My Sumthin' Is...........

A GIVE-A-WAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yep!! That's what it is!!

I was chosen to try out these really cool bottles of water called Fruit 2 O Essentials. These not only taste delicious, but they are so healthy for you!!!

Their taste is cool and refreshing with an added bonus of zero calories and zero sugar!! Talk about Mom-friendly!!!...for us and the kiddos!!!




When our box arrived, I opened it to find many different varieties of water. We enjoyed Strawberry/Kiwi, Peach Mango, Blueberry Pomegranate, Cranberry Raspberry (2), Citrus and Cherry Acai. (You'll notice in the pic that there aren't as many bottles showing as I listed...uhh....the kiddos got to them before I could get the pic.........sorry...:o) )

DS couldn't wait for them to get cold, so he grabbed the Strawberry/Kiwi, opened it and poured it over ice. YUMM!!!!!!!!

We have not been disappointed. Each flavor is so distinct but I have to say that my favorite has been the Cranberry/Raspberry.

So..for the give-a-way part....

Sunny Delight Beverage Co., the distributors for Fruit 2 O Essentials, will send to the winner of my give-a-way, a box of these delicious bottled waters just like I received!!

Included are several pages of nutrition information, how to become a Fruit 2 O fan on Facebook, information on their partnership with the American Diabetes Association, a comparison sheet on the calories, carbs and sugars of other drinks compared to Fruit 2 O and information on how to lose 10 pounds in 2010.

This is an awesome opportunity to try, free of charge, tasty, healthy bottled waters that will spark that desire to not just lose weight, but make health conscious choices for you and your family!

The way to enter??....Just leave a comment! The contest will run today through Friday, April 23, 2010, midnight, CST. I will have one of my beautiful assistants, aka DH, DD or DS, draw the winner on Saturday and I will post the winner on Saturday as well.

You can up your chances of winning by commenting each day, but only one comment per day will be counted, so you will have up to 5 chances of winning.

Now.....start leaving those comments!!!!!

Six Mondays and Counting

Hopefully you've been doing a few things that we've been talking about to make your Christmas season much easier and a lot less stressful!!

Now is a good time to begin putting up those outdoor lights if you haven't already. With Thanksgiving just a little over a week away, serious decoraters know that now is the time to get the outdoor stuff done.

It's also a good time to get the gifts you've already purchased wrapped. If your like my family, the tree often goes up just a few days after Christmas and I love to be able to put even a few gifts beneath it.

I've mentioned this before, but the sales are running rampant on the baking ingredients..(the coupons are almost as good too!!)

Make sure you've gotten that list of goodies you and your family want to bake together--remember it's about slowing down and enjoying your family!!!!--and gone over the list of ingredients you need and get those purchased. Nothing is more frustrating than to be in the middle of a recipe only to find out you're missing a most important ingredient.

Do one last check of that Christmas card list to make sure that you have prepared a card for every person you want to send one to. Buy those stamps and have them ready to go in the mail the day after Christmas.

It's taking care of these things a little at a time that will enable you to have a stress-free, wonderful Christmas season!!!

Family Favorites

We've all been there. A sweet tooth hits and there is nothing in the house. Guests drop in and you'd love to serve them something warm and yummy, but you don't have a lot of time or ingredients. You're in the middle of cooking supper and you decide a nice finish would be dessert.
I have the perfect recipe and it's doubly nice this time of year.

It only takes 6 ingredients and is super easy to stir up and pop in the oven.
Hope you enjoy!!!

Apple Crumble

1 cup baking mix (such as Bisquick)
3/4 cup brown sugar
½ cup quick-cooking oats
¼ cup margarine
2 cups sliced apples
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Grease the bottom and sides of an 8x8 baking dish. Blend first three ingredients in a bowl. Cut margarine into bits and add to mix. Spread 1/3 of oat mixture in bottom of pan. Place apple slices over mixture. Sprinkle with remaining oat mixture and cinnamon. Bake 30-35 minutes at 350ºF. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

As always, if this recipe is original to you, e-mail me and I'll be glad to give you a shout out!!

Delicious!!!!

I was visiting my friend Sandy's site over at Heart Joys the other day when I saw a picture of an absolutely beautiful loaf of bread!! It was Pumpkin Dessert Bread and it looked delicious!! Of course I had to have the recipe and she was so kind as to post it for me (and you!!)

Well, yesterday I gave it a try myself and let me tell you that it was even better than the picture portrayed it!! This was moist, delicious, melt-in-your mouth, enjoy the fall season bread!!!

Here is a picture of the bread I made.....



This would be a perfect bread to make and give at Christmas. You can make it up in the 2 loaf pans or may several mini loaves to give away!!

Drop by Sandy's site and give this bread a try for yourself. I promise you won't be disappointed!!!

Tips and Quips

With Christmas quickly approaching, most everyone I know tries to find ways to save a bit of money and make that budget stretch a bit farther. I'm no exception. I love to make my budget stretch period!!

Here are a few ideas to reuse some things that might otherwise be thrown away.

~~When you get a Christmas card....or any other type of card for that matter..instead of throwing it away after you've enjoyed it for a while, cut the front off and either reuse it as a post card or cut it down to make a name tag for your gifts!!

~~If you send gifts out of town, then you know the importance of careful packing, save those grocery fliers and old newspapers. They are wonderful to keep those special treasures safe as they travel. Even better if you can shred those papers up!!

~~ Speaking of shredded paper....we shred our newspapers and such and then use them in our garden and compost pile. They just rot away in the ground while helping to hold the moisture in...and in our (usually) dry area, that is priceless!!!

~~We love blueberries...even my picky son!! Want to know how to give those blueberry bushes a boost and make them smile?? Save those used coffee grounds and leftover coffee. Just sprinkle around the bushes and watch them liven up!!...My roses love coffee as well...think it runs in our family??

~~Got an old towel that has a few holes in it?? Don't throw it away!! Even the most illiterate seamstress (and that would be me) can sew a somewhat straight line. Cut that towel apart and make wash cloths from it!!

~~Don't throw those soap slivers away either. After you've saved up 3 or 4, shred them up in a sauce pan. Add about 2 cups of water and heat until melted. Cool and pour into a liquid soap dispenser--saved of course from your previous liquid soap purchase. Now you have liquid hand soap and it didn't cost you an extra cent!!

Tips and Quips

Yesterday morning was so awesome!!! It was overcast and there was a chill in my house. I know....you're pretty sure I'm off my nut, right??

Well, I'm not...completely...

It was the perfect day for homemade chili and it was so simple to throw together!!!

What made my prep time considerably easier??

Planning ahead. Just a little here and a little there can make a big difference.

~~Brown all of your ground beef at one time. When it cools, put it in bags or freezer containers in ½ or 1 pound amounts. Then the next time you're making chili or tacos, spaghetti or sloppy joes, it's as easy as grabbing out the amount you need and heating it up!! Makes it easier to feed those drop in guests as well!!!

~~Don't let that crock pot just set on the counter collecting dust!! Soak 2 pounds of pinto beans over night. The next morning, rinse the beans and put them in your crock pot. Add some water and seasoning, turn that pot on low and forget about it. I let my pintos cook around 24 hours. Let them cool and put them in quart bags. Lay them flat to make more room and stick them in the freezer. Handy deal next time you want to make chili or just want some pintos to go along with that cornbread!!

~~Hate ironing?? I do. But what I hate more is what to do with the cord when your storing it. I've got the same problem with my blow dryer, curling iron....Of course, I could buy those handy dandy ties and tie those cords up...but why spend the money?? Next time you empty a roll of toilet paper save that tube!! It's perfect for storing those cords in and allowing you to put up those appliances neatly!!

~~Need just a tablespoon of tomato sauce or pesto?? Get some ice cube trays, measure your sauce and put a tablespoon in each hole and freeze. When frozen, pop them out and put them in a bag. Ready in an instant when you need them!!

~~I love my floor swiffer. I have hardwood floors and it seems as if every time I look at them there is dust of crumbs or something staring back at me. That drives me nuts!! Swiffer pads can get very expensive but there are two things I do to save money. I use the microfiber rags or used dryer sheets. The microfiber pads can be bought at the dollar store for a buck and will last forever. Just use them and throw them in the washer--but make sure you don't use fabric softener on them!!

Hope these handy little ideas will make your day easier and your wallet happier!!!

Pleasantly Surprised and Saving Money to Boot!!

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned making my own laundry soap and hoping it would turn out okay. Well let me tell you that I am absolutely thrilled with the way this laundry soap has turned out!!!!! It is so quick and easy to make and one batch has lasted me about 3 weeks which is far longer than I've gotten out of a bottle of laundry soap!!

I went a step farther and made homemade fabric softner. I am very pleased with this as well.
Instead of bleach, I have begun making homemade Oxy clean and so far, I'm still thrilled with bright whites!

I've never been one to pay high prices for too much of anything, but even at the prices I pay, in 3 weeks I've estimated that I've only spent around $1.70 to clean my laundry!!! My normal spending for 3 weeks was usually in the neighborhood of $7.50--a savings estimated at $5.80!!!!

I was very pleasantly surprised that my laundry smelled....clean. No perfumy smell, only clean laundry. Any soils and stains came right out and my laundry was just as soft as it had ever been.

Note that a normal wash week for me is 15 loads a week, give or take a load here and there.

In an average year that has me spending around $28 to wash my laundry. With commercial detergents I spent on average $128 per year. So adding $100 a year to our budget sounds pretty good to me.

It really takes only about 15 minutes to whip up a batch of laundry soap and so in the grand scheme of things, not long at all.

There are two sites that I've found that I absolutely love that share economical ways to do things we do everyday.

One is Tip Nut and the other is Grocery Cart Challenge.

All of us are on board when it comes to saving money, and quite honestly I love the idea of taking better care of our planet as well. Think of all the packaging that isn't going into the landfills if we make more of what we use from scratch!

I really want to encourage you to check out the above sites and give a few of these things a try.
I'm sure, like me, you'll be glad you did!!

Family Favorites

This week's Family Favorite is another casserole dish. I really like casserole dishes because I can prepare them ahead of time, set the delay timer on my oven and have a warm meal ready when I get home.

By preparing ahead of time, I also save a lot of money because when I'm out and about, the last thing I want to do is come home and have to prepare a meal. By taking the time to stick a casserole in the oven, I figure we save at least $20 over take out!!

Pizza Tot Casserole

1 pound ground beef (or ground turkey)
1 medium green pepper, chopped *
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (11-1/8 ounces) condensed Italian tomato soup, undiluted*
1 jar (4½ ounces) sliced mushrooms, drained
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese*
1 package (32 ounces) frozen Tater Tots

In a skillet, cook the beef, pepper and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add soup and mushrooms. Transfer to a greased 13x9x2 inch baking dish. Top with cheese and tater tots. Bake, uncovered, at 400º for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

*--To save money and time, I buy bell peppers when they are on sale, chop them up and freeze them in snack bags. They are oh so handy then to just pull out and use!!
*--Sometimes I can't find Italian tomato soup. When that happens, I use regular tomato soup and add Italian seasonings and about a half can of water. (this is also cheaper!!)
*--I normally use whatever shredded cheese that I have on hand!

I got this recipe out of the 2000 edition of Taste of Home's Quick Cooking.

As always, if you give this a try, let me know what you think!!!!!

Try It Tuesday!!

We're back for another Try It Tuesday!!

I hope this last week found you taking at least 15 minutes a day strictly for yourself and I pray that you can tell a very positive difference within yourself by doing that. Keep up the good work!!

This week's Try It, finds us looking for cheaper ways to clean our homes.
For about a year now, I've turned to plain, white vinegar for a good portion of my household cleaning.

I'd been hearing for years how well vinegar cleaned and already knowing how cheap vinegar was, made me very interested...but I was very concerned that by using vinegar, my entire house would begin to smell like a pickle factory--not very appealing to me, let me assure you.

One day though, I just took the plunge and thought if I can't take the smell, I'll open the windows and air out the place and start new.

To my amazement, my house didn't smell like an open bottle of vinegar!!! I was truly amazed by this!! I found that the vinegar was so diluted by the added water (usually a ½ cup vinegar to a gallon of water) that you could hardly smell it at all!!

So...our challenge this week is to strive to clean our house without using costly cleaners--an added bonus is vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice--they're not toxic!!

Below are some ways that I use vinegar in my cleaning. I'm sure you can come up with more ways to use it and other household things to clean your home.

* Add 1 cup vinegar to your rinse cycle in your washing machine. It's great for softening clothes. (I actually put the vinegar in my Downy ball. I just fill the ball almost to the top and drop it in!)

* Add ½ cup vinegar to a half-gallon warm water to mop your hardwood floors

* Mix equal parts vinegar and water to wash your windows. Dry with a soft, lint-free cloth.

* Loosen the food splatters in your microwave by heating a solution of ¼ cup vinegar and 1 cup water in the microwave until boiling (make sure to allow the water to sit a few minutes before removing the cup so you will not get burned!!)
The food particles will wipe right off!

* To clean the drains in my house, once a week I pour a ½ cup baking soda in the drains and pour a cup of vinegar on top. Yes, you do get that volcano erupting effect (and it's really cool to watch!!!---and if you homeschool, this just became a science lesson!!). I let that sit for about 10 minutes and follow with about 2 quarts of boiling water.

* To get rid of that ring around the bathtub, wipe the tub down with vinegar and then with baking soda. Rinse clean with water.

* Got weeds in your garden? Spraying vinegar full strength on the top of the weed will kill it. You may have to reapply a few times until the weed starves, but it will kill them. Be very careful to not let any vinegar spray on something you don't want killed--from my experience, this stuff kills fast and usually with only one application!!

There you go! Just a few things to get you started. Let me know about your cheap cleaning ideas and let's start working together to save money and clean wisely!!

Try It Tuesday!!

It's Tuesday and that means time for another Try It Tuesday!!

First, how did you do last week? Were you able to fix meals completely out of what was already in your kitchen??

I did very well actually. Towards the end of the week I needed to buy milk and found bacon on sale (the really thick kind that DH loves sooo much) and bought it. Of course when he saw it, he wanted me to cook some so...I feel that I learned two things:

1) No matter what you go to the store for, you put yourself in the midst of temptation of buying things you really could do without.

2) When you're doing a challenge that has to do with food, don't let DH (who already has you wrapped around his little finger) influence you to cook something you bought on sale until the challenge is over!! :o)

Now, on to today's Try It..

Sometimes I know early on what I want to do for Try It Tuesday. Other times, like this week, it hits me just in time. Last night as I was washing my dishes I was thinking to myself how much better the next day begins if I wake up to a clean kitchen.

I wake up, come in the kitchen and turn on the light over the sink and if the dishes have been washed and put away and the floor swept, if the counters are clear and there are no shoes piled at the back door, I'm immediately in a better mood. I feel like it's going to be a good day. But on those days when I come in the kitchen and there's dirty dishes all over every counter, cookie crumbs and dirt in the floor, garbage climbing the wall and 62 pair of shoes at the back door....I immediately get a heavy feeling within myself. I'm behind before I even get started and quite honestly, I don't feel like doing anything at all.

For me, and maybe for you, waking up to a dirty kitchen has far more repercussions than you might think.

I love to cook and I love to do it frugally, but if I begin my day with a messy kitchen, here's how it pretty much goes:

Wake up, find a messy kitchen (sounds like little elves dirtied it while I slept, huh??), mood turns tired. Get DH out the door, look around at the kitchen...I'll get it when I finish my devotions. Finish devotions, go back and look at kitchen...well, I really need to check my e-mail and do a post and check out my bloggy buddies sites before the kids get up.

Finish that, kids are up. Kitchen can wait, DD has to be at work in 2 hours want to catch up with her and let her know her school work for the day.

DS is out the door to his job..."I love you!! Be safe!!"

DD leaves for work. Need to get out of these pj's, make my bed and clean the bathrooms.

Hmm..feeling hungry, need to make a bite to eat. Walk into kitchen..ughhh..still messy, quick bowl of cereal (have to wash a bowl).

Now it's past noon. Mail ran. Go through the mail, straighten the living room, finally out of my pj's.

DS will be home soon, need to get his lessons ready. DS is home, want to hear about his day..get him started on his school work.

Look at the clock---3:30!!!!!! DH will be home in an hour!! Kitchen is still a mess and I haven't planned anything for supper!! Crazy woman takes my place and by 5 we're sitting down to a quick meal (you know, those things you keep in the freezer for real emergencies??)

This is not much of an exaggeration at all. It seems as if my whole day is frittered away and I've accomplished nothing. I feel like I have let everyone down and especially myself.

Now, when I've gone to bed with a clean kitchen I get up, go in the kitchen. Coffee is already made because I remembered to program the coffee pot the night before. Counters are empty and clean, I'm not tripping over shoes.

DH leaves for work, I do my devotions and check my e-mail.

Get my bed made and straighten the living room. If the kids don't have to be to work early, I go wake them up. While they're waking up, I decide what I'm going to fix for supper and lay that meat out. Am I going to make bread? Sure! I've got clean counters to work the dough on.

Kids are up, eating breakfast. I've got a sink of soapy water waiting on their dirty dishes. All they have to do is rinse and stick them in the dishwasher.

Get out of pj's, make bed, hang out some laundry. It's only noon??? Check the mail, eat some lunch.

Kid's off to work, I'll grade schoolwork. Turn on the tv....oohhh, I LOVE this Little House rerun. Watch Little House.

4o'clock time to start supper. DH comes home to good smells wafting through the house. DS home from work (DD is closing at her job, make her a plate). I get to enjoy a meal and my family in a calm spirit.

Quite honestly it does amaze me at how much smoother my day goes if I wake up to a clean kitchen.

Here's what I've found:

1) Waking up to a clean kitchen saves me time. It is so much quicker to wash a dirty pan if it hasn't sat all night and the food cemented itself in.

2) Waking up to a clean kitchen saves money. I am able to bake and cook more frugally since I'm not relying on quick convenience foods to bail me out. We eat healthier too!!

3) Waking up to a clean kitchen puts me in a better frame of mind, I don't feel behind or defeated before I even get started.

So here's our challenge for this week:

Do not go to bed with a dirty kitchen. After your evening meal, go straight in and do those dishes. Dry and put away the ones that don't go in your dishwasher and stick that drain board under the sink. My family usually has an evening snack, so I'll run a small bit of soapy water and leave in the sink for those snack dishes to be rinsed in and then put in the dishwasher.

Wipe down all of the counters, the cabinet doors, the stove and the range hood.

If you get a collection of shoes at your back door (like I do), get the attention of the owner and have them come claim their shoes before you decide to auction them off (or let the Lab have them for chew toys!)

Check the garbage can. If it's full, take it out (or get the one in charge of garbage detail to do it).

Take up the throw rugs, give them a good shake and sweep the floor.

If I find spots on the floor, for example if somebody spilled something or dropped something, I use my swiffer thingy and a wet pad and just spot mop the floor. (No, I don't buy those expensive pads. I make my own cleaning solution and let a few rags soak in it. Then when I need to spot mop, I just pull a rag out, use it and toss it in the washer!)

Believe it or not, all of this usually takes less than 30 minutes!!!

Right before bedtime (I'll let the soapy water out of the sink and rinse it out) give a final check to the counters (put away the cereal bag (DS) and the chip bag (DD), and head off to bed where you can go to sleep with a smile on your face knowing that there isn't a huge mess waiting on you when you get up in the morning.

I promise you, you will see a big difference in your day and in your attitude and what better way to be a better wife and mom than to greet your family with a happier you!!

Are you up to the Try It challenge?? Can't wait to see how your week goes!!

This is a Test...ONLY a Test!!

This is simply a test to see if I added e-mail subscriptions for my posts correctly.

I hope I have, because it would probably be the first time that I added something without harassing/asking people for help!

If this works right, I'm going to do it strictly as a trial run....if folks quit visiting my site, I may have to rethink this....!!

Have an awesome day, as I'm going to make myself walk away from the computer and get caught up on some much needed work around the house.

Love to all &

Blessings........