Have a Better Life

I hate when I have to spend money out of my established budget. Two weeks ago it was my desktop screen, today it was the kitchen faucet.

Let’s face it, that faucet is the original one, meaning it has 10 years and during those years we never had problems with it. A few weeks ago it started dripping water each time we used it and now it was already pouring water.

My husband just left to go looking for some Moen kitchen faucets at a local store. I hope it’s not very expensive, we have some big expenses in the next couple of weeks.

Image via Wikipedia

One of the things I would like to have on my backyard is a greenhouse. Having plants and vegetables all over the year would be great. With a greenhouse, plants can grow larger and quicker than the ones with common gardening.

Greenhouses help gardeners to grow plants no matter the weather or season of the year. Usually Greenhouses have heating and humidifying systems that help the life plant process. Plants need sunlight and greenhouses should have the ability to provide the necessary solar radiation, not too much, not too less.

Greenhouse kits usually come with all the systems ready to be installed however some gardeners prefer to take of the greenhouse by themselves. They provide water manually as well as electricity when needed. It’s a hobby that keeps gardeners entertained. If possible, install a rainwater system to take advantage of the rain water.

Next to the greenhouse we can put a metal building structure to store the tool used in the greenhouse gardening. If the gardener prefers and has space, he can put a bench inside the greenhouse and store the tools there.

Do you have a greenhouse? How is it installed?

I love the Lemon flavor. I usually drink lemon tea, I bake a Lemon Pie and I love Lemon Mousse. It’s excellent for hot days, like today, because it is fresh and tasty.

There are several recipes for the Lemon Mousse but this one is one of my favorites.

Lemon Mousse

Image via Wikipedia

Ingredients:

• 1 can of condensed milk
• 2 packages of cream
• A small cup of lemon juice
• 3 egg whites

Preparation:

1. Join the condensed milk with lemon juice.
2. Whip the cream until double.
3. Whip the egg whites.
4. Mix everything together
5. Pour the mixture into a bowl and bring to a refrigerator to gain consistency.
6. You can garnish with lemon zest.

Although the condensed milk is a little too sweet, it is worth to make this mousse. You will love it.

Going Green is a major objective in my life and each time I buy something I think twice.

Our old VGA desktop screen collapsed. After months of having the screen changing color from yellow to green to blue, also the screen area started to shrink it finally stopped working and we had to decide: leave the desktop unused or spend money we don’t have on another screen.

After a few days deliberating we decided that it was better to buy a new screen and give some use to the computer. My first concern was to find a eco-friendly screen and we did. We gave €10 more to buy a 19″ LCD screen with a low energy consumption and excellent power settings. It was worth the €10.

We also bought an accessory set for the desktop. My son wanted a Bluetooth headset but instead we bought a Webcam and regular headphones. For my laptop, which doesn’t have a Webcam incorporated, I bought a Webcam and regular headphones with micro. Both Webcams have incorporated micro, so depending if we are alone or not we can decide if we use or not the headphones.

This shopping was not planned therefore we had to use the credit card. Not something we wanted to do but it was a shame to have a good desktop with no screen.
photo credit: Micky.!

You just checked your wardrobe and you realized that you need to buy some clothes. Here are a few tips while clothing shopping:

• Make a list of the clothing items you need. Shirts, lingerie, trousers, skirts, etc.
• Stay focus on that list
• Shop alone if you don’t want to get distracted
• Shop with a friend if you want an opinion
• Always try your clothes on the store, if possible with a three-way mirror
• Don’t buy clothes that don’t fit you right now. Some people buy already imagine they will have a few pounds in one month.
• If you feel comfortable with other people’s opinion, you may want to ask the salesperson for his/her opinion.
• Buy quality clothes so that they can be used for years.
• If you like a certain pair of trousers or a shirt that looks really good on you, buy two instead of one. Buy different colors to match other clothes you have.
• Follow your list and don’t get distracted by other nice items you don’t need.

I hope this tips help you on your clothing shopping.

Buy Better and Have a Better Life!
photo credit: melystu

One think we have to keep in mind to have a great life is a good insurance company, with great assistance and good prices.

Nowadays there is no excuse to pay higher prices for an insurance policy. A Netquote is the easiest thing you can request online. You can compare prices and policy conditions from the comfort of your home and get the best insurance plan for you.

Insurance agents are very tricky and although a Home insurance in Illinois is different from a home insurance in Texas, we have to establish a friendly relationship with the agent in order to gain their confident and ask for a really low quotation.

It is very important to ask for several quotes before deciding to buy one. Comparing prices can make us gain dozens of dollars. Prices differ from insurance company to insurance company and we have to find the one that together with the best policy conditions also offers us a low price.

Companies also can take advantage of the world wide web to ask for business insurance quotes and choose the appropriate one for the size of the company and employees number.

I have home insurance, life insurance, auto insurance and believe me, they are all in different insurance companies because I never receive a package price where I would pay less for the three insurance policies.

From the acai berry to the cranberry, we are blessed with numerous superfruits to tantalise our taste buds and give us a healthy lift. What makes these fruit so special is the antioxidant content, which is supposed to fight against damaging particles in our bodies.

Super superfruits

Here are some of the superfruits we love:

• Acai berry
• Blueberry
• Cranberry
• Goji berry
• Grape
• Mango
• Pomegranate
• Apples
• Oranges
• Tomatoes
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Blackberries

Any combination of these superfruits can taste amazing in fruit juice, but we think they are even more substantial as smoothies. It is up to you which fruits you mix together, and how you garnish it to serve.

Super superfruit smoothie

Here is one of our favourite superfruit smoothie recipes which has the advantage of the antioxidant content of both acai and blueberries:

Ingredients

• 1 peeled banana, cut in half
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat milk
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat vanilla yoghurt
• 100 gram packet frozen acai pulp
• 2 cups frozen blueberries
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup ice

Preparation

• 1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
• 2. Serve immediately

About acai

One of the ingredients used in the above recipe is the acai berry, pronounced ass-eye-ee. Aside from its superfruit status, acai is said to taste like a mix of berries and chocolate. Acai has been enjoyed in Brazil for many years, commonly appearing with granola as a simple source of nutrients. Luckily, the growth in popularity means that acai is now available to purchase here in various forms, including the frozen packets used in this recipe.

Photograph source: Green Kitchen Stories. (2010). Super fruit smoothie.