Mojo and Munching

photo credit: nkzs @ sxc.hu

They say you should have 3 squares a day, right?  Ok, I know that what they mean is 3 square meals a day, but (and this makes my Mr just shake his head slowly back and forth like one of them wind up monkey toys with the cymbals) - well, I literally have 1 or 2 or 3 squares of chocolate a day for breakfast.  I get it from all sides, everyone telling me that breakfast is the most important meal a day.  Well, I am not a breakfast eater.  I admit it.  I've fallen into a habit of having a bowl of freshly popped popcorn before bed, with hot rosemary butter drizzled over it and I figure that sustains me until lunch the next day.  I do have my lunch early - and I eat whatever I want, though mostly what I want is in the line of fruit (living in the Okanagan Valley, rich in produce) how can I resist a crisp home-grown apple a day?  Then I enjoy an early dinner, somewhere in the vicinity of 3:30 to 5 daily, and I have whatever I want. 

I'm not falling over, I feel better than ever.  I work out 5 days a week, running and elliptical, situps, pushups and lots of happy energy and I take my vitamin D every day and ... I've lost 15 lb in the last two months.  So, I don't think I'll be changing things anytime soon.  And, if we happen to be invited out for breakfast, well I break down and just enjoy it as a rare event.  I'm just not into the regular get up on a weekday and make myself eat something breakfast. 

Fresh Rosemary Popcorn Butter

1 tsp fresh butter

dash salt

few sprigs of rosemary - dried or fresh

Put all into a small ceramic cup - melt in micro. 

I zap it several times, letting it cool each time it gets hot -

I let it sit for a moment, stir with a spoon so the herb flavor disperses.

Drizzle!  Num!

And in case you don't remember my speedy Martha Stewart version of popping the corn:

Take a plain paper lunch bag

1/3 cup plain popcorn kernels

Put popcorn in bag

Fold bag twice, loosely 1/2 inch folds at top

POP in micro - same as you would a store bag popcorn

(mine takes about 2 min)

Kids love this, fast, easy, healthy and they can have their "own bag"

PS - need quick packing material for Christmas gifts?  This popcorn works great.

photo credit: ziptrivia @ sxc.hu

I also experimented last night with a new squash recipe.  I actually used a type of squash similar to the ones pictured here, but they were green and almost a square shape.  At any rate, any dense squash which can be peeled with a peeler will work well. 

Barb's Squash "Oven Fries"

Peel one dense squash.

Cut vertically in 1/2, scoop out seeds.

Cut squash into slices - french fry size.

Toss with olive oil, lightly salt (or season with spice)

Spread on cookie sheet lined with parchment.

Bake at 425, turn slices over about 10 mins -

Cook till done, mine took about 20 - 25 mins.

Delicious - these are best eaten right away - they go soggy in the fridge. 

And once again its Mojo - and I managed to fit that in yesterday which was a miracle! 

http://www.mojomonday.blogspot.com/



Obviously I chose the square theme.  I used a Studio G stock card from Michaels.  I used a word rub-on from my sister.  I made my own little caps for the ornaments cutting them from watercolour paper and stamping them with a Fiskars gold paint and added the little bows of golden string.  Tiny snowflake stamps are by Kimberley Polson.

Its SNOWING here again :)  Hope you are having a wonderful day!

More Nice Ice!

Before I post the second half of my ice photos I want to share my yard sale buy for today.  (The yard sale was INDOORS at the Baptist Church)  I could not resist this unique necklace.

I'm a sucker for for anything vintage and natural to boot and this covers both points.  It's on the large side, being about 2.5 inches around but I know it will look super - and will go nicely with a pair of sparkly green gem earings my Mr. bought me two years ago.   Don't you just love thes are made out of real evergreen cones cut in an unusual way?  They look like little trees themselves. 

And here are the last of the ice pictures.















Nice Ice!

It's been very cold here this past week, I actually heard on our local news station that several records were broken today.  But before I get feeling sorry for myself I also heard that Sparwood - home to my brother and sister in law, was down to -36 c with the wind chill factor... now I feel positively toasty compared to that especially seeing we had virtually no wind today. 

So, I could not resist a little foray down to the water's edge because though the ordinary person looks down and sees an ordinary lake shore on an ordinary cold day, I see MAGIC!  Every year that it gets very cold the ice begins to form onto the reeds along the lake shore and it does some pretty cool stuff.  I've also added a teeny slide show onto the side of my blog - updated from the spring blossoms to ice and snow from years gone by.  I've got about two days worth of photos to share here, will post the rest in a couple of days.  Then, when Blogger will recognise the little slide show of these ones then I will put them instead of the past years. 

Yes, for your enjoyment, I braved the cold, by putting on the UGLIEST pair of old sweat pants over my running tights and then further braved my Mr.'s look of absolute shock at seeing me thus dressed, quite the reaction all in all! 



Piqued your interest?  More photos soon!

Snow, snow - SNOW! & Mojo

Brrrrr, baby its COLD outside!   Hmmm wasn't it just two weeks ago I blogged our unusually balmy fall with the trees ablaze in golden colours?  All of a sudden we've been plunged into winter in every sense of the word.  So, thus the updated look of my blog - only I will have to replace that little slide show from spring blossoms to something frosty looking soon. 

And though I truly did not have time today I could not resist the lure of Mojo Monday.  After all, I have to make these Christmas cards at some point, might as well be today. 

Lovely challenge template I say! 

Not a good reference photo, taken with my iphone.  One simply can't appreciate the little glittery silver stars nor the red and greeny shimmering ribbon but ah well, you get the idea perhaps.  My card is once again a hodge podge of supplies as they come to my hand - the sentiment being pared from a recycled greeting card. 

I'm not sure if my sister Nina will be taking up the Mojo challenge (ohhh I HOPE so for I love to see what magic she's been learning, but I do notice my SIL Judy has created a pretty card too! 

Hope you have a wonderful week - who knows, if I am snowed in here perhaps I'll just stay right here and make little cards all the week long.  (I could love this!)  Do YOU have snow? 





Mojo and Marvelous Mushroom Photos

Once again its Mojo Monday - I missed last one but kicked myself into action tonight.  I substituted making a Mojo card for eating dessert. 

And here is my (very simple) take on it using a hodgepodge of the supplies I have. 

This was just a quick one, my first hand-made card of the year.  I have obligations that have me questioning if I really have the time to make cards, but then my creative side won out and I'd feel awful to have all these lovely supplies and not use them; that and the fact that a store bought card can never compete with the most basic of cards made by hand. 

And now, here are some photos I took of these amazing mushrooms recently.  They make me think of those pictures you have to stare at, you know the ones which look like a bunch of random patterns, but if you stare long enough they pop out 3d?  These mushrooms are like that, you can walk along and never see them unless you look hard enough.  They are large, but pop straight out of the ground, lifting everything that happens to be ontop (quite heavy it must be at times!)

It wasn't until I was reviewing my photos later that I realized there was this tiny slug on the stem of this mushroom.

Hope you've started your week off well!  







Remember Our Fallen

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

 

by John McCrae

I Saw Snow!

I woke this morning to see a snowline on the mountains.  Oh yes, I've been expecting it, however its still a brrrr surprise!  The day was beautiful and sunny and the snowline rolled itself back up those hills by the end of the afternoon, but I'm sure it will be back again. 

I promised to share a few more photos of our autumn foliage.  I still have one more "batch" to share after this. 

Pink Lady apples - the type of apple trees to blossom and the last to ripen.  Crisp, bright and bold they almost hurt the eyes with their vibrant colour.  These came off just last week. 

Like a crazy yellow/orange shag carpet, the fruit tree varieties lay like a carpet on the hillsides.

It really does look like a little "Valley of  Heaven" - doesn't it?

Almost like a FIESTA of yellows, browns, greens and every shade in between, all the prettier for the complementary turquoise blue sky. 

These Peach leaves are as jewelled as the slices of peaches which got preserved will appear in the dark days of winter.



Right down to the ground where they shimmer with dew which barely has time to evaporate during the cold November days. 

More to come soon!







Happy Birthday Little Sister!



Ah, a little belated in the day but I spent the bed in day with a ccccchill!  Could not warm up for my life - so I piled six blankets atop me, turned the heaters on full blast and nestled one of the beautiful warmers filled with barley which my SIL Neti made.  I slept and slept.  I did not get up till dinner and I'm just now beginning to unthaw. 

But at any rate, Happy Birthday NINA - I love you more than you can know!

Autumn Beauty

Without further ado I will share some pictures I took on this past oh-SO-beautiful Tuesday.  I was supposed to be in school but the day proved too nice to be indoors.  I will do double shift in school next good and rainy day.  Here's a small sample of what I treated my eyes to. 





I love to visit this gorgeous tree year round.  Its so full and provides the perfect place to sit and relax.  Across the water you can see the long arm which is Hayne's Point State Park.  It's a very narrow piece of land which goes out  into the lake.  We will visit there after a few photos of some vibrant peach trees. 



First we take a drive to the east side of town.  This is a tiny park too.  



If the sun "butters" the foliage in the summer, then in the fall it must "caramelize" and "candy" it, for the colors deepen and toast into the most pleasing warm pallette.  I know I tell myself every year "I already have a million fall photos, I won't take any this year" - still the pull is so strong I don't even try to resist.  Aren't you glad?  Now, on to Hayne's Point. 



All of the orchards and vineyards lie in patchworks of ambers, reds and golds, a nice complement to the rich blue of the lake and sky.



A view toward town from Hayne's Point. 



Same lovely view as two above, only with reeds in the foreground.  In the spring the carp hang out in the reeds and make the funniest sounding "plops"! 

I could have stayed and gazed all day!

And finally, a last look toward town as we head home for dinner.  I'm so glad I have these pictures to remind me of these few "jewel" days of Autumn before the long and (predicted) cold winter. 

I have a few more sets of photos to share in the coming days.  I've been living with my camera hanging around my neck like a necklace! 





Thanks for your Support - and Mojo Monday (Even though it's Wednesday)

First thing I would like is to thank each and every one of you who voted for my Pepsi Refresh "Good Idea".  No, we did not win but I'm certain we made a positive impact on a few - and that was what I set out to do.  I did have the opportunity to re-submit my idea, but frankly, I just do not have the time at present. 

I've been really working hard behind the scene on some projects, I'll fill you in sometime soon.  In the meantime I found I missed Mojo Monday but my sister Nina tells me we can submit all week - so I took this evening off and built a card for a friend.  How come cards never finish up like we started?  Sometimes thats a good thing and other times, well.  At any rate, I'm not dis-pleased with my take on this week's Mojo. 

Forgive me that I cannot give credit for the supplies, they are all a mish-mash.  Be sure to check out Nina's take on Mojo HERE and also stop by Mojo to see the other amazing entries - who knows, perhaps you will decide to Mojo too!  (there's a PRIZE this week)

And the other card I built recently was the card I made for the love of my life, who had his birthday over the weekend.  This was my second attempt - the first one made me just hang my head in shame (blushing!)  So, I started over from scratch and I loved this second attempt.  More importantly - so did HE! 



I like the idea of combining a photo with "real" paper elements and such.  This is where I am very confident, part digital, part tactile!

This sentimental stamp which was a gift from my sister - was the perfect touch! 

The past few days have been so beautiful - I wound up "skipping" school and taking over 200 photos.  I'll try to post some to share in the coming days.  Until then, I hope you are having a great week.