Happy!

Do not leave your dog in the car

I still can't believe people will leave their dog in their cars while doing errands. Leave your pets at home if you have to get out of your car at any point.  A cracked window is NOT sufficient to cool your car or your pet.  I hate when this happens!

Changes

Guardian

Listening to my Pandora, a song came up which touched me in a way that I haven't felt for a long, long time.  I want to share it with you, as I think we all need someone to watch over us.  And we should be grateful for them.

Alanis Morissette - "Guardian"

Enjoy!

Kidney Cancer awareness Month is every month

Being in Love

Vegan baking cheat sheet

I've been reconsidering going back to being a vegan.  The challenge is to cook and bake vegan with a non-vegan husband.  Believe me, it's hard!  But not impossible.

Thanks to PETA and this awesome baking cheat sheet, I might just start sooner than I anticipated!

The best part is that most of the substitutes I already have!  So, it's not like I'll have to spend a lot of money to begin baking vegan... and my husband won't even notice.  *wink*

Here's PETA's baking cheat sheet for you:

Gotta love the "Made with lots of {heart} by PETA"!

Hot!

Found this on eBay and it thought it was atone to the moment.  Boy, am I hot!  *fanning myself*

Paper Crafter

(via Facebook)

I wish...

The borderlands

Feliz Dia Papa

I want to say, Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there, but especially to my dad:  May God bless you today and always, and I wish you health, peace and strenght.  I love you!

What Cancer cannot do

Sisters

Wich one will I be?

15 days after my LAVH/BSOO, I am still not feeling the menopause side effects.  I wonder, when I do, which one of these funny dwarfs will I be?

Survivors Rule

Youer than You

Homemade Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

Homemade Frozen Strawberry Lemonade

It has been unusually hot in my little corner.  Temperatures in the upper 90s (°F) with heat index of 107°!!  So, I decided to step outside to my garden and see if Mother Nature had gifted us with lemons.  Yes! Fresh lemons for lemonade!

Want the recipe? Here you go!

Before you begin… Give your lemons a roll.  If they seem hard, roll them on a cutting board or kitchen counter while pressing down.  This will soften your lemons and make them easier to juice.  You can also place your lemons in a bowl filled with hot tap water before rolling.   

Ingredients (makes 8 servings aproximately):

10 oz. of fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 cup (8 oz.) of water

1 cup (8 oz.) of sugar

4-5 cups of cold water

5 strawberries (per serving)

Ice

Magic Bullet or blender (if you want the frozen version)

Procedure:

In a small saucepan, combine 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until the sugar dissolves.  Do not stir!  (You can get away with stirring it once, but if you don't want it to caramelize, do not stir.)  Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and place in the refrigerator to cool completely.  I placed it in the freezer.  

While the sugar water is heating, squeeze the juice of your lemons over a measuring cup.  You’ll need 10 ounces of lemon juice.  Depending on the size of your lemons, you might need to squeeze the juice from 10 to 15 lemons.   Hint: Get the kids to help.  My 6 year old niece begs to squeeze the lemons.

Grab a pitcher and combine the lemon juice, cooled sugar water and 4 cups of cold water.  While stirring, taste your lemonade for tartness.  If it’s too tart, add 1 more cup of water in ½ a cup increments, until you find the perfect taste.  Voila! You have just made lemonade!

Now grab your Magic Bullet (or blender) and place some ice and 5 strawberries in a tall mug.  I filled my mug about ¾ full of ice before adding the lemonade.  Add your lemonade, and strawberries, and using the cross blade, blend until the ice has been completely crushed and the strawberries have been completely combined.  Serve in a pretty glass and enjoy!

You can also freeze the lemon juice in an ice cube tray and use it instead of ice for a refreshing twist to water, soda, or even to add to your lemonade glass to keep it from watering down.  

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, here’s a picture of my beautiful lemon tree!

Enjoy your lemonade.  Enjoy the Summer.  And thanks for visiting my little corner!

Happy National Chocolate Ice Cream Day!!!

Happy National Chocolate Ice Cream Day, Everyone!!!

Need an excuse to eat Chocolate Ice Cream?  Well, you got it!!!  Today is National Chocolate Ice Cream Day!!!

So, grab some chocolate ice cream and top it with chocolate chips, hot fudge, sprinkles, almonds, or anything else that you’d like.  I know I will!

photo: www.cdkitchen.com

I am a Survivor

Venus will travel by the Sun - today!

It is said that it happens once in a lifetime - if you are lucky.  Today at sunset, we will have the privilege to watch Venus transit through the Sun.  

According to NASA, the event has occurred 5 times before in recorded history.  They happened in 1761, 1769, 1874, 1882, 2004 and now in 2012.  It happens in pairs of 8 years apart, and the last one of 2004, happened the same year as the Indonesian Tsunami of 2004, giving this event an aura of bad luck.

There is an added factor that makes this week’s transit especially intriguing — Venus will appear to be transiting the Sun in a backwards motion!  This is due to an optical illusion, as the Earth orbits the Sun at a slower speed.  Interesting, huh?

If you are a bit science curious like me, I've found a website that if you enter your zip code, it'll tell you the best time to watch the transit.  Click here to get to it.

Ohhh, I can't wait!!!  In my little corner of the world, we will begin watching a bit after 6:00 pm, at sunset.  I hope I get to see it.

However, do not look at the Sun with the naked eye — even if you get to see it in the early hours of the morning.  Either use special solar viewing glasses for a few minutes at a time, or by using a telescope to safely project the image on to a screen.  Click here for more information on safe solar viewing from NASA.  Or here for a video on how you can use the binoculars to project an image of the sun.

I really hope you get to enjoy this once in a lifetime gift from the Universe!


Update: View a live stream from different parts of the world!  Click for Live Stream

For myself. For my sister. For my dad.

For myself.  For my sister.  For my dad.  We are all Cancer Survivors.  


God Bless us all.  Celebrate life.  Today and everyday!