Thursday, March 15, 2012

Thirsting for sunshine*


Sorry for the lack of posts.  The weather has been beautiful here.  Everyone is going a bit crazy and we're all trying our best to drink up the sunshine.  I'm especially hoping that the sun will give my pasty vampire skin a nice golden tan.

Hopefully you are enjoying good weather too!

I promise to reveal what happened to hubby's shoes and upload more posts next week.

Have a great weekend!

*Note:  This post's title was inspired by a four-year-old boy at church who said, "Mom, my body is thirsting for sunshine."

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Shoe Series 1: Are those shoes in your freezer?

Answer:  Yes.  I'll explain

About a year ago hubby purchased a pair of shoes at the thrift store.  They were a tad too small, but we got them anyway because they were a good price.  So far he's worn them just a couple of times but they always end up pinching his feet.  He's tried using shoe stretchers, but they've still remained just a tad too small.  

We were going to donate them until a new idea came to me.  A couple of nights ago, I went on a YouTube-watching frenzy and came upon this video showing a clever gal using ice to stretch shoes.  A light bulb appeared over my head.  It was a crazy idea, but it just might work.

Before you place me into your mental box marked "crazy people to avoid," hear me out.  Water expands as it freezes, right? Living in Michigan, we've seen those huge potholes in the road.  Aren't they partially caused by water freezing inside the cracks in the road?  Let's harness the power of ice for good instead of evil! 

Let's recap:



Step 1: 
*  Find a cute pair of shoes at the thrift store
*  Cringe because they're a tad too small
*  Walk around the store with too-small shoes on
*  Mentally debate whether you should purchase the shoes or not
*  Walk around the store again
*  Convince yourself that they aren't that tight
*  Convince yourself that you can lose weight in your feet
*  Purchase shoes anyway because they're less than 10 bucks

Step 2: 
Look for food storage bags that don't have holes in them
*  Realize that you don't own large enough food storage bags
*  Debate whether you should purchase large food storage bags
*  Feel cheap
*  Decide to use grocery store bags instead
*  Look through your hoard of ancient grocery bags
*  Finally find two that don't have holes in them
*  Mentally curse when you realize that you just ripped one bag
*  Find another bag that doesn't have a hole in it
*  Place bags in shoes
*  Pour water into shoes
*  Cringe because you just poured water into your shoes
*  Gather courage and remind yourself that the shoes were less than 10 bucks

Step 3:
*  Place shoes in freezer
*  Make sure that water will not seep out
*  Double check that the water will not seep out
*  Convince your wife repeatedly that the water will not seep out
*  Cringe because you just placed shoes next to your frozen baby food
*  Triple check that the water will not seep out
*  Close the door and wait for the water to freeze 


Have you done this before?  Have you heard of anyone doing this before?  Did it turn our well?

I'll let you know how it all turns out.  We're currently on Step 4:  defrosting the shoes in our sink...

Click here to find out what happens next!

Monday, March 12, 2012

A spread for the Lozzie in you

Lately I've been making hubby Vegemite* sandwiches to bring to work.  I take two slices of bread, spread margarine on each slice and then spread Vegemite on top of the margarine.  To finish, I place both slices of bread together and boom, instant lunch.

Hello sandwich ingredients!



After a couple of days of sandwich making, it suddenly dawned on me.  Instead of spreading the margarine on the bread and then spreading the Vegemite, what if I could spread them both at the same time?!?  And so, dear reader, I came up with this idea:  premixed Vegemite and margarine spread... for the lazy Ozzie (Lozzie) in you.

Ooh.  Someone should mass produce this stuff.... and then send me a jar.



*Never heard of Vegemite?  Australians love the stuff.  It's a super salty spread that all Ozzie kids grow up eating. 

One giant gustatory leap

I knew this day had to come. 

A couple of months ago, Baby Chuck suddenly became very interested in what we were eating
Baby Chuck:  "What is this stuff they keep shoving into their mouths?"

And like most kids, he was particularly drawn to snack foods.
Baby Chuck:  "But mum, potatoes and corn are vegetables.  These are healthy."


So, after he turned 6 months, hubby and I finally decided to take the plunge.  It was time to introduce him to solid foods.  *gulp*  At first he didn't seem to like our watery rice cereal.  But after we thickened it up a bit, he just ate and ate and ate.

Such a voracious appetite!  I have no idea where he gets that from...