Archive for the ‘experiment’ Category

How the heck did it get to be mid-January already? The year is 1/24 over, people! It’s time for a resolution check-in!

Except I don’t do resolutions. I don’t do goals. But this year I got the idea to have a word of the year. (I can’t remember which writer I got this from, but if you do, let me know!) And my word is love.

I think that if we approach the world in general with an attitude of love, we can make a difference in a lot of lives. This means being cognizant of how we treat the people around us: family, friends, acquaintances, people who serve us, etc. Sometimes we’re good with our treatment of one group of people but not so great with others. I want to treat everyone with love.

Love can be shown through politeness and helpfulness. It can be shown with genuine interest and caring. It can be shown with a smile or a kind thought in passing. Compliments show love when given genuinely. Love can make a chore bearable. I hate dusting. But if I think about how I am taking care of things I love (the furniture and knick knacks I choose to have in my home) and the people I love (by giving them a clean, pleasant living environment) it makes dusting a nice chore to engage in.

When I mentioned my word for the year, someone else told me how they have a word of the month. I think I can add some extra words to my year.

We live in such negative times with such societal, environmental, and economical unrest that we should do what we can to make our little corners of the world nicer places to be in. It’s a word. It’s an attitude. It’s a change.

If you choose a word for the year, what will it be? How will you live your word? What will you do with it?

 

This is a sponsored post, written by me, on behalf of Dominick’s. I was given a $50 gift card to purchase the ingredients needed for this meal. I also have a $50 gift card to give away. Details for entering at the end of this post! All opinions are 100% mine!

I’m so excited about this fun opportunity to partner with Dominick’s again. This time, I was sent a list of ingredients and had to prepare a meal around them. Luckily, I got the things needed for an Italian meal. I swear, I’m part Italian somewhere down the line because I can make a mean pasta dish!

Here are the ingredients I was given: Dell’ Alpe Imported Canned Pear Tomatoes and Dell’ Alpe Parmesan Cheese.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added additional ingredients, purchased at Dominick’s: chicken breast tenderloins, mushrooms, pasta, giardienera, and fresh basil. From my pantry I used minced garlic, salt, and pepper.

The pear tomatoes come out of the can whole in juice. I used a knife to chop them up some and them used the tongs to squish them in the pan.

I sauteed the chicken tenderloins in a little olive oil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added the mushrooms and let cook a few minutes more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added the tomatoes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I added a spoon full of minced garlic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tore up a few fresh basil leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It simmered while the water cooked to a boil and the noodles cooked. Then we poured some over penne pasta and mangia! This was sooooo good! Don’t you want some?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s how you can win your own $50 Dominick’s gift card.  Tweet your favorite international ingredient, using the #DominicksIntl hashtag and mention @Dominicks and @SusieKline! Tweet before Tuesday, October 9, 2012, at 5pm CST to be eligible!

 

I have an urge lately to really pare down and live simply. Don’t get frightened, I’m not turning in my digital devices. I will continue to be a techno ho. Seriously, the iPhone is a minimalists dream because it’s a phone and music player in one! Right?!

I want to simplify my home. I want clear spaces. I want fewer things. Less clothing languishing in the closet, unworn.

And, darn it, I’m going to do it!

I probably won’t get as spare as paring down my wardrobe to 33 pieces as discussed on this blog. But I probably don’t need 20 swimsuits either.

I’ve been “going simple” for years now. I seem to go in waves. But this time I want to make a dent somewhere.

I plan on keeping myself on track by reporting my progress here on my blog. And I want you to join in.

My September goals were to sort through the pantry and to de-clutter the living room. I’m pleased to announce that I have done the pantry. Now I have 11 days to do the living room!

What will you do? Share your goals and tips in the comments below!

In July the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will decide whether or not to approve a new diet drug. It approved one earlier this month.

The drug approved earlier this month had some serious cardiac side effects and was not approved a few years ago because there wasn’t enough data to determine if it is safe. The drug up for approval in July has the serious side effect of causing cleft lip in babies born to women using the drug. The risks of injury to the heart are considered to be acceptable because these are better than injury from heart disease.

I’m not going to get into a discussion about health at every size here or the flawed studies that are touted championing weight loss over exercise and healthy eating. I do want to know why we trust the FDA at all?

Every day the television channels carry advertisement after advertisement for law firms handling the cases of miracle drugs that were supposed to improve our lives. These drugs have apparently failed not only to help as promised, but have caused more significant damage!

Shouldn’t we stop allowing ourselves to be used as the FDA’s guinea pigs? Because I doubt their ability to judge drugs on merit alone when drugs end up causing more damage than they helped stop.

I’m not saying new drugs shouldn’t be developed. Technology and information is advancing at speeds never seen before. We should take advantage of that. But as consumers, we need to question whether the drugs are really necessary or have been researched enough.

Unfortunately, the War On Obesity makes fat people perfect test subjects for the drug companies. Everyone wants to cure the fat people. What better way than a new drug that will earn a drug company super bucks as doctors and their patients scramble to Kill The Fat!

Personally, I’m saying, “No Way!” Maybe in ten years if people aren’t dropping dead and have managed to lose weight and keep it off, I’ll consider it. But until then I am not willing to be a guinea pig for the drug industry.

What about you? How do you feel about the new drugs coming on the market?

Saturday I came across this blog post. And it really hit home. Check it out and you’ll see that I commented, and had good intentions to stop the complaining immediately. How did it work? Let’s just say that Saturday–in my mind–I was an endless stream of negativity and complaining. Oy…

For awhile I was very Zen and calm. Last August that pretty much fell apart when each of my children decided to all apply for the role of juvenile delinquent at the same time. Suddenly I lost track of all things positive.

Luckily, time passes and I’m ready to become complaint-free once again!

Seriously, I need to do this because I wasn’t liking myself much as I became cognizant of the petty complaints running through my head.

• The ATM type is small. It’s slow. It has braille.
• People drive slow and tardy.*
• The weather sucks.

This is just a polite sampling of what was running through my head.

I don’t want to be a crotchety old lady. I don’t want to be the one standing on my porch screaming at the kids to get off my lawn. I want to age with a pleasant Mrs. Santa face, not a Cruella Deville face.

I know I control these things because I control my thoughts.

I went beyond the blog post above and found the A Complaint Free World website. I even ordered some of the bracelets! What’s with the bracelets? You wear one. Then every time you find yourself complaining, you switch it to the other wrist. This simple act is to enlighten you to how much you complain over the course of the day.

I hope Saturday was an anomaly…because I’ll probably rub myself raw changing that bracelet every 30 seconds!

Do you want to join me? Let’s lighten this world and be more positive than negative!

*No matter how Zen I get, I absolutely lose it in the car. For some reason, Buddha mom is replaced by Evil Demon Driver when I get behind the wheel. I gotta work on that…

Someone on twitter joked that one of the presidential primary candidates would clean your bathroom for your vote. That got me thinking…

Here are the top ten things the presidential candidates can do to get my vote in 2012. These are in no particular order.

1. Get rid of the mildew in my tub and shower, and I am yours. Make it stay away for four years and I’ll vote for you again in 2016!

2. Buy me a new Ipad3. I need the biggest one because I need memory! Really, isn’t my vote worth $800?

3. Make Rick Springfield follow me on twitter. You could make it an executive order or something. And he can’t just follow and forget me. He has to interact with me on a regular basis. He has to lovingly refer to me as his part time stalker in interviews. This is a win/win because Rick will be treated to my social media personality.

4. Please make the telemarketers go away. Another executive order making it illegal to call my phone number would be superb.

5. As president you’ll have access to weapons and such. Please make them automatically strike down suburban women who insist on using ghetto slang not in a joking matter. For instance, my friends and I do some hilariously funny gestures. Those are okay. Women who try to seriously use these terms need to be vaporized like planned in Real Genius. Suggested term earning annihilation: “true dat.”

6. Declare the music of the 80s The Music of Our Country. For instance, the above movie reference has me humming Tears for Fears music. I’ve already told you of my devotion for Rick Springfield.

7. Please outlaw homework. Moms know that it’s really not kids doing the homework in elementary school and junior high. Let’s be honest about it and cut the crap. I already attended elementary and middle school. I even graduated high school. I don’t want to do it all over again.

8. Make politicians and the media tell the truth. About everything. No lies. No half truths. No insane accusations to earn a vote. Have integrity and convince us honestly why we should vote for you.

9. Please ban plastic water bottles. Or at least limit them. Send everyone a Brita or the equivalent. I’d like the Earth to be around for my great great great grandkids.

10. Make taking care of the environment a priority. Admit that global warming might be a concern. Explore the ideas that genetically modified foods might not be the best for our citizens. Consider birth control a way to control overpopulation rather than a tool to use over women.

Okay, who’s ready to buy my vote?!

PS I’d also like a Cricut machine. Since you’re buying, I want the biggest and the best. And cartridges! Don’t send it without cartridges! I’ll make your thank you card!

I’ve discussed my obsession with Pinterest already. But I want you to know I’m not just looking at the pictures! I am actually doing things with my pins!

I made peach cobbler for dessert last weekend. Seriously, this couldn’t be easier and tastier! This one got the stamp of approval by all family members. It was ever good the next day at room temperature. Because we ate it hot with vanilla ice cream. I’m thinking of changing this up with cherry pie filling. Oh, I tweaked the recipe slightly by not using nutmeg and adding a dash of cinnamon to the cobbler part. You’ve got to try this one!

I made the Slow Cooker Cheesy Potato Soup last weekend also. I altered the directions and I doubled it. It wasn’t necessary to double it because it made a ton of soup. I’ve got some stored in the freezer! Normally I don’t follow directions exactly–what can I say, I’m a rebel!–and I wish I hadn’t deviated on this one. I used hash browns with the green peppers and onions in it. I forgot I’m not a big fan of these. They have a strange chemical taste which really came through. The second day we had this, I added frozen corn when I reheated. It made a difference. I would change this up next time by using plain hash browns and spicing it up with lots of salt and pepper. It also isn’t very thick, so I would add more flour to remedy this. The family loved this though and it was super easy. So I will be making it again!

Saturday night we had the Crock Pot Chicken & Rice. I can’t put into words how good this was! It’s also super easy! I served it with fettuccine instead of rice and it tasted like fettuccine alfredo with a hint of garlic. I was wary of using the Italian dressing mix because I thought it would over power the whole meal. But it didn’t. I didn’t let the cream cheese get to room temperature, so I had pieces of it in each serving. But it didn’t matter! We’re having leftovers tonight. I think we’re all excited!

I did a Halloween craft. I love this idea because you can keep changing the frame contents for different holidays. Ho ho ho for Christmas. Hearts for Valentine’s Day. It’s endless really!

(Yes, my picture has a green cast to it. I’ve finally figured out that it’s not a strange defect of my beloved iPhone, but an effect of using a green gel cover for my phone! Apparently, it sags away from the camera lens and does a green filter.)

What have you found and fallen in love with on Pinterest? Share, please!

Cordially, of course!

Our next group project on the Motherhoot website is going to be a happiness experiment. I read an article recently (don’t remember where) about an experiment where people kept a gratitude journal. Each day they listed things that made them happy. At the end of the experiment, they rated whether they were happier or not.

The Hoots are going to do our own version of this. Starting April 1st, we will start our daily happiness journals. Each week will post comments about our feelings on this journal. Is helpful? Are we feeling happier? I’m encouraging total honesty!

I would like you to participate with us! Please, keep a gratitude journal with us during April. It can be as low-tech as scraps of paper or as high-tech as an IPod app. Personally, I use “gratitude journal” from the ITunes store. Since I’m always using my IPod touch in the evening, it’s easy to just fill out my journal.

Several times in the past I have started doing the gratitude journal, but always end up letting it fall to the wayside like so many other things in life.

Male or female, parent or not, the invitation is presented to you to join us in the Motherhoot Happiness Experiment. Try it, and share your comments with us! You don’t need to send them weekly, just send them in when the feeling grabs you!

I look forward to hearing from you!
susie