12 Years Blogging

 I told you all how I started this blog but since it's been a while, I'll tell you again.  12 years ago a friend talked a couple of us into starting up a blog at the same time he did. TK *Trollking* was a friend from a couple of forums and yahoo groups that I frequented back then and he talked us into starting blogs of our own. Sadly TK passed away several years ago and most of the friends that started up blogs back then, no longer keep up with their blogs, but I have slowly been plugging along for 12 years.

My blog has changed as I've changed over the years. I've met a lot of really wonderful people and made quite a few friends along the way. 

Over the past 12 years I've shared pictures of my hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, rats and now my dog. I've shared the sorrow of my mother's passing, the joy of my grandson being born and 26 years together with Ken.

I've ranted, reviewed, shared my thoughts and advice. I don't think I ever really thought that I would still be blogging 12 years later or that anyone would read what I had to say, but many of you do and I thank you for sticking with me through so many years. 

I hope that I'll be here in 12 more years and that you all will still be here with me. 

Thank you all for visiting today and over the past 12 years. Blogging has been a very rewarding experience for me and I've enjoyed getting to know all of you. 

Recipe: Avocado and Corn Salsa

You Will Need:

1 Ear of fresh corn, cooked and cut off the cob

1 tsp. Frank's Hot Sauce

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 avocado, diced

What To Do:

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. 

Most of the recipes for this that I looked at called for diced tomatoes and onions and you can add that to this if you like it but the first batch I made was with tomato and onion and didn't like the taste of it together. So I changed the recipe to suit my tastes.

I've been experimenting with several 'salsa' variations to pair with chicken when I make it or to have with vegetables or even on eggs and it's been interesting trying them all out. The most interesting thing I've found out is that avocado pairs well with just about anything. lol

Have you made any salsa's like this and liked it?

Happy Raturday!

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

*Picture courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

Recipe: Cole Slaw

You'll Need:

 3 cups shredded cabbage.

1 shredded carrot

2-3 TBSP mayonnaise

1tsp. sugar

1 tsp. mustard

Salt and pepper

Mix everything together, cover and let sit in the fridge overnight before serving. 

 Ken and I both liked this recipe so I'll be making this one again. I'll probably share one of the dishes I made and used this as the side in the next couple of weeks or so. 

Do you like cole slaw?

May- Target Beauty Box Available Now!

Hey everyone, 

Target Beauty Box for May is available right now. Hurry if you want one because they go fast. 

Favorite Video of the Week

This is one of my all time favorite bands. The first time I watched this music video it made me cry. What a great message this song and video sends out. Watch it and let me know what you think.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

From Pinchme I received...
Beneful Grain Free Dog Food
Pure Leaf Tea
Gillette Deodorant
Unisom Sleep Gels
Sensodyne Toothpaste
Carol's Daughter Almond Milk Shampoo and Conditioner

And from Sample Source I received...
Blue Emu sample

Did you get any freebies this week?

Recipe: Sauteed Julienned Vegetables

I made this using all kinds of different vegetables including zucchini, carrots, celery, purple cabbage, onions, bell peppers, green cabbage, bean sprouts and green onions. It's a great side dish or even a quick snack. I made this as a side dish for fish the other night and we both liked it. 

For this recipe I just used carrots, celery and green cabbage. 

To make this you will need: 

2 carrots

1 stalk of celery

1/2 cup of thinly sliced green cabbage

1/4 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1 TBSP Olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

A julienne food peeler

Note: You can julienne slice all of these vegetables by hand if you want but I found it easier and quicker to buy a $7 julienne food peeler and use it. 

What to do: 

Julienne cut your vegetables either by hand or with a peeler. Add the olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add all the vegetables except the cabbage and saute for 3 minutes. Add cabbage, salt, pepper and broth and saute for another 3 minutes or until the broth is gone and the vegetables are tender but still crispy. 

You can add other flavors to this and even a sauce if you'd like. 

Does this look like something you'd try?

Favorite Picture of the Week

 

Earlier this month Ken spent 10 days in California dog/house sitting for his sister and brother in law. So it was just Falcor and I for 10 days. I didn't want him getting bored so I made a few new toys for him including an empty plastic water bottle which he never gets bored with and then I made a huge ice cube for him to play with or lick or whatever. At first he just stared at it and when it popped because it was melting, Falcor started barking at it. 

Here he was waiting for it to start popping and crackling again. He stared at it for a good 2 minutes and then walked around it. 

After about 30 minutes he sniffed it and started licking it. Silly dog. 

And this is one of the dogs that Ken was dog sitting for. 

More Crafty Hobbies Pt 2

Last week I shared a few crafts that I tried and liked because I was kinda good at them and they were fun. This week I'll share with you some of the crafts that I tried and failed miserably at or just didn't come out as I had hoped. 

A few years ago when we painted the bathroom a nice bright green color, I decided to try making a few accent pieces for the walls. The little planter box that I painted came out really nice but then I tried making a replica of the white mouse on the right out of sculpy clay. Mine is the brown mouse on the far left and it looks nothing like the white mouse.

I ended up buying the tiny teddy bear and chipmunk because I after the mouse and then a couple of other sculptures that went in the trash, I didn't try the sculpy clay again. Mary from Evolve With Mary, asked to see some of the clay sculptures I made. So here ya go. :)

About 20 years ago I tried my hand at making pewter sculptures. I bought a kit with the molds, pewter blocks, heavy gloves, hot pot, pewter patina liquid, Swarovski accent crystals, and mold clamps. I had to remelt my sculptures about 6 times before I finally got one without bubbles which make holes in the sculpture. Back then I bought the entire kit for $39.99 and when I looked today a smaller kit is almost $90. I was able to make 4 sculptures with the kit I had and it was fun to do but as years went by the supplies got a lot more expensive so this was one craft I only did once. They are a lot of work and it's dangerous because that melted pewter is hot as hell and if you spill it on yourself, well it would be bad. 

A few years ago I saw a magazine with some Pine Cone crafts in it. I thought, well that looks easy enough. While my pine cone christmas tree's came out kinda cute, they weren't anywhere near as cute as the ones in the pictures. 

I also tried to recreate a pine cone mouse and while I liked it, my family thought I was nuts. lol 

I wanted to try my hand at making and decorating cakes. I can make a good tasting cake, that's not a problem but they were never pretty. So I bought a cake decorating kit like this one. I also bought some fondant icing and my first try with it was a hot mess. LOL Let me tell you though, my neighbors loved me because I was always foisting cake on them. Even if it looked funny, they liked the cake. My older next door neighbor came back and said, "I don't think you're supposed to eat that Play Dough type stuff on the cake." I forgot to tell him not to eat that. My bad. 

This was my first try using spray color mist and trying out a couple of new decorating tips. Again, the neighbors enjoyed cake too. *chuckles*

I didn't like the fondant at all so I never used that again. But I wanted to try making chocolate buttercream and it tasted really good. The cake was also chocolate. I was just having fun trying out the different decorating tips. My neighbors weren't surprised to find me at their doors with a piece of cake. 

When Easter rolled around I saw an Easter Basket cake that I wanted to try and make. So I bought all the supplies and colored the shredded coconut, baked the cake and scooped out the middle of it. I added some Easter egg looking candy to it and even though it didn't look like the picture and I might have added too much candy to the top of it, my daughter loved it. 

*Excuse the back of the stove, we were getting a new stove that week and the kitchen walls were about to be painted blue, so they were a bit of a mess.*

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the other crafts I've tried. Have you ever tried a craft that you ended up not liking?

Happy Raturday!

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"A cookie? For me?"

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I no like baff but at least I had my duckie"

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"Dis mai cookie. You let go now."

Review: Maple Holistics Dry Hair Treatment- Concentrated Shampoo

Product Description

HEALS SCALP AND HAIR all natural sulfate free shampoo for itchy flaky scalp with jojoba & argan oil balances & purifies hair by reducing sebum and strengthen hair strands for healthier hair and scalp.

TREATS GREASY AND OILY HAIR balancing shampoo for oily hair eliminates environmental pollutants dead cells & dust build up. Greasy hair shampoo removes product build up left by conditioner gel & mousse.

SOOTHE ITCHY SCALP lemon & jojoba oil blend together to heal irritation while stimulating hair growth & hair follicle. These ingredients contain vitamin E & B as well as magnesium calcium & flavonoids.

GREAT FOR ALL HAIR TYPES degrease shampoo uses all natural botanical that are perfect for hair types including curly, straight, wavy, thick or thin hair. Renews hair high quality look for men & women.

100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEED our ingredients are always sulfate, cruelty, pain, and paraben free. Produced in a state of the art facility - this shampoo with leave your hair with an amazing smell & fee.

My Review

I received a sample size bottle of Maple Holistics Shampoo and used it three days in a row. I have very long hair but there was enough in the bottle for me to use it at least three times. The first time I used it, I hadn't washed my hair for 2 days because it says it it good for greasy hair so I wanted to see for myself if it really would 'degrease' my hair and leave it looking clean and shiny like my other shampoos. 

After washing and using my own conditioner and letting it dry I have to say that it got my hair as clean as any of my other shampoos did. My only complaint was that by the end of the day my hair felt greasy again and I can usually skip a day of washing my hair when I use a Pantene or Dove shampoo. But if you use this shampoo every day, it does clean your hair and it is as good as any of the store bought shampoos that I've used. 

I never had an itchy scalp and I do suffer from a mild case of dandruff but never saw any flakes while using this shampoo for the three days that I used it. 

The scent is mild and just ok as far as scents go but it wasn't unpleasant. So as long as you use it every day it's a good shampoo and keeps your hair looking clean and shiny. 

I give this shampoo 4 out of 5 stars. 

Disclosure: I was given a sample free of charge to try.

You have a right to know the ingredients

Photo Credit Womensvoices.org

Wow, I learned that the average woman uses 16,000 tampons over time, and that no federal law requires makers to disclose the ingredients in them. Protecting the right to know is important for all women in our lives. Learn more about this! #comeclean #generationgood

Seventh Generation is proud to be partnering with Women’s Voices for the Earth, leading a movement that is fighting for a woman’s right to know what is in the pads and tampons she uses. If you'd like to know more, read this article. 

Disclosure: This blog post was a mission from Seventh Generation that I'll receive points for completing. 

Favorite Video of the Week

This is my younger brother's channel. He's been videoing all the people that come to his next door neighbors house because the guy next door has been selling drugs and there's a lot of traffic. So my brother was in his own yard taking video and one of the people that stopped at the neighbor's house doesn't like to be filmed...at all and confronts my brother.

There are other videos on my brother's Youtube channel you can see about the neighbors and the police being called.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too. Someone asked me why I do a 'Freebie Friday" each week, so I'll tell you.

A while back I listed all the free samples and wins that I had received that previous year and so many people didn't believe that I could have gotten so many free things. So I decided to prove it by taking a picture every week and sharing the sites that I found the links to the freebies at. So now you too can get great free samples coming to your mailbox each week.

  You can find links to great samples at Hey It's Free and Freebie Shark.

This week I received:

An envelope of bumper stickers and a funny letter from Adult Swim. A couple of months ago Adult Swim said if you signed up, they would send you a surprise. They set up their page that the freebie form was on a page that was going to act like a page would have back in the 90's with pop ups galore. So if you had the patience to keep exing out of the pop ups and finally get the form filled out, you were sent these funny bumper stickers and a letter from "Satan". Totally worth it.


It was a slow freebie week so I thought I would also share something new that I tried.

I've been wanting to try gnocchi for a while and Ken found this in the store so he bought it. I was really underwhelmed by it. I think it was the texture that threw me off. To me it was just not great and even the taste wasn't very good. So one more thing off my list to try but I'll keep trying new things. 

Do you like gnocchi?

Do You Have a Hobby?

Years ago I started going into Michael's and Joanne's craft stores and started picking crafts to do that seemed interesting. I tried wreath making, making jewelry, making dream catchers, and even tried making small sculptures out of clay *but we don't speak of that lol* This is a case full of some of my jewelry making supplies. 

I also made some of the beading crafts that come with everything you need to make them and the instructions to make them. I made a couple of watches that I really liked. 

I made Dream Catchers for a while and that was a lot of fun. 

I also made Wreaths for a while and I would probably keep making them but when I would go to buy supplies it was getting expensive. Those fake flowers are costly. lol 

The craft that I seem to keep coming back to is the jewelry making. I kept it simple and made a couple pairs of earrings while I was laid up with a broken toe and badly bruised leg. 

Do you have any hobbies?

Favorite Picture of the Week

It's been quite a bit warmer lately and this is the time of year that all the weeds start coming up through the rocks on the bike path we walk. Falcor is so interested in these weeds. He just stands there sniffing the tiny flowers or sticks his head down in the middle of them. The bigger ones he was trying to rub up against which was really funny. I'm sure the county will be by soon to weed whack these things like they do every year but until then, Falcor will be sniffing the heck out of them. 

Review: DegustaBox- May

DegustaBox is a monthly subscription box filled with food and drink products. The price for the box is $19.99 a month.  

You do not get to pick any of the products you get, it's a surprise each month. But they say each box contains 10-15 items and each box is worth at least $30. I like trying boxes like this because they usually contain products that I've never tried or haven't seen before. 

In this month's box was...

Mulino Blanco Shortbread cookies

Mutti Chopped tomatoes

Mulino Blanco Breadsticks

Pure Growth Organic Apples and Cinnamon oatmeal

Barilla Pasta

Barilla Pesto sauce

La Tortilla Factory Corn and wheat tortillas

Village Harvest Rice and Lentils

Goya Lentil and Vegetable soup

Soy Vay Asian BBQ sauce

Dandies Vanilla marshmallows

That's quite a lot in a box for $19.99 and most of this stuff I hadn't tried before. I keep finding things in these boxes that I wasn't sure I would like but end up being so darn good, like the Lentils. I've been wanting to try them because my friend posted a recipe and they sounded so good. The Lentil Vegetable soup was quite good. I'll definitely be trying more lentils. 

Now here's a treat for you. If this box looks like something you'd like, you can use code MARYK-ACB and get your first box half off. That's a big box of food for only $10! and you can cancel anytime. So if you're interested, go to the DegustaBox site and sign up and don't forget to use my code to get your first box for just $10. 

Have you tried anything new recently?

Happy Raturday!

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I made dis."

*Photo courtesy of martymousehouse.com*

"I'm trying to shop!"

*Photo courtesy of Poppy's Mischief*

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do plan on eating all of this."

*Photo courtesy of Rambling Ratz*

"I believe we're having a cake for dessert and I do expect more than a tiny bite."

Weird Things Around My Apartment

A while back my friend Anna, at Herding Cats & Burning Soup made a post about things around her house. I loved the idea and stole it from her for this post. lol Thanks, Anna!

So if you were to walk around my house there might be a few things that stand out as strange, nothing I'd classify as outlandish but maybe a bit weird. I never said I was normal...let's just get that out there, okay?

I have a small collection of skulls. Including a salt and pepper shaker skull, a very large glass skull mug and a small rose quartz skull. My daughter brought the salt and pepper shaker skull for me.

A devil mask is sitting on one of the shelves my daughter made. She made it when she was a kid and it's been there for years. I'm guessing some of my weirdness rubbed off on her since she could have made anything and decided a devil was a good thing to make. lol 

I started collecting keychains about 27 years ago when I worked in a gift shop here in Las Vegas. The little camera at the top of the picture has pictures of different Las Vegas hotels that you can click through. That was one of the first keychains I bought. The Las Vegas nail clippers was another and then I just kept getting ones that I liked. There's a big diamond ring, pocket knife,  roller skate,  pill keeper,  hand grenade lighter,  beaded spanish dancer,  rabbits foot, whistle, leather lighter coat, The word super, dice, piano, frog, a cylinder filled with oil and glitter, and keys that I have no idea what they go to. 

The top lighter colored wooden box was what my mother in laws ashes were in for her funeral. After Ken and his family scattered her ashes, they gave the box to me. I put some of the jewelry I inherited from my mom when she passed away, into the box. 

On my fridge you'll find rat magnets and in the middle in a magnet that says Purina rat chow on it. 

Now if you opened up my hall closet there are a few strange things in there. I have a mini gun (not a real gun) that my dad gave to me about 30 years ago. 

In this picture you can see the hammer cocked back and when I pull the trigger the hammer slams forward and makes a loud pop. 

Just inside the hall closet is this ornate wooden box. I thought it looked really cool when I bought it some years ago. 

Inside it are some of the things I used to use when I was a practicing Wiccan many years ago. 

20 years ago when we first moved into this apartment, I had been flipping through a magazine and found this picture. I wanted to frame it and put it on the wall but Ken said hell no. LOL So I put it on the back wall of the hall closet and it's been there for 20 years which is why it's so faded. It's a picture of a mermaid chowing down on a strange fish. If you want a better look at this picture just Google Sorayama Mermaid and click on images..it's one of the first pictures on that page. I thought it was a cool photo. 

So there ya go. There's some of the weird things you might find around my apartment. 

Do you have anything in your home that would surprise someone?

Happy Mother's Day!