Author Archives: explorenewness

Never Give Up!

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Yesterday I mentioned I take care of the flower gardens while my husband’s domain is the vegetable garden. This year I tried something NEW and got some flowers grown in our high school’s greenhouse. When I bought them, they did warn me not to plant them right away because they were used to the greenhouse and they needed to gradually acclimate to the outside conditions. I followed their advice and planted them a few days later. Well, they promptly died! (Or, at least, they really LOOKED dead!) I never got around to taking them out….and I’m glad I didn’t! Just look at them now! So…note to self…NEVER GIVE UP on seemingly dead annuals and perennials!

What NEW thing did you try this summer?

a NEW garden experiment

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How do you like our 2012 harvest? (one weekend’s portion anyway)! This year we my husband, tried something NEW and planted cantaloupe.  The TWO cantaloupe he’s got so far have been DELICIOUS! The hubby takes care of the vegetable garden, and I take care of the flower gardens. So really, this is his harvest, but the entire family gets the benefits. YUM!

Try planting something NEW in your garden every year!

a NEW DNA lecture

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This weekend I attended a lecture on DNA. I think this relatively NEW science is fascinating! If I were just starting college again, I would definitely think of going into that field! I haven’t got my DNA tested…..yet. Maybe soon (the tests are kind of pricey). I’m sure the more data they can analyze, the better the results will become. I’m interested to know what haplogroup I’m in….although I can already kind of guess 🙂

The lecturer referenced a book I plan to read: The Seven Daughters of Eve by Bryan Sykes.  He also recommended studying the National Geographic DNA Project.

Have you tested you DNA? Were you surprised at the results?

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Sweet & Sour Meatballs

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I wasn’t planning on posting a recipe today…but I was over at Just A Girl Blog, and she is hosting a slow cooker link party, and since I need to attend my first-ever link party, I thought I’d share a yummy recipe for Sweet & Sour Meatballs. I just happened to even have a picture of these yummy morsels on my phone from last week. My son texted me and asked me if I’d make homemade mac and cheese and sends me the recipe. I respond, ‘Not tonight…because this is what I’m eating right now’….and I send him a picture of my dinner….Sweet & Sour Meatballs with Rice. Who knew I’d use that pic for this post, right? Anyway…here you go:

Sweet & Sour Meatballs
1 lb ground beef
2 Tbsp dehydrated onion
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 bread crumbs

Sauce:
3/4 cup brown sugar
3 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cup water or pineapple juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 Tbsp soy sauce

Combine meatball ingredients and shape into 1 inch balls. Broil 5-7 minutes
Whisk sauce and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes.
Cook meatballs and sauce in slow cooker 3-4 hours

So…obviously I think I’ll link to Just A Girl’s Party (if I can figure out how :o)

I’m NEW to couponing

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The internet is great for a lot of things and saving money is one of them. I recently had a good friend tutor me on Extreme Couponing. Although she doesn’t consider herself an ‘extremist’, she’s a lot more experienced than I am! So I’m giving it a try. It’s such an individualized skill. What works for my friend doesn’t really work for me. For instance, she has multiple Sunday newspapers delivered to her home each week; yet I find I hardly used any of the newspaper coupons. I have found the blogs that post local deals really helpful…as well as coupons.com. So I have a NEW awareness of “deals” now and try to take advantage of them. I also like to earn Swagbucks. I figure I’m searching the internet anyway…I might as well search for a few thing via Swagbucks. (I tried their toolbar for a while, but ended up taking it off…the less add-ons I have to slow down my computer, the better).

So, are YOU taking advantage of the deals in your area? There are NEW ones every day!

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How do you like them apples?

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Well, my goal is to make sugar cookies every week so I can get better at decorating them! Oh my poor family! They’ll be sick of frosted sugar cookies in no time. Although this week, my husband took some into his work….and he said they disappeared. This week I used my NEW leaf tip (#352 I believe).   I’m exploring newness!

I’ve noticed tons of yummy-looking apple recipes lately. Tis the season!

These Carmel Apple Scones from Recipe Girl  look especially delicious!  I’ve got to make some….soon!  What NEW thing did you do today?

Think & Plan Ahead

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No, I’m NOT really posting about Christmas….yet! My point is actually just about planning ahead. I recently decided I was going to have a red and white color scheme for Christmas decorations this year. I’ve been saying I was going to get NEW ornaments for the tree for the last 3 or 4 years! But since I obviously never planned ahead, each year came and went…without NEW decorations. Well, magic happens when you plan ahead. Here it is…September 19th and I’ve already found a great deal on red and white ribbon at the dollar store! I scored since I was planning ahead! (I’m thinking this deal probably wouldn’t have been available in November or December…and I’d end up paying along more than one buck!)

Enjoy these red and white Christmas pics! So pretty!

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Cheat Sheet Camera Strap

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I really like the idea of my camera looking a bit different than everyone elses! So here’s my custom camera strap creation. BUT…please notice!….I included a cheat sheet on the inside!

This cool retro photography poster was on Pinterest (here), so I just cut it into strips and transfered it (via iron-on fabric transfer paper) to some fabric that I used for the inside of my strap. LOVE IT! I also embroidered my name and phone number on the inside…in case my camera is ever left somewhere without it being strapped to it’s photographer.

Customize your strap with something NEW and different!

I linked to Sew Many Ways

a NEW Constitution Day experience

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Today is the 225th anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution! Constitution Day is observed every September 17th. Go HERE to learn more.

On Friday evening my husband and I attended a FABULOUS program sponsored by the Utah Chapter of the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. It really was a great program!!! My favorite was this piece by the French organist/composer Charles-Marie Widor. I was unfamiliar with this composer, so I also learned something NEW about him! This YouTube video is wonderful, but it does not even hold a candle to how spectacular this piece sounds in a live performance!!!  (This wasn’t filmed Friday evening, but apparently recently.)

What will you do to celebrate Constitution Day? Something NEW???

a NEW recommendation

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Do your drinking glasses occasionally look yucky, cloudy or dirty?….even after a good hot rinse in the dishwashser? Yeah, mine too! Next time you’re at the grocery store, look for Lemi-Shine by the dishwashing detergent. This stuff is great! I think my neighbor grocery store must have a hard time keeping this stuff in stock! They are out of it now and again. I finally just stocked up on the stuff by ordering a bunch on amazon! Try it out! I works great! (And again, they did NOT pay me to recommend it….they do not know I exist!)

Try something NEW today!