Favorite Recipe Friday

I am going to start a new trend called "Favorite Recipe Friday". Every Friday I will share a favorite recipe and I ask that you share yours with myself and other readers as well. Just click on Comments below and leave yours for all to see! That way we will all be well-fed and happy :) Today's recipe is my DH's favorite Lemon Squares, from Betty Crockers 40th Anniversary Cookbook:


Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1/2 cup margarine or butter (I always use real butter when I bake) - softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon peel, if desired (I omit)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs

Heat oven to 350. Mix flour, butter, and powdered sugar together. Press into an ungreased 8X8 or 9X9 baking pan, building up 1/2 around the edges. Bake 20 minutes. Beat remaining ingredients for about 3-4 minutes. Pour over hot crust. Bake an additional 25 minutes, or until no indentation remains when the center is lightly touched. Cool and then sprinkle with powdered sugar. Cut into squares. I especially enjoy these cold from the fridge :)

Tony Stewart's biggest fan

Evan just may be Tony Stewart's biggest little fan. Here he is next to Tony's trailer at Nascar Speed Street in Charlotte back in May.

He also got to sit in the #20 car

and make a #20 wooden model.

And lastly, here he is at Universal CityWalk in Orlando outside the Nascar cafe. Love the face in this one!

Back to school

Sorry I sort of fell off the face of the earth these past few weeks! We just finished our first week back to school and that is always an adjustment. Here are a few pics of the kids before they headed off for their first day. Evan is in 1st grade, Hannah is in 4th, and Madison is in 6th (middle school- gasp!). So far so good!

Beach Bound!

We are leaving today for a long weekend at the beach. Our neighbors' parents have a cottage in Cherry Grove, just north of Myrtle Beach, and they were nice enough to invite us along. Evan is best buddies with their little boy, they were in the same Kindergarten class last year. And my girls just adore their 2 year old daughter. The kids should have a blast and hopefully they will keep each other busy enough that us grownups can relax a bit. We shall see LOL. I'll post some pics when we get back.

Live & Learn

Today's lesson is "Live and Learn", followed second by "Don't let your husband make decisions about your preteens hair".

My 9 year old daughter has been bugging us to let her get her hair highlighted. I kept saying no way, but dh finally caved and said yes. In an effort to not spend 8 million dollars (these days 75 seems like 8 million to me LOL) on a 9 year olds hair, I opted to try to do it myself. Now, you KNOW where this is going.....

Put it this way, when we were done, we could not go out in public. The kit I bought at the beauty supply store was apparently a bleach kit (recommended to me by the saleswoman no less!) and my daughter's light brown hair was now platinum with brown spots where I'd missed LOL. We quickly put it into a ponytail, covered it with a ball cap and headed to the salon at the local mall. Two hours later, she looks fine. Whew! I had to cough up $110 plus a tip (Gulp!) for the fix. They had to do a full foil highlight, her whole entire head. But it looks cute and she is happy.

I guess another moral is sometimes it pays to pay. I tried to save money and ended up spending twice as much as I would have if I'd gone to the salon in the first place. She could have had a partial foil done for around $50, but the BIG FIX cost me BIG TIME. As I said, Live & Learn :)

FREE bag of IAMS dog or cat food

Click HERE to get a FREE bag of Iams dog food or cat food.

Website I LOVE!

Just discovered this website a few weeks ago and I love it! It's called A Year Of Crockpotting. The author has resolved to use her crockpot every single day in 2008. I can't believe some of the things she manages to create in that thing LOL. I do love my crockpot and have resolved to try and use it more as there is nothing better than having dinner accounted for at 9 a.m. However, I never seemed to get beyond the basic pot roast, BBQ chicken, and pulled pork. Stephanie creates masterpieces such as chicken cordon bleu, chocolate mousse, and even Chex Mix all with the crockpot. Amazing. Check it out, you'll be digging yours out of the pantry to try these recipes.

SCORE at Walgreens today!

I am not a huge Walgreens fan as they can be picky-icky about coupons sometimes and who needs THAT drama LOL, but this week I did VERY well. Here is what I bought:



And here are the details so you can do it too!

4 boxes Kelloggs cereal on sale 4/$10
- 2 X $1/2 coupons from Sundays paper
Get $5 Register Rewards back!

4 boxes Nutrigrain bars on sale 4/$10
-2 X $1/2 coupons from Sundays paper
Get $5 Register Rewards back!

3 boxes Pop Tarts + 2 boxes Rice Krispie Treats on sale 5/$10
-2 X $1/2 coupons from Sundays paper
Get $5 Register Rewards back!

Then...with those $15 in Register Rewards, I bought:

2 bottles of Windex on sale 2/$5
-2X $1 coupon

2 bottles of Pledge w/bonus duster on sale 2/$6
-B1G1 coupon
-$1 off coupon

2 Scrubbing Bubbles shower cleaner refills on sale 2/$6
-$2/2 coupon

5 lb bag Domino sugar on sale $1.99 w/in-ad coupon
-$0.25 coupon

JIF peanut butter on sale 3/$5 w/in-ad coupon
-$0.55 coupon

2 Nips hard candy on sale 3/$2 w/in-ad coupon

2 Papermate pens 10 pk on sale for $0.09 w/in-ad coupon

My total out of pocket today was $23.95. I will get a $10 Mail In Rebate from Kelloggs for buying 10 items on 1 receipt (this was in Sundays paper) and Walgreens has Mail In Rebates on the cleaning supplies totalling $7, so once I recieve my rebates, my total spent is just $6.95! PLUS I developed a one time use camera for FREE today with in-ad coupon! SCORE!

CVS Deals this week 8/3-8/9

GREAT deals this week at CVS!

First off, there is a NEW $2/$10 printable coupon!! Click HERE, go to page 30 of the online magazine and there it is! The best news is that it is valid until 9/28, so print off a bunch of them LOL.

Here is what I was able to score this week:

CoverGirl makeup is BOGO, and there was a BOGO coupon in Sundays paper, making both FREE. I had DH pick up an extra paper, so I got 4 free.

Pert Plus 2-in-1 Shampoo is BOGO, and there are coupons out there (one in Sundays paper, a few from previous weeks) for $2 off. Use 2 coupons and get both FREE. I used 4 coupons and got 4 free bottles.

NutraNail nail strengthener (My daughter has been wanting some LOL to help her nails grow. Ummm, maybe if you didn't BITE them!) is $5.99 each and there is a printable coupon for $3 off 2 HERE. Then you get $3 ecb back for each, making total cost just $1.50 each. My store had bonus twin packs, so I actually ended up with 4 bottles for $3 total.

MONEY MAKER! Childrens Advil 4 oz liquid or .5 oz. infant drops are $5.79 and you get $5.79 back in ecbs. Use this $1 off coupon to make it a money maker. Limit 1.

MONEY MAKER! Colgate Total Advanced toothpaste is $2.99, and you get $2 ecb back. Use this $1.50 off coupon to make it a money maker. Limit 2.

Gillette Fusion razor is $9.99, and you get $3 ecb back. I used a $4 off coupon from Sundays paper and paid just $2.99. DH really needed a razor, so this was great price!

Happy CVSing!

FREE Film Developing at Walgreens TOMORROW!

Tomorrow only (Wednesday, August 6th) you can get 1 roll of film or one time use camera developed at Walgreens for FREE with this coupon. Hannah used a one time use camera on her last day of school, so we will finally get that developed LOL. It's sad that it takes a freebie to get mom off her butt to develop it!

Putting the THRIFT in thrift shopping!

After Evan's swim lesson today, we stopped at Salvation Army for their Wednesday 50% all clothing sale. I never seem to make it to this particular SA because it is in a not-so-great part of town, but I really need to make the trip more often as I always find good stuff there. I think it's because the people who shop there are NOT ebay people LOL so they are not scouring out the name brands like I am. Anyhow...today I came away with 17 (!!) items to sell on ebay (2 of which were new with tags! All were name brands: Gymboree, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Lands End, Baby Gap), 4 items for myself, and 3 items for Hannah. And the best part? My total was $13.64. GO ME!

I've been tagged!!

My very first time being tagged! Thanks to Trish at savingmoneyideas for tagging me!

Here are the rules when you get tagged:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you
2. Mention the rules on your blog
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
4. Tag 6 following bloggers by linking them
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

Six things about me:

1) I have a thrift shopping OBSESSION. It started by buying things to resell on ebay, and now I buy tons there for my family as well. Even my kids are hooked on the thrill of the hunt. I asked my 10 year old how we could spend the perfect day for her upcoming birthday and she replied, "Lets go thrift shopping all day and to the Olive Garden for dinner". That's my girl!!

2) Before I had my kids, I taught preschool for 8 years. Now that they are in school full time, I am thinking of running a part time preschool/mom's morning out program from my home. I miss my kids being that age!

3) DH and I are trying to begin to follow Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover plan. We are in the beginning stages of trying to work out a zero budget. I'd love to hear from any other DR followers!! Success stories are the biggest motivator!

4) My favorite food is Chinese. I could eat it every day...literally. And then blow up like a balloon from all the sodium LOL.

5) When DH and I got married (12 years ago) we both wanted 6 kids. After #3, we rethought that (LOL) but now that we are TTC #4, you just never know! Babies are so much fun, I can't imagine *never* having one again :(

6) I love, love, love to rollerskate. Not inline skates, but the old fashioned 4 wheel type. When I was a teenager, I was on a competitive speed skating team. Now my kids think it's cool that I can skate backwards and it is such good exercise when you get...ahem...older.

Now, to tag 6 people! I choose:

Money Saving Mom

Mindy at Mommies With Cents

My Good Cents

Angie at The Leonard Family - Get that Blog updated, baby!

Kate at w4to rock

Mom Is Broke


I enjoy reading all of these blogs so much!!!

That's my Boy!!

My mom has spent the past few days teaching my kids how to use her old sewing machine she just gave them. We thought the girls would love it and Evan would balk at it. Boy, were we wrong! He took to it very quickly and is in the process of sewing a blanket. It is a good first project (all straight stitching) and he is so proud of himself!

A fresh start....

First off, I want to say a quick, heart-felt thank you to everyone who prayed for me during all this stuff I've been going through. After waiting 3 weeks and having 3 ultrasounds with 2 different doctors to confirm my blighted ovum (gosh, I hate that term!) I finally had my D&C done yesterday. The procedure went very smoothly and all of the hospital staff was just wonderful and compassionate. I feel really good physically and after 3 weeks of emotional turmoil, we are at peace with it all and definately ready to TTC again in the near future. Today is a new day......

Happy Birthday to Me!

LOL, I've denied it long enough...today I turned (gulp!) 34. The kids baked me a cake (with daddy's help) and since it is hard to fit 34 candles, they decided on 7 (3+4 LOL). Here is their masterpiece:

The life of a cat

My cat SO has the right idea..Here she is sleeping on top of the A/C vent LOL.


And here she is lounging on the windowsill



I thought this shot of the window came out cool. That's an empty lot across the street, it's in the process of being cleared. Hopefully they will build on it soon.

Lazy days of summer

A few pics from the past 2 weeks :)

Hannah relaxing in the pool



Evan


Madison says it's too cold



Blackberry picking


Hannah riding her Ripstick in the cul-de-sac in front of our house



More pool pics!




Evan can swim!!

Change of plans

Just wanted to update and let you know that we have decided to hold off on the D & C. I had blood drawn today and will have more drawn on Monday to see what my betas are doing. Also follow up with another ultrasound (or 2) to be absolutely sure this is a non-viable pregnancy. Turns out DH has a friend whose wife was diagnosed with a blighted ovum at 7 weeks and 2 weeks later, low and behold, there was a baby! I am not holding out much hope, as odds are that this will result in miscarriage but at least this way we will be more at peace with it. I figure it can't get any worse, so what is the harm in waiting a week or two just to be 100% sure.

Sad news.....

Well, I just had a dr. appt and it looks as if I have a blighted ovum, meaning that a sac formed in my uterus but no baby ever started to grow inside of it, there is just an empty sac :( I have to go in for a D & C in a few hours. I am devastated but am relieved that at least there was no baby ever there. It feels less painful to lose a sac than a baby, in a sense. It is so surreal, my body has been acting way pregnant, I already even have a belly :( Now I just want this over and done with so we can get to trying again, I suppose.

GREAT Freebie in the mail today!

I received an awesome freebie in the mail today from Vocalpoint. It was a sample size box of new Kashi Vive cereal in Toasted Graham & Vanilla flavor (looks yummy! I love Kashi products!) Also included in the package were one coupon for a FREE box and 5 coupons each for $2 off a box. WOW! Lots of FREE/CHEAP cereal for us!!