Just a few contests and promotions around the web...

This is by no means a deals/reviews/contest/freebies site, but I like to win things, and get a good deal.  A few contests and freebies around the web I saw today:

Craftaholics Anonymous is giving away a cool WorkTop from the Original Scrapbox.  She's also got tons of organization advice going on this week.  

Mother Earth News is offering the Wiser Living and Country Skills Resource Set 

At 100 full-color pages each, these six topical guides include tips and how-to information straight out of MOTHER EARTH NEWS. Packed full of information, these glossy guides combine to teach you all you need to know about organic gardening methods, choosing an energy-efficient car, preserving your fresh-from-the-garden bounty, living a self-reliant lifestyle, baking delicious breads, and so much more! 

You'll receive 6 Wiser Living Resources for Living on Less and Becoming Self-Sufficient for $10.   Use the promo code  MMEEMD17.

And enter to win a year's supply of from My Patriot Supply here

This Giveaway will contain:  NON GMO – No Added MSG

Almond Coconut Granola
96 Servings

Whey Milk
32 Quarts

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
96 Servings

Cheddar Broccoli Soup
64 Servings

Creamy Potato Soup
64 Servings

Chicken Alfredo Pasta
64 Servings

White Cheddar Sauce Pasta
64 Servings

Cheesy Chicken Rice
64 Servings

Vegetable Beef Stew
64 Servings

Seasoned Mashed Potatoes
64 Servings

Potato Cheddar Soup
64 Servings

Pasta Fagioli Soup
64 Servings

Minestrone Soup
64 Servings

Tortilla Soup
64 Servings

Beef Stroganoff
64 Servings

Chicken Noodle Soup
64 Servings

Au Gratin Potatoes
64 Servings

Chili with Dumplings
64 Servings

Tropical Fruit Medley
16 lbs

Here is a peek at the year supply of food.

New Year's Inspiration on the Mantel with banner tutorial

With me, and with the rest of the family too, out of sight is out of mind.  I need to have something in front of me to remember what I'm doing or what I need to do.  We've been talking about goals and new year's resolutions, including making some individual and family goals, and I wanted to have something front and almost center to give us some encouragement and to keep us thinking about them.

So I thought I'd make a simple banner.  The nice thing about this is that it can be mass produced in stages.  It took me an hour or so at the most to do all of this except paint the small frame.  I did that the night before.

I used "the sweetest thing" line from My Mind's Eye because I love these colors.  I use them in a lot of projects (even my blog background!) the corals, reds and pinks mixed with turquoise-y blues.

I started by using the paper cutter to cut out 4x6 inch rectangles from a few sheets of the paper.  

To make the banner shape I just set the short edge of the rectangle against the measuring grid lines of the paper trimmer and marked two inches up in the center.  Then I stacked two or three pieces at a time and hand cut the wedge with scissors.

Then just lay out the banner papers in an order that looks good!

This is the time to put the details on each piece of the banner.  I knew that I would have the letters D R E A M B I G , and I wanted to have two extra pieces to make 5 above and 5 below, so I stamped the letters with these chunky foam stamps onto white cardstock with  coordinating ink.  Using a small cat's eye shaped ink makes it easier to get full coverage without getting ink on the background of the stamp.  Then I trimmed to a quarter inch of each letter.

Adding some ink or paint around the edges of the different elements give them a little bit of dimension and even more color.

When done with each of the banner pieces you can clip them onto a string or wire, like I did on the frame, or punch holes and tie the pieces together to hang up.

This is on the mantel with the other "motivational" sayings.  Hopefully it will help us to keep on track!  And for your listening pleasure, the song that inspired the banner:

I'm sharing here:

The CSI Project

TidyMom

Your Home Based Mom 

Meal Plan for January 2013, Week 3

Our meal plan this week will depend heavily on crockpot meals and meals that I've prepared ahead.  We did a family grocery shopping trip to last us for 2 weeks.  It's sometimes frustrating to shop with the kids and the husband, but it is also good for them to know the cost of what they eat and how to get the most bang for your buck.  I use some coupons and have a list that gives an estimate of what I will spend.  Then I keep track of what I'm putting in the cart by jotting down the price.  This shopping trip I wrote down the prices and was just $3 over my estimate (which means I probably missed something that went in the cart.)  This is so helpful because I don't like to be surprised at the checkstand!  Nothing worse than thinking you've stayed in budget then checking out $25 or more over! 

We found some sales on meat, including some pork shoulder roast on sale for $1.64/lb that I prepped for stew and for the colorado burritos (instead of beef) and boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.78/lb. that I came home and prepped for soft tacos for tonight and Cajun Chicken Pasta for later.  We bought 4 whole chickens, then I cut up 3 and threw the backs straight into the stock pot with some water to cover to make some chicken stock.  So I had 5 meals and the chicken stock prepping all at once!  And I'm not even a multi-tasker!  

The three chickens that I cut up I used for oven "fried" chicken that we served to the missionaries Saturday night.  The 3 birds were cut into 6 pieces each.  Usually there would be 8 pieces, but I kept the leg quarters whole since they were pretty small.  The breasts were huge, though, and I ended up splitting one with the hubs.  We made enough chicken so that we could send some home with the sweet missionary boys for lunch the next day.  I also made twice-baked potatoes for dinner while I peeled and cut up potatoes for the stew for this week.

It was a little bit hectic in the kitchen that afternoon, but I feel like I got a good jump on the week's dinners.  

Our menu this week will be:

Homemade Minestrone with polenta added for mock farinata.

Chicken Soft Tacos with rice and pintos on the side.

Tortellini Vegetable Soup from Two Peas and their Pod with some of this incredible and incredibly easy bread.  If you love a good, crusty, slightly sourdough bread you've got to try it!

My Crusty Bread in the cast iron Lodge pot.

I'm going to try this Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta.  I love Cajun seasoning!  It is one of the most used seasoning in our home.  I sprinkle it on pork chops or chicken or vegetables.  It is even yummy sprinkled on garlic bread for a little kick!

Broccoli Cheese and Rice Casserole is meatless but has cheese, and sounds yummy and filling.  I might even add some curry to mine..

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup 

Colorado Burritos in the Crockpot

Breakfast For Dinner was requested with pancakes, eggs, and sausage on the menu.


I'm sharing here:

Menu Plan Monday at Orgjunkie

Susie QT pies mentioned last week's Baked Tacos that got a thumbs up from the peeps here. I made them ahead of time, stood them up in a 9x13 pan, wrapped with foil and froze.  Then I baked from frozen until they were heated through.  

My favorite project from 2012

One way I keep my spending on decorating and crafting in check is by taking what I have already and using it in a way that helps me stay organized.  I have an old china cabinet that is kind of shabby chic-ish, and in our old house I had dishes in it, including our everyday dishes because we had a limited amount of cupboard space in our kitchen.  And it made setting the table easy because the plates (and cloth napkins in a drawer) were right there by the table.

The house we live in now is smaller but has a bigger kitchen with more cupboards, so I don't need the extra storage.  I kept my great-grandmother's china packed up and decided to use the china hutch for scrapbooking supplies storage.

The hutch is sitting on the only wall-papered wall in the dining area, and I have to say that I love this wallpaper!  I'm pretty certain that it's original to this 1960's house, and it's in perfect shape.  Not a tear or smudge.  When I unpacked I just threw everything onto the shelves, so this was half-empty (or half-full for you optimistic folk). 

So this is BEFORE:

The back wall of the hutch was painted a lovely light pink (it was previously a blue and a dark red) and I wanted to brighten it up a bit so  white it is!  Just a couple of quick coats did the trick.

And here is AFTER:

I already had the canvas totes on top and they're holding larger supplies and alterable wood.  Most of my containers were aqua blue and green, which go just fine with the yellow and greens in the wallpaper and china hutch. 

This cute couple holds some paintbrushes, and my art journals are behind just begging to be taken out to be used!  The tins hold tags and some pictures.

The large green buckets are planters I got at an awesome yard sale for a quarter apiece.  The small buckets are from Target's dollar spot. These are holding small embellishments sorted by color.

Love these cigar boxes, they're the perfect size for metal embellishments like eyelets, grommets and brads. One of them holds old clothespins, and another has some tape runner refills. 

Jars are my other favorite go-to holder; makes everything visible. 

Old music books I use in my projects and some paint in an old wooden box that I picked up at a yard sale, too. It was already painted that awesome blue!

This isn't everything, but I wanted to keep some of my favorite and often used things in the cabinet.  I have ribbons and tools and all kinds of other things in the cupboards and drawers.  And the coat closet in the entry way holds even more supplies. 

Hope this inspires you to use something in your home in an unconventional way!  It's not the prettiest thing in the house, but it is functional and useful for me.

This is a revamp of the post from last August, one of my favorite projects I've tackled this past year, and I'm sharing here:

Snippets of Scrapbooks

My niece has been here visiting for the past 3 weeks and is going home soon.  It's been fun having her here, even if we didn't do anything great or crazy.  The girls drug out the scrapbooks last week and had a fun time reminiscing about the old days.  Really, they talked about how everyone looked in the pictures, but it reminded me of why I scrapbook in the first place.  I want to keep those memories as fresh as I can for all of us!

This was our first time meeting our little Great-nephew.  (We called him Baby Junior)

We weren't very excited at all! : )  

{I included a smidge of doodling on this page; 

the tassels under the chevron paper and on the letter stickers}

First day of school from 2011.  

{I used paint and washi tape.   This was a quick page!  

The longest detail was cutting the watches from a sheet of paper.  

I think the watch paper is from Webster's Pages, and the other is from my stash. }

8th Grade promotion in 2012! 

{This and the next page are a little blurry, though.  Some is camera user error (I should be using a tripod) and some is camera error (the picture looked clear on the little screen!)}

First day of work at a candy store.  He worked at an awesome place over the summer!  

{I used a lot of Simple Stories papers on these last two pages.  Love them!!  The make putting together a page so easy, and I feel like I get lot of bang for my buck because they get used and not just stuck in with the rest of the stuff that collects dust.}

To make these pages even faster and easier, I used papers that did double duty; I cut details from them to use as easy embellishments on the page.  Adding a little bit of ink or paint around the edges of elements on the page is a quick way to get things to pop off the page, too.

I'm planning on doing a lot more scrapbooking this year.  It always seems like such a hassle to get everything out, but it should be worth it to me.  I'll make it worth it to me.  I'll even invite my children to help me, although I doubt any of them will take me up on it.  At least for any length of time.  And each page will be counted as one Drop of Awesome.  You have to read this post by Kathryn of Daring Young Mom! So worth reading!  Especially if you're having a bad day.

Meal plan for January 2013, Week 2

I'm loving my pinterest "All Things Food" board, and I'm constantly pinning new recipes.  Check out my 485 (and counting) pins, and follow my board if you'd like!

Chicken Ragout
New recipe to try, but it looked yummy.  I'm going to use chicken leg quarters with this.

Baked Tacos
These I made on the same day as the lasagna and baked penne, along with some burritos that I put in the freezer, too.  Making some meals ahead is actually a strategy I use to keep the kids from eating all of the groceries right after I make a shopping trip, especially since I like to shop for a couple of weeks at a time.  I stuffed and froze these in a 9x13 pan, and then I'll heat them up for dinner.

Baked Penne
I used the sauce from the lasagna last week, made some penne, and layered it with spinach and cheese to make a mock lasagna, then froze it to take out this week.

BBQ Pork Riblets in Crock Pot with Mashed Potatoes
I buy riblets at the grocery store.  They are the small, top bones of pork ribs, and are good thrown in the crock pot with some BBQ sauce and served with mashed potatoes and veggies.

Slow Cooker Enchiladas
I'm using a homemade enchilada sauce instead of canned.  So much cheaper!  I'm not sure why enchilada sauce is over $2/can at the store.

Tri-Tip and Mashed Potatoes 
The tri-tip is leftovers from the freezer and I'm making a double batch of mashed potatoes on the BBQ pork riblet day. 

I'm also working on a master grocery list for at least a month's worth of dinners, so I'll post it on the blog when that is done.  These first 2 weeks of the year I've been cooking for 7 since my niece is here visiting, so I'm more of a large quantity cook.

I'm sharing here:

Meal Plan Monday at Orgjunkie.com

Susie QT Pies

Couponing and Cooking

Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam

Of Regrets and Resolutions

Resolutions are a strange thing.  The new year feels full of promise and hope, but for me it seems like most things are left undone, hanging, incomplete.  

I realize it is a process, but most of the time my resolutions are way too grand in scale for me to accomplish, like the losing 10 pounds in 6 weeks of 2012 failure.  

Or a procrastination so long that I didn't even set any goals.  There's one way to not fail; just don't try at all!  Win-win, right?  

And I titled 2010's post "A goal without a daily plan of action is just a wish."  A great thought, and my goals were mighty small that year, so could be an accomplishment.  We were really struggling with some decisions and issues, and I'm pretty sure that I didn't want to be too specific.  Way too scary for me.

2009 saw me working on the same goals as 2008.  What's the definition of insanity?  Oh, yeah, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  It's the story of my life.  I go back 4 years and I'm seeing a definite pattern of un-greatness and lack of motivation.  Especially this quote from that post:  I rarely tell others my dreams, goals, and wishes. Then I feel the pressure to be accountable for working towards or achieving those things. Who wants to be accountable? Not I!

And finally, back to 2008, I was really ambitious and broke down my goals by category.  Ack!  I do like the last quote, though, "I will appreciate what little progress I make despite my shortcomings."
 I

One of my favorite talks from this past conference was President Uchtdorf's talk "Of Regrets and Resolutions".  A few of my favorite quotes:

No matter our circumstances, no matter our challenges or trials, there is something in each day to embrace and cherish. There is something in each day that can bring gratitude and joy if only we will see and appreciate it.

One day we will take that unavoidable step and cross from this mortal sphere into the next estate. One day we will look back at our lives and wonder if we could have been better, made better decisions, or used our time more wisely.

To avoid some of the deepest regrets of life, it would be wise to make some resolutions today. Therefore, let us: 

• • Resolve to spend more time with those we love.

• • Resolve to strive more earnestly to become the person God wants us to be.

• • Resolve to find happiness, regardless of our circumstances.

I think those last three resolutions are perfect to focus on.  I will continue working on other goals, including finding a job, building food storage, being a better mom, and everything else I'm continuously working on! 

And when you ask how my resolutions are going, please excuse the snort of laughter!

I see crafting and sewing in my near future...

Pinterest is so useful when trying to put together ideas for a project.  Like a total-DIY-bedroom-makeover-on-a-budget for the newly turned 15-year-old girl in the family.

She's been needing a comprehensive re-do.

The plan is:

1. keep the furniture and paint all of it, each piece a different color!
2. find a nightstand at a local thrift store or garage sale
3. look for some fabric or sheets to make curtains and quilt from
4. diy art
5. bulletin board above desk
6. grouping of frames
7. full length mirror
8. T-shirt rug

And the breakdown:

#1 This painted bookshelf is adorable.  Walls will stay white in the bedroom.

Could not find a source for this photo : (

#2 Nightstand with drawer is on the list of things to look for.

#3 She's thinking an Indian type print would be fun.  Something like this from PBTeen.

Source

#4 Love the look of this canvas, and it would be easy to do on our own.

Eclectic Kids design by Dallas Interior Designer Canon & Company         Source 

#5 We'll probably get a bulletin board then spray paint it to add some more color to the wall.

#6  This cluster of frames would be a cute addition above the dresser.

Orignally pinned from nurseryproject.com but not there anymore.

#7 And we'll add an inexpensive full length mirror and jazz it up a bit.

#8 A time-consuming project will be this t-shirt rug.  But the look is awesome!.

We've got a little bit of work to look forward to, but I think it will really come together!

We'll keep you posted!

Sharing here:  Tidy Mom

Day 18 - Storing Bulk Foods and Grains

***This is a continuation of my 31 Days of Preparing Properly series***

When I was just a young, newly-married bride with stars in my eyes, I went on a grocery shopping trip, which included buying a 5 pound bag of flour.  After coming home to put my groceries away, I noticed some teeny tine little bugs around the flap of the bag.  I carefully opened the bag up to find the flour inside was infested with the little buggers.  Yuck!  I learned my lesson; every time I pick up a bag of flour, sugar, cornmeal, etc.  I check the whole bag for signs of bugs.  Especially since i buy these things in bulk most of the time.

Unfortunately, bugs or larva or eggs in our grains that we store is a fact of life.  Now that I'm an adult I can accept that fact much easier than when I was a kid!  The thought of anything that might be living in my food would have grossed me out!

But how do we store our grains without giving these critters the perfect environment to hatch and eat their little hearts out?

In my research on the best ways to keep critters out of the pantry and food storage, I've found several different techniques.

Bulk food at our local Winco grocery store.

The first and easiest way to protect your food from bugs is to put it in your freezer for a minimum of 3 days.   Make sure it is in a spot that it won't get exposed to excess ice or moisture; you don't want wet grains.  3 days is long enough to kill any larva that may already be in your flour, rain, or cornmeal.  And gross as it sounds, there is more than likely larva already in the bags.  

Gamma lids make it easier to get into your buckets
if you are rotating your food storage.

I use these 5 gallon buckets to hold my longer term bulk food storage.

After the 3 days you can transfer it to your canisters, plastic containers, or 5 gallon buckets. It can be left there longer if you have the extra space for it.  We have an extra freezer that I keep space for a 25 pound bag of flour or oatmeal until I need it or package it for long term storage.   

I store my everyday dry foods in these Tupperware containers.

Another way to keep grains pest free is to use oxygen absorbers for long term storage.  This can be done in addition to freezing the dry foods.  The only problem with oxygen absorbers is that you have to use what you have right away.  They don't keep since they start absorbing oxygen as soon as the package is opened.  Oxygen absorbers work best in non-porous containers like mylar bags or plastic food-grade buckets, or even large canning jars.  I've also seen them used in large PETE recyclable containers. 

Rice that I buy at for less than 50 cents per pound.

These next two options are for whole grain and 

Diatomaceous earth is can be used to protect whole grains (but not milled grains!), and is what my parents used when storing wheat berries for long term in 5 gallon buckets.  There is a good breakdown of food storage tips here that includes diatomaceous earth.  This is not an ideal way to protect foods, though, because the fine silica dust can be inhaled and damage lungs.

A small amount of dry ice can be used to kill insects before storing whole grain.   Dry ice is frozen CO₂. Treatment with dry ice may improve storage life of the grain, but it is not the most effective fumigant for controlling pests in stored grain.  Basically, it will kill anything that is living in there already, except for eggs.  A single treatment with dry ice will be fine, you will not have to treat it again unless you notice little buggers in it down the road.

I hope this makes sense!  If you have any questions or anything to add, please leave a comment!

And if you'd like to read more about buying in bulk you can read my posts here and here.

And start reading from day one here!

This post may contain affiliate links.

My One Little Word for 2013

The last couple of years I have had a "one little word" that I wanted to focus on for the year.  I think about a new one periodically, and Ali Edwards has a blogpost with a list of suggestions,  but the way I seem to choose my word is by evaluating where I am and where I want to be.  

Last year's word was THRIVE.  Love it, and even though I don't feel like I "thrived" last year, it did help me focus on the positive instead of getting stuck on the negative.    I thought of a few words along the way:  one of my favorites is "Hope";  even saying the word sounds hopeful!   The word I thought I was going to use was "Move", meaning move out of my comfort zone, or move forward, and even move my body!  And even though I really like that word, this year's word is one I've considered been thinking about a lot.  And this morning I got one of those forwarded, positive message e-mails from a friend that reinforced the word even more.  My word for 2013 is:

UP!  It's a short little word!  But there are so many ways in which it can be used!

And the e-mail I opened this morning reads like this:

If you put a buzzard in a pen that is 6 feet by 8 feet and is entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of its ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner.  The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of 10 to 12 feet.  Without space to run, as is its habit, it will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small jail with no top.

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a  level place.  If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air.  Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

A bumblebee, if dropped into an open tumbler, will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out.  It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.  It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself. 

In many ways we are like the buzzard, the bat and the bumblebee.  We struggle about with all our problems and frustrations, never realizing that all we have to do is look up!  

That’s the answer, the escape route and the solution to any problem…

Just look up!
Sorrow looks back, Worry looks around, But faith looks up! Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly, And trust in our Creator who loves us.

Unfortunately, I see so many things I have in common with the lowly buzzard, bat, and even the bumblebee.  (Although if I were as industrious as the bumblebee I might be a little bit more ahead of where I am!)

I'm excited about my word for this year, and I'm hoping to go "Onward and Upward!!!"