YODELING

Whenever we think of yodeling, we flash back to watching the movie Heidi and little Shirley Temple yodeling (or at least giving it a good try). Naturally, that made us associate yodeling with the Alps. Wrong. True, it takes place there but it’s not just a Swiss thing. It’s found in many places, including in punk and contemporary rock, in French and African music and it’s also home on the range as well.  So we decided to give it a try! There are several tutorials on the web that tout one can learn to yodel in three easy steps. Well, that’s true but not with great results. We tried it. We somewhat succeeded. And, of course, we laughed!

ZIPPER ART

What better way to end the first-round of the ABC life than with zipper art! Just grab a whole bunch of zippers and unleash your creativity. There are quite a few projects that turn zippers into jewelry but most require skill with a needle and thread – a skill we are sorely lacking. However, there’s nothing a little paper, glue and scissors can’t create. This was definitely a fun project and one that would never have occurred without the ABC life! What do you think? 

And as our mom used to say, “if you can’t say anything nice about something then ZIP your lip.”

EATING OUR WAY TO THE END – THIS GO ROUND

We found out that surprisingly there are several restaurants in the Plano area whose name begins with a Y or Z. We sampled food from Yao Fuzi, Zalat Pizza, and Zenna. We enjoyed all three of these cuisines but Zenna will certainly be new on our lunchtime rotation moving forward. For under $7 we had a salad, soup, spring roll, 2 pieces of California roll and tuna sashimi – what a deal!

More or less

Laura: More “ZERO Waste Kitchen Habits.”  I’m determined to waste less food in the months ahead. According to Dana Gunders in her “Waste Free Kitchen Handbook,” approximately 40% of all food in the United States is wasted. Yikes! Americans toss an average of $120 a month per household of four of uneaten food. So, that means Kurt and I trash about $60 a month. Sounds about right when I think of the lettuce that wilted, the mushrooms that I didn’t get to use in the dish I never got around to making, the leftovers that were literally left to rot in the fridge…you get the idea, right? Well it’s a matter of buying less, tracking what’s in the refrigerator better and eating what we have. The pantry alone is a gold mine of food waiting to be chosen. I have to start thinking about meals as a means to using what I have. For starters, I will be relying on soups, omelets and salads as a go-to when I need help with this quest.

Laura: Less YELLING.  I’m thinking neither of anyone in particular nor of a specific instance. But please, let’s have less shouting, screaming, yelling. It seems the noise level is being ramped up in TV shows, movies and commercials – as well as at political rallies and public gatherings. Maybe we should try whispering? Wait – what did you say?

Barbara: More ZANY. One thing the ABC life is teaching me is that it is a whole lot of fun to do something zany and now that I have more time I can take advantage of this. After our Goat Yoga experience I had so many people tell me they couldn’t believe I would do such a wacky (I’ll say zany) thing and that it looked like a lot of fun. Well it is! I’ve done some other wacky things in my life – like going door to door in my cousin’s new apartment building asking if the renter had any boys of a particular age, coming off a plane with Laura to meet our friends wearing Barbara and Laura Bush faces (since they call us the Bush sisters) and hanging upside down over a cliff to kiss the Blarney Stone – and sometimes we stifle that part of our personality. But no more!

Barbara: Less ZEALOTS.  I’m not crazy about extremes and it seems that lately everyone with a viewpoint is so ADAMANT about their position and that connects to Laura’s less yelling wish. Let’s just be able to say what we think about something and listen to other viewpoints without such animosity.