One of the Healthiest Breakfasts You Can Ever Have

I've noticed that, the older I get, the more I care about what I'm eating. I spend less and less money on prepackaged food and more money on, well, salads. I've recognized that my body isn't the crazy-food-eating machine that it used to be and have been making a more conscious effort about nutrition.


We've all heard the talk about cinnamon being a super-spice. It appears it can do everything from raise the dead to finish your manuscript. But I rarely have anything with cinnamon in it, and, when I do, the "cinnamon" is probably just "naturally flavored" sugar.


So I've started going down the old fashioned route. Did I say "route"? I meant oats. A couple mornings a week, I bust out my electric tea kettle and have some old fashioned oats with raisins, cinnamon, and agave sweetener. Gone are the days of instant packets backed to the brim with refined sugar (that I would sweeten even *further* with cream and brown sugar. Honestly, how was my mouth not a walking cavity machine when I was a kid?).


The key here is that you need all three ingredients with old fashioned oats: raisins and cinnamon and agave sweetener. Miss any of the three and the oats taste exactly like ... well, plain oats. But, together, they make a pretty awesome meal.


And it's as simple as pouring a bit of boiling water into a bowl of dry oats, raisins, and cinnamon, stirring the contents, and then adding in agave. I've also started adding a spoonful of chia seeds for a tiny kick (and extra hippy-dippy healthiness).


Of course, that's not to say I don't ever make stacks of pancakes and dive Scrooge McDuck-style into the syrup, but it's good to have a healthy option or two.

First House Key's DIY Project

Some businesses will frame the first dollar they made.  Some actresses will frame the title page of the script of their first professional acting job.  And some homeowners will frame their very first house key.

Now, I should point out that this project is hung up in an area very, very far away from any possible entrance.  The last thing you want to do is hang up the key in an area where someone might be able to get their hands on it.

So,  really, finding a place for the project that won't entice burglars is probably the hardest part about this project.  All you need is a frame, some pretty paper or cardstock, a key, and paint.  I decided to hand brush the key, but you can always use the hooked top of a coat hanger and dip the key in.

You can also use a page of a book for the background as well -- or the corner of a newspaper with the date you closed on the house. The possibilities really are endless.

It's hard to believe that, around this time last year, the original owners accepted our offer on what is now our humble abode.  We didn't officially close until the middle of July -- we had to do that whole "cross-country roadtrip" thing -- but the date is still worth noting.  A lot has changed since then, both in and out of the house, which only makes keepsake projects like this all the more important.