Petunia Bloom

 

Thanksgiving Winter Wonderland November 30, 2008

Filed under: Animals,Nature,Sophie,Travel — 6:18 pm

Friday, after Thanksgiving, this is what I woke up to on the Doll Farm (my parent’s house).  It snowed the perfect amount on the perfect day.  It was absolutely beautiful!

Here is a view of my dad’s farm from our house.

Sophie LOVES the farm.  Did I mention Sophie LOVES the farm???

Sophie was like a flash of lightening!

There are more pictures to come.  I could have dropped the camera and it would have been a good picture….except trying to catch Sophie.  That was quite a challenge.

 
 

One of my Crockpot Go-To Recipes November 21, 2008

Filed under: Food,Health,Recipe — 8:00 am

I shared this in Jazzercise tonight, so I thought I would blog about it!  This is the most simple crockpot recipe and it has turned out great time and time again.  Also, it is very healthy.

Place frozen chicken breats in the bottom of a crockpot.  Pour Salsa (diced tomatos for less spicy) over the top, pour a can of rinsed black beans on top and cook on low all day.  Serve with a dollop of sour creme.  Enjoy!

 
 

Sophie Picture November 20, 2008

Filed under: Animals,Sophie — 8:00 am

I haven’t posted Sophie pictures in awhile!

This is what Sophie does if she has done something bad.  If we get home and she is laying on the floor like this instead of greeting us at the stairs…she has torn up a Kleenex.  She just really can’t help herself when it comes to those Kleenexes.  Poor Sophie…we don’t even have to punish her.  She has a self-punishing command!

On a lighter note….here is Sophie with her hoodie:

She thinks she is really cool….

Actually, she thinks she has a really mean mommy for making her wear this….

It is ok as I long as she is getting her belly rubbed….

And remember…no Kleenexes for Sophie….

 
 

Starbucks Sin… November 19, 2008

Filed under: Friends,Health,Holiday — 6:43 pm

Tonight my hubby and I went for a cup of joe at Starbucks.  I thought I would try something new, so I got a Tall Hazelnut Signature Hot Chocolate with a shot of espresso in it.  When I got home I looked up on line the nutritional information:

For my tall drink made with non-fat milk and no whip:

  • Fat:  15
  • Calories:  360
  • Protein:  11
  • Sugar:  46

Oh my gosh!!  How could this have so much fat it?  I can understand the sugar, but 15 grams of fat!!!

I pulled that picture off of Starbucks.com.  Doesn’t it look pretty?!  Don’t be fooled!!  They are sinful.
Next time, I will stick to my regular:  Caffe Latte (Tall, non-fat, no whip, no foam)

  • Fat:  0
  • Calories:  100
  • Protein:  10
  • Sugar:  14
 
 

Coupon Find! November 18, 2008

Filed under: Coupons — 8:00 am

It is a rarity that I find a good coupon or deal on my own, but it happened last week!  I got a Target magazine in the mail.  As I was looking through it, I felt something on the back.  Much to my delight, it was a coupon!!  It was for $10 off $100 purchase.  Because my purchases are usually less that $100, I used a whole bunch of coupons that I had been saving up and bought lots of household items.  All together I used $20 worth of coupons.

If you get a Target Christmas magazine in the mail don’t throw it away!  Get the coupon….and then recycle the magazine!

 
 

Blueberry Pound Cake November 17, 2008

Filed under: Coupons,Food,Friends,Recipe — 5:44 pm

Go to ThePioneerWoman.com and print out the recipe for Blueberry Pound Cake.  It was the most moist pound cake I have ever had!  It had a dipping sauce to go with it.  Normally, I would never make the sauce to go with a recipe but I was feeling happy and went ahead and made the sauce.  Yum…Yum…  It was worth it, and my guests loved the sauce!  The secret ingredient:  2 6oz cartons of yogurt

Before you make this recipe, go here and sign up to recieve a coupon for buy one, get one free of Rachel’s Yogurt.  I am not sure why, but I received two of these coupons in the mail.

 
 

Go Green – Use Reusable Bags – Recycle Plastic Bags November 5, 2008

Filed under: Household,Nature,Recycle,Shopping — 11:24 am

Recently I decided to be more green and use reusable bags when doing my shopping.  Originally my thoughts were that it was more green and so I should do it even it was inconvenient.  Now, I feel inconvenienced if I forget my reusable bags.  During a typical week I can fit all my groceries into 2-3 reusable bags from Whole Foods as opposed to 15-20 plastic bags.  It is so much nicer carrying up 2-3 reusable bags that I don’t have to worry about tearing and that fit over my shoulder than 15-20 plastic bags.

Jazzercise put out some statistics:

  • 14 plastic bags contain enough petroleum to drive a car one mile
  • 380 billion plastic bags are thrown away in America per year (JUST AMERICA!!)
  • Paper bags don?t biodegrade in landfills due to lack of oxygen (So don?t feel good about using paper instead of plastic!  It is just as bad)

Also, I have started refusing plastic bags at smaller stores, because I can normally carry everything out to my car without a bag.  If I do get plastic bags, I pick up Sophie?s poop with them.  That is my form of recycling plastic bags!  :)   Hey, I am sure my neighbors appreciate it!

As I said earlier, my favorite reusable bags are the ones from Whole Foods.  Their bags are only $0.99.  According to Whole Foods’ website:

It can take more than a thousand years for a disposable plastic bag to break down in a landfill. Most reusable bags can be used thousands of times and there are so many reusable bag options! Thousands of customers and Team Members support our Core Value to “care about our communities and the environment.”