Just a few things Friday

As I drove to the market this morning the fog hung heavy.  Every so often I would catch a glimpse of a bright yellow leaf and even a few deep red ones.  Fall is definitely on its way.  Oh, it might still be 80 degrees outside, but Fall isn't waiting. And despite that heat I had a craving for soup.  My all-time favorite is broccoli cheese. I'm always looking for a great, simple recipe and I think I've found it!  This one was listed on HuffPost Taste, but it's from Campbell's Kitchen.  I made half the recipe which made about 2 full bowls.  I changed a few things to suit my taste. My changes are in parentheses.  The soup was exactly the kind of broccoli cheese soup I crave.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth  (I used beef broth)
1 10oz. package frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped (I used fresh broccoli)
2 cups nonfat milk  (I used 1% milk)
1 1/2 cups cheese  (I used shredded colby jack cheddar cheese)

(I used shredded carrot to garnish)

Directions

Heat the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until it's tender.

Stir in the flour.  Add the broth and stir until the mixture is smooth.  Cook and stir until the mixture boils and thickens.  Add the broccoli and cook for 2 minutes.  Reduce the heat to low. Add the milk and cheese and cook, stirring until the cheese is melted.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

While eating my soup today I found the cutest fashion blog.  It's A Skirt A Day. Shey, the blogger, focuses on super sweet thrift store finds.  Her ensembles remind me of Chuck from Pushing Daisies. Love it! If you get some free time today, check her out.

And, yesterday I was able to watch my daughter's volleyball game. It's the second game of the season.  They lost *waaahhh* but I still had a fun time watching her and her team work together.  Those girls can hustle!  This is her very first year playing volleyball and I'm so proud of how hard she worked to make the team.  As much as I complain about rushing her and her brother here and there for different sports practices, I'm truly grateful that they stay active and enjoy team sports.  Tomorrow we are off to soccer.  They sure do keep me busy! 

Smart Girls know stuff!

I think Amy Poehler is the new Tina Fey, but 10xs better. If you don't know Amy Poehler (ohmygosh, you don't know Amy Poehler???!), she was on SNL, starred in Parks and Rec (super hilarious show. definitely netflix or hulu it if you want to laugh and laugh and laugh), and she created the cartoon and was the voice of The Mighty B!. Amy is simply the bee's knees when it comes to women comics.

And if she couldn't be more rad, she hosts the very cool Smart Girls At The Party webisodes. Amy interviews younger girls who are basically doing what young girls do; yoga-ing, gardening, writing, etc. Although it is geared to the younger girls, I still love watching them as much as my gal. Smart Girls At The Party aims to "change the world by being yourself". Isn't that wonderful?! If you are a girl (or even not because my son and husband enjoyed some of the webisodes too), do yourself a favor and watch one or two. You'll walk away with a smile and you'll want to join in on the Dance Party. Hey now!

Find more videos like this on the Smart Girls YouTube channel.

Noodling this and noodling that

Okay, so I haven't gotten around to posting vacation pics yet. In my defense, I took a lot of pics and it will take a wee bit o' time to go through all of them. But, in the meantime I have to share this very cool site called CharityGuide.com. It's a site filled with different ways you can donate time or money to different causes. I took note of it while browsing a Wondertime mag article because the article talked about Volunteer Vacations. Wouldn't that be a cool way to spend a vacation... by helping others?

The hubby and I have considered considered something like the volunteer vacation in the past through a program named Cross Cultural Solutions. The idea never flourished because we decided we'd wait until the kids were old enough to experience it with us. Cross Cultural Solutions helps connect you to a community abroad that is in need of help. It's kinda like Habitat for Humanity, but instead of helping out communities in the U.S. you help other cultures abroad. So, when I checked out CharityGuide.com I became excited. Their ideas for Volunteer Vacations sound pretty neat and something I'd definitely consider for next summer since some ideas are family friendly.

Now why didn't they publish this article pre-Summer 2008? Darn it. Oh well. The beach and safari we did get were most enjoyably appreciated.

Green Clean

This year I decided to start cleaning more naturally. It just seems right for me, my family and my house. Plus, I'm a little less lazy and a little more organized which has helped motivate me to get into action. I found these nifty household cleaners recipes over at Women and Environment. Women and Environment is a wonderful site that helps makes us aware of "the connection between human health and the health of the environment."

So, I gathered my supplies and made some non-toxic household cleaners. I made these sweet little labels too.
Here's what I used to make the All-Purpose Cleaner (recipe found via Women and Environment):
2 cups white distilled vinegar
2 cups water
20-30 or more drops of essential oil (I used Lemon Grass)

Try it out! I think it worked as well as some store bought brands. Plus, you can't beat the fact that you can customize your own scent.

And while we are on the subject of "green" you'll have to check out Ecobunga! It's a pretty awesome site that gives you links to giveaways and coupons for "green" products. Happy "green"ing!

Moooom! Is it midsummer already?

The kids were bored this morning. With 20 slow don't-have-to-get-up-for-school mornings behind them they are feeling midsummer starting to creep into their bones. I think it was out of pure boredom that they decided our cat, Max, needed to tie the knot. And tie the knot he did. With a kiss to seal the deal and everything!

Poor guy has to spend the rest of eternity with a colorful, bright-eyed, stuffed Panda. The bride looks mighty happy with her coyish grin. Can't say the same for ol' Max. It looks like he's planning some kind of escape. Death by kitty niblets perhaps?

The heat wave hitting us isn't helping matters either. Because I'm not totally organized with activities this summer I decided to let them play in the mud. The kids are alright when anything involves mud.

They did get to pimp it with their "cool ice" necklaces. It sure kept them nice and chilled while they played outdoors. Thank the maker for sites like the Crafty Crow's who share awesome ideas, like the ice necklaces, with the rest of the web world.





And, one of our sunflowers finally bloomed!


I think we're ready to take on midsummer.

I'm turning Japanese. I think I'm turning Japanese. I really think so.

Calendar printable from KFStudio

It's Monday and we could use some fun. And Japanese fun is the way to go! Here are a few of my fave links for Japanese downloads and Japanese illustrations. Plan to spend a good amount of time checking out each site. You won't want to leave your computer. Disclaimer: I will not be held responsible for hungry kids, a hungry husband nor low ink levels.

Turn Japanese for a day:
KFStudio.
Meri Boo
Blocks
Fruits Chew
Mococo
Paper Museum

If life gives you half and half, make ICECREAM!

We have never done homemade ice cream. I've wanted to make our own ice cream since reading over all of Just Jenn's AWESOME ice cream recipes. Mmmmmmm. Since I follow the old adage "out of sight, out of mind", the recipes have never become anything more than fond memories. But, summer brings many surprises and this afternoon we gave homemade ice cream a whirl.

Earlier this week I had come across this very neat-o recipe for homemade ice cream via The Crafty Crow who found it via Toddlebits who found it via Family Fun. It's linkapalooza. This recipe is so super easy, so super fast and so super yummy that you'll be eating ice cream in 7 minutes flat. Guaranteed. All you need are some plastic baggies, kosher or ice cream salt, vanilla, half and half, sugar and ice. Oh, and you need some strong arms. I recruited my hubby. His shakin' turned this bag of cream:

into a bowl of delish vanilla ice cream:

So, make it ice cream night tonight!

When you least expect it... Knit Happens

Knitting tends to come in spurts for me. It definitely is hard to find time to sit down with my needles and yarn when I am at the beck and call of two pint-sized Czars. But, after a sprinkling of Czar-free minutes here and there, I've been able to get this far with the Prickly Girl tank from Knitty:

This is only the front piece which isn't much considering my knitting will need to amount to this:

Image from Knitty

All in good time though. With the heat thick as caramel the kids are spending more and more time in the inflatable pool. The pool is a ghastly eyesore. But, if it gives me an hour or two every now and then to exercise the ol' fingers, then three cheers for bright blue plastic.

A habit of giving

It seems that when you give you always receive something as well.. it can be smile when you give someone a hearty hello, it can be a warm tummy when you give someone a surprise gift or it can be a simple "thank you" after you've given a teary eyed friend a hug. Sometimes you can give to someone who is way out of your reach. And what you receive is still close at heart.

For a little over a year now I've subscribed to a wonderful magazine named KIWI. It is a magazine from which I draw a lot of inspiration. It is a magazine about families and growing those families "the natural and organic way." The magazine continually offers awesome ways to be a part of the world and to help make it a better place to live. KIWI recently asked for support of earthquake victims in China. If you donate $15 or more to Half the Sky, you get much needed supplies to children in China and you get a subscription to KIWI. These are children who have lost family members in the earthquake. If you are interested in donating, check out Global Giving who has teamed up with KIWI to spread the word about China's need for help.

The habit of giving only enhances the desire to give.
-Walt Witman

Made me smile

Image from Yeondoon Jung
The talk of this site has been bouncing around in the blogosphere and if you haven't had a chance to check it out, please do. Korean artist, Yeondoon Jung, has turned pages of children's drawings into the most amazingly happy and colorful photos I've ever seen. I can't pick my favorite. The above pic along with a few others puts a silly smile on my heart. What joy!

In a crafty mood

One con about living far from "city life" is that you can't just stroll on over to a shop or hop in the car and drive 10 minutes here or there when you need something. Right now my need is fabric... cute, sweet fabric that would look mah-velous on a special niece who will be celebrating her first birthday this month. So, right now I'm chewing on my lip like it's Hubba Bubba. It's my nervous habit. I want this fabric in my hands ASAP. I can hear the hum of the sewing machine and I can picture myself happily zipping along to the rhythm. I've seen some precious fabric over at Repro Depot but I don't want to wait. And I don't want to pay for shipping. I could be worse off, I know, but this crafty mood is going to end up giving me a bloody lip. Maybe I'll have to divert my attention. Nachos, anyone?