October 17, 2013

Interesting finds

I had a better day today as far as my mood goes. I still feel like I have pent up energy and I would feel better if I run, but I'm going to wait until at least Saturday. I took a shower as soon as I woke up this morning, so I wouldn't be tempted to go out for a run.

After the kids went to school, I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I usually run! I somehow got the idea to make a shirt to wear to the Detroit Free Press Marathon on Sunday (I'm only spectating, not running). I asked on Facebook if any of my readers are going to be running the half or full marathon on Sunday, and quite a few people are! So I figured a Runs for Cookies shirt might help them recognize me.

It's going to be cold that day, so I made a sweatshirt instead of a t-shirt. I just bought a cheap $6 sweatshirt at Wal-Mart, and I used 2" stencils to trace the letters onto double-stick webbing. Then I cut the webbing and fabric together, and ironed on the letters. I sewed just on the side around each letter.


The letters look black here, but they are a dark denim from an old pair of jeans. I threw the sweatshirt in the washer when I was done, hoping the edges of the letters would fray a little, but it may take a few more washes. I think it turned out cute, and it was super easy and cheap to make!

I have a bunch of pictures on my phone that I took with the intention of writing about them, but just forgot to. So here is a random collection of this and that:


Remember when I wrote about The Kitchen Safe that was on Kickstarter? They were looking for backers, and I pledged $25. I thought it was a brilliant idea! (It's a small safe that only opens when the timer reaches 0. You can set it for however long you'd like. There is no way to open it until the time runs out.) So my Kitchen Safe came in the mail last week. I've managed to keep Nutella in my house without even eating it. I set the safe to open each morning at 8:00, in case I want Nutella with an English muffin or oatmeal for breakfast. I haven't wanted it, so I just reset it for another 24 hours. 



I saw this ChapStick at Wal-Mart yesterday, and had to get it. The Cake Batter one smells just like cake batter. I wasn't as crazy about the Velvet Cupcake, but it's kind of fun to have yummy flavors of ChapStick!


The kids always want to play games with Jerry and I, but I am sick to death of Go Fish and Uno. So we found this game called Beat the Parents. The kids are on a team, and the parents are on a team. You take turns asking each other trivia questions. The questions for the parents are stuff that the kids would probably find easy, but Jerry and I were clueless about--like the age of the man in the movie Up, for example. The questions for the kids are things that the parents would find to be a piece of cake--like "What type of animal is Black Beauty?" (my kids guessed "beast" hahaha). 

Anyway, the game was pretty fun, but the kids were beating us badly. It was definitely more fun than Uno!



While I was in Illinois, Jerry asked the owner of the corner store to special order my favorite beer. There are three well-known low-calorie beers: Miller 64, Bud Select 55, and LaBatt's 52. Well, when I was losing weight, I discovered that regular old Beck's Premier Light only has 64 calories. It's not marketed as a low calorie beer, though.

I'm not a big beer drinker (obviously, since I choose to drink the carbonated water low calorie beers!), but when I do drink it, my favorite is the beer in the green bottles that kind of smells like skunk. ;)  Heineken is an easy one to find, but even the light one has 4 PointsPlus. So I was excited that Jerry was able to get this for me--it's 2 PP per bottle, and I like it much better than the other low-calorie beers.

Somehow, Jerry got me to switch from wine and chocolate
to beer and pretzels for a bedtime snack lately.


Noah brought home an Asian pear from my parents' house one day, and I had never tried one before. He kept raving about it, and he asked me to cut it up for him. While I was cutting it, I took a bite, and I immediately fell in love. They are SO good! They look like a giant yellow-ish apple:


And this is what they look like when cut up:


They taste very sweet, and have a lighter, fruitier taste than other pears. The flavor almost reminds me of a melon. The texture is like a cross between an apple and a pear. Actually, these are marketed at the store as "Apple Pears". Anyway, my mom ordered a tree for her house, and asked if I wanted one, too. So I'm hoping that in a few years, we'll have fresh Asian pears on our tree!

Anyone else discover any interesting finds lately? Feel free to share in the comments!

19 comments:

  1. Foodwise my latest find is Kashi Hummus Crisps. I tried the caramelized onion ones and they're pretty damn good!

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    1. Ohhh, I love anything with caramelized onions!

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  2. A food find I found tonight which was new to me is Philadelphia 2x protein cream cheese spread. I got the honey flavor and it is 1 point for 2 tbsps. Basically 1/6th of the container. :-)

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    1. Ooooh...this sounds interesting! I might have to look for this today when I grocery shop. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Hahaha apple pears! That's funny. Our grocery store only has them on occasion, but I can always buy them at the Asian market.

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  4. I always buy the asian pears at Meijer - they're delicious!
    Recently started spreading PB2 on warm chocolate vitatops - yum :)

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    1. Alicia,
      I saw PB2 on the shelf at Wal-mart and was wondering how it taste. I love peanut butter (Peter Pan) and wanted to know if it really tastes like peanut butter. I see that it only has 45 calories a serving.

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    2. I LOVE peanut butter & almond butter but I realize they are too high in calories to eat everyday. Usually treat myself and have the real deal on race day. The PB2 does not taste as creamy as regular pb. But it's a good substitute. It's drier but definitely tastes like peanuts. I enjoy it on english muffins or also put it in oatmeal. There is a chocolate pb2 which is also tasty.

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    3. I may have to try this someday. I wish the stores would have a sample station of it before I actually buy it.

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  5. Our kids are really into games as well, and we (parents) need to have some strategy involved! Some of our favorites are Sleeping Queens (card game), Blokus, Minotaurus (Lego), and Mexican Train (our newest fave - a take on dominoes). My kids are 9 and 6, so you have an idea of age ranges. They have some games that we really don't like, but any game is better than watching tv or playing video games! : )

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  6. Where are you going to be spectating on the course so I can look for you?

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    Replies
    1. Right now, I'm thinking just after you come out of the tunnel, and again at mile 19, before you go onto Belle Isle. Make sure you say hi if you see me! :)

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  7. Your kitchen safe arrived!!! So exciting - I can't wait to get mine. Love the sweatshirt by the way =)

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  8. Oooh, I love apple pears! I didn't know they were the same as asian pears. Cool. Also, I'm going to have to look for that beer. 2pp is awesome!

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  9. I'll keep my eye out for you on the course, great shirt!!

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  10. Cute shirt idea! Also, I agree about the Chapsticks. The Red Velvet doesn't do much for me but the Cake Batter is awesome!

    I may have to try those pears now too!

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  11. I've finally caught up! I had been a bit behind on your blog (though I kinda love it when that happens, because then I can just spend a week solid catching up!), but I finally have caught up to you! So happy for you and your marathon training and success, as always, you keep me motivated! I love your shirt for this weekend, can't wait to hear how it goes.

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  12. So...I showed my husband the picture of your kitchen safe. I told him I should get one and put my Doritos in it. Any flavor...doesn't matter. That stuff is my crack. I can't have it in the house b/c I'll take the whole bag and eat it.

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  13. I was just visiting my sister and nephews this past weekend (they are 6 and 11) and we played the game "Spot It". It's available at a decent price on Amazon and it was a lot of fun! It's clever and good for all ages if you're looking for a fun game. Plus you get to yell out stuff so that's fun!

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