It's true that seeing Halloween candy next to Christmas decor in the shopping aisle bugs me silly. But, it's also true that I start Christmas shopping very early. I hate being out in the stores anytime after Thanksgiving. God forbid I have to step foot in a mall during the holidays. Panic attack, anyone?
So, I've been gathering stuff for my family here and there for the last few months. Remaindered perfume gloss for a dollar at Payless (and I have a 20% off coupon) got put away for a stocking. Free beaded bracelets I got with my swagbucks are going to my nieces. They don't look cheap at all. I used my swapadvd credits to get a brand new movie for someone too. It still had a factory seal on it. I used an amazon gift card gleaned from swagbucks to help buy a Timex watch for my son. I almost have enough Disney Movie Rewards credits (almost all found on email newsletters and freebie sites) to get something worthwhile.
I still have to fill in the blanks here and there with some fun freebies. But, I just printed out a coupon for a free bag of Lindor truffles. Now is the time to start signing up for freebies to fill those stockings. Last year I got packs of gum from our local gas station by filling out a questionnaire. Great for my gum loving kids.
If you're short on funds you can still fill a Chrismtas stocking for almost no money. The trick is to get started right now.
Here's a few sites that I love to browse for freebies and goodies:
Target
Freebies 4 Mom
STL Mommy
And here's a link to an old post I did on stocking stuffer ideas.
If it's still warm enough outside for garage sales you might try the freebie boxes too. I just had my own garage sale and can say honestly that I put some pretty good stuff in those freebie boxes. I sold the other kids toys for a song also.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Two From My Grandma's Recipe Notebook
I'm unpacking (yes, still) and found an old notebook of my Grandma's before she was married. It's stuffed full of yellowed newspaper clipped recipes and pencil written recipes. It's hard for me to fathom that not that long ago my Grandma was a young lady with hopes of having her own family to love and feed one day. The notebook is worn and I have no idea if she ever used any of these recipes. I can't ask my Mom if she remembers any of them either. I'll just have to imagine that the ones I choose to make for my family are the same ones my Grandma made sixty years ago.
St. Patrick's Cookies
A good basic cookie recipe may be relied upon to fill the jar for St. Patrick's day dessert. These are the ingredients.
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
3 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream the shortening, sugar, and salt, add the well-beaten eggs, and vanilla. Mix and sift the flour and baking powder, and add to first mixture. Shape dough into a roll, wrap in waxed paper and chill. Roll out the dough in a thin sheet and cut, preferably with a shamrock cookie cutter. Press a green candied cherry in the center of each cookie or sprinkle with green sugar.
One Egg Cake
1 heaping cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup sweet cream
3/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
Flavor
Beat the egg and the sugar together. Add to that the sweet cream and the milk. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder twice. Add milk and flour mixtures half at a time. Add flavor, beating well. Makes two layers.
(I'm assuming flavor here is something like a teaspoon of vanilla or lemon extract.)
Weirdly, there are no baking instructions on these recipes. For my own oven I would bake the cookies on a greased cookie sheet at 350 for about ten minutes- checking them frequently starting at eight minutes. The cakes would be 350 in greased pans also and I would set the timer for two round pans at 20 minutes or 28 for a 9x13. You should use your own judgement though.
St. Patrick's Cookies
A good basic cookie recipe may be relied upon to fill the jar for St. Patrick's day dessert. These are the ingredients.
1 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, well beaten
3 1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
Cream the shortening, sugar, and salt, add the well-beaten eggs, and vanilla. Mix and sift the flour and baking powder, and add to first mixture. Shape dough into a roll, wrap in waxed paper and chill. Roll out the dough in a thin sheet and cut, preferably with a shamrock cookie cutter. Press a green candied cherry in the center of each cookie or sprinkle with green sugar.
One Egg Cake
1 heaping cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup sweet cream
3/4 cup milk
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch of salt
Flavor
Beat the egg and the sugar together. Add to that the sweet cream and the milk. Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder twice. Add milk and flour mixtures half at a time. Add flavor, beating well. Makes two layers.
(I'm assuming flavor here is something like a teaspoon of vanilla or lemon extract.)
Weirdly, there are no baking instructions on these recipes. For my own oven I would bake the cookies on a greased cookie sheet at 350 for about ten minutes- checking them frequently starting at eight minutes. The cakes would be 350 in greased pans also and I would set the timer for two round pans at 20 minutes or 28 for a 9x13. You should use your own judgement though.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Still Breathing
I am in the middle of packing. I am in the middle of dust and memories. I am in the middle of what do I keep and what do I discard? I am in the middle of not much fun.
The movers come on Saturday and I have to have every flat surface cleaned and every drawer cleaned out. The kids are gone with the grandparents for the week and hubby is able to help at night. But, this is a large burden. I start a project, get halfway done and then the last bits of this and that just stump me. I wish I had another me to help out. I wish my Mom was here. But, maybe that wouldn't be so good because she was more of a hoarder than I am.
Anyway, back to the dust, the boxes, the chipped ceramics I made in 6th grade, and my daughter's saved baby teeth.
We've lived here for six years. That's the longest we've stayed in a house since we got married. Since then our kids have grown from babies to a 9 and a 6 year old. With their own stacks of treasures and memories.
I need to move every year just to keep the clutter and dust at bay. I don't think I could handle the stress though.
The movers come on Saturday and I have to have every flat surface cleaned and every drawer cleaned out. The kids are gone with the grandparents for the week and hubby is able to help at night. But, this is a large burden. I start a project, get halfway done and then the last bits of this and that just stump me. I wish I had another me to help out. I wish my Mom was here. But, maybe that wouldn't be so good because she was more of a hoarder than I am.
Anyway, back to the dust, the boxes, the chipped ceramics I made in 6th grade, and my daughter's saved baby teeth.
We've lived here for six years. That's the longest we've stayed in a house since we got married. Since then our kids have grown from babies to a 9 and a 6 year old. With their own stacks of treasures and memories.
I need to move every year just to keep the clutter and dust at bay. I don't think I could handle the stress though.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Stress is the Visitor Who Won't Leave
We closed on our new house yesterday. I woke up with dread thinking about how I now have two mortgages. Yes, I know we need to get our house on the market like yesterday.
We planned the slow move on purpose but, it still makes me itchy.
Hubby's Grandma passed yesterday. She was a sweet lady. She was always thinking of others before she thought of herself. I'm glad her pain is over but I feel so bad for my husband's family. She was much beloved and will be missed.
I've been trying to homeschool the kids for about an hour everyday to help get them ready for the next school year. I worry that I am not doing it well. I've been concentrating too much on one area of concern for each kid. I need a better lesson plan. I need to branch out. And also, I wonder how I can fit more school time into our craziness when we're supposed to be moving- well, like right now. I'm supposed to be packing the car. And driving an hour to the new house. With the kids in tow.
I guess I should get started then.
We planned the slow move on purpose but, it still makes me itchy.
Hubby's Grandma passed yesterday. She was a sweet lady. She was always thinking of others before she thought of herself. I'm glad her pain is over but I feel so bad for my husband's family. She was much beloved and will be missed.
I've been trying to homeschool the kids for about an hour everyday to help get them ready for the next school year. I worry that I am not doing it well. I've been concentrating too much on one area of concern for each kid. I need a better lesson plan. I need to branch out. And also, I wonder how I can fit more school time into our craziness when we're supposed to be moving- well, like right now. I'm supposed to be packing the car. And driving an hour to the new house. With the kids in tow.
I guess I should get started then.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Pancakes the Eggless Way
The pantry is not empty yet. But the fridge contents are paltry. How many things can I make with one wrinkled apple, some homemade pickles, and a few yogurts?
Next week we begin moving and I am loathe to reload our fridge. I am out of homemade baking mix and just add water pancake mix. Betty Crocker and the Joy of Cooking did not provide a good eggless pancake recipe. Then I remembered the copy of Henry's Pancake Mix that I taped inside the pantry.
Here's the recipe from Jon and Kate Plus 8
Henry's Pancake Mix
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. oil
1 1/2 cup milk *or more
No eggs needed. I used half a cup of whole wheat flour.
Next week we begin moving and I am loathe to reload our fridge. I am out of homemade baking mix and just add water pancake mix. Betty Crocker and the Joy of Cooking did not provide a good eggless pancake recipe. Then I remembered the copy of Henry's Pancake Mix that I taped inside the pantry.
Here's the recipe from Jon and Kate Plus 8
Henry's Pancake Mix
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
2 tbsp. oil
1 1/2 cup milk *or more
No eggs needed. I used half a cup of whole wheat flour.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Pantry Challenge: Fridge Food
When we're not eating out, I'm trying really hard to cook what we have here. Supplies on anything handy and quick are running low my friends. But, I've found an awesome new website that will definitely help me get creative with what I have on hand.
It's called My Fridge Food and lists tons of recipes based on what ingredients you click on.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Good Eats and The Pantry Challenge
I admit I am not html savvy. I can't figure out how to make paragraphs yet on the new blogger. So pardon the jammed together sentences until I get a minute of my nerdy brilliant husband's time.
We ate out last night because we had soccer practice.
For breakfast we celebrated National Donut Day with a free donut from Krispy Kreme. Lunch was veggie sausages and orange slices. Snacks were cheese crackers and homemade wheat bread. For dinner we're having a tofu stir fry- which I need to get started on.
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