Cooking 101: Mexican Vanilla by Terri

2 bottles of Vodka

You will need 7 Bourbon Vanilla Beans

& 15-16 Tahitian Vanilla Beans per bottle of Vodka.

Slice open with a new razor blade.

Split open the beans to expose the seeds.

Drop beans into the Vodka.

Tightly close and label the bottles with the date you began the process.

Place the bottles in a brown paper sack.

Place the sack in a dark, cool  pantry.

The next step is to leave the sack in a dark, cool, pantry without peeking for 3-6 months. Note: When I made the first batch of Mexican Vanilla, I checked the bottles after 3 months, decided the vanilla wasn't as dark as I liked and put it back in the pantry and checked it again once a month.  After 6 months my vanilla was still a little lighter in color than I was used to, but after opening the bottle I could tell from the smell that it was perfect.

Also, the website where I purchased my first batch of vanilla beans was "out of stock" of all vanilla beans this time around, so I did a little research online and found another website that carried organic vanilla beans. This time I purchased my beans from http://www.vanillaproductsusa.com/.

Celebrating Your Senior's Life...Reflections by Terri

Last week's mail brought an invitation to my nephew's graduation celebration.  It seems like just yesterday Lori was teaching Corbin to play the French Horn...where has time gone?

Graduation is a major milestone in every child's life.  It is the first opportunity they have to spread their wings.  It is a time of anticipation for both you and your child. You are both counting the days until they move off on their own to college or to their first apartment. It is also the perfect time to prepare an album of memories for them to take with them on their journey.

There are so many ways to capture memories for a graduate that many parents feel overwhelmed and don't even try.  Others have photos scattered all over their house or in various files on their hard drive.  I hope to share with you some suggestions that will make this process a simple project that will be profoundly appreciated by your child.  It will be even more special if both parents participate in the selection of photos and the telling of stories.

First of all I must tell you that there is no right or wrong way to create a graduation album.  The options are limitless.  You don't have to spend lots of money or be terribly creative.  You do need to include as many photos as you can and tell the story that goes with the photos.  By this I mean you need to tell why it was important to you to take that photo.

You can start at your child's birth or you can start with their school days or maybe even just their Senior Year.  It all depends on you and how much time you have to spend on the project.  It is possible to make a complete graduation album in the time left before your child graduates. I have known some parents to sit down at their computer, and in just 3 or 4 hours complete an incredible digital album.  Creative Memories StoryBook Creator Plus Software is so user friendly that you will be amazed at what you can accomplish. With a little additional time you can even use some of the special tools that make this software unique.  If you choose to create a traditional album you will need a little more time, perhaps a complete weekend. However,  you do need to be reasonable about how much you will include in the album.

Shortly before my oldest child, David, graduated I read an article in a scrapbooking magazine about how a woman had created a "tribute" album for her husband's 50th birthday.  This article inspired me to create a similar "tribute" album for David's graduation album.

I secretly sent out a letter asking David's friends and family to take a few minutes to "ponder" about David.  I invited them to write a message to him telling him something they admired about him, what trait or characteristic they liked most about him, something he had done that had uplifted or inspired them, how he had positively influenced their life, or just wishes for him in the future.  The response was overwhelming. I knew that David was an incredible person, what pleased me was that everyone else felt the same way about him. I scattered these letters through the entire album.

In David's book the first few pages included the Graduation details including...  

 

Official Invitation

Beautiful photo taken by Mrs. Fogelin...

After that I told the story of his life including... 

Birth Announcement...

and Hospital photos...

welcome home poster from a young friend...

Photos and memorabilia from...

 

Toddler Days...

 Preschool Days...

 

First Day of Kindergarten...

 Since Davy started kindergarten each year we took pictures of

the kids leaving for school on the first day of school.   

cub scout activities...

Davy's first art contest submission at age 7...

family reunions...

Birthday cards drawn by Uncle Mark... 

Uncle Earl and Aunt Karen's wedding...

  followed by trip to the Ozarks...

  Projects from "PEAK" class..."PEAK" class for gifted and talented kids was Davy's favorite class in elementary... 

As David got older I also included:  

Photos of David Playing football at Bedford Jr. High...

Dave's first drivers license 

Dave's First Job KMart...

Photos from Church work camp...

Photos from Church Camp...

More first day of school photos...

Dave's Senior Project at 6 Flags...

 induction into National Honor Society...

 induction into National Art Honor Society...

church activities such as LTC...

Give Away Day...

and TREK Wilderness Camp...

 visiting ACU for scholarship interview...

L D Bell Prom...

Lamar Prom...

Church Senior Banquet...

Baccalaureate

Graduation...

 Graduation picnic ...

My favorite part of his album had to be the messages from his friends and family.  After reading these notes I knew David's book would be a special treasure to him always.  Dave's album was a gift of love a reminder of the wonderful times he had growing up.  I hope you will consider creating a graduation album for your child.  Terri