Catch ya on the flip side!
Flip side = MY NEW BLOG!!!
Alrighty lovas, I've made the leap to bigger, better things!
You can see me over here now:
See ya soon!
a YOU challenge
I have a challange for all you foodie mamas! I have a crapton of beef parts that I was given as a package deal when we bought our first organic 1/4 steer. The place we got it from threw in all these "extras" and i didn't want to turn down the challenge of trying new things.
Here goes: I have
Beef tongue
Beef knuckles
Ox Tail
Can you help me out? What would you make with any of these things? Links are helpful and encouraged!!
first snow!!
Yay!! Yahoo!! Okay - being a meteorologist i get a little too excited over the first snowfall. EVEN if it was only an inch. Blake and I went outside and built a snowman! Of course this was also my sneaky way to get his cuteness on my moms vintage sled. I was SOOO excited when she let me have it! Thanks mom! The sled is an awesome addition to my winter session props!
To see more pictures with this awesome vintage sled visit my Facebook page!
we are thankful
I know. I am a bit late on this post. Turkey day came and went and I had company, and you know how it goes. Well I do have some fun little things that took place on and around turkey day for ya to make up for the lateness ;)
WE ARE THANKFUL TABLECLOTH
We decided this year to start a new tradition now that the boys are getting older. I bought a white microfiber tablecloth and we wrote what each of us were thankful for and the year in permanent marker. This way we will be able to see what we were thankful for each year and see how we grow and change. (especially he little guys!)
FRUITY FALL TURKEY
I was tasked to help out for Porter's "fall" party (because apparently we are no longer allowed to actually do ANYTHING associated with halloween…hmph…), so did a little searching and found this bad boy on Pinterest. And to be quite honest i CANNOT find the original post. I don't remember what i searched when i found it…ugh. If anyone knows link up!
Anyways heres whatcha need to make this glorious bird:
NEED:
~Either a butternut squash or Cantaloupe (I used Butternut squash)
~Purple Grapes (back feathers)
~Cheddar Cheese (back feathers)
~Kabob Skewers
~Red Pepper, Yellow Pepper, Orange Pepper (Feathers, Beak, and Gobbler)
~Bosc Pear (head)
~Raisins (eyes)
Poke the Skewers with alternating cheese and grapes into the squash.
At the front of the squash - Use sliced red, yellow, and orange peppers for the feathers.
Poke a skewer through the pear and into the squash as the head.
Use tooth pikes to put the raisin eyes in and the beak and gobbler as well.
Use a red pepper into feet and place in front of squash
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here is what it will look like when finished!
Secret little Toy Store
I just discovered the cutest little toy store. The kind of store that carries the not in "big box" store stuff. I am talkin the owner KNOWS the creators of Melissa and Doug. And its right here in Exton! Its called Bull Market Toys and its in right up route 100 in the Eagleview housing area near the Eagleview YMCA.
They have an online store as well with a warehouse full of even more specialty toys. I got a chance to chat with the owner of this toy store and his message was pretty clear. His goal was to give his customers a store they felt comfortable being in, a place that allows your kids to play while you shop, a display not too over bearing with floor to ceiling toys, but rather a well displayed selection of unique one of a kind toys.
He also pointed out (and its genius really) that toys are kind of like the stock market (name of the store…hint hint), If you invest in good quality long term toys, i.e. those that will never go out of style but will only be valued more as time passes, then you'll be able to get out of the toys what you purchase them for with proper care. Makes complete sense :-)
Big box stores can offer a lot of toy manufacturers items in limited types/styles…
Bull Market Toys offers a handful of great name brands - with LOTS of unique one of a kind options.
And for me - being a small business owner myself - I would absolutely go to a locally owned toy store rather then to a chain store. It's not only the selection, it's the people who make these places unique.
Super cozy and a toy!
Porter LOVES all things snuggly - so when I introduced him to the Cuddle Uppet he immediately loved it! It wasn't until I showed him that it was a puppet too that it instantly became his new sleep pal and play toy! He loves creating shows with his doggy Cuddle Uppet.
Would be a fantastic christmas gift for any kid - it's such a cute way to snuggle up!
10,000 cookie project
Okay so I thought this was an awesome idea!
Backstory…
There is a woman i know of who baked a dozen chocolate chip cookies for her husband to bring to work. One day she got a call from an HR lady at his company who LOVED the cookies and said the big boss guy was interested in giving out her cookies as a christmas gift to al of the employees at this company. A quarterly news article listed below shows an example of last years efforts. (CertainTeed)
There is a need for volunteers this year again and I told her I would pass along the information to all of my readers! So here is a letter from Rosemary about the project! If you can make either date - all help is welcome!
Hello Friends and Family,
I have been talking about it all year and now the time has come!! This is an invitation to join me in earning $10,000 for World Vision. This year, the money will be used to rebuild lives of the victims of Superstorm Sandy.
How can you help? Put on an apron and help me bake, package and ship 10,000 chocolate chip cookies. With your help, we can accomplish this in 7 hours! But this project needs MANY hands on deck...so please invite any responsible individuals who have a heart for helping. There is a 47 foot oven in the middle of the shop, so as far as bringing younger people to help...bring anyone who is old enough to be careful around that kind of equipment. Also, do not feel like you need to be available the entire time. Shifts will be personalized to the hours you can make it.
Last year, as a result of the cookies made, $9,200 was donated to World Vision by CertainTeed (see article below). Along with that donation, CertainTeed began regularly donating roofing material (at least 17 huge flat bed truckloads so far!) and have commited to giving every other month. Hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of materials donated ALL because of THESE cookies. A-mazing! So, come and join me in this exciting and very valuable project.
Thank you! - Rosemary
Ike Stoltzfus is generously allowing us to use his pretzel-making facility in his shop in Lancaster. I suspect that it might be easiest to commute with others so please let me know if you would like to join in a carpool. I will post updates to this project (like if I get a donation for the ingredients...oh, I hope so!) and anything else pertinent to this project.
IMPORTANT UPDATE!! SECOND VOLUNTEER DAY 'SCOOPING DAY" JUST SCHEDULED!!
We will be mixing, scooping and freezing dough balls on Saturday, Dec.1st from 2:30pm to 6:30pm prior to our baking day on December 3rd (at the same location). Scooping is the most laborious part of this project and we will need many hands to scoop the huge amount of dough we will be mixing. If you are available for 'Scooping Day', please clarify that in your RSVP. You can also email me at drrosy@hotmail.com. Thank you!!!
Exton mall play area GRAND OPENING
I was super excited to be one of the area bloggers to attend the Exton mall exclusive pre ribbon cutting ceremony where there was face painting, Chik-Fila-a drinks and food, free kids toys, a clown making balloon animals and most importantly a bag of goodies! So needless to say as much fun as we had at the pre ribbon cutting ceremony - Blake was SOOO SUPER excited to get into the NEW play are to start playing! He had a ball! Thanks Exton mall for the new play area, and thanks very much for the goodies.
Goodies included:
$25 GC to Exton mall
Flower in flower pot from Waterloo Gardens (not shown)
Pear scented soy Wax candle from Waterloo Gardens
Box of Kids stackable building cards
My 30th Birthday - 30 RAOK
This list is the list of some of the 30 random acts i did during the 30 weeks before my 30th birthday! It was fulfilling and fun. And so great to help other people.
1. Helped a co-worker who was going through upsetting home issues by baking cupcakes and leaving an encouraging note
2. Encouraging sticky notes
3. Thank you note to the mailman
4. A large then usual tip for your hairdresser
5. Lotto Ticket taped to lotto vending machine
6. Bought some groceries for an older lady
7. Donated to the animal hospital
8. Baked a Yummy ‘bake sale’ treat
9. Mowed a neighbros lawn
10. Bought dessert for a table at a resturaunt
11. Overpayed for an item on craigslist
12. Sent a Friend an out of the blue letter
13. Payed parking in exhausted meters
14. Pushed Carts to inside the store not to stalls
15. Helped someone with their gardening
16. Lotto ticket in addition to payment for a service provided
17. Put quarters in kids toy machines for the next kids who saw it
18. Taped quarters on pepsi machine
19. Told a man that his bag was about to break - saving him from dropping everything
20. Gave a homeless guy money
21. Porter and I passed around pictures he drew to the neighbors
22. Gave a girl a little sweet treat after seeing her daddy pick her up from falling and getting hurt
23. Met some neighbors by introducing myself
24. Donated boys underwear (NEW of course!) to Cradles for Crayons
25. Helped cleanup a giant water mess on Amtrak
26. Fed a hungry and homeless guy in NYC
27. Blake and I passed balloons for the kiddos
28. Helped an older lady in a cart moving chair with hard to reach items.
29. Dropped $1 in the dollar bin at Target
30. Let a woman go in front of me in line at the customer service desk (my original reason for going to Walmart today was to return something)
ROAK - 30th Birthday week!
Let me clarify something here. I loved doing the RAOK throughout the last 30 weeks. But it's not as easy as i thought it would be. Not that doing nice things are easy. There are just those days…those days when you are feeling great, want to be nice to everyone you see, do those acts that puts smiles on peoples faces…and then theres those people. You know them. The ones who are in a hurry, who force cut in line, frown at everyone, and are just plain miserable to everyone around them. In my experience, I sometimes have to think about - this person could be having a rotten day. Try a little bit harder to be nice, or smile, or just plain force your niceness on to them. Heck - I'm sure we have plenty of coworkers who come in every day with an attitude that they want no part of talking or engaging in normalcies with anyone around them. Just miserable.
As far as my last few RAOK - since i was taken off guard with some sicknesses in the past couple weeks…I made up the rest of the ones i had left all at once!
Last 3 RAOK…
Helped an older lady in a cart moving chair with hard to reach items.
Dropped $1 in the dollar bin at Target
Let a woman go in front of me in line at the customer service desk
Have a lovely day!
View Comments