Crispy Parmesan Chicken

This is an old favorite recipe from my mom. My family LOVED it last night, and we'll be having it again soon. It's great hot OR cold, perfect for summer!

The recipe definitely needs chicken with bones. The chicken needs to cook long enough to get the crust crispy, and boneless chicken will be overdone.



CRISPY PARMESAN CHICKEN

1 c. crushed saltine crackers (I just stuck a sleeve in the food processor)
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese (I admit it, I used the green can stuff)
2 T. minced parsley (I used dried and was just happy I had some)
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. thyme
1/4 t. paprika
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
3 lb. broiler/fryer cut into serving pieces (I used 2 lbs. of chicken thighs and it was great!)
1/2 c. half and half or buttermilk
1/3 c. oil

Preheat oven to 350.

In a plastic bag, combine saltines, parmesan, and all seasonings. Dip chicken into half and half or buttermilk and shake in bag with seasonings. Place skin side up in a large greased baking dish. Bake for 30 mins.

Sprinkle chicken pieces with oil and continue baking for 30 more minutes until chicken is browned and cooked through.

***

This is really foolproof. I misread the directions, sprinkling the oil on before cooking. It turned out just fine. :)

Up to Memorial Day

On Memorial Day, Trevor and I went downtown



to the annual Festival in the Park.



There were several free activities.



We wandered around the park, visiting the various exhibits,



checking out the arts and crafts booths.



The library was having a used book sale, we listened to live music on the giant stage, and people-watched. We bought a Bloomin' Onion and drank lots of lemonade.

Trevor made funny faces when I pulled out my camera:

(just as he was going to cross his eyes)

(Ooh, pretty...ugly!)

Trying to block the camera

My sweet boy.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

HIGH FLIGHT

Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of - wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up the long delirious, burning blue,
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And, while with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untresspassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand and touched the face of God.

Pilot Officer Gillespie Magee
No 412 squadron, RCAF
Killed 11 December 1941

Woefully behind

Trevor and I went into town on Sunday to catch a local car show.





Traffic was rerouted from the main street, and there were several blocks of cars out for show, a nice crowd wandering the street, a warm and sunny afternoon (which means mid 70s, yippee!).




We easily found parking half a block away at the post office. The parking HAS to be easy for me; I've never learned how to parallel park. And I have no desire to learn. (Actually, my method involves getting out of my car and standing on the curb so Robert can park it, but he wasn't with us this time.)



Trevor had a great time trying to figure out what some of the cars were. I encouraged him to look carefully to see what he could figure it out. (It wasn't my goal to encourage; I wanted him to look because I had no idea.)



I really enjoyed my afternoon with Trevor. It was his idea in the first place, and I'm so glad he suggested it!



Dad, this isn't quite what I was looking for, but I took this picture just for you.

The way I remember it: I was 13 or 14. My dad had a '66 Mustang in pristine condition and low, low miles. He asked if I wanted him to hang on to it until I was old enough to drive. I think my exact quote was "Eeew, that dumb thing?"

Sigh.

(I'm sure he'll follow up the story with a comment. But please be nice, Dad, I love you!!!!!)

Weekly menu

bbq chicken, salad, bread
(chess potluck bbq)
tortellini salad, hummus, pita bread
cheeseburgers, baked beans, corn on the cob
Creamy Orange Gelatin, Blackberry Chicken
spaghetti, bread, salad
Indian butter chicken, rice or couscous, canned pineapple

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things

On the back burner:
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
chicken souvlaki, couscous
bbq hot dogs, pasta or potato salad
chicken jerusalem derivative
pork loin
Chicken Fingers with Lemon Sauce
tacos (Holly's request)

(WAAAAY too much chicken coming up, I need to work on this before Robert gets wind of it.)

Home Court Advantage: Preparing Your Children to Be Winners in Life by Dr. Kevin Leman

Who doesn't like Kevin Leman? I really wanted to read his newest book, but this was the one my library had. That's not really such a big deal. I've read several of his parenting and relational books; I'm happy to read any that are "new" to me. By now, I feel like I know Kevin and Sande and their children, and I enjoy Dr. Leman's folksy, friendly writing style.

Families are a recurrent theme in his books. Home Court encourages us to drop the gamut of outside activities and turn our hearts toward home--where life's lessons are really learned. At my house, the extracurricular schedule is not overwhelming. However, I've been convicted recently about how I'm using my free time. Reading this gave me an additional nudge that I probably needed.

I highly recommend any of Dr. Leman's books, this one included. I'm hoping to get my hands on his newest one soon, and if I get the chance, I'll reread the ones I already have.

In plain sight, alternatively titled Get a clue

Many of us bloggers have a site meter (or two) attached to our website that counts blog visitors. My own meter lists recent visits, logging their time spent, a general location, any out clicks and a variety of other anonymous information.

I check my meter occasionally, and I know who reads regularly, even if they don't leave comments. Of course, the meter doesn't log names, but I can make an educated guess based on where the person lives. For the past two weeks, I've been hit heavily from an unusual location. I don't know anyone in this particularly state, and it began to really bother me that they were coming by several times a day. A few days ago, I actually went back and logged all of their recent visits, hoping to find some kind of pattern. It was baffling to me who would be so interested in our life.

After looking several times at their browser, operating system, and time patterns, I realized this visitor is my MOM. (Hi Mom!!!!!!!) I still can't figure out why she's coming from an ISP 2000 miles away from where she lives, but it's definitely her. (AOL will do that, but she's not on AOL.) And if it's not her, she's not reading from her usual location, and then I really have something to worry about.

Now I know why site meters can drive people crazy. And I'm glad to know that my mom still cares about what I'm doing. :)

To blog or not to blog?

I haven't blogged for a few days. But when 13yodd wants to chat tonight for an hour, I wasn't in any rush to come to the computer. :) In fact, I'd choose that over blogging any night.

Dr. Laura chimes in on the "S" word

Dr. Laura: Homeschooling does not hamper socialization

Ooh, how gullible ARE you?

This was a fun test!

http://www.naturalnews.com/gullibility.html


My results:


Free Thinker!!!

Welcome to the top 5%. You're a true free thinker and a person who is well informed about the reality in which you live. Although you may have been easily manipulated earlier in life, you eventually gained lucidity and developed a healthy sense of skepticism that you now automatically apply to your observations and experiences. You are endlessly curious about human behavior and the nature of the universe, and you have one or more lifestyle habits that most people would consider odd or unusual. You are not only of very high intelligence, you are also extremely creative in one or more areas (music, art, software development, inventing, etc.)

If you were in The Matrix, you would have taken the red pill, completed the combat training, and started fighting (and beating) agents from day one.

Your architects: You have cast off reality distortions taught to you by your parents, schooling, corporate advertising and government propaganda. You create your own beliefs based on what serves you best, without much regard for what the rest of the crowd is doing. You are guided by your own internal code of ethics (which may or may not agree with politically-correct ethical
codes) rather than any pre-set system of ethics (such as from any one religion).

The rest of the day

So we didn't do the usual "dance," trying to find out if the other bought anything; a gift, a card. That was a big mistake. But then I've never been a great dancer.

Robert bought me flowers. It was wonderfully romantic, 15 roses for 15 years with a sweet card.



He also bought me a Willow Tree piece.



And of course, since we didn't do that dance, I bought him nothing. I didn't even buy a card. I am quite sure he doesn't care that I wrote a very nice blog post early today. Uh-oh! At least there's always next year. :)

We went to The Outback for dinner--by ourselves! The kids preferred to stay home, bribed by our promise to bring home KFC for them. We also came home with a tiramisu cake and went for a walk in the woods just as it was getting dark.

It was a Very Good Day.

15 years ago today, I was doing this

* * * * *

Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.
Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of his house for love,
it would be utterly scorned.

Songs 8:6-7

* * * * *

It's going to be a great day!

Tuesday briefly

Trevor had a cooking class today. It was a wonderfully small group--just him and his two friends! The boys made macaroni and cheese, and the moms enjoyed chatting!



The weather was great--until the boys took bows and arrows outside. (Hmm, maybe the sudden thunder was a sign, lol.) They shot for a few minutes and spent the rest of the afternoon indoors.



We settled in for the American Idol final tonight. Why did the judges pan David Cook during the whole show? I just don't like that whiny voiced little David Archuleta! One more night (tomorrow), and then our Tuesdays and Wednesdays are free again. :)

Weekly menu

manwiches, creamed cukes, salad
BLTs, chips, dip
sausage, rice and beans, corn on the cob
?? (anniversary!)
Indian butter chicken, rice or couscous, canned pineapple
??
??

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things
leftover quiche
filet o' fish sandwiches

On the back burner:
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
tortellini salad, hummus, pita bread
chicken souvlaki, couscous
bbq hot dogs, baked beans, pasta or potato salad
chicken jerusalem derivative
pork loin

Oh so short post

Busy Sunday:

1. Church fellowship BBQ.

2. Raced back home.

3. Holly later joined some of the church youth group kids to see Prince Caspian back in town later in the afternoon. She had a GREAT time. YAY!

4. While we waited, Trevor and I wandered the mall and grabbed a bite to eat at Applebee's. The oh so nice waitress said, "I have to tell you that your son is SO sweet! You just don't see kids like this anywhere!"


(Yeah, I know. They're too unsocial. LOL)

Big night in a small town

Tonight was the annual Volunteer Fire Department Fundraiser Dinner. They only throw one fundraiser a year; this is it. We weren't sure what to expect, but we'd planned for some time to attend.


Held at Stickville Elementary, the ham dinner included pinto beans (great!), potato salad (good!), cinnamon apples (good!), rolls (fine!), and green beans (who eats these, blech!). There was also a huge, never-ending dessert table to finish off the meal.

Trevor contemplates his dessert options, and
Mom's beginning to think someone needs a haircut

The dinner was followed by a dance. "Bluegrass," our neighbors told us. "Hillbilly music," someone's 13 year old daughter muttered under her breath.

Well, maybe. We didn't hang around for that. But we hung around outside for awhile, enjoying the weather. Stickville Elementary is in the middle of the town of Stickville. Actually, it's not even a town, but it does have a post office.

This IS the town.

You think I'm kidding? It's not even a crossroads, it's just a T-intersection. Don't sneeze, or you'll miss it.

But we kinda like it here. :)

Chess

Interesting conversation at the chess tournament today. Organized by a teacher who very successfully heads up his own school chess team, these monthly tournaments are open to teams from any schools within several counties. I stopped to thank him for all his time and effort this year, and when he asked which school my son attended, we began discussing homeschooling.

While it's easy to get defensive, I have enough confidence in myself and in homeschooling in general to usually rationally discuss pros and cons. (This was not an exception!) Flat out, he's not a fan of homeschooling. He expressed his concern over how much homeschooled kids are really learning. I told him that according to the state law, if we fall below the fourth stanine, the school district is allowed to intervene. However, by the virtue of a "stanine," 20-25% of public school kids fall below the fourth stanine--so how is the school district successfully raising the achievement level of these children?

Among other concerns, he also mentioned socialization, singling out our homeschool chess club. He said he sees our club not interacting with others, sticking to themselves, and not being like "normal kids." (I didn't say this, but really, who wants a "normal" kid?)

By the way (which I also didn't say), although I don't really pay attention, I've never noticed much interaction between the various clubs. We all come in, stake out a table for our club and sit mostly with our own groups. It's obvious because most kids usually wear matching club shirts. Many of the kids don't have a parent with them and are in the care of another adult (this goes for our club too). I can assume this because the number of children far outweighs the number of adults.

I responded, and he conceded, that our homeschool club kids are also not the ones running up and down the aisles, wrestling, with no parent intervention. We talked about a few more things, agreeing that we both want our kids to learn, and that there will always be those who are lacking, whether it's parents or teachers.

As I went back to my table, I looked around for Trevor.

Here's my kid being anti-social.
(I went back to this teacher and pointed out my son!)

I began watching our club a little more closely and noticed a couple kids from other clubs WERE playing at our table WITH our kids. Trevor didn't hang out much at our table today, off with at least two different groups of kids that I don't know. Some of our kids also migrated to other tables.

More anti-socialism with a boy from another club.

It was an eye opener--how misconceptions can color what is happening right in front of us. We just need to, well, open our eyes.

Oh, and the chess tournament turned out well too. Trevor's always happy when he wins a trophy, and he placed 12th out of 44. :)

Book Review - Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends by Sarah, Stephen and Grace Mally

I've had this book around for quite a while. It's failed to grab me. I've started it a few times only to put it down after a few pages, forget about it completely, and start again several months later. As I finally began to make my way through it this time, it struck me that my kids DO get along so well. They are not always perfect to each other--who is?--but they are kind and loving. They willingly spend a lot of time together and are very good friends, often preferring each other to my company, hmph. It also struck me, Why am I reading this book? I must have bought it when they were bickering.

Co-authors and siblings Sarah (22), Stephen (16), and Grace (12) Mally recommend reading their book aloud to your family. I don't know about anyone else, but I would have found this tedious. I can only imagine what horrible tortures my children would have inflicted upon me if I'd forced it on them.

Written from a Christian perspective, the book is divided into several different chapters, explaining why and how siblings should be friends. Each child takes a turn writing a portion of each chapter. The book finishes with suggestions on how to further develop and encourage your relationship with your sibling.

Why did this book not bowl me over? It was nice enough. I quickly found one of the children more entertaining and engaging than the others. The writing throughout was terribly juvenile, although I don't believe the book was intended for children only. I seemed to only focus on the repeated sentences that all seemed to begin with "One time," "On some days," "Once," "I remember." And true to form, the little things bug me: Why didn't the parents or proofreader catch several misuses of the word "purpose" when it should have been "propose"?

And then I feel guilty all over again. I want to like it. The amazon reviews are favorable. Am I the one missing something?

There are a lot of Christian books out there that teach how to get along, and this was not remarkable. I wouldn't recommend it, unless you can find it through your library or otherwise free of charge.

Field Trip!

Archaeologist humor

Holly and I joined several other homeschoolers today for a trip to the Bone Lab--otherwise known as the Physical Anthropology and Archaeology Laboratory of the Department of Anthropology at Radford University. The lab was founded by a well known husband and wife team of anthropology professors who co-direct the Forensic Science Institute at the school.


The professors were animated, passionately discussing various ways that dead bones "speak," sharing many of their combined personal experiences, including their participation in helping to solve local crimes, casework for medical examiners, archaeology digs within the state, and an upcoming visit to Guadalcanal to head up a search for U.S. Marines lost in 1942.



The kids also participated in a mock ground search, marking items they found and plotting them out on a grid. It was a very unique opportunity, a fun day for Holly and me to spend together (which included lunch at Applebee's).


We've not done anything with this group before. Based in Blacksburg, it's not really that far, but it's an hour-plus drive over hilly, twisty, two lane roads. I really enjoyed meeting the moms, who lean much more toward our, oh, eclectic, loosely classical-style of homeschooling. It was definitely a group in which I felt at home, moms that share the same educational goals that we do, and I'll be looking more closely at some of their activities.

And I'm SOOOOO thankful for DeEtta's recent post. Several ladies today were bubbling about their Classical Conversations co-op and an upcoming, free, three day practicum. Once again, I got that twinge of inadequacy, that I need to be doing something more, although we don't have extra time to spare, maybe this is worth it. As soon as we came home, I again scoured the CC website, checking out the information and figuring how I could be gone for three whole days. Hah. I DON'T. Classical Conversations is great. For someone else. But not for us, not right now. Not even for three days, three free days.

I felt less stressed immediately. :)

Definitely a good day.

The view on the drive home.

One of our brighter ideas

When we moved into this house, we no longer had a formal dining room. That meant the end of our trashed beloved kitchen table, the one with the pen holes, the acrylic paint and Sharpie marks, the one that I tried to clean with Soft Scrub. (Don't ever try that, just take my word for it.)

Our formal dining room table would become our kitchen table. I worried about this quite a bit--we use our table for practically everything, all day long. The dining room table is nice, probably on its way to being antique. Robert's mom gave us when she moved, and it had been his family's dining room table for as long as he could remember. Robert had prepared for this already by recovering the avocado lovely green seat cushions. Sharpie marks or other scratches on this table would not go over well.

It worked so well in our dining room--because we never used it. As it became our main table, I did not want to deal with the elaborate, interlocking pad system that covers the table to protect it. I also didn't want to use tablecloths. Ugh, they'd never sit straight, I'd have to be endlessly doing laundry, and what's the point of having the nice table just to cover it up? (I guess you could ask, What's the point of having a table that you won't use?) A few of my loopy friends suggested having glass cut to cover the table top, and we knew that was the answer.


It's easy to work on and easy to clean. It never gets wrinkled, it doesn't go in the washer, and I like the way the light reflects off it. There's a good scratch or two in the glass by now (which you know just kills me), but that's a whole lot better than in the table.

The glass top worked so well for the table that we also had glass cut for the buffet where we store our school stuff.



I really like shiny things.

Oh, did you just hear something? Pay no attention to that noise. It's just Robert, laughing maniacally in the background. He's running around, once again, with glass cleaner and paper towels in hand.

I really like shiny things. But I like them a whole lot better when someone else keeps them that way. And he does it so well.

Weekly menu

ravioli, salad, bread
hot dogs, mac n cheese (hey, I'm planning to go out to lunch, I don't care what's for dinner!)
quiche, salad
Indian butter chicken, rice or couscous, canned pineapple
manwiches, creamed cukes, ??
??
??

Lunch (with or for):
smoothies
grilled PB&J
Linda's Marinated Mozzarella
parmesan pesto things

On the back burner:
cutlets Romano
chicken ala king, rice, strawberries
tortellini salad, hummus, pita bread
chicken souvlaki, couscous
bbq hot dogs, baked beans, pasta or potato salad
sausage

Pics from the week

From Trevor's art class, done with oil crayons: Squidward meets Picasso.



Pumpkin waits while Holly works on math.


Robert found this guy crossing our street. He picked him up to bring home to Trevor. Showing his gratitude, Mr. Turtle peed all over the inside of Robert's car.


The turtle wasn't sticking around, but Trevor found a cricket. (That is a cricket, isn't it?)


A few months ago, I replied to a survey for homeschoolers for a thesis. Or something, I really have no idea and don't remember much about it. I responded to the survey, and Holly did also. The woman randomly selected one participant to win a $50 gift card. I'm sure this is the first time I've won ANYthing!!!

Create your own at MyNiceSpace.com



And, as hoped, we sold Robert's car today. It's been the topic of several blog posts, beginning with the day I spent throwing up, recovering only to find Robert was out buying a new car. Six weeks later, there was the accident in the parking lot. A few months after that, as we were getting ready for our garage sale, SOMEONE accidentally let a piece of furniture fall on the car. I think I was forbidden to blog about that, but I slipped in the repair. Most of all, I'll remember it following me for the entire 1500 mile drive out here. I drove fast, I drove slow, I stopped anywhere I wanted, but it was always behind me every bit of the way. :)

So it was bittersweet. I feel guilty that he's selling this car that he's really liked; I'm thankful to be rid of a car payment. I didn't cry, but I wanted to.

Random thoughts and shots

Holly and I first visited here a year ago.

Robert and I caught these on our way home from town tonight. So many of our sunsets are a striking combination of orange and purple.



Rob finally saw his first firefly here tonight. He's been waiting for this for a looong time.


I love this place.

I'd love it better if it didn't have ticks, but at least I haven't seen any in a few weeks. And the fireflies definitely make up for it. :)

Around the 'net

Websites for fun:

Can you put the states on a map? Timed? (I'm not able to get South Dakota and Iowa to place tonight though...)

Here's a shocking website showing the before/after photos of Faith Hill on a magazine cover. FYI: The link will take you to a site that does not have nice language.

Play sheepherder and test your reflexes. (I've been a bobbing bobcat a few times.)

And check out some really yukky bugs. At least they are dead. Trevor was fascinated by this. :)

And what a Monday!

Robert's truck couldn't have broken down anywhere CLOSE to home. Trevor and I were in town; Robert was in Roanoke. Good thing he had a cell phone AND a telephone book with him so he could find both a tow truck and a repair shop. (I'm thankful he's always prepared for everything; I NEED this in my life.)

The tow truck was supposed to come within 45 minutes, but I beat the driver there. Unfortunately, we weren't waiting in a nice neighborhood. Robert was sure the house he'd parked in front of had dead bodies inside. You could smell them every time the wind blew. And it was breezier than usual. The woman wearing her "WORLD'S BEST BEER DRINKIN' GRANDMA" t-shirt came outside a few times to check us out. I wish she would have worn pants.

The tow truck driver finally showed up. Yippee, it was photo op time!! For the first time in a long time (at least a day or two), I got a weird look, and the driver mumbled something to Robert about the crazy woman. "That's just my wife," Robert replied, "she takes pictures of everything."

(Now that comment in itself is nothing short of an absolute miracle. Usually I hear a grunt that means, "You will NOT take pictures of THIS," only not quite as nice, and I usually lovingly remind him of how much I continue to enjoy my Christmas gift.)



Good bye, truck. We'll see you soon. We hope. Please don't cost us too much money!



I was momentarily side tracked by the shiny tow truck. Ooh, I can take a picture of myself now!



When things like this happen, I usually tell myself that it could be worse. (And I mean the truck, not my picture.) I figure Robert could have been driving home, swerved to avoid a dumb driver, crashed through a guardrail, and rolled his truck. So this wasn't as bad.

The weirdest thing today: We have Rob's other car up for sale in the paper. There's a guy that has called a few times about it. They met each other tonight in person. Turns out the guy works AT THE SAME PLACE WE TOOK THE TRUCK TO BE FIXED.

We know that's God just reminding us, Hey, I've got your back. I've got your front. I've got you totally covered here.

And what a Monday!

************************

UPDATE: the shop called Tuesday morning at 8:30. A coil burned out; total cost less than $200.