Thursday Thirteen

I am in desperate need of something light-hearted and totally random today, and since I had cheese and crackers for a snack, I decided to write thirteen things to do with a saltine cracker.



1. Make pine bark (chocolate treat). I haven’t used this recipe, but in spite of the sound of saltines and chocolate combined, it looks delicious!

2. Use as a home remedy for nausea along with cola syrup, ginger, and tea.

3. Crush them into soup or chili.

4. Serve with any type of cheese for a light snack or appetizer. That’s what I did today. - OR use just plain butter! Thanks for the reminder, Lori. I love it that way, too.

5. Eat them all then use the box to make a purse. Check out this item at an Etsy store!

6. Crush them up in meatloaf (instead of bread crumbs) with a bit of egg to make the meat stick together better.

7. Take the Saltine Cracker Challenge (10 crackers in your mouth in one minute with no beverages) and put your video on YouTube like these folks! Apparently, there are several versions of this "challenge" out there. (If anyone can handle this, Sandy can!)

8. Perform this science experiment to demonstrate how the chemical energy in food can be converted into motion.

9. Use a cracker to trace a square onto paper. I don’t know why you need a square, but now you have one!

10. Make a snack of mini peanut butter/cracker sandwiches.

11. Use a cracker (along with a few household items) to make a “humane mouse trap.”

12. Use them as manipulatives to demonstrate simple math concepts such as adding, and especially subtracting them because you can eat them as you subtract.

13. Use a cracker to complete this easy experiment about the digestive system.

Check out Thursday Thirteen here!

Being Thankful - or giving it my best shot

A dark and desperate time threatens me now.
I was warned to think positive.
I must think positive.
What has been done, is done.
It is and always will be.
Take stock of what I have, not what I gave up.
This isn’t “what would’ve been”
And it isn’t “what could’ve been.”
It is “what is now” and “what is to come.”

Lord, I pray for the strength, patience and wisdom I will need to make it through this bump in my road.

I am thankful for:
**God, Jesus, and a place of worship to call home, where friends will be there for me if I need them.

**Family – My dad who is in Heaven there with God whose memories I treasure; my mom, who is still living and who I often complain about as though I were a teenager; my sister who has been there to listen to my troubles.

**More Family – my children, who make me proud when they do the right thing (and I’m still thankful for them even when they make me sad for not doing the right thing), for making good grades, for loving the Lord, and for loving me. My children are so important in my life.

**A home to live in, food to eat, transportation, a job, and a small measure of security.

**I live in a place of freedom; freedom to think, freedom to express myself, freedom to worship, freedom to speak my mind, freedom to be happy or depressed if I so choose, and freedom to question, wonder, learn, research, and dream.

**I am thankful that I am not in an abusive relationship, that I can provide a good home for my family, and that I can realize when I need help.

Heads or Tails

This week's theme/prompt is: HEADS - Express.

The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word "Express" is Madonna's song, "Express Yourself." While it is a strange video, it calls to mind an even stranger time in my life, a time I was expressing myself, a time of partying, and a time of independence. Here for you, courtesy of You Tube, is Madonna's video.



Click to visit other HoT participants. Or click to visit the creator of HoT, Skittles.

Give Me Five!

The 'Give Me Five' Monday meme is designed to share fun information with each other in a simple short list! Here's how it works. Each week, Becca will put out a random topic and you share 5 answers of your choice on the given topic and link back to her. Join us; it's fun!

Funny you should ask! Not too long ago, right around Valentine's Day, I blogged about my favorite sweets. Not all of them were candy, but a few were. Here are the candies I really like, not in any particular order.

1. I love anything chocolate, but especially M & M's. Melt in your mouth, not in your hand! They are so much better than Kissables, which have a really thick candy shell that has an after-taste. The candy shell of M & M's really does melt in your mouth giving way to wonderful, creamy chocolate!

2. I like Reese's peanut butter cups - a lot. I couldn't stand them when I was a kid. In fact, I wouldn't eat anything with peanut butter while I was growing up. Strange how our tastes change. Peanut butter and chocolate really are two great tastes that taste great together. I especially love them mixed in with Coldstone Creamery chocolate ice cream. What a decadent treat.

3. Russell Stover's strawberry cream chocolates are a treat I don't get often. I think they should make a whole box of JUST the chocolates with the sweet, strawberry cream center. And I don't even like strawberries.

4. I love Sweet-Tarts, particularly the pink and purple ones. My teeth don't love them, but I do. Do you remember when they used to package two extra large Sweet-Tarts, one purple and one pink? I was in love with those.

5. Last, but not least, watermelon Jolly Ranchers. My students and my own kids love any flavor of Jolly Rancher, but I will only eat the watermelon kind. And no, I don't like watermelon, either. Only watermelon candy!

Menu Plan Monday

Argh! Don't you get so mad a blogger when you try to post, it doesn't work, and it wipes everything out?! Of course you do, if it's ever happened to you, and I'm willing to bet it has. And now...

Laura over at I'm an Organizing Junkie hosts Menu Plan Monday each week. It's not extremely exciting to plan a menu, or to write about it, but it helps me with both grocery shopping for the week and with staying organized in my busy life. Plus, posting it makes me stick to it! Click over to her blog for more menus and some great ideas.

Monday - Slow cooker chicken (made with boneless chicken breast, cream of mushroom soup, cream of celery soup, chopped onion, garlic powder, and a dash of burgundy cooking wine), penne pasta, French style green beans.

Tuesday – I’m going to try a new recipe called “Meal in One.” Click for the recipe if you’re interested. It’s a beef/potato/vegetable casserole, but the recipe sounds yummy.

Wednesday – Grilled hamburgers, au gratin potatoes, and probably corn, (I know! Two starches, but not everyone like potatoes, and not everyone likes corn. At least one of the two will please them all.)

Thursday – Busy night – dinner on the go!

Friday – Pizza night, as usual. Last week we ordered from Dominoes. We’ll probably go to a local pizza restaurant this time. I don’t like to cook after a long week of working, playing, and being the chauffeur and housekeeper.