Two very important things

First

I make homemade bread. I do it because the cost of buying it in the grocery store is quickly rising to $50 per loaf. And homemade bread just tastes so much better, and I can control the ingredients and preservatives my kids are eating.

However, I'm not completely insane. I make my bread dough in the bread machine and then put it in a normal bread pan to bake it. I have been making pretty standard bread machine recipes, until this week. I tried this recipe. Oh, my goodness! This was the yummiest homemade bread EVER. I know I probably didn't do it complete justice since the generations of women who have made it have not used bread machines to make their dough. I apologize to their legacy for that, but if it weren't for the bread machine this working mom would be back to buying loaves of bad bread in the store. Anyway, I cut the recipe in half to only make one loaf. Then I mixed the warm water, yeast, sugar and salt and let it rest for 5 minutes. Then I started the bread machine and slowly poured in the flour and let the machine do the work from there. About 2 hours later, I had the yummiest homemade bread EVER (wait did I already say that?)!

So, I'm telling you... with the rising cost of food and diminishing quality of store bought products, I HIGHLY recommend trying this. Oh and one last hint about the bread... I use an electric knife to cut mine and then I can have thin and relatively standardized slices.

Second
I know I have already been telling everyone about this. But if you haven't been so lucky as to hear my endorsement of this product, well here you go!

I've had allergies all my life. Some years terrible, some years not so bad. My hay fever can be debilitating. I get it all: the watery eyes, the sinus pressure, the itchy mouth and the sneezing and runny nose.

Then one day I saw something on Oprah (if it's on Oprah, it's got to be good, right?). They spotlighted the Neti Pot. They promised that this crazy contraption would change my life for only about $15. Of course I had to go to Walgreens and pick one up.

This is what I got:



I brought it home and tried it. Using it the first time was a strange experience, but then it happened. I became a believer! A believer in the powers of the Neti Pot. And I could breath again.

I don't use it ever day. I use it when I feel any congestion, allergy symptoms or when I think I might have snored the night before. However, you can use it ever day and it is completely non addictive (unlike those spray decongestants, which I once fell prey to).

So, if you are prone to allergies, sinus infections or even just get a bad head cold, try this. Seriously, for $15 you might just be as pleasantly surprised as I was.