Rest . . . (FMF)

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Unscripted. Unedited. Real. Writing for 5 minutes prompted my a single word from Lisa-Jo.

Five Minute Friday

 

Go:

My resting spot is my cabin.  It was built by my dad who died when I was 7.  My Mom in one of her “moments” sold the cabin.  When the opportunity came to buy it back–I did.

The cabin is the place where I can just be.  The kids play for hours–uninterruppted play and I watch them, listen to them, I read, I knit.

When we moved, we decided to keep the cabin.  The move created a commute of 161 miles to 400 miles, but I don’t mind. (well, I do about mile 375 :-)  My brother makes a similiar commute and we spend time together–early morning talks over coffee.  The cousins play, swim and try to out fish each other.

The cabin is a place for me to rest and rejuvenate.  Only a few more weeks until we open it up for the season . . .

my brother fishing

my brother fishing

the kitchen--where the magic happens--this is the ENTIRE kitchen

the kitchen–where the magic happens–this is the ENTIRE kitchen

we spend hours on the boat!

we spend hours on the boat!

God says "goodnight"

God says “goodnight”

STOP.

Be blessed as you find your resting spot.

Kids + Reading=Easy!

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I’m so excited!  Today I discovered this awesome online reading resource.

Lit2Go supports Grades K-12 with an extensive collection of free audio books to help us present literature to our kids.  Each book is given a reading level based on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Index.  This index is explained on the site but it is basically avg. # words/sentence, length, syllables/word to estimate the difficulty of the text.  This formula converts to a grade level.

When you get to the site, you’ll see a brief introduction, some featured audio books, and a menu where you can browse for audio literature by:

Author– Search for books by your favorite authors, in alphabetical order from Aesop to Walt Whitman.

Book Title – Explore the alphabetical index for literature from the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain to Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.

Genres – Find literature based on preferred genres including:

  • Adventure
  • Fantasy
  • Historical Fiction
  • Memoir
  • Mystery
  • Nursery Rhyme
  • Poetry
  • Science Fiction
  • Tragedy
  • And More!

Collections – Browse for literature by collections based on themes including:

  • African-American Literature
  • Books of Oz
  • Civil War
  • Dragons
  • Mathematics
  • Monsters
  • Princesses
  • Science
  • Sherlock Holmes
  • And more!

Readability – Search for Literature based on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level from K-12.

Just click on a title of interest and a new page opens where you can find more information and the MP3 download links.

I looked at Uncle Tom’s Cabing–the kids version and the voice was pleasant and easy to pay attention to–for kids who might have issues keeping focus–this will be great.  I spent way too much time listening to poetry . . . and each book or chapter has an activity sheet.

This site would be perfect for parents who:

  • homeschool
  • seek enrichment
  • have kids that learn differently
  • have kids that need a multi media approach.

I highly recommend Lit2Go.

Be Blessed as you discover new and exciting way to educate your children.

I’m linking up with motivation monday, create with joy, Busy Mondays, mindful mothering, and with Ann, The Better Mom, Rediscovering Domesticity, Titus 2 Tuesday, Teach Me Tuesday, Titus (2)sdays, Gradituesdays, Heart and Home, Whatever Works Wednesday, Wisdom Wednesday, Fabulously Frugal Thursday, Show and Share Wednesday, Saturday Show and Share.

Lemon Dressing

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My goal for this year is to lose 70 pounds!  I’ve lost 10 already and I’m slowly reaching my goals.  It is hard . . . it is much easier to be fat.  In this process of being honest about my weight issues, I’ve found myself eating more and more salads.  I enjoyed salad–UNTIL I had to eat them.

The idea that  I had was to make eating salad fun . . . by creating some new and interesting salad dressings.  This one is so simple and delicious.

ingredients

 

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before emulsion

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[recipe]

Lemon Dressing

  • fresh lemon juice from one lemon (or two if they are small)
  • 1 or 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon
  • 1/2 teaspoon Celtic salt
  • a couple shakes or spins of the pepper mill
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

I mix all of the ingredients together until it is emulsified.  Then I toss with my greens about 15 minutes before we eat dinner.

[/recipe]

I am currently not eating sugar–but if I was, I would 86 (restaurant speak for “no longer available”) the tarragon replacing it with honey!

This simple dressing is great on chicken, tossed with rice or quinoa.  I love lemon with tarragon, but the clean flavors lend itself to almost any fresh herb that you really enjoy.

Be Blessed as you create food love in your kitchen!

One again I’m linking up with Iron Chef Mom! and Your Thriving Family