Besides being the wrap-up of another year, and a month filled with all kinds of larger bills to pay, this month in my family is loaded up with birthdays. Nieces, cousins, aunts, a sister and myself too all have birthdays this month. Even my mother-in-law has a birthday this month. I had several ideas for gifts to give her but none of them panned out. We ended up having to ask her what she would like, which of course takes out any element of surprise. She said she likes to ea

I am a reader. I like to read. I tend to lean towards magazines that talk about topics I am currently interested in, things like diet or crafts or discoveries. But the real reading is in books. I like mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi, fantasy, and books about the paranormal or supernatural in story form. Some of my favorite authors are Robert L Asprin, Heather Graham, Nora Roberts, Joan D Vinge, John Grisham, Isaac Asimov, Stephen King, Anne Rice, Sandra Brown, Michael Connelly a

Here's this weeks menus. Homemade Pizza with yogurt crust. Black Bean Cheese Burgers with the fixins. (Have to use up the rest of the batter). Greek Zucchini Rotini Chicken Burritos and Fruit Salad And of course Friday Fish with Baked Potatoes and Green Beans It might not sound like a healthy menu to some, especially if you just say cheese-burgers, pizza, burritos and pasta. As you can see, it really is better than it looks because of the ingredients and the preparation.

The guy who wrote the following article is a PhD and advocates strongly towards healthy eating. He has his focus on people with Type 2 Diabetes and Pre-Diabetes, but what he has to say applies to everyone. It's a common misconception that eating carbs will make you gain weight no matter what. In reality, this is only true if the carbs come from the wrong places. In fact, high-carb diets can be healthy and beneficial for your body when they are sourced from nutrient-dense sou

You know you have stepped into the age of Modernism when the first thing you do when you leave the bedroom is plug in your phone to charge, plug in your headset to charge, and unplug your tablet which you had charging overnight. When you purchase charging hubs with multiple plug-ins and yes I said that in plural, then you know. The first one is in the bedroom to charge the toothbrush, the shaver, the bug light and a phone, too. I have become a device junkie. I have alarms on

So, here’s the answer to the question. Ultra-processed food items — which aren’t perishable like fresh produce — are becoming cheaper. “Junk food is cheap because you can keep it forever. You can buy it in bulk, you can produce it in bulk, you can deliver it when it’s cheap to deliver it.” Think about the supply chain. Fresh produce, fish and meat need to be refrigerated and restocked, unlike shelf stable items. Those transportation and replenishment costs get passed on to th

I keep asking myself why the stuff they tell you is good for you, or at least better for you than the stuff you are already eating costs so much more? There are these apps that you can use to 'rate' your food. One, my doctor told me about, the other I found on my own. The first is called YUKA. I have probably mentioned that one before. The second is called ZOE. I have both on my phone now. So I was eating Cheerios. Supposed to be good for you. Good for cholesterol and ther

One idea is to make bread pudding. Here is a recipe straight from the AHA. (American Heart Association) Why did I pick this recipe? Because I like sweet and because I still strive for healthy stuff in spite of my sweet tooth. I liked the inclusion of apples in this recipe and the fact that it did not include any tropical oils or milks like coconut oil or coconut milk which are actually bad for you, even though it's the popular thing to do these days. Calories 131 Per Servin

I wondered what the price of things might be now that Feast Day has come and gone, for that $40 deal at Aldi's and Walmart. I had to check it out. Turkey is still the same price. (For a whole frozen turkey the same size). The Artisan Macaroni and Cheese is still the same price. The Pumpkin is still the same price. And so forth. So it makes me wonder how much of a deal that whole thing really was? Just another thing for me to puzzle over but still be grateful for at the same

Cravings can sometimes feel like a challenge when trying to maintain a healthy diet. Last week, mashed potatoes were the star of the cravings, and this week, the desire has shifted to fresh salads with a bold, tangy dressing reminiscent of Roquefort cheese. Store-bought salad dressings often contain preservatives, added sugars, and unhealthy fats, which can derail healthy eating goals. I cannot have them especially if they contain "gum-gums". Luckily, there’s a delicious home

I am a very curious person. (In the sense that I wonder about stuff). So I am constantly asking questions about a number of different things. Today I asked the question, "What is the difference between Flair Pens and Sharpie Markers"? This is not an out-of-the-blue type question. I really wanted to know because I tend to do a lot of journaling and 'marking' of boxes and labels and such. So internally I was also asking myself, do I need to buy both? Or does one or the other d

Pretty bad. Thanksgiving often means a table full of rich, carb-heavy dishes that can leave you feeling sluggish and guilty afterward. Cranberry sauce, stuffing, mashed potatoes, and dinner rolls are staples, but they pack a surprising amount of sugar and refined carbohydrates. If you want to enjoy the holiday feast without the carb overload or sugar crash, it’s worth exploring healthier alternatives that still capture the spirit and flavor of Thanksgiving. This post explains

Every now and then I get a whiff of something floating past my ski-jump nose and wonder, what was that? Sometimes it's like perfume or cologne. Sometimes it's something appealing like bacon frying (and it really appeals because I don't eat bacon anymore and I miss it), sometimes it's something icky-nasty. I have a somewhat sensitive sniffer so I have to wonder if this is a scent that has wafted in from the neighbor's or something carried on the wind from a few places down? I

Oh yes, I could rag on and on about taxes and the various thoughts I have about them but I will spare you all that dribble and angst and shoot the arrow right at the reality that the time has come to pay. My huge complaint about it (at this time) which I carry-on about every year at this time is why on earth they decided to make the taxes due just a few days before the Holiday? That's when people are selling their gifts from last year to pay for gifts to give this year and th

Many of us have left our communities of origin searching for careers, love, adventure, and more. These communities traditionally supplied us with safety, comfort, and support. When we felt lonely or isolated, we could come back to our center and be soothed, understood, or supported. But this fracture is also being played out in the networks we built around us for the same visceral feeling of connection. We have had to become mobile and flexible to survive. Working from home o

If you read my blogs you already know that I am gung-ho for money-saving. I am frugal. I am a hardened "waste not, want not" gal. I bought containers to use to store food in the fridge that I could also use for reheating food in the same container, over and over again. If I'd only known then what I know now I would have just started saving containers that food comes in from the store. I did some research and learned about food containers and what those little numbers on the

I wanted to help. People were working without getting paid. People were not receiving their food benefits (SNAP). Prices of everything from utilities, fuel, and food have gone up considerably making it even more difficult to stretch that budget. It has been hard enough for me to just stand by and watch certain things take place that are not okay, but to think some of our most precious people, our children, our seniors, our Veterans, might be having to choose not to have a f

I am starting to see the possibility of accomplishment and the fulfillment of the goal. YAY!!! I am still hovering over that $40 deal for a Thanksgiving dinner. I may still do that. My closet is for sure getting a bit more organized and I do have a better idea (or at least a fresher idea) of what is in there now. I knew, but some things I had forgotten about. So doing this has done more than help me find space for things I needed to get put away somewhere. That's a good thi

Why did the scarecrow receive a Nobel prize? He was outstanding in his field. In a world often overwhelmed by challenges, it’s easy to fall into a spiral of negativity. However, cultivating a positive mindset can transform how we approach our lives and the obstacles we face. This post aims to inspire you and provide practical strategies for developing a positive outlook, especially when tackling habits like hoarding or being a pack-rat. Positive thinking isn’t about ignoring

Well that can of worms I opened spilled out into my entire office, out into my library, out into my living room, and is threatening to crawl into my kitchen. This is a most frustrating affair. Am I a hoarder and not just a pack-rat? Geez. I am trying hard to organize, sort, consolidate, re-box, re-label, donate, toss and make sense of all this stuff. This all in the hope of finding new space in that closet for stuff that needs a home that is not out in sight. Wish me luck. I