Modesty and Miley Cyrus

Wendy Shalit, author of A Return to Modesty and Girls Gone Mild, has a great article in the New York Daily News on Miley Cyrus' performance at the Teen Choice Awards and her recent photo shoot with Elle Magazine.

I found this point to be especially insightful, let me know what you think!

"Then there is the August issue of Elle, which features America's favorite 16-year-old in a number of contrived poses. In one, she's in black stilettos, with an exposed midriff, striking a backbend-pelvic-thrust combo. On the cover, she's in a leather push-up bustier, her cleavage revealed...Elle editor Robbie Myers is at pains to explain, in her sanctimonious "Editor's Letter," that Miley, in "facing the camera" this way, is "offering a very clear view of herself" and "trying on a more mature persona." You see, Miley exhibited more than mere cleavage on the set that day; in going along with Elle's plans for her, she showed "genuine openness."...

Elle claims its interest in Miley is not titillation, but empowerment, "watching her take the wheel." Think about this for a second. Miley is a talented singer of chart-topping songs, a multimillionaire teen mogul and actress. She has launched a fashion line and is the envy of little girls around the world. Yet we are to believe the girl simply did not "have the wheel" until a fashion magazine induced her to pose with her pelvis thrust forward."

Read more here...

Homemade Banana Cream Pie

My husband loves banana cream pie. He loves it even more if it is made with a vanilla wafer crust! When we married, it didn't take me long to learn how to make a banana cream pie he loved. It used instant pudding, sliced bananas and whipped cream. It was quick and tasty. This year, I decided to branch out and see about making one from scratch. I had my doubts, but I found this positively reviewed recipe, Granny's Banana Cream Pie on Recipezaar and figured I'd give it a shot. It was...Amazing!!! Granted, the recipe called for constant stirring for 30 minutes over a hot stove....and I chose to make it on one of the hottest days of the year. However, it was worth it. In my opinion it tastes much better than the instant pudding version. I kept the vanilla wafer crust...didn't make sense to change that one!

Granny's Banana Cream Pie

This is pretty easy to make, but I benefited from the following tips:

• With the pie, unless you have a heavy bottomed saucepan, it is necessary to stir constantly. I don't have one. I used a silicon spatula and kept scraping the bottom to keep the milk from sticking.
• Be patient. I let it come to a boil on medium heat. After 20 minutes, I was tempted to turn the heat up! But, by then, it had noticeably thickened, so I had hope. From reading the other reviews, I gathered that if I had let it boil too soon, it wouldn't have thickened enough.
• The recipe calls for laying the sliced banana on the pie crust and then pouring the filling over it. Other reviewers mentioned this didn't mix very well. Instead they mixed the sliced banana into the pudding and then poured it into the crust. I also mixed the banana into the pudding first.
• I don't know if the milk selection makes a difference, but I used whole milk. I was afraid skim milk wouldn't thicken.
• I didn't have whipped topping. It didn't need it, but it would have given it that extra garnish and special touch. Next time, I'll pick some up.
• With the crust, I melted the butter and mixed it with the crumbs. I also saved some whole wafers to line the edges.
  

This post is linked up to Tasty Tuesday. (This is my first time participating!)

Menu Plan Monday, August 24, 2009

Last week's menu went pretty well. I switched the days around a bit as Ben talked me into getting a pizza on Wednesday night. It was a $10.00 special at our local favorite, Godfathers. Also, he had to work late Friday night, so I switched the night to leftovers.

I also never got to the lemon crockpot chicken recipe last week. It called for four thawed chicken
breasts and I only had four left, so I thought I'd stretch them out over two recipes instead of one new recipe. I have the sour cream for it in my fridge, so I'll likely make it next week, after I go to Costco.

Sunday: Chicken strips and fries.
Monday: No idea. I have to go grocery shopping, but I hope to glean some ideas from the other Menu's before I go. I am leaning toward Creamy Mac N'Cheese (a new recipe)
Tuesday: I am going to try a new recipe: Perfect Every Thyme Grilled Chicken I'll let you know if it is a keeper.
Wednesday: Italian Roast Wrap (but I'm going to make it with a hoagie roll) My last new recipe of the week.
Thursday: Breakfast for dinner. I have some buttermilk to use up, so I'll likely make pancakes. I'll serve it with fresh fruit.
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: Burgers on the Grill with potato fries. (not a rollover from last week, just making it again.) Grilling season will end soon, so I want to take advantage of the time left.
Sunday: Leftovers/FFY

Read more menus...or post your own at Laura's I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Ghost Town

I am not a big fan of ghost movies or horror movies in general. They scare me, especially after the fact...I have an active imagination. However, after I kept seeing the previews and read the reviews of the comedy Ghost Town, it looked harmless enough to see. I missed it in the theater, but put it on reserve at the library....along with 300 other people! My turn took a while, but it was worth the wait.

The movie stars Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, Tea Leoni. This is one case where the actors make the movie. The story is cute and at times predictable. However, I cared about the actors. I cared about watching them grow. And I laughed a lot at Gervais' dry, surly manner. The movie is PG-13 mainly for sex and profanity. I recommend parents watch it before their children too. The movie isn't really scary or violent. It could've been PG if not for some of the language and content.

This is a heart warming movie that I encourage you to see. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Menu Plan Monday, August 17, 2009

I realized I haven't posted a menu in a while, so I made it a priority for this evening! Last week, I had a great menu planned and I wanted to post it. However, it was a special surprise week long menu for my husband's birthday. Posting it online would have spoiled that : ) He was surprised, and enjoyed the treats! I made the Best Chicken Ever, breakfast for dinner with French Toast, Slow Cooker Swiss Steak, and Twice Baked Potatoes. For his birthday, we went out to Outback.

This week promises to be warm summer weather (in the 90s!). It isn't as hot as a couple of weeks ago, but still hot enough to avoid the oven. So, we will have a few leftovers to clear out the fridge and take advantage of the warm weather to grill out doors.

Monday: Leftover Slow Cooker Steak from Just a Mom, HA! I'll serve it with peach crisp. We felt the meat and veggies were very flavorful. However, I used Campbell's beef gravy, and we didn't care for the aftertaste. Do you have a gravy you recommend?

Tuesday: Burgers on the Grill with corn on the cob, grilled potatoes, and applesauce.

Wednesday: Leftover Chicken Tetrazzini with salad and garlic bread. The recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but I cannot find the one I use online. I'll try to post it soon with some pics.

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner. I'll either serve Farmer's Casserole (this is a new recipe given to me by a friend. It uses frozen hash browns, eggs, and ham), or if the weather is still warm, waffles.

Friday: Lemon Crockpot Chicken. This is also a new recipe.

Saturday: Taco night with homemade tortillas.

Sunday: Leftovers.

For more menu plans, check out Laura's site at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Oatmeal Cookies...Just a Little Thing

Last week, I'd been craving cookies...oatmeal raisin cookies mostly, but any cookie would do. It probably didn't help that I'd been reading Joanne Fluke's murder mysteries where the owner of a cookie shop bakes cookies and solves crime! By Saturday, I went and bought ingredients but hadn't had a chance to prepare them before Sunday.

Imagine my genuine delight Sunday morning when I found these left for me at church by my secret prayer partner! Oatmeal raisin! This unexpected joy was a little thing that brightened my day.

(They gave me more than one cookie.....
I just ate the rest before I remembered to take a picture!)

Camping at Nottingham

Last month, Ben and I took an overnight camping trip at Nottingham Campground near Mt. Hood. We left on a Monday. When I woke up Monday morning, I thought Ben was going to call the trip off. It was overcast, cold, and had rained the night before. And yet, he didn't say a word about it, so I packed warm clothes, grabbed our rain jackets and off we went!

As we drove, the skies stayed gray and cloudy. The end destination was a surprise to me, so I just patiently waited and watched. I watched as we drove past the cloudy Trillium Lake (where I was certain we would stop) as Ben continued on to the East side of the mountain. Then I watched as the skies started to clear, and the sun came out! The threat of rain was gone. It was a beautiful day! (Ben later shared that the East side is usually warmer, so he took a chance).

We ended up staying at Nottingham Campground. The campground was nearly deserted, so we got one of the better spots---right near a river. My only complaint was the campground was quite dusty. Everything got covered in a layer of dirt. Other than that, as you will see by the pictures below, it was gorgeous. An excellent overnight getaway.

Our view of the river

Pretty Wildflowers

This shot gives you a good idea of how large our campsite was!

Look at this tall tree with exposed roots!

My sweet husband making us dinner!

It was still a bit chilly, but I enjoyed spending most of my time reading by the river!