Card swap month 1

We started another round of the card swap and I again hosted the first month. We have some players from the last round, plus a few new friends so I'm really looking forward to the next few months of cardmaking. Since we have six instead of four players, I found it a little more difficult to put the kits together, even with my extensive stash. For example, when I include ribbon, I usually include 12-inch lengths, but had trouble finding 2 yards of matching ribbon. Next time, I'll have to remind myself that a six-inch sample is long enough for a card.

Here's what was included in the kit:

Patterned paper from A to Z and Basic Grey.
DCWV glitter card bases
Bazzill cardstock
Kaisercraft journaling tags
Doilies
AC black buttons
Pearlized green brads
Velvet grey ribbon (from LM!), black and white checked ribbon, pearl daisy trim, teal ribbon, washi tape. The ribbons and washi are in 12-18 inch sections.
Yellow tickets
envelopes

At the last minute, I decided to throw in the ginko paper. I have no idea who made it. The paper on the left is really silver, not gold. The paper is really shiny and difficult to photograph.


As you can see, there are multiple themes going on. Obviously, I couldn't decide what to include so I just kept adding stuff. I've got the classic black and white, bling, Asian, French (the journaling tags are from the Bonjour line), and fun with the yellow tickets.

This first card is just a simple card. I still need to add white liner so it is usable. And I'm not very good at adding sentiments so this one may go to Operation Write Home as a blank card. All the patterned paper and embellishments are from the card is from the kit. I had to add the card base since I didn't include any in the kit. I also used my favorite border punch. (It is a Martha Stewart punch, in case you need one for yourself.)


I couldn't decide if I should add ribbon or not to this next card, but then I thought that ribbon would make it too feminine. (I was trying for a masculine card.) Next time, I'll think about adding some baker's twine. The sentiment is a sticker from DCWV and again, the black cardstock and use of a die are the only additions.


I really like this next card. I tried to get all "artsy" with the overlapping words, but that didn't turn out as well as I liked. The wedding dress was inspired by this tutorial. The rubons are Making Memories and the pearls are from a previous card kit.

Here's are links to everyone else's cards (or blogs if the cards aren't posted yet). Go visit them and leave them some comment love. It is really fun to see how everyone came up with different designs from the same supplies.
Susan's cards
Katie's blog
Peggy's cards
Wendy's blog
Laurie's blog

$4.07

Better than the $4.15 at Arco and $4.27 at Chevron.

$3.93

That's what it was yesterday and it went up four cents today. Ouch!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy New Year! It is the year of the snake and I have no idea if that's good or bad, but if there's any bad, I choose to ignore it, lol. I didn't go home and feel a bit of guilt for that, but Mom is pretty understanding. Since it was only the two of us at home, I didn't cook up a storm. Here are some of the ingredients soaking for jai. For the curious, starting at the top left, you see bamboo shoots and mushrooms in the bowl under the bamboo shoots, lily buds, wood ear fungus, and chestnuts.

I made just three dishes: jai, pork with lotus root, and gai lan. I told Mr. Fix-it to pretend it was nine, lol. But there's enough for another few meals so maybe the year of the snake will be a year of abundance.

The hail you say!

We had a bit of rain last week along with a surprise. Mr. Fix-it took pictures for me since I was at work and missed it.

Oil pulling, day 2

As I said in my first oil pulling post, I wouldn't be practicing every day. For day 2, I used sesame oil, since that is one of the recommended oils for this technique. I don't know if there are different types of sesame oil; I just used what I had in the cupboard. In some ways, using sesame oil was easier since I didn't have to melt the oil in my mouth like I did for the coconut oil. In another way, it was worse because sesame oil has such a strong taste. Mind you, I like the flavor. After all, I cook with it. But I can see how some pratictioners are grossed out by the taste.

As with day 1, my mouth was sensitive after oil pulling, but this time, my tongue was more sensitive than the rest of my mouth.

Oil pulling, day 1

I've been intrigued by the concept of oil pulling, an Ayurveda health practice. Basically, you swish a tablespoon of oil in your mouth for 15-20 minutes, first thing in the morning. This is supposed to have all kinds of health and cosmetic benefits, including whitening your teeth and freshening your breath, eliminating cavities, curing arthritis, and other far-fetched claims. Today was my first attempt at this and it was a little weird and not too unpleasant. First, I forgot how much oil to use and I used too much, about 1 1/2 tablespoons, and had to spit some out after a few minutes. Sunflower or sesame oil are recommended, but some people use coconut oil. Since I have some of that on hand, that's what I used. I had to wait for the oil to melt (in this weather, coconut oil is solid at room temperature), which I didn't like. I swished for about 20 minutes and the oil was slightly milky when I spit it out. It is supposed to be milky, but I have the impression it is supposed to be more milky than what I spit out. My mouth was very sensitive for the next few hours, which I didn't like.

I won't be doing this tomorrow morning since I have to get up early, but I will try it again later in the week. The reality is, I won't do it every day, but hopefully, it do it at least a few times a week before I decide if this is helpful or a scam.