So.....What do you think of my new layout! I'm sure I'll change it a few more times until I get it just the way I want it. But for now this will do. I'm glad to be back and will have plenty to blog about!
Until next time,
Carmen
Friday, July 2, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Follett Educational Services
I just had to ordered some TE books for my son. I have to say the best place all around for textbooks is http://www.fes.follet.com. I really like this company. They've changed their website a little but for the most part, I can find what I need at the right price. The particular book I was looking for cost between $70-$125 everywhere I looked. It only cost $51 at Fes Follett. I just ordered it on Wednesday and I'm expected to get it Friday. I'm so excited! My son on the other hand is not so excited. It is Algebra after all.
If you're a homeschooler and need to pickup textbooks, I would highly recommend this company. If you have any questions about them, be sure to drop me a line! Oh, and another thing, when you're finished with the books, you can sell it back to them! How great is that?!
Finding bargains is all in a day's work but it's also rewarding!
Until next time,
Carmen
Friday, February 19, 2010
Friday Favorites!
So this dessert is a new favorite of mine. It's based on the yogurt parfait at McDonald's. While spending a buck for it is not really a big deal, it's so much better when you can make it yourself! Here's how I did it.
Penny Pincher's Parfait
I started off trying to find the perfect yogurt, which for me was Dannon's Vanilla Yogurt. I followed that with some simple frozen mixed berries. I'm partial to strawberries at berries go. That's the beauty of making it yourself. You can make it just the way you want. You could use low fat yogurt or sugar free if they have it. (I like sugar and fat so that won't work for me!) The hardest thing to find was the granola. I wanted the kind that looked like the one at McDonald's but could never find it, or it was more than I was willing to pay. Then, I came across a recipe for granola that was so easy that even I could do it. It made enough granola to fill a gallon size storage bag and we also use it as cereal so we cut down on buying cereal! I like having a one, two punch to boot! To make the parfait you just add the yogurt to your serving dish top with the berries, add more yogurt, then more berries and so on until you get to the top. Let your last layer be yogourt with just a garnish of berries and then had the granola. Here's the recipe for the granola.
Easy Granola
Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup oil (canola is fine)
1/2 cup of honey
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. vanilla
7 cups oats (I've used quick cooking and old fashioned and old fashioned is better)
1. Mix brown sugar, oil, and honey in a small saucepan. Bring to a low boil.
2. Remove from heat. Stir in cinnamon and vanilla.
3. Pour over oats in a large bowl. Stir until well coated.
4. Spread oats in a 9x13 pan. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.
5. Take out and stir.
6. Return pan to oven. Turn oven off.
7. You can either leave it overnight or go back to it after 45 minutes to an hour and enjoy!
It's so good y'all! (An ode to Paula Deen!) This doesn't last very long in our house. You can add roasted pecans or other nuts, dried fruit for a trail mix or anything else you can come up with. I just came across a recipe for making your own yogurt in a crock pot! I'll let you know how that comes out when I try it. Just because cooking is all in a day's work, doesn't mean it can't be your favorite activity! Just keep it fun and tasty! Everyone loves a parfait!
Until next time,
Carmen
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Body Wash Alert
I got a sample from Wal-mart a few weeks back from Caress. It's the Evenly Gorgeous Exfoliating Body Wash. It smells sooooo good! It reminds me of coffee and cinnamon rolls. My husband says he likes it and even my kids liked it.
Well, while I was out and about yesterday my sister told me that someone blogged about this particular body wash. I, of course, forgot all about the sample I had! The blogger stated that it cost only about $6. Imagine my surprise when I found it for $3.87! Whoohoo! 18oz for $3.87! Of course, it's going to go up in price if it gets really popular so I get I better stock up, huh?!
Once I give it a try I'll let you know how it goes. My skin has been really dry this winter. I've been taking more baths and I'll admit they're usually in hot water since I'm always freezing. I'll stop doing that (hot water baths not bathing altogether!). I really need to find a good moisturizer for my skin also. Anyone have a recommendation? I'd love to hear it!
Until next time,
Carmen
Well, while I was out and about yesterday my sister told me that someone blogged about this particular body wash. I, of course, forgot all about the sample I had! The blogger stated that it cost only about $6. Imagine my surprise when I found it for $3.87! Whoohoo! 18oz for $3.87! Of course, it's going to go up in price if it gets really popular so I get I better stock up, huh?!
Once I give it a try I'll let you know how it goes. My skin has been really dry this winter. I've been taking more baths and I'll admit they're usually in hot water since I'm always freezing. I'll stop doing that (hot water baths not bathing altogether!). I really need to find a good moisturizer for my skin also. Anyone have a recommendation? I'd love to hear it!
Until next time,
Carmen
Hi all!
Good morning, afternoon or evening wherever you are! How are things going for everyone? For me, so far so good. I wanted to start doing the Master Cleanse but when I went to the store, they were completely out! I guess I wasn't the only wanting to start.
I spent most of the day yesterday trying to recover from back spasms. I don't know where I got that from since I've never had problems with it before. Anyway, this morning I felt much better and so I headed to the store in 28 degree weather. Anyone who knows me knows that's not like me at all since I hate cold weather. I just felt like I had to get out of the house though. The cold air certainly woke me up. I just wished I had a hot cup of coffee to keep me warm. I usually don't wear a jacket when I'm driving because it feels restrictive, but you better believe I had one on this morning!! (With gloves to boot!)
After I got home, the nurse from home health (for my mom) was already here. Fortunately they've discharged her which means she's doing significantly better. They packed up all their equipment and said goodbye. If you ever find that you need that service, make sure you look into it. It was well worth it!
Then I started scheduling school work. I really tried to let them do it on their own, but at some point you got get in there and handle it before it gets too overwhelming for them and me! Of course they balked and complained, but like my husband likes to say, "Just take a deep breath...and then get over it!" I don't even have to say it to them now. I just take a deep breath and they usually desist from the whining!
So now I'm blogging and trying to spend some time organizing, and scheduling myself. It's all in a day's work!
Until next time,
Carmen
I spent most of the day yesterday trying to recover from back spasms. I don't know where I got that from since I've never had problems with it before. Anyway, this morning I felt much better and so I headed to the store in 28 degree weather. Anyone who knows me knows that's not like me at all since I hate cold weather. I just felt like I had to get out of the house though. The cold air certainly woke me up. I just wished I had a hot cup of coffee to keep me warm. I usually don't wear a jacket when I'm driving because it feels restrictive, but you better believe I had one on this morning!! (With gloves to boot!)
After I got home, the nurse from home health (for my mom) was already here. Fortunately they've discharged her which means she's doing significantly better. They packed up all their equipment and said goodbye. If you ever find that you need that service, make sure you look into it. It was well worth it!
Then I started scheduling school work. I really tried to let them do it on their own, but at some point you got get in there and handle it before it gets too overwhelming for them and me! Of course they balked and complained, but like my husband likes to say, "Just take a deep breath...and then get over it!" I don't even have to say it to them now. I just take a deep breath and they usually desist from the whining!
So now I'm blogging and trying to spend some time organizing, and scheduling myself. It's all in a day's work!
Until next time,
Carmen
Friday, February 12, 2010
We have normality!
Thanks for sticking with me guys. Things have been pretty rough for the last couple of months, but I think times are changing. Winter is the worst time of year for me. I practically go into hibernation, but now I feel the days getting longer and I'm starting to come back to life. I just wished the threat of snow would go away.
Don't get me wrong, I love watching the snow from inside. In fact, once in a while I'll even go out in it and play! But if I had my way, I'd be near a beach somewhere melting. I'd rather drip in sweat than to be slightly chilled! That's just me. :-)
I just wanted to stop in and let you know I'm still here. I have a tendency to believe that I have to write something lengthy or nothing at all. Just to make sure I'm contributing more, I will have more frequent blogs but not as long.
Until next time,
Carmen
Don't get me wrong, I love watching the snow from inside. In fact, once in a while I'll even go out in it and play! But if I had my way, I'd be near a beach somewhere melting. I'd rather drip in sweat than to be slightly chilled! That's just me. :-)
I just wanted to stop in and let you know I'm still here. I have a tendency to believe that I have to write something lengthy or nothing at all. Just to make sure I'm contributing more, I will have more frequent blogs but not as long.
Until next time,
Carmen
Monday, December 14, 2009
Talk about a bad week
Hello everyone,
As the title suggest, last week hasn't been one of my best weeks. My oldest sister died and so I traveled out of state for that and when I got back I got the flu and was wiped out. It'll probably take me a week and a half to get back on track. Today is my first day being up and around.
I really hadn't had a chance to be affected by my sister's death yet. Everything happened so fast. Well, she had cancer so we knew she was sick but I just saw her about 2 weeks before she died. She was in the hospital then but she was sitting up and talking to us and was slated to go home. I really believed she would get better. Soon after that we got the call that she was back in the hospital and that it didn't look good. Within 24-36 hours, the news was that she wouldn't make it through the night and she didn't. I'm glad I did see her when I did though. Don't let anyone fool you. Death is not a friend, it is the enemy of all mankind. We weren't intended to die. Everything in us fights to live, to take the next breath.
After coming home, I found myself feeling under the weather, but I attributed it to the stress of having lost a sibling. My mom had a doctor's appointment Tuesday morning and by Tuesday afternoon, I was done for. By Wednesday morning I was fighting a fever of 103 degrees and fought it for the next 2 days after which it finally broke. I literally spent all my time in bed in and out of consciousness. My family did a good job of taking good care of me. They brought me food (yes I typically can eat with a high fever!) and liquids, made sure I took my meds and all the good stuff. By Saturday I felt more like a normal person, just an annoying cough and some post nasal drip to contend with. My oldest son made me breakfast in bed. Sausage, scrambled eggs and french toast with coffee and a biscuit! I couldn't eat the biscuit but I sure did put the rest away!
So here I am today washing clothes and trying to get back into some kind of routine. I have a tendency to want to jump right back in where I left off but I need to take it slow or I'll have a relapse and I don't have time for that! I'll get it done though. To me, "All in a Day's Work" gives me the ability to work at it one day at a time. And I'll do just that!
Until next time and hopefully with happier news,
Carmen
As the title suggest, last week hasn't been one of my best weeks. My oldest sister died and so I traveled out of state for that and when I got back I got the flu and was wiped out. It'll probably take me a week and a half to get back on track. Today is my first day being up and around.
I really hadn't had a chance to be affected by my sister's death yet. Everything happened so fast. Well, she had cancer so we knew she was sick but I just saw her about 2 weeks before she died. She was in the hospital then but she was sitting up and talking to us and was slated to go home. I really believed she would get better. Soon after that we got the call that she was back in the hospital and that it didn't look good. Within 24-36 hours, the news was that she wouldn't make it through the night and she didn't. I'm glad I did see her when I did though. Don't let anyone fool you. Death is not a friend, it is the enemy of all mankind. We weren't intended to die. Everything in us fights to live, to take the next breath.
After coming home, I found myself feeling under the weather, but I attributed it to the stress of having lost a sibling. My mom had a doctor's appointment Tuesday morning and by Tuesday afternoon, I was done for. By Wednesday morning I was fighting a fever of 103 degrees and fought it for the next 2 days after which it finally broke. I literally spent all my time in bed in and out of consciousness. My family did a good job of taking good care of me. They brought me food (yes I typically can eat with a high fever!) and liquids, made sure I took my meds and all the good stuff. By Saturday I felt more like a normal person, just an annoying cough and some post nasal drip to contend with. My oldest son made me breakfast in bed. Sausage, scrambled eggs and french toast with coffee and a biscuit! I couldn't eat the biscuit but I sure did put the rest away!
So here I am today washing clothes and trying to get back into some kind of routine. I have a tendency to want to jump right back in where I left off but I need to take it slow or I'll have a relapse and I don't have time for that! I'll get it done though. To me, "All in a Day's Work" gives me the ability to work at it one day at a time. And I'll do just that!
Until next time and hopefully with happier news,
Carmen
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