The following featured products are brought to you by: VLT Originals.
The descriptions are copied from the owner's site. Please click on the title or the large image to be taken to their site and the product of your choice.
31 May 2010
Jewelry from VLT Originals
The following featured products are brought to you by: VLT Originals.
The descriptions are copied from the owner's site. Please click on the title or the large image to be taken to their site and the product of your choice.
30 May 2010
29 May 2010
Tank Car
My wife came across this car last weekend in a parking lot. Even though she loves the paint job, she would much prefer driving the real thing: more practical for city driving, you know...
27 May 2010
26 May 2010
Hand-Crafted Creations from My Extra Beads
The following featured products are brought to you by: My Extra Beads.
The descriptions are copied from the owner's site. Please click on the title or the large image to be taken to their site and the product of your choice.
24 May 2010
Fiber Creations by Split Rock Ranch
The following featured products are brought to you by: Split Rock Ranch.
The descriptions are copied from the owner's site. Please click on the title or the large image to be taken to their site and the product of your choice.
22 May 2010
Kroger Family of Stores' Pound for Pound Challenge and Giveaway
As those who follow my site may know, back in August of 2008, I began a weight-loss program in order to reclaim my life. You see, back then I weighed a whopping 296 pounds of pure, unadulterated fat. It happened that one day I passed in front of a window and when I glanced up, I saw a stranger staring back at me. It was then and there that I decided I HAD to lose weight. I went online (well, there's a shock) and looked into exercise machines and since my preferred method of exercise is strength training, I narrowed my search to those types of machines. Since I'm cheap and didn't want to spend a great deal of money, I quickly eliminated machines costing too much (over $250). After my search, I ended up getting my beloved Total Gym and I've been using it ever since. 20 May 2010
Friday Fotos: 5/21
As you can see, I'm in the process of re-arranging my template. I'm trying to find a better format. I am also tweaking a new template that I found last night. Hopefully, I'll find a design that is more esthetically pleasing. Anyway, enjoy the Friday Fotos...
I think a refund may be in order...
courtesy of... friendsofirony.com
18 May 2010
Handcrafted Jewelry from Cheryl's Purple Cow
The following featured products are brought to you by: Cheryl's Purple Cow.
The descriptions are copied from the owner's site. Please click on the title or the large image to be taken to their site and the product of your choice.
16 May 2010
Crafts from Brenda's Handmade Creations
The following featured products are brought to you by: Brenda's Handmade Creations.
The descriptions are copied from the owner's site. Please click on the title or the large image to be taken to their site and the product of your choice.
15 May 2010
High-Rise Window Washers
While waiting for the bus, my wife captured this shot of the Wells Fargo building with her cell phone. If you look up at the very top, you can see the window washers.These guys are just sitting there and swinging away on a chair-type apparatus, while working. My hat's off to them, because there is NO WAY I would do this..
...and yes, the building edge is that sharp.
13 May 2010
10 May 2010
Etsy Shop Owners Unite
The school year is beginning to wind down, which means my two tax deductions need a little more help getting ready for their final exams. This means that I will have even less time to devote to writing and boring you all with my scattered thoughts. So, I figured that I would like to use this time to feature YOUR handmade products on my site. Once or twice a week, I would like to feature a few products from a fellow blogger's personal Etsy shop. So, if you have an Etsy shop or know someone who does, I hope that you will consider sharing a few of your products with us.
09 May 2010
08 May 2010
My Focaccia Bread Recipe
Firstly, I would like to thank Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice for inspiring me to make this bread. I was over at her site and discovered her recipe and decided to adapt it using my sourdough starter. Now, if you do not have a sourdough starter and would like to make one, you can visit How to Make Sourdough Starter to get started. If you would just like to make the bread, but without using a sourdough starter, you can view my other Focaccia Bread Recipe.
07 May 2010
06 May 2010
Recipes
I have provided a short snippet for each post, so hopefully it give you an idea as to what the entire article is about. Just click on the link, to read the entire article.
Recipes...
Here are just a few of the recipes that I have posted. All have been tried by me.
Focaccia Bread Recipe
Now, if you do not have a sourdough starter and would like to make one, you can visit How to Make Sourdough Starter to get started. If you would just like to make the bread, but without using a sourdough starter, please visit Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice at the above link and you can follow her recipe. While there, please take the time to view some of her other mouth-watering recipes.
French Fry Dip
As you may or may not know, I like to make our own home-made fries (yep, another shameless recipe link) and I can think of nothing better to go with those fries, than a good dip. With this in mind, I decided to experiment with a dip I found over at Super Mommy to the Rescue (by the way, I stole the photo from Super Mommy, because her picture turned out a lot better than mine). Well, to the great shock and disbelief of my wife, I actually kept track of what and how much I added, so I am able to share this recipe with you. Although, we used this batch for the fries, this dip can be easily paired with chips or any veggies of your choice.
Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup
Last summer, we had several huge batches of tomatoes from our garden and when the first batch landed in the kitchen, I did what I normally do with our tomatoes: make a batch of salsa. Well, that first batch gave us twelve quarts and with the next harvest we gained an additional fourteen quarts. So, with the thought of yet another harvest coming and finding ourselves chin deep in salsa (yup, shameless plug), my wife and I decided that we should think about doing something else. Putting our heads together, we came up with a brilliant plan: what about soup?
Thanksgiving Day Turkey
The above photo is a pretty good representation of what our turkey will look like when completed. You would have thought that after doing this for so many years, I would have thought to at least take one picture of ours. Unfortunately, whenever I do think about it, it's too late. Anyway, this is how I've been preparing our turkey for the past several years. It comes out very moist (thanks to the turkey bag) and the aromatics really give the turkey an added boost.
As an aside, even though it has never happened, I always have the fear that our turkey will turn out like the one an Christmas Vacation. Anyone else have this fear?
Salsa Recipe
Once again the tomatoes have invaded our home. From the time of only having one or two available to use, we now have 30-40 that are ripe and ready to go (what you see in the photo is less than half of the tomatoes we used). So, what to do with them all? Well today, I plan to make a few batches of salsa, but later harvests will be used for soup, tomato base, and just plain canning. This recipe is for a very large batch of tomatoes, if you have a much smaller harvest, you will need to halve or quarter this recipe. Now, on to the recipe...
How to Make Sourdough Bread Starter
Being that the cost of a loaf of sourdough bread is roughly $4.00, I decided that since we are trying to save money, why not try and make my own sourdough bread. So, with this thought echoing in my mind, I went on a journey to discover what I would need to do. I have made regular bread before, but I have never even attempted sourdough, basically because with terms like starter and sponge...it seems a little intimidating. However, as you will see, it is pretty easy.
Making a Biga
Making Italian Bread
Making Tangy Potato Salad
My wife and her family are having a get-together this weekend, so I once again had to open my big mouth and volunteer to make something. So, now I am now stuck with making potato salads for my wife and her family. Since I must now make not one, but two salads (again, the big mouth comes into play), I decided to give you the recipes so you can try them as well. The one today is the recipe I recreated from my grandmother's salad. I plan to begin this recipe on Thursday, which will allow the flavors in the salad to really become pronounced. As you will see, this makes a large amount of potato salad.
Apple Pie with Crème Fraîche and Black Pepper
Okay, I know it's strange posting the deserts first, but I like to make them a few days in advance. This way, they are not only done and out of the way, but it also allows the flavors to blend together longer. It may seem strange to use Crème Fraîche (a rich sour cream) and black pepper in an apple pie, but one taste of this pie and you may be hooked.
Recipes...
Here are just a few of the recipes that I have posted. All have been tried by me.
Focaccia Bread Recipe
Now, if you do not have a sourdough starter and would like to make one, you can visit How to Make Sourdough Starter to get started. If you would just like to make the bread, but without using a sourdough starter, please visit Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice at the above link and you can follow her recipe. While there, please take the time to view some of her other mouth-watering recipes.
French Fry Dip
As you may or may not know, I like to make our own home-made fries (yep, another shameless recipe link) and I can think of nothing better to go with those fries, than a good dip. With this in mind, I decided to experiment with a dip I found over at Super Mommy to the Rescue (by the way, I stole the photo from Super Mommy, because her picture turned out a lot better than mine). Well, to the great shock and disbelief of my wife, I actually kept track of what and how much I added, so I am able to share this recipe with you. Although, we used this batch for the fries, this dip can be easily paired with chips or any veggies of your choice.
Roasted Tomato and Garlic Soup
Last summer, we had several huge batches of tomatoes from our garden and when the first batch landed in the kitchen, I did what I normally do with our tomatoes: make a batch of salsa. Well, that first batch gave us twelve quarts and with the next harvest we gained an additional fourteen quarts. So, with the thought of yet another harvest coming and finding ourselves chin deep in salsa (yup, shameless plug), my wife and I decided that we should think about doing something else. Putting our heads together, we came up with a brilliant plan: what about soup?
Thanksgiving Day Turkey
The above photo is a pretty good representation of what our turkey will look like when completed. You would have thought that after doing this for so many years, I would have thought to at least take one picture of ours. Unfortunately, whenever I do think about it, it's too late. Anyway, this is how I've been preparing our turkey for the past several years. It comes out very moist (thanks to the turkey bag) and the aromatics really give the turkey an added boost.
As an aside, even though it has never happened, I always have the fear that our turkey will turn out like the one an Christmas Vacation. Anyone else have this fear?
Salsa Recipe
Once again the tomatoes have invaded our home. From the time of only having one or two available to use, we now have 30-40 that are ripe and ready to go (what you see in the photo is less than half of the tomatoes we used). So, what to do with them all? Well today, I plan to make a few batches of salsa, but later harvests will be used for soup, tomato base, and just plain canning. This recipe is for a very large batch of tomatoes, if you have a much smaller harvest, you will need to halve or quarter this recipe. Now, on to the recipe...
How to Make Sourdough Bread Starter
Being that the cost of a loaf of sourdough bread is roughly $4.00, I decided that since we are trying to save money, why not try and make my own sourdough bread. So, with this thought echoing in my mind, I went on a journey to discover what I would need to do. I have made regular bread before, but I have never even attempted sourdough, basically because with terms like starter and sponge...it seems a little intimidating. However, as you will see, it is pretty easy.
Making a Biga
Making Italian Bread
Making Tangy Potato Salad
My wife and her family are having a get-together this weekend, so I once again had to open my big mouth and volunteer to make something. So, now I am now stuck with making potato salads for my wife and her family. Since I must now make not one, but two salads (again, the big mouth comes into play), I decided to give you the recipes so you can try them as well. The one today is the recipe I recreated from my grandmother's salad. I plan to begin this recipe on Thursday, which will allow the flavors in the salad to really become pronounced. As you will see, this makes a large amount of potato salad.
Apple Pie with Crème Fraîche and Black Pepper
Okay, I know it's strange posting the deserts first, but I like to make them a few days in advance. This way, they are not only done and out of the way, but it also allows the flavors to blend together longer. It may seem strange to use Crème Fraîche (a rich sour cream) and black pepper in an apple pie, but one taste of this pie and you may be hooked.
Dieting/Fitness
I have provided a short snippet for each post, so hopefully it give you an idea as to what the entire article is about. Just click on the link, to read the entire article.
Dieting/Fitness...
Counquering a Weight Loss Plateau
n August, 2007, I began my weight loss program. I weighed 296 pounds of pure, unadulterated fat (can we say Jabba the Hutt??). In November, I weighed 254 pounds, with 15 of that in muscle. In December...254lbs. In January....254lbs. In February....254lbs. What is going on here!!!! I am killing myself with these exercises and this diet, but I'm still at the same weight!!! I'm losing inches, but I'm not losing pounds. I am no longer a fitness nut. I QUIT!!!!! Has this ever happened to you?
Why you Need to Add Strength Training to your Routine
Don't you just love counting calories? I know, I hate it too, but it is an important part of any lifestyle devoted to staying fit. Dieting is only part of the equation when trying to lose weight. You must also adhere to some sort of exercise program, which includes both weight training and cardio workouts. Why must I do both? Well, you CAN get away with doing only one or the other, but if you REALLY want to lose weight, and lose it quickly, you need to include both in your weight loss regimen.
How to Find the Right Exercise Equipment
Okay, you have decided to take the plunge and stick with this exercise thing, but you want to buy exercise equipment that will last past the 90 guarantee. We have all been there: you’re rocking-out to your tunes and pedaling away on your stationary bike, only to see yourself flying over the top of the bike and landing on the floor with a handle in your hand. What happened?
My Total Gym and Me
As you may know, one of the pieces of equipment I use in my exercise routine is the Total Gym. Well, over the course of a few months, I have had several people (OK, 3 people) ask whether it really works. So, in response to those "several" comments I will, over the course of the next few days, give you my review of the Total Gym.
Tips Before Starting your Weight Loss Routine
s you begin your new fitness routine, there are a few things that you might want to do. By taking these few extra steps, you will be able to monitor your weight-loss much more effectively. These few steps should take you only a few minutes to complete and by doing so, you will have those all-important baseline measurements that you can use to show off to your friends at a later time.
Exercise Delemma
I am facing a dilemma: I need to change-out my exercises, but I really do not want to miss-out on the benefits of the exercises I am currently doing. Now that I have totally confused you with that statement, let me try to explain. For the past several weeks, I have been concentrating on strength training. That is, I have been using my Total Gym almost exclusively. Yes, that's right, I have been sadly neglecting my Nordic track.
Dieting/Fitness...
Counquering a Weight Loss Plateau
n August, 2007, I began my weight loss program. I weighed 296 pounds of pure, unadulterated fat (can we say Jabba the Hutt??). In November, I weighed 254 pounds, with 15 of that in muscle. In December...254lbs. In January....254lbs. In February....254lbs. What is going on here!!!! I am killing myself with these exercises and this diet, but I'm still at the same weight!!! I'm losing inches, but I'm not losing pounds. I am no longer a fitness nut. I QUIT!!!!! Has this ever happened to you?
Why you Need to Add Strength Training to your Routine
Don't you just love counting calories? I know, I hate it too, but it is an important part of any lifestyle devoted to staying fit. Dieting is only part of the equation when trying to lose weight. You must also adhere to some sort of exercise program, which includes both weight training and cardio workouts. Why must I do both? Well, you CAN get away with doing only one or the other, but if you REALLY want to lose weight, and lose it quickly, you need to include both in your weight loss regimen.
How to Find the Right Exercise Equipment
Okay, you have decided to take the plunge and stick with this exercise thing, but you want to buy exercise equipment that will last past the 90 guarantee. We have all been there: you’re rocking-out to your tunes and pedaling away on your stationary bike, only to see yourself flying over the top of the bike and landing on the floor with a handle in your hand. What happened?
My Total Gym and Me
As you may know, one of the pieces of equipment I use in my exercise routine is the Total Gym. Well, over the course of a few months, I have had several people (OK, 3 people) ask whether it really works. So, in response to those "several" comments I will, over the course of the next few days, give you my review of the Total Gym.
Tips Before Starting your Weight Loss Routine
s you begin your new fitness routine, there are a few things that you might want to do. By taking these few extra steps, you will be able to monitor your weight-loss much more effectively. These few steps should take you only a few minutes to complete and by doing so, you will have those all-important baseline measurements that you can use to show off to your friends at a later time.
Exercise Delemma
I am facing a dilemma: I need to change-out my exercises, but I really do not want to miss-out on the benefits of the exercises I am currently doing. Now that I have totally confused you with that statement, let me try to explain. For the past several weeks, I have been concentrating on strength training. That is, I have been using my Total Gym almost exclusively. Yes, that's right, I have been sadly neglecting my Nordic track.
03 May 2010
Looking Back: Part-3
Unfortunately, due to an exclusive agreement with Kindle, I have been asked to remove the contents of this page. However, all the information you will need to build your retaining wall, can be found in my book. I am very sorry of any inconvenience this may cause.
02 May 2010
Taco Hamburgers
Okay, what do you do when you cook-up a batch of taco meat and have no taco shells? Well, besides NOT making a batch of taco meat (Yes, a shameless plug. Just scroll down a bit for the taco mix recipe), which would be the best thing, you can always improvise. In addition to not having any taco shells, we didn't have any hamburger buns (violins play in the background), so I really had to come up with an idea of what to do. The first thing that popped into my mind was to just use some bread, but if any of you have ever tried to make loose meat sandwiches or sloppy joe's using regular bread, you know what a mess that can make. The bread just absorbs all the juices and you're left with a soggy, but good, mess.
01 May 2010
Have Camera - Will Travel
Once again, I was sitting in the parking lot and waiting for my kids to get done with their tests, when this truck pulled up. GO BRONCOS!!!...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
