Slow Cooker

I would like to add this to my kitchen appliances..
We don't have a slow cooker, and this one is quite attractive.
Just put your fresh food inside, slide it in the oven.. and BAM, a cooked and steamed meal, still full of the good vitamins and nutrients you were hoping for.
..use the plate, or the bowl. you choose. (:

{via BLTD}

'Swine Weeks'

{photo via Flickr}

NOTE: This is not your typical 'Swine Flu' post...

So, my little sisters (grades 9 & 12) were called out of school for 2 whole weeks. In fact, the WHOLE HIGH SCHOOL was called out for 2 weeks.
Last Friday, a boy at their school threw up on campus (excuse the raw terminology.. I don't know how else to put it), went to the doctor, got tested, & tested positive for the 'swine flu'. Mission Hills High School went up in a frenzy & announced that school would be out for the following 2 weeks. I imagine students were ecstatically jumping in the halls like "HECK YA!" Although, when they said canceled.. they meant CANCELED. No athletics, no AP EXAMS, ..NOTHING.
Now in my opinion (and many others).. this was going a bit overboard. I hate to break it to you folks, but more people die from the 'regular' flu each year & the only advice anyone has to give if you come in 'contact' with the virus, is to 'rest & wash your hands'. ..Awesome, thanks for the help & all the proactive advice..
Anyway, this all lasted 2 days for the poor kiddos. The school called everyone back last night and said something along the lines of, "Syke! We cleaned the school and have now realized how screwed we'll be if we don't finish the STAR testing this next week!" Haha. Gotta love the education system. Well, the teens are crushed, and currently in school.. but there are SOME who have lucked out. My sister Abby booked a cheap (and when I say cheap, I mean KILLER INEXPENSIVE) cruise with her friends next week to Canada. ..CANADA? Yes, the Mexican Riviera ships are currently unable/not allowed to travel south of the border, and therefore have left them no other direction to travel. So off to Canada the ships go, for around $300 & a week long trip. Way to milk the cercumstances Sis.. hope you have an awesome time next week while you technically 'ditch' school to "Swine and Dine on the Cruiseline..er."

High schoolers, I'm sorry your 'swine weeks' have come to a scretching hault..
Cruise lovers, now might be an ideal time for you to cruise to a new place..
And my friends, wash you hands and get some rest. (:

Namaste

I started out doing yoga fairly regularly with my friend Kelsie in her basement, and then we just kind of hit a slump. We ended up sitting around watching our children wrestle (Birdie & Bosko), and chatting instead of getting to the yoga. So I decided I needed to jump back into it. We get fitTV on our direct tv, so I decided to record Namaste Yoga to our DVR and just do it in our front room. I'm excited to get back into it. I just need to go buy a mat, then it'll be perfect.

Food Detectives

So I've been watching quite a bit of the Food Network lately, and a show that I've been enjoying is called "Food Detectives". They take random facts that we've all heard like "gum doesn't digest for 7 years" "turkey at thanksgiving makes you sleepy" ..and they prove or disprove them with scientific proof! So here are some of the facts that I have learned, and am glad to now know.

1. No, gum does not stay in your stomach for 7 years, although it doesn't ever break down, it is still small enough to pass through the intestines.

2. Brain freezes come because of the temperature and mostly speed at which you eat your frozen goodie. If you eat slow, it won't happen.

3. If you put a grape in a microwave it will catch on fire because of it's natural high electrolyte count. Same goes for a solid carrot.

4. Turkey does make you sleepy because of tryptophane.. however, it doesn't do the job on Thanksgiving. Because we eat SO MUCH and such a concentrated amount of carbs, the tryptophane doesn't even have room to work. You get a food coma just from eating so much.

5. Public drinking fountains -ie. found in parks, shopping malls, etc.- are very safe, although the nosel might not be sanitary, the water that comes out is never affected by the germs. Office & home water jug dispensers are another story. Most effect the water, and cause bacteria to grow. Yikes!

..Interesting stuff, I'm learning something new every week!

Limey Smoothie

This recipe comes from my in-laws. For those of you who don't know, my father in law is a nutritional health doctor and cures people of their ailments.. which include all of the very serious variety. He has around a 90% success rate of curing people who are terminally ill with cancer, diabetes and so on. To learn more you can go to their website at pHmiracleliving.com.

Anyway, I have a hard time eating as healthy and granola as Andrew does (he's on a much looser version of his parents health regimen.) But when his mother Shelley made this for me I absolutely LOVED it! I had a hard time believing what was in it when she told me. So any who, give it a try.. it's the PERFECT ultra ultimate healthy cool summertime snack.

Ingredients
- 1 whole english cucumber
- 1 HUGE handful of spinach
- 1/2 an avocado (large or small)
- 3 peeled limes
- 1 TSP green stevia (or sugar, but stevia's the natural healthy alternative :])

- Plenty of ice

Blend and enjoy! Tell me what you think. You love it or hate it, but all I know is that it's the tastiest healthy snack I've ever had, and it's so simple to make! (PS don't let the photo fool you, it tastes better than it looks, you can tell your kids it's a monster slime smoothie. :])

Ode to Burt and his Bee's

Once upon a time (about a year and a half ago).. I ventured to the land of Laie, Oahu, Hawaii. It was there that my sweet friend Erin introduced me to the glory of Burt's Bees. It started with the luscious smell of milk & honey in the morning -from her glorious lotion.. and then continued with the tingling sensation produced on my lips from their chap stick. Now I use their everything.. lotion, face wash, toner, balm, etc. Nothing but goodness. Thank you Erin, and thank you Burt.