A TRILLION BUCKS

Good morning everyone! How are you doing this wonderful Wednesday morning? I am good and hope you are too! I think we've gotten into our morning routine again pretty strongly as things have gone quite swimmingly the last couple of days. A couple of good solid weeks of this and then we must change our habits AGAIN! Oh well... so is the life of the Band Mom LOL!

Ok have you ever ran across something on the internet that you find and just make you stop and say... "SERIOUSLY? WHO THINKS OF THIS CRAP?" Well yesterday was one of those days! I ran across this article about money (LOL why do those ALWAYS catch my eye LMAO) and when I got to the end of the article, I found myself slapping my forehead going "Are you kidding me?" Check this out!

13 Ways to Spend $1 Trillion
by Kevin McCormally

Confronting the federal deficit starts with grasping just how colossal that number actually is. So, what would $1 trillion get you?

The figure is almost incomprehensible: $1,000,000,000,000. One trillion dollars. That's a dozen zeros.

The Congressional Budget Office reports that during the first nine months of fiscal 2010 -- which ends September 30 -- the federal government spent $1 trillion more than it took in. That's another $1 trillion added to a total national debt that stood at just over $13 trillion as of the Fourth of July. (On the bright side, the trillion-dollar nine-month deficit was about $80 billion less red ink than flowed during the same period last year.)

Not so long ago, the idea of a "trillion" anything was so farfetched that it evoked a comic response similar to what the use of the word "gazillion" does today. The 1960s comment attributed to then Senate minority leader (and ever-vigilant deficit hawk) Everett Dirksen -- "A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking about real money" -- seems downright quaint today. (In 1965, the national debt was a paltry $317 billion.)

But, seriously, how much is $1 trillion? To help you wrap your head around that mind-boggling number, and to try to put deficit spending into perspective, consider what $1 trillion will buy, expressed in terms we can all understand:

$1 Trillion Would Buy ...

40,816,326 New Cars

5,574,136 Typical American Homes

140 Billion Hours of Labor

A Year's Salary for 14.7 Million Teachers

The Annual Salaries of All 535 Members of Congress for the Next 10,742 Years

The Star Power of LeBron James for the Next 50,000 Years

1.33 Trillion Chocolate Bars

1,333 Celebrity Divorce Settlements

A Guaranteed $6.3 Billion Payout for a 65-Year-Old Man Every Month for the Rest of His Life

A One-Year CD Yielding $15.5 Billion in Interest

Annual Base Pay for 59.5 Million U.S. Army Privates

Replace Annual Incomes for 19.2 Million American Families

Pay the Estate Taxes for 2,222 Billionaires

Now I want to ask you... first off who in their right mind wasted time, and probably funding, to research something so outlandishly useless? I mean honestly, who in their NORMAL everyday life is going to ever see a total of a trillion bucks? I know I probably won't... MOST people probably won't! Secondly, some of the things they put on the list are so ridiculous, its not even funny! I mean, come on... who can use a trillion plus chocolate bars??? Why can't people with apparently too much time on their hands spend time and research finding USEFUL things like cures for horrible diseases, helping animals, helping the disabled... ya know THINGS OF IMPORTANCE!!?? I'm sorry but I really don't care about how many celebrity divorces that money would pay... I care about how many American children we could feed! Sorry for me getting on that proverbial soapbox again... I will stop now.



Ok everybody, it's time once again to get crafty! Now this morning for the Christmas Countdown challenge, I have the next 3 gifts at least planned out. Now one of them is going to take more than one day, but I am quite excited about it. Today, however, I am making another kitchen set with a different type of cookbook... a beginner's cookbook. Again, I can't tell you who its for, but mom knows this one too as it was at her suggestion. I will be making the pot holders, oven mitts, grocery bag holder, decorative towels, and specialized cookbook. I have to decide what type of material to use on this one, as I am not sure of all the favorite designs of the recipient. But I'm sure it will turn out great! Now for all of you, I have found something cute but yet very practical. We all have more than likely experienced an injury or cramps or something that the pain was alleviated by a heating pad or a heat pack of some kind, etc. And then of course, there is the frog. Many people like frogs for some reason, so why not combine the two? I think its a cute idea for yourself or to use as a gift, so enjoy!



Craft Idea of the Day: Froggie Heat Pack

Materials:

Corduroy, velvet or a heat resistant fabric
Black felt for eyes
Sewing Machine
Wheat or long grain rice to fill frog
1/2 cup of Dried Lavender

Directions:

This is an adapted pattern to turn our Bean Bag Frog into a heat pack for kids.

Start by printing off the pattern below and enlarging it to the size you would like your frog to be.



cutting 1 piece out for the top and 1 piece out for the bottom of the frog. The pattern is designed to work with a fold down the middle.

With the right sides together sew around your frog either on a sewing machine or over locker, Hand sewing would not be very durable for this pattern as a heat pack. Leave a small section open for turning the right way and filling.

Stitch on the felt eyes, you could use buttons, but it may be a little rough against the skin when the heat pack is in use. (Make sure they are not metal because you will be heating this up in the microwave.)

Turn the frog the right side out using a pen or pencil to push out the arms and legs.

Using a funnel fill the frog with 1/2 a cup of dried lavender flowers and wheat then sew up the opening with strong thread.

To use, place it in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.

Refresh the lavender with oil drops as it begins to wear out

Well it's time to talk WACKY WATERMELON WEEK! I must tell my mother to quit reading my mind LOL because I have brought you super sweet treats today! I wanted to tell you about the different kinds of watermelons today... not all fruits and veggies are created equal I suppose LOL! There are more than 50 varieties of watermelon. Most have red flesh, but there are orange and yellow-fleshed varieties. Of the 50 varieties of watermelon throughout the United States, there are four general categories: Allsweet, Ice-Box, Seedless and Yellow Flesh. SO here is some education followed by some sweet love! Eat & Enjoy!

AllSweet
20–25 pounds
Red Flesh
Oblong
Dark green rind, with or without stripes

Serving suggestion: Surprise your guests by serving a large refreshing wedge of watermelon following a heavy meal. Place the wedge on a plate with a large knife and encourage the entire table to enjoy a slice.

Ice-Box
5–15 pounds
Red or yellow flesh
Round
Dark or light green rind

Serving suggestion: Make your salsa or relish really "cool" by substituting watermelon for tomatoes in your favorite recipe. Serve with grilled chicken, fish or pork. Try watermelon salsa with chips, too.

Seedless
10–25 pounds
Red or yellow flesh
Oval to round
Light green rind with dark green stripes

Serving suggestion: This variety's perfect for sorbets and beverages. Blend cubes of seedless watermelon and use the juice in margaritas, daiquiris or lemonade for a new twist.

Yellow Flesh
10–30 pounds
Yellow to bright orange flesh
Oblong to long
Light green rind with mottled stripes

Serving suggestion: Use for color variety as a garnish or side dish. Create festive fruit kabobs by skewering yellow flesh watermelon with other seasonal fruits, such as kiwis and strawberries.



Watermelon Pie

Ingredients

1 (3 ounce) package watermelon flavored gelatin
1/4 cup water
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
2 cups watermelon
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust

Directions

Mix together the watermelon gelatin and water. Fold gelatin mixture into the dessert topping. Add cut watermelon.

Pour mixture into graham cracker crust. Cool in refrigerator for about 4 hours or longer.



Juicy Watermelon Sorbet

Ingredients

3 cups water
3 cups white sugar
1/4 cup lime juice
4 cups cubed seeded watermelon

Directions

Heat water and sugar in a saucepan over medium-high heat until sugar has dissolved, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool. Place watermelon in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth. Whisk watermelon, lime juice and 1 cup of syrup (depending on the sweetness of your melon) together in a large bowl. Cover and chill in the refrigerator.

Pour the chilled mixture into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer's directions until it reaches "soft-serve" consistency. Transfer sorbet to a one- or two-quart lidded plastic container; cover surface with plastic wrap and seal. For best results, sorbet should ripen in the freezer for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Alright folks, that about wraps things up for me today. I hope you have fun and manage to maybe learn a little something each time you drop by. I enjoy our visits, but sadly I must part for the day to get to work on my challenges and my motherly/wifely duties around the home LOL! I will sneak in here tomorrow and tease and excite your mind if you agree not to tell LOL! Kidding folks... but I DO hope to see you again tomorrow! Until then... HUGS!