I’m on Fox23 News Tomorrow!

Dear Readers,

My body temperature has been on the rise for the past few days. Here are three reasons why I have been sweating profusely:

1. I am naturally a hot body, unlike most chicks.

2. And it’s over 100 degrees outside today and I refuse to wear toxic antiperspirants.

3. Oh, and also because I have been asked to be on a live, televised morning show called, “Great Day Green Country” on Fox 23 News.

I’ll be sharing live on the show four of my Non-Toxic Homemade Household Cleaning Recipes, which I will highlight for you tomorrow here on my blog.

Oh-and the show is live (did I mention that?)…which means no mistakes, no accidental pirate talk, and no blunders will be tolerated.

Pray that I will not embarras my mother and father, would you?

Festival of Foods

Dear Readers:
My garden this year has produced, and produced and produced (every pun intended). I almost can’t keep up with it-neither can my freezer. I’ve been harvesting daily, canning, freezing, dehydrating and when all else fails, inviting others over to stuff them full of veggies.

I hope to prolong and save back as much of the garden’s goodness as possible. I thought I’d show you all what I’ve been up to.

Roasting whole cherry tomatoes has become a favorite past time. I throw these on a pizza, a sandwich or I just eat them plain. Yum. I’ll do a large batch, freezing several small baggies for later use.

To use up cucumbers, I concocted a cuke salad adding black and red beans, red onions, vinegar and stevia. So tasty.

Of course, canning is a must. I’m set for the next couple of years in the salsa, whole tomatoes, jalapeno pepper department.

My little $5 dehydrator has been pushed to its limit and has seen the likes of tomatoes, green beans, okra and peppers. I freeze most of the dehydrated items to use in recipes down the road.

And Bicep’s favorite are my chocolate zucchini muffins. So, I made lots of them-96 to be exact. Most I freeze, but I pull out a few from time to time if he’s been a good boy.

This is the only thing my garden hasn’t produced, but that I love to make-granola! I make 4 batches at a time and freeze 3 ziplock bags full for the future.

Biceps even got in on the action and for the first time ever, made french baguettes. They were amazing.

My poor little freezer-I have pushed it to the limit. I stuffed it so full of awesomeness that the air wasn’t circulating and nothing was freezing. Our ice cubes were water squares.

I think it’s safe to say that next year, I’m saving up for a chest freezer. End of story.

Fresh Lime “Gritzer”-No Calorie

All summer, I’ve been trying to find alternatives to soda to beat the heat. I wanted these beverages to contain no sugar, be low cost and easy to make by the glass or an entire pitcher.
Here are a few that I’ve shared with you:
No Calorie Sweet Green Tea
No Calorie Sweet Iced Coffee
Skinny Orange Julius

Today, I am going to show you how to make a “Gritzer”, thus named by Biceps by combining Spritzer with our last name Greiman. He’s an inventive little bugger, isn’t he?
This drink is sweet, fresh, crisp and transports you to an island oasis with its limey-ness. (Yes, that’s a word.) So, throw on your flip flops, turn on some Beach Boy’s music and have a Gritzer.

Here’s all that you’ll need to make a Gritzer (makes 1 Liter):
1 Liter of Diet Tonic Water (sweetened with Splenda)*
1 Lime
1/4 tsp Liquid Stevia
*here’s my disclaimer, Tonic Water contains quinine. Some people cannot consume this product. I have yet to find an alternative.

Fill a pitcher with the Diet Tonic Water.

Wash one whole lime first, then cut into wedges and squeeze into pitcher. Throw the limes into the liquid if desired.

Add 1/4 tsp of Liquid Stevia (more or less depending upon your sweet needs).

Stir a couple of times, pour into your favorite “fancy glass” and garnish with another lime wedge. Now, let’s partake of your Fresh Lime Gritzer.

Sit back, take a sip and let yourself be transported to Aruba, Jamaica, ooh they want to take you to Bermuda, Bahamas, come on pretty Momma….

Enjoy!

Sometimes, I link up to these parties (Here’s my complete Linky Party Page):
Monday: The Girl Creative, Crafts Keep Me Sane, The Better Baker, Skip to My Lou, DIY Showoff, Say Not, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Etcetorize, Sew Chatty, Brassy Apple, Flour Me With Love, Creating my Way, Mad in Crafts, Our Delightful Home, Sew Can Do, It’s So Very Cheri, Craft O Maniac, Polly Want a Crafter, Tuesday: Craft Edition, Inspiration Board , New Nostalgia , Lettered Life , Coastal Charm, Tip Junkie , Ladybug Blessings, Hope Studios , Todays Creative Blog, Wednesday: Someday Crafts , Day2DayJoys, Jillify It , Junk in the Trunk, We are that Family , Frugally Sustainable, Sew Much Ado, Fine Craft Guild , The Thrifty Home, My Girlish Whims , Quick, Easy, Cheap & Healthy, Trendy Treehouse, Thursday: Somewhat Simple, No Minimalist Here , A Glimpse Inside, The Mommy Club, The 36th Avenue, Cheap Chic Home, Beyond the Picket Fence, Fireflies and Jellybeans , House of Hepworths , The Shabby Chic Cottage, Friday: My Repurposed Life, It’s a HodgePodge Life, The Shabby Nest, Just Wingin’ It, One Artsy Momma, French Country Cottage, Finding Fabulous, Passionately Artistic, Petals and Picots, Simply Designing, Little Becky Homecky, My Romantic Home, Bacon Time, Simply Living, Saturday: Polkadot Pretties, Tatertots and Jello, Create and Inspire, Be Different, Act Normal, Craft Envy, Lolly Jane, Funky Junk Interiors, Petites Passion, Sunday: Under the Table, Natural Mothers, Mopping the Floor

Maxwell’s New Friend

A new dog moved into the neighborhood. He is big and black and a little rough around the edges. Let’s just say, you don’t win me over Mr. New Dog when you dig underneath the fence and into my squash plants. You are on a slippery slope, New Dog.

For some reason, New Dog and Max have seemed to come to an agreement that they like each other. After a few hours of hissing, arched backs and fluffy tails, I finally calmed down and let the two be.

They will spend hours, paws outstretched, touching each other through the chain link fence.

New dog has no idea he’s not supposed to be friends with kitty cats.

They pay no mind to the mocking squirrels. They do what’s in their heart. They follow their heart.

And, they love. My mind is singing, “Ebony and Ivory” all the while. It’s a beautiful moment. *Sniff.