Daily Craft - I'm a winner!

My favorite beading supply store, Artbeads, holds contests over on their blog.  Recently, I entered to win a selection of beads from the Tuscon Gem and Mineral show.  As usual, I promptly forgot about it until the e-mail came saying that I'm a winner!  Even better, this happens to be a two-fer.  I have a month to create a design using the beads and then I'm pitted against the other 9 winners for a $50 gift card.

The beads arrived today and they're really pretty in person.  I've already been sketching some concepts.  I'm thinking bohemian...earthy...rock carving inspired.  It's somewhat outside of my comfort zone as I tend to think in terms of symmetry but, for this, I need to think more in terms of balance.  I'm excited for the challenge and will let you know when part 2 of the contest is up so you can vote for me (I hope!)

Daily Ramblings - My heart goes out to Boston

Yesterday, while at work, news of the bombings at the Boston marathon started flooding my Facebook feed.  My heart sank as I felt the weight of the needless loss of life, as it did when I heard about Sandy Hook, the Colorado theater shootings, and so many more senseless acts before them.  I may not know those who were in attendance yesterday, but they are in my thoughts - the needless loss of three lives and the countless other lives forever changed.  

My perspective has changed now I have my little baby boy.  Each time another devastating event occurs, I can't help but wonder what kind of crazy world I'm bringing my child into.  I look at the innocence and beauty in his eyes as he learns about his surroundings.  He touches a simple piece of fabric, a leaf, or a park bench, with such fascination because to him it is new and wonderful.  He has no idea of the horrors that exist in the world.  I can't fathom how the innocence, that we are all born with, turns into enough hatred to willfully and harshly end the lives of others - especially children who are just starting their journey.

I know I'll never be able to protect my child completely from the scary things, which seem to happen all too frequently. I know the time will come when he will ask me to explain why a horrible tragedy, such as the attack on Boston, has happened.  It's impossible to properly explain something that has no basis in logic or sanity.  There is a meme that's been floating around, which I found to be poignant, and I hope to remember the words when the time comes.  I hope I can teach my son to be one of the helpers.
  

Daily Dish - Stuffed Peppers

We eat a lot of bell peppers in our house.  Apart from the fact they come in so many pretty colors, they're really versatile in terms of how you can eat them - I love them raw as well as cooked in anything from pasta sauce to curry!  I actually looked up the nutritional value recently because I feel like leafy greens or cruciferous veggies (i.e. broccoli) get a lot of attention, but what about bell peppers as one of my favorite vegetables?  I was actually pleasantly surprised by what I found - they are full of the good stuff!  They're super high in Vitamins A & C, have a good amount of Vitamin B6 and fiber, plus contain anti-oxidants.  All that while being low in calories (1 pepper = 30-40 cals).

With that in mind, time to share another Pinterest win as far as recipes go!  I came across the most beautiful bell peppers the other day - which means they were meant to be filled with all kinds of yummy goodness. I'd pinned a stuffed pepper recipe a while back.  It had caught my eye because it wasn't in a tomato sauce that I seem to associate with stuffed peppers!  We added a little left over brown rice and used ground beef instead of turkey, but this was delicious.  Even better, as we used 4 good sized peppers to make it, we have left overs sitting in the fridge for lunch tomorrow.  I do love a meal with leftovers!

If you want to keep track of my tried and tested recipes, follow my Eat It Again board and don't forget to check the comments on each pin for any modifications and ideas.