There's another GIVEAWAY coming on Monday!!!!

Make sure to check in on Monday for a Chocolaty Surprise!!

Pinching Your Pennies is in the news!!!!

How to peel a grapefruit......

I love grapefruit but I have also been annoyed by how much I have felt was wasted in the way that I have always ate them. In my family growing up we always just cut them in half and scooped out what we could with a spoon. I think my grandma even had special little spoons that the had jagged edges.

So I set out to find a way to not waste any edible part of a grapefruit. Maybe everyone else already knew how to do this --- but I want to share anyway.

Put a pan of water on to boil. When the water is boiling remove the pan from the heat source and put your unpeeled grapefruit in the water. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. Carefully remove the fruit from the water and as soon as you can touch it begin to peel. You will be able to easily removed the thick white stuff... I don't know what it is called. Once you have that removed you will be able to easily break apart each section and remove all of the section casings.

I cannot believe how easy this was! Oh yeah and the inside of the fruit really doesn't get hot when you do this.

Skin MD Natural

I wanted to share some information about a product that I recently started using. It's Skin MD Natural -- it's a lotion that shields the skin from unwanted pollutants and it has a sunscreen in it. I love love love this lotion!!! I have been using it on Caleb's cheeks. He has eczema and this is really helping!! For myself I have been using it in place of a moisturizer. It's light and odor free -- because I have had some pre-cancerous moles on my skin I love the SPF.

This lotion is kind of expensive BUT I think it's totally worth it.

Check it out.

The Best Banana Bread EVER!!!!

I have been searching for a good banana bread recipe. I finally found THE one. I found this on Pinching Your Pennies. I used sour cream.


Lazy Bear's Banana Bread

1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened in microwave
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (3 to 4 medium)
1/2 cup - your choice - buttermilk or plain yogurt (my fav is sour cream)
1 teaspoon vanilla (my favorite is banana flavoring)
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts - (pecans, walnuts or almonds)


1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottoms only of 2 loaf pans.
2. Mix sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt just until moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour into pans.
3. Bake 1 hour to 1 1/4 hours depending on size of loaf pan.
I always use this method ~ until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool 10 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pans; remove bread and place top side up on wire rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours, before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days, or refrigerate up to 10 days. Freezes well.

Photography

I am having more and more people ask me do photography for them. I started yet another blog where you can see a SMALL SAMPLING of some of my work.

Here's the link.....

I am lost.......again........ but not on Facebook this time

I am lost in the world of potty training.

If you have done it before you know what I mean..... You just start to do something semi-productive and you hear, "Poppy again" not to be confused with Poopy, because we haven't gotten that far yet....

I am not complaining. I am just looking forward to the time he can take care of it all by himself....

Fireproof

If you haven't seen the movie "Fireproof" yet you are missing out!!! It is a great movie that you can feel good about watching. It is a Christian movie with great values. And HELLO -- KIRK CAMERON -- the boy whose poster's used to hang on my wall when I was like 12.... I saw an interview with him talking about the movie and I thought it was great that he and his wife have an agreement that even if it's for a movie roll they will never kiss someone else.... there is a kissing scene in the movie and Kirk's wife is the stand-in.

Rent it for Valentine's and watch it with your honey!


From the website:

"At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter's adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules.

Growing up, Catherine Holt always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter...just like her daddy. Now, after seven years of marriage, Catherine wonders when she stopped being "good enough" for her husband.

Regular arguments over jobs, finances, housework, and outside interests have readied them both to move on to something with more sparks.

As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb's father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment: "The Love Dare." Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb agrees-for his father's sake more than for his marriage. When Caleb discovers the book's daily challenges are tied into his parents' new found faith, his already limited interest is further dampened.

While trying to stay true to his promise, Caleb becomes frustrated time and again. He finally asks his father, "How am I supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects me?"

When his father explains that this is the love Christ shows to us, Caleb makes a life-changing commitment to love God. And with God's help he begins to understand what it means to truly love his wife.

But is it too late to fireproof his marriage? His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever...rescuing his wife's heart."

Hey wait.... It's not Easter.....

But I have been hunting eggs on Facebook...

G&H Pictures....

It was a good game --- even though the cops won......