Flower Petals

     OK...so it's been a few days...it's been crazy around here.  We had successful meetings this week with both Girls Scouts and Cub Scouts.  With my Daisy Scouts we made planters out of recycled 2L bottles.  They liked it so much I decided to do the same thing with my sisters group on Thursday during Cub Scouts. 

 

 

     It's actually a pretty easy thing to make.  I first made one at home to exactly how the steps went and to make sure it was kid friendly.  Both groups of girls loved getting in and getting their hands dirty and planting the seeds.  We made three of these with Daisy seeds on Tuesday, but on Thursday I had several different types of seeds to choose from.  I made one using Red Sunflower seeds.  I think Samie picked a Morning Glory color mix.  That is going to be so pretty when it starts to bloom.  The one I made at home I used this yellow Marigold plant I bought at Wal-Mart for less than a dollar.

 



 

 

      I also used less soil in the one that I let the girls make.  On mine the soil compacted an inch or so in the first few watering's.  It's quite funny walking up to our front door and seeing 6 2L bottles all in some stage of planting.  I had to bring the Girl Scout ones back home since there was no real safe place to leave them at our meeting place.  I wanted to leave them on the window sill, but it was sloped.  I just pray they grow well enough so the girls don't think I killed their plants.  That would not be good at all!

 

 

     By the way guys...if you guys are actually reading these just leave a quick comment to let me know.  I'll try and keep this up as long as  keep getting views.

And the Winner Goes to......

     No, I'm really not into award shows and what not, but I do have the best hubby around! Why you ask? Well let me tell you why my friends! A few of you know he gave me a HP Tablet for Christmas.  I loved being able to get a few HP apps. that helped me be more portable at Church and stuff.  BUT, what you k=may not know is that my oldest son, Stephen, recently moved back in with us.  You also may not know that Mike was promoted to Ops. Manager at work around that same time.  Well, for being 18 it was had to believe what little he had at his father's house as far as tech stuff.  So, my hubby, always thinking of others, thought he'd put a plan in motion.  We all loaded up in the Tribute and headed to Staples for school supplies.  Mike had some "things to take care of" while we were there.  While the kids and I put all the binders, backpacks, pencils and about 50 other things in the back of the vehicle he came out holding a box saying it was "research for work."  Well given the recent promotion I figured it was exactly that...more paperwork to study. 

     When we got home he pulled the new Google Nexus out and said he only had a few days, but he needed to figure out some of the features so he could sell it at work.  He plugged it in to let it charge.  It had to charge overnight and he told me I could play with it so I could give him feedback about it too.  Fast forward 8hrs and he came home from work and asked me what I thought.  I went on and on how much lighter it was from the HP and how it was more user friendly with it being Android compatible.  He listened intently and then answered, "Good, because it's yours."  He had planned on giving it to me as an upgrade and then giving the HP to Stephen to use for school stuff.  And to top it off he got me a purple case for it.  HE ROCKS!!!

       On anther note....I went to Winn Dixie the other night for a serious grocery shopping trip. I didn't take the kids so it was that much easier. I love that they want to go with me and "help", but sometimes it actually slows the process a bit. This ended up being a bigger haul than expected, but it was a good trip for sure. I'm not going to list all I bought as I don't want to bore you to tears. I did get 9 boxes of Pop-Tarts, 6 Hamburger Helpers, 8 Pork Chops, 12 Country Style Ribs, 2 boxes of pasta, several cans of chili...the list goes on and on. The cashier knew I wanted to ring the total sale so I could get a before and after total. So here we go...my before tax and discounts total was $198.40 after my rewards card the total got down to $139.61 and we're not done there. I then handed her another $22.69 in coupons which brought my total all the way down to $106.73! That's a savings of $90.82! Not quite cutting my grocery trip in half, but it was close enough for me to get excited over.

 

      I got a really cool 3" binder at Big Lots for $14. I thought I'd show you guys real quick how I arrange it.

 

 



 

 

       Of course it's purple! You guys doubted me? Anyway, I have alphabetical tabs and the basic baseball card type pages. I like this way becasue I know where all of a certain brand may be. K would anything Kraft...A would be for Advil or Arm & Hammer. That way in the store if I see a sale on an item I don't have to think about what catagory I listed it under...I know it's by brand and flip right to that letter. I did carry my binder with me to WD the other night and it was awesome. I actually used a few more coupons that I had originally planned because I has missed them in the flyer. Also I knew a few items I wanted weren't on sale, but the coupon expired soon. I checked the regualr price and decided that with the coupon I would be happy with the final price. I also was able to hand out a few coupons to some people who I knew I had a coupon for what they hand in their carts. I may not be able to hand out hard cash, but I can help them save some of their own.

 



     Here's my binder open to a page. I still have to fold some of the bigger ones in half, but I don't mind doing that. If you don't want to that's okay. There are 4x6 pages (for photos) you can buy pretty easy too.You would just have more pages than me. I get 9 to a page where you would get 4 is all.

      Hope you guys had a great weekend and I missed seeing some of you guys in church yesterday. Now to go spend time with my awesome hubby!

And it starts....

     Scout Season that is.  Yep, Samie and Alex are back to their busy time of year.  Not only are we dealing with school events and homework for them, they also have scout nights now too.  Samie has had a couple of meetings already and is loving it!  She has a few girls in Daisy's this year from her school.  One was in her class last year and one from this year.  She is already having a blast.  It's so much more fun having all the girls (we have 6, maybe 7) this year, not that only having Samie as a Daisy wasn't fun last year.  It's just easy to do things with more girls...if that makes sense.

 

 

     And now tonight is Alex's first Cub Scout meeting as a Bear Den member.  I wish I'd know he could join earlier since he missed Tigers and went right in as a Wolf.  He still had fun and earned a ton of belt loops last year.  He's already talking about what he wants to do this year to earn loops.  It's so funny hearing him talk about what his plans are and stuff.  Plus, seeing him interact with his fellow Cubbies is priceless!

 



 

 

     To add to all those meetings, the Cub Scout Troop leader wants to help out with a weekly craft to keep the girls (usually sisters) busy during the meeting so the won't go and bother the boys for the hour.  It seems like it's going to be a bit of fun too.  I think the second meeting we will be turning 2L bottles into planters.  That way we can reuse it and turn it into something they can keep reusing too. 

 

     Did I forget to mention that we have a high schooler and all the stuff that comes with a senior, football games on Friday nights...Mike and I are still full time students...he's working 45+ hours a week...church on Sundays....and I'm sure I forgot about 20 other things we have to do in a week! 

 

I forgot what my bed looks like...seriously.  As soon as I lay down I'm out for the night!

Taco Pie

This is a real quick and simple meal. You can spice it up anyway you want.

Ingredients:
1lb - Hamburger
1packet - Taco Seasonings
1/4C - Water
2 - Eggs
1/2C - Bisquick
1 1/2C - Milk
1 1/2C - Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream for topping

I start with browning the hamburger and draining it. I put in back in the pan and add the taco seasonings and 1/4 water. I bring it back to a simmer stirring it until most of the water is cooked in or evaporated. I then pour it into a 9" pie plate.
 

I then take the milk, eggs, and Bisquick and mix it in a small dish. I use a 2C measuring glass cup so I can measure and pour right from it. It saves on dishes too! Once this is mixed well I slowly pour it onto and into the taco hamburger. Then I sprinkle on bout 3/4C of the shredded cheese.

 

I then place it into a 400 degree oven for about 25 to 30 minutes. Basically until it's cooked all the way through and a knife placed into the middle of the pie comes out clean.

 

 



 

 

I usually let it set for another 5 minutes or so. It makes it a bit easier to eat and not so much like putting hot lava in your mouth. I then cut it like I would any other pie and place in the bowls. I top with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle with a bit more shredded cheese.

 

 



 

 

We all love this dinner and it is so easy. You could even add salsa or a bit of hot sauce to the mix before baking to kick it up a bit in heat. Since I'm pretty much the only one in my house that likes salsa, I add mine to the topping along with the sour cream and cheese. 

Just a Note

Nothing much going on today.  I got my nails done yesterday.  I really like them shorter and they were getting way too long to be able to do anything.  Plus, they were starting to chip at the tips because I kept hitting them on stuff.  The color is called Grape Juice by China Glaze.

 

 

Yeah, I know hold my fingers at such a weird angle looks, well....weird.  But it's the best way to show you all the color. 

 

 

Also, little Miss Samie got her hair done today.  She got it washed really well and a deep conditioning treatment.  Let's hope the knots stay at bay for ore that a few days.  Brushing her hair is pure torture for the entire house.

 

 

And one more thing.  For those who saw on Facebook the question about trying to get some pictures and at one point ANY picture to load onto here...I figured it out, I think.  I actually had to go into the HTML writing option and load the picture that way.  It's kind of a pain, but at least it works.  I was ready to punch my monitor with it telling me there was an error with my pictures doing it the other way.  I guess I'll have to stick with whatever works at this point.  I am not going to restart my blog again now.

Chili Cheese Dog Casserole

I think I'm going to start adding quick easy recipes to my blog. I know as a mom you seem to get in rutts when it comes to dinners. Maybe some of these ideas may help. This is the first recipe I am adding and I hope to get more posted as I cook or bake them.

Ingredients:
10 - 8" Flour tortillas
10 - Hot Dogs
2 - Cans Chili w/ Beans
1C - Shredded Cheese (your choice of favorite)

I typically use a standard 8"x8" glass dish for this one. I start by spreading 1 can of the chili in the dish.

 

 

This is the step where kids come in and love to help me. I take the hot dogs and tightly wrap them in the tortillas. I tear off any over hang of the tortilla if there is any. I also have to cut one of the wraps in half so I can fill the whole dish.

 

I then cover with the other can of chili and sprinkle on the shredded cheese. We love cheese in our house so I spare no stinginess here. I guess you could also use hot sauce if you wanted to add a bit of kick too. I use a cheddar and monterrey mix for this dinner.

 

 

I typically bake it for about 25 - 30 minutes at 400 degrees. I test the heat by sticking a butter knife into the dish and placing it on my lips. (I know...so professional.) If the knife is hot then I know it's heated all the way through. Nothing worse than a cold chili cheese dog.

 

And viola'...a quick yummy meal the kids will love. And it didn't take slaving over a stove for an hour. Like who has that time? I hope you guys at least try it once. You can switch up anyway you need to fit into your dietary needs too. I bet pepper jack cheese would be awesome!! (hmm...note to self...)

Not a Coupon Queen!!

OK...I have had people ask me how I can save $100 grocery shopping. It's easy when you have your stuff together and organized. Yes, the only place in my house even slightly organized is my coupons. Let the laughing commence! Now that you're done laughing let me go on. I have a plastic box that has rails on the sides for hanging file folders. I get the Smeed Tuff ones since I take them in and out of the box A LOT!

I have them labeled according to the Sunday they came out. The printables are the one I pre-printed online at the various sites. The notes is my extra date stickers and just stuff like that. I rarely even look at the coupons I get. I just take them out of the paper and place them right into their folders. When I'm ready to go shopping I go to my favorite site www.truecouponing.com and select which store I'm going to. I check off the items I want and print my list. I go to my box and match up the coupons I have and decide how many of what items I am going to buy. I also add things to my list that may have not been printed out, like milk, lifesavers, or eggs.

I then head to the store and get my shopping fix on. I tend to let the cashier ring up all my groceries just so I can see and sometimes I even write down my "grand total" then, if that store has one, I have them swipe my club card. I love watching all the minus signs, hehe. I check the new lower grand total. Then I hand them the coupons. More minus signs!!! It's fun and at first you won't have that many coupons, but as you get those papers and save them, you will see that stack of coupons you hand over get bigger and bigger and you will see more and more minus signs!



Day 1!

OK people...this is a new blog that I'm constructing.  Hopefully I will stay more up to date with this one.  Sorry about dropping off the face of the Earth with the other.  I also will be trying to slowly change the older blogs over the this account.  This means the dates may be off, but the basic coupon saving ideas and such will still be helpful.  I hope you guys continue to visit this one and like I said...I'll post more.