Chocolate Coffee Creamer
1 can sweetened condensed milk (or make your own sweetened condensed milk)
1 1/2 cups nonfat milk (I used prepared powdered milk)
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
Blend all ingredients together in your blender. Pour into a mason jar or your old coffee creamer dispenser. This creamer will keep up to two weeks in your fridge.
I can make big things happen.
In the end, this is all that matters.
My desire to learn will never end.
My capacity to love my children encompasses every fiber of my body and embeds itself deeper every year.
Some moments in my life are far grander than I dreamed possible.
I can survive that first day of kindergarten, even if I cried like a baby for two days straight.
Each year that passes I will look more like my mother.
I have discovered the beauty in things I did not appreciate.
No matter how big I get, I will always be daddy’s little girl.
I have found a life of simplicity is the best kind of life to lead.
I will be rewarded for my hard work.
I am finding that the more work I put into it, the more my house becomes my very own dream home.
If I have only one word to describe this year of life for me it would be content. I am finally content with who I am and where I am going in life. I am content with what I have and the possibility of what might be attained.
It has been a wonderful year and I thank you for sharing it with me.
xoxoxo,
Amy
It is another wonderful week for freebies thanks to our great relationship with Heather at Freebies 4 Mom. Be sure to check her list for the ten hottest coupons and be sure to call your local Target to see if they are participating in the additional 30% off on clothing markdowns. Visit Heather’s site all week long for the best of the best in the freebie world!
We are already setting our DVR for the free HBO preview weekend and have lined up lots of free movies to watch on these snowy days here in the Midwest. The magazines have been ordered for me and are on their way to keep me entertained and I am looking forward to browsing the free music downloads list! You gotta love Freebie Friday!
Health & Beauty
Dove Shine Therapy
Poise (Walmart)
Food
$10 Coupon Book by mail from EatBetter America
Sargento Finishers House Party
Entertainment
Ranger’s Apprentice by John Flanagan (free eBook of Book 1 thru Feb. 15)
Amazon.com 600+ Free Music Downloads
True North Oscars House Party
Field & Stream Magazine (offered by AdPerk)
Elle Magazine (one year subscription)
Maxim Magazine (one year subscription)
Kiwi Magazine
Home & Garden
Gerber Stainless Steel Spoon & $3 Coupon (create a pledge)
Green Mountain Coffee and Keurig House Party
Pets
Breath-A-Licious Green Bone
Upcoming Freebie Events:
Please call your local store or restaurant to confirm they are participating in these freebie events.
JANUARY
thru 18 – Free HBO & Cinemax on DirecTV
16-18 – Refund Cents Free Trial Weekend (details at Northern Cheapskate)
24 – Change a Pet’s Life – Free Adoption
FEBRUARY
7 – The Home Depot Kids Workshop – Make a trinket box with heart
14 – Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinic – Make a jewelry box
24 – IHOP National Pancake Day 7am-10pm
28 – Lowe’s Build and Grow Clinic – Make a 48 race car
I hope you will get a chance to listen to today’s show for some menu planning inspiration!
I did want to share our resource list for this episode:
Dine & Dish– Kristen joined us this hour to share some great ways her family has been simplifying their dinner hour and her new approach towards menu planning. She is a valuable resource for moms and I am very thankful to have had her on the show.
Simple & Delicious Magazine– Kristen recommended this magazine subscription as a great resource for busy moms in helping add some sparkle back to our dinner hours.
Food Photography for Bloggers– Kristen pointed towards this article as a great resource for bloggers who are beginning the venture into food photography.(@ VeganYumYum)
How Do You Do Your Menu Plans?– In this entry, I discuss some fun & creative approaches towards menu planning. In my goal to simplify this year, I am now doing two week menu plans instead of one month. It has made my life a lot easier and now I can fit my daughter in the cart AND my groceries at the same time.
One Month of Slow Cooking– We discussed how hard it can be to get dinner on the table when you have small children, and I shared that my solution when we brought our new baby girl home was to try planning a month with my slow cooker. This article contains the recipes that I used to simplify my dinner hour with a new baby.
Menu Plan Mondays– I’m An Organizing Junkie offers a wonderful round-up for moms where you can post and share your family’s menu plans. This has inspired me many times and is a great spot to visit when you are lacking that inspiration! Laura will also be joining us in just a couple of short weeks to share how I can simplify the cluttered mess I am currently living in. I can’t wait for that discussion.
On MomAdvice Simplifed, my weekly podcast, we will be discussing how we can simplify the dinner hour. You can listen to the show live every Thursday at 2PM EST or you can listen later right here on my the left sidebar.
Getting a healthy dinner on the table can be a real challenge for moms. What are some things that you can do ahead to get dinner on the table quicker? How can you get out of the rut of preparing the same dishes every week? This week we will be speaking with Kristen Doyle, of Dine & Dish, on some ways we can make our dinner hour easier and how to simplify the planning process for busy moms.
Kristen is a busy mom of three and has another baby on the way! Besides her family, she is passionate about cooking, entertaining, photography, reading, and shopping. I knew she would be the perfect guest for the show and I can’t wait to share our interview with you!
Tune in for this interview and you can chat with me live and ask any questions or share your own tips for menu planning!
Experiment: Can I make something out of the cereal no one likes?
Experiment Taken From: Notebook Entry 01.15.09
Materials Needed: Please see The Farm Chicks for the full instructions. I followed the instructions exactly.
Results: Have you ever stockpiled something and it seemed like a good idea at the time, but then you realized it was actually a waste of money? I thought for sure that my children and husband would love Honey Bunches of Oats cereal, but no one was a fan and I have four boxes of cereal that have been sitting in our pantry, wasting valuable cupboard space.
It is rare that I run across two recipes in a row on the same exact site that I feel like I must try, but what can I say except that The Farm Chicks rock? I saw this recipe and in the ingredient list it said you could use “any kind of cereal” to make their Peanut Butter Energy Bars. I ran downstairs and put a dusty box of cereal to good use and the results were nothing less than spectacular.
I really love my chewy granola bar recipe, but these came together much quicker because they didn’t require as many ingredients or any baking time. You literally stir honey, sugar, and peanut butter on the stove until it has dissolved and mix with the cereal. Pat it into a baking dish and slide it into your refrigerator and that is it. No baking, no mixer, no softening of butter- just good ol’ no-bake bars.
I think these would be great with any combination of cereal, chocolate chips, dried fruits, or nuts. We stuck with some of that Honey Bunches of Oat and the master list of ingredients in the recipe.
The family gobbled them up and all agreed that they were perfection. It is a stick-to-your ribs kind of bar so it doesn’t leave you wanting more than just one. I don’t know if it gave me any energy, but it gave me a few moments of peace while everyone was stuffing their face with their yummy goodness.
Conclusion: I would HIGHLY recommend this recipe as a great snack for busy families. It is a sweet surprise to see a tin of these sitting in my refrigerator ready to be nibbled on. It is also a great way to reduce a cluttered pantry. Much thanks again to the fabulous Farm Chicks. These ladies are also coming out with a cookbook in April of 2009, and I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy of it!
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I am so excited to open our Notebook Experiments up to everyone and I hope that you will be able to participate this week or in weeks to come! I will be posting this each Thursday so please mark your calendars if you plan to participate. You can post your entries at any time throughout the week and then leave your entry in the links below.
We have this handy banner that you are more than welcome to use, but it is not a requirement! It is just something you can add to add a little sparkle to your entry.
Rules for Participation:
1. Choose anything from any of our notebook entries (past or present) to do with your family. We have hundreds of bookmarked links of crafts, ways to save money, and organizing ideas.
2. Complete an experiment from the notebook and share about it on your blog or website. We would love to see pictures of what you accomplished or a detailed description of how your projects turned out. Please include a link to this entry, a link to the original posting of the entry (at the original crafster’s blog), and (to help us relocate the project) the date or link of the notebook entry where you found it. You can use the same formatting as our entries or you can just include that information in your post in your own unique way!
3. Post a link below. Please include your name or blog name & a fast description of your project. Example- MomAdvice (WHO bread)
I can’t wait to see what you create and what you find inspiring!
I love this idea for making thank you notes (@ dooleh-vay)
This cupcake garland is such a sweet little idea (@ petunia)
I am loving these little party hats (@ hot diggity blog)
This spaghetti & meatballs recipe sounds delicious (@ shelterrific)
I am going to have to try some of these recipes for homemade cleaners (@ Jolly Mom)
This post-it calendar is really cute and I adore these handmade headbands (@ Design Mom)
These oatmeal blueberry applesauce muffins look like they would hit the spot (@ Joy the Baker)
We are going to have an inside snow adventure at our house (@ the homespun heart)
This coffee cup cozy is such a great little gift (@ house on hill road)
This craft desk makeover really rocks (@ design sponge)
These handmade gifts are beautiful (@ Soule Mama)
I like this tutorial for copyrighting your photos (@ Chocolate on My Cranium)
These little cupcake flower arrangements are adorable (@ inspired ideas)
I want to try this pattern for this knitted chevron scarf (@ do stuff)
I am going to make these peanut butter energy bars (@ The Farm Chicks)
This peanut butter swirl banana bread looks like an interesting combination (@ Baking Bites)
I am loving these tips for a dinner party that is under $100 (@ the adventures of penny plastic)
I am going to have to try some of these recipes for overnight yeast waffles (@ The Kitchn)
This is a great little pattern for a child’s apron (@ Sew Liberated)
Visit Locks of Love to learn how you can make a donation!
Welcome to our apron full of giveaways. This week we have two contests that are ending at 8PM EST that I don’t think you will want to miss. We are giving away a Little Pim DVD collection to help your little ones learn language skills and we are also giving away a Dining on a Dime Cookbook that would be an invaluable addition to your cookbook collection.
I am taking a week off this week from giveaways to get caught up on some of the past giveaways. We will be back in full swing with new ones for next week!
Below are the contest links-if you are hosting a contest please link it up below. Please put your site name and then what type of contest you are hosting. For example, “MomAdvice (Children’s Movies).”
Please let me know if you have any questions and good luck to each of you!
To enter, please follow the links below. (photo credit: i have to say)
My mother-in-law is a fabulous knitter so it can be a little nerve-wracking to knit something for a really great knitter. She had mentioned to me one day though, that she would love to have a cowl in a really soft yarn. I ran right out and got the supplies to make this beautiful pattern in a cherry red bamboo yarn. The yarn was so incredibly soft that it felt like a warm blanket and I ended up getting two balls of this so I could make one for her and one for myself.
I thought this would make a fabulous birthday gift for her and made this and a big birthday dinner to celebrate her.
Here is the birthday girl with her new neck cozy! She says the girls at work really loved her fancy new neck cozy and how great it was when she was out in the cold on recess duty with the children.
I am planning to take this with me on my next trip since it is a perfectly portable and easy project. I think it will go perfectly with my furry black coat this season.
Details on Pattern: This pattern is no longer available online, but is available for download on Ravelry. It is called the Dulce Neck Cozy.
I completed the Dulce #2 (Browns) Pattern. This took all 148 yards, but I knitted loosely so I would not have to make the buttonhole. I could have probably used another twenty yards to give it a little extra length, but was under a bit of a time crunch. I opted for one button instead of two and chose a black wooden button to bring the cowl together.
This would be a great patten to take on a trip because it has only one row of real pattern and alternates only between two rows one of purling and one of pattern. It has a herringbone type of look to it and looks far more complicated than it is.
Great project for instant gratification! Wonderful pattern for a newbie knitter in understanding yarn overs.
