Mother Nature's After Party

We've been having a lot of rain lately, coupled with a number of thunderstorms.  I've always liked storms.  No one wants a tornado, so I'm not talking about anything that's potentially life threatening.  I just mean a good summer rain with an incredible lightening show and the rumbling thunder to boot.  As long as everyone's inside and safe and cozy, I think the storms are pretty neat.

Not only could I see a full rainbow (good luck), but there was a double rainbow (extra good luck!) as well. Can you spy it?

Beau-ti-ful

The Food Revolution

There is something listed on my daughter's school lunch menu by the name of "PhysEdibles". It's supposed to be a food. I can't really think of the last time I might have planted PhysEdibles in a garden, or grabbed a bag/bunch from my grocery store's produce section. Well, after further research, I have learned that they are a Goldfish animal cracker.....a dessert with partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening.

I am not anti-cracker, anti-treat or anti-sugar. But I do believe in real food....food made with real ingredients, not overly processed junk. I believe in cooking and baking from scratch (it doesn't have to be a time consuming, boring or grueling undertaking), and I certainly believe that our schools should be offering kids food with ingredients we can pronounce. I want to know that their broccoli rice dish is not coated in colored food dye and cheese made from chemicals. I don't want to see that breakfast menus for the kids who need to eat at school in the morning consist of french toast sticks (partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening) and a peach cup (canned in sugar syrup).

So much of the food in these lunches contains partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening. Packaging labels have jumped on the bandwagon, boasting No Trans Fats. I want you to realize that if there is a partially hydrogenated ingredient, it most certainly does have trans fats. It's just their way around it.

(From www.bantransfat.com)

Under FDA regulations in effect in the United States, "if the serving contains less than 0.5 gram [of trans fat], the content, when declared, shall be expressed as zero." Suppose a product contains 0.4 grams per serving and you eat four servings (which is not uncommon). You have just consumed 1.6 grams of trans fat, despite the fact that the package claims that the product contains zero grams of trans fat per serving.

If our kids eat these products at home, if they eat these PhysEdibles, mini cinnamon rolls, bunny cake and cookie dough at the school-served meals we are doing these generations a true disservice but robbing them of the nutrients of whole foods, of food grown from the earth.

I have been a fan of Jamie Oliver since he arrived on the scene many years ago, and I am so very grateful that he has taken it upon himself to better our country's school food quality.  I understand budgets are tight and convenience has become a way of life, but food is key to survival and most certainly key to our health, both mentally and physically.

Signing Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution petition will assist your local schools make a healthy change.  It will help our own districts make these necessary changes to get rid of the processed meals and snacks and implement cooking fresh, whole foods. Fuel your childrens' bodies with what will assist them to grow a healthy future for generations to come.

Because your kids are worth it, and because you're worth it, please take just 30 seconds and sign Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution petition by clicking this link.

Day Light Cravings

It took me a loooooong many years to figure out daylight saving time.  Truth be told, I'm only still just wavering on the edge of comprehension.  Daylight Saving.  Saving of the daylight.  Ok.  I mean, I'm all for that.  Let's save it.  In fact, let's save a whole bunch of it.  Let's bottle it up and unleash it's amazing therapeutic benefits in the dead of winter.  Then December, January and February wouldn't seem like the depths of insufferable darkness.  I'm on board with this.

But my confusion comes with the changing of the clocks forward and backward, with more light in the evening and less in the morning and less light at night and more in the morning.  It used to be 6:00 when we got up, now it's 5:00.  It used to be 8:00 when the kids went to bed, but now it's 9:00.  My gosh ~ someone just tell me what time it is already!

And then, there are those little pockets of the U.S. that don't change their clocks.....at all.  I'm so thankful I don't live there.  Talk about anarchy.  And pressure!  Although I could go about my life in comfort that I was living in real time, I'd have the additional pressure of figuring out everyone else's time that isn't real.  Ugh.  Count me out.

I like technological gadgets that change the time for me.  Computers, cell phones, caller id land line phones.  Beauty.  I must.....I mean MUST have all the clocks exactly the same.  So it irks me that I can't be 7 different places in the house at one time to get them all spot on the second it strikes a new minute.  But that's my issue....

Daylight savings.  Really?  Have we really, really actually saved the daylight?  I'm going to go with no.  We just moved the time, people!  Changing the clocks, moving the time.....all that's gotten me is craving sleep!  Did you know that losing that hour of sleep in the spring actually increases the risk for heart attack?  And it also increases the major grumpiness in 2-year olds apparently.

See this face?

That smile has been turned waaaay upside down ever since we messed with the time. She's off her game. Crying, crying more, waking at night (nothing new there, I suppose). But my point is the time change has thrown her for a bit of a loop. It threw off any nap time she was still clinging to, which makes for even MORE crab-crab-crabbiness.  So that makes her craving sleep as well.

But hey, let's get out and enjoy our new-found sunshine. Or do we have to wait an hour before it's out? Who knows.

Blogland Forecast

Good morning everyone! Let's get right to it with our national Blogland forecast for today.

Starting in the midwest, we'll see a bit of scrapbooking, especially in the low-lying areas, along with quilting & sewing in areas to the southwest. Utah is experiencing the brunt of the blogging with strong & incredibly crafty women hailing from this area.

In the east, there's a pattern of high fashion upcycling and restyling, and some strong jewelry-making underway. Knitting & crocheting conditions will continue to rule through the month of March. Also, cupcakes continue to blast through this region with a mix of sprinkles & butter cream frosting. Tracking through the northeast at a strong and fast pace are furniture re-dos and thrifty decorating.

The west coast is impacted with a considerable amount of banners, which we're experiencing in various materials and sizes. Along with this flash of garland comes a mix of ribbon & bows. This return of bows affects not only only hairbands, but little girls' skirts and paper-covered jars. Pom-poms continue to cover the area, coupled with hard-hitting sweater surgeries and burlap transformations.

Down south, we're already seeing signs of garden planning & planting. Folks in this area can also expect a continuation of Cricuit cutting & stamping. High amounts of printables will remain, at least, through the end of this year. Impacting lettering & chipboard usage are cookie sheet charts and calendars, chalk board re-designs, and picture frame make-overs. Meanwhile, heavy downpours of Mod Podge continue to pummel this region.

Throughout the nation, bloggers are covered in fabric flowers and ruffles, along with a serge of hand-stamped silver jewelry. Most areas will also be inundated with felt food, baby leggings, and elaborate birthday party decorations. High pressure tutorials have swept throughout our country causing heavy amounts of laundry pile-ups and, at times, severe blogger envy. Keep a close watch on the giveaways in all areas, as they can create dangerous addiction.

That's it for the Blogland weather for now. Until tomorrow, have a safe and creative today.

Winter White

The school bus comes at 7:20am. There wasn't a soul out today. No cars, no dog walkers, just the beautiful, crunchy white snow and me.

(See how I took a moment to live in the present & notice the peacefulness & loveliness of it all? This coming from the woman who longs to live an eternity in flip flops and skirts.)

Grainy photo, I realize, but look what a happy, little hat of snow this ornament has. (My photography class isn't until April, so bear with me. Meanwhile, anyone have any suggestions on how to get a close up or cropped photo to be nice and clear?)

It's So Cold

(All together now.....) How cold is it? It's so cold that it's come to this....

Little Bunny Boo-Boo (see the owie on his noggin?) says, "Brrrr!"

Sports Time

I don't know where the time goes. I never feel like I get anything done. Of course, the perfectionist in me wants it all done, finished and handled, like, yesterday! There are so many things I want to do (i.e. decorate, bake, create, go, do, see), but the time just seems to slip away. I'm not a procrastinator, and I consider myself organized (not the utmost organized, but organized nonetheless), yet at the end of each day I wonder how time has once again eluded me.

My husband was watching a basketball game early this evening as I was preparing dinner. I asked how much time was left. "One minute," he replied. I'm not a sports fan for a variety of reasons, but to me, broadcast basketball games are not too overly offensive. At least it's a faster paced game (than ....snooze.... football), and my workaholic demeanor feels somewhat at ease since the players spend most of the time moving around in a quick manner with some sense of productivity. But I tell you, "one minute" is never, ever "ONE minute" in sports. About 2 years later, the game was actually over.

Then it occurred to me that I need to discover a way for the time clock in LIFE to stop and start like that. Man, would I be rich. Can you even imagine?? This is a lovely moment to bask in, let's stop the clock right now. This situation stinks, let's keep those seconds ticking. Wait. Hold up. I need some more time to finish this. Clock stopped. What a solution to it all.

But meanwhile, gotta' run......tick, tock.

Tempus Fugit