Turn Your Photos or any images into a SlideShow Video for Youtube or DVD
Not really my car... but it is my software and I think it's pretty nifty
Monday, July 19, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
New Obsession - Hello Kitty TV
Hello Kitty TVs - LOVE THIS!
and this...
Can't wait until DD has her own room!
Because SHE (um me?) needs one of these!
Sweet Lil' Guys
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Handmade Bagels
Feel like making some fresh bagels today.
I remember mom making bagels when we were kids. Love the smell of fresh baked bread.
Until I looked up the recipe, I had NO IDEA that you're supposed to boil then bake!
Homemade bagel recipe
4 cups bread flour
1 Tbls sugar
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 Tbls vegetable oil
2 tsps instant yeast
1-1/4- 1-1/2 cups of warm water.
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. You don't have to worry about soaking the yeast when you use instant yeast (most yeast sold these days is instant yeast). The dough should feel stiff, but add the extra water if it's really stiff, or you can't get all the dry flour incorporated.
Knead on the counter for about ten minutes, until the dough is smooth
Cut the dough into 8 equal sized balls, and let rest for 10-20 minutes.
Pre heat your oven to 425.
Now to make the bagel shape... just watch this handy video I found on YouTube!
4 cups bread flour
1 Tbls sugar
1 1/2 tsps salt
1 Tbls vegetable oil
2 tsps instant yeast
1-1/4- 1-1/2 cups of warm water.
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. You don't have to worry about soaking the yeast when you use instant yeast (most yeast sold these days is instant yeast). The dough should feel stiff, but add the extra water if it's really stiff, or you can't get all the dry flour incorporated.
Knead on the counter for about ten minutes, until the dough is smooth
Cut the dough into 8 equal sized balls, and let rest for 10-20 minutes.
Pre heat your oven to 425.
Now to make the bagel shape... just watch this handy video I found on YouTube!
Now For The Boiling:
Let your bagels rise on the counter for about 20 minutes
Bing a large pot of water to boil
Lightly grease a large baking tray lightly
Once the bagels have risen (and hopefully the hole did't close up all the way!) add them as many at a time as you can to your boiling water without crowding them. Boil for about a minute, turn them over, and boil for another minute. Take them out a let dry for a minute and then place them on your oiled baking tray. Repeat until all the bagels are boiled.
Add the tray to the oven, and after 10 minutes, flip the bagels over, bake for another ten minutes; and they're done! Let them cool for at least 20 minutes and then bring on the cream cheese!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Wear The Same Dress Everyday for A Whole Year? Yes!
It's called the Uniform Project, started by a chic lil' lady from Brooklyn and has raised over $103,000 to help kids go to school and buy school uniforms. Basically she had 7 identical dresses, 1 for each day of the week, and wore them for a whole year, with some fabulous accessories of course! Amazing what you can do with 1 LBD and some creativity.
Uniform Project Picture Book from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.
http://www.theuniformproject.com/
Uniform Project Picture Book from The Uniform Project on Vimeo.
http://www.theuniformproject.com/
Customize Your Firefox with Personas Plugin
First off, if you're still using Internet Explorer... get with it! You probably have had to take your computer in for repair at least once in the last year, you use Norton or some other anti-virus software to scan for trojans and viruses regularly and your computer is still slow, or maybe you've even had to replace it recently .
One of the best and easiest ways to keep your computer healthy and running smoothly is to use an alternative browser such as Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome. I've been using Firefox for years now and have no complaints, but I did want to spruce it up a little so I found this fun (and safe) way to customize my Firefox interface using a neat-o plugin called Personas.
Once you've made the switch to Firefox you can have a pretty browser too.
1. Go to http://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/ and download & install the FREE Personas Plugin for Firefox
2. Once it's installed, you can use the handy little icon in the lower left corner of your browser to click and select a new persona to 'wear'
3. Just rollover the different themes (there are literally thousands!) to try them on and click to set it as your default, or try your hand at making your own... one to match your blog perhaps?
Right now, my browser is wearing "Blue Floral Abstract" dorky name, yes, but it looks cool.
One of the best and easiest ways to keep your computer healthy and running smoothly is to use an alternative browser such as Firefox, Safari or Google Chrome. I've been using Firefox for years now and have no complaints, but I did want to spruce it up a little so I found this fun (and safe) way to customize my Firefox interface using a neat-o plugin called Personas.
Once you've made the switch to Firefox you can have a pretty browser too.
1. Go to http://www.getpersonas.com/en-US/ and download & install the FREE Personas Plugin for Firefox
2. Once it's installed, you can use the handy little icon in the lower left corner of your browser to click and select a new persona to 'wear'
3. Just rollover the different themes (there are literally thousands!) to try them on and click to set it as your default, or try your hand at making your own... one to match your blog perhaps?
Right now, my browser is wearing "Blue Floral Abstract" dorky name, yes, but it looks cool.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Breastfeeding is hard!
Ladies! There is no need to put yourself, your baby and your spouse through endless sleepless, tearful nights associated with breastfeeding woes. Just cheat! There is a very helpful product that hospitals, doctors, lactation consultants, nurses and LaLeche league almost NEVER tell new mothers about. Perhaps it is because they themselves are unfamiliar with it. Or perhaps they insist on breastfeeding done the old-fashioned, "worked for thousands of years" way, ignoring the fact that so many mothers start supplementing formula after just a few weeks because of the extreme pain that can be involved in breastfeeding.
Fortunately for me, when my first son was born and we were having exactly these kinds of problems with breastfeeding, my dear mother heard about nipple shields from a friend and mailed me one from across the country. What a lifesaver! With the breast shield in place during feeding, he was able to easily latch-on and stay there for a full meal. The pain associated with cracked, blistering nipples was immediately eased and the sores were healed within a week and I was able to stop pumping between feedings and supplementing bottles. Occasionally I tried feeding without the nipple shield, but found it wasn't worth the struggle so always went back to it.
I relied on nipple shields again with DS (dear sons) 2 and 3, but for some reason when my daughter was born I rebelliously thought we could do without. Oh boy, was I wrong! I should have known better! In the hospital before going home I met with a lactation consultant (first one ever, which is amazing considering this is baby #4). I told her that DD (dear daughter) was doing well latching and feeding, but it was very painful. She tried to help me get her repositioned and a better latch, but there was still a clicking sound while sucking, even when everything appeared to be correctly placed (boob, baby, head, tongue). I decided to grin and bear it because after all, breast is best. After nearly a month of suffering I finally broke-down. I jumped on Amazon.com, ordered 2 and had them shipped overnight for the fastest relief possible.
Below are the two I ordered most recently. I preferred the Ameda one because although the plastic was a little thicker, it stayed in place better, and I didn't really see the value in the odd shape that the one from Medela had, it usually just got in the way.
Finally, I lost both nipple shields at about 3 months. I think they went in the trash by mistake. Good news is that we have been doing just fine without them ever since so I didn't feel the need to re-order.
Have you tried these? Is it okay to cheat at breastfeeding?
Fortunately for me, when my first son was born and we were having exactly these kinds of problems with breastfeeding, my dear mother heard about nipple shields from a friend and mailed me one from across the country. What a lifesaver! With the breast shield in place during feeding, he was able to easily latch-on and stay there for a full meal. The pain associated with cracked, blistering nipples was immediately eased and the sores were healed within a week and I was able to stop pumping between feedings and supplementing bottles. Occasionally I tried feeding without the nipple shield, but found it wasn't worth the struggle so always went back to it.
I relied on nipple shields again with DS (dear sons) 2 and 3, but for some reason when my daughter was born I rebelliously thought we could do without. Oh boy, was I wrong! I should have known better! In the hospital before going home I met with a lactation consultant (first one ever, which is amazing considering this is baby #4). I told her that DD (dear daughter) was doing well latching and feeding, but it was very painful. She tried to help me get her repositioned and a better latch, but there was still a clicking sound while sucking, even when everything appeared to be correctly placed (boob, baby, head, tongue). I decided to grin and bear it because after all, breast is best. After nearly a month of suffering I finally broke-down. I jumped on Amazon.com, ordered 2 and had them shipped overnight for the fastest relief possible.
Below are the two I ordered most recently. I preferred the Ameda one because although the plastic was a little thicker, it stayed in place better, and I didn't really see the value in the odd shape that the one from Medela had, it usually just got in the way.
Finally, I lost both nipple shields at about 3 months. I think they went in the trash by mistake. Good news is that we have been doing just fine without them ever since so I didn't feel the need to re-order.
Have you tried these? Is it okay to cheat at breastfeeding?
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