Family Portraits

Every summer we get family portraits taken. This summer is no exception- we went to Portrait Innovations and had these great shots taken!

Don't you just love the one of DV leaning back in the chair? Well, I love them all!

And, we even got a pretty good deal on a ton of pictures- and if we could have limited ourselves to one pose we could have spent only $9.95.

They even include a free CD so you can e-mail your pictures, get reprints, and post them on your blog.

Easy Lasagna

We are having guests for dinner tonight- they are our new neighbors and they have 2 children right about DV's age. I am SO excited!

I decided to trot out my recipe for easy lasagna. I think it is much better than the frozen kind you can buy- and for the 3 of us it actually makes 3 meals. (It makes 12 adult size servings and IV likes to eat 2!) The extra meals freeze and re-heat in the microwave really well so this is a real time saver- plus it's not much more work than spaghetti

• 16-20 oz ground turkey
• 1 large jar pasta sauce
• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese
• 9 lasagna noodles
• parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Cook the lasagna noodles as the package directs. While they are cooking cook the ground turkey and drain the fat. Then add enough pasta sauce to make a slightly soupy mixture and simmer while the noodles are cooking.

When the noodles are done cooking drain them and run cold water over them. Pour some pasta sauce (without meat) on the bottom of your lasagna pan. Place 3 noodles over sauce. Add half the meat sauce and spread. Then spread half of the ricotta cheese over the meat and sprinkle on half the mozzarella. Add 3 more lasagna noodles and make the second layer of meat and cheese as the first. Cover with 3 more lasagna noodles. Pour more pasta sauce (without meat) over the top and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

At this point cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and you can refrigerate it to bake later or bake it now! Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.

Enjoy!

Simple Fudge Search

I am on the hunt for a simple (read as no candy thermometer) recipe for fudge. I am working on my project now so that by Christmas time I will be ready! Homemade fudge for DV's teachers with the lovely Christmas ornaments I ordered on discount from Lenox.

The first recipe I tried is called "Simple Chocolate Fudge" and I read it in Everyday Food. Of course I modified it a little bit..

• 4 tbs. butter
• 3 cups mini marshmallows
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups chocolate chips

The original recipe (and thus the photo) also includes 1 cup walnuts, and calls for heavy cream instead of evaporated milk.

The fudge tastes lovely but did not set-up as well as I would have liked. I had to put it in the freezer to get it to set- and then when moved to the refrigerator the fudge is a little soft. Probably too soft for gift giving but fine for eating. So I am still on the quest.

If anyone has a suggestion please share!

This is the kind of friend I want to be.

I received this through my e-mail today.

"If one day you feel like crying...
Call me.
I don't promise you that...
I will make you laugh
But I can cry with you.

If one day you want to run away-
Don't be afraid to call me.
I don't promise to ask you to stop,
But I can run with you.

If one day you don't want to listen to
anybody;
Call me and...
I promise to be very quiet.

But...
If one day you call and there is no answer...
Come fast to see me...
Perhaps I need you..."

I want to be the kind of friend who is always there. I am blessed to have several friends who are always available for me. Thank God for friends!

Potty training

DV and I have been working on the infamous potty training. He has been doing very well with pee- and staying dry- but we were getting nowhere fast on poop.

So, I tried an experiment- 3 prunes!- and now we have him doing his business quite regularly every evening when given the "prunies" in the morning. This definitely works for me.

For more works-for-me Wednesday links check out Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

3 Minute Retreat

I was wandering around the blogosphere today and I found this wonderful 3 minute retreat. It is a daily, scripture guided, computer retreat- and it's just what I've been looking for to supplement my prayer life. I already have a daily reflection I read with scripture and prayer but I've been searching for something to add.

Today's scripture was from 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not you own? For you have been purchased at a price. Therefore, glorify God in your body."

I really needed to be reminded today that the spirit and body are united. Our moral choices need to be reflected in the actions of our bodies and the desires of our spirits. Our bodies are not ours- they belong to God. We must live in a way that reflects the dignity of our bodies and our souls. The last question today's retreat asks is, "How can I help others to see themselves in God's eyes?"

Sometimes I forget to see other people with God's eyes- see what is good about them. I don't know why but I really feel like this retreat was speaking to me. I am going to work on seeing the good in other people as Jesus does.

So, I actually came away with 2 resolutions from this one 3 minute reflection. 1) Remember that my body and all bodies belong to God and take care of them in an appropriate way 2) Remember that Jesus saw good where others did not and be like Him.

Reading Level

I found this readability test online- and I thought it was pretty funny. I mean, who knows what it uses to gauge the reading level- sentence length, word length, etc....? But, I am gratified to know I can write at the high school level even though I have most conversations with my three-year-old.