Another Raw Food Vitamix Recipe

Spring Zing Drink

2 cups pure water
1 medium carrot
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 cup sprouts


Add together in vitamix & blend till smooth. This drink is really more healthy if you leave the pulp in, but you can strain it if you want a smoother drink.

Another ingredient that works well with this is one really ripe tomato.

Enjoy!

Awww...Ouch

Poor thing.


Somebody emailed me this pic earlier this week, & I wanted to share.

Twitter Me This...

What is wrong with this picture?

This washing machine posts a message to you on Twitter when it's load is finished washing. Does this mean that corporate Japan is counting on us being so tied to our computers that we can't make it across the house to check the clothes?

Man, are we weak!

Personally, I don't like Twitter at all, and it has nothing to do with my laundry...

Man, There Are Alot Of Phobias Out There

But Tom's mac & cheese phobia is the funniest yet.

Today is Friday the 13th, for the second time this year. Before 2009 is over we will experience another one too.

Lots of folks have phobias about this day. As a matter of fact, lots of folks have phobias about all kinds of things you wouldn't normally think about.

Below is a picture of BHO Tech Watch. For $11 you can protect yourself from those scary static shocks made possible by shag carpet, door knobs, or sweaters you pull out of the dryer. Whew!, it's about time--I was running out of sweaters...

Tightwads Rock

Don't get me wrong--I know how to spend money, & I can do a great job of blowing a budget. It's just that I don't want...stuff anymore, & that's led me to find a new hobby that works for me--saving money.

When I was younger I wanted, wanted, wanted. I didn't really go for the typical girl wants (big diamond, new car, designer clothes), but I always wanted something that was just out of reach. When I got married there were 2 incomes but we still really didn't have much--just enough to pay bills & go out to eat occasionally. Then came middle age, a new job & a new group of friends & co-workers; people who evidently had an endless pool of money to draw from. What I mean is that they charged everything, went everywhere they wanted, ate out daily, & never seemed to worry about anything. What a fun group! I happily jumped in the pool but never could quite keep up. Pretty soon I gave up trying & realized that all that shopping & bar-hopping & keeping up appearances is not only tiring, but also a bit annoying to me. Seemed like I never had a conversation with any of them that had anything in it worth remembering. I still like those folks, but from a distance now.

I work for myself now & it's not exactly easy all the time. I gave up security, a (tiny) bit of schedule freedom, & a life & job I was familiar with in the hopes of...well, I don't really know. I just knew when it happened that it felt like the right thing to do. What I didn't realize at the time was how hard it would be to suddenly not have an ad budget to work with, to not have a guaranteed income at the end of the day, to not have anything guaranteed--not even the ability to pay bills--unless I was doing it myself. What a change for me! I was soft & didn't even realize it.

So the past few years have really been eye-opening for me. Life has trained me to prioritize, to get my ducks in a row, & to really let my inner cheapskate come to the forefront. You know what? It's been fun! Seriously, what a challenge to be able to make it work in tough economic times. To remind yourself that taking a walk outside is free, to hang out with friends in the living room is free, to play music is free. In other words, the best things are free. Funny how hanging out with the wrong crowd can make you forget that.

The rest can be pretty cheap too, if you know where to look--& I am nothing if not internet proficient. So, here's the deal. Once a week at least there will be a post here with a link to one of my favorite money-saving sites or an article, or something that I do now that saves me money. I'm having so much fun with this that I want to share it with all my friends. Hopefully, I can learn something from you too!

With that in mind, here is a link to today's Yahoo! article about cheapskates to get us all in that money saving frame of mind...

Funny Site

The Museum of Bad Art (MOBA), is a private art museum established "to celebrate the labor of artists whose work would be displayed and appreciated in no other forum".

I have been checking out the Museum of Bad Art for a few years now & it just keeps getting better.

I thought I would share it with you here.

Enjoy!

It's That Time of Year

My nose begins to itch, my eyes get watery, & my head swims with congestion. Yep, tree pollen time. It starts around Hendersonville in February & goes straight through till May.

The area we live in gives us a great diversity of plants & trees & all manner of growing things--most of which produce some sort of pollen. After the initial onslaught of tree pollen I can look forward to all manner of plants that will clog up my sinuses & make me miserable from the neck up.

I'm told to stay out of the outdoor air, keep my car windows closed, dry clothes inside in a dryer, etc., but how can a person live here in Western North Carolina & not go outside to enjoy the weather? That's one of the prime reasons for living here.

So it's medicate or be miserable for me.

Weather.com lets you check the pollen count by zipcode. It will even email you when the pollen count is getting mid-range to high.

Here's the link.

More Raw Chocolate Vitamix Recipes

I have been eating so good this week!

Raw Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup pecans (don't soak)
3 to 4 tbs raw agave nectar
1.4 cup raw cacao powder
1 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup dehydrated bing cherries
1 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup pure water
1 tsp fresh coconut

Mix together in vitamix w/setting on low/variable. Slowly increase speed till mixture is consistency of cookie dough.

Drop on dehydrator sheets & form teaspoon-sized balls.

Dehydrate at 100 degrees for 4 hours.

Decorate with coconut.

Enjoy!

Boy I'm Glad We Can Automate These Posts

Today we "spring forward" an hour to honor Ben Franklin's idea--daylight savings time. I expect that I'm actually asleep right now--having stayed up late last night to celebrate Tom's birthday by having a party.

In the meantime, my blog should post this at exactly 7am. Way to go blogspot code writers! Technology that is actually useful.

Get Ready To Party!

Come on out to the office--we're celebrating Tom's birthday with food, gaming, & guitars. Starts around 7pm. If you don't already know where the office is, you're not invited! Bring whatever you want to eat, drink, or play.

See you there.

Something In The Milk Ain't Clean

Seriously, there's just something wrong here. A man who tried to commit suicide sued the hospital that saved his live, but hurt his arm in the process--and won.

58 year old Michael Dexter of Oswaldtwistle (a borough of Lancashire, England) took about 100 pills along with rum & cola. After being discovered by his wife & two children, and being rushed to the hospital, he was given "neutralizing" drugs, which caused tissue damage to his right arm that he described as "third degree burns".

He, along with his personal injury lawyer, spent the next six years suing the hospital that saved his life--and won! The daily mail carried the article, along with a picture of poor pitiful Michael holding his arm. Of course he is able to hold his arm, since he is still alive.

I wonder how often that kind of thing happens here in the states?

This story reminds me of the story about the guy who fell through a skylight while attempting to break in to a house. He landed on the kitchen counter & cut himself with a knife laying on the counter. He sued the homeowner & won. I wonder if that is an urban legend?

Here's the article.

Here's a thread about a man who broke into an unoccupied home that was boarded up with no trespass signs around it, & was injured by a booby trap the owner had set up. He sued & won. I don't know much about the website carrying the thread so be warned--it may be weird or something. Caveat Emptor!

Happy Birthday Tom!

Come on everybody--sing along!

You say it's your birthday
It's my birthday too--yeah
They say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you.

Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party
Yes we're going to a party party.

I would like you to dance--Birthday
Take a cha-cha-cha-chance-Birthday
I would like you to dance--Birthday
Dance

You say it's your birthday
Well it's my birthday too--yeah
You say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you

Click here to send Tom a birthday greeting.

More Raw Chocolate Vitamix Recipes

A variation on what we have almost every day:

Chocolate Health Shake
4 cups pure water
1.5 cups raw pumpkin seeds (soaked overnight so they're almost sprouted)
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbs raw agave nector
3/4 cup raw cacao powder

Add all the ingredients together into the vitamix. Start on low/variable & work up to higher speed for about 1 to 2 minutes. If you decide to keep the Vitamix on to heat up the drink remember that it shouldn't really get much above 100 degrees if you want to keep the enzymes living.

If you don't like the pulp, filter & keep it to make the recipe below.

Raw Chocolate Cookies

Take the pulp from the drink above. Drop it in teaspoon sized balls then flatten out. Dehydrate at 100 degrees for 4 hours. Enjoy!

The cookies are so good! They have the exact same consistency as little brownies, but are good for you! The recipe above doesn't make too many cookies, just about 6 small ones. Here's a recipe for them that actually makes more:

Raw Chocolate Cookies (bigger batch)

4 cups raw pumpkin seeds (soaked overnight so they're almost sprouted)
1.5 cup raw aguave nector
1 tbs vanilla
1.5 cups raw cacao
2-4 cups pure water

add 1 cup of water & the rest of the ingredients to vitamix & start on variable/low. Slowly add water until consistency is doughy. Be sure that pumpkin seeds are crushed completly. When finished, add in fruit (if desired) by hand. Bing cherry bits are really good with these cookies or fresh blueberries.

Drop onto dehydrator sheet & set to 100 degrees for about 4 hours. These are chewy & so good! It's hard to believe that something that tastes like this can actually be good for you. I love this recipe because it's extremly easy & doesn't cost that much.

Pumpkin seeds are a great source of protein & have a good amount of essential fatty acides, magnesium, iron, & zinc (not to mention fiber). As a matter of fact, raw pumpkin seeds are so healthy that the oil inside of them is pressed & resold as a nutritional supplement. An additional benefit is that they're cheap! I can get raw organic pumpkin seeds for under $2 lb vs $10.99 lb & up for cashews, $7.99 & up for almonds, etc.

I really like trying new raw food recipes. My energy level has shot up since I started including living food in my diet. If your mind is open to trying new things, I highly recommend this.

I dont have

Happy Square Root Day

This holiday, which only occurs nine times each century, is today — 3/3/09 (for the mathematically challenged, three is the square root of nine).

The last square root day was five years ago, Feb. 2, 2004, (Groundhog Day). The next is seven years away, on April 4, 2016.

A Funny Thing Happened Yesterday

We adopted Vena about a year and a half ago when we were on the way home from a sci-fi convention in Tennessee. Vena is a lynx point siamese. She is about 3 years old (we're guessing). Vena is shall we say, a little different. Well, actually alot different. She is super inquisitive, somewhat standoffish, gets highly motivated & rambunctious, & is generally psycho. She is the first female cat we've had.

When we got her there was some doubt as to whether she would make it in our household or not. She spent the entire first week hiding in a closet & not eating. After that she would come out occasionally, but only to wail like a banshee if you tried to get near her. We were at our wit's end trying to help her adjust to life here.

After four cats that were incredibly loving towards each other & mellow as Jerry, it was certainly different being around Vena. Now she's definitely mellowed out & bonded with us (still working on her relationship with the other cat - Napster), & we're getting used to her quirks. Seems like there's always something funny going on nowadays.

Yesterday morning I got up early, opened the living room blinds to look out at the snow, & sat down to read a bit. After awhile, I heard Vena jump down from her bed & pad across the house to the living room. As I greeted her she ran up the cat house & took a running leap into the bay window I had just opened the blinds to. Remember, it snowed last night & the sun had just come out so everything was really really white.

She jumped into the window & I watched her literally jump with astonishment when she saw the snow. It was like she said"oh crap" in kitty body language. Then she turned her head 180 degrees first left, then right, then back again. After a quick meow, she flattened her ears & jumped off the window sill, running as fast as she could around the house 2 or three times. Then she jumped back up into the window again & just sat there staring for about 20 minutes.

Evidently she had never seen snow before & it just blew her mind.

At any rate, I had my laugh for the day. Wish somebody else could have seen it.

Meet Vena the space cadet. She napped most of the day after the little episode I just described:

RIP Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey, the news commentator and talk-radio pioneer whose staccato style made him one of the United States' most familiar voices, died Saturday in Arizona, according to ABC Radio Networks. He was 90.

I will never forget the time I was stuck in a drive-thru line in Hendersonville, listening to him. He was talking about the worst drivers in the nation (statistically). He talked on & on about how bad they were & at the end of the report he finally told the listeners that the drivers were not located somewhere in Florida, nope, they were in Hendersonville NC.

As he said that I watched a tow truck drive by with a big white Cadillac on the back with (bet you've already guessed it) Florida tags.

Snow In Hendersonville

I hope everybody is ok today. Stay home if you can, use your common sense if you can't.

I started the day by taking pictures of the sunrise from my front door.

Here's a link to my Flickr account. I'll upload photos there today.

It Finally Snowed in Hendersonville

We love it !!



Randy took this video at 2pm.

Here's the view from the kitchen window (8pm) Those lights are from the storage building.

Happy Sunday