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I'm just saying... - by Blonde Ambition

Another mystery bug...

May 24th 2010 03:37

My little guy apparently has a great deal of confidence in his mom's ability to identify bugs. He came to me yesterday asking if I could look up what kind of bug this is:

When I saw this I nearly laughed out loud but I knew he was very serious. I could not imagine any bug looking like this and so I had no clue how to start identifying it. "Were there wings? Antenna?" I asked. "Nope. That's exactly how it looked," he told me. I said I'd do my best all the while wondering how many hits I'd get if I searched "large, triangle head insect."

Luckily my hubby spotted the bug today on the ceiling, right where my son had seen it yesterday.

When I saw the actual insect I gained a greater appreciation for the artist rendering.

After nearly 3 hours I have not been able to identify this one. I believe it is some type of fly or midge but the wings are not discernable. Possible they are not unfolding properly. Upon closer inspection I noticed two hair-like projections at the end of the thorax. Maybe a juvenile stage or nymph? I don't know.

If anyone has any thoughts let me know. Until then this mystery goes unsolved.

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Double Down's Bad Rap

May 21st 2010 03:16

Two thick chicken breasts serving as the "bread" for a bacon and cheese sandwhich. I had two thoughts when KFC's Double Down was released: cool and yuck.

My hubby, like many other people, is on a low carb diet. The Double Down is a low carb lovers dream. By eliminating the pesky bread, the fried version of the sandwhich has only 11 grams of carbs. The grilled sandwhich has a negligible 3 grams of carbs. Yes there's fat and a good amount of it. Remember, it's not just chicken but bacon and cheese. Oh and let's not forget the Colonel's Sauce (no clue what that is). If you go for grilled and skip the sauce you can have a tasty, low carb lunch that's not too bad for you.

The Double Down has come under fire and wrongfully I believe. It's opponents cite the fat and sodium content as being the reason the sandwhich should be removed from KFC's menu. The Double Down is not masquerading as health food. Just looking at the thing you know it's probably going to suck up most of your Weight Watcher's points! Yet there are many, many other fast food options that don't even seem to cross the minds of the "health police." Let's compare the grilled version of the KFC Double Down to my favorite Panera Pick Two lunch, cream of chicken and wild rice soup with greek salad.

Double Down
Calories 460
Fat 23
Carbs 3
Protein 61
Sodium 1430

Panera Pick Two
Calories 400
Fat 28
Carbs 28
Protein 11
Sodium 1670

I'm not suggesting one is better than the other. My complaint is that the Double Down is getting bad press mostly because it's a sandwhich comprised entirely of meat leading to the perception that it must be worse than the other options out there.

Do your research, eat what you want, and enjoy the freedom you have to do so

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Mystery bug and my crazy obsession

May 19th 2010 13:50

Okay, I should probably clarify something. I have ADHD. No really, I do. And so I started this blog because there's a ton of stuff going on in my head and I wanted somewhere to let it out. So, unlike many other bloggers, I don't have a set topic. I write about whatever's in my head at the moment. Here's a great example of that.

There is a bug on my screen door and I am obsessed with bug identification. If it's near my house and in any way unique I have to know what it is.

I haven't seen one like this before. He's been camped out on the screen for about 24 hours. I don't know how bugs can stay still that long, especially with us going in and out and my dog sniffing at it.

I've gotten pretty good at bug identification since my first interest a couple of years ago but I have to admit this one was tough. He's got those fuzzy antenna that remind me of a moth. Turns out he's not a moth at all but a fishfly. Now in some places mayflies are referred to as fishflies but this guy is a true fishfly of the family Corydalidae.

Here is a black swallowtail I saw in my butterfly garden last summer.

I was very excited to see this beautiful butterfly. We often get the small white ones (which are so common I haven't bothered to ID them). This was the first colorful butterfly I was able to watch long enough to find out what is was.

Another exciting find, and the first I was able to identify, was Argiope aurantia or the garden orbweaver spider.

I didn't take this picture but boy I wish I had. It's stunning. I love that you can see the amazing zipper-like web structure. This is a female spider. The male of this species is, for lack of a better word, boring. This female looks just like the one that made a web across my front door a few years ago. We transplanted her to the garden and she did well.

Happy hunting!

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Lost your cheese? Then read this.

May 18th 2010 02:22

For years I've been hearing folks talk about the Who Moved My Cheese? phenomenon. A teacher recently loaned me her copy and now I get what the fuss is all about. Written by Dr. Spencer Johnson, this book can help you find your way through whatever it is you need to find your way through.

The main characters are two mice, Sniff and Scurry, and two Littlepeople, Hem and Haw. They each set out every day to travel through a maze looking for cheese. Once they find the cheese they return to the same spot daily to enjoy their find. One day, though, the cheese disappears. The way each of them handles the change helps determine their direction in life and shows a good bit of who they are in the first place

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Belly up to the bar (Part 4)

May 18th 2010 00:48

Oh my gosh! I can't believe I went so long without posting. Life got a little hectic I guess.

Now let's remember why we're here. I'm a pharmacist being asked regularly for advice on how to lose belly fat. I've shared with you that proper nutrition is necessary so your body won't think it's starving. It's also important to eat well so you can build muscle which will increase metabolism. Overall fat loss is key, spot exercises are useless. That brings us to exercise, and specifically muscle building

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Belly up to the bar (Part 3)

April 12th 2010 15:37

I spent alot of time on eating because it is something most of us really enjoy and it is critical to controlling weight and health. After all, food is the fuel you run off of. If you aren't feeding yourself well you aren't going to feel or perform well. We'll come back to food again but now we need to move on to the next important strategy to banish belly fat.

Cardio
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Good news in the crayon battle

April 12th 2010 15:00

I can't believe this! The OxiClean Max Force Gel Stick worked!

I let it sit on the shirts for 2 days before tossing them back in the washer. To my surprise, the crayon came out of all but one shirt. Again, I think it's an issue of fabric. Nevertheless I do not have to buy new school uniforms

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Crayon battle comes out a tie

April 10th 2010 13:41

I tried the washing concoction. Put everything in, got it all moving a little, then let it soak in hot water for 20 minutes. All of the pants came out fine. The white shirts are still full of purple polka dots.

Went to the store and scoured the laundry aisle for anything that looked promising. I found OxiClean Max Force Gel Stick. That sounds powerful! Brought it home and hubby says, "You know that's not gonna work. Crayons are wax." Thank you dear. I explained my dilemma. I cannot sit and blot out the stains with WD-40 or iron them out with a brown paper bag. This is my last hope

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Crayon vs. laundry and the winner is...

April 9th 2010 19:11

Well, so far the crayon has won. I'm pretty creative but I'm having a tough time with this one.

One of my lovely boys left a sparkly purple crayon in their school pants. The boys are 9 and 6. I'm betting it was the 6 year old. My very helpful, stay-at-home hubby washed all the school uniforms getting ready for spring break to end. I opened the dryer this morning to find a crayon sitting on top of the lint screen as if waiting to escape before it could be caught. After all, it's work here is done. Every piece of clothing my kids have for school has some sort of purple blotch on it. That crayon really made the rounds. And, yes, the inside of the dryer is purple too

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Belly up to the bar (Part 2)

April 3rd 2010 14:40

Eat
Yep, you read it right, I said you should eat. Feeding you body regularly keeps you out of starvation mode. If your body senses it may not be fed for awhile it will try to store calories rather than use them. And where do you store calories? In fat cells. Eating small amounts multiple times a day will keep your energy up and your storage down. Now before you run out and order a Big Mac, read on.

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