After visiting the African candy trail, we went to the Indonesian Rain Forest. We thought the indoor exhibit was marvelous. Hubby’s favorite part was the orangutan exhibit.
These are Malaysian Walking Leaves. I wouldn’t want to find one of them in my house.
komodo dragon
The orangutans – I enjoyed taking photos of these guys. There were some teens there that were in the way. They were just sitting there without really paying attention to the gorgeous orangutans. We had to ask them to please move for a minute so I could get a photo.
Here is my favorite photo from the orangutans.
These are banana trees.
This bird was SO loud.
Join me next time for the red panda and Australia.
Our school holds parent-teacher conferences in the fall and winter. The Friday after conferences is a comp. day.
During the fall, I like to do a quick get away. Last year, we went to the Columbus Zoo and then stayed with friends of ours. The year before that we went to Louisville, Kentucky.
This year we went to Fort Wayne and Berne, Indiana. I’ll explain why we went to Berne in a future blog post.
The Fort Wayne Children’s Museum is only open from late April until early October. During the month of October, it’s open on Fridays – Sundays for trick or treating. Half of the zoo is closed so I didn’t get to see all of the zoo. :(
It was cool seeing the zoo all decorated for Halloween.
These were the traffic lights near the zoo. So neat!
These first photos are from the front of the zoo.
We decided to follow the trail to the African treat station. There was lots of pumpkins and decorations along the way.
We finally found some animals. The bird in the middle is a magpie.
Join me next time for our visit to the Indonesian forest.
When the time is right I, the Lord, will make it happen.
Isaiah 60:22
Today my mom and I drove the back roads instead of the highway after our shopping trip.
It’s the third week of October and many of the trees are still green. We don’t know when or if they are going to change color or if they are going just drop their leaves.
I opted to drive on those back roads so that we could hunt for trees that have changed colors. Every time we saw one, one of us would loudly exclaim “There’s one!”
That hunt for the fall colored leaves reminds me of what God does in your life. You may make plans. When it doesn’t happen in the time you have allotted, you become frustrated with God. You feel as though he has forgotten you.
God has not forgotten you. We have to remember that God has his own timing. It’s not up to us as humans to try to figure out his timing.
We just have to trust and believe that he will bless us when he feels it’s the time to do so.
April 2017, I had my final observation for the 2016-2017 school year. My principal walked out of my observation with a new-found appreciation to how I interact with the students. She wanted me to be the resource teacher because that is where I excel as a teacher.
The next school year, it was in the works that I was going to be the resource teacher. Then the number of students with disability was higher than anticipated and the number of Intervention Specialists did not change. Last year I was an Inclusion teacher instead of a resource room.
It ended up being a blessing even though I was frustrated various times throughout the year.
It was a blessing because I ended up ill with my gall bladder. At the end of the third quarter, I ended up having surgery. They did not have to find me a sub during the week.
This school year, they hired another Intervention Specialist so this year I’m the resource teacher. Students who are on IEP’s that need extra help because they have big gaps in their learning come to my room for fifteen minutes to half an hour for more intensive instruction and practice. God knew I was a good fit for the position but he was not ready for me to have it last year.
Continue to have dreams. Never give up dreaming. However, remember that God does not work on our time. He works on his time. If it’s meant to be, he’ll bring your dream to fruition.
Just like with the trees, God works on his own time.
I keep falling further and further behind on my Write 31. I’ve mind mapped out the recipes I would like to share during the remainder of this year’s Write 31. Last night instead of writing, I was cleaning out my pajama drawer and my wardrobe.
I could almost wear a different pair of pajamas for about 2.5 weeks. While cleaning out the pajama drawer, I threw away some of the pajamas. They were old and tattered. No one would want them.
This weekend I also went through some photos of mine. In 2001 and 2002, my mom, Tanya, and I went on two different trips to Hershey, PA. On one of them, we traveled to Pittsburgh to visit family while on the other we visited Gettysburg and then Virginia. I could not remember which trip was which one.
Speaking of those trips, one of the pajamas I threw away was a pair of American flag shorts. I could wear them out and about back in those years because those trips were pre-kids. Why did I still have those shorts?
Anyway I’m going to share with you some of the photos from the 2002 trip. I did not know that a year later I was going to be a first time mother.
One of our friends lives/ lived in Colonial Beach, Va which is on the Chesapeake River. We visited him for a few days.
While we were there, we visited George Washington’s birthplace.
We also visited a winery that was close to our friend’s house.
Here are some pictures from our drive home. I thought the ice cream machine was cool. You picked the ice cream and then it sucked it up. So neat!
In a large skillet over medium heat, add the olive oil, meat substitute, peppers, garlic, and onion. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the peppers and onions are tender.
Turn the heat down to medium low heat. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, mustard, vinegar, brown sugar, and spices. Stir until combined.
Cover. Allow the mixture to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. While it’s simmering, make sure you stirring it every so often.
As I previously said, I don’t like textured vegetable protein as a meat substitute. The only one I enjoy is the Ground “Beefless” Beef from Trader Joes.
Sometimes I want to make one without any weird ingredients. So I found a way to have a meat substitute with only 2 ingredients.
Mushrooms can have a meatly taste to them depending on how you cook them.
Cashews provide the “crunch” and texture you get with browned ground beef.
It’s so easy to make and takes less than 5 minutes to put together.
So what do you need to make this meat substitute?
4 to 5 cups of sliced mushrooms
1 cup raw cashews
Combine in a food processor. Pulse for 10 to 12 times until the pieces are minced but not pureed.
That’s all you need to make the meat substitute. Pretty easy.
Tomorrow I’ll share one way I use the meat substitute.
A local park has an Outdoor Experience during the first weekend in October. Visitors can try out different outdoor experiences, watch dogs jump off a dock, camp out, etc . . .
You never know what the weather will be like during this experience. Sometimes it is cold, cool, or even wet. This year it was record temperatures. It was 80 degrees outside.
The Imaginative One got super hot and didn’t feel good for a while. He got some water, sat in the shade for a little while, and then felt better.
So what did I eat at this Outdoor Experience?
There were a lot of vegetarian options at the different food trucks. Vegan quesadillas at one food truck, hummus and pita at the Gyro food truck, and a red bean and lentil burger at another. I chose one of my favorite food trucks to get my lunch.
I love Harvest, especially the fries from there. The fries are a mixture of russets, sweet potato with herbs, and sriracha ketchup. Super yummy!
Here is a list of what they had as choices. As you can see, there were 3 vegetarian options plus the fries. It was a tough decision because I almost bought all 3 options.
The Sprouts, Melt, Black Bean, and Quinoa Falafel Tacos were my choices. I went with the Melt because you can’t go wrong with a grilled cheese sandwich.
As soon as Hubby saw my fries, he made a beeline to Harvest to get his own order. I shared my fries with the Wee One. He’s the more adventurous eater. He also tried the sriracha ketchup. Didn’t like it, though.
I also got a frozen lemonade that I forgot to take photos of. I shared that with the Wee One.
The Wee One and Hubby went off to ride in the kayaks, so I had the Imaginative One, who got super hot. We ended up getting food at a food truck called the McNasty.
The Imaginative One was able to get a burger there. I ate some Butter Pecan Ice Cream from my favorite dairy.
So that’s what I ate at the Outdoor Experience.
Do you want to see some photos from your experience?
The Wee One told me that all the dogs visiting the Outdoor Experience must be what Heaven is like. He told me he wanted to be a professional dog petter as an adult.
Thank you, random stranger, who stood there while he got a photo with his dog.
Dog jumping – So cool! One jumped 18 feet!
The Wee One kayaking.
Slackline
Very hot penguin – The Imaginative One told me he would quit if he dressed in a costume like a penguin on a hot day like Sunday.
High wire
White water
Now onto a serious matter. As you can see, all of my family members are wearing life jackets. After the experience closed for the year, a man in his 50s went into the river without a life jacket. They are currently searching for his body now. Such a sad situation for a great festival. Please pray/send good thoughts to that family.
Life jackets are important. Please wear them.
Hope you enjoy my photos from the Outdoor Experience.
I planned out the menu yesterday. However, after my day in the heat yesterday, I was exhausted. Join me tomorrow to see what I was doing yesterday.
Anyway, you’ll see some of the same meals from last week. I didn’t get to make all of the meals.
Sunday – leftovers – Hubby got us Chinese on Saturday evening, so I ate the leftovers for dinner.
Monday – Enchilada skillet pasta
Tuesday – Spaghetti
Wednesday – Minestrone Soup
Thursday – Sloppy Joe
Friday – Potato Soup
Like last week, I will post what the rest of the family will eat for dinner.
Sunday – They ate over at my mother-in-law’s house.
Monday – Sausage and chicken rice a Roni
Tuesday – Spaghetti
Wednesday – BBQ chicken wings
Thursday – Sloppy Joe
Friday – Potato Soup
As you can see, some of our meals are the same. They can add some meatballs to their spaghetti if they want meat. I have some meatless meatballs for myself.
I have sloppy Joe in the freezer for the family, while I’ll make a non-meat version for myself.
When I make potato soup, they can add some cooked bacon to theirs while I have bacon bits on mine. Did you know those are vegan?
When I’m in the mood for a baked potato, I’ll have it with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and bacon bits. Not necessarily healthy but good comfort food.
