worries

Going through the past week's email filled with the blogs that I love, I've noticed that I'm not the only one that feels down. A lot of women feel stressed this week/end. They are women busy with life and dealing with real BS, they are women busy with their families and raising kids, they are women moving into new places and making it their own, they are women who make beautiful things, and they are women that are just down-bc it doesn't seem like they do much that would make their life stressful...oh my mistake, she broke her makeup.

I like following tons of different kinds of blogs. My IG followings are over 1000. I follow people that make a ton of stuff with fabric, whether its quilts, garments, bags, ect. or maybe they are designers or sell fabric. I love looking at them. I also follow a ton of different clothing stores, and make up stores, and vintage stores.I love women that dress like pin ups from the 50s...I follow a lot of them. I follow anyone I find that has pretty pictures. It's easy to talk to people. It would be weird to comment on a bunch of stranger's facebook....but IG is really anonymous, and I like that. An illusion of being social without really being social.

So hopefully next month looks up. I LOVE fall and Halloween.
My days will be filled with substitute teaching.

Have you seen Forgetting Sarah Marshall? First of all, I love Mila Kunis and Jason Segel. Mila because she's so pretty and she's Meg's voice, and Jason because he's awkwardly tall-and I know how that feels by being so small. My guy friends have urges to pick me up and throw me like a baby. The ending is my favorite part. Insert amusing smile. Before he starts to pick himself up from his depression, there's a scene where he's in bed, looks at the clock-it's 2:something PM, and he pulls the covers back on his head. That is how I feel a lot of the time when I am depressed. I just want to sleep, so I don't have to think. I know that something great is going to happen beyond the horizon-like a super awesome vampire musical-but I have to get that to happen somehow. And I'm clueless, stuck, and kinda lost. Plus I've never been active in my life on purpose. I don't understand why someone would run on purpose, if not in extreme danger from a murderer or a snake. Being sore and sweaty are not fun at all. I hate both.

So tomorrow is a new day. If I can get up and walk around the block, I know I can make it to the vampire show. I have to. There is no other choice, besides waiting longer.


PS: Sarah Marshall: my fave part is the psychiatrist song. When I get mad, I yell the same way.

Kashi Sea Salt & Olive Oil Hummus Crisps

Since I'm a BzzAgent, I was recently sent a bag of Kashi Sea Salt & Olive Oil Hummus Crisps to try out in exchange for my honest opinion. I was skeptical that I would enjoy these. I love fresh hummus, but how can you turn hummus into a crisp that actually tastes good without being weird? Kashi does it!

My initial impression of Kashi=Healthy Food. Besides fresh fruits and veggies, most health food doesn't taste so good to me, especially as a finished product out of a bag or box. Ever had a plain Rice Cake? They ingeniously use the word "cake" for a reason, folks. Otherwise it would be called Rice Coaster. I know that a lot of my friends like and buy Kashi products, so I had a little hope that I would like these.

Basic Info
There are 3 flavors: Sea Salt & Olive Oil (the one I received), Caramelized Onion, and Sundried Tomato, Basil & Feta. Each bag is made from air-popped chickpea crisps made without any partially hydrogenated oils (the bad fats), high fructose corn syrup, or artificial anything. Each serving size (27 crisps) contain 120 calories, 3.5g fat, 3g protein, and 6 g of whole grains. What's awesome is there is no saturated or trans fat so all the fat is the good kind of fat that your body requires. Not sure how much protein you should be taking in daily? Check out Kashi's FB page that will calculate your daily required protein intake based on your weight and activity level! I didn't even know how much I should be eating, so I did this quick quiz. It's recommended that Americans get 25-35 g of fiber each day. I love the fact that these Hummus Crisps are so much better for you compared to regular potato chips, that are only made with fat and salt. I feel way better choosing crisps over chips! Nutrition and ingredients are the first thing I look at when picking out a new food product. I don't want to eat something that is worse than what I'm already currently eating!  I feel for the most part, that Kashi is a good company known to have healthy products, so I was excited to try this product.

The Verdict

When I tried the crisps, I was pleasantly surprised.  They have a good flavor, but not over the top.  I could definitely taste the sea salt and other spices/flavors, but it was just right for my taste. The flavors weren't trying to overcompensate for a bland product. The crisps are a little smaller than the size of a round nacho chip as well as a similar texture once you pop one in your mouth.  It's hard to believe they are made from chickpeas! When I was done eating, I didn't feel super dehydrated or like I ate a bunch of grease, like I do after eating normal potato chips. I didn't feel guilt, because their fat was from the good kind of fat that your body needs! I bet the other 2 flavors are just as good and I can't wait to try them out next. The crisps were so good, that I destroyed that bag in about 2 days, and I'm not even a big salted snack eater!

Next time you see these, you should pick up a bag or two! And feel better that it's a better snack that regular potato chips or something coated in orange dust that sticks to your fingers while you're eating them!

Disclosure statement:I am not an expert in dietary nutrition, although I consider myself to be quite knowledgeable about nutrition, being a nurse. My review does not state that this product is "all natural" or contains only "natural" ingredients, or does it claim not to contain any artificial ingredients, please see Kashi's website for that information. I am only basing my review on the taste of the product, not on the Kashi Company or any claims made against the company concerning GMOs.

I'm a BzzAgent and received this product complimentary as part of a campaign.

Tuesday September 10th, 2013

Snazzy title, huh?

Guess what today's national holiday is?  Well, there's a few. So I'll go over the main ones that overlap on the websites I'm checking out.

1.  TV Dinner Day. It was introduced in 1953 by Swanson & Sons and changed the prepackaged meal industry forever. Wanna know the first meal? The first Swanson TV dinner featured Thanksgiving Dinner. The meal came with turkey (and hopefully some gravy), cornmeal dressing, peas and sweet potatoes.  Not exactly what's on *my* table, but for an easy dinner, it passes inspection by me.  The original tray was made out of aluminum and had separate compartments for each food. You had to bake it for 25 minutes.  Because consumer microwaves didn't exist back then.

***I remember when everyone in my family got one around 1985.  I thought we were five minutes from living it up like the Jetson's. Unfortunately, in my opinion, we were closer to flying cars when the amazing microwave came out in the 80s compared to the "electric car" of today.

So each meal cost around 98 cents and they expected to sell around 5,000 their first year.  To their great surprise, they sold over 10 MILLION of them.  If you do your math, that's just short of 10 MILLION DOLLARS in 1953! Of course the TV dinner has evolved since the first year. It has added a dessert compartment, started selling breakfasts in the 60s, the Hungry-Man meals in the 70s, microwavable meals in the 80's (SEE?!!) and in 1986 the original Swanson TV tray was submitted to the by  the Smithsonian Institute into the Museum of American History.  Good stuff.

Thank you Mr Swanson, or I wouldn't be on a consistent diet of Smart Meals & Lean Cuisines!!

2. National Swap Ideas Day.
   This day sounds stupid, was my first thought.  Basically it encourages people to share ideas to help each other out.  It sounds like a painful brainstorming activity in High School that your teacher just randomly decided to do out of the blue, and picked out your group members for you, on the day everyone forgot how to think and communicate. On second thought, this sounds terribly painful to me. This one gets 2 thumbs down.

3. Lace Making Day. I guess this is pretty self explanatory.

4. SEWING MACHINE DAY!!!
   Apparently there are 2 days that this is celebrated on. The other is June 13th. Nobody knows who came up with either day. Makes sense for today, since September is National Sewing Month. I sew on a basic Singer 2932:

5. World Suicide Prevention Day.  Go check out the facebook for today.


Did you know there are actual calendars based on FOOD?! Today is TV Dinner Day, but yesterday Sept 9th was :

Wienerschnitzel Day!!!

Humongous Text is what I get for copying and pasting. This website (AKA my new favorite site) actually goes over each day of the year (and some days have more than one food!) AND THEN links to a recipe of that food! Mmm.

I found out there are also entire months dedicated to specific foods. I bet you're dying to know what's under the September Food List!

National Chicken Month-YUM!
National Honey Month-YUM!
National Mushroom Month-DISGUSTING. BLECH.
National Papaya Month-Yum.
National Potato Month. TRIPLE SUPER YUM.
National Rice Month. yum.
Whole Grains Month. Yum in toast.

So of course after today's September 10th Lesson, I'll leave you with 3 interesting events from This Day In History.

1897. The first drunk driving arrest: On this day in 1897, a 25-year-old London taxi driver named George Smith becomes the first person ever arrested for drunk driving after slamming his cab into a building. Smith later pled guilty and was fined 25 shillings.  In the US the first laws about operating a motor vehicle while impaired with alcohol became legal in New York in 1910.  In 2005, 16,885 people died in alcohol-related crashes and almost 1.4 million people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

For some reason, I thought cars were invented much later! And the most meaningful to me:

1991. Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was released as a single. I have probably spent hours wondering what Kurt's life would be like today. Go ahead, entertain that though. Would there be another bean? a few new wives? a reality show? the coolest guy alive still?  Go buy Bleach. then Unplugged. then Nevermind. But you should have all 3. Then buy In Utero. You will thank me.

Teen Spirit on LP: Nevermind

And the most surprising to me:

1977. The guillotine falls silent. ? The guillotine is what they used in France to cut off peoples heads starting in The French Revolution. The French thought this was more humane than the other execution methods like hanging or a firing squad.  So a French DECAPITATING MACHINE was built based on machines already in practice in England and Ireland, tested on CADAVERS, and on April 25, 1792 a highwayman became the first French to be executed by this machine. It was named "guillotine" after physician and revolutionary Joseph-Ignace Guillotin won passage of a law requiring all death sentences to be carried out by "means of a machine."

More than 10,000 people lost their heads during the revolution including Louis XVI (16th) and Marie Antoinette (former king and queen of France). In 1981, France outlawed Capital Punishment.

I seriously can't believe that lasted so long! I thought this was a 1700 thing. Not a 1970 thing! Don't know what one looks like? It's a big huge razor blade of death. 

Your head goes over the bucket and you face down until the blade falls and cuts off yer head

Isn't that crazy?! Oh, the things you learn, when you are googling something else!

Wanna know what else happened on Sept 10th?

Level 306 Savory Shores!!!

Have a wonderful September 10th, wherever you are!!! 

Why does time fly?

I don't know what it is, but time has been going by SO FAST.  I am majorly behind in almost everything I have to do in life.  I have it written down, but I surely haven't done most of it. Some of the things I hope to accomplish this month:

Finish Flutter
Quilt a friend's quilt
Send Allison her gift (I SUCK!)
Get the stuff for said gift. Suckage squared.
Send back my shoes and get the right size
"cash in" all my store credit from the various stores I have credit (and show you)
Finish my staple dress
Take Made by Rae's Learn to make a skirt class at Pink Castle Fabrics next week
Go to the meetup tomorrow and not punk out from anxiety
Finish my requirements
Reminisce my allergy test with you 
Find proper vitamins and actually take them

But the main one I want to concentrate on...is lose some weight.

Add to Goals:
Drink 64 oz water minimum
Exercise-walk everyday, and increase daily.
Calculate calories
Journal: diet/exercise
Look up FitBit

I actually had an allergy test done when I was around 10.  If you want to spend a day in Hell, go get yourself one!!  What they do is make you strip your top (which is super embarrassing when you are 10 years old and sitting with your Mom), then make about 40 numbered circles 1-40 (or however many it is) in Sharpie on your back.  Then the Sadist with every allergan known to man comes in, and drops a miniature drop or two of an allergen numbered 1-40 in the corresponding circle on your back. The allergen has a mystery number so you don't have a psychosomatic reaction to something (just kidding, I made this part up), but you won't know what the mystery is after the test.  Believe me, it sounds intriguing before the test, but that's before you find out that you really ARE allergic to something.

 To make sure this is done without any mistakes and to prevent spillage and cross contamination into other allergens to produce a False Positive (or a Super Allergen if you are allergic to both!), the Dropper Nurse will go slowly as possible.  Most likely you WILL be allergic to the first five on your shoulder, then some on your lower back, a couple spots mid back, then a cluster on the other shoulder.  You are told to "lie still for 15 minutes" to absorb the mystery numbered allergens.  If you are extremely allergic, you will have an anaphylactic reaction, and they have epinephrine shots loaded to go to stick in your arm.  If you are "highly allergic" it will start to burn and itch like a new strand of Super Mosquito just bit you.  You can't scratch or you will cross contaminate the test.  If you "highly" allergic to more than 3 things, the test will make you cry.  I advise getting this as an adult, so your Mom doesn't get to tell you "STOP it. and DON"T you dare touch!" about every 35 seconds, alternating and getting more and more pissed at you as the seconds slowly tick by.  If you DO have your Mom come, you will ask "is it over? it is almost time?" more than ALL the "are we there yet?"s combined.  Once your test starts, you are warped into another dimension where a second of time here is really half a day there.  I cried because I was so pissed.  I didn't have allergies, and if I did I didn't know it at the time.

Finally the stupid test was over.  Guess what I was allergic to? Cat dander, dust, and hayfever things and some kind of plants.  Normal allergens that almost everyone has a reaction to.  No food allergies. Nothing important.

I don't understand, if time is a constant, than why does it change in reality?  Does anyone else find this weird? Oh, and does anyone have a FitBit?? or some other techie band that calculates every movement of your day? I think that would really motivate me.