Blog - Upstate Ramblings

Good Hands for the Good Life

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Allstate for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

It is easy to get overwhelmed by fear and doubt, because it seems like bad things can happen at any time. But good things happen all the time too, and it is important to recognize that and not let the bad predominate. Watching TV news or reading websites can give you the wrong perspective, since they tend to focus on the bad and sensational, not the simple everyday good that occurs. This video from Allstate expresses that idea very well, check it out.

Braces Then and Now -The Invisalign Advantage

Braces certainly have changed over the years. I had braces back in the late 1970s, and they were awful! I had metal braces complete with headgear, that wrapped around my head and hooked into brackets at the back of my mouth. Of course it had to be worn at all times, even to school. I even have formal school pictures taken of me while wearing the dreaded headgear.

I looked for a picture of me in the headgear, but luckily I seem to have destroyed them all! However I did find a snapshot of my brother in his, and from my point of view an ugly picture of my brother is much better than an ugly picture of me, so here it is!

In addition to making me look awful the braces were very painful too. I remember quite well how much it hurt to take the headgear on and off. So when I was told that my oldest needed braces I was pleased to learn headgear wasn’t used anymore. But she still had metal brackets on her teeth, and they certainly were noticeable.

Broccoli with Mustard Seeds and Cumin Recipe

This is a traditional Southern Indian way to serve broccoli, and it is my favorite way to eat it. One of my college roommates was from India, and she taught me how to make this years ago. You can use the same technique and spices with lots of vegetables, but broccoli tastes best to me. It is a quick and easy way to make broccoli that tastes very different from the classic American preparation.

Prom on a Budget

I heard on the news last week that a Visa survey showed that the average cost of prom this year is $1139! My daughter Eleanor is attending her prom, and there is no way we are willing to spend anything like that for a one night dance! Eleanor is actually very frugal, and since she was paying for prom herself she was motivated to keep costs down. Her goal was to keep costs to around $200, and here is how it went!

Dress – This is one of the biggest expenses for girls. Luckily we learned on Facebook that a local church was having a prom dress giveaway, with hundreds of dresses donated by the local community. This is such a great idea, after all what are you going to do with the dress after prom? So we attended and had racks and racks of dresses to choose from. Eleanor wanted a blue dress, and we had more than 10 to choose from in her size.

MyAllergyTest Home Allergy Test Kit Review and Giveaway

I have had seasonal allergies since I was a kid.Â It always is worst in the spring, and I can expect quite a few days of watery eyes and a running nose.Â It seems to vary year to year how bad it gets, but it never goes away.Â One thing I have always wondered is what exactly is triggering my reaction?

Grilled Asparagus with Goat Cheese Recipe

This is a quick and easy side dish, combining asparagus with goat cheese for a perfect spring vegetable. I was planning to roast the asparagus, but then the hinges broke on my oven door, so I can’t cook anything in the oven right now! I decided to grill them instead, which is something I have never tried before, and it worked pretty well. I threaded the asparagus on bamboo skewers, so they wouldn’t slip down through the grates of the grill. You could just lay them crosswise on the grill, but my asparagus was a fairly skinny, so I figured a skewer would be easier.

Wordless Wednesday – Spring Bulbs

This is about the only time of year my flowerbeds look pretty!

Monsters University Activity Sheets

Here are some cute activity sheets for the upcoming Monsters University movie. Just click on an image to download a printable pdf. I love the idea of having a Monsters University Student Id, how cute!

Monsters University ID Card Archie on the Loose Game

Writing with Sharon Watson – TOS Homeschool Crew Review

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

I have always found writing to be one of the easier subjects to teach my kids – at least when it comes to standard school essays. But my sixteen year old daughter doesn’t just want to write research reports for history, she wants to write a novel! And creative writing is not something I know much about. So I was excited to have the chance for my daughter to try out a creative writing product from Writing with Sharon Watson.

Writing Fiction [in High School]: Bringing Your Stories to Life!

Progeny Press Review–TOS Schoolhouse Crew

All my children enjoy reading, and one of the challenges I have homeschooling them is how to cover topics like literary analysis, because they;d rather just read the book! It can be difficult to find something that teaches them to read analytically without destroying their interest in the story. To me it makes sense to pick a few books a year to cover in detail, and let them just read for pleasure the rest of the time. So I was happy to get the chance to review some literature guides from Progeny Press, which are designed just for that purpose.

The Golden Goblet Study Guide Things Fall Apart Study Guide

Progeny Press has over 100 literature guides, designed for all ages. I was able to review the Golden Goblet Study Guide, and the Things Fall Apart Study Guide with my children. I received the downloadable interactive PDF version of both products, which allows the student to type the answer right in the document. My kids loved the interactive PDFs, and much preferred to type their answers into the document rather than write the answers down on paper. And since both of them have lousy handwriting I liked it better for checking their answers too! I loaded the interactive PDFs onto flash drives, so my kids could carry it around with them and work on them on any computer, wherever we happened to be. This was very convenient, especially for my son, because we do a lot of our schooling on the go. The downloads also included answer keys, which was a big timesaver for me.

Supercharged Science – TOS Homeschool Crew Review

This past month I was able to review Supercharged Science, which is an online science program with over 800 activities, experiments and projects! My family received a free membership for Supercharged Science E-Science program for high school, and I was very excited to review this program, because science is my favorite subject. I am always looking for ways to make science more fun and accessible to kids, and this program is designed for that.

Chicken Tikka Masala Recipe

This is a quick and easy recipe that is perfect for busy weeknights. One of my roommates in college was Indian, and she introduced me to Indian cooking. The only problem is traditional Indian cooking is time consuming, and usually ends up getting most of the dishes in the kitchen dirt!. So this is an Indian recipe with some short cuts, like using canned tomatoes with green chilies, that ends up being fast enough for a weeknight meal.

Steakhouse Chicken with Mushrooms, Onions and Cheese

Computer Science for Kids – TOS Homeschool Crew Review

Computer programming is a skill that is great for everyone to learn. Not everyone is meant to be a programmer, but computers are so important today that I think everyone should have some appreciation of how they work. So I was glad to have my thirteen year old son try out a product from Computer Science for Kids.

Now computer programming is something my family has a fair bit of experience with. My husband and I both have degrees in computer engineering, and my mother was a computer programmer way back in the late 1950s! When my mom programmed she used machine language with “1”s and “0”s, but luckily there are much easier ways to program now. My son got to try out programming in Basic, with the Beginning Microsoft Small Basic curriculum. This is designed for children ages 10+ as an introduction to a simple, yet powerful programming language.

No-Bake Orange Cream Cheesecake Recipe

With Syracuse University playing in the Final Four this year I wanted to make a special dessert to celebrate and eat during the game on Saturday! It has been 10 years since Syracuse made the Final Four, so it is not an everyday occurrence. I received my Master’s Degree from Syracuse, and have lived near the school for many years. Luckily since their mascot is an Orangeman it is fairly easy to make something themed, after all there are lots of ways to incorporate oranges in cooking.

World Series of Yahtzee Game Review and Giveaway

My family always enjoys trying out new games! We recently had the chance to test out Hasbro’s updated version of Yahtzee, The World Series of Yahtzee. This variation takes the somewhat slow dice game and turns it into a fast paced game where having good reflexes are key.

My kids never want to play traditional Yahtzee because it takes so long to play. In our family the pace of the game is made worse because my husband always takes forever to figure out where to score his dice.

Pork Chops with Banana-Pineapple Chutney Recipe

I love to use fruit in main dishes, because it is any easy way to make a dish more exciting and more kid friendly, since most kids love fruit, like in this Banana-Pineapple Chutney to serve over pork chops.

Wholly Guacamole and Jennie-O Turkey Review and Giveaway

I have noticed recently that most of the (non-dessert) recipes I post seem to be spicy and involve chili peppers of some kind! This is because I enjoy spicy food and like to stay away from bland and boring tastes. So it is no surprise that I wanted to review the new Turkey Jalapeno burgers from Jennie-O!

Turkey burgers make a wonderful alternative to hamburgers, especially with grilling season coming up.

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