Maple granola

Last night I made my second batch of Maple Granola. I love this stuff so much - I can't believe it took me this long to make my second batch. I was inspired to make some at home after having a giant bowl at Kenny and Zukes when I was in Portland this spring.

My favorite ways to eat granola:

• For breakfast


• Smothered in strawberry yogurt


• As a late night snack


• On top of Breyer's Coffee ice cream (YUM!)


• For my afternoon pick me up (3:00pm is snack time in my book!)


• Mixed in with Cocoa Pebbles (yeah, pretty sad, eh?)

Granola don'ts:

• No dried fruit!!! Blech!


• Eat more than two bowls in a day (try it...you'll find out why ;) )

How do you eat your granola?

I highly recommend this recipe. I left out the raisins and coconut, of course. You don't get big granola clusters with this recipe, but the more I eat it, the more I like this recipe's consistency. Our convection oven does a great job of toasting. I got brave and added semi-sweet chocolate shavings this time around (figured the shavings were a little more up to par with the recipe than the Cocoa Pebbles).

I'm looking for some more granola recipes. Particularly:

• Traditional - not maple; usually made with rice syrup or honey


• Granola bars - for the kids

I haven't found any recipes that I'm really crazy about. Let me know if you have a favorite.

I know a deal when I see it

I've been reading a lot of blogs on finance lately - not the how-to-invest-your-money type, but the debt-free, frugal-living, less-is-more type of finance blogs. We've worked hard to get where we are today and I was hoping for some fresh, new ideas to help us pay off our mortgage before the 29 years we have left. Much to my surprise, I haven't found too many fresh, new ideas. I guess "working hard to get where we are today" has been us already implementing most of the tips that I have run across.

One way that we have earned a little extra has been through referral, bonus or shopping sites where you can accumulate points or earn money. I have a favorite that we diligently use for every purchase - I'll let you in on that secret another time. But in my recent blog travels I did run across one that I will use in lieu of my favorite once in a while - especially when the store highlighted in the Daily Double has something we need.

Check out Ebates - where it truly "pays to shop online". Here's how it works: Ebates partners with hundreds of stores to provide an inclusive storefront for most of your shopping needs. Stores pay to be part of the Ebates storefront. Most storefront's pocket the money, but Ebates shares that money with you. After you accumulate $5.01 from purchases, they send you a check.

It doesn't take long to accumulate some money. I bought a swim suit and a blouse on clearance at The Gap through Ebates and earned $1.05 with that single purchase which was just under $35.00. Sure, its not a ton of money, but I am doing more online shopping these days with gas prices so high and I can easily pay for a week of my daughter's piano lessons just by shopping where I normally shop.

But wait...it gets even better. If you sign up through any of the links in this blog, you will receive $5.00 just for signing up. You will have to earn $5.01 of Ebates before you will receive a check, but $5.00 for signing up is one of the best deals I've seen. And guess what? I will also receive $5.00 when you sign up. My goal is 10 referrals - enough for a free month of piano lessons!

Happy Shopping! (Saving and Earning too!)

Mama, are you old?

4 yr old: Mama, are you old?

Mama: Ha ha...yeah, I'm old. Older than you.

4 yr old: Why are you still not dead yet?

Mama: (pause) Well, I'm old, but not that old. Hopefully I won't be dead for a long time.

4 yr old: When will I be old?

Mama: We all get a little bit older every day.

4 yr old: Am I old now?

Sad Day

Normally the last day of school is an exciting one. It means sunny days are here, fun family activities and a break from early morning rising for the kids. This year is bittersweet however because our wonderful rural community school is closing its doors. I completely understand the decision; district enrollment is down, maintenance costs of the aging building is rising, etc, etc. I don't want to get into the politics of it here, I just want to say thank you to the people that made our school so great. Its not about the building, its the spirit of the school. We were blessed with single classrooms for each grade with 20 or less kids, teachers that knew every child in the school by name, a fabulous, dedicated PTO who brought fun, educational and memorable activities for the kids: 100 day celebration, banana split day, science day, planting a tree, track and field day just to name a few. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone that made our school such a special place. May the spirit live in all the kids forever, make them strong in a new, bigger school, and shine through to all the new friends they will meet.

Now Reading: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

I first found out about this book when I was listening to NPR on my previously long commute. The book intrigued me and I purchased it as a birthday present for my pre-teen niece. I received a prompt thank you note from her stating that "I pick out the coolest books!" The Easter bunny must have know that it was on my wish list because, lo and behold, it arrived Easter morning in my 6 year old's Easter basket. The book is over 500 pages long, but over half of which are beautiful illustrations. The black or black trimmed pages combined with the curious illustrations captured all of my kids (hubby included) attention immediately. Somehow the book was placed on a book shelf during "redding up" and we're just now starting to read it. Stay tuned for reviews from the kids!

Information Overload

Sometimes I wonder, "What is e-mail, Skype, Instant Message, TV, telephone, cell phone, iTunes, the World Wide Web, Google Reader and Twitter (I'm sure I'm leaving something out!) really doing to us long term?" I have now sat in my LaZBoy for over 8 hours straight working a usual Monday work day. And most of the time I have been doing not one, not two, or even three, but ALL of the above at the same time. Carrying on multiple conversations while doing multiple tasks; I've been sitting on my bum all day and I am thoroughly exhausted with a raging headache. I think this affects me more on Mondays since I am usually completely unconnected, outside and up and around all day doing farm chores on Sundays.

I wonder, not only what impact does this have on me long term, but my kids that are growing up in this "Information Overload" era? We took a rare trip to the mall on Saturday and now they have Dora the Explorer shirts that light up and "flash, flash, flash". My 4 year old went crazy over it. Does everything have to beep, flash, or buzz? Its nearly impossible for my 6 year old to sit still quietly for more than two minutes. Granted she's a typical energetic 6 year old, but how is this "always on" world affecting her? And so many other children?

I'm a techie and I believe all of this stuff serves a purpose, but the next time I'm driving down the road with the radio on, a dvd playing in the back seat AND talking on my cell phone, I'm going to turn it all off and sing "Old MacDonald" with my kids.

Indian Butter Chicken

Being a steak and potatoes girl, it took a bit of convincing from my dear friend to try Indian cuisine when we'd take a break from the office and head out to lunch. Of course I became hooked right before I stopped working in the city. Now I'm constantly craving Indian Butter Chicken without a decent Indian restaurant within 60 miles!

My husband is the chef in the house so I don't cook all that often. Believe me, I'm all thumbs in the kitchen. But I found this recipe and decided to give it a shot.

We really need to check out Kroger's. I keep forgetting there is one about 30 minutes away. They might have some of the harder to find ingredients that Wal-Mart didn't carry. We headed to Pittsburgh for a trip to IKEA over the weekend so I grabbed what I needed there.

The only ingredient I wasn't able to find was fenugreek leaves. I was about to substitute fenugreek seeds since we have some on hand for use by my hubby in his dishes. But I read a great post suggesting just to skip the leaves instead of substituting seeds since the seeds are so bitter.

This recipe takes a bit of time to prepare, but it was a hit! Even our 6 year old loved it. We served it with rice and flat bread (not as good as nan, but an OK substitute). Next time I'll prepare some vegetables and maybe chick peas as well. I highly recommend this dish as an introduction to Indian cuisine. Its loaded with wonderful spices, but not too spicy. And the chicken is SO tender. Delish!