We Made the News!

Yesterday after we left the hotel, we had to make a few important stops before heading back to NC.  We went to the "strip district" in Pittsburgh where vendors sell everything "Steelers" on the sidewalks.  We wanted to get some Super Bowl gear and a copy of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette before we hit the road.  After buying our stuff, we were headed back to the car when a reporter stopped us and interviewed us about the game and what we had just bought.  Since she was a reporter for the AP, she wasn't sure what paper her article would be in - whoever picked it up.  Well, today we did a Google search and found out her article was picked up by a bunch of papers - New York, Penn., Chicago, US News & World Report, Boston, etc.  She made a few errors in her report - like Sonny's age and the fact that Harrison is not our grandson, but our nephew, but, hey .... we're in the news!!

Here is an excerpt of the article.  If you want to read the whole article, click HERE.

Pittsburgh restaurants and bars were packed on Sunday for hours before and after the game. Bars and clubs in popular sections of the city tacked on a cover charge. One trendy bar began at $5 about an hour after the victory and within minutes had upped the cover to $10. Despite some face-making, wallets opened and people partied.

Sonny Maranich, 60, a native Pittsburgher who drove seven hours from his new home in Mooresville, N.C., for the Super Bowl, spent the last few hours of his weekend in the Strip District, buying everything from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to that one last Hines Ward jersey.

His grandson, 14-year-old Harrison Webb, had already bought his Super Bowl hat the night before and had it perched backward on his head early Monday.

The family stayed in a suburban hotel for the weekend, their second visit to the area in a month; they also journeyed north for the AFC Championship Game in mid-January, when the Steelers secured their spot in the Super Bowl by beating the Baltimore Ravens 23-14.

Maranich paid $50 just to reserve a table in a restaurant to watch the game, and the family had to be there by 3 p.m., giving them three hours to spend money before the game even started.

Maranich's wife, Sharon, 60, was thrilled that she would be driving home with a happy husband and a plastic bag full of new Steelers stuff after an exhausting weekend of football and shopping.

"It was a nail-biter," she said. "My heart can't take it anymore; I'm getting too old for this."

Wish we could have been there today for the PARADE!! (click to  see video)

I promise ..... I'll post some creative work tomorrow!!

Sale-a-bration is here!!

Starting Sunday Feb 1st- March 31st... Sale-a-bration begins.

* Free product/s from the Sale-A-Bration catty for every $50 you spend.

* Host a workshop of at least $300 (before tax and shipping), you'll receive a free Sale-A-Bration reward, in addition to all of the regular hostess benefits! *

*Join the SU family to be a demonstrator, and receive a FREE stamp set of your choice (up to $47.95 value) - not to mention ALL the other perks of being a demo.

AND the Starter Kit is 15% off the regular $199 --that's $335 worth of products for only $169.15 and shipping is included! Substitutions are available to customize the kit a bit.

Contact me to get your freebies!!

We've Got the Six-Pack!

 

Pittsburgh has been called "a drinking town with a football problem," so it's no coincidence it boasts a Super Bowl tradition second to none. The Steelers have brought the Lombardi Trophy back home for the sixth time - surpassing the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers. And as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said earlier this week, fans who have taken to yelling "Six-Pack" at him aren't simply ordering the local brew.  Pittsburgh now has it's Six-Pack!

Contrast that with the Cardinals, whose laid-back fans haven't seen a championship in 61 years and didn't expect to anytime soon. They aren't just happy to be here, but downright surprised.  That wasn't an option for the Steelers.  As if expectations weren't sky-high already, President Barack Obama jumped on the bandwagon and Mike Fincke, who grew up in a suburb of Pittsburgh and is commander of the NASA expedition en route to the international space station, recently took advantage of the gravity-free atmosphere to unfurl his Terrible Towel!

Wow!  Did we have fun.  But my heart can't take too many of these nail-biters.  We were doing so good - leading 20-7 in the fourth quarter, we were all too confident.  Then Kurt Warner and his Cardinals staged a rally to go ahead 23-20 with 2:37 left in the game!  We were all near tears and Marianne was figuring she'd have to find a bus ticket to get back home on Monday.  She did not want to ride back with Sonny if his Steelers lost!  But, Big Ben and Santonio Holmes struck the last blow Sunday night with Holmes' "immaculate reception", and when Warner fumbled in the final seconds, the Cardinals’ dream of winning their first NFL crown since 1947 were gone.

We reserved a table at the Steelhouse the week before ($50!) and had to be there by 3:00 PM to claim our table.  Remember, the game didn't start until 6:30!!  By game time, I would estimate there were close to 1200 people in the place & it was crazy.  I am sure there were some who don't even know when the kick-off was (drank a little too much, maybe!!)  We definitely paced ourselves, plus our waitress's visits were few and far between.  She was also a true blonde & would usually not remember what we had ordered even though she was writing the orders down!  My nephew, Harrison, who is 14 definitely got an education .... since he was missing school on Monday, we did our best!!!  But he had a ball.  He had two jersey's - one for offense and one for defense so he changed them each time the offense and defense were on the field.  Here are some pictures of the night.

Unless you are familiar with Steeler fans, it is hard to describe them to you.  But a few things that really amazed Marianne while she was there ....

• we saw a cop directing traffic with his whistle in his mouth, his billy club in his hand & his Terrible Towel hanging out of his pocket
• we ran into the grocery store on our way to the game and there was not a person in there who wasn't dressed in black and gold PLUS their recycle grocery bags have Steelers stuff on them!
• school was to be delayed 2 hours on Monday morning because of Super Bowl.
• every store we passed had either Steelers merchandise being sold in it or GO STEELERS signs in the windows.
• a lot of stores and restaurants - Subway, Chinese restaurant, drug-stores - were closing at 5 PM so their employees could watch the Super Bowl.

An over-view of one side of the bar/restaurant & the crowd celebrating - standing on the tables and the bar -

All 5 of us decked out in our Steeler garb -

Sonny & Ashley happy with the WIN!!

Coffee Filters

COFFEE FILTERS

Not just for making coffee....
1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in themicrowave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.
2. Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.
3. Protect China. Separate your good dishes by putting a coffee filter between each dish.
4. Filter broken cork from wine? If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.
5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.
6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.
7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.
8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.
9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.
10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot.. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.
11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.1
2. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips ofcoffee filters.
13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. Soaks out all the grease.

Now .... run don't walk to the Dollar Store and buy some coffee filters!!

What Does Lite Really Mean?

There is a standardized definition developed by the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture for every low-this and reduced-that on the food labels.  Below are some of the more common label lingo and the nutritional information that it represents.

• Sugar-free: Contains less than 0.5gm of sugar per serving.
• Calorie-free: Contains fewer than five calories per serving.
• Low-calorie: contains 40 or fewer calories per serving.
• Reduced-calorie:  Contains 25 percent fewer calories than the regular product.
• Fat-free:  contains less than 0.5gm of fat per serving.
• Low-fat: Contains three grams or less of fat per serving.
• Reduced-fat:  Contains no more than 75 percent of the fat found in regular versions or comparable food.
• Light or lite:  contains one-third fewer calories or half the fat of the regular food.
• Cholesterol-free: Contains less than two milligrams of cholesterol and two grams or less of saturated fat per serving.
• Low-cholesterol:   Contains 20 milligrams or less of cholesterol, 2 grams or less of saturated fat, and 13 grams or less of total fat per serving.
• Reduced-cholesterol:  Contains 75 percent or less of the cholesterol found in the regular food and two grams or less of saturated fat per serving.
• Sodium-free: Contains less than five milligrams of sodium per serving.
• Very low sodium:  Contains less than 35 milligrams of sodium per serving.
• Low-sodium:  Contains 140 milligrams or less of sodium per serving.
• Reduced-sodium:  Contains no more than 75 percent of the sodium found in the regular food.
• Extra-lean:  Refers to meat, seafood, or poultry that has less than two grams of saturated fat, less than five grams of total fat, and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per 3 oz serving.
• Lean: Refers to meat, seafood, or poultry that has 4.5 grams or less of saturated fat, less than 10 grams of total fat and less than 95 milligrams of cholesterol per 3 oz serving.
• High in:  Supplies 20 percent or more of the Daily Value (DV) of a given nutrient per serving.
• Good source of:  Supplies 10 to 19 percent of the DV of a given nutrient per serving.
• Fresh:  Refers to a food that is raw, that has not been processed, frozen, or heated, and that contains no preservatives.
• Freshly: Refers to a food that has been made recently; may be used with "baked".

~~Women's Edge, Food Smart by Susan G. Berg and the
Editors of Prevention Health Books for Women

Did You Know?

Cinderella's slippers were originally made of fur. The story was inadvertently changed by a translator in the 1600s, who confused the very similar old French words for "glass" and "fur" - verre and vair, respectively.

Botanically speaking, the banana is an herb, the jalapeno is a fruit, and apples and peaches are members of the rose family.

Pineapples, oranges, lemons, watermelons, and tomatoes are all berries.

Lightning strikes about 6,000 times per minute on this planet.

The first American ice-cream parlor opened in New York City in 1776.

~So, Now You Know... by Harry Bright and Harlan Briscoe

Super Bowl "good for you" Munchies

Here are a couple of low-fat munchies for you to prepare for your Super Bowl watching party .... while you are cheering on my favorite team ..... GO STEELERS!


Ingredients:

1 fat-free (or nearly fat-free) hot dog (like the ones by Oscar Mayer, Hebrew National and Ball Park)
1 portion Pillsbury Reduced Fat Crescent roll dough

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut hot dog into 4 even pieces. Stretch or roll out the triangle-shaped dough slightly, to make it a larger triangle. Cut dough into 4 long, narrow triangles. Beginning at the base of each triangle, roll a piece of the hot dog up in the dough until the point of each triangle wraps around the center. Place dogs on an ungreased baking pan and cook for about 12 minutes (until dough appears slightly browned and crispy). Enjoy!

Popcorn Shrimp
3 oz. raw shrimp; peeled, deviened and cleaned
1/4 cup Egg Beaters, Original
1/2 cup Fiber One bran cereal
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour Egg Beaters into a bowl. Using a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One cereal to a breadcrumb-like consistency. Pour Fiber One crumbs into a plastic container that has an airtight lid (or into a plastic food storage bag). Add as much salt & pepper to Fiber One as you like. Next, prepare the shrimp by ensuring that they are as dry as possible (use a paper towel to soak up moisture). Place shrimp in dish with Egg Beaters and coat them thoroughly. Transfer shrimp to Fiber One container or bag and secure lid/ seal bag. Then shake until shrimp are well coated. Place shrimp on a baking dish sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Cook shrimp for 15 – 20 minutes (flipping them about halfway through), until outsides are crispy. Let ‘em cool; then serve 'em alone, with ketchup or with some cocktail sauce. *3 Points!

Card Shares

I've got a few cards to share with you today.  The first one is the Monday Mailer I mailed out on Monday to Lynn.  This is the last week for our January Winter theme.  (Does that mean this is the last of the winter weather????  don't think so!)  I did the Dryer Sheet technique.  If you are unfamiliar with this technique, hop right over to Splitcoast and check it out!  I used the stamp set, Big on Christmas.  The Designer Paper is Pacific Point Patterns with Riding Hood Red matted in black.  I popped up the snowman on the outside of the dryer sheet.  (You should have seen me searching for a used dryer sheet - ended up dampening some towels & throwing them in the dryer for a few minutes!  Heaven forbid I actually do a load of laundry!!)

This next card is for a friend who had foot surgery last week.  I actually made this card in a class last year and have just never sent it.  I'm really bad about hoarding cards I make.  My resolution this year is to send them out - ones I make and ones I have received in swaps.

This card is a sympathy card for one of our friends in our Game Night Group whose father died.  Sympathy cards are always difficult to make.  This one I received in a swap.  It uses the stamp set "Always in My Thoughts". 

Telling the Truth

Well, I went to the dreaded weigh-in today (for my monthly Weight Watchers).  It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  I did have to pay, BUT, I was only 1/2 pound over my allowed weight.  As a Lifetime member, I have to weigh in once a month. If I'm more than 2 pounds over my lifetime goal, I have to pay the weekly fee.  I had weighed on my scales at home and they were showing me to be 1 1/2 pounds over, so, for once, I was loving those scales at the meeting!!! 

Of course, after the weigh-in, I had a Soup Kitchen Volunteer meeting at .... Panera Bread!!  So, just decided to have lunch there while I was at it.  My sandwich selection was probably not recommended by WW (tomato-mozzarella panini) but I didn't get the chips and got an apple instead for my side!!! 

I had a few errands to run after the meeting and had plans on going to the "Y" - even had my work-out clothes with me.  Sonny & I had a Red Cross Volunteer meeting at 7 pm, so I'd decided to just stay in Mooresville till the meeting.  Best laid plans and all .... Sonny called me around 4 and said he was debating on going to the "Y" or going somewhere for a beer & appetizers.  You know, it doesn't take much to talk me into temptation!!  So, Beef O Brady's was our choice!!  I did have a salad for dinner though!  And they had our Steeler's on TV.  Today was media day in Tampa and the reporters were interviewing the different players, so I figured we made the right choice??!!!!

I found out today that someone (hi, Jackie!) actually made the Tropical Smoothies that I had in my blog a few days ago and she said they were very good.  So, thought I'd give you another good recipe to try that's also WW approved!   These are Yummy Muffins - really moist.  I make a batch & freeze them.  Good for a snack with a cup of tea or coffee!

• One Chocoate OR Carrot OR Spice Cake Mix
• One can Pumpkin (pumpkin - NOT pie filling)
• Mix all together.  The batter will be lumpy - that's ok.  Line muffin tin w/paper cupcake liners or spray w/Pam.  Fill the muffin cups & bake for 18 minutes at 350.
• If you use an 18 cup muffin tin, it is 2 points each; if you use a 12 cup tin, they are 3 points.

ENJOY!

Speaking of cupcakes, check out this cool blog about .... CUPCAKES!!

I have a new look!

How do you like the new look???? I've been playing around with it this evening and decided I really like it!! Hope you do too. Well, as you can see, it's pretty late - need to get my shower & get to bed.

Keep your fingers crossed for me tomorrow ... I have to weigh in and I don't think it's going to be pretty!! I've got to get myself back in gear and QUIT EATING!! (I only have a few Moravian cookies left!)