Organic Bouquet review

This is a little late, but I wanted to get the information out there anyway.  For years, I had been using Martha Stewart Flowers for all my flower-giving needs, and I was quite happy with their service.  They were a bit pricey, but you always got really nice stuff.  Unfortunately, Martha Stewart Flowers decided to pair up with 1-800-Flowers, and since then their quality and selection seem to have gone downhill while their prices have gone up.  At least, that's been my experience.  

So, I needed to find a new provider, and I had been considering trying Organic Bouquet for quite some time, but I was worried because I had never used them before and I didn't know what the quality would be.  You always feel bad making somebody your guinea pig when it comes to flowers.  A Mother's Day card that reads, "Happy Mother's Day!  Hope these flowers aren't crap!" isn't really what you want to send...but that's more or less what I did.  I sent my mom flowers and then called her on Mother's Day to tell her that I had decided to try a new flower vendor and that I hoped everything was OK, but to please let me know if the quality was not up to par (and to tell her Happy Mother's Day).  That's fair, right?  

So, my mom took these pictures when her flowers arrived, and as you can see, they look great!  I am totally happy with them, and I will be using them for all my future flower needs.  (The vase was not included; it belongs to my mom.) 

For the record, I ordered the Spring Sunflower Bouquet, and I think the actual bouquet turned out even better than the one pictured on the site.       

I'm such an ingrate.

Actually, I'm not. I just act like it sometimes. You know how sometimes you receive a really nice gift, but then it takes you a couple months to actually get a thank you note out? It's not that you aren't actually grateful, it's just that it takes you a while to get around to formally acknowledging. Well, this is kind of like that.

So, with that said, I would like to say thank you for all the nice blog awards I've received over the last couple months.

Desert Rose at Desert Rose Booklogue gave me this "lovely" award, acknowledging new blogs and blogging friends that she has discovered.  In passing on this award, I would like to acknowledge the following blogs:

Cake Wrecks-Every day, Jen puts together a collection of cakes whose decorations have gone horribly wrong and presents them for our amusement.  Having decorated my fair share of cakes while we owned our Cold Stone store, I can appreciate how something that seems easy in theory can go terribly awry, but I don't think we ever sent out anything too wrecky.  I was lucky to have a couple very talented decorators on hand, and I oversaw most of the custom orders myself.  Lest you think this is just a mean blog that makes fun of people, it's not.  Every Sunday, Jen also highlights some truly beautiful cakes so that we can see what these things should look like. 

Journey to the Center-Following the death of her husband last year, Bev Wigney, who describes herself as a naturalist-photographer-writer, began traveling around the U.S. with her dog, Sabrina.  At Journey to the Center she shares her photos and observations.  The pictures are beautiful, and her writing is thoughtful and serene.

The Amazing Life-Grace and Bradley have a home in Cape Cod but spend a lot of their time living in Taipei and traveling around the world.  Their blog showcases their amazing life in pictures.

Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise bestowed this lovely Splash award upon me.  The rules are simple:

1.  Put the logo on your blog/post

2.  Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you.

3.  Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.

4.  Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.

5.  Remember to link to the person from whom you received your Splash award.

Hmmm...blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you?  Well, I think all of the blogs I already mentioned manage to do just that, so they all get this award too.  Just for good measure, I will add another blog that amuses me.

Who's More Awesome-This blog takes two hypothetical opponents (the most recent match up:  Sasquatch Vs. The Abominable Snowman) and pits them against each other to see who's more awesome.  The categories of competition are always the same-Wine Tasting, Fighting, Racing, Chess, Pie Eating, Swimsuit and Archery.  You might wonder how points are awarded in categories such as these with competitors such as those.  Well, head on over to check it out, but just so you're warned there is some language and some match ups that aren't exactly family- friendly.  

And finally:

The Super Comments Award came to me from Jeanne at Necromancy Never Pays (have I mentioned-one of the best blog names ever!).  I know we all love to get comments (at least I do! I know Jeanne does too, so stop by and tell her hi) and sometimes it's one more thing at the end of the day to go around and try to leave comments on others' blogs, so knowing that someone took the time to stop by my blog and leave a comment always makes me happy.  So, this award goes out to all of you who have ever stopped by to leave me a comment!  Thank you to everyone.  I appreciate that you took the time to stop by and read my blog, and I hope you keep coming back!    

Weekly Geeks 2009-01

From the Weekly Geeks web site:

"In the spirit of the amazing community building that Dewey was so good at, tell us about your favorite blogs, the ones you have bookmarked or subscribe to in your Google Reader, that you visit on a regular basis.  Tell us what it is about these blogs that you love, that inspire or educate you or make you laugh.  Be sure to link to them so we can find them too."

While I enjoy my regular visits to all the wonderful book blogs in my Google Reader-there's always something informative, entertaining, and/or inspirational-I think all of the book bloggers that I follow are pretty well aware of each other, so I am going to take this opportunity to highlight some non-book blogs that I enjoy.

Dealing in Subterfuges was the very first blog I started reading, way back in 2006.  As it turns out, even though Jordan Baker is not a book blogger, the post that turned me on to her was book-related and has great potential for discussion.  Her posts now tend to focus on baseball and recaps of shows like Top Chef and Project Runway, but she throws other stuff in there too.  Also, she cracks me up.

Laurie Perry is the author of the book Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair as well as her blog, Crazy Aunt Purl.  I discovered her when one of my loved-ones was going through a divorce; I was Googling something or other and found Laurie's blog.  She has an entire divorce section on her blog, as she was going through one when she started her blog.  I read through all of those entries, hoping to find something helpful, and I just ended up reading more and more of her blog.  I think the entry that resonated the most with me and with my loved-one was this one...which I can't seem to link to directly.  It's the April 1, 2005 entry in the "d-i-v-o-r-c-e" category which I have managed to link to.  Also, she cracks me up.

Margaret and Helen run a blog by the same name.  These feisty octogenarians sound off on whatever they feel needs sounding off on, though since the election ended, they've been pretty quiet.  Whether it's Thanksgiving etiquette, breast feeding, or the presidential candidates, you can be sure they won't hold back on their opinions.  Also, they crack me up.  (Hmmm, are you seeing a trend here?)

Walking the Amazon Blog is one man's record of his journey from one end of the Amazon to the other in an effort to promote environmental awareness and educate people about the Amazon and the people and animals who live there.  Ed Stafford began his journey in April, 2008, and is currently in Peru, approximately 1/3 of the way through his adventure.  You can follow Ed's progress on this map.  His traveling partner Luke left the expedition unexpectedly about 3 months into their travels.  Ed has guides and other support team members in place, so he is not traveling alone, but it was still a definite morale buster.  He is soldiering on though, and between demonic donkeys, villagers who fear that Ed might eat their babies, and wasp attacks, it's always an interesting journey. Also, I think he would really appreciate any encouraging words anyone could send his way.     

And, finally, Upside Down Dogs is a collection of pictures of dogs lying on their backs with their faces all squished up and looking silly.  They add new pictures on a regular basis; it's quick, there's not much to read, and it will brighten up your day.  Also, this may come as a surprise, but those dogs crack me up.   

Young @ Heart

My husband and I watched this movie this weekend, and we loved it!  I figured after my last downer post, I would give you something uplifting.  Some of these people probably lived through the Depression and/or the Dust Bowl, and look how well they turned out!

I'm not gonna lie to you, there's some heart break in this movie, but ultimately it is fun and uplifting.  I would encourage you to check out the Young at Heart Chorus at their web site and support them in any way you can.  They are a non-profit, and what a great organization!  

Ever have one of those days...

...where all you want is to come across as cool, confident, and just all-around classy when, in reality, you know that all people are getting from you is this?

Yeah.  Me too.

This picture is from one of my favorite new sites, Upside Down Dogs.  Please go check them out-they put up new pictures on a regular basis, and they always crack me up!

"Apple Kuchen" recipe

Bethany over at B&b ex libris is hosting a book giveaway, and I SO NEED THIS BOOK!  I wouldn't normally participate in a cookbook giveaway seeing as how my cupboard is full of cookbooks that I already don't use, but this one sounds different.  The Flavor Bible tells you how to put flavors together to complement one another.  What one flavor can you use to make another flavor really pop?  That's the kind of stuff they talk about in this book.  Bethany's already reviewed it, and she has videos!  So I would recommend going there for more info.  I seem to have the unique ability of being able to throw together a bunch of different flavors that I think will go well together only to find out that they have somehow magically cancelled each other out instead.  I then end up with, say, a soup that has 12 ingredients (11 of which are spices) and absolutely no flavor.  How does this happen?  Hopefully, if Bethany picks me, I will find out!

I received this recipe from a neighbor of ours when I was a little kid.  She was a super cool lady who made costumes for a living, and I always got to go over and try them on.  Talk about playing dress up!  Also, we would have tea and have very grown-up discussions about what had transpired at recess and how my book report was going and...I have no idea, but she managed to keep me entertained, bless her heart.  She must have made this for one of my visits or perhaps for Christmas or something, but either way, it's still one of my favorites.  I hope you enjoy it too!

Apple Kuchen

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 package yellow cake mix

1/2 cup (?) coconut-My recipe says, "1/2 coconut", but I don't think that's right!  Anyway, the coconut is optional, so use whatever you want.  

1 can (20 oz.) pie-sliced apples, well drained OR 4 apples, sliced

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup sour cream

2 egg yolks

Heat oven to 350.

Cut butter into cake mix until crumbly.  Mix in coconut.  Pat mixture lightly in ungreased pan (13"x9"x2") building up edges.  Bake 10 minutes.

Arrange apple slices on warm crust.  Mix sugar and cinnamon.  Sprinkle on apples.  Blend sour cream and egg yolks.  Drizzle over apples (mixture will not completely cover apples).  Bake 25 minutes.  Do not over bake.  Serve warm. 

Notes:  I have never used coconut in this because I don't like coconut.  I have always used fresh apples-I'm not sure how this would be with apple pie filling.  This recipe is already fairly quick and easy, but the apple pie filling would just make it more so.  In regard to how thick to slice the apples...maybe 1/4" slices.  I haven't made this in a really long time, and it seems like the last time I made it I used one of those apple peeler/corer/slicer things and it made really thin slices and then I had way too much apple.  Also, now that I'm thinking about it, 4 apples seems like a lot.  Maybe start with 3, and see how that goes!  According to the recipe card, this serves, "1 if hungry!".  :)  

Do you have any favorite recipes that you have carried with you from childhood?  

Just a word

That's all you get at oneword.com.  You click on the "Go" button, and you get a word.  You then have 60 seconds to write anything you want.  When you are done, you can save what you wrote or not and you can see what other people have written.

I visited this site for the first time the other day and got the word "bulb" which, judging by some of the other writings, is a word that gets assigned fairly often.  Here is what I wrote:

"Bulb.  An idea.  A thought.  A flower in hiding, waiting for the storm to pass, waiting for spring to arrive.  Tiny, compact, full of possibilities.  Illuminating.  Bright light spilling forth onto the world, lighting up the darkness.  Coils, Einstein, oops, Edison."

I like the fact that even though I was writing about three totally different things-a light bulb, a flower bulb, and the lightbulb symbolic of a bright idea, they all kind of go together and are all somewhat interchangeable.  I had my own lightbulb moment as I was writing, and that was kind of cool!  

This is a great little exercise-it's enough to get you thinking and writing, even if it's just a little bit each day, and it's fast enough that you can actually do it every day.  I encourage everyone to go over and check it out.     

P.S.  Thanks to Kuanyin Moi and her Way Khool Sites for pointing out this site.

Thanks to all the Weekly Geeks!

Thanks to all these Weekly Geeks who participated in the First Lines challenge.  I got a lot of my answers from visiting their sites, which are listed below.  Between the 13 of us, we are a fairly well-read bunch, if I do say so myself!  It seems there are still a few books out there that none of us have run across.  As of this writing, I am still missing 32 titles!  Click here to see if you know any of them.

I know a lot of people tried to stop by earlier, and my link was not working, so thanks for trying, and I'm SO SORRY! 

Here is a list of all the people from whom I mooched information.  I appreciate all their help, and I look forward to checking out these sites in more detail sometime in the near future.  I hope I didn't forget anybody, but if I did, please let me know.   

Rachel (Not Another Mom)

Eva (A Striped Armchair)

Ali (Worducopia)

Katherine (A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore...)

Maree (Just Add Books)

Icedream (Reading in Appalachia)

raidergirl3 (an adventure in reading) 

Susan L (Just Books)

melydia (It Never Stops)

Jessi (casual dread)

Joanne (Book Zombie)

Tammy (Tammy's Book Nook)

belleofthebooks (Belle of the Books)

Yasmin (Apooo Bookclub)

Florinda (The Three R's:  Reading, 'Riting, and Randomness)

And, last but not least, a big thanks to Dewey for hosting these Weekly Geeks events.  Please stop by and visit her blog sometime.