Avocado and Tomato Salad

This recipe I got from my Aunt Ruth in Florida.  It is so delicious and light yet filling. 

Ingredients

• 4 large ripe tomatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks, or 20 cherry tomatoes halves.
• 2 ripe large Hass avocadoes, haleved, pitted, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
• Toasted Cumin Vinaigrette, recipe just below
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves

Toasted Cumin Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cupolive oil
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Whisk together the lime juice, vinegar, honey, cumin, and cilantro in a medium bowl.
Gradually whisk in the oils until emulsified.  season with salt and pepper to taste.  
Do not use a blender to make this vinaigrette.


Directions

Gently mix the tomatoes, avocados, onions and half of the vinaigrette in a large bowl.  Check for seasoning and add more vinaigrette, if needed.  Sprinkle the cumin and cilantro over the top and serve immediately.

product testing-Swiffer 360

I've have signed up with a website called Vocal Point. They send you products to test with some coupons.  I recently just received a Swiffer 360.  I wasn't sure about recommending it or not.  So here is what I found.  It works great, but it gets dirty quick. I have severe dust allergies.  I'm very sensitive to dust flying around. So I would have to have a ton of those refills.  The 360 part is great and it picks up dust great.  It is gentle enough to use on electronics and your finer items without having to move them and doesn't leave smudges.  I just can't get a whole room done with just one. So I recommend to have on hand for for a quick dust.  But for your regular to heavy duty dusting.  I would still use a spray and dust cloth.

Consignmnet Sale: Selling Tips

Consignment Sale: Selling Tips

I've consigned, worked, volunteered and help run a consignment sale. Fall consignment sales are in full swing and I thought I might share some tips that will help with either current sales or getting ready for spring sales.  Many consignment sales you cannot enter in your items year round. Which means you have mounds of stuff to enter in all at once. This can be overwhelming which aids in procrastination.  A vicious cycle.

Tip 1: I started sorting as my son grew out of things.  Donate, Sell, and Toss.  Any thing that I wanted to sell I was hanging up in the spare closet.  Many of you have a wire rake in a basement.  This helps because you will know how many wire hangers you need and keeps the clothes is better shape. (Most sales require wire hangers.  So keep it easy and simple and just have everything on wire hangers.) 

Tip 2:   Keep all your clothes and shoes in size order as much as possible. Trust me it makes it easier to tag and to load in your stuff at time of check in. 


Tip 3:  Do the same with toys and books.  Clean them.  Make sure  all parts and pieces are gathered together and attach properly with ziplock bags and packing tape.  Most veterans to consignment sales do this already.

Tip 4:  I took this a step farther.  I wrote down as I put items in storage.  So I have a handy list of all my items that I'm going to sell.  And I sit down with my list and enter in all my information that I need and I don't have pile surrounding me.  I also don't have to worry about the cats laying on them or my son getting close with that chocolate ice cream cone.
 
Tip 5:  Your items will sell better if they are neat and tidy.  So button, snap and zip everything up, and iron out any wrinkles.

summer fun at splash parks

 I love going to these destinations because the summer heat  is stinking hot and it is a quick way to cool down.  I usually bring our lunch or supper and and then let my son pick out treats at a concession.  I love it when there are play grounds near by to help with changing things up.  Always check the playground equipment  before your kiddo uses it.  Because even semi-shaded equipment can get too hot for little legs.  As always bring sun screen and towels, and maybe a change of clothes.

Centennial Park 
These fountain are great fun.  They have shows 4 times a day.
Daily Shows at 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.  Which the fountains are set to music.  The playground is not that far away.  If you want to picnic here.  I suggest bringing a blanket. The Cost is free.  But you will have to pay for parking or ride Marta.

Piedmont Park
Has a new fountain area for the kids to run through. 
Promenade at Piedmont Park featuring Legacy Fountain
Admission is free.  There are also two playgrounds at the park.
Just have to find parking or use Marta.
Parking can cost up to $15 at the garage.

Atlanta Botanical Gardens
In the Kids Garden the have a fun place for the kiddos to cool  off.  The price is admission to the park $18.95 for adults and $12.95 for kids ages 3-12.  Also they recommend using the Sage Parking Garage which can cost up to $15 to park. Or there is always Marta.

Roswell Parks
Roswell has two splash parks.  We have been to both and we have had a blast!  There is concession and picnic places and playgrounds nearby.   I recommend bringing your own chairs. 
•    Splash ‘n Play at Riverside Park
575 Riverside Road, Roswell, GA, 30075
770-594-6158
10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Closed Tuesdays for maintenance and Private Rentals
•    The Spray Station at East Roswell Park
9000 Fouts Road, Roswell, GA, 30076
770-594-6188
10:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Closed Wednesdays for maintenance and Private Rentals

Spraygound Fees
•    $1 per person, 1 year old and up (infants are free)
•    $1 - Adult in the water area with infant or child
•    Free - Adult entering with paying child - on deck only
•    $25 per person individual pass* - one sprayground
•    $30 per person individual pass* - both spraygrounds
•    $30 per family pass* - one sprayground
•    $60 per family pass* - both spraygrounds
•    $20 Individual/$40 Families to add both spraygrounds to your RAP pool pass*
*Passes are valid for the 2011 season
Please call 770-594-6134 for more information and to make your reservation.

In addition to these there are fountain or spray parks in the following locations. Suwanee, Duluth, Gainesville and the Mall of Georgia.  I found a great article which seems to have links to all these locations here.

$1 Summer Movies

 No more Free Summer Movies only $1 movies, and only two Theater Companies are offing this great deal again.  Bummer.
Depending on the location of your theater and the movies offered that day will depend on when you need to get there. 

GTC (Georgia Theater Company) also offers special pricing on kid drink and popcorn. $1.50 each. These will be typically shown Tuesday and Thursday Morning,  but double check your location.

Regal Theaters are also offering the $1 kids movies, but there is not any specials on food.  These are typically shown on Tuesday and Wednesday Mornings, but double check your location.

Most Movies are Rated PG though there are some that are G rated.

Companion Gardening

Companion gardening is not gardening with a friend. But rather pairing two or more plants together that will benefit each other.  Mother nature is very wise and has had natural defenses.  Unfortunately it is not an exact science and so some say it is mythical. So I would still keep that insect spray.  Most gardeners agree that diversity helps your garden.  But I'd rather be diverse in ways to keep the insects and disease away then rely on pesticides alone.

Tomatoes are great for your back porch and easy to grow. So here are some plants that are said to help with Tomatoes. I've highlighted some of what I think might be some the top plants to plant with you tomatoes and why. 

Marigolds- I've been told is a wonder plant.  Helps keep out small animals like rabbits and squirrels and helps keep out many other host of bugs.  They will not harm any other plant. They work great as a border plant.  It has also been my experience that they are easy to grow from seed. Let the flower die off and brown on the plant then when it is dried out pick it.  It contains tons of little seeds.  The seed are long sliver in shape. Save for next year or open up and plant for more.

Basil-Is reported to help repel disease and insects, and improves growth and flavor.





Most gardeners agree that flowers that attract pollinating bees and birds are a must. If you don't have those pollinators you will not see fruit.


Here are some other plants that are considered good for tomatoes: oregano, parsley, carrots, Alliums, celery, Geraniums, Petunias, Nasturtium, Borage, any type of onion or chives. But some are only good when the plant is just starting to grow and must removed. Also others are considered "trap crops" which distractes the harmfull bugs to it first.  The trick here is that you will need to destroy these plants with the bugs at the right time if harmful bug are going to it.  Eekk not sure I'm up for that yet. 

Here is the thing. each website has a bit different list and each have a different twist as to what helps what and why.  As I said this is not an exact science.  But I'm going to share with you some of the links I found that might help your research on what your trying to plant.
Personally it looks like I need to move my chili pepper plant with my tomatoes and get a couple of basil plants.  Then get a couple of rosmary plants to plant with my green beans and cucumbers. I've already planted some marigolds and will be transplanting some more once they have sprouted a bit.

Wikipedia, GardenToad, About and Dave's Garden
Here is a paper about orangic growing done by UGA. It doesn't go into companion gardening, but it does go into crop rotation.  And gives you a  list of "families".  From what I can tell ... this is what companion planting is based on.

Based on last year.  Marigolds did help.  I still had to watch my plants and sometimes apply a soap and water mixer to the plants.  This year I did put my old soil in my compost so that next year it might be used again. Also used coffee worked great on my tomatoes as a quick fertilizer. So I'll add some herbs this year.  I've added marigolds to my other planting areas.  I will still look into fencing and other natural ways of getting ride of pesky or bad bugs for my plants.
I do have to put a quick disclaimer here.  I am a novice gardener. As I am researching and having to spend time at the computer, I'm sharing my findings. One thing I've figured out is what works for your garden may or may not work for mine.

Have fun planting!

Allowances and Chores

Allowances and Chores
This topic seems to be a touchy one, at least the allowance part. We determined for our family right now that we were not going to an allowance per say. But with certain chores done money will be received. Part of this is to find out what chores my son would like to do and what he hates to do. So I've researched and I've looked at tons of charts.
And part of that comes with knowing what chores are appropriate for your child's age. So I developed a responsibility chart.
But many of you like me on other people chore charts will say (or think)... I want your back ground information! Because every family will want to do things differently and you might want to even tailor your list per a child.

My favorite is from Organizing Junkie in this particular blog she has a link to another web-page that has responsibility by age. Brilliant!
Since doing this research I have fallen in love with her blog ( Organizing Junkie) and inch by inch and baby step by baby step I'm be coming more organized.