homeMADE pho!

Thank you Mr. Phu!  It is always my pleasure to enjoy your mommy's homemade Pho... meat included!  Sorry I don't know how to make it but if you have not tried Vietnamese  soup aka Pho, its time you do! 

Here Comes Santa Clause...

Christmas Cookies

Eat lots of them :)

Enjoy time off of work.

Head to Palm Springs with some of our favorite people!!

Record some memories in our "Christmas Memories Book."

frACTions and mOnEY

¼, ½, ¾, 1 … the best way I know how to teach 6^th graders those fractions is by comparing it to MONEY.

 1= One Dollar = $1.00 and this also teachers where the imaginary decimal goes on whole numbers

So, ¼ = One quarter in your pocket aka $25
½ = Two quarters aka $0.50 (not an easy fraction to decimal conversion for an 11 year old)
¾= Three quarters out of a $1.00 aka 75 cents

I just wanted to share.  Have you made this connection before?!?!?!

Dinner:

Gnocchi (potato noodle things… SO good and only takes 3 minutes to cook after boil!)

We usually just mix this with a jarred tomato sauce and some spices, but today we had lots of veggies to use before vacation!
So, sauce became a yummy sauteed delight when Eric combined the following:
Hobanaro Powder
Roasted Garlic Oil
Garlic Garlic Seasoning
Red Pepper
Green Pepper
Red Onion
Asparagus
Spinach
Mushroom
Veggies were cut into large chunks (if you love them as much as we do its a good choice)
Tomato sauce

Wonderful!

.

Milk

The Seven Cruelest Foods on Earth: READ ME!

I didn't know cows have to be pregnant to milk!! 
I mean it makes sense but what are the true ramifications of this in the milk industry?

I think I'm done drinking it... Coconut Milk, Here I come.

Pumpkin Dumper!

Yep, you read that right!  PUMPKIN DUMPER... straight from CO and delicious!!!

1 (large) can pumpkin
4 eggs, beaten
1 (large) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cloves (ground)
1 box yellow cake mix
1 1/2 sticks BUTTER (prob why it is so good!)
1 cup chopped nuts

Mix above ingredients except cake mix, butter and nuts. 
Pour into 9x12 inch greased pan.
Sprinkle dry yellow cake mix over top
Melt 1 1/2 sticks butter and drizzle over cake mix
Sprinkle 1 cup chopped nuts over top
BAKE at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

This is a must try!  We ate it up quick!! 

so busy, yet so FULL

Sorry it has been a week... We had TEN house guest this weekend including SIX kids!!!  We pretended it was Christmas on Saturday and had a blast. 

Meyer's, Pucek's, Hanson's

Meyer's

Sengsouvanh's (with the littlest one missing)

"Gang's All Here"

Here are some photo's of the food we consumed (and still have tons of in our fridge).



Wonderful, Fresh, Cold Broccoli Slaw Salad!

Da Dressing for Salad - Chill

Da Mixing for Salad- Mix with dressing about 20 minutes before serving

We love our Brussel Sprouts!

Mixed with Onion and Mustard

Brown first then mix with fixings and simmer for 40 minutes (I think)

 

Sired Ahi Tuna mixed with Sesame seeds, sesame oil, and soy sauce

Cooked for about 2 min. on each side

Yummy Bread

Plated Dinner... so good

BEST Turkey ever... made by Eric's Mom.  Cooked in bag and upside down.

Stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweat potato casserole

Huge green salad and the finished broccoli slaw salad.

Perfect Weekend!

Norwex rOcKs

I just spent 1.5 hours cleaning my WHOLE house (every itty-bitty craziest... my mom is coming and she is the cleanest person I know) and only used WATER and NORWEX products.

What is Norwex?  some of you less fortunate peeps may still be wondering, and by less fortunate I only mean that you have wasted so much time cleaning without it.

Norwex is a chemical free cleaning supplier of almost ALL household products you may need/want to keep your house spotless.  The stats say it decreases cleaning time by 75% and saves up to 90% on cleaning supplies over the years. 

Must have items:   

Antibac Enviro Microfiber Cloth- to use you just put water on them and start scrubbing.

Kitchen Cloth- Just try it and see :)

Antibac Microfiber Dusting Mitt- wet a little and dust things you would hate dusting before

Microfiber Mop and Rubber Static Brush- The BEST mop I have ever used!  And all you do is wet and mop… seriously cuts mopping by over half the time!  Even Eric loves it.

 How much mOnEy?  Kind of a lot BUT it pays itself off within a few months.  It takes about five uses before you believe but I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t like it. I’m not even selling this stuff and listen to me talk. 

How to find Norwex?  Ask people you know and someone will hook you up with a consultant.  Here is there website too... Norwex Products

If you don't know, now you do!

Healthy Eating Plate

This is how I try to eat! 

I also think the main reason this is not what takes over the Pyramid has nothing to do with our health and everything to do with who has the money.  If the meat industry works closely with the dairy industry then they can advocate for their products to make billions more.  The whole "Got Milk" campaign had nothing to do with what is beneficial to us and everything to do with making more money from the top down.  It makes me sick to think about...

Read the whole plate above!  If you are eating everything it says to avoid, its time to change.  Baby Steps!  But I think you can do it :)

Dinner Tonight:

Brown Rice (mixed with veg broth and fresh cilantro made in rice cooker)

Tomato (only in my rice... i add tomato to everything possible)

Salsa for me/Soy Sauce for Eric

And Eric had a left over piece of pizza too 

Should Math be taught in Schools?

Yikes?  What if people really thought like this... or do they?