Happiness is…
…my new KitchenAid mixer and Gormet Today cookbook!
I have been eying the Candy Apple Red 90th Anniversary Edition, but Sam’s Club had a deal I just could not pass up. Larger mixer with more power at a lower cost! My biggest delima was deciding on a color…red, black or chrome. As you can see I decided with the chrome. And much to my delight, look what was waiting for me when I got home, my Gourmet Today cookbook I ordered last week! My kitchen will be busy this weekend!
I’m sorry, but I did not “SPRING” forward!!!
I have never really been a fan of daylight savings, at least the “SPRING” forward part of it. Just can’t really adjust. For one, I am LOOSING an a hour of the most imporatant part of the day for me…morning sleep! Then when you add into the mix, it’s begining to go into the spring season and everything is starting to bloom and blossom, my allergies are in full eruption.
So now that I have reset the clocks on my microwave, the wall clock in the kitchen, the clock on my coffee pot, on the DVD player, in my bedroom and in my car…the rest of this week will be all about trying to re-set my body clock.
So if you are like me, here are few suggestions I found. Hopefully it will help you as well..
Get enough sleep. Start with the basics, you will be less tired if you get enought sleep the night before. With the time change, you body my want to stay up later. But start winding down your evening a little earlier to help adjust to the new time changes so you can get your necessary rest.
Watch what you eat and drink. Cut out beverages with a lot of caffine after lunch time and don’t eat a heavy dinner late at night. This will disrupt your sleep.
Get as much natural light as possible in the morning. Morning light tells your body that it’s time to wake up. So when you wake up, open up the curtains, drapes and/or blinds through out the house and LET THE SUNSHINE IN!! Better yet, take the dog for a walk the dog or grab a cup of coffee or tea and head out on the patio for a few minutes.
Hey, if you have any suggestions, please leave a comment. I would love to know what you have tried and found helpful.
Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Concert: Mary J Blige
I’ve gone to the Houston Rodeo every year since I moved here 16 years ago (WOW, have I really been here THAT long?). My boys were little then, and the year before last when my son and I went to see John Legend, my son made the comment of how HUGE the ferris wheel used to look to him, but now it did not look as big. “Umm yeah, your 6′ 5″ now, nothing looks big next to you” LOL
So last night me and my friend Ty, went to see Mary J Blige. It was Ty’s first time going to the rodeo, which really turned out to be an adventure for both of us. First of all, I usually get very good tickets…but I have lost some of my “connections” so the tickets I had for last night did not have a parking pass so we had to *gasp* pay for parking to the tune of $20 bucks to park in grass on what used to be the site of Astroworld (*sigh* I miss Astroworld). After sitting in traffic for 45 minutes (another thing I am NOT used to doing) I was about ready to turn around and head back home.
But we were on a mission…Funnel Cake, Smoked Turkey Wings, and Mary J Blige! And I am SOOOOO glad that I did not let frustration get the best of me, because this was the BEST concert I have seen at the rodeo thusfar!
AND I got my Funnel Cake and Smoked Turkey Wing…Life.Is.Good!
Not from the concert last night, but from a recent performance Mary did as part of her SIRIUS XM Artist Confidential episode on March 5th. Here is her emotional performance of “Color” from the Oscar-nominated film “Precious.”
Reusable Grocery Bags…
I’m trying my best to do my part to be more eco-friendly in 2010. Last week I stumbled across this personalized market tote by annemichelledesigns on Etsy.com (I am SO addicted to this site), and promptly contacted her to order my own.
I wanted one with my company name on it to match my logo design and colors. She contacted me today to let me know it was ready and I can’t wait to see it in person. I can just see myself strolling through the local farmers market with it on my arm (another 2010 resolution – buy local).
So it got me to thinking about my weekly grocery shopping trips and how annoyed I get over the plastic bags that usually don’t hold up too well, and tend to get thrown away. Data released by the United States Environmental Protection Agency on U.S. plastic bag, sack, and wrap consumption, somewhere between 500 billion and a trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide each year. Of those, millions end up in the litter stream outside of landfills—estimates range from less than one to three percent of the bags. In November 2009 the New York Times published this article that really sheds some light on where a lot of our garbage ends up, you would be surprised as to how much of it ends up back on your plate at dinner.
Vincent Cobb, an entrepreneur in Chicago, Illinois, recently launched the Web site http://Reusablebags.com to educate the public about what he terms the “true costs” associated with the spread of “free” bags. The website sells reusable bags in a variety of styles, sizes and colors. You can also find several independent vendors on Etsy that also make them.
OR, you can just make your own, they will just be as chic, cool and better yet…ORIGINAL! So if you are with me and feeling a little crafty, here are a few free patterns and tutorials to get you started.
Martha Stewart has a great tutorial for repurposing an old T-Shirt into Grocery Bag.
I ran across this blog by Wendy called Wisdom of the Moon and she has a great tutorial for Cheap & Easy Fabric Grocery Bags by repurposing some old sheets. You can make a bunch of these up for less than $2 each, and how cute would it look to have all your groceries in bags that are all the same pattern. It’s a simple design with sturdy webbing for the handles.
She also has a great tutorial for fabric produce bags made from repurposed window sheers.
Burdastyle.com has a free downloadable pattern that is easy to make, and even easier to tote with you, since it folds into its own pouch! I love the user photos that have been uploaded, it just shows the endless possibilities of what you can do to incorporate your personality into these bags.
~Z
Project Container Gardening – Week 1
I have very fond memories growing up helping my grandparents in their garden. They had everything from bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, green beans, tomatoes, onions, orange tree, avacado tree and a peach tree. But being in Southern California it was possible to grow just about anything.
So in my quest for adding more fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs to my diet I decided I wanted to give gardening a try. My challenge is being in an townhouse with no yard…so I did my research and found that there are several plants that can grow in containers.
I started with the Professional Jiffy Greenhouse
Professional Jiffy Greenhouse
The kit comes with 72 pellets in a reusable domed tray. They are made of 100% biodegradable peat moss and wood pulp. The directions on the package pretty easy and there were several reviews on the net where people have had very good results using this product. So I figured it would be a good start.
These are the seeds that I started wtih:
- Green Peppers
- Parsley
- Chieves
- Cilantro
- Basil
- Jalepenos
At the end of Week 1, this is what I now have:
