11-30-10

Chocolate Dipped Apples

These are unbelievably good and even better with a little bit of carmel to add to it.

* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 cups water
* 3 large apples, cored and cut into 1/2 inch wedges
* 1 cup chocolate chips
* 3 tablespoons butter or
* 1 bottle prepared hardening chocolate sauce (such as Magic Shell)

Preparation:

* 1) Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
* 2) In a large bowl, combine lemon juice and water. Place apples in lemon juice mixture. Toss to coat apples with lemon juice mixture. Set aside.
* 3) If you don’t have a microwave, skip this step and use hardening chocolate instead. Place chocolate chip and butter in a microwave safe dish. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir well. If chocolate is not completely melted, microwave on high for 20 seconds more and stir. Repeat until chips are melted.
* 4) Place apple slices on a paper towel and pat dry with another paper towel.
* 5) If you made your own chocolate sauce, dip apple slices halfway into chocolate mixture and place on baking sheet. If you are using hardening chocolate sauce, arrange apple slices on baking sheet and drizzle with chocolate.
* 6) Refrigerate apple slices for about 1 hour or until chocolate has set.

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PEANUT BUTTER RICE KRISPIES

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40) regular marshmallows
• - OR -
• 4 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 6 cups Rice Krispies®

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Stir in peanut butter until melted. 2. Add KELLOGG'S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.
3. Using buttered spatula or wax paper evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares. Best if served the same day.


MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS:
In microwave-safe bowl heat butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Add peanut butter, stirring until combined. Follow steps 2 and 3 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.


Note

For best results, use fresh marshmallows.
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow crème can be substituted for marshmallows.
Diet, reduced calorie or tub margarine is not recommended.
Store no more than two days at room temperature in airtight container. To freeze, place in layers separated by wax paper in airtight container. Freeze for up to 6 weeks. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

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Peppermint Bark

Makes 36 pieces

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1 pound white chocolate, chopped (do not use chips)
• 2 cups puffed rice cereal
• 1 bag (7.5 ounces) hard peppermint candies, unwrapped

Directions

1. Spray a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray; line with a piece of waxed paper. Crush candies (see note below).
2. Place white chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a saucepan of simmering water. Heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth, 4 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in rice cereal.
3. Transfer mixture to prepared pan; with a spatula, spread to edges of pan.
4. Sprinkle with crushed candy; with a piece of waxed paper covering the entire surface, press in gently (paper prevents hands from sticking to candy and chocolate). Chill until firm, 20 to 30 minutes (no longer, as candy will begin to soften).
5. Peel waxed paper off. Break bark into 2-inch pieces. Store at room temperature in an airtight container, up to 1 week.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Peppermint Bark - Martha Stewart Recipes

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DIY: S’mores Kits

These looked cheap and simple enough to make.
Not sure where you would get the little boxes to put them in
but I would think you could put them in some sort of
plastic wrap or bags as well.
Put them in the gift bags below.

Lunch Bag Favors

Here's a brief tutorial of how to print
on paper bags using your printer.
Cut out a decorative design along top edge of
lunch bags. Fold top over and punch two holes
parallel to one another. Insert ribbon from front to
back and tie bow to hold flap down.
. .
.
.

These are Halloween bags but you get the idea
of what you could do to make bags
for some Christmas cookies.

-------------------------------------------

.

Holiday Pretzel Treats

Salty pretzels combine with sweet chocolate for these fun treats that make a yummy gift few can resist. (In fact, you may want to make some extras for yourself!)

Ingredients

Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels

Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug

M&M's candy

Instructions

Heat the oven to 170F. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug.

Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.

Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. Place handfuls of the candies in clear plastic bags and tie on colorful ribbons.

Rolo candies could be used in place
of the Hershey kisses and a pecan placed
on top instead of an M&M.

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.

Dressed in colorful candy scarves and top hats, these stylish, easy-to-make snowmen are sure to liven up any holiday gathering.

Ingredients
bag of 8-inch pretzel rods
1 cup white chocolate chips
mini chocolate chips
orange decorators' gel
fruit leather (various colors)
gummy rings
gumdrops

Instructions

1. To make a batch, melt 1 cup of white chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler.

2. One at a time, dip one end of an 8-inch pretzel rod in the melted chocolate and use a plastic spoon or knife to spread the chocolate two thirds of the way down the rod.

3. Set the pretzels on a sheet of waxed paper and press on mini chocolate chips for eyes and buttons. Use orange decorators' gel to add a carrot nose.

4. When the chocolate has hardened, stand the pretzels in a mug or glass and tie on strips of fruit leather for scarves. For each hat, stretch a gummy ring over the narrow end of a gumdrop and secure it on the pretzel rod with a dab of melted chocolate.

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Chocolate Toffee Graham Treats

Ingredients:

Yield:

22 22

22

Servings Size

• treats

treats

• 11 whole honey graham crackers, broken into squares
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 -2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:

Prep Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 25 mins

1. 1 Preheat oven to 350*.
2. 2 Arrange graham crackers in a single layer in a 15 x 10 baking sheet.
3. 3 Combine butter and sugar in saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly until butter melts; then boil 2 minutes.
4. 4 Remove from heat and stir in pecans.
5. 5 Pour mixture evenly over crackers and spread carefully to edge of pan, covering crackers completely.
6. 6 Bake for 10 minutes.
7. 7 Remove from oven and sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips; when chips melt, smooth evenly to cover top.
8. 8 Cool in pan for 5 minutes; carefully separate and transfer squares to a wax paper lined cookie sheet.
9. 9 Refrigerate until chocolate hardens.

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Wouldn't it be cute to do up some of those
lunch bags above, decorating them like
a Santa outfit and adding ribbon for the
suspender handles.
.
.

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These cookies below would work great with
an empanada maker like I picked up at the
thrift store awhile back for about .90 cents!
It had about 3-4 different sizes in the box.
I've always wanted to try it out and have
been looking for recipes for it.

I don't know how much Nutella is at Kroger
but I do know they have a Kroger brand.
I also saw Nutella at Big Lots for $3.00 a jar.
. .

Nutella Pocket Cookies

Makes 40 cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened plus 2 more tablespoons, melted.

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 cup granulated sugar plus 1\4 cup for sprinkling

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups Nutella

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the 1 cup of butter, cream cheese, and 1 cup sugar until smooth, light, and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Gradually add the flour to the creamed mixture and mix well. Divide the dough into two portions; cover and refrigerate until the dough is firm and easy to handle. An hour should be good enough.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Remove one portion of dough from the refrigerator. On a floured surface, roll out one portion of dough until it is about 1/4-inch thick. Using a circle cookie cutter that is approximately 3 inches in diameter, cut circles out of the dough and place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Repeat this with the rest of the dough.

Place approximately 1 1/2 teaspoons of Nutella on the center of each circle.

Fold each circle in half so that the edges meet and lightly press the edges to seal.

With a fork, seal the edges more securely. Lightly brush melted butter on the tops and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake the cookies for 10 – 12 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned. Leave the cookies on the cookie sheet for 2 – 3 minutes before removing them to wire racks to cool.

Enjoy!

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Don't know what it is about this dreary weather
we've been having but it's been making me tired.
I've been in slow motion.

I'm ready to get out of the house tomorrow
and do a little shopping at Kroger
and the thrift store to try and boost my
energy up. Shopping in the morning's on
weekdays is great when compared to
evenings or weekends.
Currently getting a little list done up
to get a few of the basic things along with
baking things.

Thinking about making some
chocolate mint rice krispies and/or
chocolate mint covered apples
(use either andes mints or peppermint patties melted down)
& the empanada nutella cookies.

11-29-10

Tutorial for mini Christmas bows
for packages or crafts.
I found this at happy birds crafting haven.
.

Make A Cute Little Bow With A Fork...Tutorial For You!

I made this fork bow tutorial for you. It's very easy and makes cute little bows that can be tied to favors, small earring boxes, homemade Christmas ornaments and more! I used an old, big serving fork to demonstrate, but you can use a regular size fork or dowels glued on a wooden base.

Picture 1 Below: All you need is some kind of 4 pronged fork, ribbon and a pair of scissors.
Picture 2 Below: First off, start by weaving the ribbon in and out of the fork. Leave a little extra ribbon on the left and just let it lie there. The ribbon you will be weaving with is pictured on the right.
Picture 3 Below: Take the ribbon on the right hand side over the top of the fork and weave the ribbon in and out.

Picture 3 Below: Then, do the same thing again on the left hand side of the fork, weaving the ribbon in and out, coming the opposite direction. Remember, you are only weaving with the one ribbon. The other piece of ribbon on the left is just going to lie there.
Picture 4 Below: Now, finish weaving in and out until you almost reach the top of the fork.
Picture 5 Below: Take a separate piece of ribbon and slide it through the bottom in the middle of the fork.
Picture 6 Below: Now, tie it tight! Slide the whole thing off the fork.
Picture 7 Below: You should have 4 ribbon strings on the bow. Cut two of the pieces to look like part of the ribbon. The other two pieces of ribbon that are left can be tied around a little sachet-like favor. You can actually do a multitude of projects with this little bow. I just gave one example when I mentioned party favors.

------------------------------------------------------

11:40pm

Back from Wally World and Dollar Tree.
They had all kinds of trees out on display
at Walmart. We liked the white tree 6.5 foot
with multicolored lights. And do you know
they only had one tree clear on the top shelf.
The rest of them were ones with white lights.
Whew, is what I was thinking because I didn't
want to truck around town to another Walmart.

At Dollar Tree I got some clear plastic glittered
snowflake ornaments (3 packs of 6)
and a blue and light blue pack of curling ribbon.
The curling ribbon I can use on top of the blue
ball ornaments and make bows.
And I could also make some to add to tips
of the tree.

----------------------------------

12:40pm

Houston we have lift off!
The new tree is up, fluffed and working! Yeah!
Later on this evening I'll work on adding
the decorations and Tony might work on
getting the outside lights up.
I like the white tree. It makes the room
feel light and airy as opposed to a green tree.
In a small space I suggest a lighter colored
tree.
.
4:15pm

Got the tree finished.
Instead of using garland, which seemed too
high priced for me for such short strands,
I went with using 2 spools of blue & light blue
curling ribbon.
.It's hard to see the light blue ribbon
in the photos. But if you look close
you can see it along side of the blue ribbon.
.And here is the newly decorated tree.

It looks much better in person
and is hard to photograph to get the true
affect of it.
The kids were wowed by it and I can't
wait to see what Tony thinks :0)
Oops can't forget the tree skirt.
Almost forgot.

Total cost for pre-lit 6.5 foot white pine tree,
36 count blue glass bulb ornaments
and 2 pkgs. curling ribbon: about $49.

11-28-10

Time to start baking or
stocking up on those holiday cooking items!
These are the best deals I have found.


ALDIS

12 oz. Baking Chips
was $1.69
now $1.29

16 oz. Walnuts
was $4.49
now $3.99

5lb. bag of grapefruit
$1.99

3lb bag tangerines .99 cents

4lb bag naval oranges $1.49

9-10oz. wheat crackers $1.29

Casa Mamita 5oz burritos
was .35 cents
now .29 cents

Macaroni & cheese
was .35 cents
now .29 cents

SAVE-A-LOT

25-32oz Banquet entrees $1.79

Banquet fruit or pot pies .50 cents
limit 12

32oz pancake mix $1.00
limit 6

24oz pancake syrup $1.00
limit 6

40oz Red Gold ketchup $1.00
limit 6

14oz Pop Tarts $1.69

33oz Hills Bros ground coffee $4.99

Sunny Delight 2 liter .69 cents


KROGER

Buy 10 event and save $5.00.

Buy 10 Pepsi 2 liters get them for .79 cents each
I don't know if sierra mist is included but will check.
Watch Kroger & Speedway for coupons.
That's where I've been finding them.
Kroger had hang tag coupons:
$1.00 off 3 two liter bottles Sierra Mist products.
Speedway had hang tag coupons:
$1.00 off 2 two liters Sierra Mist or Mountain Dew.

MEIJER

Meijer salsa 16oz $1.00

Betty Crocker cake mix or family brownies $1.00

Meijer 3 count microwave popcorn $1.00

John Morrell smoked sausage 12oz $1.00

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Sorry I don't have any coupon match ups
but I haven't been clipping coupons.
They've been piling up and been put on the
back burner due to the holidays and
of course from being sick.

I haven't been posting much sales, only
what I feel are really good deals that we couldn't
live without. There's just so many sales going
on at the moment that it would be impossible
to list them all. And of course everyone
has different ideas for gifts and what they
want to get for everyone. If I find cheap
gift giving items then I will post those
or crafts or recipes to make simple gifts.

-------------------------------------

12:00pm

Tired of having everyone elses children at our
house for the past couple of days so thinking
about getting out of the house and going
to Kmart to take a breather. Tony needs a new
pair of shoes and are hoping to find him a pair there
so we can get the $2.99 for a year warranty on them.
He goes through allot of shoes in a years time.

Next week (12-6) Tony goes on vacation.
While the kids are in school we plan
to go Christmas shopping that week
and hopefully get everything wrapped.

---------------------------------

2:50pm

Ya know I don't mind going grocery shopping
occassionally but Christmas shopping, or heck
any kind of shopping, this time of year with fighting the
crowds really frustrates me.
I feel claustrophobic and the thought of spending
so much money on presents puts me in a mode
as the car lot guy would say.

Which wait til I see my car lot salesman and tell
him I don't appreciate one of his workers telling
him I was in a mode, which later on I realized
it meant bitch mode!

Anyway we went to Kmart and got Tony
a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of boots
because it was buy one get one 50% off
and he really needed boots also.
The cashier didn't offer me any kind of warranty
with either pair of shoes so I asked her.
She said there wasn't any on them.
I said how can that be when I bought my kids
the exact pair of shoes not long ago and
I was offered a warranty with those.
She didn't have an answer.
Which is another reason why I don't like
shopping this time of year. No one seems
to know anything and you can't get any answers
because they probably have seasonal workers
only working temporary.
Rules change, warranties change, prices
change, you name it, it changes day to day.
Yes I am flustered, yes I am wearing thin.
And you think I want to throw couponing
in on top of all this, yeah right!
I'll just take the sales prices at the moment
to keep my sanity.

And to top it all off when we returned home
from Kmart I had neighborhood kids flocking
to our house before we even got out of the truck.
I probably did lose my sanity at that time because
I have been dealing with other people's kids on top of ours
since Wednesday. Needless to say we don't have
any additional kids over at the moment!
I don't mind kids over but after 5 days I've had
enough and am finally wanting to wind down
our mini holiday vacation and get back to normal
and ready for work and school tomorrow.
I just got everyone their late lunch, working on laundry
and working on bringing Christmas stuff up out
of the basement to start putting up.

-----------------------------------------

4:15pm

Brought the so called pre-lit Christmas tree up
and got it all set up.
Houston we have a problem!
bleep de bleep bleep bleep.
I'm about to start throwing things!!
.Everyone into the car to buy a new tree, grrrr.
Oh the thought of tackling Wally World
at the moment is making me cringe!
We've had this tree about 3 years.
I have no patience for this!
It's either I buy another cheap tree or go out
and buy lights to hang from this tree
that will run about the same price.
The whole idea about a pre-lit tree is
so you can just plug them in and you
don't have to string lights on them.

------------------------------------

Well we went to Wally World and checked
out some of their trees and we went to Big Lots
and checked out theirs.
We didn't get a tree tonight but we did decide
which one we wanted and I'll get it tomorrow morning.
It's white with multicolored lights.
When in Big Lots I picked up a package
of 36 deep blue glass ornaments in two sizes
to go on our white tree.
.These ornaments are more like
a bluish violet rather
than a blue. The color did not show correctly
in the photo. In the store they looked like
a deep blue but under our lighting
they have a purple cast.

10:00pm

I am so ready for bed.
Finally got my laundry done.
But my living room is a mess with
Christmas decorations, lights, boxes,
you name it, laying all over the place.
I kinda gave up with it when the lights
pissed me off and wouldn't work.
Now the thought of buying another tree
isn't putting me in a better mood.
I guess I'm having a hard time believing
Christmas time is actually here so soon.
Time flies so fast.
Just give me time to let it sink it.

11-27-10

9:40am

I got up at 8:30am. I'd of slept in later but everyone
was afraid I wouldn't get up in time to make breakfast.
With everyone off school
and work I keep thinking I'm a day ahead of myself.
Like I keep thinking today is Sunday.
I was wanting to go out and look for the Sunday
paper on the step this morning, LOL.

Just put breakfast in the oven.

Bacon Breadstick Focaccia

In a bowl I added 8 eggs, some milk,
a couple teaspoons melted butter
and Italian seasoning and beat with a whisk.
I then poured that over top the bread sticks
and bacon and sprinkled shredded
casserole cheese on top.
I had 2 leftover pieces of bacon that
I crumbled up and put over top the cheese.
I made this all in a round cake pan.
Bake 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
at the 25 minute mark you could
add the shredded cheese on top
if you desire instead of putting it on first.

.The kids were playing Playstation when I started
serving this breakfast. Usually nothing pries them
away from game systems once they start playing.
But when I presented them with this breakfast in front
of their noses I got ooohs and awwws
and Jonathan said, "I'm just gonna have to pause
my game for this!"
LOL!!
This is a keeper recipe!

Wonder if I could also do a recipe like this
coiled bread sticks with cinnamon.
Instead of putting bacon in between the bread dough
I could do up a mixture of cinnamon, butter
and brown sugar or sugar in a zip loc baggie,
cut the corner tip of the baggie
and squirt the cinnamon mixture in between
the coiled bread sticks. Bake, then top
with a powdered sugar glaze with cream cheese.
Sprinkle with nuts.

-----------------------------------

Here's a scenario of how much can be saved
by working on your own car to do even
a regular tune up as opposed
to going to a repair shop.

I am using our Lexus LS400
as an example so these parts might
be more than your regular car.
This car also has 2 distributors unlike your
regular cars which only have 1 so we have to double those parts.

(not our actual car but same thing)

Just for kicks we called Goodyear to see
how much a tune up would cost
and they said $675!!
This did NOT include an oil change!

Now if we buy the parts and do it ourselves:

2 distributor caps $19.99 x's 2 is $39.98

2 distributor rotors $9.49 x's 2 is $18.98

Set of spark plug wires $80

8 Spark plugs FREE (after black friday sale & rebate)

5 quarts of oil & filer $6.00 (after black friday sale & rebate)

Cost for Goodyear
(and this did not include an oil change)
$675

Cost to do it ourselves
$144.96
(includes oil & filter change!)

TOTAL SAVED
$530.04

--------------------------------------

Still have not gotten the Christmas tree
or decorations out yet.
I am dreading just thinking about
having to get them all out from storage
underneath the basement steps.

-----------------------------------------------

7:00pm

Kind of a slow and easy day. Our kids
had other kids over and played out side some
til they froze. Then a couple neighbor kids
came inside with our boys to warm up
and play playstation for the afternoon.

As for myself I rested in bed a few this afternoon
and took a short nap. I have been noticing
after taking the steroid, prednisone, that it
might be the culprit to making my stomach or
rib area muscles to hurt.
I eat a full meal before taking them so as
to not have an upset stomach but then
about 30 mins later or more is when
I notice my stomach muscles hurting, even to talk
strains them. I still have two more pills left and
might not take the remaining two because of it.
I still have the cough with some congestion.
I need to somehow kick this crap in the butt.
I've been doing my inhaler when the congestion
gets to feel like too much.

This evening Jonathan is having a friend stay the night.
This is only the second time we have allowed
a sleepover. We had to run to Kroger
so I could get some things to make everyone
for breakfast and I got the kids a couple cheapie
frozen pizzas. I made them cheese puff pizza
for supper with some hot chocolate.
Kids will eat anything especially if it looks weird.
They were probably glad to have pizza
rather than turkey leftovers.
They are happy campers at the moment
and have finally mellowed out, thank goodness.
You know how kids can be when around friends,
a little rowdy.

We took everyone over to Kroger but I left
Tony in the truck with all 3 boys while I ran in.
I just couldn't imagine the 5 of us in the store together
and something not going wrong, someone acting up
or forgetting something.
Of course while in Kroger trying to hurry I ran
into truck driver neighbor and his 3 kids.
And of course had to hear about all his problems.
All I could think about was Tony being stuck
in the truck full of boys going nuts, lol.
So by the time I got out of the store, with my eyes crossing from listening to truck driver neighbor, Tony jumped out
of the truck to help me load the groceries in the back.
The boys were driving him nuts, lol.
We're both behind the truck pretending to strangle and shoot ourselves, lol, due to all the kids in hyper mode and then the neighbor stopping me in the store.
Ahhhh!

But it's all good now that they are sitting down
having a bite to eat and getting something in their
bellies and winding down.

..
At the moment I am currently planning breakfast
for us and our little company.
I'm wanting to make individual puff pancakes
(from taste of home)
in a jumbo muffin tin.
I had an extra can of apple pie filling
which I will make caramel apple topping
to put on the tops of the puff pancakes.

While the puff pancake is not my recipe,
here is my recipe for the caramel apple topping.
Hope it goes well because I haven't made it
yet and just wrote it.

Spoon apple pie filling into a sauce pan
chopping up the apples.
Over low-medium heat.
add 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 cup creamer
(i'm using caramel & vanilla creamer) and stir until
butter and brown sugar has melted and
dissolved.
In a small cup add a tablespoon of cornstarch
and a tablespoon of water to make a slurry.
Remove apple mixture from heat
and slowly stir the slurry into the apple mixture.
Stir constantly until mixture thickens.

Spoon this mixture into the centers
of the puff pancakes. Top with whipped
cream and nut topping.

Sounds good anyway so I hope it turns out!

Here's what a puff pancake looks like
.

Usually Puff Pancakes are baked in
an iron skillet in the oven.
..
----------------------------------------------

9:15pm

Currently watch Home Alone.
They have been playing all these movies back to back.

11-26-10

9:00-10:00am
(that included drive time to and from store
and shopping in store!!)

Well we finally did it, went to a store to
do black Friday shopping.
Our first time ever!
I chose the perfect store with hardly anyone
in there and no lines, Pep Boys.
And the best part was that I saved lots
of money (after rebates) on stuff that
we needed, not stuff we wanted.

8 platinum spark plugs
reg. $2.49 each x's 8 is $19.92
sale price $1.49 each x's 8 is $11.92
Total after rebate FREE!
Total savings $19.92

10 quarts GTX oil + 2 oil Purolator oil filters
quart of oil reg. $4.49 x's 10 is $44.90
2 oil filters reg. $3.49 x's 2 is $6.98
Sale price for oil & filters $32.00
Total regular price for oil & filters $51.88
Total after rebate $12.00
Total savings $39.88

1 Peak 50/50 antifreeze
reg. $11.49
sale price $6.00
Total after rebate $1.00
Total savings $10.49

1 set rear brake pads for Lexus
reg. $21.99
sale price $11.99
total savings $10.00

Remember the jump start box
I got 11-16 at Pep Boys.
It was regular $45 and they had it on sale
for $32.49 with a $10 rebate to make it $22.49.

Well I saw in Pep Boys black Friday
ad that the jump boxes went down another
$10 to $22.49.
So I took my receipt with me today for that
jump box and asked them if they could
give me another $10 off and they did!!

So (after rebate) I paid $12.49
for a $45 jump box!!
A savings of $32.51.

Gotta keep your eyes peeled for stuff
like that!! Doesn't hurt to take your
stuff/receipts back to see if you can get additional money
off of things you just recently bought.

Oh and we bought an inside door handle
to our Suburban (not a black Friday or any special)
$15.99
We really needed one because you couldn't let
yourself out of the passenger side of the truck
without someone opening the door from the outside.


So to wrap up this trip to Pep Boys up
with rebates included in paid price
and to include regular, non sales or black Friday prices:

TOTAL BEFORE $143.30
TOTAL PAID $37.48
TOTAL SAVINGS $105.82

--------------------------------------------

3:25pm

Finally got tired of hardly having internet
and a phone that made me sound like an alien.
I called WOW and they tried to fix something through
the phone but that didn't work. I called them back
and now they are sending someone out within
the next half hour to check it out.
I am really amazed they are coming out the same
day I called let alone within 2 hours of calling.
We haven't really had a good internet connection
since Wednesday. I thought the kids did something
but I have checked and rechecked all wires,
turned off, turned off and rebooted so many times
that I figure it's not us, it's WOW.
I will be glad if it gets fixed. You try having
4 days off with 2 kids and a hubby
without internet and computer time
for anyone. It hasn't been fun!

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4:15pm

Shoot me please as I have lost my mind.
Wow cable guy can't get here any faster!
I swear every neighborhood kid has flocked to
our house to play!! aaaAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Calgon Take Me Away!!!!
There's more people here today
than there was on Thanksgiving.
..------------------------------------

4:30pm

The Wow guy never came to the house
but we just saw him drive down the street.
Internet and everything is working but you would have thought
the Wow person would have stopped by to
see if everything was working.
I don't care, it's working! LOL.

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6:30pm

ok I lied, the cable people I saw earlier driving down
our street was not for us.
The internet wasn't work as good as I thought,
only momentarily.
They finally arrived here in two trucks
and were here about 1-2 hours.
They had to replace the line that ran from the house
to the alley way. And they also had to replace
the box on the alley pole because I guess
it had gotten water in it causing it to not
work properly.
Hey guess where the outside cable box is on our
house? Behind the water barrels.
I had the water barrels draining this whole time
(for the past month or so for Winter),
so I thought, and someone had come along and turned the water spicket off in the past month
or so causing all three rain barrels to fill completely full of water. So we had to try and hurry to drain them
somewhat to be able to pull the barrels out
so the cable guy could get to the box.
That was not fun. Three 55 gallon barrels full of water!
All I can say is I'm sure they are gonna need repaired next Spring due to moving them.
Anyway they fixed everything outside, came in the basement
and fixed another cable (not our fault as it was taped
and put together like that when we moved in),
and also checked out the modem and router in the bedroom.
They said everything was running 100% so we'll see.
We've been having on and off problems with
the phone and internet for quite some time.
Since Wednesday of this week has been the most
it has been out or hardly working.

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7:50pm

Just returned from Kroger.
Boy what a difference in shopping tonight
compared to Wednesday.

Had to stock up on the basics like
milk, bread & pop.
I picked up a few things for breakfast tomorrow.
I found a recipe on Pillsbury for

.

Bacon Breadstick Focaccia

I'm gonna make the bread sticks like
the picture possibly putting it in a pie pan, spread some melted butter and italian seasoning on bread dough,
top it with a scrambled egg mixture
and then some shredded cheese.
Then bake in the oven.

Don't see why you couldn't make
individual servings in muffins cups
making the same recipe but using
one bread stick per cup.
I'll have to remember that when thinking
of breakfast meals to make.

I don't know what it is. When I read recipes
I have to find ways to change it or jazz it up even more, lol.

--------------------------------------------

Today is the last day of online voting
for the Pop Tarts contest if you
would like to vote one last time :0)
Pop Tart Tiramisu

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Do I look tired?????
Maybe I'll get to sleep in a little tomorrow.
Nighty night!
8:30pm.

11-26-10

9:00-10:00am
(that included drive time to and from store
and shopping in store!!)

Well we finally did it, went to a store to
do black Friday shopping.
Our first time ever!
I chose the perfect store with hardly anyone
in there and no lines, Pep Boys.
And the best part was that I saved lots
of money (after rebates) on stuff that
we needed, not stuff we wanted.

8 platinum spark plugs
reg. $2.49 each x's 8 is $19.92
sale price $1.49 each x's 8 is $11.92
Total after rebate FREE!
Total savings $19.92

10 quarts GTX oil + 2 oil Purolator oil filters
quart of oil reg. $4.49 x's 10 is $44.90
2 oil filters reg. $3.49 x's 2 is $6.98
Sale price for oil & filters $32.00
Total regular price for oil & filters $51.88
Total after rebate $12.00
Total savings $39.88

1 Peak 50/50 antifreeze
reg. $11.49
sale price $6.00
Total after rebate $1.00
Total savings $10.49

1 set rear brake pads for Lexus
reg. $21.99
sale price $11.99
total savings $10.00

Remember the jump start box
I got 11-16 at Pep Boys.
It was regular $45 and they had it on sale
for $32.49 with a $10 rebate to make it $22.49.

Well I saw in Pep Boys black Friday
ad that the jump boxes went down another
$10 to $22.49.
So I took my receipt with me today for that
jump box and asked them if they could
give me another $10 off and they did!!

So (after rebate) I paid $12.49
for a $45 jump box!!
A savings of $32.51.

Gotta keep your eyes peeled for stuff
like that!! Doesn't hurt to take your
stuff/receipts back to see if you can get additional money
off of things you just recently bought.

Oh and we bought an inside door handle
to our Suburban (not a black Friday or any special)
$15.99
We really needed one because you couldn't let
yourself out of the passenger side of the truck
without someone opening the door from the outside.


So to wrap up this trip to Pep Boys up
with rebates included in paid price
and to include regular, non sales or black Friday prices:

TOTAL BEFORE $143.30
TOTAL PAID $37.48
TOTAL SAVINGS $105.82

11-25-10

Rise and shine at 6:30am.
The alarm went off and I nudged Tony
thinking it was another weekday.
It took me a couple moments to realize
it was Thanksgiving, lol.

8:40am

So far have gotten the green bean casserole
and creamed cheese corn made and are
currently working on homemade
macaroni & cheese.

9:30am

Started working on getting
the turkey in the oven. Should take at most
2 1/2 hours to bake in a oven bag for about
a 19 pound bird.
This will give me about an hour to let
it rest or keep warm in a lower temperature oven.
I got the vegetables steamed that will go into
the turkey. I added a cup of water to the veggies
along with some liquid smoke.
Then put it in the microwave for about 8 minutes.

I got my kitchen floor mopped. I waited
til the last second to this. It is raining
out so you can imagine what has been tracked
in on my cream colored, tile floor.

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6:15pm

The internet here has been awful.
Either not working or sooooo slow!
So I will have to wait to upload any
Thanksgiving photos :0(
My turkey turned out beautiful and
was sooo moist and juicy.
Definately will brine it again for
future Thanksgivings.

7:50pm

Settling down for the evening.
Decided to make everyone a mug
of hot chocolate.
Filled up the coffee pot with water
and put 5 packets of hot chocolate into
the filter and then ran the coffee maker.
Filled the mugs with hot chocolate
some caramel vanilla creamer,
topped with either marshmallows
or whipped cream and then topped
with a sprinklin of cinnamon.
YUMMY! That hit the spot
to feeling all warm and fuzzy!

So there's a thought if you are a coffee drinker
and want a mocha. Empty a couple
packets of hot chocolate in your filter
with your coffee and brew as usual.

..

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8:00pm

ok gonna try to upload my pictures.
Internet seems to be going a lil faster
so we'll see how long this lasts, ha ha.
Even my phone service sucks at the moment.
It sounds like it's garbled like I'm talking
under water.
I see this is going to take awhile, grrrr.

My turkey getting ready to go into the oven.
.First time using our table with the leafs in it.
My $60 yard sale table.
The two odd ball chairs were curb crawled.
The kids use them for their desks in their rooms.
.My last minute homemade table runner
and place mats.
.My Caramel Coconut Krispies on a cupcake tree.
.Close up of Caramel Coconut Krispies
.My turkey. Don't it look purty!
I was so proud of it.
.My in-laws. Never mind the spot on my couch.
I wiped something off and had a wet spot.
.All the fixins
....The gang's all here.
.Time to eat. Dig in!
...HAPPY THANKSGIVING
.A week or more of planning and two hours
of eating and company from 1-3:00pm.
And in the blink of an eye the house returns
to normal.
2 hours after.
...The after affects of turkey.
Yeah I dozed off on the couch
while watching tv, lol.
I was tired and was glad it was over with.
.2 squirrels stopped by for a visit.
I threw them a couple pieces of bread.
I'm sure they would have preferred
a piece of pumpkin pie instead.
.
Well y'all it's been fun. I am tired and it
took me an hour and 20 minutes
just to upload these pictures.
This is ridiculous!
9:20pm
Another early wake up call tomorrow.
Thinking about heading to Pep Boys.
They are having a sale from 6-10am.

----------------------------------------


Does anyone need an idea of what to get
boys each year for Christmas???
When they get to the age where they like
to tinker with things like putting together and taking
apart bicycles or other items of the sort
and when they start borrowing dad's tools
is when I came up with this idea.
I did it with my oldest son and now want
to start doing it with the two younger ones.
The first year we buy them a tool box
and maybe a small set of tools like
screwdrivers or socket sets.
Then the following Christmas' we buy more tools
(wrenches, pliers, power screw driver, hammer and so on)
or power tools when they get into their teens.
With my oldest I think he was about 18 or 19 years
old and we got him a power tool set with
a saw zaw, drill, flashlight and a couple batteries
and I don't remember what else.
As they get older and more mature is when
the heavy duty tools should be gotten.
Why do I do this when they are young
and preteen age?
Tools can be quite expensive so I thought
by buying them a little each year for Christmas
they could have a nice collection for when they
reach the age of being able to get a job, a car or move out
on their own. They won't have to worry about
the financial burden of buying them or could
also use them on the job just like dad does.

So this year I think we are getting the boys
each a tool box and possibly a $10 tool set
from Pep Boys to get them started.
Then I'll have to teach them to take care of them
so they can last many years, and also how
to put them back in the toolbox when done, lol,
so as to not loose them.

Next thing is to be able to tell whose tools are whose.
Because ya know eventually they are going
to get mixed up between one anothers
and the arguing will begin.
Get 2 bottles of different color nail polish.
No it doesn't have to be pink or a feminine
color as there are a wide variety of polish colors.
Let's say you buy red and yellow.
Paint part of the tool or put a color dot
on each one. Then put that same color
on the tool box itself.
Red dotted tools will go in the red tool box
or yellow dotted tools go in the yellow tool box.

A good place to find cheap tools to get them started
is Harbor Freight or Marcs.
Harbor Freight usually has circulars
that come out each week in the Columbus Dispatch
The have coupons to get cheap tools or
even some freebies like an led flashlight.

harborfreight.com

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