Monday, April 30, 2012

MauldenNews April 2012

This April was warmer than usual and quite beautiful, with many blue-sky days and flowers. We've even had some warm evenings. 

I really liked this picture by my friend Tammy.


Had a WONDERFUL weekend with 2 of my sisters...here we are in order, by age and inversely by height...aren't we gorgeous???






We went to an Easter egg hunt at Sugarhouse Park with friends...love the expressions here...





and we made our own colorful eggs with good old Pabst tablets and vinegar. 



Sam turned SIX with a swimming pool party...





and then we had 2 totally awesome weeks with Nana (Bryan's mom). She is wonderful beyond words. 



Finally...even though April may be over...as you can see...

...the fun never stops around here.

See you next month! Love you all,
Sarah

Friday, April 20, 2012

Tutorial 4 - Cum faci un trandafir prin metoda quilling

Trandafiri in tehnica quilling
Miniatura quilling: ghiveci cu trandafiri si magnet
Pentru ca nu ne nastem invatati aventura spre cunoastere poate fi un pic dificila, mai ales cand nu stii exact cum si ce sa cauti. Cand vine vorba de arts&crafts tehnicile noi sunt challenging uneori, dar cu un pic de exercitiu, devin basic stuff destul de repede.
Descopera martisoarele pentru primavara 2015


narcise quilling cu trandafiri
O varianta foarte usoara de integrare a unui trandafir quilling este sa creati alte flori. Eu i-am folosit pentru narcise de exemplu.

tutorial trandafir quilling
Mai jos este si un tutorial video pentru trandafirii din hartie in tehnica quilling, daca nu va descurcati cu pozele.

Astazi va prezint si un tutorial video care va invata cum sa faceti un trandafir prin metoda quilling. Clipul e in engleza, dar miscarile sunt de baza. Mi s-a parut cel mai simplu tutorial pe tema asta. Un singur lucru am de adaugat. Cand fac trandafiri prin metoda quilling folosesc slotted tool in loc sa rulez hartia cu degetele. E mai usor si scade riscul de accidente. 

Puteti accesa aceasta pagina pentru o lista de tutoriale mai variata. Iar aici gasiti un alt tutorial, de aceasta data facut de mine, tot pentru flori quilling: un ghiocel din hartie, model pe care l-am folosit pentru martisoarele de hartie din 2013.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

La Circul Magic in bucatarie: retete de Pasti - Terina de dovlecei

In ultima vreme ne-am cam ocupat cu alte lucruri, ca de exemplu degustatul de mancare. A fost Pastele, bine ca a trecut, acum e timpul de detox. Si totusi am dat peste ceva outrageously delicious pe masa unui prieten in seara de Pasti. Reteta lui personala nu a vrut sa o dezvaluie, dar am gasit o alta, pentru public, care sper sa va elucideze.

Minunea se numeste Terina de dovlecei si a fost un dar din ceruri pe masa incarcata de carne si mancare gatita, nu tocmai light. Reteta o am de aici, inca nu a fost incercata si de mine, dar e pe lista. Cine stie, poate de anii urmatori o sa o pun si eu pe masa de Pasti. Pana atunci, voila reteta si o poza ca sa intelegeti despre ce e vorba:
Nu ca arata delicios?



Ingrediente

2 dovlecei mici si tineri
putin pesto genovese
putin parmezan razuit fin (cca 1 lingura)
2 linguri ulei
sare

Preparare
  1. Se taie dovleceii felii subtiri, dar nu chiar ca pentru chipsuri, sa aiba cativa mm grosime. Daca folositi razatoarea Borner, setati-o la nivelul de mijloc pentru grosime.
    * pentru un efect mai dramatic puteti folosi dovlecei cu coaja verde inchis
  2. Se toarna uleiul peste dovlecel si se amesteca sa fie bine acoperite feliile.
  3. Se incinge tigaia grill cam 3-5 minute la foc mare (fara adaos de grasime).
  4. Se da focul la mediu spre mic sub tigaie si se pun feliile de dovlecei in ea. Se grilleaza 1 minut pe o parte, apoi se intorc si se mai lasa 1 minut. Dovleceii trebuie facuti doar pe jumatate, sa ramana "al dente". Daca gustati o felie veti simti ca nu e facut de tot, insa veti simti si ca dovlecelul a inceput sa fie usor dulceag dupa ce a fost prajit.
    * grillati dovleceii in ture, pana ii terminati
  5. Presarati sare peste dovlecei. Gustati unul ca sa fiti siguri ca sunt suficienti de sarati.
  6. Se aseaza feliile calde de dovlecei intr-o forma (rotunda sau patrata, cum doriti si ce aveti la indemana; chiar si o forma de chec mai mica e buna). Straturile de dovlecei trebuie sa fie cat mai compacte, sa umpleti cat puteti golurile. Puteti taia feliile de dovlecei astfel incat sa se potriveasca mai usor in forma. Tot al treilea strat de dovlecel va fi uns cu putin pesto (folositi o pensula si pensulati doar putin pesto, cat sa dea o usoara aroma) si fiecare strat va fi presarat cu putin parmezan. Daca doriti, puteti sa presarati doar parmezanul aromat preparat dupa reteta de aici si atunci nu mai folositi pesto.
    * forma folosita de mine are 12 cm diametru si 6 cm inaltime
  7. Cand ati umplut forma sau ati terminat dovleceii, asezati o folie de plastic peste ea si apasati usor cu mana ca sa se aseze si sa se compacteze dovleceii in forma. Asezati deasupra lor o alta forma similara si apoi o greutate (eu am pus doua conserve) ca sa apese straturile si sa ajute la compactarea lor. Asezati forma intr-o farfurie, fiindca e posibil sa iasa sucul dovleceilor din ea. Lasati sa stea asa macar 1 ora, la temperatura camerei sau dati la frigider daca o veti servi a doua zi.
  8. Se serveste taiata felii, la temperatura camerei sau usor incalzita.

Saturday, April 14, 2012

MauldenNews March 2012

This month we enjoyed watching winter transform into spring.  I try to remember to enjoy and appreciate the little ordinary things...a warm cup of coffee, first flowers blooming, the longer evening light, a good night's sleep.






The kids still like to sleep on the floor, bundled up burrito-style. I frequently find Alle curled up on top of her heater vent in the morning.


Bryan and I celebrated our birthdays this month. Both of us were lucky to be able to take the day off from work. We're grateful for another year of good health, good fortune, and the gift of family and friends.


 The candle-lighting is always fascinating.




Isn't he awesome?!?!? 


Other fun activities this month:


- kite flying! We finally got some good windy days and successfully flew our shark kite. It eventually ended up high in a tree, irretrievable, but it was a learning experience. :-) We have also learned that a $3 Spiderman kite from Walmart can be worth hours of fun.


- workouts - I completed my 90-day P90X challenge with stronger abs, bigger shoulders, and the ability to do kickboxing moves without falling over as much. It's a good home workout program and I'll probably do it again, but for now I'm really happy to get back to running. We have a new leader in our Galloway program this year and she informed us that we'd been miscalculating our walk-run ratios last year. So I'm starting over with new information and new training tactics and it will be interesting to see where it goes! I'm hoping to run another marathon in the fall - I want to run 10 marathons in 10 states, so I need to find one outside of Utah, Nevada and Arizona. Anyone want to meet up and do the Denver Rock & Roll in October???


Book(s) of the month: I really enjoyed the audio recording Being Peace by Thich Nhat Han. I also started reading Wild by Sheryl Strayed - her account of solo backpacking on the Pacific Crest Trail when she was 26. Her only weapon was "the world's loudest whistle" and she hiked for days at a time without seeing a single person - I bet it's more heavily populated now. I have actually hiked portions of that trail above Donner Lake and in the Desolation wilderness area. It makes me want to do another backpacking trip someday. My last attempt was sometime around 1994, when we tried to go with my dad to Yosemite and got snowed out in September.


And that's all the news. See you next month!