June 13, 2009

Cryptosporidium,Bacteria and Protozoan Cysts Be Gone...


A few days ago, Dan and I went to the first of many trips to the outfitters store in Ocala for our upcoming hiking trip in the fall. YEAH!!! We purchased our ever important water filtering system. This contraption will pump out 2 liters per minute... AWESOME... A much quicker plan to the previous ones we have researched. I'm so excited. It also anhilates all diarrhea and other uncomfortable illness causing ickys, not seen by the human eye, in the water ones about to ingest. We looked at all sorts of different gear etc...We decided on which tent and sleeping bags we will get. So now we know what brands and are on the hunt to find them at the most economical price. We still have many more hours of research ahead, but today's outing has definitely aroused the hiking bug. We are going to check out some of Walmarts supplies to compare quality and pricing, and make final decisions on which outfitter to choose. The ole' wallet is screaming Walmart prices, however, we've learned that sometimes it pays to pay alittle extra for quality which will in the end last longer. Not all items fall under this category, but in this case, definitely.

June 7, 2009

Hello Bloggers!




Well, it's been along time since I posted. We've been quite busy here in the Dickinson household. Dan and I went to Fernandina Beach recently and then to my parents house for the weekend. Alex was able to join us during the beginning of the week, but with finals at school, he was a responsible student and went back home to study, yep, that's what he did. And I'm happy to report, he passed and is now entering...HIGH SCHOOL!!!!!



Work has been CRAZY busy, like 3 and 4 houses a day during the week with one day off. Last week I had 4 jobs on Monday, 3 on Tuesday, off Wednesday, 4 on Thursday and I was off on Friday. On my days off, Haleigh bug and I catch up on some extra playtime...YEAH!!!!!








With our hike coming up, every job I complete I'm logging down as hiking prep. Absolutely!!!There's alot of calories to be burned cleaning houses now. I'm still working on the whole backpack and walking with a 30 pound load. Not quite there yet. I have alot of goals set...running, drink more water, cut out sugar, etc...but I'm not stressing over unmet goals yet. Baby steps. Every little bit of prep helps. For those of you interested in the cakes we've been trying to create, here's the car pics. I'm still waiting on the spaghetti pics and will post asap.










I have also discovered that yes, even when you are up to your elbows in marshmallow fondant and powdered sugar, you still burn calories. Question...How did one come up with the exact calculation of calories burned during baking? Did they take into consideration the taste testing involved and the physical exertion one expels during such a task? I do believe that every baker/cook should be required to taste test and that that should somehow cancel out a certain number of calories for taking into consideration the safety and culinary needs and wants of our family and friends.