Avon anyone?

Anybody have any strong feelings about Avon, good or bad?  I have an appointment with someone next week about becoming an Avon Representative.  I really wanted to go the eco-friendly makeup line route, but alas, I could not find anything that fit the bill in my Interwebs searches.  Avon seems more like a better fit (than Mary Kay or Arbonne) because (as far as I know right now) the start up costs are close to nil.  I just hope there's not a lot of pressure to sell because I want to do this for fun on the side & not worry about making such-n-such amount of sales.

We shall see how it goes!

My winnings

The purse (& pouch) from Miss Prickly came in the mail yesterday.  It came in a homemade envelope; love that.  It's super cute...I've really got to sign up for a sewing class or two.  Oh the things I could make!  I'd have all kinds of bags...and my husband would be thrilled!  ;o)  You can find other things made by her at her Etsy shop.

I luv NM

From Entertainment Weekly:

Jun 24 2010 01:14 PM ET

Val Kilmer apologizes to New Mexico neighbors for disparaging remarks

by Brad Wete

Categories: News

Actor Val Kilmer apologized to his neighbors in New Mexico Wednesday at a San Miguel County Commission meeting in Las Vegas, seven years after making disparaging remarks about his San Miguel, N.M. hometown in an interview in Rolling Stone. (The actor claimed his area was “the homicide capital of the Southwest,” among other insults.) “I hope that you can recognize my deep regret for the impact my comments have had on you, my neighbors, as well as our state,” he read from a prepared statement, according to the Wall Street Journal. “I am, and wish to remain, a contributing member of our community.”
A five-member commission granted Kilmer the permit needed to open his Pecos River Ranch as a bed and breakfast inn to paying guests. (He previously had no community support behind his desire to transform the ranch, thanks to the interview.) It was an unanimous decision. “The county accepted the apology. We hope this is now behind us and we can all live as good neighbors,” said County Attorney Jesus Lopez, who once called Kilmer’s comments “incendiary.”


Personally, I would've said, "Sorry buddy, guess you'll have to move to AZ to open your lousy B&B."

School in the mountains with a Shorelines program?

I'll never quite understand why WCU has a Shorelines program.  Skip to 7:45 to see our own Dr. Young.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

It's my Friday today

Because I took tomorrow off to write the rest of my thesis.  I'm going to the library and everything, so hopefully some progress will be made.

I went to see a Physician's Assistant today.  I'm 28 and haven't had a physical since highschool (plus I had some questions), so I thought I might pay the Health Center a visit.  I received printed information on Irritable Bowel Syndrome (great), a written prescription for Bentyl which relieves muscle spasms in the GI tract.  I'm planning on not relying solely on the medication but altering my diet as well.  Have done it before with some success, but it's difficult maintaining such a restrictive diet.  No dairy?!  HOW COULD I EVER SURVIVE WITHOUT CHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESE?!?!  I will admit, that was me who was eating feta straight out of the package the other day.  And who got goat cheese on top of a cheese pizza today?  Oh yeah, me.  At any rate, back to my story.  I also have an appointment at the Physical Therapists' office on campus on Monday.  Went snowboarding in Canada in January & screwed up my hip.  Hopefully they have some magic exercises for me to do that will cure it (doubt it).  We also determined I don't need to be screened for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.  I'm not showing any major symptoms & even if I had it, it would just be a waiting game anyway.  As far as bloodwork goes, because I didn't know my family history (doh!) she couldn't really suggest anything, but after talking with my mom, a cholesterol check is in order. 

I suppose that's it.  I let you go now that you're sufficiently bored.  Oh!  One more thing.  I started playing one of my husband's PS3 games.  It's actually pretty cool.  It's called Dark somethingorother.  It's like WoW but not lame.  ;oD  A cyber-poke in the rib of my husband who reads my blog.

Seed Bombs

This is the coolest thing ever!

The joys of living in the mountains

We live in the mountains and our house was built in 1987...or thereabouts.  Which means we don't have central heat or air.  We've been using an A/C unit my parents gave me a while ago, but it's only big enough to cool one room & today we caved & bought another unit $$$.  My husband loves that it came with a remote.  He stands at the door, turns it on and off, looks at me, & then smiles.  My boy Capone is scared to death of it.  The beeping isn't dog friendly apparently.  Well, if it means I can sleep at night, then so be it. 

Cooking with Nicole

Between working, working out, & playing intramurals, I really haven't had much time or energy to make dinner when I get home.  Trying to avoid the going out, spending all of our money, & getting large shall we say, I dug through my volumes of cookbooks & recipes and found a Better Homes & Gardens publication with 20 minute meals.  Very first recipe I chose was a winner.  So much of a winner that I'm including it in my blog. 

I've always said, "I'm a good cook, it's the recipes that suck." 

Sesame-Chicken Coleslaw
Start to finish: 15 min.

1/4 cp italian dressing
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/8-1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3 cp packaged shredded cabbage with carrot (coleslaw mix)
2 cp chopped cooked chicken
2 tbsp snipped fresh cilantro
1 head boston lettuce, separated into leaves
1/4 cp slivered almonds, toasted

1. For dressing: In small bowl, combine italian salad dressing, soy sauce, sesame oil, & crushed red pepper; set aside.
2. In large bowl, combine cabbage, chicken, & cilantro.  Drizzle chicken mixture with dressing; toss gently to coat.
3. Line dinner plates with lettuce leaves.  Spoon chicken mixture onto lettuce.  Sprinkle with almonds.  Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Info:
Per Serving:
298 cal
18g total fat (3g sat fat)
68mg chol
457 mg sodium
9g carbo
3g fiber
25g pro

I cut the recipe in half and this was what was left.  I didn't know I'd want to blog about it until after the meal...hence the late to the game picture.  :o) 

I won!

Check out this post at My Inner Old Lady!

Oh...you know...stuff

Photo by David Cappaert @ www.forestryimages.org

Went to a cookout at my boss' place this evening.  Every now & then I realize how much I love living here.  The southern hospitality is unparalleled.  And the lightning bugs.  Come on...who doesn't love lightning bugs??

 Please enjoy these images from my southern garden:

One of my mimosa trees (a non-native) in bloom.  If you look closely you can see Pony has stuck his head in a MASSIVE HOLE THEY DUG!!  :oP

My hydrangea weeping from the heavy blooms.

Well this was rather eye opening

Found via Crafting in a Green World.

No PBR for me!

10 Best Beers on a Budget

One good thing that came outta this

Stress free in the Whee!

It's true.  More physical activity = less stress.  At least for me it does.

Did yoga (outside) during my lunch break.  I felt like I was back in Belize for a split second.

Played sand volleyball with friends tonight.  Yes, I was bummed we lost, but I felt good for having played...felt like I was 15 again.  So cheesy, but it's true. 

And to all my readers: tell your loved ones how much they mean to you...life is not a guarantee.

Song of the Week

Renewed love

The other day I was really craving sushi.  But where does one find sushi in a small town in the mountains of western NC??  Not anywhere that you would trust.  However!  My husband found out a local eatery (one that is trusted) has sushi Wednesdays.  The restaurant is kind of, as they say, "crunchy" and was closing/for sale at one point but has since reopened. 

So guess what we had for dinner tonight.  As we were leaving we stopped by a table where some friends were eating and were promptly told not to forget to get our bookstore stamp.  Huh?  Apparently with every visit (meal?--still not sure) one gets $5 off used books at the bookstore connected (physically) to the restaurant.  Yes please.  Of course we head over there (uh, who could pass up a visit to a bookstore?!) and I find a used copy of Watership Down (I've been craving that too) and my husband gets a new book titled something written by somebody.  What can top it all off??  A FREE tea or coffee at the restaurant by buying a new book.  It just keeps getting better and better.  You can also receive credit at the bookstore by trading in books you no longer want--but let's take this one step at a time.

And I know it's all a ploy to get you to visit more and spend more, but I'll take my little hole in the wall restaurant and my little hole in the wall bookstore to your Barnes & Noble & Starbucks any day.  "Your" as in "The Man"...not you personally. 

It's days like these that I love my little town.

Ping-Pong

I don't know if this is real, but it's hilarious nonetheless.

Weapons of mass destruction

I've been checking my sunflowers everyday.  This is what I came home to today:

Sunflower leaves eaten

If you're thinking, "Wait.  I don't see anything."  Mmhmm.  Precisely.  SOME VARMINT ATE THE LEAVES OFF MY SUNFLOWERS!!  I'm proposing the following critter:

Keep your eyes peeled people!  These guys kick ya when you're down!  And to think, my husband and I were just ooing and awing at a mama & two babies happily strolling up our driveway.  So what do I do?  I put my husband to work!

Putting a fence around the sunflower bed

Not to worry, he owed me for this:

Black spots on beebalm from weed killer

 And this:

Last surviving leaves on mountain mint from bout with weed killer

I shall leave you with a happy ending to this story.  Check these babies out!  They're taller than me!

Michigan Lilies

 And someday soon they will look like this:

Happy day everyone!