Every time I mention our grilled pizza people ask me for the recipe and instructions, so I thought I would post it in my blog.  The recipe for the crust is fairly basic with room for creativity:

2 and 3/4 to 3 and 1/4 cups of all purpose flour

1 package of active dry yeast

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup warm water

2 tbls. canola oil (you can also use olive oil)

I also add about 3 tsp. of parmesan seasoning blend, these are the brands I use:

Combine 1 and 1/4 cups of flour, yeast and salt.  Add water and oil.  Beat with an electric mixer (I use my KitchenAid stand mixer with kneading attachment), then beat on high for 3 minutes.  Slowly mix in enough flour to get to the right consistency, you should be able to touch the dough and not have it stick to your hands.  Roll the dough with your hands until it’s in a ball shape.  Spray a glass bowl with Pam and put the dough in it to rise.

I cover it with a light layer of plastic wrap and set it in the laundry room to rise for about 2 to 2 and half hours.  I like it to double in size before I roll it.

After the dough has risen I divide it half and prepare to roll it out.  I use Pampered Chef baking stones to grill the pizza.  I roll the dough out very thin.

My family likes a basic pepperoni pizza, but I like lots of veggies on mine so we always make two.  Rob grills the tomatoes before I cut them up and put them on my pizza.  I take a ripe tomato and cut it in half, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle parmesan seasoning.

We put the tomatoes directly on the grill and cook them until they are soft to the touch on the outside but still a little firm on the inside.

I then cut up the tomatoes and put them on the pizza along with pizza sauce and cheese.  I add other fresh veggies and pepperoni.

You will probably have left over dough, we don’t like to throw out perfectly good dough, we roll the remaining dough into little balls and drizzle with olive oil and parmesan seasoning blend.

Preheat grill for 5 to 10 minutes.  We grill the dough balls while we load up the pizza crusts.  Grill the dough balls on the bottom rack for about 12 minutes making sure to toss them halfway through, then move to the top rack to keep them warm while the pizza cooks.   Once the dough balls have been moved to the top rack then add the pizzas.  Cook them for about 12 minutes.  Remove from grill with pizza paddle.

We usually have leftovers to enjoy for lunch the next day.  I also use many variations for the toppings, it just depends on what I have in the house:-)  Let me know how your grilled pizza experience goes.  This is one of our favorite meals at our house because we all like to be involved in the process of making it.

Enjoy your pizza and dough balls, from our family to yours!

There are many viral media options for our children on the internet today.  We may think certain arenas are safe but danger can be just around the corner.  It’s important to sit down and spell out the dangers of viral media to keep our kids safe.  1 in 3 kids will be sexually solicited online.  Here are a few things you can say to your child to help them stay safe.

1. Never give out personal information

This one seems like a no brainer but our kids sometimes don’t completely understand what we mean by this.  They know not to give out their name phone number and address but what else is there?  Online surveys sent to our children by their friends can be dangerous.  These survey’s and questionnaires are forwarded on to others with along with your child’s responses.  Giving out your schedule can be dangerous too, it could be used to track you down someplace.

2. Make sure you know everyone on your friend list

It’s imperative that your child understands this issue.  Even seemingly safe sites like Club Penguin has friends lists.  Strangers can ask to be your child’s friend on there and have conversations with them.  Make this a rule, you can not have a person on your friend list if you do not know them.  Messaging a stranger is an invasion of their privacy.

3. Don’t send out pics of yourself or others

This one has become a big problem on cell phones and the internet.  Help your child understand that once a picture is out there, you can’t get it back.  Pictures not only identify you but it can be easier for predators to find where you go to school and your extracurricular activities.  Protect yourself and your friends.

4. Don’t return texts, IM’s or emails from people you don’t know

Our children must know that this is extremely dangerous.  Once a predator knows they have your attention they can try to persuade you to meet them or something else.  You confirm your personal information to the sender when you answer them.  Even if the person says they are “David’s” friend and you happen to know a David, it could be a lucky guess.

5. Don’t download content without your parent’s permission

There are many sites that have spyware that will damage your computer.  Some sites will include inappropriate material in their download offerings.  Parents you need to make sure you are checking your kids computers.  We check our kids computers on a regular basis.  You need to also check their computer URL history to see where they have been in case they have deleted their recent history.

I know this may seem overwhelming and some parents have resorted to keeping their kids away from all of this.  Truth is you need to have this conversation with your child regardless.  They will have access to these things at friends homes and they will find a way to use it.  You might as well have the conversation and help protect them from these issues.

Alexa and I were at Home Depot the other day and the cashier looked at her asked her if she was “playing hooky”.  Alexa looked at her and said, “no, I’m home schooled and I have already finished my school work today.”  The cashier went on the inquire about what we do in home school and how we approach socialization.  The cashier mentioned she was a casualty of budget cuts in our local school system and lost her teaching job 2 years ago.  It’s funny, socialization is the first concern people have with home school.

I have met many who home school their children in the last 15 years.  Most of them utilize the help of home school co ops.  This is a great tool for those who want to make sure their child’s education is well rounded.  Generally a group of people get together a couple times a week to trade off teaching and to give their children an opportunity to learn from others and meet other children.

I will admit we have only been a part of a co op for a short time and it just did not work out for our family.  We have used a totally different model to help our children with socialization.  Our goal is not just to expose our children to other people but to teach them how to interact with others.  We are fortunate to live in a community with lots of children around.  Socialization has proven to be a simple task with our daughter.  She is a natural born social butterfly.  People flock to her and she loves being around others.

Our method has been easy with Alexa but has proven to be more difficult for our son.  Elijah, as you may know by now was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at age 3.  Socialization does not come naturally for our son.  We must constantly make an effort to draw him out.  We have to be intentional about socialization with him.  He is 12 now and it is a continuing project but so worth the effort.

We need to think about what is necessary to adult life.  I like to take my kids with me when I am out running errands, not just because they meet new people, but they learn socialization skills this way, as well as life skills.  They learn about interactions with others.  We get to model for our children what a healthy social life looks like.

Whatever method you use for socializing your home schooled children make sure it works for each individual child.  I know it’s a lot of work to do different things for your children, especially is you have more than 2, but it’s worth the effort.  You will have well adjusted, happy children who can socialize with others.

We all have too many things on our plate right now.  We all get tired and we all need help overcoming fatigue.  We are all at different seasons in our lives but we can put these 3 things into practice to help us help our families.

1. Eat the right foods

You have all probably heard about sugar highs, those are accompanied by sugar crashes.  When you have too much sugar it raises your blood sugar levels.  Although this may seem good at some point you will experience a “crash” in your blood sugar levels, causing exhaustion.  I love fresh fruit, it’s a great sweet kick when I feel like eating something sweet.  I like chocolate and candy just as much as the next girl, but I only eat it after I have had fruit or protein to offset the sugar rush.  I like to make things easy on myself so I keep pre sliced apples on hand.  I was my grapes right when I get home from the store and cut them into small bunches so I can just grab a few and take them with me.

2. Make time to exercise

Most people believe exercise will make them tired.  This is not true in the long run.  Exercise energizes you and helps you sleep better.  You don’t need to overdo it on the exercise.  You can workout as little as 30 minutes a day and still get the great benefits in the long run.  If you are short on time you can even split your 30 minutes into 3 ten minute sessions.  Anyone can fit that into their schedule.  If you have children you can easily work this into playing with your children and you all get to benefit from it.  You can spend time with your kids and get exercise all at once.  If you need to, make an appointment with yourself to exercise so you can fit it into your schedule.

3. Get enough sleep

I know what your thinking, “she’s lost her mind”, but it’s important to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night.  I, personally, try to get about 8  hours of sleep a night.  I don’t have to tell you sleep deprivation causes a lack in productivity and short tempers.  We have all been there.  Sleep deprivation can have even worse effects than we thought, it causes many health problems and can even put a strain on our relationships.  If you just can’t make it work to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night then you have to work a nap into your day.  A nap as short as 20 minutes can help counteract the loss of sleep at night.  I know it’s hard when you have little ones to contend with but there are ways to adjust their schedules to help everyone in the family.  This is a good time to prioritize what is important.

Take the time to work these three things into your life and you will see immediate results and changes in your life.  I like to feel energized.  I would love to hear how you put these 3 things into practice.  Let me know how it goes.

Anyone who knows me knows I like to paint.  I like to paint the different rooms in my house.  I have been known to carry various paint swatches in my purse.  I carry the swatches to help me choose the coordinating items I need to go with the room I painted.  Well maybe I don’t need the perfectly coordinated items but I really want them.

This has been a long standing issue in my life and I suspect in the lives of many others as well.  I have a hard time understanding what I want and what I really need.  Sometimes we can’t tell what we really need until we are forced to make the choice.

When our daughter Alexa was born, in 1999, we did not have much money.  We literally had $20 in our bank account.  We had cut out many luxuries we thought we needs and realized we could live without them.  It became crucial to our families survival to truly examine what was really needed and what was not a necessity.   We suddenly realized cell phones, cable, gym memberships and many other things were all wants.  We didn’t truly need any of those things.

Having grown up in the church Rob and I had heard 2 Corinthians 9:8 many times but now we were living right in the middle of this truth.  God takes care of our needs.  This verse tells us God’s grace abounds to us and and in all things and all times we will have all we need.  This truth really came to life for us at that season of our lives.  God cared for us and covered all our needs.

That season in our lives helped us really understand the difference between wants and needs.  Next time you say you need something, stop to think about if it truly is a need or is it a want in disguise.  Life is much different for us now.  Although we have lots of wants in our lives right now, we know that they are just that, wants.  We need to always remember that God knows our needs before we ask him as it says in Matthew 6:8.  Leave it to Him to care for all your needs.  Ask God to give you the wisdom to see what needs to be done and ask for the courage to do it, and He will give it to you.

You’ve probably heard someone at some point say, “your body is a temple”.  This statement comes from the Bible, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.  The verse tells us our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit, we are not our own.  So what is a temple?  There are several uses for a temple, here are three.

1. A place of worship

We use our bodies to worship God.  This is a very difficult undertaking.  Worshiping God with our bodies means we need to take care of ourselves.  We must eat right, exercise and get enough sleep.  I know what your thinking, you think there is not way I can do all those things with what I have on my plate right now.  The question is, do you want to worship God?  If the answer is yes then we need to say no to some things in order to take care of ourselves.  We need to treat our bodies with respect and compassion.  We can worship God more freely when we’ve taken care of His temple.

2. The place where the Holy Spirit dwells

It amazes to think our bodies continue to run properly after what many of us put them through.  Many of us don’t need to think about swallowing, breathing or blinking our eyes.  Our bodies are well oiled machines.  The Holy Spirit lives in us.  We can not begin to explain our bodies and it’s operation without realizing that something more powerful than us is at work in us.  God created us, He bought us, so it makes sense that He would move in.

3. A sacred place

Our bodies are not our own.  We were bought at a price, Jesus’ blood.  Once we receive the God as our Savior, our bodies become a sacred place.  What do you do with a sacred place?  You take care of it.  We need to take care of our bodies, minds and spiritual needs.  We need to take inventory of our health habits and recognize what is not worthy of being in a sacred place.  We need to protect our temple by taking care of ourselves.

Let’s think about these three uses for temples.  The Holy Spirit lives in us and we need to take care of His home.  Eat right, exercise and get some sleep.  Spend time in God’s word to take care of your spiritual needs.  When we remind ourselves that our bodies truly are temples then we will make better choices for our bodies.

1. Facebook 

Free

• Update your status
• Upload pictures
• Read your news feed
• Comment on friends

2. Around Me

Free

Tells you exactly what is near you:

• Restaurants
• Banks
• Coffee Shops
• Gas Stations
• Movie Theaters
• Supermarkets

3.  Free RSS

Free

• Read multiple blog or RSS feeds in one place

4.  You Version Bible

Free

• Many different translations
• Online and offline viewing
• Bookmarks
• Commentary

5. Groupon

Free

• Daily deals in 40+ cities

6. Fandango

Free

• Movie reviews
• Buy Tickets
• Show Times
• Theater Locations
• Movie Trailers

7.  AllRecipes

Free

• Choose by dish
• Choose by ingredient
• Choose by “ready in” time

8. K-Love Radio

Free

• Christian radio station 24/7

9. CardStar

Free

• Keep all your loyalty shopping cards in one place

10. ColorSnap

Free

• Take a picture of anything and get the matching paint color

The choices for mobile entertainment can be overwhelming and confusing.  Here is a breakdown of some of the most popular devices and a few that are under the radar.

1.  FLO TV.   The FLO TV system generally sells for $199 and requires a monthly subscription of $14.99.  It has a 3.5 inch touchscreen display, integrated speakers, and lasts up to 5 hours on a charge.  The programming on the system is limited though and you are really at the mercy of what they are showing at any given time.  In the age of DVR’s many kids might be wondering why can’t I record or rewind this.

2.  Archos 404 Media Player with DVR. The Archos 404 is not a new unit.  It debuted several years ago but still offers great value if you can find one.  When paired together with the Archos DVR station for the 404 it makes a combination that is hard to beat.  The unit offers a 30GB hard drive to record shows.  With the optional DVR unit you can record shows directly off your TV without a monthly subscription to anything.  Your child can then watch their favorite shows whenever they want.  Live television might be great for sports fans on the go, but most programming for children is repeated so many times they are rarely really watching live tv anyway.  With this unit they can record what they want and watch it whenever they want, with no additional fees.

3.  iPhone.  If cost really isn’t an issue the best choice is an iPhone paired with a Slingbox.  When you hook a Slingbox up to your home DVR it allows you to watch any channel live over your computer or phone.  It also allows you to control your DVR and watch any shows you have recorded at home.  This combination is now offered on the 3G network so you can be driving down the road and someone in the backseat can be watching a show that is on your living room DVR on a iPhone.    The only downside to this setup is cost.   You’ll need an iPhone,  a $30 per month data plan on that phone,  a Slingbox, and the Slingbox iPhone app.  If you already have the iPhone though this is something to consider.

4. Zune HD 32 GB. The Zune HD has the best looking screen of any device, but is limited in content you can load or record. There is no option for live tv and it is complicated to get your own content on the device. This leaves you with the option of purchasing episodes, but over the long run this could get very expensive if your child want a lot of different episodes.

Home schooling your children can be a huge undertaking. When people find out we home school our children, they generally have the same reaction, “I could never do that”. The thing is, if your evening considering it, then you are halfway there. I compiled a list of 5 things that need to be considered in making your decision.

Time

Home schooling does not have to consume your whole day. You do need to consider how this will affect your daily routine. If you have smaller children it can take more time to do school than if your children are older, like mine. Take into account that you will be preparing lessons, monitoring experiments, grading papers and planning and leading field trips among other things.

Both parents involved in decision making

You have to both be on the same page on the decision to home school your children, this is imperative. It would be very difficult to home school if one parent is against it. Make sure you both understand the level of commitment this will require from you both. It is a team effort not just one parent involved, you both need to make the commitment.

Socialization

This is a real sticking point for a lot of people. There is a false understanding that traditional schools are great for socialization. There is very little time to socialize in traditional school settings. As home schooling parents we have lots of control over this very important aspect of our childrens lives. It takes a little work to make sure your children are socialized but worth the effort. Home school coops are available in most areas to help ease the work in this area. It can be done with great success, so don’t let socialization hold you back in your decision making process.

Financial and personal sacrifice

Home schooling can be done on very little money. It does require that one parent stay home to teach the children. This can put a strain on the family initially if they are used to two incomes. The personal sacrifice comes for the parent who must stay with the children 24/7. Our family is fortunate in that my husband and I both work from home, our whole family is together all day every day. We have done this for 6 years now with great success. You can do this too.

God’s leading

My husband and I both felt led by God to keep our children home to educate them. I am willing to admit that home schooling our children was not my idea. I actually came to it kicking and screaming. God’s leading was the main thing that got us thinking about this option in the first place.

We have never regretted our choice to home school our children. They have had the opportunity to learn and experience things that were not possible in the traditional setting. At the end of every school year we evaluate our curriculum and our purpose. God has blessed us with the opportunity to home school our children and we love the privilege of doing it.

1. Bounce Flash.

All DSLR cameras and many point and shoot cameras offer a hot shoe, which is a little metal piece on top of your camera for mounting an external flash. When selecting your flash it is important to get one that will tilt upwards, or bounce. This allows you to shoot the flash up at the ceiling and the light will fall softly on your subject, instead of casting a harsh shadow behind them. The lighting in your pictures will also seem less “fake” and will look more natural.

2. Get Closer.

Many photographers are afraid of getting too close because they don’t want to chop off their subject matter. Most shots though would benefit from a closer perspective as it offers a few advantages. It eliminates ugly background clutter from your shots and allows the viewer to focus on the main part of the image. If you are shooting at a low aperture, like 2.8 or 4, getting closer either with your feet or zooming will blur the background for you and make your subject pop. By shooting at a wider angle you are leaving more of your background in focus, which is confusing to the eye.

3. Use A Reflector.

The most important part of your picture is the light you provide. The easiest and most inexpensive way to provide good light is through a reflector. They can be used both indoors with flash or studio lighting and outdoors with sunlight. Most companies make reflectors with multiple surfaces to meet a variety of conditions. We use a reflector like this, Westcott 40-Inch 5-in-1 Reflector, in our studio.

4.  Pick Your Background.

Every time you take a picture of something your are shooting what is in the foreground, your subject, and your background, whatever is behind your subject.  In your final prints the background is more important than you may think.  Take extra time to make sure there is nothing distracting and that your background is pleasing to the eye.