a few of my favorite things

This week has been quiet and somewhat mellow... compared to the past month or so. And I've pretty much just laid low. I haven't done much. One thing I've enjoyed is just being able to stay home and do things that need to be done. And along the way, I've gotten to enjoy a few of my favorite things.

One of them is my iPod. I love it. I'm not a huge ear bud fan, especially when I'm just at home alone. So I bought this little gadget to put my iPod in and I love it! It's a tiny set of speakers! No, it's not concert quality or anything like that, but for what it is, it's not bad. And I can carry it around the house and set it down near my when I cook or clean or fold clothes or whatever. Sometimes I just sit in my rocking chair and listen to music while I read a book or something. There it is on the end table by my rocking chair. And I just discovered these little buddies this week at the grocery store.

They are deeee-LISH! And not quite as awful for me as

'real' cookies. And just one is quite filling!

And this is another favorite thing. I've been singing the praises of stevia for quite a while. That little shaker thing is my own stevia. I buy it in bulk. It's incredibly sweet and it only takes a tiny

shake to sweeten a glass of tea. I used to mix it with a bit of sugar, because nothing tastes like real sugar! One teaspoon of sugar adds about 25 calories to whatever I'm drinking. And isn't quite as good as I wanted it to be. But now! They're coming out with some commercial stevia products! And I'm thrilled. But it's a trial and error process. I bought one before our Disney trip and it tasted bitter. (it also had additive and filler type things in it) Ick. If they process the stems and the leaves it can leave you with a bitter product. I just picked up Sun Crystals about a week ago and everybody's favorite store (um.. not) Walmart. And it's a mixture of sugar and stevia, but it only has 5 calories per packet! And if my memory serves me correctly, one packet is the equivalent to 2 teaspoons. Very very sweet!

To tell you just how yummy I think this product is.... I actually ordered an UNSWEET tea
at Chick-fil-a! Did you hear me??? UNSWEET tea!!! Me!!! The closest thing I
had ever gotten to that at CFA was ordering half and half...and then hitting it with a
shake of stevia. But with this product,
I was willing to go all the way! Does it taste exactly like sugar? Not exactly.
No substitute product does. But does it come close. Yes... pretty darn close!
Close enough for me to buy unsweet tea at CFA. I'd say that's close!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you have a great weekend and can enjoy a few
of your favorite things!