Ground Beef Gadget

Last month, I was at a bridal shower where the bride received one of these.

Everyone started talking about how handy these things are, how they use them all the time. I started thing, "Hm. Maybe I need one of those." Then it occurred to me that I might already have one. Sure enough, I found it stuffed in the way back of my kitchen utensil drawer. Of course, I started using it right away.


It's called a Mix N Chop, made by Pampered Chef. I think my mom gave it to me a long time ago when she felt obligated to buy something at a Pampered Chef party. But it actually is really great for browning ground beef and mixing in seasonings.

It retails on Amazon for about $17, which is pretty pricey, but it is now one of our favorite kitchen gadgets. If you are one of those people that obsesses over making ground beef very fine, this is definitely what you've been looking for!

Eat Your Veggies

I do my best to eat vegetables every day, but I tend to get sick of the same old ones fixed the same old way (usually microwaved). So for the unbeatable price of 6.99, I purchased this round grilling skillet from Bed Bath & Beyond to explore a new way of preparing veggies.


I bought a zucchini and yellow squash, then added an onion and some carrots that I already had that were headed towards rotting.

After I sliced everything, I drizzled them with a little olive oil and sprinkled a few spices on top. Kyle threw them on the grill, set on medium-low for about 20-25 minutes.


After they were cooked to perfection, Kyle brought them in and we I enjoyed them for dinner.

I highly recommend a grilling basket if you don't have one already. Next stop, grilling fish!

My Latest Toy

I had a very sudden urge to go buy an Ipod Shuffle last week. So over my lunch break on Wednesday I ran to Target and came home with this beauty:


I justified the purchase because it becomes very uncomfortable to wear a thick armband for my 6-12 mile runs. It's hot, get's sweaty, creates moisture inside the case, rubs my arm, etc. With the Dam to Dam race coming up next weekend, I figured its my reward for all the training.

I ran for an hour yesterday with the new Shuffle, and I just kept thinking, I should have bought one of these a long time ago! It's so much less constricting than my armband for my bigger Ipod is. It just clips right on to your shirt, you can't even feel that it's there. I even ran the route faster than usual (not sure that the Shuffle had anything to do with that, but I'm telling myself it did).

What a Bargain

I hardly ever buy anything regular price, but even I was impressed with myself for finding this deal!

I went shopping tonight, mainly out of boredom (I have been sick for 2 days and had to get out of the house). Since Kyle and I will be homeowners this summer and we will have a lot to buy for a new house, I didn't really plan on buying much, if anything. But then I went into The Limited and saw this shirt:
I immediately loved the color, but I would never pay the original price of $34.90 for it. It was on sale for $24.43. Plus I had a coupon they had mailed me for $15 off any purchase, so it came out to be $10! I was pretty excited. If you shop at The Limited and don't receive their coupon mailings, I highly suggest you sign up here.

The Perfect Shirt

I have recently come across the best workout shirt I have found, to date:

It's Nike's new "Legend" Tee. It is made of a Dri-fit material that wicks away moisture. It is also plenty long (I don't know about you but I hate short shirts!) And it is very reasonably priced at only $22. It comes in several nice colors, but of course, I got the green :) So far I have seen them at Sports Authority and Dick's Sporting Goods, but I'm sure they are sold at most sporting goods stores.

Another Movie Review

Saw Just Go With It last night with a friend. It really was really was laugh-out-loud hilarious. In my opinion, it was one of Adam Sandler's funniest films. As always, Jennifer Aniston was great, and it was a totally different role for Nicole Kidman. How can you go wrong with those 3 actors?

The King's Speech

If you haven't already seen it, I definitely recommend it!! The movie really gives the public a feeling for the emotions behind a person who stutters. As a speech pathologist, it was especially interesting to see a portrayal of my profession 60+ years ago. While many things in the area of fluency therapy have changed, there are several aspects of the story that still hold true today. A recent article in the ASHA Leader (a newspaper mailed out to members of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) outlines many of the techniques that are, and are not, credited in current practice.


Techniques/ideas shown in the movie that are credited in current practice:

• Recognizing that motivation is essential to achieving success in therapy
• Establishment of a supporting, reinforcing, encouraging, and equally-balanced relationship between client and therapist
• Fluency-enhancing techniques such as masking, singing, speaking loudly and cursing
• Desensitization of stuttering through continuous practice
• Involvement of family members (the queen)
• Relaxation, diaphragmatic breathing, and continuous phonation
• Pausing, bouncing, and light articulatory contacts
• Gliding into a word with a short prolongation or starting a word with a slight exhale
• Monitoring of rate of speech, and focusing on "forward moving" speech.
  

Techniques/ideas in the movie that are not credited in current practice:

• Marbles in the mouth
• Smoking to "relax the throat"
• Stuttering is caused by forcing a left-handed child to be right-handed or by a harsh upbringing
• Adult stuttering can be "cured"

For the full article, click here.

Friday Night Feast

Last night Kyle and I had planned to go to our favorite restaurant, Texas Roadhouse, but Kyle came home from work and had a fever. So, I offered to go get Texas Roadhouse take-out, which was a first for us. We were very pleased! Here's what we got:


Have you ever seen so much food for 2 people in your life?? And for only $27! (We had a coupon for a free appetizer). And there's PLENTY of leftovers.

If you have never been to a Texas Roadhouse and there's one in your area, I would definitely recommend it.

Deal-of-the-Day websites

I may be a little late to jump on the bandwagon, but I have recently learned about the amazing-ness of the websites Groupon and Living Social. In case you're a little behind the times like I was, here's how it works:

These websites offer at least one daily deal for a variety of businesses in major cities. Discounts are for 50-90% off.

If you, and enough other people, chose to buy the deal, the deal is on. I don't think I've ever seen a deal that not enough people bought it to make the deal valid, but if they don't, you are not charged a cent.

If you subscribe to the website (which is free), you receive a daily email with the deal of the day.

To give you an idea of the types of deals, today's Groupon deals for Des Moines are:






$9 for $18 worth of BBQ at Shane's Rib Shack












$25 for two tickets to the Des Moines Playhouse ($60 value)










$10 for two tickets to the Home and Garden Show ($20 value)






It's a great way to open your eyes to new places to go and things to do in your area!

Goody Two-Shoes

I've recently invested in a couple new pairs of shoes (If you know me, you're probably not all that surprised since I'm sort of the queen of tennis shoes). I used to be a Nike-only sort of girl, but I'm now completely devoted to 2 different brands for 2 different uses.

1. Saucony for work. I'm lucky enough to be able to wear tennis shoes to work, and it's a good thing. I probably walk a couple miles a day at work, and because of it, I go through shoes pretty quickly. But when I tried my first pair of Saucony shoes several months ago, I decided these are the best work shoes for me. This is my second pair, and they are SO comfortable! And they seem to be very reasonably priced.


2. Mizuno for running. For the last several years, I have been very loyal to the Mizuno Wave Creation. They work great for my wide feet and hold up despite what I put them through while running outside in all kinds of weather. When it comes to price, they are on the higher end, but I have found that I am more willing to work out for longer when my feet are comfortable.
What shoes work for you?