Author Archives
from Susan Narjala
So, about the Common Core…
Everyone’s griping about near impossible Common Core curriculum. In some circles, the term has become a choice expletive. You hear harassed moms shaking their fists and venomously muttering the phrase under their breath.
In my limited experience, it should probably be renamed “63 Inane Ways of Doing Simple Addition” curriculum.
Sometimes the curriculum dictates that my first grader to do ...
Free, Fab, FOB Christmas Art Project
If you told me last week I'd be blogging about an art project created by moi, I would have snickered. I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, crafty (neither in the conniving sense, nor like a sweet, old lady with knitting needles)
But when you combine the need to make your fireplace mantle look Christmasy with the budget of ...
Aaarrgghh!
Dear Mr Woodpecker,
I'm known to be a soft-spoken, friendly person. Ask anyone - except my kids and my immediate family - and they'll tell you that I'm patient, even mellow. But you are revealing a rather sinister and scarily violent side of my personality. I kinda want to punch your beak.
Don't start calling your lawyer ...
An Unlikely Example
Leaf through the Bible and you'll meet some amazing women of faith. Just think of one familiar Biblical name, Mary, and three examples of virtue, courage and faithfulness come to mind. But it's one of the Old Testament's less-venerated heroines - or possibly anti-heroines - who has been on my mind recently.
Hagar, the Egyptian slave girl, is an unlikely ...
5 Kitchen Hacks That Are Guaranteed…
...to not blow your mind, but are eminently do-able.
Yeah, I fall for those internet baits too - the "8 Ways to Blah, Blah," the "You'll Never Guess What Happens Next..." ploy, or anything with the word "hack" in it.
But you'll use at least one of my 4.5 tricks more often than the cutting-a-watermelon YouTube hack that has a bazillion views. You ...
Mommy Meltdown
It's been one of those days. The last straw was glass-splintering-decibel-level screaming from downstairs JUST as I sat down on the metaphorical throne to pee. I run out, barely even done, only to find the kids feverishly yelling from one floor down - asking if Missy M could eat rice with her hands.
I blow up. I ...
Pumpkin Chicken Curry
For my second recipe in the Susan and Shauna series, I planned to go with the Mango Chicken Curry. But when I was staking out her blog, I found a similar curry with pumpkin replacing the mango.
So in the spirit of the season, I bring you Shauna's Pumpkin Chicken Curry with Susan's Substitutions and Shortcuts.
First off, ...
16 Things Every New Parent Will Discover
Last week, the husband's brother and wife (to clarify, his brother's wife!) had a precious baby girl. She's far away in India and while we wish we could squish her and eat her cheeks up, we have little choice but to be content with Skype chats and pictures.
Huberoo has been dispensing free advice to the newly-minted parents - fulfilling ...
Weekend Chow-Wow: Honey Toast Cafe
Our weekends usually include one or two (who am I kidding? SEVERAL) meals out. I bid adieu to all culinary constraints and indulge without - thinking about - the bulge.
So, from here on out begins the Weekend Chow-Wow series - it's a Pow-Wow for foodies. I'll record our weekend's gorging, binge eating, face stuffing, food sampling indulgences. Maybe through ...
MEET SUSAN
