My life or something like it..

I'm a BzzAgent & this is my trial of Maybelline SuperStay 24 lipcolor

2011-03-24T10:49:00.000-07:00

This is at 9am, the beginning of my day

Morning Coffee! Notice there is no lipcolor on my mug :)

This is after eating lunch, without reapplying the lipcolor!

Mid-afternoon caffeine break - again note the lack of lipcolor on my can!

3:30pm on the way to the post office.

The lipstick did stay on well past dinnertime and only needed a reapplication of the lip balm that goes over the color. Unfortunately it was difficult for me to get an accurate picture at night since I was using my cellphone.

The Maybelline SuperStay 24 hour lipcolor is a two part system, one with a lip gloss type applicator and the other half is a lip balm of sorts. I was given this sample because I am a BzzAgent [more on this later] and I agreed to review it. Not only is it an amazing lipcolor, I was pleasantly surprised since it was not sticky and my long hair did not stick to it.

In summary, this is the most amazing lipcolor ever!! It stayed on all day without fail, I've worn it multiple times now and even given away two samples that I received as a BzzAgent! Both my mother and my brother's girlfriend Hollie were pretty amazed at the staying power. I will definitely be using this again and telling everyone I know about it!! :)

First sign of Spring..!

2011-03-07T19:01:00.000-08:00

Pickled Jalapeno Recipe

2010-05-30T19:40:00.000-07:00

People seem to like my pickled jalapenos and a few have asked for my recipe. They grew like weeds in my garden last summer and I had no idea what to do with all of them so I pickled them.

Pickled jalapenos
Makes 3-4 pints

5 cups commercial 5% vinegar (white or cider)
1 cup water
4 teaspoons pickling salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 pounds fresh jalapeno peppers (or yellow banana peppers or pepperoncini)
(3-6 slices from a peeled carrot, optional)
(1/2 slice of onion, optional)

Prepare a boiling water bath for canning and keep hot while you prepare the jars of pickled jalapenos.

Make a brine. Place the vinegar, water, pickling salt, and sugar in a medium (2 quart) non-reactive (stainless or enamel) saucepan or kettle. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, and stir briefly to dissolve the salt and sugar. Cover and keep hot over low heat while you prepare the jalapenos.

Wash the jalapenos and slice 1/4-inch thick; discard the stem ends. If using the carrot and onion, place 1 or 2 pieces of each in the jar. Pack the jalapeno slices into the sterilized pint jars. 2 pounds of jalapenos should make at least 3 pints; pack the jalapenos tightly, but do not crush them.

Ladle the hot brine over the sliced peppers in the sterilized jars. Clean the rim of the jar with a clean towel and place canning lids securely on jars. Process pints in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. Cool and store up to one year.

Original recipe found at:
http://www.examiner.com/x-7709-Seattle-Farmers-Market-Examiner~y2009m8d21-Easy-pickled-jalapeno-recipe-adaptable-to-other-hot-peppers

Garden Update!

2009-08-04T09:03:00.001-07:00

Baking blueberry cake...

2009-06-25T21:33:00.000-07:00

Flour your blueberries and act like they won't sink to the bottom anyway ;)

Never said it was good for you..

Proceed to make egg whites fluffy

Thank goodness for KitchenAid Mixers

Lot more difficult than you think to take pictures and bake..

Measuring..I am not particularly fond of measuring things

Mixer mixer mixer

Sifting flour is a P.I.T.A. but who am I to judge?

Fold in egg whites

Fold in floured blueberries

Is it any wonder why you drink and bake?? [forgive my sloppy html, its late and work tomorrow..meh]

Yummy stuff??

Sprinkle sugar on top for a nice crunch

This many..

For this long...

Oh hell yeah so worth it and delicious!! MMmmmmmmmm :)

2009-06-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

Peas!

More peas..

Strawberries

These will one day be cucumbers and pickles hopefully ;)

Baby cukes

Cherry tomatoes

Blurry green beans

Paste tomatoes

Again with more paste tomatoes

Jalapenos

4th of July flags on our deck :)

Pretty flowers

Our first 'harvest'

Pretty? :)

Garden ♥

My 60 yo father rides a mechanical bull

2009-06-02T11:55:00.001-07:00

At my cousin Laura's college graduation party..

Beginning of Spring

2009-05-28T10:48:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year I started some flowers outside in the front garden area. You can see the pretty purple flowers that I placed in the hanging basket out front. Recently I have moved more flowers into pots on the front steps, last year they turned out really well and overflowed the pots, draping prettily onto the steps, I hope to recreate this again. My tulips and other irises did not come out as well as I had hoped but I'm contributing that to having poured boiling water over ants nests in the front garden to kill all the ants. We have such an ant problem in that area and diatomaceous earth alone was just not doing much at all.