mas o menos?

I can't decide if this has been a good week, or a bad week....here's a list to try and sort things out.


Good (put your best foot forward I always say)    (no, I never say this actually :( )
1) I finally was able to get a library card, Saints alive! That makes it a great week already.
2) I went to this amazing whole foods artisan market we have called SunTerra and got yumminess including:
Amazing glass bottled chocolate milk, fresh carrot juice, a brilliantly executed white chocolate raspberry square, yadayada
3) Got some visiting teaching done!
4) Found out about this whoot!
5) Found out we were getting a fantabulous tax return...finally I can get some furniture for our place.

and there could be more, but we move on to....the Bad.
1) I maimed a squirrel while driving and could see him flailing in the road after; very, very heartbreaking. Plus I killed a crow last week; my car is now a death machine and I just keep praying now every time I get in.
2) I ate (singlehandedly) almost all that yummy crap I bought at SunTerra already, so I'm a porker.
3) Bebe V is sick, she barks like a dog because she's all congested.
4) We were supposed to have a play date today but can't go because V is sick.
5) Its FLIPPIN' snowed and rained all week here!!!!!
6) I have been impaired from cleaning this week and I know have half a sink that is growing a third grade science project, no clean clothes for anyone, and a burgeoning threat to not even care.
7) A very serious lingerie accident that almost cost B his eye...serious.

I will struggle to remain positive, but I see the barometer swaying towards the downside a little. Boo, going to take care of cute sick baby and read lovely library books in snow town...hopefully without finishing off the chocolate milk.

Frikity Friday

So back to the whole idea of having a taking a stand Friday type dealio....

And mixing it with some Earth Day lovin'.... brings us to....

Water.

Now, I believe in a lot of crazy stuff. Like bigfoot, and UFO sightings (or I want to believe), the ultimate power of the mind, dolphins that deliver babies, and a boat load of other crazy happen stance. But, I never could believe that we could ever run out of clean water. I just didn't get it, hello, it's called a water purifier, or some bleach. Dang, next I'll solve world hunger.

Thank you, please take a number.

But, then I watched this documentary:

FLOW

 

 

It really opened my eyes to a lot of facts. Such as:

• Water is a $400 billion dollar global industry; the third largest behind electricity and oil.
  (source: CBS News, FLOW.)
• The cost per person per year for having 10 liters of safe drinking water every day is just $6 USD.
  
  (Ashok Gadgil, Senior Staff Scientist in the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, FLOW)
• 3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease. (water.org)
• The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns. (water.org)
• $4 billion -- estimated annual sales of the U.S. bottled water industry (PANDA.org)
• A Canadian study notes that a one-litre brand-name bottle of flat water costs about $1.50.
  That's about 3,000 times more expensive than an equal amount of municipal tap water.
• 3/10th of 1% of all the world's water is usable by humans
• Women, usually responsible for hauling water when plumbing is absent,
  
  on average carry 45 pounds of water at a time.
• Global sales of bottled water reached $100 billion in 2005.
• The cost to provide clean drinking water to half the 1.1 billion who need it is between $10 and $30 billion a year.
• The NRDC tested 103 bottled waters and found over 25% were simply tap water. Several tested failed the bacteria test. (All other fact sources from friendsofwater.com)
• 90% of the cost of a bottle of water is for label, cap and bottle.

 

Basically what I'm trying to say is:

There are a lot of people dying because they don't have clean water, and the proper hygiene that comes with it. We in the developed world are stupid enough to pay (a lot) for the water that should be freely ours, and everyone elses. Not to mention, we use zillions of chemicals and toxins to produce, package, haul, and house our bottled water, which we then throw away and create more of a problem.

Think about:
Getting a water filter
Not buying bottled water
Using BPA free products
Being aware of who is "using" your natural water resources for profit in your community
Daily household water consumption (showers, dishes,dishwasher, etc.)

We CAN truly each make a difference as cheesy as it always sounds.
 






This is another one called Tapped

I miss my BB

I miss Big B (he hated when I called him that when we first met.)

He has been working long hours all week.

He is gone till at least 10:30 tonight.

This makes me very sad/mad. (not mad at him, just the universe)

It also makes me eat.

I had Taco Bell...don't tell him, he'll think I'm gross.

I wish it made me clean in a mad fury. My house is beyond dirty.

I will probably make peanut butter cookies instead.

And eat more.

Sad.

I used to think that I would be a brightstar,
but I knew that brightstars burnt out fast.
The fear was there, I still admit; 
 the whisper of you breath (I thought)
said you'd be the wish on my last descent.
Who did I think I was? One so young,
and with so little experience.
Like the fourth of July, I set out for heaven.
And in a flowing arc I came down fast,
and I came down hard.
And then I saw, so clearly, the chance
that I had thought was "Life",
was just another holiday to you.

I felt as deep as the sea, and as endlessly blue
A collection of moments, boundless;
leading straight back to you.
For I am a moon, one side ever dark.
The other reflecting someone else's glory.
Is it a gift, or the greatest of tragedy,
that a piece of me still made it, 
to keep company with greeks?
So that all could guide their nights
by the error of our ways.
I'll never know what could have been,
nor have a want to hear that crystal knell.
The life worth living is the one hard to foretell.


I think it might be missing something...perhaps it will come. I'll let you know, or better yet, you tell me.

My Beatiful Buns

For those of you who don't personally know me,

that's right, I like to think that there are people out there who don't know me and read my blog,

I love to cook. I cook up a storm, and especially love the art of baking. Also I try to be very health conscious, so I like to play around with different whole foods and alternate cooking methods. This is a little twist I've put on the cinnamon bun. I love cinnamon buns, they're delectable.

These are Vegan Whole Wheat Cardamom Cinnamon Buns. I know, I didn't think they would turn out any good either, but they are fabulous!!! No white sugar or flour, fat free, and tasty as can be. Oh, I lied, I used a little powdered sugar for the frosting, sue me.

Without further adieu,

Ingredients:


•¾ cup non-dairy milk  ( I use almond)
•1 packet active yeast
•3 cups whole wheat flour
•1 tbsp baking powder
•¼ cup raw sugar, or any kind natural sugar, molasses, honey, maple syrup, etc.
•2 tsp cinnamon, or I added cardamom too, and pumpkin pie spice, whateva
•6 tbsp unsweetened applesauce ( I used peach flavored, it's what I had)
•4 tbsp brown sugar
•2 tbsp raisins and walnuts(optional of course)
•1 cup confectioners sugar
•1 tsp non-dairy milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease whatever pan you want to use. Warm 3/4 cup "milk". Sprinkle yeast over warmed milk and let it dissolve, about 5 minutes. Combine 2 cups of flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder, 1tsp cinnamon and in a large bowl. Add 5 tbsp applesauce and yeast mixture, stirring to combine. Add in another 1/2 cup flour. Sprinkle remaining flour on a flat surface and knead dough, kneading in most of the flour. Knead about 15-20 times. Roll dough out into large, thin rectangle and set aside. Prepare filling by combining 4 tbsp brown sugar with 1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce, rest of cinnamon other spices and goodies if using. Spoon filling in the center of the dough and spread it around, leaving 1" edge clear. Gently but tightly roll the dough up. Cut into however many rolls you want and place into prepared  pan and bake 20 to 25 minutes, until kind of golden and cooked through. Make icing by mixing 1 cup confectioners sugar with 1 tsp non-dairy milk (plain or vanilla), whipping until it becomes a thick glaze with no sugar chunks. Spread glaze over hot buns.

*P.S. I realize I put honey as an alternate to sugar, it wouldn't be vegan then, but still yummy. :)

Oi I'm back!

Sorry to my oh so dedicated 3 readers, but I'm back.

And do I have a funny story to tell!

Last night Brandon took Vida and I to one of those seminars on finances. That type of thing really float his boat. Normally I don't go, he takes Devon, our nephew, and they go to all kinds of them; like the Rich Dad Poor Dad guy, to get pumped up and jacked about making money and stikin' it to the man, I guess. Anywho this one has a free dinner attached so I was all over it.(There's almost nothing that I love more than "free" food) So we get there and B's kind of hesitant, flip floping between whether he really wants to be there or not. I see the huge buffet and I'm like "Hunny I got an hour for this guy", so we get eatin' and everythings going fine. We ask for a high chair for V and I set her up on her vogue diet of lettuce and a carrots.

Great. Dinner's over, and the guy starts talking. V, being the baby that she is, starts to make a few little noises; and I do mean little. B and I are pretty self consious about the whole baby interupting people's activities thing and we were not phased. And the guy, who, by the way, is wearing a head mic (classy) turns to us and says "Brandon, (you know at those cheesy seminars they always try to remember your name) I hope you can get her to settle down" STARE. So we're scrambling to take her out of the high chair and she starts talking a bit and I'm shushing her, but no one really seems to mind. I mean she was no louder than that fat old guy who's always at the place you are coughing really loud in the corner. Anywho, Mr. head mic guy does not think its so cool and he's giving us the laser eye. She peeps, its the last straw. "I don't think this is going to work out Brandon, You better go." he says! On the Mic! In the middle of the presentation! Hahahaha So we go. I thought it was hilarious and satisfying; free dinner with out the obligation to hear his stupid schtick. But the best part was B was livid. He was so pissed, he said if the mic man had said one more thing he was going to start throwing punches (right) or at least swear at him (umm humm). So I laugh at B for sounding soooo trashy and then he gets mad at me and is silent cursing in his head the whole way home! Does your husband do that, you know, talk to himself so loud in his head while driving you can literally feel it, plus he kind of moves his lips. Hahaha so funny to see him so worked up. Am I the only one who thinks its not wrong to bring babies pretty much anywhere? Were we wrong?

Such is the life I guess....                    Miss Thang workin' on her push ups. She's legit.