giveaway

check out the giveaway on Make it and Love it! (Click on Make it and Love it button on my page) Baby Blvd. is giving away a 25.00 GC to spend in their Etsy shop. They don't just have baby things so check them out.

Oh the JOYS of my life!

There aren't too many things in my life that I get overly excited about. I mean really excited. There are a few however. Really good deals are one of them and anything that can make me a better homemaker and wife is another.

For Christmas we purchased a new KitchenAid 5qt Stand Mixer in a lovely Cobalt Blue. In the wee hours of the morning while I was bravely battling the crowds at Kohl's and Fred Meyer my sweet husband woke from a deep sleep to stand in line at Bi-Mart. He arrived at about 4am because we thought with the AWESOME deal we were getting everyone would be there in hopes of purchasing one of these beauties. We were wrong, not a single person besides my sweet husband was after one.

We had a KitchenAid Mixer before this. My dad used to drive truck for St. Vincent de Paul and would pick up things to deliver to the store. One day he came across a 4.5qt mixer and swept it up. Spencer and I were still using this mixer, it was probably at least 15 years old and had one speed, TEN! It was quite the mess while making bread (which we always do because we don't buy it from the store) and pastries, and really anything that involved flour.

I love our new mixer with all ten speeds! It is lovely and makes my duties as a homemaker (duties that I love very very much) SO MUCH EASIER!

We have two cats in our home, we love them but do not love the hair that comes with them. We keep our home as clean as possible so we vacuum A LOT! Our vacuum is quite lack luster these days and I was expressing this concern to my dad on the phone just after I had vacuumed and just prior to a visit they were making that evening. He exclaimed that they just bought a new vacuum and that it was great. They have 4 cats so if it was great for them I could only dream of what it would do for us. They brought the vacuum with them to dinner and I got to give it a whirl throught the house. It was AMAZING, my carpets looked like they were brand new and it had picked up things that our vacuum never could. I was overjoyed and expressed it very much to everyone around!

Tonight as I walked in my front door there was a big box sitting just inside. I was elated. Giggling like a little girl in a candy store. It was a brand new vacuum, the exact one my dad had brought a couple nights prior. Where'd it come from? My dad and Julie bought it for me as an early 22nd birthday present.

Another thing to make me a better homemaker and make my tasks easier! Did I mention that I can vacuum all 1200 sq ft from one outlet! Lovely! Thank You Pa and Julie!

Ten Minute Free Write

This is an assignment that I will be doing weekly for my Writing class this term. I was kind of turned off by it when I first read the directions but found it to be fun and was a a release of what I was feeling. You are supposed to write whatever comes to mind (trying to stay on one topic but if you can't that's fine) for ten minutes, don't correct your grammar, if you can't think of anything to say then write "I can't think of anything to write." I found that it was helpful for me because I was able to put my thoughts and feelings into words and asses them and how I could overcome them.

I am overwhelmed. Today is January 4th, 2010 and it is the first day of classes at PCC. I am currently enrolled in 3 online courses; Health food and the Environment, Child Development and Writing. I thought it was going to be a breeze to sit at home all day, because I don't have a job, in my pajamas and do homework. I had no anticipation of feeling overwhelmed. I do though, I feel it a lot. I am a very organized person so I started writing every assignment for every class down in my planner, I felt sicker and sicker with each assignment. My calmness suddenly became a "Oh my gosh, I can't do this. It's too much!" Then I see that I have two assignments due TOMORROW! Now I am really overwhelmed. Yet here I am, after completing this I will have submitted 3 of four assignments due this week for writing, IN ONE DAY!! Woohoo. Maybe it won't be so bad. Then I think of all the other things I have to do in life. The dishes, laundry, Breakfast, lunch and Dinner, Vacuum, make the bed, go to church, spend time with my husband, babysit, spend time with family, blah blah blah. It is suddenly overwhelming again and I didn't even mention sleeping or showering! I can do this, one day and assignment at a time. I have people who love and support me in my quest for more knowledge of the things I have an interest in. I don't so much have an interest in writing but Children and Nutrition for sure! Writing to me is one of those things that is so very important to know how to do but not one of the things I necessarily want to spend my time learning or doing. Oh well! Here I am, no longer feeling overwhelmed but ready to jump into my homework.

Yummy Fruit Dessert!

We made this for dessert tonight and it was so yummy!

Ingredients:
Graham Cracker Crust
(We had a left over package of graham cracker crumbs from a Jello Cheesecake and mixed it with 5 TBS butter and 2 TBS sugar)
1 box (Makes 6.5 cups) Sugar Free, Fat Free Instant Vanilla Pudding
2.5 C Cold Fat Free Milk
Fresh or Frozen Fruit for topping

Recipe:
Mix Vanilla Pudding Powder with 2.5 cups cold milk
(Using 2.5 C opposed to 3 as the directions state will make the pudding thicker and it will set better in the graham cracker crust)
Pour into Graham Cracker Crust
Refridgerate for 1 hour
Top with fresh or frozen Fruit

(We used Strawberries, Blueberries and Peaches)

FYI: You can use full fat items if you feel the need. We used the fat free to make it a lighter, healthier dessert.

Enjoy!

Happy New Year!

( I was originally bothered by the lonely 5 in the background until I realized that this is our 5th New Year's Eve together! How appropriate!)

New Year's Eve was quite lack luster for us this year. We babysat for the family that I used to nanny for until 11, then went to the grocery store to buy boneless, skinless chicken breast for 1.88 a pound and Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. We came home and turned on Dick Clark's New Year's Eve Special, got on our laptops, found out interesting info, promptly called a friend while eating leftover Manicotti from Olive Garden while counting down the time until the clock struck MIDNIGHT! 8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1 A big smooch from the hubs and I was back to my phone conversation. Woohoo, it was an EXCITING night! Here it is 3:30 am on the 1st day of January 2010. I have many goals already in place and ready to be put into action. Big GOALS, that I am so excited about. Achievable goals. I am ready for this new year and for the wonderful things it will bring.