Off to a good start

In keeping with the concept that "It's not over after 30" I've embarked on a sort of "upgrade" for myself. Nothing drastic like botox (luckily I'm not in need of that yet) or plastic surgery. More of a do-it-yourself project, on myself.

The first thing I've tackled... Vitamins... I admit, I'm horrible about remembering to take them, but I'm working on it. I've also started back up on my iron supplements (I tend to be anemic) in an effor to bring myself some more energy.

I've also modified my diet. Again, nothing radical like "No-Carb", "Low-Carb", or "Cardboard Only" I'm just focusing on moderation and cutting out processed food where I can. The biggest change being sodium content. I'm trying to stick with the recommended Sodium allowance. I've never really had problems with my blood pressure, and I've never been one who was heavy handed with the salt shaker, but when I started looking at sodium content of items, I was shocked at how much sodium I was seeing. I've not outlawed anything completely, just keeping in mind the best ways to serve them.

I've actually came up with some great recipes that are healthy, low cal, and low sodium... oh and most importantly... TASTY... that I'll start sharing periodically on here. For those of you who see me chattering on about something on FB, just ask if I mention a recipe that I haven't shared and I'll be happy to pass it along.

The one item I have pretty much eliminated from my diet... Soda... It's really more of breaking a habit... But it's a great way to cut out carbonation (which excess can make you feel bloated) cut out sodium, caffeine, sugar (or sugar substitutes...which still make you crave sweets). I went an entire week without drinking any. I really wanted the "cola" taste, and had been trying to find a 20 oz Diet RC or Diet Rite (since they have no sodium, blah, blah, blah) but hadn't had any luck, so I did go yesterday and pick up a 6 pack of bottles at the grocery store... However, I only had one yesterday (and split that w/ the roomie) It was tasty, and I think it satisfied the craving... so I'm going to see if I can stretch those and only drink one per week.

I also need to get my Wii hooked back up (I took it to a friends awhile back, and haven't gotten around to setting it back up) so that I can hook up my Wii Fit and see how that works now that the monster lives here... Should prove to be interesting...

So, each week, I am weighing myself. And when I weighed in this week... I discovered that I had lost 10lbs! Now, I'm not crazy enough to believe that I'll lose that much every week... I know that because I cut my sodium down to a more sensible amount, I've definitely shed some water weight, so we'll see what this week holds for me.

That's all for now!

A great weekend

Well, I really have been MIA on the blogosphere lately huh? It's been a pretty crazy several weeks. After I wrapped up spring classes, I thought I'd have a bit more time, unfortunately that wasn't the case. Life happens. My summer class was VERY involved, my mom had a health scare, and life just seemed chaotic... I am glad to say I came through the other side unscathed (AND my Mom did too!!!!)

So, while I've had tons of ideas for blogging topics, I just haven't been able to manage to park myself down and start writing. Hopefully, I've turned the tide on that... I'm slowly trying to work my way back into the blogosphere...

My first blog back... is about my fabulous weekend trip to the 'Nati (Cincinnati) to see NKOTB (New Kids On the Block).

So, a few months ago, my best friend, being the great and wonderful person that he is, suprised me with an early birthday present of tickets to NKOTB... I cannot tell you how thrilled I was! I was a HUGE fan of NKOTB as a tween... you have know idea... I mean, my mom was pregant during this phase, and when I found it was supposed to be a boy, I begged my mom to name him Jordan Nathaniel Marcel (Jordan Knight's full name). I didn't manage to get the whole name to stick, but mom liked Nathaniel...

So, the concert was this past weekend. We decided to drive up a little early and stop and grab dinner first, at La Rosa's, yummy!!! Of course the fun part was getting from La Rosa's to the concert... See we had GPS'd ourselves to the restaurant. The plan was to then GPS from the restaurant to the concert. HA! When we got back into the car, even though the GPS had just sent us to this place, it now couldn't locate us. We thought maybe if we drove a little further back up our route, away from the trees, we'd have better luck... we were wrong... It was almost comical, we drove around Newport, and crossed over into Ohio before GPS found us. Luckily, we had managed to figure out on our own the direction to head, and we were headed the right way. Which is really a good thing, because GPS lost our signal again along the way.

We finally made it to Riverbend and parked. Then we completed what seemed like a 2 mile trek to get to the actual gates. Once we got inside the gates, we decided to go ahead and check out the concert merchandise and get something to drink before we headed to the seats. It was still rather humid out and pretty sunny... so in standing in line for both, the sun was beating down... and everyone standing around, including ourselves were sweating horribly.

The concert itself was great. The Jabbawokeez were the first opening act, they were suprisingly entertaining. Jesse McCartney was the second act. Then my boys were on. It was a great show, with alot of their old stuff mixed in with some new stuff. I got some great pics and had a blast. Of course by the time we drove home, I was more than ready to hop in a shower and get rid of the funk!

Crazy 8's

Natalie over at A Little of This, A Little of That tagged me for this meme.

THE RULES: Mention who tagged you. (check!)

Complete the list of 8’s.

Tag 8 other people.

8 THINGS I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO:
(1) Public Speaking Class being over
(2) Vegas in October
(3) NKOTB concert in a few weeks
(4) Did I mention Public Speaking Class being over soon?
(5) Transferring to NKU in the Spring
(6) Kevin getting home to assist in monster watch
(7) Retirement (I've still got awhile)
(8) Oh yeah, Public Speaking Class ending... (lol)

8 THINGS I DID YESTERDAY:
(1) Bought a very expensive pair of black pants
(2) Bought a very awesome pair of black pants
(3) Contemplated whether the awesomeness outweighed the price of the black pants
(4) Took a bath while the monster spied on me
(5) Went to my FAVORITE class
(6) Gave a speech in my FAVORITE class
(7) Decided to grab dinner from a restaurant, because it was late and I was tired
(8) Ended the day with a good book and a hot bath

8 THINGS I WISH I COULD DO:
(1) Not go back to work until I finish school
(2) Find a job that paid me to stay home and go to school
(3) Retire at 31
(4) Figure out how to trap the house elves here to keep my place clean
(5) Catch up on sleep
(6) Remember to take my vitamins
(7) Eat Spaghetti
(8) Invent something that would make me millions of dollars

8 SHOWS I WATCH: ( I am going with what's on right now, everything it seems is in reruns)
(1) RW/RR Challenges (guilty pleasure)
(2) I'm a Celebrity, Get Me out of Here (Junkfood for the brain)
(3) The Goode Family
(4) Little House on the Prairie (yes, I've seen them before, I still watch 'em... I actually RECORD them to watch!)
(5) Jon & Kate, plus 8 (yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah... those little kidlets are cute... leave me alone!)
(6) Rachael Ray Show
(7) Raising the Bar
(8) In Plain Sight

8 FAVORITE FOODS:
(1) Pizza
(2) Peanut Butter
(3) Ice Cream
(4) Croutons
(5) Turkey
(6) Chicken Fingers (though I've never seen one on a chicken)
(7) Bread
(8) French Fries

8 PLACES I’D LIKE TO TRAVEL:
(1) NYC at Christmas
(2) England
(3) Tuscany
(4) Lithuania
(5) Alaska (via a cruise)
(6) Australia
(7) Ireland
(8) France

8 PEOPLE I’VE TAGGED:
Ok, so several people I would have tagged have already been tagged, so I'm only tagging a couple, however anyone who wants to... feel free to join in!

Mary at Owlhaven
My favorite Newlywed

Secret to great cupcakes & cakes

Good Morning folks! It's Tuesday... and one heck of a Tuesday it's been already! You know it's going to be a great day when you have an icepack on your arm before 9 am!

However, I'm pushing through. I've been absent from the blogworld, because lots of school stuff going on in a small amount of time (that's what happens when you cram a semester class into a 6 week summer session)

It's time for Kitchen Tip Tuesdays over at Tammy's Recipes. I thought of this tip last week when I was baking up some Vanilla Zucchini cupcakes. It's a tip that I use most every time I bake any kind of cupcake or cake. I discovered it by accident. Once, while baking a set of cupcakes, I didn't have enough batter to fill all of the wells. I poured some water into the empty ones to prevent the pan from warping. I noticed that when I was finished baking, those cupcakes seemed moister. So I experimented... now when baking any cakes, I put another pan on the rack below, partially filled with water. The water in the pan creates some steam & moisture which helps offset the drying effect of the oven. Every time I use this method, I get a much moister cupcake, that stays fresh much longer!

Hope you find this helpful, and don't forget to head over to Tammy's site to check out more tips!

Murphy's law at it's best

Today was one of those meltdown days:

Overslept
Went to the grocery store & was ready to check out... no $$$
Lost car in grocery store parking lot... TWICE
Almost got hit by Graeter's Ice Cream Van
Bread that was purchased somehow opened, dumping into carseat
Dog broke tooth (her's, not mine)

Purple & Orange Cauliflower, Oh My!

I stopped in at Kroger today & they have a great little sale. You can buy a head of Purple or Orange Cauliflower for just .99 each! White cauliflower is still about 2.50, and these were normally almost $4, so I grabbed a couple (plus they are just so darned cute!)

Once you bring the cauliflower home, you might be looking for a good recipe. Here's a good one to try. I wish I had a pic of it, but it was gone before I blinked! Maybe next time.

One head of cauliflower - chopped into bite size pieces.

Olive Oil - about a 1/4 cup

Salt & Pepper (I never measure these when I'm just cooking, I just sprinkle)

Garlic Cloves - Anywhere from 10-20 (sounds like alot, but it's worth it)

Italian Seasoning - about a teaspoon

Red Pepper Flakes - just a pinch

Shredded Parmesean Cheese

Place your cauliflower in a casserole dish. Peel & slightly crack your garlic cloves, throw them in whole. Drizzle the veggies w/ your olive oil. Season w/ salt, pepper, Italian seasoning & red pepper flakes. Toss to coat evenly. Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven. After 15 minutes, stir the veggies & sprinkle with the shredded parmesean cheese. Bake another 10 minutes. Check to see if the veggies are tender. You may need another 5 minutes or so (stir again if you do)

Remove & Serve immediately.

I really believe that in most cooking, (not baking which requires some degree of measurement) it should be about just getting in there and having fun. Feel free to swap out some ingredients if you want.

I suggest:

Can swap broccoli for cauliflower (or use both!)

Don't swap the garlic - It gets really tender & sweet, and is great smushed into the cauliflower as you eat (or on a hunk of bread)

Use whatever seasonings you want, experiment!

A real sinker

More & more often, our cell phones go lots of places with us. And it is inevitable, that at some point, many people find their cell phone taking a swan dive into the nearest body of water... When this happens, you might think it's money & contact info down the drain... but this may not be the case.

A few years ago, I worked briefly as a customer service rep for a cellular company, as well as spent a couple years in other capacities for the company. The knowledge I gained there has been pretty helpful, I'm an expert at troubleshooting my own phone. One great tip that I picked up while there was how to handle a wet cell phone. I've shared it with a few people, most recently with one today, and decided it might make a good blog post, in an attempt to get the info out to lots of people faster.

So, if you find yourself in a situation where your phone is in the water, the first step is pretty simple:

GET IT OUT! The longer the phone is in the water, the less likely you might be to restore it.

The next step is very critical... DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, attempt to turn the phone back on to see if it still works! The truth is, often times a phone can survive being dropped in water, as in most occasions, the phone powers itself off when it hits the water. When you try to turn the phone on, because there is water inside the phone, you then short the phone out, frying it, so to speak... Water + Electricity = BAD

Now, quickly remove the back of the phone and get the battery out. This is really important if your phone by chance didn't power off, because you need to temporarily "kill" the phone.

Grab a towel, and dry your phone. Dry all the visible places... inside where your battery case is, around the hinges, open the little covers that hide the charger openings (you can use a Q-tip to try to soak up some moisture there) If your phone flips or slides or anything, open that too. The key is to expose as much as possible of your phone to air.

Next place your phone on a clean dry towel.

Now walk away, that's right... just leave it... you've done all you can do, and now you must leave your phone to the elements... Depending on how long your phone was in the water (say I dropped it into the sink and immediately grabbed it back out, versus I went into the pool and forgot I had it on me) You'll want to let your phone dry out for anywhere from 24 - 48 hours. If you have a small fan, it wouldn't hurt to set it near the phone to provide some air circulation.

After 24-48 hours, come back and reassemble your phone. Attempt to power it on. If the cellular gods are smiling on you, your phone should power back on. If it doesn't at first, you may want to try plugging it in and charging it, some batteries lose their charge quickly when wet.

I've had personal experience, and my phone came through just fine. I've also heard some really weird stories of things people have suggested that ended disasterously, such as:

Freezing your phone: BAD IDEA... water expands when it's frozen... you could really do more harm than good, plus you're going to be allowing more moisture into the phone.

Baking your phone: You would have to be VERY careful and I would NOT recommend baking the battery. Even without the battery, the LCD screen can be very tempermental when exposed to heat.

Of course the best plan is prevention... but we know that it's not always possible.

*On a side note, I imagine you could use the same process for other small handheld electronics, like Ipods, etc... but I've never had personal experience with 'em

Staleness be gone - Kitchen Tip Tuesday

It's Kitchen Tip Tuesday over at Tammy's Recipes. Be sure and check out her site for a variety of tips!

Ever reach into a sleeve of crackers only to realize they're stale? or perhaps a bag of chips that someone left the clip off of? Maybe in your morning fog you didn't close up your Cheerios... While I'm a huge proponent of repackaging items, using clips, etc to keep out the air... inevitably something is going to get stale. And nowadays, everyone is looking for ways to make their money go further...

So the next time you find yourself with some stale chips, crackers, or cereal... try one of these two ideas:

#1 - Microwave - Use the microwave, on high, at about 30 second intervals until the item is thoroughly heated (it will vary depending on your microwave & the amount of food you're working with). Just spread the stale chips, etc out on a paper towel & microwave. Afterwards let the food cool down, and you'll find they've crisped back up.

#2 - Toaster Oven/Oven - Spread out the stale cereal, etc on a baking sheet and bake for 5-10 minutes in a 300 degree oven until nice and toasty. Once cooled, you'll find they taste fresh again.

Breakfast Pizza

Like most of my recipes, this is more of a method, you can embellish as you see fit to suit your tastes.

Ingredients:

1 small/med onion

2 T butter

Salt & Pepper

Small can of refridgerated biscuit dough (6 biscuits)

2-4 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

1/4 lb breakfast sausage

3 eggs

1/2 cup milk

Start by cutting onion in half, and then slice fairly thin. Place onions in pan with butter. Season with salt & pepper. Start on Med/High for about a minute, then reduce down to Med/Low and continue to cook until the onions become soft and caramelized to your liking (depends on how much time I have) stirring periodically to prevent burning.

Brown & crumble the breakfast sausage (you could do this with the onions if you like, but if you want to cut down on excess grease, cook separately) then drain. This is where I took a short cut. I used precooked fake sausage crumbles because my roomie doesn't eat meat.

Roll out each biscuit individually until about 1/8 inch thin. It's easiest if it's done between two layers of waxed paper. Overlap the biscuits in an 8" or 9" pan/pie plate. I used a can of 6 biscuits, but these were fairly small biscuits, if your biscuits are bigger, you could probably get away with 4.

When the onions are done, spoon them onto the biscuits. Add the sausage as well. Sprinkle with cheese (you can use any kind of cheese, and more or less to your liking)

Whisk together the eggs & milk. Pour this mixture over the topped biscuits. Bake in a preheated oven (375) for about 20-25 minutes (until center is set). Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing and serve.

I forgot to take a picture until part of it had been served :)

Baked Asparagus

Over at Tammy's Recipes, it's time for In Season Recipe Swap. I really like the idea of this recipe exchange, because it's all about using what's in abundance. This week's theme: Asparagus.

I've tried a few asparagus recipes. One of the new favorites in my house is one from Tammy's site, Creamed Asparagus Over Pasta. I only make 2 small changes to the recipe. (1) I go ahead and combine everything (the sauce, pasta & alfredo) in a casserole dish & bake it for a few minutes. (2) I add a pinch of nutmeg to the cream sauce. I like to add nutmeg to most cream sauces.

Hands down the favorite asparagus recipe in my house, and actually it's the easiest... is Baked Asparagus. It's more of a method than a recipe.

Start with the asparagus. You can use as few or as many stalks as will serve your family.

Snap or trim off the tough ends.

Lay the asparagus in a single layer in a baking pan.

Drizzle the asparagus with your favorite olive oil. (This is my favorite brand)

Toss the asparagus in the oil, so to coat them

Sprinkle with salt & pepper

I also sprinkle with shredded parmesean cheese sometimes

Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes

Serve warm

I like this recipe because it's so easy, I don't dirty any dishes except for my pan and it's done in less than 20 minutes without having to fuss over them, giving me time for whatever else I need to prepare. None of the ingredients are exact, just to your liking. I would guess it's about a tablespoon of olive oil, for an average bunch of asparagus. I just turn the bottle up and make one pass over the asparagus. I use a couple small pinches of salt & just a couple quick shakes of pepper. As for the cheese, I use it when I think to, but it's just as tasty without. You could substitute any hard cheese.

Make sure you go check out everyone else's recipes. I have a fridge drawer full of asparagus, so I'm excited to see some new recipe ideas.

Viva Las Vegas

It gives me GREAT pleasure to say that I'm heading back to Vegas this fall!!! The first weekend of October to be more specific. This is a rather recent development, it was only decided YESTERDAY. My roomie & I visited Vegas in December of '07 for an awesome concert (Spice Girls) and yet another concert is bringing us back there this year.

Still looking at vacation packages, we just purchased our concert tickets yesterday. So who are we off to see? Kylie Minogue! This is her first U.S. tour... Ever... My roomie is a huge fan, and I like her music myself. She finally announced a small tour (only 7 shows at this time) for North America. We actually barely got the tickets, they had a presale yesterday that started at 1PM, and both my roomie & I were online, and had to keep refreshing for about 5 minutes before someone's tickets must have gotten released, and we managed to score a pair!

If you have any bargains you've heard about in Vegas, be sure and let me know. Last time we were there, we managed to score a few, but always up for suggestions.

Schoolin' and Such

Well, back in January, I blogged that I had started my classes. I am happy to report that I am now going into my finals for each class. WooHoo! This semester has actually went by rather quick. I have just one final assigment/exam for each of my classes. And then...no break for me, beginning the week of May 10th, I will be starting summer school! Summer school will be 1 part catch up and one part get ahead.

I previously blogged that I was taking 3 classes & a lab (which is basically a 4th class) this semester. Unfortunately, I decided to withdraw from one of my classes. I was taking Comparative Religion and while the class itself had so much potential, and in the time that I was taking it, I discovered so many interesting tidbits, in the end, the class lacked the instructor input that I felt was needed in order to be successful. Each week we simply read a chapter and then posted our thoughts on a discussion board. We were graded on our posts, but our professor was very unclear about how he would grade the posts. We would only get one grade for all the posting for the entire semester and he provided practically no feedback on our comments. Additionally the few assignments were very vague. My biggest fear after being in the class for a month and a half was that when finals rolled around, I would have a final on unknown material. There just didn't seem to be a good compass for the class. So I withdrew, while I could still do so without it impacting my GPA. I will be replacing this class with a Women's Studies class in the fall.

My biology lab actually turned out to be very fun! Because the class was online, we had to purchase lab kits. We got to perform experiments at home! Some of it was challenging, because this was a new kit that they had not used previously, so adjustments in instruction had to be made, but I liked the class overall. And I now know how to extract DNA with everyday household ingredients!

Unless something goes terribly wrong, I should have an A in all 3 of the classes from this spring!

So, as for my summer classes. When I decided to drop my religion class, I knew that I needed to take at least one class during the summer to keep my fall schedule manageable. The first class I will be taking is public speaking. I DO NOT WANT TO TAKE THIS CLASS. Why? Well, the first reason being that while it is sometimes offered online, and I was holding out to see if it would be in the fall... they didn't... so I actually have to go to school (which means if I start working before the class ends, scheduling) and second, because I don't think I'll get the same benefit from the class. It's a requirement for the program I'm transferring into, and while I completely get why it's important for students... Having worked in professional settings, in management capacities, public speaking is something I've grown quite used to... but at least I was able to pick it up as an evening class for the summer... Just 3 evenings a week, for about 6 weeks... and my roomie also needs the class for his degree... so we're taking it together!

I'm also electing to take an additional economics class this summer. It's being offered by the same professor I have this semester. Since I'm familiar with his teaching style, I feel comfortable taking the class in an accelerated format (AND IT'S ONLINE). It will be picking up right around the time that my first summer class ends. This also means that I will only have to carry 7 hours (3 classes) in the fall to meet all my requirements for my transfer!

Sign of the times

I was planning on posting a picture with this blog, which would have made it alot more interesting. Unfortunately, I got a little ahead of myself and tossed the box in the dumpster before I remembered.

So, on to the story. Last night, my roomie & I decided to grab pizza for dinner (he gets a great discount on Tuesdays, so it's super cheap) We picked up the order, and as we were leaving, I happened to notice the label on the box (the sticker that has your name, etc)... It said "Your Pizza Experience Was Managed By Christ"

Now I'm not trying to be sacrilegious or anything... but it truly is a sign of the times when the son of God has a part time job!

Homemade Croutons

I love croutons... I'm not a fan of salad, but I snack on croutons... but have you ever looked at the ingredient list on some brands? Not to mention, it's actually pretty easy to turn ingredients you already have into yummy crunchy goodness without leaving home.

I'll share with you my method, it's not an exact recipe, because it will vary based on your personal preferences and the quantities you have on hand.

Start with your bread. You can use fresh bread or stale bread, doesn't really make a difference in the end. The only difference is that the fresher the bread, the longer it will stay in the oven, in order to dry it out. Most recently I made some croutons with some leftover Sourdough bread I had. It was a really rustic bread and had lots of flavor, but you can really use any bread you want.

Cube your bread, size is up to personal preferences. I usually cube mine in about 1 inch or so pieces, because I like jumbo croutons. If you make them smaller, they'll finish faster of course. You'll want them to be similiar in size, so they'll all finish at the same time.

Spread the bread out on a baking pan and drizzle with melted butter (for a full pan, I use about a 1/3 a cup of butter) you can use more or less, just eyeball it, the more butter you use, the better the end result. Sprinkle the bread with your favorite seasoning (I use garlic powder) and then toss the bread cubes to make sure they are coated as evenly as possible (you don't have to be perfect)

Bake the bread @ 300 degrees until lightly browned and completely dry. You'll want to stir them every 10 to 15 minutes. I usually bake mine for about an hour and 15 minutes. These are a good project for when you're cleaning the kitchen, etc, since you'll already be in there. After about 30 minutes, I usually take them out and drizzle/stir in some additional melted butter (maybe another 1/4 cup) and some more garlic powder.

When you think they are done, taste one... if it's chewy in the middle at all, go another 10 minutes and try again. At about the 1 hour mark, I take mine out and sprinkle in some grated Parmesean cheese (toss to coat) and let them go another 10 to 15 minutes. Once they're done, to ensure that they are completely dried out and nice and crunchy, I just turn the oven off and leave them in the oven to hang out for awhile.

You can store them in an airtight container, or in the freezer for longterm storage.

Want more great kitchen tips? Head over to Tammy's Kitchen for Kitchen Tip Tuesdays

What a monster eats

Yes, her chew toy is not 6 inches away, but she would rather chew on a stray plastic container she found.

But she eats her greens too! On a plate no less!

Life with pets

We recently bought a bookcase to fill some blank wall space in the living room. Previously there had been a large ottoman on that particular wall, but when we got the new living room set, the room was rearranged, and the ottoman was out. And we were stuck with a blank wall that just looked really bare. We went shopping looking for something to fill that space. We had some ideas, unfortunately, the stores weren't cooperating with our ideas. Everything we looked at was either not in our price range, too big, too small, or the wrong color. We finally ended up modifying our plans and switched to a grouping of items. This is how the bookcase came to be in our living room. For days, it sat empty while we figured out what was going on it. Well, except for the cats... who decided that this was their new multi level cat bed.

Finally, I started filling the shelves. We wanted the shelving to be functional (it needed to be a place our remotes could go, out of reach and maybe house some DVDs) but we didn't want it to be completely packed full of stuff, and end up looking cluttered. Our living room is small, and if the bookcase is overrun, it will just make the whole room feel cluttered. So far... I've got 3 shelves arranged... and then comes the decision... what goes on the last two shelves... because clearly, the cats still think that these two shelves are their bunk beds...

And of course, I somehow got a strange angle when I took this, and cutting off part of the shelf, because it looks crooked, but I'm looking at the shelf now and it's not.

A yummy mashed potato

It seems that everywhere I read, people are pairing down their food budget, trying to economize, not be wasteful, etc. One of the popular ideas, that's been going on, on a few blogs, is skipping the grocery store, and just using what you have on hand. I'm trying this as well. Yesterday I made a baked mashed potato recipe. Well, it's not really a recipe, so much as a method. I've read several recipes, and I just blended a few together, based on what I had on hand.

Here's what I used:
Bag of Oreda Steam & Mash Potatoes

1% Milk

Sour Cream

Onion Powder

Neufchatel Cheese

Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend

2% Colby Cheese

Salt & Pepper (not pictured)

Cooking Spray (not pictured)

Now, you could always use regular potatoes to start this out, but I had these on hand, buried in my freezer, and they cook in the microwave, less hassle for me!

You can also use regular cream cheese, I just happened to have the Neufchatel on hand.

You could also use whatever sort of cheese you had, I think any would work equally.

Now, start by popping the potatoes in the microwave, according to package directions (mine took 10 minutes on high). While they are doing their thing, go ahead and cube up your Neufchatel and shred your cheese:

Once your potatoes are done, wait about 2 minutes, then carefully pop open the bag, and dump them into a bowl with your milk & butter blend (use quantities recommended from package).

You can mash these by hand, or mixer. If I'm making regular mashed potatoes, I usually will just do them by hand, so as not to overwork them, but since I was going to be incorporating other ingredients and wanted it to be smooth, I used my KitchenAid. Once you get the potatoes started, and they're about halfway mashed, go ahead and add in your cream cheese (8 oz block cubed), shredded cheese (about 2 oz), sour cream (I just grabbed a big spoonful), and the onion powder (I just sprinkled some in, I'm guessing, about a half a tsp):

Mix until combined and kinda smooth. Spray a casserole dish (I used 9x13) with cooking spray, then spread the potato mixture in the dish evenly. Sprinkle with salt & pepper, and dot with some additional butter.

Bake @ 350 for about 20-30 minutes, until heated through. Serve

I forgot to take the picture until some of it had been served up, but I think you get the idea :)

Fabulous 5

So, here's the challenge. Go to your picture folders (or where ever you store them) and randomly select one subfolder (if you don't have subfolders, improvise) Then, select pic # 4, 7, 12, 16, & 22 (Again, if this folder doesn't have that many... just go with it) This probably works best if you're like me and have a folder that just seems to collect all sorts of random pictures with no real theme, there's always plenty of pics in the folder.

Here are mine:

This was taken a couple years ago on a trip to Vegas. It was the last night we were there, so we were walking around on the strip, trying to see/do as much as possible before going home. This shot is down by the Venetian, of course it was FREEZING out there, so it has hard to get a shot without shaking.

This is the hole in my backyard. They started semi filling it in with rocks when they were doing construction, now it's just there, one of these mornings, I'm going to be taking Zali out and I'll be half asleep, and when she starts down the incline (because heaven forbid she should pee on flat land) I'm going to lose my balance and go tumbling down this.

I'm a little behind on sorting, clipping, filing coupons. 'Nuff said.

I was just messing around with my camera when I took this picture, though one of my FAVORITE shows is on :)

These things are taking over my backyard

Very important rule

Just wanted to share an important rule. After applying flea medicine to your pet, do not pet your pet (lol) where the medicine was applied, or snuggle up... unless you're thinking about getting your lip pierced or something, in which case, it would probably make a nice anesthetic.

Monday night, we were settling in to watch a movie, and the monster, aka Zali was curled up beside of me being sweet. So I nuzzled up to her, not thinking that just a couple hours beforehand we had put her Advantage on.

At first, I just noticed the smell on my hands (it surprisingly smells good, kinda tropical) then I notice that my lips are going numb. At which point I calmly ask my roomie to pause the DVD, and jump up heading for the kitchen. I grab the first cup I find and start rinsing my mouth out with water, repeatedly. Then I decide that just rinsing over my lips probably isn't 100% effective, so I grab the first thing I see (Dawn Dishwashing liquid) and quickly squirt some into my hand, and begin scrubbing my lips. After a few more rinses, I determine that's probably all I can do. My roomie has at this point called in to see what I'm doing, so I make my way back to the living room, giving him the story.

Thankfully, my lips are still attached just fine!

Consumer Research at it's finest

Do you like getting freebies in the mail? I love it, especially when they are not your run of the mill freebies. I'm not going to take the time to bullet out the places you can go for free samples, there are plenty of other sites that do that. What I want to share today, is my review of some neat programs you can sign up for that may just leave you with a surprise in your mailbox.

First up:

BzzAgent

BzzAgent is a "word of mouth" advertising program. They work with a variety of companies that want to advertise by giving away a select number of their product. How it works is simple. You sign up via their website and complete a basic profile. You then will also randomly complete brief surveys, etc that help guage your particular interests. When a campaign opens that matches your demographics, you'll be alerted to sign up. You get a "bzzcampaign" package in the mail with all the necessary items. My roomie & I both participate in this. I can't even begin to remember everything they've sent us... Just last week, I got a Glade Sense 'n Spray. A couple months ago, I got one of the new Cover Girl Lip Inks. About a year ago, my roomie got sent a Logitech Universal Remote (It's an AWESOME remote, with touch screen, etc... that retails for $200). Sometimes I go months and don't get anything, but then again, it's not like I'm working for them either. In exchange, after you've tried the product, they want you to create buzz about it, positive or negative depending on how much you like it. They usually give you coupons you can share, etc. You then complete surveys, etc and let them know how you shared. Pretty simple.

Up Next:

Pssst from General Mills

Pssst is a program General Mills offers, that allows you to learn more about new products and promotions. Most of what I have received from them has been in the form of coupons emailed to me. However l also received a package from them yesterday. Inside was a full size box of a new flavor of Fiber One Granola Bars (a 5 ct box) AND coupons! I didn't even request it, they just sent it! Pretty cool...

Moving on to:
SheSpeaks

SheSpeaks is a website for women, about women, by women. It's a forum, that contains all sorts of topics for women. The website itself is pretty interesting. There are also a variety of market research opportunities they offer from time to time. I've received chocolate, vitamin C packets... and today I'm receiving a Haagen-Daaz Party Package... Yup... they are sending me a package of their 7 new pints of Haagen-Daaz, along with coupons, and goodies to do an ice cream tasting party.

So what are you waiting for? There are others out there, and over the next few weeks, I'll try to share more of the programs I participate in. But for now, I've got some ice cream to watch for!