thats right, it means its time to:

Download all of last months photos onto your computer

Backup those photos

Clear your memory cards

So I had to give it a try, and the company offered a 5  dollar off promotion, so I  totally couldn’t resist.

Well my order arrived today and I could NOT be more thrilled!  I got six samples of tea, and they arrived in the most adorable box, that would be perfect for gift giving. But imagine my squeals of delight when I opened the box to find 6 adorable little tins! Who packages SAMPLES this cute?  And the labels? Besides the amazing design, each one reminds you of the brewing temperature and  and time for each variety of tea. Brilliant!

So I open a tin, and it is filled to the BRIM with the most fragrant tea, just amazing! So I had to brew a cup RIGHT then. And it was delicious. Truly delicious I really think I am in love.

If you are a tea lover at all, you should totally give them a try.  www.adagio.com

Disclaimer:  I was not compensated or perked in any way to create this post, just a thrilled new customer.

She is super sweet and her recipes are divine! I just had to share that we tried her 2 minute english muffin sandwich and it really is easy and yummy, perfect for K to make for her breakfast in the AM once in a while.

(click to see photos larger)

Now truthfyullyI am not a huge fan of english muffins, and honestly ours turned out a little bit tough after being microwaved. Or maybe they were just bad muffins. Still, I wonder if I could substitute a biscuit?  Hmmm…. anyway I urge you to head over to Southern Plate and check out the directions, it makes a super fast and yummy breakfast or lunch.

What is a GMO you may ask? According to Wikipedia,  Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods derived from genetically modified organisms. Genetically modified organisms have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering.

Doesn’t sound too appetizing to me. Some examples of GMOs are soy, corn, and canola.From the email: Canola, soy, corn and growing number of other crops have been genetically engineered, and, for this reason it’s critical to purchase your food from organic sources and avoid processed foods – many of which contain GMO-deriviative ingredients.

From the email:  Alfalfa is a crop primarily fed to beef and dairy cattle.  It relies on open pollination by bees.  Alfalfa, like many other crops including soy and corn, has been genetically engineered to withstand heavy application of herbicide.  This Roundup Ready Alfalfa was originally approved by the USDA without adequate time to judge its environmental impact or the effects on farmers not wishing to grow GE alfalfa and organic consumers.  A lawsuit was filed by alfalfa growers and activist groups, and the result was that the USDA had to take a closer look at the genetically engineered crop.

I don’t know about any of you, but I don’t want to consume anything that has been fed RoundUp.

So I am hoping to learn a lot from the 28 Day Real Food Challenge at Nourished Kitchen. If you are even slightly interested in moving your family to a whole food diet, you should really sign up, there is so much to learn and it is great for beginners like me. My goal is to make at least 5 changes to our diet in the next month, because even little steps help, right?
Day #1Goal  Clean out your pantry of any processed unhealthy foods. These include:

• Vegetable Oils: Soybean, Cottonseed, Canola, Corn
• Sugar: White Sugar, Brown Sugar, Turbinado, Agave Nectar (including “raw”), Sugar in the raw  (This surprised me, I thought agave nectar was a good thing)
• Stevia: white stevia powder, stevia liquid (This did too, white stevia is overly processed)
• Margarine
• Shortening (excluding palm shortening)
• White flour: all-purpose flour, unbleached all-purpose flour, white rice flour,
• Cornstarch
• Soy foods: soy sauce, soy flour, soy milk, soy lecithin, isoflavone-enriched foods and supplements
• Dried Pastas and Noodles (I’m in trouble now)
• Iodized Salt
• Refined Sea Salt
• Meat & Dairy Replacements: TVP, veggie burgers, vegan cheeses, sour creams, rice and nut milks, vegan sausages  (Sour cream? Really?)
• Processed cheeses
• Skim and Low-fat Dairy: cheese, milk, yogurts etc.
• Boxed cereals, crackers and cookies

Ok, so like I said, I am of the baby step mentality.  (I know, so unlike me, LOL) I will get back on the wagon when it comes to using whole wheat flour, and investigate an economical source of green stevia, and plan on growing my own stevia plants this summer.

its time to backup January’s photos and then clear (format) your memory cards! I recommend Shutterfly or Flickr for online backups.

You know how some people after you meet them its kind of a letdown? Well that was NOT the case with meeting Ree! She was exactly the way I imagined her, funny and friendly and so sweet. I have said it several times as I have been talking to people, but she must have been SO exhausted by the end of the book signing (her second that day). But she was just as friendly and gracious with those of us toward the end as those at the beginning of the line.

Her husband, Marlboro Man, and her boy punks were there as well. (Kate was disappointed her girls didn’t come) MM was so generous with his time, he walked thru the crowd talking, signing autographs, and posing for pictures. Her boys were BEYOND adorable. It was a great, totally memorable night.

Here is a pic of us with Ree, if you would like to see more pics I took, you can view them on Facebook HERE

Here is a preview of the QP I created:

You can download it HERE

Make sure to follow the link to the next blog on each of the blog stops to gather ALL the goodies, from kit parts and pieces to 12×12 Quick Pages from our wonderful CT members!
Where do you go now?  You can head back to the SA blog, and double check to make sure you have gathered up all the goodies.

Now I know what some of you are thinking, I don’t dehydrate that much, but you can do so much more with it, including make yogurt, granola, and use it for your bread rising.

Head on over to Keeper of the Home to learn more about it, and for chanve to enter to win.