Throwback Thursday: Our Grand Canyon Adventure!

Once upon a time (about 10 years ago), Clark Kent and our three little ones traveled to the Grand Canyon.

 And is it ever GRAND!! If you have never had the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it. It's a most amazing sight. Photos are just not the same as actually being there. My lovely friend, Dawn, and her husband and family, went too!

There's Dawn on the right. And that's me and little, tiny Luke.

Here's my handsome Clark Kent with two of our babies. Look at that amazing canyon in the background!

On our way there we had stopped in the woods to eat lunch. It was a long drive! Here's our oldest, Qiana (I don't know why she's wearing gloves) with Alani, who is holding a big cookie.

This is the cutest picture with little Luke peeking out of his daddy's jacket! It was October when we were there and it was chilly. We actually got a little snow! But it didn't stick around very long.

So this was our Grand Canyon adventure! I would love to go back some day. I think I would even love to live there! So beautiful, so peaceful. 

Happy Thursday everyone, and SMILE! Tomorrow is Friday! 

See you soon. Taniya

A Day In The Life of a Homeschool Mom

Today was a red letter day! No, not because we finished all of our schoolwork, but because I got some new jeans in the mail! See, I'm not one of those people that orders clothes online. I have to make sure they fit just right or I don't waste my time. So they MUST be tried on. But my favorite pairs of jeans aren't made anymore so I had no choice. Nothing fancy, just some American Eagle brand, but they fit just right. Which is very hard for me to find. I had a supply of them but over time (I hold on to my clothes for awhile) they got all ripped up.

So I was pretty excited to have some unripped pairs!

Good old Ebay!

Later we got some Chinese. Yum!

Violette kept looking at me like this.

So I gave her some chicken.

Then I painted my nails.

And last but not least, I put away the last of my Christmas decorations. Yes, I leave out my nativity sets the longest. Look at what I discovered when putting them away.

Instead of Joseph holding his staff, he has some sort of machine gun! I wonder who put that there. Probably this mischief maker!

I hope your day was full of happiness, family, friends, animals, whatever makes you smile! Until next time, Taniya

P.S. I also did this workout!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_PcO9bfRtk#t=836

Dad's Northern Adventure.

Several years ago, my dad and his wife bought a piece of property far from home. They were living in L.A. and had dreams of getting away. Really away! So they scoured the upper reaches of Idaho until they found five acres covered in cedar and pine.
For a while, Dad would make a trip up there once or twice a year to work on building the garage with a living quarters above. So they could move up, live in the garage apartment, while working on building the house.
Well, this summer their dream came true when they were able to pack their bags and head up to start a new adventure. And what an adventure it has been! There are art fairs and music festivals galore in the warm months. In the cold months there's lots of snow! They see deer and elk on a regular basis and a moose was found sleeping in their neighbors yard. They haven't seen one on their property yet but there has been evidence left behind of one passing through.

A couple nights ago they got about six inches of snow, which , being from Los Angeles, is an exciting event. They sent photos...because they know me so well and knew I would love it! Here's their pretty trees.

Maybe only Southern Californians are appreciating these photos but I am just so excited about going up for a visit. I can't wait until the house is done because then we can stay with them. They even sent a photo of the truck in the snow. Ha ha!

Here is a photo of the house. It's looks done on the outside but there's quite a bit of work left to do on the inside.

A couple days ago when this snow fell, the local news had a story about a man who robbed a convenience store of three thousand dollars worth of cigarettes. Apparently he'd left on foot because all the police had to do was follow his footprints in the snow and they led straight to the robbers house!
I hope this post brightened your day! Come on by now and then to see what we're up to over here. See you soon! Taniya

New Years Chili!

O.K. it's not exactly New Years chili because I make it almost year round. But it is just so darn good it seems like a celebratory dish! So I made it for New Years. Now my family LOVES this stuff! I've never been a chili fan until, oh the past few years or so, and this chili just takes the cake.

Now I'll bet your dying to know why it looks kinda funky. It's because that's ground turkey in there instead of ground beef. So before you say, "Oh gross" and head on outta here, you can always put in any ol' kind of meat you wish and it still turns out yumm-o! I started making it with turkey because my daughter and I were on an anti-candida diet at the time (more on that in another post) so I was trying to think up all the recipes I could that were best for supporting that. And it's super simple too. Check it out:
First you pour a little oil in a big pot over medium high heat. I use olive oil.

Then you chop up one medium onion, and three cloves of garlic. If garlic bothers you just leave it out.

Dump them in the oil and cook until they are translucent (kind of clear-ish).

Then you want to add your meat. This is the turkey I use.

Put your meat in the pot and break it up and stir it around.

You want to cook it until there's no pink left.

Then you add about 16oz. of broth or beer. I use chicken broth.

Let that bubble up for a few minutes, then add your beans. Add whatever kind you like. I used to add three kinds but now I add four, cause we're just crazy like that.

This is black, pinto, white, and kidney. I just use them out of the can and rinse them first, but if you buy them dry and soak them overnight, more power to you. Then we add one 14 or 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes. (That's the size of the bean cans too.)

Now give it all a good stir.

If you want to add some spice, throw that in at any time. I put in a little crushed red pepper because I can't handle much hot stuff. 

Stir that in well.

Now put on a lid and simmer for about an hour. We never make it to the hour mark because we get too hungry and we're impatient but it's so good anyway I guess it doesn't matter! I don't thicken mine like I know some people do because it doesn't need it. So I hope you love this recipe as much as my family does! Let me know how you make yours. Did you make it with chopped up chicken instead? Or just the classic ground beef? One of these days I'll try it with chicken and I'll let you know how that goes over. Until then, have a great day, and a wonderful 2014!! Taniya