When my husband was my fiancee (about 27 years ago) he would say that we were going to buy the old family farm and raise chickens, goats, etc. I would get so furious with him that I would cry! Well here I am on the family farm with chickens, children, dogs, ducks, rabbits, and goats and I'm loving it (mostly.)
I enjoy photography (contact me to order prints), my family, and farm.
Hosted by Home Grown Families and Mama to 4 Blessings with the help of several other fantastic groups of bloggers we bring you Cashin' in the New Year! This giveaway runs from 12:01 AM on Friday 12/30 until Monday, 1/2 at 11:59 PM (all Eastern times). One winner will receive $190 Cash into their Paypal account!
The first is styrofoam ceiling tile. These are a very economical way to cover a ceiling (perhaps an old popcorn ceiling). They can be painted to match any decor using water based paints and they add insulation to the room. I'm painting mine in light pinks and purples to hang on my daughter's wall as an accent piece.
The second tile is a faux tin tile. It totally fooled me and my husband when we opened the package. We both thought it was a real tin tile. It so pretty and it's big! 2 feet square! We're going to use it as a frame for light fixture by punching a small hole in the center and mounting the light fixture through it.
One of the coolest uses for the tiles (other than on a ceiling) shown on the website, is using them as a photo backdrop. They make lovely textured backgrounds for photo shoots.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
I'm a caramel maker! : D I've always been afraid to make caramel because I know it can be a bit tricky. A few nights ago I decided to go ahead and give it a try. My first attempt crytallized into a hard lacy lump at the bottom of the pan. The second time, I searched the internet for ways to avoid having that happen. The 3 tricks I found were to:
Add lemon juice (I added about a teaspoon)
Add corn syrup (I found an old bottle in my cupboard and added about 2 tablespoons)
Stir until it boils and then don't stir again until it's dark enough to add the cream
The second time it worked like a charm and I created a fabulous caramel sauce to serve over my banana quesadillas. They were decadent and delicious! Kind of like crepes without the bother of making crepes. Other then the time it took to make 2 (1 successful) batches of caramel it was an easy recipe to make. You can find it here at Food Network. I used the caramel recipe in the link and it worked after I made the above mentioned adjustments.
Are there any foods that you're afraid to make? I've still never cooked a artichoke even though I want to. That'll be my next project.
Amee from Madame Deals and Jen from all her blogs (Kobiso, Makobi Scribe, Sason and Pobi, etc) are sponsoring a Twitter Blast with a $100 prize. For details go here.
My readers should come back on December 15th for a chance to win $100!
Sometimes the television show Parenthood really knocks me out. Part of it is that they cover Asperger's Syndrome in such a real way. So many times when I'm watching it feels like the show is about my family's and my feelings. I really like the characters.
I just watched the most recent episode called Missing. The son with Aspergers left his home to go to the museum by himself because his family couldn't take him. One reason this really hit home is that one time my son left home because he was tired of waiting for his father to come home and do something with him. My husband was dropping off our daughter about 2 miles down the road and my son decided to walk there because he knew where it was and he felt that my husband had taken too long. A couple stopped and tried to help him but he would not say a word to them. Fortunately my husband saw him as he drove home. Not good!
Another reason that the episode really touched me is that it showed how hard it can be on older siblings. I have a teenager that struggles with this as well. A child with Aspergers can cause huge disruptions in the family and we as parents don't react in the same way we would if he was neuro-typical. It feels unfair.
Have you seen the show? Have you ever seen a reflection of your life?
I use so much alcohol based sanitizer everyday! I use it at least 10 times a day. It's stinky and it burns all of the little cracks in my hands. I'm pretty sure all of that alcohol adds to the dryness of my hands. Not the best system but what else is there? I certainly can't walk around with germs all over my hands!
Before I received my Prefense hand sanitizer the only thing I knew about it was that the protection would last 24 hours. So I was interested to see how that was possible. What I discovered is that the protection is silica based and basically works by destroying the germ's cell wall. As Marissa Amoni of Beacon-News put it, "essentially acting like a glove with tiny spikes — penetrating the bacteria wall and killing what might be lurking on a public surface."
That makes a lot of sense to me because I like to use diatomaceous earth around the farm because it's an all natural way to kill bugs in the same manner. There's no chemical or poison involved.
So I'm liking how it works, but how will it feel on my hands? I was concerned that there might be a gritty feel but that was definitely not the case! I used one pump of foam and rubbed it into my hands until it dried. There was no residue, no greasy or oily sensation. My hands felt clean dry and comfortable. It has a very very light citrus smell. And you'll be happy to know that it doesn't have any aftertaste (yes, I tried it). : )
So I can have germ free hands from one squirt a day with no residue, drying alcohol, or smell? Sign me up!!!
You can buy this on the Prefense website or from Amazon.
GIVEAWAY!
The great news is that I get to give an 8oz bottle of Prefense to one of my readers! This is an $18 value and could last one person up to 2 years.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
Lena from Uncreative-Mommy's Digital Creations gave me the opportunity to review the Dots printables from her Etsy shop. She has a lot of great forms, lists and planners available for only $1 each. The Dots pattern is cute and fun. Once you make your purchase, Lena will email you the form and you can print as many copies as you need, whenever you need them.
I found so many helpful items. Two of my favorites are the Grocery List and the Emergency Info list. I also liked the meal planner, What's to Eat, a lot. The Grocery List is especially helpful because it breaks the list up into categories and that makes it easier and faster when you're at the store.
Something that I think will be very helpful is to use a hole punch and a three ring binder to make a planning book. You could include forms such as the anniversary list, monthly calendars, budget planner and contacts pages.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
