To make a potato pet planter, you will need a potato, dirt, bird seed or other seeds.   Fresh herb seeds are especially nice, such as basil, oregano, parsley or chives.

We used golf tees for legs, which I found to be a bit unstable but useable.  You can also use nails, toothpicks, pushpins or even broken pieces of a chopstick.  Anything goes for the eyes, including googly eyes, tacks, cloves or buttons secured by pins.  A pipe cleaner can be used for a tail.

Give your child the potato and allow him or her to hollow a portion of the top out with a pointed spoon.  The hole has to be big enough to hold the dirt and seeds.

Once the hole is cut, let your child decorate, adding the legs, face and tail.  If you don’t have anything to use for a face, the potato can be carved with a safe tool.  Finally, add the dirt, some seeds and a bit more dirt on top.  Put the potato planter on a plate and water gently when finished.

Our potato pet has to be watered daily.  It took about a week for the seeds to begin to germinate.  They are starting to grow nicely, but have another week or two to go.

These potato planter pets are a great craft for daisy, brownie or girl scout meetings too.  They are also excellent as student gifts on Mother’s day.

If you grow your own potato pet with your child, send a picture and I will post your planter picture on Agoosa!

This week I was desperate for a side dish.  I had some penne, but not much else.  Then I remembered an almost empty jar of Bela Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomatoes in the fridge.  If you find these sun dried tomatoes at Costco, be sure to bring a jar home for times like this.

With just a few ingredients, I made a rich and amazingly delicious pasta side dish – thanks to Bela Sun Luci!

First, I sautéed some garlic in olive oil and added a pinch of course sea salt.  Then I cut the sun dried tomatoes in to strips and added them to the pan.

While I was doing this, the pasta was cooking.  I drained it when it was al dente and added the pasta to the pan.  Then, for the simplest secret of the whole dish, I put a bit of the oil from the tomato jar in to the pan.  After a few shakes of hot pepper flakes, it was done.

You can turn this in to a main dish by adding chicken, shrimp or even pork.  Or simply add a favorite cheese to give it a bit more protein.

Simple?  Yes.  But this was one of those accidental dishes that everybody raved about – from the teenage sons to the nine year old daughter.  And the next day?  “Is there any of that pasta left?”  Unfortunately, the answer was no.   It was just that good.  Thanks to those amazing Costco sun dried tomatoes!

Do you have any quick and easy pasta dishes you would like to share?

Instead of throwing these away, place them in the freezer until you have several.  Then, while they are frozen, grate them on the large holes of a box or straight grater.  Voila, bread crumbs!

You can add some herbs or spices to the crumbs for extra flavor.  These bread crumbs can be used right away, or can be toasted in the oven and saved in a jar for later use.  And even better?  They are similar to panko bread crumbs, which are excellent for perfectly crisp baking.

If you don’t have time to bake the crumbs or use them immediately, store them shaved in the freezer.  These can be added frozen to a meatloaf or meatball mixture at a later time.

• In 2008, there were 4,051 teen crash related deaths, with 1,370 involving female drivers and 2,681 male.
• Two thirds of the teens who died did not wear a seatbelt.
• Currently, the leading cause of death among teens is from car accidents.  Car accidents kill more teens than cancer, suicide and homicide.
• In an anonymous survey, 56% of the teen drivers participating admitted to using cell phones while driving.  A whopping 46% of these teens text while driving, while 69% admit to speeding up to get though a yellow light.
• In 2008, more teenage driving deaths occurred in August, while 55% of the overall teen deaths happened from Friday through Sunday.
• In their first year of driving, one in five boys will have a car accident, while one in ten girls will have one.

Do you have a teen driver?  At what age did he or she get a license?  Has your teen been involved in a driving accident?    Or have you told your teenager that he or she needs to wait?

I have found a way to make pork chops both tender and beautiful with a golden crunchy crust.  Read on!

You can use bread crumbs, panko bread crumbs or crackers for your pork chop coating.  Place your coating of choice in a food processor and add 2 tablespoons of butter, salt/pepper, fresh garlic and any spices of your choice.  Thyme and rosemary go very well with pork, as does parsley.  Blend the ingredients together.

Place your pork chops on a washable cutting board and cover them with plastic wrap.  Bang on the chops to flatten and tenderize them.

Now, line up three separate dishes.  The first is flour, the second milk and the third bread or cracker crumbs.  Dip the chops into the flour, then the milk and finally the crumbs.

Push the crumbs on to the pork to be sure they are completely covered.

I like to bake my pork chops at 375 to 400 on a thin layer of olive oil.  But any method of cooking should work with this recipe.  Since pork chop thicknesses vary, I usually check mine after twenty minutes, and add on more time if needed until there is no pink in the meat.  Halfway through cooking, turn each pork chop for even browning.

The final outcome?  Delicious, tender and beautiful pork chops.  This recipe works really well with chicken breasts too!

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER, DANA L.!

If you aren’t familiar with Lush, then you are in for a big surprise.  Lush is all about fresh, handmade cosmetics.  No animal testing, organic fruits and vegetables whenever possible, little or no packaging or preservatives, 100% vegetarian and 74% vegan.  And their products? Well, they are nothing but Lush!

This month Lush has given me the opportunity to test three of their shampoos.  And even better, they are sponsoring a giveaway for one of the three products I am reviewing.  Yes, a LUSH GIVEAWAY!  What can be better?

Out of the many products Lush makes by hand, I was able to try three different forms of their shampoos.  Yes, I said forms.  Have you ever tried a shampoo bar?  I hadn’t, until recently.

I started my shampoo trial with Curly Wurly, a tub of oatmeal-looking moisturizing shampoo.  Curly Wurly is excellent for frizzy and dry hair, containing coconut, vanilla, papaya, free range eggs and natural butters.  Preservative free, this shampoo actually comes with an expiration date.  That’s a first!

The one thing you should know about Lush products is that they have fragrance.  A lot of fragrance.  When shopping for Lush items, you should always read the ingredients of the product to be sure you like the included fragrances.

The Curly Wurly has a very strong scent of coconut.  Shampooing with it reminded me of overly scented coconut suntan lotion.  Dipping in to the tub of thick shampoo, I immediately felt the creaminess of the natural ingredients.  It didn’t begin to lather in my hair until I let a bit of water mix with it.  But once it did, my hair was full of creamy, coconut goodness.

It is important to rinse out Curly Wurly well, as it contains “bits and pieces” of natural ingredients that may get caught in your hair.  The final results?  My curls were tighter and held together better than with any other curl shampoo I’ve tried.  My hair was extremely soft, which felt wonderful every time I turned my head.  I give Curly Wurly a thumbs up for frizzy, curly hair.  But if you don’t like coconut, I suggest you try another shampoo product, because you will smell coconut throughout the day after using Curly Wurly.

<UPDATE: I have been using Curly Wurly on a daily basis and I have to report that my hair has never been so shiny and soft!>

Next in line was Rehab, which deep cleans and moisturizes damaged hair.  Rehab contains pineapple, papaya, mango juice, peppermint, olive oil, rosemary and more.  This shampoo had my favorite scent, reminding me of mint with a tiny hint of rosemary.  As with Curly Wurly, the Rehab shampoo only required a small amount for lovely, creamy lather.

Once I rinsed, my hair was literally “squeaky clean.”  This worried me because it almost felt like my hair was stripped of its own natural oils.  But using my regular conditioner afterwards made my hair feel silkier than it does with my regular shampoo.  The Rehab didn’t hold my curls as much as the Curly Wurly, but my hair felt extremely healthy after using Lush’s Rehab.  This shampoo has the lightest scent of the three I tried, and would be best for someone with perfume sensitivities.

And finally, my favorite – the Karma Komba Shampoo Bar.  I deem this as my favorite because it is an extremely unusual form of shampoo and oh my, THE LATHER.  Karma Komba is a circular, hard shampoo bar containing orange and lemon oils as well as patchouli and elemi for your scalp.  The scent is akin to distinct pine with a slight hint of lemon.

I was very skeptical that shampoo would work in a bar form.  I wet my hair, rubbed the bar on top of my head about four times and began to scrub.  Instantly my hair went from bare and wet to being full of the biggest, softest and bubbliest lather I have ever had with any type of shampoo.  My hands were so full of lather that I had to rinse them in order to complete my shampooing!  Lush must hire magicians, because I still don’t understand how a hard bar of pine smelling “soap” can generate such huge amounts of soft, moisturizing lather.

Karma Komba would be excellent for camping, traveling and for college students living in dorms.  It is portable, fun to use and will last quite a while.

As with the Rehab, my hair practically squeaked after rinsing.  With my curly dry hair, it was imperative for me to complete the job with a good moisturizer.  Eight hours after using Karma Komba, my hair was a mess.  Not because of the shampoo, but because I couldn’t keep my hands out of my hair.  It was simply so soft I couldn’t keep from fiddling with it throughout the day.  And as Lush advertises, this shampoo bar is very good for detangling knotty hair.

So there you have it.  I don’t have anything bad to say about these three shampoos.  I do recommend a conditioner to people with dry hair after using Rehab and Karma Komba because of the “squeak” factor.  And if you don’t like the scent of coconut, steer clear of Curly Wurly.  Furthermore, if you aren’t a fan of pine, Karma Komba isn’t for you.  Lush scents are strong, period.

And now for the FUN part.  The Lush Giveaway!  After reading my review of each type of shampoo, the winner gets to pick out the one shampoo product they would like as their own.  This contest runs through January 31, with a winner chosen randomly at random.org.

How do you win?  Visit the USA Lush site and tell me in a comment about one product other than the three shampoos I’ve reviewed that you think is interesting.

For more entries, you can do the following things once, leaving a comment after completing each one:

• Follow Lush on Twitter and then Tweet:

Enter the @lushltd contest to win a Lush Shampoo!  http://agoosa.com/?p=978 #giveaway

• Follow Shoot Me Now on Twitter.
• Become a fan of Lush on facebook.
• Subscribe to Agoosa.

I can’t wait to see who wins, and which of the three shampoos the winner will choose!

The Flip Ultra runs off of two AA batteries, but consumers can purchase a rechargeable battery pack or a power cord for the device.  I’ve used the same AA batteries for three weeks and haven’t had to replace them yet.

The beauty of the Flip is its portability.  I carry the recorder in my purse, and can place it in my pocket for easy access.  And quick?  The Flip will begin recording videos three seconds after powering it on.

I take my Flip to basketball games and take quick shots as the players run back and forth between baskets.  Normally the videos I take with my $500 video camera are dark in the middle school gyms. But the Flip videos are bright and of a much better quality.

Middle School Boys B Team vs Jr Varisty High School Girls Undefeated Team from shootmenowblog on Vimeo.

The Flip’s ability to take excellent videos in dark places has surprised me the most.  I took a video while we were in the Virginia Aquarium in a very dark area that was surrounded by water.  The quality is excellent – and far better than my normal camcorder would have taken.

The Virginia Aquarium New Exhibit from shootmenowblog on Vimeo.

Videos I’ve taken outside are much clearer, brighter and crisp.  But my favorite part about the Flip is how you can record quick shots in dark places without a lighting source.

A Flip Video Ultra takes 120 minutes of video, 2X digital zoom, has a 2.0 inch display and comes with a TV cable for home viewing.  The USB arm flips out from the side, making your transfers to the computer fast and easy.  The Flip software allows you to upload videos to Facebook, Myspace, Youtube and other sharing sights easily.  You can also email videos with just a few clicks.

The Flip Video Ultra is honestly a gadget that I love and use all the time.  I can sneak videos of the children without them knowing, which makes for some funny and very real videos.   If I ever see something I want to take a video of, I pull out my Flip and shoot within a few seconds.

Parents have stopped me at games and school functions and asked me about my Flip.  “Weren’t those all the rage this Christmas,” they ask.  “But do they really work?”  I will hand them the recorder and let them view the clips I’ve taken.  All of them immediately comment on the quality of the shots.  “I have GOT to get one!” is usually their conclusion.

And I agree.  For about $155, I have a handy video recorder that I take everywhere I go.  Videos are easy to take and even easier to share.  The Flip isn’t something you would record your wedding with, but is definitely something that works beautifully for easy, on the go video that you can share with family and friends.  For the price of about $155, this gadget is well worth it for the fun you will have taking quick shots on the go.

You just CAN’T STOP.  But wait!  The next time this happens, try a little experiment.  Take one bite of the ice cream (or other sweet or salty food) and savor it.  Let it roll around on your tongue as you enjoy it’s “bad for you” goodness.  Then, take another bite.  Finally, put the container down and walk away for five minutes.

Has your craving been satisfied?  According to nutrition professor Linda Bacon, PhD., it might now be easy to resist eating any more.  Bacon believes that your tongue loses sensitivity to the chemicals that make food taste good after just a few bites.

So the next time you have a craving for something that is definitely off your diet, try a few bites and walk away.  This might be your secret to success for a slimmer, healthier you!

Begin by cutting either green or regular onions and sautéing them with a few crushed cloves of garlic in olive oil.  Then add ground turkey and cook until completely browned.

You can add whatever seasoning you have on hand.  Try something different like a teaspoon of Herbs de Provence.  Or sprinkle in some thyme, basil or oregano.

Add two cans of rinsed great northern beans.  Then begin pouring in chicken broth, preferably organic and MSG-free.  Use less broth for a stoup and more broth for a regular, thinner soup.

Finally, about five minutes before you are ready to serve, pour in a bag of fresh spinach.

The beauty of this recipe?  You can add just about anything you have on hand to this dish.  Wine, veggies, noodles, potatoes – or you can simply leave it as is, which is absolutely delicious!