Portable Spice Kit

Saw this tip on http://dollarstorecrafts.com/2011/02/make-a-portable-gourmet-salt-kit/.  Use one of the pill-a-day weekly holders and store spices in them to take on vacation.  That way you don't leave your good bottles of spice in the vacation home, or end up using their 20 year old spices you find tucked away in the cabinets of the house.  Not a bad idea.  A little quirky, but I like that in a household tip.

More IPad Dreams

Read on twitter (my new media toy) that Apple will introduce the IPad 2 on March 2.  Of course, if I am going to do the dream right, I have to accessorize properly.  Thinking this case/keyboard combo should do it.  Then again, I just saw this new product on www.kickstarter.com, so maybe I will have to multi-accessorize (is that a new word?).  I think I have an IPad problem....

Art I Need

Just discovered artist Megan Weston via this post on DesignSponge and am in love.  Don't know what her pricing is, but I would totally put her work on my walls.  Maybe I need a field trip to Australia!

True Confessions

I loathe Oprah and Martha Stewart.  There, I said it.  I just don't get the lovefest around them.  Maybe it is the cynic in me, but I think they are fakes who are brilliant marketers (not that there's anything wrong with that....).

Anyone else out there feel like that, or is it just me?

IPad dreams

One of my recent musings has been how to justify an IPad.  It looks like so much fun!  The games, the books, the apps...forget work.  I am restraining myself until the next generation comes out, as rumor has it that it will have a camera and maybe a USB port.  It looks like April may be the release date.  Until then, I will have to be content with window shopping for the Ipad and accessories.  Once I have unlimited funds and/or a fairy godmother, this is my shopping list:

The IPad

This cool stand for the IPad - perfect for using in the kitchen when cooking recipes from the internet

A case for the IPad

A stylus for the IPad

Shop on, friends!

Assorted Musings

Just some random thoughts for today:

I decided to join twitter today, mainly to make sure I reserved my business name.  I already have two followers, neither of whom I know, and before I posted my first tweet.  Who are these people and why on earth are they following me when they know NOTHING about me?

Just made this smoothie and it passed the taste test from both resident picky eaters, even the seven year old. She is the one who would live off cheese sticks, cheerios and strawberries if allowed.  It is light and refreshing, not heavy on the peach taste.  I am guessing you could up the amount of peaches if you wanted more.

Discovered Kickstarter, a funding incubator for all sorts of things.  So cool.  I "invested" $25 towards a cool stylus.  If the product doesn't make it into production, you don't pay.

It is a beautiful day here - I am working on my porch, watching kids and dogs play in the yard.  It doesn't get much better than this!  Well, maybe if I dumped the work part!

Smoothies

Working the Cleanse:

Still lovin' my smoothies. This creation, which received two thumbs up from the local 11 year old, was blueberry/pear.

1 cup fresh blueberries
2 sliced pears (left the skin on since I now have a vita-mix - yay me!)
1 cup vanilla yogurt
agave nectar to taste

Blend away and drink up!


Another favorite:

Pear/Kale Smoothie

3 pears, peeled and sliced
4 leaves of kale, de-stemmed
4 oz. yoplus vanilla yogurt (gluten free + extra fiber - what more could I ask?)
However much orange juice was left in the container (maybe a cup?)

Blend until a beautiful pear green color that you would want to paint your kitchen walls with, then enjoy!

I created these smoothies myself, so if you want to post them, please do so with a link back to my blog.  Thanks!

Phone Sheep

This just makes me smile - I love art with a sense of humor.

Phone Sheep

My little one wants to make bottle cap magnets.  I guess that is recycling on a smaller scale than the sheep!

Cleansing and God things

Well, someone asked me the other day how the cleanse was going and I realized I had not consciously thought about it in a week or so.  The answer is "pretty well".  I am doing better at not saying yes to things I really don't want or need to do.  I gave up wine, which I thought would be harder.  I really haven't missed it at all.  I decided my body needs a cleanse along with my life, and wine was the low hanging fruit.  Now comes the hard part: conscious eating.  I have been praying about this cleanse because I know I can't do it by myself.  Amazingly, I have seen God in the details.  Just little things, but that's all I need.  I am now seeing that in addition to being gluten free, which I have been for 2+ years, I need to work towards controlling the sugar in my diet.  I have given up artificial sweeteners for several reasons, and definitely feel better, but now I need to reduce the real stuff too.  And that means actively planning what I eat.  I am reading other blogs for ideas, trying to figure out how to fit diet and exercise into my life when I am already exhausted most of the time.  Of course, the diet and exercise might fix the exhaustion!  I'll let you know.