Geeky Moms

12
May
2017

Inspired Action Cooking – Breakfast Quesadillas!

categories: Recipes

We are so excited to be reaping the benefits of our new life living on a farm. Its so amazing to be able to get fresh ingredients that you know the energy put into their creation! Yesterday morning, in my excitement, I pulled together these breakfast quesadillas and wow – I’m in love! 🙂

Yum!

1 – 3 Gathered eggs from our beautiful free range chickens

2 – Freshly picked lettuce from our garden

3 – 1 freshly ripened tomato from our garden

4 – ground turkey sausage

5 – homemade salsa

6 – Mexican corn tortillas from the store 😉

7 – Blueberries from local farm

Instructions:

Brown the sausage in a medium sized fry pan. When the pink is nearly gone, add salsa. Stir in and simmer. Move the mixture to the side of the pan. Add 3 eggs and season to your liking. Scramble the eggs in the pan but wait until cooked before mixing with other side of turkey mixture. When eggs are done, mix with turkey mixture.

Heat the tortillas in the microwave for 20 secs so they don’t break when folded. Add 2 tablespoons of mixture to the middle of the tortilla. Top with cheese and fold in half. Grill in a warmed up pan with olive oil until brown on both sides and cheese is melted. The rest is history!

03
Apr
2017

New Windows 10 Features You May Have Missed

categories: Basic, Computer Help

Did you recently upgrade to Windows 10?

Upgrading to yet another version of Windows can be tedious and understandably it gets old having to readjust to new graphic interfaces every couple of years! Fortunately, this new operating system is proving to be a vast improvement from Windows 8, and some would even say its becoming their top choice over the beloved Windows 7 Professional!

Here’s some of the new features you may have missed:

The Task View button.

Use the Task View button on the taskbar to see and switch between open apps. You can still use Alt-Tab on your keyboard, but this little shortcut comes in handy if you are stuck to your mouse movements.

Hooray for Snap Assist.

Windows 10 Snap Assist Gif by Tech2.

Use Snap Assist to display a 50/50 split screen view of two apps. Drag the title bar (the bar at the top of the window) to the right or left until it snaps into place. You can snap up to four apps by dragging their title bars into the corners of your screen. Task view displays a thumbnail—reduced image of a graphic—of each open window.

Pin Apps to the Start Menu…like the Recycle Bin!

In the latest versions of Windows, the recycle bin hasn’t been very easy to access. Oddly enough, pinning the Recycle Bin to the taskbar was a bit complicated. Finally in Windows 10, the option is now available with a simple right-click. Open up an Explorer window and, under Favorites, click Desktop. Right-click the icon that says Recycle Bin and you now have the option to Pin to Start. This will place the Recycle Bin in the Start Menu. You can also put it on the taskbar if you drag from the Start Menu! You can’t drag the Recycle Bin shortcut directly from the desktop to the Taskbar, but at least its a step in the right direction.

Grab Images with the Snipping Tool.

Technically not new but you may have missed it in Windows 7. Go to your search bar and type Snipping Tool. Select New and select any area on your desktop or application you would like to capture.

With Cortana Personalizations, Your OS Can Say Your Name.

Cortana was the digital voice for Windows Mobile devices and now has graduated to Windows 10. To personalize your settings, type Cortana Settings in the search bar. Cortana & Search Settings will open up and from here you have a wide variety of personalizations.

Use a pin instead of a password.

Open the Start Menu and access the Settings section. In the left side menu of the Accounts window, choose Sign-in options. Now, if you’ll look in right pane you’ll see a section called PIN.

Advanced Command Prompt.

With the release of Windows 10, Microsoft was very excited to announce that Ctrl-V would work inside the command prompt. . Right-click on the title bar of a command prompt window, select Properties, and click the Experimental tab and there are several other new features you can enable. You can wrap text to the edge of the window, as well as adjust the width to whatever size you want.

Conclusion

Take some time and get familiar with these features and it will greatly improve your functionality and productivity either at home or at work. Are you looking to upgrade your home or business to Windows 10? Contact my friends at Magic City Systems today and they will help make the transition go smoothly and effortlessly.

10
Jun
2016

Stardew For Realz Homeschool Quest Series: Year 1 Spring 2016

categories: Children & Technology, Gaming, Homeschool

Stardew For Realz Homeschooling Lesson Plan: Year 1 Spring/June 2016

Skill Highlights:

Solution Creating

Mathematics

Science

Applied Technology

Research

Reading & Writing

: TotallyNotMan Stardew Valley Year 1 Fall

: LoggieGamer07 Stardew For Realz Year 1 Spring 2016

As a homeschooling parent, it often times takes ingenuity to spark your kid’s attention. In setting upon this quest to be the main leader of my kid’s education, I’ve been looking upon lesson plans in a new light; from a different angle; a perspective outside of the box. How do you apply mathematics, solution creating, computation and science all into one homeschooling project? Yep, my Geeky Moms friends, you’ve guessed it – by playing games like Star Dew Valley. Now, taking this a step further, let’s step back into the real world and make our own farming adventure a real life lesson plan.

Which brings me to this new Geeky Moms’ series entitled “Stardew For Realz Homeschool Quests.” Each week, I will post our updates on the types of activities and lesson plans built around Stardew Valley, real-world farming, computation, mathematics, solution creating, art, reading and science. (more…)

03
Mar
2016

Zentangle – Homeschool Art Project for Kids

categories: Arts & Crafts, Homeschool

20160302_115953 The Zentangle art form and method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas. Its an abstract method of drawing with repeated patterns within a pattern. For example, you can start with a myriad of lines on a page, fill up each block with a different pattern, and you have successfully ‘tangled.’ The great thing about this method of art is that its very meditative and develops focus and creativity. As tangledpatterns.com highlights: “The Zentangle Method “increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being. The Zentangle Method is enjoyed all over this world across a wide range of skills, interests and ages.” As CZT Margaret Bremner has written, “One of the lovely things about Zentangle is that it isn’t supposed to BE anything. Even more, it’s SUPPOSED to NOT be a something. … Zentangle is simply beautiful patterns playing harmoniously together. Zentangle-inspired art (ZIA) is another story; it can be Something if you want.”(Read more here from tangledpatterns.com… What is a Zentangle?)

I was so excited to give this method a try with my kids and art students at our local homeschool academy! We have been going through lessons on patterns, hatching, shading methods and perseption. Zentangle is a nice segway into colorful design, patterning and shading, and its so much fun. The added bonus to this artform is the only real rule is to just fill each section with a pattern. The kids are not limited to anything else, and can let their imagination and mindfulness roam on the page!

For this project, I purchased cardstock paper and colorful sharpies with different types of tips. Usually a fine tip marker or pen is the chosen method, but you can branch out into different styles of pens.

For the younger students, I drew lines creating triangles and squares on a page for them to start out. You can find a lot of starting page patterns on the web. I printed out sample patterns for them to get ideas, and there are a lot of those available online as well.

The result was a lot of fun and stunning artwork! The classroom was so quiet…it was like they were all in a meditative state! 🙂 This project is to develop focus and mindfulness in the student, and a also gives them an art method that they can take with them and go as far as they desire.

24
Feb
2016

Heart Sushi

categories: Recipes, Super Easy Holiday Creations

My sushi creations continue – this time with real yummy sushi! I was inspired to create something extra special for Valentine’s day this year, and what’s more perfect than strawberries, which are naturally a heart shape on the inside. It was a little tricky to roll, and you have to make sure to set the strawberry correctly in the roll in order for it to cut like a heart. When I make this again, I will trim off some sides of the strawberry so its not so big, which makes it a little hard to manage during the rolling.

But my kids loved it and at them all!

01
Feb
2016

How to Make Model Sushi Out of Clay

categories: Arts & Crafts

Clay Sushi Model made by this Geeky Mom!

I was gifted with some air dry clay to help inspire me for my art class. I’ve been wanting to make fake food out of clay for awhile, especially sushi! I was so excited to give this a try. Next project, I will test my skills to make an earing and necklace set out of clay. 😀

What You Will Need:

Air Dry Clay (I used the Crayola brand)
Acrylic Paint
Paint Brushes
Patience and Fun!!

I created the individual pieces for the Nigiri sushi and set them on top of each other to dry together. The sushi roll is all one piece with the exception of the filling. For those, I created little pieces of clay and attached to the middle to give it dimension.

Allow to dry for 48 hours, and then paint.

The Internet is full of ideas for using air dry clay. Explore and enjoy the possibilities!

17
Nov
2015

Project Happiness

categories: Homeschool, Parenting, Tools

I just discovered the Project Happiness resources. As a parent, homeschooler, professor, and teacher this site is a gift! As a child who grew up shifted towards the negative, and feeling the heavy darkness, I always looked for ways to improve my life via my thoughts and emotions. At the time I was seen as a Pollyanna, but now the world is finally opening up to the wonderful truth – we are alive to feel joy and have fun. 🙂

Every educator should instill these techniques and help our youth rise up even farther than imagined.

http://www.projecthappiness.org/why-creativity-makes-us-feel-more-alive/

09
Nov
2015

Super Easy Rice Noodle Soup

categories: Recipes

This recipe is so super easy and fast, even your children can improvise on this one! Its fresh and nutritious and tastes so good!

: Heat a saucer kettle with water. Add chicken or veggie bouilon and stir. As the water heats up, add sliced green pepper, frozen corn, carrots, mushrooms…whatever fresh veggies available at the time.

: Heat in kettle until mixture is steaming and boiling. Turn heat down and add dry rice noodles. Allow the noodles to cook until soft, then serve. Yum!!

03
Nov
2015

Super Easy Recipes – Asian Lettuce Wraps

categories: Recipes

Asian Lettuce Wraps

You will need:

Romaine Lettuce
Broccoli Cabbage slaw mix
Asian Ginger Dressing
Almond slivers

Separate lettuce into individual pieces and arrange on a plate. In a bowl, mix chicken with dressing and almonds. (Add enough dressing to cover chicken and almonds.) Heat in the microwave for 3 minutes. Top the lettuce slices with broccoli cabbage mixture. Add the chicken mixture at the end. You can pick up each lettuce wrap for easy and delicious eating. Yummy!

02
Nov
2015

How to Make Your Own Funny Gifs

categories: Geek Speak, Homeschool

Sometimes, our PE classes get a little out of hand. Today, we were doing our regular swimming lesson when suddenly it crossed over into the realm of crossfit. My son rode his bike into the pool, then dove in and retrieved it about 10 times! He said he was in beast mode! lol Sounds exactly like something my crossfit group would make me do for time.

But, during these antics, I decided it was a great time to take a funny video for my YouTube channel and Social Media. Gifs are so much fun to create and really easy to share. No video player or sound needed, and the message comes across loud and clear.

For this gif, I recorded a video of my son’s bike antics in slow motion. Then I imported it into a program called GIFMaker. Its a free app on the Google PlayStore. The app allows you to add text, apply a filter, crop the video, adjust contrast, etc. You can also use picture series to create a GIF. I left the watermark advertising the app on the gif, but you can certainly remove that option in the settings.

Here’s our result…just another homeschooling day on the Space Coast, Florida. I challenge you to make your own funny gifs!