New Blog

I will not be posting anymore on this particular blog so please be sure to visit at my new Word Press blog http://www.myredapron.com/ and while you are there make sure you subscribe to updates.

Stretching The One Income Dollar

We are coming close to the time of year where people start making resolutions and with the economy being the way it is I am sure that several of you will be making some financial resolutions this next year.  With that in mind you should really check out the book Stretching the One Income Dollar.  It is full of tips on how to save and stretch your hard earned dollars to make it possible to live on one income. There are several testimonies from people living on one income from all social classes.  I really like how the book is layed out similar to an index.  If you are looking for food tips you just look through the F chapter.  Also, this book was written by a Canadian mom and several tips are aimed at those of you who live in Canada but can be similarly applied world wide.

Make sure to stop by Stretching the One Income Dollar and get your copy today!  The printed book runs $14.95 and the ebook is only $5.00 what a great deal!

A copy of the E-book was provided by One Income Dollar for review purposes.

Betty Crocker Cupcake Icing Review

Recently I received 2 cans (red & green) of Betty Crocker Cupcake Icing.  Last night Andrew, Kyle and I being stuck at home in the snow made Christmas cupcakes.  Now I am not experienced at cake decorating at all but the tips that come with the cupcake icing are fairly easy to get the hang of.

Kyle enjoyed playing with the writing tip!

I first played with the star tip just trying to get the hang of things and next time I will place my stars a bit closer together but for the first try this isn't too bad.

And I tried to get a bit creative not sure if it turned out like I pictured but here is my attempt at a poinsetta.

While I had fun learning to use the tips and I think it is a great idea for a product I think the icing would be better used as an accent instead of using it to completely frost a cupcake.  I prefer a closer to homemade frosting flavor and this is lacking a bit in that area.  The colors are vivid and the ease of use is good.  Maybe if in the future I could get flavored icing I would be more likely to buy this product.

I received 2 cans of Betty Crocker Cupcake Icing for review purposes the opinions are 100% mine.

Delayed Holidays

Christmas day is going to be a quiet time this year.  While my hubby made it to work today we will not be leaving tonight as we normally do.  We could likely get where we needed to go but it is highly unlikely that everyone could make it home.  The decision has been made to postpone things until the weekend.  I am not debating what I can do to make Christmas a little special here at home since we already have the presents open since we were planning on being gone.  Here is what I can think of so far and there are only three of us here anyway.

1. Our special hot apple cidar recipe in a carafe for easy warm drinking.
2. Kyle and I might make Jesus some birthday cupcakes and decorate them.
3. I made a turkey the other day and we have leftovers so I will likely make Andrew his favorite chicken and dumplings only with turkey.
4. We may try to find another Christmas movie to watch although I am not sure we have many left unwatched around here it may require renting one or two.
5. I now have more time for my new Your Shape Wii game (look for my House Party post around 1/9)
6. And of course I might stop by and blog something or other!

I hope you holiday plans are working out fine!

Squeeballs Party for Wii Winner

The winner of the Squeeballs Party Game is...

Bebemiqui said... Ha, I like Fuzz and Sushi!



I sent you an email asking for shipping details thanks for entering!

A Storm Is Coming

One thing about living in Iowa is you definately tend to get a few winter storms.  Right now we are heading into a winter weather advisory and expecting up to 22 inches of snow by tomorrow morning.  I am thinking a big bowl of chili sounds delightful to the senses tonight and maybe we will finally make our almond bark covered pretzels. 

I have seriously been avoiding making Christmas goodies as I really don't want the weight gain.  A smart woman in my weight loss group told me to just try to maintain through the holidays and shift my focus from losing awhile.  Come the first of the year I can refocus on losing but for now just try to stay put.

Anyway with only Kyle left home and the snow coming I thought we might make a small batch just incase we don't get out of here for Christmas Eve like we normally do.  Maybe by Saturday things will look different when we are supposed to be with my dad.

I bet that hot chocolate mix I made a few weeks back will come in handy as well!

A Few Crazy Days

I can surely tell the Christmas season is fast approaching!  I have not had much time to even sit still.  I spent Saturday with my mom making homemade english muffins.  I know we wound up with around 500 muffins made and sore feet!  After all that cooking the evening was spent at my husbands company Christmas party.  The nice meal of roast and turkey with lots of wonderful sides and dessert free of clean up was wonderful. 

On Sunday I travelled to deliver a Yorkie which is going to be a Christmas present to some lucky little kids. While I was out running around the country I picked my own kids up from their dad to bring home for just a few days before they leave again.  I think we wound up with time for supper and sleep.

Yesterday, I took my dad to the city to Christmas shop.  He has MS and can't drive but I love spending time with him and I don't mind driving although I know he would rather be behind the wheel.  I feel blessed to be able to have the opportunity to return some of the care he gave me while I was growing up.

So here I am back and ready to write, finalize some contests in the next few days and hopefully be able to travel again if the weather holds out (I am praying BIG TIME).

FiOS Winner

Congrats to Ester on winning the FiOS Foodie Pack!

If you aren't the winner make sure to keep stoping back as we have great giveaways weekly.  They are always listed in the right sidebar at the top.  Also if you have a blog giveaway going on make sure to put your link on my Fabulous Friday Linky on you guessed it Fridays!

Total Relief

Do you ever just do something totally stupid like ignore updating your Social Security card?  Well yeah I a can be completely stupid and do things like that.  I guess I didn't think it was a huge issue and it wasn't until some terrorists decided to wreck havoc on our country.  I got divorced, got married, got divorced and got married again.  In that time I didn't change my name at all on my Social Security card.  I did however update everything else in my life.  Well last month I went to get my drivers license renewed and I could no longer renew it (thank you terrorists) because my Social Security card and drivers license didn't match.  It literally took me a month to get all the necessary paperwork from states I previously resided in being they had to be certified copies I also had to pay for them all. 

Just a tip don't ever think that it is okay to burn the old marriage license of that idiot that thought it was fun to beat you up because you just might need it someday.  You can crumble it in a ball and put it in the fire safe but for pete's sake don't get rid of it.

Anyway, after gathering all that information I took it all into good old Social Security and waited a zillion years to meet with a really pleasant woman who helped me get my name changed.  Twenty-four hours later I could renew my driver's license with 1 day to spare before the expiration grace period.  Whew now onto the passport!

Fabulous Friday Linky

I am so thrilled you stopped by and I can't wait for the linky love to begin!  Leave a link in the Mr. Linky to your current giveaway.  Make sure you stop by and enter my current giveaways listed at the top of the right sidebar.  Also, if you are doing any last minute Christmas shopping make sure to check out my Amazon widget.