Saturday, February 24, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Weeds and Games...
Monday was a slow day at work. So I requested to leave early, and I decided I would get an Xbox 360 if I did get off early. While I waited on a response for my request I was pricing out the system at different retailers and reading news about it. I did get off early, but I did not get the system.
When the original Xbox came out I got it a couple of months before they cut the price for it, so I couldn't get price adjustment. I had gotten that system for one game that I wanted to play only and then of course discovered a whole lot of other games that are awesome. My favorite game of the original Xbox is Fable.
Fable 2 is slated for the Xbox 360 and it is the game that will make me buy the Xbox 360. There are some other games I want to get, but none make me go out and buy the system. By the time Fable 2 comes out, sometime in 2008 I think, the price of the 360 might be less and it is rumored that an updated version of it might be available. Even if it isn't I won't be getting the Xbox 360 until Fable 2.In the meantime I will continue replaying my Xbox games.
My cousin got the Nintendo Wii a couple of weeks ago and I have been hooke onthe Wii Sports game it comes with. I also downloaded Donkey Kong Jr and Golden Axe to have some retro game action. The everybody votes channel is also addicting.
So what to do was the final question on Monday when I got off early. No new game system but I need a fix for new games. That's when I decided the DS Lite would be what I would get.
So on Tuesday, I did a quick search online for DS Lite. I went to Target and got the Black DS Lite, and got Brainage and New Super Mario Bros. games for it. It is an awesome system. It is also my first portable gaming system, I never had Gameboy. Plus I can have it at work on the days that are slow.
Tuesday was also weeds day. I pulled out weeds from the front yard. Those things never go away. It seems to be a never ending job. You pull them out, they grow back out, even with weed killer.
Hope everyone has a good day!!!
When the original Xbox came out I got it a couple of months before they cut the price for it, so I couldn't get price adjustment. I had gotten that system for one game that I wanted to play only and then of course discovered a whole lot of other games that are awesome. My favorite game of the original Xbox is Fable.
Fable 2 is slated for the Xbox 360 and it is the game that will make me buy the Xbox 360. There are some other games I want to get, but none make me go out and buy the system. By the time Fable 2 comes out, sometime in 2008 I think, the price of the 360 might be less and it is rumored that an updated version of it might be available. Even if it isn't I won't be getting the Xbox 360 until Fable 2.In the meantime I will continue replaying my Xbox games.
My cousin got the Nintendo Wii a couple of weeks ago and I have been hooke onthe Wii Sports game it comes with. I also downloaded Donkey Kong Jr and Golden Axe to have some retro game action. The everybody votes channel is also addicting.
So what to do was the final question on Monday when I got off early. No new game system but I need a fix for new games. That's when I decided the DS Lite would be what I would get.
So on Tuesday, I did a quick search online for DS Lite. I went to Target and got the Black DS Lite, and got Brainage and New Super Mario Bros. games for it. It is an awesome system. It is also my first portable gaming system, I never had Gameboy. Plus I can have it at work on the days that are slow.
Tuesday was also weeds day. I pulled out weeds from the front yard. Those things never go away. It seems to be a never ending job. You pull them out, they grow back out, even with weed killer.
Hope everyone has a good day!!!
Monday, February 19, 2007
National Chocolate Mint Day!
At work I am in a committee called Fast, Fun, and Friendly Committee or FFF. All the members get to be in it for one year, after which different members are selected. The selected members are from different parts of the company, collections, guest service, card services, hr, chargebacks, etc. We create at least one fun event each month. Past events have included, pumpkin decorating contest, holiday dinner, summer pic-nic, cookie decorating, jersey day, etc. So the last project for the year was for today, National Chocolate Mint Day! We put together goodie bags of an assortment of, you guessed it chocolate mints. There's Andes, Hershey's and York. A desk drop was done last night to distribute them. Hopefully at work everyone will have a good day and minty fresh breath. So, everyone have yourself a piece of chocolate or mint or chocolate mint and have an awesome day!
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Wii bit Hooked...
My cousin/roommate got a the Nintendo Wii this past weekend and I am hooked playing the Wii sports game and some of the retro games you can download. Oh yeah I am also enjoying the new voting channel. If you have a Wii and would like our Miis to be friends message me your console number... Have an awesome weekend!!!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Cows, pigs, and chickens oh my!
So I did not make any New Year's Resolution as most people do. The one thing I have been wanting to do for long time though is go vegetarian. Yeah, that's not going to happen, at least not instantly.
When I was about 5 or 6 years old there was a street vendor selling baby chickens, chicks. They had been sprayed with coloring. I only remember one was red. The color of the others escapes me. So to a little kid, like I was then, they looked awesome right, so my mother bought them for me. I took them home. It was summer so we were staying at my grandmothers house in Mexico. I took care of them and had them in one of the kitchen counters in a box. The chicks grew, so they were then kept outside where they used to keep chickens years before. One day one of my uncles decided that they were grown enough, so he killed them to make them for dinner that night. I could not eat them, they had been my pets. I was sad that day.
When I was around 10 years old one of my uncles, not the same one that killed the chickens, bought a lamb. I knew why he had bought it. They were going to kill it and eat it. I did not know this however until the lamb was on my grandmothers backyard. My grandmother's back yard is huge... So they kept it there a few days, my guess was getting it ready to kill it. I kept asking when they were going to do that so that I would not be there. The day came when they were to kill it, and I happened to be there, so I went into hiding in one of the rooms. That did not help, as soon as they slit the throat I heard a loud squeal from the animal. So sad. In Mexico they make a dish out of lamb in which they cook it in its own blood. So when they cut the throat they had a bucket or bin of some sort to catch all the blood and then they cooked the meat of the animal with it. Still sad thinking of it.
So these 2 encounters with animal cruelty would have turned me vegetarian if it was not that our meals always included some sort of animal flesh. So you kind of get used to it and and end up liking it.
The one thing I started doing this past year is switching to incorporate humanely treated animals. That would be organic and/or natural raised animals. My goal is to eventually stop eating meat altogether. This may take several years for me.
Cows: I don't like beef, and only rarely eat it, and I have never liked milk. Even a quart of milk goes bad on me when I do get it as I don't use it or drink it. I am happy to say that I have completely stopped drinking cow milk, I never really did. Soymilk is so much more tasty and much more healthy than cow milk. That was an easy switch.
Fish: I don't like most seafood, except for salmon, catfish, tuna, canned mackarel and shrimp. I don't buy it too often but when I do it's mostly cans or pouches of tuna.
Lamb and goat: I don't like. I don't buy.I don't eat it.
Pigs: Only occasionally do I buy pork loin or chops, but I do buy bacon. I'll need to find an alternative to bacon. Any suggestions?
Chicken: You would think that after my traumatic childhood encounter it would be the one I least like, however it is the one I like the most including eggs. This is the one that will be the most difficult to eliminate. I have however switched to eggs from chickens raised cage free and fed organically. If you eat eggs you should definitely switch to these, they are so much better than the eggs that come from inhumanely treated factory farms.
Turkey: Love turkey sandwiches and cook a whole one once a year during the holiday season. So this one too will be difficult to eliminate.
Good thing is I like most vegetables. :)
When I was about 5 or 6 years old there was a street vendor selling baby chickens, chicks. They had been sprayed with coloring. I only remember one was red. The color of the others escapes me. So to a little kid, like I was then, they looked awesome right, so my mother bought them for me. I took them home. It was summer so we were staying at my grandmothers house in Mexico. I took care of them and had them in one of the kitchen counters in a box. The chicks grew, so they were then kept outside where they used to keep chickens years before. One day one of my uncles decided that they were grown enough, so he killed them to make them for dinner that night. I could not eat them, they had been my pets. I was sad that day.
When I was around 10 years old one of my uncles, not the same one that killed the chickens, bought a lamb. I knew why he had bought it. They were going to kill it and eat it. I did not know this however until the lamb was on my grandmothers backyard. My grandmother's back yard is huge... So they kept it there a few days, my guess was getting it ready to kill it. I kept asking when they were going to do that so that I would not be there. The day came when they were to kill it, and I happened to be there, so I went into hiding in one of the rooms. That did not help, as soon as they slit the throat I heard a loud squeal from the animal. So sad. In Mexico they make a dish out of lamb in which they cook it in its own blood. So when they cut the throat they had a bucket or bin of some sort to catch all the blood and then they cooked the meat of the animal with it. Still sad thinking of it.
So these 2 encounters with animal cruelty would have turned me vegetarian if it was not that our meals always included some sort of animal flesh. So you kind of get used to it and and end up liking it.
The one thing I started doing this past year is switching to incorporate humanely treated animals. That would be organic and/or natural raised animals. My goal is to eventually stop eating meat altogether. This may take several years for me.
Cows: I don't like beef, and only rarely eat it, and I have never liked milk. Even a quart of milk goes bad on me when I do get it as I don't use it or drink it. I am happy to say that I have completely stopped drinking cow milk, I never really did. Soymilk is so much more tasty and much more healthy than cow milk. That was an easy switch.
Fish: I don't like most seafood, except for salmon, catfish, tuna, canned mackarel and shrimp. I don't buy it too often but when I do it's mostly cans or pouches of tuna.
Lamb and goat: I don't like. I don't buy.I don't eat it.
Pigs: Only occasionally do I buy pork loin or chops, but I do buy bacon. I'll need to find an alternative to bacon. Any suggestions?
Chicken: You would think that after my traumatic childhood encounter it would be the one I least like, however it is the one I like the most including eggs. This is the one that will be the most difficult to eliminate. I have however switched to eggs from chickens raised cage free and fed organically. If you eat eggs you should definitely switch to these, they are so much better than the eggs that come from inhumanely treated factory farms.
Turkey: Love turkey sandwiches and cook a whole one once a year during the holiday season. So this one too will be difficult to eliminate.
Good thing is I like most vegetables. :)
Friday, February 02, 2007
VICTORY: POM Promises to End Deadly Animal Tests!
Full article can be found on the PETA Website or here http://peta.org/feat-pom-victory.asp?c=weekly_enews
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
A New Day...
This may be that last year that Celine Dion does her Vegas show called A New Day... I thought I would take a trip to Vegas this year in March for my B-day, but after crunching some budget numbers that will not happen.. at least not in March...
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Friday, January 05, 2007
POM Kills Animals
When PETA learned that POM was funding deadly experiments on animals, they immediately asked the company to meet with them to discuss accurate non-animal test methods such as human clinical trials. POM refused to abandon animal testing, instead preferring to continue conducting useless experiments that require researchers to torment and kill animals in laboratories.Other companies, such as Naked Juice, Frutzzo, Old Orchard, and Lakewood, make delicious and healthy 100 percent pomegranate juice without harming a single animal
Here is the link for full article: POM Kills Animals
Monday, December 25, 2006
X-mas wrapping...
I have always liked wrapping gifts and finding interesting ways of making each wrapping even a little different/unique, rather than just wrapping and sticking a pre-made bows. Although I am guilty of doing that, I do enjoy taking the time to wrap a gift. During x-mas I buy wrapping paper both before and after x-mas and am always stocked full of paper and things to embellish like ribbon, bows, ornaments, etc. Last year I decided to get only solid colors during the after x-mas clearances on wrapping paper, that way I could use it on other occasions rather than only during x-mas. This x-mas I decided that there is just so much waste that comes from wrapping gifts, that I will no longer buy any wrapping paper. I am trying to reduce the among of waste I produce. Probably a product of seeing Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. So I am using the remaining wrapping paper I have for this x-mas (pictures of some of my wrapping to come later) and any other events thereafter until I run out and will no longer buy wrapping paper nor things to embellish. Doesn't mean I won't be wrapping gifts whenever there is a gifting occasion, just using more clever wrapping options with things that can be used and reused as opposed to just tossed in the garbage. Some tips I have already picked up for when that time comes is using pretty hand towels, kitchen towels, even t-shirts. It's not much, but it's a start right. If you have any ideas on clever waste reducing gift wrapping techniques, send them my way :)
Monday, December 18, 2006
Just listening to music...
On a normal Monday I wake up around 4:30am and get ready for work leaving at around 5:30am to get to work by 6am. When the alarm went off in the morning I just did not feel good and could not get myself to get up to go. I don't have a cold or the flu just felt really drowsy as if I had taken a sleeping pill. So just before 6am I called out from work today. It seemed as though seconds later I woke up, however it was now 10:30am. WOW!!! talk about sleeping in. For me that is very late. Aaron made breakfast for us at that time. Thanks Aaron, and then we sat down to watch ELF. Everyone needs to see this movie and get themselves the DVD. Amy calls it a modern classic.
Feeling better now...
Just listening to music as I copy as many of my cd's to my computer. I have decided that I want to get rid of my cd's. they just take up unnecessary space.
I had originally started doing this several months ago, actually last year when I got an external hard for this sole purpose. Of course the external hard drive I got last year is now half the price and at some sites less than half the price as compared when I got it last year. SO now I am thinking of getting a second one just for movies.
So I had started copying the cds using .wma format. I now have decided that I want them in .mp3 format instead. So I hae started this process today. I will either give away or sell the leftover cds. I'll post here the ones I decide to just give away in case you want them, as they become available.
Anyways this is just one more step to get rid of all this crap I have. I have tons of stuff not in use that takes up space. I even thought of getting rid of the stored decorations from Halloween and Christmas as they take up too much space just being stored and are used 1-2 months out of the year. I probably won't get rid of that though.
Ya'll have a good day!!!
... Updated 02/14/2010, link to Amy's blog http://thosecrazyschuberts.com/
Feeling better now...
Just listening to music as I copy as many of my cd's to my computer. I have decided that I want to get rid of my cd's. they just take up unnecessary space.
I had originally started doing this several months ago, actually last year when I got an external hard for this sole purpose. Of course the external hard drive I got last year is now half the price and at some sites less than half the price as compared when I got it last year. SO now I am thinking of getting a second one just for movies.
So I had started copying the cds using .wma format. I now have decided that I want them in .mp3 format instead. So I hae started this process today. I will either give away or sell the leftover cds. I'll post here the ones I decide to just give away in case you want them, as they become available.
Anyways this is just one more step to get rid of all this crap I have. I have tons of stuff not in use that takes up space. I even thought of getting rid of the stored decorations from Halloween and Christmas as they take up too much space just being stored and are used 1-2 months out of the year. I probably won't get rid of that though.
Ya'll have a good day!!!
... Updated 02/14/2010, link to Amy's blog http://thosecrazyschuberts.com/
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Blueberry coffee cake not pie I tell you!!!
There's a holiday party I am going to today. Starts in about an hour and I am not even ready so I'll be late. It's a potluck party.
I woke up around 6:30am on the back of my mind what will I be making for the potluck party. Should I make a main dish, a side dish, or dessert, or snacks. The decision lied really in how much time I wanted to put into this.
Yesterday I bought a cookbook with nothing but chicken recipes. I scanned through that. It has many dishes/recipes I want to try, however not for a potluck. First, I would need to taste test the recipe by making it home at least once. So scratch of the main dish idea.
I then noticed a cookies and bars magazine I got a few days ago.I started going through it and one of the first recipes was called Minty Meringue Drops. Recipe simple, check. Gets me into the x-mas mood, check.
So off to the pantry to check and make sure I have all the ingredients. Not too good of an idea as I ended up going through all the baking stuff to see what else I would need to make more cookies from other recipe magazines. The meringue drops recipe required 2 egg whites. I though what a waste of egg. Would I toss the egg yolks, or make it into dinner. Jackpot I found a recipe for yellow cake that uses egg yolks and no egg whites. That recipes requires four egg yolks. So hey I figure I will just double the meringue recipe and well win. I would take tons of cookies and cake to the party. Plus I have all the ingredients to make butter cream icing from scratch. Perfect.
So off to the store now to get the remaining ingredients plus more for various other recipes I want to make throughout the next few weeks. One of the recipes is called Blueberry Macademia Nut Swirl Coffee Cake. Sounds yummy doesn't it. The sample picture looks scrumptious.
Back from the store and everything on the counter I decide I will make the blueberry. I had more than enough time to make the coffee cake and then make the cookies and yellow cake and butter cream, then get ready and go to the party. So yeah, cookies cake and coffeecake.
The recipe making comes out perfect. I always read the recipe completely before making it to make sure I know what I'll be doing and where I will have time to do what and in what order.
The recipe says to "Spoon batter into grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Drop blueberry filling by..."
So off I go with greasing a pie plate and spoon the batter and then the rest of the steps, and into the oven. Yeah I am happy. The pie in the oven and with enough time to start on the rest of the recipes... Nah... I'll just take coffee cake only don't feel like doing the rest of the recipes, plus Aaron started making a big cookie to take to a party he is going to. So I sit and watch tv.
About half time into the baking time I think to myself, "I can't wait to try the Blueberry Pie... wait a minute, wait a minute. Blueberry Pie... That sounds yummy but the name of my recipe was yummier." So I go take a look at the recipe calling for a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Crap!!! I put it into the wrong type of baking dish.. I open the oven and sure enough it was had started to overflow. Come to think of it, When I was putting everything into the pie plate I thought to myself, "wow, this is alot for a pie plate" So I put a cookie sheet under the baking pie and just let it finish baking.
Alright so what the heck am I taking to the party. At this point I have a headache. I take a chill pill. Well it was ibuprofen, and head to the store to get blueberry pie filling. The recipe is so simple that I could still make a new one and this time put it in a "greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan.
So right now I just finished putting the new blueberry pie... correction Blueberry Macadamia Nut Swirl Coffee Cake into the oven. I still have to get ready. I just took another glance at the recipe and it says 1 cup blueberry pie filling. I put the whole freaking can(15 oz) that's about almost 2 cups of blueberry pie filling. That's it this blueberry coffeecake will be the moistest coffee cake they will ever taste!!!
Everyone have a good evening!!!
Friday, December 15, 2006
Building a graham cracker house...
Building a graham cracker house is fun. At work, we are set into different teams/groups. Last Tuesday we got the mere basic ingredients, a can of icing, colored sugar for sprinkling, and a box of generic brand of graham crackers, for the "Gingerbread House Contest." We could however supplement whatever other ingredients we chose to bring. The top three teams would get a prize. Sonia, Nancy and I brought extra stuff for the house.
I put together the base and height of the house, placed almost half of the marshmallows used as snow, and put some of the pretzels to be used as fence. Mollie put the roof and iced the house and decorated it. Nancy finished the fence, the marshmallow snow and the trees. We did an awesome job. Just take a look. Most teams did an awesome job and had alot of creativity. We did not win , however I enjoyed this activity very much. Here are some pics of our house in progress and Mollie's creative touch.
First place went to a team that made an island near a volcano with water and dolphins and more. Truly a first place winner. I had to take several pictures of this one. Take a look:
Second place went to this one:
Third place went to this one:
The second and third place winners I don't agree with much. Well, actually I could have seen the second place winner take third.It was after all well put together. But the third place winner really should not have won. Sure it looks nice, but there was more creativity in some of the other houses that did not win. Another thing. The original contest said it was the top 2 teams who would win, and somehow there ended up being 3 winning teams and I have the filed e-mails to back that claim. Anyways, I'm sure you'll agree with me that the first place winner is definitely a winner, second place winner surely could have won, but take a look at the houses of other teams who did not win and you'll definitely agree that the third place winner should have been one of the other teams. Take a look at the rest of the houses below:
Judging for the contest was on Wednesday and Thursday we got the results. On Wednesday we also had our holiday dinner. I helped put together the tinsel trees used as center pieces. The food was good and we had team members as carolers. Yesterday, Thursday, we had our team potluck and gift exchange. Lots of food, laughs, and gifts. It was a great work day.
It's Friday now and off I am to do some final X-mas shopping.
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