Thought for the day

It would be easier to be environmentally conscientious if all of my good ideas didn't come to me in the shower.

more generics

Sorry, I'm still on a Harris Teeter kick:

Product: Harris Teeter Instant Oatmeal
Review: I can't tell the difference between this and Quaker. Will definitely buy again.

Harris Teeter Spaghetti Sauce: Leads me to the question: Why am I buying spaghetti sauce in a jar at all? Should I really be weighing this stuff against Ragu? No. I should be making my own. When my friend Heidi and I were visiting the Czech Republic too many years back, we made it just about every night (when we weren't making potatoes). Just some garlic, onion, tomato paste, salt, maybe a little cream. It took about five minutes, was way cheaper than jarred spaghetti sauce (which I'm not sure they even had) and tasted better.

Haven't used my credit card yet in 2009. Wonder how long I can keep that up?
I have a friend who's been keeping hers in the freezer. (She read this online or in the paper, I forget where.) You take your card, stick it in a small plastic container, and fill the bottom with water. Freeze. Your card is surrounded by a block of ice. If you really need to use it, thaw under water. The ice makes you think about it twice. I haven't tried this yet, but it may come to that.

Food

Just posting pictures I've promised some of you over the last couple of months of various food items.

Election Night Cuisine



Birthday Party, as seen in the book "Hello, Cupcake"

Birthday Party, as seen in my brain. They didn't come out quite as well as I'd hoped, as evidenced by the fact that they could have passed for either Yoda or Shrek. (For the record, I was going for Yoda.) The ears were made out of fruit rollups, so they were kind of droopy...

resolutions part ii

I just looked back over my list of resolutions from last year and I don't even want to tell you how many I didn't keep. I suppose I'll have to just keep trying. I also need to add a new resolution about facebook, the little addiction that seems to be keeping me from doing real work. I'm not quitting cold turkey -- just giving myself a little carrot-stick thing, where I have to earn my time by writing. Haven't quite figured out my quota yet, but I did keep it on Jan. 1. (On New Year's Day I like to do some of the things I plan to keep on doing during the year, just to set the tone. Thus, I exercise, speak softly, and WRITE.
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For Hanukkah this year we brought back make-it night, where the gifts you give are gifts you make. I got a necklace from my daughter and a candle holder from my son. They got a skirt and a Darth Maul cape. The skirt follows this pattern and has been my first attempt at sewing anything that wasn't a Halloween costume. Fabric is brown corduroy with white horses.

My next project is some pillows featuring drawings by the kids. (My son has been doing this guy over and over whom he just calls "jazzy guy." I love jazzy guy. I need to see if I can get my son to paint him. Or is that too much back seat driving?)