Something To Think About Saturday

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Two sweet people have passed away this week. I have memories of both of their kind and caring personalities.

My prayers and thoughts go out to both the Streeter and Nash families. May they find comfort and peace.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted
~Matthew 5:4~

Thinking of you Tami, Holly, Nikki & Sunny

Try it Tuesday......Dial Yogurt Vanilla Honey Foaming Hand Wash

VS.

Dial Yogurt Vanilla Honey Foaming Hand Wash vs. Any Bath & Body Works Foaming Hand Wash.

The war is on! And I never would have thought any other store could compete with my favorite Bath & Body Works hand soaps! But Dial Yogurt is running a very close second to Bath & Body works. We are talking Michael Phelps 1/100th of a second close.

I have to say I'm a big fan of foaming hand wash because it's good to the last drop. I like more bang for my buck. I am never out of Bath & Body Works foaming soaps in my own bathroom. I have 2 sinks and each has their own bottle of B&BW foaming wash. Now the kids bathroom is a different story. They have whatever brand I pick up at Target or any grocery store. Sorry kids, but you waste too much soap.

I love Bath & Body Works because the fragrances are so yummy. Plain and simple...that's why I buy them -They smell fabulous. I will stay loyal to their soaps, but I have found one who is also yummy to smell and feels sooooo soft on my hands.

The Yogurt in the soap is actually yogurt proteins. I have no idea what yogurt is supposed to do for my skin, but I know that I love this soap! The Vanilla Honey is a great smell that rivals the Warm Vanilla Sugar scent at Bath & Body Works. I do have to say that the Dial soap is much creamier if that is the right word. It has a softer feeling to me. Even Brycen used it and came looking for me to tell me he thought it smelled really good. Normally, he could care less about soap. I have to force him to use it on his stinky feet some times. What kind of kid wears socks all summer long?! :)

Because the new Dial Yogurt Foaming Hand Wash is much cheaper than the Bath & Body Works, I just might buy the kids that brand (plus the Method brand that has some nice scents) from now on so I can still enjoy it plus not worry so much about them wasting it. Also I won't have to run out and get B&BW soap right when I finish a bottle in my own bathroom. I definitely think I can learn to live with the Dial Yogurt soap for a time.

The only thing that I don't like about the new Dial Yogurt foaming soap, is the bottle. I like how Bath & Body Works has a nice picture of a flower or whatever scent is in the bottle. But I especially like that their logo is small and not obtrusive (is that the word to use?...and to think I loved English class growing up!). Dial is just the opposite. The big 'ol lettering stands right out and takes up a chunk of the bottle. No subtlety there that's for sure. The bottle is nicely shaped, but the lettering ruins it. Go ahead, compare the pictures I have above. Can win 'em all I guess.

I found this soap at Target for about $2.70. I haven't tried the Aloe Vera scent. I really like the Vanilla Honey, so I bet I will buy that one again instead of the Aloe Vera. My friend Pam, however, is currently using the Aloe Vera hand soap (not foaming). I guess she likes it. She was the one who recommended the Yogurt soap when we were in Target together. I had never heard of Yogurt in my soap! I'm glad she got me to try it (Thanks Pam!) Weee.

P.S....Dial also makes the yogurt scents in a body wash. Wonder if it's as creamy? And another thing about the Dial yogurt soap....why only 2 scents? Come on people....play around with a few more.

Something To Think About

It seems that I am posting these quotes on Saturdays. Maybe I should call them, "Something to think about Saturday". Maybe? Maybe not. Depends on how motivated I get each Saturday. I'll, "think" about that. *chuckle*




This quote has brought me to take a moment to ponder the few talents that I have. Geneology isn't a talent (or is it?), but after reading this Erma Bombeck quote, that was the first thing I thought of. I've been slacking and I'm sure my long lost relatives are antsy. I need to think about getting back to it.

Think you don't have any talents? I've found that other people will quickly point out the ones that they see you have. You might not think you have certain talents, but if others bring it up in conversation, you can bet that they think it's something special about you.

Thomas S. Monson is the Prophet you know!

Now that I have a calling in Primary, I keep running across the cutest things. You have probably seen this before, but I hadn't until today. It's awesome!

Try it Tuesday......Nuttin'

Usually I review a product, but today I thought I'd "try" taking a break instead. Sorry folks. I'm too pooped to worry about it today. Plus, the things I've tried this past week weren't anything to blog about. I'll be back next week with something fabulous! Well, ok, maybe it won't be fabulous, but hopefully it will be bloggable.

Gray thumb?!

Ugh. This is my 3rd attempt at this post. Days ago, I was up until 2am putting the finishing touches on it only to lose the WHOLE thing somehow when I was spellchecking. I don't know what happened, but *poof* it was gone. I went to bed very frustrated that night. Tonight I tried it again, only to have Ava come along and *poof* it was gone again. -sigh-

Soooo.....maybe the 3rd time is a charm!

Anyway, I think I've moved up in status when it comes to my flower gardening skills :) I am now proudly a gray thumb instead of black! Heck, maybe I'm even a light gray thumb! I've always had an interest in beautiful flowers and gardens, but didn't really learn the skill until I was in my mid twenties. After researching and practicing bit by bit to beautify my yard, I've finally learned a thing or two.


Here are some shining examples of some flowers that I didn't kill this season ;)

Not bad for cheapy Dollar General bulbs huh?

Star Gazer Lilies on Monday...

And the same lilies on Wednesday:

Here is a Pin Cushion flower. You can almost see the little "pins" poking from the outer rim at the center. I love this little scraggly plant. Next season I think I'll get a blue one.

Recently we sold our landscape supply company. Hubby sold many unique rocks and stones. A few years back, he brought home a sponge rock. It has nice deep holes (like a sponge obviously). It's perfect to plug in little succulents such as hens and chicks. I need to plug in some more of the holes to really fill it in. I wish we had grabbed some other stones before selling!

I mostly have perennials in my yard (I'm a plant-it-once kind of chick..that's how I roll), but I did plant a few annuals. Here is one that I placed in an arch shape all along the flower bed.

And another annual that I scattered all throughout the front flower bed and in pots...

Daylilies seem to be a staple in most Michigan yards. My yard is no exception. I love them. They remind me of going to Nannie's cabin in Canada. She's been gone for over 20 years now, but her daylilies are still there. Right now I only have 6 in 2 different colors, but I plan to get more in a variety of colors.

One of my all time favorite perennials are Cone Flowers! I have them inbetween the Daylilies along my back fence. They really grew tall this year, even tho hubby chopped one last season just as it was coming up. I guess he thought it was a weed. I put a marker out there this season so it wouldn't be maimed.

Here are some random perennials & annuals in the yard:

These Mums want to come early I guess. I do pinch them back, but I guess not enough this year

These sneaky little Snapdragons found their way into the flowerbed this year. Last season I had them in pots nearby. Lucky for them I'm a lazy weeder because I let them grow enough to produce flowers. Otherwise I would have pulled them thinking they were weeds since I had so much clover all over that area. I also had a cute purple Petunia reseed in one of my pots this season. It now blends in nicely with the Impatiens. No pic of that one tho.

Out of all the flowers in my yard, I love my Hydrangeas the most, but have no pictures to show this year. They decided to take a year off I guess. I'll figure out the problem and then there better be some showy blooms next year!

Last but not least is my new plant,Hardy Hibiscus. I just planted it this season and it's giving us quite a show!

Some people call it Dinner Plate Hibiscus because the blooms can get very large :) Here is Mr. B showing us just what size a dinner plate is ;)

Well, I hope I didn't bore you all too much. I just wanted to have a rememberance of the flowers that did so well in my yard this year just in case next year they decide to turn me back into a black thumb!

Something To Think About

This sure is a quote that I need to remember. There is lots of adversity out there and I let things get to me too easily. Take a deep breath and just let it go.

Try it Tuesday......4Real Foods Cheese Pizza

I had never heard of this product line before until I saw it at Wally World. I thought I'd try it. It's kind of geared more towards kids, but these little pizza's are 4 WW points each, so I thought I'd test one to see if it would make a good lunch. I found them in the refrigerated aisle along with the Lunchables.

The company, 4Real Foods, touts an "honest to goodness" nutrition label, hence the 4Real name. The box says their products have NO artificial preservatives, NO artificial colors, NO artificial flavors. The company's pledge is the bring the consumer wholesome ingredients in satisfying portions. Here are some "real" facts about their foods:

65% less calories than the national leading brand
87% less total fat than the national leading brand
74% less sodium than the national leading brand
Low in cholesterol
Trans fat free
Excellent source of fiber
Good source of calcium
Good source of iron
No artificial flavors
No artificial colors
No artificial preservatives
Made from whole wheat flour
Made with real cheese
Nutritionist recommended

The website even has, Label Lingo to explain what the ingredients are and what they do. I like that. How many times have we read ingredients on a box and not have any idea what it means or what it might do to our bodies?

Here are the products the 4Real Foods company offers:

-Cheese Pizza
-Cheesy Turkey Pepperoni Pizza
-Cheesy Pizza Quesadilla
-Spaghetti Rings
-Mac & Cheese
-Meat Sauce with Beef Ravioli (no joke, the box lists the meat sauce first. Weird)

I bought the Cheese Pizza which came 2 cute little round pizzas to a box for $2.67.
Deep dish pizzas at that. I was a bit disappointed from the start because one of the pizzas seem to have much less sauce and cheese as the other. Take a look.
One of the sides looks so bare! I assumed it was from shifting in the box or something.

I baked my pizzas but they can also be microwaved since there crisping tray underneath each pizza.

Finally I was able to taste test. Hmm. What can I say? I really taste a whole lotta crust. The crust is made with organic unbleached wheat flour. It tastes good if you like that much crust. Thin crust pizza lovers will want to stay away from this.

Both pizzas have just a small amount of sauce so I didn't taste much of it. Gee, sauce really isn't too high in calories, so I'm surprised that the 4Real company skimped on that. The sauce is made with fresh vine-ripened tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil and garlic powder. Mmm. Sounds good if I could only have enough on there to actually taste those things. Although, that might be good for small kids who would make a mess with more sauce. The cheese is reduced fat mozzarella. I like it, but again, it could have used a little bit more cheese. Even without much sauce, I wouldn't say these are too dry.

All in all, I think these pizzas aren't bad and I'd buy them to eat with a big salad for a low WW point lunch. They don't taste funky or have an after taste at all. They are satisfying. I like them for kids too because they seem healthier than the regular old store bought pizzas that I file under my junk food crappola list. Oh, and did I mention that these cheese pizza's have 5 grams of fiber and 11 grams of protein? Awesome!



PS....When I was googling the 4Real Company, I found an article about a couple who actually named their son, "4Real"!! Seriously! Here is the article in the New Zealand Herald. Craziness? Or their right to name the kid anything they want?

Try it Tuesday......Kelloggs Mini-Wheats Blueberry Muffin

Blue Mini-Wheats! Yum!

Actually, I was thinking I might not like this new cereal, but I do! Kelloggs didn't impress me with the strawberry version, but I DO like the blueberry. They don't taste like fake blueberries with an after taste or anything like that. They just taste like blueberry. I can't say that I taste any 'muffin', but that's ok. It's just blueberryish. Not much else that I can say about it. It's just yummy! Go out and try some.

Speaking of Mini-Wheats, did you know that they have an UNfrosted version? Check out the many flavors here. They don't have the blueberry muffin in there yet, but the original site does here.
At the Mini-Wheat site, kids can play "mind games". Remember how the commercial for Mini-Wheats says that the cereal helps kids concentrate better by about 20%? Well, kids can test themselves at the website playing the "mind games" here. If 20% better concentration is a true fact after eating Mini-Wheats, then Macie must be smarter than the average bear because she lives off of the stuff! Heck, after the shopping trip that my hubby made a several months ago, we ALL should be pretty darn alert in after eating Mini-Wheats!


And speaking of blueberries, it's blueberry season in Michigan! Quick fact...did you know that Michigan leads the nation in blueberry production? Michigan produces 32% of the nations blueberries each season. Weee!

Head out and pick some blueberries and then share a recipe with me. Not only does my family love to eat blueberries plain with milk, but I make a blueberry batter pudding with a cinnamon crust on top that is delish. Here is the recipe:




Leanne's Blueberry Batter Pudding:

2 cups blueberries (preferably fresh)

3 TB lemon juice

3 TB butter or margarine

Sugar (1/2 cup and 1/3 cup separately)

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder (not soda!)

1/4 tsp salt

1 TB cornstarch

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp grated lemon rind (optional, I hardly ever use it)

2/3 cup boiling water

Pick over and wash blueberries. Put in shallow 1-1/2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Cream together butter, 1/2 cup sugar, egg and vanilla until well blended. Mix flour, baking powder and salt. Stir into mixture. Spread over berries. Mix 1/3 cup sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and lemon rind. Stir in boiling water. Pour over blueberry mixture. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown and pick inserted near center comes out clean. Serve warm, plain or with whipped cream or ice cream.

Enjoy!

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