Maci's Marvelous Munchables

Maci got her own blog!  She has been bugging me for weeks now.  So we got her set up.  Check it out!  She would love followers and recipe suggestions.  It's theme is kid friendly recipes.

http://marvelousmunchables.blogspot.com/

The Hunger Games Trilogy

The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins are my favorite books of 2010.  I'm a big fan, a big big fan!  I loved the Twilight Saga too.  These stuck with me like the Twilight books did.  I think of them a lot.  I want to read them again.  I can't wait for the movies.  These are addictive. 

The genre is young adult/science fiction.  Normally I would just pass these up.  But I heard the buzz about these and finally reserved them at the library.  I'm so glad I did.  I was sad when I finished them because I just wanted the story to keep going. 

The characters are very real.  The story is very imaginative and futuristic. 

If you are fan of these, tell me what you thought about them.  Are you super excited about the movies?

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls

The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls.  I didn't have high expectations, a memoir by someone I've never heard of?  But I liked the title so I picked it up at the library. 

All I can say is WOW.  This is a story worth telling.  Jeannette Walls is a fantastic writer and storyteller.  There are no lulls to this book.  It is just super interesting the entire way through. 

I wanted to scream at her parents for being so selfish and self centered throughout, but you don't come away with hatred for them, you just feel utter disbelief.  The dad is an alcoholic, a dreamer, that's where the title comes from.  He's super smart but can't stay anywhere long enough or work long enough to make anything happen.  The mom is an educated teacher, but doesn't want to teach, she wants to do art, she wants to paint.  She can't be bothered with working and she can't be bothered with really taking care of anyone but herself. 

It starts when Jeannette is in NYC as an adult, seeing her homeless mom on the street and ignoring her.  She is living in a fancy apartment.  So at first I'm like, ok, why is your mom homeless?  Then she starts her story.  It starts when she is 3 and burns herself cooking hotdogs on the stove in a trailer.  Let the adventures begin.  They start in the desert southwest and end up in CA, Nevada, Missippi.  They have no possessions and when they get them, they leave them behind to move on to somewhere else.  When they have money, they eat steaks, when they don't the kids dig out of the trash at school for food.  It's really horrific at times what the kids have to go through, no running water, no heat or electricity.  But through it all is a story of the sibling bond, coping with selfish parents, living in dire conditions and living the nomadic life with minimalist parents who don't believe in food stamps or government assistance but are ok with letting their kids go hungry and without clothes or proper shelter.  The parents simply fend for themselves for the most part, the kids all sort of take care of each other, this bond will eventually help most of them overcome the odds. 

Anyway, READ this!  You won't regret it.  It stuck with me.  I appreciate good writing.  Jeannette Walls has a true gift!  This is a fascinating, unbelievable and incredible story.

My First Giveaway!

Do you like getting free stuff in the mail?  Here's your chance! 

365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child by Steve and Ruth Bennett.

This is from my collection, not new, but I'm easy on books and we don't smoke, so it's clean.  I am moving so my junk is another person's treasure.  This book is actually pretty cool.  It has different activities, crafts, games, outdoor play, indoor play, recycled household material uses, science, creative, fantasy play.  LOTS of ideas! 

To enter, leave a comment about what your favorite things to do with your kids are.  I will choose the winner at the end of month using a random choice system.  Good Luck!

Cheesy Baked Pasta

Meet Chef Maci, my 8 year old daughter.  She wants to be a baker when she grows up.  We are making an easy baked pasta dish.  I normally make this with Ziti or Penne, but I just had Macaroni on hand. 

Here's the recipe:

Cheesy Baked Pasta

1 lb of ground beef
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder or fresh garlic clove (2 cloves)
1 jar of spaghetti sauce

2 cups cottage cheese or ricotta
1 egg
1/2 cup parmesan cheese (grated or freshly grated)
1 tsp italian seasoning or oregano
1 tsp garlic powder

 8 oz. Mozzarella Cheese, slices or shredded


1 pound of pasta, cooked, drained.

Brown the meat, add salt, pepper, garlic powder.
Add the spaghetti sauce, simmer on low for 10-20 minutes.

Mix the cottage cheese, egg, parmesan cheese, italian seasoning and garlic powder, set aside.

Cook pasta, drain and rinse.

Use a 9 x 13 pan, ungreased, layer sauce, noodles, cheese mixture, keep layering until it's done, top with mozzarella cheese.  Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly. 

Serve with steamed brocoli and garlic toast.


Picture tutorial:

Gather all the ingredients

Brown the hamburger

Add the spices

Continue browning the hamburger

Add the spaghetti sauce to browned meat, simmer for 20 minutes or so.

In a bowl, add cottage cheese

grate the parmesan

about 1/2 cup

One egg

Spices

Combine cottage cheese and parmesan

Add spices

Add egg

Stir

Until well combined, set aside

Cook up some pasta

drain and rinse pasta

Start by layering some sauce, then add noodles, about 1/3 of each.

Add 1/3 of the cheese mixture

Spread the cheese mixture evenly

Another layer and then another.

Top with mozzarella cheese, slices or shredded.

Cover the entire top

Bake 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  I wish you had smellavision, it smells so good in here!

The Oil Cleansing Method

Not too long ago I had heard about the oil cleansing method for the face.  I have been using a bar of soap to wash my face which is extremely drying, so I'd add a moisterizer after.  Anyway, I thought, the oil cleansing method sounded very interesting.  The premise is that oil dissolves oil.  So it sounds crazy but it really works!  I don't care what kind of skin you have you should try this.  There are different oils to use.  But basically the recommended oils are Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Castor Oil, and Sunflower Oil.  You can use any natural cold pressed vegetable oil.  The castor oil is found in the laxative section of your grocery store.  It has anti-inflammatory properties so it's great if you have acne prone skin. 

Here are suggested ratios of oil to use:

Oily Skin: Try a blend of 30% Castor Oil to 70% Sunflower Seed Oil.


Balanced Skin: Try a blend of 20% Castor Oil to 80% Sunflower Seed Oil.

Dry Skin: Try a blend of 10% Castor Oil to 90% Sunflower Seed Oil.

Here's how you do it:

1. With dry face and hands, take a quarter sized amount of oil and rub in small circles around your face and neck.  Massage for a few minutes.
2. Get a washcloth wet with really warm/hot water, so it's sort of steamy, but be careful not to burn yourself. 
3. Apply the washcloth to your face and neck, let it stay there and let the steam work into your pores, a minute or two, this is great to do in the tub, lie back and relax.   
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3.
5. Wipe face with washcloth removing excess oil.  You will be amazed how clean your face feels!  Not greasy at all. 

I have super dry skin in the winter with an oily t-zone.  At first I was just using Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but added a little castor oil to the mix as suggested.   

Don't waste your money on expensive facial products, try this and you will see how awesome it is! 

For a full article on this go here:
 
oil cleanse method

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

The Help by Kathryn Stockett was a fantastic read!  I really enjoyed it.  The characters were engaging, the storyline was interesting.  It's about a maid Aibileen who works for white women, raises their kids (in the book she's raising her17th white child) in Mississippi 1962.  She is good enough to raise a white woman's child but not good enough to use their indoor toilet.  Skeeter is a white woman who was raised by a black maid.  One day her maid Constantine leaves with no explanation.  Skeeter misses her dearly because she was like her mother.  Her own mother won't tell her anything about what happened to her.  She just wants Skeeter to get married and live a traditional life as a wife/mother.  Skeeter wants something different.  She becomes a writer, she gets an advice column in the local paper for household chores.  She knows nothing about any of that because she grew up with maids who did all that.  So she goes to the obvious source for the advice column, a black maid, and this is how she becomes friends with Aibileen.  Aibileen and Skeeter become fast friends, each helping the other with strength and courage to do what is right and to help change the extreme racist beliefs of the time. 

I could not put this book down.  I laughed out loud and felt sad, scared, all the emotions the characters felt.  It really brought you to another world and I love books like this.