Want to go shopping ?

I was browsing Etsy today and found some shops selling items for either B.C.A or D.V.A, these in particular caught my eye

The Booby Benefit Bot, from IttyBittiesForYou
How cute is she, the perfect little companion to sit upon your monitor and keep you company


This T shirt made me giggle, nice to have a little comic relief about something so serious, you can find it here at CarmelTurtle


Well, there's just a small taste of what I found, I have some others that really caught my eye, but the family is yelling at me to get ready for dinner, so I'll post those tomorrow.

Do this for you

A self breast exam is one of the most important things we can do for ourselves. Not sure how to do it ? Here's both a video and a pamphlet showing you how.


Self Breast Exam - video powered by Metacafe

Going pink and purple

For the month of October things will be little different around here.
October is both National Breast Cancer and Domestic Violence Awareness Month and this blog for one month will be dedicated to both.
I want to take this time to raise awareness for both issues, you will read personal testimonies from women who have dealt with one or both of these issues, there will be invaluable information posted about each cause, along with ways in which you can help as well as be helped.
On October 31st I will be posting a tribute page to all of those who have battled the wars of both these diseases, yes I believe Domestic Violence is also a disease, it is a disease of our society and one that needs to be eradicated.
If you have loved ones that you would like to pay tribute to that day then please over the month post their names in the comment boxes and I will compile a list. For privacy or the security of some an alias will be just fine, you know who it is you are honoring and that's what counts.

My Etsy store is also going Pink and Purple for the month of October.
This month 20% of all proceeds from items sold in the "Pink" section will go to the Susan G Komen Foundation.
20% of all proceeds from items sold in the "Purple" section will go to an Art Therapy programme for recovering women and children of Domestic violence http://www.deniseabloomfield.org/

All U.S residents will receive free shipping on these items, international buyers will receive shipping discounts as already noted in the shipping price.

Together we can help make a difference.

FOR SALE

We have just put our house in MN back up on the market, so if you are looking for ( or know of someone looking for ) a 6
bedroom, 2 bathroom house with a huge backyard that backs up to a bike path,has an awesome sunken entertaining deck, nestled in a quiet neighborhood, that will be receiving a ton of snow in the next couple of months, then look no further.
The inside is all freshly painted, the outside is all newly landscaped. We are selling it for an absolute steal.
If you're not looking to buy a house in MN, then please send us all the good luck vibes / prayers that you can muster that this house sells quickly. 2 mortgages and 3 kids who all need new clothes for the Winter is just about crippling us.

Why it rains

Reagan has figured out exactly what it is that makes it pour with rain the way it has been here for the last few days.
It's the Sky Giants. According to Reagan they are walking around and either stub their toes or fall out of bed and then they cry and cry.
When I asked her how she knew about Sky Giants, she just shrugged her shoulders, tipped her head and said "I just know"

Wish those Sky Giants could be a little less clumsy today

So that didn't work

I tried folks, I tried to prolong Summer as much as I could but first off my wonderful husband came home at lunchtime yesterday with a beautiful planter filled with Mums.Does anything scream Fall any louder than seeing Mums sat on peoples porches ? I think not.
Add to that the weather changed drastically today, it's been rainy and windy and chilly, I had to break out the jeans and a sweater today as well as socks and real shoes, ACK !!!!
Sooo because it was an icky cold day it was time to try out a new recipe that to me sounded like the perfect comfort food needed on a day like this, Chicken with Olives.. YUM, even the kids loved it. In case you are in need of a good recipe for Comfort Food here it is, it chases the chills away.

CHICKEN WITH OLIVES

4 Skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Medium onion, sliced
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 15oz can crushed tomatoes
1 5.75oz jar of sliced pitted green olives
1 2.25 can of pitted ripe olives, drained
2 Tbsp Capers, drained
2 Tbsp Finely shredded lemon peel
1 tsp, dried Oregano, crushed
3 Tbsp Snipped fresh Parsley

1) In a large skillet brown chicken in hot oil over medium high heat for 5 mins, turning once. Remove chicken from skillet ; Set aside. Add onions to skillet, cook over medium high heat until lightly browned and tender, add garlic during the last minute of cooking
2)Stir tomaotoes, olives, capers, lemon peel and oregano into onion mixture.Place chicken on tomato mixture. Bring to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer, covered 13 - 15 mins or until chicken is no longerr pink (170 degrees F)

I served this along with buttered egg noodles seasoned w/ lemon pepper.

Welcome to Fall

Well, it's officially the first day of Fall and I have to admit I'm having a hard time getting excited about it, sure the colors and smells of this time of year are wonderful, but it also means colder temps and shorter days are just around the corner. Depsite being born and raised in England I think I was supposed to be a California Girl.
I can't bring myself to change out my planters just yet and I can't go from my lavender and lemon simmer potpourri to apples and cinnamon just yet, so I decided to sew and list a Double oven mitt and kitchen towel set in the shop instead. It's the only way I'm prepared to get into the spirit of Fall right now, for a week or 2 at least.