Clouds

Flying along the coast of Florida...











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Hilarious Cake Wrecks

I've been meaning to post about the blog Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong for a while... I subscribe to it in Reader and then every once in a while check them out. A few nights ago I couldn't sleep so I stayed up late catching up on the past few months. It may have had something to do with the fact that it was 2 AM, but I was laughing so hard I was crying! It's not just the pictures of the horrible cakes gone wrong, but the commentary that is just the icing on the cake (har har).

I was going to post some favorites but I couldn't choose and I'm out of time... Check 'em out. Browse around... http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/. Oh, they even have a book!

Share favorites in the comments!

What should I name my RAV-4?

Isn't my RAV-4 pretty in the snow? It's dirty these days, you just can't keep a clean car during winter in Colorado. Sorry for the crappy picture, it was taken with my iPhone and it was foggy and snowing at the time. Plus, I took the quickest snapshot possible as my hands were freezing (by the way this is not our driveway, if only...).

I'm loving my RAV-4! After researching cars and SUVs to death, test driving them up I-70 (up a mountain), and waiting for inventory to recover after the cash for clunkers program... I am really, really happy with my choice (the other big contenders were the Toyota Prius, Honda CRV, and Honda Fit - yeah, really). I can hear the question coming... so no, I've had no issues with the gas pedal recall issue and I just learned that mine is not part of the recall - hurray!

I've been trying to think of a name for her but nothing has felt right yet. Yes, I think it's a her but really it may be because it just seems right that a car is a girl, like boats. Boats are usually referred to as female. I can't think of one boat/ship that was named or referred to as a guy. Anyway, she's a RAV-4 Sport with the Sport Appearance Package (no tire on the back), and leather interior (I agonized over that decision but in the end opted for the heated seats). She's sporty, functional, and fun to drive... any ideas on what to name her? I'm hoping it will just come to me one day... but I'm open to ideas as I want to call her something.

Time for Lunch Campaign

I'm not a mother (yet), but as a girl who grew up having to participate in the "Free Lunch" program, this issue hits close to home for me. My school lunches in grade school were typically pizza, hamburgers, chicken nuggets (not breast meat), and french fries. On the days I had breakfast at school there were donuts, muffins (not homemade), french toast dippers (pre-packaged frozen variety), biscuits with gravy... you get the picture. Just thinking of these foods make me shudder, and my stomach hurt. The sad part is, many years later nothing has changed for the better, it's worse.

I recently signed a petition for the Child Nutrition Act Reauthorization after watching the movie Food, Inc.. I was so moved by the movie - which I highly recommend - that I signed up to Take Part for this cause. So when I received an email from Slow Food USA a couple of days ago about the Time for Lunch Campaign, I didn't hesitate to check them out and email my legislators to voice my support.

Here’s their key message (taken directly from the campaign website):

It’s time to give America’s kids a healthy future.

• Child obesity is spiraling out of control, and our kids, our economy, our health care system and our quality of life are at risk.
• Our best opportunity for fighting obesity is to ensure that every child has access to fresh, wholesome food every school day.
• Right now, Congress gives schools $2.68 per lunch, about $1.00 of which goes towards buying ingredients. As a result, schools have to rely on the cheap processed foods that are fueling the obesity and diabetes epidemics.
• With an additional $1.00 per lunch, schools would be able to serve real food, buy whole ingredients and cook meals from scratch.
• President Obama’s budget adds $1 billion per year to child nutrition programs. That’s an important step forward, but it’s not enough to give America’s kids a healthy future. Not when Congress spends over $13 billion per year subsidizing processed foods, and when obesity costs our nation $147 billion per year. Congress should add at least $1 billion to child nutrition programs, and recognize that until we give schools $1.00 more per lunch, we’re putting the health of America’s children at risk.
• Congress should also pass mandatory funding for Farm-to-School programs, which link schools to local farms, create jobs in local economies and give schools the resources to update their kitchens and plant school gardens.
• Finally, Congress should strengthen the nutrition standards for all the food sold at school, including the food sold in school vending machines and as “a la carte” items in the cafeteria.

Learn more about the campaign at www.slowfoodusa.org/timeforlunch. Also, from this website you can easily email your legislators to tell them you support schools serving real food. Please take less than 30 seconds to voice your support!

Another supporter for this cause is Jaime Oliver who is starting a food revolution to be aired on ABC starting Friday, March 26th at 8 PM EDT. His show is called Jaime Oliver's Food Revolution. The first episode will also be shown as a sneak preview tomorrow night, Sunday March 21st at 10 PM EDT.



You can also sign Jaime's Food Revolution Petition by clicking the image below.

 Check it out, voice your support, get involved, or donate!

Pretty in red - my not so hanging basket...

I'm a little late in posting this... but I had to share my recent pride and joy. Last weekend I went to a class on hanging baskets at our local nursery (the one I got all my herbies at a couple of weeks ago). The class cost $35 which I wasn't excited about... but since I'm trying to meet people and get involved in things... and love plants and flowers... I sucked up the price and went anyway. It turned out that $35 was a steal for what I took home! The price includes the instruction and all the materials (basket, soil, flowers/plants, and fertilizer). Considering that the ceramic hanging basket I selected would have cost me $30 alone, this was a deal. To be honest, I didn't really need instructions to do this.... I know how to plant things... err... well I think I do, never mind that my basil is still in a state of shock from being potted a few days ago. OK nevermind. I needed guidance on flower/plant selection, and ideas on design. For instance, I've always been skeptical about growing potted flowers indoors. I don't know why, it's kind of silly. Maybe because I've never seen it done before until recently? Anyway... I LOVE what I created, from the deep red toned ceramic hanging basket/pot to the plants I crammed together to fit inside. I haven't hung the basket yet. I have the metal hook/chain to hang it, and my plan was to hang it in the alcove between our dining room and foyer, but now I'm thinking I like it where it is... Plus, I think if I hang the basket it will be too high to easily water, which means it would probably end up dying a slow death.

Isn't it lovely here? (Yes I just typed lovely, I'm using that word a lot recently... hmm) It totally makes this space. The deep red of the basket/pot goes great with the entry rug and the red blooms really liven up the space. You can't tell from looking at it... but the blooming plant in the center is removable (for the life of me I can't remember the name of the flower, and I tried googling to figure it out with no luck - anyone know?!), which means I can swap it out for whatever plant is in bloom at the moment. So, at Christmas I could put in Poinsetas, in the fall Mums, you get the idea. Here is what I did what I was instructed to do... I placed a small plastic pot (like the ones that come with flowers/plants when you buy them) in the center and planted the ivy and diamond frost around the container. Then I placed the flowering plant (still in its original pot) inside the container. This makes it easy to remove and keep somewhere else in the house when it's not in bloom and temporarily replaced. Genius right?

I love my not so hanging basket! LOVE. It has been living in its new home for 5 days and it's doing great with new blossoms almost every day. I'm relieved to have something pretty in the foyer now... The space has a long way to go, as you can see in this post, but it's coming along slowly!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I am not Irish, but I married into an Irish family :).  Which means we're having corned beef with cabbage, potatoes, and carrots, along with soda bread. The soda bread is the most important part, as it is my favorite! Right now the corned beef is slow cooking in Guinness. I am going to try and remember to take pictures of our Irish feast tonight to post...
 

Check out my windowsill herb garden. I think the basil is still in shock from being potted, but otherwise they have all grown a bunch and are looking good. My shamrock plant is doing great, I love it! It has a lot of new blossoms, which are hard to see since they blend into the wall... I haven't found a pot I like for it yet, so it's still in it's original container.

So what are you doing to celebrate? Going out to party and drink green beer? Staying home and cooking your own Irish specialty? Or do you think St. Patty's Day is an overrated holiday and you ignore it all together?

How I spent my sick days...

I picked up a couple of puzzles last weekend because ever since I helped with one over Christmas they've been on my brain. They were CHEAP! Like $3.50 each at Walmart for 1000 piece puzzles! My hubby and I picked this one because it reminded us of Switzerland (my favorite place on Earth). Turns out it's a place in Bavaria which is another favorite. We went on a big road trip of Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Czech Republic in September of 2008 and this type of scenery will forever be etched in my memory.

So anyway, I started feeling crappy on Saturday night... and decided to go ahead and get started. Sunday was supposed to be a great day of snowshoeing in Rocky Mountain National Park with friends but I felt worse and sure enough had a fever over 100 degrees. I was so bummed out. I got all packed and ready to go anyway, took some Tylenol and was trying to will it away... Then I realized when I felt worn out and ready to go back to bed after I had to climb back upstairs for something, that there was no way I could snowshoe up a mountain above 10,000 ft!

So I spent Sunday working on this beauty... me sitting at the kitchen table, head propped up with one hand (to hold my aching head up and because my cold hand felt good on my forehead). The best part is that my hubster stayed home with me and wanted to help put the puzzle together, which was a great surprise! I finished this yesterday (Monday) afternoon, which was my worst feeling day... I just couldn't stay away from this puzzle. Those flowers were a pain in my behind - the hardest part. Every time I was sure I was done working on it for the day, I'd get another piece... so much for it being a slow on-going puzzle to work on from time to time!

It feels good to have it finished, especially since its the only thing that's been accomplished the past few days. I still haven't emptied the dishwasher (so the sink is now overflowing), laundry is piled up, etc.. Check out my flowers John brought home yesterday. That's only half of the bouquet, I have them spread out through the kitchen and living room. They make me smile. They must of worked because I am feeling better today. Still having to take Tylenol to keep my fever down, but much better than yesterday. Now if I could just quit sneezing, coughing, and sniffling!

Bolden vs Grayson

Mr. Bolden has no idea what he's talking about! Thank you Mr. Grayson. So apparently the next destination is the moon... but wait, they plan to cancel the Constellation program... hmmm. So where is our space program going?

Ready for Spring

Meet my new lovely plants!

It was hard to get a good picture with the sun coming through the window... but here they are clockwise starting at the top left: Cilantro, Basil, Italian Flat Leaf Parsley, Peppermint, Shamrock (don't remember official name), Jade, and Rosemary. Hello my lovelies! They aren't quite settled yet, I just stuck them in pots to figure out what goes where.

While I'm really excited to have a windowsill herb garden again... I am most excited about my shamrock plant. Did you know that at night, the leaves close up?

Oh, and check out those brown planters. They are made of 100% biodegradable bamboo by Rosso's International! They will last for 3 years indoors before breaking down (2 years outdoors). If you start plants in them indoors, you can plant the entire thing (plant with container) in the ground, which is supposed to be better for the roots anyway. If they happen to be thrown in the trash, they will decompose within 3-6 months. No nasty plastic. LOVE them! They come in all kinds of colors, I just really liked the brown. I should point out that yes, they are resting on plastic trays. *sigh* I don't like it, but you can bet I will keep those forever to be reused again and again.