Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Useful Gadgets - The Cuppow



Along with my Pantry Staple series I have decided to add another series entitled Useful Gadgets. This series will show up periodically like the Pantry Staple staples series on no specific schedule.  I am starting this series with an inexpensive but extremely useful item.

One of the kids at Dan’s office calls this an adult sippy cup lid and I think that is a fantastic description. This little beauty fits on the top of a mason jar either with the metal lid or not.  You put it under the metal band and on top of the metal lid and it closes the jar securely for spill proof travel.  I use these when I send juice in Dan’s lunch or when I need to take my juice on the road.

You can buy them from Amazon or directly from Cuppow.  They are cheaper through Cuppow directly.  We bought them early when they were first out and raising funds through I believe Kickstarter. Before you ask I am not affiliated with the company nor do I make anything when you buy these.  This is a product that I use and believe in.   

These are great for carrying juice or tea but I don’t think the opening is large enough for drinking green smoothies which was how I had intended to use them. However they are perfect for green juice.  If you are a juice person these are very handy.  I love that they work on wide-mouth mason jars which I have in abundance.

Happy thoughts:
  1. Tuesday was a great day.  Dan felt good enough to go to work which was wonderful. The problem is that he worked way to look (as in after 8:30) but at least he feels better so I am not complaining.
  2. We had really lousy weather today. Our high might have reached 40 and it was grey and bleary all day. Today was just not a nice weather day.  However on the bright side my new faux fur sheepskin jacket worked out just fine.  Yes, this was another Zulily purchase. I told you I needed to put myself on a time out. It is scary how many things I have picked up there in the last two months.
  3. Speaking of out of control Zulily purchases I ordered a one cup loose tea brewing device which arrived today. Once I have had a chance to try that out for at least a week I will let you know if it is winner. It looks like it has a lot of promise so I am psyched to give it a try.
  4. Their furry highnesses were down to one day of their favorite kibble blend using three different types of Blue Buffalo. This potential crisis (since my kids won’t eat grocery store cat food…the spoiled brats) meant I need to go to the pet food store.  So I wasn’t driving to one place I also stopped at Costco and picked up a few provisions (okay a lot).  I am very excited to try the scallion and chive lentil hummus they had today. If I love it you know I will be making my own version to share with you.  *woo hoo*  I love new food ideas.
  5. I need to give another shout out to Matt who will be on day 7 without cigarettes by the time you read this.  Isn’t that amazing? After smoking for 28 years he has been off the smokes for 7 days.  Maybe I should encourage Matt to write a guest post about how to quit smoking after he reaches the one month mark.   Yay Matt, I am so proud of you!
  6. Tuesday when I was at Costco I grabbed a bag of chia seeds and the cutest little old man spoke to me and asked me if I was familiar with them and we chatted for a while. He told me that he had been eating them for about a year and about how great he felt.  I told him how to make the pumpkin pie mousse which he was very interested it.  When he found out I was 50 he didn’t believe it and kept telling me that I couldn’t be 50 years old.  Needless to say I told him that he made my day.   BTW to random strangers talk to you in the grocery store or is it just me? This happens almost every time I go and Dan is always surprised because he says that it doesn’t happen to him which is why I am curious.
  7. This evening I have been enjoying Pandora on my TV.  I set up a channel and have been listening to Teddy Pendergrass channel.  I may be showing my age by I love movie from the late 70s and early 80s.  For those of you who aren't old enough to remember Teddy check out this Youtube of his song Turn Out the Lights. This may be one of the hottest songs ever written, IMO.  ;-)
(my cute new faux fur jacket from Zulily mentioned in item 2 above)  ;-)


Signing out:

My Tuesday was busy but productive so I am not complaining.  Wednesday is going to be another busy day.  Looks like I need to work more on my time management this week. ;-)

I hope that your week is going well and I will chat with you tomorrow. Arrivederci.

4 comments:

  1. Cute jacket! I think some people naturally exude a "come up and talk to me vibe." I do not at all. Ha. My husband, however, is like you and makes friends everywhere he goes.

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    1. Good morning Brigid,

      Thanks, I love the jacket. The best thing about Zulily is how much I paid for it...such a bargain. I think it was $45 which worried me because it seemed "too cheap" but its great. I do love a deal. ;-)

      I have never heard that before, about a "come up and talk to be vibe" but you may have hit the nail on the head. People chat me up all the time. Thanks so much for the insight. BTW just read your response to Dan and he agrees with you completely. I guess you both see the same things being married to "people like us". Thanks again. :-)

      Hope your Thursday is fabulous!
      Ali

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  2. Hey! Longtime reader here, and I'm glad to see you're back in full swing. You are missed when you're gone (at the very least, by me.) I'm hoping I could pick your brain in terms of resources as I know you read quite a bit about nutrition. I enjoy being vegan and have made many, many of your recipes and have a vegan pantry, but I have a couple of real challenges and I'm thinking you may have run across some things in your reading that may help.

    I'm 40 years old, female and six months ago was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive form of cancer (liposarcoma). The first thing the oncologist did was take me off any vitamin supplements as what feeds the good also feeds the tumors, so I must get my nutrition from my food. The second issue is when your white blood cells take a hit from the chemo and you become neutropenic, fresh veggies and fruits are on the no-eat list. Cooked is ok, but raw is not. What cooked veggies have the most nutrients? I have no idea. The docs are pretty good at preventing this but the more chemo I have the more toxic I am and it happens. There are also mouth sores from the chemo so acidic things are difficult to eat, and the whole problem of keeping the weight up while eating vegan and enduring chemo. I know you changed your lifestyle because of a cancer scare so I know it's near and dear to your heart. Have you run across any lit out there specifically for vegan cancer fighters? We definitely have some specific challenges. Everything I see out there (Fuhrman, Crazy, Sexy Cancer, etc.) seems to be preventative or does not address the specific eating challenges that those going through chemo/radiation have.

    Any thoughts you have would so much be appreciated! And again, glad you're back! Susan.

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    Replies
    1. Good morning Susan,

      First thank you for reaching out to me and yes I can give you insight on everything you asked. Second I am so sorry to hear about your diagnosis. *sigh* Cancer sucks! However you can do this. Don't read any of the statistics or believe when someone gives you an expiration date. Every case is different and you can be the one who they write journal articles about because you survive.

      If you don't mind I am going to use your question to write about these specific issues. I will start with the mouth sores today for tomorrow. My gut reaction was to just respond to you. But so many people are getting cancer now that I think these issues need their own posts. Is that okay with you? I will answer your questions in detail in the next two or three posts. BTW if you want to email me feel free. Today I have some time this morning.

      Stay positive you can do this! ((big hugs))
      Ali

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