I Knead Bread!

I love bread~it is so wonderful! I savored fresh doughnuts, pretzels, and rolls when I toured parts of Germany in 2002. My Grandma Duren made amazing breads, doughnuts, and cinnamon rolls throughout her lifetime. Growing up, I remember her spending most of her time baking goodies in the kitchen. I really enjoy baking and sharing what I make with neighbors, family, and friends.~

Last weekend, I made some very good cinnamon rolls and this week I decided to make some zucchini bread with a fresh zucchini from our garden. I also made some wonderful banana bread~so yummy! I am including the recipes for the breads.

Banana Bread

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/3 cups mashed bananas

1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix together all dry ingredients in one bowl and the liquid ingredients in another. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and mix well. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.

Zucchini Bread

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

3 tsp cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups sugar

3 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup chopped walnuts

Mix together all dry ingredients in one bowl and the liquid ingredients in another. Add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and mix well. Bake at 325 degrees for 40-60 minutes.

Nummy...enjoy!~

August is Right Around the Corner

Joke of the day:

What did the mother buffalo say to her son as he went off to school?

 Bi-son

When August comes, so does the start of working again at school. (Ok, not until the 29th...)

August always warns me that summer and free time are both quickly coming to a close. I never really stop thinking about work and the next school year over summer break. In my basement I have a large box that has been filled this summer with new reading buddies, puppets, books, erasers, pencils, and other goodies for this year's kiddos. My break has also provided me with extra time to read and find new resources for parents.

I thought of my brother's family and how they are raising my nephew and already encouraging good values and manners at home. My sister is going to be a new mommy in December (yippee!) and so I thought of her also when I found this handout on parenting written by John R. Eggers. Listed below are a few of his ideas:

What is a good parent?

1. Commit yourself to being a good parent. Make it a passion. Realize that the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. Most people achieve because they are determined..

2. Communicate, communicate, communicate. Be the Socrates of the 21st Century-ask, probe, remind, conference, tell, listen, write, post, network. Above all, think and learn out loud with your kids. Remember, it's impossible to over communicate.

3. Love your kids. There are three things you need to do to show love for your kids: talk to them, spend time together, and listen to them.

4. Have fun with them-often. Remember, having children was your idea. Enjoy your kids and enjoy special times together.

5. Listen, very simple. Show them they are important to you.

6. Provide discipline. Kids want it and need it. Discipline means security and stability.

7. Rituals and special times are important, create them in your family.

8. Teach for trust: Say what you mean and mean what you say.

9. Laugh a lot. Parents and kids who laugh, last.

I really liked the author's ideas and thought them to be honest, genuine, and not expensive. :)

           Now to other news~ The NFL lock-out is over, whew!~

         Clara and Jebbie~Are you ready for some football?

I have been ready for football since the Superbowl ended! It is always exciting to think of another year when it begins! I am going to be traveling to Champlin to see some Champlin Park Rebel football this fall too! I know one really great coach that I want to support. :)

Now to the bad news of the month: I am not going to finish my crocheting project for the county fair this year. I know, I am a nerd, but I am still going to enter some other knitting items.

~Change of Days~

Calming peacefulness has eluded,
The wish of many days.
Now a simple, quiet longing,
Enters so gently,
As if lost, in existence,
But has just found its way.

Your soft and loving manner,
Is where life becomes effortless.
The complexity of time,
Exits with a mere, soft touch.
Your heart shining so bright,
Calming all my surroundings.

Gone now is solitude,
Fears of doubts erased.
With such joy and change,
Time still needs healing.
Patience, love, and the happiness of days,
Wonderful you, bringing amazing changes...

*Written for Sam Ferraro, July of 2011*

Little Miracle

" The child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world there hasn't been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him."
~Pablo Casals~

Our whole world is full of miracles, but babies make each day even more amazing. Happy first birthday to my little nephew, Matthew. He will be one on Wednesday and I love him so much. Matthew brings me so much joy and he is truly a sweet little miracle!

I love being an auntie...and I am a good one! I have so much joy and want to share my love with Matthew and others in my life. Matthew's little toothless smile always makes me melt...

Matthew is cuddly and I love to watch him sleep so peacefully...

Happy birthday, blue eyes!
Your first birthday is a special one. It was a first year for us to get to know you, see you grow, and appreciate what a little miracle you really are to the world.

The Brightest Summer

de·light (d-lt)
n.
1. Great pleasure; joy.
2. Something that gives great pleasure or enjoyment.
v. de·light·ed, de·light·ing, de·lights


Yes, this summer has been a very bright one, I have not seen the sun very much outside, but within myself. It has been the loveliest time in my life in quite a while and that has been an unexpected surprise.

                                      This is one very small example:

                                       Banana chocolate chip pancakes...

One may think making these perfect little pancakes is a small thing in a big world, but when someone is thoughtful in even the littlest of ways I notice it and those acts of kindness are greatly appreciated...There is always more to a sweet act ~more than what meets the eye ...

Yes, he is someone very special and I have had feelings of happiness.

These are just a few of his positive qualities:

*He is extremely kind, gentle, and friendly.
*Communication is there and he can express his feelings easily.
*Handsome! Handsome! Handsome!
*Giving~He will drop everything to help someone~from his family to a player he coaches~ at any time.
*Passionate about his job, family, coaching, and friends,  I love it!
*He is a great listener and I already regard him as someone special that I can trust and depend on..

I am keeping my fingers crossed, it can't hurt to cross my toes too!

So far for my summer of 2011 checklist:

1) Chicago trip with DAHL-check
2) adorable guy-check
3) family time-check
4) running time-check

As I mentioned previously, not a lot of summer sunshine outside...but that's shockingly okay with me, for right now...

This little "man" has also helped to make my summer look a lot brighter!

I have loved having more free time to see my family and friends this summer! ~I love my shining Matthew!~

Speaking of feelings~For me, trusting again and not being afraid to take any risks is even tougher. Sometimes you have to face your fears to avoid losing that which is new and dear to you.

I think a lot about Kahlil Gibran's writings on love from his book, The Prophet:

But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:

To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.

~LOVE and SPECIAL WISHES~

We all want to fall in love. Why? Because that experience makes us feel completely alive. Where every sense is heightened, every emotion is magnified, our everyday reality is shattered and we are flying into the heavens. It may only last a moment, and hour, an afternoon. But that doesn't diminish its value. Because we are left with memories that we treasure for the rest of our lives."
~author unknown~

"Distance between two hearts is not an obstacle...rather a beautiful reminder of just how strong true love can be." ~author unknown~

My wonderful para Erin, otherwise known as "MISS J", is getting married in October. My students absolutely adore her and so we wrote some messages for her about love. I had a small celebration for her wedding in our classroom because many of my students will not be in a classroom with Miss J next year. The kids had little mini wedding cakes and they were able to dress their favorite paraprofessional up as a bride using toilet paper. The dandelions they had picked earlier in the day, at recess, worked well as a bouquet for her to throw during the wedding celebration. 

The writing topic was: Love is when...  The kids did a great job and really put their thoughts and emotions into each and every note. Here are just a few of their meaningful love sentences:
(I am going to use their "inventive" spelling, but I will give you some help for some unclear words. )

Love is when someone kisis you and gives you badnads (band-aids) when you have a bo bo (boo boo).


Love is when sambady loves you and has enybody ever cist (kissed) you? I bet you have cist sambady but thats nasty!


Love is when someone helps me with homework and when my parents take me on vacashen!


Love is when sum won gives you food. 


Love is when mom or dad tucks you in bed.


Love is when people take you to the Mall of Amarcka and ants and unkls take you camping.


Love is when you get a hug and 100ed kisses. Your husben (husband) buys you erings. 


Love is when sumbuttee (somebody) is cutlee (cuddly) and when summbuttee is mareed (married).


This is one whole writing and it is one of my favorites. The words it contains are so precious:


Love is when you get your ring and when you get mareyde (married). It's so joyfull and loving. It is like you are waking (walking) throw (through) a waterfall of marshmellows (marshmallows). It's a shiny dimende (diamond) on the ring. It is so butifull (beautiful) when you see it.

That has to be just how everyone wants to feel, when they are in love... 

For the Love of Shoes...

SHOES~SHOES~SHOES!

What do you do with old running shoes? NO one would ever want to wear these "puppies" with all of the miles they have seen! I found this idea for putting old shoes to good use in one of my running magazines. My grandma loved marigolds and so I thought of her today as I filled my shoes with her favorite annuals.

Many beautiful moments and miles have occurred while I have been wearing my running shoes. Running has provided me the needed time to think, reflect, and to make some very important decisions during my lifetime. It has been my stress-reliever on many rough days. After Scott passed away I used the time during many running miles to reflect and to work on forgiveness. I do not listen to music on my runs, instead I find myself focusing on the world around me and appreciating all I see and can hear. Today on the trail I smelled the beautiful lilacs and flowering crab trees. It is fun to see and hear everyone out and about enjoying the sunshine and keeping healthy. My advice to anyone who needs time for thinking and reflecting~Find something you love to do and see the beauty, joy, and relaxation in everything that surrounds your interest.

               
 These are my new beautiful "loves" for this spring.
                                     

Asics makes the best marathon training shoes (at least in my opinion) and my "favs" for the moment happen to be Asics Gel Kayano 17. I think they are just so amazingly gorgeous...Don't you agree?

Mwah!