Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Five Favorites Vol. 1

http://moxiewife.com/2014/04/five-favorites-vol-55/.html
 
For a while now, I've enjoyed the Five Favorites posts at MoxieWife.com, and this week I've decided to try doing it myself.

Number One:
Vidalia Chop Wizard
 
This chopper is amazing -- very quick and fairly easy to clean.  It also wasn't terribly expensive.  You can buy it at Bed Bath and Beyond or here.  I used it on Friday to make the recipe below.
 
Number Two:
Olivye Salad
 
Easter is here, and we got to eat meat, blessed glorious meat, on Friday due to the Octave of Easter.  I had a church Women's Society book club meeting, and I wanted to bring something meaty and good to the meeting -- yet I needed something that would work well cold, since I was facing about an hour's drive.

What would be better than an Eastern European recipe to share a bit of our future children's culture with the book club?

It was a huge hit with the club, and the leftovers were a huge hit with my hubby later.
 
Natasha's lovely version of it can be found here.  I also found out about the Chop Wizard on Natasha's blog.  So maybe my favorite should have been Natasha's blog -- but I have to stretch this out to five somehow, right?  #cutthen00bsomeslack
 
Number Three:
We and Our Children by Mary Reed Newland
 
 
Of all the parenting books we've read for our now complete home study (yay!), none of them really addressed the issue of introducing faith based learning to our children.  This book explains it very well.  Now, there is a modified (post Vatican II and new calendar) version of this book called How to Raise Good Catholic children.  I prefer this, the original 1953 edition.  I hope to get Mrs. Newland's The Year and Our Children, which discusses recipes, activities, and crafts for each liturgical season and holiday.
 
Number Four:
Goong: The Royal Palace
 
 
Not adoption, family, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, or in any official way related to this blog whatsoever.  (Unless you count it as something I amuse myself with in between scouring the internet for updates on Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, which is very much what it is, I must admit.) However, I am ADDICTED to this comic book series from Korea.  Usually I read Japanese Manga, so Korean Manhua is new for me.
 
This series is a romance in an alternate history setting -- the author explores the idea of what Korea would be like today if they had a monarchy.  Against that backdrop, she develops very interesting characters and actually makes an arranged marriage plot seem realistic in today's world.  The art is simply beautiful -- I love that it incorporates both traditional Korean clothing and modern Western clothing -- and in both cases it is so very beautifully drawn.  :)
 
Number Five:
Pimsleur Russian I
 
 
 
We love the Pimsleur approach for language learning.  It works great, and we do our Russian lessons when we're in the car together, either on the weekends or when we take SuperPup to the dog park.  It's fun to do together, and we are learning more and more Russian, which we use when we go to Russian markets, delis, and restaurants.  :)
 
It isn't the cheapest thing out there, so I recommend trying their free lesson to see what you think.  I will say, though, that they run frequent discounts, and that their method has worked really well for us.  :)

7 comments:

  1. Hello there,

    I found your blog through Hallie's challenge (Moxie Wife's 5 Favourites), my name's Olga and I'm Russian.

    So if you need some help with language studies or a new Chicken Olyvie Recipe or maybe even a Borsch recipe - feel free to ask me ;)

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    1. Welcome to the blog!

      Thank you so much!

      I'd love to try your borsch recipe -- everyone has their own twist on it.

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    2. Here comes The Borsch!

      http://spicylife.typepad.com/my-blog/2014/05/the-borsch-recipe-for-mamastork.html

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  2. Hi... found you from Moxie Wife too! Anxious to follow along. I am not much of a blogger... but I am an adoptive mom three times over. All US born... but when we started our journey in 2009, Kaz was at the top of our list but it didn't work out. May your road be a short one :)

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    Replies
    1. Awww, welcome! I hope our road is a short one, too, thanks. :) We may wind up in Kyrgyzstan (and with recent rumors that's where I'd place my bet -- guess I need a new blog name) instead. All in the Lord's timing and plan, I suppose. :)

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  3. Found you from the five favorites link up and found yours to be totally delightful.

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