Miss me?

Thought of the Day... I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can play together all night. ~Bill Watterson, “Calvin & Hobbes”

It’s been almost a week since my last post... Have you missed me? Did you even notice I was “gone”?

I’m sorry for dropping off the planet! As you may recall, life at work for the last four weeks has been nuts. If you are a new reader and haven’t caught up yet, I worked 90+ a week for over four weeks. I was exhausted and am supposed to be taking about two weeks off from work. I’m still trying to get caught up on sleep and am spending time with Hubby and The Offspring. We’re spending a lot of time together and as such I’m neglecting you. Sorry! Sort of... time with them is special and to be honest it’s been really nice. I’ve also see a few friends and family... oh the number of people I’ve neglected... :(

Did you notice the new menu bar? I’m still working on it, so it’s not done yet. What do you think?

I just checked the Google Analytics for my blog and I was VERY VERY pleased to see that since I last wrote (Jun 24) I have had 54 visitors, 22 of which were unique visitors. Of that 54, 9 were from NEW visitors! That may not seem like much, but since my blog is still fairly new I’m quite happy. THANK YOU for stopping by even when I’ve been away.

I have several things I want to post.. including photos, recipes, garden updates FlyBaby BabySteps updates and general babbling. Oh yeah... and some cookbook discussions... I have bought four new cookbooks in the last few weeks and would like to share with you what I have discovered (well, actually they’re used cookbooks I found at a local bookstore)

What would you like me to talk about first?

WOW! I’ve asked you a lot of questions today... sorry! Let’s recap...

1. Have you missed me?
2. Did you even notice I was “gone”?
3. Did you notice the new menu bar?
4. What would you like me to talk about first? (photos, recipes, garden updates FlyBaby BabySteps updates, general babbling or some cookbooks or something else?

Don’t forget to leave a comment and let me know what you’d like to read.

P.S. Thanks for stopping by!

Need a vacation

Thought of the Day...Laughter is an instant vacation. ~Milton Berle

You’ve heard me whine about my long days at work... well... last night I worked until 5:30AM this morning! I am an IDIOT! (no smart aleck comments, Rafael or Chris!)

I had planned on taking today off, but have been working since noon... (it’s almost 5pm now)... Am taking tomorrow off...

I need a vacation... I plan on taking a few days off - my garden needs tending, house needs cleaning... I need to get caught up on my FlyBaby BabySteps... I need sleep!!!

Maybe it’s just like Milton Berle said... so I guess I need to laugh... feel free to post a comment to make me laugh (Please keep it clean, my mom and The Offspring and her friends read this...)

Baby Steps, Day 3 continued

Thought of the Day...Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. ~Albert Einstein

HALLELUJAH! I FINALLY figured out how to get my FlyLady BigTent password reset!!! It was NOT easy!

If you recall from my Baby Steps Day 3 post, I couldn’t login to FlyLady’s site. Well, I am a very technical person (I work in my company’s information technology [IT] department). So, I normally can figure things out. It has taken me DAYS to figure this out! There was NO link on the site to reset my password.

So, for all those out there who need to reset your FlyLady BigTent.com password... go here. Maybe it was clear to others or I’m really tired (I’m still sitting at work -- been here 11 hours -- needed a break)... but I couldn’t find a link so I thought Why not go to the hosting site’s web site to do the reset.

Now... I can take some time tomorrow to finish my Day 3 (boy Day 3 is sure taking me a long time to get through it!)

Since my last post was about The Offspring’s wounded knee and the picture of said knee was so painful to look at...

...here’s a window sticker I saw when I was last at the library... Can you read it?

...it reads “Starfleet Academy - San Francisco MMCLXI” ... Needless-to-say, as a Star Trek fan... I loved it....I bet Hubby won’t want one on my car... :(

Battle with her Wounded Knee

Thought of the Day...If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think about it. ~Mary Engelbreit

As a mom one of the most difficult things seeing your child hurt. A week ago, The Offspring was hurt during a softball game. She slid into home plate and collided with the catcher’s shin guards. OW! She kept playing and went to practice all last week. It didn’t seem to be getting better. She wanted to get through her last week of school before going to the doctor (she was afraid she’d end up on crutches).

When she went to practice on Thursday, I talked with the coach and explained that I didn’t want her doing any sliding or catching. He said, “OK.” She had signed up for a college recruiting camp for Friday, but couldn’t attend.

Saturday started a long softball weekend - eight games... five of which were on Sunday! Sunday was over 13 hours of softball! UGH! The Offspring was DP (designated player -- aka DH in baseball) and she also had played some in the outfield.

I cringed every time she took the field....

The last game of the tournament was awful... she was catcher (the coach asked her if she could catch and she said yes... he told her, “I don’t want to get into trouble with Mom.” She caught anyway. She had to drop down on her knees quite a bit and then the icing on the cake - she got hit by a pitch in her sore knee! I just wanted to cry...

At the end of the day... she hurt so much!

Here’s what her knee looked like the next morning... UGH! She normally has a knee -- not a trunk looking leg... it’s really swollen!

I called the doctor and took her in... It was a “good news”/“bad news” thing...

...It’s not fractured, but...

...no softball for a week... which stinks because her team is in a National Qualifier this next weekend (starting on Friday) then off to a college exposure tournament in Denver, CO for a week. :(

UGH! My heart is hurting so I’m done for now...

Baby Steps, Day 3

Thought of the Day...Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos. ~Don Kardong

Friday was my BabySteps Day 3. I was supposed to do things I had already done (getting up and dressed and keep sink shining) and also start exploring Big Tent. I was able to do the “things I had already done” part. :) I couldn’t explore Big Tent because there is a problem with my account. I hope to get that resolved soon.

Remember on Day 1 when I talked about being freakish? I thought I would share more about how freakish I can be... I “have to” keep the empty hangers in the laundry room are sorted by size, color and function (ones with clips for skirts and things and ones without clips). Yeah, I’m nuts!

My BabySteps days were thrown off over the weekend. The Offspring had a softball tournament and I couldn’t move on to next steps, but I DID repeat what I had already done (dressed and shiny sink). :)

I hope I have more to share next time.

To read my complete BabySteps chronicling visit here.

Last Day of School

Thought of the Day...Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school. ~Albert Einstein

Another milestone... The Offpsring has finished another year of school... She ended it on a high note - all As! We don’t have her AP National Exam score yet, but she got an A in the class so I confident she did well. :) I know you worked hard, Offspring, and are relieved to have the year over.

Now for summer break. Well, not really a break. She will be busy with softball, catching up on her reading (she has quite the long summer reading list), the Eclipse release (both of us are anxious for this, we’re both Team Edward) and she’ll be helping around the house and garden.

I’m looking forward to spending more time with her. She was so busy keeping to her school work - duh she maintained a 4.0 while playing softball so she was quite busy!

Now we can have more Mami-Daughter evenings. :) I hope that we will be able to do cooking adventures. I have several recipes I want to try and share with all of you.

The Offspring’s growing up way to fast!!

This is a couple of days before the first day of school... (meet her Papa on the left, Nana on the right and Auntie Mindy)

...and here she was at the end of school...

...I feel really OLD now...

Baby Steps, Day 2

Thought of the Day...Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it. ~Author Unknown

Well yesterday was my BabySteps Day 2. Day 2 is Get Dressed to lace up shoes. I had to get up get dressed and ready to go... hair and makeup, too. I don’t always wear makeup. Sometimes when I’m super tired or working from home or just vegging out I don’t wear it. I had planned on going to the office to work so I put makeup on and got ready for work. Then I made The Offspring’s Exam Day Breakfast for her last finals day at school.

The sink remained still shiny. When I got home from taking The Offspring to softball practice I saw an onion slice in the Shiny Sink. Last night, I left a note saying “Why is there an onion in the Shiny Sink?” When I got up this morning it was gone... :)

Today is Day 3. Come back tomorrow morning to see my success. (How’s that for optimism?)

To read my complete BabySteps chronicling visit here.

Baby Steps, Day 1

Thought of the Day...My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint. ~Erma Bombeck

First of all... my family is more important to me than just about anything... spending time with them is more important than cleaning the house.

There I said it... live with it... I do... but... sometimes... I need my head examined...

I am one that likes organization, but at the same time I have a hard time letting go of some things... OK before Hubby chimes in ... many things.

Let’s go back 27+ years... my dorm room in college was clean. No piles, no dirt, no dust, nada... clean. I was in heaven. When I moved out of the dorms and into an apartment it too was clean. My last roommate wasn’t as a neat-freak as I and I refused to be the maid. So I gave up...

When I graduated and moved from the rural Missouri college town to outside Washington, DC I didn’t have a roommate... again... apartment was spotless. Albeit not much furniture so it was super easy vacuuming...

Then I got married... uh oh... Hubby isn’t a “freak” like me. Which is good... I was obsessive... I cleaned with toothpicks and straight pins... I was a F-R-E-A-K! (still am at heart)

After a few years The Offspring came along... Hubby came into the kitchen and I was straddling the refrigerator door leaning over my HUGE 39.9 week belly cleaning the ice maker on the front of the fridge...

Hubby asked, “Can I ask you something?”

I responded, without looking up, “Sure.”

Hubby, “Are you about to pop?”

I said, “Nope. Just cleaning this because I have time. Besides the nurse said I still had a while.” I was cleaning with a straight pin!!!! Sad thing was the fridge was CLEAN... my “freakish” side was nesting... but I didn’t see it.

My water broke the next day!

When went back to work and then decided that spending time with The Offspring was far more important than cleaning... I STILL live by that mantra (oh yeah, I already said that. Sorry!)

I’ve also “always” been afraid of identity theft (been a victim) so I am extremely cautious. I shred ANYTHING with our names or address (even junk mail addressed to “Resident”) with a cross-cut (want a confetti-cut but that will wait until my cross-cut wears out). I then put he clippings in my compost bin or recycle it if compost bin is too full.

Well... over the last 23 years we have accumulated stuff. Some is necessary, some is for fun (like our CD/DVD collections), some is for memories (photos coming out our ears), some is just stupid... remember that obsession I mentioned in the last paragraph about shredding... well in our early years in the Pacific Northwest we didn’t have a good shredder (mine now can shred an unopened random credit-card app envelope with no problem). I admittedly keep it until I go through it... No our house isn’t full to the ceiling with boxes and piles... I’m not that bad.

I have thrown out a lot of stuff... I spent six months (no not constantly) working on sorting through stuff. I felt a since of pride. I only shared photos of the before and after with 3 people - I was embarrassed.

What’s interesting is that we have family and friends that they house is messy and I don’t think anything about it... It feels lived in... not a museum...

Anyway... I need to... wait, that’s not right ... WE need to purge our house of stuff... I’m just overwhelmed and didn’t know where to start...

Then a couple days ago I was reading one of my new follower’s blog and she mentioned the FlyLady and I didn’t know who she was, so I Googled her... her tag line is Your personal online coach to help you gain control of your house and home. I was intrigued...

I read these statements and felt like someone understood... Are YOU living in CHAOS? (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome) Do you feel overwhelmed, overextended, and overdrawn? Hopeless and you don’t know where to start?

So, I joined (which is FREE) and now get emails and I have taken the first step to freedom...

The FlyLady says to take BabySteps... don’t take on too much or you’ll get burned out... YEP... been there done that...

So Day 1 is Go Shine Your Sink... my kitchen sink wasn’t terrible. A couple of oversized dirty dishes, but not bad. It didn’t matter... I HAD to make the sink shine...

So, I did... and YES, I got the toothpicks out! The Offspring says I’m nuts... I probably am... but you know what... I FELT GREAT!

Here’s the end result...

I also made a sign ...

...and hung it on the Kitchen window (please ignore the herbs that are waiting to get planted in my garden)

Wish me luck... better yet... join in the fun!!

Life experiences

Thought of the Day... The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~St. Augustine

I’ve seen this list a few times in the last several day and decided it is a good thing to do. I plan on updating it as I complete things. Feel free to copy it and post your answers in the comment section or a link to your answers on your blog (what a great way to learn about other blogs!).

1. started your own blog - YES

2. slept under the stars -YES

3. played in a band

4. visited Hawaii

5. watched a meteor shower - YES

6. given more to charity than you could afford to - YES

7. been to Disney - YES

8. climbed a mountain - YES, sort of and depends on what you mean by “climbed”

9. held a praying mantis - YES

10. sung a solo - YES

11. bungee jumped

12. visited Paris

13. watched a thunder and lightning storm - YES

14. taught yourself an art from scratch - YES

15. adopted a child

16. had food poisoning - YES and it was AWFUL

17. walked to the top of the statue of - YES, if the Washington Monument counts

18. grown your own vegetables - YES

19. seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. slept on an overnight train

21. had a pillow fight - YES

22. hitch hiked

23. taken a sick day when you’re not ill - YES

24. built a snow fort - YES

25. held a lamb - YES

26. gone skinny dipping - YES

27. run a marathon

28. ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. seen a total eclipse - YES

30. watched a sunrise or sunset - YES to both

31. hit a home run

32. been on a cruise - YES, twice

33. seen Niagara Falls in person - YES

34. visited the birthplace of your ancestors - YES

35. seen an Amish community - YES

36. taught yourself a new language - YES if you count computer language

37. had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. seen the leaning tower of Pisa in person

39. gone rock climbing

40. seen Michelangelo’s David in person

41. sung karaoke

42. seen Old Faithful erupt - YES

43. bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant - YES, anonymously

44. visited Africa

45. walked on a beach by moonlight - YES

46. been transported in an ambulance - YES

47. had your portrait painted - YES, if characture counts

48. gone deep sea fishing

49. seen the Sistine chapel in person

50. been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. gone scuba diving or snorkeling - YES, snorkeling twice in the Caribbean

52. kissed in the rain - YES

53. played in the mud - YES

54. gone to a drive-in theater - YES

55. been in a movie - NO, but have been on TV show, is that close enough

56. visited the Great Wall of China

57. started a business - YES, two

58. taken a martial arts class - YES

59. visited Russia

60. served at a soup kitchen - NO, but made massive pot of soup and took it to one

61. sold girl scout cookies

62. gone whale watching

63. gotten flowers for no reason - YES

64. donated blood, platelets or plasma - YES

65. been sky diving

66. visited a concentration camp - YES, Buchenwald in 1991

67. bounced a check - YES, accidentally

68. flown in a helicopter

69. saved a favorite childhood toy - YES, multiple

70. visited the Lincoln Memorial - YES

71. eaten caviar - YES, in grade school

72. pieced a quilt - YES

73. stood in Times Square

74. toured the everglades

75. been fired from a job - YES

76. seen the changing of the guard in Washington DC - YES

77. broken a bone - YES

78. been a passenger on a motorcycle - YES

79. seen the Grand Canyon in person - YES, sort of flown over it multiple times

80. published a book

81. visited the Vatican

82. bought a brand new car - YES

83. walked in Jerusalem

84. had your picture in the newspaper - YES

85. kissed a stranger at midnight on new year’s eve - YES

86. visited the White House - YES, twice (1974 and 1986)

87. killed and prepared an animal for eating - YES

88. had chickenpox - YES

89. saved someone’s life

90. sat on a jury - YES

91. met someone famous - YES

92. joined a book club

93. gotten a tattoo

94. had a baby - YES

95. seen the Alamo in person

96. swam in the Great Salt Lake - YES

97. been involved in a law suit - YES

98. owned a cell phone - YES

99. been stung by a bee - YES

100. ridden an elephant - YES

65/100 = looks like I need to travel more...

Bountiful Delivery, CSA week 1

Thought of the Day...Weather means more when you have a garden. There's nothing like listening to a shower and thinking how it is soaking in around your green beans. ~Marcelene Cox

If you recall from my Summer is just around the corner post our family bought into a local Community Supported Agriculture. We received our fist delivery today; which is good because my garden isn’t nearly ready.

Each week we receive a reusable bag with freshly picked produce. We return the bag and get more produce.

Our first week’s delivery included: red leaf lettuce, cabbage, beets, strawberries, rhubarb, pinto beans, popcorn, and a calendula plant (an edible plant; the leaves are good in salads). [6/16 Update: The left picture was taken at night and as you can see the calendula plant is closed down. The picture on the right was taken today during the day. It opened up and smiled at the hiding sun...]

Receiving this first delivery is sure signs that summer is almost here!

My poor garden took a beating today.... cold temps (20 degree drop), hard rain, sleet/small hail (you can see it on the dark ground cover), and wind. The streaks in the photo is the rain/sleet/hail.

Mother Nature, you were supposed to be sunny for 10 days... what happened?

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Smart Balance

Thought of the Day...Anybody who believes that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach flunked geography. ~Robert Byrne

When I found this recipe I was surprised at the simplicity. It became an immediate family favorite. It takes maybe 3 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook. It smells awesome and tastes even better.

The original recipe calls for butter, but to reduce the saturated fat I substituted Smart Balance. (Rafael, I *know* I shouldn’t substitute for butter, but wanted to make it healthier.) The first time I made it I used butter. Both ways are super good!

Cast of Characters

28 ounces Canned Whole Tomatoes (Roma/Plum are best) - YES I cheated and used “diced” - I was out of the whole ones.)

Smart Balance

Medium Yellow Onion (this is a large onion as I was doubling the recipe)

Parmesan Cheese (not pictured, but you probably figured that out on your own)

1. Heat a heavy (cast iron is perfect), medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add all of the ingredients and bring to a simmer. (Didn’t I make a cute happy face for your viewing pleasure? LOL!! I crack myself up sometimes!)

3. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, or until fat float separate from the tomatoes. Stir occasionally to break up tomato. As it cooks, you’ll notice the onion starts to swell.

The smell at this point is wonderful!

As I continued to stir it, the onion started to call apart.

4. Remove the onion. If you desire to eat the onion with the sauce, cut each half into fourths and return to sauce. Otherwise, discard onion.

(I didn’t take a photo of this, but suspect you get the idea.)

5. Pour over cooked pasta. As you can see, I left the onion in.

6. Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy (roughly 1/2 ounce).

Printable recipe can be found here. (If link fails it is because the recipe post is still pending approval)

Tomato Sauce with Onion and Smart Balance

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

Serving Size: 4

Summary:

Adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. The original recipe calls for butter, but to reduce the saturated fat I substituted Smart Balance. Additionally, the original recipe calls for discarding the onion before serving. We prefer to have the onion included.

Ingredients:

28 ounces Canned whole tomatoes, Chopped or diced, with their juices. (Roma/Plum are best)

5 tablespoons Smart Balance

1 Medium yellow onion, peeled and halved

2 ounces Parmesan Cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Heat a heavy (cast iron is perfect), medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.

2. Add all of the ingredients and bring to a simmer.

3. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes, or until fat float separate from the tomatoes. Stir occasionally to break up tomato.

4. Remove the onion. If you desire to eat the onion with the sauce, cut each half into fourths and return to sauce. Otherwise, discard onion.

5. Pour over cooked pasta.

6. Add freshly grated Parmesan cheese and enjoy (roughly 1/2 ounce each).

Notes:

5 T = 1/3 Cup - 1 teaspoon

1. NUTRITION FACTS (per MacGourmet) Servings: 4
2. Amount Per Serving
3. Calories: 209
4. Total Fat: 14.99g
5. Saturated Fat: 5.92g (if you use butter, this is 11.63g)
6. Monounsaturated Fat: 5.77g (if you use butter, this is 5.01g)
7. Polyunsaturated Fat: 3.30g (if you use butter, this is 0.74g)
8. Trans Fat: NA
9. Cholesterol: 10mg (if you use butter, this is 48mg)
10. Sodium: 637mg (if you use butter, this is 526mg)
11. Total Carbs: 10.99g
12. Dietary Fiber: 2.45g
13. Sugars: 5.89g
14. Protein: 7.22g

Blue Sky

Thought of the Day... The desire to reach for the sky runs deep in our human psyche. ~Cesar Pelli



When I walked outside this morning I saw this...



More blue sky!!! (It was a beautiful day for softball!)


On another note... while sitting at one Offspring’s game this weekend I learned something quite interesting...  One of the moms watching the game is the nation’s top selling independent Celebrating Home (formally Home Interiors) Designer.  I was dumbfounded.  If you’re interested feel free to stop by her independent website.

Softball in the Sun

Thought of the Day...I never questioned the integrity of an umpire. Their eyesight, yes. ~Leo Durocher

Today’s forecast was spot on! SUN!!! It started out cloudy and cool (low 50s) and ended up blue skies and 82! It was a GREAT day for softball. It’s too bad that the umpire in our first game didn’t have better eyesight. His strike zone was totally inconsistent! UGH!

Between games The Offspring and her friend and teammate were watching another team play... Looks like we have another girl who likes to make faces...

... and Hubby was wiped from a long work shift... so he tried to get a nap...

Now for a few (OK, not a few... several) action shots... The Offspring was playing in left field today. I like it when she plays there - I can get better action shots...

Sure hope tomorrow is a nice as today!

Alien Head

Thought of the Day...Murphy was an optimist. ~O'Toole's Commentary

The last three weeks at work have been grueling. I have worked* close to 18-20 hours a day for the last 3 weeks**. I’m exhausted and don’t have the energy to write the post I had planned for today (another recipe).

Instead... I want to ask this question... Have you ever looked at toilet seat cover and seen an alien head?

That’s what I saw when I looked at this...

...like I said, I’m exhausted...

*Off topic side notes:

My day job is that of an information technology (IT) professional - for those non-technical or technologically challenged that means my job is to help keep my company’s computer data systems running properly.

**Good news though... I have completed reprogramming all the procedures for my data systems and they are working now. (they broke because another team’s changes effected my data systems) The sad thing is that although my changes work, they still fail... because the other team’s system is not working right ... But that is out of my control... so it looks like I will be able to get back to normal working hours next week! YIPEEE!

Forgive me while I sleep at the keyboard....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Am I dreaming?

Thought of the Day...Dreams are nature's answering service - don't forget to pick up your messages once in a while. ~Sarah Crestinn

Could this really be true... or am I dreaming? Is that really THE SUN in our forecast?!?!

Nothing like jumping right into summer... (Mother Nature, I’m NOT complaining!)

Makes me want to sing... Tomorrow from the musical Annie!! :)

Grandma B's Banana Bread

Thought of the Day... Grandmas never run out of hugs or cookies. ~Author Unknown

My Grandma B was a wonderful cook. I have so many of her recipes. I want to share with you one of our favorites - her Banana Bread (with one small twist).

Cast of characters


½ cups Shortening
1 cup Sugar
2 whole Eggs
3 whole Bananas, Mashed
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoons Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Salt (OPTIONAL, I don’t use it)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190.5 degrees C).

Cream shortening and sugar


Add eggs and beat well.


Add bananas and mix. As you can see, I didn’t mash them beforehand. This is the first time I’ve made this bread since I got my KitchenAid mixer and I wanted to see how it did on mashing them.


Sift flour, baking soda and cinnamon together (and salt if you use it). Add to above mixture and beat well.


Pour mixture into 1 large loaf pan or 2 small ones. I didn’t grease the pan. Grandma didn’t say to on the recipe card so I didn’t.


Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until toothpick in middle comes out clean. I had to use a knife to loosen the loaf, but it still came out cleanly.


Delicious alone or with butter on it. (By the time I got the photos off the camera and started writing this post, HALF the loaf is GONE!)

To get a printer friendly copy of the recipe, go here.

Grandma B’s Banana Bread
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Serving Size: 18     Yield: 1 large or 2 small loaves

Ingredients:
1/2 cups Shortening
1 cup Sugar
2 whole Eggs
3 whole Bananas, Mashed
2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/4 teaspoons Cinnamon
1/4 teaspoons Salt (OPTIONAL, I do not use it)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
2. Cream shortening and sugar
3. Add eggs and beat well
4. Add bananas and mix
5. Sift flour, baking soda and cinnamon together. Add to above mixture and beat well.
6. Pour mixture into 1 large loaf pan or 2 small ones.
7. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until toothpick in middle comes out clean.

Delicious alone or with butter on it.


NUTRITION FACTS with no salt (from MacGourmet)
Servings: 18
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 170

1. Total Fat: 6.13g
2. Cholesterol: 26mg
3. Sodium: 78mg (if you add the salt, then 110mg)
4. Total Carbs: 26.26g
5.     Dietary Fiber: 0.86g
6.     Sugars: 13.62g
7. Protein: 2.26g

Missing Child Alert - KYRON HORMAN

I have set aside my normal blog post for this EXTREMELY IMPORTANT MESSAGE... This was in the news here in the Pacific Northwest... Regardless of where you live.... PLEASE read this!

Kyron on Missing and Exploited Children web site and a Facebook page has been setup and has regular updates from different news items.

Endangered Missing

 

 

KYRON HORMAN

 

DOB:  Sep 9, 2002

Missing:  Jun 4, 2010

Height:  3`8" (112 cm)

Eyes:  Blue

Race:  White

 

Age Now:  7

Sex:  Male

Weight:  50 lbs (23 kg)

Hair:  Brown

 

Missing From:

PORTLAND

OR

United States

 

Kyron was last seen at Sylvan Elementary school on June 4, 2010. He was last seen wearing a black t-shirt with "CSI" in green letters and a handprint graphic. Kyron was also wearing black cargo pants, white socks and black Sketchers sneakers with orange trim. He wears metal framed glasses.

 

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT

 

MultnomahCounty Sheriff`s Office (Oregon)

1-503-823-3333 or 1-503-261-2847 (tip line)

 

ANYONE HAVING INFORMATION SHOULD CONTACT

NationalCenter for Missing & Exploited Children

1-800-843-5678 (1-800-THE-LOST)

Dancing in the rain

Thought of the Day... Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain. ~Author Unknown

We had an unbelievable amount of rain yesterday. Yes, even for the northwest where it rains 8-9 months a year...

It rained so much that The Offspring had to ... well... play in it... (sorry some are blurry, but you get the idea)

She even had to go an play in the puddle on the sidewalk!

Oh... to be young again... actually, I thought going out and sliding in the mud sounded fun, but my back is hurting so instead I just looked at my new garden.... (the black corners are because I did a photo-merge and then cropped it - the only way to get the garden and the rain)

Now... we need SUN!!!!