Archive for January, 2009
January 28, 2009 at 11:37 am
· Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged blender, fruit, healthy, qvc, smoothie
As part of my get healthy and lose weight plan I saw this great product on QVC to make smoothies. Yes, I have watched QVC and ordered products (when there is nothing else on I like to see what is for sale). Anyways….I watched this host make a bunch of smoothies in a few minutes and thought that would be great….a smoothie for me; one for my husband, fresh fruit some protein powder and we would be good to go with a healthy start to the day, not to mention you blend it in its own cup and it fits in your car holder…sounds amazing. Still I waited to order this magic machine until about my fourth viewing of the product.
My package arrived and I bought some fresh fruit, yogurt and frozen strawberries. I was so excited to make my first one. I added all the ingredients and pulsed three times and then blended, it looked so good, I was ready for my first taste of that delicious mixture. Imagine my surprise when I could not get the lid off, in my rush for a fruit explosion I had put the lid on crooked and could not get it off. I tried as hard as I could, I even resorted to my super handy husband gripper (if you do not have one of these I highly recommend them it turns you into a superhero of the jar opening kind), still nothing worked. One bubble of liquid escaped out the top and I licked it up enjoying the promise of more to come. I twisted, I turned, I huffed and puffed…..nothing. I stared at the top willing it to open and I contemplated banging it on the counter but decided violence was not the answer and breaking this item would guarantee me no smoothie and no chance of a refund if needed. I came to the sad realization that I may have to send my machine back with my smoothie inside and quickly turned my thoughts to the regulations concerning shipping liquids and what exactly would the return department think of my drink concoction? I put the whole thing in the fridge and hoped my husband could perform some sort of exorcism on the device that had trapped my drink inside.
My hubby had me hold the bottom while he twisted the top, we were in the brace yourself stance and…….it worked and I had a taste of my drink….it was great…. but I think I may be over this whole thing…..after all, I own a blender and that would surely do the trick just fine.
Note: I did make a smoothie the next day but as all that yogurt and fruit sloshed around in my stomach it made me feel a little ill. I realize now that my image of myself as a sporty, smoothie drinking girl is not to be and that I am much happier with my usual cup or two of coffee in the morning.
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January 20, 2009 at 10:56 am
· Filed under Random Thoughts, Uncategorized ·Tagged explosive, homemade, money saving, shout, stain
With the job market the way it is and me as a temporary homemaker anything we can do to save some money here or there is always helpful in our house, so I decided to make my own spray for stain fighting. My bottle of Shout was almost empty and I had some powder OxiClean ready, two great products. I simply added some extra water mixed in a bunch of powder and shook the whole concoction up and placed it on the shelf so it would be ready to go.
As we ate our dinner I accidentally dropped a small droplet of salad dressing on my shirt…not to worry, I had my own stain fighter ready to go. I waited until after the babies were in bed, in case anything else was going to make its way on to my shirt and then headed into the laundry room to spray on my miracle liquid.
Well you can imagine my surprise when I reached for the bottle and saw it was increasing past two times its normal size and looked slightly explosive. I frantically called for my husband in my whispered scream of “OMG get down here now” (sleeping twins), who was flabbergasted at my “clever” idea and gave me a quick lecture on mixing chemicals as he suited up to open my now homemade explosive outside. I watched from the doorwall, waiting for something exciting… but only air escaped as the pressure was released. Of course I am glad no one was injured, but a little boom would have been cool too!
So my husband said I am not aloud to be economical in the laundry department anymore. Geez…I was only trying to help!
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January 17, 2009 at 10:17 am
· Filed under Random Thoughts ·Tagged cell phone, curse words, driver, road rage, SUV, swearing
I have seen my share of arms flailing, brakes slamming, bumper driving, curse words exchanged and have heard horns pounding in many a different rhythm, and thank goodness it is not usually directed at me. I have on occasion, I am embarrassed to admit, given the finger to some cars and even spread my own foul language when someone, usually on a cell phone, almost collides with me. As far as the swearing goes…I am really trying to work on that now that I have the boys in the car.
Yesterday I was witness to the most ludicrous car rage. I hear the horn pounding and watch in the lane next to me as an SUV is swerving aggressively around a car with four people in it driving under the speed limit, yes that was their only crime as far as I could tell. I saw the arms moving in angry gestures by the SUV driver and I can only imagine the looks that were exchanged as the the SUV eventually sped off.
Just some random damage not caused by road rage but it could have been...
Why is this so crazy you ask? Well the car was clearly marked everywhere with the logo……wait for it………………STUDENT DRIVER! Um…..yeah lets give these drivers some courtesy and hope 1. – they are not traumatized forever and 2. – that they do not become jerks on the road like the SUV driver!
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January 14, 2009 at 12:05 pm
· Filed under Parent Stuff ·Tagged babies, bond, crawl, feeding, kids, laughs, parent, twins
Aidan and Colin
When you first look at that little person, or persons in my case, that come home with you from the hospital you think nothing could ever be so sweet! I have to admit now it is even better. As babies they were gorgeous and well did not do so much but my heart still swelled every time I looked at them. Nine months are here and I can not believe how fast it goes.
The twins have grown so much and now I listen to them laugh all the time, they really do play with each other and look to see where the other one is with smiles on their faces. Even more precious is the hand holding. When I am getting their food ready I see them reach out to each other in their highchairs and hold hands or in their side by side stroller as we move along they take comfort and joy in each other. I am blessed that they will have a bond even I will never know. Of course a time will come when they can not stand the sight of each other but that will eventually pass.
New things in my life at nine months – I am more of a wrangler than a parent, yes they hold out toys to each other and play tug of war with mostly giggles but sometimes tears; they commando crawl and even real crawl and are always off the play mat littered with toys to find something else to put in their mouths that I had no idea was there in the first place, and why is it they can never “escape” in the same direction?, baby proofing is now a top priority; feeding time is sometimes a challenge as I do the double spoon and double bowl dance and they each open their mouths even though it is the other ones spoon full passing by, two more hands would be great for me; “razz-berries” are a new favorite and I often have oatmeal in my hair and on my shirt with frustration on my nerves but the fact that they laugh about it usually holds my stress to amusement; don’t even get me started on the drooling that reminds me to keep my own mouth closed when I hold them up in the air for a superman pose that they love. Did I mention the arms that reach out for me to hold them or the heads snuggling into my shoulders when they are sleepy and the smiles that greet me every morning?
Yes time has passed and as I fold clothes they have outgrown and remember the younger days… I know I love this time even more because they interact with me in a way every parent hopes for.
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January 8, 2009 at 4:01 pm
· Filed under Picture Posts ·Tagged beach, Lake Michigan, photo, Traverse City
Cathead Bay
I took this picture with my camera set to color accent green, the location is north of Traverse City, Michigan. I realize I need to write an actual post….but as I look through my pictures and stare at the snow outside I can not help but think…..I miss summer! This part of Lake Michigan has a sandy bottom and although some days you dive in and come out shouting at the cold, the warm summer air and the sun on your face makes it all worth while.
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