Mariannes Motifs

Renuzit TriScents Starter Kit Review & Coupon

Ever since I started "pro-blogging" last April, all sorts of little good things have been happening to me.  A few months ago I received a free book in the mail from the manufacturers of frozen vegetables, and a few days a go I received a wonderful freebie of a Renuzit TriScents home fragrance kit.

I love having a nice smelling house and this air freshener is neat because it changes the fragrance between three complementary scents every 45 minutes.  Therefore you don't get totally used to it and you notice it.  In my opinion the problem with most air fresheners is that its the same thing all the time and you either get sick of it or so used to it you don't even smell it anymore.

The kit they sent me is the Seaside Breezes scents and its quite nice.  I like two of the scents better than the third though!  I have placed it in the kitchen for now.  The unit was easy to figure out how to operate also, which is nice.  I have used some where they get a bit complicated and that can be annoying. I really don't want to have to read a whole page of instructions to be able to plug in an air freshener, you know?

If you got to the http://www.triscents.com and look on the left side of the screen they have a place to print a $3.00 Coupon for a TriScents starter Kit.

 

Uighur Spice Mix

I follow a wonderful blog written by an American living in Tianjin China.  Kimberly recently posted a noodle recipe that called for "Turkish spice mix" or "Uighur meat-on-a-stick seasoning."

I was instantly intrigued.  The thought of those intrepid yurt dwelling nomads (sometimes spelled Uyghur and pronounced Wee-gur) living in the Eastern Western reaches of China, grilling up tasty lamb kabobs, just made my mouth water.  Where does one go to pick up a jar of Uighur meat-on-a-stick seasoning?  My local Publix in Georgia, USA does not have any such exotic fare.

Well... people, we are in luck.  Kimberly has now posted a recipe for mixing up your own spice mix.   And, if you want to know what to do with it once you have it - here is a recipe for Uighur Lamb Kebabs and Kimberly's recipe for Take Out Cold Noodles.

Uighur Spice Mix:

Spice Mix:
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon chili flakes
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorns
2 teaspoons ground ginger powder
4 garlic cloves (very finely chopped)
2 teaspoons sea salt

80 million unregistered American adults are eligible to vote

Some interesting facts I have compiled today.

According to Time there are still 80 million unregistered American adults eligible to vote in the Presidential election.   There is still time to register. 

In the 2000 Presidential election the difference in the Popular vote between the winning and losing candidate was 543,816 people.  The winner of the popular vote lost the election.  The State of Florida

• The final count of votes in Florida in 2000 was that Bush won by 537 votes.

Did I mention that there is still time to register. 

10 Simple Things that Make Me Happy

This week's  10 on Tuesday is 10 Simple Things that Make You Happy.

I own my own house, have a decent job, and 2 cute kids and halfway decent health.  Really --- Everthing else is just gravy.  I guess this is the "simple thing" of being content with what you have.  It's easy to feel like a hamster on a wheel when you have as much going on as we all do in modern life.  The hard part is to slow down and be in the moment.

Here is a list off the cuff from me:

1.  I just schedule to get my gutters cleaned and I am going to pay for it with money I made from blogging.  That is pretty nifty!

2.  The celiac disease test I took came out negative so I can eat bread.  Yum.

3.  I am having fun knitting.  It is very relaxing and creative.

4.  I love to watch my kids play and learn things.  It is so cute.

5.  I got a new set of fluffy gel pillows.  Ahh...

6.  I like thrift store shopping.  Its like treasure hunting.

7.  I like reading cheesy romance novels.  I call them brain candy.  My favorite author is Jayne Ann Krentz.

8.  Eating good food when you are truly hungry.  There is just nothing like it.

9.  A good cup of coffee.  I have a Keurig One Cup Coffee Maker, and also sometimes stop for Dunkin Donuts coffee and a bagel.

10.  Walking by the Chattahoochee river and enjoying the local river parks.  I bring my camera and just snap away.

How to make a knit dumpling bag

I have put together a squidoo lens all about the knit dumpling bag.

The Dumpling Bag by SheKnits was published in the Fall 08 issue of Interweave Knits magazine and has already spurred over 231 projects on Ravelry and is currently the 5th most popular pattern in Ravelry members knitting queues. (Ravelry is a fantastic knitting social community/website - check it out if you haven't joined yet!)

I have fallen in love with this cute little round felted bag and wanted to make a page where I could put together information on how to gather the materials and instructions to make it.

Blog Post From Flickr - Dumpling Bag Picture

How to Make a Knit Dumpling Bag

I am experimenting with making a blog post from Flickr.  This is my first attempt.  Pretty easy - since I upload photos to Flickr when I want to post them to Ravelry (Ravelry uses only a Flickr account) I have my knitting pics up there. 

Typepad makes it very easy to upload photos to your blog - that's one of my favorite features and reasons I don't mind paying a monthy fee for their service.  I really want to be able to take pics and video on my cell phone and post them to the blogs though.  My current cell phone doesn't have a camera.  I have been eyeing different  "toys," I mean cell phones that will work with Typepad and or Flickr to make blog posts on the run.  I guess since I am a semi-pro blogger...  (Hey - I have made $10.35 in google ads so far, scoff not.  Well, scoff a little)  

I keep thinking I will show up in some news worthy moment and have some great cell phone video to post or something.  LOL.  You never know.

Looking for non-biased info on political claims?

It seems like both sides of the political race are about as slippery as pigs in mud.  Lipstick is optional.

Look at Fact Check  to see who is exaggerating what claims.  It is one of the few sites that is non-partisan and looks at the truth in the claims made by pols on both sides of the aisle.

The Mom Club

When you give birth to or adopt a child, you are magically made a member of a special and elite sisterhood of women as old as time.  It is the mom club.  Membership does not depend on social class, skin color, political leanings, part of the world you are from, or any other dividing line.  All you have to have is female hormones and a child.

Let me also take a moment to address another subset here - the Daddies Club and the  "Aunties" and "Uncles" Club.  (You know the "Aunties" and "Uncles" are those folks who while not having kids of their own seem to attract kids like the pied piper and are either official or unofficial aunts and uncles.) These folks are not to be denied their mention or worth either!

Let's go over some of the wonderful features included in membership into the sisterhood of moms:

• Whenever you hear a baby cry, anywhere, your heart clenches and you want to pick up the baby and make sure they are ok.

• Anytime you see a kid with a runny nose you have an urge to wipe it.  You probably also have tissues in your purse.

• Where before you had kid(s) you thought loud children in public were really annoying now you think, "whew," mine are not the loudest/worst behaved in the place.

• You can now make conversation with random women in the ladies room, waiting in line, or in the doctor's office just based on the fact that they have kids the same age.

• When adults as well as kids do stupid things or are in a bad mood you realize that they need a nap or a snack.

Being a mom has made me be a better employee at work, given me more patience, and increased my empathy for others. 

The sisterhood of moms is a wonderful resource that should never be underestimated.  We give each other tips about the best sales going on, the best ways to get babies to sleep, how not to worry when junior seems like he will never give up the pacifier, and so on.  Through sharing stories, and wiping noses, we support each other.  In fact, when they say that it "takes a village to raise a child" I have an idea that I know who that village is made up of: the sisterhood of moms, along with the brotherhood of Dads and the "Aunties," and "Uncles."

Help! My house is a mess!

Once upon a time ago I used to do the "Flylday" method of housekeeping and it's great.  I think I need to get back into it because this place needs some work.  Its not that we are not keeping on top of it, its just that with 2 little kids and 2 working parents it is a recipe for disaster.

For basement dehumidifiers  what is the best way to have it automatically empty with plastic piping?  I wish I had that set up here so I didn't have to empty it myself.  I guess I am lazy.  With all these hurricanes we are getting a lot of rain and I am tired of emptying the dehumidifier.

Today we tried to catch up on a bit of shopping.  I finished the knitting project I have been working on and therefore felt it was important to BUY MORE YARN.  (hah hah)

Here is a picture of my knitted felted bag - its called a dumpling bag.

 

Everybody run. The Homecoming Queen's got a gun.

This is my statement for the day.