Long time, no post!

   Wow. It has been a long time since I posted. Yikes.
   We've survived another Christmas! Christmas Eve was spent with Mark's family. We always have a formal dinner, then open presents. It was fantastic to see everyone and have the chance to catch up. Christmas morning was... weird. It was Mattie's first Christmas morning as the only child. She woke us up and we let her open a few gifts, then went to my parents' house for our annual brunch. It was an epic fail, and the decision was made to just go to Ihop next year. We have a full year to break it to mom and dad. I hate to end the tradition, but it was just too much for them this year.
   We also visited with Tess and Tracy, and Mattie got to spend a little time with her father. When we returned home, we had Christmas with McKelvie, Britain, Nicole and Jake. We're going to have to work on that plan, too. It is time for us to pick a time that will work for everyone once they have children of their own. I loved our Christmas morning traditions, but always hated making the girls leave their gifts Christmas morning to go see family.
   New Year's Eve is just a few days away. I am really excited for 2014! We will be homeschooling Mattie, which means a whole new schedule and way of life for us. She will be having surgery next week, and will be in physical therapy for a few months, according to the surgeon. While I don't like the idea of her having surgery, she has been in pain for almost a year. It is well past time for this.
   Speaking of Mattie, her gluten free diet is going wonderfully. I'm not sure she really misses it most of the time. We've gotten quite good at avoiding gluten. There are times that are pretty tough, but for the most part, it is easy. The taste and texture of gluten free isn't the same, but we are used to it, and some things actually taste better, in my opinion.
   One of my goals for 2014 is to grow my Thirty-One business. Thanks to Thirty-One, we were able to give good gifts to the family this year, and it has helped greatly with every day expenses. Best of all, though, is that I have been able to hold a few fund raisers. It makes me so happy to be able to donate my commission to projects I believe in. This year, I was able to help a sick friend, donate to the building project at Martin Luther, and just recently held a fundraiser for Camp Mintahama. The best thing about Thirty-One, though, is the friendships I have made. I love my team. It is like having an extended family ready to cheer you on or pray for you no matter what you are facing.
   So, there it is. My first post in ages. I promise to not be quite so random about posting in the future!! Happy New Year, everyone!!
 

What a week.

This has been a long, sad week for our country.

We are watching coverage of the search for the second suspect from the Boston Marathon bombing. Things are so intense right now that there hasn't been any mention this morning of the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas. I also haven't heard anything today about the devastating flooding in Chicago and other areas or the tornadoes from earlier this week.

Really, nothing random to this post, just a request for everyone to pray for the United States and all of our emergency responders.

Spring has SPRUNG!

I know I've been AWOL for a while.. Sorry about that! I've just been busy with about twenty different things and keep forgetting to blog. See, not even procrastinating, just forgetting.

Yup, spring is finally here. Our yard is full of wildflowers, the birds are nesting, and severe thunderstorm watches and warnings are in the air. I cleaned out the van today, and tucked the ice scrapers under the back seat. And, the final sure sign of spring? There have been streams of motorcycles going up and down the highway in front of the house.

My price-matching and coupon use is going great. I have gotten so good at it that I rarely pay full-price for anything. It is common for me to save 80% on things I would be buying anyway. Walmart has even paid me to carry things out of the store. I am having a lot of fun!

My other venture, Thirty-One, is also going very well. In my first 30 days, I earned the cost of my enrollment kit back, got paid, and received a kit for having three parties during the first month. I am loving getting to see all my friends for the parties, and am making new friends. Plus, I am getting a bunch of awesome Thirty-One products. Love, love, LOVE!

Miss Nicole has moved back home for a short time. Not that you can really tell, since she is gone more than home, but it is nice to have her here. And she and Mattie have been able to spend a lot more time together. Hearing their laughter from the other room is priceless.

Short and sweet? Heck, yeah. But I am leaving you with a couple random pics from my yard. Happy Spring!

Almost spring?

We've had a couple busy and exciting weeks around here. My niece, and child of my heart, Tiffany, has been selling Thirty-One Gifts for a few months, and introduced me to their products. I fell in love. She took me to a meeting with area consultants, and after a lot of thought, prayer, and discussion with Mark, I decided to become a consultant, too.  I can't remember being so excited to get a package as I was when I opened my big pink box full of Thirty-One products. I got some really cute and very useful bags! Check my website out: www.mythirtyone.com/KennaPeters

My pantry is finally full after three months of almost exclusively purchasing things that are on sale and/or I have a coupon, and price-matching fresh fruits, veggies and meat. I refuse to hoard canned goods like the folks you see on TV, but now, when one of us needs something, there is about an 80% chance that we have it in the pantry.We also have more variety than we used to, because I am able to buy things I at a greatly reduced price that a few months ago, I would never have purchased due to expense.

Loved the snow we got the other day... finally. It was on the ground for several days, with most of it melting yesterday. We've still got snow on the north side of the house, yet we had the doors open most of the day today. Nicole and I took Little Bit for a long walk this afternoon, and we were amazed at the number of flowers we found in bloom. Most were small wildflowers, mind you, but they were beautiful.. Now that we have had a couple snow-days, I am ready for Spring. Bring it!

I think tonight, I am going to pamper myself a little. It has been a long time since I painted my toenails. Historically, I have not been much of a girly-girl, but I kept my toenails painted all the time as I kind of secret, I guess... I mean, when you are wearing a hardhat and steel-toe boots, the paint on your toes is about the only feminine thing about you. I can't really remember why I stopped, but I suspect it was surgery-related. Anyway, I am pretty stoked about the idea that I am going to do something that doesn't benefit the household in any way. Sometimes, it feels like everything I do is for someone else. It is time I spoil myself a little. I might even have to sneak some good chocolate while I am waiting for my toes to dry.

It's about time to start dinner. I guess if I get it done early, I will have more time to pamper myself later.
Have a great evening, and I will try to randomly post more often!

Glad we like cereal!

If you've been following my adventures with couponing, today was a fun one... if you like cereal. This week, Target has General Mills cereals on sale $2.50/box. That's a pretty good price, right? Well, not good enough for me. I printed off three Target store coupons from Target.com. Each gave me $1 off the purchase of three General Mills cereals. But I wanted to buy five boxes (You'll understand in a moment) So, I picked up four boxes of Total Raisin Bran and one box of  Whole Grain Peanut Butter Cheerios. The normal price for five boxes of these cereals at Target would be $14.95. On sale, they were  $12.50. Subtract one of the $1 off 3 coupons, bringing the total to $11.50. But that still was not good enough for me.  I added four coupons for $1 off one box of Total and $1 off one box of Cheerios, bringing the total to $6.50. Nope, still not done. See, the reason I wanted five boxes is because this week, Target is offering a $5 gift card with the purchase of five boxes of General Mills cereals. So, I paid a grand total, after subtracting the value of the gift card (to be used on my next transaction) of $1.50, or $0.30 per box. The totally disappointing thing was that I had coupons worth $1.25 off one box of a variety they didn't have on the shelf. Had I been able to use four of those (four is the maximum of "like coupons" allowed in one transaction at Target) , the per-box price would have been brought down to TEN CENTS!!!

So... we now have fifteen boxes of various types of General Mills cereals. Now, if only I could find affordable milk!

My middle daughter and her best friend just signed a lease for an apartment in Springfield. They won't be moving for a while, thank goodness... I'm not sure I am ready for her to live so far away. I told them to get a sofa with a hideaway bed because I plan on visiting a lot. In the meantime, I am going to take every opportunity I can to spend extra time with them. They are a couple of very cool young women.

This long weekend has been wonderful. Mattie was starting to really look tired, but after having multiple chances to sleep, or just totally relax, she is looking much better. Plus, I have been able to spend a lot of time with her. She, too, is well on her way to "Awesome Young Woman" status. It won't be long before I am bemoaning her moving out, as well. An empty nest has never appealed to me. I love having my home full of laughter and minor messes. I can't imagine how quiet it will be around here with just Mark and myself.

On the "GREAT NEWS" front, I saw my oncologist, Dr. Skelley, last week. He did his thorough check up, and said I was good to go for six months. Today, I saw Dr. Dandridge, my oncological surgeon. I have been seeing him every four months for quite some time. This time, he said I don't have to go back for six months! You have no idea how awesome this is. I was told, in the beginning, that I would be seeing my oncological team once a year by the end of five years post-treatment. But, of course, I have to be special. It has taken me eight years to get to every 6 months. Actually, my last chemo treatment was 8 years ago on Valentine's Day.

Enough randomness for one day. I've got to go switch the laundry and such... Have a great week!

They're acting like kids!

I'm sitting on the sofa, watching my 13- and 19-year-old daughters wrestling on the floor. Some things never change. They were playing Wii, now they are torturing each other. I was afraid that the days of watching my children playing on the floor were long-gone. This has done my heart good.

So, what's up with the weather? This is the second year in a row with virtually no winter here in the middle of the country. I don't mean to complain, but I really love being snowed in with the family. Everyone focuses just a bit more on each other, and things slow down. As I am writing this, though, I am aware that a winter storm is hitting some of my friends. I hope you are all safe and worm.

I was in the "Big City" yesterday, shopping for deals. I was a bit disappointed at the lack of deals I found, but I did have one pretty sweet shopping experience. I got two bottles of NatureMade vitamins and two bags of Valentine's Day M&Ms for $2.10. When I got to the car, I realized I had forgotten to use a coupon that would have made the entire purchase totally free. Still, the pre-coupon total was more than $30. Not bad, if I do say so myself. I have also been using the price list I get from Weekly Saver. At Walmart, with the list, I am able to save a ton of money by price-matching. If you are in the Monett or Springfield area, look them up on Facebook: Weekly Saver or email a request a free trial list to weeklysaver@yahoo.com
A lot of work goes into the list, and Rhema only charges $3 per week for the lists. I saved that much last week on Avocados, alone. Tell her Kenna sent you!

Finally, I found PUL fabric in Springfield last week. I got so excited when I saw it, I bought two yards. Then I went back for another half yard. Now.... I have 2 1/2 yards of specialty fabric and don't know what I am going to do with it. I made my grumdaughter a crayon roll-up with a place for paper. I am working on several ideas, but haven't gotten to the "cut it out" stage yet. I hope to have something major done by the end of the weekend.

Well, not much randomness here. My 13-year-old has my 19-year-old on her back, and someone is going to get hurt. I guess it is time for Mom to step in. Have a great one!

Welcome to January?

This is the last week of January, I swear it. We had the doors open all day and enjoyed temps in the 70s. We are about halfway between Joplin and Springfield, and both of those cities set records at 74 degrees. I spent the day inside, however, due to my stupid fear of the wind. Ok, fear might not be the right word. It isn't like I am actually "afraid" of the wind. It is more that, when I am in the wind, I become anxious, nervous, and very, very irritable. I get a headache and try to hide. No, maybe not a fear. I mean, come on... wind is not caterpillars. Now THERE is something I can seriously fear.

I didn't actually spend ALL day inside. Little Bit and I went out and sat on the porch for a while. At 6 months old, she loves to go outside and experience things up-close. She loves going out and just touching the trees, feeling the breeze (!) and watching the birds at the bird feeder. But after a while, we went back in and had some "Belly time." She is getting ready to think about crawling, and actually was up on all fours for a while today. I love this stage, because you would think a baby that isn't crawling yet would pretty much stay where you put her, but they don't. Little Bit can roll all the way across the living room in the time it takes me to go to the kitchen and back. It is really important, when you are around children of all ages, to provide a safe environment in which they can explore. And encourage that exploration. That is how your child learns.

You don't have to spend a lot of money on educational toys for a baby. Giving him or her any safe item to explore will occupy them. Little Bit played with a bowl, a weighted ball, a spoon, and a sock today. We talked about round, smooth, light, heavy, blue, gray, yellow, soft, warm, upside down, and lots more. She banged on the bowl, rolled the ball, squeezed the sock, dropped the spoon (again, and again) and tasted everything. And the whole time, she was learning.

Have you heard about "Meatless Monday?" I decided we would try that tonight. We had four-cheese ravioli in spaghetti sauce and a salad. Everyone liked the menu, no complaints. But then after dinner, I realized I was still starving. So I ate leftover BBQ chicken from last night's dinner. I have never had any desire to be a vegetarian. I don't have anything against those that don't eat meat, I just DO eat meat. And I LIKE eating meat. A lot. So we may continue trying the whole "Meatless Monday" thing, but don't be surprised to learn that I eat leftovers, too. Meatless be damned.

Superbowl Sunday is coming fast. We usually just watch the game alone. Not this year! First of all, Sunday is our oldest daughter's birthday. McKelvie is going to be 21. TWENTY -ONE!!! How did that even happen? It doesn't seem like that long ago that she was curled up on the couch, reading an upside-down book about a bunny. Or chasing Grandpa's chickens around. I'm not sure what she was going to do once she caught one. Anyway, she has done the unthinkable and grown up. We now only see her a few times a year, since she lives so far away. (Sarcasm, folks... she lives about 15-20 minutes away) But, she is coming on Sunday for strawberry cupcakes with chocolate frosting-- her favorite.

Another thing happening on Sunday, which I may or may not have remembered to tell her, is that I am hosting a SodaStream Fizz & Football House Party! The way HouseParty.com works is simple: Manufacturers send their product to House Party. House Party, in turn, sets up a party plan, if you will. House Party participants (like me) apply to host a party on a specific date. When a participant is chosen, he or she has a limited amount of time to respond to the offer to host and invite people. Then, about a week before the party date, the host receives a Party Pack of items to share with their guests. In return, the host agrees to take and post a photo of the party guests enjoying the party and to share what the party guests thought of the products.

I had only applied for three or four parties when I got the email telling me I had been selected for the SodaStream party. Being so new to House Party, I was still a bit skeptical, but invited away, anyway. Last Friday, FedEx delivered my SodaStream House Party Pack. Very, very cool. I received, FREE OF CHARGE, a brand-new SodaStream Source starter kit, including the SodaStream machine, one CO2 canister and one Carbonating Bottle (to make the soda in.) I also, as part of my party pack, received a second bottle (the brand-new Stainless Steel bottle I was going to buy myself), two full-sized bottles of concentrate, and 18 trial-sized concentrates. I also received a T-shirt to wear at the party, a whistle, beads and lots of cups. A few select family members will be joining us for our SodaStream/Birthday/Superbowl party Sunday. We have the cupcakes and beverages covered, now to come up with a few ideas as to how to feed everyone, and our party is set!

Be aware, everyone, of the weather tomorrow as Old Man Winter comes back. The potential for severe weather will be there, starting tonight, so just be safe, okay? And that, my friends, is is enough randomness for one night. Enjoy!

Itchiness, Yummy Brownies, and Price Matching!

I have heard, all my life, about hives. Never had them. Didn't even know exactly what they were. But they just sound horrible, don't they?
Saturday night, I took the last dose of my 10-day regimen of antibiotics for that nasty sinus infection I had. Ahhh.... Finally done with those! I woke up about 3 a.m., kinda itchy. When I got up Sunday morning and took my shower to get ready for church, I noticed a few odd red splotches here and there, and my scalp itched like crazy. Very, very itchy. You have no idea how itchy. I went ahead and got ready for church, and Mattie and I headed out. By the time we got to church, my hands were a bit puffy. By the time I got out of church, my right eye and my bottom lip were both swelling. Luckily, Mercy has an Express Care in Monett. It opened at noon, just as we got there. By the time I got in to see the Nurse Practitioner (Luckily, the one I usually see, and the one that prescribed the antibiotics) everything was swollen and itchy. She gave me a lovely shot in the hip, and sent me home with steroids and antihistamines. By the way, a shout-out goes to the fine folks at Old Town Pharmacy in Monett. They are open on Sundays, and I never have to wait long. I love those people!
So, anyway, I now know that you can have an allergic reaction to antibiotics at any time during the course of treatment, and if you notice that everything is swelling, you should probably go to the doctor.

I think I have mentioned "Swag bucks" before, but if you haven't already checked them out, you really should. Just by searching using the Swagbuck toolbar, answering short surveys, and watching videos, you earn points that you can then redeem for "prizes" or gift cards. I have already received a $50 Paypal gift card (which I then was able to deposit in my bank account) and have almost enough points to do that again. They offer gift cards to a lot of different stores, but I like the fact that with the Paypal card, I can actually turn that into real money. I have put the Swagbucks Widget at the bottom of my Blog page. Check it out.

Looking for a fun way to jazz up brownies? Bake them as cupcakes. As soon as you take them out of the oven, push a piece of candy into the center. My favorites are Reese's miniatures and Rolos.

My final random rambling for the day is in regards to Price Matching at Walmart. I found a lovely site, "Weekly Saver," out of Monett. For $3 a week, you can receive a price list of all the deals that can be price matched in this immediate area. I just got my first list last week, and saved more than the cost of the list on just two purchases. And price matching was totally hassle free. The only hard part, for me, was not letting myself get distracted and miss telling the checker about the price match. It is rumored that avocados will be on sale at Aldi, starting tomorrow, for only .19 each. Visit Weekly Saver on Facebook

It's an open-door kinda day!

I love living in Southwest Missouri. I really do. This morning, the bird bath was still completely frozen. By 10 a.m., there was just a little chunk of ice still floating around.

We decided this was a good day to take down the tree. A couple years ago, we tossed the box the tree came in (finally) and replaced it with large Rubbermaid containers. Best decision ever. We have three containers: Two hold the tree and the third holds the ornaments. It works out very nicely. 

Mattie and I took advantage of the day and took the dogs for a nice, long run along the abandoned railroad tracks. This is my favorite place to take the dogs for a run, because there, they never seem to get into trouble. One of these days, I am going to have to take my GPS and see how far I am actually walking. I wonder if you get bonus miles for having to climb over fallen trees? As far as Mattie and I walked, they traveled three times as far. They like to run ahead, then run back to us, then run back ahead, again. When we got home, the dogs crashed pretty completely.  I think Mattie wanted to crash, too... but I didn't let her. 

We have had the doors open all day. The shadows finally got long and the temp outside started dropping, so we finally had to shut the doors, but isn't it wonderful to air the house out in January?

You know those sticky things that you throw against the wall and watch "walk" back down? Yeah? Don't ever, EVER (!) throw one at the ceiling. Mark had somehow never seen one before, so when Nicole gave me one at Easter, he had to play with it. However, having no experience with them, he kind of... well... threw it straight up. And it stuck.  Several times since then, he has made various attempts to remove this big yellow blob from our ceiling, but to no avail. Today, however, he was really making progress. The blob was only hanging by a little bit, and he made one more attempt to hook it and pull it down, but instead of coming down, it "bounced" back up and stuck, better than ever, and in a new spot, which means the "grease stain" on the ceiling will soon be much bigger.

For those of you still suffering from the flu or respiratory infections, I learned yesterday, from one of my Physical Therapy friends, that when you blow your nose, you should blow one nostril at a time. Apparently, when you blow both sides at once, you can actually blow germs and bacteria from one side to the other? Or maybe to other places in your respiratory system? Anyway, just blow one side at a time. Seems like an easy enough thing to do. And wash your hands... frequently. I saw a piece on TV in which a school nurse put glitter on the table, set her hands in it, then went about touching various things. Guess what? Pretty soon, everything was glittery. It is easy to forget how vulnerable we all are to disease. So eat well, drink lots and lots of water, and take care of yourself. As far as I can tell, just about everyone has had this crud or are sick right now, which seems to indicate it won't be long until it has burned through new victims and we can all breath a sigh of relief.

Today's blog seems a bit like my mood has been; slightly disjointed and unsettled. I guess it must just be the weather, or something, but nothing has seemed to "flow" for me today. Mid-January blues? Maybe, but I would have thought being out in the sunshine and fresh air would have helped. Maybe it is an early case of Spring Fever. In that case, God help me in March. Talk about random ramblings!

Have a great night, and enjoy your family tomorrow. I shall do much better next time!

Thursday Randomness

This was a very busy day full of randomness. Once Mattie was off to school, we headed out to the "Big City" for a round of errands and such. Being in a small town, in rural Missouri, we only have a few choices as far as shopping goes. And I like to coupon, so that means heading to somewhere... larger.
I didn't spend a lot of money today (Uhh... that is kinda the point, though, isn't it?) Here are a few of my favorite deals from today:

Walgreens has Neutrogena Make-up Remover cleansing towlettes, regularly $3.29, on sale $1.19 ea, or 5/$5. I bought five, and used two manufacturers coupons, each worth $2 off the purchase of one item. So, I actually paid TWENTY CENTS!!! for each package of towelettes.

At Harps, which I had not visited before, I found Dawn Hand Renewal dish detergent, 9 oz. bottle for $1.12. I bought two, and used two .50/1 coupons. Harps doubles coupons, up to 50 cents, which brought the price per bottle to a whopping TWELVE CENTS!!!

And Target, oh, yes... I love Target... I got some really interesting deals today. Somehow... somewhere... I came up with two $10 coupons toward the purchase of a Litter Genie. Ok, I don't know about you, but I didn't even know what the heck a Litter Genie was. I had never seen one. But, sure enough, right there on the shelf at Target, sat one Litter Genie and a stack of refills. (Think Diaper Genie for cats) I expected the price to be much higher than it was, considering the high value of the coupons I had. Target had them priced at $14.99, making them $4.99 each, after coupon. And here's the "I love Target" part: When you purchase two Litter Genie items at Target this week, you get a free $5 Target gift card. I didn't know what one was, and probably didn't need it, but the cat litter IS stinky, and I got the Litter Genie and a double package of refills, a $29.98 value, for $4.98.

The last awesome deal I am going to share with you is one you can easily take advantage of yourself. Target has the large Hormel Party Tray, which includes ham and turkey, or salami and pepperoni, cheese, and crackers, priced at $10.99. Use one $3/1 Target coupon and one $3/1 manufacturers coupon (this is called "stacking"), bringing the price down to $4.99. The expiration date on the Party Trays I purchased were in April and May. With SuperBowl Sunday coming up, this seems like a fantastic deal!

Go to Target.com, find the coupons *look at the bottom, where the "contact us," etc. buttons are* Locate the $3 Target coupon. On Target.com, the manufacturers coupons use the language, "When you buy," You are looking for the store coupons that may say "with purchase of" or simply says, $3 off . Again, if it says When You Buy it is a manufacturers coupon. We are looking for the Target Coupon for this. (Random ramblings?) Once you locate the $3/1 Hormel Party Tray Target coupon, print that bad boy off... then back up and do it all again. You should actually be able to print two of these coupons. Duh... here's the link to the Target Coupon page:  Target Coupons
Then, go to Coupons.com and locate and print the coupon that says:

SAVE $3.00

HORMEL®

on the purchase of any one (1) HORMEL® Party Tray 28oz. or larger 

Go through the steps again, and print the second manufacturers coupon. Two seems to be the print limit on these coupons. 

Holy Carbs! (Kenna's Bread Recipe)

Things have been a bit hectic around here lately, mostly due to my having forgotten how much fun it is to have a baby in the house. I am keeping a friend's 6-month old a couple days a week. Today went well, considering she was a bit grumpy and I still managed to bake bread.

I have had multiple requests for my bread recipe. I found several recipes on Pinterest, and messed around with them a bit, finally coming up with this recipe. I have a KitchenAid stand mixer, but not the dough hook. You can, of course, make this by hand instead of using a mixer. I have never used a bread machine, but I suppose you can halve the recipe and try it. 

This recipe makes two standard size loaves. I bake my bread in a Pampered Chef Mini Loaf Pan, which makes four loaves the perfect size for the toaster and sandwiches, not really mini at all. 

Be sure to read the entire recipe a couple times, as I am not a pro at recipe writing and may not have everything in the logical order. :) Let me know how it turns out!

Kenna's Bread

Makes two loaves

7+  c. bread flour
4 tsp salt
2 c. milk
2/3 c. water
1/4 c.  butter  (salted or unsalted)
5-6 Tbsp honey
4 tsp yeast

1. Put one oven rack in the lowest position and the other in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. After ten minutes, turn the oven off but leave the door closed. 

2. Mix 3 cups of the flour, the salt and the yeast. Drizzle the honey over the flour mixture. In a saucepan on low, melt the butter, watching carefully to prevent burning. Add the milk and water and heat to about 110 degrees (*should feel warm when you stick your CLEAN finger in it, not hot.)
Gradually add liquid to the flour mixture, mixing on low until well combined, scraping bowl frequently. Add flour, 1/4-1/2 cup at a time, until the dough comes together. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 8-10 minutes, or until smooth and springy. Add additional flour, 1 spoonful at a time, as necessary if the dough is sticky after about five minutes. Stop machine as frequently as necessary to scrape dough off the beater/dough hook.  

Meanwhile, bring 2 cups water to a boil. 

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead to form a smooth, round ball, about one minute. 

3. Lightly oil a large glass or metal bowl. Roll the dough around the bowl to coat it and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Pour the boiling water into a metal pan placed on the lower oven rack, then put the bowl containing the dough on the upper rack and close the door. Let the dough raise until doubled, between 30 and 40 minutes. 

4. Punch the dough down, divide and form loaves, and place in greased or buttered bread pans. Cover the loaves with plastic wrap and return to the oven for 15-20 minutes. You can re-heat the water, if necessary to maintain the warm oven while it rises.  Remove the bread pans and the pan of water from the oven, preheat the oven to 350. Meanwhile, again bring 2 cups water to a boil. 

Once the oven is preheated, return the pan to the bottom rack and pour the boiling water into it.  Bake the bread until a thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end, just above the pan rim, into the center of the loaf reads 195 degrees, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan and transfer to a wire rack. 

If you wait until the bread is cool, it slices very nicely. This also freezes very nicely.

I'm off to watch a random TV show. 

Finally Friday!

Friday is a day held in high regard by most Americans. Friday, for the very young, means more parental attention for a couple days. Preteens see it as a great chance to have a sleep-over. For teenagers, it is a night out with friends: the movies, hanging at the mall, or taking over someone's living room and TV for the evening are some favorite activities. 

For parents, however, Friday frequently means family members are all going in different directions until Sunday. It also means surprises, such as "Dad, I'm not going to be home tomorrow" Or "Mom, great news! My three best friends' parents all said they could stay over! They will be here for dinner tonight, and breakfast tomorrow, then we have to take them home." How do you plan for something like that? You don't. 

Weekend survival, for parents, is all about flexibility. 

We started out with a strict "No same-day plans" rule. If you want to invite someone over, it has to be completely arranged the day before. If you plan on going to the movies, you have to tell us, the previous day, what movie you are going to see, when, where, and how you are getting there and home again. 

Did I say strict? Lol.... Remember, flexibility is key here. The only thing the rule really did for us was give us the option of saying "No" when we were informed of some plan at the last minute. Mostly, though, we would just say, "Ok. But NEXT time, ask the day before. You KNOW the rules." 

So, your best bet is to work with what you have. If your children are in the "more attention" mode, plan some activities for the weekend that you will all enjoy. Throw some blankets and pillows on the floor and watch some classic Disney movies. Cover the kitchen table with newspapers or a disposable tablecloth and paint with edible things (think mustard, ketchup, mayo, relish, chocolate syrup, whipped topping, peanut butter) It is really messy, but oh-so-much fun. A long walk full of "do you see," weather permitting, is a great "get outside" activity. The best part is that if you spend a solid block of time paying attention, you will find that your kids are actually less demanding the rest of the time. Make them the most important thing around.

Once your kids are trying to spend the night away every weekend, it is time to use it to your advantage. Set some ground rules. For instance, the child may only have overnight company one night a month, limit the number of nights the child can stay away from home, choose a set-in-stone time by which they must contact you the next morning. Bad attitude, right up to the time the company is supposed to arrive, or the child leaves to go to the friend's house, will get the sleepover canceled. Again, we weren't nearly strict as we should have been. We had all these rules, but usually, it was just so much easier to cave in... but we did have the rules. (Yes, I am hanging my head in shame. I am sure you will do MUCH better.) 

When our older two were teenagers, many of the rules were the same, but we tried to limit the number of sleepovers (for obvious reasons.) The thing with teenagers is, well, they are teenagers. Take a deep breath and hold on tight. And hope you did well enough with them before they got to this stage that they won't be totally crazy for long. 

One of our requirements has always been that they have to come home from school and say hello before taking off. Of course, it works pretty well for us, as we can actually SEE the school from the house. There have been exceptions when someone rides the bus home with a friend, but we did enforce this one. Always. 

A family calendar, white board, cork board, or even just a notepad kept in the same place all the time will prove priceless, but only if the family uses is consistently. Other coping strategies include keeping some snacks on hand at all times. Hide a jar of peanuts and some microwave popcorn, stick some frozen snacks in the deep freeze under that block of stuff you can't identify. Try adding rice or potatoes, a salad and an extra vegetable to make that roast go further. 

Don't forget to have some weekend yourselves. Get a babysitter or arrange for the kids to sleepover at friends' houses on the same night. Go out to eat and to the movies, or pick up carry-out and a new release from Redbox or plan a marathon on Netflix and have a picnic in front of the TV. 

And finally, keep the family close on Sundays. Worship as a family. Enjoy some low-key time in the afternoon. Stick something in the slow-cooker (maybe the Kahlua Pig recipe I posted the other day) or get everyone involved in preparing the meal. Sunday evening, in our house, usually means a lot of laughter and talk about the weekend and the upcoming week. It is a great time to play a board game or watch a family-friendly movie; our kids watched a lot of black-and-white movies, and usually groaned about them, but learned to love them. 

Have a fantastic weekend, and don't forget to do something, you know, random!

Achoo!

According to the magic box with talking people (aka the television,) the flu has now crossed the threshold to epidemic. Getting a flu shot this year does NOT protect you from the flu. So how do you make yourself, and your family, feel better if  when you get sick?

First of all, stay home and get comfy. There is no point in spreading your germs further, and without rest you will just be sick longer. You are going to be miserable, whether you just have a simple cold, a sinus infection (as my nurse-practitioner confirmed I have. Yay!) or Influenza. Ditch the tight jeans and put on your sweats, or better yet, stay in your jammies. 

Drink, drink, drink. Water is your best friend right now. One of the main causes of complications from the flu and other illnesses is dehydration. And eat nutritious meals, too. Your body needs the fuel to fight the ickiness.
A selection of hard candies can sooth an irritated throat if you don't have a cough. Same for hot tea with lemon and honey.

Keep the tissues handy, and if when your nose gets sore, spread a thin layer of Vaseline, Chapstick, Neosporin, or just Crisco under it. The barrier keeps the skin under your nose from getting too sore.

Saline spray can help with the extra mucus, but make sure that if you do use it, don't share your bottle. 

A nice, long, hot shower or bath will help with the achiness  and the steam will help with the congestion. 

Over-the-counter meds can help you feel better, but make sure you aren't taking medication you don't need. If you have a runny nose, cough medicine won't help. 

Finally, monitor your symptoms and seek medical help if you need it. 

Be safe, stay well, and have some random fun!

Cook Something Easy, Then Get Outside!

This morning, before leaving the house for church, I decided to try out my new Tru 3-crock slow cooker. I bought it, on sale, for $15 after Christmas from Kohls.com but hadn't used it yet, other than to make sure it functioned. I put the left-over potato soup from a couple days ago in one section and the leftover ham and beans (heavy on the black-eyed peas) from New Year's day in another section. I put water in the third section, because I just wasn't sure... Anyway, it was so great to come home and have warm soup, and now I am really excited about the possibilities of this. Anyone have experience? Ideas for using all three crocks at once?

I want to share a couple very easy recipes. One is for a main dish, and the other a snack/dessert. Both are so easy, I have never needed to pull out the recipe, I just make them from memory. Let me know if you try either of them, and how you like them!

Easy Kahlua Pig

This recipe came from the off-topic area on an Aquarium Fish forum several years ago. I can't even remember which forum any longer, but I have never forgotten the recipe. 

1 pork roast

kosher salt 

liquid smoke

Yep, that is all. Make sure the fat is trimmed off the pork roast. While holding the roast over the slow cooker, press kosher salt into all surfaces, then rub a splash or two of liquid smoke over it. Remember, liquid smoke is strong. You don't need a lot, just enough to rub around the entire roast. Put the lid on the slow cooker, turn it to high for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Do not open lid. Turn the temp to low and leave it for at least six hours or overnight. As long as you don't open the lid, it won't burn.  

I like to start this before bed on a Friday or Saturday night and have it for lunch or an early dinner the following day. I have cooked this dish before for more than 15 hours with no burning. 

Serve with white rice or pasta and fresh fruit or a fruit salad. It is VERY GOOD.

No-bake Peanut Butter Treats

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup white corn syrup (I use Karo)

1 cup peanut butter

2 cups cereal such as Cheerios or Corn Flakes

In a large sauce pan, mix the sugar and corn syrup and bring it to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in peanut butter, remove from heat, and stir in the cereal. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper. Cool and enjoy! Don't forget to scrape the yummy stuff out of the pan, but don't burn yourself... I usually do. 

And finally, a little bit of "Get outside" encouragement. If you have a child of any age, or a dog, or both, find a nice piece of land where you can let them explore. I have a few places I like to use, such as Department of Conservation land (Not during hunting season!!) and some long-abandoned railroad tracks in the area. It doesn't matter how cold it is, we always have fun. For kids, it can be a real learning experience, as you take a close look at the way things change with the seasons, animal tracks in the mud or snow, and even the different smells and sounds. My kids are all grown up now, but the dogs seem to be stuck in perpetual toddler gear. Everything is fun for them, and I have noticed a lot I would have missed otherwise by watching them. It also gives me a great chance to work on their off-leash skills. 

Hope your weekend was great, and may you have a fantastically random week!

~Kenna

Crazy Savings!

Little bit and I just got home from Ramey's Price Cutter. I didn't go with a list, just my coupons and the knowledge that Price Cutter doubles coupons up to 50 cents. Since Price Cutter is usually a bit more expensive on a lot of things than I usually spend, our rule here is to try to only pick up the stuff that is on a great sale and/or we have a good coupon. Another great rule is to buy the smallest package allowed on the coupon, since you will save a larger percentage of the cost. 

Our haul this evening included 24 products, all name-brand, including Yoplait yogurt, Sprite, orange juice, Bisquick, Puffs Plus, Nesquick, SuperPretzel, Snuggle, and much more. Almost all the items were on sale, and we had coupon for 50 cents off (doubles to $1) for everything but two items. The total, after tax, was $29.67. I saved $31.99, or 53%. 

Using coupons is easy, and fun. I have been doing this for less than two months! My only problem now is that I have trouble paying full price for anything. 

Big Savings at Hip2Save

How many times have you had someone say, "You should check out this website!" only to forget completely about it by the time you got to a computer? I guess it doesn't happen as often now that so many are carrying a smartphone with them, but I am still trudging though my daily life with an un-smart phone.

 Luckily, when my friend, Brittney, mentioned "Hip2Save," I was at my computer and plugged it in to my favorite search engine right away. 

Best.Decision.Ever. 

Hip2Save.com

From the description on the website, "Hip2Save is a nationally-recognized coupon and savings blog. Collin Morgan, mother of three and proud wife to a former Marine, began the blog in the summer of 2008 as a way to help herself, family, and friends save money."

From me: Hip2Save is the best clearing house of coupons, sales, deals, and free offers I have ever seen. Seriously, since I started following Collin's blog, I have learned how to make the most of coupons and sales, and I have received a TON of free samples in the mail. Just today, the USPS brought me four pair of fleece-lined leggings (one for me and one for each of my three daughters) purchased on uber-sale, thanks to a post on Hip2Save, samples of Airborne and Hill's Science Diet IDEAL BALANCE Veggie Chips for our dogs (They love these crisp cracker-like treats.) and eleven, yes, eleven coupons, each good for one free 12-pack of Coke products through MyCokeRewards. I have been a member of MCR for a long time, but I would have totally missed the chance to snag these coupons had I not seen the posts on Hip2Save. 

Thanks to Collin, and the great deals she posts all the time, I have found a thickening shampoo and conditioner I love (Bumble & Bumble Thickening Shampoo and Thickening conditioner, along with their great products, Prep Spray and Thickening Hair Spray; Expensive, but so far, I have gotten free shipping and free samples with every order) and I have also actually EARNED money on Hershey's Kisses by using stacking store coupons and manufacturer coupons on after-Christmas sales. 

Nope, I am not being paid, or otherwise compensated, for saying all these swell things about the Hip2Save blog, it all comes straight from the heart.

And that, my friends, if my random thought at the moment!

A Random Welcome!

Welcome to my random home! I have wanted to write a blog for some time, so I am really excited about this new endeavor.
Let me take a moment to introduce myself: I live in "Small Town, USA" with my husband and our youngest daughter, 13 years old. Our oldest two daughters are now adults and pretty much on their own. I love taking care of my home and family, and prefer to spend as little money while doing so as possible.
In this blog, I plan to offer everything from recipes to links to coupons, from tips on dealing with temper tantrums in public to throwing a birthday party. I will walk you through the steps of cleaning your refrigerator, and maybe, just maybe, I will share my favorite recipe for bread!
Anyway, welcome. If you have any random topics you would like addressed, please share them!