That's right it's time for my weekly Random Thursday post!
I love to cook and so this one might be just what i need to end my day (I am, of course writing this post on Wednesday night!)
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Dump Cake
This is so easy a gnat could do it! I don't have my own picture of one of my hand crafted beauties, but i am totally kicking myself, because i made a beautiful one the other night for some of our friends!
And leave it to The Pioneer Woman to get it right: Dump Cake
Oh, BTW, it truly is a can of crushed pineapple, a can of pie filling (your choice of flavor), a boxed cake mix, and a stick of butter (melted). Add nuts if you feel nutty! And i swear one of the easiest and most delish dessert you will have with really noooooo fuss!
I usually teach summer school, despite the burn out!
Every year, each teach chooses a theme and then builds from there. I then develop lessons related to that theme as well as plan a weekly field trip to take the students on!
This year my class has been studying
Health!
It's been fun to teach such little ones about the way they should eat and stay healthy. For some reason they all would rather eat potato chips and play video games, but they can never say that i contributed to their possible obesity. Let's hope that they all remain pretty active!
Thought i would share a few of those ideas with you when it comes down to finding a destination for a field trip!
For as long as I can remember I have been a stomach sleeper. And as of a couple months ago, I would wake up with a pretty sore lower back. After several weeks of stretching and using my trusty foam roller, i decided enough was enough. It was time to look into more of a solution.
I talked to my massage therapist who said it was probably a combination of things causing my pain, but the stomach sleeping was definitely not helping. She promptly suggested a body pillow.
And that is just what I got.
I even contemplated getting this pregnancy pillow, but decided to wait until that was a valid need.
Either way, after a few months of sleeping with the body pillow, my back has been soooo much better. My lower back still tends to be pretty tight, but i think its mostly from work and all that kickboxing that i do.
(It has felt like Thursday to me for the last 2 mornings!)
This week's topic for Random Thursday:
First things first, I am interpretting this to mean a deserted island - meaning one with no civilization on it rather than an island with the terrain of a desert. Next, I have been feeling a bit overwhelmed by technology lately. I blame it on the house hunt! So I made a rule for myself: none of these items could require plugging in to a wall.
With that said, I still got stuck a bit. I then asked hubs what her thought. So today you are getting not just my items, but also his items. Should throw a new twist on the weekly randomness!
My 5 Items:
1. A really long good book! - after all, who wouldn't like to read on some beach where there is no.one.
2. A really big warm blanket. - its bound to get a little chilly right?
3. Hubby and Lily - he's one item i personally like to keep around and Lily is just too cute to leave behind!
4. A knife - because it will never run out of bullets and will probably come in handy when i get snacky!
5. Magnesium fire starter - to start a fire to cook the meat that i so barbarically kill!
And now for hubby's 5 items...
1. Wife
2. Lily
3. Knife
4. Bow and arrow set
5. Magnesium fire starter
My husband definitely would be hunting, maybe with Lily at his side! While i would be curled up with a blanket and a book by the fire! And yes, he told me about the magnesium fire starter, which i added to the list in case he didnt get to bring 5 items. he he!
I haven't been "in school" since 2008. One thing i learned while in school, however, that learning never ends! We learn our entire lives. Which is exactly why I have taken an interest in all the iTunes University content!
My alma mater, Biola University, has so much content that I can't wait to listen to it all but totally realize that there aren't enough hours in the day! I did get a chance to listen to/watch one group of programs that i truly enjoyed and learned from.
I watched "Hipster Christianity" which was a few sessions all about the book with the same title. The first session was a talk that the author gave to explain the book and his reasons for writing the book. The second session was then another professor adding his comments and then a final segment was a panel of several Christian professors giving their take on the whole thing.
I learned a lot and even without having read the book! It was really a great amount of information that I was intrigued by. It gave food for thought even for this 33 year old who has long left the college classroom!
If you are at all interested in this program it is available on the Biola University iTunes U page within the app. But there really is such a wealth of programs that are out there and mostly FREE!
Have you listened to or watched any of the programs on iTunes U?
Hulu
made an appearance in our home in December when we moved into a new apartment.
We bought a Roku and began subscribing to begin our watching! At first were a
bit disappointed to give up DirecTV, but we quickly realized we could watch TV for hours! On that note, here's my top ten reasons Hulu is not to be missed!
1. Cost
This
subscription service is EXTREMELY low cost. It's a whole whopping $7.99 a month
an you can cancel at any time! no contract! The best part is gift certificates
are available and make great gifts for prevent from family!
2. Fun
shows
There
really is so much out there to entertain us, but Hulu offers a great backlog of
full seasons of so many shows. It also allows you to discover new shows that
can offer a ton of variety and fun. Here's some favorites that are sure to
entertain:
3.
Pausing TV
One of
the modern conveniences while watching TV is to be able to pause while
watching! Along with satellite providers, Hulu makes this possible as well!
Watching TV shows in segments is possible with this feature! It also helps people
like me who may only have 15 minutes to watch a show and then more time later!
I often watch a little and then come back and watch the rest of the show later!
4.
Minimal commercials
Now
here's the thing, ALL commercials are annoying, but with recorded TV you have
to fast forward through them which takes as much time as watching 2-3 short
commercial breaks. This actually means I can get up and go grab a snack, take a
potty break, or check my email real quick during the commercial breaks instead
of holding the remote to zoom past all the commercials. It's nice to have a
breather instead of having to be glued to the remote!
5. New
shows
Hulu has
truly introduced me to some shows that I don't think I would have found without
it! Here are some of my finds that I have enjoyed:
Insert
clips of hot in Cleveland, ready for love and save me.
Another I have watched that i can't find a good clip for is Ready For Love, Mistresses, and many others! Check 'em out on Hulu!
6. New
interface
The
interface on Hulu recently changed and I LOVE IT! It has so many new features
and it is organized in a much better way! Previously it was difficult to figure
out what shows had been viewed and which shows were or were not in queue. Now
there are progress bars on the little images for each episode and it is
organized by movies, TV shows, previews, and clips. There's even a section of
recommended shows and shows that you watch! It's so nice to know hulu knows me!
7.
Continuous play back
This
feature is great, especially when marathoning shows! I used to be frustrated
with the fact that I'd have to put whatever I was doing down to start the next
show (especially if I was playing a bunch of episodes in the background!). Now,
there's continuous playback, which starts the next episode when the one you are
watching ends! But don't worry, if you don't want to have this feature, it is
easily turned off!
8. Watch
on several devices
This is
quite common these days, but you can watch on you computer, phone, smart tv,
Apple TV, Roku, or tablet! It's really quite convenient and I imagine would be
great for vacations, entertaining children, and taking entertainment really
anywhere with you!
9. Watch
old favorites
The show
Cheers has been off the air for quite sometime, but with Hulu, you can catch
up, replay or even start watching the show from the beginning. And the best
part is that Cheers is not the only show that this is possible for! There's a
whole bunch! Summers don't have to be so boring and folding laundry with the TV
on can be made fun again!
10.
Recommended shows
I
mentioned this above, but it truly is a great part of Hulu! I am so glad that Hulu
suggests shows based on your watching practices before! I have found several
shows is way recently and I love catching one that I really wouldn't have found
without the recommendation! Try it, you may like it!
If you
are a Hulu subscriber, what do you like/love about the service? What shows do
you marathon?
PS. This is NOT a sponsored post! I wrote this because i have become a true fan of Hulu! I do enjoy using it and know that many people have contemplated signing up and ditching the huge cable bills! Eventually, my hubs and i will make our way back to the huge bill just so we can watch sports again! We do miss a good baseball game on every night!
Summer is just about here! And that makes me a bit giddy... if only i didn't have to survive through 5+ weeks of summer school, then I would be one happy camper! If only!
Well, with long summer afternoons fast approaching my mind is wandering to reading lazily on my balcony, by the pool, at a coffee shop, or even as my husband is driving! Curled up on the couch wouldn't be so bad either! This also reminds me of the time i spent an entire Friday reading in my mother's backyard just so we could go see the movie for the same book that very night. (It was Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook!)
While I have loved reading the whole day away, it seems that as I have gotten older, these moments of not having to be anywhere to do anything seem few and far between. This will definitely become one of my items on my summer to-do list.... relax and read!
This weekend I began reading The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve and so far have enjoyed it, though i will say it has a depressing beginning. Let's see if it ends on a high note!
I have read other books that have led me to llllllllllloooooooooooooooonnnnnnnnngggggg hours with a book in hand. Here are a few titles that kept me more than captivated for hours on end:
The Book of Ruth
The Fourth Hand by John Irving
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca
Wells
The Dive from Clausen’s
Pier by Ann Packer
What books have you sat and read the whole day away with?
