Happy Halloween!

I was going to be a nose or a gypsy fortune teller, but decided on being The Greek Ghost of Gina, which came to me when I was in the shower!

Good and Busy Week

It's been a good week. I've taken lots of pictures for work, of a construction site where two new buildings are going up. That's one of the fun parts of my work, and practice definitely makes one a better photographer. Julie had a fever today, so she had to miss the 3rd day of school. I went in to give her a hug this morning, and she was burning up. She's doing much better tonight, but has a headache & a sore tummy.
It's pizza night, just like every Friday night. It's one tradition we seem to be able to stick to, except Julie is going to have some of my homemade chicken soup. Here's the one I'm making - it's the fast version:
Get a big pot, fill about 2/3 full of water, put on medium-high burner
Dice up some fresh chicken breast, like 1 or 2
Throw them in the pot of water or gently slide them off the cutting board into the water
Chop an onion in 1/2 & put that in the pot
Get 4-5 cloves of garlic & press or smash them & chop & throw in the pot
Cut a good 1/2" piece of fresh gingerroot and smash on the cutting board & chop up
Throw the ginger in the pot
Peel & chop a good sized carrot & yes - throw it in the pot
Add 2 TBSP of "Better Than Bouillion" (chicken flavor)
It should all be boiling now, so let it boil until the chicken is cooked
You can add any other veggies you like, but this is usually how I make it when somebody in the family is sick. Sometimes I'll press another clove or 2 of garlic right before serving and stir it in the pot, because the oils in the garlic are supposed to have some healing properties. The ginger helps with inflammation and nausea. Anyway, I have another version that is really our favorite, because we cook a whole chicken and make our own chicken broth, but we usually make that a day ahead so we can skim the fat off the broth before finishing up the soup.

Well, I'm tired of being on a computer, sorry. Gotta enjoy the Friday night with the kids now. Have a good weekend!

This is Why it's Not a Good Idea to Put Plastic Bowls on Hot Burners!

This is the popcorn bowl Mike and I got as a wedding present. It came with a set of bowls, and we use it all-the-time! One of my children set it on the burner before she started to cook dinner and look what happened... We got the burner off, and so it's still good to use, but the poor bowl isn't. It is going to become a "Garden Salad Bowl". I'm going to plant spinach, lettuce & basil in it, and then just pick when they're like baby green size, and they'll keep growing after that. So, it will be like eating really fresh salad. And, the best part - the bowl will drain easy after watering!

Mouthwatering...

Earlier this summer, Julie asked me take her and Morgan to Happy Sushi, a sushi restaurant in Logan. She said she liked the California Roll, so that's what we had. I was surprised she liked it, 'cause the seaweed tasted kinda fishy to me. Morgan had some noodles/soup stuff & he was ok with it all.

I make a dish that is like sushi (kinda). Ceviche. I learned to make it while working as a waitress in Florida when I was young and beautiful. I'll put the recipe up next time I post. Basically, it's fish and/or shrimp/scallops, spices, and lemon juice. The juice "cooks" the fish.

Back to sushi. We went again one night, and instead of having the California Roll, we ordered the Golden California Roll, and Morgan and I were hooked!

So yesterday at work, out-of-the-blue, I got a craving for a Golden California Roll, but I'd brought lunch, so I used mind over matter and conquered the craving. Or so I thought.

Today I was just working along, busy as a bee, and it hit me - "Go to Happy Sushi, go to Happy Sushi, you can do it. Take a lunch break and go, go GO!

So I did.

While I ate my lunch I realized today in my XXth year of life I had finally learned the definition of mouthwatering. No, it isn't defined with words, but with a feeling, a real true mouthwatering feeling. That was the most satisfying lunch I've ever eaten. To top it all off, it's healthy.

Mouthwatering. That's the word of the day & the week!

When we make some at home, I'll take pictures and show you.

Have a terrific week! Jennifer

Chillin Out in July

Right after the Scout Breakfast on the 4th of July, we came home and got Morgan packed up for Scout Camp. They went up to a Scout Camp in Wyoming early the next morning, and Julie and I are so looking forward to him coming home this Saturday. It's a very quiet house when Morg's not home! To see the camp, click here.

Julie and I were supposed to be spending a lot of time together, but of course she's hanging out with her friends, and that's fine.

The only thing exciting around our house lately is that Morgan got a kitten. I'll try to get his picture up soon, and the story about his name/s.

Catching Up...

As you can see, I don’t update too often, but hope to this summer. I’m quite busy at work, and again have to say that I LOVE the work I get to do!

Last night Julie played viola in the Logan High School Orchestra for graduation. She said Miss Hen had tears in her eyes when she told them all about the new teacher for next year. Miss Hen will be moving to Chicago, Illinois. She’s been so great with all of the orchestra kids, and I know Julie will miss her a lot.

This past week, Morgan earned 3 rank advancements in Scouts, which means he pinned me three times, and no blood! It was an exciting and special night for him. We’re going to have a fun summer working on merit badges. Here’s a couple pics; one of Morgan shaking Royce Hatch’s hand, and another of all the boys with their leaders. These are a great group of kids (with some great leaders too). They will have a great time at camp this summer.

Breakfast Oops...Soaring

Shoot! I meant to take a picture of my breakfast, but since it's already gone to the place where all good breakfasts go, I'll just have to tell you. It was a nice, soft, round, perfect glazed donut, one of those high-risers. So I carefully set it on top of, and inside my bookbag before leaving for work. Once at work, I savored the moment until the donut was mine. I reached it, and pulled out a pancake-flat, round, un-perfect donut. Yes, it was good, but the flat ones never taste as good as the poofy ones!

So today there's a posting about a USU flight instructor, just because I thought it was interesting. It also reminded me to encourage everyone I know to go for their dreams, and to go for mine also. I remember telling a friend once of my life-long passion for writing, and how I was writing a book and hoping to find a publisher. My friend's reply was, "You'll never be able to earn a living writing." The decision was clear to me then, don't ever repeat those words or anything like them to anyone else. We all need encouragement from time to time, and sometimes we need a lot of encouragement for a long period of time. Positive reinforcement brings positive results, no matter what the pursuit is.

One of my favorite sayings is from Helen Keller,
"One can never consent to creep when one feels the impulse to soar".

When I graduated from USU in 2003 after a 23 break in my education, that saying kept going through my mind as we processed from the Quad to the Spectrum for the commencement ceremony. That feeling of soaring is something incredible to feel. Have a soaring day!

Flying

A day in the life of a flight instructor - Features

April 15th is an interesting day...

Happenings in History:

• Leonardo Da Vinci was born! (makes me want to watch Everafter, one of my favorite movies; remember the part where he "walks on water?")
• 1st McDonald's opened in 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinoios
• Titanic sank

Ok, on to some good things to celebrate today:

• Rubber Eraser Day - celebrate erasers, they get rid of our mistakes! More info at http://holidayinsights.com/other/rubbereraserday.htm, http://homeschooling.about.com/library/blapr15a.htm
• Take a Wild Guess Day

Vacation at Home!

Gee whiz, it would be nice to take a vacation. I love vacations at home. It really seems like we don't spend much time at home, enjoying Home and one another.

We start by cleaning the house really good, then going to the library and checking out a bunch of movies, and finally to the grocery store for great snacks. Usually, we'll have stuff ready to cook a nice dinner on one of the days. Shut the blinds & curtains, turn off the ringer on the phone (now we have to turn off the cells, and try try try to forget about texting or finding out who's texted us!)

Then we wear our favorite jammies the whole vacation, which is usually over a weekend. Read, nap, talk, watch movies, cook together - it's all very meaningful, and memorable.

Tomorrow will be fun!

Over the weekend I gave Morgan a maze to figure out. Well, he kept trying and trying and finally realized it wasn't solvable! It was an early April Fool's joke!

The best holiday of the year was fun

Everyone knows the best holiday of the year is...
St. Patrick's Day!

• You get to remember your ancestors (Irish or not)

• It's a fun day to try & catch Leprechauns

• You get to eat green food!