A+ for Funny

I was looking over my daughter's 3rd grade homework last night. The instructions had her use a list of vocabulary words to complete sentences.

Here is the vocabulary list: certain, chores, culture, resources, tutor, uniforms

She filled in all the sentences quite nicely. At the bottom of the page was this prompt:

Write a joke using one of the vocabulary words.

Her joke: Why do some teachers stink?

Answer: Because they're a tutor.

Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

The "I" Tag...

TAG from Kimi

i am- an optimist, mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, gardener, tennis-player, homemaker, cook, reader, thinker, blogger, easy-going, thankful, hopeful, happy.

i think- that doubles tennis is underrated, that the presidential election will be close, that there should be harsher punishments for crimes against women and children, and that I shouldn't take too long filling this out, because I have a lot to do today.

i know- I am loved. I am a child of God. I am blessed. I have been given a chance here during my lifetime to love, laugh, grow, serve, and do my best.

i want-to teach my kids to enjoy life, to be good and to do their best. To make my husband know I appreciate and adore him. To better my tennis game. To have someone else make dinner tonight.

i have- a cowlick, short fingernails, a pink shirt on, a great family, a wicked forehand at times, amazing friends, and a goal to eat better.

i dislike- gossip, when my kids are hurting, strawberry shortcake & child abuse

i fear- losing family, the world my children live in, & snakes

i feel- content, too full from cookies, lazy, & thankful for life, health & loved ones

i hear- Alison Krauss' beautiful singing and Gracie telling me about a toy she wants at Toys R Us.

i smell- chocolate chip cookies that my dear visiting teacher & friend brought me today.

i crave- time with my husband, my chores to be finished, & to see my sister and brother...they live too far away!

i cry- when I read the newspaper, when I say hurtful things to my husband, when innocent people are victims of evil people, when my friends and family hurt, and when I chop onions.

i usually- am thankful and happy.

i search- for things my husband and kids lose. Why is it I am usually the only one who can find things?

i wonder- what heaven is like, what people are thinking when they don't outwardly show it, and why most people love strawberry shortcake?

i regret- not making more of an effort to show my love to my sweet Grandpa the last time I saw him. I also regret the few times I had a prime opportunity to share my beliefs about the gospel, and remained silent.

i love- my husband, my husband, my husband. My dear children. My parents. Kris, Mike, Craig. Their families. My friends. My home, my flowers, kind-hearted and sincere people, laughing, sunshine, the gospel, my Heavenly Father & Jesus, babies, the smell of pine, grapefruit & mint, taking pictures....too much to list.

i care- exactly, I care.

i always- need to have a clean home, tuck my kids in at night, sing to songs I hear, am working on bettering my tennis game.

i worry- about my children and the world surrounding them, I am not doing all the things I should be doing, and about my friends & family when they are going through hard times.

i am not- a whiner, a shopper, tall

i remember- faces (not so good with names), the first time my heart broke

i believe- every child deserves love, direction and discipline from their parents & in a Heavenly Father that knows and loves me. Oh, and I think I believe in UFO's!

i sing- a lot. I have always wanted a better voice, but I still love to sing. Almost every night at bedtime, I sing "The Sandman" to my son, "Do Re Mi" to Monkey D, "A Child's Prayer" for Monkey C, and sadly Monkey A has grown out of lullabies, but it used to be "My Favorite Things" for her.

i don't always- floss like I should, sorry T.

i argue- as little as possible. I do not like contention and my whole family will tell you I like PEACE. I probably argue most with my 13 yr old, only because she is a TEEN.

i write- on my blog, in my head, in my journal, notes to myself, lists for my day, cards to friends, and little notes for my kids.

i win- at tennis during league play and in Boggle against Trev.

i lose- at Blurt with Trev, at Scrabble with Trev, and golfing with anyone.

i wish- I could be less shy, more selfless, & that the world was a kinder place in general. I also wish I could live closer to my siblings, and that I could talk to my Grandpa again, and sometimes I wish I could have one more child.

i can usually be found- on the tennis court, at home doing household stuff, running kids around in the car, in my garden.

i am scared- of snakes, and of not planting all those seeds of goodness in my kids that I so want them to have.

i need- to get off the computer, finish laundry, make cookies for the kids' lunches, and go get hay from my friend for hayrides this weekend.

i forget- dates of all the activities that go on in my family! That's why I have to have my Palm, and 3 calendars!!!

i am happy- as often as I let myself be. When my husband laughs, when my kids hug me, when I'm with friends, when I feel healthy, when I am serving and thinking of others more than myself.

How do you feel today?
Play along if you would like. I tag all of you!

Green Smoothies!

What do you eat for breakfast? I am not a breakfast person. I will eat pancakes or waffles, but honestly those are such a "meal" to me that I would rather have them for dinner. I don't even like cereal, and I find it hard to finish a bowl of oatmeal. Basically I have always struggled to find something to get me started in the morning.

I try to stick to mostly whole foods, and we try to stay away from anything processed. I cook from scratch. Just ask my poor new neighbor who was turned away when she came over asking to borrow a can of soup. It's okay, I was able to give her some sugar and eggs!!

Well, I have this awesome friend who eats way healthier than I do. And now she is on a raw diet and has been for a couple of months. I am not lying when I tell you that my friend GLOWS. Every time I see her I am amazed at how healthy she looks, and there is no other way to describe it...she GLOWS. I am not about to go raw. I love brownies. I love chicken soup. I love spaghetti sauce. But in researching a raw diet to see what I might be able to incorporate into my own, I found these wonderful, amazing little boosts of energy...Green Smoothies! I FOUND MY BREAKFAST!
I'm so excited about them, because now I look forward to eating breakfast each morning. They are yummy AND filled with antioxidents and nutrients. I am getting my greens, and I honestly feel so much better throughout my day. I was dragging about noon, but after having one every morning for a few weeks now, I am hooked.

Okay, here's how it goes. They are about 60% fruit and 40% greens. You add water, and if you need a sweetener, I add a bit of agave nectar, but it doesn't really need a lot.

Want to try them?

Fruits you can use:
kiwis, bananas, pears, mangoes, strawberries, raspberries, pineapple, peaches, nectarines, blueberries, apples, lemons, limes, melon, grapes...whatever you like!!

Greens you can use:
spinach, mixed spring greens, romaine, parsley, kale, celery, mint, chard...whatever you like!!
(I have found spinach to be the least bitter - trust me, you can't taste it in there!)

Optional things to add: agave (sweetener), honey, ginger root, peanut butter, almond butter, oatmeal, flax seed, vanilla, yogurt

I usually make up about 16 oz, and that seems to fill me up very well until lunchtime. You don't have to add this, but I always put about 1/4-1/2 cup of oatmeal (not cooked) in there, and that helps fills me up. When I am playing tennis that morning, I usually will add the peanut or almond butter for that energy boost. I love the nutty flavor in there, but my kids prefer the green smoothies without the nuts.
I always put at least 1 banana in all my smoothies, because it makes for a nice, smooth textured smoothie. Add a couple dashes of salt too, that always enhances the taste of the fruit. Blend for a good minute so you can get it all blended and smooooth.
Oh and you can freeze all this fruit and have it ready to put in your blender in the morning! I just buy a box of baby organic spinach at Costco, and that lasts me a while.

A sample for you:
Peanut butter banana smoothie
1/2 c. oatmeal
3 dashes salt
tsp. ground flax seed
2 bananas (frozen if want)
2 tsp. peanut or almond butter
2 tbsp. plain yogurt
a squeeze of agave
2 handfuls of spinach
water
ice if needed
vanilla (opt)
I have also added a fresh peach to this
Blend for one minute and drink up

Nectarine Smoothie
1/4-1/2 c. oatmeal
2 dashes salt
2 fresh juicy nectarines (can us froz.)
1 c. berries (I like rasp, blue & straw)
1 banana
fresh ginger
2 handfuls spinach
squeeze of agave
water
ice if needed
vanilla

The more you make these, the more you will see how you can experiment and see what you like. My friend loves a pineapple, strawberry, mint, lime, spinach blend. Doesn't that sound good?
Experiment! Have fun! And go make a green smoothie! Right now!
Oh, and don't forget to let your hubby and kids try it!

Oh yea, and for more info, just type in green smoothie and do a search on it. You will find all kinds of recipes on the internet. Yum Yum.

My Haiku

To get into the school spirit, I wrote this Haiku!


First Day

The school bus is near

New shoes, sharp pencils and nerves

Grins on ALL faces

Toolicious!

Here is my sweet sister, Krista. (Kris to me).

She has started a new blog featuring her wicked good recipes. You gotta check out her new site and yummy goodness right away!
Way to go Kris!

Here is a description from her site...

Taste Of Blue Sky
Additive Avoidance Cooking Made Easy: Shopping, cooking, eating, and snacking using the most whole forms of available food products, in simple, delicious ways. It is about avoiding additives, versus complete elimination. Preparing quick meals on a busy schedule calls for convenience. I attempt to combine the health of whole foods cooking with simple preparation. Browse the Additive Avoidance Tips, Pantry Suggestions, Serving Ideas, and over 150 satisfying recipes! Eat and feel better!

This is the breakfast she made Trev for Father's Day while we were visiting. Those sausages are homemade as are the "toolicious' pancakes and cocoa. Yes, "toolicious" is a word in our house. All the kids said it when they were little, I think you can figure out which words they combined.
And I'll use it now, because it's the perfect word for such a spread!

Have fun visitng:
Taste of Blue Sky