25
Feb, 2013

whew! i did it!

today was a whirlwind.  i was invited (about six weeks ago) to give a presentation about the wonderworks class that i’ve been developing at work.  stem* skills are sort of a hot topic in education circles right now and librarians have been trying to jump on that wagon for awhile, but many of us aren’t sure of how to do it.  since i’m actually doing a program (albeit a very young and new program) i am apparently expert enough to come talk about it to other librarians.  for 50 minutes.  twice in a row.  and get paid.  eep!

because i was feeling a little nervous about doing this, i did what i always do when i’m nervous and i over-prepared.  i went a bit overboard (i did a special photo shoot with a friend, i actually chose a color scheme for my presentation and i read through the steal this presentation slideshare about 10 more times, i actually did a dry run in front of some kind friends and colleagues), but …. i have to say that all the prep paid off.  it went really well, i wasn’t nervous at all and i’m quite proud of my slides.  i’m also a bit of a slide snob now and did my best to create these slides in such a way that i wouldn’t be tempted to read words off the screen to my listeners (i really hate that), so although i’m embedding the presentation here, it might not make a ton of sense to look at it without my words.  but you can still enjoy the goofy photos!

many thanks to my “beta audience” for your great questions and feedback. they really improved my final version of this presentation!

*science technology engineering mathematics

Posted in library stuff | 5 Comments
25
Feb, 2013

movie monday: itty bitty ice skating film

 

here is a movie about the happy little dude’s first time on the ice.  he wasn’t so sure about it.

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22
Feb, 2013

no ‘poo update: i get it now!

IMGP3515i blogged recently about switching from shampoo to baking soda and apple cider vinegar.  you can go read that post if you want to know my initial impressions of the process, but i thought i’d write an update to say… i get it now.  at this point, i can go 3-4 days with washing only with water (and not even that every day) and my hair doesn’t get greasy.  that is crazy-pants.  i also switched to a less intense mixture of the baking soda (about 1/4 cup mixed with a whole bike bottle full of water) and i like that better.  i don’t crave the sudsy feeling of shampoo anymore and i even made it through a visit to my hairdresser product-free.  i think i’ll continue this experiment a bit longer.  i’m enjoying it now!

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments
21
Feb, 2013

fashion chronicles: scrunched up sweater sleeves!

IMGP3583please excuse the fuzzy focus, bad-lighting winter evening photography.  i just wanted to share this outfit with you all.  when i was putting it together this morning, i liked the way the colors went together, but the 3/4 length sleeves on the shirt were not playing well with the sweater sleeves until i remembered this recent post about wearing sweaters with button-down shirts.  my method wasn’t exactly the same as hers, but the concept was the same and i love the way it turned out!  they were a little snug around my elbows all day, but not unbearable.  now if i could just figure out how to accomplish the messy tucked shirt thing. IMGP3586

Posted in style, winter | 1 Comment
21
Feb, 2013

pantry challenge revised….

IMGP3568alright.  who guessed that we’d last about 4 days and that the first thing that would force us back to the grocery store would be…. carrots?  here’s the thing.  about an hour after i posted the pantry challenge post, i went to cook a soup and discovered that we were out of celery, down to our last two carrots and that half of the onions in our pantry were rotten and when i tried to mince a clove of garlic from our last head, it was so dessicated that this happened:

IMGP3571still, we managed to limp through most of the week and we did use up some things that needed to get used up (i’m looking at you, beauty heart radishes and freezer-burned meatballs….), so instead of giving up completely, i’m simply going to adjust the rules. In addition to milk, let’s say that we can also buy eggs and produce.  Let’s see how long that lasts.

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18
Feb, 2013

red beans, sausage & rice: a family favorite

IMGP3563awhile back, we discovered this recipe.  delicious!  it quickly became added to the regular rotation and (especially in winter) makes an appearance at least once a month.  it’s a quick weeknight meal and the happy toddler loves the sausage and beans (and can sometimes be distracted from the veggies enough to just eat them, although the celery often gets ejected).  i’ve actually altered the recipe enough from the original that when mr. happy stuff tried to make it last week, he couldn’t find the recipe in our recipe book (but that one doesn’t have beans!  or cajun seasoning!).  so i thought i’d share it with you in case it’s as good a fit for your family as it has been for ours.

you’ll need:  onion, celery, red pepper, garlic, smoked polish sausage and some canned tomatoes.

IMGP3553 things we’ve added to the original recipe include a can of these red beans (you could also use pintos or maybe even black eyed peas, but these are the ones we use)IMGP3561

and about a teaspoon of cajun / creole seasoning (use more if you like it spicy, or just add it to your own plate at the table if you’re eating with a spice-sensitive child)IMGP3557 i also like it serve it on this madagascar pink rice.  it’s our new favorite rice.  cooks up like white rice (i.e. it doesn’t take an hour like brown rice), but has more nutrients and flavor than white rice.IMGP3554once you’ve started your rice in the rice cooker, chop up the sausage into bite-sized pieces and saute until crispy.

IMGP3556remove the browned meat to a paper towel (or not, this step is somewhat optional) and then put your veggies in.  don’t worry about the brown sticky bits on the bottom of your pan.  that’s the flavor!  we’ll deglaze that when we add the can of tomatoes here in a second.IMGP3560 once the veggies are tender, throw the garlic in for a few seconds before dumping in the tomatoes.  use the juices to loosen the brown yummy bits on the bottom of the pan and stir it all together.  add the beans (drained and rinsed) and cajun seasoning at this point, then toss the sausage back in and let it all get nice and hot, then it’s ready to serve!IMGP3562

sometimes we add the rice to the pot too, sometimes we serve the beans/meat/tomato mixture on top of the rice, it’s really up to you.IMGP3563

here’s the recipe:

Red Beans, Sausage and Rice

12 ounces smoked sausage (such as kielbasa), cut into small pieces
1 medium yellow onion, diced medium
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced medium
1 celery stalk, diced medium
salt & pepper to taste (i use jane’s krazy mixed up salt)
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 can red beans, drained and rinsed
1 t. cajun or creole seasoning2 cups rice

Directions

  1. In a large skillet or stockpot, heat sausage over medium-high and cook, stirring occasionally, until crispy, about 8 minutes.
  2. Add onion, garlic, red pepper, and celery; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until celery is tender, 8 minutes.
  3. Add tomatoes and cajun seasoning and cook until slightly thickened, 3 minutes.
  4. Add beans and rice and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes.
Posted in winter, yum | Comments Off on red beans, sausage & rice: a family favorite
18
Feb, 2013

impromptu pantry challenge!

IMGP3568I’m going to try a pantry challenge.  most people pick a pre-determined amount of time during which they’re not allowed to buy groceries, but instead try to just cook the food they already have stashed away.  i’m not quite up for a full month (i don’t think?) but a week seems sort of wimpy, so i’m doing a “see-how-long-you-can-go” challenge.  exceptions to the rule will be:

milk (there’s no way we can just do without milk, we have a little dude in the house!)

food for this weekend’s annual church retreat (i signed up to bring some specific food and i haven’t purchased it yet)

why am i doing this?  our grocery bills were oddly high the last two months and i keep discovering food in my freezer and pantry that i’ve forgotten i had and we need to use it up, so i think this will be a good exercise for us.  anyone want to join me?  anyone want to place bets on how long we’ll last or what food will be the breaking point for us?  let’s make it interesting.

challenge #1:  if anyone joins me and can last longer than me i’ll send you a treat from pidoodle.

challenge #2:  the person who guesses the closest to the date we break down and buy groceries will get some of my homemade larabars.  bonus points if you name the food that forces us back to the store.

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18
Feb, 2013

movie monday: cheater edition

observant readers may have noticed that i’m a few days behind.  also, there are a few family birthdays coming up for which i am not yet prepared and also i’m trying to pull together materials for a big presentation next monday, so i thought that for today’s movie monday, i’d share a movie made by someone else.  also, it’s cute and valentines-y.  enjoy!

 

Papa Cloudy’s Laundromat from Akiko McQuerrey on Vimeo.

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15
Feb, 2013

my favorite new muffins

IMGP3543  while browsing pinterest a few weeks ago, i found a recipe for “peanut butter muffins.”  instantly intrigued (why hadn’t i thought of this flavor combination before?  it sounded amazing!), i read the recipe and was dismayed that the first ingredient in these (touted as “healthy” muffins) was a full cup of brown sugar.  that was the same amount as the flour!  so i poked around for another recipe and found this one.IMGP3535a quarter cup of brown sugar seemed more reasonable.  granted, this one also has honey and has a quarter cup of butter (or coconut oil) and the first one had applesauce (i may have to try that variation the next time i make these–i’m curious to see if they would still work.  these muffins, as written, are actually a teensy bit too greasy for my taste, but that may have been because my peanut butter wasn’t stirred thoroughly?), but these have pumpkin too!  they bake up amazingly moist and are as addicting as cookies, but have such an innocent list of ingredients that i think they make a great breakfast.
IMGP3539 don’t forget to sprinkle just a tiny bit of raw sugar in the last five minutes of baking.  it adds a lovely crunch.  apparently, these also freeze well.  the only thing they might also missing is chopped pecans.  mmm…..  ok, gotta go make these again.
IMGP3542
Yields 12 muffins or 18 smaller muffins
1/2 c. mashed banana
1/2 c. pureed pumpkin
1/2 c. natural peanut butter
1/4 c. honey
1 egg
1/4 c. softened butter or coconut oil (edited 3/4/13:  applesauce works fine here!  they’re slightly less moist, but i’m not sure that’s a bad thing.  i liked butter better than the coconut oil for longevity.)
1 t. baking soda
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. sea salt
1 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. chocolate chips
1/4 c. packed brown sugar
 1.  Mix all dry ingredients, EXCEPT BROWN SUGAR in a small bowl.
2.  In a larger mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients and blend thoroughly.
3.  Gradually add dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Batter may be slightly lumpy.
4.  Fold in the brown sugar and stir just once or twice. This will create a strudel like crunch on the top!
5.  Spoon batter into 12-18 greased or paper lined muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min.  sprinkle with raw (turbinado) sugar in the last five minutes of baking.
IMGP3547
Posted in yum | 2 Comments
14
Feb, 2013

valentines!

saw this idea on pinterestIMGP3531swapped it up a little by cutting out a heart shaped hole instead of a rectangle.

IMGP3532and then realized that maybe i’d gone a little overboard.

IMGP3534 you can only put the tiniest bit of shaving cream in each baggie, it’s difficult to get all the air out of the bag and if there’s even a modest amount of air it doesn’t work very well.  and you have to construct them no more than 12-24 hours before giving them or the shaving cream breaks down and starts to leak out of the edges….  also, there’s a lot of cutting with exacto knives, so…. not a lot of parts that the happy little dude can actually help with.  and also, it turns out that he was the only one to give out valentines at his class today.  so, probably not worth staying up until 12:30 to finish. buuuuuut….. they’re really cute!  and i only had to make a dozen (probably could have gotten by with six)!

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