October birthday and Pumpkin Decorating

In the top picture my daughter and youngest son are making masterpieces out of a couple of pumpkins with markers. The bottom picture is my youngest b-day party. He just turned 3, he didn't want to sit in front of the cake so his sister did. He loves Mickey Mouse so we did a Mickey Mouse theme. He had a bit of a cranky day and was overwhelmed but he did have some fun moments :) What is cute about this picture is that they look in awe of their big brother. A picture is worth a thousand words ;)

The Help

I finished this book while camping. I could not put it down, easy, thoughtprovoking and entertaining read. It is by Kathryn Stockett and it is her first novel. Picture Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's when black folks are good enough to work for white folks and take care of their children, but not good enough to share bathrooms, movie theatres, stores, social gatherings( unless working) ect.

It takes on a couple of different points of view from maids and one young woman trying to become a writer. It talks about their daily lives as maids and regular everyday people much like the women they work for except they do their own work. Skeeter is the young white woman whom is wanting a career in writing. She remembers her maid Constantine as a loving family member even though she was paid help. She misses her and wants to know the story behind her leaving. I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to any avid reader.

Back from Camping

We are back and it was a great time to be with the family and relax with no internet, tv or phone. The first week at home I went one whole day without internet on Sunday and the second day I did get on to check my e-mail and then by the third day I eased back into facebook LOL

I admit I didn't give it up the first week as planned but I did learn self control and how to limit my tme on the computer so I am greatful for that. The week of camping I did not have internet, tv or a phone and I read more and spent more time with the family and lived without it happily and joyfully. Overall I learned that I can limit my time and spend some quality time with my family. I am looking forward to doing it again.

Unplugged

Since we are going camping soon, I have decided to not be on the internet for two weeks. Starting tomorrow August 15th until August 29th. I think I will spend more quality time with my kids, read more, learn and grow. I will report back on how the two weeks went. I hope to be refreshed and renewed and learn more about my family and myself. This is a part of my intentional living.

Click Here to learn more.

Banana Muffins

This is from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:

1 1/2cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large bananas
3\4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1\3 cup butter, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat muffin pans with non-stick spray, or use paper liners. Sift together the flour, baking and salt; set aside.

2. Combine bananas, sugar, egg, and melted butter in a large bowl. Fold in flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Scoop into muffin pans.

3. Bake n preheated oven. Bake mini muffins for 10 to 15 minutes, and large muffins for 25 to 30 minutes. Muffins will spring back when lightly tapped.

I added some chocolate chips to the recipe.

Veil of Roses

This is a story of a young women (Tami) from Iran whose parents get her a visa and tickets to America to stay with her sister. Her sister lives in Tuscon, Arizona with her husband. Tami's parents and sister hope for a better life in America for Tami where there is freedom for women. They hope she can find a man to marry to stay in America permanently.

Tami loves the freedom to be able to take pictures and not have to wear a hijab when she is in public. Freedom to talk to friends including male friends. Sometimes Tami has to get used of the freedoms since she is so used to living under Iranian rules. Her sister is so insistent on wanting Tami's freedom that in the process of it she seems to take of Tami's freedom away. I think this was a quick read and I liked learning about another culture.

Mom's Zucchini Bread

I got this recipe from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 tsp ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 1\4 cups white sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Grease and flour two 8 by 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan and completely cool.

I didn't use walnuts because I didn't have any on hand. I used pure sugar instead of white. I was going to replace the vegetable oil with olive oil but I wanted to use up what I had on hand.