Feed the Hungry

 have such an affection for animals of all kinds. Two summers ago I was staying at my parents house back in Massachusetts and started throwing peanuts to chipmunks out on my back deck. Two weeks and a lot of patience later they now come up in my hand and come by name! I also trained a squirrel, Pansie. Now they come back year after year and bring their babies too! Pansie got ballsy and she now bangs on the sliding glass door until someone brings her peanuts. i know.

I need a dog or somthing.


My video won't embed, so check out my video on Twitvid of Marty the Chipmunk! (Video taken from my mobile phone)

Pansie the Squirrel

One of my Biddies

WHISTLES!

Taken from my mobile phone

Please excuse that horrendous manicure.... or lack there of.

You Can Dance if You Want to, You Can Leave You're Friends Behind

Is participative management the way of the future? In Jim Whitney's class yesterday we brought up the concept of participative management. Ricardo Semler, Chairman of Semco, a Brazillian based company. Basically, he gives employees the ability to dictate their own lives. This concept is also carrying over into  schools. Check out the interview:




Does Freedom hinder our ability to choose?
Columbia Business School Professor Sheena Iyengar had dedicated her life to studying the science behind choice and a human's ability to make decisions. Here is an excerpt from her book taken from her website found here. Check out the website for more information about her, and other reviews of the book. I also read a pretty interesting article about her research in decision making in latest March 2010 Issue of Body+Soul magazine, pick one up and check it out!

 

A Mac store customer asks for the latest iPhone in black, but he sees everyone else buying black and suddenly changes his preference to white. When a resident of a former Communist country is offered a fizzy drink from a wide selection, he picks at random; soda is soda, he says. Though the child knows she shouldn't press the big red button (absolutely not!), she finds her hand inching forward. A young man and woman decide to marry-knowing that the first time they meet will be on their wedding day.
How did these people make their choices? How do any of us make ours? We use choice as a powerful tool to define ourselves and mold our lives, but what do we know about the wants, motivations, biases, and influences that aid or hinder our endeavors?
In The Art of Choosing, Columbia University professor Sheena Iyengar, a leading expert on choice, sets herself the Herculean task of helping us become more effective choosers. She asks fascinating questions: Is the desire for choice innate or created by culture? Why do we sometimes choose against our best interests? How much control do we really have over what we choose? Ultimately, she offers unexpected and profound answers drawn from her award-winning, discipline-spanning research.
Here, you'll learn about the complex relationship between choice and freedom, and why one doesn't always go with the other. You'll see that too much choice can overwhelm us, leading to unpleasant experiences, from ''TIVO guilt'' over unwatched TV programs to confusion about health insurance plans. Perhaps most important, you'll discover how our choices-both mundane and momentous-are shaped by many different forces, visible and invisible. This remarkable book illuminates the joys and challenges of choosing, showing us how we build our lives, one choice at a time.

THE ART OF CHOOSING is published by Twelve, an imprint of Hachette Book Group USA. Its release date is March 1, 2010.

So fresh and so clean clean: Dream Team

My skin has been nothing short of an upset this winter. I have been searching far and wide for a face wash that will take care of my blemished skin and take of my war paint makeup. Nothing has really been that impressive... that is, until now. I found my secret weapon and my skin is living proof.

 

fresh Soy Face Cleanser 

$15 or $38 

Here is a little info from the Sephora website on this fabulous little tube of magic:

Soy Face Cleanser, Fresh's most popular cleanser for all skin types, is an extra gentle, fragrance-free, multi-tasking gel formula that instantly whisks away every day impurities, removes makeup, and is safe to use on the eye area. Safe for use on the eyes, it's face maintenance made easy. Plus, it's soap free and will never leave behind a film or residue.

Second, in my newfound skin regimen  is:

 

Murad Skin Perfecting Lotion  

$33

My skin has been so Dry, I find myself lotioning up three or four times a day to get rid of that tight "my skin is stretched like canvas" feeling - until I found this gem. Using this lotion it is super hydrating (I don't even need my eye cream anymore - saving $22 there, sorry Keihls!) I use this morning and night and my skin has never looked better. I know it says "anti-aging" but when it comes to lotions I don't discriminate. If it works, it works - i don't care if it strictly for AARP members, I'm down. 

Put your best face forward, and remember: You're fabulous.  

Fantastic French Toast

This was another Valentine's Day treat Iwhipped up for my lovely boyfriend, Birdy. Once again I was perusing through allrecipes.com and found a recipe for some French Toast. Of course I altered it because It wouldn't be me if i didn't add a little personal flaire. But I always give credit where credit is due, so if you like you can find the original recipe here. Otherwise, read on...

 

Picture from my Mobile Phone

Batter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 cup half and half
1 pinch salt
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon brown sugar
6-8 slices Challah bread, cut about 1"thick

Optional Ingredients:
Grand Marnier
Irish Cream such at Bailey's or Carolyn's
Kahlua
Bananas and Pecan slices for topping

1. In a dish, i used  a mid sized baking dish for some extra surface area, whisk all ingredients together until thoroughly combined
2. Warm a griddle or a frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes until hot. Spray with PAM cooking spray. * remember to re-spray griddle in between slices *
3. Saturate each slice in the batter and place on frying pan. Cook about 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and crispy on the outside. Serve hot.
4. I topped mine with warmed maple syrup, fresh sliced strawberries, and whipped cream. For garnish sprinkle plate or serving dish with a little powdered sugar. 

This was, by far, the best French toast recipe I have used. The Challah bread added a nice touch because it is a sweet egg bread - very tasty! This would also make and excellent base for a bread pudding, or just sliced into a ramekin dish and topped with ice cream.

Let me know if you try it out
Send me any other delicious recipes you have! I'll try them out and post my reviews!

Guinness Cupcakes

I wanted something to satisfy my beau's sweet tooth this Valentine's Day, So I rifled through Martha Stewart's Cupcake Cookbook and found a fantastic recipe combining two of Birdy's favorite things: sweets and beer. I tweaked the topping a little.... ok, alot... and made these beautiful confections for the object of my affection!

 

taken from my mobile phone

Recipe From: Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat

 

Cupcake Batter

makes 28 cupcakes

3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon plus 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

1 1/4 cups unsulfured molasses

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

2 large whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest(about 2 oranges)

1 1/4 cups stout beer (such as Guinness) Poured and Settled

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line standard muffin tins with paper liners. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg
2. With an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat oil, molasses, brown sugar, whole eggs, yolk, zest, and stout until combined. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, beating until just combined.
3. Divide batter among lined cups, filling each one 3/4 full. Bake, rotating halfway through, about 20 minutes. Turn out cupcakes onto wire racks to cool completely. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.

Martha suggests to glaze the cupcakes in a stout glaze which is 2 cups confectioners sugar, 1/4 cup stout whisked together into a glaze. I made this, tested it and it tasted like Elmer's glue so i nixed that and made up my own frosting out of stuff I already had in house.

Stout Butter Frosting
I made my own adaptation of a butter frosting I found on Allrecipes.com which can be found here. 


1/3 cup butter (5 1/3 tablespoons)
4 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 teaspoon Guinness

1. In an electric mixer use metal whisk to beat butter until fluffy
2. add first 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat with butter
3. Add half and half, vanilla, and stout, followed by remaining sugar

add a tiny splash of either half and half or stout if mixture is too dry. Don't overdo it, or it will become soupy very quickly

I spooned the frosting into a Ziploc bag and cut the bottom corner to form a makeshift pastry bag and piped frosting in swirls ontop of each cupcake. (See picture).

Find Time for Yourself to De-Stress

As a girl trying to do a million things at once, when I have two million things I need to be doing, I easily let things catch up with me. I have a tendency to get overwhelmed, tense, and irritable. I decided NO MORE! I have been taking small steps to promote relaxation, clarity of mind, and calmness in my life. So take a load off and read on.

Wake Up and Hour Earlier

    instead of  hopping immediately in the shower and starting my day off by rushing around to get ready, I wake up, put on a pot of coffee, watch a little TV, or read the latest issue of Seven Days, Cosmo, or Martha Stewart Living. Its nice to ease into the day, rather then having to hit the ground running.

Drink Tea 
    I found some great teas that have ingredients that help promote relaxation. I am also trying to limit my alcohol intake, so I substitute my nightly class of Cabernet for a hot cup of tea. It is just as relaxing after a long day because I found that it is the action of having a special drink at the end of a long day that is relaxing to me and it's not the alcohol. Try these:

Sleepy Time Extra

by Celestial Seasonings

approx $4.00 

 

Om

by Tazo

approx $5.00

Take A Bath 

I have been coming home every Monday night and I start a nice hot bath. Taking time out to pamper yourself once a week is a great way to start off the week, If you do something nice for yourself at the beginning of the week every week, then Mondays don't seem so bad. I light a few candles and turn on Norah Jones Radio on Pandora , and add some stress relief bubble bath.

Aveeno Stress Relief Foaming Bath

Yoga

Try out a yoga class. I have tried a few and the one I enjoyed the most is Bikram Yoga.

"Bikram Yoga is an amazing 90 minute class specifically designed to work every muscle, bone, ligament, tendon, gland, and organ in the body. The room is heated, 95 to 100 degrees to allow for deeper, safer stretching. While improving strength, balance and flexibility, you will re-shape and heal the body and relieve stress and tension."

-Bikram Yoga Burlington

So when you feel like your life is in a constant state of "fast foreward", remember to take some time out of your busy day, let your mind wander, and relax because girl, you're fabulous.