Adventures in Naan

I attempted to make naan this weekend, but didn't follow this video. I watched a different video that didn't mention rolling it so thin. So I'm going to try again this Sunday and hope that they turn out as yummy as hers.

INGREDIENTS:
Recipe makes 6 Naans
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
Pinch of baking soda
2 tablespoons oil
21/2 tablespoons yogurt
3/4cup look warm water
1 teaspoon clear butter or ghee
1/4 cup all purpose flour for rolling

Best $120.00 I ever spent!

The last few days have been panic filled. My Toshiba is ill. Thank goodness that my husband has a laptop, so I will still be able to blog. I was able to upload all of my photos to Picasa under my Gmail account. My other files were unimportant. I tried system recovery to wipe the hard drive and restore the system to factory settings, but it didn't fix what was wrong. So I searched through boxes and boxes this morning and found my extended warranty! I am so glad I did that. I buy warranties whenever I can. It's extra money, but it is so well worth it. I called Office Depot and the kind gentleman said that I did everything he would have told me to try. So he says that the problem isn't fatal, but it will require me to mail my computer to the experts. They are paying for the box and postage and it should take 3 days to mail the box and 3 days to get fixed and 3 days to come back home all repaired. I will miss my computer, but Avi will be wonderful and share when he can. I won't be able to load new photos because his laptop doesn't read sd cards, but it's ok. I just want my computer to be all better.

Weekend work

It's a challenge balancing work and home. I love my family so much and enjoy watching my children grow and progress and loving my husband more each day. But I am also very blessed to do a job that I am good at and enjoy. There are times when office politics get in the way and make my day longer than normal, but for the most part my work is fulfilling and I enjoy getting up for work most days. Then there's coping with working overtime and weekends. There are times when I have the choice to work or not to work but there are times when it is mandatory. The mandatory times are easy to cope with because there is really no other option. The days when I have a choice are the days I struggle with the most. Most of the time I want to stay home with my kids and get the house ready for the week ahead. Today I'm going in for three hours and will be home in enough time to enjoy the rest of my day. I'm going in earlier than everyone else so I can get some work done. (People tend to play too much where I work.) So while everyone is sleeping in today, I'll be making some much needed overtime for my family.

Earth Day 2009

PROJECT: RECYCLE PAPER

With Earth Day being today, I wanted to do something special with the family to celebrate our responsibility and the steps we've taken to help the planet. So I found a Paper Recycling Factory at Wal-Mart for $3.00! So I asked Avi to get the kids to help him shred newspaper and soak it for two hours. Then we used a blender (non-electric hand-crank kind) that came with the box and blended the wet paper into a pulpy soup. You put the soup in a large tray and then use a mesh square to lift up the pulp. You squeeze all the water you can out of the paper with a vise (also included) and then set it aside to dry for 24 hours. We're going to turn them into mini scrap books with small pictures printed from my computer. Did you know that the average person will use nearly 500 trees worth of paper in their lifetime? That's a lot of trees!

I'll blog again about our scrapbooks after get them finished!

The Value of Toastmasters

Well I did it. The speech turned out really well. It's kind of foggy, but the sign I'm holding up says "confidence". That is the main benefit to Toastmasters.

Speechcraft

Well, I have yet another speech today. Our Toastmaster's club is hosting a Speechcraft for the management of VALIC and Western National Life (btw, that's where I work). We had one last year and it was a great learning experience for everyone involved. So we're doing it again this year. Speechcraft is great PR for our club and helps our managers with a 5 week crash course in confidence. Our hope is to encourage new membership, but to also showcases the resource that the managers may not know about. My speech is titled, The Value of Toastmasters. I've given it once before, but it turned out really well, and our President asked me to give it again. It compares other public speaking courses to the Toastmaster program. It should be fun and when we have Speechcraft, I get to attend TWO TM meetings a week! Yeah!

More music that makes me happy!

If you've seen myspace, this is a rerun for you, but I like it so much I had to add it to my blog!

Music that makes me happy!

More Highlights from Vacation

The Greatest Show on Earth!

The bummer about being a photographer, is that there are so few pictures of YOU having fun. Aunt Linda took all of these beautiful pictures and Uncle Kevin was here to. Thank you both for so much fun!


Aunt Hester, Uncle Brian, Blake and Ethan had loads of fun!

John, Tina and Randy had fun while it lasted. John was ready to move on to the next exciting thing and they had to leave midway.




Our favorite part was the French clown that road the world's smallest bike through a circle of fire!!!

His bike fell apart and he put it together WHILE he was riding it!

Meow!

She enjoyed every minute of the show.

A cold front came in while we were in the circus so Avi was kind enough to let me borrow his jacket.


Uncle Kevin and Aunt Linda were so kind and generous to get this great Elephant (Stompy) for Zee.

Home Sweet Home...

Avi's first words after driving for 5 hours, "Be it ever so humble... there is no place like home." I agree. It's been a great fun filled 8 days, and I am glad I took the time off away from the stress of work. If anything it's made me appreciate home that much more. Messy and small though it may be, I'm the queen of this here cottage and love it's every nook and cranny. I'll blog more about our vacation on another day, because I promised Zee I would blog about his amazing accomplishment! He had tons of school work to take with us because I took him out of school for 5 days for vacation. BOY OH BOY did he have a lot. He had to write to 1,000 and he had 10 pages of math, 5 pages of English Grammar, 5 books to read, and spelling to do. It was sheer torture for him and he cried many times. But he finished every bit of the work by 5:00pm tonight. He will feel the accomplishment of going to school with all of his work done. And his father and I are very proud of him! Way to go Zee!

I love chickens!

There is nothing quite like holding a chicken. A real live bird in your hands. My parents have 26 of the most beautiful birds. Smelly yes, but they are birds.
This is Buddy climbing Mount Dad. These baby goats are the most amazing creatures. They are soft and warm and full of love. I'm so glad I'm not allergic to them. I have had the privilege of helping at feeding time. They are bottle fed and its so much fun. Not so much for my Mom who has to wake up in the middle of the night for feedings, but it's been fun to help a little.
The ducks are loads of fun. They love water and are so fuzzy. This breed of bird is flightless. They are huge mess makers and great fun to watch.

We have to pack up and head home tomorrow. It's been fun on the farm and it's been a great 8 days away from the stress of work. I have more pictures, but I'll have to post them later as it's almost dinner time. (Yeah meatloaf sandwiches!)

The Exodus Reinactment

Hooray! It's Passover!


Moshe and Sophie


Hester and Tzipporah (Not Moshe's Wife)


Egyptian rock quary



Israelite village of Goshen


The foods during the times of Egyptians


Bread dough ready for leavening...



The plague of Darkness (we forgot to take pictures of the other plagues...)


Preparing for the Angel of Death

Azariah


Blake


Sara

Tzipporah and Bubbe


Thinking about the sad people who lost their firstborn...



Egyptian booty






Let's pack our bags, Pharaoh said go!




The Red Sea is split!


Hey, look a fish! (Moshe's leading the way)


Freedom!



Hester with her tambourine!


Azariah happy to be out of Egypt!


Our first meal of freedom!



Tzipi and Sara are very hungry!


Zee, Nee, Hester, Laurie, Sophie, and Ethan