I watched Oprah's TV show the other night, Adam Lambert and Susan Boyle were the featured guests. Adam was fantastic as usual (wearing lots of makeup). They asked one of Susan Boyle's fans why they loved her so much and this lady said Susan showed her that dreams can come true at any age and that life is not over just because you're in your late forties, sometimes it can just be the beginning (or words to that effect). You know Susan is setting all kinds of records with her album sales and this may be the reason why.
My 21 year old nephew that lives in Florida is reporting much happiness after the arrival of 2 new 'replacement' puppies at their home. Their other dogs have died off from old age, although a fifteen year old dog is still there. I guess he'll be the doting grandfather.
News
CONFIRMED: New York Times to Start Charging for Website in 2011
Want to appear more attractive? Tell people you're spiritual
Omega-3 fats may reverse aging at cellular level, more study needed
Sitting too much could be deadly, even if you exercise
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Global Warming
The weather has taken a mild turn lately (above freezing).
I just found an empty bag of Lindt Almond (milk chocolate and almond pieces) in the kitchen, a new kind I would've liked to try! I think K was the culprit.
The other day, I took K to the braces doctor to have a loose wire fixed. I passed by another medical office in the hall, they had a sign by the door that said 'buy one hearing aid, get one free'. It must be a sign of our aging times.
News
Exercise protects and improves the aging brain
Scientists closer to finding anti-aging drug
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Creative Tuesdays - Window Pane
Here's my contribution to the 'Window Pane' theme for Mr. Toast's Creative Tuesdays. Remember you have until Monday January 25th to submit your own entry. Creative Tuesdays is growing weekly under Mr. Toast's stewardship, way to go Mr. Toast, hope you can keep up with all the entries! I love window pane pictures, this one is done using watercolour pencils.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Some Recipes
Smitten Kitchen has a recipe for tomato sauce with butter and onions and it looks delicious. The only problem is that M will be looking for the meat to go with it, but I can always have a meat dish on the side. It's a great vegetarian option.
This recipe by Bonnie Stern seems like a good healthy one to try:
MASHED SWEET POTATOES WITH APPLES AND MAPLE SYRUP
One of the healthy outcomes of the low-carb diet was the popularization of sweet potatoes. They are one of the best sources of the powerful antioxidant beta carotene.
2 lb (1 kg) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
3 tbsp (45 mL) maple syrup
2 tbsp (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil or butter — optional
1 tsp (5 mL) kosher salt
1. Cook sweet potatoes and apple together in a large pot of boiling, salted water until tender. Drain well and mash coarsely.
2. Mash in maple syrup, oil and salt until mixture is smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
News
New York Times Website May Charge: Will You Pay?
10 Excellent Accessories for Your Amazon Kindle
Shampoo repeat question - this says maybe you don't have to lather your hair twice with shampoo, that once is enough. I was told by a hairdresser that the first lather softens the hair for the second lather.
This recipe by Bonnie Stern seems like a good healthy one to try:
MASHED SWEET POTATOES WITH APPLES AND MAPLE SYRUP
One of the healthy outcomes of the low-carb diet was the popularization of sweet potatoes. They are one of the best sources of the powerful antioxidant beta carotene.
2 lb (1 kg) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into wedges
3 tbsp (45 mL) maple syrup
2 tbsp (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil or butter — optional
1 tsp (5 mL) kosher salt
1. Cook sweet potatoes and apple together in a large pot of boiling, salted water until tender. Drain well and mash coarsely.
2. Mash in maple syrup, oil and salt until mixture is smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Makes 4 to 6 servings
News
New York Times Website May Charge: Will You Pay?
10 Excellent Accessories for Your Amazon Kindle
Shampoo repeat question - this says maybe you don't have to lather your hair twice with shampoo, that once is enough. I was told by a hairdresser that the first lather softens the hair for the second lather.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
World Peace
Kay from Musings
has been doing lovely posts of her world travels that moved me to ask her
"how would you say that travelling the world has enriched your life? Has it changed you in any significant/particular way that you've noticed?"
She had such a thoughtful answer, worth sharing and a reminder that understanding each other is the route to achieving World Peace:
"Has it enriched my life? Definitely! When we hear news from around the world it's a lot more real and you feel the pain acutely. When we read books or see movies, we can relate more to the words because we've been there.
Has it changed me? Yes! I think we've always tried to be open and kind to everbody we meet so I don't think we treat people differently. However, it's just a warm and beautiful feeling to know that everybody around the world is just like us. They have the same needs and wants. They love their families. They're curious about others and they want to be friends.
We were sitting in a very small Jordanian neighborhood eatery with a couple of Aussies, a Brit and another American and everybody around us were so friendly. They loved it that we were having a meal with them and enjoying their food. We couldn't understand their words but we understood their smiles."
I walked to church yesterday and we coincidentally sang "Let There Be Peace on Earth". They did a second collection for Haiti. My sister said that Bill Clinton is making it his life's work to rebuild Haiti, he is the U.N. special envoy to Haiti and even spent his honeymoon there.
News
Sondra Gotlieb: The ballad of the uneasy traveller
has been doing lovely posts of her world travels that moved me to ask her
"how would you say that travelling the world has enriched your life? Has it changed you in any significant/particular way that you've noticed?"
She had such a thoughtful answer, worth sharing and a reminder that understanding each other is the route to achieving World Peace:
"Has it enriched my life? Definitely! When we hear news from around the world it's a lot more real and you feel the pain acutely. When we read books or see movies, we can relate more to the words because we've been there.
Has it changed me? Yes! I think we've always tried to be open and kind to everbody we meet so I don't think we treat people differently. However, it's just a warm and beautiful feeling to know that everybody around the world is just like us. They have the same needs and wants. They love their families. They're curious about others and they want to be friends.
We were sitting in a very small Jordanian neighborhood eatery with a couple of Aussies, a Brit and another American and everybody around us were so friendly. They loved it that we were having a meal with them and enjoying their food. We couldn't understand their words but we understood their smiles."
I walked to church yesterday and we coincidentally sang "Let There Be Peace on Earth". They did a second collection for Haiti. My sister said that Bill Clinton is making it his life's work to rebuild Haiti, he is the U.N. special envoy to Haiti and even spent his honeymoon there.
News
Sondra Gotlieb: The ballad of the uneasy traveller
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Iris Robinson
My sister brought the story of MP Iris Robinson from Ireland to my attention recently. The 60 year old woman had an adulterous affair with a 19 year old boy, and used her political clout to set him up in business. My sister is calling her a cougar and is upset in part because she has a son close to the same age and just the thought of something like that happening to him... I think I'm more upset that she used her influence to get people to invest in the boy's business. What do you think? Most of her friends (mature ladies themselves, I might say) don't seem to have a problem with the cougar bit.
I had lunch with a friend yesterday and she sent me this recipe that she thinks is really good. I can't wait to try it, although I may use olive oil instead of butter (cream in my coffee is bad enough):
NUTTY CHICKEN BREASTS
Serves 4
125 g/ 4 oz pecans, finely chopped
1 C/ 60g/ 2 oz breadcrumbs
4 chicken breasts (scallopini)
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 C/ 125 ml/ 4 fl oz vegetable oil
90g/ 3 oz butter
1. Combine pecans and breadcrumbs. Spread each fillet with mustard.
Dip in egg mixture. Coat with breadcrumb mixture. Chill for 1 hour.
2. Heat oil and butter together in a frying pan over a medium heat.
Add chicken. Cook for 5 minutes each side or until golden and cooked
through. Serve immediately.
News
Weekends Are Good For You, Study Finds - "Our findings highlight just how important free time is to an individual's well-being,"
Scientists turn stem cells into pork
Sarcasm gets its won emoticon
Record house sales revive bubble fears
I had lunch with a friend yesterday and she sent me this recipe that she thinks is really good. I can't wait to try it, although I may use olive oil instead of butter (cream in my coffee is bad enough):
NUTTY CHICKEN BREASTS
Serves 4
125 g/ 4 oz pecans, finely chopped
1 C/ 60g/ 2 oz breadcrumbs
4 chicken breasts (scallopini)
3 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 C/ 125 ml/ 4 fl oz vegetable oil
90g/ 3 oz butter
1. Combine pecans and breadcrumbs. Spread each fillet with mustard.
Dip in egg mixture. Coat with breadcrumb mixture. Chill for 1 hour.
2. Heat oil and butter together in a frying pan over a medium heat.
Add chicken. Cook for 5 minutes each side or until golden and cooked
through. Serve immediately.
News
Weekends Are Good For You, Study Finds - "Our findings highlight just how important free time is to an individual's well-being,"
Scientists turn stem cells into pork
Sarcasm gets its won emoticon
Record house sales revive bubble fears
Friday, January 15, 2010
Big Mac
According to 'eat this, not that', a McDonald's Big Mac has less calories than a Burger King Whopper with Cheese. The Egg McMuffin also compares well with other similar offerings.
L has started to think about a prom dress for graduation in June. Some girls already have their dress and a few are having them custom-made. I wonder what that would cost? The rationale is that this is the last time they'll get to wear a floor length formal creation until their wedding day...sheesh.
Some kids have set up school Facebook groups that you can join to display your prom dress, in an effort to prevent duplication.
I got K a bunch of new long-sleeved shirts (stripes, checkered patterns in various colours) and he's been wearing a new one to school every day. It seems he's been receiving a lot of compliments from friends. It can be freezing cold and they wear their winter jackets open, displaying the unbuttoned shirt over a t-shirt, with a chain dangling at the neck. He connected his bluetooth phone attachment so that he can share music and other files with his friends regardless of where they are at the moment.
We're having a warming trend, yesterday was so sunny and gorgeous, it warmed up to at least 2C (36F) and it should stay like this for the next few days. It was a good day to dust the house, the dust being so clearly visible in the bright sun!
News
How To Donate (in Canada) To The Haitian Relief Effort
Pants on the Ground: American Idol Season 9’s First Viral Moment [VIDEO]
L has started to think about a prom dress for graduation in June. Some girls already have their dress and a few are having them custom-made. I wonder what that would cost? The rationale is that this is the last time they'll get to wear a floor length formal creation until their wedding day...sheesh.
Some kids have set up school Facebook groups that you can join to display your prom dress, in an effort to prevent duplication.
I got K a bunch of new long-sleeved shirts (stripes, checkered patterns in various colours) and he's been wearing a new one to school every day. It seems he's been receiving a lot of compliments from friends. It can be freezing cold and they wear their winter jackets open, displaying the unbuttoned shirt over a t-shirt, with a chain dangling at the neck. He connected his bluetooth phone attachment so that he can share music and other files with his friends regardless of where they are at the moment.
We're having a warming trend, yesterday was so sunny and gorgeous, it warmed up to at least 2C (36F) and it should stay like this for the next few days. It was a good day to dust the house, the dust being so clearly visible in the bright sun!
News
How To Donate (in Canada) To The Haitian Relief Effort
Pants on the Ground: American Idol Season 9’s First Viral Moment [VIDEO]
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