Hey all! I hope finals week is going well for those of you who are college chumps ;) Hopefully you all are looking forward to next semester as much as I am! Anyways, I am going to share the recipe for the first meal that I've cooked in the rental house. The reason why I put "soup/curry" in the title is because I added turmeric and left the consistency a tad thick. Regardless, it's absolutely delicious!
Here is the original recipe. My version will be the one below (mine is just a little different):
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp chopped onion (you can add more, I don't like them much so I didn't add much)
4 carrots, peeled and diced
4 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 potatos, peeled and diced
7 cups vegetable stock, 1 c chicken stock
2 cups red lentils
3 tsp. cumin
1/2 tbsp turmeric (I could have added more, this is just an estimate)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 of a small avocado, chopped
Prep:
In a large saucepan heat the butter
and oil until the butter froths up a bit. Add in the onions, garlic,
carrots, celery and cook for 5 minutes, or until just softened.
Add potato,
celeraic and stir and cook for a further 5 minutes. Pour in the
vegetable stock, red lentils, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, and rest of seasonings leaf and bring to a
boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cover the pot. Let simmer for
30 minutes, or until all the vegetables have softened. At the moment
the vegetables have softened, remove from the heat immediaely.
Add chicken stock (or more vegetable stock) until desired consistency.
Ladle the soup into bowls and add avocados as desired.
Hi all! I know I've been going on a lot of hiatuses lately, but this one is for good reasons (well, "good"). Long story short, my house caught fire on November 19th. It was around 12:40 am, we had all just gone to bed, when my mom woke up to strange noises in the garage to see the glow from the fire through her front bedroom window. We (me, my mom, and sister) all got out, my three precious puppies included, but bunbun Floyd didn't make it. His cage was on a countertop next to the fridge where the fire started. After almost two weeks of staying with my Dad, we are currently living in a rental house right down the street from our place. We've been shopping out the wazoo so much that I actually think I may be sick of shopping. YES. I am sick of shopping. The house is so cute, with three large bedrooms and an extra office room. Big closets, good size bathroom (1+1/2) and kitchen, and a full unfinished basement. Unfortunately, the pups have to stay with my dad the entire time we're here (probably closer to a year) because of complications with the previous tenants. It sure is going to be lonely here without my Wallace to be at my side every second of the day, but at least him, Onyx, and Sundae will be just right down the street at another familiar place.
Now, I want to dedicate the rest of this post to Floyd, aka Flerd. He was my first "exotic" pet since the gerbils we had when I was in fourth grade. And by golly was he the cutest thing ever. I was so set on getting a bunny for the longest time, and when I brought him home I knew it was meant to be. He was such a lover, even my Mom, who was dead set against it, ended up loving him and snuggling him. Instead of making jokes about making bunny stew, Jack loved him too. The thing that keeps my chin up is knowing that for the last 3 months, Flerd had a great life surrounded by people that loved him (sometimes a little too much).
Whew, it sure has been a while since I've blogged. I didn't know how much working in a busy retail store can tire you out, especially around this time of year! Thanksgiving is only a few days away, which means Black Friday is too, which also means lots of shopping and Christmas in another month. Holy cow, time flies.
We all know how fun (and stressful and expensive) Christmas shopping can be; who doesn't want to get your friends/family the perfect gift? Over the years, I have learned how to cut my Christmas spending while still feeling good about the gifts. I'm going to share some tips that I have picked up from my Mom and some friends about how to do just that: get that perfect gift without spending a fortune!
Only buy for close friends and select family members. For friends, I buy for my boyfriend Jack, Carli, and Katey since they're my closest. For family, I buy for my Mom, sister, Dad, and Grandma. My extended family does a white elephant gift exchange at my Grandma's house, where we all bring one gift that is around $20. It's really fun. For my cousins and Aunt T, we choose who we want to buy for since it's only the 6 of us; we try to spend no more than $25.
This one ties into the first: know who you're buying for. If you're shopping for your best friend or significant other, you should know what they're interested in. Same for immediate family. For example, I know that Carli really likes owls and stuff for her apartment, and Katey likes old-style things, so that's what I look for. If you don' t know what to get a family member, like a little sister or brother, look through their room (secretly of course!) and see what they need. Or take mental notes of what they say they want when looking online or walking through the store. I know that Jack can always use more underwear and socks, and he likes stuff to help him keep organized. Usually, parents like things that help them relax, not home stuff that make them feel like they have to use it (like a vacuum, but coffee makers are great!)
Plan ahead. This is huge, it prevents you from walking around the store (or multiple stores) for hours looking for a gift. Since I work at Kohl's, I was able to look around and take mental notes while working and then compile a list of all the things that I can get there to get my discount. It's not even Thanksgiving and I have 90% of my shopping done already!
Compare prices. Since Kohl's has basically everything, I have a lot of options. Some of their stuff can also be more expensive than similar items at Meijer or Walmart just because of the brand. For example, my Dad wanted a set of serving spoons for his birthday, so I found a Bobby Flay set at Kohl's for $14, but I got the same ones (Oneida brand, which is still good quality) for $9 at Meijer.
Keep an eye out for good sales if you don't want to risk your life on Black Friday. Stores can have some pretty rad clearance items.
If you can, make something! Hand-made items are from the heart and are usually always cherished.
Last but not least, don't over-buy. It can be hard to limit yourself if you find a bunch of items that you just know your friend/family member/significant other will love, but that could make the other person feel as if they should have gotten you more stuff, and no one wants that. If you know their interests, try to find one or two larger/not clearance items, or several small items. I do both, depending on the person it's for. I must say that I'm a pretty good gift giver regardless of how big or small or cheap, and it's ALWAYS fun!
These tips have really helped me this year, so I hope they help you guys too! Have fun shopping for your loved ones, and for those of you who participate, GOOD LUCK on Black Friday! Oh, and HappyThanksgiving!
Hey all. Sorry about the recent hiatus, I've been crazy busy with studying, writing my research paper, and training at my new job. You all know how it goes. Good news, though! After extensive research and editing thus far in the semester, I'm super close to being done. Just have to do a little bit more tweaking and then I'll have a published paper! Yes, I'm a nerd :)
Now that the semester is almost over (just 4 more weeks!), and I've learned a bunch in my ecology and intro classes, I feel confident enough to blog about something environment-related. I want to provide you with the most accurate information since this is an important subject.
Air pollution is a serious issue with many different sources and deeply historic routes. The primary sources of particulate matter, or a mixture of solid particles, liquid droplets, and gases in the air, are the anthropogenic (human-influenced) burning of fossil fuels and poor soil conservation. The fossil fuels that we use include oil, coal, and natural gas; they are used for just about everything: electricity, warm water, gas and oil for our cars and other fuel powered machines/vehicles. The constituents of particulate matter make up the largest contribution to air pollution. Depending on the degree, air pollution can cause various types of illnesses and breathing problems. All that said, I'll let you do your own research on everything else, and I'll part with some ways that you can personally curb your contribution to air pollution!
1) Don't smoke cigarettes - I know a lot of us are guilty of this, and it's a hard habit to break, but cigarettes contain so many chemicals that are being released into the air, not to mention your lungs. They also contribute to ground litter when you throw your butts on the ground.
2) Make your own cleaners/soaps - vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, washing soda, and borax are the basic ingredients in several different cleaners. Making your own cleaners is dirt cheap, easy, and quick. You can also make your own soap, which is a more difficult process,and laundry soap, which is fairly easy. Here are some websites with a bunch of recipes: 1, 2, 3
3) Plant more trees and other plants inside and outside - as you may know, plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen.
4) Buy local produce - did you know the average meal travels about 1500 miles to get to your plate? More often than not we have no idea where our food comes from, and more often than not our meats come from factory farms and other farms that highly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. When you buy locally, you know from who and where the produce is coming from, and you're supporting local farmers.
5) If possible, plant your own garden - it's hard work, but it's very rewarding and fun. Do some research on the type of soil you're working with and ways to improve fertility, also so you know what types of produce will grow best in your soil. Make a blue-print of what you want your garden to look like, and plan ahead so you don't plant too much or too little of one crop.
6) Fuel alternatives - this could be difficult considering alternatives can get pretty pricey and hard to keep up with. Corn stoves are awesome alternatives for furnaces. We had one in our basement that hooked up to the duct work that the furnace hooks up to. You literally burn corn kernels. It kept our floors and walls so warm, but the price of corn has sky rocketed for numerous reasons; now it's cheaper to run the furnace. There are also biofuels such as ethanol, methanol, and algae. Yes, algae. Research!
7) Air dry your laundry when it's warm - like I said earlier, heating basically anything requires burning fossil fuels, including laundry dryers. Hanging your clothes outside makes them smell like summer and costs nothing! Also, wash your clothes in cold water. Seriously! It's cheaper in more ways than one.
8) Push mower instead of gas mower - lawn mowers are EXTREMELY inefficient. Extremely. Or get goats!
9) Leave your leaves - what on Earth is the point of leaf-blowing and leaf pickup? I really don't get it. Leaves provide nutrients, like carbon, to the soil that could increase soil quality. Like lawn mowers, leaf blowers are super inefficient. And much more pointless. And leaves make your lawn pretty!
Alrighty, there are some things that you could do in your every day lives that could bring down your contribution to air pollution. Remember: the longer we put these types of issues at the end of our agendas, the worse things'll be later. Love your Mother.
Ahh, finally turned 21! I'm not a big drinker, but it's still gunna be cool to be able to get drinks at dinner or spontaneously decide to go out or buy stuff for home. Overall, I had a pretty good week; I like when birthday/holiday festivities are spread out over a few days.
Since I worked on my birthday, Wednesday the 24th, I went out to One49 for jazz night with some great work friends. Didn't get too drunk though since I had class the next morning, my sister picked me up around 11:45 and I was in bed by 12:30 with my wittle Wallace. I also set up an amazzzzinnnggg internship on Wednesday morning for next semester, super stoked about that.
After class on Thursday, I hung out with my sister Katey after almost 3 weeks. She took me to a bar called Chuck's on Monroe and bought me a delicious dinner and some drinks! I love my sister time :)
Since I wasn't able to go to any Eastwood football games, I went to Friday's game with my Mom to see the band play their Halloween half-time show. That night was Becca's night to host a band party, and holy cow was it a party. At least 60 band kids showed up and smashed on some food that my Mom made from scratch. Thank goodness we basically have a second living area in the garage!
Saturday is a whole other ball game. After work, I came home and got everything ready for my friends' Halloween party. At first, I dressed up as Lumpy Space Princess from Adventure time, but the cotton got too warm so I changed to a skimpy sailor outfit (I've never worn anything to revealing, but everyone thought I looked good!) Let's just say that I drank a little bit too much and highly regretted it this morning! Nevertheless, it was so much fun and a great way to end my duty at Wendy's (I FINALLY got a job at Kohl's!!!!)
And today, my Dad, his girlfriend, my Grandma, Aunt T, and cousins Kasey and Kelsey came over for a deliciously prepared meal that my Mommy made: chicken chimichangas, mexican rice, and beans. Seriously so good! I didn't think to take any pictures, but here are the links: Chicken chimis , beans, Mexican rice. Had such a nice time, I love having everyone come together. Unfortunately Jack couldn't come out for any of this because of work, but he came over last Monday and took me on a date to Charlie's Restaurant and Books-A-Million :)
Here are some of my birthday week pictures!
Me and my longest friend Hannah at One49 <3 Looooveee this!
Joshua and I at his Halloween party, before I changed out of my LSP costume!
Me and my girl Codi at One49. Love this picture!
Becca and I before leaving to our parties. She's a hippie and obviously I'm LSP! I know, I look ridiculous.
The Roku that Jack got for me. It's seriously awesome, reasonably priced, and easy to set up.
The bed set that my Mommy got me. Love it!
Soy candle from my Aunt and cousins, they also got me a gift card.
Purse that my sister got me, along with a Kroger gift card.
Some of you may know about my precious bunny, Floyd. I got him at the Pemberville Fair back in August. First, I tried to win a baby bun at a ring toss game, but failed after spending $8. The girl even gave me 10 extra rings! Then I went to check out the show tent and found one that said "For sale $5 male lop buck 6 months" and thought he was the cutest thing ever. So I called the owner and set up to get him the last day of fair. Honestly, I didn't think the overhead costs would be much, but trust me, they were pretty hefty.
Here is a list of things from Petco that I first bought for Floyd, and how to use each item:
1) Aspen wood shavings for bedding - don't use hardwood shavings, as they can irritate your bun's respiratory tract and are hard and scratchy.
This cost me $14. Floyd doesn't like a lot of bedding, so after two months I have a little over half left.
2) Carefresh soft bedding. I sprinkle just a couple hand fulls so Floyd has something soft to lay on. He usually just mixes it up with the shavings, so I only bought this once.
I got the plain white, which was the cheapest at $7.49
3) A corner litter box. At first Floyd didn't use his litter box, but when I noticed he was mostly going in the corner across from the box, I moved it and now he uses it regularly! It's easier to litter train a rabbit than a cat! Buns like to lounge and sometimes eat in their litter boxes, so clean it every 2-3 days.
I got the blue one. Depending on the size of your cage, you can get one the size of a kitty box or like the purple on in the picture.
4) Pine pellets for litter. I put about an inch of it in the litter box with a hand full of shavings so it's soft enough for him to sit in.
A 40 pound bag is $5 at Tractor Supply Co. Lasts forever since I only use it for the litter box.
5) Timothy Hay. It's essential for a properly balanced diet, as it is the best source of indigestible fiber. Bun's can't pass gas, so the fiber ensures that everything is moving through the correct path.
I buy the Meijer brand since it's only $5. Hay is hay, so I'm not too concerned with the brand. You can also buy hay with carrots, cranberries, marigolds, or mint.
6) Pellets. They provide all of the essential nutrients that aren't provided by the veggies. I know that pellets can get pretty expensive, but I recommend buying the best brand that your budget can buy; Floyd doesn't like cheap pellets like Meijer brand, so I basically have to spend more to get him to eat them. Since everything else is relatively cheap, I don't mind spending some extra money for pellets that he loves. A midsize adult bunny (older than 6 months) should only eat 1/4 cup per day IF he eats lots of veggies too.
Floyd LOVES these. They smell like chocolate, but also cost upwards towards $20 for a 5 pound bag.
Floyd also likes these. These cost about $13 instead of $20.
7) A cage. The cage should be big enough for your bun to lay down and hop around a little. There should be enough room for the litter box, water, food, and toys. Thankfully my friend Katey still had a cage and water bottle from her bunnies. Saved me about $65.
I have this cage in green. I think Katey paid $50.
I have a grey bowl for pellets. You can buy a bin feeder for hay, but I use cardboard egg cartons. This way, Floyd can also eat/play with it!
Katey gave me a large size one with bunnies and carrots on it. I saw one at Petco for $8.99
8)Toys! Bunnies need mental stimulation to prevent boredom, which can lead to chewing on things he/she shouldn't chew on. Along with the toys below, Floyd likes cardboard and newspaper, but you can try any toy with your bun.
$3.99 with Petco rewards card. Originally $5.99.
$2.99
2.99
Apple wood chew sticks. $3.99 for a 6 pack.
Sea salt rock for licking. $2.99
$3.99
9) Veggies. A diverse vegetable diet provides the essential nutrients for good health. Fruits are good too, but in moderation. Floyd likes escarole, kale, arugula, parsley, basil, endive, cabbage, leaf lettuce, broccoli leaves/stems, kohlrabi leaves, spinach, brussel sprouts, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, carrots, apples, melon, and much more. The link I'll post at the end will give a detailed list of what and what not to feed your rabbit.
10) Playpen. I don't think this is necessary, especially because they cost upward toward $30. You can buy fencing and make a round one, or let your bun roam around the house or garage if you trust him/her. Floyd loves running around the garage for hours at a time, and he gets along with my dogs wonderfully, so it's not a problem. It is necessary that your rabbit gets at least 30 minutes of exercise a day.
Being a rabbit owner really isn't as much work as people think or say. He/she will love you as much as you love him/her. Advice: read up on the proper care. They have specific dietary needs, so make sure you know what to feed your rabbit. I got all of my information from House Rabbit Society. Hope this blog helps!
I got the plain white, which was the cheapest at $7.49
