WFMW: Best Ever Measuring Cup

Every kitchen should come equiped with one of these. It is a must have! I know it is a little weird to sing the praises of a measuring cup. But look at this thing! It is awesome! My grandma gave me one of these when I was a teenager. I loved baking even then. I fell in love. I don't think I could live without one of these.
It is perfect for oil and honey and all those other sticky things that are impossible to get completely out of your normal measuring cup. You just push it and it scrapes down the sides. You can also measure multiple ingredients at the same time. Plus as an added bonus you can also use it to convert cups to tablespoons, etc. Awsome! And that's what works for me. For other helpful hint visit Shannon @ Rocks in My Dryer

Tribute

I love BNL! this is a really great video. One of many on youtube. Check them out!

WFMW- Delicious Turkey

Tired of the same old turckey every year? Tired of dry turkey? If you like garlic, you will love this easy recipe! I found this recipe for chicken so I increased the recipe. Everyone raved over it! This recipe is for a 3-4lb chicken so increase it according to the size of your bird.

Delicious Turkey

1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
2 teaspoons Salt
1 Tablespoon coursely chopped Garlic
2 Tablespoons Extra Vergin Olive Oil

Mix together and rub between the skin and flesh. It's a little harder to get to the legs and thighs, but if you cut the skin a little you can use a spoon to get some in there. If there is any left over throw it in the cavity of the bird. If there is time to let it marinate great, if not no problem. Cook your bird as you normally would. This makes the meat nice and moist and very flavorful. I hope this will make your Thanksgiving even more tasty!
For more helpful hints visit Shannon @ Rocks in my Dryer

What about Christmas?

With all the recalls I'm afraid of what is already in the house let alone bringing more China made palstic or lead filled paint into our home. Thankfully we tend to not give too many toys and other gifts at Christmas. I absolutely love Magic Cabin but they are a bit expensive. However, if you plan to buy less then you can spend more on better toys. I tend to give clothes, pajamas, books, educational games and a toy. Here is a great list of lead free retailers or you can look at my side bar for a list as well. You could also make some gifts. I found some cute ideas at Angry Chicken she also has a list on non China made toy retailers. Look at the cute home made toys. They look like they are pretty easy to make and inexpensive too. I'm thinking about making the super simple doll house and the clothes pin dolls. Maybe we can get ideas from others. Over here Don't Try This At Home will be hosting a holiday shopping carnival next week. so check that out too.So what are you going to do about Christmas, or any other gift giving holiday, this year?

And the Winner is...

Valerie at comcast. I had so many responses, I wish I had more to give away. Of course, now that I'm blogging I give things away whenever I want.

One Year...

One year ago we made a tremendous leap of faith. We sold our home and moved. We didn't just move, we moved away from our families. We moved away from our friends. We moved away from what we knew. We moved to New England without my husband having a job. We didn't have an apartment until a week before we moved. We sold our house even though we lost money. Why? you ask me. Well, that's where the faith comes in. We moved here becuase we were supposed to. It isn't that we didn't have the desire to move here, we have wanted to move to New England for five years. Whenever DH said we should move, I reasoned that now was not the time. Whenever I said we should move, DH reasoned why we should wait. Like I said this went on for 5 years!

A year ago this past April, we began to really feel that maybe it was finally time. We came for vacation and we knew! We just knew it was time. And why not now? Our children weren't in school yet. We finally realized that we don't have to retire to life the life we want. We want to raise our children in a small town. We want to live a slower, simpler life. When we lived in Ohio, or any other of the bigger cities we've lived in, I felt so busy. I was driving somewhere practically on a daily basis. I went to 2-3 grocery stores each week because I had about 10 within a 5 minute drive. There was always something to do or some where to go, and I went and did.

When we moved here we sold my husbands car. I completely shut him down the first time he suggested it. How could I get around without a car? How would I survive? The second time he suggested it I shut him down again, but then decided to hear him out. He reasoned that I was too busy. That I was too busy because I could be. We had been making inspired decisions since deciding to move so I agreed to the sale of his car on two conditions.... First, we had to live in town, a town with a library, grocery store, a bank...all the necessities. Second, if it wasn't working out with one car we would get another. I was skeptical that it would work. Do you know what happened, I found out that a simpler life is so much better. This past year I have walked with the kids pretty much every where. We live in a small town, blocks from town so nothing is more then a 20 minute walk. I've been cold, I've been hot, I've been wet with rain and sweat, and I have gotten exercise almost everyday. I've stayed in shape. I've gotten out in the sun and soaked up the vitamon D. I've stayed home and gotten things done and done nothing but play with the kids. I have realized that there are very few occasions that I have actually needed a car.

We came home from vacation and I started to pack up the house. We put our house on the market and waited...and waited...and waited. We came to a stand still. We questioned why it was taking so long. When the buyers walked in the door, I knew they would buy our place. When they withdrew their offer, I still knew they were our buyer. I have always been the one in the backseat when it comes to this kind of thing. Tell me when to show up to sign the papers and I'll be there. Do not ask me to negotate. But in this case, my husband worked at night, so I had the relationship with the other realtor. I had been prepared to make the negotations. The Issue? A furnace. If you've ever replaced a furnace you kow how expensive they can be. It was replaced and I called the realtor. As DH says, I have a more calming disposition (when I want to.) So I was able to get things Back on track. Yes, we lost money on the sale, not just from the furnace but from renovations. Was it a tough decision, yes! But when you know that you are supposed to do something you have to do it. When the path has been prepared, you have to walk it. Sometimes it's about walking into the darkness, in faith, knowing that you are being lead into the light. I lived a year being so inspired. It was wonderful. I am not as inspired now as I was then, but I don't need to be. I was filled to over flowing when I needed it the most. And now I am reaping the blessings of following the path our Heavenly Father knew we needed to walk. I can see why we have lived every where we have lived. I see how the Lord used me to help others who needed me and how others have helped me. I have walked some very dark paths with friends, only to have come with them back to the light. Most of all I have learned and experienced the things that will continue to bless my life and allow me to bless the lives of others. I do not pretend to be perfect. I am very far from that. I am trying, though, to be the best I can be. I make mistakes and I repent and try to be better. May we all live the inspired lives we were ment to live.

Fall Y'all! Giveaway

I know I'm a little late getting this in, but better late then never, Right?! So I am giving away a Embroidery "Calendar" without the calendar. That sound really strange, I'm sure. Let me explain. The end of 2005 I had a baby. So since I had nothing else to do I decided that it would be a good time to take up a new hobby. January rolled around and all the calanders went on sale. I needed a calender, I needed a new hobby so I bought this beautiful calendar. Well, I never did any of it. It really is beautiful. Each month has a picture of the embroidery piece on fabric and a picture of it done, instructions, and a beautiful matting. I took the liberty of pulling out the 2006 calander pages seeing as they are pretty useless.


Open to anyone in the US or Canada. I'll leave this open until Friday, November 2 at midnight. Then I'll use a random number generator to draw a winner. Good luck!

For more give aways go visit Shannon @ Rocks in my Dryer

If a comedian can get it right...

why can't we?


Well, I think that about says it all. We are making ourselves sick by taking all the meds a doctor will provide. The ads on telivision and in magazines really make me mad. A doctor should be perscribing medicine to help cure us. We should not be asking for drugs. It's just not right.

WFMW: Buying Grapes

Okay so here it goes. I'm a new blogger so please be patient. This could get a little hairy! So have you ever gone to the store to pick up grapes and ask yourself, how do I pick good grapes. So you pick up a bag, turn it around (so you look like you know what you're doing) and put them in your cart. You buy them, take them home, put them in the fridge and two days later you are throwing out half them because they are mushy and maybe moldy. Well, you're not alone. I've done this a million and I think I have found a way to, at least, lengthen the life of my grapes.
First, and you probably do this, look over the grapes. I don't buy grapes that have smooshed grapes in the bag. If there are a few that I see, there are usually a lot more that I don't. Look at the general color too.
Second, look at the stems. I know what you're thinking. I don't eat the stems. True, but in my experience if the stems look green they still have life in them to feed the grapes. If the stems are brown and shriveled the grapes are usually headed in that direction as well.
Third and last, take then home and soak them in cold water for about 5 minutes and then remove from the stem. Toss all the yucky ones. I found this hint on last weeks WFMW but I can't seem to find it again. If I do I'll link to it. Viola, there you go. Grapes firm and ready to eat. So there's my first WFMW. I hope to do more. If you need more tips go visit Shannon

Missing

It's been a tough week. and seeing as I haven't told anyone about this blog, no one will probably read this. So what nobody knows is that I was pregnant, But now I'm not. I'm not even sure how to get through this. This was an unexpected pregnancy. Not unwanted though. I was actually hoping that I would get pregnant unexpectedly. Both of the girls took awhile to get pregnant with. There was a lot of pain waiting to get pregnant with each of them. So this time, like I said, it was a pleasant surprise. But after only not even 8 weeks I miscarried. I was having a tough time realizing that I was pregnant and not I'm having a tough time letting it go. I'm eating to hide the pain. Not such a good idea, but it's a coping mechanism I used for a long time. So how do I deal with the loss and how do I know when to try again.

Testing, Testing...

Okay here I go. My my first trick I'm going to pull a blog post out of my sleeve...nothing in my brain... presto. Alright maybe not so good, but I'll try to do better next time. The two of you who are reading this are probably wondering why am I blogging. Good question. I don't know. Probably mostly to keep everyone I love who are very far away in touch with what's going on in our neck of the woods. I used to be funny, too. I'm hoping that it will come back to me. There are lots of funny bloggers like Daring Young Mom and Rocks in My Dryer, just to name a few, that I love to read. (Hopefully, I'll soon learn how to link to their post.) Now those women are funny without even trying! So maybe if I blog I'll be fuuny too. So to start I should probably tell you a little about myself and how my blog name came about. Feel free to ask me questions so that you can get to know me, if you don't already.