Food on Fridays: Not Cooking

July 31, 2009 By 12 Comments

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(alternative button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can write about Food, Inc. or make a list of things we eat that may or may not be food (I wonder about Cheetos and the powder used to make boxed mac-n-cheese).

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

UPDATE: Click on Mr. Linky and visit the links provided–lots of participants this time around, and I can’t get in and update this by hand. Enjoy!

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Food on Fridays Participants

  1. At Home ‘n About (No Chef’s Hat Required)
  2. Heart ‘n Soul Cooking (Think Pink Drink)
  3. Prudent and Practical (Homemade Applesauce)
  4. Premeditated Leftovers (Nutty Broccoli Salad)
  5. My Country Haven (Cloud-Like Pancakes)
  6. Kitchen Stewardship (Healthy Fruit Pizza)
  7. Newlyweds! (Milan Cookies)
  8. Feels Like Home (Cool Cucumber Salsa)
  9. Hoosier Homemade (Chocolate Zucchini Cake)
  10. Unfinished Mom (Turkish Hats — Cookies)
  11. Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures (Fun and Frugal Dessert for Kids)
  12. Trish Southard (Sashimi “No Cooking Allowed”)
  13. Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free (Finding Balance with Food)
  14. My Practically Perfect Life (Campfire — 3 Ways to Cook Strata)
  15. Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker (Tomato Herb Pasta)
  16. Mom Trends (White Sangria)
  17. Cook with Sara (Fruit Crisp)
  18. Passionate Homemaking … Becoming P31 (Espresso Chocolate Chip Cookies)
  19. Girls to Grow (Diane’s Pasta Salad)
  20. Outward Expression (Easy Apricot Jam)
  21. Hopeannfaith (Healthiest Teas)
  22. Foodophiles (Thai Peanut Noodles)

Food on Fridays with Ann

Because I launched a blog carnival with a food theme, you might have assumed that I love all things related to the kitchen. Oddly, I do not.

What happened was that I reflected on many of my blog posts and realized that I frequently wrote about agriculture and grocery stores; shared simple and easy recipes that even a culinary klutz like I could pull off; and raved about specific items such as Nutella or crepes.

One day I realized that these posts could all loosely be grouped under the umbrella of “food” and decided to save those kinds of posts for Fridays in order to capitalize on alliteration.

And voila! Food on Fridays was born.

And that explains why Ann Kroeker, who is neither chef nor foodie, hosts a food carnival.

And that also might help you understand why someone who hosts a food carnival is thrilled about not cooking for about a week.

I mentioned already in an earlier post that we are at Family Camp this week. We started coming here several years ago when I was looking for a beautiful place to camp where I wouldn’t have to cook. This fit the bill.

The property is on Lake Huron.

And I don’t have to cook.

But the week is over and we’re leaving. My days of not cooking have just about come to an end.

I never got a good food photo, though. So I’ll just leave you with a moment on the lake. Instead of cooking, I was on a kayak with the Belgian Wonder, startling waterfowl.

canadageese

(a slightly smaller Food on Fridays button)

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Don’t miss a word:

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Filed Under: family, Food, Food on Fridays, simplicity, slowing, travel

July 2009 Mega Memory Month: Final Projects

July 30, 2009 By 1 Comment

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It’s July 31st.

July 2009 Mega Memory Month is coming to a close.

You can leave a link to your final project right now; or you may wish to link up tomorrow, because technically you do have until midnight July 31st to finish up. You might as well make the most of it!

I hope you’ve had some success tucking a few stanzas of a song or lines from a poem into your head. Even if you weren’t able to complete your project, perhaps you absorbed some truth from Scripture if you chose a passage from the Bible to memorize.

Hopefully you were able to stretch yourself a little, expand your memory capacity, and enjoy sharing your projects with friends and family.

Now it’s time to wrap things up. As always, I encourage a final project to celebrate how far you’ve come. Create something to commemorate your own Mega Memory work!

Post your links, summaries, and final thoughts in the comments … people can visit from there (I’m very sorry, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get Mr. Linky up in time).

Ann’s MMM Final Project

Here at family camp, I’m fortunate to have any Internet access at all. What I do have is limited, however, so I’m unable to upload any audio or video.

Therefore, I’m going low-tech on my final project.

I’m just typing it out. (Sorry to be so uninspired.)

I’ll add color, though, to jazz it up. This time, red does not indicate a mess-up.

The Road Not Taken, by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair

And having perhaps the better claim

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that, the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I saved the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Philippians 2:1-11

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God

something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself and became obedient to death–

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.

Psalm 121

I lift up my eyes to the hills–

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip–

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you–

The LORD is your shade at your right hand;

The sun will not harm you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm—

he will watch over your life.

The LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

Thank you for joining me throughout Mega Memory Month!

Our minds can hold more than we think they can.

Don’t miss a word:

Subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Enter the “Name That Boy” contest for a chance to win

a copy of Not So Fast

Filed Under: lifelong learning, mega memory month, memorization, mind, MMM, slowing

"Name That Boy" Book Giveaway Contest

July 28, 2009 By

You’ve seen the cute boy on the book cover loaded down with activities, right?

If not, here he is:

nsfcoverartcropped

People frequently ask me if that boy is “The Boy”; that is, my son.

I’d like to clear things up here and now:

Nope. He’s not my son. He’s not “The Boy.”

The Not So Fast boy is, however, going to be a big part of my life. He’ll travel with me to various speaking events. He’ll grace the blog and might be projected onto screens during PowerPoint presentations. His face will be associated with my name for some time.

I feel that I should get to know the little guy. We need to bond.

So I decided to name him.

Here’s where you come in!

Enter the “Name That Boy!” contest: Win a copy of Not So Fast!

UPDATED: Time’s up for entering the contest. The winner of the random drawing will be announced soon!

Yes, that’s right … Help name the Not So Fast boy and win a book (maybe two!).

Two ways to win:

  1. Suggest a name in the comments to be entered in a drawing—you can suggest more than one name in your comment, but one person is one entry whether you suggest one name for the boy or five (multiple comments by the same person will be considered one). Submit your suggested name until 9:00 Monday morning, August 3.Winner #1 will be selected randomly from those who submitted names.
  2. Another way to win a copy of Not So Fast:  I’ll narrow down name suggestions and set up a vote. Vote for the name you think best fits the Not So Fast boy. The person who contributed the winning name will also receive a book!

That’s it.

Now, take a long look at the boy.

What do you think? What should we name him?

Don’t miss a word:

Subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

July 2009 MMM is almost over:

Watch for Final Mega Memory Month Projects on July 31.

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Filed Under: books, change, children, writer, writers, writing Tagged With: ,

July 2009 MMM Progress Report #4

July 27, 2009 By 3 Comments

mmmprogressreports

July 2009 is Mega Memory Month. Here we are at Progress Report #4.

(Progress Report #1)

(Progress Report #2)

(Progress Report #3)

How’s it going?

  • Use Mr. Linky to connect your progress report to this master list. If I have time, I’ll swing back by and edit the post to make the links more prominent.
  • Non-bloggers and those who don’t want to dedicate an entire post to memory work, feel free to offer your progress report in the comments.

Mega Memory Month Participants’ Progress Reports

  1. Hopeannfaith

This is the last official Progress Report for July 2009 Mega Memory Month.

There are just a few days left to finish the month. We have until Friday, July 31, and then … time’s up.

So, how are you doing? Are you plugging away at your selections and getting some of it solidified?

Maybe you’ve tried a variety of techniques, or perhaps you’ve stuck with a tried-and-true method. This week, as I wind things down for Mega Memory Month, I’ve simply been repeating the three main passages. They came together fairly well. My main problem section is toward the end of Psalm 121.

Ann’s Progress Report

Here at family camp, I went over Philippians 2:1-11 while in a kayak, paddling slowly through the clear, cold water as the beauty of that passage flowed through my mind and out of my mouth for the benefit of a few gulls and perhaps a quiet camper who was sitting in a folding chair looking like he was enjoying solitude.

I repeated Psalm 121 while hiking in the quiet, mossy woods, asking the Belgian Wonder and The Boy to listen. We walked holding hands. In front of us, a family friend was listening in. When I said, “He will not let your foot slip,” he fake-stumbled over a root.

In that same woods, I reviewed Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken,” and when I came to a place on the hike where two roads diverged, I couldn’t resist snapping a photo.

tworoadsdiverged

(That’s not the entire poem, of course. I just stopped typing when I ran out of space.)

After dinner, I mentioned to a friend of mine that I was working on memorizing “The Road Not Taken.” She started up immediately with “Two roads diverged in a yellow wood…” and proceeded to recite the entire poem through perfectly. She already knew it.

That’s what I want. I want these poems and passages of Scripture to be imbedded in me so deeply and become such a part of me that the words, ideas, thoughts, poetry, and truth can flow out effortlessly.

Be sure to share your struggles, successes, and the tips and techniques that have most benefited your memory work this month.

And if you feel motivated to share a final project, I encourage everyone participating to post something to commemorate their July 2009 Mega Memory Month project. We’ll do that on Friday, July 31.

For your project, you could:

  • Create a YouTube video of you reciting your memory work
  • Type it out in the post itself
  • Write it out and photograph the handwritten version
  • Draw or paint something artistic to accompany the words
  • Type it out 140 characters at a time on Twitter as a series of tweets
  • Make a PowerPoint slide show and upload it somewhere on the Web.

I don’t know how to do all those things, but I think they can be done. Showcase your technological know-how as you showcase your memory work!

(Mr. Linky may not allow me to have two different carnivals on one day, so I’ll have to give Food on Fridays that technology. We can leave links to people’s projects in the comments.)

I hope you’re discovering that …

Our minds can hold more than we think they can.

(much smaller alternative button)

mmmprogressreports

Don’t miss a word:

Subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

July 2009 MMM is almost over

Watch for Final Mega Memory Month Projects on July 31

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Filed Under: creativity, lifelong learning, mega memory month, memorization, mind, MMM, self-discovery, simplicity

Make-Do Mondays: Slow Setting for a Slow-Down Book

July 26, 2009 By 7 Comments

makedomondays

see below for alternative button

At Make-Do Mondays, we discuss how we’re simplifying, downsizing, repurposing, buying used, and using what we’ve got.

It’s a carnival celebrating creative problem-solving, contentment, patience and ingenuity. To participate, share your own make-do solution in the comments or write up a Make-Do Mondays post at your blog, then return here to link via Mr. Linky. Enjoy others’ ideas by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking on people’s names.

Here’s a mini-tutorial on Mr. Linky:

Click on the icon and a separate page will pop up. Type in your blog name and paste in the url of your new Make-Do Mondays post. Click enter and it should be live. If it doesn’t work, just include the link in the comments.

To visit people’s posts or check that yours worked, click on Mr. Linky and when the page comes up, click on a name. You should be taken right to the page provided.

Make-Do Mondays Participants

  1. Gravity of Motion (My Time)
  2. My Practically Perfect Life (Impromptu Cake Plans)
  3. Sunnydaytodaymama (More toy storage in a small space)
  4. Feels Like Home (kid sushi)
  5. Rancho Ruperto (Squash Plea)

Make-Do Mondays with Ann

This is a big week. Saturday marks the official release date of my book, Not So Fast: Slow-Down Solutions for Frenzied Families.

August 1, 2009.

It’s a date I’ve looked forward to for two years.

So where will I be on this momentous occasion?

Finishing up family camp.

We’re at a simple, low-tech, minimally programmed (no speakers, no big events, no concerts) family camp that is the epitome of relaxation. We are in the slowest of slow zones here.

This includes Internet access. Slow, slow, slow.

What the camp provides are things like canoes, kayaks, and small sailboats. We can hike through the woods. We can sit on Adirondack chairs in front of the lodge and stare at Lake Huron. We can read, pray, write, think, reflect, chat, or play cards or Scrabble. There’s a beach for sand castles and a game room with ping-pong, carpet ball, Foosball and pool.

The kitchen staff makes our meals. I’m turning into Pavlov’s dog: when the bell rings, I start to salivate and walk briskly to the dining hall.

This is a place where families know how to slow down. They are, in fact, encouraged to slow down in a space and environment where unplugging and slowing down is possible.

And this is where I am for the release of my book.

With the beauty of technology, slow as it is, I can be with you, too, wherever you are on the world.

And I want to say thanks for sharing this journey with me.

Thank you for listening, reading, thinking, and wondering with me, as I ponder, research, pose questions, seek solutions and commit to my own slower lifestyle.

Today I want to share with you several endorsements for the book. What an honor to have positive words from Lee Strobel, Steve and Misty Arterburn (Misty wrote the foreword, too!), and Mary DeMuth:

nsfendorsement1

Jill Savage, Phyllis Tickle, Mary Farrar, Holly Miller, Susan Alexander Yates…

nsfendorsements2

And Michelle Cox.

nsfendorsements3

Also, I’m delighted to organize a giveaway:  you could be the winner of two copies of Not So Fast. I’ll explain how I’ll be giving them away later this week.

Keep an eye open to join the fun!

As I make-do with incredibly slow Internet access, I wonder…

How do you make do?

Don’t miss a word:

It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Mega Memory Month July 2009 is almost over:

Check in tomorrow for Progress Reports.

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Filed Under: children, family, Make-Do Mondays, Slow Movement, slowing, travel, writer, writers, writing

Food on Fridays: Fields

July 23, 2009 By 15 Comments

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(alternative button below)

Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can just tell us what you’re going to do with all of the zucchini you encounter this summer or rank your favorite kitchen gadgets in order of frequency of use.

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Food on Fridays Participants

  1. At Home ‘n About (Christmas in July Pt. 4)
  2. Stretch Mark Mama (Tossed Greek Salad)
  3. Newlyweds! (Monkey Bread)
  4. Hoosier Homemade (Cotton Candy Cupcakes)
  5. My Country Haven (Baked Potato Soup)
  6. Beauty in the Mundane (Backyard Garden)
  7. My Practically Perfect Life (Burgers on the Campfire)
  8. Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free (Chocolate Cupcakes with Mascarpone Icing)
  9. Glimpse of Sonshine (Chicken Taco Salad)
  10. Sentiments by Denise (Homemade Substitutes)
  11. Momtrends (Baked Flounder)
  12. Cook with Sara (Strawberry Banana Trifle)
  13. Foodophiles (Quick Smothered Chicken in a Pan)
  14. Heart N Soul Cooking (Asian Beef and Noodles)
  15. Prudent and Practical (Classic Oatmeal Bread)
  16. Coping with Frugality (Yellow Cherry Tomato Salsa)

Food on Fridays with Ann

soybeanfield2

Soybeans.

In the distance, corn.

We see a lot of these two crops as we drive out of the subdivision.

Corn and soybeans.

Soybeans and corn.

henhouseview

When people move here from other parts of the country, they are surprised to see how close farms are to the bustling suburban setting. To me, it feels normal.

That’s because I grew up on a small farm. From age eight to 18, I was surrounded by farm fields. When I stepped out the back door, I saw the view you see in the photo just above: a corn or soybean field stretching out behind the unused hen house. I took this photo the other day. As you can see, this years it’s corn.

morecorn

More corn grows beyond the fence—a different view of the same field.

soybeans

Across the street from the house I grew up in, someone is growing soybeans.

Corn and soybeans.

Soybeans and corn.

Did anyone grow something different?

Our neighbors down the road did.

I spent a lot of time at their house. They always had a large garden with lots of produce. Everyone in their large family pitched in to help with harvesting and canning. One time I was invited to help with their potatoes. A few years later, I wrote a poem about it.

I’ll leave you with that poem today, because it’s about food. Kind of.

FIELD HANDS

My father asks me why I’m so dirty.

I say it’s because I played in the field with Becky.

I won’t tell him I worked from two until suppertime

helping pick potatoes with the Hammons in their field.

I won’t tell him how warm and rich the earth was

when Mr. Hammons plowed through, leaving dry ripples

for us to dig our hands in to fish for potatoes.

Or how we picked up six-inch worms and threw them at each other,

while tossing potatoes into ratty bushel baskets.

I like going home with limp hair,

stringy from the summer wind,

and a film of dust on my arms and legs.

When my mom asks me to wash the dishes,

I’ll say I’m too tired.

© 1992 Ann Kroeker

More Friday Carnivals

Is Food on Fridays not fun enough for you?  Not in the mood for food? Check out these other great carnivals!

(a slightly smaller Food on Fridays button)

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Don’t miss a word:

It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Join Mega Memory Month for the month of July!

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Filed Under: Food, Food on Fridays, simplicity

Wordless Wednesday: Midwestern Americana

July 22, 2009 By 10 Comments

haybalebear

(Photo credit goes to my mom, Lynn Hopper,

who snapped a picture of this impressive hay-bale art

not far from where I grew up.)

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

July 2009 MMM Progress Report #3

July 20, 2009 By 2 Comments

mmmprogressreports

July 2009 is Mega Memory Month. Here we are at Progress Report #3.

(Progress Report #1)

(Progress Report #2)

How’s it going?

  • Use Mr. Linky to connect your progress report to this master list. If I have time, I’ll swing back by and edit the post to make the links more prominent.
  • Non-bloggers and those who don’t want to dedicate an entire post to memory work, feel free to offer your progress report in the comments.

Ann’s Progress Report #2

My Jog-My-Memory© method for memorizing-on-the-run is working pretty well!

Thanks to my fairly regular jogging outings, I think I’ve got the main three selections down pretty well. That last psalm is still on hold, however. I’d better schedule a long run soon and focus exclusively on it, or else save it for the next Mega Memory Month.

(If you’re visiting for the first time, my low-tech memorization method is to carry paper printouts of the passages or selections I’m working on as I go for a jog; I then practice while in motion for the duration of the exercise.)

So here goes nothin’ (mistakes crossed out like this or added in red):

The Road Not Taken

by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I saved the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I–

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Philippians 1:1-11

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being united one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,

but made himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

and being made in human likeness.

And being found in appearance as a man,

he humbled himself

and became obedient to death–

even death on a cross!

Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

and gave him the name that is above every name,

That at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents

I lift up my eyes to the hills–

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip–

he who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, he who watches over Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD watches over you–

the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

the sun will not harm you by day

nor the moon by night.

The LORD will keep you from all harm–

he will watch over your life;

The LORD will watch over your coming and going

both now and forevermore.

Whew!

Need ideas and encouragement? Check out additional memory tips, tricks and techniques on this page (when you arrive at the page, scroll down for the tips).

Okay, I’m wondering … how are you doing?

Is your mind holding more than you thought it could?

(much smaller alternative button)

mmmprogressreports

Don’t miss a word:

Subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Join Mega Memory Month for the month of July!

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Filed Under: creativity, exercise, lifelong learning, mega memory month, memorization, mind, MMM, self-discovery, simplicity

Make-Do Mondays: If You Can't Move It, Use It

July 19, 2009 By 3 Comments

makedomondays

see below for alternative button

At Make-Do Mondays, we discuss how we’re simplifying, downsizing, repurposing, buying used, and using what we’ve got.

It’s a carnival celebrating creative problem-solving, contentment, patience and ingenuity. To participate, share your own make-do solution in the comments or write up a Make-Do Mondays post at your blog, then return here to link via Mr. Linky. Enjoy others’ ideas by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking on people’s names.

Here’s a mini-tutorial on Mr. Linky:

Click on the icon and a separate page will pop up. Type in your blog name and paste in the url of your new Make-Do Mondays post. Click enter and it should be live. If it doesn’t work, just include the link in the comments.

To visit people’s posts or check that yours worked, click on Mr. Linky and when the page comes up, click on a name. You should be taken right to the page provided.

Make-Do Mondays Participants

  1. Feels Like Home (Watergate Salad)
  2. Coupons, Deals and More (Apple Brown Betty)
  3. Sunnydaytodaymama (Art display in a small space)
  4. My Practically Perfect Life (Notebook Pockets)

Make-Do Mondays with Ann

Last weekend I bought a desk at our church garage sale. It looks like this (except messier).

We slid the old desk—a long, heavy, solid wood piece—a few feet over to make way for the new one and never really dealt with it.

Over a week later, the old desk is still sitting in the middle of the living room.

Our intention is to set up the old desk in the basement for the Belgian Wonder. But first we need to clear a path. Then we need to ask about seven strong men who can bench press 275 to lug this big beast down there.

So as we wait to begin step one, I decided to just make the most of it. The long, cleared, flat work surface of the old desk has served as an excellent spot to prepare a postcard mailing, organize American Literature materials, and sort through some old magazines.

It’s an eyesore. It’s in the middle of everything. I’d be embarrassed to have visitors squeeze past it.

But I have to admit: it’s been kind of handy.

I figure until we move it, I might as well use it.

How do you make do?

If the main button is too big, try this one:

makedomondays

Don’t miss a word:

It’s easy to subscribe to annkroeker.com updates via email or RSS feed.

Join Mega Memory Month for the month of July!

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Filed Under: change, creativity, frugality, home, Make-Do Mondays

Food on Fridays: Is Less More?

July 16, 2009 By 10 Comments

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Here at the Food on Fridays carnival, any post remotely related to food is welcome. Recipes are enjoyed, but you can just tell us how you take your tea or devote a post to pondering those rhesus monkeys on a restricted diet.

In other words, the Food on Fridays parameters are not at all narrow. I think of it as a virtual pitch-in where everyone brings something to share; even if the content of one item is unrelated to the rest, we sample it all anyway and have a great time.

When your Food on Fridays contribution is ready, just grab the broccoli button (the big one above or the new smaller option at the bottom) to paste at the top of your post and join us through Mr. Linky.

Here’s a Mr. Linky tutorial:

Write up a post, publish, then return here and click on Mr. Linky below. A screen will pop up where you can type in your blog name and paste in the url to your own Food on Fridays post (give us the exact link to your Food on Fridays page, not just the link to your blog).

You can also visit other people’s posts by clicking on Mr. Linky and then clicking participants’ names–you should be taken straight to their posts.

Food on Fridays Participants

  1. Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker (Pizza and Cinnamon Rolls)
  2. At Home ‘n About (Sweet Potato Pie)
  3. Cooking during Stolen Moments (Chicken and Black Bean Filling)
  4. The Finer Things in Life (Kid-Friendly Snacks)
  5. Halala Mama (Cajun Okra Rice)
  6. Glimpse of Sonshine (Moms’ Zucchini Bread)
  7. Inside the White Picket Fence (Universal Berry Muffins)
  8. Feels Like Home (Indonesian Peanut Chicken)
  9. Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free (Heirloom Mint Ice Cream)
  10. Hoosier Homemade (Candy Land Cake)
  11. My Practically Perfect Life (Photos, Bacon Grease)
  12. Cook with Sara (Summer Cucumber Salad)
  13. The Bloom Girls (Ice Cream … for Adults)
  14. Daily Essentials and Deals (Cool and Easy Pie)
  15. Passionate Homemaking … Becoming P31 (Cool and Refreshing Bean Salad)
  16. This Pilgrimage (Scrumptious Oatmeal)
  17. Heart ‘n’ Soul Cooking (Cherry Tomato and Cucumber Salad)
  18. Random Tips (Sugarless Zucchini Chocolate Squares)
  19. Prudent and Practical (Easy Banana Bread and Banana Fertilizer)
  20. Newborn Mom (couscous)
  21. Katie’s Nesting Spot (Fajita & Club Salads)
  22. Runningamuck (Satisfying the Baking Need)

Food on Fridays with Ann

I mentioned those dieting monkeys in the introduction—rather, one is being forced to diet, the other is free to eat whatever he wants. Let’s take a look at those two fellows Canto and Owen again. Click HERE to see the New York Times article with photos.

This BBC article shows some additional close-ups and side shots so you can compare the appearance of the calorie-restricted primate against the other.

What do you think? To be clear, I don’t mean to launch a discussion about the ethics of performing research on animals, but what do you think about the conclusions being drawn from this study and the impact of those conclusions on humans. Is this a way for humans to live … and live longer? By restricting caloric intake?

Roger Cohen poses the question, What’s life for? After an anthropomorphic discussion about the monkeys’ happiness, Cohen (and I’m simplifying the article here) thinks that calorie-restriction may allow us to live longer, but not necessarily free us to live well. We need some laughter to live a rich, relational life, and he argued that the monkey with a restricted diet appeared strained and miserable. The one that could eat whatever he wanted seemed to Cohen a bit wry and laid back, with twinkling eyes.

Plenty of people weighed-in on Cohen’s essay. Over 200 comments last time I looked.

Is less (calories) more (years on earth)? Would you change your diet if you knew for a fact that a restricted diet would extend your lifespan? Or do you already follow this philosophy?

If so, does it enhance your experience or keep you from really living a full, rich life?

Here’s what the Mayo Clinic has to say about a calorie-restriction diet for anti-aging.

For those who want to track calories for calorie restriction or whatever reason, a friend of mine recommends Livestrong.com’s free and well-organized program, The Daily Plate. I’m not using it, so you’ll just have to take my friend’s word for it—or maybe someone can provide a personal testimony in the comments.

Why generate a discussion about life expectancy?

Well, Thursday was the Belgian Wonder’s birthday, so we’re thinking more than usual about health and aging.

Happy birthday to the Belgian Wonder (who, in my opinion, is aging quite nicely)!

More Friday Carnivals

Is Food on Fridays not fun enough for you?  Not in the mood for food? Check out these other great carnivals!

(a slightly smaller Food on Fridays button)

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Filed Under: Food, Food on Fridays