I know I'm just throwing links out right now, but it's all I have in me.
Check out this blog for some inspirational tips on keeping house.

Geez Louis

Interested in astrology? Check out this article(and blog) about the upcoming new moon in Leo.

For another plug...in Des Moines we have an awesome place called Geez Louis. Check it out here.

For the Grand Finale…

For the Grand Finale…

Check out this link to win a Vita Mix.

Smoothie take 2

Day two smoothie is a frothy mess. Which is very unappealing. I've gotten lots of great ideas though on how to make an edible and possibly tasty green smoothie. So today I'm off to the store to purchase bananas to cut up and freeze and other frozen fruits....I'm thinking a tropical blend and a bag of strawberries.
A nice cup and a straw for everyone is also on the list of must haves. At the least we need the straw to combat the inch of green foam.
Every one but Joe has had a smoothie now. I'm waiting until I perfect it to offer him a drink. He gags just thinking about things he doesn't like. Wussy. :)

12 steps for simplicity

I certainly needed to read this today. Perhaps it will help you too.

Green Smoothie take 1

Day one of the green smoothie challenge. Check it out here. I'm going to do it because I'm stubborn but getting everyone else on board is going to be,well, challenging. Even Jasper wasn't impressed and he'll eat anything.

Today's Smoothie:
spinach
blueberries
pineapple

Bread is Zen

I picked up a new cook book at a garage sale last week. It's a nifty little 70's book simply titled Bread Baking. I'm enamored. Bread is a marvelous thing, pure magic really. There are about 50 recipes for different types of breads in this book. You know what? They all use the same ingredients! Just a handful of easy on hand items put in at different times in different combination produces completely different textures and tastes. Or so the book says.

My plan is to work my way through this book, starting today and ending sometime in the future. ;)
Though time is not linear and therefore we shouldn't have to be, I decided to start at the front of this book for simplicities sake. I'm making a white bread(which I would normally not eat) using unbleached flour. It has an easy mixing and rising time. I'm thinking it should be moist and tender and slightly dense as the ingredients include milk as well as water. I'm hoping for some good french toast or Nutella sandwiches out of it.

I will say that this is not my first foray into bread. I've been making no knead bread, hamburger and hotdog buns, pizza dough and homemade tortillas fairly regular for a few years now. I also worked a small stint at a local bread shop.

There is something about bread that is so tactile and delicious. Both in it's making and consumption. There are so many life lessons to be learned and mastered through the art of bread-making, things that I could really use, like patients and forethought and patients.