Thursday, January 29, 2009

toxic chemicals found in EVERYTHING

An article just came out today stating that they have detected bit of MERCURY in products that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup. This is just great, because nearly everything we Americans eat contains High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). Some of my favorites- Ketchup, salad dressings and gummi bears. Online, this is the list they give of products that contain mercury:
  • Quaker Oatmeal to Go bars
  • Jack Daniel's Barbecue Sauce
  • Hershey's Chocolate Syrup
  • Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
  • Nutri-Grain Strawberry Cereal Bars
  • Manwich Gold Sloppy Joe
  • Market Pantry Grape Jelly
  • Smucker's Strawberry Jelly
  • Pop-Tarts Frosted Blueberry
  • Hunt's Tomato Ketchup
  • Wish-Bone Western Sweet & Smooth Dressing
  • Coca-Cola Classic: no mercury found on a second test
  • Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt
  • Minute Maid Berry Punch
  • Yoo-hoo Chocolate Drink
  • Nesquik Chocolate Milk
  • Kemps Fat Free Chocolate Milk
Article - http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/news/20090127/mercury-in-high-fructose-corn-syrup

The other great part about this is- they're not telling people to AVOID these foods. Although, the say this in the article:

"Mercury exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and immune system. A form of mercury called methyl mercury is particularly risky to a baby's developing brain and nervous system, according to background information from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)."

Monday, January 26, 2009

sad year

Not sure if you can see the chart to my left (if not, click here....http://money.cnn.com/2009/01/26/news/economy/job_cuts/index.htm), but it lists all the companies that have cut jobs just in 2009! that's one month folks.

I really feel saddened by this. This chart is more than just numbers- each number is a person- many who have families that are counting on them for financial support. Many of those people will not be able to easily find work. Many of those people who will be stuck in a major financial crisis because of this economy. I am just astounded by the numbers. Just today, "Bloody Monday," as CNN.com is calling it, SIX companies have announced HUGE job cuts- Pfizer is cutting 10% of their staff, CAT (construction company) is cutting 20,000 jobs, Sprint is cutting 8,000 jobs, Home Depot is closing their EXPO Design Center stores which will cut 7,000 people and Deere & Co. (John Deere, that is) is cutting around 700 employees.

The numbers are astounding. What is going on? What can we do?

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

mega nachos

When thinking about a post for today, I was thinking about what I had for dinner last night. Josh and I are "taco night" experts. We usually make them once a week. It's been our little tradition from the beginning. We can do the whole mean in about 10 minutes- the time it takes to cook the meat. Now, our little taco night has branched off into something we call "Mega Nachos." As the nacho fan that I am, we would always use our leftover taco meat later on in the night to make nachos. Yes, later on, meaning at midnight, we would usually make this. Now, it's a meal in and of itself. SO, here is what it consists of....

MEGA NACHOS

1. Spray baking sheet with a small bit of PAM Spray. Line a bunch of chips (meaning maybe 20-30) on a baking sheet.

2. Preheat oven to, oh, let's say...400 degrees.

Now, you can really come up with your own version, but really, it is everything we use to make tacos plus a little more.

3. Top the chips with-
- ground beef (already cooked)
- black beans (already cooked)
- cheese

PUT IN OVEN UNTIL THE CHEESE MELTS.

THEN- This is where the "mega" part comes in...

4. TOP THE NACHOS WITH...
-lettuce
-tomato
-taco sauce (the kind in the glass jar)
-lots of dollops of sour cream
-guacamole
-refried beans (if you want)

AND there you have it folks. Mega Nachos. A tasty, easy treat!!!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

not an intellectual blog



Because this is no intellectual blog, I have decided not to get into my political views here or talk about Obama and the inauguration. I will just simply say that Obama became the 44th President today and it's a wonderful new start for this country. A very exciting day for a lot of people; A lot of excitement in the air. Above are two of my favorite images from the millions that were captured today.

Saturday, January 17, 2009




The Polaroid apparently is no longer in production, which is sad, because it's such a classic form of photograpghy and I love it. Well, now they have a downloadable software for your computer that you can turn all your digital pictures into a Polaroid image. So cool. It's not a real Polaroid, but it makes your photos look like one. I am obsessed.

www.polaroid.net

Saturday, January 10, 2009

movies i must see....

So, I always have an ongoing list of movies I want to see. I don't go to movies very often, which is sad, because I love seeing movies at the theater. Here is what I need to see (DVD and in theaters)

  • Slumdog Millionaire (considered one of the top movies of 2008)
  • Milk (Sean Penn)
  • Flow (a documentary on our use of water...)
  • Righteous Kill (DVD) (DeNiro and Pacino)
  • What Just Happened (DeNiro)
  • He's Just Not That Into You (Aniston, Barrymore, Affleck, Johansson, Jennifer Connely, etc.)
  • Burn This After Reading (DVD) (Pitt, Clooney)
  • The Changeling (Jolie)
  • State of Play (not out yet) (CIA movie with Russell Crowe, Affleck, Rachel McAdams)
  • Earth- (not out until next Earth Day)

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

this years color

I have always heard about there being color trends in the fashion world. 2008 was apparently the year of deep purple. 2007, I think, was yellow and so on. I don't know what it is, but my tastes for certain colors change drastically form year to year, like fashion. My all time favorite color is yellow. That will always stand. BUT, in terms of a year to year thing, this year has been all about GREEN for me. I love it- lime green, chartreuse, pastel green. Not hunter green- only bright green. Something about it can be so funky and yet so preppy too. It is such a Spring color- grass, earth, etc., but lately, I am drawn to it. I found myself designing tons of cards this year that were all green. It was kind of becoming a problem.

Before all this, I was obsessed with gray- mostly in terms of fashion- a gray t-shirt, gray scarves...just gray. It seemed right and before that, the yellow craze took me, and before that I remember my hot pink phase. I was obsessed with pink for a long time and I still am. I bought pink everything- pink iPOD, pink phone, pink clothes, pink gloves, etc. My card company's main colors are light pink and espresso brown. But one day I just wasn't in to pink as much anymore.


I don't know why, but I just love color. Does it mean anything that I used to be a pink fan and now I am a green fan? Does it say anything about society when certain colors occupy a majority of the clothes that are sold that year. I don't know what 2009 has in store as far as color. I do know that color does not go out of style. Yes, black will always be fashionable, but what distinguishes one person from the next is color. So, for now I will wear my green rain boots with my green jacket and my new green purse...