Veggie organizing tip

Just wanted to pop in real fast and show you a simple way to fix a problem, that most households have. The stupid veggies that don't go in the fridge.  Instead of having bags of potatoes and onions falling all over the place, just hit the Dollar Tree.
I bought these 2 baskets that fit perfectly into the bottom portion of this storage cart and voila! No more bags of falling veggies, rolling around everywhere.

Your Welcome  ;)

Kitchen Tip - wiping off crumbs

Hey all!

As I was cleaning my kitchen the other day, I realized that the way I clear crumbs off the table, is so much easier then how I used to do it. And I thought it might help you all, as well.

First, get all the dishes & trash off the table.Now, what I used to do, was grab a wet sponge, and swipe it all into my hand carefully, hoping to not get it on the floor. Well not anymore. Instead of using something wet and your hand, just use this. Its soooo much easier to sweep it all into a pile, much like you do when sweeping the floor, then right into the dust pan and into the trash. DONE!

Kool-Aid Playdoh

 

 Have kids who are stuck inside, and Booorrrreeeedddd?  Break out some of those extra packets of Kool-Aid that are laying around and make some Playdoh!!! Very easy, and if stored properly, can last quite a while.

 

   

 Ingredients:

*1 pack of unsweetened Kool-Aid

 *1 1/3 cups of flour

*1/4 cup of salt

*1/2 Teaspoon of Cream of tartar

*1 cup of boiling water

*1 1/2 tablespoons of oil

Directions:

*Mix all the dry ingredients together in medium mixing bowl.

*Add in oil and boiling water. 

*Stir all ingredients together. 

*Once cool to the touch (a few minutes, doesn't take long to cool off) get in there and kneed the dough together with your hands, to fully incorporate all ingredients. 

*PLAY & HAVE FUN!!!!

 

Valentine's decor

Hey all!
Just wanted to pop in and show you my Valentine's Day decor. Everything was purchased at the Dollar Tree, last year. However, I have been there to check out what they have this year, and the flowers and heart pics are all there again this year.

I did see quite a few items for this year that I loved, but we don't go too overboard with valentines day in our house, and funds just weren't allowing me to unnecessarily buy everything I wanted. But I hope this help inspire you to get your own kind of creative going on!


First here we have some magnets that I found this year. I put the bears on the fridge to represent our little family, and added the accessory magnets on the stove door.

 

Next, there was this cute cut-out that I just had to have. But I wasn't sure where to put it. So I just pasted it up on a kitchen cabinet.

Lastly, my little heart vases on top of the TV.  The vases were at Dollar Tree last year, I did not see them this year, but I did see these cute tall shot glass type glasses, with hearts on them, that I thought this same idea would look cute in. The flower bunches and heart pics are there again this year as well.

You might notice the center vase is clear glass beads and some heart shaped ones mixed in as well. I think those were purchased at AC Moore last year, so I'm sure they have something like that again this year too.

 

As I said, we don't go too crazy overboard, but its just the little touches.

Each year I also make goody bags for the girls, for them to get on V-Day. I will post about my haul for that and how I make them.

Thanks, and please share your ideas with me as well! Happy Heart Day!

BBQ Bacon Dip

Hey all!

My daughter made a recipe like this at school last year. It sounded a little strange to me, but we made our own version, to snack on, during a football game. And it was a hit!!  This is a new house favorite of ours, so I thought I'd share it.
I apologize there is not a photo of the actual dip, as I forgot to take one.

Ingredients:
*1 package of Thin Turkey bacon
*1 block of cream cheese
*1 cup of BBQ sauce
*shredded cheddar cheese
*chopped scallions aka green onions

Directions:
*Spread the cream cheese into a shallow casserole dish of small-medium size. We used out glass pie dish.
*Drizzle or spread BBQ sauce over top
*Cook bacon until crispy, then crumble over top of the BBQ sauce (you can opt to use bacon bits for this step if you choose - but we prefer the real bacon flavor)
*Top with shredded cheese and onions
*Heat in microwave for about 1 minute
*Service with chips or crackers of your choice. We used tortilla chips.


Enjoy!

Time Management Tips

Hey all!

I have been noticing lately that a lot of people seem to be talking about how they manage their time.So i thought I would give a few of my tips, on how I make sure that I am always On time or a little early. And how I fit all things into my day to day routine.

Appointments or get togethers:

1 - Don't overbook yourself.
If you were invited to 2 parties, at the same time, the best way to time manage it, is to just pick one party and decline the invite for the other.I tend to apply the first come, first serve rule. I am still an advocate for the old time rules of giving your guests plenty of time to plan to make it to your party. I always send invite 2-3 weeks ahead of time. And I apply the same for receiving invites as well.  Now if I have a party at 1pm and another at 5pm, I accept both, but advise the later party I might be a little late, but will be there.

2 - Make a definite accept or decline to the invite.
This is for a few reasons. First off, its just polite. i can't stand when people say they "might", because then I end up sitting around waiting for them and trying to plan my day around whether or not I think they will show up. Secondly, it allows you to plan your day around the get together you have set up. And if you can't commit, well, you must not like that person very much. (sorry but this is how it comes across)

Day to Day routine and life: (these tips are geared more towards the working mom)

1 -  Know the part of your day that MUST be scheduled, and work around that. 
I work from 9-5:30 and pick up the kids from school on my 30 minute lunch break. Anything else AT ALL, must be done after 6pm. No if's and's or but's.

2 - Don't try to "fit in" things, unless absolutely needed. 
By this, I mean, don't try to fit in an hour appointment, while on your hour lunch break. Just schedule it for another day/ time/ or take the day off work and fit it in there.

3 - If you have kids, your house is never going to be perfectly clean - get over it! (unless you can afford a maid)
I have tried many many times to schedule cleaning, but that doesn't always work. Especially if you worked all day and have dance classes to get to, and dinner, and maybe errands. UGH  Just clean when you can..........and if your kids are being lazy, have THEM pick up THEIR mess. Saves you cleaning time. (For real, i analyze the mess int he house and only about 10% of it is mine)


That is as far as I will go, because then we would be leading into cleaning tips, and that's a while nother story. Lets face it, cleaning takes up most of our free time. (again - unless you can afford a maid).
To sum it up, my time management is best when I don't try to overdo things. If I have 10 mins to fit in a trip to a store, before a family gathering, I won't do it. If someone asks me to do something and I don't 100% want to, I will nicely decline - otherwise, I am trying to fit it in and that would just be rude. I personally don't like feeling like someone "fit me in".
I another way, I guess its all about knowing what you are capable of and learning what is more important, and letting some other things go. Figure out what NEEDS to be done now, and what can wait a little bit.  It's all about self control!

DITL - Mom got sick

Hey all!

So yesterday, about 4:30, I started to get really dizzy. At first I thought it was from looking the computer all day, but I couldn't shake it. So once I was done working, I ended up having to lay down. But the little nap I tried to take, didn't work. I continued to lie there for about 2 hrs before attempting to get up. Once I got up, the room was spinning. I couldn't even take a bit of anything other then bread.
Finally I decided to go lay down upstairs...closer to the bathroom. Again, I couldn't move. Just lying there, half awake, listening to everything going on downstairs.
Then about 3:30am, I woke up, dizziness gone and I was able to snack more on my drink and crackers. Oddly enough, I was able to fall back to sleep too.
Brian decided to let me sleep in - Just in case. So I allowed it. I didn't try to get up. But when I did, this is what i woke up to.

But I am perplexed on if I should be upset because he was working on his daughters school project, which is why no cleaning got done.