Microwave Popcorn is Good?!

About a year ago I posted about how I hate microwave pop corn because it just doesn't taste very good. I preferred the stove top method a lot better. But now, after searching for recipes that you can cook in a dorm (as a little cookbook present to a friend) I found another way to make delicious popcorn.

Things You'll Need:
Brown paper lunch bag
Stapler
1/4 c popcorn kernels
1 tsp oil
Salt or other seasonings

Place all of the ingredients into the paper bag. Swirl to distribute. Refold bag getting all of the air out. Fold top of bag down twice and staple. Place in microwave for 3 minutes. Don't worry about the staple sparking in the microwave just keep the staple away from the edges of the microwave.
You can bet I wont be buying microwave popcorn again! And the best thing is no box, to plastic, and the bag is reusable and recyclable!

Note: The recipes and video do not match.

A Word on Road Rage

If you are ever in a situation were you want to straggle the driver in front of you:
Take two deep breaths....
Maybe a few more...
Imagine the offender in his underwear...
And laugh.

If you encounter a aggressive driver behind you. Relax and pull over where ever possible and lock your doors until he passes. It's not worth it to left him bother you and risk your life.

Drive Safely.

Note: Long story short, I pissed someone off and they were tailgating me and revving the engine of their truck. It was ironic that it was a tow truck. What the heck?

The Great Soda Challenge: Update #3

I almost forgot about doing the update. I've been sick for the past few days so bear with me.
I don't think about passing up soda anymore and when I'm thirsty tea or water seems to be the thing that I grab first. This experiment is going well. I can't believe how much better I feel with out drinking it. Other than that there's nothing much to report on.

The Finished Bag!

Me modeling my new crochet bag! It holds tons
of stuff!

Please Help!

Go to the Cold Antler Farm blog to help a family in need!

The Great Soda Challenge! Drink Recipe # 3: Ye Ole Fashioned Iced Tea

To make 2 quarts

6 tea bags*
1/4 c sugar
2 quarts water

In a pot combine sugar and 1 cup of water. On high heat, stir until sugar dissolves. Turn burner off and place tea bags in pot. Steep covered for 20 minutes making a concentrated brew. Pour concentrate into pitcher and fill the rest of the way with water. Chill. Serve with ice and enjoy.

*At the supermarket this is a huge variety of teas. Black, green, white, oolong, and pu erh are the five categories of teas. You will most likely find the first four listed in your supermarket. A few brands make life easy and put flavoring in their teas. To make things interesting choose a few flavors and use them instead or with your standard tea bags. Get experimental and switch it up! Also, instead of ice, try frozen fruits.

The Great Soda Challenge! Update #2

I'm starting to not think about drinking soda, only when the new cashier cracked one open in front of my face. Oh, the smell of Pepsi after a little over a week of being clean!
I've been mostly drinking iced teas and water and occasionally milk. I'm looking at all the possibilities for iced tea and even considering buying a box of flavored black tea. Also, I'm finding that I really don't have much of a sweet tooth when it comes to sugar in my tea. At first I tried 3/4 c which was almost like liquid sugar. At 1/2 c it was better but 1/4 c seems to be the sweetness that I want.
This is still way better than the amount in soda. There's about 12 teaspoons in two quarts of iced tea that has 1/4 c sugar compared to 59.22 in soda. Knowing this I doubt that I'll go back to drinking soda as an everyday beverage but more of a 'once in a blue moon' beverage.
Now, on to week three!

Food for Thought: People and Stuff

As a cashier I see many things left at the check out counter. One would think that a person would come back in for their glasses. And one must also hope that they really didn't need their glasses to see the road. But what of they never come back? Do they really need the things that left behind?

Think about it. Sunglasses. Keys. Stuffed toy animals. If you leave somewhere and don't return for them, how much do they really mean to you? A few months ago we even had someone leave their cane resting on the counter.

In the case of the keys, they can all be replaced easily if you have a spare. A child will cry over her hot pink dog but it can easily be replaced. Yes, the girl will mourn the lost for awhile but she'll get over it.

Think about all of the things that you left somewhere. Did you go back to claim it or leave it there?

This has been a message from a ranting cashier.

P.S. It is helpful, if the store has a club card, to give them your phone number and address. This makes it easier for people to find owners to objects that they found. By the way. Who even left the pocket knife. Thanks. It's a really good one.

Crochet Projects!

Lately I've been digging through my crafty roots and decided to set knitting aside for crochet, the first yarn art that I learned. I couldn't begin to tell you how long ago I learned but it's been years since I've really done anything with it.

I learned from my mom how to crochet at every young age. Beginning with making scarfs and baby blankets. However, that has been the extent of it. My edges were always untidy and uneven. Eventually I gave up and didn't crochet for a long while. Meanwhile I took up knitting a year ago and just a few weeks ago crochet was back into my life.

I still consider myself a beginner because of my tendencies for uneven edges.

Crochet is really my comfort zone. One does not need circular needles and such to crochet in a circle, just the hook that you need. You're more flexible how you create your work where as knitting is very constrictive, at least what I know of it.

Above, Max is modeling the scarf I made. The pattern's from Stitch 'N' Bitch: The Happy Hooker by Debbie Stroller (e-mail me and I'll be happy to send you a copy of the pattern if you're interested).

This is the market bag that I started. The pattern's from LionBrand.com. All you need to do to get the free pattern is sign up. Instead of using Lion Brand yarn I used Lily Sugar'n Cream yarn. It's nice a strong and works very well with the pattern. If you use this yarn for it buy three or four balls of the solid color. It's still a lot cheaper than using the recommended yarn. If you make this bag make sure you read the reviews for some tips.

My next project will be this throw. I can crochet it up nice and quick before winter gets here!

What are your current projects?

The Great Soda Challenge! Drink Recipe # 2

Honey Lemonade

1/2 c water
1 1/2 c lemon juice
2/3 c honey
6 c water

Heat 1/2 c water, lemon juice, and honey in a sauce pan until the honey dissolves in with the water and lemon juice. Pour in to pitcher and add 6 c of water. Chill and serve with ice.

This definatly tastes a lot better than commerical lemonades!