BVD Post

As in 'brief'. Just wanted to check in, as I know there are several sweet people who do read this blog and care enough to wonder where Shaungrl is. All family and friends (4-legs or 2-legs) are fine and healthy. I am trying to get ready for a large pottery sale come September. The maid, gardener, and cook have all refused to come to work. Therefore, it falls to me to attend to these common, far beneath me, domestic chores. One simply cannot find reliable help these days... ;)

I have, ahem, purchased a Mac-mini. It is still in its very little box. Apparently the CD burner on my old PC has never worked, and I can't save my pics or docs to a CD. Leave it to this wonder kid to, yet again, purchase a product (Plextor) that has bad reviews by other consumers. It has a flaw that makes it NOT recognize a blank CD ready for burning. And since the warranty has long expired and I am about to switch to a Mac- no way am I going to buy another burner.

Having said that- the good news is that Apple stores will transfer data from PC tower to Mac-mini in their store. ( and there was much rejoicing) I am taking tower and list of items in need of transfer to the Southlake store today.

Oh. I also have a "whooping" good secret to share...later. To all who stop by by: blessings from the Father. Take good care in the heat and stay hydrated. Texas finally got to Summer with +100º. I know other places have been there for months. Be careful. Talk with you on the other side of the computer change-out. I hope I will be happy to say I'm a 'switcher'. TTFN

The Rain, The Park and Other Things

Brrr. Spring sprung, but who turned down the outside thermostat? All the grass (weeds) were drenched in dew, and the ethereal mist was rising from the meadow in the crisp 50º morning air.

I am happy to say that we had nearly 3" of rain on Friday. I am also happy-as are my neighbors-that I got to mow last Wednesday before it rained. Well... I 'kinda' mowed. I am of the opinion that the countryside needs wildflowers- even if said countryside is actually a lawn. If you mow before they bloom, you then miss out on the flowers' awesome petal power. And they won't re-seed. So I partially mowed my ¾ acre, leaving two large areas to bloom. You may call me "Dances With Butterflies", too, as newly arrived Monarchs swirled and twirled all around me while I mowed.

And speaking of arrivals...sound of announcement trumpets, please...The Hummingbird Channel began its broadcasting yesterday at 8:30 am. I think I may have the rare 'Capistrano' hummingbird, though. I looked on last year's calendar notation...March 31, 2006. Yep, same day last year. Must be very tiny watches, with date function, they be wearing.

I mentioned it was a bit chilly this morning, but I did not let that stop me from having a Fruit Smoothie for breakfast. My regular readers know that I am trying to get healthy (also, ahem, smaller). I have acquired a habit- a good one this time. Breakfast. I developed a recipe that I think is yummy. It can be adjusted to accommodate different fruits and flavors. Silken Tofu can be used instead of Firm. I use firm because I like the mouth-feel it gives the Smoothie and then I always have the right kind for cooking, as well. Nutrition facts says "serving size is five per container". It's just so much easier to divide it into four even servings. I keep a glass in the freezer, at all times, in which to pour the ambrosia.

Fruit Smoothie ala Shaungrl

• ¼ of 14 0z tub Tofu (firm)
• ¼ C. Water
• 3 TB Powdered Milk
• 1 Banana OR 1 serving of another fruit
• Sweetener to taste (I used 2 tsp Splenda)
• 8 or so Ice cubes

Blend all ingredients, except ice, at highest speed in a blender until smooth. Add ice, and again blend until smooth. Pour into chilled glass. If you like Peanut Butter and Chocolate together- 1 TB of both Peanut Butter and Cocoa Powder (unsweetened) can be added to the above.

That's my ♥fave♥: PB-Chocolate-Banana. This morning it was Chocolate-Banana-Sugar Free Hazelnut Syrup. But Pear-Vanilla Syrup-Cinnamon might just nudge into top billing, though. I had that Friday morning and was delighted by the combo. I use both the Da Vinci and Torani syrups- it only takes a splash. They have many wonderful flavors (sugar free, too) and can be found at World Market, Central Market Wal-Mart, Kroger, etc. and on-line. Watch out for on-line, though, shipping is quite expensive. Cow-a-bunga, dude (or dudette)...Slurp's Up!!

Melange

I've been told that a writer must use the first sentence of an article or book as the 'dangling carrot' by which to capture a reader's interest. I started this post five times trying to pen that perfect sentence. As you can see (or not see because you stopped reading) this was the best to be had. You almost got: "This is the first sentence." (groan)

As the title implies, melange is what you will get today. I have so many topics because of the non-writing status I have been in. The first topic will be, in fact, that melange is one of my favorite words. The next puppers of undetermined origin just might get this moniker.

I put out the hummingbird feeders yesterday. It is a bit early here in North Central Texas by about 10-15 days, but I am impatient for The Hummingbird Channel to resume its broadcasting.

A couple of weeks ago, I received my 20 year pin at the Parks Department. Whoohoo!! I may complain, at times, about small unimportant situations and let them bother my head more than I should, but I know am blessed to have my job. I still shake my head in wonderment when I think about being the Park Sign Technician for a city of nearly 200,000 people. Since I was born and raised in Irving- it's kinda the-hometown-girl-makes-good scenario. There are certain times of the year, though, that I delight in going to work. Christmas and Easter are at the top of the list.

The pics are of Easter decorations that I am working on now. (I will post their finished state later, but can you guess what they will be?) They will be used as background decorations at the Underwater Easter Egg Hunt held at the North Lake College Natatorium. Is is sooo cute to watch the little kids splash and dash to get those floating eggs. It is held in the "teach pool" and the children are grouped by ages, so no big kids with the bitty ones. The Easter Bunny is also there and the kids get to sit in his lap for a photo button. I painted the backdrop and made an over-sized basket for them to sit in. It weally does make good pwops for the waskally wabbit pictures.

In February, my lack of control with proper food choices finally caught up with me. My doctor pronounced Type 2 Diabetes for me. Just medication by mouth, along with diet and exercise should put a halt to any further complications. What's that adage: If I knew I would live this long, I would have taken better care of myself when I was younger.

OK, Shaun, so you're, now, going to make your own meals and eat more healthy? Let's see...Cooking every morning/night...e-ewe. Or eat the same thing for 2-3 lunch/dinners in a row, by cooking every other day. Becomes boring, and hasn't worked in the past for any extended length of time. And freezing in regular bags allows freezer burn and the quality is poor. None of these choices were particularly 'appetizing', so I purchased the Food Saver V475 system to make healthy TV Dinners, and correctly portioned foods for the freezer.

It's been wonderful for the life change (diet) process I am trying to maintain. It is also good for fast breakfast choices- oatmeal with pear/currant compote tastes mighty fine. Beans and soups frozen into blocks first (in plastic dish), removed and then placed in the meal bags. Voila! Perfect measured portions and it can be boiled or microwaved. I have saved the sectioned plates from the store-bought frozen dinners and use them for my ala Shaungirl meals. The vacuuming process distorts the plates a wee bit, but they spring back and I don't send them through the microwave again. While the food is still frozen, I transfer it to a regular plate and then microwave that. And the special sealing bag can then be re-used for a smaller item.(Each time, the sealing takes another 4" of the bag) I made a large batch of mini-meatloaf portions in cupcake pans. Wowser. These were most excellent and will be a repeat menu item. I think even Rachael Ray would say "Yum-o!".

All Things Unimportant

I've come to a stop-the-presses-announcement moment. This blog, at least on one level, will be my catharsis. (The first dictionary definition- not the one connected to "purgation". Although, some readers may liken my writing to such.) While I will write about topics that have a serious side, I can still prattle-on about inane subjects, as well. This way I might be able to spare myself from actually hearing, again, the ominous martyr death sigh succinctly punctuated with the sound of a closing door. Um... Yes, this happened to me last week at work, whilst in mid-prattle. I had become the very person (moi?) I inwardly roll my eyes at and try to escape from. So when I post here, I will have no need of ears with skin-on. So there! (nya-nya) ;)

I made a most delightful discovery this morning. One of my most favored mugs, Erika Oller's "Happily Dying of Chocolate", fits under the spout of my new Senseo Coffee Machine. I am a potter with no pots, or mugs for that matter, that I have made for myself. The cobbler's kids have no shoes and this potter has no pots. So I buy mugs with snappy sayings and this one was right up my dark chocolate alley.

Have you ever watched an infomercial and been tempted to buy the product? Do yourself a favor and Google the product before you break out the plastic. Find a site that has customer feedback about the product, read both pros and cons and you might find yourself not buying the product. This happened to me this morning- I was highly tempted by the Magic Bullet food processor set. What I read online convinced me to step-away-from-credit-card. I wish I had used this tactic when I wanted to purchase the Black and Decker Home Cafe Coffee System. I bought three: work, home and as a gift for my niece. Both of mine went Super Nova or fell apart within one week of each other, after only 15 months of light use. I would have known to purchase the Senseo in the first place, had I followed my own aforementioned advice. So Google before you gamble.