Experiment: How Can I Ever Stand Being By Myself?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 08.07.08

Materials Needed: Please see The Simple Dollar for the full instructions on ideas for completing this task. Trent has a great list of fifty things you can do by yourself and you can pick any activity out of it for budget-friendly ideas that don’t involve spending any money!

Results: I know that today’s entry is a bit of a stretch, but I am leaving today for two trips and started packing my bags with things to do to keep myself entertained while I am waiting for my flight. What did I pack?

Well, I packed lots of yarn so I can crank out some knitted gifts while I am waiting at the airport. I picked this robin’s egg blue and a soft pink to mix in with a brown stripe. I have done this notebook experiment before, but not in these hues. I need to start working on these and plan to give these as gifts with some homemade soaps that I am ordering through Etsy. I just love how modern the addition of the brown stripe made this dishcloths and I think they will be a real hit!

I was a little concerned that I couldn’t bring my knitting needles on the plane, but I checked the guidelines and it said that knitters and crocheters are more than welcome to bring their supplies so I was very happy about that. Then I was worried about cutting the yarn, but saw that nail clippers were perfectly acceptable and after a couple of practice clips, I knew that I would have no trouble whipping up a few of these washcloths.

I have finally memorized this pattern so it makes it much easier to do it without so much thinking.

I also packed a few library books for reading…

Love the One Your With by Emily Giffin. I have never read her before, but I am really enjoying this book. Has anyone else read her? Do you have any recommendations for a favorite from her? So far I am really loving it!

Waiter Rant by Steve Dublanica is another one I picked up. I know nothing about this book, but I guess there is a Waiter Rant blog and that is where the book came from. I waited tables through high school and after I got married so I have a few rants of my own. I am looking forward to reading this and hope it is a great light read!

The Sealed Letter by Emma Donoghue is one I am very excited to read. I read her first book, Slammerkin, and it was really good! Her first book was a very steamy historical fiction book that I devoured in a couple of nights so I am hoping this one is just as good.

I also tucked our Nintendo DS in with a few games that Nintendo sent me to review. They are trying to get moms to give gaming a try so they sent some really fun brain games and crossword type puzzles.

Conclusion: I think I will be able to be by myself, but I know I will miss my babies terribly while I am gone! I will still be checking & posting so no worries that you will miss anything! I can’t wait to see everyone’s experiments and be sure to see the entire list from last week!

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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster’s blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can’t wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!

Experiment: Can I make a decent batch of brown rice that is edible?

Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 09.11.08

Materials Needed: Please see The Kitchn for the full instructions on ideas for completing this task. I chose to perform this experiment with long grain brown rice and followed the instructions as directed.

Results: I have to admit that I was intrigued by the idea of boiling the rice as you would boil pasta and wasn’t sure if the rice would actually turn out good or not. I brought my water to a rolling boil and then salted the water before pouring in my rice. I followed the instructions on the bag and set the timer for 25 minutes and went downstairs to work. Occasionally I checked on it, but I didn’t hover over it like I do when I cook the rice in a 2:1 ratio, like usual.

The idea of cooking the rice this way appealed to me for two different reasons. First, I never seem to get the right consistency with the brown rice and it is still always a little too chewy for me. I have also found that the top layer doesn’t taste like the bottom of the pot, which might be because I am not spending enough time hovering over it. Second, I also have been known to burn the rice a time or two and I hate wasting food and cleaning a burnt pot.

The rice using the boiling water method cooked up beautifully and tasted more like white rice than the brown rice grainy taste that I usually end up with. I do have concerns that I am boiling out a lot of nutrients though so I don’t think I would do this method all of the time, but it was much easier for me to get my lunch together today and make a huge batch without the measuring and hovering.

Conclusion: I definitely would try this method again and enjoyed my brown rice so much more. I think I might add a rice cooker to my Christmas list this year, but until then this is a great way to make a good batch of rice with a more consistent result.
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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.

We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.

Rules for Participation:

1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster’s blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)

I can’t wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!