Strawberry Pretzel Squares

This makes a great summer treat!

From Kraft Food and Family (with some slight variations)

2 c. finely crushed pretzels (mine looked slightly larger than chopped pecans)

1/2 c. sugar, divided

2/3 c. butter, melted

1 1/2 packages (8oz each) cream cheese, softened

2 T. milk

1 c. whipped topping

2 c. boiling water

1 pkg. (6oz) strawberry jello

1 1/2 c. cold water

4 c. fresh strawberries, sliced

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix pretzel crumbs, 1/4 c. sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 13x9-inch pan. (I added 2 graham crackers, crushed as well). Bake 10 minutes. Cool.

Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar and milk until blended. Stir in whipped topping; spread over crust. Refrigerate.

Prepare jello according to package directions. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours or until thickened. Stir in strawberries; spoon over cream cheese layer. Refrigerate 3 hours or until firm.

Serve with more whipped topping if desired.

Curriculum for the Upcoming Year

Tapestry of Grace for history, geography and literature (going into Year 4 Redesign)

Saxon 7/6 math

A Beka Grammar

Spelling Workout G

Writing Aids (to coincide with TOG)

Lapbooks for science (Ecosystems, Dolphins, Sled Dogs, Chocolate)

Bible Bee and Kay Arthur studies for Bible

Unit study based on 'The Book of Virtues' by William J. Bennett for character training (downloaded fromhttp://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ShiverAcademy/Book%2Bof%2BVirtues/)

Sewing unit fromhttp://sewing.about.com/library/lessons/bllessonindex.htm

Weight Loss & Healthy Eating

After having to squeeze into more than one pair of shorts/capris this week (and stepping on the scale) I started counting calories and watching what I eat. I have always had a high metabolism and have never needed to watch what I eat, but I have always struggled with stomach upset. This has been due to eating too much and eating the wrong foods. I am like most people and enjoy my food, but I have a weakness in knowing when to stop eating. Even though I never went hungry as a child I feel a strong urge to finish everything on my plate and to eat more than I should simply because something tastes good or because it is still sitting in front of me.

I found a great site called Calorie Count for figuring out how many calories are in different foods. You just type in the food you are searching for in the 'Search for Foods' box at the top of the page and it will bring up a selection of matching foods to choose from. I really like using it for fruits and vegetables or for recipes in which nutrition information is not given. I use another site for figuring out how many calories I burn doing different exercises or chores. You simply type in how much you weigh and then the number of minutes you spent doing 1 or more activities. I found that by increasing my walking pace from 2mph to just under 4mph, I burn an additional 75 calories in 50 minutes. If I increase my pace to a jog, I burn an additional 189 calories.

Tracking my food intake and looking at different exercises as calorie burners has caused me to think about every bite of food I eat, not just as I am eating it, but also as I contemplate the depths of my pantry and fridge.

First Swim Meet

Dd is getting ready to swim free style. She is the one in the blue and gold suit, adjusting her goggles.

Diving in. She is much improved from the beginning of the season. She can now breathe properly when swimming instead of swimming with her face constantly out of the water and she finally uses her legs when swimming.
This was our first experience with a swim meet. The whole evening was one delay after another. The meet finally got called due to lightening at 10:30PM-and we were not even halfway done. To make a long story short-this was not the norm and the rest of our swim meets have run much smoother. Dd has really been enjoying herself and our plan at this point is to have her swim again next year.

Pictures of our Backyard

Finally, pictures of our new and improved backyard. We had the fence installed in March and are loving the freedom it gives us with the dogs. The backyard also feels larger to us now because we can clearly see exactly where our boundaries are. Since this picture was taken the flowers against the house have spread considerably. They are now twice as deep and wide. The flowers that are in the pots (sitting on the brick) are now planted in the front row.

My husband has been diligently working on our front and back yards and flower beds and has done wonders with what we had originally. The original owners did not live here for very long and the yard was pretty bare. We have since purchased a dark wicker loveseat which sits inside the screened patio against the left side with small matching end tables on either side. Dh rigged up a small set of speakers and we have two fans that sit against the right-hand section. We can now enjoy sitting in our backyard, which is where you will find us most evenings. Every evening we enjoy sitting outside and listening to the orchestra of frogs, crickets and cicadas.

When winter comes we will bring the table and chairs inside the patio and move the loveseat out so we can sit in front of our (not yet bought) firepit. We also hope to purchase a hammock to place near the back fence as that spot gets afternoon shade.

Pictures of Nature

This is one of the flowers I planted outside my front door. They are beautiful when in bloom.

I saw this dragonfly one day and grabbed the camera and snapped this shot. Little did I know that this would not be the last dragonfly of this size I would see. We have the pleasure of seeing these beauties every day. Our rottie, Annabelle, loves to chase them around the backyard. She does not try to eat them, but just loves chasing them. My dh said it looked like one of them was playing with her the other day as it would circle around her and then stop and hover in front of her before circling and hovering again.