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Thursday, March 1, 2012

Vinegar, Standing, and Ice Cream (totally random, I know right?)

We are having one huge leap year blizzard in Northwest Wisconsin, we're sitting without power, snowed in and loving life.    Holy Moly.    Two feet and it's still coming!



Stuck on Christiansen Road - yesterday this road was CLEAR blacktop.


I've told my family I'm on a cooking strike this week.  Don't worry, my kids won't starve since I made a few big batches of soup and such to heat up, but no family meal planning, grocery shopping or cooking all week  Ahhhhhhhhhh.  I deserve a break, right?  So, what happens when I stop cooking?  I have other random thoughts to blog about:  like the awesome power of vinegar, my fetish with standing up, and the one mighty ice cream dessert Chad made for us that still has me drooling.  All random things but hey, sometimes I enjoy whimsical thoughts. 

Vinegar

After using my homemade dishwasher soap for a week, I noticed that I had cloudy dishes.  Normally my dishes are slightly cloudy because we have hard water, but they became exceptionally dingy.  I added some vinegar to my rinse-aid slot in my dishwasher and I literally have never had such shiny dishes.  Unreal!  Shiny dishes makes me really EXCITED!!  I guess it doesn't take much.

If you rub vinegar with a cotton ball over your nails before painting them, the nail polish will last longer.  How cool is that!?

Also, my new vinegar cleaner has been a godsend to us (1 T borax, 2 T vinegar, water, and peppermint oil).  Man, I love this cleaner.  I'm on my second bottle in 2 weeks.  Works great!!

Graham supervises Greta cleaning the bathroom with vinegar



STAND UP

After years of sitting on my duff all day at work, I started thinking about the unhealthiness of being so inactive during working hours.  About 3 years ago, I created a stand-up work station.    At first I thought this was one stroke of genius (don't laugh), but low and behold I've run across others who had the brilliant idea LONG before me.     A recent article in Men's Health states that 54% of those sitting all day will die of a heart attack at an early age, even if they exercise and are non-smokers.   So, why not stand? 
Before my stand-up desk, I would have visitors come in and talk for extended periods of time with no real agenda (you know, shooting the breeze?).  Now, if someone wants to have an extended conversation it's with an appointment, a purpose, and it's in a conference room.  Talk about a time saver.  I've also had guests confused by my lack of seating, sit on the floor to talk while I'm still standing (it's tough to know what to do in that situation, get down on the floor too?).   What usually happens though is that I'll have a pointed conversation and move on with my work.  If you know me, you know that I am not big into long hyper-verbal conversations.  I used to think this was my curse, but now I've accepted it as who I am.  And what if everybody loved to talk, talk, talk?  That would be exhausting.




Guess I shoulda' combed my hair....lol.  Notice the Kombucha? 

KILLER DESSERT

Since I'm on strike, Chad actually went to the store and made us a "to-die for" peanut buster parfait dessert.  Normally, I would try and abstain but before and after the Birkebeiner I was unable to eat.  I'm a hungry girl so this was quite unusual for me, but by Monday I felt like if I didn't eat I was going to have to add barbecue sauce to my arm and chew away.   Anyway, Chad filled the bottom of my Grandma's ice cream sundae dishes with warm chocolate and Spanish peanuts followed by a scoop of ice cream and more warm chocolate and peanuts.  Oh my gosh, I was pretty sure I'd died and gone to heaven.  So, if you are looking for a special, simple treat:  peanut buster parfaits.


Peanut Buster Parfaits in my Grandma's Ice Cream Dishes

Here's a little video of the kids LOVING the snow:



And yes, I do have 3 kids but the teenager was playing Monopoly with the neighbors all day.  The Byrd's are a pretty cool family, and I don't blame him.


What's your favorite dessert?  Thanks for reading!



Kristin

2 comments:

  1. Favorite dessert: Sue's Magic Bars from the Osseo Lutheran Church Cookbook from 2002.

    Standing: I often push my chair away from my computer and stand up too!

    Talking: Love to talk but only since I became a SAHM. Before that, I liked to walk and talk but not sit still and talk.

    Vinegar Rinse Agent: Your mom told me about that one. BRILLIANT!

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  2. I do the same thing, I push my chair away from my desk too and stand. I get so tired of sitting.

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