What has happened to our world?

On 12/14/2012 a young man aged 20 killed his mother. He then stole her car and drove to a nearby elementary school and killed 20 children and 6 adults and then himself.  These children were 6 and 7 years old. Children who have not lost their baby teeth yet, who were just learning to read with ease, and tying their shoes by themselves with great pride are now, dead. And why? Will we ever know why?

What makes a young man so angry. Angry at total strangers that are just starting out life.  Over the years we have experienced more and more of these mass shootings. We see them at schools, movie theaters, malls, and places of employment... you never feel safe.  I am so thankful my sons are home with me every day and I never have to worry about sending them off on a bus never to see them again. I do however have to live life, go to the store, the library, museums, and other public places. I am always watching for the exits, places to hide, and counting the people in the room. What has become of us?

There is something happening in the brains of our children that is creating the epidemic of violence, rage, hate, and disconnect with humanity.  Some say its video games,  the internet, TV, the music, or all of the above. Could it be the lack of the family unit in today's youth or could it be the lack of attention children feel they are given?  Maybe it is the food we eat, the medicines we are all taking or the water we consume.  There are those who believe these are all factors.

Whatever it is we need to find its source and stomp it out. It needs to be destroyed before it destroys us. Banning guns, making schools resemble prisons, and having stricter policies in place will not stop these things from happening. The only way to stop these things is to fix the wound that is in the hearts of the people. Fix this aliment and not mask it with a aspirin. Humanity is sick and its crying for a cure.

A little birdie told me

This year for science one of the many things we are study are birds. My wonderful Aunt and Uncle got us a bird feeder for the new home. A couple of weeks ago Carlos loaded it up with seeds and we have had non stop traffic ever since. We have had to refill it already!  We mostly see Chickadees but there is a Red Headed Woodpecker that comes around, a few Cardinals and a couple of birds we have not yet named.

Some mornings I will take the dog out to do her business and I will find squirrels hanging off of the feeder or on the ground below waiting for something to do drop. I find them adorable but they are maddening to Isabella, she wants to eat them. They scatter rather quickly when she shows her big grey head.

                      The Chickadee seem to be our most popular bird.

This is our woodpecker who seems to take off every time my camera comes out.

This Chickadee found home on the bird feeder Isaiah made with our homeschool co-op at our TREC class on the Peninsula this fall.

At my old house we had birds of course but never took the time out to actually watch them. It has been a real pleasure feeding them, watching them, photographing them, and learning all we can about the birds in this area.

Chicken Fail.....

Good Grief! I give up! I soaked my chicken parts in Buttermilk and Hot Sauce. It sat in that mixture all day... getting happy! I then used Spike (you can get it at your wholefoods) seasoning to my flour. I got a pan of oil nice and hot. Floured my chicken all up. Cooked it for about 7 mines on each side, sat it on paper towel and then when they were all done frying I placed them in the oven for about 20 minutes. RAW! Bloody RAW Chicken.  I surrender Colonel Sanders! I surrender!

If at first you don't succeed...

There are some things I have yet to perfect that are homemade. Pancake mix and Fried Chicken are two of them. Bisquick makes such amazing pancakes! How can I compete? I have tried several recipes and they always turn out super heavy, more like a brick than a pancake.  I want that fluffy goodness!!!!  I always ruin my fried chicken, its either super burnt on the outside and raw inside or mushy outside and cooked inside. I cannot win. I want to make crispy, golden, Paula Dean level fried chicken!  Today I tried a new recipe for my pancakes and OMG I did it! It does need tweaking (it did not make enough so I need to double it) but fluffy, sweet but not too sweet, flavorful, and golden! I am going to share the recipe. No photos this time.

Now if I could find that right fried chicken recipe.


1 cup of flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 egg yolks
3/4 cup of milk
4 tablespoons of butter
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon of sugar


First sift together all your dry ingredients. Make a well in the middle. In another bowl mix the egg yolks  , some of the milk (a little over half) and the butter.  In your mixer add the egg whites and sugar. Whip until it gets light and fluffy, add remaining milk and mix. Add your white mixture to the rest of your pancake mix by folding it in.  And there you go!  The kids wanted chocolate chips in theirs but you can leave them plan or add berries!