The Price of Fuel

I had an interesting conversation the other day with a man from Canada. He comes to New York once a week to get gas, since the price of fuel is actually a little cheaper over here at the stations which take Canadian money at par. We started talking about the ridiculous prices of fuel. He commented to me that he didn't understand why the price of fuel in Canada was affected by what is going on in the Middle East, since all of their fuel is mined and processed in Western Canada, and 0% of their fuel is dependent on Middle Eastern oil interests. He also commented on how crazy it is that we don't use the seaway to get fuel and petroleum products from Canada, or even import them via bridge. I guess I never even realized that the US doesn't get any of our fuel from Canada - even in NY? We're literally right next door. Do you know how much money New Yorkers would be saving if we had a fuel agreement with Canada? The amount of money and petroleum we waste having our fuel transported from Texas is obsene. Why not take advantage of a closer source?

Easy Cheese Danish...To Fruit or not to Fruit?

Cheese danish to entertain guests? Far easier than you'd think! 2 tubes pillsbury dough 1 brick cream cheese 1 cup sugar 2 tbsp butter, melted cinnamon sugar mix to sprinkle on top Preheat oven to 350deg. Mix the cream cheese and sugar until smooth grease 9x13 pan spread out one tube of dough spread cream cheese filling lay out other tube of dough on top and pull out to edges brush on melted butter and sprinkle on sugar and cinnamon mixture bake for 13-16 min. until browned and bottom layer is no longer doughy you can add any kind of fruit filling on top of the cream cheese, I usually use cherry, blueberry or raspberry. You could also use chocolate, or apple. It bakes the same amount of time, just be sure it cools before you serve it!

Apology to my poor neglected blog

My poor blog, I've neglected you so.
I had bariatric surgery on the 16th, so between preparing and recovering, I've neglected you, as I have neglected my readers and cyber friends. I'm so sorry bloggy-poo, and I promise not to neglect you for that long again.

Cake Mix Isn't Just for Cakes!

Did you know that cake mix isn't just for cakes?

Store bought cake mix makes the absolute best, to die for, easiest, perfect every time COOKIES!

1 cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
drop in small spoonfulls
bake at 350 deg. for 10-12 minutes.

After you do it a few times, you'll learn to adjust the temperature, time or both to your own oven.

These can be any combination of awesome:

spice cake mix with dried apple pieces and chocolate chips.
lemon cake mix with poppy seeds and dried cranberries
vanilla with fresh vanilla bean and dried blueberries
dark chocolate or devil's food with coconut shavings
Cherry chip with dark chocolate shavings

These are just a few of my favorites, but the combinations are endless. Each batch does 2-3 dozen, depending on what you put in them and how big you make them. Without any additions, they ususally come out flat enough that you can decorate them, too! Have fun and enjoy!!

Moist Cake Minus a Whole Lot of Guilt

I love cake (lots of us do) It's a guilty pleasure that I hate to pass up. This is a great recipe for those of us who love cake, but need to pare back some calories and fat - especially after a long winter!
All you need is:
12 ounces of diet soda
1 box of cake mix (any brand)
mix it up and cook per the instructions on the box!

If you'd like, alot of people choose to use some egg beaters (2 egg equivalent) or 1 or 2 egg whites. This makes the cake stick together better and keeps it more moist.

This is only 4 points on Weight Watchers, for anyone who needs to know.

Without the egg - it can be a great treat for people with egg allergies, just double check the particular brand of mix that you choose to be sure that there is no egg product in it (I haven't seen one that's not egg free)

Here are a few suggested combinations for you to try:
Chocolate cake mix - cream soda, black cherry, raspberry, cola, vanilla cream
Lemon cake mix - cirtus, Mountain Dew, orange, Sprite or 7-up
Orange cake mix - orange, citrus, strawberry
Red-Velvet mix - cherry, strawberry, raspberry
Spice cake mix - rootbeer, cream soda, vanilla cream, gingerale
White cake mix - anything
Strawberry cake mix - strawberry, orange, pepsi, cola
Funfetti cake mix - citrus, gingerale, any type of fruit flavor
Cherry Chip cake mix - cherry, vanilla, raspberry, cola

Try it for yourself, and see how you like it! Please feel free to suggest other combinations too!!

My Must-Have Top 10

There are a few things that I can never live without and will absolutely swear by! Here's a list of my new must-have top 10 products.

Nivea Soft moisturizing cream - it's so rich it beats the winter dry skin, but breatheable enough that I can use it on my face. It works great for a day in, or at night, but don't use it on it's own because it does not contain any SPF.

Dove UltimateVisibly Smooth - it really does soften hair over time! It's also gentile enough that I can put it on right after shaving and it's completely non-irritating.

Zim's Maxi-Freeze - don't leave home with out it if you're prone to muscle aches or pains. I use the roll-on formula with Ilex, and it's definitely the best muscle rub you can get in a drug or department store. Compares to Bio-Freeze for a fraction of the price.

eos peppermint lip balm - I bought it for the fun packaging, I can't lie. I love love love that it's small and cute, but it works great on chapped winter lips and you can't beat the price or the taste.

Sharpie Liquid Pencil - I'm addicted to writing utensils. This one's hand-friendly and feels great writing, it's smooth, thick lines are identical to a number 2 pencil and erases just as easily.

Matte Nail Polish - any brand will work, Icing makes one that's less expensive than the O.P.I. version. It transforms your shiny polish into a completely matte finish that's fun for a quick change on your favorite color. It also looks fabulous over a french manicure/pedicure for a more natural look!

No-poo cleansing conditioners like Wen or Hair-One - I blogged a testimonial last week, and it's no joke. I really don't think I'll ever shampoo my hair again.

Fingerless gloves - great for the not-quite-so-cold weather. They're such a fun accessory, who could possibly live without them? Not me.

Matrix Biolage Smoothing Shine Milk with light hold - defines curls for a quick pick-me-up or helps detangle serious bed head. User be-ware: it's very, very slippery on your hair, as well as the floor, so less is more.

My iPhone. How did I live without this little piece of electronic heaven? I believe that everyone should have one, and now the 3gs is only $49 at ATT. (I'm sure that's with a monster contract)

Buy & try and let me know what you think!!

Three Months of Not Shampooing! (And I STILL have Fabulous Hair!)

I am officially in my third month of not shampooing my hair and it's still fabulous. Don't get me wrong, I still shower regularly, so please don't go {ew}. After staying up late one night and seeing the infomercial for Wen haircare, I decided to look into it further.
Here's what I discovered:
You don't need to shampoo your hair.
(feeling puzzled?)
Apparently there are still mild emollients and astringents in conditioners that clean your hair without having to shampoo it with harsh detergents and chemical strippers. I was at a point where my hair was in this terrible rut, and so was I.

I spend far too long on my hair each time I tried to do anything with it.
I shampooed it in the shower, which dried it out terribly.
Then I conditioned the sh!t out of it to try to get the dry straw feeling to go away.
After that if I wanted to style it, I had to add several different products that were sticky and gross.
Rinse and repeat.

I decided to try Wen and I have not shampooed my hair since. Since Wen is very expensive, I did some investigating and there is an almost identical product at Sally Beauty Supply for less than a third of the price, and not much more than you'd pay for good conditioner at the drug store. Ingredients are identical, works the same. Bonus factor that you don't have to pay for expensive shampoos too.

My hair is full and healthy, and I don't even need stying products anymore, just blow dry with a diffuser and my hair is *big and sexy*. It stays full all day, I can run my fingers through it, and it's clean and looks great. It has shine, it has body. I've dyed my hair for years, now my dye lasts longer since I'm not using detergents to strip it out. It doesn't get brassy, or frizzy and I can go longer between trims since my ends don't get as fried.

I am now a firm believer that shampoo is over rated. Waste of time, waste of money, and now I have one less chemical going in my septic. I understand that this might not be for everyone, especially if your hair gets really dirty, or is prone to lots of oil. Something like a low-poo alternative might be better for you than what you're using now. It has less chemical detergents and surfactants, which is not only better for you, but better for the environment as well.

I don't think I'll ever use shampoo again. Try it for a week. You might love it, you might hate it, but at least you can say you tried it! It might change your hair's life!

Fair Trade

As my evening latte is brewing and the smell of espresso fills my house, I decided that tonight's blog needs to address the importance of fair trade.
Fair trade is a global movement that aims to ensure the survival of small farms and individual businesses. By providing fair payment or trade for the goods that they supply the fair trade movement helps to ensure that the farms and the people associated with them are able to be self sustinant. At the same time, by providing fair trade for goods, we are aiding people in getting out of the poverty cycle that devastates many in less developed countries and ensuring that these people are not being taken advantage of by large corporations with buying power. I believe it's important to buy fair trade products where ever possible to further this mission in as many places as possible. If you are interested in the different aspects of fair trade and want to know more about it, please check out http://www.fairtrade.net/ for more information!

I have been known to 'sing it'

This evening's post is inspired by last night's episode of gLee...I was actually very moved by their rendition of My Chemical Romance's Sing It, since I, myself have been known to 'sing it' on more than one occasion.

I'm not the singer that you wanted,

but a dancer.

I refuse to answer,

talk about the past sir.

Wrote it for the ones that want to get away.

Keep running.

Sing it for the boys,

sing it for the girls.

Every time you lose it,

Sing it for the world.

My Exploration of Purple

My exploration of purple as emotion with motion

This is my Tribute to Leg Warmers

This is my tribute to Leg Warmers

Who ever had the genius idea to bring back leg warmers...

I owe you a debt of grattitude.

My BFF Crystal will find you, and probably stab you in the aorta.

But I am forever thankful to you.

I'm so in love with leg warmers every time I think of them, I feel the urge to 80's to Flashdance across my living room.

Baby Legs - coolest thing ever.

Second only to Cat Legs, for the true leg warmer afficianado.

Thank you for your legwarmer genius.

No go put on your own leg warmers, and some sweet 80's music and shake what you've got!

(you know you want to)

You can purchase kitty legs at Readymade.com...as if you didn't already know!

I Carry Your Heart

This is one of my favorite poems of all time ~
{please don't mind the spacing; several different sources have the spacing set up in different ways and without the actual book, I have no way of knowing what is correct for certain}

I carry your heart with me
{I carry it in my heart}
I am never without it
{Any where I go, you go, my dear,
and whatever is done by only me is your doing, my darling}
I fear no fate
{for you are my fate, my sweet}
I want no world
{for beautiful, you are my world, my true}
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
{here is the root of the root,
and the bud of the bud,
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life
which grows higher than the soul can hope
or mind can hide}
And this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart.
I carry your heart
{I carry it in my heart}

E.E. Cummings



Oh, and P.S.: This poem is read by Cameron Diaz in the end of one of my all time favorite movies - In Her Shoes. If you haven't seen it, you should literally go out right this second and rent it.

In the Beginning

In the begining it was just the four of us, well, at least in my beginning. Mom, Dad, my sister, and me (est. 1980)

I climbed tall trees, played with frogs, chased after snakes, and knew I wanted to be exactly like my sister when I grew up. I listened to whatever my parents let me (except them)...Sesame Street, Handel's Messiah, Holst's The Planets, and Carly Simon and Harry Chapin.

Some people don't know what it's like to grow up in a family that's filled with love. I do. I can sum up my love for my father, and his love for me in one photograph.

To some people, it's just a photo.

But to me, it's so much more.

I miss him every day...

So to celebrate my love for my childhood, I always play one great song....

Rubber Duckie, you're the one. You make my bathtime lots of fun.

Rubber Duckie I'm awfully fond of you.

Boo-doop-do-do.

Rubber Duckie, joy of joys! When I squeeze you you make noise!

Rubber Duckie you're my very best friend it's true.

Every day when I make my way to the tubbie

I find a fella who's cute and yellow and chubby!

Rub-a-dub-dubby!

(Jeff Moss, part of the song Rubber Duckie, Written for Sesame Street)