Exhausted...

Exactly how are we to survive when we have kids? LOL

Will get pictures of Christmas up soon....

Cookie Madness Begins...

Have been spending the evening looking up cookie recipes. Going with some standards and a few new ones.  Thinknig about chocolate peppermint cookies.

But i am STUMPED on candy. Can't seem to find a fairly easy non-chocolate candy recipe. Any suggestions?

Pre-Christmas Cookies...

I had not been to the grocery store since before Thanksgiving... Jeff and I were living on tidbits, rummages and the things my parents left behind... It was crazy. We went to the store today and are all filled up. Hopefully we can last until Christmas... but of course I realized tonight I am almost out of sugar! I stocked up on everything else. Oh well.

I NEVER buy cookie mix but... ;) I got it for pennies. However, I couldn't just make a cookie, I needed to dress it up a bit. I found this recipe: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars except I only had one block of cream cheese. Until today! So I decided to make it to hold us off until the Christmas baking begins!

All ready to go into the oven!

The comments on the Web site say you should use 2 bags of cookie mix, so there's more on top. That is a very good idea!

I added mini chocolate chips to make up for the lack of topping ;)

MMMMM delicious!

Favorite Christmas Ornaments (Blog hop)

I have seen this on other blogs and thought i would give this a try on here!

The Blog Hop theme for this Monday is "CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS". Show us a pic and/or tell a story behind your favorite Christmas ornament. Your photos and stories will help others with ideas for ornaments in the future.

It was really hard to choose one or two! I always get a new one every year nad since meeting Jeff have gottn WAY into the Hallmark ornaments! They are all so cute!

My grandparents got me and my brother these ornaments and a couple more when we were young. It is so simple but one that always reminds me of Christmas growing up.

This was the first ornament Jeff gave me. <3 It is really cute - this is a bad pic!

Hi there!

Long time no post! I got caught up in preparing for my parents Thanksgiving visit. They were here a week, and it was FABULOUS!!! Always great to see them. We had turkey day at J's parent's house. There were 18 people. So much fun!

A few days later, J and I went on a quick trip to Walt Disney World! We met up with a few of our friends and rushed around looking at all of the Christmas stuff. Osbourne Spectacle of Lights is purely amazing. Jaw dropping! The castle lighting was spectacular as well!

All in all a great weekend - and now  am back home with a cold! I will get into the swing of things soon!

Menu Plan Update!

The inspectors canceled on  Tuesday, but they came today (thankfully J's father is retired so he could sit in case they came early). And we passed! This ...experience.. is almost over!!

As I was typing this post, UPS came to the door.. It was the PJ Moose I won from the Tanger Outlets Facebook! He is so cute.... see for yourself!

his cute little backside!

Menu plan update...

MONDAY: I forgot to make the potatoes, totally forgot.We just had the burgers with no side.

TUESDAY: I remember! They're actually pretty good too, for a box.

WEDNESDAY: was "Anything goes" so we had leftover potatoes with bacon and scallions. A great idea that my hubby made up!

TODAY: The maple glazed chicken is a og, but DH bought baking potatoes instead of mashing potatoes, so we're having oven fries instead. And really? I have been craving them so this is a good thing! I think I have convinced him to help cut them, too ;)

Hope everyone is having a good week... it's almost Friday!!!

:) LB

Easy Ways to Live Green!

Twittermoms.com and Airwear are having a living green contest.

Here are my green tips!

1) RECYCLE.  I know, this is like, the oldest and most basic tip, but it works! Most communities have curbside recycling. What could be easier than rinsing out your containers and throwing them in a recycle bin?NY also has a 5 cent bottle return. J and I drink quite a bit of diet soda, so those nickles add up. You are already paying for it when you buy the soda, so why NOT help the planet and get your own money back in the process?

2) USE REUSABLE BAGS. Reusable bags are everywhere now - and many companies are giving them away for free. I have never bought any - except for the ones I bought for the out of town bags for my wedding guests. You can also buy them cheaply. More and more stores, even CVS, gives you afew cens back for every bag you use.

3) TURN THE WATER OFF WHEN YOU BRUSH YOUR TEETH.  Have you noticed a theme here - living green saves you money! The same is true for tip three... yet another oldie but goodie, and also J's contribution. Water conservation is a HUGE deal. I will admit that  I like hot showers, and while my morning showers are short, it does take awhile to get the water hot. One way to counteract that is to keep the water off while you brush your teeth. Easy, painless and it saves you money on your water bill and helps conserve water. Win-win! :)

There you go.... three easy, money-saving green tips!!

:) LB

One Week!

In one week I'll get my test scores back... I am pretty sure that I passed but you never know!! Then I have to immediately plunk down $80 for the 2 required classes and $96 for the fingerprint kit. It'll be $12 to get fingerprinted. I REALLY want all this done by Jan so I can find a job. But first I have to pass the test LOL

Today we were supposed to have the building inspection for our breezeway and converted rooms. Of course, it was already supposed to have been done but is a long story in the saga of our house lol.  After having FIL come over at 8 a.m. in case the guy showed up when we were at work... well at 9 he called to say he was coming Thursday. So now FIL has to come back. But hopefully then this process will be TOTALLY done... it has been going on since Feb!

Menu Plan Monday 11/9/09

Ok... my first Menu Plan Monday post! (IF I am doing it wrong please LMK!). See http://orgjunkie.com/ for more info!

Monday:  chicken burgers, au gratin potatoes (free from the Betty Crocker promotion!
Tuesday: rest of chicken burgers and potatoes
Wednesday: I work late and J is off so it'll be frozens
Thursday: Maple- glazed chicken with sweet potatoes I'll be making regular potatoes instead!
Friday:  leftover chicken and potatoes
Saturday:  Wine trip!
Sunday:  Crock Pot Ravioli

Looking forward to it!!

Quick update

Last week kicked my butt nad it looks like this week is going to also! It's getting into the busiest time of the year, which will mean longer hours at work. But no OT since I am only part time.

I did make it to the Hallmark Holiday Weekend though. I bought *mostly* Christmas presents (they have the cutest  cookie plates) and got the free gift bag - all in all about $200 worth of items for under $100! Not bad.

I will be back soon with my Menu Plan Monday post!

Menu Plan Monday

I hope that everyone had a safe and happy Halloween! J and I had a very laid back day and evening - we hung around the house and watched "Newsies" and "Nightmare Before Christmas". Our first Trick or Treater was at 12:15 p.m.! Crazy.

I was reading through some blogs - have gotten horribly behind - and ended up at orgjunkie.com's Menu Plan Monday post. J and I, after going over last month's expenditures, have decided to really plan our meals. Wish us luck lol  Next week will be my first planning day.

Feel free to reply with your favorite recipes!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

My Tootsise Roll pop ghosts are ready to go!!!

 Then I made up the little bags....

They include a ghost, all-natural Necco wafers and one candy bar! A few have the free Frosty coupons in them too.

Can't wait to see all of the cute little kids in their costumes!!

 

Wedding Cake Anyone?

Monday was mine and J's first wedding anniversary, so we brought out the top of our cake... It had stored really well in the freezer, and it actually tasted delicious!!! The quality went downhill a little after we'd cut into it, but the first pieces was so good. A lot of great memories of our wedding. <3

The best part is that I now have a shelf in my freezer back! :D

Getting Ready for Halloween...

First, the little ghosts I won from Lenny and Lolidots came the other day. And they are adorable! They now have a new home on my mantle.

Also, the all nautral Necco wafers came. Of course, I HAD to sample a pack for myself. ;) They are as good as I remember, though the flavors don't seem as strong. Chocolate is still my favorite flavor and licorice my least favorite!! I love how some are a bit spicy too. They are crunchy but won't break your teeth!!

So, every year I make Tootsie Roll ghost pops to give out on Halloween, but I also give out a chocolate bar because I think that's the best part of Halloween ;) Since this year I also have the Necco wafers to give away, I thought I'd put all the items together in a bag and hand those out! It's going to be a fun Halloween!

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On a side note, today is my first anniversary! <3 Last night we went out to the nicest steak place in town to celebrate (sine J is working late today). It was delicious.  Can't wait to spend many more years together!

Cooking!

I am finally going to be baking again this weekend!
Making these Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies
and a crck pot BBQ chicken with bacon recipe from allyou.

It's supposed to pour and pour all day tomorrow so it will be the perfect day for cozy cooking and yummy smells!

Anyone a Member of this Club?

www.blogger-club.com?
It sounds like a good way to connect, but I'm also a little leery!

Exhaustion!

My job is usually part time - 5 hours day, 5 days a week. It isn't hard (mostly) but it can be stressful because most of the stuff I have to do has to be done NOW. The girl who works my job the rest of the day (4 hours to make a 9 hour shift) has been out sick this week so I have been working full time the past 3 days.

And let me tell you, I am EXHAUSTED. I used to work in the city and my commute was 1hr 30-45 mins... driving, a train, walking... when I missed the train or they were delayed, it would be later. I would get up at 6 a.m. and get home about 7 p.m. I was also planning a wedding at that time! I had no life and was always so so tired. I am so glad those days are over.

Now my commute is15 minutes. I've been at this job for 6 months now, and it definitely does have it's exhausting days but usually it isn't a horrible problem. But working 3 full days in a row? Exhausting. I'm beat down! Thankfully my co-worker will be back tomorrow!!

Free Chocolate Dipped Fruit from Edible Arrangements!

Edible Arrangements  is giving away 100,000 dipped fruit boxes. Just join the Edible Arrangements Facebook Fan page. Then complete the form for your free coupon good for a box of chocolate fruit. http://www.facebook.com/dofruit? v=app_1728755213 84

It is free if you go into the store or $12 if you have it shipped.

Yum!

I'm a winner!

Robin over at lolidots.com had 5 days of Halloween giveaways. Each day featured 3 or 4 items you could win. Well, I won one of them! I won 3 of these cute little ghosties from LennyMud on etsy. Aren't they adorable? I really could use some more Halloween decorations, too.

I also recommend Lolidots. Robin has a lot of giveaways, a blog and she also sells shirts and adorable little barrettes.

Odds and Ends

Today was test day!!!! It was easier than I thought, but the studying definitely helped! I'm very lucky to have a mom who distilled proper English and grammar into me and a husband who is good at math. lol I think I passed it, but we'll see. The results take about a month. Pass or fail, I'm glad that I took 1 step toward a better future for me and my family, and that feels really good!

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In exciting news, soon I'll have my very first product review! Necco all natural wafers. I LOVED Necco candy as a kid, ut I haven't had it in years. They're sending me a sample and some more to had out to trick or treaters. I'm expecting a lot of kids, since we're in a new neighborhood with a lot of kids, and Halloween is on a Saturday. I can't wait to try them and let you know how they taste!

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How is your weather? We had out first nor'easter but luckily it was just rain. We're supposed to get another but so far nothing is happening out there. It's so cold though, in the 40s. It's too early for such freezing weather!! :(

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After the test, J and I went out to the mega mall because the Disney Vacation Club "Doorway to Dreams" was having its grand opening. It was kinda lame, a big dance party and character pictures. We did get free Doorway to Dreams ears though! The line to meet the characters was really, REALLY long. I wouldn't be surprised if it took an hour! It was good to get out and do stuff though. Since J is working so late these days we don't do much during the week anymore.

~~~
That's about it... I'm trying to figure out ways to put more pictures in here. I don't want cheesy clip art ut a lot of what I have posted so far doesn't really have pictures that go along with it. Hmm.

That Sea Cusine Giveaway

You might remember that a week or two ago, Sea Cusine attempted to have a giveaway on their site for a free coupon, but everyone who posed about it (and me!) had problems with it. I never could get the site to load, after trying for 2 hours! So I e-mailed the company, and it took them this long to reply... must have been behind due to the number of complaints!!

Well the e-mail sates there were "occasional" and "temporary" issues loading the web site, and talked down to me like I didn't know Web sites get busy when they have free stuff??

And they offered a $1 on the site as a consolation prize, but like everything else it is a printable and it is a PITA to hook the laptop into the desktop to print. I can't print at work because I can't download the software. Other companies have offered a coupon by mail but this company just shoved me over to their coupon page again.

I am sending a reply that basically says Nice Try but you are full of BS and several other people had this same issue.

It is interesting how Herbal Essences had these same type of issues, bent over backward to fix them then offered up a Web site that worked!! Guess some companies value their customers more than others. I'll never buy Sea Cuisine items, and I urge you to buy from companies that care about the customer.

Clicking to Give

I hope that you are clicking to give every day - the breast cancer site is trying to fund 500 mammograms in Oct. While you are there, click the other sites - hunger, child health, literacy, rainforest and animal rescue.

Melissa at Frugal Creativity posted a new click to give site. Duracell's Hour of Power. "With every click, Duracell will donate hours of power* in the form of batteries, flashlights, and power chargers to first responders in cities particularly vulnerable to weather-related power outages."

Please take a few seconds to click on the links. It's a very easy way to give back.

Third Time is the Charm?

Well, Herbal Essences has twice delayed their promo for a coupon good for one full sized product. Those technical issues will get you every time LOL So tonight at 11:30 EST they are trying yet again.

Just go to their event page on Facebook and check you are attending, then watch their wall for the link. They are giving out 18,750 coupons every 24 hours through 10/12, so if you don't get it tonight, you have a few more chances.

Good luck!

Yes, indeed. I like to bake - no, I LOVE to bake. I didn't inherit my mom's and grandma's cooking gene (to their dismay...) but I at least got the baking part. And I love trying new recipes.

The problem: J and I don't need to eat a entire batch of cookies, or cupcakes or a whole cake, etc. So I usually only bake when there will be other people around.

Last night, my brother-in-law's girlfriend had J and I and his parents over for dinner. Perfect excuse to make cookies! I chose the following, for the fall season and because I REALLY wanted to make frosting :D

(The picture is upside down - sorry!)

The original recipe is by Bakerella, one of my favorite baking blogs. Here's a link to the exact recipe.
My cookies seemed a bit more cakey (I used all purpose flour and baking soda/salt instead of self rising.) My frosting is also a lot darker and was more like a thicker glaze. It has hardened up well, though. I was sad that I couldn't use my new offset spatula. :(

Here is the recipe:

Free Samples - Garnier Fructis and Burt's Bees Acne Solution

One thing I want to do in the Blog is post some free samples.
Here are the first two:

Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition - shampoo and conditioner from Wal-Mart

Burts Bees Acne Solutions

Enjoy!

Studying...

On Oct. 17th, I am taking the ATAS aka New York State Assessment of Teaching Skills. My latest attempt to get back into working with children, I am going to (hopefully!) get a teacher's assistance certificate. Other than the test, I have to take a class on recognizing child abuse, and a class on violence in schools. I also have to get fingerprinted. All together it'll cost me about $250 to do this. How crazy is that? But it will be an advantage while looking for a job, and it will hopefully make up for my lack of references.

Tonight I started studying. It felt really really strange, but it also felt really good. It was nice to engage my brain a little. Tonight was the English portion - I am confident about that section. Tomorrow I study math, and that I am much more wary about passing that section of the test!

TesT PoST

Just testing this posting as i am setting it all up. Will be removed soon, hopefully. Still trying to figure this Blogger thing out :)

p.S. I think my shift key is stuck!!!