From the blog of "Green and Crunchy"... a combo giveaway!

In my own blogging absence, I've been reading many blogs about food, for recipes, etc. What can i say - food interests me (and a tad bit of an unhealthy obsession at times).

My newest blog obsession find, Green and Crunchy, is hosting an excellent giveaway from Xagave. The giveaway is for a 25oz bottle of their organic Agave, as well as a recipe book!

From Xagave's website:

“Xagave is a Premium Blend of Agave Nectar derived from organic Agave Salmiana (White Agave) and organic inulin from Agave Tequilana (Blue Agave). This combination results in the highest quality nectar with the best taste, best Cooking Qualities and the most Health Benefits of any nectar on the market; making our nectar the perfect sweetener for all of your cooking, canning, and baking needs. Your foods will taste better while saving calories and our nectar can be simply exchanged for sugar or honey in any of your favorite recipes (see Sugar Exchange Table). A natural and healthy substitute for sugar, brown sugar and honey makes our nectar perfect for everyday use in coffee, tea and cereal. Avoid “spiking” your blood sugar levels with this naturally low Glycemic Index Food (approximately 30) and feel the difference. Our nectar contains no artificial additives or artificial sweeteners and is processed at very low temperatures that qualify it as a raw food. Organic & Kosher certified, we are 100% confident that you will not only taste but feel the difference.”

So, if you would love a chance at this excellent giveaway, take a jump over to Green and Crunchy for all the details to enter! Contest closes Sunday May 9th at Midnight - so Hurry!

Menu Planning Monday

After spending a week sick, it's nice to get back into a routine, no? So here's my attempt at a easy, simple, quick and healthy menu - as the oldest and dad will be attending Taekwondo classes soon, so our busy schedule just upgraded to hectic!

Monday: Grilled Cheese and veggies w/ dip

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner

Wednesday: Pasta night (seems to be a Wednesday night thin for us)

Thursday: Weeks leftovers

Friday: Homemade Pizza night (will be using english muffins as the "base")

Saturday Lunch: Taco Turkey Wraps
Saturday Dinner: Finger licking good finger foods

Sunday Dinner: Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Shells


And of course - make sure you head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu planning inspiration!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Alas, a WIP Wednesday posting after such a long absence! I do find it so very hard to truly get into crafting after the mad rush of the holiday stuff, but a opportunity presented itself recently for me to make this super quick and easy doll for a sweet girl from Church.

Thankfully, this is not my first time creating this particular doll... let's see our prototype i made for my son about a year ago:




wow.. lopsided face *yikes* but look how happy he is:

please ignore the very messy background - crafting generally leads to cluttered floors.

So, at church i found out one of the little girls from the little kids church class/nursery was having surgery. She is about the most sweetest, adorable 3yr old i know, and having a cyst removed from near her eye, well... i wanted to do something, and a doll just seemed like the right quick thing to knit up for her. It's obviously has pink (her favorite color), and I'm pretty sure she'll like it.

In the doll above for my son, i made some changes, but this doll is straight up from the pattern posted in the book Kids Knit! : Simple Steps to nifty projects. So the face is also in garter stitch (rather then stockinette), and i am using plain yarn for the hair, rather then mohair yarn.


I keep thinking it i had made the doll with blond hair, it would look like a flower in the sun (green pants/stem, pink shirt/petals, and then yellow hair/sun). But alas... we have a burnette doll, which i think will be just a cute when completed!

Thanks for reading - hopefully now my post-holiday crafting slump has subsided, I can get back into a more normal WIP Wednesday posting!

Menu Planning Monday: The post Valentine's day version

It maybe post Valentine's day, but the celebrations are still alive and well here! We have 2 birthdays in the next 2 weeks, but thankfully we have this week off from that, so we'll be keeping the food simple and good for the most part. And remember to visiting I'm an Organizing Junkie to see all the other menu's this week!

Monday: ?? driving home from Watertown (finally, we hope)

Tuesday: Chicken nuggets and fries

Wednesday: Pasta night

Thursday: fend-for-yourself leftovers

Friday: Breakfast

Saturday: Pizza night

Back once again.... Menu Planning Monday

Another week, another menu! Don't forget to go over to I'm an Organizing Junkie to view all the other menu planners for the week! I'm going to try and link any recipes I use, or post them (esp if I adapted them) for all the non-common place items. With Girl Scouts and church Bell Choir, the first half of the week is generally super easy dinners

Sunday: Subs and chips

Monday: Sausage and perogies

Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner night - including eggs, bacon, sausage, etc...

Wednesday: Pasta and salad night

Thursday: Chicken Fajitas

Friday: Pizza Pancakes

Saturday: Slow cooker Orange chicken, rice and broccoli

So much to do, so little time!!

It has been eons since I posted, and I hope anyone reading this is not hoping for a huge update either..

We are currently in Watertown, NY visiting with family for the New Year, esp my sister-in-law who will be deploying soon for the Middle East for 9 months.

I will be updating tomorrow with some pictures, my weekly menu, and even a return finally for WIP Wednesday!

Hoping you all had a happy, healthy and pleasant holiday!

Holiday Ornament giveaway at Frontier Dreams!

For those of you who know (and love) the magazine Living Crafts, may have seen the article about the ornament exchange in the latest edition.

Nicole over at Frontier Dreams has graciously offered one of her knitted fruit baskets as a giveaway - the very same as she made for the exchange! You can get in on this by hoping over to her blog and leaving a comment. The giveaway will be open until 6pm pacific time on December 13th (St Lucia's Day)... so hurry over for your chance to win!

And many thanks to Nicole for this opportunity!

Meal Planning Monday

After a hectic first week back to work - I'm back into a routine and here's my menu for the week! It's light, as we'll be away for the holiday at my sister-in-laws house here in New York. I am listing what I'm making my sister-in-law's after the weekly menu

Monday - 1 pot chicken and rice dish
Tuesday - clean out the fridge left-overs

Wednesday - Saturday - Sister-in-laws

For the 4 days away includes:

Graham cracker crust pudding pie (in chocolate)
A side dish (need to confirm with SIL what my MIL and FIL are bringing first)
Brunch 1 day (breakfast meats, eggs, and either french toast or pancakes)
Making leftover turkey soup (we had a turkey given to us I'm bringing to cook and make into soup)
plus drinks, snacks for us and the kids

Make sure you go over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and catch all the other menu's planned for this big holiday food week!!

Blog Spotlight

Make sure to visit Garden Mama for a lovely reading of an interview she had with Hip Mountain Mama... as well as to see about the lovely giveaway Garden mama has organized from Hip Mountain Mama!

WIP Wednesday: a new knitter in the family!

Well, its wednesday again, and still no pictures (maybe someday I'll post the FOs at least).

Well, last night i started teaching my oldest daughter to knit. She's getting the knit stich itself down - but they are tight stitches... and she is somehow increasing at the ends.. LOL... we'll figure it out - but her attempts at this age are SO much better then mine ever were when my grandmother tried to teach me.

I've also finished making the fingerless gloves for my co-worker, and made another set for my son - he love's them!

Now, it's a debate if i start making a doll for my 6 yr old, or the Bell's gloves for my oldest. Decisions, decisions!!

Meal Planing Monday

So, as you can imagine, I've been a bit slow to catch up with everything since the Car accident... obviously, the blog has been put to the way side during this time. But - in an attempt to get back to reality, Here's my menu for this week!

Monday: BLTs (depending on the person, this could be bacon, lettuce, tomato, or bacon, lettuce and toast - LOL)

Tuesday: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Wednesday: Pasta night (I wont be home - DH can handle this!)

Thursday: Breakfast for dinner (we keep trying to do this, and never seem to get it done)

Friday: Chicken fingers and french fries

Saturday: Pizza night!

Sunday: Turkey Soup (a HUGE family favorite!)

ANd of course - make sure you head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more menu planning inspiration!

WIP Wednesday

Ok - so i didn't think i would want to post... being as I'm camera less for the moment - but alas! I will update this posting with pictures tomorrow.

My current FO (as if i didnt finish it 2 days ago - i'd be my WIP in the posting!) is a pair of fingerless mittens i made for a co-worker.

My current WIP is another pair for my son/ He's hands are much shorted/smaller so i think i'll have this spit out rather quickly.

I also am getting ready to cast on Bella's Mittens to make for my soon-to-be 11 yr old - only I'm not sure if it will be for her birthday next month, or Christmas.

Well, untill i add photos - that's it from me today - look back tomorrow to see pics!!

A week off....

So, no menu this week, and no WIP Wednesday either.

Our family was in a car accident Sunday after picking apples at a local u-pick apple orchard. Thankfully, the only major injury was to me, and it is a small fracture to my right arm.

I'll be back next week, posting for both MPM and WIP Wednesday, as I'll be replacing my camera battery this week!

Another Week.... another menu

But hey - until my camera has a new battery (this week maybe?), its the only thing keeping coming to my blog! So here's to another week! And make sure you check out the list of other MPM bloggers over at I'm an Organized Junkie!



Monday: grilled cheese or "pizza sandwich" (grilled cheese with pizza sauce inside on each slice - yum!)

Tuesday: Chicken and rice, with broccoli

Wednesday: Butternut squash soup, and crunchy bread

Thursday: Breakfast! Spiced pumpkin waffles, fruit and some breakfast "meat"

Friday: TV dinners - after working all week - mama needs a break!

Saturday: Dare i say it - i think a day w/o the kids s- hubby and i will play this day by ear

Sunday: slow cooker stew

Back in the Habit... Meal Planning Monday

So - here it is - Sunday night, and another week looms out ahead of us. So, with that in hand, and knowing that now that school is in full swing, it's back to some regular meal planning! Here's our week ahead:

Monday: Grilled Cheese and Soup

Tuesday: Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken sandwiches, side salad

Wednesday: Pasta with tomato/red sauce, and garlic bread

Thursday: "little bit of everything" night (aka leftover night), homemade apple-pear sauce

Friday: Pizza Night!!

Saturday: Breakfast for dinner

Sunday: Broccoli and cheese stuffed shells

If you too would like to get in on the Meal Planning Monday fun, hop over to I'm an Organizing Junkie for more details!
(the irony is - i wrote my 1 and only other MPM post exactly 1 year ago!!)

Hip Mountain Mama: Natural Art Supply giveaway!

That's right - an excellent blog, and excellent giveaway!

For September, Hip Mountain Mama is running a giveaway for a set of natural art supplies. Can't get much better then that, if you ask me!

I suggest running over to her blog, check it out, it's a blog worth reading, giveaways or not!

WIP: Wednesday

So you may have noticed i haven't been keeping up. While i Have been able to get online - my camera's battery died - and therefore I've been unable to post any pics (or even take any!) for any of my current projects!

I hope i can update soon (even if it's not a wednesday!)... but in the mean time - make sure you check everyone else out who is partaking in WIP Wednesday!

A leave of absance

Well, at least this time i am warning everyone!

I'll be offline starting next week, and likely for 2 weeks after that. Not only will i be starting my new job, but we also are leaving this apartment, and will be crammed into a tiny efficiency for the summer. It will not be ideal, but it will work, and hoping to have lots of weekend camping going on to get out of the tiny space.

We will have phone/internet there though - but it will take time to move over... so i hope I'll be able to update here by WIP Wednesday on the 24th!

WIP Wednesday: Where I've been

So, you may have noticed the last couple of Wednesdays, My lack of posting (basically, since my first WIP Wednesday post!). We've had the fortunate event of visiting family that came from out of state at my in-laws, my brother's wedding, father's day, kindergarten graduation... all in all, no time for crafting.

But here we are back again, today just some yarn and fabric for some items I'm starting for a swap, gnomes and crayon rolls.





I hope to update on my gnomes and rolls next week, but may be offline for a couple of weeks after that, more family visiting, camping....