Homeschool Laser Tag

Last week, we headed to Fort Wainwright to join a local homeschool group on a laser tag outing. My family recently had their first experience with laser tag, and were looking forward to going again.
RAVEN is one of Alaska's homeschool programs that are state funded. Their local branch is kind enough to occasionally invite us "independent homeschoolers" to activities, and I took them up on it.
Here they are getting their "pre-game briefing."

Wordless Wednesday: Alaska Courting Me Again

Carnival of Homeschooling

This week's "Carnival of Homeschooling" is being hosted at Consent of the Governed.

The hostess was so very kind, and highlighted my daughter's graduation at the start of the carnival. Thank you so very much!

Stop on by and meet lots of homeschoolers -->> Carnival of Homeschooling - The Homeschool Journey Edition

Light & Fluffy Carrot Cake

"Light and Fluffy" aren't words you normally see in association with carrot cake, but this one is!

Military Monday: Meet - Jenn!

This week's MilSpouse is not only a fellow Army wife...but a fellow Army wife in Alaska!

Introducing Jenn!

Chartreuse

When Jennifer and I headed to downtown Fairbanks to take pictures on Friday, we took some photos outside a shop with an interesting mural on the wall.

What you couldn't really see from the pictures, was that it was of a giant peacock. You can NOT miss this shop when you drive down the street. I have seen it a few times, and after utilizing their mural for my own use, decided to go inside.....

A Tale of Two Mixers

Just over a year ago, I got a wild hair to replace my Bosch Universal Mixer with a Kitchen Aid "Pro 600" mixer.

I spent a great deal of time going back and forth in my mind if this was a switch I wanted to actually go through with. My neighbor "Mrs. Q" had gone and bought her own Pro 600, and I borrowed it to make my bread and see if it did an acceptable job. I thought that it did, so I went ahead and jumped in with both feet.

One night I put my Bosch on ebay with a "Buy it now" price that I thought would be awesome if I could reach. Then I went to bed.

It sold before midnight at the "Buy now" price. Gulp.

So I packed it up and shipped it to its new owner...hoping I hadn't made a mistake. The Bosch served me well, but I felt I couldn't justify having two mixers and with our soon-coming move to Alaska, I was worried about even a single extra pound of household goods weight.

Then I went and bought this.

There's a Story Behind this Wall

You'll just have to wait and see.

Bloggie "Block Party"

Every year, 5 Minutes for Mom has a sort of "Block Party" for bloggers. It is called the "Ultimate Blog Party" and this year is no different. I am looking forward to meeting lots of new bloggers and readers alike. It was a lot of fun last year, and of course I will be participating again this year.

Oh, and by the way, gobs of bloggers will be giving away gobs of prizes....so if you love give-aways, you would love it as well.

Homeschool Graduation

Graduation is a special time for any high school student. For homeschoolers, graduation may look a little different....

Lemon Cream Scones

Today when I went to the store, I decided to grab a couple lemons for some lemon scones.
These are incredibly easy, and the recipe would be very familiar. It is identical to my Mini-Orange Cream Scones.
The only difference, is instead of using 1 orange, you would use 2 lemons. They taste like someone turned a glass of lemonade into a bread. Mmmm!

They Done Did it Again

A couple years ago, I introduced you to a dear friend and neighbor, "Mrs Q."


Well, last year, when we moved to Alaska, they moved to Germany. Shortly after they arrived there, they mailed us a package of goodies from Deutchland.
Well, they done did it again!

Some Good Fun

Last week, the kids had a get-together with the youth group, and went to a local indoor go-cart track and laser tag place.
This was the first time my kids did both.
The big kids had fun too.

What an Adventure!

This evening, I almost had to make my first auto insurance claim ever.

Almost.

In that I almost had to call Roadside Assistance out. Well, actually I DID call them, but things were taken care of before my insurance company could even figure out what to do, or how to list it.
Apparently Alaska isn't just a state far away from the other states, but a foreign country....or maybe another planet.

Military Monday: Meet Kathryn!

This Military Monday, I would like for you to meet Kathryn. She is a 24 year old Air Force wife, and the mother of a precious little boy.

Stop by and show your support for this "MilSpouse!"





~~~

Each week I will highlight a Military Spouse out there in the blogging world. They can be from any branch of the military.

For more information, to see a list of military bloggers, or to add yourself to the community of Military Spouses, visit: Military Mondays

Who might next week's Military Spouse be? Might it be YOU?

Mocha Cream Pie

Once again, this is my husband's newest, new favorite dessert.


Mocha Cream Pie

This uses all sorts of goodies.

First, before you make this dessert, you want to set your mixing bowl and beaters in the freezer for an hour or more. You want them VERY COLD because you will be whipping cream and lots more.

To begin, line a spring form cake pan with parchment or waxed paper. I think the easiest way to do this, is take off the rim, lay on the paper, and press the side back down onto it and close it. Then trim off the excess paper.

Now, you want some crunchy chocolate cookies. You can really use any kind, store bought or home-made, as long as they are crunchy and not soft cookies. You could even use oreos if that's your thing. You are going to pulverize these in a food processor. How many you need, will be up to your cookies. You will want around 1 1/4 cups of cookie crumbs. If there are some chunks left, that is okay.

***Note: If you don't have a food processor, stick the cookies in a heavy/freezer zip lock bag, and beat them with a rolling pin.


It's therapeutic.


Now, spread some of the crumbs into the pan. You want to evenly cover the bottom of the pan, and have about 1/3 cup of crumbs left over.

Now, in your cold mixing bowl, combine 1 pint of heavy whipping cream...

1 cup of Mascarpone cheese...

1/2 cup sugar...

2 generous tablespoons baking cocoa...

1 teaspoon vanilla...

and a generous tablespoon of instant coffee granules. (NOT coffee grinds.) Crush them with the back of a spoon, or if you have a mortar and pestle, take it to the granules. You want these to be tiny, so they will dissolve.

The last thing to go in the bowl, is 2 tablespoons coffee liqueur. This is one of the most well-known brands.

***A Note here....if you are set against using alcohol in a recipe, in particular because this is not cooked, or, if you live in a dry area where you can't get this, don't fret. Simpy increase the coffee granule measurement to 2 or 3 tablespoons, and that should give you satisfactory results.

Turn your mixer on low, just to combine everything, then crank it up and whip it good! Be sure to scrape the bowl a couple times.

After a couple minutes, you will have a thick, rich filling. You want very stiff peaks here, or the consistency of a heavy shaving cream.

Gently spoon about 1/3 of the filling all over the cookie crumbs, in little piles.

Then gently spread the filling out, pressing down as you go.

Now sprinkle on about tablespoon or two of crumbs.

Repeat with another third of the filling, crumbs, and final third of filling...and then a final sprinkling of crumbs.

To finish this off, shave some dark chocolate over the top.

Now, you are going to cover the whole thing with plastic wrap or foil, and stick it in the fridge. Or if you live in Alaska, and it is Fall, Winter, or Spring, you could set it in your entry way or garage.

Just saying.

Let this chill for 8 or more hours.

After it has properly chilled, you will pull it out along with a sharp knife.

Run the knife around the sides, and then remove the side piece of the pan.

Cut yourself a wedge...this may not be perfect, because this is a soft dessert, but looks don't matter anyways.

Mmmmmmm!

Enjoy!

Printable Version: Mocha Cream Pie

ALTERNATE PRINTING METHODS: HERE

Something Yummy This way Comes.....

Recipe to post tonight or tomorrow!

Choke Cherries

I was recently, generously gifted a large bag of frozen choke cherries, as well as some wild blueberries.  The blueberries I am good with, but I have never used choke cherries before...and am anxious to give them a try!

Any suggestions out there for some tried & true winners?

  

Today in Fairbanks

Today, my family had intended to go tubing at the ski hill, but we got up with two of the menfolk feeling yucky...so my daughter and I headed to the bustling downtown of Fairbanks for some fun!

Random Photos

My dear, sweet husband bought me a new camera for our 20th Anniversary. It isn't until May, but he won't be here for it, (Iraq is waiting yet again) so he got it early.

So, I have been playing around with it...I went and bought 2 books all about my camera, so I could learn the ins and outs...because the manual was tiny, and less than helpful! And it is VERY different from my old camera.

These are simply some random pictures....
Very first photos with my new camera, straight out of the box.

My son grabbed the camera and took a pic. I hate candid shots...I didn't even comb my hair!

Pine cones in the bowl on the table.

Coffee Cake.

I think I hear it calling me in the kitchen.....