May Day! May Day!

S'almost May!  I love a good May, leaves on trees, warm breezes, not too many allergy days and my strawberries will soon turn red.

Yes I know, my strawberry patch clearly appears to need weeding. What I have found is that it thrives through benign neglect.  There will be a bumper crop of fresh organic strawberries this May. I am sure of it. Patrick and Bryce are already petitioning to be allowed to set up a fruit stand out front.

Maybe we could talk Pepe's Mexican Restaurant, located just steps away from our house, into sourcing their strawberry margarita strawberries from our patch?

Gratuitous Margarita Pic!

Recipe and Free Tea from Klout.com

Trying not to complain about the weather, am going to anyway. I'd like it to stop being cold and windy and go back to being 20 degrees above normal.  Like it was in June, I mean March.

Being all cold I thought it would be a good day to try out a recipe I saw recently in the Chicago Tribune . As far as I can tell it isn't available online. It was in the "How to Pair Wine" section and was a vegetable stew. One of the suggestions to go with it was Savingnon Blanc. 

Much to my dismay, now I can't find the recipe.  So for what is worth here is what I remember being in it:
Can of  Crushed Tomatoes
10oz frozen artichoke hearts
Can of small beans, I was going with Great Northern Beans
1 chopped shallot
5 cut up green onions, white and green parts
some tarragon
some chicken broth.
And a few things I don't remember.

No Vegetable Stew tonight for me. *sigh*


FREEBIE FOR TEA!  I have a link via Klout.com that you can use to get free samples of the new Lipton Honey & Tea instant drink mix.  It comes in those little packs you can use to flavor bottles of water. Click here to get your freebie!

Socialpunk, and a Contest!

Having a bit of free time, and I use that term loosely as I really should have been cleaning, I was able to read a new ebook by Monica Leonelle*. I found myself lucky enough to have this book because Monica Leonelle, a fellow Chicagoan, contacted me and other bloggers who enjoy books and more specifically, Science Fiction-ish books.  I was invited to participate in her 'Blog Book Tour' and as such I said I'd read her book and give an honest review.  I did not have to pay for Socialpunk.

Socialpunk Description:

Ima would give anything to escape The Dome and learn what’s beyond its barriers, but the Chicago government has kept all its citizens on lockdown ever since the Scorched Years left most of the world a desert wasteland. When a mysterious group of hooded figures enters the city unexpectedly, Ima uncovers a plot to destroy The Dome and is given the choice between escaping to a new, dangerous city or staying behind and fighting a battle she can never win.

MY REVIEW:

I was very prepared to dislike the book. There is so much Ebook drivel out there and I began the prologue with cynicism. However, the book was very enjoyable. It was a fast and quick ride.  I am a big fan of books featuring a heroine with the "Can Do Spirit".  These girls have doubts about themselves, but they don't let that stop them.  They see the big picture and they move forward. Ima reminded me of a couple of my favorite protagonists of late, Sookie Stackhouse and Katniss Everdeen. The author did a nice job of catching me with the prologue and keeping me guessing as to what was real and what was virtual reality throughout the book.

My "Hey What a Cool Idea" moment occured  when the characters slide down a pole (i.e a fireman's pole) to get from one floor of a high rise to another in this very 'green' world. I also enjoyed the social commentary of a  society where it isn't money that matters, instead your worth is all about how much you can influence others.

Finally, I really liked the way the first book ended. The stage is set for the second installment and we had a character revelation that was unexpected--and a road less traveled.

If you enjoyed The Hunger Games and are looking for a good read for your ereader--this is a great choice. 

READ ON ! There's a Giveaway! 

Links to Purchase the Book:

Amazon: http://monicaleonelle.com/SocialpunkA
Barnes and Noble: http://monicaleonelle.com/SocialpunkB

Trying to figure out what is for dinner.

Ya just like everyone else, I'm pondering the great question, what's for dinner.  Wait, I think I have just figured it out.  We have a plethora of Ronzoni Smart Angel Hair pasta, it was buy 2 get one free at Jewel.  We also have jars of spaghetti sauce and cans of diced tomatoes and Tastefully Simple Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto.  So I'm thinking of making boring spaghetti and sauce for the boys and then for Anna and I something good

My plan: Make the Dried Tomato and Garlic Pesto with our Roasted Garlic Infused Oil  set aside. Get the water going for the pasta and saute a sliced red bell pepper, sliced mini portobella mushrooms, chopped up a shallot and asparagus.  Then toss the veggies with the pasta and the Dried Tomato and Garlic Pesto.  Maybe I'll put some shredded parm on top.  Mmmm. Yes that What's For Dinner!

And don't forget to take advantage of the last Tampax Tuesday!

Cure for a Case of the Mondays !

I just got an email from The Happy Money Saver's Blog  that the Hunger Games Trilogy for Kindle is only $15. Crazy Low!  So if you've been wanting to read this great series click the link above and get the set!  As anyone who has spent time on Amazon knows, they change prices on a whim so double check the price before you click!

Now back to your regularly scheduled programming, I'm watching The Voice with Anna and can hear the boys arguing in the background.  Good times. Good times.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway!  I have lots of great Tastefully Simple to share with you!

Happy 10th Anniversary w/Tastefully SImple Giveaway!

You heard it right! Not only is today Earth Day, it is my 10th Anniversary with Tastefully Simple. It seems as if I joined the company last week, then I think about all the great hosts I've had, the awesome team members who've joined my team, and the great trips I've been on and it does seem like 10 great years!

A little photo montage of my Tastefully Simple Life!

GoodTimes!  I'm looking forward to another 10 years!  Woot!  Soon I will have my first parties in  North Carolina and Georgia, heck I'm going to throw Tennessee in there too.

Now about you! On to my 10th Anniversary Giveaway!  Enter below and spread the word!  This giveaway is all funded and created by me, so thanks for taking time to read my blog and enter.  You are awesome.

Saturday Night Surfing Dance Moms, Gnomes, and Mocktails

So it's a rocking Saturday night here.  The man is out of town. My fav 7 year old girl is at a sleepover--and she didn't call for me to come get her!  And the boys need to turn off the Netflix and go to bed.

What am I up to? Surfing the web and watching Dance Moms Miami.  Yes I know, it's embarrassing. Why am I watching it?  It's like potato chips. Wrong but you can't stop!

The one instructor with the tall hair is so 80s in his wardrobe, I might be watching it just to see his outfits.   Comically, when I searched "Dance Moms Miami" on Swagbucks I won the most swagbucks (25) I've ever won for a search. I LOL'd.  really.





I also checked in on Twitter and saw that a website Garden Gnome World retweeted a tweet I wrote about wanting a garden gnome and blaming it on a glass of Riesling.  Clearly I had to go over to their website, and once there I found the funniest gnomes.  Battle Gnomes. Maybe the children can pick me up a couple for Mother's Day? 

And no I've not had more Riesling.  I had a glass of Crystal Light Appletini(it's a mocktail) which is really good. I've never had an appletini-I was always preggo or nursing during the Martini Fad--so I don't know if their drink mix tastes anything like a real appletini.  We all like the Crystal Light over here.  The boys are big fans of drinks that are green.

Yes, of course it was on sale and I had a coupon, otherwise I wouldn't have given it a try! You can't find coupons on their website. They are part of the Kraft Brands, but it looks like they do release coupons if you friend them on facebook. Mine came from a tear off pad at the store.

Im going to lose my Tree Hugging Accomadation from Al Gore.

We are on the cusp of Earth Day, and I have been a total EFG (Environmentally Friendly Girl ) Fail. Yesterday I had a one-on-one focus group downtown. Did I do the responsible thing and take public transportation? 

No. I drove down and I loved it.   I know it's wrong, but I was getting reimbursed for the parking garage fee and there isn't much traffic at 10 in the morning.  Driving into Downtown Chicago is luxury and I enjoyed every minute of avoiding running over bikers, being tailgated by cabs, and all the  red light tickets. 

About focus groups and market research, I highly recommend finding market research companies online and entering into their database. If you use google, all your online info is being tracked by advertisers anyway, why not get paid from time to time for your opinions.

Yesterday was a really great survey opportunity, because I have my own business I qualified to interview with a company looking for consumer feedback on their small business accounting software.  One hour of my time (plus commuting on a sunny spring day) and I was paid $150 plus $25 for parking. Woot!

There are focus groups and market research studies for many many things.  If you breathe  and you buy stuff, sooner or later you'll qualify for a study and get paid to share your opinion.

And back to my latest Earth Day Fail.  Today I was about to get into the shower, so the water was on, and the phone rang. I answered the phone and then I checked my email.  An indeterminate amount of time later I realized I was wasting one of our most precious resources--fresh water.  *hangs head in chagrin*

I know, the environmental police are flagging this post right now for further investigation. I will try and do better, maybe get a grass dress?  I do recycle, compost and reuse boxes that must count in my favor right?

Who the Heck Am I?

Yesterday I was inspired by a contest that the Cocktail Deeva is running to put together a Media and Sponsorship Page. You can click on the tab above to read it. Let me know what you think! 

As a reader, would you like to see some giveaways?  I am working on participating in a Mother's Day giveaway.  For that I will be giving away the Chips and Cheese Please and a Sunny Strawberry Margarita Drink Bucket

So keep your eyes peeled and subscribe to my blog and plus one me on google plus and pin me on pinterest and all that good stuff so you can see how my efforts to building this blog go in 2012!

This has nothing to do with the above but I just have to share because I know you, wise reader, will appreciate this.  Upstairs waiting for me I have the first disc of Season 2 Downton Abbey ready to watch.  Fresh from my public library it is!

Wordless Wednesday My Fave Time of Day

Sunset. Love me some Sunset!

I bet you don't know what today is...

If you already know this...we'll you've got me.  It's

Tampax Tuesday! 

Yes that is right, Tuesday is dedicated to feminine protection.  You may be asking, When did this start?  Looks like it's going on all April long! I got the scoop from one of the blogs I subscribe to called Freebies for Mom .  Now it is called freebies 4 Mom, but don't let that stop you--she has freebies of all sorts no mom card required to redeem. 

Now back to Tampax Tuesday.  You can click the link here and read about how you can get a Tampax Sample Pack free. Free is good!

And speaking of money related items, I completed my first month as a contractor for a home-based calling center and made $600 working about 10-15 hours per week.  That would be about $150 per week. Not bad working in my basement!


Have you read The Hunger Games?  I have read it and the second book Cathing Fire.  By the end of The Hunger Games I had decided my favorite character is Haymitch Abernathy.  What can I say, Im a fan of flawed anti-heros. Fingers are crossed that the movie is as fun as the book was to read!

Long Time No Post

Well I've not had much Internet time over the last two weeks because we are down at our new place in North Carolina and while we called to get Internet hooked up it hasn't been hooked up as of yet. 

Me and the kids are driving back to Chicagoland tomorrow, so at least Tom will get the benefit of Internet and a home phone. 

Arriving back in the Land of Lincoln will be a bit of a shock as we have just gotten used to warm sunny days in the 70s and cooler evenings.  Now we will have to get reacquainted with rainy gloom and temps in the low 50s.  Booo. 

This pic is Patrick modeling his new robe on the deck which needs painting.  This pic was take right after we arrived as you can see the trees are pretty bare.  Today I can report that on many of the trees unfurling of leaves has taken place.  Total Nature Splendor in every direction.

My friend K would be so happy if she was here, as my SIL found 2 baby snakes--which may or may not have been copperheads--We needed a herpetologist.

Now I am dreading the drive home for a few reasons, would you like to hear them?
1. It's a long drive all to be driven by me having consumed massive doses of caffeine.

2. The afore mentioned crummy weather.

3. The kids just got accustom to the move and the area, so there will be another adjustment period as we come back to finish the school year and another one when we come back down in June.

4. I have to pack up the house.

5. The Man is going to move all the stuff in our NC house around and I won't like the way he will organized stuff.

On the bright side we had an offer on our old house! Woot!

Some deals That I like

I have gotten this deal before, spend $10 and get $20 to spend at overstock.com .  It's up again at Living Social and when I got it last I bought 4 super awesome pillows so now I can sleep without tossing and turning because my neck hurt.  Set of 4 pillow from overstocks was like $37 after my discounts.

Also today is Friday which means people who search the web with swagbucks are earning lots of extra swag on Friday.  They call it MSBD.  If you aren't signed up with Swagbucks here is a code to get you an extra 70 swagbucks for joining!  So you always get 30 when you join and if you sign up now and enter  MARCHSWAG and it must be entered during registration! The code expires 11:59pm PT on April 2nd.  You can click the pic here to sign up. 

Why bother to use swagbucks?

1. Makes searching a bit more fun.
2. Free stuff.  You can get trinkety stuff for as little as 30 swagbucks--so could be fun for the kids. OR you could save all your bucks to get gift cards!  Nothing better than a nice amazon.com gift card for example. Gift cards start at the 500 level. I've been a member for about a month and we have over 1200 bucks. And that is without much effort frankly!

But wait...there is more. If you join Swagbucks and then go to One King Lane you should see a 10% off discount code pop up on the right hand side of your screen.  You can couple that with my $15 off your order referral code and get some great deals (think even better than TJ Maxx or Marshalls!) on all sorts of great home stuff. I like to look at the awesome furniture.

On Google Offers there is a $20 for $40 at One King Lane available for 2 more days.  I bought one and redeemed it last night.

This is one of the items I got a set of 4 rooster salad plates.  It has an en francois motif. Cost before discounts on the plates $19.

Everything is closeout so sales are final.  The products are grouped and sold for about a max of 7 days. All of it is great looking.  Some is designer highend tag sales and/or antiques and some is for the stylish budget concious.

So those are my favorite things and my fav deal for today! I hope you have a great Friday, it's nice and rainy here which means the grass is going to grow.  Not cool with Tom being out of town...

If you put it on your timeline, does it make it true?

Facebook pleaded with me to add my University/College to my timeline.  The reality of my attendance and subsequent Associates Degree is so boring, I decided to attend Oxford University and graduate with an English Lit degree.  My favorite class was the impact of Jane Austen's novels on modern Chick Lit.

Good times, good times. 

How about you?  Is your Facebook Timeline or profile completely accurate? 

More Recent Activity

• Victoria added University of Oxford to her education.

 

Wordless Wednesday Counting Down to Season 2

Today I got all set up with HBOGO so I can watch the season premier of Game of Thrones Season 2.
Can't wait. Might have to lock myself in a bathroom to get some peace and quiet to watch it..but will be worth it!

I don't know about you, but I love Professor Snape.

So how was your weekend?  I had a busy one! Saturday was a Relay For Life Tastefully Simple Fundraiser Party. Sunday Anna and I sold Girl Scout cookies at a local grocery store.  We sold 71 boxes, I am not sure if that is great or not, but I'm going to say we did a great job. Last night I was on the phones for my work at home call center job. I made that a link in case anyone is looking for a work from home job that is legit! 

Friday night Patrick and I watched Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Of couse we really enjoyed it, and it was so compelling Patrick didn't talk the whole time.  Ever full of questions is how one can describe Patrick at any time of day, but more so during a movie.

As all the kids at my house know, my favorite character in the land of Harry Potter is Severus Snape. 
I had to make a very concerted effort not to cry during Professor Snape's last scene and the flashback.  Good Stuff. Give me an anti-hero in my fiction any day of the week.

Overall it was a prety good week in reaching goals.  I am especially proud that I was able not to be annoyed at The Man for breathing.

This week what are you working on?  I am working on:

Family/Mothering Goals
1. Get kids to sleep on time for it is ISATS (state testing) time.
2. Ensure The Man and Bryce are up to speed on Cub Scout stuff they need to work on this month.
3. Review Bills

Personal Goals.
1. Run 8 miles 4x this week.
2. Read Clash of Kings --Only 18 days til Season 2 of Game of Thrones Premiers on HBO!
3. Track food and exercise on Sparkpeople.com

Home Management
1. Cancel thing The Man set up.
2. Take pics of bedroom furniture set to sell for $300. (King bed, nightstand and tall dresser w/mirror all mission style)
3. Make the Tastefully Simple Tonight Meals --using the freezer meals option. Then I won't have to have people ask me what is for dinner. Well, they will still ask but I"ll just point to the freezer and tell them to have a look.
Business Goals.
1. Team Email
2. Client Email
3. Check in with Upcoming parties

Goals from last week.
Family/Mothering Goals
1. Try not to be annoyed at The Man for breathing.
2. Sell Girl Scout Cookies with Anna on Sunday.
3. Work on better system for Bryce "Oh I forgot I have a project due tomorrow that I've know about for a month."

Personal Goals
1. Run 7miles 4x this week.2. watch all the David Tennant Dr. Who episodes on Netflix :-D
3. Look into going to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. *Interesting note, Joyce Kilmer not a woman, actually a man.
Home Management
1. Take pics and post bedroom set furniture.
2. decide if tiling the top of a cocktail table is a good idea or not.
3. TCO Utilities.--don't 4get to sch. ATT4. Make the Tastefully Simple Tonight Meals --using the freezer meals option. Then I won't have to have people ask me what is for dinner. Well, they will still ask but I"ll just point to the freezer and tell them to have a look.

Business Goals:
1. Host coaching for my upcoming parties.
2. Send out Team Feb Incentive awards to winners.
3. Put together ppwk for March parties and print recipes for Stagg Craft Fair.

Wordless Wednesday, Summer It's been too long

Children playing baseball barefoot with a wiffle bat and ball.

Woo Hoo Post 300!!

Below you will see my goals from last week of which I got 2 out of 3 in each category.  I call that progress.  How about you?  Did you make a goal list last week?  How did things shake out? This week I'll be working on some other things...

Family/Mothering Goals
1. Try not to be annoyed at The Man for breathing.
2. Sell Girl Scout Cookies with Anna on Sunday.
3. Work on better system for Bryce "Oh I forgot I have a project due tomorrow that I've know about for a month."

Personal Goals
1. Run 7miles 4x this week.
2. watch all the David Tennant Dr. Who episodes on Netflix :-D
3. Look into going to the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest. *Interesting note, Joyce Kilmer not a woman, actually a man.

Home Management
1. Take pics and post bedroom set furniture.
2. decide if tiling the top of a cocktail table is a good idea or not.
3. TCO Utilities.--don't 4get to sch. ATT
4. Make the Tastefully Simple Tonight Meals --using the freezer meals option. Then I won't have to have people ask me what is for dinner. Well, they will still ask but I"ll just point to the freezer and tell them to have a look.

Business Goals:
1. Host coaching for my upcoming parties.
2. Send out Team Feb Incentive awards to winners.
3. Put together ppwk for March parties and print recipes for Stagg Craft Fair.

***
Twas a lovely Tuesday here full of sunshine and crazy windy.  All that in like a lion and out like a lamb stuff for sure. I am hoping that rain holds off until after dark tomorrow and we can have another sunny day in my neck of the woods.

Family/Mothering Goals
1. Make Patrick an end of the school year countdown.
2. Try not to be annoyed by The Man because he makes an annoying IMO sound when he eats.
3. Work on Breakfast Offerings for the kids that they can quickly eat b/4 running off to school.
Personal Goals
1. Run 5 miles 3x this week and add on 1 -2 miles of walking at the end of the run.
2. Blog 3x3. Research Beekeeping, or raising chickens for eggs. * I know, I know, really? Hey, I have a dream of living off the land. :-D
4. Do something with the mop on my head! It's awful!
Home Managment
1. TCO misc. bills
2. Clean out the playroom
3. Try Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup recipe.Business Goals
1. Get everything set to start working on Thurs as Independent Call Center Rep.
2. Client Newsletter
3. Team Newsletter4. 15-30 calls.

Email notifications I really need to unsub

I enjoy the quest for enlightenment and self-improvement.  I also enjoy social media and the big wide world of the Internet.  Because of the mashup between these things I love, I get emails entitled:

1. From 43 things (a goal setting website I signed up for back in 2007):
RE:   Take Family to Hawaii in 2008!

Here we are 2012, haven't done that, have never gotten even close to saving enough $$ to go there.

2. From Mint.com (a financial organizational website I signed up for back in probably 2009?

Did you know you are using too much of your total credit?

Yes. Yes I do. Very well aware.

3. From Sparkpeople.com (food diary website)

We miss you! You are only 18.8 lbs away from your goal of losing 20 lbs!

cringe.

4. From Zillow.com (a real estate website)

Your Hickory Hills Home Zestimate has decreased by 1.8%!

Thanks for the reminder that we bought at the height of the real estate bubble.

5. Every single Martha Stewart Daily Craft email.

Dear Email In Box:
Stop Mocking Me!


Thanks God the Internet is chock-full of LOLCATs.

My first Wordless Wednesday! (posting a few hours early)

We are moving to North Carolina!

Weekly Goals! 90% more likely to actually be reached

because I am going to put them here and that way I'll have them where I can see them and not in my little head. Do you make goals on a regular basis?  How does it work for you? Im using the format from Money Saving Mom

Family/Mothering Goals
1. Make Patrick an end of the school year countdown.
2. Try not to be annoyed by The Man because he makes an annoying IMO sound when he eats.
3. Work on Breakfast Offerings for the kids that they can quickly eat b/4 running off to school.

Personal Goals
1. Run 5 miles 3x this week and add on 1 -2 miles of walking at the end of the run.
2. Blog 3x
3. Research Beekeeping, or raising chickens for eggs. * I know, I know, really?  Hey, I have a dream of living off the land. :-D
4. Do something with the mop on my head!  It's awful!

Home Managment
1. TCO misc. bills
2. Clean out the playroom
3. Try Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup recipe.

Business Goals
1. Get everything set to start working on Thurs as Independent Call Center Rep.
2. Client Newsletter
3. Team Newsletter
4. 15-30 calls.

Okay there it is, a very do=able list if I do say so myself.  And big bonus is that I already have my next 2 blog topics ready to go.  If I am feeling crazy I may just go ahead and write them tonight and post them later in the week!

Yesterday I spent over an hour getting knots out of the back of Anna's hair.  And I still couldn't get it all out.  The stress of it all was enough to get Anna on board with short hair.  Yes I know I am the Mom and I have final hair say since she is 7; nevertheless, it is good to have the buy-in from her.

SLOW COOKER RECIPE!
Originally from this month's Family Circle.  It is called Soupe Au Pistou  (Provencal Vegetable Soup with Pesto)  I made some changes of course.
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
3 medium boiling potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 medium onions, chopped  I used 1 large onion and 1 medium shallot
2 medium zucchinis, chopped
8 cups of water
Tastefully Simple Seasoned Salt
2 cups cooked or drained and canned cannellini beans  In the future I would use Butter Beans.
1 cup small pasta.  I used Barilla Piccolini Mini Farfalle and I didn't mix it in with the soup--that way it stays al dente.  I put a small scoop on the bottom of the bowl and then ladle the soup over it.
I also added about 1/2 a tbsp of chopped rosemary because I had fresh rosemary in the fridge.
I also added a tablespoon of Garlic Garlic as well.

You just take everything listed above except the noodles and the beans and put that in the slow cooker for a good 8 hours on low.  Add the beans for 30 min and then it's ready to serve.  You have to top it with prepared pesto.  I, of course, made some Tastefully Simple Dried Tomato and Garlic Pesto with our Roasted Garlic infused oil. The soup would be terribly bland w/o the pesto on top.  I think if I make it again, I'm going to use broth instead of the water. 

Friday, Friday.

I have a migraine and no time to sit in a dark room. There is stuff on every surface in the house. Do you live with people who clutter counters? It drives me nutty.  I'd take a pic and share it, but I don't want to have it out there mocking me for Internet eternity.

You may be thinking, Victoria isn't The Man currently unemployed?  Surely with The Man home, the two of you have the place well organized.  Pfft. He is the worst offender. I have come to the conclusion that there may very well be two types of people in the world. People who like flat surfaces cleaned off and people who like stuff on top of all flat household surfaces--especially counter tops. So sooner he finds employment, sooner I have less counter-clutter stress. 

As I said above, I have a brutal headache, and perhaps that is 10% of the reason The Man is in The Doghouse.  The rest is all him.  Bah. Grumble, Swear Words. Plus we got snow.  Double Bah. 

Okay enough of that, I'm building a bridge, I'm getting over it.  On to some food talk.

 But before that, are you a member of Swagbucks?  You use their search engine and you collection points and redeem the points for gift cards and whatnot.  I joined about 3 wks ago and already have over 700 points. 450 points can get you a $5 gift card, so as you can see you can quickly rack them up. I like to save loyalty points for Christmas time shopping. 

Want to join?  You can click below and if you join today you get 140 points for signing up! Such a deal.




Today I made a product from the New Spring/Summer Line from Tastefully Simple . It is a Strawberry Buckle cake called Strawberry Swirl Buckle Cake Mix.  All you need to make it is 3/4 cup water and 3 tablespoons melted butter.  We've had buckle cakes in the past and I seem to recall that they called for more butter, so it is nice that this time around it takes just a wee bit of butter for an amazing cake.  For your homework today, research what the heck is buckle cake.

Now I am signing off as I am going to try and squeeze in 1 hour of quiet dark time before Anna and I have to head over to Glen Oaks School for Mother/Daughter night.  We will be making Jewelry. 

Next blog I'll be sharing a very simple Slow Cooker Vegetable Soup.

Mardi Gras

Here we are another Fat Tuesday, another year in which I don't take part in the eating of a King Cake or a paczki.  I don't really like stuff in my pastries. After you have the Fat Tuesday celebrations, along comes Lent and 6 weeks of deprivation. Deprivation for those so inclined to give it a go on the long trek toward Easter Sunday.  I love some Lenten fasting, so I've been thinking, what to give up? what to give up?

Here are a few ideas, just off the top of my head:

1. Give up doing dishes.
2. Give up making lunches
3. Give up putting other people's things away.

Right, I know, that's not what they mean when they say you should give something up for lent!  Well all right, I've mulled it over and I am going with giving up all-things-fried. I was thinking of giving up junk food, but upon reflection, it seems to be too broad a category.  For example, is a jelly bean junk food? What about a hamburger?

So there I go. No fried stuff.  How about you?  Do you 'do' Lent?  What are you giving up?

My face hurts

Oy. This morning I woke up with a huge sinus-pressure cold kind of thing.  I dosed myself with some Day-Quil to no avail.  I still have a majorly stuffy head.  I'm in misery I tell ya.

This is what I looked like when I got up this morning.  Pretty doggone scary, and yet, people wanted me to make them breakfast.

I could go on at length about how crummy I am feeling.  I could also go into how this weekend The Man has had occasion to invite a cornucopia of his family members over. Many people in and out of the house, and me sick and unshowered.

However, I am sucking it up, and am not going to whine and complain. I'm going to try an be like my blood type--B+  Reasons why things don't totally suck even though my face hurts.

1. It's just a cold, it will pass.
2. I didn't have any Tastefully Simple Parties on my schedule this weekend.  Given that, it was a good time to get sick, relatively speaking.
3. The man went to Walgreens and got me Original Halls, as I requested.  Not Honey Lemon, Sugar Free or Store Brand Cough Drops will do for me, I highly prefer good-old Halls Mentho-lyptus.
Click Here to Link Yourself to a Halls Coupon from Vicks.com
4. No school for kids 2morrow, So I can sleep in-ish.  You know I don't really get to sleep in, it's more of  a 'I choose not to open my eyes and leave bed for a while past when I can hear the kids are up' thing.
5. Well actually, I've got nothing for five. I do hope no one is going to expect me to make them dinner.

Too bad I haven't got my new Tastefully Simple Tonight Collection--7 products plus recipe cards/shopping list and freezer labels to make 10 meals.  If I have that I'd have 10 meals complete with cooking labels sitting in the freezer.

Then when The Man says "What is there to eat?" like he is wont to do on a daily basis, I could raise a weak and feeble hand and point to the freezer.  "Meals. In. Freezer." I would say, and then he would open the freezer, review his choices, and BAM! dinner-To-Done!

Can't wait to get the collection and put together my meals. Can't wait for my face to stop hurting!

The other day before I caught this cold I made a really good stew from Family Circle Magazine.  Two thumbs up for sure!

Beef Stew With Mushrooms, Rosemary and Tomatoes
Ingredients

• 4 pounds boneless beef chuck, well trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup olive oil   I used Tastefully Simple Roasted Garlic Infused Oil
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped I used Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 2 cups beef broth
• 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 cup chopped canned tomatoes
• 1 fresh rosemary sprig
• 1 bay leaf<< I dont like bay leaf at all, so I left that out.
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 pound white button mushrooms, quartered
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions

I followed the directions and then realized that I didn't have enough time to cook it in the slow cooker so I cooked the stew on the stove in a large stock pot for about 1 1/2 simmering and then added the mushrooms as per below.

End result very yummy!   Paired very nicely with Flip Flop Cabernet Sauvignon. Fun Flip Flop Fact: not only does it have a handy twist top, the company donates some of their profits to Soles4Souls.


1. Pat beef dry with paper towels. In a bowl, combine flour with salt and pepper to taste. Add beef, a few pieces at a time, and toss until lightly coated.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Add beef in batches and cook until browned on all sides, about 20 minutes total. Place meat in a large slow cooker.
3. Add onions to skillet and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste. Add wine and cook, scraping the pan, until liquid comes to a simmer. Pour contents of skillet over meat. Add broth, carrots, tomatoes and herbs to slow cooker. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or until beef is tender when pierced with a fork.
4. When beef is almost ready, melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring often, until mushrooms are golden, about 10 minutes.
5. Stir mushrooms into stew and discard bay leaf. Serve hot, sprinkled with parsley.

Catching Pre-Spring Fever!

I can't wait for Daylight Savings. I like my darkness later in the day and I don't care if the sun is up before 8am. Since we have had a very mild winter, I have already decided that Valentines Day was the last day of winter. Now it's pre-spring.

I'm going to look into trademarking that one. It's not the doldrums of winter, it's "Pre-Spring" TM. Speaking of savings, I had to survive several internet-less hours over the past few days due to The Man switching us over to XFINITY.

  I wonder if we will actually save much money when we get the bill--with all the fees added on to it. Have you perused a bill telecommunications bill lately. You would think with all the fees added on, and how no one can live w/o phone/cable/internet/cell phones in this day and age, that our Government would be in the black due to the monthly Govt Fees.

Fees. Eric Northman Does Not Approve.
















With all the fees, we all need to find savings everywhere we can. Savings Star is coupon company that you sign your store loyalty card up with and when you purchase certain products you get the coupons as cash. It's like Upromise, but you aren't saving up for college. They have a nice Quaker Products deal in Feb. See Below. Do you belong to Savings Star? If so you can get $5.00 back

Spend $15.00 on Quaker products in February, and get $5.00 back all at once or in many trips!

Free Health Full Bread Already Gone

The man already ate our free loaf of bread from the bzzagent campaign.  Jewel in our area carries Brownberry and I got the 10 grain because that was in stock.  I want to get the flax & fiber next because The Man is a fan of Flax Seed.

What I really liked about the bread is that unlike other hearty widepan breads, this is sliced thin.  It comes in at 80 calories a serving and one slice folded over with two slices of Sara Lee Honey Ham, didn't fall apart and wasn't way too much bread for the kids. 

60% of the time when I give Bryce a sandwich, it comes home uneaten. The days he had Brownberry Health Full, he actually ate the sandwich.  A victory!

Next time I get the bread, and it will be soon, since it is currently on sale at Jewel for $2.49, I want to try this recipe.  The Greek Goddess.

* My disclosure: As I mentioned above, I got a free Health Full Bread coupon for a free Brownberry/Arnold or Oroweat and coupons for discounts off bread from Bzzagent . Join Bzzagent and you can be the first to try new products!

Some great freebies from around the net!

Free Sample of Ecover Laundry Soap! Via The FB page!

Nice earth-friendly products!

There was a giveaway for Betty Crocker Members, but those are all snatched up.  You can still go to Betty Crocker's Website and become a member.  As a member, which is free of course, you get access to member only coupons, recipes and a monthly free sample (limited to the first 10,000)  Next month's free sample is going to be Cheerios, the new peanut butter ones.

This is a pic of a Members Exclusive Recipe for Veggie Enchiladas. Yum.


You can also head on over to Facebook, as if you don't already have a tab opened to Facebook right now and like Quaker Oats Squares and get a free cereal sample!
Thanks to freebie shark for the scoop!

I need to find a website devoted to catchy blog post titles.

Aside from setting aside the time to put together a blog post, the hardest thing for me is the damn title. Mostly I look at the blank title line and think: 'I got nothin'.  Today is no exception. Tomorrow we are going to get our taxes done, then off to open a new checking account because we have finally given TCF Bank the heave-ho.  I also need to get in a run, or in my case, more like a slow jog. Ideally, I will manage to carve out time to run 5 miles.  It seems that there is something else I need to go do tomorrow, but I am not able to recall at this point.

What I would like to do is sit around, watch a movie and have one of these.  As I said on facebook, this dessert is completely pinterest-worthy.

It's made up of : layers of chocolate pudding with Kahlua, vanilla pudding with Bailey’s Irish Cream, crushed Truffle Fudge Brownie bits and roasted almonds.

Even better than the above would be to hear that we'll be getting some money back on our taxes this year.  That would be lovely.  The Man is sure we will, but I am not convinced, it was a weird year.

He is working with an outplacement firm that specializes in helping corporate types such as he transition to a new job or career.  Today I suggested he try beekeeping.  It was a no go.  Though he did suggest that I could feel free to give beekeeping a go. Why beekeeping? Honestly, I don't know. I saw that the Cook County Farm Bureau is having an Intro to Beekeeping Class.  It sounds interesting. Then I can sell Honey right? I wonder how often beekeepers get stung. 

Good stuff I got in the mail this week.

So I say why talk about bills and more bills. Let's talk about the good freebies I found in my mailbox this week. When TMOTH (The Man of the House) has been downsized, a family find that their income is seriously downsized!  With that, I do a little happy dance for all the freebies and income I bring in to our household.

First off I'd like to say, if you haven't checked out Smiley 360, you should! Smiley 360 Be heard. Be Happy   Smiley 360, you sign up and they have promotions where they provide you with a nice free sample and some high value coupons. You try the products and then share with your friends if you like them.  Easy peasy!  This week I received a free package of Knorr Homestyle Stock  and $2.00 a package coupon.

I have been wanting to try the Knorr Homestyle Stock so to get to try it for free is awesome!  My free full size package equals 4 meals and saves me about $4.50.  With the package from Smiley 360, I also received a recipe guide.  I am looking forward to making the Slow Cooker Pulled Pork!

SERVES 10

PREP TIME: 10 Minute(s)

COOK TIME: 4 Hour(s)

INGREDIENTS

3- lb. boneless pork shoulder 1 tub Knorr® Homestyle Stock - Chicken 1/2 cup ketchup 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard 2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce 10 Kaiser rolls or hamburger buns

PREPARATION

1. Arrange pork in slow cooker. Combine remaining ingredients except rolls and pour over pork; turn to coat.
2. Cook covered on LOW 8 to 10 hours or HIGH 4 to 6 hours or until pork is tender.
3. Remove pork; reserve juices. Shred pork with fork, then stir into reserved juices. Serve on rolls.

See nutrition information for sodium content.

NUTRITION INFORMATION per serving
Calories 410, Calories From Fat 90, Saturated Fat 3g, Trans Fat 0g, Total Fat 11g, Cholesterol 80mg, Sodium 900mg, Total Carbohydrates 45g, Sugars 15g, Dietary Fiber 1g, Protein 31g, Vitamin A 2%, Vitamin C 6%, Calcium 10%, Iron 20%

****

I also got another full size product and coupons from Smiley.360.  Children's Advil. This one is liquid medicine for kids ages 2-11.  Our box from Smiley 360 came at the perfect time as we were babysitting my niece and nephew (twins age 4) and my nephew had a fever  and an ear ache. When his dad came to pick him up, we gave him the Children's Advil, and he was able to administer it to his son, and the poor kiddo was able to fall asleep without pain.

But wait there is more!!! I had a great Tastefully Simple party last night so that paid for this weeks groceries AND I earned a nice drink bucket scooper!  More good free stuff!  I can't wait to scoop some Margaritas this Spring!

PLUS here is another great site that let's you try something free and then tell your friends about it, if you like it--and give them coupons!  For this one you could scroll down on the left hand side and find the link for bzzagent.com or you can click the link here and check out the campaign I am doing now. Today I picked up a loaf of the Brownberry healthfull, free from the Jewel! This is super handy because I had a super limited budget and The Man like a nice hearty bread that isn't loaded with calories.  So this totally fit the bill.  He has already had about 3 ham sandwiches. 

For the finally income for the week, I received a little secret shopping check today!  This means the kiddos can have the fried chicken from Jewel feast for Superbowl tomorrow.