Giveaway: Rich Products & Novelty Cookbook | Home Ec 101

Giveaway: Rich Products & Novelty Cookbook | Home Ec 101

I soooo Want this Cookbook....Cuz I'm crafty like that. Love cooking

101 Things to Do With Meatballs.

Enter Here

Now Featured Gem Trees

These for sale in my Etsy Shop:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Madebymom22

Just made in time for Christmas. Green Adventurine Colored nuggets wrapped with Red Wire in square glass vase with grey and white layered stones.


Amethyst Mini Tree with Amethyst Gem Chips wrapped in copper wire in small round vase with river rock.

My Etsy Shop Opened

I just opened my shop a couple of days ago.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Madebymom22

I only have 2 things listed so far but will be adding shortly.

Christmas is Coming.....

....Time to get busy. I have been actually. I made some earrings for a friend and myself and now my girls want some of the same. See this post
My youngest also wanted something for her earrings. We seen a lucite earring holder for 10.00 in a magazine, add shipping and it will mostly likely run me 15.00 - 20.00 dollars.

Well frugal is my middle name lately, so I made my own. I have seen these sold online for big bucks, and thought I could make one so I did. I had some 16 gauge copper electrical wire I bought a while ago. I stripped the plastic overcoat off and was left with the copper wire. 5 strands twisted and curled and...... VIOLA!


Mind you it may NOT be the prettiest of things but it is functional. I looped the "branches" so she can hang her earring and they won't slip off.

Not bad for 30 minutes of work, start to finish! And the copper wire? Pennies. I believe it was less the 50 cents a yard ( I could be wrong) I know a whole role is about 30.00 and that would last me forever.

CHECK THIS OUT!

I am going to make me one of these with all these mags we got coming in now for Christmas....OY! Paper Overload

Living with lindasy has an EXCELLENT Tut for this.

Book Page Wreath!

Notice of NON-Guilt!

I refuse. As of this day I refuse to feel guilty if I cannot recycle or re-use plastic! I got around my guilt of throwing out boxes,papers,magazines because they bio-degrade.

Did you know that my trash company in my county will NOT recycle newspapers or paper products? Only bottles,cans, and plastic and last night I saw a notice in my market that the state? county? is now placing a 5 cent deposit on water bottles! Oh I wanna see how many ppl actually bring water gallons and bottles back to the store!

Anyway, I digress.

I refuse to feel guilt over the fact that I cannot recycle this crap. I am being overrun and I cannot function to work with the crap I already have piling up around me!!!!!!

It is blocking my Chi!

My creative flow is stagnating and I can't function, I can't create!

Why don't we punish the manufactures who have taken our choices? Coffee don't come in glass or even cans anymore it's all plastic! ( if they have cans I don't drink that brand, I am a folgers girl!)

When I was a kid I used to think about what would happen when the dump was full, where would they go next? As an adult I see and smell them in neighborhoods, and pray they don't put one in mine. ( Who the hell wants to smell that????!)

It was a problem that seemed bigger then me and so i didn't think about it. Today with the green movement it has become everyones problem, at least those who choose to do something.
I like to look at this as raw material to work with, one less thing I need to buy to be creative.
Aluminum cans are like blank canvases.
Plastic bags and video tapes are yarn.
etc etc

BUT

NOW

I

HAVE

TOO

DAMN

MUCH

STUFF!

I saved empty coffee containers as storage for my beads and stuff, but now I have too many!!!

Piles of magazines, bags or Plarn, containers and bags of fabric, shelves of crafting supplies, containers of tiles ( they re-did the bathroom upstairs over the summer...A dumpster divers dream!) etc etc....It never ends. Oh and the Aluminum cans and plastic bottles...OY!

I am at the point of whats really important....I am on a soul Journey and quite frankly the condition of my soul is more contingent on how I treat ppl and not whether or not i recycled this weeks coffee can, Ya think?

So If I let one go to the garbage man dont get mad at me!

It's That Time of Year Again

My girlz can count on me to make jewelry and HBA boxes for Christmas, If nothing else.
I started the HBA boxes when my oldest was a teen and taking ALL my hair products for herself. One year i decided to make a big box with nothing but scrunchies, hair ties, clips, hair mousse, styling gel, deodorant, perfume, etc.....She grew to appreciate that box as she got older....Like a mystery goodie box. As she became an adult and was supporting herself these boxes were a Godsend. Then they stopped. She was married with kids and I figured she didnt need them anymore. A few yrs without them and she begged me to make them for her again. Well her taste in hair products have changed with DEFINITE preferences which means not so many dollar store things.
And now her sister is nearly 15 and at the age of her own boxes....woowoo. Did I mention these boxes have gotten awfully expensive to make? Well between them and the jewelry orders it will be all they get, well maybe a cell phone for the young'un who does NOT have one yet. I absolutely refused. Now I relent!

I spent a small fortune yesterday at Michaels getting swarovski crystals for earrings and a bracelet they want. However when I think about how much it would have cost me to buy them already made I think I saved myself a bundle.

Anyway here is what I have been doing as of late.

First I made a magazine tree with some of them holiday mags we are now being flooded with!

These are called Sweetheart Citrines, and i made them for my young'uns friend who turns 13 today.



I also made her these, which I call Sarah's Crystal Drop Earrings.


Then I made these for MOI! I have been wanting a nice long pair of dangles in my b'stone and I finally got around to making them. ( OK so it is not my exact b'stone but I lurvez these blues :-) ) It is this pair that my daughters want, although my oldest likes the crystal drops too in different colors tho. So I am making them a similar design for Christmas, ( I will Never make an EXACT duplicate, I like my work to be OOAK)

Who's Better then Me?

I wanted one of these CROPADILES for a while.....Finally I got a 50% off coupon at A.C. Moores. I went in and noticed the price was up to 50.00$ Bucks ....YIKES!

I knew Michaels had it at 40.00$ a couple of weeks back, but would they honor a coupon from AC Moore? YES THEY DID!

I got a 50.00$ item for 20.00$ Bucks.....Who's Better then Me?

Cookbook Giveaway

I so want this cookbook. I love food, I love cookbooks and I love cooking. My creativity extends to the kitchen as well as the rest of my world.

Heather over at Home Ec101 has a cookbook giveaway.

So Heres to Hoping I win. If you want to enter for a chance, head on over to Heathers place and read all about it, but hurry hurry, contest ends on the 9th.

A Must Listen about Kids, skool and Responsibilty

This was posted to my facebook but I have to share this here....

Pocket Full O' posies...

Can you guess what these are from?

From My Water Bottles!

10 Cough Remedies & Treatments.

Go to Tipnut for these Remedies

10 Cough Remedies & Treatments.

Time to start preparing for the season. In addition to getting some Oscillococcinum for flu ( I swear by this stuff, it really works.I have not had flu in over 12 yrs. Last yr I started to feel it and immediately took the Oscillo and next day I was fine, good thing too it was thanksgiving day!), It is also time to start making sure the shelves are stocked with cold remedies.

What a difference a Generation makes....

A generation or 2 maybe. I found this picture of my grandpa while I was sifting thru all them pics I have. Instantly I remembered his pants. I think my grandmother made most of them. I can't say as I remember them ever going to the store to buy clothes. Maybe her undergarments but I remember her saying something about making pops skivvies. Don't know if she made her own. She was a good seamstress.

Anyway I digress.

Look at this picture of my grandpa taken back around the 50's sometime ( could be late 40s).

Look at how high his belt was....

Now look at this..............




What does this say about our culture/society and where we are heading?

More Recycled Box Ideas.

I made this scratch book.

I have seen people making these, and thought there was a great idea, but I didn't have a binding machine.

I finally seen one made with the rings. I had to try to figure out what rings they used, but eventually after a few keywords in a search I found out they were binder rings.

Well I eat cereal and buy things in a box and I am always looking for ways to re-use or effectively recycle them.

One thing I am always looking for is scratch pads. I tend to write ideas, shopping lists, and stuff all the time and am always looking for something to write on. I used my printer paper cut down, ( the scraps are the perfect size to make to do and shopping lists on.)

I pinked the edges to distract form the uneven cut.( Even with a rotary cutter I can't cut straight!

Not to bad. I quite Like it.

My Photos - Finished.

Those Pictures....UGH Remember? ( Part 1 ) Well I made a Placemat... YAY!!!

Here's what I did...

Take One Empty cereal Box. Cut away the upper and lower flaps. Cut up one side to open up box. At this point you trim to even out and cut off the extra flap on the side where they glued the box together ( Its that lil 1/2 inch strip If yours has one ) You can cut the box down to any size but for a placemat I used it as large as possible.

I took my sorted and cut pictures, ( I cut people out of the pictures so they looked like they stood alone) I used different deckle cutting scissors and even my pinking shears.

Place the pictures wherever you like, overlapping as you go. You might want to try placement b4 gluing the pics down to be sure you like where you are putting it.

Next I took a piece of copy paper and printed up some words like Love, nostalgia, friends, good times. All the things i thought of when i looked at the collage. I realized the paper was stark white against the old B&W photos so I tried tea staining with my coffee...OOPS Better to stain before printing since the ink from the words just ran.....LOL I dabbed a paper towel dipped in coffee on a clean sheet of paper and let it dry over night.

Then it happened...An accidental surprise.....My cat slept on it. When I got it it was crinkled. ......Hey Wait.... I like this...So I crinkled it up more then put it in the printer and print out the words again.


Now it has a nice aged look. I cut out some words and glued a few down.
One thing I learned was to put down some paper on the box first before doing this. because there will always be gaps between some pictures and you can see the box underneath. I put the word in on some of the gaps.



Next.... The back. I had some printed cardstock and covered the back so people don't know I eat Natures path Flax and granola..LOL...and it gave it a more finished look.

Then i covered it with clear contact paper.

VIOLA!



One down....Hmmmm I think my family will be getting placemats for Christmas.
They make a nice keepsake if you can identify some of the people. I may print up name tags to put over the photos next time, especially if I use it as a gift. I recognize some people and can deduce from some of the writing on the back of the pics who the others are.

Pictures, Pictures and More Pictures

Did I mention I am bombarded with Pictures? HA! ( Yea I think I did.LOL) Why do we take so many? Have film and digital on 2 PCs! Professional and amateur.

When my grandparents Died I got to inherit everything since I was the packrat I guess they felt it was safe with me? Who Knows. I am glad to have inherited the pics and the genealogy info ( what little of it there was.) Problem was, most of the pics weren't transcribed. I have pics of people that are most likely dead and buried and if there is any family I don't think they know their family members were recorded anyway.

Some of these pictures were taken so far away that it is impossible to clearly see who was there, ( as if they were capturing a memory of the event rather then the people involved). But don't we all do that, that's why we take so many damn Pictures.

Well I hate throwing pictures away, I feel guilty. So I finally set out to tackle the mountain of pictures of people I don't know, HAHA!

First step: Sort and cut -out and trim.

Come Back Tomorrow to see how this goes....

PART 2

New Prototype -Plastic Bottle Butterfly

I saw this on a website. I had to try it.


The Original Site no longer has the pic or instructions for this. So I had to wing it. ( no pun intended) Basically I used transparent paint, and glitter over a taped image of a butterfly template. This is my first attempt. I kinda Like it, and am thinking about other critters or flowers.

This one I used sharpies.



Here is the Original

Recycle FAIL

I am all for recycling, and reusing but this is wrong. But if you want to see how it was done go to Crooked Brains website. The have a tutorial.

Pictures....Overkill....Repurposing?

Why do we take pictures? I found myself thinking that the other night.

I have been wanting to gain some control of my clutter, one thing I have been putting off is organizing my photos.
Some are already in boxes with index cards, somewhat organized, but the boxes are old and falling apart.

I really wanted to do scrapbooking but cannot get myself in the MODE....UGH very detailed and would definetly put me in the zen mode if I would just allow myself to go there....Life was so much easier before I got a PC. It seems the PC has sped up my brain processors somewhat, not to mention years of anti-depressants ( which left me with a form of Adult add! Damnit)...Anyhoo I am digressing....

Back to the pictures.

I figure we are trying to capture a moment in time, that is so fleeting and slipping away so quickly. Preserve a memory forever, as it were.

As for me I learned early on to take 2 or 3 shots to ensure a good photo..That was before digital, where we can just hit Delete. (SHHHHH don't tell anyone but I got TONS of digital pics too, They are on 2 different PCS)

NOW I am being overrun with photos.






I decided that I needed to pair down. I have tons of pictures where the subject in question is..well... Questionable....

"HMMMMM... What exactly was I trying to capture here?"

Not to mention blurred photos and tons of duplicates. When my daughter was young I took tons of photos. The labs used to run specials on duplicates and since we always share our pics, especially with gramma well.... We always ticked the box for dupes for a penny or half price, or whatever....

Now that my mom has passed I inherited her photos, which means i have dupes, and trips of everything. UGH!

DOES anyone know how to repurpose photos?

Not only that but I also Inherited the pics from my grandparents when they passed...I have a tote of black and whites of PPL I CANNOT IDENTIFY! HELPPPPPP!

So I am surfing the net and the green sites and there is very Little in way of crafting or repurposing old photos. (NO I dont want to digitize my 2,000 pictures! I still LIKE Tangible things.)

I am open to suggestions People....Anyone???? ( Cue Crickets)

Ok so I got this idea when looking at some of the pics to make coasters or postcards. Does anyone even use Postcards? Not to mention snail mail.

Placemats with the old black and whites would be super I think. Most of the ppl I am sure are all passed away since the pics were from the 40's - 60's mostly. ( we are talking adults in the middle age range) Alot are my family and their friends and some are just people who got in the shot of a lake or beach or pool. So I don't think there would be an issue with image usage and royalties and such, and alot of ppl like nostalgic things.

I tried the coasters already. Here are some Prototypes. I made 6. 2 with a deckled edge, 2 with a pinked edge and 2 with a straight edge.




Ok. I guess the real test comes when I use them. I used clear contact paper. I glued the picture to a piece of cardboard from a cerealbox.



I'm just wondering if I should have used laminating plastic instead since it is thicker and offers a better seal. I will see how these hold up.

Meanwhile If anyone has any ideas on repurposing pics pleaseeee Let me know....I have tons.

Quinoa Salad - My own Recipe.

So I am craving beans, especially bean salad which i never eat. I think my body is screaming out for protein, not just craving beans but peanut butter as well.
Anyway this recipe was a quick something But was in the works for over a week, that is rolling around my brain.

2 cups of raw black beans ( dont use canned they are too soggy)
2 cups of raw lentils
1 Large red onion cut in half and minced
4 cloves of garlic ( or to taste. I love garlic)
1 each -- green ,red, yellow, orange, bell peppper
Sliced mushrooms ( couple of handfuls or to taste) ( I used baby bellas)
1 can garbanzo beans drained ( chick peas)
1 packet of good seasons Garlic and herb salad mix ( and cruet to make it)
2 cups of Quinoa
1 Box of chicken broth
1 ham hock.
About 3 tablespoons of Olive oil. ( I eyeballed it)
2 tablespoons of butter
Salt and Pepper to taste. ( I prefer the taste of fresh ground Black pepper)

I started with 2 cups or so of black beans. I put them in a bottle in the refrigerator and covered with water for 2 days. ( one day woulda worked but I need to get the ham hock so it was an extra day). Drain off that water it was soaking in and add fresh water to pot.

I cooked them in a Large pot of boiling water ( I used my dutch oven pot that we use for pasta), with the ham hock. NO SALT

After an hour drain the water out and put in bowl to cool, Now add salt and pepper.

In a smaller pot I put about 2 cups of lentils covered with water and let them boil for about an hr. NO SALT.

After an hour or however long it takes for water to cook down ( I think it was about 50 minutes) drain the water out and put in bowl to cool, Now add salt and pepper.

In a large fry pan ( I used my deep fryer Pan) put about 3 tablespoons of olive oil ( I just eyed it) I cut up the red onion, and about 4 cloves of garlic. cook on high for a few minutes, to that I added the peppers, & mushrooms add the butter and Stir fry these for a few minutes, and add the box of broth ( measures out to 4 cups) and add 2 cups of quinoa Cover and let simmer down for about 20 - 30 minutes or so. I walked away and got on the phone..I almost forgot..OOPS. :-)

By now the beans should be cool (esp. if you put them in frig right away to cool) Let the quinoa cool ( about 30 minutes or so).

In a large bowl scoop out some quinoa mix and add several handfuls of each bean, and add one can of garbanzo beans (drained.)

In a cruet I made good seasons italian garlic and herb dressing. I mixed this to the salad
( Yes all of it)

Keep adding quinoa and beans to this until well balanced. YUM. Refrigerate over night and it is sooo good after it sets up.

Dont ask me calories or net carbs, I dont know . I do know that there is nothing bad in this. NO Flour, No Sugar, and it is mostly all Protein, as Quinoa is a perfect grain, It is a vegetarians essential for 100% protein. It contains all the amino acids.

Bon Appetite.


The quinoa seed is high in protein, calcium and iron, a relatively good source of vitamin E and several of the B vitamins. It contains an almost perfect balance of all eight essential amino acids needed for tissue development in humans. It is exceptionally high in lysine, cystine and methionine-amino acids typically low in other grains. It is a good complement for legumes, which are often low in methionine and cystine. The protein in quinoa is considered to be a complete protein due to the presence of all 8 essential amino acids.

Zucchini Anyone? Part 2

My neighbor brought some zucchini over and left it at the door....Holy CRAP! This puppy is 20 inches stem to stern.



Well have cakes , breads, fritters, and all kinds of good eating in the months to come. Praise God.

Menopause, Diabetes and Stress

Update: -8-04-09 there is NOOOO (underline NO) Cylapril anywhere!
I even went to the health food store.
Seems now that there ad is on tv and they are touting weight loss as well as other benefits( don't know about the weight loss) Seems they have run short at the manufacturer.
Needless to say I found this homeopathic remedy for stress and the menopause remedy
( black cohosh, licorice and dong quai- primarily) and I am gonna give it a try. I took it as soon as I left the store, so far so good.
As I was getting ready to leave the proprietor came in and found me a anti stress, adrenal fatique formula that has basically the same stuff as the Cylapril. Since I had already paid for this stuff, I said I would come back next week if this doesnt work. X mah Fingers.
Last Night it was so bad I thought I was gonna have to go to the hospital. My heart was beating so fast and outta control it was down right scary, as well as the pits in my stomach - ( that fight or flight anxiety). It was real BAD. I never want to get that way again.



Mental pause is what i call it. I started to get hot flashes in my 30's. 37 to be Exact. When i approached the dr about it in a matter of factly way on the way out of his office he laughed at me. I felt so dejected and humiliated and then ANGRY. How dare he tell me I am too young or that I don't know my body.
I took to the internet and found a really nice group of women who assured me it was not in my mind, my dr. had no right but was so typical , and that yes what I was experiencing at that young age was symptoms of perimenopause. That period before actual menopause starts. For women like me who actually pay attention to their bodies, this is a signal that my hormones are achanging.

Well fast foward 10 yrs or so and I am full swing, loose my mind, mentalpausal. HA!
It isnt as bad as some and not as ez going as others. The thing I am discovering is my diabetes may actually be tied to this part of my life.
I diagnosed diabetes recently ( with in last4 yrs) but was building up to it since my late 30's. ( I didnt know it and it went undetected).

Also something is happening with my adrenals. I feel stress very easy like as in , as soon as my youngun enters the room with her silly-assed -nonsense-- Wham...STRESSSSSS!
Gnashing of the teeth time.

I started having serious issues over the passed few yrs that my hormones were changing, such as really bad heart palpations. Then as I sat and watched tv at night I felt this feeling of fight or flight in my stomach, ya know that adrenaline rush. I would get a pit in my stomache and feel adrenaline rushing. this repeated itself all night.
I hesitate to call them panic attacks although thats what they feel like but without the emotions. Anxiety attacks and panic attacks have a strong sense of emotion behind them, like FEAR and DREAD!

I started to seriously compare this to others with adrenal fatigue. The symptoms along with the constant stress, or the inability to "DE- STRESS", and stressing over the simplest things concerned me.
Sleepiness as in total system crash, what was this? Hmmmm as if I have no metabolism, It comes to a complete standstill. ( usually happens after eating no matter how small )
Also no matter how hard I tried I could not bring my blood sugar down.

STRESS is one of the major contributors to diabetes.

I recently started taking this stuff called cylapril that I found in my supermarket a few months ago. It promised to deliver me from adrenal fatigue ( this is before they started advertising)
I didnt notice anything really. My mood had been getting better but I atributed that to removing certain stressors from my life, mainly my family's BS and watching my gr kids every single day ( at least 5 days). ALL DAY.

However..I recently stopped taking the cylapril as I had run out and didnt have $30.00 to buy more. Guess what? After 10 days of not taking it I am noticing the passed few days my stress level has gone back thru the roof, for NO REASON, I mean snapping for no good reason AND My Blood sugar is up again. My sleeping is back to middle of the night too. ( as in go to bed after 2-3 am and get up around 9). Also those adreanline rushes are back again and so are my heart palpitations. DAMN!

So I am wondering if there are any good Naturopathic Drs. out there who feel the correlation between Menopause, and adrenal distress and diabetes is correct. After all medicine is all about common sense and following the signs.

I know my body. Regular Drs. Laugh at me when I bring things up and want to just throw drugs at me. I'm sorry but I dont think that my disorders are a result of a lack of chemicals, more like a lack of nutrition, and natural order.

There is a reason we go through menopause. GOD created us to build up to puberty and reproductive stage of life , then after 20-30 yrs we reverse this action. Just as children are tyrants ( girls especially) before puberty, so to do we react after reproduction and into the lessening stage of our hormones. Drs. however would rather we take MORE hormones to keep our selves going....UMMMM NO Thanx. That just goes agains t the NATURAL ORDER of things.

Gonna go buy some more cylapril this week.

Evil Bunny is Back.........

.........And he is after the corn!



I figure this lil bunny is climbing the fence and stalks to nibble....I found one stalk on its side and the others were nibbled.....





Now I am trying a new plan of attack.....

I have these can tops and bottoms left from my soda cans ( after cutting) and was trying to reuse them. I made some redneck windchimes (lol) and was working on making morraccas for kids when i ran into a problem. I abandoned that idea until I could find another solution, in the meantime I have all these tops and bottoms.....

A voice whispered what to do. You know that small still voice? Sometimes we call it GOD or intuition, or good sense , sanity, and even Insanity....LMAO....Well I seen the solution as it was whispered to me....



I posted my mini shepards hooks that I use around the front garden with chimes and put them near the plants with the can chimes. I hope the shiny deflectors scare the critter away.

I hope this works. I didnt know bunnies could climb!

Meanwhile......





CUCKES ANYONE? They are taking over the garden ... Holy Crap and I don't even eat them.( I grew them for the other family members)

How about?

ZUCCHINI?

My neighbor shared zucchini with me after i shared lettuce with him and now spinach and green beans for more zucchini...YUM! I never liked it before, but even my youngun ate it.

I found a great fritter ( pancake) recipe, changed it slightly and now...MMMMMM I got a new summer favorite.

3cups zucchini ( shredded)
2-3 eggs *( if using jumbos use 2 eggs, medium use 3)
1 cup all purpose flour ( can add a lil more if it seems too wet)
1 tsp. dill
1tsp. baking soda
salt and pepper ( I used sea salt)
1 cup grated romano ( can use parmesan)
2 medium onions ( Shredded)
oil for frying ( I use olive oil EVOO a lil at a time)
Sour cream

***After shredding zucchini salt it ( I eyeballed it) and leave in bowl for 15 minutes or longer to remove bitterness.

Use cheese cloth or strainer to remove the liquid from the zucchini and add to onions ( DO NOT strain onions...Leave onion juice in)

Mix in eggs and flour, dill, salt and pepper, and cheese.

Drop spoonfuls ( I used a large serving spoon, the ones slightly larger then a tablespoon with slots to drain liquid) into pan. Not to big or they will be hard to turn and will fall apart. ( about 2-3 inches big should be fine)

add oil as needed.

Fry, Flip and drain on paper towel.

serve with sour cream.

MMMMMMM.....To die for.