Raising Smart Kids

I recently came across two items that I found very interesting. The first is an article from Scientific American Mind entitled, The Secret of Raising Smart Children.

Hint: Don't tell your kids that they are. More than three decades of research shows that a focus on effort—not on intelligence or ability—is key to success in school and in life

The article is well worth reading and is supplemented by this engrossing 10 minute video from the famous TED talks, 5 dangerous things you should let your kids do.

Hint: Allowing kids the freedom to explore will make them stronger and smarter and actually safer.

Christmas at the Allan's

Words cannot describe the wonderful Christmas I had with my sister's family. The slideshow below will give some idea of the time we shared.

My Harry Potter Personality

Hmmmm..

This is my Harry Potter personality... I am not happy!


Harry Potter Personality Quiz by Pirate Monkeys Inc.

What Harry Potter personality are you? Give it a try. Copy the code and when back at a new blogger post click 'edit html' and paste the code.

A Family Celebration

My family Christmas celebrations started with Mom and I enjoying the first play of our subscription season - Mom's birthday present from last March! The play was Beauty and the Beast performed in the new Persophone Theatre... awesome building!

After the theatre we had our annual gift exchange. Zane, Pam and Carter decided not to join us so it was a small but still delightful celebration. Doug was thrilled with his iPod, Mom pleased with her Sears gift certificate -- to buy bedding for her new bed -- and I love the bird house planter that was a joint gift from Uncle Stan, Mom and Doug.

It's an ipod!



A heart warming gift from Carter.









I love hand made gifts. This will look great on my deck







And, yes... we enjoyed a great meal!

Appetizers... shrimp, wings, dips, etc.Another delightful event in the 2007 Christmas season!

Christmas with Friends

Every year my circle of friends gets together for an appetizer potluck and a gift exchange. Each year we pull names and search out the perfect gift. We have done this for many years now - I remember when the kids were babies and now this year they have joined us in the gift exchange. We eat, drink, laugh and thoroughly enjoy each other's company!

Getting a good laugh from YouTube videos...
I host this event and love to cook up a storm. This time I made sweet potato fries with a curry mayo, shrimp & avocado in a Thai marinade, sushi, feta pastries, and a cranberry cheese cake for dessert - what fun!

A great start to the Christmas season!

Boiler Eruption

I began the first days of my educational leave dealing with an boiler eruption that left inches of a brown silt-like substance all over my boiler room floor. It also oozed out into the living area of my basement totally staining and destroying the carpet.

At first it looked like it would cost me a few thousand dollars to replace my boiler but when the company found out that my heating bills are really quite low they decided that for about $1,500 they could make it last 100 years -- 20 more years, that is. By then I should have my mortgage paid off.

Oh...What a Weekend!

Aren’t there times when you have one of those days? Well – I have just had one of those weekends!

It started Friday night at our staff party when a colleague came in to tell me that my car was still running. I thought I had turned it off with my car starter when I locked my car but I had unknowingly left my keys in the ignition. My car starter would not open the car and inside were my house keys.

Luckily I was able to track down a friend who keeps an extra house key; my colleague was kind enough to drive me to get the key, and then to my house to get my car key and back to the staff party where I was able to open my car and turn it off.

That takes us to Saturday. I had dithered and dathered about going to the College of Education Awards Celebration to be recognized a the recipient of the Douglas/Brown Award in Instructional Technologies but finally decided to go. A friend agreed to go with me and we drove the hour and half to the Saskatoon Inn for the ceremony only to find out that no one was there! The hotel knew nothing about it! I even showed them the official letter – I did have the correct date, time and place according to the letter and I had confirmed by fax and e-mail that I would be attending. I still don’t know what happened but I suspect it has something to do with the CUPE strike which affected both universities in Saskatchewan.

On Sunday I broke a window. I am trying to get ready for the coldest winter in a decade and was defrosting my laundry window with my blow dryer to prepare it for the plastic film to help keep out the cold. The contrast between the heat of the blow dryer and the outside of the window was too much and it cracked.

And now for the final piece… I agreed to a take a friend shopping – the same friend who came with me to Saskatoon yesterday. She has just had hip replacement surgery and is just now slowly getting around with a walker. We were at Canadian Tire and I started my car from inside the store. When we arrived at the car I could not find my keys?! Yes – they, including my house key, were inside the car, the car was running and I could not open the car with my car starter. And…no, I had not returned the key that I had gotten from my friend on Friday night – it was inside my house with my other car key.

Luckily my border was at home and we were able to take a taxi to pick up the car key.

Yes… what a weekend! However, I can be thankful that I have great colleagues who didn’t hesitate to help. Amy and I spent a wonderful afternoon Christmas shopping in Saskatoon and enjoyed a fine meal at Earl’s before returning to North Battleford. Our taxi driver was exceptionally personable, helpful and had a great sense of humour. As helped load Amy’s walker into my car he mentioned that as I was making a habit of this he expected to see me within the next couple of days! Let us hope NOT!!

Update from Stephanie and Family

Well I was finally able to sign in here. I don't know what the problem was. Jessica is getting bigger and bigger. She is 8 months now. She can say "mamamama" which is so great for me. (and don't tell me she's just babbleing) :) She wont crawl but, rolls everywhere. Derrik is doing good and got a better job, working on drilling rigs. Things are getting crazy with Christmas coming. I did her pictures with Santa, she didn't cry or anything. They are super cute. I'm doing good aswell. Well anyways heres some pictures.

Comfort Food

My contribution for the potluck supper last night was Macaroni and Cheese. This is a dish that should only be eaten in the most dire of circumstances when indulging in true comfort food is the only form of solace available.


Macaroni and Cheese made with Gouda and Aged Cheddar

It is not a dish to be indulged in if you suffer from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes or are in the least bit overweight! The recipe described each serving as having 40.9 grams of fat, 1087 mg of sodium and 629 calories per serving.
Needless to say everyone loved it!

I found the recipe in the March 2007 Chatelaine Magazine but if you do have a craving for comfort food the recipe can be found here.

And now that I have eaten the leftovers for lunch I am going to go dig in my garden and plant 30 tulip bulbs!

Friendship, Celebration and Song

Last night my circle of friends gathered to celebrate our friend Birgit's 50th birthday. It was a happy and joyful time as we ate a wonderful potluck supper and indulged in a decadent birthday cake

Afterwards we celebrated with song and laughter.

It is these times with my friends that I feel safe, comfortable, loved and that I truly belong. None of these words really express how I feel but at those times I am very happy.

WorldBeat

Last weekend I once again travelled to Regina to participate in a working meeting at the office of the Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation (SCIC) to review online global resources for the EarthBeat e-zine. I really enjoy this tiny aspect of social action that I engage in. It indulges my love for finding the perfect online resource to meet a curricular need (I'll always be a teacher-librarian at heart!), my need to make a contribution, if only a small one, and by doing so to make a difference by creating an awareness of global inequity.

And, of course it is just fun to mix a mingle with like-minded teachers from around the province. This day was a full day meeting broken by lunch at La Bodega - a fine meal with a good red wine.

Our task was a little more difficult this time around because we were looking at child mortality and it was difficult to find websites that dealt specifically with this issue. However we did manage to review some sites and make recommendations for uses within the curriculum.

Our last issue was about Combating HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases. These are wonderful, engaging, informative sites that hopefully will create an awareness of global issues amongst our Saskatchewan students.

Mom Again

Here is the boyfiend

News from Mom

Thought I would send a couple of pictures As you can see Marbles is doing great. and that I have a boyfriend

Happy Thanksgiving!

I joined mom and Doug for a delicious Thanksgiving Dinner -- tons of great food, conversation and laughter. It was a lovely way to spend an evening. I made my first pumpkin pie and I think it was OK! It was just the recipe on the can but I use creammilk and molassas.... mmmm - even to someone who doesn't much like pie.












Thanks Mom for a great meal!

Recipe for a great hot dog!

The last sunny afternoons of the fall call for supper in the park - roasting hot dogs and visiting with friends.

















... and the great hot dog recipe:

• roast one hot dog until lightly toasted
• layer in bun with ketchup, mustard and shredded cheese
• crinkle plain chips over the top
• squeeze gently to meld flavours
• enjoy!
  

Leaves, leaves, leaves!

Another fall tradition - not as greatly appreciated as the fresh produce of the Farmer's Market is the annual raking of the leaves. This fall the leaves came down almost all at once and in two weekends I had my lawn cleared. It was quite amazing actually as I sat in my living room and watched the leaves fall like snow. I wasn't so thrilled when I realized that they were ankle deep on my lawn!

It took a few hours until my lawn was cleared.


I now only had to wait for the last of the leaves to fall....

I have the largest trees on the block - my lawn gets the majority of leaves!

However, I do like the shade they provide during the summer from the heat of the west sun and in the winter the absence of leaves allows for a sunny living room in the late afternoon.

Farmer's Market

The days of winter are almost upon us and in a very busy fall did not get the latest pictures and stories posted in a timely manner - but finally here they are!

The North Battleford Farmer's Market is a great place to spend a few dollars for quality, fresh produce that lead to healthy eating - at least for a few weeks!

I enjoy browsing the stalls and selecting a wide variety of vegetables. It is important to get there earlier as many others are as equally eager to get their share of the produce!



Two of my favourites are fresh beans and beets and the following recipes make enough for several meals.

Mustardy Beet Salad
4 medium beats, unpeeled
Dressing:
2 TBS lemon juice
2 TBS Dijon mustard
1 TBS cider vinegar
1 TBS salad oil
1 tsp sugar
2 TBS fresh dill
Dash freshly ground pepper

Cook the beats in water until tender, peel and slice
Combine all the dressing ingredients
Add the beets and stir gently
Chill for before serving

Dilly Bean Salad
Salad:
1 lb small green beans, steamed tender crisp
2 TBS snipped fresh dill
6 green onions (I use chives from my herb pots)
Dressing:
2 TBS olive or salad oil
1 TBS red wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard

Combine the beans, dill and chives
Whisk together other ingredients
Add the dressing to the bean mixture
Serve at room temperature.

While these recipes taste best when made with fresh fall produce they are almost as good with supermarket veggies or in the case of beets -- canned. Enjoy!

Check out my Slide Show!

slide show

News from Mom

Great new toy Donna. I tried it yesterday but the sound did not work well. I will try again when I get more time to play around with it. In the vikeo I just wanted to say how much I love all of you.

New Online Toy

Look what I discovered... a site where if you have a web cam and a mic you can record a video message. In this video the light is not very good but what a quick easy way to record yourself... too cool!

news from MOM

Just a short note, Donna I love all the stuff you find to put on our blog. Maybe you should pencil the family in for one of your seminars and teach us how to use all these wonderful things Perhaps when we are in Calgary next August long weekend for Jim's 50th. We cannot only do a star trek mystery but a computer lesson too. Does all the family know to save the August long weekend for JIM Love to all Mom

Flowers

....trying out a new web-based slide program from Animoto

Yummy Feta Chicken

Ramona gave me this recipe which I made this evening... so good!

And, very easy to make.

Placed four chicken breast in a greased baking dish.

Top with a mixture of 1 cup crumbled feta with 2 diced roma tomatoes, 1/2 pepper (I used red), 1 tbs chopped fresh parsley, 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 2 cloves minced garlic, and 1 TBS olive oil.

(I not have parsley so I added chopped basil and fresh oregano and chives)

Bake at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes. I put a lid on the casserole dish but I am not sure you need to.

Here it is plated... so attractive served with rice and veggies

Breakfast special

When I was in Swift Current Pam made some wonderful meals. We had a very tasty spaghetti supper followed by an attractive dessert that is one of easiest dishes to make... I am sorry I don't have a picture but Pam's ice cream sandwich cake is made by layering a cake dish with ice cream sandwiches, spreading them with cool whip and then topping it with chopped chocolate -- Pam used a bittersweet chocolate bar with nuts.... oh it was soooo good!


Equally as good although there was more involved in the prep was the Hashbrown and Ham Quiche she made for breakfast. What a great way to start the day!

Ingredients
4 c frozen shredded hash brown potatoes
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
3 TBS butter, divided
1 medium onion chopped
½ c green pepper (optional)
½ chopped fresh mushrooms
2 tsp flour
¾ cup diced fully cooked ham
3 eggs, beaten
½ c milk
½ shredded chedder chees

Procedure

• Sauté hash browns w/s&p and 2 TBs butter
• Press into the bottom and the sides of greased 9 inch pie pan (can be made ahead of time)
• Sauté the onion, green pepper and mushrooms in remaining butter
• Remove from heat and sprinkle with flour
• Stir in ham, eggs and milk, pour into curst
• Bake at 350 for 25 minutes
• Sprinkle with cheese; bake 5 minutes longer
• Let stand 10 minutes before cutting

Saskatoon Home Care 25 years of Caring Silver Anniversary Cookbook

A visit with Carter

Actually the visit was with Zane, Pam and Carter but as you can well imagine a charming three year old can be the focus of a visit.

I left Wednesday afternoon for a meeting in Regina. I volunteer with SCIC (Saskatchewan Council for International Cooperation) to work on an e-zine project, Worldbeat where we review sites for global education. We not only create the e-zine but connect the web sites with relevant Saskatchewan curriculum objectives. I like this volunteer work because we meet for half a day and then the work is over... no responsibilities until the next time we meet. And... I think we create a worthwhile product that can be used by teachers anywhere. This time we were reviewing web sites that provided lesson plans and activities about diseases in developing countries, e.g. HIV/AIDS and malaria.

After the meeting I drove to Swift Current and had a wonderful visit with Zane, Pam and Carter in their new home.

Carter was exceptionally charming and loved the dinosaur puzzle that I brought him.

Although I must admit it was a little difficult to put together with him sitting on the pieces!



Carter loves the computer, playing with his toys - especially his dinosaurs (amazingly he can remember and pronounce all those difficult names. He also is really into the Cars phenomena and we spent a few tense minutes looking for Bruce (under the love seat!).


And, of course, he loves his books and there is nothing Auntie Donna loves more than reading with her nieces and nephews!

It was a wonderful visit and I look forward to the next one.