The Chicago marathon is 10 days away and the date is 10/10/10. I will be donning my WW costume and running alongside BatGirl to complete the 26.2 miles! Just like all athletes, I have my favorite foods that give me "super" energy. One of those foods is granola! Bear Naked brand is my favorite, but I thought I would try to combine some ingredients and create my own!
Such fun!
Creating a granola recipe to enhance super powers! Guaranteed to creating jumping ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound, flying abilities to soar above the clouds and rescue others, and super speed for any marathon you would ever want to run!
OK- maybe not guaranteed, but mentally it sets you up for success! Try it you indeed will LOVE it! Today I made this wonderful granola and thought I should share its fabulous taste with my friends and followers! This has all my favorite ingredients and I tried with with a little milk or combine it with your favorite yogurt --- yummy!
Great for kids too!
Nancy’s Homemade “Wonder Woman” Granola
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
Line two large baking sheets with parchment or aluminum foil.
Mix together in a large bowl
8 cups rolled oats
1/2 cups wheat germ
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup toasted coconut
OPTIONAL: Walnuts and/or pecans
Stir in saucepan (medium heat) to combine.
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup honey
1 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pour over dry ingredients.
Spread the mixture out evenly on the backing sheets lined with parchment or aluminum foil.
Bake in the preheated 350 degree oven until crispy and toasted, about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Cool, and then stir in the raisins or cranberries.
Seal granola in an airtight container or self-sealing plastic bag. Store at room temperature for 1 week or in the freezer for 3 months.
(Please note in the photos it shows the raisins --- do NOT add the raisins until after you are done -- they survived my mistake, but it will be much better to have the raisins NOT crystalline and cooked.... ) Still yummy though. :)
9/30/10
9/27/10
"Roo" the Rooster- Macro Monday
At The O'Brien Farm last week I met up with a savory character.... "Roo" the Rooster!
Here is a note from Karin:
Well, heading out to barn to check the herd, horses, sheep, and chickens. We now have only 8 chickens. WE gave away all the roosters but one. His name is "Roo" and he thinks he is "the Man" now!!! He has 7 hens all to himself! Happy, happy , happy!!!!!!! ANd it is much quietter, no, all night crowing!!! I think he is too tired to crow after beiing "busy" with all his hens. LOL....
SO funny --- as when I went out there he surely was not happy that I was in "HIS territory" and came after me a couple times. :) Once I left him and his hens alone, he was fine with my visit.
I got some beautiful shots of him in all his color and really wanted to highlight him for Macro Monday.
Enjoy!
Here is a note from Karin:
Well, heading out to barn to check the herd, horses, sheep, and chickens. We now have only 8 chickens. WE gave away all the roosters but one. His name is "Roo" and he thinks he is "the Man" now!!! He has 7 hens all to himself! Happy, happy , happy!!!!!!! ANd it is much quietter, no, all night crowing!!! I think he is too tired to crow after beiing "busy" with all his hens. LOL....
SO funny --- as when I went out there he surely was not happy that I was in "HIS territory" and came after me a couple times. :) Once I left him and his hens alone, he was fine with my visit.
I got some beautiful shots of him in all his color and really wanted to highlight him for Macro Monday.
Enjoy!
9/25/10
Scavenger Hunt Sunday! September 25
It is foliage here in New England and the colors of the leaves are starting to change, it is so beautiful every where you go! Today we took a trip to the local Cold Spring Apple Orchard that is a base for the University of Massachusetts Horticultural Research Center. The orchard sits on a hill and overlooks the valley. Here are some shots for today's scavenger hunt. Hope you like my selections!
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Miniature
All the apples were huge and in abundance.... I found this one smaller one and decided it was my miniature for the day!
Water Droplet
(coming soon!)
Bedhead
Schuyler before shower, with the bed-head hair style!
Colorful
My sweet husband Steve, surrounded in green & red, coming along for the family outing, picking the last apples to fill our bag. Leaving the orchard amongst all the colors of the foliage in the scenery of these photos makes me smile.... how about you?
Eyes
The eyes of Schuyler are a joy to photograph time and time again. Even closed gives joy to my heart. :)
For more fun photos go to ---->
Love the Scavenger Hunt Sunday! :)
Miniature
All the apples were huge and in abundance.... I found this one smaller one and decided it was my miniature for the day!
Water Droplet
(coming soon!)
Bedhead
Schuyler before shower, with the bed-head hair style!
Colorful
My sweet husband Steve, surrounded in green & red, coming along for the family outing, picking the last apples to fill our bag. Leaving the orchard amongst all the colors of the foliage in the scenery of these photos makes me smile.... how about you?
Eyes
The eyes of Schuyler are a joy to photograph time and time again. Even closed gives joy to my heart. :)
For more fun photos go to ---->
Love the Scavenger Hunt Sunday! :)
9/24/10
The O'Brien Farm
What a day to spend a little time at the O'Brien Farm! They have new golden retriever puppies and I hoped to get some good shots of them before they grow up!
There are 12 puppies at the O'Brien Family and mom was asked to go outside (which she wasn't happy about) with Buddy - who is finally getting his cast off (poor golden retriever!) next week. It was fun to have the puppies all to myself and move them around, as all they wanted to do was snuggle with eachother and sleep. Only once did I get an open eye and it was tough to pile them on eachother, although it gave them a bit of "exercise". :)
I wandered out to the rest of the farmyard in the back and got to spend time with the rest of the "family" of horses, chickens, sheep, mini horses & the rooster... who really didn't like me nosing around his territory. He deserves his own post, so I will get to him in a minute. These pups are truly adorable! And the signs on the pens in the barn for these truly loved family animals is just so sweet to share!
There are 12 puppies at the O'Brien Family and mom was asked to go outside (which she wasn't happy about) with Buddy - who is finally getting his cast off (poor golden retriever!) next week. It was fun to have the puppies all to myself and move them around, as all they wanted to do was snuggle with eachother and sleep. Only once did I get an open eye and it was tough to pile them on eachother, although it gave them a bit of "exercise". :)
I wandered out to the rest of the farmyard in the back and got to spend time with the rest of the "family" of horses, chickens, sheep, mini horses & the rooster... who really didn't like me nosing around his territory. He deserves his own post, so I will get to him in a minute. These pups are truly adorable! And the signs on the pens in the barn for these truly loved family animals is just so sweet to share!
I am linking you up to the whole group of photos but selected my favorites for "Give Me Your Best Shot!" and "Photo Story Friday"- as this was just so much fun!


Hope you enjoy the photos - please leave a comment if you stop by!
Smirks, Moons, and Flowers & Fun! Photo Challenges of the week!
A few photos to share from the past week for some of our virtual photo challenges..... SO much fun to capture life in photos -- ENJOY!
"Crazy Boys" - for I Heart Faces theme of "Smirks"!
The look on Jacob's face is the best!

"Flowers" for You Capture!
Thinking a lot about the Pink Petal lately --- my purple hair should be in soon! These flowers were from the hanging flower pot.
For more flower photos, go to:
≈
Lester the Kitty for "Wishful Thinking":
This week's Wishful Pictures theme is "cool cats." I have these great photos of Samantha's Lester sitting on the couch. What a cute little kitty!
"Moon"
This isn't a photo challenge, but Ashley noted that Harvest Moon is this week and it gives me the opportunity to share these pics I took at the soccer field the other day. Love the moon! I think we need to get a telescope!
Hope you enjoyed these photos -
Please leave a note if you stopped by! :)
9/21/10
Scavenger Hunt: September 19, 2010 - "Wishes"
9/17/10
In a Yellow House: Art -- 3rd grade Open House at Swift River!
This week's challenge at In a Yellow House is "Art".... and this week was Open House at Swift River where we got to meet Schuyler's 3rd grade teacher and his classmate's and families. I really love seeing all the children he talks about all the time and there was no "meet the teacher day" for third grade. We got there late, and actually ended up having to wait in the hall, and Schuyler kept pulling on us hoping to escape because of a planned song performance later.... but we stayed and got to say hi to Mrs Opalenik and some of the other families that we have gotten to know and become friends with through the years.
They all grow so fast, it is fun to see them in action sharing their ART with their moms and dads. Schuyler is a little embarrassed of me with the camera so I do my best to be discreet. :) I didn't get as much of the atmosphere as I wanted to, but here are some of the highlights. The song was enthusiastic & great fun for the kids (YMCA with different words) and Schuyler hid in the back crouching behind all the girls that surrounded him.
In the hall: Schuyler's drawing of his book report "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" -- this is his current favorite book series.
Mrs Opalenik -
3rd grade teacher extraordinaire (She has received high marks from all the local "critics" aka: Moms!) I love the lighting in this photo as it shines down on her like an angel. She does a great job with all her students and we are so fortunate that Schuyler has the opportunity to experience her teaching this year. :)
Schuyler at his desk
They decorated a shirt brought in from home with a construction paper face & hands and we had to guess which desk was his.
The class singing enthusiastically for the parents --- this was following a version of Jeopardy that answered all our questions on their schedule and how things are organized in class. Very creative indeed.
They all grow so fast, it is fun to see them in action sharing their ART with their moms and dads. Schuyler is a little embarrassed of me with the camera so I do my best to be discreet. :) I didn't get as much of the atmosphere as I wanted to, but here are some of the highlights. The song was enthusiastic & great fun for the kids (YMCA with different words) and Schuyler hid in the back crouching behind all the girls that surrounded him.
In the hall: Schuyler's drawing of his book report "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" -- this is his current favorite book series.
Mrs Opalenik -
3rd grade teacher extraordinaire (She has received high marks from all the local "critics" aka: Moms!) I love the lighting in this photo as it shines down on her like an angel. She does a great job with all her students and we are so fortunate that Schuyler has the opportunity to experience her teaching this year. :)
Schuyler at his desk
They decorated a shirt brought in from home with a construction paper face & hands and we had to guess which desk was his.
The class singing enthusiastically for the parents --- this was following a version of Jeopardy that answered all our questions on their schedule and how things are organized in class. Very creative indeed.
9/14/10
Vote Today - August Photo Hunt Finalists: Nancy E Photography chosen in 12 categories!
Nancy E Photography has been chosen as a favorite and finalist to be voted on in the August Photo Contest.
There were 53 entries and between 16-25 photos were chosen for each category. So happy that 12 of the categories my photos were chosen for the final voting.
You can use any of the links I have posted - and then look on the left nav bar for the categories posted and vote for your favorite photo.
I hope you like my photos. Please leave a comment if you stopped by! ;)
Vote here
#6 in the Contrast category:
Piano photo
Vote here
#15 in the Eco Friendly Category
Rowboat at the Quabbin Reservoir
Vote here
#10 in Cultural Ethnicity Category
Coach Marian & player
Vote Here
#9 in Something Masculine (Whoo Hoo!)
My sweet husband
Vote here
#4 in the Something in Season Category
Coach Matt tubing on the CT River


There were 53 entries and between 16-25 photos were chosen for each category. So happy that 12 of the categories my photos were chosen for the final voting.
You can use any of the links I have posted - and then look on the left nav bar for the categories posted and vote for your favorite photo.
I hope you like my photos. Please leave a comment if you stopped by! ;)
Vote here
#6 in the Contrast category:
Piano photo
Vote here
#15 in the Eco Friendly Category
Rowboat at the Quabbin Reservoir
Vote here
#10 in Cultural Ethnicity Category
Coach Marian & player
Vote Here
#9 in Something Masculine (Whoo Hoo!)
My sweet husband
Vote here
#4 in the Something in Season Category
Coach Matt tubing on the CT River
#18 in the Flag Category
World Cup Ceremony
#12 in the Indulgence Category
"Volunteer with Candy at MGH"
#8 in the Feet Category
Barefoot on the CT River
#8 in the Feminine Category
"Expression of Spirit"
#16 in the Dry Category
"Mighty Dry and divin' In!"
#7 int he Light Category
"Connecticut River Anchor Spot"

#7 in the Wet Category
Schuyler Splashing & being SPLASHED!

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