If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

If you do stuff, stuff gets done.......

Monday, July 25, 2011

thoughts on Monday





July is the time to buy whatever school supplies you might need for the coming year. Sale prices are low right now.


This is my 3rd year to get the 70 page spiral notebooks for 10 cents each at Big Lots. I make all kinds of lists in a spiral, everything for my daily to-do lists, grocery lists, bill paying schedules, gift ideas.


I also like to stock up on glue sticks for craft projects when they are on sale for back to school but have not done that yet.



any school supplies you like to stock up on for your home?




these 2 pictures are not good but they are the best I can take right now. My digital camera gets lots of use and is acting up, whenever I rotate a picture, it disappears - so I can only take horizontal pictures and not vertical ones.

These are my aprons. I just finished sewing 4 of them. It takes me longer to finish things than it used to but after about 3 weeks of sporadic sewing, I finally finished them.

I have them hanging on a coat rack in the laundry room. I guess I have 7 aprons now, one for each day of the week!


oh, and I am getting a new camera this week. Just have to decide which one and where to buy it.

Want to know more about fiber?



Just in case you are worried about me after eating so much fried food on Saturday, I am showing you what I had today for breakfast.
I had Fiber One Honey Squares with skim milk and cantaloupe.

Fiber One Honey Squares are the newest flavor from Fiber One

I got my box free from Pssst. they are not paying me for my opinion but they did send me a box to try and some coupons.

I really like fiber One Honey Squares, the squares are light and just a touch sweet.



here is some fiber info provided by General Mills. You can up your fiber intake with FiberOne or with lots of foods.

10 Tips to Get your Daily Fiber
Most Americans are not getting the recommended 25 grams of fiber each day. With Fiber One cereal, it's easier than ever to increase your daily fiber intake. Try using these 10 simple tips to help reach your fiber goals.
1) Scan for Bran Look for “bran,” “whole grain” and “whole wheat” on product packages and ingredient labels. These ingredients can help boost fiber intake. ¾ cup Fiber One® 80 Calories = 10g fiber
2) Grab the Whole Food Munch on a whole piece of fruit in place of drinking a glass of juice. You’ll get the nutrients and the fiber too. 1 medium apple = 3g fiber
3) Savor the Skins Eat fruit and vegetables with the skin on. Eating the skin helps to bump up the fiber, plus it provides texture and a bonus of other nutrients. 1 medium baked potato with skin on = 4g fiber
4) Screen for Beans Replace your typical side dishes with high-fiber dried peas and beans, such as kidney, pinto, lentils or black-eyed peas. These fiber-packed legumes make it easier to meet daily fiber goals. ½ cup canned red kidney beans = 8g fiber
5) Go Nuts Jazz up salads, vegetables, snacks and desserts with almonds, sunflower seeds or soy nuts. Nuts and seeds add fiber and fun-to-chew crunch to foods. 1 ounce roasted almonds = 3g fiber
6) Be Berry Wild Choose raspberries, blackberries and boysenberries to add variety to your cereals. These berries have twice the fiber of many other fruit selections. ½ cup fresh raspberries = 4g fiber
7) Bring on the Brown Use brown rice instead of white. Switch to whole wheat pasta, whole wheat flour, whole wheat breads and whole grain crackers instead of regular white versions. 1 cup brown rice = 3g fiber
8) Skip the Chips Select snacks that are a good source of fiber. Instead of potato chips, go for low-fat popcorn, whole-grain pretzels or oven-crisped whole-wheat pita triangles. 3 cups popcorn = 4g fiber
9) Drink Up Water is a healthy beverage choice—especially as you up the fiber. Your body needs more water to help process the added fiber you eat. Aim for eight 8-oz glasses of water each day.
10) Sneak in Some Fiber One cereal Incorporate Fiber One cereal into your favorite side dishes or use to top yogurt, salads or oatmeal.¼ cup Fiber One Original cereal for sprinkling = 7g fiber

I have six $1 coupons for Fiber One 80 calorie cereal. exp. 12/9/11 It would be my pleasure to share them, so if you want some , let me know how many you would like. I will send them to the first commenters until they all requested.

updated - the coupons have been spoken for. Hope you will come back for the 2 other giveaways I have scheduled soon.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Fry Party


About 4 months ago, we thought we needed a deep fryer so we bought a small one at Walmart. It works great though we don't use it much.
Our children all thought a deep fryer was a great idea and it became quite a conversation piece while it sat on the kitchen counter.
So, they decided we should have a fry party and make home versions of some of the crazy popular fried foods served at fairs.
We finally had that fry party this weekend to celebrate Jeff's July birthday and John's brand new Masters degree.

Sorry no pictures, fried food just looks brown and I was pretty busy with the 9 adults and 2 toddlers here.

The new recipes we tried are very worth recommending.

First we started out with

fried mushrooms
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/deep-fried-mushrooms/detail.aspx

fried green beans
http://www.mommyskitchen.net/2011/07/crispy-fried-green-beans-wzesty-dipping.html

and corn dogs made with little smokies sausages
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/corn-dogs/detail.aspx

all 3 of these recipes were delicous and were gobbled up fast. I did not make any special dipping sauces, though they would of been good, we like mustard, ketchup and barbecue sauce just fine.

Then my mother in law cooked chicken tenders.

Next, were my favorite of the day
Onion Strings - the recipe calls for red onions but I used sweet yellow onions and they could not of been better.
http://www.macheesmo.com/2011/07/red-onion-strings/

Then we tried some fried cheese
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fried-mozzarella-cheese-sticks/detail.aspx
We used string cheese and Cowboy cheese. Both were very good.
This breading recipe makes enough for many sticks of cheese though, we fried about 15 sticks and had more than half of the coating left.

Not that we needed any, but we had fried dessert next.
First John fried Oreos dipped in leftover waffle batter. I was not expecting to like them, I mean how can you improve Oreos? Much to my surprise, deep fried Oreos are great.
He also fried some frozen mini Snickers - they fell apart - and frozen mini Milky Ways. I hear they were yummy but I did not try them.

The frying took almost 2 hours from start to finish and several of us took turns breading and watching the fryer. It was a fun and informal way to have an unusual meal.

We had also talked about having fried pickles, jalapeno poppers, french fries, doughnuts, corn fritters and chimichangas but we would of been cooking and eating till nightfall if we had cooked them too.
I expect we will do a fry party again, maybe in a year. It was delicious and fun, but not a meal any of us want or need to eat too often.

If you just want to try one of these recipes - and they are all good - the onion strings were the hands down favorite.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Jane Snead Samplers are available again!

This sampler is still timeless, especially with today's financial uncertainties!


All of these pretty samplers were made by mom. She has always done lots of handwork from crocheting to sewing to quilting. These embroidered samplers are some of my favorite things that she has made.




I blogged about them on my old blog http://ahomewithasmile.blogspot.com/2009/10/jane-snead-samplers.html




Since then, I have received several comments from other Jane Snead fans and stitchers that are looking for Jane Snead.


Well, this week, I got an email that made me smile!





here is the email I got from Joan


Hello -
I enjoyed the photos of the completed Jane Snead Samplers on your blog site, At Home With a Smile, which I came upon while searching the internet for some of these samplers.
I am happy to share the news that Jane Snead Samplers are back. The woman who now owns the company is a member of the original family and she has an inventory of the kits that she is now selling on eBay. Just go to eBay and enter "Jane Snead" in the search box and the items will come up. If you do not see a particular design you are looking for, you can contact the seller and she will let you know if it is available in which case she will list it on eBay. The seller is very nice to deal with. Her eBay i.d. is: planb2239
I have bought a number of the kits myself and am delighted with them.
Good luck shopping to you and the others who posted interest in the samplers on your blog(s).





So I went right over to Ebay and looked up seller planB2239




Just click on the Items for Sale button to see her listings.


She is selling lots of Jane Snead samplers. They are buy it now which is my favorite way to purchase things on Ebay. She has free shipping and very reasonable prices.


So if you are would like to browse some retro samplers or want to do some stamped embroidery, you might want to take a look at Jane Snead.


I am trying to decide which one I want to order first.


Saturday, July 16, 2011

Crock pot tip and more bragging about my grandbabies

I've been cooking with the crockpot this summer, it heats up the kitchen a lot less than baking things in the oven.
One of our favorite things is to cook pork loin on high until it is tender enough to shred.
At the very end, I add barbecue sauce (we like Head Country because it tastes good and is made in Oklahoma
http://www.headcountry.com/)

anyway, can you see how the inside of the crockpot, even after I cooked that roast and took out the leftovers, looks pretty clean?
My trick for easy clean up is to spray the inside with cooking spray, like Pam, before you cook.
I've been doing this for a few months and no matter what I cook, clean up is a breeze. Washing the inside is as easy as washing a dinner plate.

Little Elizabeth and her momma came for a visit today to see how Grandpa Jeff is recuperating.


They read a few books and had some fun visiting. Elizabeth is 13 months old and she loves to sit and read books. She like it when a grown-up does the reading and she also likes to sit alone and look at books by herself.



Gavin and his momma came yesterday for a short visit. Gavin had been to the doctor and was not feeling his best so I did not take any pictures. Gavin was so concerned about his Grandpa and gave Grandpa the sticker that he had just got from his doctor. Isn't that sweet?


Gavin had a dry cough and was not feeling just right, the doctor did not seem to know exactly what was wrong with him. His momma thinks he might just be too tired and that the cough could be from swimming and getting a little water in his lungs.













Friday, July 15, 2011

3 Blogs I really like


My friend Susan has 2 young sons that are getting ready to go to camp. She has such a funny story about them, I promise it will give you a happy laugh.



Terri, who some of you know as Penny Ann Poundwise, has started a new blog. She explains why she made the change in her first post.


Melanie has a sweet blog too. Today, she has some wonderful pictures from her yard. It is amazing how many pretty and different plants she has in a small space.



I've known these 3 women for 10 years or more. We all became friends on a yahoogroups list about homemaking, long before blogs were so popular.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

It's Hot, Jeff's Make do and Mend and an anniversary


Hello everyone from Hot Oklahoma. I just called our local time and temp message and it said it is 109 right now.
So needless to say, any outdoor housework is getting done first thing in the morning and I am staying in the house with the AC and ceiling fans on. No break in the weather is predicted until at least 12 days out either.
Oklahoma tends to have extreme weather so we are used to it and expect it.
We are praying for rain though as the lack of rain and high heat has devastated crops and livestock.



My husband had knee surgery yesterday - sort of a make do and mend -as his procedure was a scope surgery to clean out his left knee. The doctor said the damage inside Jeff's knee was not as bad as he expected so he just cleaned out the parts that were causing grinding and sewed him back up.
Jeff's surgery was at the Oklahoma City VA hospital and I cannot say enough good things about the care he got there. The news has many sad stories about Veterans who are treated badly and I think it is a shame that all VA centers are not staffed as well as the Oklahoma City VA hospital.





4 years ago this week, Nina and John got married.


This is John and Nina, about 15 months ago


Nina, their baby Elizabeth and John
just last week at Top Sail, North Carolina

Aren't they a cute family?
Happy anniversary
to my favorite daughter and favorite son in law.
John rolls his eyes when I call them that
because they are my only daughter and son in law.




Wednesday, July 13, 2011

latest make do and mend


My latest make do and mend projects have been to rework the
family photos over the sofa. 
I reframed a few of them and added some mirrors. 
It still needs a few more frames and another mirror to finish it off
so I will keep looking at yard sales.
We also moved the oak rocker and ottoman in the living room and
I sewed a simple slipcover for it. 

wonder where Elizabeth has been?
she enjoyed a week at the North Carolina beach
with her parents and other relatives.
She did give this rocking chair her
seal of approval,  it is good for
wiggling and wallowing on!




Join the party or read about more make do and mend projects at Heidi's
http://thecranberrychronicle.blogspot.com/

Friday, July 8, 2011

Staycation

We have enjoyed a staycation part of this week. 
One day,  we took grandson Gavin to the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks.
Gavin liked this fish display the most.
The fish were at ground level, right where Gavin is. 

I think this was the Oklahoma bass exhibit.

A life size Oklahoma alligator bronze statue
Gavin was very bothered by the rocks inside the gator's mouth
He was not happy until he took
everyone of them out. 

Me,  Grandma Rhonda with Gavin
No, my hair does not always look quite this wild
but it was a windy Oklahoma day. 

All in all,  a staycation has been very nice.  We took care of a few projects around this house,
ate out a couple of times,
did a little shopping and took several naps.

What are you doing this summer? 
I hope whatever it is that you are enjoying it.

Monday, July 4, 2011

watching Gavin grow...with a patriotic theme

the little flag quilt is staying the same but the boy keeps growing!


2009




2010



2011



Gavin,  looking so grown up this year.
He is 2 years and 5 months old. 




Gavin and his Grandpa had lots of fun waving the little
American flags and saying
woo woo   over and over!


Saturday, June 25, 2011

Really good cole slaw

sorry this post is wacky - Blogger is not letting me do things like I want to !
this post is all out of order but the recipe is at the end......

I used the exact ingredients as the recipe called for
except I hand cut and grated the vegetables as I don't have a blender.
I also mixed the dressing ingredients in the cole slaw bowl
before I added the vegetables. 

a full recipe makes a lot - this bowl holds 13 cups and and it
is all the way full. 
I've talked about Jo Ann York before.  I read at least one magazine article about her
 and remember seeing her on TV back in the late 70s.  
  http://healingwoman.blogspot.com/  left me a comment last week
 and asked if I by chance had Jo Ann's cole slaw recipe.  
Well,  I did not but it got me thinking about Jo Ann again.  
I've looked for this little paperbook book of hers for a while 
but it usually is listed for a crazy high price.   
When I looked last week,  I found one
 on Amazon for less than $8 so I bought it. 
The seller got it to me so fast too.
Anyway,  I tried the cole slaw recipe first. 
 I only had 1 pound of cabbage so I made just a half batch
 and it is a great recipe, the kind of slaw we like.
It is not a heavy-dressed or super sweet slaw,
 but is dressed just enough and the vegetables are just right. 

We liked it so much,  I made a half recipe on Thursday and then a full recipe today. 

A little more about Jo Ann York, 
 this book was about how she fed her family of 4 for just
$16 a week,  that translates to about $67 in 2011 dollars.
She has some great basic recipes and lots of money saving tips. 

I plan on cooking more of her recipes and will let you know how it goes.


Yard sale fun




We went to just a few sales on our side of town this morning and found  a few goodies. 
a fleet of construction vehicles that Gavin will just love
and a doggie pull toy for Elizabeth
$3 for all

2 childrens books  50 cents for both

vintage linens - still in their factory packaging
3 pairs of pillowcases and 1 twin sheet
$3 for all

stack of Corelle plates $2
I think there are 6 dinner plates
and 8 sandwich plates.
We saw a similar stack of Corelle at the Antique Mall
today for $24. 

still in their original package and shrink-wrapped
a set of highly scented bath oils. 
50 cents!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Nap Time

baby Elizabeth - pooped from all her playing this morning.

little Gavin
his first nap in this little red bed. 
He was so excited when he saw this bed and has
never been so eager to take his nap as today. 



They both sleep more on their tummies,  not sure why they are both sleeping on their backs today.   Maybe they are just so tired from all their morning activities. 

About the toddler bed,  it was given to us and has been in the active for about 18 months.  Gavin likes is so much, I am glad I took it and kept in the attic until he was ready for it.
The cute quilt was made by my fraternal grandmother for one of my children,  they all used it and I can't quite remember exactly who she made it for. 

Monday, June 20, 2011

Make do and mend Monday

Elizabeth has a couple of cute long sleeve shirts here.
It is way too hot for long sleeves and these shirts will be
too small for her by the time it is cold again.
So, my make do and mend project today
was to alter these shirts.
I just cut off the sleeves....
turned under the edge about 3/8 inch and pinned it up.
then I just machine stitched with invisible thread.

I think the whole project took 15 minutes.

2 re-done shirts
perfect all the hot days to come

If you've done a make do and mend project or you want to read about more projects like this one,
pleas visit my friend Heidi
at
http://thecranberrychronicle.blogspot.com/

our "pool"

The grandchildren love to play outside but it is so hot here
so I rigged up this pool in the shade for them.
Anyone recognize what it is?
the lid from the Little Tikes turtle sandbox

They also have a great time playing with this watering can
that belonged to their great great granddad. 

I expect in a few years that they will need a fancier pool to keep them happy
but I am sure enjoying that simple things are fun and keep them interested and active.

front yard flowers

Crinums in full bloom!


hydrangaes
not as covered with blooms as some I've seen on other blogs
but this more blooms than they ever done

a rose bush from Aldis

red roses on a bush that was already here
when we bought this house

Friday, June 17, 2011

Make Do and Mend - 4 new skirts

the finished skirts

I made the first one, the shorter one on the right, in less than an hour.
I liked it so much that I looked in my fabric storage
and found fabric and elastic to sew up 3 more.

I know 3 of the fabrics were bought at yard sales,  I can't remember where the last one is from but it  is probably from a yard sale or thrift store too.  

they all have simple elastic waists

and simple machine sewn hems.  

have you done any make do and mend projects?
then tell us about them
and join Heidi at 
this is the pattern I used,  I am pretty sure I bought it at a thrift store
a while ago for 10 cents.  I only made the skirt but I do like patterns
that offer more than one garment like this one does.  

This project is about using what I had to make something I need and want.
I will be wearing these skirts often this summer and am very pleased that I did not have to go shop for them or spend.