Card Swap

I love my new bed!!!

Due to issues with our box springs and the wonderful customer service at RC Willey we have been sleeping with just our mattress on the floor for a few months. Thanks to Uncle Sam's stimulus check and the great excuse of an anniversary gift for ourselves we bought a new bed.
IKEA has some pretty good beds. They seem really sturdy and secure. You have to buy a bed base which basicly are wooden slats that you put in a rubber sleeve --- this sits on the frame and then you can just lay the mattress on the slats. Since we have king size bed - we actually have two sets of the slats. We just used the mattress that we already have - but I hear that IKEA has great mattresses too.
It took me a bit - but I put the bed together myself. You can use box springs with IKEA beds but you really don't need to. We have had it for 3 nights ---- and I love it. I cannot believe how comfortable it is.

Happy Anniversary!!

13 years ago today..... I married my sweetie! Wow!! I can't believe that he has put up with me that long. Oh and Friday, May 26th 1995 --- it was rainy.....just like today!

Feeding the Duck!!

We live close to the Kaysville Ponds and lots of people go up there and feed the ducks. Well on Saturday we had a little visitor in our own front yard. The kids (and Matt) had fun feeding the little feathered friend.

Eat Your Heart Out Sara Lee

I made homemade Hamburger Buns for our Memorial Day dinner. I used this recipe. Yummo!!! Who needs store bought when you can so easily make your own that taste incredible??

Wife Swap...

OK I know it's probably not the best show in the world to watch - but have you ever watched Wife Swap? No it's not some weird sexual thing.... They have two wives/moms swap houses and families for 2 weeks. The first week they have to live by the "new" family's rules and then the 2nd week they get to give the family new rules. Some are totally extreme! Anyway - it kind of gets me thinking sometime. What would an outsider think of the way I run my house and family? My house is not dirty - but it is cluttered, which who totally bug some people. My kids watch TV - but I also play with them and teach they. Then there's the whole job thing -- would an outsider be able to deal with my husband's work schedule? Would they hate the fact that I stay home? What would they think about the foods that we eat? ------ Then here's the biggy ---- What if my husband liked the other lady's rules and style more than mine? So I've just decided WHO CARES!! I live my life the way that I want - we are happy.
There has been a HUGE debate on Pinching Your Pennies about Mother's Day - some people feel like they had a great day and others thought their day sucked. Someone posted that she thinks that the husbands of those that did not have great day are "pigs". What gives someone the right to judge another's - husbandly skills and duties, especially when it's someone that you really don't know? Anyway - I don't even think this post makes sense but OH WELL -- Wife Swap is an interesting show.

Happy Mother's Day

I just want to wish everyone a Happy Mother's Day. There was a time from about 1997-2001 when I couldn't stand Mother's Day. I hated going to church, even though they recognized all the women and I hated going to family dinners. I just wanted to stay home with my blanket over my head and cry, because I wanted to be a Mother SO BAD that it physically hurt. Now I have my kids and I am so happy -yet - I still feel a little sad on Mother's Day. I am sad for those who want to be Mothers and can't. And my heart breaks a little for 2 special women who trusted me enough to be the Mother of 2 special kids, I pray that they know how grateful I am to them.

Cereal Anyone?

Albertson's has a great General Mills sale this week - it actually started yesterday. I wen this morning and bought 18 boxes of cereal, 8 boxes of fruit snacks and 4 boxes of Chex-Mix 100 Calorie packs. My total.....with tax......take a guess...........$11.15!!!! Here's the shopping list from PinchingYourPennies. I had some $1/1 GM Cereal coupons that I got when I sent a very nice (seriously) email to GM. I think on Wednesday they are adding more items to the sale..... we are out of cake mix and chocolate frosting so hopefully I will be able to get some.

Smart Habit Saturday

It's been a little while since I participated in Smart Habit Saturday. I don't really have a good reason why. I have been trying to develop and improve my smart habits. My goals for this week are to:

1) Deal with the mail when it comes - not just make a pile. On Thursday night I went through piles of mail in my computer room, there were bills and stuff from3 months ago that I never opened - the bills had been paid.....for the most part.

2) Get rid of a bunch of stuff shoved in my kitchen drawers. I didn't realize that spoons, spices, and plastic bags can multiply all by themselves.

I have another habit that I want to share with everyone. It is habit that I started with over a year ago, and I think that everyone can benefit from - especially with the cost of EVERYTHING rising. Pinching Your Pennies is the greatest website. Here you will find grocery lists for all the local and nationwide grocery chains - they also have such wonderful people that match the grocery ads to the coupons that are available for even more savings. Did you know that planning your menus around what's on sale can save you about 60% on grocery costs. They also have online shopping deals and much much more!!!! This website has seriously changed our lives. Without spending more than $50 a week on average - my family eats great food and I have built a great food storage!!! Now I shop for my pantry - stockpiling when prices are at their lowest and plan my menus based upon what I have in my "Stockpile."Check it out.

Yeah Davis County!!!

I had to make the dreaded trip to the DMV this morning to license my car (expired 2 days ago) and they have a new office. I got down there and guess what?????? They have a drive thru for renewals!!!! I have never been so happy about renewing the plates..... Oh yeah whats this pollution corridor fee? They are even charging it for Hottie's Scooter.......what the H????

New and YUMMY!!!

There is a new product that I have decided that could be on my I can't live without list.... that is if I had a can't live without list.

Bagel-Fuls - they are a new Kraft product that taste just like a cream cheese stuffed bagel. You put them in the toaster and they come out warm and chewy. There was a coupon a couple of weeks ago for $1.00 off - I have been buying them at wally world where they are $1.82. Last week I bought 4 boxes - oh yeah there's 4 to a box, between the kids and I we ate all 4 boxes in 4 days. Yesterday I bought 6 more. I have a total of 40 more coupons coming for these. Hey did I tell you how much I love them

Baked Spaghetti

Ok so I will bore you with more more recipe today. I made this last Sunday for dinner. It was super easy and can easily be adapted to your family's likes. Hottie's a big meat eater but he really liked this even though there was no meat. I think I am going to make this again tonight.
Ingredients:
½ cup chopped onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 (28 oz.) can diced, peeled tomato with Italian spices
1 (4 oz.) can mushrooms, drained
1 can sliced olives, drained
12 oz. spaghetti, cooked
2 cups shredded cheddar
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
¼ cup milk
Preparation:In large skillet, sauté onion and garlic in a small amount of butter until tender. Add tomatoes (with juice), mushrooms and olives. Simmer uncovered for a couple of minutes. Place ½ of cooked spaghetti into a greased 9x13-in. baking pan. Top with ½ sauce, then ½ cheese. Repeat layers 1 more time. Combine soup with milk and pour over top; sprinkle with parmesan cheese if desired. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

YUMMY ROLLS!!

I have been making my own bread for a few weeks and now I have a hard time eating store bought bread. So I have been looking for a good recipe to make buns for burgers and dogs. A few of my PYP friends have tried this recipe and really liked it. So I finally made them!! I love this recipe because first of all it's simple and uses few ingredients - but it is also very versatile. I made the buns for French Dip and then we had a few extra so I used them for Sloppy Joes last night. This recipe could be used for dinner rolls and today I need to make bread so I think I am just going to use this recipe to make 2 loaves of bread.

Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)

1 tablespoon active dry yeast

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.
Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12-14 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth (or greased saran wrap), and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Bake for 12-13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Here's how I did my French Dip Sandwiches: I followed the roll recipe but I made 6 big buns. Just before we ate I sliced them in half, buttered them and stuck them under the broiler until toasted then I add a slice of provolone cheese to each half and let that melt just for a few seconds under the broiler. I just used deli roast beef that I heated in a skillet and a packet of AuJus mix. If was seriously THE BEST FRENCH DIP SANDWICH EVER!!!

Peanut Butter Bars

This is the recipe for the yummy Peanut Butter Bars from school days:

Peanut Butter Bars
1 C Butter
1 C Brown Sugar
1 C Sugar
1 C Peanut Butter
3 Eggs

Cream Together then Add:

2 C Flour
2 C oatmeal
2 t. Soda
2 t Vanilla
¾ t. Salt

Spread in Cookie sheet Bake at 350 for 15-20 Minutes.
Top with Peanut Butter and Chocolate Frosting.