Susiej

scary books.

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Filed under: Life, Thursday 13, holidays, read by SusieJ - 37 Comments →

I am crazy busy getting these kids ready for Halloween, and also busy with a little surprise about a new writing gig (more later). So, here’s an archive post from last year.

Happy Halloween!

You would think that after spending the summer at the lake that I saw just about all there was to see. How wrong I was. I found something hiding behind these trees. The same trees I looked at across the lake all summer; the same trees you saw in the photos of all of those lake pictures I posted. Right there, in the tree line, something sinister is hiding. Maybe, this is that Nancy Drew Mystery I’ve been looking for all along. Think of Ruth Brown’s delightfully scary book, A Dark, Dark Tale.

I. There is a dark, dark road that takes you to a dark, dark lake.

II. And on that dark, dark, lake, there is a dark, dark dock.
III. And on that dark, dark dock, is a bright shinny canoe.

IV. As you glide on your bright shinny canoe, you see a dark, dark woods.
V. And through the dark, dark trees, you see a dark, dark house.

VI. And on that dark, dark house are dark, broken windows.

VII. And through the dark, dark windows, there is a dark, dark kitchen.

VIII. And in that dark, dark, kitchen, there is a dark, old, refrigerator.
IX. And through that dark, dark window, you see a dark, dark hallway.

X. And down the dark, dark hallway, you see on a dark, dark doorknob, a dark, dark jacket.

XI. And around the dark, dark house, you see a dark, dark, open door.

XII. And by the dark, dark door, you see a dark, DARK SHOE!

XIII. And then you scream, and run through the woods, trip on the trees, and jump back into your boat. And start paddling.

Happy Halloween!

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At my annual check-up this week, my doctor pulled out that little stick, drew the blood like a vampire and certified that I am low in iron levels; a major contributor for my exhaustion. So, together, we worked out a plan of foods, herbs and supplements, she approved of, to help me feel energized and happy. So far, I’ve emailed portions of this list to many friends, other tired women who say the same thing, “I’ll do anything to feel better.” And they mean it. We’re sick and tired of walking around exhausted, while our kids are running circles around us. So here, is the list, hammered out with the help of my doctor, to bring my energy levels back up to normal. My favorite? The greens… instant energy in a powder. Another benefit — it makes me feel full, so I end up eating less. Enjoy!

1. Herbal Teas: Anemia (low-iron levels in the blood) is common among women, with side affects of fatigue.  Your doctor can preform a blood test to find out if you have this or not. If you learn that you are low in iron, one safe way to restore your iron levels — and energy — is through teas made from the following roots; now widely available at whole foods.  These herbs are the roots of yellow dock, burdock, dandelion, and Chinese wild yam. Gather a teaspoon of any or all of these dried herbs, and pour boiling water on top, cover and let steep overnight.  Strain and drink.
2. Greens: Sometimes, the last thing we need is another supplement; what we really need is healthy nutrition. None of us eat enough greens, yet their full of vital minerals and vitamins. Greens Plus, is a powder that you mix with water or juice, and it provides you with the benefits of greens in one drink.  Don’t even bother with the chocolate-flavored powder- it’s horrible.  Berry is a much better alternative; but don’t get me wrong, the stuff is not going to be one of your most favorite-tasting beverages; but like most Moms I’ve talked to have said, “I’ll drink anything to feel better.”
3. Carrots: Carrot juice also assimilates iron quickly in your blood stream. Carrot soup, or a vegetable-based soup of carrot and beets, will increase your iron levels naturally.
4. Watch the Tea: Black tea, my favorite bevereage, unfortunately does slow down the absorption of iron.  So monitor your intake. So, instead of making yourself another cup of tea in the afternoon, make your self a drink of greens plus.
5. Eat Right: Fill your pantry/refrigerator with these foods: beans, red meat, nuts, citrus, asparagus, spinach, mushrooms, soybeans and wheatgerm.
6. Beets: Physicians in ancient Greece used beet root to treat anemia; it’s a great blood builder and purifier to the spleen and liver — especially in its ability to build red corpuscles.  Beet juice is the best way to take your medicine; if you can’t find it, eating beets will help, although it will not be as effective.
7. Serotonin: Increase your serotonin levels naturally, with less side-effects than traditional anti-depressants, with  5-HTP. Serotonin is a compound in your body, and is responsible for regulation of mood and behavior.  Having adequate levels of serotonin can help in feeling calm and relaxed;  too little sometimes leads to irritability and uneasiness.
8. SAM-e: Another way to improve your state of well-being is with SAM-e, which is not only a mood balancer, but is also recommended for chronic fatigue syndrome, arthritis and fibromyalgia.
9. Rhodiola: I’ve written about this one before, but Rhodiola Rosea is a wonderful natural remedy for exhaustion, and also boosts your immune system.  This one is great for the winter blues.
10. Thyme: Thyme is loaded with iron, so load up your soups and beef roasts with this herb.
11. Spices: You can also find iron in parsley, cumin, curry powder and cinnamon — although they are not as powerful as thyme. As if you needed an excuse to make snickerdoodles.
12. Cast Iron: Buy yourself (or use Grandma’s) iron skillet, and use it.  The iron from the skillet does work its way into your food.
13. Siberian Ginseng fights fatigue and boost energy without the harsh stimulants. However, it is best to meet with an herbalist to determine which Ginseng (hot or cold) is right for your system.

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Filed under: Science, Thursday 13, eat, health by SusieJ - 18 Comments →

This summer, our hill at the lake will be used in yet another ingenious way: to make ice cream for our root beer floats. I was tempted to buy the traditional ice cream maker, but there are so many choices; I quickly became overwhelmed looking at all the bells and whistles. And besides, I have all that boy power just dying to get put to use. Plus, the process of making ice cream by hand… literally…. in the can… is is a great way to introduce some lessons in science. There is the ice cream in a bag method; my boys would surely break the bag in the mixing process. So, I’ve decided to go with the ice cream in a can method.

1. The first challenge is finding the can. Many recipes suggest using a coffee can, but who buys coffee in a can anymore? A better idea is to ask for an empty paint can from the paint store. You’ll need two: A quart, and a gallon.
2. Ask your kids to tell you the freezing point of water — or teach them — 32 degrees F, or 0 Celcius. Then, ask them what happens when we put salt on icy sidewalks. Ask them to start thinking about why we need salt to make ice cream.
3. In the small, clean can, add one cup of milk or half and half, one cup of sugar, and one teaspoon of vanilla.
4. Optional: add one tablespoon of chocolate syrup — or frozen strawberries.
5. Use a hammer to seal the lid tightly.
6. In the larger can, combine the ice and rock salt. Use a thermometer to record the temperature of the rock and salt mixture.
7. Use hammer again to seal the lid tightly.
8. Take turns rolling the can down the hill, for about five minutes. This will “solidify” the ice cream.
9. Explain what’s happening: the ice melts and combines with the salt. This “brine” has a lower freezing point — lower than 32 degrees.
10. After five minutes of rolling, open the large can, and take the temperature of the ice. It will be colder than it was the first time.
11. Open the smaller can. The colder brine was able to get the milk mixture cold enough to freeze to a solid, to create ice cream.
12. You know you’re going to have to whip up another batch right now; the fun was really rolling the can down the hill.
13. An instant way to eliminate the ice cream headache is to put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Teaching a toddler how to do this is something you won’t soon forget.

Pictures to come…
Thursday Thirteen

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Filed under: Thursday 13, eat, the lake house, try this by SusieJ - 34 Comments →

Not only am I sharing a recipe for fair-style lemon-shake-ups, but I’ve also created a “system” to have the ingredients ready in your refrigerator, so you can make a lemon shake-up on demand, whenever the whim strikes you; or the kids. The secret to making lemon shake-ups at home lies in knowing the magic ratio: here it is:

Lemon Syrup: For every 1/2 lemon, add 1/2 cup of water to 1/4 cup of sugar.

Each Lemon Shake Up Needs 3-4 Tablespoons of Lemon Syrup.

Once you know the ratio, you can expand the recipe to serve a party, or keep a batch stored, ready to go, in your fridge. Here’s the method.

1. Wash and scrub fresh lemons.
2. Make simple syrup by boiling sugar and water for 5 minutes.
3. Let syrup cool.
4. Microwave lemons for about 5 seconds, to warm-up the lemon so that the juices will come out easily.
5. Cut lemon in half, and squeeze the juice. Rachel Ray swears by holding the cut side of the lemon up, and squeezing with your hand, and the seeds won’t drop into the bowl. I prefer to use my simple lemon-juicer tool — it pulls out lots of juice, catches the seeds, and the pulp, before it ever hits the bowl. It’s metal, and sturdy-enough for a kid to use.
6. Strain lemon juice to eliminate the pulp — if any.
7. Once the syrup is cool, add the freshly-squeezed lemon juice to the syrup.
8. Cover and refrigerate.
9. When you’re ready for your Lemon Shake Up, fill glasses with ice water. (Or fair-style paper cups, if you really want to be authentic.)
10. Add two tablespoons of the lemon syrup to each glass.
11. Stir vigorously, or find a way to cover the glass and shake.
12. Scrub a fresh lemon, and cut lemon into slices.
13. Add lemon slices to the top of each glass, or use a greater to add fresh lemon peel.

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The good thing about MP3 players is that now many of them come free with cell phones, giving you the power of the 2GB Ipod Nano with your phone in one single device. The bad news is that Itunes does not recognize most MP3 players and won’t sync the music to the device. Here, I’ll show you how to work around that quirk, and load songs from Itunes onto any MP3 Player in just a few minutes, probably seconds. How do I know this? Verizon gave me a $100 credit toward a new phone, so I picked up The Juke, primarily because it works like an I-Pod Nano. Then, my awesome babysitter showed me how, in 13 steps, to sync your phone to Itunes.

Before you start, you will need to clear up space on your MP3 player.  You can do this by formating your phone when you plug it into your computer.  Deleting the songs will not really delete the songs, and you’ll have out of memory space. So, just format your phone, following the instructions in your manual. work.  know that if you want to clear the tunes memory in your phone, to make room for all the new songs you’re loading, you’ll need to format your phone.  Deleting them manually doesn’t work. I’ll show you how to do that below.

First, plug in your phone, or your MP3 player using the USB cable that comes with your device.

The message will pop up on your screen that says new device connected. Then, a window will appear asking you “sync digital media files to this device.”

Ignore this, and click instead, the folder above that line that says, “Open Device to view files with Windows Explorer.” Click OK.

Then you will see a gray box that says “Internal Storage.”

To format your phone (and delete the existing music files on the phone) right click the gray picture and click format.

Once complete, click this gray box to open the file.

Now you will see a folder named “music.” Click the “music” folder to open this folder.

If your device already has music loaded, it will appear here, otherwise, the folder will be blank. Leave this open, you’ll need it in just a few seconds.

Now, on your desktop, create a new folder named “MP3″. Leave this open.

Now, open I-Tunes.

Select the tunes you want to import, and physically drag them with your mouse to the new folder you just created, “MP3.”

While it’s copying these files, you will see that familiar windows graphic of papers flying out of a folder. Wait for this to complete.

Once the files are all in the “MP3 folder”, drag them to the “Music” that goes to the “music folder” of your MP3 player. Again, that familiar little windows icon of papers flying will appear. Once it’s done, the songs are now loaded on your MP3 player.

There’s something about creating that “extra folder” that acts like a buffer, so that the MP3 player no longer thinks they’re coming from Itunes, but simply from files on your computer … which they are!
Simple.

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