Eat: Turning over a new leaf at Curves
I turned over a new leaf today. I joined Curves. I am hoping a $41/mo commitment will help me stay focused. I signed all my papers today and start my thrice weekly workouts tomorrow. Measurement day is June 5.
Posts from the ‘Eat’ Category
May 5
Tweet: Crack Pie
http://twitter.com/#!/MyHeart4Him/status/64676715426877440
My Valentine Kitchen
It’s confession time. I seriously love to decorate for holidays. I know, I know. Get a life, right?
I decorated the cute little shelves in my kitchen with some valentine items. The pots on the top shelf were thrifted, then spray painted matte white. I whipped up the felted love cozy. Doesn’t black free form embroidery make all the difference?
I even made hats for my vintage dog salt & pepper shakers. I think they need a collar, too. Yes?
Cookie Crisp – Please don’t touch
I NEVER buy super sweet cereal. So, when I do, my kids go nuts. Our favorite is Cookie Crisp cereal. My daughter opened the box first and marked it as her own.
Did her brother honor this?
Not so much…
A Recipe to share: Homemade mustard
I few months ago, I made homemade mustard and LOVED IT!! Sadly, I lost the recipe. After a quick Google search, I found a similar recipe. I really hate store-bought mustard, but there is something de-lish about homemade mustard. You must try.
MUSTARD
- 1/2 cup Colman’s dry mustard
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
Mix together and let set overnight. Next day, beat:
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c. sugar
- Pinch of salt to taste
Combine everything and cook in top of double boiler until thick. Let cool and enjoy.
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Merry Christmas to Mom
Could you resist this?
My dog, Dash, is begging for… food. He loves people food. He is a very fat Italian Greyhound.
My Cricut experience
Yesterday, while shopping in Walmart with my hubby, I noticed the Cricut machines were on clearance sale. I kinda want one and kinda don’t. I looked at the box (priced at $198 from $225) and decided I didn’t want one (for that price).
This morning, I checked my emails (the whole family is still asleep and I am cherishing the quiet!). I received a weekly newsletter from one of my two favorite font addiction site (Lettering Delights) (The other is ScrapNFont). I really liked the graphics they were selling, but what the heck is an SVG file? I’ve purchased some digital scrapbook elements (just to play with), so I clicked the find out. I was intrigued by the “cuttable” option and clicked a tutorial to find out more. I landed here. Of course, I was intrigued (and starting to want…). Then, I clicked over to the Make the Cut software site. Software was on sale… Bazinga!! (I love Sheldon and Big Bang Theory) I can see the power of converting jpg and other file types to SVG and then cutting them out (which I currently do by hand….). I have tons of font, too. If I could cut fabric with a Cricut, I must have it. A quick google search lead me to this thread. Within mere minutes, I ordered the Cricut (Walmart site to store for $175) and the software. Merry Christmas to me. I can’t wait to appliqué… everything. Just like my embroidery machine.
My Cricut will be delivered to the store next week. I can’t wait!!!!!! I ordered green. hehehe
Don’t tell anyone, but I also ordered 4 new hoops for my embroidery machine. Shhh
Aunt Dee
Do you remember the lovely quilt my mom and I made for my Aunt Dee. Sadly, Aunt Dee passed away. I hope she could feel the love mother and I pouring into the quilt. Dee’s funeral was the most beautiful funeral I’ve ever attended. I want communion at my service, too. Dee, I will miss you.
Machine Embroidery
I want to purchase this embroidery collection for a shirt for my Dad. The designer recommends using a 50-70 wt thread. Not knowing anything about thread weights, I looked up Coats & Clark . I prefer to embroidery with XP thread, as it is not as lint-y (compared to Guttermann). I didn’t find what I needed, so I called customer service. A very help lady pointed me to this page. It lists the weight of all their threads. I hope you find it helpful, too.
Curls & Swirls Blog
I wanted to recommend a friend of mine, Rachel. She is an artist and she has the cutest blog, Curls & Swirls. Rachel paints the cutest pictures for teachers. Rachel painted a super cute picture for Mr. Simmons’ Pirates. If you adore your teacher, you might want to order one too. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture before I wrapped it. Boo
Twinkle Toes
Have you seen this gals pedi? I must have twinkle toes , too.
Homemade Oreos
My dear friend Tammy’s son is allergic to eggs. As a result, he has limited food choices. His favorite cookies are Oreos. When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make them. http://www.kitchenist.com/cooking/sweet/blast-from-the-past-homemade-oreos/609 I am hoping me and Tammy can have a baking day. We haven’t spent time together in ages. Busy, Tammy?
Future Writer
?Yesterday, I found a blog post by my daughter from over 2 years ago. It was full of angst over a boy. I could feel her pain, but I could also see a great writer. I encouraged her to start writing again (She had a very popular NeoPets blog, back in the day). This morning, I awakened to find this gift.
She wrote a story about her brother’s excitement for Christmas. Very nice job, Olivia. Thank you. Keep writing. I make a good living by writing and you can too.
Crafting
You know I can’t go a day or two without crafting something, right? My kitchen table needed… something. Flowers would look nice, but I have bad luck with Poinsettias and my life is too busy to upkeep fresh flowers (who wants to cut stems and change water, when you can be sewing?). I remembered the tissue paper flowers I’ve seen on the internet and whipped up a few. I’m not in love with the pinecone. Today I will remove it and add one more flower. I think I will add fake snow to the vase, too.
Don’t they look real? I used this tute. I love this blogger’s idea, too.
Christmas Ornaments
Have I showed you my Shiny Brites? I found these at the Thrift Store (my fav) in the original box. I have six. They really add something special to my tree.
And here is the ornament PJ made in school. Beautiful, yes.
He also made this one. Not sure what to think.
Dinner tonight
Sunday morning, I say this recipe on PBS – courtesy of Martha Stewart’s, Everyday Food show.
http://www.pbs.org/everydayfood/recipes/steak_with_brussels_sprouts_almonds.html
Today at the grocery store, I found fresh Brussel sprouts… So this was dinner tonight. It was delish, super easy and super fast. Of course the kids hated it, but Rick and I scarfed it down. I will definitely make it again.
Mar 4
Grandma’s Mustard Recipe
As you know, I love to collect recipe books, especially the older ones. I was browsing new/old book in my collection and found an interesting recipe. Have you ever considered making your own condiments? I’ve considered mayo (remember the infomercial for immersion blenders from years ago?), but never mustard.
I had all the ingredients on hand, so I mixed it up. I am in love. I will NEVER buy prepared mustard again. This stuff is SOOO freakin’ good.
The recipe is from Clay County Extension Homemakers – Homemade Kitchen Magic, Clay County, FL 1982
Grandma’s Mustard
Submitted by Tessie Zegarski, Keystone Heights Club
1/4 c. dry mustard 1/4 c. white vinegar 1/4 c. sugar or less 1 egg, beaten MayonnaiseMix mustard and vinegar in a small saucepan. Live in refrigerator overnight.
The next day, mix in egg and sugar. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Chill till thick and cool.
When cool, add mayonnaise till the right hotness is obtained.
Oct 16
My “Daring Cook’s” Challenge
As soon as I heard of The Daring Kitchen, I rushed over and registered. Each month, The Daring Kitchen issues a challenge to the participants to make and photograph a recipe. I quietly prayed for a recipe that appealed to me.
I was SO happy when I found out my recipe challenge was for my fav Vietnamese food – Chicken Pho. BTW, pho is pronounced Fuh? like Duh? as a question.
I had a hard time finding the spices. My husband had to purchase the spices for me from Penzy’s in Birmingham. Right off the bat, I was worried I wouldn’t like the end results, because of the smell of the spices.
The cloves smelled like Christmas. The whole Anise Starts smelled like licorice (and I hate licorice). The coriander reminded me of Mexican food. But, I persevered and toasted the spices before adding to my homemade chicken broth. All together, the spices are wonderful. I really liked the broth. It was different from what I am used to, but different in a good way.
My favorite part was the hot chili sauce, the fresh crunchy cilantro (a fav) and the hot jalapeno slices. The cool crunchiness of the cilantro mixed with the savory broth and noodles was pure delish.
I assembled my dish, but did not take any pictures, as my camera in dead. RIP.
I plan to make this dish again this weekend, so my husband can try it. I think it will be much easier the second time.
This recipe has really opened my eyes to makingmy own Asian foods. I can’t wait to purchase (and use) Jaden Hair’s Steamy Kitchen cookbook.
