We have a really cool insurance agent. He has always done well by us, getting us great rates on car and home insurance, and we’ve been with him for about 8 years now, I think. He’s not pushy at all, so it was kind of strange getting a postcard from him the other day advertising term life insurance. I guess he wants to make more money off of us, LOL! It’s always something. I’m getting tired of trying to be upsold on everything we purchase. Just let me get what I need to get and leave it at that. People are annoying me a lot these days for some reason!
Month: September 2007
Halloween Fun
We’re throwing around the idea of having a small Halloween party and inviting just a couple kids from Jake’s class. I guess I’m feeling the “no birthday party” guilt, even though I really don’t need to. But it could be fun to play some games, have a “spooky walk” in the yard, and see all the kids’ costumes. I would probably want to dress up too because I’m geeky like that. It’s not like I’m going to be looking for sexy costumes or anything like that, but probably a witch or something. (I suppose certain people might think that’s fitting, heh!) We haven’t even mentioned it to Jake, though, because we need to look at the calendar first and see if we can find a day that makes sense. Might be a fun way to meet some of the other parents too. We’ll see.
In the drink
I was never a big soda drinker. I loved having an icy-cold Coke as a treat sometimes, but as a kid, I don’t think I drank a lot. When Drew and I moved in together, I think we started to drink more. It was easy to just buy a case of soda cans and take one to work every day. But when I got pregnant with Jake I really scaled back and now I only have a glass occasionally. With all the reports on how awful it is for you, it’s a good thing too. From a recent article on CNN:
“Liquid candy” to detractors, sweetened soft drinks are so ubiquitous that they contribute about 10 percent of the calories in the American diet, according to government data.
That’s a huge percentage! The article also points out that a 32-ounce soda has 400 calories in it. 400!!! My entire lunch didn’t even have 400 calories. But clearly, it’s a huge problem in this country. You can just picture people sitting back in their discount home theater seating, with a huge tub of popcorn and 2-litre bottle of Mountain Dew not even realizing how many wasted calories they are ingesting. There are so many other things you could spend those 400 calories on. You could eat 4 100-calorie packs of cookies or crackers for crying out loud! And here is a site that shows you several meals that are all under 400 calories. Hmm, let’s see. A big soda that’s not going to satisfy me, or 2 scrambled eggs, 2 slices of turkey bacon, 1 piece of whole wheat toast with butter (BUTTER!), and a cup of coffee. I think that’s a no-brainer.
I do think people are starting to pay more attention to this, though. At least I hope so.
Ridiculously Cute Baking Pans
Ironically, I’m trying not to do so much baking this fall because I don’t need the extra calories, but that doesn’t stop me from looking through cooking stores searching out new and cool cookware and bakeware. First I found this giant cupcake pan:
Now we all know that cupcakes are hot little pastry items right now. There are cupcake bakeries, cupcake decorating classes, and cupcake designs on clothing. Love the cupcake! So why not just make a giant cupcake? I think this guy might actually be a challange to cut and serve, but it is quite clever. Still, I think that the true appeal of the cupcake is that they’re little.
Then, just in time for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and my birthday (cough…), are these pumpkin cake pans:
I know I’ve seen pumpkin cake reipes before that use Bundt pans, and I guess that you could just as easily use two Bundts or mini-Bundts and achieve the same effect, but hey, I’m just looking for cute here. Also, with these pans there isn’t any wasted cake, and I think there would have to be if you used the traditional pan — you’d end up having to trim the bottoms to get the two pieces to fit together to form that plump pumpkin shape. Anyway, useful or not, these pans (both by Wilton) get my cute baking award. (If I actually had a cute baking award, that is).
Shopaholic
Today I kind of went on a shopping spree. It all started with this coat. I haven’t had an “everyday” winter coat that I love in years. I have my long, black wool coat and I love that but it’s much too formal for day-to-day wear. I wore it a lot when I was working in an office, but now it’s limited to dinners out, or something equally dressy. I have my black leather jacket, and I do love that, but it’s just not great when the weather is freezing. It’s not lined, and I don’t really like bulky layers. So it’s great in the fall and early spring, but not when temps are in the teens and twenties. I also have this down-quilted-puffy-jacket that, while incredibly warm, is not at all my style. It was a gift, and it’s okay, but… it’s just not me.
I spent a lot of time last year looking at winter coats and coming up empty handed. The ones I liked were too pricey. The affordable coats were butt-ugly. But luckily this year I have some extra money, and while surfing around last night, I fell in love with that coat. After thinking about it overnight and asking Drew his opinion on the style, I went ahead and ordered it. And even better, I will have new winter boots (in dark camel to match the coat) as well! I’ve been wearing the same L.L. Bean “duck” boots that I’ve had since… oh… college. And while they are very utilitarian, these days I’m not tromping across a muddy campus, so I think I can have something a little more stylish.
Continue reading Shopaholic
Crock Pot Cooking Malaise
When I was growing up, my mom was constantly using her Crock Pot to cook dinners. In college, my friend Kelly and I often used a Crock Pot when we had our apartment senior year. I’ve seriously been using one forever. So what gives? Lately everything I make in one comes out, well, ehhh…. I don’t get it.
Tonight, for example, I decided to try the Orange Chicken recipe that is in the new Kraft Food & Family magazine. It was easy and I thought it sounded really good. About a half an hour before it would probably be done, I checked on it and the chicken didn’t look appetizing and the “sauce” was all watery. It looked nothing like the photo in the magazine, that’s for sure. I ended up dumping everything out of the crock and into a saucepan. The sauce thickened up nicely around the chicken and it turned out okay. (Some seasoning issues, but that is purely my own taste and nothing to do with the Crock Pot issue). Last week I made beef stew in it, and it wasn’t good. I’d recently made Chicken Cacciatore and found it barely edible. Seems that I’m just not enjoying the texture. When I make soups, I don’t have a problem. It’s just frustrating because the Crock Pot does make my life a little easier in the evenings, but I’m not going to sacrifice taste for convenience, either. 🙁
Review: Life Balance CD Set
Although I am not typically one for self-help books or tapes, I had an opportunity to review a three-CD set by life coach Clay Nelson. I will give most things a shot at least once, and I have to say that I enjoyed listening to these CDs. Even though I am quite happy where I currently am, and I have a pretty clear idea of when I am hoping to be in 5, 10, 15 years, I still found “Life Balance” beneficial. We all find ourselves in ruts from time to time, and I’ll probably come back and listen to this again when I’m not feeling up to snuff.
The first disk is entitled Creating Your Purpose. Mr. Nelson guides you through an exercise that is designed to help you identify some of your goals, and then write a purpose statement. The second disk is called How To Let Fear Serve You and I think this was the best of the three. Why do people fail? They let fear get in the way. You need to take chances. He challenges us to do something every days that scares us. I actually started doing this (though not every day) this summer! And it really does help. The final disk is Commitment, and as you might guess he discusses the importance of giving yourself over 100 percent — committing yourself to your projects, your family, your goals. No one else is going to do it. You need to be the one.
The set was inspiring, I have to say. Mr. Nelson also has a radio show that I’d like to try to catch at some point. You can read more about his Getting Started Series on PRWeb.
Apple Picking Perfect
If yesterday wasn’t the perfect day to go apple picking, I don’t think there is one! After CCD for Jake, errands, and lunch we headed over to Greig Farm for some apple picking. We picked Empire, Jona Gold, Gala, Red Delicious, and Macoun apples. We also picked out four pumpkins. I think the boys pretty much ate their weight in apples yesterday! When we got home I made yet another apple crisp because it might be the best fall dessert ever 🙂 It was a picture-perfect day. And now I just have to figure out what to do with 20 pounds of apples! (I see myself making and freezing applesauce in the near future!)
V-BLOG: And the winner is…
I’m sorry for getting this up so late, but my friend Kelly (hi Kelly!!!) came to hang out with us this afternoon, so this was the first chance I had. Now you can all see AND hear what a big dork I am. Sigh… I just figured this was the most fair way to do the drawing, so without further adieu, my first video blog. And if you don’t have the patience, the lucky winner is named below the cut.
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Share Photos – Free Video Hosting
So far, so good
Well, it seems that the nightmarish first day of school was a fluke. Today was Jake’s first full day and he seems to have had a great day. He tells us that he remembers the names of two more kids, but coicidentally they are also names of children that had been in his preschool class. He also got an invitation to a birthday party next week — it’s a girl he buddied up with at orientation. I haven’t taken a close look at the invitation, but I think it’s a bowling party! How fun is that? Lunch went well. I packed a rather uninspired meal: salami and cream cheese pinwheels, a few pretzels, grapes, a strawberry, and slices of cucumber and carrot with a few candy corns for dessert. My slow eater only had enough time for the pinwheels (and he licked them clean, leaving only the tortillas… sigh!). So we’ll have to work on that. I hate telling him to hurry up and eat, but he really does like to take his time and I want to make sure his belly is full at school. He also had music class today and learned a silly song about a camel. I’m relieved it’s continuing to go well!