I was surprised to see so many humans inside Target. The requirements for admittance are clearly marked.
Stuff
Don’t Even Think About It
So, I was driving in Carnation, WA, when this caught my eye:
I slammed on my brakes and backed up, giggling to an extent that Wanda was worried for me.
Why even put up the hoop? The poor teenage boys in this neighborhood. It’s like lining Wanda’s bed with marshmallows and then telling her that if she eats one, we’ll sell her to the Dursleys.
Not cool Carnation. Totally less than cool.
Mindful Eating – A Review and Giveaway
Do you have as hard a time with food as I do over the holidays? Let me rephrase. Is food one of the most exciting and simultaneously terrifying parts of the holiday season? Do you swear you’ll “be good tomorrow” as you lick the frosting out of the bowl and eat carbs faster than you can taste them?
If so, then you need to head on over to my food blog, Bite Upon Bite, where I’m doing an interview with Dr. Michelle May, author of Eat What You Love, Love What You Eat and a giveaway of her book.
She’s amazing and I think her thoughts will really help me, and hopefully you, find peace and joy with food this time of year and beyond. Food is wonderful for a reason. Let’s enjoy it, without putting back on all the weight we’ve been working so hard to lose!
I want to be sure and give a big thanks to Coca-Cola for hooking me up with this interview opportunity.
The giveaway is open until 9pm PST on Wednesday, November 21st. Head on over there now and throw your name in the drawing.
Pinteresting
I resisted Pinterest for quite a while, not wanting one more place to waste time online but I finally succumbed a couple of months ago and I’m so glad I did.
I spend maybe 15 minutes per day on the site and I actually use things I find there. I’ve found great recipes, home cleaning tips and craft ideas and I’m making my home more beautiful and becoming a more fun mom.
But, a few weeks ago, I read about their scary terms of service. Essentially they said that by posting something, you claimed to have ownership of what you were pinning. They also said that Pinterest would then take ownership of the pinned information and had the right to sell those images or information. Further, the terms stated that if Pinterest was ever sued relating to something you pinned, you would be liable for all legal expenses.
That was scary enough for me to stop pinning but I couldn’t quite bring myself to delete my boards.
Luckily, there was enough of an outcry that Pinterest updated their terms of service and I’m much more comfortable with them now. The biggest change is that they no longer claim to have the right to sell the content you upload. To me, this was the biggest risk for legal action (you pin something, they sell the image, get sued, and then charge you for their legal fees).
With that out of the way, here are a few of my favorite Pinterest finds, big and small:
I made three of these homemade chenille blankets for my kids for Valentine’s Day. They turned out gorgeous!
Here was our Valentine’s Day wreath:
This is the best way to shred chicken. Shockingly effective.
I learned how to cook my own whole chicken in the crockpot.
I used the inspiration from this cake to make these Blue and Gold Banquet treats for our cub scouts.
For the first time ever, I found salsa that Dan enjoyed.
There are so many great hair styles I’ve found. Here is one of my favorites, simple, easy classic braided buns. It looks great on Laylee and I enjoy wearing it myself.
What are some pins that you love?
Grow Your Own Easter Grass
My fabulous next door neighbor is like the all-natural McGyver of crafting. She can take sticks, dirt specks and pine gum and create an elegant chandelier. She can make anything in the world out of sheep’s wool and she notices lovely things everywhere she goes and then tames them to decorate her beautiful home.
For Easter she helped me plant my own wheat grass to use as an Easter basket for my little bunnies this year. The project was super easy and looking gorgeous and I think you should all try it this month so it will grow in time for Easter. It takes at least two weeks to get looking gorgeous.
First, you soak a couple of handfuls of wheat in water for 24 hours. Soft white wheat berries are best and you need to get some that haven’t been stored with oxygen absorber packets. My neighbor purchased ours at Whole Foods for very little money.
Next you fill a pie plate or other dish with dirt about an inch deep. Then you sprinkle the soaked wheat berries over the top of the dirt. You only need about half of the amount of wheat that we used. We went a little overboard.
Water well and cover with plastic wrap until tiny sprouts appear.
After the sprouts start popping up (24-48 hours), remove the plastic wrap.
When the grass is a couple of inches tall, move the container to a sunny location so it will turn green in color.
On Easter Eve, cut the sod to fit in your Easter baskets, dress like a bunny and place eggs and treats amidst the blades of grass.
How sweet is that?
Green Drink Recipe – A Smoothie Brought to Me By Target
I buy stuff at Target fairly frequently so I was pleased to see that they were expanding their grocery selection. When they sent me a $25 gift card to try out their new grocery department and blog about it, I figured it would make a good food post.
This recipe is one of my favorites, a green drink smoothie I make to pump my kids and myself full of vegetables. They’ll eagerly drink three handfuls of spinach when it’s pureed into this mixture but ask them to eat four leaves by themselves and they’ll act like their life is over.
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Green Drink
2 heaping handfuls of fruit of your choosing
About one pound of fresh spinach
2 Cups fruit juice
1 Cup water
Throw your fruit in a blender. Stuff in as much spinach as you can. Pour your liquid over top. Blend until creamy and green.
I like to use at least one frozen fruit, my favorite being one banana and a huge handful of strawberries. For fruit juice, I just use whatever I have available. For this recipe I used frozen strawberries, a banana, a bag of spinach and Dole pineapple/peach/mango juice, all purchased with my gift card from the fresh grocery department of Target.
The dry goods selection is surprisingly good at Target, not to the level of a traditional grocery store, but decent and they have a good supply of basic produce if you’re not looking for anything fancy. They have meat, dairy and frozen foods now too. I found the prices to be really low on some things and high on others.
Tillamook cheese, for example, was $8.99 for a baby loaf, way more than I’m willing to pay. Their bagged spinach, however, cost less than I find it on sale at the grocery store.
Overall, I think it’s a convenient option if you’re going to Target anyway, but I wouldn’t make it my primary grocery source.
3T Ninja
My mom sent Wanda these cute leggings for her birthday. I misread the label, seeing it as NINJA (3T). It may not be what was actually on the label but I think it fits.
For Real – Stop Saying “Never”
This weekend Dan and I watched Justin Bieber: Never Say Never for our hot date night. I pitched it to him as “a chance to let the magic of documentary film transport us into the world of a strange and interesting new culture.”
Also, he would get to sit really close to me for two hours. Also, he would get to see Jaden Smith perform his first live rap solo at Madison Square Garden. Most people don’t get to perform their first live rap solo at Madison Square Garden but. He’s. That. Good. So there’s that.
I was mostly watching it because a friend dropped it off and told me I had to, because it was directed by Jon M. Chu of Step Up 2: “The Streets” and Step Up 3: “The D” fame, and because of purple.
I won’t bore you with all the details and doubtless you’ve all seen it already.
*cough* American Classic *cough*
I will say that tears were shed as we watched it. To protect the privacy of those involved, I will not tell you by whom the tears were shed or what type of emotions were behind them. I will tell you that the movie makes me question my fashion choices. There’s just something about those bedazzled hoodies… like baby, baby, baby, ooooooh.
Anaconda Opportunity
This is by far the best road sign between our house and Billings. It’s possibly the best road sign anywhere ever. Who wouldn’t pull over at an exit that promises an Anaconda Opportunity? No one. That’s who.
Today I’m offering some travel tips for road-tripping with kids over at Parenting.com. Come over and share some of yours.
I Don’t Think We Should Eat These
They might be worth something someday.
