Monthly Archives: March 2011

Menu Plan Monday 3/14/11

Posted on by
3

I am SO ready for Spring Break!  This past week was really busy (at school Thursday from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm), and the two previous weeks were stressful.  Am I in the mood to cook?  Not really!  We’ll be playing it by ear, so to speak, this week so here’s a tentative menu and a possible answer for the age-old question, “What’s for dinner?”

Monday: Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli

Tuesday:  Chicken tenders, corn, green beans, Pumpkin Custard

Wednesday: Chicken Tortilla Soup

Thursday:  Leftover soup

Friday:  Eat out, maybe at Chick-Fil-A

Gardening

Posted on by
1

Some day, I would love to have a garden again, even a small garden.  While I was growing up, my parents raised a large garden every year.  They grew so much produce that they would give some away to friends just about every week.  When my husband and I were first married, I had a small garden where the tomato vines were the best producers.  Since then, I tried doing container gardening a few years ago, but I became frustrated because many mornings I could see bites taken out of my green tomatoes while they were still on the vines.

I entertained the idea of a greenhouse, but then there’s still the problem of pests.  I’ve read a little bit about hydroponics and a tiny bit about aeroponics.  If I were to start a garden again, I might be interested in something like that.  That way, I wouldn’t be bothered by hungry animals taking bites out of my plants and pests would be greatly reduced.

Computer Age

Posted on by
Reply

My whole family is geared toward working with technology.  Our son, who is a sophomore in college, is majoring in Information Technology with an emphasis in web design.  He has a knack for doing that type of work.

My husband is actually the first one who got us started using computers back in the 1980’s when he purchased a Tandy 1000 computer.  Our daughter, who was four at the time, loved to play computer games and write stories on “Alphabet Zoo.”  It comes as no surprise that she is now a multimedia producer and uses a photo editor to help produce her work.  Having used photo editing programs in college, this type of work is something she enjoys.

Now as for myself, I’m the one in our family who was last to get on board with technology.  About eleven years ago, I discovered the convenience of emailing when our daughter went off to college.  That spread to doing searches for information, and eventually led to blogging and running two websites (with help from our two kids). With this being the computer age, it’s a good thing that all of us are comfortable with and enjoy using the computer.

Friendly Friday 3/11/11

Posted on by
5

Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog, too! Just get the InLinkz code and copy it directly into your post. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way to get even more traffic to your blog and make Friendly Friday more beneficial for everyone.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers! We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

 

Something that every woman needs is a little inspiration – which is exactly what you’ll find at Praises of a Wife and Mommy. A place to follow along with April’s journeys as a Christian, wife, mother, volunteer, coupon-clipper, and deal finder, you’ll find everything from reasons to be thankful to how to find a great bargain. Come say hello and don’t forget to congratulate her on her upcoming baby boy!

 

Are you hungry? If not, you sure will be after you see what Denise at Creative Kitchen has cooking! With a passion for using wholesome, real foods while she cooks meals from scratch for her husband and 3 girls, you’ll find a huge list of delicious recipes (including mouth-watering pictures) that you’re going to want to run out and try. Hint: start with the flourless chocolate cake – YUM!

 

A 23-year-old college student mama, Shakeeta at Life with B & Baby M will make you smile with each of her posts, whether about her dream to be a doula or her steps in working towards greener living. Together with her husband, they have a gorgeous 1-year-old diva of a daughter that is the light of their lives. Now is a great time to stop by, as Shakeeta is finishing up a 30 Days of Me series where you can really get to know this fun mom! Continue reading →

Spring Break Travelers

Posted on by
Reply

With Spring Break occurring this week for some and next week for others, there will be a lot of people traveling.  When planning a trip, most people think about what clothes to pack, what all they will need on the trip, etc.  But I wonder how many plan what they would do if they needed emergency assistance far away from home?  It’s good to know that there is help available.  So while packing toothpaste, shampoo, and everything else needed while traveling on a trip, it would also be good to pack emergency phone numbers.

Wordy Wednesday: Precious Kids!

Posted on by
2

If you’d like to join in Wordy Wednesday, too, just head on over to Frugal Novice.

Whenever we would travel over 800 miles in our minivan to visit Grandma, Christi always got the back bench seat where she could sleep to her heart’s content. Her younger brother always sat in the middle section. 


When I think back to this memory, I realize how fast time has flown. So take time with your little ones! They are more important than a spotless house. They are more important than all the things on a “To Do” list. Babies grow up and move away, but housework and “To Do” lists remain. Take time to rock your baby, to read that extra story to your child even though you’re so tired (one day you’ll wish you could read it to them), to do the little things that are important to your child that make them feel loved.  I don’t regret not doing certain things so I could spend more time with our kids.

If you don’t know exactly what is important to your older kids then I recommend reading “The Five Love Languages of Children” and “The Five Love Languages of Teenagers.” They are worth the time invested in buying and reading these books!

Menu Plan Monday 3/7/11 & Recipe for “Italian Chicken Pasta Bake”

Posted on by
2


We received something in the mail this past week from Krogers. It was a recipe for “Italian Chicken Pasta Bake” plus four coupons to use on four of the ingredients. The coupons total $2.40! I thought that was a great marketing strategy on their part. The recipe sounds like something we would really like, so I plan to fix it Friday evening to have when our son gets home from college. Here’s the recipe:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
…………………………………….Italian Chicken Pasta Bake

INGREDIENTS:

  • Kroger Cooking Spray
  • 1/4 cup Kroger Frozen Chopped Onion
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed (I’ll probably used minced garlic from my jar in the fridge)
  • 8 oz. Kroger Fresh Selections Mushrooms
  • 2 small zucchini, diced
  • 2 (14.5 oz.) cans Kroger Crushed Tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon Kroger Italian Seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 Kroger Deli Rotisserie Chicken (I like that!), deboned and broken into chunks
  • 1 pkg. (8 oz.) Kroger Finely Shredded Italian Cheese Blend, divided (can use Mozzarella)
  • 1 pkg. (9 oz.) Kroger Wholesome@Home Chicken & Bacon Borsetti Fresh Pasta, uncooked

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Spray 13×9 baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat and spray bottom with cooking spray (I’ll use olive oil).  Add onion and garlic and sauté 1 minute.  Add mushrooms and zucchini and sauté for 5 minutes.  Add crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and sugar.  Stir to combine.

Remove from heat, add chicken and 1 cup cheese.  Stir to combine.  Spread uncooked borsetti pasta evenly in bottom of baking dish.  Top with chicken and vegetable mixture, making sure all pasta is covered.  Sprinkle remaining cheese over top.

Bake uncovered for 20 minutes on center oven rack until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday: Chicken tenders, broccoli, corn

Tuesday:  Leftover tenders, salad, baked potatoes

Wednesday:  Chicken Tortilla Soup  (we didn’t have it last week after all)

Thursday:  Leftover Chicken Tortilla Soup

Friday: “Italian Chicken Pasta Bake“


Easter Comes Later This Year

Posted on by
2

I was looking on the calendar recently and noticed that Easter is later this year.  It’s the last Sunday in April which is the 24th.  Some years, Easter is a whole month earlier.  So how is it determined when this special day will be?  Easter occurs on the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon which just happens to be the first full moon on or after March 21.  Aren’t you glad you know that? (if you didn’t know already)

Some people probably already have their Easter dresses, baskets, and maybe even personalized gifts for Easter.  I miss those days when we had young kids at home and had Easter egg hunts, made an Easter bunny cake, and I had the fun of fixing up their Easter baskets (I still fix a small basket for our son who is in college.)  For those of you who have wondered how the egg is associated with Easter, this is why:  The egg is a symbol for rebirth, and so at Easter the egg symbolizes the rebirth of man because of Jesus dying on the cross for our sins and rising from the grave on Easter Sunday.

Friendly Friday 3/4/11

Posted on by
5

Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog, too! Just get the InLinkz code and copy it directly into your post. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way to get even more traffic to your blog and make Friendly Friday more beneficial for everyone.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your family-friendly link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers! We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

It’s a Keeper was started in order to organize and share recipes collected from magazines, etc.  This blogger loves to cook, has actually collected 337 recipes, and is sharing them one by one.  Check out her recipes which are paired with great pictures!  (Her husband is the photographer behind her photographs.)  They have an energetic, nearly four year old son, and although she loves her job, she would really love to be a stay-at-home mom.

 

The Pretty Life Anonymous is written by two sisters, the Pretty Life Girls, who prefer to remain anonymous.   They are both married and like to find cheap, yet stylish, clothes.  One is a graduate student and one is an undergraduate student.  One can’t live without eyeliner and peanut butter.  The other has to have earrings and polished fingernails.  They share their stylish outfits with photographs.  Check out their cute wardrobe.

 

Ana Paula at Sweet Serendipity is a newlywed to her best friend.  Actually, they’ve been married over a year now.  She loves fashion, shoes,  vintage things, and chocolate, just to name a few.  Ana Paula finds great deals at thrift stores and shares those with her readers along with pictures.  Check out her cute wardrobe.

133 Entries

Continue reading →

Wordy Wednesday: Christi & her “Babes”

Posted on by
Reply


Would you like to hear something about our daughter, the “Frugal Novice?”  Christi’s dad sang this song to her (while playing the guitar )years ago when she was a baby.  Now, she has with babes of her own.

 

Where are you going my little one, little one?
Where are you going my baby, my own?
Turn around and you’re two,
Turn around and you’re four.
Turn around and you’re a young girl
Going out of the door.

Where are you going my little one, little one?
Where are you going my baby, my own?
Turn around and you’re two,
Turn around and you’re grown.

Turn around and you’re a young wife
With babes of your own.

Turn around, Turn around,

Turn around and you’re a young wife

With babes of your own.