February 13, 2010

Today I made more lembas! My family ate the batch I had made the previous night. But today was different. I baked a double batch for us and another single one for a friend. 38 pieces of lembas is a lot!

The dough sure is tasty, though!

Here's the recipe for lembas bread:

Preheat oven for 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix 2 1/2 cups flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt together in a large bowl. Add 1 stick of butter to the mixture and mix it with a fork or pastry cutter until it resembles fine granules. Next, add 1/3 cup brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon and combine thoroughly. Add 1/2 tsp honey, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 2/3 cup milk (you may need more of the latter) and mix with a fork. A thick, slightly sticky dough should form. Roll the dough out so it's about 1/4 to 1/2 inch in thickness. Cut into 3 inch squares, criss-cross (don't cut all the way!) from corner to corner with a knife, and transfer to a greased cookie sheet using a spatula. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly golden. (Note: During the part where you must roll out the dough and cut it into pieces, I found that flour is your friend! Use well floured sheets of wax paper and a well floured rolling pin/ knife/ spatula. Also, don't get your family mad by forgetting to clean up after yourself! :))

February 12, 2010

Tonight, I made my first batch of lembas bread. For those who don't know what lembas is, it's a bread from the 'Lord of the Rings' that travelers would take on their journey. In the books/movies, a small bite could fill a man's stomach. That's not the case with mine, but the whole family gave it excellent ratings. I am looking forward to baking more! (L) An unbaked batch of lembas waiting for the oven. (The white stuff on the top is flour, not powdered sugar!) (B) The final result!

February 6 - 12, 2010

All week the whole family has been sick. After Ethan left, I woke up with a sore throat and later passed it to Papa. Also, Mama ate something that upset her stomach. So we've taken the week easy. One morning I made pancakes for myself and anybody who would eat them. Everyone enjoyed them.

(A)During the sickly week, I was allowed to watch the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy. They're my favorite movies and I never grow tired of them!

February 5, 2010

Ethan left for a Boy Scout overnight event this evening. He is still sick and he'll have to sleep in a tent outside. I pray God will keep him well.

February 3, 2010

Mama measured me to see if I grew, and sure enough! I'm a centimeter and a half taller. But most excitingly, Mom and I are the exact same height! I feel as if I've accomplished something!

January (oops! I mean) February 2, 2010

I got to school early this morning! I was so elated! It's hard to see, but my watch reads 7:58 am. :)

Later this afternoon, Mama and Ethan installed a new keyboard and mouse. They (the electronics) are awesome!! Apparently, the keyboard is designed to fit the user's hand shape so it's more comfortable for him/her. And it is! Mom wants to get one for Papa now.
Ethan has been sick lately and wearing a dust mask in order to keep his contaminated germs from spreading. He and I loved seeing Maddie's expression as she checked out his new apparel!

February 1, 2010-Happy February!

Today I actually got to school on time! Usually, I've been skidding into the school room a few minutes after starting time (which is 8:00 am).
Also, I saw some ominous clouds in the sky. They didn't look like a good sign.

January 31, 2010-the last day of the first month. AAAAHHHH!!

Mama and I are part of an Awana club called TREK. It is basically the same as the Sparkies, T&T, and Cubbies clubs, only it's for 6th and 7th graders. Naturally, I'm one of the three clubbers (the only girl!) and Mom is a leader. As a special treat, we brought these freshly made Rice-Krispies to club. I wasn't surprised when the tray came home empty! :)

January 30, 2010

Today we celebrated Mama's 47th birthday (which was officially yesterday). In keeping with our tradition of themed parties, my dad, brother, and I decided to give her a snowshoing evening. (Recently Mama went on her first snowshoing trip and loved it!) The below picture is of me decorating the dining room with snowy furnishings.

Below are some photos of the rest of the evening.

(R) The creative centerpiece.

(L) The chandelier and bannister. (They are hard to see, but there are also a couple snowflakes taped to the wall behind Ethan. There were dozens more beside those.)

January 29, 2010

Mama showed me these giant mushrooms growing in our backyard. I have never seen any " 'shrooms" so large!

(B) Mama is also into gnomes right now, so here is 'gnoman' (pronounced 'gnome - an') with one of our giganti-shrooms.

January 28, 2010

Look! Fog. How fun. I'm so excited. Whee. :-(

January 27, 2010

Behold! The sun! Or as one would say in Latin, "Ecce!" (pronounced 'eck-ay') It means, "Look" or "Here is."

I thought this was a lovely picture after days of overcast weather.

Today in Crew, the students performed an experiment about velocity. We would walk forward and toss a tennis ball into the air as we continue moving foward. The location of the ball was noted. Although, as you can see, we had a hard time throwing the ball straight up, not up and everywhere else!
(Yes, my drivers cap is supposed to be backwards. :) )

January 26, 2010

My mom enjoys needle-felting various animals. These are three sheep (the middle is a lamb) that she created. One of them she made while on a trip at Hume Lake. Naturally, he was named "Hume." (I forgot which one he is. :-/)