I’m Back…Finally!

Quick apologies here!  I’ve been absent for a few weeks now thanks to our dependancy on electronics.  Boy, when one breaks…some of your life just seems to stop.  Just before my absense, I was complaining about some computer issues…like how it only typed in all caps.  Well all caps can be quite and issue, especially when you need lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols to enter millions of passwords.  After being without my baby for a bit, we’ve discovered that I just need a new one.  I’m pretty sure the cost to fix is just under replacing.  Bummer and Yeah!  Of course, we’ve yet to go out and get one since we are building a ridiculously large playhouse for the girls and we have 2 upcoming parties to be thrown at our house this month.  Of course, I could have posted via my Blackberry but that required software, of which I would need to be connected to a computer for.  For right now, I’m using the hubbies beater laptop that we got working once we bought a second powercord.  It will have to do.  I can’t tell you how happy I am to be using the internet and blogging even though this laptop is slower than a dinosaur.  It’s Baby/ Toddler month here and I’ve got a ton of stuff to do and tell you about.  But coming right up are my neglected winners for the last 3 contests now that I can use random.org.  Talk to in just a jiffy!

Shameful Voting Plug Here For My Daughter!

I was reading on another site about a mom entering her daughter in this modeling/scholarship contest.  Then I thought, I’ve got a pretty little lady with a great personality, let’s enter her and see how see does.  Plus, a chance at winning a scholarship for her is awesome.  I’m sure it’s going to be like a bagillion dollars when she goes to college.  So here is the link to vote for her:

http://apps.facebook.com/next_direct/gallery/show_entry/45323

We just entered her today and voting closes at 7am on 3/18/10.  These other top girls have had people voting for weeks now.  If you want, a vote would be much appreciated.  She has to be on page 1 or 2 (Top 50 children) to get to the finals on April 24 & 25.  Her birthday is the 26th and that would be an amazing present.  We’ve moved to page 41 last time I checked so that is good news.  You don’t have to be a Facebook member to vote as you can vote via email daily.  Feel free to spread the word if you wish.  Thanks in advance!

Raw Energy Book Review {Book It Forward}

To be honest, going into reading this book, I knew nothing regarding “eating raw.” So, needless to say, I was intrigued by the content in this book. At first glance, Raw Energy seems to be a great raw foods cookbook, but it is much more than that. Stephanie Tourles, the author, goes into great detail regarding the benefits of a raw diet. Did you know that cooking detroys the enzymes, lecithin, much of the vitamins, and protien? This book also details the typical foods used and their benefits.

As I said before, at first glance, the books seems like a great cook book. It is amazing considering these are recipes and concepts that I would have NEVER considered making. I had never heard of any other type of milk except those that came from animals or adults. Going out on a limb, we tried Cheater’s Mexican Chocolate Almond Milk. I was pleasantly surprised. Being a lover of all things “shake,” we had to give the Creamy Banana Cocoa Shake a go. It was a great option for me since I am not doing dairy due to Baby Bird’s milk allergy. Bean and the hubby enjoyed it, which are two of the world of cookings most critical judges. Other recipes we have tried and enjoyed, include Summer Breeze Smoothie, Banana-Cholcolate Chip Frozen Fruit Cream, Strawberry-Citrus Frozen Fruit Cream, and Apple Ginger Ale.

The only downside for me personally when reading the book is the ingredients involved in many of these recipes. Like I said, we’ve never done raw food eating (other than just eating a plain fruit or veggie) so I had to do quite a few trips to the store to get items that aren’t present in my cupboard. I am looking forward to many of these refreshing recipes in the summer.

Great chapters in the book include:

• Raw Snack Basics
• Raw Snack Pantry & Equipments Essentials
• Raw Snack Prep 101
• Super-Satisfying Milk, Shakes, Smoothies, & Frozen Fruit Creams
• Fit & Fabulous Fruit & Vegetable Juices
• The Snacks that Keep You Going: Energizer Bars, Balls, & Bites
• Powerhouse Nut, Seed, & Fruit Blends
• Raw Cereals & Delectable Fruit Parfaits
• Vegetable Jolt: Crispy Chips, Zippy Dips, & Scrumptious Spreads
• Chillin’: Fresh, Cold Fruit & Vegetable Soups
• Raw Confections: No-Guilt, Nutrient-Packed Candy & Cookies

You can purchase Raw Energy from Storey Publishing for $16.95.

Book It Forward: I would love to share this great book with one of my readers in something I’m calling “Book It Forward.” If you are interested in reading and trying out this book, please leave a comment below. On 3/20/10 at 11:59 pm EST, I will choose someone via Random.Org to receive Raw Energy. What is the catch? Really, none. If you wish to continue “Book It Forward” with this book, just sign the inside of the book cover and give it to another deserving soul. I’m sort of curious to see how far can a book be passed without the library system. Call it a little experiment.

Disclosure: I was provided this book for review purposes from Mama Buzz and Storey Publishing. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.

Feel Good Friday

Yeah for one of my favorite memes.  Helps me put the week into persective, even if I’ve been bitching and complaining about it.  It really was a great week.  Here are my top 5 things that made me really happy this week:

• The first spring storm of the year.  It’s happening as I type.  There’s a TON of rain, lightening, and thunder.  LOVE IT.  If only it continues for my slumber.  Of course,I also hope it clears up for the weekend so we can spend some time outside.
• My seeds are already starting to sprout.  I was so surprised because the gestation was supposed to be 7-14 days for on type and 14-21 for the rest.  Elizabeth…It’s my green thumb I tell you.  The ones really sprouting are Holly Hock.  So exciting for a dork like me.  This is the first year I’ve tried this. 
• The innocence of Bean and her desire to still make a wish with a penny or three.  She insists not to tell me because she wants it to come true.  She could stay there all day wasting money throwing change and making wishes if I let her. 
• Girl time at the mall while daddy worked late.  I will tell you that I was super pissed when we tried to eat dinner about 5 minutes after taking the photo.  Baby Bird is in this “keep me on the hip or boob” stage.  If not, she just fusses and fusses.  It’s enough to drive me to need a glass of wine.  I feel bad feeling like that though so I choose to remember the fun of girl time.
• COOKIES!  As you can see, Bean was super excited to get one as well.  We won’t be telling the hubby about the cookies though because we didn’t bring him any.  It wasn’t nice considering he brought me some White Castle Coke and cheese sticks.

Make sure you join in the fun over at The Girl Next Door Grows Up.