In celebration of Hayley’s 1 Year anniversary since her adoption, I thought I would share one my favorite commercials. The Pedigree Adoption Drive commercials really tug at your heart strings with the shots of sad little faces behind a fence at the pound, but this one makes you smile to see a very happy Oliver in his new home. Kind of like Miss Hayley.
I thought I would create a fun little photo montage to share with you all. It is a year of memories with Hayley “Bird”. Hayley says that she feels more loved than ever and can’t imagine what her life would be if we hadn’t rescued her 1 year ago today. We love you Hayley!
It’s hard to believe that an entire year has gone by already since that day that changed our lives forever, the day we brought home our little rescue puppy.
My husband had been keeping a watchful eye on the Helen Woodward Animal Center website, and when Hayley’s cute little face popped up, he turned to me and said “That’s her, that’s our puppy. We are going to get her.” And we did. We said we were (more…)
Today my Dad shared with me a very interesting video. As part of the Blue Zones tour, a group visited the small island of Ikaria in the Aegean Sea to discover why this location is home to some the longest living people in the world. Having been to Greece and now living as part of a Greek family, I found this clip not only interesting, but very accurate to the Mediterranean lifestyle. One thing I learned that I had not thought of before, was about the health benefits of drinking goat’s milk. Something new to add to the repertoire!
Last night I attended the book signing and talk with Erin McKenna, founder of the famous NYC bakery BabyCakes NYC, at Warwicks in La Jolla, CA. Rarely do I actually read a whole cookbook in one sitting, but last night I found myself fascinated by her healthy recipes for cupcakes, muffins, cookies and other sweets. All of her recipes are Vegan, most are gluten-free, and all are free of refined sugar. She created the recipes in her newly released cookbook, BabyCakes, in the hopes of creating healthy alternatives to traditional sweets recipes, and due to her own wheat, dairy and sugar sensitivities. Fortunately, I do not have any food allergies, but I am fascinated by the idea that a cupcake can be made without butter and milk and still be tasty enough to win New York Magazine’s coveted Best Cupcake Award in 2006. I’m off to start experimenting, let the baking begin! Oh, and for those of us on the west coast, Erin talked about a new bakery that will be opening in downtown Los Angeles very soon. Road trip!
Erin McKenna and her new fan, Allison
A couple of years ago I was lucky enough to have a chance to visit Greece for 2 weeks with my, at the time boyfriend, now husband. There are so many things that I can tell you about that trip, but today as I was walking through the grocery store deciding what to have for dinner, I strolled by a large display of watermelons, and was instantly transported back to Greece. Watermelon, or Karpouzi (CAR-POO-ZEE) in Greek, is a staple in the Greek diet. While in Piraeus, we stayed with Steve’s Theo (Uncle) Spiro and his family. Every night after dinner, Theo Spiro would eat almost half a large karpouzi.
Karpouzi (watermelon) is a low calorie and nutrient packed treat
What I know now is that not only is this a great dessert choice, it is choc full of valuable vitamins, and antioxidants, such as the free radical neutralizing, lycopene. It is rich in vitamins, C, A and B. It also is a good source of thiamin, potassium and magnesium. Giving it many added benefits when it comes to energy production (thanks to vitamin B6). And according to some studies, reduces the risk of developing various diseases such as heart disease and some cancers, such as colon cancer, reduces the airway spasm that occurs in asthma, and can alleviate some of the symptoms of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Watermelon is a nutrient rich food. Because it has such a high water content and only contains 48 calories per cup, it delivers more nutrients per calorie than many other fruits. (more…)
We are thrilled to have our second guest writer. My talented sister and nutrition expert, Lindsay. Enjoy her first post at Allison Cafe:
Put down your morning cup of coffee, there is a better way to get the energy you need!
Metabolism is all of the physical and chemical changes taking place in the body. Certain foods have potential energy that can be metabolized in a way that allows us to obtain energy. We call this potential energy calories.
Get energy and prevent heart disease with red grapes, blueberries and strawberries
Energy is required for your body to do various types of work including everything from sleeping to running a marathon.Your personal metabolic rate is the amount of energy that is used over a period of time. In other words, it is also the amount of calories from food that are required for all of your daily activities.
So how many calories do you need in a day? This is defined as your “Total Energy Expenditure.” About 65% of the calories you consume each day are used for “Resting Metabolic Activities” which are activities like (more…)
The 2009 Relay For Life of Clairemont event began on the morning of May 16th, 2009 with a very special Survivor’s reception. The local news team from KUSI News joined us for our Survivor reception and interviewed two survivors, Diana and Miguel, as well as myself, Allison Baloglu. A special thank you to Lena Lewis and the entire KUSI News team for covering our event. Without the aid of our media sponsors, we wouldn’t be able to get the word out about this wonderful event. Read my entire post about the event here.
Wow, what a weekend we just had. My body is tired, but my heart is full. A very special and heart felt thank you to everyone who supported the 2009 Relay For Life of Clairemont, CA. The event this past weekend was the first year that the Relay For Life was held in Clairemont, and words cannot describe how well it went. This is the 25th anniversary of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life, the largest grassroots fund raising event in the world. There are over 5,000 Relays that take place across the globe. I am excited to say that our first year in Clairemont was a huge success, on many levels.
Let the 24 hours of walking begin!
Not only did we raise over $30,000, (yes that is right, this isn’t a typo, our little “baby” Relay raised an unbelievable amount of donations) we also gave a live demonstration of the power of the human spirit. We had over 140 participants, 15 teams, many wonderful volunteers, survivors, and caregivers, and a group of very generous sponsors; who all helped pull off one the most successful first year Relays that the American Cancer Society has ever seen. (more…)
For today’s Friday Fun post and instead of a AdPick of the Week, I decided to share with you a fun (and distracting) tool that I came across this week.
Ever find yourself doodling in your notebook or on your calendar at work? Well, now you can find your inner artist online. Imagine a canvas that replays your sketch for you, paint that will never spill and endless hours of doodling on the computer.
Art.com’s Art Pad Painter is a fun way to spend a little time this Friday afternoon just drawing what ever is on your mind. Visit the site here.
Endless creativity and no clean up!
TheBuckmaker.com Wordpress Themes
