Baskets Everywhere!

I love baskets.  They have so many uses, they look nice, they come in all sorts of sizes, and you can buy them for really cheap if you look in the right places and at the right times.  So here is my dedication to them, a blog entry.  

 Different Uses for Baskets

1.  Under End Tables

Place them under end tables to hold all of your crap, I mean stuff.  :)  I have one under each of my end tables in my living room.  They hold pens, pencils, playing cards, cup holders, and remotes.  As a result, I've realized how little I use those things and I should really just put them somewhere else.  

2.  Next to a Printer

You can put extra printer paper inside the basket or paper that you printed off but intend on recycling later on.

3. As a Hamper

I separate most of my clothes into three linen bags which is the standard number of laundry bags for a laundry sorter.  I found that I needed a 4th one to put clothes that need extra special care (i.e. hand wash only) so a basket was my solution to just throwing the clothes on the floor.

4.  A Place to empty your pockets

I use a basket on top of my husband's end table on his side of the bed.  It's fine if he empties his pockets but I want everything in one small basket so it looks neater.  

5.  On Closet Shelves

I use one for putting my husband's handkerchiefs in, one in the winter time to put winter hats into and another I use to put winter mittens/gloves into. 

6.  Flower Girl Basket

I bought one for my wedding, lined it with cloth and glued it with ribbon. 

7.  Tool Holder

I use a shallow but wide basket to put my garden tools in when I take them outside.  

8.  A Seasonal Organizer

I have one I put all of our suntan lotion and bug spray in.  In the winter it hides underneath our sink and in the summer time I bring it back out.

Some Places to Buy Baskets

1.  Salvation Army/Goodwill

You are bound to find a basket for less than $5 at either one of these stores so I would recommend going to them first.

2.  Michael's/Jo Ann Fabrics/Hobby Lobby

You are bound to find baskets here too but not for so cheap unless you get them on sale which does happen on a fairly regular basis. 

3.  Wal-Mart/Target

You can find baskets here but again, not as cheap as you would at Salvation Army or Goodwill. 

Of course, there are many more uses and places for baskets but I'll just end it there.  I hope this gets your brain thinking.  The next time you receive a gift basket, try to think of a way of using that beautiful basket before you decide to throw it out.

As usual, I cannot end this blog without throwing in some pictures I've taken since my last blog.  These are from the Museum of Science and Industry.  My brother and I try to venture downtown to a museum at least once a year. The first picture is from their Science Storms exhibit. 

The second picture is from their U-505 submarine exhibit.  Every time my brother and I go over there we find something else we have not seen.  This museum holds a lot more than you would think staring at it from the outside.  I highly recommend making it out there some day.  Did I mention they have a Dr. Seuss exhibit right now?

My next trip downtown I intend on going to the Field Museum.  They have a chocolate exhibit until January 8th.  Enough said.   

Zucchini!!!

It's that time of year where zucchini is growing in your yard and you don't know what to do with it or at least I don't.  I'm learning.  As with every vegetable that grows in my garden, I make it a point to find new recipes so nothing goes to waste.  Here are some recipe ideas and tips for zucchini.

• Zucchini bread - I use a family recipe so I don't want to put it up on here and plus there are a ton of recipes online.  If you want to make zucchini bread later on, you can always shred the amount of zucchini that you need, put it into a plastic bag, and freeze it for later use. 
• Eggs and zucchini - I've come across two recipes with eggs.  One I saw in a book I want to buy called The Kitchen Garden Cookbook.  It has a zucchini omelet recipe.  The other one is zucchini with eggs and parmesan.  I made it and loved it.  Here's where I got the recipe.  The Garden and Grill: Gagoots!!
• Grilled zucchini - Here's one very simple recipe that a friend gave me: You cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.  In the hollowed out zucchini you put a little bit of cheese and dill on top then another type of cheese that you can sprinkle.  Then you grill it or broil it.  What is great about this recipe is that you can experiment with different types of cheeses.  I've put brie in the center and mozzarella on top and it was super tasty.
• Zucchini Casserole- I received a recipe for this from a friend and I have yet to try it but I'm sure it is tasty.  Again, there are a bunch of recipes for this on the net and I don't feel comfortable sharing the recipe I have.  Sorry!

That's all I have so far.   I hope this helps.  If you have any ideas, feel free to share them.  Happy cooking!

Going Out to Eat

I'm not a fan of going out to eat.  For one, the portion sizes are huge so I'm tempted to eat more than usual.  Secondly, it's usually not healthy.  Lastly, it's usually more expensive than eating at home.  Nonetheless, we still do, just not often.  When we do, I try to combat these negatives and here's how.

Portioning off food 
Instantly when I get my plate I look at it and decide how much I'm going to eat.  This does take some will power to stop eating when you say you will but if I don't listen to myself, I usually regret eating too much.  It helps if you aren't super hungry b/c if you are, you usually eat more than you should b/c you THINK you need more than you should.  Does that make sense?  So again, when I get my plate, I take my fork and separate only what I will eat.  With the rest, I take home as leftovers.  This keeps me from wasting food and money and a $5+ meal turns into 2 or 3 meals.  Yea!

Resist the meals
When I eat fast food I usually don't get a "meal".  So at McDonalds, Subway, Arby's, Wendy's, wherever, I don't ever get the #1 or #2.  I get a sandwich b/c that usually is enough food as it is.  If you have a wonderful significant other that you like eating with, you can share food.  So my husband gets the meal (sandwich with a side and drink) and I just get a sandwich and we both eat the sides and drink.  That way we both get some fries, some drink but not too much and we save money. 

Water
Try drinking a whole glass of water before you start eating the food.  You'll find you eat less.
In most restaurants, you can ask for a cup for your water and they won't charge you.  It's free and healthy!  Or you can just bring your own bottle of water to a fast-food restaurant.

Allow one indulgence
When I'm in line at a sandwich shop, I stand for quite a long time deciding.  It's not because I'm unfamiliar with the menu.  I'm deciding on the one "bad" thing I want to eat.  For example, I want the ham sandwich which I like on Italian herbs and cheese bread with a side of mayo and a slice of cheese.  All things that are not too healthy but I can't cut all of that out of my sandwich or I will start to hate being careful with what I eat.  So I'm deciding, do I want to take the Italian herbs and cheese bread out and replace it with whole wheat?  Or do I want to take the cheese out?  Or do I want to take out the mayo and replace it with oil or vinegar or mustard?  Well, the last time I went I got a 6" ham sandwich on whole wheat bread with cheese and oil and vinegar.  I love my cheese.  


Well, I hope this helps someone out there.  Sorry, I don't have any pictures.  Just to let everyone know, you can follow me on Twitter.  I will open my account to the public again but if it looks like your account is simply for spam purposes, I will block you.  Until next time!

Adding variety to life

Howdy y'all! =) The other day I was thinking about how I get bored of some things easily, like food. I'm not sure if other people get this way too, but just in case, I decided to blog about it.

I get bored of eating certain types of food. Sandwiches are a good example. I get bored of eating the same thing all the time so then I don't want to eat it and then I let the food go to waste and instead I spend money on fast food and eat something unhealthy. Not a win, win situation. So I've come up with ways to add variety or to spice up the mundane while staying pretty healthy. These work for me anyway.

Sandwiches

Bread- You can use whole wheat bread, bagels, french bread, rolls (hamburger, sub or kaiser) or croissants (well...not that healthy). My favorite are the bagels, personally, which in of themselves, come in a variety of flavors (i.e. onion, plain, raisin, or egg).

Cheese- There's such a wide variety of cheese out there. My favorite are colby jack, cheddar (mild or sharp), and provolone but of course there is also american, swiss, pepper jack or colby. I recommend sticking to one slice on a sandwich.

Lettuce - Romaine is my favorite and iceberg is my least favorite. You can also use spinach. I've heard cucumbers are good, too, but I've never tried them.

Well, sadly, that is all I have for you today.  Look for my next blog on tips on how I try to stay healthy while going out to eat.  Ciao!

Being Dumped On

I'm feeling philosophical, which happens sometimes, usually when I am alone.  Unfortunately, for all of my lovely readers, there will be lots to read, but I'll include pictures.  =)

I did not sleep well last night so I just got up "early" (8am really isn't that early for some people) b/c I just gave up on a good nights sleep.  I know why I wasn't sleeping well and it is b/c of something that happened yesterday.  Two good friends of ours just had a little baby girl.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy for them.  She's absolutely an adorable 8lb. baby and I look forward to seeing her again.  It's just that the event reminded me of how I'm not where I want to be in life.  Right now, I want a teaching job and I want to try having kids.  Ideally, I want to be pregnant by the time I'm 30.  Right now, we don't have the money for it.  Now before everyone starts saying, "You'll never have the money for kids!" or "There's never a right time to have kids!" I don't exactly agree.  Yes, kids cost lots of money and it will never feel exactly like the right time but there are better times than others.  Right now, we just bought a house so we are paying a good amount of money towards bills every month and we have some spending money but not much.  We are just barely comfortable with what we have now b/c only one of us makes a decent living.  It's stressful enough w/o kids.  

Anyway, the whole point for writing this story is that I want to share some ways that I have learned to make myself feel better.   

1. Open the windows, or at least the blinds/curtains, and let some light in and a fresh breeze.

2. Eat something

3. Listen to some music

4. Sit outside and soak up the sounds of nature.  Enjoy the breeze that runs through your hair.  Enjoy the sites of birds bouncing from branch to branch.

5. Read an inspirational quote, or blog or YouTube video of someone you find inspiring.  If you don't know any quotes, keep saying to yourself, "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming." :)

6. Remind yourself that if you don't keep trying, you DEFINITELY won't accomplish what you want.

7. Just do it!  Another words, if you have something you should be doing, just start it without dwelling on it and before you know it, you won't want to stop what you are doing.

8. Meditate

I hope this helps.  I shall leave you with an adorable picture of a baby that is wearing a hat I knitted for her and a picture of a butterfly I just recently took.  Thank you for following!

Edit: When I say "Eat something", I mean that you may be in a sad mood b/c you are hungry. Eating something healthy, of course, is best.

Gardening and getting a job again

Salvia

Lots of pictures in this blog so you have been warned.  Gardening!  It makes me happy to see all of the different plants in my new garden.  It's a surprise every week b/c I didn't plant any of the flowers. The previous owners did.  I am happy I am not working much this summer b/c the garden is keeping me quite busy.  As the flowers come up I am researching on what I need to do to each plant to keep it healthy.  I am also keeping track of where all of the plants are and of course weeding and watering quite often.

Hosta

Poppy

Black swallowtail

I am getting wonderful pictures of wild life.  All sorts of bugs and birds that I have never seen up close.  I grew up in the city and as a result my husband makes fun of me when I tell him I have never seen a certain animal or bug in real life i.e. pretty much any bird but a crow.  I have seen a nest with babies calling for their mother.  I have heard a bird chirp that sounds like a drop of water.  I have seen bees pollinating my flowers.  It's beautiful and here are a some of my favorite photos of the wild life.

I have had a great harvest so far.  I have had quite a few strawberries, zucchini, lemon balm, basil, mint and dill.  I did plant all of those.  As a result, I am experimenting with some recipes and drinking more tea than usual.  If ANYONE needs lemon balm, please tell me.  I have one plant and I am drying lemon balm at least once per week and the amount I get just keeps growing.  

I love that I am able to do all of this.  I've been wanting to grow things from a garden for so long so it is quite satisfying.  I am already thinking about next year and how I can make the garden my own.

Lastly, I am still looking for a job.  I am keeping my hopes high.  People do get hired just a couple of weeks before school starts.  I have had some pretty good interviews and I still didn't get the positions so I am pretty sure the economy is hurting me more than myself.  Just keep swimming, just keep swimming.  =)

Here are a couple of tips for interviewing...research the job beforehand and make it apparent during the interview that you researched (i.e. mention the motto/mission statement of the company or school), also, bring questions to the interview.  So for my interviews, I often ask questions about what I feel is important to have in a job such as collaboration and mentor programs for first-year teachers.  I have been at places that are terrible at collaboration and I have seen the positive effects of when collaboration is implemented well so I obviously want a school that collaborates well.  Well, salut, for now.  Live long and prosper.  :)

Running and Getting a Job

Lately, I have not felt the desire to run.  The only inspiration I have is from the running program I'm volunteering for and my husband.  I have a strange relationship to running.  I like what running physically does for me.  It keeps me in shape.  I gain muscles in my legs.  It helps me maintain weight and sometimes loose a little.  Overall, I feel running is the best way to stay in shape so it is my exercise of choice.  On the other hand, I hate running.  I don't like the pain.  It's a challenge that I feel is sometimes impossible to overcome and I think those who love running are crazy.  I have never loved running.  Despite the hatred, I just recently have come to realize I will never quit.  I've been off and on running since 2001.  Why haven't I quit?  For the reasons above.  My physical health is important to me.  

Last year I ran in several races, mostly 5Ks.  This year, I haven't run in a single one and I haven't signed up for any either.  First off, I work on weekends and most races are on the weekends.  Secondly, they are expensive.  Third, you get a lot of the same old crap race after race.  I really don't need any more t-shirts.  There is just one race I want to run in this year and it is the Hot Chocolate Race in Chicago.  I get excited just thinking about it.  =)  It is on the weekend and it is expensive but I get to be in downtown Chicago.  My favorite city in the US.  (Paris being my fave outside the US).  I also get an awesome jacket, not a t-shirt.  I get chocolate after the race AND lastly, they have a 15K which I've never raced.  Yea!  So if you like Chicago, chocolate, a cool jacket and a challenging, but not too challenging run, sign up.  Hmmm...Chicago, chocolate, cool jacket, and challenging run... the big 4 Cs.  Anyway, if you want to know how my race was last year, just go here. 

I have some pictures I've taken as of late and I feel the need to share them.  I just recently moved into a house, (Yea!) and I've been taking pictures of all the flowers that have been popping up.  The irises have been my favorite. 

 

I also have a new nephew and a new cousin. Well, the cousin isn't that new.  I just don't get to see that family very often.  

Lastly, I have a couple of tips for people looking for a job. There is a website called LinkedIn.  You can post your job experience on the site and find friends on there too but it is strictly networking for career purposes.  You cannot become friends with people who you don't know.  You can also join groups such as a group for alumni for your school.  Another tip I have for trying to get a job, print business/networking cards.  I got mine through Vistaprint.  Carry the cards around with you so when someone wants to know your contact information you can just give them a card.  You may be surprised by what happens.  I gave mine to someone and they said that they used to be a principal at a former school and starting asking me where I would like to get a teaching job.  The last tip I have is to send a thank you card to the people that interviewed you.  I just print my own with index sized cards I bought at Wal-Mart.  I have more tips I can share but I will save those for another day.  I leave you with an inspiring quote that helps me get through the tough times of applying for jobs over and over again.  

Believe in yourself, and you will succeed.  A plus tard!