Thursday, February 24, 2011

Time for Tea! Product Review: Libre Organic Ming Mei Green Tea

Earlier this month, I told you about some of my tea faves.  Libre was so happy with my review of their product that they sent me some of their new green tea.  (Yes, I know they were just trying to get me addicted to another one of their products.  But, hey, it's free!)

Here's my immediate reaction that I shared on Libre's facebook page: I got my Organic Ming Mei green tea in the mail yesterday. I just brewed my first cup. It is DELICIOUS! It's fruity and earthy. It tastes a little bit of soy. Yummy!




When I poured the water into my Libre glass n poly original tea glass, the tea slowly rose to the top, piece by piece.  It was kinda whimsical.

It seemed like it took forever to brew, but it turns out it's just a pallid green tea.  That does NOT mean it has pale flavor.  The more I drink this tea, the more I like it.  I know that fruity and soy don't sound like they'd be the best combination, but they will surprise your palate.  Really, the fruit is first, then you taste the earthiness, and you finish with the soy.  The earthiness lends itself well to both the fruit and soy flavors.

Thankful Thursday: Late Winter Snow


We were maybe going to get a possibly heavy winter storm, but as nighttime came without a hint of snow, everyone gave up on the meteorologists' best guess.  That didn't stop me...

...from peeking out the window at 5:30am, running downstairs to get my camera, standing at the open back door in my pjs to take pictures of the back yard, then running back upstairs with my camera to take pictures of the view from the aforementioned window.

When Mike's alarm went off at 6:45am, it was snowing again.

Ellie woke up to a winter wonderland.


So we went outside...

...and walked...

...and discovered that snow, like the tears that followed this discovery, is wet.

Then it began to snow...a lot.

Then the sun came out.

Everything glistened.

People in the neighborhood laughed at me, wielding my camera, like the silly Arizonan who's never seen snow.  Apparently they've failed to notice that I'm always wielding my camera.

Most of the snow was untouched, just for us.


Thank God for too much enthusiasm for simple things.  :o)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Felt Board Food

After being served some mighty chewy dinosaurs repeatedly over the last few days...


...I decided to cook up something more appetizing for Ellie's pretend play.  In a half hour, I whipped up some tasty pizza and a few chocolate chip cookies.  I apologize for the poor quality of the pictures; I had small hands quickly advancing on my handiwork.


Pineapple, cheese, sausage, onions, bell peppers and olives


This is why three-year-olds don't make pizza

She's baking it in her "oven"
She spent all afternoon playing with it...toppings on...bake...toppings off...toppings on...bake...toppings off...

She wasn't impressed by my cookies, but I think they're cute

Wordless Wednesday: Fire Station Back Lot

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day!

Well, my house doesn't quite look like Hallmark threw up in it, which disappoints me.  ;o)  Ellie and Mikey appreciated my hard work.

I took toys they already had and put special Valentine's Day clothes on them

 
I put up a heart curtain while Ellie was sleeping

\
It was a hit

"My own placemat!"
(Never mind that she does, in fact, have her own placemat with "Ellie" on it)




He couldn't wait to put on that headband!

Saturday, February 12, 2011

New Toy: Round Loom

I am a sucker for looms.  Ever since I was little, making hundreds of nylon-loop potholders, I have loved looms.  I'm not very good with looms, but I don't have much chance to use them.  Still, when I find a cheap one, I can't pass it up.  I used a 50% off coupon to acquire this bad boy for $3.50.


So far I've just used the included directions for baby doll hats.  I've made two.  I love them.  The closure on the first one is messy, and the closure on the second one is open, but the hats serve their purpose.







Ellie's Treasure Box

Thanks to my mom and Caillou, Ellie is obsessed with collecting treasures.  Note: Treasures typically include rocks (big surprise...that's a genetic mandate), leaves, pine cones, pine needles, sticks, mulch and garbage.  Yes, garbage.  We do our best to sift through these things and retain only those that can be cleaned or came from a familiar source.  Still, we don't exactly want these things on the kitchen counter or the floor, which is where they inevitably end up.  I've thought of creating a display box, but I don't think Ellie's quite up to leaving her things on display.

I decided she needed a treasure box.  I was envisioning some sort of lunch box, and JoAnn had a few cute ones that just needed some stickers.  I wanted to let Ellie pick, though, and she chose a wooden treasure chest.  I didn't even tell her that's what it was called.  She grabbed it and held it tight.  So...the next step was paint.  Ellie chose Indian Turquoise, which matches her room perfectly.  This kid has an eye for color; this isn't the first time she's chosen a color in the palette of her room.  We set out to find a wood piece to attach, but they were all too large.  I was going to put her name on it, but they were out of "L."  I decided to check out the buttons.  Ellie picked some rhinestones, again in the colors of her room.  I also found some felt butterfly stickers that matched, so I grabbed them.

Ellie helped me paint, peeled the butterfly stickers and applied glue to the rhinestones.  She also insisted we put some rhinestones on the back.  Admittedly, I did not paint the bottom, mostly because I didn't want turquoise paint chipping off everywhere.  I'm happy with the results, and Ellie is thrilled.