Friday, November 21, 2008

Friday's Photos - Thanksgiving

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I will be shopping, cleaning and cooking between now and Thanksgiving -- so I will not return until December 1st. I want to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving -- filled with lots of love, laughter and most of all FOOD!!
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"Here’s to good cheer, health and happiness for us all."
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Happy Friday and Happy Thanksgiving!!
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Thanks to Emily Post - Martha Stewart - and the others whose photos are pictured above.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

How to Seed a Pomegranate

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I love pomegranates and they are so good for you too -- only I hate seeding them. I recently found a new way to accomplish this task with good results.
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To get the seeds without spattering red juice everywhere, cut the pomegranate in half and submerge it in cool water. Pry out the seeds in handfuls, and transfer them to another bowl.
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Studies have found that pomegranates are richer in antioxidants than red wine, green tea, and most other fruits.
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Recipe Idea
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Scatter seeds over a mix of baby greens, mint leaves, goat cheese, and pistachios.
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For more ideas check out California Pomegranates
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Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Wonderful - No Cook - Hors d'oeuvres


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Prosciutto Wrapped Figs, Assorted Olives, Grapes and Sliced Cheese.
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(Photos Courtesy Of Jupiter Images and Google Search)
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This is what I'm serving up before the Thanksgiving meal hits the table.
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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Knowing Your Turkey

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What do those terms on the turkey label really mean? Here's a glossary of the most common classifications.
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Free-range A turkey with access to the outside. But don't be fooled—the fact that it has access doesn't mean a bird will take advantage of it.
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Fresh Technically, a turkey that's never been kept below 26°F. Many Thanksgiving birds are processed in September and October but are still labeled fresh in November, which means they've been kept just above 26 degrees for months.
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Frozen A bird that's stored at or below 0°F.
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Hard-Chilled, or Not Previously Frozen A turkey that's been held between 26°F and 0°F. Hen/Tom A hen is a female turkey, and a tom is a male. You'd be hard-pressed to detect a difference in the taste of a turkey based on its gender. Where the bird's gender does matter, though, is in determining what size turkey you should buy. With hens, which run in size from about 8 to 16 pounds, buy a pound of turkey per person. But for toms, which start at 17 pounds, calculate about 3/4 pound per person, as there's a greater meat-to-bone ratio.
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Organic A turkey that has been certified by a USDA-accredited agency. The term organic ensures that the bird was raised on organic feed, was free-range, and wasn't treated with any antibiotics. We are lucky that Willie Bird Turkey Farm is just a few miles from up the road, and we have already placed an order for our turkey. If you get a chance check out the above video link (Willie Bird Turkey Farm) then go to youtube, and look at a standard "turkey farm". You might think twice about what kind you buy this year.
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Kosher A bird that's been processed by hand, following kosher laws, under rabbinical supervision. The turkey is soaked in water for half an hour, then packed in kosher salt and placed on an incline for about an hour to allow the blood to drain. After that, the bird is rinsed three times. A kosher bird is an acquired taste. It can seem salty.
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Natural A bird that contains no artificial ingredients or added color and is minimally processed. This doesn't mean it hasn't been treated with antibiotics.
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Pasture-Raised A turkey reared in the pasture full-time and allowed to forage for its own food. There's no USDA standard or certification for pasture-raised meat.
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Monday, November 17, 2008

Meditation - 15 Minutes A Day

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(Photos Courtesy of Jupiter Images)
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Ten years ago I began to meditate for just 15 minutes each day, and it changed my life.
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The following is an article I found on Yoga Journal (a wonderful online source). Below is a how-to meditation that you can be done while lying down. I vary lying down with sitting -- since I am not prone to falling asleep in the day, but if you are, you might want to stick to sitting while meditating.
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Sometimes you need to wake up, and sometimes you need to calm down. Often you need a combination of awakening, calming, and focusing energies. But to understand your needs, it's essential to spend some time discovering what state your energy is in.
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How Do You Feel?
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Begin by lying on your back with your legs extended. Fill your body with awareness, as if you were filling a glass with water. Notice how your body responds. Does it begin to release and relax, or is there resistance? Close your eyes and feel the weight of your skull and pelvis, the contact of your back on the floor. Are there places that pull away from the floor and areas that are more in contact?
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Then mentally scan your body one area at a time. Begin with your toes and travel up to your legs, pelvis, spine, lower and upper back, and shoulders, then down your arms and hands, and back up your arms to your neck and head. Are there areas of discomfort, places that feel stiff or more spacious, or parts that feel warm, cold, or numb? Some areas of holding are so habitual that we skip over them without noticing; let your attention gently tap into those places. As you scan your body, see whether a running commentary is going on in your head. Try not to judge or analyze what you discover. Instead, simply notice what is present. Now bring your focus to the central column of your spine. Imagine a wide river from the base of your spine to the base of your skull. Does the river flow freely? Are there areas where it's blocked, narrowed, or stagnated?
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Next, bring your awareness to your entire body at once. Notice if there are any strong sensations remaining, areas of the body calling for attention. Now allow your mind to draw into the breath. Notice the quality, texture, and rhythm of your breathing. Is it short and choppy, long and smooth, or somewhere in between? Do you tend to hold your breath after breathing in or out? Notice the relationship between your breath, body, and thoughts.
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Now check out the flow of thoughts moving through your mind. Do you have a perpetual to-do list? Are you rehashing some conversation or planning the future? Are you spacing out, or do you feel sharp and clear? Try not to make judgments—simply observe. As certain thoughts come, is there a physical response in your body or your breath?
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Next, place one hand on your heart. Take a moment to feel the beating of your physical heart, your chest rising and falling with your breath. Let your awareness settle into its rhythm, then drop your attention in a little deeper, sensing the emotional heart. Is there sadness, joy, or anxiety? Don't go deeply into any one feeling; just get a sense of the overall tone that is present at this moment. Make note of the relationship between your emotional state and your breath, between your feelings and your physical body.
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Finally, feel all of these dimensions at once: physical, energetic, mental, and emotional. Notice the part of you that is observing—your unchanging awareness. Now rest in this spacious awareness.
Remember, your observations may change from day to day, depending on the hour, your schedule, and all of the other variables that affect your energy and mood. If you observed that your breathing was labored, your mind dull, and your heart heavy, try an energizing practice. Was your breathing rapid, your mind racing, and your body tense? Then a calming practice might be most appropriate. Feeling scattered and disoriented? A focusing practice can help you come into balance. Listen to your mind, body, and heart for guidance about a movement practice that can bring you into balance, ready to sit and draw your attention inward.
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Author: Janice Gates - Courtesy of Yoga Journal
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P.S.
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Top 10 Things to do at YogaJournal.com
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Friday, November 14, 2008

Friday's Photos - Fireplaces

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Whether they are indoor, outdoor, in the living room, bedroom, or the ultimate -- in the bathroom. What an amazing inviting quality they bring to any room!
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Happy Friday!!
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_ _________________________________________Glass Fireplace by Bloch-Design
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Fireplace, dubbed "Berlin," revolves 360 degrees
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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Tagged By Meg

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First of all, I'm sorry Meg that it took so long for me to respond to this tag. Between Halloween, and the Election I just didn't get to it in a timely manner, but here goes.
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Rules:
* 7 random/weird facts about me
* 7 fave blogs and links to them
* contact the 7 so they know they've been tagged (I'll leave that up to each person to accept, or not)
* they tag 7 more and so on
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7 Random/Weird Facts About Me
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I like the idea of random and weird facts, but this also makes it more difficult.
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1. I love sunflower seeds (in the shell -- with lots of salt). I actually crave them. I've tried to give them up but just can't. Curse you, David Seeds!!
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2. I love to play very loud music while cleaning the kitchen late at night, and while driving on the freeway. My kids love this about me -- so it's a good thing -- right?
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3. Both of my oldest sons weighed nearly 10 lbs at birth, and I delivered them both without a C section. I was young when I had them -- don't ask me how I did it! In fact 21 years ago today, I was in the hospital in waiting for my oldest son to arrive. I went into labor on Friday the 13th and he was born the following day 21 hours later.
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4. If I see a stray animal -- I try to find it's home. Subsequently, I have forced my husband to pull over on the freeway, and have take many detours to the local animal shelter. I cannot tell you how many animals that have found their way to me. The first animal I rescued when I was only 7. It was a badly injured/neglected that cat -- I later named, Lucky.
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5. I keep a journal of all the weird things my husband says when I try to wake him up. Occasionally we get it out, and laugh until we're sick.
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6. I got my first gray/white hair when I was 16.
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7. I have seen all 3 Mission Impossible movies (more than once) and love the action sequences so much -- even though they are ridiculous -- I could sit down and watch any of them (especially #2) right now.
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7 Fav Blogs
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There really are so many I could not possibly pick just 7. So I will pick 7 of many favorite blogs.
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At Home With Kim Vallee - Kim provides and enormous amount of information with such variety -- she is simply fabulous!!
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Content in a Cottage - Rosemary is always my first stop each morning in this blogging world!! Her graphics, photos, and sense of humor amuse me to no end.
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Decor Amor - Ashley's little photo collages make my heart skip a beat and her sweet posts!!
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La Vie Est Belle - M. Kate's amazing photos of her life and travels -- with an exotic personal flare.
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Mabel's House - Cute stories and photos of a day in the life of one creative girl named Liz -- Mabel is her dog!!
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Stephmodo - When I found her blog I was instantly smitten. She has the most amazing taste!!
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Minimally Invasive - A gorgeous food blog that makes me HUNGRY!!
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Cava - The Spanish Champagne and Spain On The Road Again

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There is one thing I can never pass up -- a glass of champagne. While watching a wonderful new show called Spain On The Road Again (on PBS) I re-discovered this wonderful champagne or rather sparkling wine -- Cava.
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Like champagne, cava comes in different degrees of sweetness. The following are the categories according to sugar content, although the characteristics of different wines may mean one manufacturer's seco tastes as sweet as another's semi-seco:
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Brut Nature - (no added sugar) up to 3 g per litre
Extra Brut - up to 6 g per litre
Brut - up to 15 g per litre
Extra seco - between 12 and 20 g per litre
Seco - between 17 and 35 g per litre
Semi-seco - between 33 and 50 g per litre
Dulce - more than 50 g per litre
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Cava does not improve with being kept, indeed it deteriorates with age: buy it, store upright in a cool, not cold, place, for as little time as possible, and drink it, preferably in the same week. Remember that the sweeter the cava, the cooler it needs to be served: a brut nature can be served practically at room temperature, but a semi-seco should be well chilled.
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One of the best-known makes is Freixenet. My husband helped with their add campaign last year, so we received a couple of bottles free. We all loved it, and thought the flavor was amazing, but in the hustle, and bustle of the holiday season -- I had forgotten about it. Watching the show the other night I was reminded, and so... if we aren't lucky enough to come by it the same way as we did last year -- it will still definitely be on our Thanksgiving table!!
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¡Salud!
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About the show
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The series, Spain…On The Road Again is a lighthearted food, wine, and scenery intensive show that brings you the best Spain has to offer in all three categories. And when you’ve got hosts such as famed actress Gwyneth Paltrow; the Iron Chef, Mario Batali; Spanish actress and linguist Claudia Bassols; and New York Times writer Mark Bittman, combined with the sometimes breathtaking beauty, the wonderful food and the robust wines of Spain (not to mention the famed Spanish sun), you’ve got a can’t-miss show that bathes you in gustatory opulence.
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Review Courtesy of Bloggers Critics Magazine.

Spain... on the road Again: Series Introduction

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Veterans Day

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Yesterday, my 10 year old daughter told her teacher, and class, that her mom (me) was a Veteran (3 years in the Army Reserves). She even brought my old dog tags to share. After school she raced out to the car, and couldn't wait to tell me how they all thought that was "soooo cool."
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To all the service and sacrifice of the men and women who have bravely worn the uniform of the United States -- Happy Veterans Day!!
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Monday, November 10, 2008

How Much Does The President Of The United States Make?

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My son asked me this question the other day. So we looked it up, and found a few other facts as well.
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The most recent salary increase, to $400,000/year from $200,000/year, took effect when George W. Bush became President. The President also receives a $50,000 non-taxable expense account.
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The retirement benefits received by former Presidents include a pension, Secret Service protection, and reimbursements for staff, travel, mail, and office expenses. The Presidential pension is not a fixed amount, rather it matches the current salary of Cabinet members (or Executive Level I personnel), which is $191,300/year as of March, 2008
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P.S. I also found out that President George Washington was offered a salary of $25,000/year.
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The above information was found at About.com.
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