2009 Women's Conference

I kept wondering if I should attend this conference with my mom and sister. Well, I waited a bit too long so I won't be there with all of you. Please take notes and share what you learn with me!

The theme this year is “In the Strength of the Lord.” The scriptures repeatedly remind us that when we put our trust and confidence in the Lord’s strength we can be prepared for any challenge, do any hard thing, face any difficulty, and feel at peace in any circumstance. At a time when the world attempts to entice women away from fundamental and eternal truths, we have the reassurance that the Lord’s promises are sure. As David sung in Psalm 27, “The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid.”

In the past I have enjoyed the sharing stations, click here if you want to see the past stations - they are now Virtual Sharing Stations are ideas that are available on serving, teaching, and helping one another in our homes, schools, communities, and church callings—especially with ourselves. Check them out because they have pdf handouts and lots of good information.

Here are the transcripts from the past years.

Sprint Races after Mutual

I saw the young women running sprints on the grass after mutual. I told them to wait up for me because I wanted to join them. They were a little surprised - but I think I showed them that I still can run even though I have a few years on them. After two sprints, I was done! I think I need to add that to my workout. I use to run sprints all the time - boy does it get your heart beating fast. I wish I had a picture to share for you - it sure was a lot of fun.

Muffin Tin Mania

I have come across these really cute kid meals that I adore! What child wouldn't want to eat these delicious and fun meals? I love the presentation and creativity.

Check out this blog (Her Cup Overfloweth) - she has many ladies that share their muffin tin ideas. They have fun themed challenges. This week is "Under the Sea", previously it has been breakfast ideas, literature themes, shape themes, holiday themes, etc.

The original author of Muffin Tin Monday (Sycamore Stirrings) shares some fun Halloween ideas, click HERE.

You can get lots of great ideas between these two blogs - remember you can type Muffin Tin into the blog search and it will pull up all their posts related to this topic.

Look at this fun little lunch!

This meal was based on a book - it was a fun literature challenge.

Here is a fun breakfast meal in a muffin tin.

Here is a fun pizza meal -let them make their own!

Here is a fun fruit tray - looks beautiful and delicious!

Now what can you create? Please share your pictures with us! I will post all your pictures if you send me a link to them on your blog (if you don't have a blog, email me the picture at www.tiffwinward@hotmail.com )

Menu Monday

Monday - left over Classic Pot of Bean soup (great way to use the dried beans in your food storage), bread, fruit smoothie. Porter is the only one that really LOVES this basic soup. It is very healthy and hearty. I actually think it's pretty good.

Tuesday - homemade ravioli and lasagna leftovers (from a meeting of Paul's), salad, ?. My neighbor makes her own homemade ravioli every Thursday. She gave me a frozen bag of these noodles, I can't wait to try them.

Wednesday- Taco Salad - super easy! Just pull out the frozen cooked hamburger, use the spring mix (from Costco $1.99 for plastic tub), add shredded cheese, brown rice, olives, tomatoes, green onions, salsa, ranch dressing and crushed chips.

Thursday- Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings (this will use some refrigerated biscuits - I still have plenty), and smoothie

Friday - Muffin Tin Dinner (look at this post for more information). I ran across this idea when I was blogging and it looked so fun. Ideally I think it would work best for lunch time with kids. But since school isn't out yet, I thought I would try it for a fun kids meal.

Saturday- I think we have been invited over for dinner at the neighbors - I'm still hoping!

Sunday- Costa Vida Salad (I like this because I can throw the meat in a crockpot and have everything else pretty much ready to go in the fridge).

Swine Flu & Week One to Pandemic Preparedness

If you read the headlines of the newspaper or have watched today's news, you will notice that everyone is concerned about the swine flu. It traces back to Mexico but confirmed cases are popping up in the United States as well as other countries. The White House says it's not a time to panic, however they are taking protective steps if it worsens. Okay, I'm not saying to panic either, I'm saying let's get prepared. Thanks to Mom and Keith for finding a great 10 week Preparedness Challenge (click here for the full scoop). I will give you the details week by week (but if you are too antsy to get it all down just click that prior link for the FULL scoop)!

Week #1
2 buckets
1 box of contractor type garbage bags (To make your own porta-potty in case you lose utilities)
Kitty litter - 1 bag per/person. This can be used for absorbing all bodily fluids.
Extra garbage bags for soiled/contaminated clothing, towels or regular garbage disposal
Pet food/prescriptions, water – don’t forget them!

For more informating about the swine flu, look at these two sites:
Center for Disease Control (CDC) website here,
World Health Organization (WHO) website here

We are encouraged to prepare for a pandemic outbreak. The church has lots of useful information about pandemic preparation. Click the following link -Pandemic Preparedness Planning - I like it because it is broken down into different categories including:
Home and Family Preparedness
Personal Hygiene
Personal Protective Equipment
Infectious Disease Cleanup
Sheltering in Place
Social Distancing
Workplace Preparedness
Health Care Worker Preparedness

My Dreams are Coming True

I've had dreams (or I should rephrase it as nightmares) lately of being overweight...maybe it's about those pants that I split the seam out of while working outside (true story and very embarrassing). But tonight Paul confirmed to me that my tummy is getting bigger. It's something that he has noticed lately. Humm....he then went on to continue by asking if I was pregnant! What!? No, I'm not pregnant...this tummy is all my own! He must like my growing tummy because he likes to rub it. Thanks for being completely honest....I don't know if I like hearing that even if it may be true. It's just as bad as a friend's husband telling her one day that she looked bloated. I think men should tread very lightly when referring to women's weight.

P.S. Paul reminded me that he loves me no matter what. But in my mind, I think what does that mean? He loves me even though I have a growing marshmallow tummy? Be careful men, just don't say anything. Usually by saying something it makes it even worse.

What Heaven Sees in You

I love this video. It goes right along with my lesson in Young Women's today. Do any of you know how to download youtube videos so that you can watch them on your own computer off-line (that way I could take a laptop to church for my class)? I did it for Mom and now it won't work for me!

Never mind...Paul figured out how to download it.

My Secret Eye Make-up Remover

This is the no name brand from the Dollar Store. I just love this creamy petroleum jelly (or you can use the Vaseline brand) because it takes off my eye makeup so well! I have used lots of different products from the regular make up brands to expensive Body Shop products - but this is my favorite of them all and it is by far the cheapest at only one dollar! This bottle lasted me a few months. Finally I squeezed every last bit of it so today I made a run to the Dollar store where I picked up five more bottles to last me a year or more!

I just thought I would share this little secret with you. I use it with cotton pads! LOVE IT!

Ham and Cheese Braid & More!

I took some pictures of the process of making this recipe. I got this recipe from Fabulessly Frugal where there are more great instructions and photos. I have posted this recipe on Let's Gather in the Kitchen (the recipe blog of my sisters and sisters-in-laws), click HERE.

I made my own bread dough and decided to multiply my efforts. I baked one for dinner and put two in the freezer for later. I did get carried away on the poppy seeds - it is 1 tsp. instead of 1 T. like I misread. My children really liked this recipe. They even packed the leftovers for their school lunches the next day! I guess it was a hit.

Tips: Instead of using thinly sliced ham, I chopped ham into bite size pieces from a big ham that I cooked up. I have three more in my fridge. One was on sale at Albertsons and two were free from the Unilever promotion a week or so ago. Then with my ham bone (it still had lots of meat on it that I didn't want to waste) I made a pot of beans from Rick Bayless's "Mexican Kitchen" cookbook. One thing leads to another....I didn't plan on making the beans!

Here is the picture of the pot of beans and bar chocolate chip cookies (using two Betty Crocker cookie pouches. I love the bar idea because it takes less time to bake - you are done at once! Click HERE for the pot of beans recipe.

HOA - Last Blast

Many of you know that I have served as president of an HOA for the past year. It has been quite a learning experience and a huge headache. Oddly enough I was looking forward to tonight's meeting because I was announcing my resignation. Unfortunately there were not enough homeowners present to make a quorum, which is needed to hold an official meeting. So our meeting was "unofficial". Despite the fact that we could not vote as an HOA, all three of us board members RESIGNED. It's a long story that I don't want to bore you with but hopefully it really has come to an end. It just is a little tricky because with no board does the HOA go back to the developer (who still retains a 75% voting right - so our votes essentially don't really matter because he can override anything we want)? Hopefully these questions get cleared up tomorrow.

I'm almost done with a year long headache! Just a few loose ends. Yeah! Let's have a party- your house or mine?

Menu Monday - just late

I'm a little behind on this. Life is crazy now with soccer beginning. Our meal times are difficult because we are all over the place. I really need a menu to keep up with everything.

Monday - We had pizza, carrots, fruit smoothie

Tuesday - We had a recycled meal that everyone loved. I made a chicken pesto dish a couple weeks ago that not very many people liked. So I cubed the cooked chicken and tossed it into the freezer. Then I pulled it out and looked at this Garlic Chicken Farfalle recipe that Tami posted and adapted it. I used fat-free half and half, garlic, S & P, cooked bacon bits, 1 TB of butter, along with Parmesan cheese. Everyone enjoyed it! (I also used whole wheat pasta).

Wednesday- 80 degrees humm....what's my plan today? Oh, yes - leftovers! Wednesdays are crazy!

Okay - something you need to know. I plan my menus around the weather (along with the sales) that is why I included that information. I don't like to turn on the oven on hot days - who does? Those days I cook on the stove, crockpot, outside grill or have something very simple. On cooler days, I have the freedom to make anything (it's a great day to bake)! Does anyone else look at the week's forecast before planning their menu?

Thursday- 56/rain Ham and Cheese Braid (trying this freezer meal recipe I will post the link if I like it), salad, veggie

Friday - 57/rain Sweet and Sour Chicken, brown rice, edamame from Costco - we love it (I keep skipping this meal - it does take a little work and time, but it's worth it)

Saturday - 60 partly cloudy - Grilled brauts, fries, veggie tray, pork and beans

Sunday - 61/rain Spaghetti, bread, veggie - maybe I'll try something new instead because this sounds sort of boring!

ThunderMountain Railroad & General Mills

I have been wanting to go on this train ride with my kids and now there is a great offer at KCL (Krazy Coupon Ladies) - click here to check it out. Who else wants to go with me?

Plus check out the General Mills deals at Albertsons that begin tomorrow, click HERE. I need Albertsons to give me a break! It has been sale after sale...and I just can't pass them up. Monday I bought 8 more Sunday newspapers (in addition to my one) just to have the coupons, especially the Albertson's doublers. I am stocking up my pantry and closets with some great deals. Does anyone know how to buy a Sunday paper for less than $1 each - is it possible?

I don't post about my great buys here (that would be a full-time job) - but believe me I take advantage of them!

P.S. I just read that strawberries are on sale for $3.99 for 4 lbs. at Cash and Carry... I just bought them for $1.50 a pound at Costco. I just made a couple batches of strawberry freezer jam today. My kids just wolf them down fresh!

May 7th - First Nickel Auction

The date is Thursday, May 7th at 7pm.

If you don't know what I am talking about, read my prior post about this. I will tell you the location via email. Please leave me your email and I will get back with you or send it to me at tiffwinward@hotmail.com.

Everyone please bring a snack, treat, appetizer, or something to share. I hope lots of you come so this will be a blast.

They all Got In

All my kids got into the charter school this year! Yeah! I was very surprised because I knew there were only two second grade openings. So next year I will have:
Vivian - kindergarten
Olivia - 2nd grade
Porter - 5th grade
Corbin- 8th grade
We will all be on the same break schedule! Take a look at this:
No school:
Oct 12-16 (week earlier in fall)
Nov 23-27 (week of Thanksgiving)
Dec 21-Jan 8 (three weeks for Christmas)
Mar 29- April 9 (two weeks for spring break)
plus a couple in-service days, Labor Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents Day, and Memorial Day

That also means that we will hopefully be able to take a family trip when it's less busy!

Our Sunday Events

After Stake Conference, we enjoyed a picnic lunch on the grass at the Stake Center. I don't like being stuck in traffic - so I packed a lunch and we enjoyed sandwiches, grapes, chips, strawberry milk, andGo-Gurts while everyone else waiting to get out of the parking lot! Then we went home to pick up some water, and new shoes for Vivian (she wore black ones to church instead of white ones). Leaving the subdivision we saw a mother duck and her ducklings. Oh, I love spring time and the ducklings and goslings!

Our next stop was the Temple. A couple weeks ago Corbin and I were there with the youth doing baptisms for the dead when we saw the beautiful flowers. So today we enjoyed the temple grounds - what a lovely day!

They completely changed the temple entrance - now it is adorned with beautiful flowers beds!

Next stop Julia Davis Park. We love feeding the geese and ducks. Paul found a family of goslings. Oh, they were precious and barely strong enough to stand for a couple seconds. Olivia wanted me to catch one and bring it home. Don't encourage me to much! I had four ducklings that I raised in my backyard (it ended up being three because one died). My girlfriend and I had a great idea to buy them for our boyfriend's Easter gift. Well on Easter Sunday, Kristen and Damon were on my doorstep with two baby ducks. They did not want them and left them for me. By that time, I didn't want mine either (I figured my boyfriend wouldn't want them) because they were messy! Well, three of the ducks made it to adulthood that summer in my backyard. They wandered around, woke my mom up each morning at the kitchen window (waiting to be fed), and made a big mess all over the patio and our neighbors driveway and sidewalks. What fun memories! Funny thing is that I never asked for permission to bring these ducks home. Thanks Mom for being such a good sport!

Corbin Performs - video fixed!

Corbin performed in his school talent show - without any nudging from me! We were all there to support him. Olivia thought it was so cool that his charter school had a talent show that she wants to change schools. I am crossing my fingers that Porter and Olivia get into this school (lottery system) - I know that Vivian made it in. I will find out Monday.

This little girl was brave to sing a church song, I wanted to share it with you.

Tea Party

Here are a few minutes of video that I recorded at the tea party.

I was thrilled to attend my local tea party with Sharee - thanks Sharee for going with me! Bigger government and over spending is NOT the answer to our problems. Washington DC needs to wake up and listen to the voice of the people.

Don't Mess with Texas!

Texas Governor Rick Perry chatted with Glenn Beck this week - click here for the transcript.

Here is another interesting article.

Texas is looking better and better. I'm proud of Governor Rick Perry for standing up to the Federal Government. Take time to watch the video and read the articles - they are very important. Tonya and Michele, here I come!

Tax Day

This is normally a day that I loathe (because I learn how much money the government is taking from me and then wasting!). However this year I am half way looking forward to tax day (except for the phone call from my cpa).

Today is Special because:

Tea Parties are going on all over the country. I wanted so badly to be in San Antonio, Texas today for the big Tea Party with Glenn Beck. I checked airline prices a few times. (April save your money for the next gathering- we have to be there!)

From the Tea Party Boise Mission Statement:"It is our basic mission at Tea Party Boise to return to the people of this country their opportunity to have personal freedom. With this being the basic premise we stand upon, we can unite the average American people by assuring them that their individual voices are heard. Through the organized strength of our numbers, integrity of our mission, and intelligence of our goals, we will unite the “lone voice(s)” for the cause of freedom." Click this link to check the schedule for our local tea party. They have events going all day. If you live elsewhere, click this link and find your tea party - click on your state.


Many places are trying to take the sting out of today by offering freebies, including:

• Winco is selling their fresh pizzas 1/2 price today only. They freeze well, too!
• $0.99 waffle cones at TCBY - every Wednesday.
• Taco Del Mar Go HERE to register to get a free taco on tax day; find your nearest location HERE.
• Cinnabons are giving away free cinnamon bites from 5-8:00 PM. Read about it HERE and locate your nearest Cinnabon HERE.
• 15% off your food and drink purchase on tax day. Find location and make your reservation HERE.
• Free scoop of ice cream on tax day at Maggie Moo's. Find your location HERE.

I can reply to your comments - Help me!

I love reading your comments - they are automatically forwarded to me email account. I need your help so that I can respond to your comments, emails, and questions. Please follow these directions:

1- On your Blogger dashboard, select the "Settings" option. From the settings page, select the "Comments" tab.

2- This will bring up a new page, scroll to the bottom and you will see "Comments Notification Email" at the very bottom with a box to enter your email address in.

3- Add your email address and save your new settings.

I am notified of all your comments even if they are left on old posts. But this way (after you follow those three easy steps) I can respond directly to you on your email account.

Please make this adjust on your blogger dashboard! Thank you so much, Tiffani

Watch out for Ladies with the BIG BINDERS

Tonight after Enrichment (where I spoke about Food Storage on a Budget and Tamra Irish spoke about Couponing -p.s. check out Discount Queens where she is a contributor) I stopped by Albertsons for my last two transactions with this great sale. There I ran into Tamra (surprise...surprise) and I met a couple other couponers - you can spot them a mile away with their big coupon binders! The store was almost completely empty so we talked about the hot deals and shared coupons with each other. It really captured the true spirit of couponing - sharing deals with each other! Thanks Tamra for the lipton sides coupons - I used all 12 of them.

The spell checker doesn't like the word "couponing or couponers" so I don't know if they are real words. Oh well, I love to make up my own words, I do it all the time.

Food Storage Calculators

Here is any easy way to calculate how much food storage your family needs. Here are two different calculators that do almost the same thing. (I know many of you know about this already).

Here is the first one.

Here is the second one - this one you have to create a username and password. It helps you track what you have.

I calculate all my family members as adults that way I don't have to redo my food amounts down the road.

Food Storage Blogs

As I was searching for food storage information to share at Enrichment tonight, I came across these great blogs. I know there are many more but I don't want to overwhelm you or me - I will share more in the future. For now, take a look at these. I think this will keep us all busy!

1. I just found this blog and LOVE it called Prepared LDS Family (it is a personal blog- hence, not a business or monetized). Here you will find a wealth of information along with lessons to help you start your food storage including (currently she is on lesson four - so you are not too far behind):

1. New Church Home (Food) Storage Guidelines

2. Food Storage Budget - she divides her purchases into two categories:grocery and food storage

3. Calculate How Much to Store - she has an awesome excel food storage calculator - great tool

4. Taking inventory - she has created inventory sheets!

Check out her site because she has 12 more lessons coming. She also has great lessons in preparing your 72 hour kits and many pdf files available for you to download.

2. Food Storage Recipe Book - using only the ingredients contained in the One-Month Basic Food Storage Kit - some great basic recipes.

3. The Pantry Panel - a group blog. Check out the container gardening class presentation.

4. The Fun with Food Storage - a cute blog (with tons of ads) that breaks it down into three easy steps: plan it, buy it, eat it (click on each of the three steps for more information).

5. Preparedness Matters - a personal blog about food storage. I like her frugality challenges, plus recipes and lots of information.

6. My Food Storage Deals - your year supply one week at a time! She has great recipes (even one for chocolate frosties), and awesome food storage room, check out her post "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear" it has an amazing picture and story.

Take a Look at this Nickel Auction

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

Okay everyone are you ready to try something new and fun? How about some "economy shopping"? Thanks to Jen for sharing this with me! I thought I would try to get a group of women together (the more the better). Please let me know if you are interested by leaving me a comment with your email address or you can email me direct at tiffwinward@hotmail.com. Check back soon for date, time and details - it all depends on how much response I get!

Okay the date has been set - CLICK HERE for the latest info!

Here are the rules that they listed on KSL under the video:

• Those attending can bring whatever they want to try to sell (items you are going to give to goodwill, grocery items you really aren't going to consume, bottles of lotions or bath essentials, partially used scrapbooking supplies, clothing, books, home décor, etc.)

• Since all good gatherings require good food, everyone brings a potluck dish to share. As you arrive, you sign up for a selling slot.

• Participants sell in the order they arrive. Each seller has a 10 minutes time limit. All bids start at five cents and bids need to be dividable by 5 (no 38 cent bids, here!). You can jump the bidding, but the amount must be dividable by five. The bidding can go as high as the bidders are willing to go, no limits. *Some auctions opt to allow the seller to set a starting bid.

• For timing purposes, no commentary about the item being sold is allowed (Example: "I bought this three years ago, my daughter loves it," etc.)

• Once the item is bid out, toss the item to the winning bidder and someone (working as scribe) writes down the name of the person and the price they committed to.

• Then the next item starts, same process!

• When that seller is all done, the scribe shouts out the totals for all the winning bidders, they put their money in a bucket of sorts that gets passed around the room (like a collection plate) and it all goes to that seller.

• The next seller starts.

So do you wanna give it a try?

Gossners

Gossner's is a family favorite and a family tradition (almost every time we visit grandma/pa Ramsey). I love their $0.99 kiddie cones- it doesn't matter how old you are! I love their cheese curds, their little milks in many flavors (don't need refrigeration until opened- great for school lunches and food storage), and their samples. I usually fall for my favorite ice cream, black licorice! I remember having this flavor as a child. It is usually very hard to find - but not anymore. If you are ever near Burley, Idaho - you must take a quick detour off the freeway (it's not very far) it will be worth the stop!

Easter Weekend

• Easter Egg Hunt on hospital lawn - it was more like an Easter Egg Race!Golf cart races at Grandpa/ma Clark's house - Corbin loved driving by himself.
• Easter Egg coloring with grandma Clark.
• Easter Bunny cake decorating with Aunt Ellen - this is the traditional Easter Cake.
• Easter Egg coloring with grandma/pa Ramsey
• Ice cream outing to Gossners
• Plastic Easter egg hunt at grandma/pa Ramseys
• Plus a movie night "The Tale of Desperaux", lots of good food and late nights.

Menu Monday and looking for your favorite recipe!

Okay it's time to empty out my freezer because it is bursting with food. I just hit a great Albertsons sale and had to pass up on the icecream because I have no room!

Monday - Shrimp scampi and Linguine (frozen Bertolli meal), cheesey whole wheat bread, sugar snap peas

Tuesday -Tacos and Spanish Rice

Wednesday- Sweet and Sour Chicken, brown rice, veggie

Thursday- leftovers

Friday-mini pizzas using the grands biscuits - I still have many left.

Saturday - Share your favorite recipe with me! I will post all recipes that I receive, please email them to me at tiffwinward@hotmail.com

Sunday- Costa Vida Sweet Pork Salad (because it's so easy and I can stick it in the crockpot) the other toppings I just have ready in the fridge.

In Praise of Stay-at-Home Moms

I am thrilled that Dr. Laura has written a new book titled "In Praise of Stay at Home Moms". This is a brand new book that she is promoting. I haven't read it yet - but hope too (I hope the library has a copy). If you have read the book, please give us a review! She was on Glenn Beck's Fox News show today.

She has more little clips about stay at home moms on you tube - that should show up after you view this one. Click the up arrow and then click on the bottom little screen and that will link you to the other videos.

Moving things around

I am working on this blog design - be patient I'm very unexperienced with this stuff. Tiff

10 Reasons Why I don't Have My Food Storage

I found this list on Wendy Dewitt's Blog, click here. I find it interesting that some people take food storage seriously and other's simply dismiss it. I am constantly working on my food storage, but I have heard several of these reasons from people I know. Read through them and evaluate where you are (my notes are in blue).


10. My neighbors have a TWO year supply! No, they don't. They don't have any food. Did you know that 85% of the members of the church don't have any food storage at all? If your idea of food storage is to eat someone else’s food………..this is a really bad plan. (This is really upsetting to me - what is self reliance?)

9. I've paid tithing for 20 years...the church can give me a little food. Many members believe that when the times get hard, the church is going to come through like Joseph in Egypt. Absolutely not true. All the church storehouses and welfare farms across the country would only feed 4% of the members of the church. The church has been asking YOU to store food for 75 years. They're NOT storing food for you. Thus, another bad plan.

8. I'm moving in with my children / parents! Really....that’s just a bad plan all by itself. But it points out that most members don't have a year's supply because they're PLANNING on eating someone else's food! Of course, since no one HAS any food, we have yet another bad plan. (I am from a very large family. After being together for a weekend, I'm ready to return to my own home. Even though I love them all, this would be my VERY last resort...and I would still bring my food with me. My parents shouldn't have to plan for my family.)

7. I have a year's supply...and the bullets to go with it! I've heard time and again, "How dumb is that to go to all the time and expense of getting food...just to have some guy with a gun come and shoot my family to take it away?" Here's a better question. Are you afraid of the guy with the gun? Or are you more afraid of BECOMING the guy with the gun? What would you do if your children were starving to death? Would you lie? Cheat? Steal? Would you shoot your neighbor for his food? I guarantee....if you were watching your child starving to death, you would do anything you had to to keep them alive. If you don't have your year's supply, you are putting yourself in danger of losing not only your temporal salvation, but your spiritual salvation as well.So far, all the reasons we don't have our food storage involve eating someone else's food. Please, don't put your family's temporal salvation in other people's hands. No one is storing food for you. Not your neighbors, not the government...not even the church.

6. The boat and the 4 wheelers are taking up all my storage space! (priorities!) (You can always find room to squeeze food storage into your house - I am the master, let me know if you need help.)

5. 3 letters....Y2K. Ok, that's 2 letters and a number....but they're always making way too much out of everything! This is never going to happen!” (Every prophecy that has ever been given WILL happen.)

4. If anything DOES happen, the government will be here within hours! (insert laughter) Did you know the government has been telling us that we need to have food storage? They're actually CALLING it food storage! We now have the government telling us to store food, water, medicines...whatever we will need to be able to stay in our homes for several months. (I wouldn't count on it... click here for their website)

3. I can't afford scrap booking AND food storage. The average food storage can cost as little as a dollar a day. We live in the richest society in the history of the world, and while there are cases where money may be a problem, most of the time it is a matter of priorities. We have chosen bigger homes, nicer cars, more tv's, computers, vacations ...everything is more important than our food storage. If I asked, "Who has a cell phone?" most of you would say yes. You pay at least $30 a month to have a cell phone....that's about a dollar a day...the cost of one year's supply of food for your child. Is your cell phone really more important than your child's temporal salvation? You have to make food storage a priority. (Food is a priority - not cable TV, new clothes, vacations, big houses, going to the movies, buying books (use the library), etc. - Do you get the point?)

2. I'm waiting for the cannery to sell Papa John's dehydrated pizza! Food storage has always had a stigma attached to it. If it's not wheat, beans and powdered milk, it's not food storage. With the system I use, food storage can be sweet and sour chicken, tamale pie, chile and cornbread, beef stew, shepherd's pie, minestrone...even chocolate chip cookies! Your imagination (and your pocketbook) are the only limitations you have. (Store what you WILL EAT.)

#1 reason why I don't have my year's supply of food? A year?? I thought it was 72 hours!!

Menu Monday

Things have not been going as planned. I planned a menu last week, but didn't follow it very well.

Monday - grilled steak, baked potatoes, roasted asparagus

Tuesday- Mexican Manicotti, salad, chips

Wednesday- Left overs

Thursday- Fish Tacos, Spanish Rice, veggie

Friday- Southwest Pocket Chicken, brown rice, edamame

Saturday- Mini Pizzas, salad

Sunday- Something special for Easter? I need ideas for dinner and dessert!

Crafting Again

Last night I had a little fun using my Big Shot die cut machine with my brand new Stampin' Up! die "Baskets and Blooms". It was so easy to make and my very first one. When the girls saw how much fun I was having, they both had to make their own little basket (which they used today to collect their candy from General Conference bingo).

Watch and Be Ready

Take a moment to watch this video and prepare yourselves. If we are prepared we need not fear.

Dinner Appreciation Day at Jody's House

I loved this post and had to share it with you. Have you ever felt frustrated with dinner time because of family members complaining of this or that? You have to read this article. Jody, did your family learn the lesson you were trying to teach them? I have felt like going on strike sometimes because I sometimes feel unappreciated in my efforts.

Boise Bargain Basket - NEW!

I heard about this store from Tisha, my sister. After dinner we explored this new store, Boise Bargain Basket -it was across the street from Ono Hawaiian Cafe. I'm so glad that I brought my camera because I had to document our great deals and fun! Look we bought Oatmeal to go bars for $0.50 per box (they are out dated - but so what). Our best buy was a big bag of individually wrapped Swedish Fish and Sour Patch kids at $1.68 for 60 ounces!!!! Oh, the guys got pretty excited about this as you can tell. They have bags and bags of this so there is plenty for everyone to enjoy this bargain.

Disclaimer - not everything there is a good deal - you still have to search!

Ono Hawaiian Cafe - a little bit of Hawaii

Last night we had the opportunity to do a restaurant review for Ono Hawaiian Cafe (thanks to Krazy Coupon Lady) with Ryan and Alysia. Paul and I have been here before and enjoyed their Hawaiian cuisine so of course, we were thrilled for a date night. We enjoyed the buffet dinner which normally costs $21 per person - I thought that price was a little high. In all, I give this restaurant four out of five stars. Try out this restaurant by using a coupon from restaurant.com for even a greater deal. For lunch, I have ordered "Kanack Attack" which is grilled teriyaki chicken (my favorite), Kalua pig, and grilled teriyaki steak, served with three scoops of coconut infused rise (yummy) all for $14.00

I should have had the picture taken when we had our food - at this point we were all stuffed.

For the final review, click HERE.

My Conference Box

Well I pulled it off just before the morning conference session began. I was busy downloading a conference packet, bingo cards, apostle cards and more for our conference box. I liked the file folder idea that I found on Sugar Doodle (from the links I gave Monday). I bought everyone a cute little notebook - even Paul and myself. We ate a bag of M&M's. some Swedish Fish, and conversation hearts. Everyone loved it. I am going to add a few more surprises to the box tomorrow (new printed activities) to keep their interest and attention.

Crepes

Today I made a double batch of crepes to have ready for a dessert tomorrow or Sunday. As you can tell I have two crepe makers that I love. Before I found these handy little crepe makers (which I found at the Youth Ranch and a garage sale), I used a nonstick skillet (that works great, too) on the stove.

Here is the recipe that I use:

1 1/4 cups flour

2 Tbsp. sugar

Pinch of salt

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

1 tsp. lemon extract or 1 tsp. vanilla (I use vanilla)

Blend together in blender and until ingredients are mixed well and smooth. Then bake with crepe maker or in skillet. It takes a little practice in the skillet getting the right amount of batter. Make sure that you roll the batter in the skillet to help it spread out. Does that make sense?

We fill our crepes with any fresh or frozen berries, whip cream, various kinds of syrup. You can also add ice cream and chocolate. How do you dress up your crepes?

VT Conference Goodie Bag

I put together the fun V.T. Conference goodie bags and thought I would post a picture for you all to see - in the bag is a cute notebook, some extra gum, bag of microwave popcorn, and a sample of Body Shop foot lotion. Scroll down to Monday if you want the link. There are lots of other fun ideas there.

I bought my kids little notebooks at Michaels that come with a pen for $1 each. If I'm able to generate a positive attitude towards General Conference for them- then it is worth it.

Sprinkles and Fairies

Vivian came home yesterday from preschool with this colorful paper mache dinosaur named Sprinkles (or as Vivian says "Sprinkers" - still having a tough time with the "l" sound on the end of a word). Isn't it the cutest little thing you have seen? Today Sprinkles needs his tail and head re-glued because he had a tumble off the table during breakfast!

Olivia brought home a library book titled "Evie the Mist Fairy" it's part of the Rainbow Magic -The Weather Fairies collection. Olivia loves to read, especially these fun books. After school each day she diligently gets her reading done before she plays with friends, outside or the computer. Then she reads again before bed.

Our night at the Castle

We enjoyed our stay at the Anniversary Inn. It was fun to get away, watch movies in bed (we never do that) and wake up to breakfast waiting for us. How romantic! We also enjoyed dinner at Asiago's (one of my favorites) and then the following day we had massages at the Milan Institute. Now after experiencing that for 24 hours - I would like a whole week to get away!

Here is the special we took advantage of: TEXT THE WORD: LOVE to 83043 For a VERY special deal from The Anniversary Inn just for YOU!

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