Week 11, 3-6-2016

Taking Care of My Health:  As I said in the last post, I needed one more week to get squared away.  Now it's time to really get serious about my health.  I still have many, many goals to finish, and when I feel good, I do more, so here's the updated plan.  Come on, you can do it.  Make time to do the things you know you need to do to be healthier, more energetic, and have the satisfaction of living up to your commitment.  I'm giving myself a pep talk, but it goes for you, too.

Some form of exercise five times a week.  Walking thirty minutes a day should be at least two of the five.

Eat the following daily:  Green leafy vegetable, apple, a white fruit or vegetable, a yellow or orange fruit or vegetable, a blue or purple fruit or vegetable.  Now we're up to our full rainbow of five colors per day.  But don't stop there.  You can have as many of any color that you wish.  

Drink the following daily:  Black, white or green tea, eight glasses of water.

Get at least ten minutes of sunlight each day.  Most of us are vitamin D deficient.

Try to maintain a regular sleep schedule, with six to eight hours of sleep per night.

Trying New Gadgets:  Remember the little mini-cupcake baker from last week?  Friend Joey tried hers with mini-pineapple upside-down cakes.  

Then I decided to try mine with the chocolate cupcake recipe which came with the baker.  I read it over and thought it sounded more like brownies, so I just whipped up the batter from a mix I had in the cupboard.  It said that brownie type batters needed liners, so I used some I bought recently.  The bottom diameter is only 1-1/2 inches.  They're on a salad plate, not a dinner plate.

It worked well, but I wanted smaller, so I used some paper cups left from Christmas which are for holding candies.  They made cute little cupcakes, but they're not the right type paper, so it was difficult to separate the cupcake from the liner.  Still a work in progress, but I'm hopeful.  Remember, they're on a salad plate.  You can see the difference in the size.

The instructions say that I can use my own cake recipes or even cake mixes and get good results.  To be continued. . . 

Tales:  Unfortunately, the book awaiting pickup was not a new Covington book from Tulsa and still waiting.

Friend Patsy in Arkansas mentioned that she'd been watching movies on a Hallmark channel based on Joann Fluke's mystery books and really enjoyed them.  Then I remembered that Friend Joey had mentioned those books also, so I borrowed the first in the series from her.

The protagonist, Hannah, owns a cookie shop and included in the book are seven cookie recipes.  I decided to try one, so more 

Tasting:  I decided to make Pecan Chews.  Oh, dear!  This is the best cookie I ever tasted, and you can't lose.  If you bake them a little longer than you should, you have Pecan Crisps instead of Pecan Chews, but they're just as good.  I made only half the recipe.  They're on a luncheon size plate, not dinner size.

Then I decided that you just can't have too many pecans.

And then I wanted to try a smaller size for afternoon teas.

They were still larger than I wanted, so I tried just 1/2 teaspoon of batter, and bake for only five minutes.

They're delicious in any size.  Now the dilemma is whether to bake or read.  I want to do both.  I started the next book, "Strawberry Shortcake Murder", but there are six more recipes in the first book to try.  Think I'll do Regency Ginger Crisps next.

My bananas for the coffee cake still aren't ripe enough.  Soon though.

Tasting:  Not mine.  Brother Bill and Nephew Will went to Punta Cana in The Dominican Republic, and I wanted to share some of the photos of their yummy-looking food.

Punta Cana is in the Caribbean Sea on the island of Hispaniola, with Haiti on the western side and The Dominican Republic on the eastern side. Punta Cana is on the eastern tip of The Dominican Republic.  If you like a laid back beach vacation with fresh fruit and seafood, this is the place for you.  And the prices are very reasonable.

Things That Grow:  My north raised bed is finished and partially planted with all kinds of good veggies.  Some might be too early, but we'll see.  I just planted a little of a lot of things, like lettuce, spinach, kale, chard, onions, leeks, radishes, beets, turnips, carrots, and parsnips.  I planted soon radish seeds I bought at the Garden Show.  They're called Watermelon Radishes and they're white on the outside and red on the inside.  Hope they grow, because I'm very curious.

The daffodils I didn't get transplanted are blooming beautifully in the middle bed.

I'm only allowed fresh flowers when the house is clean, so maybe I can put that vacuum to work tomorrow so I can pick some of these little rays of sunshine and bring them in where I can enjoy them.  I never should have planted them in the raised bed in the first place.

Thrifting:  Not at the thrift stores, but at Staples.  Brother Dan alerted me to this bargain.

I got a case and a ream of paper (5,500 sheets) for $10 plus tax.  It's one of those rebate deals where you pay up front and then they send you a Visa card with the rebate difference. Hey, money is money.  I can take five minutes to go online and fill in the rebate numbers. You have to be a rewards member, but joining is free.

Togs:  I'm in love with that new orange handbag, so I came up with another way to use it.  I bought the jacket (Coldwater Creek) at the thrift store for $2.40, but it has to be ironed (ugh!).

Do you think the t-shirt is too golden?  I have one which is more lemony colored.  And I couldn't decide between yellow or orange beads.  

Sadly, this outfit won't match the purse, but I can use white.  I only paid $2.40 each for the top and the pants (which are Alfred Dunner).  My thrift store charges $3 for any top, skirt, pants, or jacket, and I go on a Senior Day and get 20% off.  Another top to iron.   I couldn't believe that I found these on the same day, and they match perfectly.  If I don't lose some weight, I'll have to put a white tee-shirt underneath and use coral beads.

Tidbits:  My seasons don't go by dates, but by months, and March is the beginning of spring. So down with the winter wreath.

And up with the spring wreath.

And some miscellaneous T's.

Teaching:  As promised last week, here's how you print your recipes or send them to someone by email.

To print - open the recipe - left click the butterfly in the upper left corner - left click "Print" from the drop-down menu.  The recipe must be open before you can print it.

To send - open the recipe - left click the butterfly in the upper left corner - left click "Send" - chose the first option (Email) and it will take you to a new email form with the recipe as an attachment.  Add your message and the name of the recipient.  

If your friend doesn't have Word, just open the recipe, highlight it, right click for "copy", open a new email and paste it in the message area.

Easy peasy.  

Thank You:  I'm new at this, so I don't know how to trace information, but I owe someone a thank you.  Last week someone who has lots of followers must have mentioned my blog, because I had 86 page views in one day, and I don't even know 86 people.  It's always nice to know that someone likes what you post, so Thank You, Nice Person, whomever and wherever you are.  You made my day.

Our VECC (Very Exclusive Cooking Club) meets next week, so I should have some nice Tasting photos.  My bananas should be ripe so I can work on the Banana Coffee Cake, also another cookie from Joann Fluke.  Go get her book.  If you don't like cozy mysteries, buy it for the recipes.  And, no, I don't know her, but if the recipe I tried is a sample of things to come, I'm her new BFF (Biggest Fan Forever).

Until next week - 

THINK GREEN FOR SPRING - BE NICE TO YOURSELF -BE NICE TO ONE ANOTHER - AND WORK ON OUR HEALTH GOALS