Do you do all the cooking in your household? Is it always up to the parents to prepare every meal? Sometimes it’s good to teach preteens or teens how to make their own meal, so if you can’t make it home in time to prepare dinner, they can still make something that’s filling and nutritious (something other than a peanut butter sandwich). I’m a senior in high school now, and though my parents typically still prepare meals, they can’t always be there. When that happens, I don’t have to order pizza or resort to mac-n-cheese; I can make my own meals. One of my favorites, which is easy to learn and teach, is an omelet. When I was 10, my dad let me help him make omelets. Each time he made them, I would help with a different part. Eventually, I could do it all myself. Here are the steps to create an omelet (like the one pictured):

1. In a medium-sized bowl, beat 3 eggs and an “eggs-worth” of milk (I use 2%) until the mixture is relatively even and a little bit frothy.
2. Cut up whatever extras you want on the inside of your omelet (I like tomatoes and ham) and allow them to simmer in a smaller frying pan.
3. After adding butter to prevent the omelet from sticking, pour the egg mixture into a frying pan that is large enough to let the mixture create a layer no thicker than a centimeter. Allow it to fry until most of the egg mixture has cooked through, except perhaps a thin layer on top.
4. Flip it over! Wait until there is no longer any uncooked egg mixture left over.
5. Turn off the heat. Now’s the time add the “filling” on top of one side of the omelet, add cheese if you’d like, and fold the uncovered half over this one. Salt and pepper as needed, and enjoy!

I like making omelets, because you can add a variety of “fillings” depending on your taste or what’s available in the house. Of all the meals I cook, I enjoy my omelets the most; they are easy to make and taste great!

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So, this is part two of my discussion of whether school projects are good or bad for students.  For those of you who haven’t read the first part, here is a brief summary: projects are very good for students, although they do have some negative aspects.  If you want to read it, here is the link.

Now, this part focuses on a specific aspect of projects: large portions of parental help and whether it is right or wrong. Based on my past experiences, I feel it is far more wrong than right.  But, I shall try not to be biased and list the pros and cons. (more…)

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There has been a huge rise in children joining social media sites like Facebook and MySpace.  Although there are some great pros and cons against this, how young is too young?  Would you allow your children to join one of these sites?

First off, there are some pros to allowing children to join social sites.  In my own family, I am able to share pictures with my nieces and nephews.  They are able to stay on top of my daughter with us living 720 miles away.

I am able to communicate with them in the medium of their generation, online.  My oldest niece, who lived on the west coast her whole life, and I have been able to bond greatly through chatting and social sites.  Now that she is a grown woman with a child of her own, I love sharing stories and quick comments with her. (more…)

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This year in physics class, I have had a plethora of projects to do.  I made an egg-safety chamber, a catapult, a propeller powered car, a mousetrap powered car, and a bottle rocket.  So, I figured, “Why not write an article on the pros and cons of school projects?”  And guess what?  I wrote one!

First of all, I am going to list the pros, just to build up your little spirits and then crush them with the cons. (more…)

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Every year, after Christmas, families rush to the mall to return unwanted, unloved, or duplicate gifts.  Now, this seems normal, but many kids don’t tell you what they really dislike, and others are just rude when they tell you this.

Many kids don’t tell anyone if they received an item they did not like, had another of, or find goofy.  Now, kids do this for a variety of reasons.  Some kids are afraid they’ll hurt the gift giver’s feelings for telling anyone this, and they don’t want to do that to anyone, especially family.  My younger brother, for example, didn’t tell my parents he didn’t want Tony Hawk Ride because he thought he would hurt their feelings. (more…)

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