Day 26 Monster Valentines

Day 26 of 365: Monster Valentines

This is an old pin creation but I thought it would be fun to mention. I was looking through Instagram and saw some valentines my friend made for her daughter's classmates. I was inspired. They were adorable and looked like something I could pull off, especially because Baby G only has 3 kids at his (at the time) babysitter. I wanted to make monster valentines and found some on Pinterest (of course). I thought about making this February 13th because I am last minute with EVERYTHING! Luckily I have a ridiculous amount of scrapbook supplies so I had everything we needed except googly eyes. I sent the hubby on a wild goose chase but he couldn't find them. I randomly found some in my craft box that I tore apart. BTW-did you know that looking for Dove chocolate hearts the day before Valentine's Day is a waste of time? Every store I sent the hubby too was completely sold out. Baby G's valentines got Nerd Ropes instead.

You need:
~Cardstock in your favorite colors (Baby G wanted green and orange)
~glue dots (or any double sided adhesive)
~googly eyes

First I cut an 8 1/2" by 11" paper into four for the background of the valentines. Then I drew monster shapes on the other paper. I actually found a monster template on Google images and traced it on my paper. To be honest, we just got Windows 8 and I cant figure out how to print.

Then I glued the monsters on the orange paper and glued on an eye. We did one per valentine and wrote "Valentine... I've got my eye on you!" but I also saw, "Valentine...I've got my eyes on you!" and the monsters had many eyes. I also drew a mouth and teeth or a tongue. I was going to attach a chocolate heart to their bellies but we couldn't find those, so the kids got Nerd Ropes.

 

 

Here's the final products. I think they turned out cute! I know Colette's son enjoyed it!! :)

Well that's all for today. Talk to you soon!

Day 25 Refrigerator Raspberry Oatmeal

Day 25 of 365: Refrigerator Raspberry Oatmeal


My lunch time at work has recently freed up and I decided to take on lunch duty a few times a week at my school. It's not a bad gig and you get paid to eat your lunch and supervise students. Anyway, I was browsing my boards for some lunch ideas that don't require a microwave. I am really getting sick of sandwiches and yogurt. I saw Raspberry Vanilla Refrigerator Oatmeal and had to try it. I had most of the ingredients, even the seedless jam from a Christmas cookie recipe.

You will need:

1/4 cup uncooked old fashioned rolled oats

1/3 cup skim milk

1/4 cup low-fat Greek yogurt

1-1/2 teaspoons dried chia seeds (I didn't use these because I couldn't find them)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon raspberry jam, preserves, or spread

1/4 to 1/3 cup raspberries (cut each berry in half), or enough to fill jar

 

In a half pint (1 cup) jar, add oats, milk, yogurt, chia seeds, vanilla, and raspberry jam. Put lid on jar and shake until well combined.

 

Remove lid, add raspberries and stir until mixed throughout. Return lid to jar and refrigerate overnight or as long as 2-3 days. Eat chilled.

 

I made these in a pint jar and then put them in 4 oz jars that I had already for baby G's homemade food. They were perfect size to take to lunch or bring as a quick breakfast.

These were super yummy! The hubby said he liked the texture but couldn't taste them because he had a bad cold. I will be making these again but I will be trying it will blackberries, blueberries and maybe strawberry-banana.

I won't say talk to you tomorrow because it has really been hard for me to post lately but I will say talk to you soon!

Day 24: 52 Week Money Challenge

Day 24 of 365: 52 Week Money Challenge

Since college I have had a goal to stay in all 50 states by the time I'm 30. Well I will be 30 at the end of this year and I still have 13 states. I have the entire Northwest left plus Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Arizona and New Mexico. The last state that we were saving for our 5 year anniversary is Alaska. When the hubby and I got married we planned on taking a cruise to Alaska when we made it to 5 years. Well here we are (a few months shy) planning for Alaska, but it is not our last state :( We like to visit new state during my breaks from work. So we are being proactive and saving for Christmas Break to visit Arizona!!

When we went to Hawk's doggy birthday party a couple weeks ago my brother's girlfriend showed me a pin she was trying. The 52 Week Money Challenge! I found this on my boards pinned over a year ago. I was inspired to try this challenge to save for our family vacation. I really like that its small amounts over the year and its a big amount of cash at the end! My brother's gf put it in a cute jar and printed the label so they can cross the amount each week. Here is my attempt at the pin:

Here's what you need:
-Money
-weekly dedication
-a place to put the money
-the check list (here is a link to a site that you can print the list from: Challenge list

I also think this would be great to put away in a savings account. If the money isn't there then you wont be tempted to take it out early and spend it. By the way, it's not to late to start now. All you have to put in is $21 and you could do that over the next week. Take the challenge with me, you'll be happy at the end of the year!!

Well talk to you tomorrow!

Day 23 Mini Chicken Pot Pies

Day 23 of 365: Mini Chicken Pot Pies

Having your best friend in New York is hard at times, but luckily she calls me often (I am terrible with calling people). It is great that every time we talk I feel like she never moved away and that we pick up where we left off. Anywho, the other day she got a moment away from the house and gave me a call...she WILLED me to answer the phone and I did :)! She was going to get more ingredients for these mini chicken pot pies and told me how easy they were to make. So I put them on my list of things to try and actually found a pin to go along with it.

I bought all the ingredients but waited awhile to make them because they required cooked chicken and I always thought about making them last minute and forgot to cook the chicken. Well during the second "cold day" I cooked the chicken in the afternoon and it was ready to go for that evening's dinner. I have a few complaints about them though. After cooking them for an additional 5 minutes than the recipe called for, the biscuits were still raw inside and the filling was not hot. I had quite a bit of filling left over so I just over filled the pot pies and I don't know if that cause it but I did not like that they were a little raw inside and not as hot as I would like. Other than that, they were delicious. I was told they needed a little flavor but I found a recipe that had seasoning and cheese in them. The hubby really liked them and had the left overs for lunch for a few days. So here is my first attempt at Mini Chicken Pot Pies:

 

Here's what you will need:

 

1 chicken breast, cooked and diced                       

1 (14.5 oz) can cream of chicken soup  

 

1 cup Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers frozen mixed veggies                         

                   

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese            

                   

1 tablespoon Herbs De Provence (I used only a teaspoon and I used Italian seasoning)                    

                   

1 teaspoon onion powder       

                   

1 teaspoon garlic salt (I would do less because my filling was pretty salty            

                   

2 (10 oz) cans Pillsbury biscuits                        

Directions

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees

              

In a large bowl, combine the cooked chicken, cream of chicken soup, frozen veggies, cheese, herbs and spices.

 

 

Lightly grease a 12-cup muffin tin and place the Pillsbury biscuits into each cup, pressing into the bottom and up the sides.                            

 

Evenly spoon the pot pie mixture into each biscuit cup. Slide into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes. Check at the 12 minute mark.                             

 

Let rest for about 3 minutes and dig in!

I served these with cheddar rice. I wish I would have also had a salad. But it was a great weekday night meal.

Talk to you tomorrow!


 

Day 22: Garbage Disposal Refreshers

Day 22 of 365: Garbage Disposal Refreshers

During that last "cold day" break I started a bunch of pins. Some of them needed a day or two be completed. These pins were some things I have been meaning to try because they seemed easy but they were useful. I worked on these pins in between taking care of a very sick baby G. He has to have breathing treatments three times a day and his naps are all over the place.
Today's pin falls in the "For the Home" category. I love having a garbage disposal but I hate that smell it gets every once in a while. These garbage disposal refreshers were easy and cheap. The hardest part was grating the lemon peel (I actually zested the lemon because I don't have a small enough grater). I also used a melon baller to create the half sphere shaped pods. The parchment paper is essential because they peel right off after drying over night. Here's how mine turned out:

 

 You will need:
-1/2 cup of salt
-3/4 cup of baking soda
-1/2 tsp of liquid dish soap
-lemon (peel and juice)-baking sheet
-parchment paper
-small scoop
-sealable glass jar

 

Step 1: Mix together baking soda and salt. Make sure there are no lumps.
Step 2: Grate lemon peel and add to the baking soda and salt mixture along with the liquid dish soap.

 

 Step 3: Squeeze the lemon juice into the mixture (about 3 tablespoons)

 

 Step 4: Stir in the lemon juice until the mixture resembles course sand.

 

Step 5: Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper, use a small spoon or scoop to mold the half rounds, and then tap them out onto the pan. Allow them to dry over night.

 

Every time the garbage disposal starts to get smelly, throw one or two of these down the drain and run the disposal. Instant refresh! I like these because they are cheap and easy to make and my kitchen smells good!

Talk to you tomorrow!

Day 21 of 365: Insurgent Review

At my school the teachers are given a Joliet Reads book every month. Last year Divergent was one of the books. I read a few chapters and instantly loved it! I was so excited to get my hands on Insurgent. Well long story short, life happened and I never got around to reading it. During winter break I started reading a few chapters before bed each night and I finally finished it. Those that are looking to read this book must read Divergent first. I had to go back a few times to check on characters that I forgot about.

There are a lot of plot twists and the book definitely keeps you on your toes. There was a point in the book, around the middle I believe, that I literally couldn't put the book down. I try to go to bed by 10:30 every night and I was up till after midnight because I had to see what happened next. Luckily baby G chose that night to sleep through the night! If you are a Hunger Games fan and are looking for the next series, I definitely recommend this book. Bonus: it is set in Chicago which is pretty cool. They mention Wacker Dr. and Madison St. a few times. I loved the ending of Insurgent and am looking forward to reading Allegiant (the third book in the series). I have heard terrible things about it, which is upsetting but I need to know what happens. I saw the trailer for the movie, Divergent, and I'm not super happy with their choice of actors, especially for Tris, the main character. But after reading Insurgent, I am excited to see the movie and to see how Insurgent will be on the big screen.

***21 Day Organizational Challenge Update***

Day 21: Check over all areas

Areas have been checked over and other than reorganizing the medicine cabinet and moving some things around in my closet, things look pretty good! I liked this challenge but there were some days that really needed a whole week or weekend to complete. I also wish there were tips on the pin that made organizing some of the areas easier.

Well, talk to you tomorrow.

Day 20 of 365: Doggy Cupcakes


My doggy nephew turned one last week and I made him these peanut butter carrot doggy cupcakes from amycollette.blogspot.com. I made them for Napa's first birthday too and they were a big hit among the k-9's.

Here's what you need:

-1 cup white flour
-1 tsp baking soda
-1/4 cup peanut butter
-1/4 cup vegetable oil
-1 cup shredded carrots
-1 tsp vanilla
-1/3 cup honey
-1 egg
-cream cheese with honey



Spray the measuring cup with cooking spray to prevent the honey from sticking

Directions:
-Mix flour and baking soda together and then add all other ingredients.
-Pour mixture in mini muffin tins (mine made 12 minis and 2 regular sized for the birthday doggy)
-Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
-Frost with wiped non-fat cream cheese mixed with a teaspoon of honey.
-I added a treat for the birthday boy

 Here is the birthday boy, Hawk, waiting patiently for his treat!

His cupcake didn't last long

My Napa chowing down

Holly was camera shy while she was eating

My little Napa without a cupcake in her face

***21 Day Organizational Challenge Update***

Day 20: Den/Loft

The only thing that needs organizing in my loft are baby G's toys. I grabbed a canvas tote that I bought on black Friday and used that to contain some of the toys.

Well talk to you tomorrow!