lessons

All posts tagged lessons

We’ve lost our Motivation

Published October 13, 2013 by Angela

Maybe it’s the weather, since the days are getting shorter. It seems like it is always dark out now, and as much as Erin has lost her interest in getting her homeschooling work done, I am starting to lose my desire to keep her ahead of the game. I think it is time to switch things up a bit. She keeps getting further and further behind, and I need to get her back on track. I have to say she is doing extremely well, she just seems to be bored now. Hence, field trips and science experiments.

I explained to her today about STEM and its importance from my perspective for my girls. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathmatics are important for everyone, but also a male-dominated area generally in school and work. I want my girls to be comfortable with match and science, and also enjoy it!

So, I will be investigating some science experiments that I can get her going on, besides the rotting “Bob the Chicken” that is still in his bag and box, decaying on top of my refrigerator. He’s due for a change of salt mixture tomorrow, and I am going to ask Erin to do it tomorrow while I am doing things elsewhere. He really, really stinks and it’s a bit more than I can stand 🙂

Do you have any great motivators that work for you and yours when you get into a slump?

As Easy As Pie!

Published October 6, 2013 by Angela

Since when is pie easy? At least making it, that is. Just typing that had me thinking “Where did this saying come from?” Hence Google, and apparently it first appeared in print in The Newport Mercury, in 1887. There’s your history lesson for the day, wasn’t that easy?

I am no longer a huge baker of desserts, or anything else for that matter, except for the couple months at the end of the year when I desire for my house to smell like the house I grew up in during the Fall/Winter Holidays; cookies, chocolate, spices, and homemade pies.

So I figured I could certainly spare 5 minutes to whip up this dessert I came across, on Facebook I am sure. 2 ingredients, how could it get any easier, right? An angel food cake mix that requires only water be added, and a can of any type of pie filling you desire. I used pineapple this time, but I also have another cake mix and can of apple pie filling, which I will be drizzling with caramel after I make it.

Mix them together, and put it in a lightly greased 9×13 pan at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes (Sorry, I was multi-tasking and not paying 100% attention to the time). I would suggest give it 20 minutes, then open the oven door every 5 minutes until it has a nice golden color on top 🙂 As a note, this will fluff up pretty good the longer it sets before it gets in the oven, and even more when it’s baking. Mine was above the edge of the pan when I took it out (without over-flowing) but as it cooled it did sink a little bit back down which allowed me to put the cover on the pan without issues.

It was delicious, and likely would have been even better with some whipped cream. And an added bonus? Virtually fat free, especially if you get sugar free pie filling.

2 Ingredients

2 Ingredients

Just mix them together

Just mix them together

ready for the oven!

ready for the oven!

The finished Dessert

The finished Dessert

Bob the Chicken

Published October 5, 2013 by Angela

Bob the Chicken and Pineapple dessert 003

Bob the Chicken and Pineapple dessert 005

24 hours later, Bob is resting peacefully in a mixture of salt, baking powder, and baking soda. He needs a fresh batch daily for about a week, then every couple of days, then every week until he is dried up. Spices are going in the next mixture. I am about 110% sure he is going to be smelling pretty quickly.

 

I think I now find it even more disturbing that he does not take the “Big Nap” in my fridge, but he sits out in my 72 degree house with only a Ziploc bag between my girls, myself, and goodness knows how many E-Coli germs and who-knows-what-else that are multiplying by the second on his decaying flesh.

When it rains, It pours

Published October 4, 2013 by Angela

Apparently, right through my ceiling 😦

 

It is raining here, but that is not my water problem. My kids flushing paper towel down the upstairs toilet seems to be the issue. So where does the water go when it can’t go down the drain? Right through the floor, and my main floor ceiling, and out the light fixture and door frame on my front door. And what happens to wood when it is full of water overnight??  Bingo! It swells up, which in turn keeps my front door from even attempting to shut.

 

So here’s to hoping for a better weekend than my Friday is being, and I hope your weekend is profoundly better than what I may experience 🙂  Happy Friday everyone!

You did not just say that, did you? (PG)

Published October 3, 2013 by Angela

Oh My Goodness. Church was interesting tonight. After several years of teaching youngsters of various ages many lessons, this is the first time I was speechless. Only for about 3 seconds though, then I tried to fix the problem.

The theme tonight? Saying you’re sorry. What do I do? Ask if anyone has had to apologize to anyone recently. All the hands went up, so I gave everyone a turn to answer. The last boy of about 8 or 9 years old? Yeah, he got me good.

Boy: “I had to apologize to my friend when we were playing soccer for hitting him in the balls with the ball.”

Me: JAW-DROP

Me again: “We can’t say that in here, we have to find better words to use.”

You would think I would have kept a closer eye on him for the rest of class, but noooooo, I tell everyone when it’s time to go to their next class to take their I’m Sorry cards they had made for someone with them. Without looking at them.

Thank goodness one of the other ladies happened to see his card before he got out the door and in his parents car because Yep, he made a card with a really accurate drawing of this said incident and wrote “I’m sorry I hit you in the nuts with my ball.”

😦 Let’s see if I can stay one step ahead of them next week. And how was YOUR night?

How to kill a dead chicken

Published October 2, 2013 by Angela

Yes, I said it. Yes, it’s an oxymoron 🙂 I am still trying to wrap my head around letting a chicken “rot” for 6 weeks in my refrigerator. Apparently all it takes is a raw chicken, 2 lbs of salt, a box of baking powder, and a box of baking soda. It needs to be checked once a week, and the salt rinsed off and changed if it is wet. We can add spices later if we want. Hmmm, I know when people were mummified back in the day (OK, way, way back) that sometimes they were covered in spices. To help with the odor, I would imagine.

Now I don’t know exactly what kind of spices I can find at my grocery store that would have been common back then, but I do know if this chicken starts smelling, he is going to be taking his deep sleep in cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices so he at least smells good 🙂

This experiment is set to begin Friday. Expect some rather disturbing pictures in the near future 🙂

I have to do What to a chicken??

Published September 30, 2013 by Angela

“Mummify it.”

 

Whaaaaat?

OK, I am sure this is going to be great fun for the kids to watch as the weeks go by, I am just not sure how comfortable I am having it in my refrigerator (or wherever in my house I may need to store it).

Being a bit of a germaphobe (There, I said it out loud!) I am not thrilled about having a rotting chicken next to my grapes in the fridge.

Other than that, the teacher for the Co-op classes is going to get me started, which I am grateful for, and I will post pictures of this incredible experiment as it moves along.

Has anyone done this before? What did you think? It is a surprise for the kids for their ancient artifacts class, but I am going to be the most surprised that I will actually allow this in my house LOL. The things I do for my girls 🙂