Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts

Monday, July 16, 2012

Dead Crabs and What Not


It’s a busy busy life at our house these days.  We have been babysitting a guinea pig, eating donuts, and cooking with wine.

And don’t forget the golfing, complete with new golf shoes and a new golf skirt for myself. 

Golfing is all about fashion.  Just ask my husband and his Gorton’s fisherman hat.

Abbey got her braces this week.

Allie is growing out her hair.

Amber made a dinosaur out of clay, tape, and tinfoil.

Actually, Amber had a rough week.  Moo Moo the hermit crab passed out of this world and she had a little funeral.

As for me, I had a girls night out with my culture club and took pictures of sake, beer, and the sink in the bathroom.  Don’t ask me why.

In just two days it is off to America I fly without the kiddos and the husband.  It’s been two years since I have stepped into a Target.  I am peeing my pants with excitement!

What have you been up to this week?

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Summer Bucket Lists


I like to make lists.  Things to do, stuff I need, or maybe something like 101 goals I have.  I guess it makes me feel good to accomplish something and then check it off the list.  “Look what I did world!”, I can say….and then everyone thinks I’m awesome….or so I want to believe.

Lists work for me.  I accomplish things with them, and I feel good when I get things done.  It goes without saying then, that I think my three girlies should make lists too.  You know, have some goals…..get them done…..feel good about themselves.  So, we tried……

This is how you do it:

-Buy some nice, big, white, poster board.  A plain old piece of paper won’t do.  These bucket lists are a BIG DEAL.  Remember, this will be a, “Look what I did world!” moment for them.  It needs to be written on something nice and big.

-Buy the kids some new markers or crayons.  There is something about a new palette of markers that makes kids want to do their best.  What kid wants scummy old peely crayons that they have been using all year at school, when they can open a brand new box of shiny new markers?  It’s inspiring!

-Give them a lecture.  Tell your kids WHAT a bucket list is, WHY people want to make them, and HOW you are going to help them accomplish what they want to do this summer.  Help them make their goals reachable.  For example, you son may have one of his goals as, “I want to go to the moon this summer.”  Okay…..probably not going to happen.  But, you can visit a planetarium, stick glow in the dark planet stickers on his bedroom ceiling, go camping with a telescope…..ANYTHING.

-When their posters are finished stick them up in a visible area so you can look at them all the time.  A list doesn’t help much when you don’t look at it and remember, these are a BIG DEAL.  The kiddos will be happy to know that you think of their goals as important!

-Lastly, make a list for yourself.  Stay-at-home-mom……working mom…….whatever.  Can you come up with 10 things to accomplish by the time school starts?  I bet you can.

Here’s a little re-cap of our summer bucket list adventure!  I am so excited these turned out as well as they did.

Abbey is my artist and set her goals pretty high.  My favorites include, learning how to play a song on the guitar, making a fabulous new dessert (YUM), and taking a new picture every day and making a collage.

Allie’s goals were full of energy.  A few of them were things like, do 50 sit-ups a day, watch every single episode of MLP (My Little Pony), and pull an all-nighter. (Not sure what I think about that.)

Amber wrote hers all in cursive very carefully.  She wants to draw a cool picture and make a robot.  But my two favorite goals of hers were to be nice and have fun!

I hope my girlies really do have fun trying to check off goals from their summer bucket lists.  I think they just might!


Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Can't Get Enough of Those Stingrays!

We had our final swim meet of the year this past weekend.  All three girls and the Yokota Stingrays Swim Team did a fantastic job!  I love to watch my girlies work hard and reach their goals.

After a hard day of swimming I mixed up a batch of these yummy drinks for the family, and then we relaxed on the back porch.

Strawberry Limeade Slushies

It’s simple. Take one can frozen limeade, 1 can of Sprite, and 1 bag of frozen strawberries.  Blend it up.  Pour into sugar rimmed glasses.....wrote a post on that HERE!


Add a shot of rum if you are over 21.  Rum is yum!  Makes about 4 medium sized drinks.

And just in case you are interested……Abbey and Allie swim the 100 meter breaststroke and Abbey wins!


Then Amber does her 50 meter backstroke!




Linking up with:

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Kebabs

May has been such a great month.  I am actually sad to see it go.

My youngest daughter Amber turned 9.  We had a fabulous date just the two of us.  All you can eat crab legs.

Next, I had a wonderful girl’s weekend to Lake Kawaguchi near Mt. Fuji, with my Japanese culture club.  AMAZING!


Then, there was the solar eclipse.  I had to sear my corneas a bit, but I actually got some pretty good pictures. 

This past weekend, I went with Abbey and Allie to Tokyo Disneyland.  Twelve million people live in Tokyo and eleven million were at Disney.  Can’t say it was a blast, but I enjoyed the time I got to spend with my girlies.

The very best thing that happened in May though…..I got a new grill for Mother’s Day!  I love it!  I am the Grill Master!  It is nice and big and it even has a bun warmer and one of those little side burners on it.  Jealous much?

I am looking forward to a summer full of grilltastik yumminess.  This is what I made last night.
Teriyaki Chicken Kebabs

For the Teriyaki sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup water
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons of white vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh ginger (I use the ginger in the jar)
4 cloves garlic, pressed or finely chopped
For the kebabs:
2 to 3 pounds chicken breasts, tenders, or thighs
Onions, green, and red peppers (or whatever you like to put on kebabs)
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
Directions:
First make the teriyaki sauce. Put the first 7 ingredients into a small saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer 5 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes to allow flavors to mingle.
Next, cut the meat into kebab size pieces and marinate (covered) for 3 hours in the teriyaki sauce.
After the chicken is marinated, put 6 or 7 pieces of chicken on each skewer, separating each chunk with a piece of onion, pepper, pineapple, etc.
Arrange the skewers on a plate.  Pour half of the remaining Teriyaki sauce over the chicken and grind black pepper over the kebabs. Drizzle with olive oil.
Put the kebabs on a grill with a low flame. (Oil the grate so the chicken won’t stick.) Grill for about 6 to 8 minutes on each side, until chicken is completely done and browned slightly.  Serve these tender yummy kebabs with rice.

Makes 6 to 8 large kebabs.  Recipe adapted from www.woodfiredkitchen.com .

Friday, March 2, 2012

Remember Summer?

Remember summer?  The warm air, blue skies, and endless days in the water? Me either.
Here’s one of my best photos.

I took this for my photography class and the instructor really loved it.   It won all sorts of awards and I had visions of becoming a great photographer with my fancy new DSLR.
Who am I kidding?  What mom wants to lug the huge camera around with three kids, the sunscreen, goggles, a snack bag, my Kindle, and a couple of naked Barbies?
Not this mom.
But hey, I still have me cell phone.  Remember summer?  The warm air, blue skies, and endless days in the water.  Ahhhhh.  Now I remember summer.