New Experiences #37 & 38: Give Up Diet Coke & Drink 64oz of Water for 30 Days - Part 1

It's been a very busy three months. I've accomplished a great deal since I last posted on May 28th and I'll be posting some of those tales shortly.

Tonight, I want to talk about two new experiences that start tomorrow, September 1st: Give up Diet Coke (and all soda) and drink 64 ounces of water daily for 30 days.

I used to be an avid water drinker. No matter where I went, I always had my water bottle with me and I drank 64 ounces without effort daily. There have also been times when I drank no soda. Over the past three or four years, however, my intake of Diet Coke has increased and my intake of water has decreased.

I know that drinking diet soda is not any healthier than drinking regular soda and that drinking lots of water is the healthiest choice of all. I also remember how good my body felt when I didn't drink soda at all.

Over the past year, I've had a few medical issues that are being treated, but I know that if I simply cut soda out of my life and returned to drinking 64 ounces of water per day, my body would naturally become healthier and I'd feel better physically and emotionally.

As part of my 100 New Experiences, I'm giving up Diet Coke and all soda for 30 days and replacing it with 64 ounces of water. My ultimate goal is to never drink any soda again, but I'm starting with 30 days. When I celebrate my achievement on October 1st, I'll start another 30 day regimen of no soda and 64 ounces of water. Then I'll keep going until it's just a natural habit.

Given that caffeine is addicting, I imagine that I'll be experiencing a bit of caffeine withdrawal this month. Hopefully, it will only last a few days, but I want to apologize now if I'm a bit irritable.

Wish me luck.

I'll keep you posted on my success.

"Mom! What's for Dinner?"

Do you get sick and tired of hearing this question? I do and I don't even have kids.

My least favorite moment of each day comes when I stand in front of the refrigerator pondering the question, "What should I make for dinner today?" Invariably, I will get an idea in my head only to discover that I have all but one ingredient. This turn of events sends me back to stand in front of my open refrigerator asking, "Okay, what should I make for dinner NOW?" The game continues.

But now, thanks to a good friend of mine, I won't have to ponder this question anymore and neither will you! Whether you have kids or are a bachelor or bachellorette, your best kitchen helper just arrived!

Let's pretend that in your kitchen, you've got peanut butter, bread, and tomotoes and that's it. And the kids are eager to know, "Mom! What's for dinner?" Being the good mom you are, you don't want to do the Drive-Thru Dash, but you know junior had a peanut butter & jelly for lunch today (you used all the jelly, so he can't have that anyway). What to do?????

Visit supercook.com, type in the available ingredients and Voila! in less than 2 seconds, you've got a very nutritious dinner entree!

A Peanut Butter & Tomato Sandwich

Okay, this may not be the most appetizing entree, but it's dinner and it's saved you time and money.

2009 Gardening Preview

Thanks to the generosity of Gourmet Goddess, my 2009 garden will be blossoming with some incredibly beautiful and yummy veggies!

Last week, I emailed Gourmet Goddess, an incredible gardener, and asked her some questions about gardening, specifically were there veggie bulbs I could plant now that would automatically grow next year. She offered me wonderful advice and then directed me to some wonderful websites, Park Seed and The Garlic Store where I promptly stocked up on some fantastic garlic. These sites are great because they even cater to the idiot gardener (me).

As if she weren't already generous enough, she then emailed and said she had some leftover seeds from this year that she had decided not to use next year and she'd be happy to give them to me! So on Friday, I stopped by her office, while I was at Lake Forest College doing reunion work, and found 3 packs of tomato and pepper seeds waiting for me! Yeah!

Thanks to Gourmet Goddess, here's part of what I will be growing next summer:

Red Lighning Hybrid Tomatoes (aren't they beautiful?)

The Godfather Hybrid Pepper

Ancho (Poblano) Pepper

All from Burpee. I don't know about you, but I'm really hungry now! I can't wait to break ground in 2009!

Thanks Gourmet Goddess! You'll have to join me for dinner one night next summer.

Living Salad Bowl

While at Jewel today, I happened upon a nifty discovery . . . a Living Salad Bowl. It's a big round planter with 2 Green Leaf Lettuce plants, 2 Red Leaf Lettuce plants, 2 Spinach plants, 1 Parsley plant, and 1 Chive plant. The instructions say to simply stick the planter in the sun, water, grow, eat, and repeat. And I'll have fresh salad fixings all summer long! Plus, it was only $12! How cool is that?