I was just reading at MomReviews about some neat toys called “Noah’s Pals.”  They have boxes that contain cards with interesting details and info about the animals, whether the animal is endangered, etc., which countries they come from, and what kind of environment they live in.   And you also get info on which Animal Family they belong to and their scientific name.   When I was teaching first and second grades, I would have loved to have had these educational toys for all my students and especially for the Gifted and Talented students.   We had a unit on animals and did extended research on them.   “Noah’s Pals” would be absolutely great to have in the classroom.  Also, as a Bible class teacher, I would love to have these for teaching about creation.  All the amazing details about each animal would help open the children’s eyes to the wonders of God’s creation.  So, whether these toys are being used for just the educational aspect at home and in the classroom or used in a Bible class setting, they would be great to have.  I am impressed!  I will hopefully remember to look for them next time I’m in the gift shop at the zoo or at Fossil Rim, TX.    Thank you, MomReviews, for sharing!

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) is a must in my kitchen.  I use it every day.  We first started using it several years ago to help lower my husband’s borderline cholesterol, which by the way is doing great.  I use it to cook, to saute, to season vegetables, as a salad dressing,  or to drizzle on garlic toast.  I pour some in a dipping dish, top with freshly ground pepper and it’s great for bread.  It also tastes really good to drizzle it on air popped popcorn and add a little salt.  In fact, we miss it if we eat popcorn without it.  The olive oil gives the popcorn a different kind of buttery taste that is delicious!  

I need to remember to pray daily for our military and their families.  These men and women are fighting for our country…for us, and we in turn are able to enjoy the freedom we often take for granted.  “Freedom” is not free.  It comes with a price.  And these brave people are paying the price.   They are sacrificing being with their families and loved ones, and some are living in nightmarish conditions.   Many have given their lives!  I owe them my prayers and support.   I remember to pray for them a couple of times a week, but they’re over there every day so my goal is to pray for them every day.

On the west side of Ft. Worth on HWY 377 near the town of Cresson is a really neat place called the Pate Museum of Transportation.   It is an awesome place to take kids for a fun, educational trip.   Mr. A. M. Pate, Jr., started the musem in 1969 with a small collection.  It has grown through the years and now has treasured antique cars, airplanes, a railway palace car, Army tanks, a Navy minesweeper, to name a few.  The two rarest cars are a 1917 Premier, which is probably the only model of its kind in existence and has a push-button transmission, and a 1904 Schacht, which looks like a horseless carriage.   Our son really liked the periscope and enjoyed looking through it to see what was outside.  That was one of his favorite parts.  Many senior citizens could probably take a walk down memory lane looking at some of the vehicles.  It’s a fun place for the whole family, no matter what their age.

Click to see pictures from the museum.

I recently bought a can of Organic Black Beans.  The can had the seal “USDA Organic” on the front of it, so I assumed the beans were grown here in the US.   When I looked at the date on the bottom of the can to check the shelf life of the beans, I noticed the words “Product of China.”  I was greatly surprised.   From reading some articles I learned that we really don’t know where a lot of our food comes from.   Most cans do not give that information.  Instead, they’ll say, “Distributed by…”   After hearing about food, toothpaste, defective tires, etc, coming from China that are not safe, I find myself wanting to avoid things from China.  I’m still reading and researching, though, to find out more information.  

When our two children were babies, baby walkers were popular.  We had a “Super Coupe” Walker that they both enjoyed.  Now that our daughter is expecting a baby, I’ve learned that baby walkers are not as popular.  Now baby bouncers are recommended.   At one of our daughter’s baby showers she received the neatest bouncer.  It has all sorts of interesting things for the baby that are not only fun but educational as well.   It helps the baby exercise but is stationary to keep the baby safer.

Ezekiel Bread makes great toast and is so unbelievably healthy. We like to toast it and top with Smart Balance and organic preserves. Yummy! We have been eating it for a couple of years now, and even our son likes the Sesame. It is so nutritious that I try to eat it often to help my FIBROMYALGIA:

• It’s completely ORGANIC!
• It’s sprouted 100% whole grain bread.
• It’s made from wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet & spelt which make a complete protein. That’s why Ezekiel was able to live eating only this bread with water for over a year. (from the Bible, Ezekiel 4:19)
• The protein quality is very high, so high that it is 84 % as good as the highest known source of protein.
  
• It has a total of 18 naturally balanced amino acids, all from vegetable sources.
• It does not contain any white flour.
  

I know from experience that I can have a slice of toasted Ezekiel Bread and a cup of green tea for breakfast and it satisfies me and I don’t get hungry for a while. I even use it to make my favorite peanut butter sandwich.

This bread is in the frozen food section. We buy it at Central Market, but it can also be found in the grocery section at health food stores. It comes in three varieties, our favorites being the Cinnamon Raisin and also the Sesame Seed.

If you’d like to make your own Ezekiel bread, click here.

Our toiletries and cosmetics are not tested for safety.  Some contain ingredients believed to be linked to cancer.  Below is a link to find information about a lot of the toiletries and cosmetics that we use.   The lower the number on the rating, the safer the product.  You can then click on the product name and you will be given information on that particular product as to the ingredients and the safety of each ingredient.  If you’re using a product with a high number rating (in a red circle), then I would recommend finding a safer product.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

The Collin Street Bakery is located in Corsicana, TX, and is famous for its fruitcake.  The bakery, started in 1896 by a German baker during the oil rush, makes its way to every state in the United States as well as many countries.  As many as 4 million pounds are sold every year.   Wow, that’s a lot of fruitcake!

My family received our first Collin Street Bakery Fruitcake, known by some Texans as a Corsicana Fruitcake,  as a Christmas gift when I was in high school.  I thought it was the best fruitcake I had ever eaten!  Several years ago my family drove by Corsicana and visited the bakery.  It was very interesting to learn about the history of the bakery and fun to sample different kinds of cakes.  Our son really liked it and asked if we could order one of their fruitcakes for Christmas.  Of course, we did.   Even if someone doesn’t like fruitcake that much, the bakery is fun to visit and sells all kinds of cookies and pastries. 

Click for picture.

This summer as we were traveling down I-35 towards Austin, TX, I asked my husband to take a short detour to the small community of Abbott, TX, which is just a couple of miles off the interstate.  I had always wanted to see the place where my mother attended high school.  Abbott just happened to be where Willie Nelson went to high school also.  Only he went there several years after my mother did.  The original high school was replaced many years ago, but it was neat to see the site where she attended even if it wasn’t the actual building.  We  drove a few more blocks to the main part of the community.  There were a few old stores still there and I realized that my mother probably went to some of the stores when she was a teenager.  And who knows, maybe Willie Nelson did also.

My mother passed away seven years ago, and so it meant a lot to me to visit where she had been even though the school had changed.  As we passed some old houses on the way back to the interstate, I thought about how some of my mother’s friends may have lived in those houses and she could have visited them.  I could imagine giggling girls talking about the cute boys in their classes , just as I had done, and just as our daughter had done.  Some things never change! 

Click to see picture of storefront  and other pictures in Abbott.