Lunchtime has always been a quandary for me. I'm not a huge breakfast eater, so by lunchtime I'm eat-a-horse hungry. The problem is, I can't take a long break out of my day to make something awesome for lunch. So I finally decided I needed to come up with an easy lunch that I could make at the beginning of the week that we could eat leftovers of for the rest of the week (my kids are boring and love repetition.) Enter Smoky Black Bean Burritos. Mmmmmmmmm...
Smoky Black Bean Burritos
Ingredients:
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, diced
8 oz mushrooms, diced
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 c. cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/2 c. spinach, roughly chopped
1.5 Tbsp. olive oil or butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. kosher salt
* 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, minced (about 2 Tbsp.)
Whole Wheat Tortillas, Monterrey Jack Cheese, additional Spinach, and Sour Cream for topping
* Use your discretion on this - sometimes the peppers are really hot, sometimes they're not. So adjust accordingly so that the burritos are edible. If the peppers are too hot, you can compensate with the adobo sauce. Overall, you're looking to add about 2 tablespoons of chipotle pepper/adobo sauce.
Method:
1. In a large sauté pan, heat oil/butter over medium-low heat. Add minced garlic and chipotle pepper/adobo sauce and sauté until fragrant.
2. Add the onions and green peppers. Sauté until tender-crisp. Meanwhile, dice the mushrooms and spinach and mash one of the cans of black beans with a potato masher.
3. Add the mushrooms and cook for 2-3 minutes, just until they're tender.
4. Add the mashed black beans, the whole black beans, the spinach, and the salt and cook until heated through.
5. Stir the tomatoes in right before serving.
To serve: Spoon 1/4-1/3 cup smoky black beans in the center of a tortilla, top with shredded cheese and microwave for about 30 seconds (so that the cheese it melted and the tortilla is soft.) Add a large handful of spinach and a dollop of sour cream; roll that baby up and enjoy!
Monday, October 6, 2014
Saturday, April 26, 2014
First Communion Cake
I got to do something very special last night in preparation for Ira's First Communion tomorrow. I got to decorate his cake with my mama! She is who taught me everything I know about cake decorating. We haven't done a cake together since Ira was a baby, so it was pretty special to me that we got to do this one together. Since we moved away from the big city five years ago, we don't get to spend near as much time together as I would like, but last night we spent from 5:30pm to 2:00am working on this beautiful cake (and then she had to make the 35 minute trek home! God bless her!) I will cherish last night forever. And, I couldn't be more thrilled with how the cake turned out!! I wanted something fancy and extraordinary to celebrate the most awesome sacrament of receiving God Himself. I think we achieved that! Many thanks to my mom for making the sacrifices she did to help me last night and also a big thanks to my Aunt Rosie for artistic advice! Happy (almost) First Communion Day Ira!!
Friday, April 11, 2014
Grandma Sakis' Bierrocks
For those who keep up with me on Facebook, you know that I spent my day Tuesday making Bierrocks.
Making bierrocks is a labor of love for me with a lot of memories wrapped up in them. Growing up in a staunchly German town (and family) bierrocks were well-known and always well-made! The schools even served them for lunch! Around here, just about everyone knows what a bierrock is, but in case you've stumbled upon my blog from a decisively less German upbringing, a bierrock is a soft roll filled with meat and cabbage and onions. The person I most associate with bierrocks is my Grandma Sakis who would've been 98 today.
Grandma Sakis was THE epitome of a what a grandma should be. I can remember spending the night at her house once when I was seven or eight and for whatever reason, she and I were doing the dishes together. I remember talking and talking (and TALKING) to her about everything going on in my class: the other girls, cartwheels, recess. I can vividly remember standing on the moss green chair in the corner of her kitchen showing her some kind of gymnastics move that my friend Adrienne had taught me. She just listened, seeming to fully enjoy the conversation (which was rather one-sided I'm afraid.) One Sunday morning after Mass (after spending the night) my siblings and I raced up Grandma and Grandpa's front sidewalk to their porch. When we turned around, Grandma had just gotten to the picket fence (about 25 feet from the front door.) She had the (skeleton) key to the front door and I think we yelled "Come on Grandma!" and she RAN - IN HER CHURCH SHOES - to the front door!! I'll never forget it!!!
I don't think I ever had the privilege of making bierrocks with Grandma, but I remember eating them at her house regularly. Thanks to my cousin, I have a copy of her recipe in her beautiful cursive handwriting. Written no doubt with her favorite pen.
Dough: 4 cups warm water, 2 Tbsp. sugar, 1 Tbsp. salt, 2 Tbsp. melted butter 1 pkg. yeast, enough flour to make a soft dough (12 cups give or take.)
Filling: 3 lbs. hamburger, 2 medium onions, 1 head cabbage, salt and pepper, 1/2 c. water, 1 T. flour
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and let proof for 5 minutes. Add yeast mixture to a large bowl, then add the salt and melted butter. Gradually add flour, first whisking, then stirring with a spatula, and finally kneading it in by hand until you have a soft dough. Put dough ball in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the top, cover, and let rise about 1 hour, knead down and let rise again until doubled in size.
In a large pot, brown hamburger, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the onions and cabbage and adjust the salt and pepper until it's flavorful - it should taste good - not bland! Add the water and flour and steam with the lid on for about 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 8 balls, leaving the ones you aren't working with in the oiled bowl, covered.
Working with one ball at a time, roll the dough as thin as pie dough and about 12 inches square.
Cut into 4 pieces.
Place a generous 1/3 cup of filling on each square.
Bring corners together and pinch, then seal the seams.
Again bring the corners to the middle, pinch, and press.
Place on a baking sheet with sealed edges down. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. (If you are going to freeze them, just bake them for 20 minutes.) Remove from oven and butter the tops.
Transfer from baking sheet to cooling rack and enjoy!
Bierrocks:
Yield 32 bierrocks
Ingredients
Dough:
4 cups warm water
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 pkg (or 2 1/4 tsp.) yeast
*Enough flour to make a soft dough (12 cups give or take)
Filling:
3 lbs. hamburger
2 medium onions, chopped
1 head cabbage, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. flour
Method
Dough
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and let proof for 5 minutes. Add yeast mixture to a large bowl then add the salt and melted butter. Gradually add flour, first whisking, then stirring with a spatula, and finally kneading it in by hand until you have a soft dough. Put dough ball in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the top, cover, and let rise about 1 hour, knead down and let rise again until doubled in size.
Filling
In a large pot, brown hamburger, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Add the onions and cabbage and adjust the salt and pepper until it's flavorful. Add the water and flour and steam with the lid on for about 10 minutes.
Assembly
Divide dough into 8 balls, leaving the ones you aren't working with in the oiled bowl, covered. Working with one ball at a time, roll the dough as thin as pie dough and about 12 inches square. Cut into 4 pieces. Place a generous 1/3 cup of filling on each square. Bring corners together and pinch, then seal the seams. Again, bring the corners to the middle, pinch, and press. Place on a baking sheet with sealed edges down. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. (If you are going to freeze them, just bake them for 20 minutes.) Remove from oven and butter the tops. Transfer from baking sheet to cooling rack and enjoy!
*I used a whole wheat flour/whole wheat pastry flour combination. Proportionally, probably twice as much whole wheat flour as the pastry flour. I didn't measure!
Making bierrocks is a labor of love for me with a lot of memories wrapped up in them. Growing up in a staunchly German town (and family) bierrocks were well-known and always well-made! The schools even served them for lunch! Around here, just about everyone knows what a bierrock is, but in case you've stumbled upon my blog from a decisively less German upbringing, a bierrock is a soft roll filled with meat and cabbage and onions. The person I most associate with bierrocks is my Grandma Sakis who would've been 98 today.
Grandma Sakis was THE epitome of a what a grandma should be. I can remember spending the night at her house once when I was seven or eight and for whatever reason, she and I were doing the dishes together. I remember talking and talking (and TALKING) to her about everything going on in my class: the other girls, cartwheels, recess. I can vividly remember standing on the moss green chair in the corner of her kitchen showing her some kind of gymnastics move that my friend Adrienne had taught me. She just listened, seeming to fully enjoy the conversation (which was rather one-sided I'm afraid.) One Sunday morning after Mass (after spending the night) my siblings and I raced up Grandma and Grandpa's front sidewalk to their porch. When we turned around, Grandma had just gotten to the picket fence (about 25 feet from the front door.) She had the (skeleton) key to the front door and I think we yelled "Come on Grandma!" and she RAN - IN HER CHURCH SHOES - to the front door!! I'll never forget it!!!
 |
| Grandma and I, twenty-five years ago today. |
Dough: 4 cups warm water, 2 Tbsp. sugar, 1 Tbsp. salt, 2 Tbsp. melted butter 1 pkg. yeast, enough flour to make a soft dough (12 cups give or take.)
 |
| If you're a math/science nerd like me, the warm water should be between 110-115 degrees for optimal yeast action. |
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and let proof for 5 minutes. Add yeast mixture to a large bowl, then add the salt and melted butter. Gradually add flour, first whisking, then stirring with a spatula, and finally kneading it in by hand until you have a soft dough. Put dough ball in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the top, cover, and let rise about 1 hour, knead down and let rise again until doubled in size.
 |
| Grandma always said Maggie Becker was the very best at knowing when to stop kneading to have a soft loaf. My mom always told me to check for when it springs back when you poke it with your finger. I figure that less is more with kneading, so once it springs back and "looks right" I form it into a ball and call it good. |
Add the onions and cabbage and adjust the salt and pepper until it's flavorful - it should taste good - not bland! Add the water and flour and steam with the lid on for about 10 minutes.
 |
| Yes, I switched pots. I was making a double batch. It was SO MUCH! |
Divide the dough into 8 balls, leaving the ones you aren't working with in the oiled bowl, covered.
Working with one ball at a time, roll the dough as thin as pie dough and about 12 inches square.
Cut into 4 pieces.
Place a generous 1/3 cup of filling on each square.
Bring corners together and pinch, then seal the seams.
Again bring the corners to the middle, pinch, and press.
 |
| It doesn't have to be pretty... seriously... have you ever even seen the bottom of a bierrock that you were eating? I didn't think so. |
Transfer from baking sheet to cooling rack and enjoy!
 |
| We like to dip ours in mustard or barbecue sauce! |
Yield 32 bierrocks
Ingredients
Dough:
4 cups warm water
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 pkg (or 2 1/4 tsp.) yeast
*Enough flour to make a soft dough (12 cups give or take)
Filling:
3 lbs. hamburger
2 medium onions, chopped
1 head cabbage, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. flour
Method
Dough
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water and let proof for 5 minutes. Add yeast mixture to a large bowl then add the salt and melted butter. Gradually add flour, first whisking, then stirring with a spatula, and finally kneading it in by hand until you have a soft dough. Put dough ball in an oiled bowl, turning to coat the top, cover, and let rise about 1 hour, knead down and let rise again until doubled in size.
Filling
In a large pot, brown hamburger, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Add the onions and cabbage and adjust the salt and pepper until it's flavorful. Add the water and flour and steam with the lid on for about 10 minutes.
Assembly
Divide dough into 8 balls, leaving the ones you aren't working with in the oiled bowl, covered. Working with one ball at a time, roll the dough as thin as pie dough and about 12 inches square. Cut into 4 pieces. Place a generous 1/3 cup of filling on each square. Bring corners together and pinch, then seal the seams. Again, bring the corners to the middle, pinch, and press. Place on a baking sheet with sealed edges down. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. (If you are going to freeze them, just bake them for 20 minutes.) Remove from oven and butter the tops. Transfer from baking sheet to cooling rack and enjoy!
*I used a whole wheat flour/whole wheat pastry flour combination. Proportionally, probably twice as much whole wheat flour as the pastry flour. I didn't measure!
Sunday, April 6, 2014
7 Quick Takes: Birthdays, Remodels, and Meltdowns
I've never linked up with anyone before, but I'm in a blogging rut, and 7 Quick Takes sounds really easy! Off we go!
1. Ira's 8th Birthday is tomorrow. We celebrated on Saturday with a party with family. Ira wanted a Nacho Bar for his meal and a "New Super Mario Brothers" Cake. I found some awesome real food recipes to help the nacho bar not be such a gut bomb: carnitas, nacho cheese, pico de gallo. The food was a hit and Ira was thrilled with his cake. It's probably one of the best cakes I've ever decorated. It took about 4 hours to decorate it, but the look on his face when he saw it was TOTALLY worth it!
2. We got new carpet! The carpet that we replaced was original to the house from when it was built in 1984. I don't really want to know what all was living and dead in that carpet, but we are THRILLED to have it gone! It was low on the priority list of "things to redo" when we bought the house though because the old stuff was okay enough. Finally, we are checking off the final boxes of totally flipping this house. Since we bought 5 years ago we have: Replaced: all the flooring, every light fixture, and every faucet; Added ceiling fans to the bedrooms, Remodeled the kitchen, adding an eating bar and a dishwasher; Updated the main bathroom; Replaced the toilet in the half bath; Primed and painted every wall; Finished the basement; Added a perennial flower bed and vegetable garden, and are nearly finished with adding a 3rd bedroom. It's been a lot of work and taken a lot of time, but we wanted to do it on a cash basis, so we are thrilled to be nearly finished!
3. Homeschooling is going so wonderfully for us. I cannot believe how well our first year has gone! We are just weeks away from being finished with all of our curriculum for the year. We are all looking forward to summer and I'm actually excited to start planning next year. We will be basing our curriculum around Mater Amablis' recommendations once again - doing Level 1A, year 2. I have been so pleased with their recommendations and have discovered some real GEMS of books that I'm sure I wouldn't have found otherwise.
4. We switched Ira to Saxon 54 after using ALEKS since the beginning of the school year. ALEKS worked well for us in that we needed to accelerate through some things for Ira to find his learning level (he'd already finished 2nd grade Math in 1st grade at our Catholic School last year). He finished with 3rd grade math in ALEKS in January, and after doing some Olympic-math in February, I assigned him to 4th grade math in ALEKS. Then we started noticed he wasn't retaining some really important topics (like long division and fractions and all that good stuff) To me, it's a twofold problem with ALEKS: first of all, there is no instructional dimension. The child is set straightaway to working on problems, and have to click "Explain" if they don't understand it. Well, that takes maturity first off, but I also felt like the explanations lacked depth. So I supplemented with my own knowledge, which is fine in the younger math grades, but not so once we start getting further. Secondly, the topical nature of ALEKS wasn't working for us. Doing a topic and then being done with it without really any opportunity for review (other than when you log in the next day) just doesn't work for the math basics like multiplication and long division and rounding and fractions and decimals. Or at least it didn't for us. Having learned from Saxon for a number of years myself, and having taught it when I taught 4th grade, I was very familiar with their spiraling concept and felt like it was exactly what we needed. We've been very pleased so far and will just continue with it next year.
5. Ruby had a total meltdown at Ira's birthday party because she offered him a plate when he started going through the nacho bar and he (rudely) told her he didn't need it because he already had one. I took her to our room where we chilled out for probably half an hour. We had a good talk about femininity and emotions. She is such a beautiful girl with a big open heart and I am sure this will not be the last time we have that talk. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to parent both a boy and a girl. So different, both of them, and so wonderful!
6. Ruby and I got to hang out together while Andy and Ira worked at our parish's quilt bingo today. Of course, the first thing she asked to do was paint. It's her fravorite thing to do, so I obliged. She painted a Christmas tree. I painted my favorite bush, a forsythia. It looked really bad until it dried, then I was shocked by how well it turned out. While it was drying we read books and listened to music. Then we played the longest game of Chutes and Ladders like ever. That game can really get on my nerves...
7. I cannot get Jennifer Trapuzanno out of my mind/heart. I don't even know her personally, but on Tuesday morning she posted in our NFP group on Facebook asking for prayers for her husband who had been mugged. He ended up dying, leaving her behind, eight months pregnant with their first child, a daughter. I cannot imagine the loss and heart-wrenching grief she is feeling right now. Please keep her and her daughter in your thoughts and prayers in the days and weeks and months ahead. If you feel moved to donate to their family, you can do so here.
Well that wasn't necessarily quick, but I got a lot of stuff dumped out of my head there. Head on over to Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!
1. Ira's 8th Birthday is tomorrow. We celebrated on Saturday with a party with family. Ira wanted a Nacho Bar for his meal and a "New Super Mario Brothers" Cake. I found some awesome real food recipes to help the nacho bar not be such a gut bomb: carnitas, nacho cheese, pico de gallo. The food was a hit and Ira was thrilled with his cake. It's probably one of the best cakes I've ever decorated. It took about 4 hours to decorate it, but the look on his face when he saw it was TOTALLY worth it!
2. We got new carpet! The carpet that we replaced was original to the house from when it was built in 1984. I don't really want to know what all was living and dead in that carpet, but we are THRILLED to have it gone! It was low on the priority list of "things to redo" when we bought the house though because the old stuff was okay enough. Finally, we are checking off the final boxes of totally flipping this house. Since we bought 5 years ago we have: Replaced: all the flooring, every light fixture, and every faucet; Added ceiling fans to the bedrooms, Remodeled the kitchen, adding an eating bar and a dishwasher; Updated the main bathroom; Replaced the toilet in the half bath; Primed and painted every wall; Finished the basement; Added a perennial flower bed and vegetable garden, and are nearly finished with adding a 3rd bedroom. It's been a lot of work and taken a lot of time, but we wanted to do it on a cash basis, so we are thrilled to be nearly finished!
 |
| Before |
 |
| After |
4. We switched Ira to Saxon 54 after using ALEKS since the beginning of the school year. ALEKS worked well for us in that we needed to accelerate through some things for Ira to find his learning level (he'd already finished 2nd grade Math in 1st grade at our Catholic School last year). He finished with 3rd grade math in ALEKS in January, and after doing some Olympic-math in February, I assigned him to 4th grade math in ALEKS. Then we started noticed he wasn't retaining some really important topics (like long division and fractions and all that good stuff) To me, it's a twofold problem with ALEKS: first of all, there is no instructional dimension. The child is set straightaway to working on problems, and have to click "Explain" if they don't understand it. Well, that takes maturity first off, but I also felt like the explanations lacked depth. So I supplemented with my own knowledge, which is fine in the younger math grades, but not so once we start getting further. Secondly, the topical nature of ALEKS wasn't working for us. Doing a topic and then being done with it without really any opportunity for review (other than when you log in the next day) just doesn't work for the math basics like multiplication and long division and rounding and fractions and decimals. Or at least it didn't for us. Having learned from Saxon for a number of years myself, and having taught it when I taught 4th grade, I was very familiar with their spiraling concept and felt like it was exactly what we needed. We've been very pleased so far and will just continue with it next year.
5. Ruby had a total meltdown at Ira's birthday party because she offered him a plate when he started going through the nacho bar and he (rudely) told her he didn't need it because he already had one. I took her to our room where we chilled out for probably half an hour. We had a good talk about femininity and emotions. She is such a beautiful girl with a big open heart and I am sure this will not be the last time we have that talk. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to parent both a boy and a girl. So different, both of them, and so wonderful!
6. Ruby and I got to hang out together while Andy and Ira worked at our parish's quilt bingo today. Of course, the first thing she asked to do was paint. It's her fravorite thing to do, so I obliged. She painted a Christmas tree. I painted my favorite bush, a forsythia. It looked really bad until it dried, then I was shocked by how well it turned out. While it was drying we read books and listened to music. Then we played the longest game of Chutes and Ladders like ever. That game can really get on my nerves...
7. I cannot get Jennifer Trapuzanno out of my mind/heart. I don't even know her personally, but on Tuesday morning she posted in our NFP group on Facebook asking for prayers for her husband who had been mugged. He ended up dying, leaving her behind, eight months pregnant with their first child, a daughter. I cannot imagine the loss and heart-wrenching grief she is feeling right now. Please keep her and her daughter in your thoughts and prayers in the days and weeks and months ahead. If you feel moved to donate to their family, you can do so here.
Well that wasn't necessarily quick, but I got a lot of stuff dumped out of my head there. Head on over to Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Time Flies
You know, in a lot of ways, it really does seem like just yesterday that I was a kid. I've always had a decent memory - I can recall a lot of details from my childhood. My siblings used to tease me by asking me what underwear I was wearing during a particular memory because I was often able to recall what people were wearing. And I still have lots of vivid memories from childhood... Playing with blocks on cookie sheets when Grandma Sakis came over and asked if we wanted to go to Talarico's Pizza for lunch - I was building telephone poles... Pushing my little sister up and down the street in her grey stroller (by myself!) and wondering if people that drove by thought I was her mom (ha! - I was so dumb as a kid)... Checking out the window at bedtime to make sure that the house behind us wasn't on fire because my sister was scared to death that it would be... Drinking the mist from the humidifier when we were thirsty after we'd gone to bed - such a musty flavor... Sneaking into the kitchen while mom and dad were watching TV to get a snack out of the cabinets on the west wall... And these are all things that happened before I was 7 years old!
So it is hard for me to believe sometimes that my siblings and I are all grown up now. All of us very happily married. All of us blessed with beautiful children - who are not even babies anymore! Full-fledged kids, we have! We all live relatively close to each other and are all able to get together once a week. It is time I cherish, first of all because I love my siblings and consider them some of my closest friends, and secondly because I know not every family gets that. It's so awesome to be able to "talk shop" with my siblings about the joys (and let's be honest, the frustrations and difficulties) of parenting - 'cause we're all right there in the trenches right now. I wouldn't want it any other way!
Tonight we got together to celebrate my brother's sweet little boy's THIRD birthday. THREE! I can't even believe that's possible. Time. flies. He is taller than Ruby by a couple inches and has just recently taken off in the talking department. Tonight he was singing the Veggie Tales theme song during dinner. It was adorable! One of my favorite parts was when he said "brockolocki." Pretty sure I'm going to have to start calling it that!
Anyway, here are some pictures I grabbed tonight:
So it is hard for me to believe sometimes that my siblings and I are all grown up now. All of us very happily married. All of us blessed with beautiful children - who are not even babies anymore! Full-fledged kids, we have! We all live relatively close to each other and are all able to get together once a week. It is time I cherish, first of all because I love my siblings and consider them some of my closest friends, and secondly because I know not every family gets that. It's so awesome to be able to "talk shop" with my siblings about the joys (and let's be honest, the frustrations and difficulties) of parenting - 'cause we're all right there in the trenches right now. I wouldn't want it any other way!
Tonight we got together to celebrate my brother's sweet little boy's THIRD birthday. THREE! I can't even believe that's possible. Time. flies. He is taller than Ruby by a couple inches and has just recently taken off in the talking department. Tonight he was singing the Veggie Tales theme song during dinner. It was adorable! One of my favorite parts was when he said "brockolocki." Pretty sure I'm going to have to start calling it that!
Anyway, here are some pictures I grabbed tonight:
Happy (almost) Birthday sweet nephew!
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Bathtime
Well, we finally got a(nother) new computer. This time an Apple iMac. We are absolutely loving it so far. The transition has been smooth and simple. And it WORKS. Like a charm. So we are thrilled and I'm hoping to get back to blogging.
I'm working on taking more pictures of our day-to-day life. We have this incredible camera (a Canon Rebel T3i) and yet I rarely get the camera out anymore. So I'm trying to improve my skills by taking more pictures (and I got an online photo school class around Christmas time that I need to work through as well.)
We're on Spring Break this week! The kids spent Monday night and then all day today at Andy's parents'. We got home with them just in time for baths and bed, so I decided to snap a picture during bath time. Ira takes showers by himself (and is finally doing a decent job getting himself clean... boys...) and Andy gives Ruby her bath. Ever since the kids were big enough to take baths in the big tub (not in the baby tub or in the sink), Andy has given them their baths. He also reads them their books and puts them to bed. It is a nice time for them to bond and it's a nice break for me at the end of the day!
I also have a question for my (probably very few) readers. Do you view my blog on a mobile device or on a computer? How much "background" (the sunshiny trees) do you see? I'm trying to decide if I can make the body of my blog wider, but don't want to make it so wide that you would have to scroll back and forth, because let's face it, that's obnoxious. So if you don't mind, shoot me a comment about your viewing experience with my blog! Thanks!
I'm working on taking more pictures of our day-to-day life. We have this incredible camera (a Canon Rebel T3i) and yet I rarely get the camera out anymore. So I'm trying to improve my skills by taking more pictures (and I got an online photo school class around Christmas time that I need to work through as well.)
We're on Spring Break this week! The kids spent Monday night and then all day today at Andy's parents'. We got home with them just in time for baths and bed, so I decided to snap a picture during bath time. Ira takes showers by himself (and is finally doing a decent job getting himself clean... boys...) and Andy gives Ruby her bath. Ever since the kids were big enough to take baths in the big tub (not in the baby tub or in the sink), Andy has given them their baths. He also reads them their books and puts them to bed. It is a nice time for them to bond and it's a nice break for me at the end of the day!
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Computer
I hate to make excuses for my absence on the blog lately, but I really do have a good one (but it's long, so if you're not in the mood for a LONG story...)
For those who aren't aware, lovely Microsoft will stop supporting all OSs below Windows 7 in April of this year. Our computers at home are Windows XP and Vista, so, not wanting to open ourselves up to viruses and hacking, we decided to buy a new computer. I was excited as our current set up works, but isn't ideal. We have a desktop in the basement with Photoshop installed on it. It runs SO SLOWLY, so editing photos is nightmarish, and doing anything else is on it is pretty much out of the question. So the only time we "booted up the beast" was when Ifelt like gouging my eyeballs out needed to edit photos for pictures I'd taken for people. Never for my own photos of course, that would be insanity. Upstairs, we actually had 2 laptops (both of which were bought for pennies from a school district that was done with them.) I used one, but without much memory, there was no way I was going to put Photoshop on it. The others was actually supposed to be Andy's for work, but as mine got slower with ever bulkier programs, we kept it at home for Ira to use for his math curriculum. Again, not perfect, but it worked.
Feeling like our hand was being quite forced, we started looking into new computers in December and ordered a relatively high end Dell with Windows 8 right around the first of the year. I'd also made a commitment to myself to blog more, now that the computer would be lightning fast. Well, a few days into January I got an email from Dell that our order had been cancelled and to contact our credit card company regarding the reasons. I called our credit card company the next day who said they had no idea why it had been cancelled, they didn't even show an attempted authorization. So I called the phone number/extension in the email from Dell and was told that that extension no longer existed. How helpful... I then spent 45 minutes being transferred from one person to another (6? more? in total), got hung up on by the automated system three times, and felt belittled by everyone I talked to because for some reason (which no one could explain) my customer number got tied to the customer number of the person who stole our credit card and bought a Dell Laptop 18 months ago, flagging our account and cancelling our order. I have no idea how that happened because our credit card number is different and I've never bought a computer from Dell in my life. I should have taken the hint at that point and just given up, but no... Finally I talked to a woman who said "I will be the last person you talk to, and I will get this issue resolved." A.MEN! She got me a new customer number, ordered our computer, and shipped it to us 2nd Day for the trouble.
So the computer came. We bought a thumb drive to back the OS up before we did anything to the computer. Except an update needed to install for the MyDell program before we could use it to back the OS up. And the update was corrupt. So we restarted (our brand new computer) and the update seemed to install. Then the computer wouldn't recognize the USB drive plugged into any of the ports. After chatting with Samrat for 2.5 hours, him remote-accessing our computer and updating the PE environment, partially updating the BIOS (but it failed for some reason), reformatting the thumb drive, we restart the computer and he is gone. Completely gone. No chat window, no phone call back. Nothing. And the dang back up program still wouldn't work. It was 12:30am by this point, so I went to bed, more than a little irritated.
Given the fact that I homeschool and am busy teaching during the day, I couldn't call back until late afternoon the next day. I spent 4 hours on the phone with Lourhey installing 64 updates, reformatting the thumb drive, updating the BIOS again, uninstalling and reinstalling the MyDell program (again on my BRAND NEW COMPUTER.) Lourhey was remote accessing the computer to back it up and we were chatting when I realize that she's backing up the FILES and PHOTOS (which there were NONE OF YET), not the OS like I had been asking for for FOUR HOURS.
Finally, we get the OS backed up. Then the printer that was previously working/wirelessly connected wouldn't work anymore. So we spent another 30 minutes to get it working. Then I spent the entire night downloading Windows 8.1 on my brand new computer.
After looking through the materials with the monitor, it said for optimal performance to install the drivers on the CD. So I did. Then the bottom half of the monitor started flashing. And wouldn't stop despite restarting, shutting down, and reprogramming the monitor. So I spent another 45 minutes chatting with tech support. He disabled something and the monitor started working again.
And then the PE Environment needed updated again. And there was a new version of the MyDell program... so I got to spend an hour updating those.
I thought maybe just maybe we were in the clear, when I decided to try our 30 day trial of Microsoft Office for the first time. Except that I click on it and NOTHING happens. And I restart and click on it again and NOTHING happens. And I realize that the screen saver sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. So I get to call tech support again and spend 2 hours "trying to figure something out." And get told "If we can't figure something out, you can always download Open Office." (Which is a free office suite that has nowhere near the functionality of Microsoft Office, and has nothing to do with Microsoft.) No thanks, I'd just like my 30 day trial. So first she tries some work-around like I'm a company, getting a 90 day trial of Office 365. Except that doesn't work. So then she (remote access again) has be download Microsoft Home and Student. Again, it's going to take all night (our internet is S.L.O.W.) I asked her 3 times before we hung up what the product key was so that I could run the program. And 3 times she completely ignored my question before saying "Thank you for choosing Dell Premium Customer Support, have a nice day." CLICK.
So I try to run Office first thing in the morning and guess what, it needs a PRODUCT KEY. When she called back the next night, I she said she would need to check with her supervisor about other options. The next night when she called back, I let it go to voicemail, because I'm sorry, this BRAND NEW COMPUTER that doesn't work is CONSUMING ALL MY TIME. She proceeds to leave a message saying, not "We've got it figured out, give us a call so we can step you through it." but "We have some more options for you to try out.." At that point I was just done. Are you kidding me, TRY MORE?! No, this is just insanity. I've let all the calls roll to voicemail since.
In the meantime, the Chrome App has stopped working completely, the screensaver still doesn't work, the USB ports sometimes work and sometimes don't, Windows 8 is as buggy as all get out , I'm still doing lesson plans on our old, slow laptop because I don't have OFFICE on my BRAND NEW COMPUTER and I am just DONE. Seriously... a person can only take so much. Getting this brand new computer to work like it should have out of the box has consumed my life for 2 weeks and it STILL DOESN'T EVEN WORK. I've felt bullied (into upgrading in the first place) belittled, and beyond frustrated. And I'm done.
We made the decision tonight to send it back and will be researching other options, the problem being, what options do we really have?! We can't do a Chrome Book because everything is stored remotely and with our internet speed, that just isn't going to happen. We're considering Apple but really know nothing about them, just that they're NOT MICROSOFT. Are there other options? Are any of my readers Apple users? What's it like being a Mac in a PC world? What do you use for an Office Suite? What has your experience been with the reliability of your Mac? I want to know. Because this Microsoft user is a VERY UNHAPPY CAMPER right now.
So yeah, that's why I haven't been blogging. Fun times, eh? Hopefully we can return to more regularly-scheduled programming following this happy post (although they'll be from my old, slow laptop, so be patient!)
For those who aren't aware, lovely Microsoft will stop supporting all OSs below Windows 7 in April of this year. Our computers at home are Windows XP and Vista, so, not wanting to open ourselves up to viruses and hacking, we decided to buy a new computer. I was excited as our current set up works, but isn't ideal. We have a desktop in the basement with Photoshop installed on it. It runs SO SLOWLY, so editing photos is nightmarish, and doing anything else is on it is pretty much out of the question. So the only time we "booted up the beast" was when I
Feeling like our hand was being quite forced, we started looking into new computers in December and ordered a relatively high end Dell with Windows 8 right around the first of the year. I'd also made a commitment to myself to blog more, now that the computer would be lightning fast. Well, a few days into January I got an email from Dell that our order had been cancelled and to contact our credit card company regarding the reasons. I called our credit card company the next day who said they had no idea why it had been cancelled, they didn't even show an attempted authorization. So I called the phone number/extension in the email from Dell and was told that that extension no longer existed. How helpful... I then spent 45 minutes being transferred from one person to another (6? more? in total), got hung up on by the automated system three times, and felt belittled by everyone I talked to because for some reason (which no one could explain) my customer number got tied to the customer number of the person who stole our credit card and bought a Dell Laptop 18 months ago, flagging our account and cancelling our order. I have no idea how that happened because our credit card number is different and I've never bought a computer from Dell in my life. I should have taken the hint at that point and just given up, but no... Finally I talked to a woman who said "I will be the last person you talk to, and I will get this issue resolved." A.MEN! She got me a new customer number, ordered our computer, and shipped it to us 2nd Day for the trouble.
So the computer came. We bought a thumb drive to back the OS up before we did anything to the computer. Except an update needed to install for the MyDell program before we could use it to back the OS up. And the update was corrupt. So we restarted (our brand new computer) and the update seemed to install. Then the computer wouldn't recognize the USB drive plugged into any of the ports. After chatting with Samrat for 2.5 hours, him remote-accessing our computer and updating the PE environment, partially updating the BIOS (but it failed for some reason), reformatting the thumb drive, we restart the computer and he is gone. Completely gone. No chat window, no phone call back. Nothing. And the dang back up program still wouldn't work. It was 12:30am by this point, so I went to bed, more than a little irritated.
Given the fact that I homeschool and am busy teaching during the day, I couldn't call back until late afternoon the next day. I spent 4 hours on the phone with Lourhey installing 64 updates, reformatting the thumb drive, updating the BIOS again, uninstalling and reinstalling the MyDell program (again on my BRAND NEW COMPUTER.) Lourhey was remote accessing the computer to back it up and we were chatting when I realize that she's backing up the FILES and PHOTOS (which there were NONE OF YET), not the OS like I had been asking for for FOUR HOURS.
Finally, we get the OS backed up. Then the printer that was previously working/wirelessly connected wouldn't work anymore. So we spent another 30 minutes to get it working. Then I spent the entire night downloading Windows 8.1 on my brand new computer.
After looking through the materials with the monitor, it said for optimal performance to install the drivers on the CD. So I did. Then the bottom half of the monitor started flashing. And wouldn't stop despite restarting, shutting down, and reprogramming the monitor. So I spent another 45 minutes chatting with tech support. He disabled something and the monitor started working again.
And then the PE Environment needed updated again. And there was a new version of the MyDell program... so I got to spend an hour updating those.
I thought maybe just maybe we were in the clear, when I decided to try our 30 day trial of Microsoft Office for the first time. Except that I click on it and NOTHING happens. And I restart and click on it again and NOTHING happens. And I realize that the screen saver sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. So I get to call tech support again and spend 2 hours "trying to figure something out." And get told "If we can't figure something out, you can always download Open Office." (Which is a free office suite that has nowhere near the functionality of Microsoft Office, and has nothing to do with Microsoft.) No thanks, I'd just like my 30 day trial. So first she tries some work-around like I'm a company, getting a 90 day trial of Office 365. Except that doesn't work. So then she (remote access again) has be download Microsoft Home and Student. Again, it's going to take all night (our internet is S.L.O.W.) I asked her 3 times before we hung up what the product key was so that I could run the program. And 3 times she completely ignored my question before saying "Thank you for choosing Dell Premium Customer Support, have a nice day." CLICK.
So I try to run Office first thing in the morning and guess what, it needs a PRODUCT KEY. When she called back the next night, I she said she would need to check with her supervisor about other options. The next night when she called back, I let it go to voicemail, because I'm sorry, this BRAND NEW COMPUTER that doesn't work is CONSUMING ALL MY TIME. She proceeds to leave a message saying, not "We've got it figured out, give us a call so we can step you through it." but "We have some more options for you to try out.." At that point I was just done. Are you kidding me, TRY MORE?! No, this is just insanity. I've let all the calls roll to voicemail since.
In the meantime, the Chrome App has stopped working completely, the screensaver still doesn't work, the USB ports sometimes work and sometimes don't, Windows 8 is as buggy as all get out , I'm still doing lesson plans on our old, slow laptop because I don't have OFFICE on my BRAND NEW COMPUTER and I am just DONE. Seriously... a person can only take so much. Getting this brand new computer to work like it should have out of the box has consumed my life for 2 weeks and it STILL DOESN'T EVEN WORK. I've felt bullied (into upgrading in the first place) belittled, and beyond frustrated. And I'm done.
We made the decision tonight to send it back and will be researching other options, the problem being, what options do we really have?! We can't do a Chrome Book because everything is stored remotely and with our internet speed, that just isn't going to happen. We're considering Apple but really know nothing about them, just that they're NOT MICROSOFT. Are there other options? Are any of my readers Apple users? What's it like being a Mac in a PC world? What do you use for an Office Suite? What has your experience been with the reliability of your Mac? I want to know. Because this Microsoft user is a VERY UNHAPPY CAMPER right now.
So yeah, that's why I haven't been blogging. Fun times, eh? Hopefully we can return to more regularly-scheduled programming following this happy post (although they'll be from my old, slow laptop, so be patient!)
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Artist at work
Little Ruby has been our little artist ever since she could hold a crayon. More hours of her day are spent
doing art than anything else (okay, sleeping excepted.) For Christmas, Santa brought her a tub full of art supplies (glitter glue, acrylic paints and a palette, foam stickers, felt sheets, glue, pipe cleaners, feathers, jewels, pom-poms...) and let's just say that present has been thoroughly enjoyed! For the first couple weeks after Christmas, that was ALL she did! The last couple of days though, she has reverted back to crayons/markers/colored pencils, and I've LOVED seeing her drawings! I thought you might like to see them too!
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| Snowmen with LOTS of buttons |
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| Flowers |
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| A rainbow and "Hello Kitty with pinchers... like a crab..." |
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| A sister with a monkey bars on her shirt, a coconut (the top circle-looking thing), a baby (to the right of the coconut), and Mama Mary (laying down.) Notice the orange "frame" she colored around it - that's her latest thing - frames |
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| Sunshine. She drew this about 6 months ago and it's been hanging on my fridge ever since because I love it so much. It just makes me smile every time I see it! |
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| A girl with a bug on her shirt |
We also got a beautiful surprise in the mail today from another artist dear to our hearts, Amber Pitts. She was here this summer with the Love Good Music tour and painted this beautiful picture, upside down in three minutes during one of Jimmy's songs. It was incredible to behold!
When I got the mail, there was a package of greeting cards from Amber with beautiful watercolor depictions of Pope Francis and Mother Teresa. I really want to put pictures of them on here, but I really don't want to spoil anything for her either, so unfortunately for now, you'll just have to imagine them. The painting of Mother Teresa is titled "Peace Begins With a Smile" and Mother Teresa just exudes joy and love. The painting of Pope Francis perfectly captures his humble, loving spirit. Oh goodness they're wonderful. If you're looking for beautiful cards to mail out for any reason, I would highly recommend getting in touch with Amber (comment here and I'll put you in touch with her.) You would be supporting a beautiful young woman's gift! We are so blessed to have this beautiful artist as a role-model for our beautiful little artist!
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Baptized in Christ
Today we celebrated the Baptism of our nephew and Godson, Hayden!!
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| Cousins and best friends, Hayden & Ira |
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| Father Andy had all the kids' attention as he explained the significance of water being used for Baptism |
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| Baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit |
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| Anointed with the Oil of Chrism |
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| The AWESOME book we found for him. I think he likes it! |
Hayden, may God bless you and keep you close to His heart today and always!!
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Tooth Fairy
Soo... I may or may not be a terrible mother who forgot for like a month... or more (I've honestly lost track it's been so long) to "tooth fairy" Ira's last tooth he lost. He has for several months known that I am the tooth fairy (He even told Andy, "Dad, did you know Mom is the Tooth Fairy?!") but, just like with Santa Claus (who he bluntly told RUBY was fake this year... thanks a lot...) confuses me with how exactly that works out in his big honkin' brain. He does this thing where he still acts like he believes. And he's good at it. Too good. So much so that I don't really think he's acting. Because I'll unapologetically admit the kid can't lie to save his life so I don't think he could so convincingly pull off "fake believing." Does that make any sense? Because it doesn't for me.... I don't know what reality he has created for himself where he knows, in fact, that his parents are aforementioned mythical figures, but then still wholeheartedly lives as though they are real... I don't know... it boggles my mind.
Sooooooo...... anyway... He finally decided last night (after he had to have a tooth pulled at the dentist yesterday) that he was going to write a note to the tooth fairy.
Sooooooo...... anyway... He finally decided last night (after he had to have a tooth pulled at the dentist yesterday) that he was going to write a note to the tooth fairy.
And the tooth fairy, having an affinity for imaginary worlds herself, left him this note back:
He was ecstatic. And said not one word about it being from me... mind. blown.
Then tonight when he went to bed, he wrote her another note:
Oh... My HEART!!! What a doll! I'm rather enjoying this fun little conversation with my sweet son!
To be continued...
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