Stealing from Little Children!

I just had the best idea. Tonight while my children sleep, I'm going to take some of their longer lasting Halloween candies and save them for their Christmas stockings. Now I can check Christmas stocking candy off my list. Yeah!

Happy Halloween!

Hope you have a very enjoyable Halloween! We're making pumpkin puree (for soup) and roasting seeds for the first time. Hope it turns out!

PS-Do not try the soup on this link unless you're diabetic with a heart problem and doctors have told you that you aren't allowed any good tasting food forever more! It was WAY too healthy to taste good! :) The pumpkin seeds turned out well though ... cleaned them, soaked in salt water a few hours, dried overnight ... tossed in olive oil, put on a little salt and baked in the microwave for a couple minutes.

Interesting Quote

“It isn’t so much that hard times are coming; the change observed is mostly soft times going.”
~Groucho Marx

Coupons

I like, but don't love coupons. My husband shops at Costco and we don't eat a lot of processed foods (many of the items offered are highly processed), so we don't have the need to go crazy with coupons, but I do like to use them to save a little here and there.

We don't subscribe to the local newspaper, but I get the weekly Sunday coupons from a relative who does. I save only the coupons we really use or think would be fun to try. My favorite coupons are for makeup. I save the makeup coupons and then when the local drugstore runs a 2 for 1 special on an item, I'll use my coupon in addition to the 2 for 1 special and get the items at a drastic reduction. I also like to use coupons to buy cleaning supplies and toiletries.

All of the items in the picture above were $1.00 off because a local grocery store ran a special where any coupon you brought in would be honored as if it was a $1.00 coupon. This made a 25 cent coupon worth $1.00. The Bryers ice cream (our favorite!) was already on sale for $1.99, so it made the ice cream 99 cents each.

Another thing I like to do with coupons is use them at Walmart. Walmart will match the sales other stores are having. You just have to take in your Wednesday grocery fliers to get the match. Then I try to find coupons on the sale items. You can really save money this way. By matching prices at Walmart, it saves me running all over the place to various stores. You can really save money by doing this, but it does take more time and some organization at the checkout stand. Also, they have a few rules, so good to check with your local Walmart to see what their matching policy is.

Cutting a Boy's Hair

When our boys were toddlers and starting to need haircuts, my husband told me there was no way we were going to pay the barber or hairdresser every few weeks to cut their hair. As fate would have it, I'm REALLY not good at cutting hair. What to do?

One day I was complaining about my situation to a gal who used to be a hairdresser. She told me about this quick way to cut a boy's hair if you're "hair challenged" like me. It's not the best haircut I've ever seen, but it gets the job done and keeps my husband from taking matters into his own hands and "Kojaking" my sons.

First you need a few supplies ...

Comb
Scissors (I use the kindergarten kind.)
A Hair Trimmer

Attachments to the Hair Trimmer (#8, #3 & #1).

Something to drape over the neck to keep hair off the body like a towel or cape.

Haircut:

When you cut with a hair trimmer, you want to cut with dry hair. (Believe me, I've tried it wet and it's not pretty!) Run the hair trimmer over the whole head with the #8 attachment. Go against the way the hair grows.

Then go up the sides of the head with the #3 attachment. I try to make my motions go floor to ceiling; a straight line up. You want to leave the hair on the top of the head longer and the sides shorter, so don't use the #3 attachment much higher on the head than about the top of the ears.

I clean-up the neck with the #1 attachment. I've tried doing the neck with no attachment and it was too painful for the kids.
Trim around the ears and any stray hairs you missed. (I like to use children's scissors so the boys don't get poked when they suddenly move ... as happens often.)
We usually have a candy reward after the haircut. If they are really struggling with the cut, then I will give them a lollipop or treat to hold during the haircut ... gets really messy, but seems to calm them down! Good luck!

Hulu

I just watched a biography of Hugh Jackman (by Biography) on Hulu. LOVE that my computer can now be used for entertainment. We only have basic cable, but get to watch programs on our computer for FREE.

Here is a list of web sites with a variety of TV shows and movies you can watch at your leisure ... on your computer. Just click on them to be directed to the web site.

Hulu
ABC
NBC
CBS
FOX
PBS
TV.com
FANCAST
joost
SPEEDCINE
sling

The Best Pizza Dough Recipe!

Everyone loves pizza, but sometimes takeout can get expensive. A friend of mine gave me this recipe for pizza dough. It is really good. I've tasted a lot of homemade doughs that taste kind of like the pizza you ate in the grade-school cafeteria. This dough tastes authentic and makes a really good thin-crust. You can put whatever you want on top.

The recipe originates from Giada De Laurentiis on the Food Network. She tops her dough with tomatoes and basil. Here is the link.

I make it by topping with inexpensive spaghetti sauce I buy on sale (like Ragu) mozzarella cheese and usually fresh basil and tomatoes from the garden. It's also good with sun dried tomatoes. My husband likes to sneak in spinach chopped up with the Basil.

To make it really healthy, I use whole-wheat flour for the dough. You can mix half white flour and half whole-wheat flour also.

I like to double the recipe. One recipe will make a pizza about the size of one cookie sheet.

I take a lot of short cuts on this recipe. I mix the dry ingredients in a bowl with a spoon, use a fast-rising yeast, throw in the liquid ingredients, mix in the mixer, don't wait for it to rise and then just roll it out. It's a pretty dry dough and can be a little tough to roll out.

An inexpensive and healthy way to get your pizza fix!

(The pictures are of the pizza before it was baked.)

Library Card

I got a new library card yesterday (recently moved to a new neighborhood). There is a book I want to read, but don't want to purchase. It's a popular one so I was put on the waiting list, but that's ok .... the book usually costs about $26.00, but for me it will be FREE!

I can't believe all this little library has to offer. They have storytime for the little kids, beginning computer classes for adults, TONS of DVD's for children and adults, of course books and even music. All can be taken advantage of for FREE!

At most libraries you can reserve books and DVD's online. They will email you when the book or DVD is available and put them on hold for you.

I plan on spending lots of time at my new library!