The Gates foundation visitor center

Earlier this week, Grace and I toured the new visitor center at the Gates foundation.  It was inspiring to walk through the rooms, reading about and seeing pictures of all the charitable work that they do throughout the world.  The space was beautiful, and as expected with something associated with Bill Gates, everything was very high tech.

My first experience with the Gates foundation was right after I started teaching.  I taught in a very poor school in Idaho, but the Gates foundation supplied the school with a new computer lab.  That left quite an impression on me at the time.  Now that I live in the Seattle area, I see and experience gifts to the community, from the Gates foundation, frequently.  While I do have some questions about some of their philosophies, I have a great deal of respect and admiration for this foundation.  They give billions of dollars away, and they really do follow the principle,  to those who are given much, much is required.

The visitor center is in the same neighborhood as the new Chihuly Garden and Glass.  We were too early to go inside though.  It does not open to the public until May 21st.  I can't wait to see it.

I did my best to peak through the trees into the garden.  I saw enough to know that I want to see more.

We also had a picnic lunch at Kerry Park.  We talked about how we'd both like to live and work in this neighborhood some day.  The place where Grace would like to work is right around the corner from the Gates foundation (which is where I'd like to work).  We made plans to meet for lunch at the park again, when we're both working our dream jobs. : )

Making it Count- drugstore recipes

For this week's Making it Count Tuesday, once again, I have a couple of recipes.  But you won't want to eat these. ; )  The first recipe is for deodorant.  I don't like using products with aluminum on my skin, but I have I tried every aluminum free deodorant that I can find and have never been happy with the results.  So I was a dubious on whether this recipe for homemade deodorant would actually work.  Well it does work!  I love the way it smells.  I used grapefruit essential oil- but any scent you like could be used.  It was easy to make and very inexpensive.  I also think that the glass jar looks much prettier in my bathroom than a stick of deodorant.   

I put the deodorant in a little jar and I apply it under my arms like a cream.   The ingredients that you need are pictured below.  I could make a whole lot of batches with what you see, so the cost per use is mere pennies.  To see for yourself how to make this deodorant, go here.  The original recipe called for arrowroot powder, but I couldn't find any, so I used corn starch instead.

BTW, I keep a jar of coconut oil in the bathroom and use it all the time- it's an all natural miracle product.   It's also my facial moisturizer and a frizz serum for my hair.

 The other concoction that I put together was a laundry stain remover.  Ammonia, dish soap, and baking soda, mixed together in a spray bottle and you have a great product that really works.  I did not come up with this recipe myself though, so for the exact directions, go here.

I have to say that I find it very satisfying to be able to make my own products, not only because I save money, but because I have more control over what goes into them.  But I won't bother if it's too much of a fuss.  Both of these recipes were quite simple.

Mother's Day

A weekend full of sunshine and spending time with some pretty amazing people.  I feel so blessed that I get to be Grace and Trent's mom. 

These pictures were taken at a nursery in Woodinville called Molbak's.  This was my first visit and I had never seen anything like it before.  Actually, I was a little overwhelmed with so many choices, and all so beautiful.  My husband told me to pick out a new planter.  I wandered around for quite some time, just taking it all in. 

I did make a decision, though it was hard.  The black basket planter I got is tall enough to protect my plants from the dog and any other critters that like to dig and munch.  There is a metal insert that fits inside, that's only about a foot deep- so the whole thing is not as heavy as it looks.  We're hoping to get the back patio ready for some entertaining out there this summer.  Up until now, the dog has pretty much had the backyard to herself.  Now that she's finally past her destructive puppy phase, we can finally share it with her.  It felt good to take a first step towards the improvements that we have planned for the space.  Next step, a big table and chairs.

Seventh Grade: booklists

Pictures included have no relation to this content, just some randomness from my Instagram feed

  We''re closing in on the end of the school year so I thought I'd share what Grace has read this year.  The books that are on this list are only the books that I specifically assigned to her.  She loves to read, bringing home bags too heavy to carry, full of books, each time we go to the library.  Late into the night she reads books of her own choosing.  I don't keep track of those.  As soon as I request that she reads a particular book, I can promise you that the book will only be read during the hour and a half of time that I require for that purpose each day.  This is not to say that she doesn't enjoy these assignments- some she does, some she doesn't, it's just the nature of things around here.  She likes to draw a clear line between "school work" and "just for fun". 

We integrated history and literature this year, focusing heavily on the time period of 1860-1914- the US, Canada, and England.  We found many interesting parallels to our own little moment in history that we are currently living in, both being significant periods of change, extremes and upheaval.  We concentrated mostly on the daily life and social customs of the people from those days. I owe a great deal of thanks to Elizabeth Foss and her daughter, who put together some beautiful learning plans at Serendipity, called Literature for Young Ladies, from which I borrowed heavily when looking for ideas on how to put this school year together for Grace.  Those plans can no longer be linked to, but they were wonderful.  Obviously, these plans here are tailored to suit my daughter, but perhaps someone else might find this list helpful as a jumping off point for their own homeschool planning.....

History/Literature

*The Story Girl- Lucy Maude Montgomery

*Louisa May Alcott- short story collection

Invincible Louisa- a biography by Cornelia Meigs

In the Days of Queen Victoria- Tappen

Anne of Green Gables- Montgomery

Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen

Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady-Edith Holden

Edwardian Lady-The Story of Edith Holden by Ina Taylor

Anne of Avonlea- Montgomery

*The Jane Austen Handbook-Sullivan

*Jane Austen's Guide to Good Manners-Ross

What Charles Dickens Ate and Jane Austen Knew- Pool

The Gardener- Kristen Randle (wrong time period, but was too good to pass up)

Mrs. Sharp's Traditions-Breathnach

Daily Life in a Victorian House-Wilson

Anne of Windy Poplars- Montgomery

Oliver Twist- Dickens

Father Brown Mysteries- G.K. Chesterton

Poetry of Lucy Maude Montgomery

Kingfisher Encylopedia

History of US Age of Extremes

* I asked Grace to put a star by her top five favorites from this list.

Movies/shows to complement this curriculum- Little Women, America's Castles, Mrs. Brown, Victoria and Albert, Becoming Jane, Pride and Prejudice, and Edwardian House

The writing portion of her curriculum consisted of occasional write-ups about the books she was reading as well as daily work in the Jump-In writing program and poetry copywork.  One assignment that she became very interested in, from Jump-In writing, was a research report.  She chose Audrey Hepburn as her subject and read these books in preparation:

Audrey Hepburn-Chris Rice

Enchantment- Sparlo

Audrey- Alexander Walker

The Audrey Hepburn Treasury- Erwin

___________________________________________________________________

These next books were chosen for Grace so that she could gain a stronger understanding of our own family's values and beliefs....

Faith/Home

Hidden Art of Homemaking- Edith Schaeffer

*Family Manager Takes Charge- Kathy Peel

Family Nutrition Book- Sears

*Emily Post Etiquette

*Beautiful Girlhood- Andreola

Mere Christianity-C.S. Lewis

Church History- Crash Course (she didn't like this)-Catherwood

Million Miles in a Thousand Years- Donald Miller

Screwtape Letters- C.S. Lewis

Counterfeit Gods- Keller

The Great Divorce- C.S. Lewis

*L'Abri-Schaeffer

Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl-N.D. Wilson

Captivating-Eldredge

Doctrine-Driscoll (she ended up putting down the book and watching the videos instead)

Making it Count Tuesday- recipes

Click on image for link to more ideas

One again, it's time for Making it Count Tuesday. 

This is a blog link up that encourages us to make our online time count, by actually trying some of the ideas that we come across online, and then sharing them. 

I've been trying out some new ideas in the kitchen that I'd love to share with you. 

First the one that's good for you.....Mexican Quinoa

I have made this recipe from Daily Garnish twice in the last couple of weeks, and I do believe that I'm going to keep it in the meal rotation, because it was a hit with everyone.  Well, almost.  Grace picked out all the avocado.  But other than that, I think everyone loved it, and it's super high in protein.  Quinoa is not technically "allowed" on the Four Hour Body diet that Derek and I have been doing for the past five months, even though it's a high protein grain.  I did a bit of research and decided that I was going to bend the rules a bit for Quinoa.  I'm not convinced that there is anything wrong with Quinoa on a slow carb diet.  I've been getting tired of eating so much meat, and I thought this Mexican Quinoa was a satisfying vegetarian meal.  I'm recommending it, not because it's healthy, but just because it's delicious!

BTW...I added greek yogurt as a garnish, instead of sour cream.  It was extra tasty this way, and still healthy.

Mexican Quinoa

Pillsbury Crescent Rolls with Nutella

And now on to something for "cheat day".  Not healthy, but incredibly tasty.  I found the idea for these on Nutella Crescent Rolls on Pinterest....and then the link went away.  I'm sorry that I can't link back to where I found it.  These are very simple though.  Refrigerator Crescent rolls+ Nutella in the middle+ roll in cinnamon and sugar+ bake according to directions on package= amazing. 

Finally, something that I haven't done yet, but am very excited to try and will share here now, because she's still taking registrations...

The Thirty Day Vegan Cleanse, but Heather@ Beauty That Moves.   Like I've mentioned, I've been following the Four Hour Body Diet.  I lost twenty pounds with it initially, but have reached a plateau these past couple of months.  I would still like to lose a bit more, but feel like my body needs something different, to shake things up a bit.  I also do not want to eat primarily meat, eggs, and vegetables for the rest of my life., and I really miss cooking.  There is not a whole lot of variety or opportunity for creativity in the kitchen with The Four Hour Body Diet.  So I've been thinking about where to go from here.  Heather does not claim that the thirty day cleanse is a weight loss diet, but a clean, whole foods way of eating.  I think this sounds perfect for what I need at this point.  I will learn some new ways of getting protein from sources other than meat.  I may or may not go back to the Four Hour Body diet when I'm finished with the Vegan cleanse.  In any case, I've been reading Beauty that Moves for somne time now, and I know that Heather is very knowledgeable in Holistic nutrition.  I look forward to seeing what else I can learn from her.

So there we are....a rather eclectic collection of ideas on food this week, but hopefullly there's something useful for you here. ; )