-
Virtual Pampered Chef Party–Fall 2020! (Party-on while being responsible adults!)
I recently attended a virtual Pampered Chef party that my college friend, Barb, hosted. I wasn’t necessarily thinking of making purchases, but I did think it would be fun to interact with others and interact again with Barb. I figured that I might get some inspiration to help me in the kitchen; I was feeling a little stagnant. When all was said and done, I did not buy anything, but I did want to host my own party. I enjoyed the experience of participating, and I really enjoyed what the PC consultant did, so we set up a party for early September. This all took place on Facebook. I did…
-
Heading to University of Tennessee in Knoxville!
I have definitely entered a new stage in my life. I am now officially the mother of a college student. My husband and I recently took our first born out of state to be part of the University of Tennessee in Knoxville Class of 2024! Go, Vols! (During this “getting him to school” part of the adventure, my daughter spent the week with her best friend. She most likely enjoyed that more than she would have enjoyed travelling and doing college stuff with us.) (If you want to read about how this all really began, check out this post from last year’s college tour!) In my family, I tend to be…
-
Sourdough Bread–Back In the Kitchen, Pandemic Series
I initially wrote this first part several weeks ago: Words which I never expected to say to my husband were recently said: “Honey, the next time you go to Sam’s Club, can you pick up another 25 pound bag of flour? We are almost out.” When he first bought 25 pounds of flour, we expected it to last forever. Well, as I had written and posted in the past, we have been taking full advantage of our quantities of flour and our breadmaker! (Our flour “projects” have included homemade pizza and French bread.) After sharing my humorous comment on Facebook, some friends offered me a sourdough starter since I have never…
-
Let’s See If I Can Learn American Sign Language
Back in high school, I studied Spanish. I really enjoyed it and was actually quite good at it. (For the life of me, though, I cannot roll my R’s! It’s really frustrating!) I was the kid who went out of her way to look up and learn additional vocabulary words. In college, I took a one semester Spanish writing class. I have always wanted to be fluent in the language. I still can’t say that I am fluent, but I can still interact decently in Spanish if necessary. For approximately five years, I worked in an office in which I spoke Spanish on a regular basis, and I became…
-
Learning to Juggle (Literally, not Figuratively)
January 2020: I have always been entertained by watching jugglers. It always seemed like a really cool thing to be able to do. When I was in junior high, I knew some people who could juggle, and one of my friends tried teaching me. I had the juggling balls and everything. I never progressed very far. I don’t know where those balls are today, but every so often, I will try juggling balled up socks. This doesn’t last long. I have decided to once again make a concerted effort at actually learning how to juggle and keep something in the air! Nowadays, instead of turning straight to a book, the…
-
Reunion with the Too-Long Ignored Bread Maker and Garlic Roaster
With extra time on my hands during the pandemic, I have been able to spend more time in the kitchen and realized it was time to revisit some wonderful kitchen “gadgets” that had not been forgotten but were so out of use that I would never think about them at times when it was appropriate to use them (I would remember them before going to sleep or in the middle of a work day when I could not do anything food prep related). First of all, I knew that in one specific drawer in my kitchen, I had a garlic roaster. I knew it was there but simply had not…
-
Homemade Pizza Night!
(Personal disclaimer: Currently, my family is celebrating the holiday of Passover. This pizza was prepared and enjoyed before the holiday. During Passover, you cannot eat leavened products.) If you have been to a grocery store recently, you may have noticed the lack of cheese pizza availability. Of course, this does absolutely nothing to diminish the craving for pizza. Other items people have had trouble finding recently, from what I have heard at least, include items for baking such as flour and yeast. Well, as members of warehouse clubs, despite not being able to find these items at our neighborhood grocery stores, my husband DID find them at a big box…
-
Experience Five (Virtual) Tours of National Parks in Just One Hour! (aka How to Travel while Sheltering at Home)
I am in desperate need of a vacation, and with the world’s current turn of events, I will be waiting even longer than originally hoped. Saying that, I decided that it was worth checking out one of the many sites available that allow for virtual tours, and I chose to play tourist from the comfort of a cushioned chair at home. I won’t even pretend to imply that virtual tours were anything like the real thing, but I certainly enjoyed them and have a desire to visit these sites in person someday. I recently posted about multiple websites that might be of interest while we are spending more time at…
-
It’s a Sign! (aka The Birth of a Banner)
I have known Andrew for quite a while (our kids have gone to school together since they were little), but I honestly never really knew what he did for a living. Guess what. Now I know! When I posed the question on-line of who would be interested in teaching me something new, he offered to introduce me to THE WORLD OF SIGNS (my emphasis : ) )! I had a behind-the-scenes look at a business about which I knew nothing. What is the name of your company? Creative Edge Visual Solutions http://www.creativeedgechicago.com/ How did you get into this industry? Does your previous education/background tie in to your current work? After…
-
Bored While Stuck Inside? These Links May Help You Avoid Going Stir Crazy.
Now that so many people are going to be stuck inside, we know that we need more than just a few days worth of ideas and activities to keep us from going stir crazy. I am trying to put together a list of links that we all may find useful in our quest to make the most of this difficult situation. We may actually find something really unique that we otherwise would have never seen, tried, or experienced. This post may not be pretty or look complete. I just want to make it available as soon as I can. I have tried to list items in a somewhat organized fashion. …
If it's not illegal, immoral, or blatantly stupid, I am willing to give it a try!
