Monthly Archives: April 2011

Menu Plan Monday 4/11/11

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Today was an absolutely beautiful 80° weather day, maybe a little on the windy side, but the sun was warm and the air had a bit of coolness to it.  It reminded me of Hawaii’s weather. Wish it would stay like this all week..

I just want to mention that I’m having a Giveaway for a WordWorld T-Shirt the next couple of weeks. If you have a child who likes WordWorld then stop by and enter.
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Now on to thinking about a menu.  This one is super easy:
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Monday:  Chef Salad made with Rotisserie Chicken

Tuesday:  Repeat of Monday’s salad.  (I really want to lose 5 pounds!!!)

Wednesday:   Chicken Alfredo with Broccoli -Low-fat!  You may wonder why I’d fix this since I’m wanting to lose 5 pounds.  It’s low-fat plus it was my husband’s request.  🙂

Thursday:  Leftover Chicken Alfredo

Friday:  Low-fat pizza, Culinary Circle’s Rising Crust Spinach and Mushroom Pizza

WordWorld T-Shirt Giveaway

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How would you like to win one of these adorable T-Shirts for your child? PopFunk is providing a WordWorld T-Shirt, shipping included, to the winner of this giveaway.

Our daughter and s-i-l first introduced us to WordWorld when it was the only show that our grandson would watch when he was around a year old. Forget the other educational shows for babies and toddlers, WordWorld was the one that captured his attention. After watching it, I could see why. As an educator, I immediately fell in love with the characters on WordWorld and the impact I knew they must be having on young children learning their alphabet letters, sounds, and actually learning to sound out words and read.

So with that said, let me get on with the giveaway:
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HOW TO WIN IT:
PopFunk is providing one WordWorld T-Shirt for giveaway. This contest is open to all U.S. residents. Entries will be accepted until midnight CST Monday, April 25, 2011. Please leave a separate comment for each entry:

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Follow “Mr. P,” PopFunk, on Facebook &/or Twitter. (Each one counts as a separate entry.  Remember to leave a separate comment for each.)
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BONUS ENTRIES: Must complete mandatory entry first!  Leave a comment if you already follow or subscribe.

  • Blog about this giveaway and link it back here (3 extra entries)
  • Click the Facebook “Share” button below this post to share it on your FB wall (2 extra entries)
  • Follow me on Twitter (1 extra entry) (leave a comment if you already follow me)
  • Click the “Tweet” button below this post to share it on your Twitter feed  (1 entry per day)
  • Subscribe to my RRS Feed.  (2 entries)
  • Subscribe to Healthy Home Blog’s email updates- see sidebar. (2 entries)

* PopFunk supplied one of their T-Shirts for a giveaway. However, I was not compensated monetarily for this article. This is my honest opinion.

Russian Nesting Dolls

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When I was growing up, I thought Russian nesting dolls were fascinating, and I still think they are intriguing.  They are also called Matryoshka dolls, with the literal meaning of “Matryoshka” being “little matron.”  Sets consist of a wooden figure which has a smaller figure nested inside of it, and that figure has an even smaller figure inside of it, and so on.  The traditional number of figures in a set is usually five, and the innermost doll is sometimes a baby.  The dolls often follow a certain theme which can be  Christmas or holiday dolls.

I think it’s interesting that the very first nesting doll set was carved in Russia in 1890.  These dolls have been popular for over one hundred and twenty years.  Maybe it’s the element of surprise that makes them fascinating by opening up each doll to see what is nested inside of it.

Music & Porcelain Boxes

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When I was growing up, I really enjoyed music boxes.  I had two beautiful ones that were gifts.  One of my favorites was musical ballerina jewelry box that was given to me by my daddy.  Several years ago, I bought a music box that had violins on the top because my husband plays the violin and that made the box special to me.  Musical boxes have long been a fascinating collector’s item, entertaining young and old alike.  There’s something about a beautiful and ornate little box producing such a pretty sound that attracts people to collect them.

Limoges Porceleain Boxes are another collector’s item that come from a French tradition that is several centuries old.  They were first collected by French nobility and now are collected by people everywhere who enjoy their beautiful design.  Some are traditional in design and some are whimsical. They are delicate, however, and need to be handled carefully.

 

Friendly Friday 4/8/11

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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):

Roberta at A Little Bit of Everything writes about, well, a little of everything! She is a world traveler – be sure and check out the many trip photos in her sidebar – shares recipes, her cross-stitch and needlework projects, and it’s easy to tell that she’s talented both in and out of the kitchen! Come get inspired to start a new project or try a new dish when you visit this blog!

MaryEllen is the blogger at The Deal Scoop. She is mom to two (adorable, just check her “about” page) children, and she started her blog because she absolutely loves helping others save money! She posts a lot of deals, printable coupons, places to get freebies, and ways to earn money online along with product reviews and giveaways.

Dolly at XMasDolly says she is a “Wife, Mother, NaNee, Friend, Consumer, Critic, Blogger & Internet Traveler. Share my experiences with the Good, Bad, and the so Ugly. Some HOW TOO or HOW TO NOT! I’ve come to share, & make new friends! Married to my soulmate & Mom of four beautiful children who are raising nine of my beautiful grandchildren. Life IS good!” You’ll find a great variety of topics on this blog!

Now that you know about these 3 wonderful blogs, it’s time for you to join in! Add your family-friendly link below and we’ll see you back here every Friday! And don’t forget, you can get the InLinkz code to share the link list on your blog, too.

All three hostesses appreciate followers through GFC and Twitter, and we’ll follow you back – just leave a comment with your URL for GFC. Linky opens at 10:00 CST.


Refunds & Loans

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Tax season is definitely here!  I went to IRS.gov yesterday and today, and I never could get a connection.  I guess a lot of people besides us are trying to get their taxes done so they can get their refund.  Some people probably don’t wait for their refund and check out payday advance loans.  We’re just going to wait for our refund.

Menu Plan Monday 4/4/11

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April was my grandfather’s birthday month.  I’m thankful for such wonderful memories of him!  If he were alive, family would travel to my grandparent’s house for dinner and birthday cake.  I would probably end up sitting in my grandmother’s rocking chair next to my grandfather’s, and we would rock while he would tell me stories about his life and growing up.  I wish so much I had written those stories down or recorded them!  I remember very few of them now. If your grandparents are still alive, don’t lose the opportunity to record stories they tell.

So with that said, here’s our menu for the week:

Monday:  Rotisserie Chicken, baby Lima beans, cauliflower

Tuesday:   Leftover chicken, baked potatoes, salad

Wednesday:   Chicken Tortilla Soup

Thursday:   Chicken-Zucchini Alfredo from Food Network’s Healthy Eating

Friday:  Pizza & salad

April 2, 2011 is World Autism Awareness Day

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I am a special education teacher, and this is dear to my heart.
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April 2nd is the date of the annual celebration of World Autism Awareness Day.  Many events will be going on around the world in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Brazil, Hungary, India, Ireland, Mexico, United Kingdom, and the list goes on and on.  Famous people and celebrities will be in attendance at some events.  Much will be done to educate people on how to communicate with people who are autistic..

 

In the United States, we are using the whole month of April as Autism Awareness Month to educate the public about issues within the autistic community. People are encouraged to contact their local representatives as well as congressional representatives to “Vote 4 Autism.” For more information about this legislation and to take action to support it, visit Vote4autism.org.

“LIGHT IT UP BLUE“ is the theme in Australia as well as other places as the Sydney Opera House and other buildings around the world are lit up in blue lights for World Autism Awareness Day.  They are encouraging people to sign up on the site and light their own blue light bulb.

At my school, many of the faculty wear blue in honor of Autism Awareness Day.  If you have a chance, wear blue on April 2nd.  I definitely plan to be wearing blue on that day.

If you have the chance to watch this, I highly recommend the movie based on the life of  “Temple Grandin,” who has autism.  This movie won seven Emmy Awards, including Best-Made-for-Television Movie.  Here’s a summary of the movie in case you’re interested.  Claire Danes does an excellent job portraying Temple, which Temple herself admits.  Also, Grandin has her own website, Temple Grandin, Ph.D.

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Read here for more info about Autism Awareness & Tips.