HE IS RISEN!! Easter 2008

This is our first year to spend Easter away from home. While we were missing being with our families, we still had a pretty good time! The festivities began on Saturday night with Easter Egg dying, followed by church this morning and a "family dinner" (minus Becca and Kellen and Brad and Beth-sad) for lunch. The menu consisted of smoked pork tenderloin, Jen's grandmother's potato salad, Chris's mom's green bean casserole, my cranberry congealed salad, two yummy loaves of bread baked by Jen, and a Southern Living banana pudding pie for dessert. Needless to say, we ate well! Here are some of the easter eggs we dyed:
The first step we took with this one was to cut out the silk from a tie and wrap it around a raw egg .(the tie has to be silk and the egg doesn't have to be raw, it just doesn't have to be boiled like most easter eggs) Next, we put cheese cloth around the outside of the "tied egg". Then we put the egg in a pot of water with enough water to cover the eggs, added 3 tablespoons vinegar and let the eggs come to a soft boil for about 20 minutes.
Then we took the eggs out let them cool- let them cool all the way, it won't work otherwise. Then we the wrappings off and squealed with delight!



































Next we did "marbleized" easter eggs. We dyed the eggs one light color first and then added olive oil to a darker color in a pyrex with about 1/2 inch liquid(Water, dye and olive oil). Then we swirled the oil around with a fork to create a "marbled" pattern of dye on the eggs.










The eggs come out looking like this:









Another helpful tip for egg dying: To make the eggs shiny, cover them with a light coat of olive oil!

Scallop, Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry (a.k.a. Our dinner for tonight!)

Here's how I made it:
2 tsp. olive oil
1/2 lb Raw Shrimp
1/2 lb Raw Sea Scallops
1 tsp Asian (Dark) Sesame Oil (Oriental section at Kroger)
1 bag of frozen stir-fry veggies (I like the kind with snow peas!)
1 Tbsp minced, peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce

1. Heat a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium heat until a drop of water sizzles on it. Add the canola oil and swirl it to coat the pan. Add the scallops and shrimp and stir-fry just until opaque in the center, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate.

2. Heat the sesame oil in the skillet. Add the vegetables and stir-fry until tender, about 1 minute. Add the ginger and garlic; stir fry just until fragrant, about one minute. Stir in the scallops, shrimp and soy sauce; cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until heated through, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

I served it with a side of edamame.(soy beans with a light coating of salt, you buy them frozen and then thaw them out to eat them- don't eat the shells, just the little beans inside!)

This recipe is out of the Weight Watchers "Shortcuts" cookbook. The nutrition facts are Per serving (about 1 cup): 164 Cal, 5g fat, 1g sat. fat, 0g Trans fat, 45mg Chol, 432 mg Sod, 8g carb, 2g fiber, 22g prot, 126mg calc. Points Value: 3

I loved cooking this dish! It was so much fun to peel and crate the ginger root, I have never bought ginger root or sesame oil before, they smelled so good! I think I will buy more seafood from now on, it's not as expensive as I thought. Watch out sea creatures!

New Hope Christian Academy

This is the website for the school where I want to work: http://www.newhopememphis.org I would love to teach there. Over spring break I went and had a tour of the school with the lower school headmaster. It was amazing!The school is comprised inner city Memphis kids, 80% of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch. Each family pays about $25 dollars a month for their child to go there and the rest is paid for by a private foundation. It is amazing that a Christian private school would be able to provide such overwhelming financial support for children who would not have had such a good, Christian education otherwise! I am really praying that a position will be open for the fall!

Tiny Reader

This is amazing! I would love to hear what the experts have to say about this little girl!

I am currently sitting in Dr. Campbell's (one of the prof.'s I work for) thinking about what a procrasitnator I am! I have all of these things due soon and I haven't even started on some of them. I know I will get them all finished, but it is hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Today, we are sending in our application for the apartments we want to live in in Midtown, Memphis. (http://www.apartments.com/summary.aspx?partner=hellom&page=summary&property=102399.11) We have to get on a waiting list to get in, but Clover, the girl who has been helping us (yes, her name is actually Clover) said that we shouldn't have a problem getting in in late June/early July. I am really excited about living somewhere with character, not just a white box!
Cleaning night went well, we have one more load of laundry to do. I feel so much better waking up in clean sheets and stepping onto a clean floor, seeing an empty laundry basket in the corner, taking a shower in a clean tub and drying off with clean towels that smell "Spring Fresh"! Oh and I also forgot my umbrella this morning. As I pulled into campus the bottom dropped out and I am soaked for the rest of the day! At least it's not cold out. The one good thing about the rain is that it means summer is coming!! As mom always said, "March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb."

Well, Beth found out that I have a blog, but I haven't written anything since the first post in January! Josh had his fantasy baseball draft tonight, he seemed pretty happy with his prospects. I am going to fill out my first ever March Madness bracket tonight and who knows, maybe I will win by picking the teams with the best colors! Tonight is "cleaning night, so we shall see how that goes! I bought some new organizing baskets at the new World Market that just opened and my bathroom is looking cleaner already! Yay! Well, I need to cook dinner- flank steak with balsamic vinegar sauce (Josh's loves this), corn and baby spinach salad! Yummy!