Beef Burgundy -- crockpot & paleo

placeholder while I try to mesh these recipes together to get a paleo crockpot beef burgundy

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/beef-burgundy-recipe/#axzz22mPcdnDv
http://www.food.com/recipe/slow-cooker-beef-burgundy-166939

Culinary Exploits with Zucchini

      Tonight I needed to get rid of some previously frozen ground beef, but I wasn't feeling pasta. So, I decided to try something I've wanted to experiment with for a while -- squash "pasta". We had some zucchini in the fridge, which we both love, so I did it! After sauteing/steaming the "pasta" for approximately 3 or 4 minutes, I made spaghetti casserole (layers of pasta, cheese, meat, and sauce) with my new favorite "pasta". I'm so excited that it turned out. I LOVED the meal, and who doesn't enjoy a one-dish dinner? We also had enough left over for a lunch side-dish for the husband. All of this from 3 zucchini squash. :)

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SWAGBUCKS

So, I've been getting some requests to explain how SwagBucks works, and I thought I would put it here so that I only need to explain it once. For additional questions, email or fb me.

WHAT IS SWAGBUCKS?

SwagBucks is a site by which you earn points and in turn redeem those points for prizes, such as coupons, gift cards, trinkets, etc. The prizes for which I am saving are all gift cards because I believe in using SwagBucks to truly save me money.

WAYS TO EARN: this list is by no means exhaustive -- I'm just hitting what I consider to be the high points.

ONE-TIME EARNINGS:

• I suggest downloading the SwagBucks toolbar immediately -- it lets you search without going to their search page, it has easy links to earning, and you can get random points just for having it.
• Go to the survey page and complete your survey profile. It is a series of mini-surveys about your habits so they can better match you up with outside surveys. You will get a minimum of 5 SwagBucks from each profile section.

DAILY EARNINGS:

• Visit SwagBucks Surveys -- 1 SB
• Proceed through the NOSO tab. That's No Obligation Special Offers. By clicking through, you should earn 2 SB.
• Invite a friend -- You can only earn by inviting 1 friend a day for 1 SB. Any additional invites get you no points, so you might as well wait.
• Take the daily poll. 1 SB

OTHER OPPORTUNITIES:

• I visit the Special Offers section every day (specifically the Peanut Labs tab) because there are often free offers that require only watching an ad video, etc.
• You can also take surveys to earn points. I quickly learned that a survey over about 15 minutes makes me want to die, so I weed out my options by length and then by potential SB earned. 
• You can earn SB by playing games, but my opinion is that the time to SB earned is not worth the effort. 
• You can also earn by watching SwagBucks TV, but again, I believe it takes too long to earn too little. Decide for yourself!

ADVICE:

If you are going to start participating in SwagBucks, ordering freebies, etc., I highly recommend that you go to gmail.com and make an email just for your "frugal" escapades. Mine is frugallagurf@gmail.com. I use this only for savings sites, which means that my REAL email is not tied up in a million offers or updates / day.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

GO HERE TO SIGN UP!

This Post Is For Mikella

So, I've been really sick lately. Like, can't go to work, stuff oozing out my ear, on narcotics, lost 5 pounds in 3 days sick. Haha. BUT, Ms. Mikella Rutter, Athenian extraordinaire would like a blog post. So, for the sake of time (I have to leave for work in 15 minutes and still have to walk the dogs and force myself to eat some yogurt), here it is.

ODE TO THE FLUID DRIPPING OUT MY EAR:
First
You were thicker
Bloody.
You oozed
Now you veritably flow
Bright yellow
Is it the antibiotic
That changed your color?
You make my ear feel weird.

ODE TO NARCOTICS
You
Take my pain away
But you also make me
So sick to my stomach that
I can't eat
Suffice it to say
That
Although I am grateful
I will never be one
To be
Dependent
On you
Or your kind.

ODE TO THE THING REINA THREW UP THIS MORNING
You are
Unidentified and
Really
Really
Gross

Really, Really Scary

SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT: JPM Photography

aka My Brother.


My brother is an amazingly talented young man. Here to tell you about himself is Jarrett Morgan!!!




Bio:

I am a freshman at the Georgia Institute of Technology (though I am transferring to Georgia State to pursue my dream, film work). I have been doing multimedia work ever since I was little, starting with running powerpoints in church when I was in elementary school and being in the video club at my elementary school. When we moved in early middle school, I got involved at my new church and started doing more and more video work. My passion really took off when I discovered my dad's old Minolta X-370 film camera in the winter of some year that I can't remember. Anyway, with my dad's help I learned the basics of exposure and composition while on that trip (while shooting a very expensive amount of film). Well, I decided that I wanted to really get into photography and, around my 16th birthday I bought my first DSLR kit: a used 20D with an 18-55 and a 55-200. I really loved that camera and had it nearly 3 years.

Now, my video passion really took off my junior year in high school when I interned at my church with the incredible Ron Johnson, who is my mentor and an incredibly gifted person. I figured out that semester that I could do this for the rest of my life. As I have gone on since then, my passion has slowly adjusted and molded to come where it is today. I still don't know exactly what I want to do in the industry, but I do know that this is what I want to do.

What exactly is it that you do? What sets you apart from others who do it? 

Well, I started my own photography and videography company type thing and I pour myself into every job I get, doing the best I can for very reasonable prices. I started the company after seeing how ridiculous some of the prices for photos are. I guess that the price and quality point is what sets me apart.

Give some examples (visual) of your work.

well, the best examples are on my website, jpmphotovideo.com. I have more that I am not yet allowed to share as well.

Give your website address and your company's slogan.

as stated above, jpmphotovideo.com. and the company slogan is "for the richness of life" (a play on John Pierpoint Morgan)

How does the internet play into your career? How has it enabled you to enhance what you offer/how you offer it?

Well, I learned a ton of information from the internet. I love searching through the forums and blogs (like Phillip Bloom, Matthew Duclos, and Vincent Laforet) and learning something new every day. The internet enabled me to be the photographer that I am today, it (and the people on it) helped me learn everything that I know now. The internet also gives photographers and videographers a way to share proofs and picture locks with the clients. I can't imagine having to use DVDs again.

Give an interesting/silly fact about yourself. 

I have an awful memory for actual memories, but I can remember facts and figures like no ones business. Just ask any of my friends, haha

As Promised: Mail Disappointment

Everything is disappointment. Sad.