What's it called when you mix two great things?

Pepperidge Farms has given my picky eater something to smile about!  

Imagine this:

 Plus this

My youngest found them on a corner shelf at the end of an aisle at Hannaford today.  GOLDFISH SANDWICH BREAD!  They come in whole wheat and white and they look exactly like these smiling goldfish! I looked them up on the internet (Pepperidge Farm's site and I googled around for a bit) and came up with nothing.  Are they new? 

I realize that giving in to kids' whims in the grocery store is a bad habit which is why we don't have "gummies" in our cabinet very often.  BUT if this will get him to eat a sandwich with a smile on his face?  No question, I'm buying it!  Now I'm off to search for PF coupons so I can afford them! 

Ants update...

Well, the vinegar spray seems to work!  Love it.  However I'm just sending them away from my counters and to somewhere else right?  So I've added another layer...Ortho makes a liquid ant poison.  It's sick but I get a tiny bit of satisfaction when I see those little buggers lined up for a sip. 

Hopefully this added to my more natural approach will finish them off before the snow melts and and the mice come in...oof.  That's for another day of learning!

Ants, Ants, Ants...In Winter??

It's not even spring yet we are battling ants already.  YUCK!  I've been digging around the internet.  My least favorite find was "likely infestation" or "nest in the house".  My favorite (in relative terms) was at ehow.com.  Here's the meat of it...I'll let  you know!

1. Mix 2 cups of vinegar with half a bucket of warm water. Pour some of your vinegar solution into a spray bottle.
   
2. Soak a clean cloth in the diluted vinegar solution, then squeeze out the excess. Use the vinegar-dampened cloth to wipe down kitchen countertops, the inside and outside of kitchen cabinets and the exterior of your kitchen appliances. If ants have been spotted in any other rooms of the house, wipe down hard-surfaced and non-upholstered furniture in the infested rooms, as well as hardwood or tile floors, with the vinegar solution to repel ants.
   
3. Clean your floor with an ingredient that also repels ants: vinegar.
   Mop your floor with the remaining vinegar solution. Vinegar's smell dissipates as soon as the vinegar dries.
   mop head image by green308 from Fotolia.com
4. Spray ants seen in your home with the vinegar spray in the bottle. Keep the spray bottle handy in the kitchen or other areas where ants are prevalent.
   
5. Place pet food bowls inside shallow cake pans. Fill the cake pans halfway with water. This creates a protective moat that drowns ants as they attempt to get to your dog or cat's food.
6. bottles of ground cinnamon & allspice. oregano image by L. Shat from Fotolia.com
   Ground cinnamon is one spice that repels ants in your home.
   Sprinkle cinnamon along the back of your countertops to repel ants from trying to get to the sugar bowl or other food items. The cinnamon repels the ants, while giving your kitchen a pleasant fragrance.
   

Side effects

This weekend I learned about the symptoms of pneumonia....

• Cough, often producing mucus (sputum) from the lungs. Mucus may be rusty or green or tinged with blood.
• Fever, which may be less common in older adults.
• Shaking, "teeth-chattering" chills (one time only or many times).
• Fast, often shallow, breathing and the feeling of being short of breath.
• Chest wall pain that is often made worse by coughing or breathing in.
• Fast heartbeat.
• Feeling very tired (fatigue) or feeling very weak (malaise).
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Diarrhea

I learned what would keep my kids busy in the waiting room of an ER for several hours while Shawn learned what it means to wait and wait some more.

• DVD player
• snacks
• not the book Farmyard Tales

Later that day I learned that one of the side effects of an allergic reaction to Azithromycin is having hives.  Great.  Now I'm waiting to learn about the side effects of augmentin.

I am now a wealth of medical knowledge. 

Reevaluation!

As with all good New Year's Resolutions one must reevaluate in February...clearly a daily post is not in my realm of possibilities!  I'll plug away at it, stick with me!  :)

Coolest glasses ever!

We were having basketball photos taken the other night and I watched one of the photographers get kids into the just right frame of mind to have their photo taken.  She was amazing!  Great attitude, knew just what to say to get it right.  As she looks to the image on her digital camera she lifts two separate lenses of her glasses up to her eyes and they snap together so she can see the image clearly, as she looks back to her audience of one she separates them and they continue to just hang around her neck!  Effortless and she always knows where they are.   I was intrigued!

Here's a picture I found online.  It seems they are sold as Click Reading Glasses .  Very functional and all the rage!  If you get some let me know how you like them!

It can be done!

Today I learned that you can maintain your weight even if the week includes an indulgent Valentine's Dinner at the Sunset Hill House!  Yahoo, the WW scale remained the same this week. 

Dinner and our night out was delicious and fun and rejuvenating!  Well worth it.

:)

On to a lower scale number next week!

Self Control = Success?

Here's an article that makes me cringe a bit as an unorganized and often attention lacking mom.  I heard it on the radio today...all about how if your preschooler shows quality self control when he is little he's sure to be successful, whereas your less than controlled little one has a higher chance of being tossed into the slammer.  Ahhhh! 

Now, I realize these are generalizations and studies blah blah blah but don't they know the internal anxiety they cause when these scientists toss out such serious consequences via the radio waves?

You know I'll be reading it, and surfing the studies for a while.  At least until something more interesting comes along and I'd rather do that....What??

Ummmm...

When I started this I thought for certain I could find something enlightening about each and every day...Is it possible I'm not looking hard enough?  Could I be forgetting before I get home?  Do I have to dig deeper?

Do you learn something everyday?  Or are you reminded often?  Do you reflect on life around you?  Do look for something new about other people?

As I'm writing this I remember a conversation..."No matter where  you work someone thinks they work harder than everyone else."  Is that for real?  Who has time to fret over that?  Maybe you have learned this where you work...Clearly I don't get out enough!  :)

Valentine Fun

Cooper and I learned, together, how to build a Rocket Valentine for his friends.  We found it at Family Fun which is a great site if you are looking for ideas with your children.  It's fun to learn together...sometimes I forget that!

Romance

Shawn proposed to me at the Sunset Hill House in Sugar Hill on Valentine's Day.  This year we will celebrate our 10 year anniversary!

As a facebook fan, they are offering a Valentine's Dinner next weekend.  Shhhh, I'm going to surprise him!

Check them out at www.sunsethillhouse.com

<3

Peanut Butter Dip

  Tonight I made this recipe...yes I'm on the Weight Watchers wagon again.  It sounded too good to pass up as I've spent my week thinking "Do people really survive on leafy salads and apples alone??"  

As I read the line 'chick peas, loose skins removed, washed and drained' I thought it would be a short and easy task.  I've used chick peas in many recipes and only seen a few skins here and there.  Lo and behold every damn bean had skin on it!  By the time I realized I had to skin the entire can it became a personal mission that took me longer anyone should spend with a chick pea.  

Tonight I learned two things...all of the chick peas in the can have skins and Weight Watchers is brilliant because in all of the time it took me to skin them, I was not eating!  :)

Enjoy the dip, it's DELICIOUS!

 

Creamy Peanut Butter Dip

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Course: snacks PointsPlus™ Value:    3 Servings:  8 Preparation Time:  5 min Cooking Time:  0 min Level of Difficulty:  Easy

A peanut butter lovers' dream come true. Spread onto toast or serve as a dip with banana and apple slices. For a spicier version, stir in some red pepper flakes.

Ingredients

	1 1/2 cup(s) canned chickpeas, loose skins removed, washed, drained
	1/4 cup(s) Tropical Nut & Fruit Honey roasted peanut butter, or other brand
	2 1/2 Tbsp honey
	1/4 tsp table salt
	1/2 cup(s) hot water

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender; blend until smooth. Allow to set up in refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Yields about 2 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon per serving.

Chocolate! YUM!

Cool Valentine's Treat idea!

Take this
(it's a Tupperware Funnel)

Add Chocolate Chips

 

Get This!!

Plug up the funnel with tin foil or better yet a mini marshmallow, pour melted chocolate it.  When it's cooled solid tap the funnel and VOILA!

I've read you can add rice crispies or m and m's or any other yummy deliciousness you like!

Love those ideas with Tupperware!  I'm trying to find someone to host a Kiss Tupperware party this month...any takers?  Chocolate and free Tupperware?

Pardon the shameless plug here...www.my2.tupperware.com/angimw

You Just Never Know!

Here's a story that must be told..

I am pumping gas into individual cans today.  There are a million people at the gas station and I can't figure out one of the tops, it's apparently adult proof.  So in an effort to speed it up I say to the good looking, ready to ski, average male at the next pump, "Hey, could I ask you a favor?"  The following is our conversation:


His eyes roll.  "You are the 20th person today to ask me a favor."


Me: Oh, I'm sorry.  No worries.  I don't want to add to your stress.  


Him: I'm not stressed.  It's just your the 20th person to ask today.  


Me:  I guess you look like a helpful guy.  Can you open this gas can?


Him taking the can: 20 people today and not one thank you.


Me: Well I'll appreciate you, I'll pass the word along how helpful you were.


Him: Find me a girlfriend and we'll see.


Me: Ummm I was just trying to speed this up since so many people are here waiting.


Him: Can't you see how this turns?  Look at this, it's righty-tighty, lefty-loosey.


Me: Ummm yeah but with those teeth there that didn't seem to work.  Maybe I was just rushing.  


Him: Oh, yea.  It doesn't work.  He takes it and fiddles.


He mumbles something about a girlfriend again.  
Me:    Here's a thought, don't roll your eyes when someone asks you for help!


Returns the open can, walks away


Me: Thanks a million, I really appreciate it.


Him: Thanks a million?  That's all I get...


Me: Ummm should I be offering you something else???


Him: Buy my ski ticket...mumble mumble


Me: Maybe next time you should say No, I've done all the helping I can do today, so I can't help you.


Him: Yeah, maybe I should say Taco No Inglese.  

He said this several times, and I just agreed with him and hurled myself into my car!


So today I learned you never know who you are standing next to, what kind of day they have already had, and how seriously they are taking the missing relationship in their lives.  YIKES!