Momathon Blog

Wordless Wednesday: November Sky

 

Photo of today's warm November morning. Tomorrow the snow rolls in!

Photo by me, Chris Olson.

Juice Safety: The facts on arsenic and lead in apple juice, tips for parents & which brands are safest

Next time you serve juice to your toddler at snack time or pack it in a school lunch box, you might want to make it safer by diluting it with some water. 

Brand new evidence by a Consumer Reports study suggests that a potential danger exists in that innocent-looking juice your family guzzles down by the quart each day. The study by Consumer Reports found higher levels of arsenic and lead in juice than is allowed in drinking water. We all know that juice is not water, but moms across the nation know that kids often crave LOTS of apple juice–polishing off a juice box quickly as if it was water. (The fact so many kids prefer sugary juice over water is another health matter.)

Here are the arsenic and lead stats from the CR study of 88 juice (apple and grape) samples compared to bottled water standards:

• 10 percent of the juice samples had arsenic levels above the federal bottled water standard of 10 parts per billion. 

• 25 percent of samples contained lead at levels above the FDA limit for bottled water of 5 parts per billion. 

• The exact levels of arsenic and lead in specific brands is given below.

 

Custom banners and more at my new Etsy shop

 

     

Hi friends! I opened a new Etsy shop with my friend Carolyn. The new shop is Salt and Paper Designs by on Etsy. We create personalized stationery, business cards, blog banners, Etsy shop banners, avatars, online ad graphics, and more.

My newest item in the shop is Penguin Etsy Shop Banner & Avatar Set featured in the photos. I would love to have you check out our store, and drop a note and tell me what you think.

Want to know what new items we are adding? You can follow our shop on Twitter: @saltnpaperetsy.

 

Opting out of vaccines is a risky numbers game–just ask my son

Parents of school-age kids today probably never witnessed a whooping cough outbreak or the measles because they were lucky enough to have lived in a generation of vaccinated kids. But this luxury of good health could slip away all too quickly as more and more families opt out of routine vaccinations.

If you want to look at the hard facts, the good health of our kids depends on a numbers game. 

Preventing kids (and adults) from getting diseases depends on a statistic: As long as about 90-95% of us vaccinate our kids, our kids are relatively safe according to an Associated Press report. Even the un-vaccinated kids are protected because the vaccinated kids keep the disease numbers down. In simple terms, our kids are healthy due to herd immunity.

Kiss the cook

 

Hope you had a lovely long holiday weekend. Having the kids cook with me in the kitchen always makes the holidays a fun family time. My daughter loves to bake and she surprised me with a delicious Sunday breakfast. So sweet!

If you want to check out my cooking with kids recipes, click on this Momathon recipe link that includes Buttery Holiday Spritz, Mini German Pancakes, Easy Raspberry Tiramisu, Kids' Choice Citrus Cranberry Chicken, and many more kid-friendly recipes.

Bon appetit!

Photo: by me, Chris Olson

 

For Everything Thy Goodness Sends

For each new morning with its light,

For rest and shelter of the night,

For health and food, for love and friends,

For everything Thy goodness sends.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

I am thankful for all of you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

  

(Photos by me, Chris Olson)

Its so Etsy: Snowflake Onesies, Red Christmas Glass and more Holiday Delights

 

Are you using your Etsy iPhone app to shop for the holidays? Just in case you don't have one yet, here are just a few of the many lovely handmade items at Etsy: 

Christmas Glass Fairy Lights red with glass snow by redbrickglass

Snowflake Baby Onesie Dyed Poppy red or custom by CausticThreads

Woodland Folk Reindeer Push Toy for the by prettydreamer on Etsy

Crochet scarf mulberry vermilion red cocoon by violasboutique

Photos: Etsy shop links shown above. 

 

Sweetest Postcard App: Great New Option for Holiday Cards

The new Cartolina Postale iPhone app is a visually beautiful iPhone app that turns screen eye candy into glossy postcards.

Here's the fun part, browse through the lovely design templates (32 styles to choose from) included in the iPhone app. Select the design you like and your customize card by adding your own photograph. The app is free, the fee for printing and mailing one one card is $1.99–a nice price for a custom card that is mailed in the U.S. (To have it mailed anywhere in the world the price is $2.99) The 4x6 cards are printed for you on glossy, heavyweight card stock and mailed directly from the app to anywhere in the world. Delivery times are about 3-7 days in the U.S. 

For more information, Cartolina Postale iPhone app.

(Photo: Cartolina Postale iPhone app via Cartolina)

On my desk today

 

Here is what's "on my desk" today--a collection of items I am using in my illustration and design work. Check back next Friday for another collection.

Photo by me, Chris Olson.

It's so Etsy: New Esty App for the iPhone

If you love handmade crafts and vintage stuff, then the new Etsy app is a must-have app. Fun app features include: amazing photos of popular items in Treasury Lists, search function that almost reads your mind, access to your personal Etsy account, and much more. I just opened a new Etsy shop yesterday with another designer so this app has perfect timing!

My thoughts on the app:

• Easy to use.
• Sleek design.
• Eye candy for crafters.
• Addictive window shopping.

You can watch the clever Etsy video about the new app here.

Photo: Etsy promo photo on Etsy.com.

Food Allergies: Can a Midwest Girl Survive Lactose Intolerance

 

Substituting soy milk for cow's milk does not appeal to me. I'm midwest girl at heart. I love milk. I love love love cheese. Pretty much anything dairy is on my yummy list. So what can a dairy gal do to survive lactose intolerance?

To digest milk your small intestine needs to produce the enzyme lactase to break down the milk sugar into the simpler sugars glucose and galactose lactose. When this doesn't happen, lactose intolerance occurs. And you can develop lactose intolerance during your teen or adult years. According to WebMD: "Lactose intolerance means the body cannot easily digest lactose, a type of natural sugar found in milk and dairy products."

According to the Mayo Clinic, "Most people with lactose intolerance can enjoy some milk products without symptoms." 

That's good news, not only because I love the taste of dairy products, but because milk and other dairy foods provide essential nutrients, such as calcium, vitamins A and D, riboflavin and phosphorus. 

How can you minimize the symptoms of lactose intolerance? Drinking less milk more often works for some people. Or you can try limiting drinking milk to only at meal times because this slows down the digestive process. If you still experience problems, you can try lactose-reduced or lactose-free products. Some people like soy milk, nondairy creamers, or rice milk. I prefer lactose-free milk like Lactaid. 

DIY: Ice blue collage

I created this ice blue collage above thanks to the artistic genius of Idée Labs. Below is a warmer collage with tropical blue hues.

I'll warn you, once you try Idee Labs for collages, you won't be able to stop making them. How does Idee do it? Just pick a color and Idee will use Piximilar visual search technology to extract your color pick from 10 million of the most "interesting" Creative Commons images on Flickr. Check it out!

Thank you to all the service men and women on Veteran's Day

The sunrise today is a fitting tribute to the brave men and women in the military. Thank you for your service to our country! Wishing you all the best on Veteran's Day.

Photo by me, Chris Olson.

On my desk

Have a wonderful Veteran's Day!

Here is what’s on my desk today--a collection of items I am using in my illustration and design work. Check back next Friday for another collection.

Hip and Relevant New Badges as Girl Scouts turns 100!

Girl power is ageless! Girl Scouts is celebrating it's 100th anniversary this week. Keeping up with the changing times, some of the older badges are being retired. According to Boston.com:

"As Girl Scouts of the USA prepares to celebrate its 100th anniversary, the organization has revamped its badge lineup, and some - Looking Your Best, and From Fitness to Fashion, among them - have gotten the ax. Others, such as the cookie badge, made the cut, albeit with makeovers."

My personal faves are the new Voice for Animals, Money Manager and Netiquette badges. Evidently social media is relevant even to this century old organization.

Make a Difference: How you can protect dogs from puppy mill abuse

 

I am writing to you today because I want to give a voice to the thousands of dogs who can't speak for themselves and suffer inhumane treatment in puppy mills each and every day. Sadly, even if you or I witness inhumane conditions at a puppy mill, we could do nothing to stop the cruel treatment unless the current laws change. That's why I am writing this blog post to show you how you can help pass a new law to make the cruel treatment at puppy mills end! Showing your support for these dogs takes less than a minute in just two steps (details below). 

 What's a puppy mill? Close your eyes and picture hundreds and hundreds of dogs kept in small cages at each breeder facility--I think a better word these places are torture chambers. The more dogs each puppy mill can cram into cages, the more money they make selling puppies to pet stores and on the Internet. Hundreds of breeder females accross the United States NEVER leave their cage. Their paws suffer from cuts that won't heal because they walk only on wire cage floors. These females are bred so often and so many times they end up being "discarded" when they don't produce fast enough. (Discarded females are treated like livestock and rarely get a second chance unless they are rescued by an animal rescue group.) The puppies are crammed into the filthy cages that are so crowded they can end up sleeping on top of each other--and on top of their own excrement . And the puppies live 24/7 in these cages without any chance to walk or have social interaction with people. 

This inhumane treatment of dogs does not have to continue! Best Friends Animal Society and thousands of animal lovers across the nation are working to protect animals by showing their support of a new PUPS Bill (H.R. 835: Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety Act). This bill will crack down on the puppy mill offenders who because of a loophole currently operate without any oversight or regulation to protect the pets they sell.

Cooking with Kids: Buttery Holiday Spritz Cookies

The holiday season is starting early at my house this year. I have been craving these buttery cookies for days. This recipe is a perfect cookie to make with kids. Mixing the 5-ingredient dough is a snap. Plus your kids will love using the cookie press to make the cookies.

Buttery Spritz

• 1 cup butter or margarine
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 tsp flavoring (almond or vanilla)
• 2 1/2 cups flour

Heat oven to 400. Mix butter, sugar, egg yolks, and flavoring. Add flour to mixture. Select the cookie press shape you want to use. (Each time you fill the press you can change the cookie press shape.) Using about 1/4 of the dough at a time, force the dough through the cookie press (see the photo below) onto an ungreased baking sheet.

Bake 7-10 minutes--be careful not to overbake. Makes about 6 dozen cookies. 

Photo by me, Chris Olson

On my desk

I am starting a new "on my desk" photo series to be posted each Friday. The photo subjects will vary, but each will feature items I am using in my illustration and design work.  

 

Romantic Prairie Style

 

I will always be a fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Little House on the Prairie series. And maybe that is why I have a fondness for the romantic prairie style decor today. Pair author Fifi O'neill's new book Romantic Prairie Style with a cup of herbal tea and it's a perfect way to warm up on a chilly day. As the publisher says,

"Romantic Prairie Style embraces simple pleasures, comfort, and the long-cherished ideals of natural beauty, simplicity, and harmony with the earth. It's a style that says 'home' wherever you may be because, more than anything else, it's a mindset: gentle but strong, welcoming and lasting, durable yet sophisticated, and, above all, real."

Here are a few of my favorite page spreads that give a glimpse of the lovely book. 

 

Join the Postage Paid Protest: Occupy Wall Street at Home

The Occupy Wall Street movement started on the street, but you can keep the protest going at home. Poet Artie Moffa suggests keeping the banks on Wall Street occupied with their own junk mail. It's easy to do if you get unsolicited credit card offers in the mail. These credit card offers are from the same financial institutions that ruined our economy by speculating on the housing market. 

Inside each irritating credit card offer is a postage-paid envelope for you to return with your credit card application. This is where it gets interesting.

Hello, November

November is all about crisp almost wintry days. Blue skies and flying leaves. And of course, time to gather with family and give thanks. 

What are you thankful for?

(November blog banner by me, Chris Olson)

Remember to Vote Today

 

 

Art by me, Chris Olson.