I’m cooking healthy this week and in the weeks to come. Allrecipes has a way of veering me off my nutritious-eating-track. There are so many recipes that I want to try, I get excited and go overboard. Then I burn myself out and just don’t want to cook anymore […]

 I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I really love pine nuts. It’s kind of bordering on obsession. Only fueling my obsession is the pine nut shortage going on right now. I started noticing them disappearing from the grocery store a while back. My natural foods department always carried them, […]

 So I’m kind of a cynic when it comes to Valentine’s Day. I always have been. My college roommate and I even dressed in black in protest of the day one year. I’m a little more tolerant of it now since falling in love and getting married to such a […]

  One of my hobbies is making beaded jewelry. Mostly earrings, but I make the occasional necklace too. I started making earrings mostly for myself. I couldn’t find any earrings that were the right length, color, etc. to go with my clothes, so I decided to make my own. I […]

 …..it was the worst of times.” We all know those famous words from Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cities” (image courtesy of Barnes & Noble). Well, I’m happy to report that I have finally read that book. I’m so glad I did. I never had to read it for […]

 Ugh, I’ve been sick the past 5 days. I really hate being sick. This time it was a head cold. Some people don’t let colds faze them too much, but I, however, am knocked off my feet. All I can do is lay on the couch and gaze foggily at […]

  Sorry it’s been a while since my last blog (wow, a whole week!). I went away for the weekend, then was busy working and cleaning the house. Now I’m ready to focus on important things, like blogging. Not that visiting my niece this weekend wasn’t important! I love seeing […]

 “We elves like to stick to the four main food groups: candy, candy canes, candy corns, and syrup.” My favorite quote from one of my favorite movies, “Elf.” I love the flavor of maple. Since I was a kid, one of my all-time favorite foods has been pancakes. Mostly because […]

 That’s the question I’ve been asking myself lately. I’ve been in a cooking and baking lull lately, what with working a lot and trying to cut back on my sugar consumption. So I haven’t had much to blog about lately and it’s given me time to ponder blogging. It’s kind […]

 I went to Iowa State University. Go Cyclones! I knew since tenth grade that I wanted to go to ISU. I fell in love with the campus after visiting on an orchestra trip. However, my parents wanted me to keep my options open, so I also applied to University of […]

 An arctic air mass enveloped the state of Minnesota this week. Thursday’s low was around -15°. Right now in Saint Cloud it is -5°. A lot of Minnesotans thrive on this frigid weather, going ice fishing, snow mobiling and skiing. My husband and I think these people are insane. This […]