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Walk, Sweat, and Paint
My friend, Cheryl, and I have known each other since we were three. We grew up next door to each other and were neighbors until we headed off to college. Despite many years of coloring, Lite Brite, Spirograph, and Fashion Plates as kids, we never really painted together. Well, that has now changed! In response to my “Who wants to teach me something?” call, she offered to teach me to paint. She had no experience teaching painting, but I had no experience being taught (elementary school doesn’t count), so we had absolutely nothing to lose! Long story short, we had a fantastic day together! We did not start at the…
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Key Lime Pie
On a recent Sunday afternoon, my husband and daughter were busy, but my son and I had nothing on our schedules until the evening. I refused to spend the afternoon with us just hanging around the house doing lots of nothing, busywork, or playing on screens, so I asked what he would like to do. I gave him the option of doing something with me or making plans with his friends. He was initially indecisive, but he eventually said that he wanted to make key lime pie. I was sort of hoping to do something outdoors, but, he came up with a legitimate, doable idea, so that became our afternoon…
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Super Shed 3000
Spoiler alert: The title may be just a bit of an embellishment. Just a bit. Every so often, I put out the call for “who wants to teach me something new?” Recently, I had a taker who said that she would soon be building a shed and wondered if I would be interested in participating. I have no idea as to what response she expected, but I took her up on the offer! Whether or not I would be of much help would soon be determined, but I figured that we could have fun, I would try something different, and my friend and I would get a chance to get…
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The Wild Roaster
One recent afternoon, I spent time with Kaye, owner of the coffee shop “The Wild Roaster” In Deerfield, IL. This little coffee shop is within the local train station (an actual coffee shop, not just a kiosk), and she roasts the beans right there in the store. When I asked if she could show and teach me a little about roasting coffee beans, she invited me to see the process in action! Relatively speaking, her roaster is a small one, but for now it is doing the job. One of the benefits of this, though, is that you know that the beans you are enjoying from The Wild Roaster were…
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Avocado Egg Salad
To begin, I acknowledge that I may now be a bit addicted. I recently found a recipe for “Healthy Avocado Egg Salad,” and I actually had eggs and avocados (technically, I had small avocados, but that is neither here nor there) and the other listed ingredients, so all was a go! I have always enjoyed egg salad, but I never put in the time to make it. First of all, my family members don’t really care about egg salad. Second, I used to find the task of hard boiling eggs to be a major pain. Now, though, I have a pressure cooker, and that has made all the difference! The…
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Let’s Get Down and Dirty
I spent a recent Wednesday afternoon getting down and dirty! Outside! Eventually in the rain! (FYI–This is a family friendly blog.) I spent that afternoon volunteering for the Lake County Forest Preserve. My day off of work is Wednesday, so I was looking for something different to do. I learned that there are multiple programs and volunteer opportunities with the county forest preserve. Via the website calendar, I found a “Restoration Workday” listed for the particular date of interest to me. On that particular date, there was volunteer work available at the Native Seed Nursery , so I went and brought my teenage son with me. (He was given two…
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The Music was Like, Omigod, Totally Awesome!
Yes, I was a teenager in the 80’s. No, I was not a “valley girl” and did not speak that way. I was, however, recently brought back to the 80’s as I attended a local summer concert. I have always loved attending outdoor concerts in the nice weather, and I have been aware that many suburbs host summer concert series. This summer, rather than just thinking about them and attending perhaps one, I would make a real effort to enjoy more outdoor live music. I had a plan. Instead of going to the different community websites and printing out their summer concert schedules, I printed out blank weekly calendar pages…
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Eucalyptus Shower Melts–Another Pinterest Find
Double duty–I was able to try to help relieve some cold symptoms recently while simultaneously trying something new (otherwise known as “new blog material”)! In the past, I had seen various instructions for “shower melts” that help with congestion. I had also seen in the past that the various recipes often included ingredients which I did not have at home, so I decided to search on Pinterest for “shower melts” while including the words “baking soda.” I have a huge Sam’s club bag of baking soda, so I tend to have a lot of it available. I also have some essential oils, so, overall I was looking to see…
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Steak 101
I am a vegetarian and have been since college. This was a choice based on simple preference, not on ethics or health. Meat just really does not appeal to me. The same cannot be said of my family members. I live in a houseful of carnivores. I did not do much cooking growing up, and by the time I started doing real cooking (not just heating, microwaving, or thawing), I was a vegetarian, so I never learned how to actually prepare any type of meat. My husband, on the other hand, makes great steak (I admit–I have tasted it, and it is good), and the kids LOVE it when he…
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My 30(ish) Minute Beauty Getaway
My husband and I live in the suburbs, but we continue to see a dentist in the city. It is truly a pain in the neck to go to appointments, but she is really good, so, several times a year, we schlep downtown to see her. As long as we are making the trip into Chicago on appointment days, I do take advantage of knowing that a Sephora flagship store is close by the dental office. I usually have my appointment first while my husband uses his “parking spot karma” to find a parking place, and, weather permitting, I go outside and walk during his appointment. The weather was beautiful…