at that.)

The Myth of the Model Minority: Asian Americans Facing Racism :: I like this quote from the back: "Most Americans believe Asian Americans are content, do not suffer from discrimination, and are all in the path to whiteness. Bravo to the authors for bringing to the fore the racial oppression endured by Asian Americans!" Reading books like this is all a part of being a multiracial family.

Idiot's Guide to Wine Basics :: MOTHER. PUT DOWN THAT PHONE. I picked this book up in order to understand the wine-o drinking culture around me. Yes, that must be it.

Turning Learning Right Side Up: Putting Education Back on Track :: I enjoy learning about education. Or educating myself on learning. Whatever.


Anyone reading anything besides the commentary on your favorite shows?

Cinnamon Apples To Go

My 7YO son loses a tooth about every two-and-a-half hours these days. Any baby tooth that's still left in his mouth is nothing but a wobbly bit.

It's a sight to behold, for sure. What I didn't expect were the eating challenges this toothless wonder would send my way.

Oh, my boy's a great eater. Of course he is! He's my first born! The one I hold to All The Parenting Rules With 98 Kinds Of Strictness!

So it kinda surprised me when he started whining at the dinner table about not being able to eat his apple. After a good minute or two into my "why-in-the-world-not" speech, he finally snarked back to me: "Umm, Mom? My teeth?"

I'm not a smart man, Jenny.

So because of him and his one good tooth, I cut my apples, still peel and all, in manageable, thin slices. Lemmeetellya, he and his underlings let me know when I've cut a piece too thick.

The problem that always bugged me was that when I'd pack our lunch for an outing, apples were off the list. First there was the no-one-would-eat-the-peel issues, then the slices-are-too-big issues, followed closely by the toothless-old-man-in-the-making issue, not to mention the apples-are-already-cut-so-they're-rotting-and-gross issue. I didn't want to haul the useless apple slicer, and goodness knows I'd not be caught dead with a knife in my purse. THAT would not go over well with the adoption officials.

I DIGRESS.

Oh, I know. I could do the whole "lemon juice" treatment. But how yummy is that?

I ran across a recipe the other day that keeps sliced apples fresh, and turns a packed lunch into fun at the same time.

And now I just realized that I could have typed the previous sentence, AND THAT SENTENCE ONLY, and this post would have been complete. AND A TEENY BIT SNAPPIER.

So.

Maybe this little concoction will breathe a little life into your lunches. Even for the little-old-men-with-no-teeth.


Cinnamon Apples To Go

1 apple, any variety
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Walnuts, optional (hello, omega 3's!)

Thinly slice an apple, peel and all. Place slices in a container with a lid, and sprinkle the mixture of cinnamon and sugar over the apples. Shake the closed container until the apples are coated. Add walnuts if desired, and then pack your apples to go!

Recipe adapted from The Everything Kids' Cookbook

More recipes over at the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

Pictionary For Kids

I have this fantasy where every night my family sits and plays a board game together. Instead, our evenings look a whole lot like making messes and the natural counterpart: cleaning them up.

Sometimes, when we're looking for a really fun time, we break a few things, and fourteen months later, fix them back up.

WILD. AND. CRAZY.

I have no doubt my childhood was just as chaotic, and the house was just as messy (Hi, Mom!), but we did find time to play games together. It's a fond memory; one that sends me to the game aisle at the stores for a quick fix.

One of my favorite games as I got older was Pictionary. Most of the fun came from my complete inability to draw, and (when he started hanging around) Hubs' unique ability to mock my ridiculous pics.

We have a weird sense of humor that way.

So when the kids grew old enough to draw, I started looking for an easier version of the game. Sure, there's Pictionary Jr, but that's still too advanced. I needed something that included concrete words like "egg" and "face."

I never found anything, so I came up with a list of words on my own:


When we play, we always use a white board, but a pile of scrap paper will do. I just let the kids pick a word from the list, and draw until someone guesses the answer. I've found that setting a time limit or keeping score is the quickest route to wailing and tears, so we just skip that part.

I have no doubt this fun family experience is an educational one as well, which tickles me to no end. As you might imagine.

Can't have fun unless it feels like work, I say.

Don't invite me to your next party, m'kay?

Anyone have a favorite game from childhood?

PS: E-mail me if you'd like to have the original PDF file of the list of words!



Subscribe to this blog's feed and follow me on twitter and facebook!

Yes, I Home School, So Go Ahead And Hate Me

One of the downsides of homeschooling is that whenever I first tell someone that we homeschool, I figure most people make any one if not all of these assumptions about us:

1. We're freaks
2. We're religious lunatics
3. We're better than you
4. We're stupider than you
5. We're introverted and backwards

Now. I have no doubt that we're a bunch of weirdos. Goodness sakes, we can't even agree on how to spell "homeschooling" ("home schooling")! But it always burns my biscuits when homeschooling is perceived as an inferior educational choice. Are there weaknesses? Of course. But the same can be said for any educational choice.

I never bring up the topic of homeschooling to give you just one more reason to hate me, or to start a hair-pulling girlie fight, or to send out the hidden message that the school that YOUR child is in is AWFUL. No, I just like to talk about my life, and hopefully in all the rambling and nonsense, someone gets a little something out of it.

Like maybe a 20-minute nap.

Over the holiday break, I read a book about a homeschooling family. I read it all! Start to finish!

The parents who wrote Homeschooling: A Family's Journey, set out to find a good educational experience for their kids. They didn't set out to isolate, or to shun the public schools, or to kneel in prayer for 23 hours a day. For them, homeschooling became their only option, and over time, it became a great option.

I like to think of myself as a smart person, and not as a freak, so this story really resonated with me. It's also nice to see the tide of homeschooling changing from "a bunch of isolationist religious freaks" (no offense, old-timers, just stating the stereotype) to "a group of people who want a good education for their kids."

And now that I've taken 873 paragraphs to say, "It was an encouraging read," let me just leave you with some end-of-chapter takeaways that were listed in the book.

• Homeschooling makes it possible to give a child an excellent education without incurring heavy debt to purchase a house in a "good" neighborhood with "good" schools.
  
  
• Everything that happens in life can be part of a child's education, as long as they child pays attention and asks such questions as "why" and "how" and someone is paying enough attention to help the child find the answer.
  
  
• Homeschooling allows children to learn by looking out the window.
  
  
• Education should develop the person. It should develop the person so the person can in turn make a gift of personhood, a gift of self, what T. S. Eliot called a "continual self-sacrifice."
  
  
• Diversity, independence, and decentralization make homeschoolers as a group extremely effective at finding the best way to accomplish the educational mission.
  
  
• Serendipity and randomness are the best reasons to go anywhere, because you can never plan in advance to discover the things you don't know.
  
  
• So much of our homeschooling is digression that digression sometimes seems to be the whole point of it.
  
  
• We protect our children not from exposure to new ideas but from lack of exposure to new ideas.
  
  
• After our years of homeschooling, we know that there is little that we cannot learn on our own. A college degree functions as a formal attestation of that learning.

You likey stuff in bullet pointies?

See more of the books I've been reading ("reading").

CPSIA Law, Huh?

I'm not a lawyer, but I play one in my home.

But putting those law-speaking and law-interpreting skills aside, I am not knowledgeable enough to yak on and on about the new CPSIA law that was passed last August.

What I do know about it is this:

As of February 10, 2009, all products made for children under the age of 12 must be tested for lead and phosphate, otherwise the seller faces hefty fines and charges.

It all sounds well and good, but the testing is required for every component of an item, and the testing is time-consuming and very expensive.

That may be fine for the large corporations, but for small businesses, it is not good news at all. Think Etsy, eBay, and any number of the mom-and-pops making and selling quality goods for kids.

I urge you to read Shannon's post which spells out more of the details, and also provides links for signing an online (legit) petition and other ways to help. Within those links is a sample letter to send to your congressman or senator and the place to e-mail the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Please take a few minutes to support the people who make and sell quality handmade items in our country. In this economy, we don't need another reason for our friends to have to close the doors of their businesses.

Savory Chicken Sandwiches

As I recover from the holidays, I want meals that fix themselves. This one comes close, because all I have to do is slop a few things in the crock while I clean up the trash pit table from lunch.

Most of the ingredients are pantry items, so this meal often shows up during the time known as "Should Have Gone To The Store Three Days Ago."

Also.

If you put the leftovers in the freezer, then voila, you will have a meal on hand that fixes itself.

Enjoy.


Savory Chicken Sandwiches

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/4 cup prepared Italian salad dressing
1/4 cup water
14 hamburger buns or slices of bread*

Place chicken in a 5 quart slow cooker. Sprinkle with soup mix and garlic salt. Pour dressing and water over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours (high 3-4 hours).** Remove chicken; cool slightly. Skim fat from cooking juices. Remove chicken, shred, and return to slow cooker. Serve with a slotted spoon on buns. 14 servings.

*You can also serve this over mashed potatoes or rice.

**I toss the frozen chicken breasts in my crock pot, and it takes them 3-4 hours on HIGH to cook until the meat is done and shreds easily. Your crock pot will likely cook at a different pace.


More recipes over at the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

It Goes Round And Makes Me Merry

Very little excites me.

Sports? Snooze...

Shopping? Ughhhhh...

But if I could combine those two "blahs" into this? I'd be hootin' and hollerin' fer shure.


IT'S A MERRY-GO-ROUND. THAT PUMPS WATER.

(!!!)

Followed by...

(!!!)

Have you ever heard of such?!

I ran across that picture quite by accident, but it totally flipped my lid. A great toy! That pumps water!

Now if this was some kind of useful post, I would tell you that these pumps are changing the lives of children and families all across the world. That there are organizations out there, this very minute, who are raising money to place these pumps in Africa.

But I'd totally be making that up.

(Sheepish grin.)

I fully intended to research the issue, but you know. PATHWORDS.

However!

I know that in my vast, vast readership there are people who care about the global community and who might, just might--find this information useful at some point down the road.

So there!

In addition, there is a see saw (margery daw) that functions as a pump as well:


A see saw!

Oh, my practical heart beats to the image of those pumps. There's so much about them to love.

Sigh...

Now.

I'm certain you're wondering how in the world I came across that picture. Right? Right?

All last summer, my kids flew off played on the merry-go-round on the park, and it reminded me of the good ol' days of my youth. On *my* grade school playground, there were two merry-go-rounds, and BOTH of them were the kind you could sit on and pump a bar back and forth with your feet and hands.

In the spirit of reminiscing, I kept asking the people I'd bump into at the park if they remembered such a thing.

No. One. Did.

NOT A ONE!

Either *I'm* really old, the *equipment* was really old, or I grew up in the sticks.

Yes, yes, and yes.

So one night, I decided to use this amazing new tool, "Google," and search for "a merry-go-round that pumps."

And voila.

Those are the pictures I found.

(Awwww...)

However!

I did come across this as well:


That picture did my reminiscing heart a world of good, plus it strengthened my ever-present spirit of, "I TOLD YOU SO."

Just look at me, still changing the world, one blog post at a time.

XOXO.

Lisa

Industrial Strength Dishwashing Gloves

When I hand wash my dishes, I use 873 degree water, and scrub like a madwoman in a race for a prize.

You know those people who are "meek" and "mild?"

I'M NOT ONE OF 'EM.

So when I take my Bull-In-A-China-Shop Self over to the sink, I need a pair of gloves that can stand the abuse.

I've tried the yellow (pink, light blue) rubber gloves. I've probably thrown 8,256 pairs in the landfill by now. Eventually (!!!) I realized that the inexpensive flimsy kind wasn't working for me.

I finally ran across some Real Gloves at both Target and World Market. They are royal blue, and cost less than $10 a pair. I believe Target has two sizes (S, L) and World Market has three (S, M, L). The gloves are super thick, yet not so thick you can't work with them on. I've never seen them sold in a package (nice!); they just hang from a hook on a shelf in the store.

The pair I have now has lasted me at least three or four months. That's a long time in the Rubber Glove World. It's saved me money in the long run, plus I've not been loading up the trash with gloves every few days or so.

I glove my gloves. They Work For Me This Wednesday, and many, many Wednesdays after that.

Yay For Secondhand Stuff!

My girl got a set of pom poms for Christmas. Used ones, from the Goodwill store down the street.

You think she liked them?

A leeeettle bit?

--------------------------------------

It was my seven-year-old leading the charge, begging me to let him buy gifts for his brother and sister. I agreed, but I didn't want him blowing a bunch of money on stuff, nor did I want to perpetuate the Christmas Machine.

I finally decided to take each kid to the thrift shop to purchase one inexpensive gift for each of the other two siblings.

Of course, I had to get my grubby ol' hands of control in the mix. Otherwise, they would have each ended up with a life-sized, scummed up robot doll that took 87 batteries to run.

I let each kid select 5-10 gifts at the store, and then I helped "narrow it down" from there.

And if several of the toys they had picked out "mysteriously" ended up back on the shelf, what was *I* to do? It's the "Magic of Christmas."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Come Christmas morning, the kids were so excited to present to each other the gifts they had so carefully picked out. And I was thrilled that the gifts did not come wrapped in seventeen layers of plastic and cardboard, and that we had kept some stuff from heading directly to the landfill.

Yes! Yes! You there with the hand in the air!

Oh? You want to know why I didn't go to the dollar store instead?

Good question. I have nothing against dollar stores, I assure you. But they're still stores selling junky new stuff. I figured that a dollar at Goodwill would get a better gift in the long run, plus it would avoid the whole ordering-making-packaging-shipping consumerism machine.

Reduce, reuse, recycle. It's a beautiful thing.

Did anyone else exchange gifts that didn't come all new and shiny from the store?

A Day In The Life...

Heart of the Matter has just published their first online magazine, and the Stretch Mark Mama is in it! You can find me on pages 40-41 of the January 2009 edition, blabbing on and on about "A Day in the Life of a Homeschooling Mom."

For my homeschooling groupies, I highly recommend adding their blog feed to your reader. They always have lots of good, new content.

One of my (overly-ambitious) goals for this year is to write more about teaching and learning and all that jazz. Unfortunately, most of my "writing time" is spent teaching. GO FIGURE.

Anyway.

The Heart of the Matter site has weekly writing assignments that I urge you to check out. It's great fun! (For geeks!) I always have a lot of great thoughts (*COUGH COUGH COUGH*) that mostly rattle around in my head. Maybe some can rattle around in your head and on your blog as well.

Until then, enjoy the online magazine. Make sure to have the volume up a bit so you can hear sound of the pages when they turn.

LOVE IT.

Books I'm Hogging From The Library: The January 3, 2009 Edition

What? What's this? A blog post?

CAN'T BE.

I've enjoyed my bloggy break, thankyouverymuch. I'll eventually be back full-time, with all the snarky posts you've come to love ignore expect.

Meanwhile, I've actually read some of the books in my stack. Imagine!

Here are a few of the latest.

Homeschooling: A Family's Journey :: One of the better stories I've read in a while. It was an intelligent, encouraging read. I'll likely have more to say on the topic. Or not.

Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book: Her Biggest Ever Collection of All-New 30-Minute Meals Plus Kosher Meals, Meals for One, Veggie Dinners, Holiday Favorites, and Much More! :: Besides the overuse of "EVOO," it was a fun book to look through. Though I didn't earmark any recipes, I did spend a goodly amount of time making fun of the over-photoshopped cover image of RR. (That's "Rachael Ray" for those of you not nearly as cool as me. *cough*)

Internet-linked Children's World Cookbook :: In true Usborne style, this book contains not just recipes, but educational blurbs as well.

Anybody read a good book over the holiday break?