Monday, July 29, 2013

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Gooseberry Patch - Great deal on101 Slow Cooker Recipe eBook

The only thing better than having a warm, delicious and comforting meal at the end of a long hard day, is knowing that you were able to prepare the meal quickly and with a small amount of effort.  To accomplish this, I love to use my Crockpot to prepare the meal early in the day and then have the reward at the end by just lifting the lid and dipping out the goodies.



I found this great deal on Facebook this morning and knew I had to share.  Gooseberry Patch is known for their wonderful cookbooks and I have many of them in both hard copy and eBook form.  This week, Gooseberry Patch is offering a full size Slow Cooker recipe ebook for only $1.99.  I have several recipe ebooks and find that they are so easy and fun to use by just propping my Kindle or iPad on the counter and searching for the recipe I want to use.  If you have a Kindle or other eReader, this is a great deal.  You can find the details here.

Have A Good One,




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Friday, January 11, 2013

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

This is an oldie but goodie.  One of my husbands favorites.  These no bake cookies are quick, easy and delicious.  To ensure a moist cookie that hardens correctly, be sure to pay specific attention to the cooking time and addition of oatmeal.


Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

1 3/4 cups Granulated Sugar
1 stick Butter
4-5 Tbsp Cocoa
1/2 cup Evaporated milk
1/3 cup smooth Peanut Butter
1 tsp Vanilla
1 1/2 -2 cups Quick Cook Oats

In a saucepan, over medium heat melt butter and add sugar, cocoa and milk.  Stir over heat until mixture achieves a rolling boil.  Allow to boil for 45 seconds.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and peanut butter until incorporated.  Stir in oats, until your mixture is thick.  You want  your cookies to hold a good shape when you drop them, but be careful not to add too many oats or your cookies will be dry.

Drop cookies by teaspoonful onto wax paper or parchment paper.  Allow to cool.  Makes approx 24 2" cookies.

Joining the following:
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Have A Good One,







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Thursday, January 10, 2013

Face Painting

I will usually try anything that my family needs or wants.  A recent example, was a request by my  Granddaughter to do face painting at her birthday party.  I've painted other things in the past, flower pots, wood signs, fabric....how hard could it be. Right?   I researched differant paints and differant designs on the Internet and ordered what I needed.  I used Wolfe and FX paints which seemed to have the best ratings and results overall.  A great site that I found for face painting tips and designs, was Lisa Joy Young.......  She does beautiful work and has very detailed videos that I found invaluable.
Work was really busy the week before the party, so I did not have time to do ANY practicing.  I had no idea how this was going to work.  Since the theme of the party was Monster High, I figured if worse came to worse, I could just make a mess and call it a Monster.  Kids are great, they see Piccaso in a Monster mess.   I set up a table and put all my supplies out in easy reach, along with baby wipes for cleanup of the snafus that I knew were inevitable.  I also had my laptop so that I could have a reference picture of the design I was painting.  Connor was my first victim, brave boy, and he decided on a green snake...relief and joy, that seemed pretty easy.



The first time I placed my brush on his little head, I thought 'Ok, this is not going to be too bad'.  And then, the paint started dripping along the brush stroke.  Whoops. I had the paint too wet.  Out came the baby wipes....I love baby wipes, they are like duct tape for women.  I cleaned him up and started again, after first testing the consistency on my hand.  Joy to the World, he sat very still and the snake turned out not half bad. I found that painting was not hard, but getting good outlines on a face is really, really difficult.  It won't win any awards, but to those kids it was amazing.  Snakes were very popular that day.





I started to gather an audience.  Everyone wanted to be next.  Rein it in kids, this takes a while.  Inexperience in action here.




I already knew that glitter makes everything better.  That includes face painting.



I don't know how many faces I actually painted that day, but I got everyone done within the scope of the party time and still got to see Lexi open presents.



I even had a couple adults get in on the fun.






It was a really fun thing to do.  I didn't poke anyone's eye out and I didn't have a dissatisfied customer.  What has your family asked you to do for entertainment sake, that you have not tried before?


Have A Good One,






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Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Indiana Jones Movie Marathon Party

What better way to enjoy a chilly winter day, than with a Movie Marathon?  With an Indiana Jones Movie Marathon, of course. 


The table is decorated with burlap and jungle vines, just what any Adventurer would find comfortable.


Taters of the Lost Ark is a total crackup.  He kept the party going and no one tried to eat him, although his distant cousin Tater Chip, was not so lucky. 




We had to have breaks between each movie and used the time for various activities.  Prizes were given throughout the day, based upon discovered, stolen and earned ancient golden coins. 


Indiana Jones kept folks enthralled for the entire day.  What else is an Adventurer to do?


To keep our guests entertained and from turning into Couch Taters (more relations to Tater's of the Lost Ark), we staged a Quest for an archaeological find in the woods, I mean jungle.  


Clues were scattered throughout the jungle, leading our Adventures deeper into the wilds and the danger lurking there.  We found signs of Natives, but not to worry, our Adventures came armed with their savvy jungle skills and man purses.  



To the surprise of no one, our Intrepid Explorers discovered the treasure after many dangerous minutes (that's hours to you people). 


Can't have a movie without popcorn.  Everyone knows that.


The snake pit was a big hit and got lots of use throughout the party.  Two inexpensive boxes purchased at Walmart and duct taped together (that's right) turned into a dark cave passage filled with snakes and spiders....but wait, there is treasure lurking as well.  


The kids had a blast crawling through the tunnel and risking life and limb to gather as many ancient golden coins as possible.  Fortune and Glory awaited and the reptiles were no match. 


It was a great party and after a long day of being Indiana Jones, it was time for that Dude to get some rest. 

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Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Blog Tip - Ensure that your profile is set up to receive comments

Check your profile setting to ensure that you are able to receive reply's to comments you have made on other blogs. If you have the incorrect setting, the blog owner attempting to respond to you will receive a 'no reply' and  you will unknowingly miss a communication opportunity. This setting is an easy fix to ensure that you receive all communications, which is one of the happy results of blogging.

 From your Dashboard choose the profile dropdown in the upper right hand corner next to your name:



Click on Blogger Profile

Click on Edit Profile

Check box - show my email address




Go to the bottom of the page and click SAVE.

That's it.  You are now properly configured to receive a reply to any comments  you leave. 

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Blogging For Enjoyment




One of my resolutions for 2013 is to do a better job keeping my blog updated, by posting at least once a week.  I'm not a blogger who has the time to really delve into a daily blog post, or spend a lot of time creating new and exciting projects on a daily basis or even on a monthly basis.  I wish that was the case but, with a full time job and a family to take care of , those must be my priorities.   When I first started blogging, it was because I enjoyed writing and wanted a journal of common events in my life, things going on with my family and a way to share things with others of like interest.

In doings some 'homework', I have read articles on how to promote your blog, how to get more blog traffic, how to be interesting, how to make money from your blog, etc.  All the help articles, seem designed for someone who is blogging commercially or full time.  My head is spinning and my heart is heavy because this is not the reason I blog.  I don't want to feel pressured to be witty and interesting all the time, I want to be me and let's face it, sometimes I am boring.  I don't want to be on Ellen or go viral with my blog.  I would love more blog traffic, but not because I am trying to promote my blog per see...I just want the companionship and fellowship of like- minded individuals who also sometimes feel boring and not quite with it, but who also have the occasional 'TA DA' moment.    I want to blog because I enjoy it and if you read and find something useful, I appreciate the fact that we shared a moment.  I'm not knocking the bloggers who are more into the commercial aspects, that is just not why I am here.  I'm hoping there is room in the blogsphere for all of us.

 We all have common and amazing moments in our lives.  What makes each of these moments stand out and become important is being able to share them.  It is always gratifiying to find that there are others who walked out of the bathroom with their dress accidentally and unknowingly tucked in their panties or who did a presentation in front of a group of people with a piece of parsley lodged in their front teeth.

I need to know that I am not alone and that someone will read my blog and find some fun in doing so.   I want you to come back and visit me often, because you enjoy the time spent.  I don't want to quit blogging because I'm not mainstream....I don't know if there is a niche for me.  I'm asking that you take a moment and let me know if there are any individuals out there who want to blog as a community of people who just want to share and have fun....are there any other just for the fun of it bloggers?

Have A Good One,



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