by Hillary L. Rubin of Schmutz in My Head
In most of the United States, this season brings on the cold and wind. Harsh temperatures tend to make us long for the sunnier days that bring warm weather. We often forget during the winter season that, just like in summer, the sun's ultra violet light can cause a lot of harm to our eyes. People also forget about the importance of UV protection on their eyeglasses. Here are some helpful tips that will help protect your eyes from the sun - even in the winter-time:
Wear Glasses...
More importantly, wear eyewear with a UV coating to protect your eyes. You can put ultra violet protection on any pair of eyeglasses or sunglasses and it's especially important to remember to wear these in the winter time - even if you're just going to your car.
Quality Sunglasses are Important
If you're looking into sunglasses as an option, make sure they are 99-100% effective on blocking out harmful UVA and UVB rays. They should also block out about 75% visible light. If you're looking for clear prescription glasses, polycarbonate lenses absorb 100% of ultra violet light.
Invest in Gray-colored Lenses
You don't need to spend a lot of money on sunglasses and if you're shopping online, you can even turn discount eyeglasses into tinted lenses. However, in order get the best protection for your eyes - make sure that the tinted lenses are colored gray. They block out the most light without altering the way you see objects in front of you.
Protecting your eyes is important. Protecting your eyes from ultra violet light is an integral part of warding off diseases and blindness in the eyes as we get older. If you have kids, it's a great idea to protect their eyes as soon as possible. Early protection will help keep their eyes from deteriorating because of the sun.
Hillary Rubin is the director of marketing and special projects for GlassesUSA.com and volunteers with the marketing efforts of HeardonthePlayground.com. She also manages two blogs of her own - Schmutz in my Head: a blog about life; and the ALMOST New Glasers: a blog about getting married. She loves to hear from readers and enjoys reading other blogs. Especially blogs about life AFTER marriage.
If you want to be featured on Friendly Wednesday, please leave a comment here or shoot me an email at couponning101 at gmail.com - and I will get back to you... We love featuring new friends on Friendly Wednesday!
Post It Note Tuesdays - The better late than never edition
Well everyone it's been a wild few days... and I'm baked so I'll make this short and sweet!
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and the weekend will be so surprising that even I have no idea what will happen yet!
I hope you enjoyed my version of Post it Note Tuesdays, check out the others here:
MMMmonday - Yummy Recipes from friends...
Today I thought I'd do something a little different... instead of one recipe, I'm going to share four that I have found on various blog friends sites and have put together for a yummy meal for my family!
The first inspiration came from Hallee the Homemaker's Scrumptious Sweet Potato Sticks, which are quick and easy and healthy to make.
My variation to her recipe is to add some fresh ground black pepper with the sea salt at the end for just a little more kick!
I'm planning to pair it with:
Italian Mama Chef's Baked Italian Lemon Chicken, which I made the other day and we loved! It has all the lovely breading without the frying and a fabulous tart lemony flavor, which I think will go well with the sweet potato! (This one isn't gluten free unless you use GF flour, which I haven't done, because Liam is pretty much a vegetarian and won't eat chicken)
for our veggies:
Roasted Tomatoes from Out of the Box and Into the Kitchen.. cause I have a hankering to make these again.... they were just yummy! I will also have salad greens and cucumber spears on the side
and for dessert:
More lemon with Pear Crisp with Lemon Sauce... from the Sporadic cook... cause Pears were on sale last week at Publix and this recipe was easily adapted to gluten free, with the use of GF all purpose flour, 1/2 a teaspoon of xanthum gum and GF oats! I served the lemon sauce on the side, because the pear crisp alone was great... but I love me some lemon :)
I hope you enjoy this week's MMMonday post - I would love your feedback about whether you prefer this style or my one recipe a week format... or if you'd like to see a combination of both - maybe recipes most Mondays with a featured MMenu once a month... Please check out these fabulous blogs which are full of other great recipes, tips and more...
The first inspiration came from Hallee the Homemaker's Scrumptious Sweet Potato Sticks, which are quick and easy and healthy to make.
My variation to her recipe is to add some fresh ground black pepper with the sea salt at the end for just a little more kick!
I'm planning to pair it with:
Italian Mama Chef's Baked Italian Lemon Chicken, which I made the other day and we loved! It has all the lovely breading without the frying and a fabulous tart lemony flavor, which I think will go well with the sweet potato! (This one isn't gluten free unless you use GF flour, which I haven't done, because Liam is pretty much a vegetarian and won't eat chicken)
for our veggies:
Roasted Tomatoes from Out of the Box and Into the Kitchen.. cause I have a hankering to make these again.... they were just yummy! I will also have salad greens and cucumber spears on the side
and for dessert:
More lemon with Pear Crisp with Lemon Sauce... from the Sporadic cook... cause Pears were on sale last week at Publix and this recipe was easily adapted to gluten free, with the use of GF all purpose flour, 1/2 a teaspoon of xanthum gum and GF oats! I served the lemon sauce on the side, because the pear crisp alone was great... but I love me some lemon :)
I hope you enjoy this week's MMMonday post - I would love your feedback about whether you prefer this style or my one recipe a week format... or if you'd like to see a combination of both - maybe recipes most Mondays with a featured MMenu once a month... Please check out these fabulous blogs which are full of other great recipes, tips and more...
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Sunday Stories - Mulberry Jam
My little younger brother's birthday was last week, and I had planned to do a featured Sunday story about him, but my two part story about my fabulous sister-in-law Shellie turned into a three parter (start here) and I didn't want to interrupt, so I am posting this a week later than originally planned...
My brother and his friend W were two peas in a pod growing up... they were born six days apart and lived six houses from each other... W moved onto the street when they were both turning 3 and they became almost inseparable... They were both blond, skinny and full of mischief and together they were more than double trouble...
My mom's favourite story comes from one of their earliest escapades together... they were just 4 and had both learned to ride their bikes... they knew that the beach was down past the end of the street (in reality about 10-12 blocks away in a zig zag pattern... but they got it in their heads that, with or without parents they were off to the beach... they found towels, snacks and sand toys and set off on their adventure... of course they were caught at the bottom of the street because they knew they'd get in trouble for crossing the street without an adult..
My favourite story comes from when the boys were older and working on monetizing their lives... we'd always had kool-aid stands and yard sales, painted rocks at the cottage to try to sell to neighbours, participated in bake sales at school and other fundraisers... my bestscam sales tactic was that I was allowed to go to the corner store and was one of the oldest kids on the street... so I'd go and buy a couple of packages of $.10 Chews gum with about 20-25 little pieces of gum in them, break them open and sell each piece for a penny... but I digress...
My brother has always had a keen eye for making money (and he now is a published author
and successful real estate investor steadily growing his empire) He saw that kool aid and gum sales were 'penny ante' and wanted to do something bigger...
W's neighbour had a mulberry tree that overhung the lane way behind our houses, so the boys decided that they would collect mulberries and make jam... they were about 9 and had seen their mothers make jam a few times... but hadn't really paid attention... all they knew is that you cooked the berries and mashed them up and put them in jars...
Well, their first problem was that they didn't know how to tell ripe from unripe fruit... the second was that the ripe fruit they did get was salvaged from the asphalt lane... and of course everyone who makes jam knows that you need sugar and pectin to make any jam palatable...
but make something they did... a purple kitchen.. my mother's of course... and did manage to sell a few jars to unsuspecting friends... without taste testing themselves...
fortunately no one ate any before the scheme was discovered.. and the 'jam' returned to the ground from whence it came (through the compost).
This was not the first or the last scheme the boys perpetuated... but it was my fave...(as an evil big sister) if only because the boys ended up dyed in the wool purple for a week...
As I mentioned before, my brother survived his childhood reasonably intact, and most of his faculties... and has now become a successful Realtor, author and real estate investor, as well as being a good brother, husband and father to my sweet niece Ella Bella...
I encourage you to check out his book, his website and his blog to see where the boy who sold Mulberry jam has gotten to ... and I hope you enjoyed reading today's Sunday Story...
Please check out the other Sunday Stories by choosing Sunday Stories from the labels ----> and reading more about my family and extended family.
(as a complete aside, I just want to thank The Lady Blogger Society for featuring me yesterday as part of their weekly featured blogger posts and suggest that you grab a cup of tea and head over there to participate in their Sunday Tea Party Social and find some great blogs, networking opportunities and check out their archive for cool tips and posts about blogging!
My brother and his friend W were two peas in a pod growing up... they were born six days apart and lived six houses from each other... W moved onto the street when they were both turning 3 and they became almost inseparable... They were both blond, skinny and full of mischief and together they were more than double trouble...
My mom's favourite story comes from one of their earliest escapades together... they were just 4 and had both learned to ride their bikes... they knew that the beach was down past the end of the street (in reality about 10-12 blocks away in a zig zag pattern... but they got it in their heads that, with or without parents they were off to the beach... they found towels, snacks and sand toys and set off on their adventure... of course they were caught at the bottom of the street because they knew they'd get in trouble for crossing the street without an adult..
My favourite story comes from when the boys were older and working on monetizing their lives... we'd always had kool-aid stands and yard sales, painted rocks at the cottage to try to sell to neighbours, participated in bake sales at school and other fundraisers... my best
My brother has always had a keen eye for making money (and he now is a published author
and successful real estate investor steadily growing his empire) He saw that kool aid and gum sales were 'penny ante' and wanted to do something bigger...W's neighbour had a mulberry tree that overhung the lane way behind our houses, so the boys decided that they would collect mulberries and make jam... they were about 9 and had seen their mothers make jam a few times... but hadn't really paid attention... all they knew is that you cooked the berries and mashed them up and put them in jars...
Well, their first problem was that they didn't know how to tell ripe from unripe fruit... the second was that the ripe fruit they did get was salvaged from the asphalt lane... and of course everyone who makes jam knows that you need sugar and pectin to make any jam palatable...
but make something they did... a purple kitchen.. my mother's of course... and did manage to sell a few jars to unsuspecting friends... without taste testing themselves...
fortunately no one ate any before the scheme was discovered.. and the 'jam' returned to the ground from whence it came (through the compost).
This was not the first or the last scheme the boys perpetuated... but it was my fave...(as an evil big sister) if only because the boys ended up dyed in the wool purple for a week...
As I mentioned before, my brother survived his childhood reasonably intact, and most of his faculties... and has now become a successful Realtor, author
and real estate investor, as well as being a good brother, husband and father to my sweet niece Ella Bella...I encourage you to check out his book, his website and his blog to see where the boy who sold Mulberry jam has gotten to ... and I hope you enjoyed reading today's Sunday Story...
Please check out the other Sunday Stories by choosing Sunday Stories from the labels ----> and reading more about my family and extended family.
(as a complete aside, I just want to thank The Lady Blogger Society for featuring me yesterday as part of their weekly featured blogger posts and suggest that you grab a cup of tea and head over there to participate in their Sunday Tea Party Social and find some great blogs, networking opportunities and check out their archive for cool tips and posts about blogging!
Guest Post: Heather's Hubby Rants...
Rant Alert! When I come on Heather's blog - I normally write cute and funny witticism but today I need to rant...
Good Enough is for 'Losers'
I am sick of good enough. Lately people around me have been giving half assed efforts and telling me it is 'good enough.' Where is the pride? Where is the drive to do things 'just a little better?' Where is the need for growth and development?
We used to be a society where everyone worked hard to make life better for all. Now we are just doing things good enough to make it comfortable for me. We allow others to think for us and to give us our opinions because it is easier. We have become a society of complacency!
We have entered into an economy where success is dictated by the ability to think, innovate and move forward yet we allow our schools to become wastelands of groupthink. We create so little as a result. We are in a world in a desperate need for love and compassion yet we turn on each other as soon as our own interests may be compromised (see health care). We have become day to day creatures of comfort rather that shapers of the future. We are waiting to be lead instead of becoming leaders ourselves.
So my challenge to all of you (and to myself to continue to do so) is to do the mirror test for a month. Each morning look in the mirror and ask yourself these questions;
Did I put my best effort into my work and life yesterday?
Did I do something positive for the world around me yesterday?
Did I become a better person yesterday?
Remember, the person in the glass never lies. It is hard because the answer is 'no' way too often. To makes these answers 'yes' it takes dedication and discipline. It also takes empathy, truth and dignity. Finally, it takes love of self and of those around you. Not just the people you know but of all. It is a journey that has no end but the trip itself is its reward!
So for next month make it your mission to make the answer 'yes' to each of these questions and watch how the world around you improves because 'doing it better' is for winners!
Good Enough is for 'Losers'
I am sick of good enough. Lately people around me have been giving half assed efforts and telling me it is 'good enough.' Where is the pride? Where is the drive to do things 'just a little better?' Where is the need for growth and development?
We used to be a society where everyone worked hard to make life better for all. Now we are just doing things good enough to make it comfortable for me. We allow others to think for us and to give us our opinions because it is easier. We have become a society of complacency!
We have entered into an economy where success is dictated by the ability to think, innovate and move forward yet we allow our schools to become wastelands of groupthink. We create so little as a result. We are in a world in a desperate need for love and compassion yet we turn on each other as soon as our own interests may be compromised (see health care). We have become day to day creatures of comfort rather that shapers of the future. We are waiting to be lead instead of becoming leaders ourselves.
So my challenge to all of you (and to myself to continue to do so) is to do the mirror test for a month. Each morning look in the mirror and ask yourself these questions;
Did I put my best effort into my work and life yesterday?
Did I do something positive for the world around me yesterday?
Did I become a better person yesterday?
Remember, the person in the glass never lies. It is hard because the answer is 'no' way too often. To makes these answers 'yes' it takes dedication and discipline. It also takes empathy, truth and dignity. Finally, it takes love of self and of those around you. Not just the people you know but of all. It is a journey that has no end but the trip itself is its reward!
So for next month make it your mission to make the answer 'yes' to each of these questions and watch how the world around you improves because 'doing it better' is for winners!
Friday...
Well since my rant yesterday, you know that this won't be a Friday Follow post... I think I'm going to do a shout out to blogs I follow instead... I'm going to pick five blogs I read regularly and suggest you check them out ... no mclinky, no pressure, and hopefully no inane comments just because someone stopped by to read the list :) but I can't promise that...
So without further ado,five six of the blogs I follow are:
I'm Just That Way - Dani is also a mom of a sweet Little Bird with autism and her blog is great because she writes about her life and what's going on... it's real and sweet!
Outnumbered Mama - The Busy Woman's Guide to Surviving Motherhood.. Outnumbered Mama always has something interesting up on her blog - today it's her 28 item bucket list! :)
The Snyder 5 - if you want a smile you need to read today's Dirty Laundry post... another mom who keeps it real :)
More than A Mom - Another great blog about life...
Out of the Box and Into The Kitchen - yummy scrummy recipes with great pics and instructions :)
The Improbable Housewife - Today's post is about de-stressing... something I think we all need to do
So without further ado,
I'm Just That Way - Dani is also a mom of a sweet Little Bird with autism and her blog is great because she writes about her life and what's going on... it's real and sweet!
Outnumbered Mama - The Busy Woman's Guide to Surviving Motherhood.. Outnumbered Mama always has something interesting up on her blog - today it's her 28 item bucket list! :)
The Snyder 5 - if you want a smile you need to read today's Dirty Laundry post... another mom who keeps it real :)
More than A Mom - Another great blog about life...
Out of the Box and Into The Kitchen - yummy scrummy recipes with great pics and instructions :)
The Improbable Housewife - Today's post is about de-stressing... something I think we all need to do
Comments and Feedback
I was flipping through google reader yesterday and stumbled across a post that is becoming nearer and dearer to my heart... Big Teeth & Clouds wrote on the importance of good comments...
I am really becoming disillusioned by hit and run traffic MeMes like Friday follows and the like, only because you get hit and run posters who write comments that say ... I'm a follower from ___ and could you follow me back... I guess my problem is that for the blogs I follow, I actually READ the posts... and if I can think of enough intelligent things to say, I will go and comment on them... and if I go back a few times, or read multiple posts in the same setting after I find a new blog, I'll follow it... and try to become a productive contributer...
It hit home hardest yesterday when I had a guest poster who had taken time out of her busy life to do an additional post for my little blog... and not only post about it, but do all the math ... which as you may know would boggle this writer's mind... and half the comments were 'following from x, follow me back' without even acknowledging that they read a single word of the guest post... or anything else for that matter...
So this is an open post to all of those people who are following me just so I will follow them... I am happy to follow blogs of contributing followers, and I will probably go so far as to check out any blog of a person following me... but I have to say that those who give good comment are probably the same people who are good blog writers and will capture my interest enough to add to my reader...
If you're not interested in my blog, for goodness sake, please stop following it... but if you like what you read, even if you aren't a commenter, please stay and enjoy... I started writing this blog for me to share things with others, and I've come to the realization that I will no longer participate in blind memes ... I will cultivate those who follow my blog regularly, always visit the blogs of people who leave intelligent comments and follow any blog I like, whether you follow me back or not...
I am still working towards my 1000 comment challenge this month - and the good news is I will likely make it... with time to spare... but I've decided on my April personal challenge already ... to leave only good comments... and only when I have something reasonable to say...
I now return you to our regularly scheduled blogs... and don't worry, there will be a blog post tomorrow that isn't a Friday Follow... not sure what it will be ... but that's for tomorrow :)
BTW - I wanted to say thank you to everyone who left good thoughts for Liam - He had a great day yesterday and it appears that the antibiotic has finally cleared his system, his ears are on track and he's headed BACK to PRESCHOOL today!!! Can you say 2 hrs of mommy time?
Happy Thursday all :)
I am really becoming disillusioned by hit and run traffic MeMes like Friday follows and the like, only because you get hit and run posters who write comments that say ... I'm a follower from ___ and could you follow me back... I guess my problem is that for the blogs I follow, I actually READ the posts... and if I can think of enough intelligent things to say, I will go and comment on them... and if I go back a few times, or read multiple posts in the same setting after I find a new blog, I'll follow it... and try to become a productive contributer...
It hit home hardest yesterday when I had a guest poster who had taken time out of her busy life to do an additional post for my little blog... and not only post about it, but do all the math ... which as you may know would boggle this writer's mind... and half the comments were 'following from x, follow me back' without even acknowledging that they read a single word of the guest post... or anything else for that matter...
So this is an open post to all of those people who are following me just so I will follow them... I am happy to follow blogs of contributing followers, and I will probably go so far as to check out any blog of a person following me... but I have to say that those who give good comment are probably the same people who are good blog writers and will capture my interest enough to add to my reader...
If you're not interested in my blog, for goodness sake, please stop following it... but if you like what you read, even if you aren't a commenter, please stay and enjoy... I started writing this blog for me to share things with others, and I've come to the realization that I will no longer participate in blind memes ... I will cultivate those who follow my blog regularly, always visit the blogs of people who leave intelligent comments and follow any blog I like, whether you follow me back or not...
I am still working towards my 1000 comment challenge this month - and the good news is I will likely make it... with time to spare... but I've decided on my April personal challenge already ... to leave only good comments... and only when I have something reasonable to say...
I now return you to our regularly scheduled blogs... and don't worry, there will be a blog post tomorrow that isn't a Friday Follow... not sure what it will be ... but that's for tomorrow :)
BTW - I wanted to say thank you to everyone who left good thoughts for Liam - He had a great day yesterday and it appears that the antibiotic has finally cleared his system, his ears are on track and he's headed BACK to PRESCHOOL today!!! Can you say 2 hrs of mommy time?
Happy Thursday all :)
Friendly Wednesday: Is all Flour Created Equal?
Today's guest post comes from a long time internet friend and homemaking guru, Hallee the Homemaker. Hallee was also the first person to ask me to guest post for her while she and her husband had a well deserved vacation and I am so happy that she is returning the favor :)
A little biography from Hallee:
My name is Hallee. I’ve been married seven years to the most amazing man on the planet. We have three wonderful children, two dogs, a cat, and live in quintessential-small-town Kentucky. I’m a homemaker while my husband goes out into the world and brings home the turkey or beef bacon.
I am a faithful Christian and work very hard to live my life by Christian principles. Our family mainly follows a Levitical diet (though not a Kosher diet) and try to stick to homemade unprocessed food made with natural ingredients and whole grains. We aren’t purists about it and we do cheat now and then, though rarely.
You can read the rest of her biography here
_________________________________________________________
According to data gathered by the USDA in January 2008, the price of refined white flour increased to approx. $38 per 100 lbs. when purchased in bulk. Prices are higher for smaller quantity bagged product. This price represents a 250% increase since January 2005. This got me thinking -- am I saving money by milling my own grain?
One of my visitors asked if milling my own flour was cheaper than purchasing store bought flour. My initial response to her was that no, it's not cheaper if you're comparing fresh ground whole grain organic wheat berries to Gold Medal whole wheat flour.
Then I thought about it and then I did the math.
To purchase bleached or unbleached "enriched" all purpose flour or non-organic whole wheat flour, the cost works out to be slightly more to grind your own flour.
Then it occurred to me that this is not a fair comparison.
A kernel of grain has three parts: endosperm, germ, and bran. This applies to all grains, like rice, oats, wheat, barley and more. The germ and the bran are rich in oils, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. The endosperm is what the grain uses for "food" when it sprouts. It does have some proteins, but is mainly starch. The germ and bran quickly spoil once the grain is ground. If separated out, the endosperm has a nearly indefinite shelf life.
Food manufacturers strip off the germ and the bran so that the remaining endosperm, although lacking in nutrition, can sit around for a long, long time as white flour. Because it is so lacking in nutrition, manufacturers infuse white flour with commercial grade chemicals, essentially artificial vitamins and raw minerals that do not spoil, to "enrich" it.
The bottom line is that white flour and refined grains have almost no nutritional value. They WILL fill you up. They ARE inexpensive. But, your body quickly turns the starches in white flour into sugars and there is no assurance that the added chemicals are properly digested as nutrients. By contrast, whole grains metabolize more slowly and provide proteins and fats to help your body deal with the starches in the endosperm.
So, when comparing fresh milled whole grain flour to regular store bought flour, I am comparing a complete, nutritious, fresh grain to only a single part (one third) of a whole grain infused with a bunch of commercial grade chemicals of questionable nutritional value.
Not to say whole grains don't have some downsides. For example, within 24 hours after it is ground, wheat loses 45 % of all of its nutrients, and within 72 hours, it loses 80-90 per cent of its nutrients. Therefore, it makes sense to grind it and either freeze it immediately or use it within a few hours.
Also, fresh ground flour contains components known as phytates, from the phytic acid contained in the bran of the grain. Phytates take nutrients from our bodies by binding to minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus so that our digestive systems don't make use of them.
The solution to the phytate problem is to properly soak the grain prior to using it. Pure water, the universal solvent, breaks down phytates in whole grain flour. Think of soaking your dried beans. There are various methods involved in soaking that can speed the process up and so forth. The bottom line is that it removes the phytic acid and even starts breaking down some of the protiens, such as the gluten, into base amino acids. Removing the phytates makes more nutrients available for digestion and absorption by the cells.
Bottom line then: Properly soaking the grains from freshly milled whole grain flour provides my family with the best possible nutrition with 26 natural essential vitamins and minerals. So, okay, I want to compare apples to apples as closely as possible and compare my cost differential to gauge my stewardship.
I researched the cost of the brands of whole wheat flour I could find that had largely been left alone during the manufacturing process. I found these as representative samples:
King Arthur 100% Organic Whole Wheat Flour
2-Pound $3.50 $1.75 per pound
Arrowhead Mills Organic Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour
2-Pound $3.04 $1.52 per pound
Bob's Red Mill Flour, Hard White Whole Wheat
5-Pound $7.27 $1.45 per pound
Mountain Mills Whole Wheat Flour
50 Pounds $42.99 $.085 per pound
I know that we can tweak the medians, averages, and highs and lows any way we want. I just used these four as my total mathematical sample. So, the average is about $1.40 per pound for a decent quality store bought whole wheat flour sold in a paper bag.
Cost from Bread Beckers sold in an airtight 6 gallon food safe pail:
Wheat Hard Red 45 pounds $31.71 $0.70 per pound
Wheat Hard White 45 pounds $36.99 $0.82 per pound
(Organic) Soft White 45 pounds $44.20 $1.05 per pound
Cost from Wheat Montana sold in a food safe 3-mill 50 pound bag (which I transfer to a pail):
Bronze Chief® Hard Wheat Berries $20.12 $0.40 per pound
Hard Red Winter Wheat $20.12 $0.40 per pound
Prairie Gold® Hard White Wheat Berries $22.13 $0.44 per pound
Soft White Wheat $27.17 $0.54 per pound
Spelt Berries $38.95 $0.78 per pound
Okay, even though there is some insignificant loss when the fresh milled flour is sifted, 1 pound of wheat berries makes about 1 pound of flour by weight. However, 1 cup of wheat berries makes about 1 and a half cups of flour by volume. That is the equivalent of 25 store bought 2 pound bags of whole wheat flour.
50 pounds of wheat berries = 100 cups wheat berries = 150 cups flour
So what is the frugal bottom line?
Average store bought whole wheat flour: $1.40 per pound
Bread Beckers:
Average cost for wheat = $0.85 per pound
Average pound for pound saving: $0.55
Average monthly saving assuming 10 pounds per week usage: $22.00
Average annual saving assuming 10 pounds per week usage: $286.00
Wheat Montana:
Average cost for wheat = $0.44 per pound
Average pound for pound saving: $0.96
Average monthly saving assuming 10 pounds per week usage: $38.40
Average annual saving assuming 10 pounds per week usage: $499.20
I realize this cost comparison does not take into account shipping, nor does it take into account my time and fuel costs purchasing from the grocery store. I still feel the cost difference is significant.
__________________________________________________________
Wow - definitely some food for thought!
Thanks again Hallee for guest posting on Friendly Wednesday - If you want to read more, please visit http://www.halleethehomemaker.com and become a follower! You can also become a fan of Hallee's facebook page here!
If you would like to be a featured blogger on Friendly Wednesday, just leave me a note in the comments section and I'll send you the info!
A little biography from Hallee:
My name is Hallee. I’ve been married seven years to the most amazing man on the planet. We have three wonderful children, two dogs, a cat, and live in quintessential-small-town Kentucky. I’m a homemaker while my husband goes out into the world and brings home the turkey or beef bacon.
I am a faithful Christian and work very hard to live my life by Christian principles. Our family mainly follows a Levitical diet (though not a Kosher diet) and try to stick to homemade unprocessed food made with natural ingredients and whole grains. We aren’t purists about it and we do cheat now and then, though rarely.
You can read the rest of her biography here
_________________________________________________________
Is All Flour Created Equal?
According to data gathered by the USDA in January 2008, the price of refined white flour increased to approx. $38 per 100 lbs. when purchased in bulk. Prices are higher for smaller quantity bagged product. This price represents a 250% increase since January 2005. This got me thinking -- am I saving money by milling my own grain?
One of my visitors asked if milling my own flour was cheaper than purchasing store bought flour. My initial response to her was that no, it's not cheaper if you're comparing fresh ground whole grain organic wheat berries to Gold Medal whole wheat flour.
Then I thought about it and then I did the math.
To purchase bleached or unbleached "enriched" all purpose flour or non-organic whole wheat flour, the cost works out to be slightly more to grind your own flour.
Then it occurred to me that this is not a fair comparison.
A kernel of grain has three parts: endosperm, germ, and bran. This applies to all grains, like rice, oats, wheat, barley and more. The germ and the bran are rich in oils, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. The endosperm is what the grain uses for "food" when it sprouts. It does have some proteins, but is mainly starch. The germ and bran quickly spoil once the grain is ground. If separated out, the endosperm has a nearly indefinite shelf life.
Food manufacturers strip off the germ and the bran so that the remaining endosperm, although lacking in nutrition, can sit around for a long, long time as white flour. Because it is so lacking in nutrition, manufacturers infuse white flour with commercial grade chemicals, essentially artificial vitamins and raw minerals that do not spoil, to "enrich" it.
The bottom line is that white flour and refined grains have almost no nutritional value. They WILL fill you up. They ARE inexpensive. But, your body quickly turns the starches in white flour into sugars and there is no assurance that the added chemicals are properly digested as nutrients. By contrast, whole grains metabolize more slowly and provide proteins and fats to help your body deal with the starches in the endosperm.
So, when comparing fresh milled whole grain flour to regular store bought flour, I am comparing a complete, nutritious, fresh grain to only a single part (one third) of a whole grain infused with a bunch of commercial grade chemicals of questionable nutritional value.
Not to say whole grains don't have some downsides. For example, within 24 hours after it is ground, wheat loses 45 % of all of its nutrients, and within 72 hours, it loses 80-90 per cent of its nutrients. Therefore, it makes sense to grind it and either freeze it immediately or use it within a few hours.
Also, fresh ground flour contains components known as phytates, from the phytic acid contained in the bran of the grain. Phytates take nutrients from our bodies by binding to minerals like calcium, iron, magnesium and phosphorus so that our digestive systems don't make use of them.
The solution to the phytate problem is to properly soak the grain prior to using it. Pure water, the universal solvent, breaks down phytates in whole grain flour. Think of soaking your dried beans. There are various methods involved in soaking that can speed the process up and so forth. The bottom line is that it removes the phytic acid and even starts breaking down some of the protiens, such as the gluten, into base amino acids. Removing the phytates makes more nutrients available for digestion and absorption by the cells.
Bottom line then: Properly soaking the grains from freshly milled whole grain flour provides my family with the best possible nutrition with 26 natural essential vitamins and minerals. So, okay, I want to compare apples to apples as closely as possible and compare my cost differential to gauge my stewardship.
I researched the cost of the brands of whole wheat flour I could find that had largely been left alone during the manufacturing process. I found these as representative samples:
King Arthur 100% Organic Whole Wheat Flour
2-Pound $3.50 $1.75 per pound
Arrowhead Mills Organic Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour
2-Pound $3.04 $1.52 per pound
Bob's Red Mill Flour, Hard White Whole Wheat
5-Pound $7.27 $1.45 per pound
Mountain Mills Whole Wheat Flour
50 Pounds $42.99 $.085 per pound
I know that we can tweak the medians, averages, and highs and lows any way we want. I just used these four as my total mathematical sample. So, the average is about $1.40 per pound for a decent quality store bought whole wheat flour sold in a paper bag.
Cost from Bread Beckers sold in an airtight 6 gallon food safe pail:
Wheat Hard Red 45 pounds $31.71 $0.70 per pound
Wheat Hard White 45 pounds $36.99 $0.82 per pound
(Organic) Soft White 45 pounds $44.20 $1.05 per pound
Cost from Wheat Montana sold in a food safe 3-mill 50 pound bag (which I transfer to a pail):
Bronze Chief® Hard Wheat Berries $20.12 $0.40 per pound
Hard Red Winter Wheat $20.12 $0.40 per pound
Prairie Gold® Hard White Wheat Berries $22.13 $0.44 per pound
Soft White Wheat $27.17 $0.54 per pound
Spelt Berries $38.95 $0.78 per pound
Okay, even though there is some insignificant loss when the fresh milled flour is sifted, 1 pound of wheat berries makes about 1 pound of flour by weight. However, 1 cup of wheat berries makes about 1 and a half cups of flour by volume. That is the equivalent of 25 store bought 2 pound bags of whole wheat flour.
50 pounds of wheat berries = 100 cups wheat berries = 150 cups flour
So what is the frugal bottom line?
Average store bought whole wheat flour: $1.40 per pound
Bread Beckers:
Average cost for wheat = $0.85 per pound
Average pound for pound saving: $0.55
Average monthly saving assuming 10 pounds per week usage: $22.00
Average annual saving assuming 10 pounds per week usage: $286.00
Wheat Montana:
Average cost for wheat = $0.44 per pound
Average pound for pound saving: $0.96
Average monthly saving assuming 10 pounds per week usage: $38.40
Average annual saving assuming 10 pounds per week usage: $499.20
I realize this cost comparison does not take into account shipping, nor does it take into account my time and fuel costs purchasing from the grocery store. I still feel the cost difference is significant.
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Wow - definitely some food for thought!
Thanks again Hallee for guest posting on Friendly Wednesday - If you want to read more, please visit http://www.halleethehomemaker.com and become a follower! You can also become a fan of Hallee's facebook page here!
If you would like to be a featured blogger on Friendly Wednesday, just leave me a note in the comments section and I'll send you the info!
Post It Tuesday - the cranky lady edition
It's another round of Supah's Post it Tuesdays...
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MMMMonday - a yummy twist on a classic!
Today's Mmmmonday Recipe is a family fave that I have adapted from Allrecipes.com. , It's quick and easy and really refreshing, either served on a pita or sandwich round, or just heaped on a bed of lettuce or spinach and eaten with fork!
Fruity Chicken Salad
Fruity Chicken Salad
Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cooked and diced 1 stalk celery, chopped 1/2 onion, chopped 1 small apple - peeled, cored and chopped | 1/3 cup golden raisins and dried cranberries 1/3 cup seedless green grapes, halved 1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans (I omit this) 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon curry powder or more to taste (I use about 3/4 tsp) 3/4 cup light mayonnaise |
Directions:
| 1. | In a large salad bowl combine the chicken, celery, onion, apple, raisins, grapes, pecans, pepper, curry powder and mayonnaise. Mix all together, tossing to coat. Salad is ready to serve! My camera still isn't working, so I send you over to the original recipe to take a gander at the photo there... the original was good too, but we don't miss the extra calories saved by switching to light mayo and we also love the added colour of dried cranberries... I also don't use nuts in mine because Wayne is allergic. |
Sunday Family Story - Shellie part 3
If you are finding this story for the first time, I recommend starting at part one, followed by part two and then returning here... I have to warn you though that this one is an emotional and rather poignant story today...
This is the third Sunday Story about my sister in law, Shellie... who as you may recall I was friends with before I knew her connection to my dear sweet hubby... and grew to love like a sister in more ways than one...
As we left off last week, Shellie had just debuted her daughter Robyn to all of our family and friends at the wedding... She joked constantly that Robyn came early just so she could be at her favourite Aunt and Uncle's wedding...
A few weeks later, I dragged her back to Toronto on one pretense or another ... and she came kicking and screaming... (well no, not really but it sounds better don't you think...) to give her a surprise baby shower. Robyn was still so tiny... especially compared to her second cousin who had been born the weekend of my wedding to Shellie's cousin Julie... a ten pound, strapping young man.
As we feasted on cake and goodies and watched her unwrap the mountain of gifts, Shellie laughed all the way through the party! Robyn was the belle of the ball again! Me, on the other hand was chastised considerably after the party... since Shellie hadn't wanted a big fuss... and since I'd had so much practice with planning my own wedding, I'd rented a church hall, invited over 75 people (cause I had their addresses ;) and made it a huge deal ... which wasn't really in Shellie's nature...
That August, Wayne and I packed up the wedding gifts and our belongings (after living with Wayne's parents for the summer to save some money and stay in Toronto where we both kept our Summer jobs) and headed, not to the States like we had thought... but to Kitchener-Waterloo - about half way between Toronto and St. Thomas, where Shellie was living now... so that he could start his Masters degree work at the University of Waterloo.
We fell back into the same routine we'd had before Robyn was born... although with such a cute draw, I was visiting St. Thomas way more frequently and took my Auntie babysitting responsibilities seriously...
After six months of maternity leave, Shellie headed back to work at the property she managed, and life got way more hectic... visits became phone calls, and emails with tons of pictures of Robyn... but we'd talk and compare movies we'd seen, books we'd read and get regular updates about Miss Robyn's development...
Robyn's first Christmas was a sight to behold... held at Shellie and Rob's, there were no less than four Christmas Stockings for her and it took 3 days to unwrap all of Little Miss' gifts... Shellie got a new camera for taking more pictures of the cutie... and the rest of us as we clowned around...
It wasn't any better when we met up for her first birthday or second Christmas - it was true... that child was Spoiled - but still so sweet, and becoming more and more like her mother every day ... by her second birthday Robyn had developed into a little mini-me of her mother... with a sharp wit, grasp of sarcasm and the ability to deliver 'the look' ... you know the one that can set someone back in their chair... and all by 20 months old... man was she a handful for her mom...
Shellie was having other difficulties too, her relationship with Rob was souring...he had moved back in with his mother, and some of the health problems she had with her heart were coming back... but the doctors couldn't figure out what was going on... she was fatigued, just getting up for work in the morning was a struggle... by May of 2000, Shellie was off work and trying to build up her strength at home to be able to head to the hospital for scopes and tests... they found that there was a possibility that the pericardium (sac around the heart) was thickening - making it harder for her blood to pump through her body... so she started on a course of steroids...
The steroids seemed to perk Shellie up and she made it to the Banville Family Reunion at Mike's farm in Elora, everyone camping out in tents and spending time in the pool, eating yummy food, getting to see cousins from far and wide, playing horseshoes and more... She was still tired, but determined to be there and have a great time! Every time she was asked how she was doing .... her response was the same as it had always been 'Just Peachy'
By November, the doctors had decided that the steroids alone weren't doing enough to help Shellie, so they were going to go in and investigate again... So my mother in law took a leave of absence from work and went down to St. Thomas to help with Robyn while Shellie went to the hospital for more tests... and it was a good thing she did - they found a blood clot in her neck! That lead to further x-rays and probably the one thing that no one expected to hear...
Cancer
All this time, the doctors thought they'd been battling an know foe... her heart, but it turns out they'd missed the real culprit... a pervasive and spreading cancer in her blood - by the time they found it, it was in her lymphatic system and all throughout her body... They raced to start chemo, and did...just a week after her thirty-first birthday. A week later, they sent her home... on oxygen and faith... planning to have her return to the hospital in two weeks, the day after Christmas for her next treatment.
Christmas as a subdued affair that year, with Shellie only able to get out of bed for brief periods, and not able to eat... we all tried to be positive for Robyn and spend Christmas as a family... but it was tough... There were still mountains of gifts, but the sparkle was gone from the festivities... Shellie had been given less than a year.. and knew that when she went back for her second round of chemo, that she'd probably start losing her hair. But even as she sat in bed, with reindeer antlers on and reading stories with Robyn, we had hope that there would be some miracle... and that we'd have at least another Christmas with her...
We went back down to visit Shellie on New Year's Eve day and she was chipper, and 'just peachy'... joking with us, her doctor and nurses and explaining to everyone how her friend was going to sneak back in at midnight to toast the new year!
Wayne and I made the trek home after Shellie fell asleep, promising to be back the following weekend... we got home, and had a subdued New Year's eve, just sitting on the couch watching the ball drop... hoping that 2001 would be a better year for everyone...
The next morning, the phone rang early... six am... and I was expecting to hear someone wishing us a Happy New Year... unfortunately it wasn't that...
Shellie had gotten one of her wishes, she'd seen the new year come and the old year go, but had slipped away quietly in the night, passing away just before dawn on New Year's day.
Despite everything that had gone on in the year prior to her death, it was still a huge shock for everyone... no one expects anyone to die young... and a larger than life personality like Shellie least of all...
I am proud to have been able to call Shellie both my friend and my sister and I miss her every day. I am lucky however, that I have a living reminder, just as smart, sassy and sarcastic and just as wonderful, in my daughter of my heart, Robyn, who has become such a huge part of our lives since she came to live with us about a year after Shellie passed....
Thank you for reading my Sunday Family Stories and visiting my blog...
This is the third Sunday Story about my sister in law, Shellie... who as you may recall I was friends with before I knew her connection to my dear sweet hubby... and grew to love like a sister in more ways than one...
As we left off last week, Shellie had just debuted her daughter Robyn to all of our family and friends at the wedding... She joked constantly that Robyn came early just so she could be at her favourite Aunt and Uncle's wedding...
A few weeks later, I dragged her back to Toronto on one pretense or another ... and she came kicking and screaming... (well no, not really but it sounds better don't you think...) to give her a surprise baby shower. Robyn was still so tiny... especially compared to her second cousin who had been born the weekend of my wedding to Shellie's cousin Julie... a ten pound, strapping young man.
As we feasted on cake and goodies and watched her unwrap the mountain of gifts, Shellie laughed all the way through the party! Robyn was the belle of the ball again! Me, on the other hand was chastised considerably after the party... since Shellie hadn't wanted a big fuss... and since I'd had so much practice with planning my own wedding, I'd rented a church hall, invited over 75 people (cause I had their addresses ;) and made it a huge deal ... which wasn't really in Shellie's nature...
That August, Wayne and I packed up the wedding gifts and our belongings (after living with Wayne's parents for the summer to save some money and stay in Toronto where we both kept our Summer jobs) and headed, not to the States like we had thought... but to Kitchener-Waterloo - about half way between Toronto and St. Thomas, where Shellie was living now... so that he could start his Masters degree work at the University of Waterloo.
We fell back into the same routine we'd had before Robyn was born... although with such a cute draw, I was visiting St. Thomas way more frequently and took my Auntie babysitting responsibilities seriously...
After six months of maternity leave, Shellie headed back to work at the property she managed, and life got way more hectic... visits became phone calls, and emails with tons of pictures of Robyn... but we'd talk and compare movies we'd seen, books we'd read and get regular updates about Miss Robyn's development...
Robyn's first Christmas was a sight to behold... held at Shellie and Rob's, there were no less than four Christmas Stockings for her and it took 3 days to unwrap all of Little Miss' gifts... Shellie got a new camera for taking more pictures of the cutie... and the rest of us as we clowned around...
It wasn't any better when we met up for her first birthday or second Christmas - it was true... that child was Spoiled - but still so sweet, and becoming more and more like her mother every day ... by her second birthday Robyn had developed into a little mini-me of her mother... with a sharp wit, grasp of sarcasm and the ability to deliver 'the look' ... you know the one that can set someone back in their chair... and all by 20 months old... man was she a handful for her mom...
Shellie was having other difficulties too, her relationship with Rob was souring...he had moved back in with his mother, and some of the health problems she had with her heart were coming back... but the doctors couldn't figure out what was going on... she was fatigued, just getting up for work in the morning was a struggle... by May of 2000, Shellie was off work and trying to build up her strength at home to be able to head to the hospital for scopes and tests... they found that there was a possibility that the pericardium (sac around the heart) was thickening - making it harder for her blood to pump through her body... so she started on a course of steroids...
The steroids seemed to perk Shellie up and she made it to the Banville Family Reunion at Mike's farm in Elora, everyone camping out in tents and spending time in the pool, eating yummy food, getting to see cousins from far and wide, playing horseshoes and more... She was still tired, but determined to be there and have a great time! Every time she was asked how she was doing .... her response was the same as it had always been 'Just Peachy'
By November, the doctors had decided that the steroids alone weren't doing enough to help Shellie, so they were going to go in and investigate again... So my mother in law took a leave of absence from work and went down to St. Thomas to help with Robyn while Shellie went to the hospital for more tests... and it was a good thing she did - they found a blood clot in her neck! That lead to further x-rays and probably the one thing that no one expected to hear...
Cancer
All this time, the doctors thought they'd been battling an know foe... her heart, but it turns out they'd missed the real culprit... a pervasive and spreading cancer in her blood - by the time they found it, it was in her lymphatic system and all throughout her body... They raced to start chemo, and did...just a week after her thirty-first birthday. A week later, they sent her home... on oxygen and faith... planning to have her return to the hospital in two weeks, the day after Christmas for her next treatment.
Christmas as a subdued affair that year, with Shellie only able to get out of bed for brief periods, and not able to eat... we all tried to be positive for Robyn and spend Christmas as a family... but it was tough... There were still mountains of gifts, but the sparkle was gone from the festivities... Shellie had been given less than a year.. and knew that when she went back for her second round of chemo, that she'd probably start losing her hair. But even as she sat in bed, with reindeer antlers on and reading stories with Robyn, we had hope that there would be some miracle... and that we'd have at least another Christmas with her...
We went back down to visit Shellie on New Year's Eve day and she was chipper, and 'just peachy'... joking with us, her doctor and nurses and explaining to everyone how her friend was going to sneak back in at midnight to toast the new year!
Wayne and I made the trek home after Shellie fell asleep, promising to be back the following weekend... we got home, and had a subdued New Year's eve, just sitting on the couch watching the ball drop... hoping that 2001 would be a better year for everyone...
The next morning, the phone rang early... six am... and I was expecting to hear someone wishing us a Happy New Year... unfortunately it wasn't that...
Shellie had gotten one of her wishes, she'd seen the new year come and the old year go, but had slipped away quietly in the night, passing away just before dawn on New Year's day.
Despite everything that had gone on in the year prior to her death, it was still a huge shock for everyone... no one expects anyone to die young... and a larger than life personality like Shellie least of all...
I am proud to have been able to call Shellie both my friend and my sister and I miss her every day. I am lucky however, that I have a living reminder, just as smart, sassy and sarcastic and just as wonderful, in my daughter of my heart, Robyn, who has become such a huge part of our lives since she came to live with us about a year after Shellie passed....
Thank you for reading my Sunday Family Stories and visiting my blog...
Book Review - Beguiled by Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand
Beguiled by Deeanne Gist and J. Mark Bertrand caught my eye because it's set in my adopted city, Charleston, SC and uses landmarks and street names that are very familiar to me... I was intrigued to read that this was a writing collaboration between two authors who write in different genres! Read on to see what else I found out by reading this book:
From the Publisher:
Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything.
As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?
My review:
This book is an intriguing combination of romance, mystery and suspense... the premise is simple... Girl meets guy and they need to work through their attraction and also figure out who is targeting Rylee and why... I have to say that I figured out whodunnit fairly early in the book, but the why was the more interesting story and that unfolded like a blooming onion page after page until finally being wrapped up nicely in the end... I think the book's ability to bring the romance and beauty of Charleston together with being able to unravel the reason behind the thefts and how they connect both to Rylee and the history of Charleston was interesting and inventive...
As a character, Rylee was a puzzle in herself - fresh faced naivete with a blend of smarts, understanding and a focus of purpose.. not just a simple dog walke. Logan, was a little more traditional and written as a good 'any man' whose life just happened to meet up with Rylee.
I have to say that I enjoyed both the Charleston references and the twists and turns that the story took and would recommend it as a good summer read for anyone who likes a good suspenseful romance. Beguiled is an excellent pairing of authors!
About the authors:
From the Publisher:
In the shadows of Charleston, someone is watching her
Rylee Monroe, a dogwalker in Charleston's wealthiest neighborhood, never feared the streets at night. But now a thief is terrorizing the area and worse, someone seems to be targeting her.Reporter Logan Woods is covering the break-ins with the hope of publishing them as a true-crime book. The more he digs, the more he realizes this beguiling dogwalker seems to be at the center of everything.
As danger draws ever closer, Logan must choose: Chase the girl, the story, or plunge into the shadows after the villain who threatens everything?
My review:
This book is an intriguing combination of romance, mystery and suspense... the premise is simple... Girl meets guy and they need to work through their attraction and also figure out who is targeting Rylee and why... I have to say that I figured out whodunnit fairly early in the book, but the why was the more interesting story and that unfolded like a blooming onion page after page until finally being wrapped up nicely in the end... I think the book's ability to bring the romance and beauty of Charleston together with being able to unravel the reason behind the thefts and how they connect both to Rylee and the history of Charleston was interesting and inventive...
As a character, Rylee was a puzzle in herself - fresh faced naivete with a blend of smarts, understanding and a focus of purpose.. not just a simple dog walke. Logan, was a little more traditional and written as a good 'any man' whose life just happened to meet up with Rylee.
I have to say that I enjoyed both the Charleston references and the twists and turns that the story took and would recommend it as a good summer read for anyone who likes a good suspenseful romance. Beguiled is an excellent pairing of authors!
About the authors:
Deeanne Gist has a background in education and journalism. Her credits include People, Parents, Parenting, Family Fun, and the Houston Chronicle and she has a degree from Texas A&M. Dee is the author of five previous bestselling novels including A Bride in the Bargain and lives in Houston, Texas. Visit Deeanne's Web site at www.deeannegist.com
J. Mark Bertrand has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Houston. After one hurricane too many, he left Houston and relocated with his wife Laurie to the plains of South Dakota. For more information, visit www.jmarkbertrand.com
Thursday Thoughts from Hubby
Wayne was in a creative mood last week and had extra time on his hands... being Spring Break and all... He was home more this week and even had a Daddy - Liam bonding day on Wednesday so I could have a kid free day!
His contribution to acting balanced this week is a little ditty... If you care to sing along, I'm sure you'll figure out the tune :)
The Ballad of Spring Break
His contribution to acting balanced this week is a little ditty... If you care to sing along, I'm sure you'll figure out the tune :)
The Ballad of Spring Break
Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from a college town
Aboard a tiny skip.
The mate was a mighty ladies man,
The skipper drunk and unsure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a fun-filled drunken tour, a fun-filled drunken tour.
The hangovers started getting rough,
The six-pack abs were tossed,
If not for the carousing of the feckless crew
The lunch would be lost, the lunch would be lost.
The ship set ground on the shore of this one-star ugly motel
With DrunkAgain
The athlete too,
The frat boy and his girl,
The drama queen
The loser and a Mary Ann,
Here on Spring Break Isle.
So this is the tale of the spring break dopes,
They're here for a short, sort time,
They'll try to pick-up the most drunk of ladies,
It's an uphill climb.
The first mate and the Skipper too,
Will do their very best,
To be wing-men helping their buds to score
In this tropic island nest.
No cell, no net, no iPod,
Not a single luxury,
Like some guy stranded on an island,
It as primitive as can be.
So join us here each week my friends,
You're sure to get a smile,
From seven partying animals,
Here on "DrunkAgain's Isle."
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from a college town
Aboard a tiny skip.
The mate was a mighty ladies man,
The skipper drunk and unsure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a fun-filled drunken tour, a fun-filled drunken tour.
The hangovers started getting rough,
The six-pack abs were tossed,
If not for the carousing of the feckless crew
The lunch would be lost, the lunch would be lost.
The ship set ground on the shore of this one-star ugly motel
With DrunkAgain
The athlete too,
The frat boy and his girl,
The drama queen
The loser and a Mary Ann,
Here on Spring Break Isle.
So this is the tale of the spring break dopes,
They're here for a short, sort time,
They'll try to pick-up the most drunk of ladies,
It's an uphill climb.
The first mate and the Skipper too,
Will do their very best,
To be wing-men helping their buds to score
In this tropic island nest.
No cell, no net, no iPod,
Not a single luxury,
Like some guy stranded on an island,
It as primitive as can be.
So join us here each week my friends,
You're sure to get a smile,
From seven partying animals,
Here on "DrunkAgain's Isle."
Friendly Wednesday: Exciting News!
Today's guest poster is Morgan from Becoming Homegrown - she is an almost thirty Christ following mom that is on a quest to learn how to do a litany of things that she never bothered with in her younger years. These included but are not exclusive to; sewing, cooking, crocheting well, refinishing, gardening, DIY projects and having giant meltdowns when her projects fail. Because she finds humor in almost everything, she thinks it is funny and fun to document her learning process on Becoming Homegrown. This guest post is part of a series of posts that began with a plea to her fellow bloggers for easy, tried and true recipes to make for her family - check out her original request here and make sure you poke around her blog - she has wonderful crafts and other projects to share as she enjoys Becoming Homegrown!
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Exciting news - I have successfully completed another blogger recipe! Andrea, the author of The Freckled Bug, doesn’t have a foodie blog but she did send me a link to her family’s favorite pizza recipe. After looking at the ingredients and her final result I decided to make it this week.
Andrea’s pizza is a Turkey Sausage and Mushroom masterpiece. Even though hers looked delectable (like that word choice?!) I did not go the same route with the toppings. We have some picky pizza eaters so we choose to stick with Pepperoni. (On a personal note- I would have layered that pizza with a variety of toppings but I was not up for a battle!) Here is a quick break down of my pizza making process. ….
The changes that were made include the pizza crust; Mama Mary’s is not available out here so we went with Boboli, and our topping choice, Pepperoni. My boys and I worked together and stayed true to the recipe, even when I thought it was weird to mix in olive oil with the cheese. After about a total of 5 minutes of getting everything mixed together and on the pizza crust we all waited with baited breath as we watched our dinner cook.
The verdict from both mommy (me) and the kiddos was good! I loved how easy and fast it was to make and I really enjoyed having my boys help out. The only thing I may change is the amount of olive oil. I believe the combination of Pepperoni and olive oil made it a tad too greasy, otherwise it was delicious!
Thanks Andrea from The Freckled Bug for a great dinner! This is definitely a repeat.
Post It Tuesday!
Linking up with Supah Mom and her fabulous MeMe
My sweet son with autism was up until 11:30 last night... he'd already had an uncharacteristic meltdown at school for his first ever 'not so good' day! I'm afraid he's going to be a different child than my sweetie today...
Check out yesterday's post from Couponning 101 for more about this one...
Come on... you know you wanna... If you leave your fan page in the comments here I'm sure myself and others will check you out too!
If you are sure you don't want to miss it... and you don't... trust me... become a Google Connect or Networked Blogs follower ... at the bottom of the page
Hope you enjoyed Post It Tuesday.... if you did, don't forget to visit Supah Mommy and check out the other great Post it Participants!
MMMMonday - yummy and healthy!
I got this recipe from that great wwrecipes ezine I get ... this one came from Iris in CA. I have made them as is, and am going to try an experiment to make them GF for Liam...
Sweet Potato Muffins
Makes 12
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup finely grated raw sweet potato
1/2 cup finely chopped dried pears
1 to 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Preheat oven to 375F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
Combine whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a mixing bowl.
Combine milk, egg whites and oil in a separate bowl and whisk well.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into the well and stir until just combined. Gently fold in sweet potato and pears.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 fill. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake 18 - 20 minutes, until centers spring back when touched
Sweet Potato Muffins
Makes 12
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 egg whites
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 cup finely grated raw sweet potato
1/2 cup finely chopped dried pears
1 to 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar
Preheat oven to 375F. Coat 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.
Combine whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and salt in a mixing bowl.
Combine milk, egg whites and oil in a separate bowl and whisk well.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour wet ingredients into the well and stir until just combined. Gently fold in sweet potato and pears.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 fill. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
Bake 18 - 20 minutes, until centers spring back when touched
Sunday Family Story - Shellie part 2
If you missed part one - check it out here
As we left off last week, I dangled a carrot for you my readers...Shellie was my friend and I was dating her adorable brother, Wayne. Shellie had moved a few hours away from Toronto, both to be closer to her boyfriend and to get out of 'the Big City'. When she came home for a visit in October of 1997, we both had great news to share with each other...
Being the sweetie that she is - she let me go first, since she could see I was bubbling over with excitement! I had to tell her we were becoming sisters! Wayne and I had gotten engaged the week before after going ring shopping - he was applying for grad school in the States and we didn't want to take the chance that I couldn't go with him when he went... and so we had picked our wedding date to allow for any paperwork and such to be completed ... right after we both finished our BA's - May 30, 1998. I rambled on about the details that I had already planned... (if you missed that story check it out here) and finishing up my long winded explanation by asking her to be a bridesmaid...
She hesitated for a second, which isn't like her, then said "Well, that's just peachy! but I can't be a bridesmaid... my due date is June 5th" We laughed, we cried, we hugged! We thought about changing all the wedding plans, but she convinced me that it would all work out okay and she'd do her best to be there if she could, but not to change all the plans already in place...
Shellie was so excited that she was pregnant, having not been able to conceive during her marriage, and I knew that she would make an excellent mommy! We sat there that Thanksgiving weekend plotting baby strategy and wedding strategy, and having a great time...
The next several months passed by in a blur.. I was finishing school, planning the wedding and working almost full time, but we'd talk when I was at work on Wednesday nights, since all I was doing was working the office shift at a small rec centre and Wendesday nights was ball room dancing - those wild and crazy dancers rarely got out of line... We'd compare notes on the week, the next week and beyond... until the last week of April 1998... Shellie had gone to the hospital to be monitored on the 22nd of April, because she had started having contractions... she also had previous medical conditions that made it likely that she'd stay in hospital until they got her completely sorted out...
She made plans for a long stay and we settled into a new routine of talking every day if we could... I honestly think she just wanted someone to complain about the wonderful food she'd been served that day... they were able to stop her contractions but wanted her on almost complete bed rest and had her hooked to a bunch of monitors so the farthest she could travel was to the bathroom and back... and of course at almost 8 months pregnant, she was getting a pretty good workout in...
Almost exactly a week later, we were talking during our usual Wednesday night... I was working on reports for work and she was shooting the breeze about a roomie that had delivered and left earlier that day... when she asked me to time something... 5 minutes... 4 minutes... she knew right then and there that she was in labour again and that the doctors wouldn't stop it this time, having done a battery of tests on the baby and mom, and knowing that it would be the safest thing for Shellie... so I gave her my love, hung up and called my future inlaws to tell them Shellie was in labour!!!
They didn't even ask how I knew, I just told them to hop in the car now - her labour was progressing rapidly and if they wanted to be there... it was about 7 pm when they hit the road...
by 11 pm, Robyn Anne Loucks had made her appearance, small but healthy at 4lbs, 11 oz and breathing on her own...
As Shellie said, her daughter had impeccable timing - they were going to keep her in the hospital for about a week to monitor them both and then they'd have 3 weeks to get used to each other before making the trip to our wedding :) Everything was going to be peachy keen :)
So that's what they did... Robyn Anne made her public debut as the star attraction at our wedding, picured here with her mom and dad:
If you haven't had enough yet, there is one more story to tell next week... sadder and more poignant, but worth reading here.
Thanks for letting me share my Sunday Family Stories
As we left off last week, I dangled a carrot for you my readers...Shellie was my friend and I was dating her adorable brother, Wayne. Shellie had moved a few hours away from Toronto, both to be closer to her boyfriend and to get out of 'the Big City'. When she came home for a visit in October of 1997, we both had great news to share with each other...
Being the sweetie that she is - she let me go first, since she could see I was bubbling over with excitement! I had to tell her we were becoming sisters! Wayne and I had gotten engaged the week before after going ring shopping - he was applying for grad school in the States and we didn't want to take the chance that I couldn't go with him when he went... and so we had picked our wedding date to allow for any paperwork and such to be completed ... right after we both finished our BA's - May 30, 1998. I rambled on about the details that I had already planned... (if you missed that story check it out here) and finishing up my long winded explanation by asking her to be a bridesmaid...
She hesitated for a second, which isn't like her, then said "Well, that's just peachy! but I can't be a bridesmaid... my due date is June 5th" We laughed, we cried, we hugged! We thought about changing all the wedding plans, but she convinced me that it would all work out okay and she'd do her best to be there if she could, but not to change all the plans already in place...
Shellie was so excited that she was pregnant, having not been able to conceive during her marriage, and I knew that she would make an excellent mommy! We sat there that Thanksgiving weekend plotting baby strategy and wedding strategy, and having a great time...
The next several months passed by in a blur.. I was finishing school, planning the wedding and working almost full time, but we'd talk when I was at work on Wednesday nights, since all I was doing was working the office shift at a small rec centre and Wendesday nights was ball room dancing - those wild and crazy dancers rarely got out of line... We'd compare notes on the week, the next week and beyond... until the last week of April 1998... Shellie had gone to the hospital to be monitored on the 22nd of April, because she had started having contractions... she also had previous medical conditions that made it likely that she'd stay in hospital until they got her completely sorted out...
She made plans for a long stay and we settled into a new routine of talking every day if we could... I honestly think she just wanted someone to complain about the wonderful food she'd been served that day... they were able to stop her contractions but wanted her on almost complete bed rest and had her hooked to a bunch of monitors so the farthest she could travel was to the bathroom and back... and of course at almost 8 months pregnant, she was getting a pretty good workout in...
Almost exactly a week later, we were talking during our usual Wednesday night... I was working on reports for work and she was shooting the breeze about a roomie that had delivered and left earlier that day... when she asked me to time something... 5 minutes... 4 minutes... she knew right then and there that she was in labour again and that the doctors wouldn't stop it this time, having done a battery of tests on the baby and mom, and knowing that it would be the safest thing for Shellie... so I gave her my love, hung up and called my future inlaws to tell them Shellie was in labour!!!
They didn't even ask how I knew, I just told them to hop in the car now - her labour was progressing rapidly and if they wanted to be there... it was about 7 pm when they hit the road...
by 11 pm, Robyn Anne Loucks had made her appearance, small but healthy at 4lbs, 11 oz and breathing on her own...
As Shellie said, her daughter had impeccable timing - they were going to keep her in the hospital for about a week to monitor them both and then they'd have 3 weeks to get used to each other before making the trip to our wedding :) Everything was going to be peachy keen :)
So that's what they did... Robyn Anne made her public debut as the star attraction at our wedding, picured here with her mom and dad:
If you haven't had enough yet, there is one more story to tell next week... sadder and more poignant, but worth reading here.
Thanks for letting me share my Sunday Family Stories
Yay for Blog friends!
I am humbled to say that AB has won two more awards:
comes from my friend and recent guest poster: Outnumbered Mama from The Busy Woman's Guide to Surviving Motherhood
As with all blogs, this one comes with strings... and an opportunity to showcase some new bloggy friends I have made in the past few weeks!
Rules: Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
So without further ado, here are my nominees for the Lovely Blogger award in no particular order:
Poohbear and Mommy
Kelley's Family Jewels
Mommy Living the Life of Riley
The Sporadic Cook
Serene Designs
Life of a Modern Mom
The Bird Nest
Finding the Pot of Gold
House of Hepworths
Creative Attempts
Theme a Party
Living Proof that God has a Sense of Humor
The Attic Girl
Deb's Here
Moving on from the Drama
To Be Thode
Life Happens During Naptime
I also received the Stiletto Award from The Husailey Bunch
Please go and read about the Stiletto Award Here
and am required to share it with 5-10 excellent bloggers, and while all of my new bloggy friends above also qualify for this award, I wanted to tap a few more friends too, so my nominees for this award are:
Out of the box and into the Kitchen
The Snyder 5
The Busy Woman's Guide to Surviving Motherhood
Becoming Homegrown
Hallee the Homemaker
Angie Mizzel
As with all blogs, this one comes with strings... and an opportunity to showcase some new bloggy friends I have made in the past few weeks!
Rules: Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award, and his or her blog link. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.
So without further ado, here are my nominees for the Lovely Blogger award in no particular order:
Poohbear and Mommy
Kelley's Family Jewels
Mommy Living the Life of Riley
The Sporadic Cook
Serene Designs
Life of a Modern Mom
The Bird Nest
Finding the Pot of Gold
House of Hepworths
Creative Attempts
Theme a Party
Living Proof that God has a Sense of Humor
The Attic Girl
Deb's Here
Moving on from the Drama
To Be Thode
Life Happens During Naptime
I also received the Stiletto Award from The Husailey Bunch
Please go and read about the Stiletto Award Here
Out of the box and into the Kitchen
The Snyder 5
The Busy Woman's Guide to Surviving Motherhood
Becoming Homegrown
Hallee the Homemaker
Angie Mizzel
Welcome Friends - It's a blog hop!
It's Friday so it's time to blog hop!
If you've just found me and my little slice of imbalance, welcome! For my regular readers, today is an opportunity to explore the wild blue yonder and maybe find another fabulous blog to read or just poke around cyberspace and see what's out there!
So what is Acting Balanced?
It's a blog about being me - sometimes mouthy, opinionated and always right... actually it's partly that and partly a little slice of family history, current issues and just plain fun! When I blog, I often talk about things in my life - my children, my family especially my childhood recollections, my grandmother's memoirs that I'm helping to edit and occasionally my husband.
The reason that my husband doesn't get mentioned as often as the others is because he's the most balanced thing in my life... making it tough to write good family rated material about him :) He gets a shout out today for supporting me in everything I do and scoring Bare Naked Ladies Tickets for our anniversary!
So if you're reading a blog about me, you should know something about me - I'm a 34 year old never-stay-at-home mom living in Charleston SC after growing up in Ontario, Canada. I love Charleston and everything about it, but I often get homesick for family, friends and real poutine (another story entirely). My two kids Robyn, 11 and Liam, 3 are as different as night and day and are both at points in their life where they are challenging and fabulous at the same time. We are currently dealing with the whole pre-teen drama and angst of Middle School with one and the ups and downs of autism with the other, but there are also the sweet, funny moments and pics that I share with you that make it all worth while.
I hope you'll poke around and visit a while, stay if you like - there's always a pot of tea on - hot for my heritage and sweet and iced for my adopted home here in the south...
sponsored by:
and also participating in:
If you've just found me and my little slice of imbalance, welcome! For my regular readers, today is an opportunity to explore the wild blue yonder and maybe find another fabulous blog to read or just poke around cyberspace and see what's out there!
So what is Acting Balanced?
It's a blog about being me - sometimes mouthy, opinionated and always right... actually it's partly that and partly a little slice of family history, current issues and just plain fun! When I blog, I often talk about things in my life - my children, my family especially my childhood recollections, my grandmother's memoirs that I'm helping to edit and occasionally my husband.
The reason that my husband doesn't get mentioned as often as the others is because he's the most balanced thing in my life... making it tough to write good family rated material about him :) He gets a shout out today for supporting me in everything I do and scoring Bare Naked Ladies Tickets for our anniversary!
So if you're reading a blog about me, you should know something about me - I'm a 34 year old never-stay-at-home mom living in Charleston SC after growing up in Ontario, Canada. I love Charleston and everything about it, but I often get homesick for family, friends and real poutine (another story entirely). My two kids Robyn, 11 and Liam, 3 are as different as night and day and are both at points in their life where they are challenging and fabulous at the same time. We are currently dealing with the whole pre-teen drama and angst of Middle School with one and the ups and downs of autism with the other, but there are also the sweet, funny moments and pics that I share with you that make it all worth while.
I hope you'll poke around and visit a while, stay if you like - there's always a pot of tea on - hot for my heritage and sweet and iced for my adopted home here in the south...
and also participating in:
Book Review - Never Say Never by Lisa Wingate
Never Say Never by Lisa Wingate is the third book in her Daily, Texas series, although it can easily be read as a stand alone title, it makes you want to go back and read more about the town of Daily, Texas and its inhabitants....
From the publisher:
Sometimes Life's Storms Blow in Unexpected Possibilities Never Say Never Kai Miller floats through life like driftwood tossed by waves. She's never put down roots --and she doesn't plan to. But when a chaotic hurricane evacuation lands her in Daily, Texas, she begins to think twice about her wayfaring existence. And when she meets hometown-boy Kemp Eldridge, she can almost picture settling down in Daily--until she discovers he may be promised to someone else. Daily has always been a welcoming place of refuge for those the wind blows in, but for Kai, it looks like it will be just another place to leave behind. Then again, Daily always has a few surprises in store--especially when Aunt Donetta Bradford has cooked up a scheme.
My review: This is a great, light read that encompasses values, romance and a little danger, Mother Nature style. The book follows two story lines - that of Donetta Bradford and Kai Miller... it's interesting to see the story unfold from both perspectives as they both struggle to balance the past with the present and enrich their lives by embracing love. It has a good moral message and a sweet story line. It reminds us that there is still good happening in this world, even when the world seems to be turning upside down. The story builds from Kai helping Donetta and her friends outrun a hurricane reminiscent of Rita and others... and ends up with both women finding what they need in life.
If you like Christian fiction, small town stories and good writing. I recommend adding this one to your summer reading list - it will make a good, thoughtful beach read - if you can wait that long to read it! I also recommend checking out the first two books from the Daily Texas series:
and
About the author:
Lisa Wingate is a popular inspirational speaker, magazine columnist, and national bestselling author of several books, including Tending Roses, A Month of Summer, and The Summer Kitchen. Lisa and her family live in central Texas. Visit www.lisawingate.com
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from Bethany Publishing at no cost in exchange for this review. I was not influenced by them in any way as to what I wrote.
Friendly Wednesday: Planning ahead!
Today's guest blogger is Pamela from:
Pamela is a sort of stay-at-home mom of three very active boys. She is an aerobics instructor, addicted to reading and scrapbooking and lover of food! She is blessed to have married her high school sweetheart and love of her life, and certainly is living the charmed life. Her blog - The Busy Woman's Guide To Surviving Motherhood - is a place for tips, tricks and funny stories about surviving the jungle call motherhood. You can also visit her book review blog - Busy Moms Who Love to Read - for reviews, giveaways and musing on reading in general.
You have heard it 100’s of times before – plan ahead. But what does that really mean? Do you become totally paranoid and addicted when it comes to your planner? Let’s find a happy medium. Being organized and looking a few months into the future can save you a lot of money and stress down the road. Surely you have encountered one of these conundrums:
· Christmas is around the corner and as you rake over your bank account there just doesn’t seem to be much for presents
· It’s Johnny’s birthday and you forgot about putting together a party
· You just got a flat tire because you let them lose all the tread
· The appointment to have family portraits done is tomorrow and the nicest thing you have to wear is what you all wore in last year’s photo.
The most obvious solution to all of these problems is to have a savings account full of money to use at your discretion. But for those of us living in the real world we have to get creative and plan ahead. You certainly cannot plan for everything – you do not know when the alternator on your car will stop working any more than you can plan for a trip to the emergency room. But you can do your best to plan ahead. A little bit of preventative maintenance can go a long way and not on just on your car.
There are two tactics I have used to make certain events (birthdays, Christmases, and other holidays) more bearable. The first is to realize that your child will live if they do not get that new gaming system this year. The other is to learn to spread things out. I am not the best at putting money into a savings account and then leaving it there until I need it. So I just start early. When I know some event is coming up that is going to require a large amount of output from the bank, I sit down and try to make a list of every single thing I will need to make the event happen, putting it in order of things I can buy in advance (party favors) to things that have to wait until just before the event (fresh produce). As each paycheck enters the bank I cross a few things off the list. This will work for any party, birthday or otherwise, and any holidays were a large meal and/or gifts are involved. It may sound neurotic but I pick the theme for next year’s party (whatever occasion) the day after this year’s party. That way I can keep an eye out for things in the clearance aisle and on craigslist.
As for the unexpected things – car or health problems – get a check up!! Your entire family should have some sort of physical – when you are not currently ill – at least once a year. This will bring to the surface anything that needs attention now before it becomes an emergent situation. Thousands of illnesses, some cancers even, can be effectively treated in the early stages. Getting an oil change on your car – every three months or three thousand miles – does more than just keep your engine oil clean. Not that I have anything against the quickie oil change places – but it would be better to take the car to a full service automotive shop than an oil change only place. At a full service shop they will do a complete inspection of your car, usually for free– in hopes of finding any problem areas. Then really listen to the technician’s recommendations regarding urgent fixes and preventive care. You could save a bundle by replacing a leaky seal now instead of having to replace the whole engine when all the oil leaks out.
Planning ahead can save you so much in the future – money and heartache. But some things you just can’t plan for and in those situations grin and bear it – this too will pass.
OutnumberedMama – The Busy Woman’s Guide To Surviving Motherhood
You can also check out Pamela at:
You can also check out Pamela at:
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