Reuse before you #Recycle Hacks

Spring is another time when many folks hit the Reset button. There's the rebirth of green stuff (no, not money), nature brings new life and animal babies (so cute!), and Lent gives some people the opportunity to give up a vice. It's kind of like New Year's 2.0.

I know there's a great debate about going green, which I will stay out of, but I love finding cool, crafty ways to save money and create stuff. And if it helps save a little of the planet, all the better! This "Blossom" video caught my attention:



Now, I'm here to tell you about a few fails, but also a fun win in my own video...

First, the fails...

So far, the bread fell apart when I tried to clean with it, but I was probably doing it wrong...

The grapefruit cleaning idea is probably better if you use a grapefruit, but I don't like grapefruit, so I used an orange. It worked better than expected, but also fell apart...



The win! Avocados really do make pink. Not as bright as the above, unless you use a ton more avocados and maybe a better process, but... check out how my shirt turned out!

Trying new things is a fun adventure. And getting the most out of items before throwing them away is a win-win!

The best time to start a #diet - part 1

You know DIET is a four-letter word.

that's diet, btw

It's so negative. This is what it means to me:

D - Deny
I - Ingesting
E - Every-
T - Thing I like!

I used to try fad diets. Some worked at first. But you know the story - once you see some results, you give yourself a reward. Then something comes up, like a vacation or Thanksgiving or the weekend! and the diet is out the window.

I don't diet anymore. I've been dieting all my life - never satisfied with my weight. Sound familiar? That's a problem in and of itself - a self-esteem problem that is shared by most women. With age, and child-bearing, I grew to accept my form. I maturely realized I wasn't going to exercise my butt off (ha ha). I chose to spend my valuable spare time on things that were most important to me, like family and writing.

I stayed relatively healthy and not too heavy. Then the Change hit. No one said anything about the 25 extra pounds that magically appear!! And in such a short time! I didn't change my eating habits or minimal exercise routine, but BAM! Here I am about to hit my max weight of dire consequences. This is unacceptable and I now have to do something drastic. But I won't call it a diet...

Time to UPGRADE MY LIFE!

I have four constant goals:

But these goals are wishy washy and vague, and easily ignored or appeased. "I drank three cups of coffee - that's mostly water" or "How many raspberries do you think are in a jelly donut? That counts." I groan at my own excuses!

So I am undergoing a lifestyle change. I have to be serious. I also have to be reasonable with the expectations I place on myself. But most of all, I have to have WILL POWER!

At least I'm starting this undertaking at the best time to start a change of eating habits - SPRING!

In Part 2, I'll talk more about my plan and why Spring is the best time to start it. I decided to go for it on Thursday 3/29, so I'll have a 2-week update on my progress as well... Wish me luck!

Do you have a max weight? Do you diet? How do you stay healthy?

Hope you're having a great start to this Stormy Spring!

BLING YOUR THING: Epic CHEESE (Aka Chicago Pizza)

It's National Pizza Month! (I'm all for that.) Are you a pizza lover?

When I was 15, I worked in a pizza parlor, and it has forever defined one thing: the world is incomplete without pizza. While living in NYC, I fell in love with their pizza pies--thin crust, just the right amount of sauce, wicked-awesome toppings, cheese... (Need I say more?) BUT pizza pie meets its true definition in Chicago.

That's two whole inches DEEP of cheese. (Aka, heaven.) Mmm... 

Here's the problem: I'm a consumer, not a maker. (Giordanos is my local source of heaven.) So here's a snazy tutorial to walk you through how to make it at home! *gasp* (Except he used preshredded cheese. DON'T DO THAT. They put potato starch on that stuff to keep it from sticking, and it changes the consistency of the cheese.)

Now, the biggest difference between restaurant pizza and homemade is the oven. (I kid you not--remember I worked in a pizzeria.) Home ovens have a limit on the heat they can produce, for safety reasons. Commercial ovens have no such restrictions. (Think 900 degrees Fahrenheit and up!) They cook a traditional pizza in 3 to 5 minutes. See the problem? 

Life hack! There is a way to modify your oven. *gasp* It deals with jimmy rigging the lock on your oven so that you can put it on "clean" and still use it to cook. (This can be dangerous.) Another option is to put your oven on broil for about 45 minutes before baking. We've done this. Pizzas cook in about 4 to 6 minutes and the crust is epic--but you have to use a high heat cooking stone because pans will warp.

Are you a pizza lover? Chicago style? NYC style? What's the best pizza you've ever had?

Crystal Collier is a cheese-loving blogger & author who pens out funnies, deep thoughts, and book giveaways. She's the author of the Maiden of Time series, a 2012 winner of PitchWars, and a 2016 IWSG writing contest winner. She has lived from coast to coast and now calls Florida home with her creative husband, four littles, and “friend” (a.k.a. the zombie locked in her closet). Secretly, she dreams of world domination and a bottomless supply of cheese.

The third book in her Maiden of Time series releases November 1, 2016. Find her and her books online.