Meet the Family...

Of course, the King gets top billing. Here he is working with the girls' basketball team during their final practice last night. Sorry the picture is so fuzzy. I'm still trying to learn how to use the camera. I took this one with my 55-200 zoom lens, and it was a little shakey, even with the image stabilization on. If anyone has any tips for avoiding camera shake when a tripod is not feasible, please comment.


This is Princess E. This was one of the first pictures I took with my new Canon Rebel. It just happens that I took the picture on my birthday.

This is Princess B.

Finally, here is His Royal Highness, Alexander the Cat. I hope his enthusiasm is not contagious.

Until next time....

Wordless Wednesday

Dream Dinners and Other Ramblings

Excuse me...do you have any Grey Poupon?

We met the fellow above on our trip to New England last fall. He was a particularly friendly animal.

Last night, I made a Dream Dinners supper. Sesame Crusted Pork Chops with Jasmine Rice, and a side of green beans. I still have a few of them left from my last trip. Putting together the Dream Dinners is a fun way to pass an evening. The King and I have worked together, and so have Mom and I. The folks there have everything chopped, sliced, etc. You assemble everything into packages, add preprinted labels, and take them home to your freezer. Why Dream Dinners? Variety? Check. Ease of preparaton? Check. Portion Control? Check. Money Saving? Check. (They are more expensive than cooking from scratch, but considerably less expensive than restaurant food. After all, the convenience factor includes all the food prep.)

Until next time...

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I totally did not try Not Me! Monday! for the first time this week.

I did not fail at trying to get the log to appear in the body of this blog and have to put it in the title instead.

Pepper Crackers

This recipe was shared by my friend, Sherry. These are absolutely scrumptious! They make plenty to share, too. Give them a try.

Ingredients:
1 cup canola oil
1 package ranch dressing mix (the dry mix)
2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
1 box (4 sleeves) saltine crackers

Directions:
In a mixing bowl, combine oil, dressing mix and red pepper flakes. Mix thoroughly.

In a large, sealable container, empty 1 sleeve of saltine crackers. Pour 1/4 of the oil mix over saltines. Add another sleeve of crackers and top with 1/4 of the oil. Repeat twice more. Seal the container.

Gently shake and/or roll the container numerous times for at least several hours, to ensure the oil mixture thoroughly coats the saltines and does not collect at the bottom of the container.

Serve with a savory dip or spread. Also delicious with tuna salad or chicken salad.

Enjoy!

Proud Mama

Today, for the very first time this season, Princess E scored a basket during the game. Actually, she scored two. The way the first one unfolded really impressed me. She plays on a team with girls in 2nd through 7th grade, and she is the smallest player on her team. Week after week, she has tried to get the ball. She is an excellent dribbler, and a great team player; but she is so much littler than the other girls, especially the older ones.

Anyway, during the fifth period of the game, she had the ball one more time. She threw it toward the hoop, and no one on the other team tried to stop her. She missed. The tallest girl on the opposing team caught the rebound. Instead of taking off with it, she tossed it right back to my girl, and she had another chance. Both teams were cheering her on. She missed again, and the cycle repeated. On her fourth try, she finally made the basket. Everyone cheered for her...both teams on the court and the parents in the stands. Finally, she had her basket! She went on to make another basket later in the game, this time as part of normal play.

What impressed me most was the Christ-like behavior of the opposing team. They clearly could have blocked her attempt to shoot or taken the rebound and run. They didn't. They set aside *winning* points for themselves to allow a smaller player a chance to shine. What a gift! I am so proud of all the girls for allowing that moment. I am pround of Princess E, too. Even though she plays with (and against) girls who are older and taller, she never gives up. She keeps trying and gives it her best effort. This is how children's sports should be played.

It was a wonderful game!

New Camera

The King gave me a new camera for my 40th birthday. It's a Canon Rebel, and I am just thrilled to pieces with it. I wanted one, but had no idea he would actually buy it for me. Wow! It's so exciting to learn something new. I've never taken a photograpy course. However, I have taken thousands of pictures. Our first digital camera was a 3 megapixel point-and-shoot. Until then, I had no idea just how much fun photography could be.


Princess E has played basketball for the last three years. During that time, I have not had one good shot taken during the game. The lighting just would not work. With the new camera, I'm learning about lighting and settings that make the photos work. This one thrills me to pieces!

I talked to a guy at one of our local camera shops. He told me I should consider buying a 50mm 1.8 lens (or was it 1.4?) for this type of photo. I can't really justify buying it right now, but it is on my wish list for later.


I've been reading up on photography on a couple of my favorite blogs. I really like The Pioneer Woman (http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/) because she writes in a way I can understand. She uses simple terms to explain concepts I never understood. Thank you for explaining aperture that finally made sense to me! I also have been reading MckMama's (http://www.mycharmingkids.net/) posts on photography. It was her posts that convinced me I wanted a Canon Rebel. Thanks for introducing me to a great camera!


Until next time...

For Princess E

Some fun, educational videos for you, my munchkin...

How a Bill Becomes a Law

Conjunction Junction

Nouns

The Preamble

Enjoy your day with Grandpa and Grandma.

My Valentine...

I knew today was going to be a busy day, so I made our Valentine's Day dinner last night. We had a colorful meal of chicken marsala (hold the mushrooms!), bright green steamed peas, and sliced red tomatoes. It looked so festive and was most yummy.

For dessert, I made Tiramisu for the very first time. It's the King's favorite dessert. He was duly impressed, and raved about how good it was. I made two pans and put one in the freezer for later.

One of the joys of my life is hearing my hubby talk about how much he enjoyed something I made. I often make cinnamon rolls, using a recipe borrowed from The Pioneer Woman (http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/). Oh my, but they are delicious. He loves to take a few pans to work to share. He volunteered me to make a huge batch of them for our church's CARITAS guests this week. With all the wonderful cooks in our church, he wanted me to make my cinnamon rolls one night. He is so sweet!

We had a basketball game today for Princess E. She plays in the Upward league. This is her third season playing. It's been amazing to watch the improvements in her skills, as well as her teammates, over the season. They had a tough game today, yet they continued to work together as a team to play the best game they could. I'm so proud of the whole team.

Today was also my little cousin's 5th birthday. There was a party at his house, and he had a surpise visitor. *Spiderman* came to help him celebrate his big day. Check out Spidey here.

Until next time...

Lawdy, Lawdy
The Queen
Is
40!