Diana Rambles

Chocolate Cherry Chip Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:48:00 +0000

I've posted this recipe before, but this time I've included photos. These are a perfect Valentine's treat for your loved ones.

Chocolate Cherry Chip Cookies

1 package cherry flavored cake mix
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons water
bag of chocolate chips

Stir together cake mix, egg, oil, and water. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet and back at 375 for 13-15 mins. Cool cookies and hand dip half of the cookie into melted chocolate chips and let cool/harden on wax paper/cookie liner. I added some red sugar sprinkles to mine this time. If you want to save a little time then add the chocolate chips in the cookie batter and bake.

I link to food memes listed here. I link to creative memes listed here.

Facebook Timeline Cover Giveaway #2

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:40:00 +0000

It's time for the 2nd giveaway to celebrate Custom Blog Design's 4th Birthday. I started Custom Blog Designs in February 2008 and have done nearly 600 custom designs during this time. I just unveiled my new service, Facebook Timeline Covers. Facebook will be changing everyone to Timeline soon. Timeline has a cover spot that allows for a big banner at the top of the page. My service allows you to personalize this cover spot. I have my pre-made covers on sale through February for $15. These pre-made covers will be personalized with your photo & name (or alternate text). My custom covers are $25 + the cost of any design elements used. Here is my Facebook Timeline Cover which matches this blog.This second week giveaway is a choice of one of my available pre-made covers for your Facebook Timeline profile. This first giveaway will run through 11:59pm CST on Saturday, February 18th. The winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via email on February 19th and will have 48 hours to claim their prize. Giveaway winners are posted here at my Winner Circle. This giveaway is for the cover only, not installation. Installation consists of an easy upload and instructions for this will be provided. Facebook Timeline Covers are for personal Facebook profiles and will not work with groups or pages.

Entry Rules

You must do the mandatory entry
Leave your email address with your mandatory entry if it's not available in your profile
Each entry needs to be a separate comment (remember to do multiple comments on those indicated as multiple entries!)
You must have a Facebook account.
Open Worldwide

Mandatory Entry

Subscribe via Feedburner Email to Custom Blog Designs. You can find the subscription box at the top of the right sidebar. Make sure you enter a valid email address and verify your subscription. Go to that site to subscribe, but come back here and leave a comment saying you did so. Must be an email subscription!

Additional Entries

1 entry for being a public follower via GFC of Custom Blog Designs.
1 entry for letting us know which pre-made Facebook Timeline Cover you will choose if you win.
1 entry for liking Custom Blog Designs on Facebook.
1 entry for following me via Twitter @FreeStyleMama.
1 entry (up to 12 each day...must be at least a hour apart) for tweeting about this giveaway on Twitter. Feel free to copy the following~ Enter to #win a Custom Facebook Timeline Cover #giveaway #contest ends Feb 18th @FreeStyleMama http://tinyurl.com/DRtimeline2 Please leave the link to your tweet in the comment. (You get the tweet link by clicking on the '4 mins ago' time)

That is a bunch of entry possibilities. The more times you enter, the better chance you have of winning! Plus I will have a special bonus giveaway at the end of the month, and all entries help with that too! I will publish each comment when the entry has been verified. **MAKE sure you follow the rules or the entry will be DQ'd!!**

Daddy Daughter Princess Dance Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:25:00 +0000

Tonight is the Daddy Daughter Princess Dance and my daughter can't wait!

2/10: Daddy Daughter Dance- mac & chez, blueberries, strawberries, peas, chow mein noodles, strawberry yogurt drink, with princess food pics and DANCE cut out of Rainbow Punch.
linked to the following bento memes: Bento of the Week, What's For Lunch

Thematic Thursday 5: Valentines

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone who has participated so far in the Valentine's Thematic Thursday. We had nearly 40 entries in the first week. Week 2 begins now.

The link with the most views this past week was Allergy-safe Preschool Snack Sacks from BentOnBetterLunches. Check out the post for cute & inexpensive snack ideas.

I'd also like to feature the submissions that I plan on trying out soon.

Strawberry Jell-o Love from Pint Sized Baker.
My daughter will love this in her bento lunch.

Tree of Hearts from Putti Prapancha
This is an wonderful keepsake!

Week 5 Theme: Valentine's Day The link-up continues as Valentine's Day this week. Please post the direct link to anything you've created, done, or posted about that is related to Valentine's Day. You can post more than one, but it needs to be your content/from your blog. Older posts are OK! No giveaways please. Please grab one of the Thematic Thursday buttons and visit/comment on at least 3 other participants! Full guidelines on this meme can be found here.
Upcoming Schedule: 2/16 Mardi Gras, 2/23 Leap Year, 3/1 Dr. Suess

Find other great memes to participate in at Link Rink!

Butterflies Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:25:00 +0000

2/9: Butterflies- mini butterfly shaped jelly sandwiches, blueberries, strawberries, peas in a butterfly container
linked to the following bento memes: Bento of the Week, What's For Lunch

Happy Rainbow Bagel

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:28:00 +0000

2/8: Happy Rainbow Bagel- bagel w/ cream cheese colored with edible pens and topped w/ candy eyes & mouth, green beans, blueberries, Nerds
/linked to the following bento meme: What's For Lunch

Snowgirl Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:49:00 +0000

My daughter named her lunch today. This is Snowgirl Kate!

2/7: Snowgirl- bagel w/ strawberry cream cheese, blueberries, peas
linked to the following bento memes: Bento of the Week, What's For Lunch

Super Bowl Party

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:57:00 +0000

We had a great Super Bowl Party last night. I didn't pay much attention to the game or commercials as I was busy stuffing my face & chatting with friends. We served pulled pork and some treats.

First I made Football Party Mix. This is similar to the Santa Hats Party Mix that I made for our Christmas Party, but this had a football theme. We tried taking our Bugels and putting 2 together and dipping in candy melts to looks like footballs, but it wasn't turning out. We just dipped the Bugels as is. I had football shaped pretzels, so all is good.

My party mix included candy dipped Bugels, pretzels, Chex cereal, peanuts, mini marshmellows, Craisins, and NFL colored sprinkles (which all sank to the bottom!)

I also made these adorable hamburgers & cheesy fries that I found from Keeley's blog. I adapted her version a little by adding orange icing to the cookies to make cheesy fries. I added pennants that I printed out from the Football Foodie. They turned out great! We didn't have a huge crowd, so I sent some extra burgers into my daughter's teacher and will take the rest to scouts tonight.

When I was making the cookie fries the dough spilled over the edge of my cookie sheet and created a lot of smoke in my oven. It was nice enough out to have the windows open to blow the stink off. I am loving this mild winter!
I link to food memes listed here. I link to creative memes listed here.

Super Bowl XLVI Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 18:43:00 +0000

A rare Sunday bento!

2/5: Super Bowl XLVI- Mac & Cheese, pickle, blueberry, team pennants & football picks
linked to the following bento meme: What's For Lunch

Facebook Timeline Cover Giveaway #1

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:20:00 +0000

It's coming for EVERYONE and you can't opt out! Yes, Facebook will be rolling out Timeline for all users soon. Timeline is like a digital scrapbook of the data you have on Facebook. This is what I found on the Facebook blog:

Last year we introduced timeline, a new kind of profile that lets you highlight the photos, posts and life events that help you tell your story. Over the next few weeks, everyone will get timeline. When you get timeline, you'll have 7 days to preview what's there now. This gives you a chance to add or hide whatever you want before anyone else sees it.

I haven't spent much time using Timeline yet, but I have been playing around with the Timeline Cover. This cover photo is the best way to personalize your profile. You profile picture will now just be a small square, but the cover photo will stretch across the page's width. Here is my Facebook cover. Does it look familiar?
I am now offering Custom Facebook Timeline Covers - Banners at my business site, Custom Blog Designs. I offer both pre-made & custom designs. I have my pre-made covers on sale through February for 15th for $15. These pre-made covers will be personalized with your photo & name (or alternate text). My custom covers are $25 + the cost of any design elements used.
In celebration of February being Custom Blog Design's 4th birthday, I am going to have a month of Facebook Cover giveaways. This first week will be a choice of one of my available pre-made covers or a custom cover for your Facebook Timeline profile. This first giveaway will run through 11:59pm CST on Friday, February 10th. The winner will be chosen via random.org and notified via email on February 11thand will have 48 hours to claim their prize. This giveaway is for the cover only, not installation. Installation consists of an easy upload and instructions for this will be provided. Facebook Timeline Covers are for personal Facebook profiles and will not work with groups or pages.

Entry Rules

You must do the mandatory entry
Leave your email address with your mandatory entry if it's not available in your profile
Each entry needs to be a separate comment (remember to do multiple comments on those indicated as multiple entries!)
You must have a Facebook account.
Open Worldwide

Mandatory Entry

Subscribe via Email to Custom Blog Designs. You can find the subscription box at the top of the right sidebar. Make sure you enter a valid email address and verify your subscription. Go to that site to subscribe, but come back here and leave a comment saying you did so. Must be an email subscription!

Additional Entries

1 entry for being a public follower via GFC of Custom Blog Designs.
1 entry for letting us know what your favorite pre-made Facebook Timeline Cover is.
2 entries for publically posting one of the Custom Blog Designs buttons on your sidebar.
1 entry for liking Custom Blog Designs on Facebook.
1 entry for +1'ing this specific post on Custom Blog Designs.
1 entry for +1'ing this giveaway post.
1 entry for following me via Twitter @FreeStyleMama.
1 entry (up to 12 each day...must be at least a hour apart) for tweeting about this giveaway on Twitter. Feel free to copy the following~ Enter to #win a Custom Facebook Timeline Cover #giveaway #contest ends Feb 10th @FreeStyleMama http://tinyurl.com/DRtimeline1 Please leave the link to your tweet in the comment. (You get the tweet link by clicking on the '4 mins ago' time)

100 Day Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 20:47:00 +0000

My daughter was very excited for the 100th Day of Kindergarten today. She took a set of 24 bookmarks in that we found for $1 that say 100 Days Smarter.

2/3: 100 Day- turkey & cheese sandwich topped with 100 out of cheese, brussel sprouts, quail eggs, and apple topped with sour rainbow punch 100, jelly dessert, and yogurt drink
linked to the following bento meme: What's For Lunch

Thematic Thursday 4: Valentines

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone who participated in last week's Thematic Thursday. We had 47 entries in the Super Bowl Link-Up.

The link with the most views this past week was Superbowl Party Food from My Heart's Design. Check out the post for a impressive list of tasty party recipes.

I'd also like to feature the submissions that I will be trying out for our party.

Hamburger Cupcakes & Cookie Fries from Keeley McGuire.
I first saw these last fall and I've been anxiously waiting for a football party to make them.

I plan on printing out these free printable team pennants to use a few ways.
Team Cocktail Flags/Party Picks from The Football Foodie

And I think I will put together this yummy looking dip for the kids to enjoy.

S'mores Dip from A Crafty Cook

Week 4 Theme: Valentine's Day The new link-up is Valentine's Day. Please post the direct link to anything you've created, done, or posted about that is related to Valentine's Day. You can post more than one, but it needs to be your content/from your blog. Older posts are OK! No giveaways please. Please grab one of the Thematic Thursday buttons and visit/comment on at least 3 other participants! Full guidelines on this meme can be found here.
Upcoming Schedule: 2/9 Valentines, 2/16 Mardi Gras

Find other great memes to participate in at Link Rink!

Happy Sandwich

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:41:00 +0000

2/2: Happy Sandwich- turkey & cheese w/ smiley face, peas, apple sause w/ red sprinkles
linked to the following bento meme: What's For Lunch

Low Carb Shepherd's Pie

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 18:04:00 +0000

Last night I made Shepherd's Pie for dinner. I think this low-carb version turned out well.

Low-Carb Shepher's Pie

1# Roast Beef, cubed
Mixed Frozen Veggies
1 cup of Brown Gravy
Mashed Cauliflower

I got a thick slice of roast beef from the deli and just cubed it. Put the roast beef in the bottom of a casserole dish. Top with mixed veggies. I did cook these in the microwave first. I accidentally grabbed a mix that included corn, so this was not entirely low-carb. I made a cup of brown gravy out of a little packet and poured it over the veggies & meat. Feel free to put in less gravy if you don't like/need the saltiness. Top with mashed cauliflower and bake for 1 hour on 350 degrees.

Mashed Cauliflower: I steamed the fresh cauliflower and then put it through my food processor with butter, a little milk, some garlic, and pepper. I've served this cauliflower with other meals and it included some Parmesan cheese...YUM!
I link to food memes listed here. I link to creative memes listed here.

Lunchable Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 16:44:00 +0000

Sometimes I am glad when my daughter just wants a simple bento!

2/1: Lunchable- crackers, co-jack & turkey, peas, apple, Nerds
linked to the following bento meme: What's For Lunch

Birds in a Nest Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:17:00 +0000

1/31: Birds in a Nest- 3 hard-boiled quail egg birds in a twisty pasta nest, peas & pear
linked to the following bento meme: What's For Lunch

Simple Monday Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:57:00 +0000

It's Monday and a simple bento was so in order!

1/30: Happy Dumplings- dumplings w/ face picks, strawberries, green beans

linked to the following bento meme: What's For Lunch

Bento Beginner Set Giveaway Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:46:00 +0000

The Bento Beginner Set Giveaway has ended and a random number generator has been run. Comment #50 was chosen.

The winner is a long-time follower of mine! Congrats to mverno! I will email you and you have 48 hours to claim your prize!

Chinese Lanterns Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:28:00 +0000

While Chinese New Year lasts two weeks, this is the end of my CNY bentos. I've really challenged myself this week and am pleased with the different bentos I've created. Tonight is the big Chinese New Year performance at my daughter's school. The school is decked out with lanterns, so I decided to make lanterns for today's lunch. I made up the red egg sheets last night. I love how easy egg sheet is to make and work with.

1/27: Chinese Lanterns- lantern made with egg sheet decorated with yellow icing & red crystals, strawberries, blueberries, turkey & cheese, edamame
linked to the following bento memes: Bento of the Week, What's For Lunch

Thematic Thursday 3: Super Bowl Football

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Thank you to everyone who participated in the first 2 weeks of Thematic Thursday. We had over 60 entries in the Winter/Snow Link-Up.

The link with the most views this past week was Snowflake Doughnuts from Hungry Happenings. Beth has lots of fun food ideas on her blog.

Here are 2 other submissions that I want to try out!

March of the Pingus from Biting The Hand That Feeds You. Perfect for a party!

Making Slipper Socks from Sew Can Do. Warm & cute!

Week 3 Theme: Super Bowl Party The new link-up is Super Bowl or Tailgate Parties. Please post the direct link to anything you've created, done, or posted about that is related to football or tailgates. It doesn't specifically have to be NFL stuff. Anything that can be adapted for different teams is OK. Football draft party ideas would be great too! You can post more than one, but it needs to be your content/from your blog. Older posts are OK! No giveaways please. Please grab one of the Thematic Thursday buttons and visit/comment on at least 3 other participants! Full guidelines on this meme can be found here.
Upcoming Schedule: 2/2 & 2/9 Valentines

Find other great memes to participate in at Link Rink!

Tortilla Dragon

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:59:00 +0000

I was running out of ideas for Chinese New Year bentos, so I went to see what others have done this week. I came across this dragon by JDaniel4's mom and decide to copy it. I think it turned out better than the photo did!

1/26: Tortilla Dragon- dragon made with red dyed tortilla circles with nori for accents and face from candy eyes & blueberries w/ carrot in the mouth, beef stick, green beans, strawberries
linked to the following bento memes: Bento of the Week, What's For Lunch I link to food memes listed here. I link to creative memes listed here.

Tomorrow is the last day to enter to win my Bento Beginner Lunch Set.

Spring Arrival Bento

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:11:00 +0000

Chinese New Year is about celebrating the arrival of spring. My daughter learned how to make the character for spring at girl scouts the other night, so she drew the char for her lunch today. I put the character upside down in her bento since the character for upside down in Chinese sounds the same as the character for arrival. So upside down spring implies spring has arrived!

This is supposed to look like a bunch of firecrackers on a stick/string.

1/25: Spring Arrival- Firecracker bunch made from beef stick & strawberries, green beans, "Spring" written by Dori on a piece of cheese (colored with edible marker)
linked to the following bento memes: Bento of the Week, What's For Lunch
Enter my Bento Beginner Lunch Set Giveaway HERE Giveaway ends Jan 27

Snickerdoodle Milk

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:20:00 +0000

I have a new OBSESSION! I call it Snickerdoodle Milk. I've seen a few people post recipes on their blogs for flavored milk that called for dried milk. I don't have any dried milk and really don't want to buy any. I decided to experiment with skim milk. I came up with this drink that I love. It had a familiar taste to it, just I just couldn't put my finger on it. Today I realized that it tastes like Snickerdoodle cookies.

Snickerdoodle Milk

Milk (I use Skim)
Vanilla Syrup (I use SF DaVincis)
Cinnamon

Pour your glass of milk, add a little vanilla syrup (maybe teaspoon), and sprinkle with cinnamon. Head in microwave for about 2 minutes. Stir.

Even though the cinnamon floats, the taste gets into the milk. I think the floating cinnamon makes it look like a Snickerdoodle on top.

I am NOT a fan of hot drinks (I drink my coffee chilled!), but this hits the spot when it's cold outside!!
I link to food memes listed here. I link to creative memes listed here.

Chinese New Year FUN!

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Last night was our Chinese New Year Girl Scout Celebration. We made 2 crafts and the girls had a GREAT time.

The first thing we made was Spring banners. I taught the girls the Chinese character for Spring. They outlined their character with glue and then decorated with gold glitter. They turned out well!

We also made Dragon Marionette Puppets. I found the directions for this here. This is quite an involved craft, but the girls did a good job. I would strongly suggest using some thicker string that is single ply.

All this dragon fun leads to another dragon bento.

1/24: Dumpling Dragon- Dragon made out of 3 dumplings (edible marker & candy eyes), blueberries, peas
linked to the following bento memes: Bento of the Week, What's For Lunch I link to food memes listed here. I link to creative memes listed here.
Enter my Bento Beginner Lunch Set Giveaway HERE Giveaway ends Jan 27

Happy Chinese New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Diana - FreeStyleMama) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:02:00 +0000

Gong Hay Fat Choy! It's the year of the dragon!

My daughter got up right away this morning and immediately asked for her dragon. I get her a plush animal on Chinese New Year to correspond to each year of the Zodiac. She played in her room with all her Zodiac animals before school. It was so cute how she had them interacting. While she played I put today's bento together.

1/23: Gong Hay Fat Choy- Jelly Sandwich, Clementine, Edamame, Dragon made of orange cheese with red, yellow, & black egg sheet, Gong Hay Fat Choy out of cheese on top of Nori.
linked to the following bento memes: Bento of the Week, What's For Lunch I link to food memes listed here. I link to creative memes listed here.
Enter my Bento Beginner Lunch Set Giveaway HERE Giveaway ends Jan 27