In about 2 weeks I am going to start planting my tomatoes and peppers indoors so I made up several pots. They were super easy to make.

• Step 1: Cut strips of newspaper. 3.5″ by 10″ or so…
• Step 2: Wrap paper around wood form, fold the bottom under and press into wood bottom.
• Step 3: Slide off of form and fill with seed starter or soil.

Step 2Recycled Paper Pots

Recycled Paper Pots

For dinner, I pulled out a porterhouse steak that I will make under the broiler. Now it may sound like we splurged with buying a costly steak but in fact it came from a Christmas Gift. Every Christmas my Mother In Law purchases half a cow and splits it 3 ways. (her,us, and my brother-in-law’s family) It is one of those gifts that really keeps on giving.

I love chocolate covered strawberries. One of the first Valentine’s days me and my hubby  (then boyfriend) celebrated was in Chicago. We went to see a concert where they played music from the 60′s, 70′s, and 80′s. He brought me a box of chocolate covered strawberries and flowers. Now every Valentine’s Day I get a major craving for chocolate covered strawberries. They are really expensive to buy already made up so me and my hubby made a batch of them last night and I threw in some chocolate covered bananas as well. They were easy and fun to make! I must warn you though they are pretty messy.

I fell back on a couple of talents and resources to create gifts for Valentine’s Day. First thing I made was a super cheesy but super cute video montage to Can’t Go Back Now by The Weepies.

I also composed a poem.

A Man’s Heart

In old school fashion, I composed a mixed CD :

1. The Dress Looks Nice On You by Sufjan Stevens
2. To Be Alone With You by Sufjan Stevens
3. Happiness by The Fray
4. When You Say Nothing At All by Allison Krauss
5. Happily Ever After In Your Eyes by Ben Harper
6. When She Believed by Ben Harper
7. Love Never Fails by Brandon Heath
8. Near To You by A Fine Frenzy
9. If I Ever Leave This World Alive by Flogging Molly
10. Her( In Your Arms) by Hellogoodbye
11. Oh It Is Love by Hellogoodbye
12. Can’t Go Back Now by The Weepies
13. Breakable by Ingrid Michaelson
14. Take Me To The Riot by Stars
15. Silver Lining by Rilo Kiley
16. How You Survived The War by The Weepies
17. The Crane Wife 3 by The Decemberists
18. Star Mile by Joshua Radin

I really enjoy making gifts from the heart. When I look back over the years the things that really stand out are the small things that have the most thought behind them. My valentine is great at gifts from the heart.  I am abundantly blessed with a wonderful husband.

New Dog Bed

Above is one of the two dogs beds made. We had a big overstuffed dog bed that was given to us but inevitably the seams always pull apart and Sadie (my golden retriever) thinks that means she must pull our all the stuffing. I decided instead of throwing it all away I would just make my own dog bed and reinforce the seams. They have held up nicely so far. I also made sure to use outdoor fabric which stands up better over time.

Mouse Pad

I had these foam sheets of paper that I had used for scrapbooking a while back and decided to use them to make a new Mouse Pad. It is super easy. All you need is some fabric, the foam sheet that is the size of a piece of paper, and some spray adhesive. I applied the fabric to both sides so that if one side gets dirty I can always flip it. The thought came to me while looking at my very simple and plain Ikea mouse pad. It was just fabric and foam and could easily be duplicated. I guess if I wanted to I could have used that mouse pad and just replaced the fabric but it was pretty dirty looking. Just a tip though, you may have to glue the ends done after the initial spray.

Table cover

This was a lot of fun for me to make. A while back I had cut out squares to make a set of patchwork pillows. I never got around to making them and decided I really wanted to add some color and interest to this table. It took me about 2 hours in total to make this and it was a very easy patchwork project. It would be a great starter project for those wishing to learn patchwork. I am still very much in the learning stages of patchwork. Eventually I would love to learn the more intricate and ornate patchwork.

Goal #1. I am cutting back on refined sugars, which means no more white bread or pasta. We have made steps in this direction already, I just want to completely switch over to whole grains.

•         It seems like this one is going to be my Mt. Everest. I can’t seem to get away from these refined sugars. My biggest hang up is pop. I have  almost completely cut out dark pops. We only allow ginger ale, sprite, or sierra mist in the house, usually. Still those are the next to go. I have also been struggling with a pretty determined sweet tooth.  On the plus side though, we are out of white pasta and bread and will only be purchasing whole grain from this point on. In fact, tonight we are heading over to Trader Joes to stock up on noodle and sauce. It’s the cheapest place to get whole grain noodles.

Goal #2. Next I want to eat more leafy greens. We do not eat enough leafy green vegetables, plain and simple.

• We were over at my Sister In Laws house the other night for dinner and she served this fantastic spinach salad. This one will go down in our normal recipes. She served a spinach salad with cranberries and pecans in a raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Yummy!

Goal #3. I would also like to implement exercise five days a week. In the past I have met several health goals but I find it hard to stick to an exercise regiment. I am hoping to take up some activities, such as dancing, in hopes of keeping my interest.

• I am not quite up to 5 days a week but I have exercised. I am researching new exercise dance videos and checking them out from the library. Because they are non-fiction and can check them out for free. I have them for a week before I need to return them. If I have to return them before the next one comes in I just use some of my old excercise tapes to fill in until the new ones come in. This way I am keeping it interesting and if I find one I really like I can buy it .

Goal #4. Still on a health kick, I would like to introduce one meat free meal a week. We love our veggies but my husband also loves his meat so this may pose a bigger challenge then the rest.

• This one has actually been the easiest. We enjoy the challenge of finding new recipes and eating meatless meals is cheap. We love cheap. I will post new recipes when we try them. This week we actually had two meatless meals one of which was Ratatouille. It was great! I can’t wait to be able to make it from my garden this summer. I was, however, able to use my own tomatoes that I canned from last years garden.

Sadie Loves The Snow!

Meatless Quesadillas

Today was one of those days where you go to the fridge to find something to eat and there is nothing. The empty shelves are saying, “Don’t you think it’s time to go to the grocery store?” But there is so much snow on the ground and it is so cold I chose to stay in and try to use what I could find. Lucky for me it turned out pretty good.  I had left over tortilla shells from our burritos the other night along with salsa, sour cream, corn and lettuce so I decided to make a quesadilla. It hit the spot and I realized it met one of my new years goals. This year, I am trying to eat more meatless meals and violá, low and behold, a meatless meal. This could easily be made into a more filling meal with some black beans and/or rice. It is also a low-cost meal that meats my budget goals. Not only did I not have to go out in the cold but I was pleasantly surprised with how tasty it turned out. I think I may have to experiment with meals a little more often.

Recipe for Meatless Tortilla

• Tortilla Shell
• A little Non-Stick Cooking Spray
• Cheese (whatever you like in quesadillas)
• Salsa ( use one you like, it really makes it or breaks it)
• Corn
• Sour Cream and lettuce on the side.

Spray a frying with a light coating of cooking spray. Over medium heat, place the tortilla shell flat, fill half with cheese, salsa, and corn. Fold it in half and let all the cheese melt. Cut it like you would a pie and serve it with sour cream and lettuce. You can also add beans for a more filling and nutritious meal.

A Cinquain is constructed in the following way (this is copied from Jennifer’s Wishstudio post):
· The first line is one word (a noun/the topic)
· The second line is two descriptive words (2 adjectives that describe the first word)
· The third line is three action words (3 -ly adverbs or –ing verbs)
· The fourth line contains four words that express a feeling or make a statement (a 4 word phrase)
· The last line is one word (a synonym or adjective that refers to the first word)

To 2009;

With the new year started I am sure that most of you have set new goals or resolutions. I know I have. Every year I try to find reasonable goals to improve myself, this year is no different. I am completely aware that most resolutions go unmet by the end of the year but it still gives me something to work towards. Last year I met several of the goals I set out to accomplish. I think what helped was being reasonable and thinking of the steps I would take to reach said goals. What are your opinions on New Year’s Resolutions?

This year my goals are fairly simple.

•  
• I am cutting back on refined sugars, which means no more white bread or pasta. We have made steps in this direction already, I just want to completely switch over to whole grains.
• Next I want to eat more leafy greens. We do not eat enough leafy green vegetables, plain and simple. The are numerous rewards for having a leafy green enriched diet. Below is a brief synopsis taken from wikipedia.

Leaf vegetables are typically low in calories, low in fat, high in protein per calorie, high in dietary fiber, high in iron and calcium, and very high in phytochemicals such as vitamin C, carotenoids, lutein and folic acid as well as Vitamin K.

• I would also like to implement exercise five days a week. In the past I have met several health goals but I find it hard to stick to an exercise regiment. I am hoping to take up some activities, such as dancing, in hopes of keeping my interest.
• Still on a health kick, I would like to introduce one meat free meal a week. We love our veggies but my husband also loves his meat so this may pose a bigger challenge then the rest.

I think that about covers my goals for this year. I am hoping since I was specific I will be able to follow them easier. Wish me Luck!