Spicy Scalloped Potatoes

Not my best photo but they tasted amazing!!!

When Lake Front first opened in Sarnia we had dinner there one night. I was very unhappy with our meals other then these scalloped potatoes they were like heaven in my mouth.

They were made with a local company's hot sauce called Front Street Heat. I decided that I needed to make them at home!

Finally last night I made and they were not 100% the same but they were amazing!

I created my recipe from mixing a few recipes over the years including using parts of our family recipe. I don't make scallops often because Richard isn't a big fan of them, I think that is why they are such a treat to my taste buds when I do make them.

Recipe:

12 Potatoes (I use whatever is on sale that week they were smaller potatoes this time so I used 12)
1 Onion
Mushroom soup
Garlic Powder (or fresh garlic whatever you have on hand)
1 soup can of milk
1/4 flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/4 teaspoon Spicy Paprika
1 teaspoon Front Street heat
1 bag of shredded nacho cheese


Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

Thinly slice the potatoes

Chop the onion

Spray your baking dish with non-stick cooking spray

In a bowl add everything except the potatoes and cheese mix well

In your baking dish layer potato, a bit of sauce and hand full of cheese

Repeat the layers until your dish is full cover with remaining sauce, put a lit on and bake 1 hour

Take out and put cheese on the top let stand for about 10 mins

Enjoy!

Paired with homemade cabbage rolls and corn

Discovery Western, A homeschool trip!

Western puts on a program for us each year for different ages groups.

This was the first year we were able to attend because of Blaines age. It was great. We missed the first day but we went for the other two days. The first day we went we learned about computer programming. Someone of the information I felt was too old for the age group they working with but they added in a magic school video on computer programing from the early 90s and that was neat. We made circuits that had a battery on one end, a button in the middle and a light on the other end. It was fun. Then mine and Sarah's son made motorcycles "powered" by these circuits. Oh the imagination!!!

In the afternoon we learned about colour coding and using ozobots that are programed by colours on the paper and created our own mazes for them the kids had a blast.

The third day (Our second day) we only stayed until noon because I had to do a couple of stops on the way home for the shop. But we learned how to program lego robots and guide them through tape mazes, we also did relay races with them and built with legos. The kids had a blast and once they had enough robots out everything ran smoothly.

However the third day we were in a tiny room with wheeled chairs, do you know what happens when you put 20 4-8 years old in a room with wheeled chairs? Unhappy instructors thats what happens.


We really enjoyed it, some of the parents weren't happy with the programming this year and some have no idea what it takes for Sarah to put it all together for the different age groups and make it happen. To me I am grateful for an amazing couple of days where my son had a blast and learned a few new things.

With the way things went, sadly there might not be a 4-8 years age group next year which is disappointing but I fully see where she is coming from! 

Two things I am grateful today!

As long weekends tend to do this one is going by super fast. I actually took time this weekend to relax and enjoy the weather, the outdoors and just being.

Today ended as fast as it started. I got to have breakfast at my favourite breakfast place and I got to go fishing.

I went to a spot I have never been before, today was perfect weather. Too hot for this time of the year but the wind which was crazy strong felt amazing. I got to lay on a rock and listen to water, with the eyes closed and feel the wind upon my body along with the heat of the sun.

I got to just be, no sounds other than the water and wind. Just quiet, warm, peaceful and perfect.

It was the most refreshing, relaxing and soul healing moments I have had in a long time.

So today I am grateful for the weather and for living in such a place where I can have peaceful moments like that.

What things happened today that you are grateful for?

Lottery!

http://clipart-library.com/clipart/pcoArexLi.htm

Everyone dreams about hitting it big and rarely does it happen.

This weeks winning lotto max is at 22 Million that is a huge number and even after taxes it works out to be about 19 Million.

I get one ticket each week, it is just a quick pick nothing special, I know a lot of people swear by picking their own numbers and that it is the only way to play.

If I were to win 19 million, what would I do? Well that is a pretty easy answer for me. I would put 9.5 million into savings.

I would give
$500,000.00 to my sister
$500,000.00 to my mother
$500,000.00 to my grandmother
$500,000.00 to my dad

$1M would be put into a trust fund for Blaine

I would give
$100,000.00 to Bullies in need
$100,000.00 to Heavens wild life
$100,000.00 to Pathways
$200,000.00 to 2 other local charities

I would pay off the house and buy a new SUV that doesn't break down every other day.

I would buy a couple of rental properties in town.

I would build the indoor play place that Sarnia so badly needs.

I would buy a house in the country so I had the room to foster more animals in need!

From my count that leaves 2.5M

With that I would take Blaine and travel all of Canada and few places around the world I have always wanted to see and get my hair done once a year.

Remember I have 9.5M in the bank which I hope I can live off the interest so that one day my child and grandchildren can pay for schooling in whatever they want to be.

Other  than my hair I don't think any of the things I would do with my winnings is too out there. There is nothing that I really really want in this life other than to help others and have security within my own fiances. 
I can't think of anything better than seeing the smile on the faces of those I could help!!!!

What would you do? Would you go crazy and wild? Would you save? Would you share?

Do you greet strangers?

It might be just a Canadian thing or it might be just a me thing. Every person or animal I walk by I either say hello or at least nod. If they have a dog and I am not in a hurry I will ask if I may pet it.

I feel if I walk by someone it is rude not to say hi or nod, but here everywhere we go everyone says hi as they walk by.

Even those people that I walk by and know from my past, which I am not a huge fan of I will still smile and say hi.


Always believing that you never know who needs that smile and simple hello as you pass by is what motivates me to do it. I guess you never know what someone else is going through and a simple gesture of kindness can go along way to making their day or week.


When I am in a mood and someone smiles and says hi, I can't help but smile back and it's almost like a mood changer in that moment. I get out of own head and pulled back to reality.

Even when we visit big cities I still do it, and most of them do it back or even are the first to do it. Cashiers I always ask how they are doing and wish them a good day.

Too many people in this world are grumpy with each other, the least I can do is smile and say hi instead of acting like the entire weight of the world is resting solely on my shoulders.

Do you say smile and say when you walk by people? Do you say it back when it is said to you? Do you think its a Canadian thing or is all around the world like that?

Notebooks

7 to be exact. I have 7 notebooks with lists in them. The past 2 weeks I couldn't find my baby shower list book ANYWHERE and it was driving me crazy. I have memory issues from the brain injuries so lists are very important to me. Without them I am lost for our events and other things.

Well today I finally found my baby shower list and along with 5 notebooks with lists in them that I couldn't find anywhere so either I had to create a new list in another book or well just be lost.

As of right now, today! I am moving my lists into 3 books instead of 7 notebooks lost somewhere in the house and me freaking out because I can't find it.

HOLY recycling, lists from who knows when and all kinds of other thoughts that were written down and forgotten about. I did find that I am pretty much done everything for my sisters baby shower so that's awesome. Note books with dividers built in are going to be my lifesaver.

I moved all my "lists" into one notebook. So this includes my daily to do list, shopping lists, baby shower lists, homeschool lists, co-op lists, and of course field trip lists.

All of my bullet journals have been moved into one, this is both mine and Blaines as well as my self journal.

Then there is one that contains ALL of the homeschool stuff this is field trips, and all the co-op planning things.


Do you list everything? Do you have a ton of notebooks? how do you do it?

Homeschool field trip: Children's Museum

Sarnia has a lot of out door activities for the kids to do which is awesome but it is lacking on the indoor activities so most of our field trips have to be help outside of Sarnia.

It is okay with us, but a lot of the homeschool parents from Sarnia for some reason hate to leave the city for anything so it makes it hard to get them out to things.


Today we went to the Children's Museum in London. I love this place it has so many great activities for the kids and keeps them busy, playing and learning all day!

I was shocked to see that play equipment outside was gone. The staff as always were amazing!

I was disappointed that a lot of the items that were supposed to work and be interactive didn't. Blaine had a lot of fun but it could have been better, and has been better in the past. There were a lot of things missing from when we went before that were always there like the working dishwasher and the "how to recycle" area.

They are opening at their new location in 2021 and we likely wont go back again until then.


They used to have rotating displays and this time it was all the same displays. On the first floor the dino caves and dig, the whale, the space pod  and a few things on the wall.

On the second floor there was an old school room and old kitchen. The big pretend play area which is always a big hit with the ride ons, Play McDonald's, house, gas station, dentist, police, post office, bank and grocery store oh and the firetruck. The crane in the construction zone doesn't work anymore which was sad.

On the third floor there is learning about the Arctic. With fishing, dog sled and other things too. Blaine liked the fishing the best. In the middle of the third floor is the pretend kitchen, garden, tree house and room to the side had houses that kids built and painted that they could go in and out.
On the furthest end it is the space station and star room. Most of the things on the space station are broken and we didn't get to see the star show.

I can't wait to see the new location and how amazing new play areas they are going to have!!