Frugal Family Fun Blog

Gratitude Activity Jar

2009-11-11T22:01:00.003-05:00

Around Thanksgiving we try to do crafts and activities that promote gratitude and focus on the things we have to be thankful for. Last year we did gratitude journals, but this year we're trying something a little more active -- Gratitude Activity Jars!

I asked Emily to name some of the things she was thankful for, and together we came up with a coordinating activity to go along with it. At first, we were just going to type these up and print them out, but I like to think that by physically writing these things down it sends more positive energy out into the universe. Mark would probably say that's just a bunch of new-age crap, but that's how I like to picture it, anyway!

Decorate your cards with stickers!!

Some of the cards we wrote:

I am thankful for.....

:: Dad -- Do something nice for Daddy.

:: Friends -- Make 1 new friend today.

:: Hugs -- Hug 3 people today.

:: Books -- Visit the library today.

:: Home -- Clean the guest bedroom, and invite a guest over to stay.

:: Play Time -- Invite a friend over to play.

:: Good Health -- Make a "Jared Box" to donate to the hospital.

:: Toys -- Donate a toy to Goodwill.

:: Clara -- Spend some time playing with your sister today.

:: Good Food -- Donate canned goods to the food pantry.

:: Pies -- Bake a pie for a neighbor.

:: Flowers -- Surprise someone with a special flower delivery.

:: Nature -- Play a fun game outside today.

.... and so on. The idea is to pick one card from the jar every day between now and Thanksgiving and do the activity on the card. Emily is looking forward to this with great anticipation!

Fill your jar with the cards....

...tie with a pretty bow....

.... and remember to take time to appreciate all the wonderful things in your life!

You can't catch me!

2009-11-10T22:30:00.004-05:00

All four of us enjoyed some late night baking this evening. We made gingerbread cookies! This is an activity Emily has been begging me to do for ages, but I'm not much of a baker. At all. Clearly, it was time to call in reinforcements! Hey, I know my limits.

First, find the perfect cookie sheet.

Next, get a big, strong, daddy to roll out the dough.

Be sure to turn on your oven light!

Cut out the gingerbread men, and make them talk to each other.

Assign someone to keep an eye on things and make sure the cookies don't burn.

Carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack.

Decorate! Oh dear, we did have one casualty....... *sniff*... poor guy. He didn't even see it comin'.

These guys looked much happier!

Craft!! Super quick and easy felt gingerbread men. 1. Trace cookie cutter. 2. Cut out felt. 3. Sew two layers of cut felt together. 4. Decorate with PUFFY PAINT for icing!
I don't know about you, but I'm thinking this is probably the best use for puffy paint I've seen in a long time!

In other exciting news, I just found out we have been nominated for a Homeschool Blog Award from The Homeschool Post! Please, please, please consider voting for us (there's no need to sign in). We have been nominated for two categories: Best Thrifty Homeschooler and Best Cyber Buddy Blogger!

More good news -- Dawn, (aka UK Lass), has granted me permission to sell some fun fabric dollhouses in our etsy shop. You can look for them there early next week -- just in time for the holidays! Thank you, Dawn!

Handmade Holidays -- Fabric Dollhouse

2009-11-09T21:34:00.004-05:00

When I set out to do this project, I thought it would take me about a month to complete, or at the very least, a few weeks. I was wrong! Thanks to this wonderful (and free!) tutorial over at UK Lass in the US, I had almost the entire doll house complete before the girls even woke up this morning! Of course, it did help that the girls are good sleepers. Yay for good sleepers!

It was intended to be a holiday gift for Emily, but... see... that's the thing about crafting gifts. I get so wrapped up in my little craft fantasies that I can never wait until the intended occasion, and this was no exception. Actually, Emily started playing with it while I was still stitching the flowers on. She really couldn't help herself!

In the end, I'm glad I let her in on this little secret. She helped pick out the color for the curtains and door, and came up with all sorts of other little details that I would have never thought about.

It's made with felt, some buttons (inherited from my grandmother), plastic canvas, thin hair elastics, batting, an old bed sheet, an old tablecloth, and some fabric scraps. Super frugal, and a lot of love went into it. It's sturdy, yet lightweight, and it's the perfect size for her Calico Critters.... and other small toys that seem to reproduce, multiply by the dozen, and kill my feet every time I step on them.

Now she has the perfect on-the-go dollhouse!

Of course, as UK Lass points out in this post, these dollhouses can be made into virtually any structure. I am loving the idea of one of these as a barn! Oh, I should probably mention.... they are a bit addicting to make. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Sunday Snapshot -- And the winner is....

2009-11-08T15:13:00.004-05:00

Wow, there were so many entries for this giveaway! Thank you to everyone for your kind words and support. I love hosting giveaways... they are so much fun!

And now..... the winner of the felt pasta set giveaway (chosen by random.org) is....

... #2 Adrienne! Congratulations, and thank you to everyone for participating. If you didn't win, you may be happy to know there are still a few more felt pasta sets available in the shop. I'm not sure how long they will last! Another fun giveaway starts soon!

Macho Manly Man Pocket Hand Warmers for Men

2009-11-07T12:59:00.004-05:00

This little project combined two activities Emily has asked if we could do recently, but I had to give the "yes, we will do that later" answer. A good tip -- Keep a list of requests your child makes to be done "later". When boredom starts to creep in, break out the list! In this case, Emily had been asking if we could 1. Make hand warmers. and 2. Leave a surprise in the mailbox for our letter carrier. So today, we made hand warmers for our letter carrier!

While working on this, it occurred to me that men are particularly hard to shop for, and even more difficult to craft for. I think they would be great for all the manly man things that men do (ie. shoveling the walk, taking out the garbage, going to football games, fishing, or hiking). Place in the microwave for 30-45 seconds, remove from microwave, and warm your hands! They also double as cold packs for bumps and bruises if kept in the freezer. If you don't have the time to sew, there are a couple of these available in our new Etsy shop!

To make your own macho manly man pocket hand warmers for men, cut two pieces of generously sized 4 x 4 1/2 inches of denim. We recycled a pair of mens jeans for this! I used manly fish-print fabric for one side. Fold the top and bottom sides of the fabric and pin into place.

Zig-zag stitch along the fabric.

Trim excess fabric.

With right sides of denim together, stitch three sides closed. Be sure to leave an opening for turning and filling with rice!

Leave an opening, as shown.

Flip right-side out, and gently poke corners out with a chopstick or knitting needle.

Fill with rice! We couldn't find a funnel, so Mark made another paper cup and we cut off one of the bottom corners.

Attach instruction card....

...and give to someone special!

For other projects we've done with old jeans, you can check out these baby bibs, lunch sacks, or this no-sew wall organizer.

Felt Food Giveaway... and Our New Etsy Shop!

2009-11-05T15:31:00.006-05:00

It's our one year blogiversary! To celebrate, I thought we would revisit one of our first craft posts from the archive, do a fun giveaway, and open a new Etsy shop! We have been very busy around here!

One of the first crafts I ever posted at Frugal Family Fun Blog was for a felt ravioli play set. They are so simple, and yet the girls still enjoy playing with the set I made.

This afternoon, I added a felt bow tie pasta set to their felt food collection. It was a big hit, and the girls spent many hours immersed in their own world of pretend play! In case you don't have time to sew, I listed a couple of these in our new Etsy shop. I thought they would make perfect stocking stuffers!

Now the fun part, I thought you might want one of these fun felt pasta sets for your little one too! One lucky reader will win a handmade felt bow tie and felt ravioli play set!

To enter for your chance to win, leave a comment on this post (be sure to leave your email address in the comments field). Become a follower of Frugal Family Fun Blog or subscribe to our feed, and you're in for three more entries! Just leave a comment that you subscribe/follow.

Giveaway ends Saturday, November 7th @ 6:30pm EST, and winner will be selected by random.org and contacted via email for shipping information.

Good luck!!

Getting Ready for Our Blogiversary -- Reader Appreciation

2009-11-04T22:34:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow, our sweet little blog turns one year old, and we are planning something special to celebrate! But first, I want to take a moment to thank you (yes, you, who happened to stumble upon our little corner of the internet, and then kept coming back!). While I love blogging about the crafts and activities our family enjoys, what I really treasure are the hundreds of thoughtful emails, beautiful comments, and other wonderful blog posts we have helped to inspire.

When I see our readers doing projects they have seen here, it makes me want to jump up and down with excitement! Many of you incorporate your own little twists on the projects, which in turn, inspires me even more.

I love seeing your projects!!! Thank you for all of your kind words, support, and friendship. Thank you for taking the time to email me, leave comments, send photos, or blog about your projects. I feel like I've gotten to know so many new friends I haven't even met, and for that I am so grateful.

While reflecting on this year-long blogging adventure, I thought our "About" page was insanely out-dated, so it has now been re-done and you can visit it here to learn more about our family.

Now seemed like a good time to put together a FAQ page, so if you have any questions or if there is anything else you would like to know about us, leave a comment and we'll try to answer them!

Stunning Winter Tree Silhouette

2009-11-03T15:45:00.004-05:00

We noticed many of our trees have lost almost all of their leaves, so we were inspired to create something special. With very little help from me, Emily was able to paint this silhouette with beautiful results! To make your own, all you will need is a little masking tape, paper, and some watercolor paint!

Emily went out to the yard and gathered some branches for us to observe. We noted how thinner branches always grow from thicker branches and never the other way around. We made a shadow with the branch and noticed that we could still see the texture from the bark in the shadow.

Then we got to work ripping strips of masking tape to use as branches.

She arranged them on the paper so the thinner branches extended from thicker branches. We also noticed how trees have many, many branches!

Next, we made sure the masking tape was pressed down firmly with a popsicle stick to ensure the paint did not get under the masking tape.

Then it was time to paint! Emily went to town with the painting! A little blue here, some gray there... a tiny bit of brown in this spot.

Now, you need to put the project away for a bit. Go for a walk. Get yourself a cup of coffee. Go read the paper. Do a load of laundry. Make sure the painting is completely dry before attempting to take off the masking tape. This is important.

Now, carefully peel off the tape. I found it worked best to pull on an angle, as shown.

Ta-da!

My proud little artist went off to hang her painting in her room. We're going to have to open a gallery soon!!

This Bakery is for the Birds

2009-11-02T16:47:00.006-05:00

We thought the birds could use a little love this time of year, so we made a fresh batch of bird seed cookies! While we were "baking" these, we could hear birds chirping loudly outside our kitchen window. Emily kept telling them to be patient!

First, Emily traced a heart shaped cookie cutter onto corrugated cardboard (in this case, a cut up box from our invention kit).

I cut out the hearts, and poked a hole into them to thread through some red ribbon. Then, Emily spread a layer of vegetable shortening onto the cardboard, just like you would spread butter onto toast. I think this was her favorite part! You can substitute lard for this, but don't use products that contain salt, as it is bad for birds.

Next, time to sprinkle the cookies with bird seed!

We used the back of the spoon to smooch the bird seed into the shortening really well.

Delivery time!

To identify some of your "customers", you might want to try making your own inexpensive bird field guide for tots. Some other ways we've spoiled the birds include these bird feeders made from recyclables, and this bird watching kit. So much fun!!

Sunday Snapshot -- Frugal Entertainment

2009-11-01T21:55:00.003-05:00

Mark and Emily were outside raking leaves, while I was inside taking care of some laundry. A few minutes after they left to start raking, I heard Clara struggling with something...

... it was like a grunting sort of noise. Was she trying to lift something heavy? I went to investigate...

...and I found this! She had dragged her princess chair to the front door to watch the "show".

I could have sworn I heard her say, "Hey, you missed a spot!"

More frugal crafty goodness, and a special blogiversary celebration is coming up this week! We are very excited!!

The Halloween Deal

2009-10-31T19:00:00.004-04:00

Between Clara's Little Red Riding Hood, and Emily's Link from Zelda, we're kickin' it old school in our household this Halloween.

Mark made the shield from cardboard, and I sewed the tunic, hat, and sheath for the sword ($5.00 fabric from JoAnn). The sword was a Target find ($5).

Emily and I worked out a deal. She gets the M&M's. I get the Reese's. Nobody gets hurt.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Halloween.

Super Easy Marshmallow Pumpkins

2009-10-30T17:03:00.006-04:00

Emily and I did some Halloween "baking" this afternoon. She thought these marshmallow pumpkins were the coolest thing, and they were super-easy to make. Each marshmallow makes two pumpkins. Very frugal! She made these with very little help from me whatsoever.

For a slightly healthier option, try slices of banana instead of marshmallows. I say, go for the marshmallows! After all, Halloween only comes but once a year.

Begin by cutting each large marshmallow in half. It is scientifically proven that when you cut sweets in half all of the calories spill right out.

Poke the marshmallow through a skewer.

Let the marshmallow go for a quick swim in a small bowl of water.

Cover with orange decorating sugar! Emily did a happy dance when we got to this step, and I think a happy dance is mandatory for this activity. It makes the marshmallows taste a little better.

Use green icing to make stems.

The taste test results..... success!! Nom nom nom!

Hey there Little Red Riding Hood

2009-10-29T16:37:00.003-04:00

I finished sewing Clara's Halloween costume last night because there's no sense in waiting until the last minute, right?

Fortunately, this sweet hooded poncho for Little Red Riding Hood took less than 10 minutes to put together. I used 1 yard of costume fabric from JoAnn that was just $2.49/yard. Bargain!

I love that her "basket of goodies" doubles as a treat basket for trick-or-treating! It was a thrift store find for $0.25.

What are your little ones dressing up as?

Five Little Bats Finger Puppet Playset

2009-10-28T14:28:00.005-04:00

We have been enjoying lots of Autumn and Halloween themed books and poems in our household lately. Between battling colds, and rainy weather, it is the perfect time for snuggling under blankets and reading good books. When we read this poem this afternoon, we just knew we needed a finger puppet playset to go along with it!

Five Black Bats

Five black bats
Ready to soar;
One stayed behind,
Now there are four.
Four black bats
Hanging from a tree;
One fell down,
Now there are three.
Three black bats
Wondering what to do;
One flew away,
Now there are two.
Two black bats
Sitting in the sun;
One fell asleep,
Leaving only one.
One lonesome bat
With no place to go,
Went hiding in a cave,
Now there are zero.

Isn't that the cutest?

Emily could not wait to start playing with these! They are made from black craft foam. We cut 10 pieces 1/2 inch x 2 1/2 inches. I used 5 of them to cut out bat shapes, and the other five became the finger bands. Emily loves attaching googly eyes! Who doesn't??

Just a few quick stitches to hold them together, and they were done!

She has already asked for a tote bag to keep them in.... I happen to have some pumpkin patterned fabric that I think will be perfect. Another excuse to get crafty?? Bring it on!

Last-Minute Goody Bags from an Envelope

2009-10-27T14:08:00.005-04:00

Emily asked if we could make some special Halloween goody bags to give out to her friends, but I am too lazy (and far too frugal) to go to the store and spend money on goody bags. In the end, she liked these handmade ones so much better! I think they would be perfect for last-minute party favors, but we've been battling some colds around here, so no parties for us anytime soon. Boo hoo! Grab some business-sized envelopes, enlist the help of the kids, and make your own goody bags in seconds. (Well, maybe a bit longer if you waste time tearing the house apart looking for envelopes because you can't remember where you last placed them and you're certain that the baby must have walked off with them... Not that it has happened to me, or anything.... I was... um... I was just sayin'.)

Here's how to make your own:

1. Seal the envelopes.

2. Cut each envelope in half to make two goody bags. Yes, two goody bags from one envelope. So thrifty, right? Start with one half, and fold along what was the side of the envelope, about 1/4 inch in. This will now be the bottom of the goody bag. Unfold, and then fold along the top and bottom 1/4 inch of the envelope as shown.

3. Pop open your envelope to form your goody bag. My, aren't you crafty??

4. Here's what the bottom of the bag should look like.

5. For the candy corn, cut out strips of colored construction paper and glue together as shown.

6. Cut out triangles, as shown. (Great for the little ones who are just getting used to scissors!)

7. Attach to the bag, fill with candy, and pass out to friends!

Beautiful Autumn Leaf Garland

2009-10-26T21:41:00.008-04:00

We thought the dining room (aka sewing studio) could use some decorating this season, so Emily gathered up some leaves earlier in the day and we got to work on this beautiful garland for some late night crafting.

Emily had been begging me to do the waxed paper leaf collage for a long time, but I don't know... it seemed kinda... *yawn*. Boring. But, when we thought of this project, we both got so excited about it.

The garland turned out even better than I had anticipated, and we had so much fun putting it together! From start to finish, it took about five minutes.

To make your own Autumn leaf garland, you will need some leaves, waxed paper, and a sewing machine or serger (you may call this an over-lock machine). Begin by laying down your leaves on top of some waxed paper. It helps if the leaves have been pressed first for a few days, but if you are particularly impatient (as my five year old sometimes is.... ahem) that isn't necessary.

Sandwich the leaves between two sheets of waxed paper, as shown. Be sure to have plenty of space between the leaves.

Use a cloth to cover over the top....

...now iron until the wax paper melts together.

Trim the edges as shown.

Using your serger, or sewing machine, start with a tail of thread about 4 inches long.

Stitch through the top of the leaf square, and continue with just the thread for another four inches, stitch through the top of another leaf square. Repeat this step until all the leaves have been stitched to make a garland.

Hang proudly for all to see!

I think Clara approves of our taste in home decor, don't you?

DIY: On-the-Go Snack Cup from a Sheet of Paper

2009-10-25T22:43:00.007-04:00

The girls started to get a bit hungry on the way back from visiting with Grandma and Papock. We stopped at a rest stop, and realized we had snacks, but no cups or bowls to serve them in. The solution? Mark's origami skills and a sheet of paper!

You won't believe how quick and easy this is!

Mark has graciously provided us with a quick tutorial. Thanks, Honey! Here's how to make your own On-the-Go Snack Cup.

1. Begin with a square sheet of paper.

2. Fold in half to form a triangle.

3. Pull down one flap as shown. Fold into place.

4. Bring the flap back up again, and use the crease as a marker for your next fold.

5. Fold the bottom right corner up to match the crease you just made.

6. Repeat with the bottom left corner as shown.

7. Fold one top flap down as shown.

8. Flip the cup over, and repeat with the remaining top flap.

9. Fill with tasty snacks!

Now just think of all the "oohs and ahhs" you'll get at the playground when you whip up one of these in a matter of seconds! Or... maybe that's the sort of thing that only happens in my craft fantasies.

And the winners are....

2009-10-25T10:18:00.005-04:00

The winners of the 100 postcard giveaway courtesy of UPrinting.com are ladyevelynscrew and gardenmama! Congratulations!! Thanks to everyone for entering this fun giveaway! Another great giveaway opportunity starts soon!

Time Warp

2009-10-24T15:46:00.004-04:00

We have entered the time warp that is Grandma and Papock's house, where the girls are enjoying all the wonderful toys Mark used to play with when he was a kid. Don't you just love that they saved this stuff? It's a real trip down memory lane, I tell you.

I couldn't help but smile when I saw the girls playing with this Sesame Street play set. These toys were built to last! Almost makes me want to order one of these!

10 Tips to Get the Most Out of Library Book Sales (Guest Post from Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile)

2009-10-23T14:15:00.006-04:00

I hope you will join me in welcoming Lynn to Frugal Family Fun Blog for this gem of a guest post with lots of valuable money-saving tips. Thank you, Lynn!

Update: We have a guest post up on Lynn's blog today. Be sure to visit her!

Hi. I'm Lynn, mom to a 2 year old lover of books, and I blog over at Chronicle of an Infant Bibliophile, where we record and review everything my son reads. We're delighted to be guest posting at Frugal Family Fun today. When it comes to frugal, and fun, it's hard to beat your public library. While visiting the library and borrowing books is wonderful, there is also a certain joy in owning your own books. That's where the subject of today's post comes in -- getting the most out of library book sales.

As a child, I remember descending the stairs of my local library once a year, entering a small room jam-packed from floor to ceiling with books and eager patrons elbowing each other for the best selections. The excitement was palpable. My mother would buy me a brown paper bag for a set price and set me loose to fill it. I was in heaven. Now I am fortunate enough to live in a city with a huge public library that holds book sales multiple times per year.

Fresh from our most recent sale this week, I am sharing 10 tips for getting the most bang for your buck out of library book sales. Our focus is on children's books, but many of these apply to all types of books.

1. Go early. When they're gone, they're gone, and the best selection will be in the opening hours. If you are a Friend of the Library (my husband signed our family up as a stocking stuffer last year for $25), check to see if there are free members-only preview sales the night before.

2. Volunteer. If you really want first dibs, sign up to volunteer for the sale. I don't know what the official rules are about snagging books for yourself when you volunteer, but in the last city I lived in, the crafts section was always completely empty, and those kindly older women working the checkout line looked mighty smug about it.

3. Set a budget. This is fairly obvious, although admittedly, I don't usually do it. It might work especially well if you have older children with you. Give them each $5 (or less, depending on how much books cost) and let them figure out what they can buy.

4. Go late. Check with the library about the last few days of the sale. Prices might be cut in half, or the fill-a-bag sale might only be brought in on the last day. I know I also recommended going early. It's a trade-off between greater availability and the best bargains. Last year, I found that I was struggling to fill an inexpensive bag with books we really didn't want on the last day, so I limited myself to the first day of the sale this year.

5. Be neighborly. This tip makes the whole experience more fun. At large sales, ask others around you if they're searching for a particular topic and ask them to let you know if they see what you're looking for. If you feel weird asking, you can also just express your thoughts loudly to your young child: "I hope we can find you some books about cars!" This inadvertently scored us four great finds last week.

6. Choose wisely. Check board books for chewed corners (my personal peeve, which eliminates most board books at the sale), and especially every page in pop-up and lift-the-flap books for missing sections. If you see a book in great condition by an author you know and love, don't waste time reading it -- toss it in your bag and move along. It's a keeper.

7. Put your kids to work. If, like me, you visit the sale with your child(ren), put them to work. How much they can do will vary by age, of course, but even my two year old helps out. We have a rule that he's allowed to run around as long as he stays in the same aisle as me. I engage him by asking him to deliver books I pick to a pile on our stroller and to yay or nay borderline choices. Hotwheels from my purse buy me extra time when he matter-of-factly declares that he is "all done!". At the last book sale we attended, someone had set their three year old on the floor with a PDA playing movies. I don't recommend that approach, but it seemed to work well as a tactic to block us from a few shelves full of good books...

8. Go through all of your selections one last time before you buy. Ask yourself if you really want to own the book or if you'd be content to borrow it from the library.

9. If you get a book home and realize that you don't like it, fear not. Use sites like paperbackswap.com or bookmooch.com to trade for other books that you would enjoy more. I suspect many use the big book sales expressly to get books for trading online. I don't have that kind of drive, but you can use it selectively for books that you change your mind about once you get them home. Personally, we pop them right back into the library donation bin.

10. Feel good -- your purchase is helping to keep our libraries running!

Do you have other tips? We'd love to hear them. I already have the next sale marked on my calendar...

Fun Autumn Treasure Hunt

2009-10-22T13:04:00.006-04:00

We went on an Autumn treasure hunt at our local nature conservancy! It was so much fun!

Emily used a clipboard with the list of treasures we were looking for. In mind were these playground scavenger hunt cards. We used our own non-illustrated version, since Emily's working on her reading skills. Here are just some of the Autumn treasures we found.

After we found a treasure, Emily would check it off of our reusable worksheet list. To record our success, we either took a photo of it, or sometimes she would place it in her Autumn treasure bag.

I thought I would share the list we used, so you can do an Autumn treasure hunt of your own too!

something that is alive
a leaf with jagged edges
an interesting weed
a dry leaf
a leaf with smooth edges
three acorns
a seed from a tree
a twig
a pinecone
a handful of grass
a feather
a branch with leaves on it
a red leaf
a yellow leaf
a green leaf
a smooth stone
three little pebbles
wild berries
a leaf bud
a piece of bark
a tiny bit of moss

Happy treasure hunting!

Giveaway -- 100 Custom Postcards from UPrinting.com

2009-10-21T17:37:00.004-04:00

It's time for another fun giveaway! This time the giveaway is for 100 custom postcards courtesy of our awesome sponsor -- UPrinting.com!

Two lucky readers will win:

100 Postcards
Size: 4" x 6"
Paper: 14pt Cardstock Gloss
Printing: Full color both sides
Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping in the US (Canadian residents pay shipping and taxes. Offer not available to residents outside of the US and Canada)

For hosting this giveaway, I will also receive a set of 100 postcards from UPrinting.com, and I cannot wait to receive them! I have big plans that involve photos of Emily's artwork and creating unique postcards to mail to our family and friends for the holidays.

To enter for your chance to win, leave a comment on this post and share your ideas of what you plan to do with the postcards if you win -- be sure to include your email address in the comments field. Follow UPrinting on Twitter and you're in for 3 more entries! Blog, tweet, or post to facebook with a link to this giveaway, and you're in for 3 more entries! Just be sure to come back and leave a comment that you followed/blogged/tweeted/facebooked.

This giveaway ends Saturday, October 24th at 6:30pm EST and winners (yes, two!) will be chosen by random.org. Good luck!!

Care Packages for Friends with Swine Flu

2009-10-20T18:00:00.004-04:00

Swine flu appears to be making its way through our area, as it has throughout much of the U.S. Fortunately, we've managed to avoid it in our household so far, but some friends of ours were not so lucky. We delivered some meals to them, and I thought I would share this recipe with you in case you want to make someone else's day a little brighter too. It's quick, easy, frugal, and super good for you! Oh, and it freezes well too. What more could you want?

Recipe for Portuguese Chicken:

2 Tbsp. olive oil

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced

1 cup tomato sauce

2 cups chicken broth

1 large can diced tomatoes

3 carrots, diced

3 white potatoes, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1/4 pound Spanish chorizo

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried basil

1 large dried bay leaf

salt & pepper to taste

To a large pot, add the olive oil, potatoes, celery, and carrots. Saute for just a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and chicken, chicken broth. Stir well (Emily took the stirring job very seriously), and let simmer for 10 minutes, and then season with the thyme, oregano, basil, bay leaf, and chorizo. Stir well (Thank you, Emily) and let simmer for an additional 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and remove the bay leaf.

A couple of notes regarding this recipe:

During flu season, I try to make this using all organic ingredients. I found organic tomatoes and sauce at Big Lots for just $0.99 for a large can of each. Carrots, potatoes and celery are very affordable, with the organic varieties not costing that much more.
Did you know the herb thyme is particularly good for sore throat and chest congestion? For those suffering from either of those aliments, I increase the amount of thyme in the recipe.
Top a bowl of this Portuguese chicken with crushed tortilla chips -- yummy!!
For those friends who are extra special, serve with a loaf of freshly baked bread.
I wish you could smell our house right now!!

Some other things you might want to include in your care package:

Tissues -- We love Puff Plus with Lotion
Tylenol
Cough Drops
Herbal Tea with Honey

In other exciting news, I had the honor and privilege of being interviewed by the lovely and talented Imene from A Journey to a Simple Happy Life! If you haven't seen her blog before, it is definitely worth the visit. Tell her I sent you! I particularly love her Gratitude Sunday posts. Very inspiring, and I look forward to them every week.

Fishing for Cats

2009-10-19T17:19:00.003-04:00

We are the proud owners of two of the World's Laziest Cats, as evidenced by this post. Emily thought they could use some exercise, and I had to agree. So we made cat toys from some of our fabric scraps, and filled them with catnip!

We attached the filled catnip fish to a dowel rod, and went fishing for cats. I'll have to put these away before Mark comes home from work. He's allergic to catnip... but our cats sure seemed to enjoy them!

The cats were purring non-stop, and Emily was giggling like crazy! Ah, the fun of fishing for cats!

Sunday Snapshot -- Princess Hair

2009-10-18T22:08:00.001-04:00

Instructions for this awesome 'do found here!