My Favorite Poem For Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to my two awesome moms! I'm so blessed to have both of you in my life! Love you!

Legacy of an Adopted Child

Once there were two women
Who never knew each other

One you do not remember,
The other you call mother.

Two different lives
Shaped to make yours one

One became your guiding star,
The other became your sun.

The first gave you life,
The second taught you to live it

The first gave you a need for Love,
The second was there to give it.

One gave you a nationality,
The other gave you a name

One gave you the seed for talent,
The other gave you an aim.

One gave you emotions,
The other calmed your fears

One saw your first smile,
The other dried your tears.

One gave you up,
It was all that she could do

The other prayed for a child
And was led straight to you.

And now you ask me
through your tears
the age old question
through the years,

"Heredity or environment, which am I the product of?"

Neither my darling, neither,
Just two different kinds of Love.

Young Woman Value Posters

I made these for our Luau themed Evening of Excellence!

Whole Grain Blue Cheese Crackers

3 1/2 C Whole Grain Flour (I used Rye ground at a course setting)
1/3 C Olive Oil
1 tsp salt
1 C water
2 Tbs Blue Cheese Powder
2 tsp Chicken Soup Base
Salt / Spices / Seeds for sprinkling

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
   
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the whole wheat flour, salt, cheese powder and soup base. Pour in the Olive oil and water; mix until just blended.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough as thin as possible - no thicker than 1/8 inch. I used some of the leftover course Rye flour I had ground. Use a small biscuit or cookie cutter to cut into rounds. Place dough on an ungreased baking sheet. Use a fork to prick holes in the top. Sprinkle on salt, seeds or your favorite seasoning mix. I used Zapp spice blend and Chia seeds!
   
4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until crisp and light brown. Baking time may be different depending on how thin your crackers are. I needed almost 20 minutes.
   

A note about Chia Seeds...they aren't just to grow hair on those terracotta Obama heads! They are SO good for you. "Chia seeds are one of the most powerful, functional, and nutritious superfoods in the world! The chia seed is an excellent source of fiber, packed with antioxidants, full of protein, loaded with vitamins and minerals, and the richest known plant source of omega-3." Click Here for more Great Chia information!

Gazpacho Shooters With Garlic Roasted Shrimp

Gazpacho

2 Cans Italian Style Tomatoes (stewed or diced)
1 English Cucumber seeded and small diced
6 green onions, chopped
1 Tbs chopped Parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 - 1 tsp horseradish (how spicy do you like it?)
zest of 1 lime
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper

In a blender, pulse tomatoes, onion parsley, garlic, Worcestershire, horseradish, lime, salt and pepper. Pulse it about 4 - 5 times until barely combined, but chunky. Add in the cucumber and give it 2 - 3 more pulses. Refrigerate a few hours to let flavors combine.

Garlic Roasted Shrimp

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined, leave tails on
6-9 cloves minced garlic (heck...chop up the whole head!)
1/4 C Olive Oil
Juice of one lemon
Zest of one lemon
pinch of red pepper flakes
salt
pepper
chopped parsley

Combine all ingredients in a large ziplock bag and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour. Roast in a 400 degree oven for 6 - 8 minutes, until just pink. Remove from oven and top with chopped parsley.

I am actually using votive candle holders as shot glasses in the picture above! But if you have the perfect size shot glasses...Yay!

Photography Blog!

Have you checked out all the fun images over at my Photography Blog??

Priceless Treasures Photography Blog

One Great Kid!

We went out today to get a few pictures of Kayden to start off the school year! I think we got some pretty cute pics! But...I am wearing the "mom" goggles! :)

By the way...there are a BUNCH of pics up over at my photography blog! Click on over and check them out!

First Day of School!

Tasty Lunch!

It's been so long since I've had a "good" day. I have been feeling so yucky lately. Anyway, I took some Excedrin this morning and it gave me the jump I needed! I made 2 batches of bread and then this fun lunch! Maybe I'll post some bread pics later.....

Picnic in the Woods!

Eh..

Haven't been feeling great these last few days. It seems like everything I have is hurting. So achy and yucky. Yesterday, I barely made it out of bed at all. I am still hurting today, but not nearly as wiped out as yesterday. It seems like my body just shuts down after going through a few busy crazy days.

I wish we were going someplace nice and cool for the 4th of July. But we are stuck here. We'll go out to my parent's house after church and catch the fireworks in Florence. But I'm pretty sure that even when the sun goes down, it's going to be too stinkin hot!

Kayden and I went and saw Toy Story 3 today! (3D) It was really good. I got all blubbery and weepy at the end. Dang you Pixar!

James has his percussion concert tonight. That's going to be fun to watch!

Girls Camp!

We had a great time at Girls Camp this year! I'm not a huge fan of camping...but cabin camping is awesome! Here are some pics of the good times...