Easter - Coconut Cream Eggs

Do you have a favorite Easter treat?  I like peeps and cadbury creme eggs, but I especially like coconut cream eggs.  I found an easy recipe for them at www.thriftyfun.com.

Combine 1 can of sweetened condensed milk, a 1 lb. bag of coconut, one 2 lb. bag of powdered sugar, and 1 tsp. of vanilla.

Mix well and shape into eggs.  I took about a handful of mix, patted it down, and used an egg-shaped cookie cutter to make my eggs.

I made 20 eggs, but you could make more or less depending on how you form your eggs.  I placed them on a cookie sheet and refrigerated them for about an hour.

After about an hour, I melted a bag of chocolate chips over low heat until they were creamy.

Finally, I dipped the eggs in the chocolate until they were covered.  Then I put them back into the refrigerator to chill.

Here's the final product.  I wish that they had turned out prettier, but they still tasted good!

How to get a free microwave

My microwave is getting old.  Sometimes it works the way it's supposed to and sometimes, it runs without turning off.  This is becoming an issue.  I want a new microwave, but I don't want a $49 special from Walmart.  I want the same kind of microwave that I have now; I want all the bells and whistles.  The really cool thing though is that I'm going to get a new microwave for free.  FREE!

I'm not saying that you can just decide that you want a new microwave today and then go and get it tomorrow.  It is easy though.  So far, I have received two $50.00 gift cards for Walmart, and I'm on my way to getting another $50.00 gift card.  $150.00 should be more than enough to get me the microwave that I want.

How did I do it?  I signed up at www.mypoints.com.  All I have to do is read emails, shop online, etc.  Anything that I would normally do online I can do through the mypoints program.  I can earn anywhere from 5 points for reading an email to 1,000 + points for joining a book club or shopping online.  When I've accumulated enough points, I can redeem them for rewards, such as gift cards.  How easy is that?

A "Fair-y" Good Time

I love the County Fair - the smells - popcorn, pizza, boiled peanuts, and sausages; the sights - the exhibits, the livestock, the carnies; and the rides.

Today, after work, my sister and I went to the fair.  I purchased admission tickets and armbands online and saved $16.00 - not bad.  The first thing we did when we got there was to visit the "Old Florida" exhibition.

Moosemobile

We went through all the exhibits and I got a bunch of free pencils and other stuff.  Then we went and looked at the livestock.

Isn't this the cutest little guy you've ever seen?

OK, I know you're thinking, "what's up with the cow and the pig?"  Well, my favorite number just happens to be 23 and, you guessed it, these are pictures of cow #23 and pig #23.  Come on, I had to take a picture of them!

Afterwards, we went on the rides.  I confess to being a coward; the scrambler is about the limit for me.  I usually ride the same three or four rides until I get sick to my stomach.

I took this photo while I was riding on the scrambler - wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Finally, no trip to the fair is complete until I buy the biggest bag of cotton candy that I can find - pure sugar and pure heaven for me.

Household Notebook

A few days ago I wrote about how disorganized I am right now.  Sometimes it's amazing that I get anything done.  While stumbling around on the internet, I've seen some great websites that show you how to make a household notebook.  Organizedhome.com has free printable planner forms that you can download and make your own household notebook.  Another good website is "money saving mom."

I went with organized home because I believe that their forms are more relevant for me.  Here's how I put my notebook together.

daily do-it checklist - this is where I listed all the things that I want to accomplish on a daily basis.  My list includes feeding my dogs and cat, making my bed, doing a morning devotional, eating breakfast, brushing and flossing my teeth, showering, moisturizing, taking my vitamins, drinking 8 glasses of water, exercising, and checking my email.

daily planner - this is my personal to do list and is divided into the following sections: "to do", "to go", "to call", "to buy", and "what's for dinner?".  I like the idea of dividing things up into categories.

weekly planner - this is my work to do list and is divided into days.  I actually am pretty well organized at work, but this still helps me stay on track.

monthly calendar - I carry a calendar in my purse also, but the monthly calendar in my notebook has more room to write things down and I color-coded it - green for bills; yellow for work appointments; blue for personal appointments, and pink for mystery shops.

shopping list - makes it easy to keep track of what I need to purchase

weekly menu plan

freezer inventory

pantry inventory

blank sheets of paper

monthly budget - I couldn't find a printable form that I liked, so I just included my handwritten budget.

It's a work in progress, but I hope to get to the point where it's indispensable.

Bubble Up Pizza

This is a wonderful recipe that I got from al.com.  It's just another great recipe to make that's easy and tastes good.  I modified it slightly using ingredients that I already had on hand.

Bubble Up Pizza
1 can of Grands buttermilk biscuits, 16.3 oz
1 jar of pizza sauce (I used pasta sauce)
2 cups of cheese
your favorite pizza toppings (sausage & pepperoni are my faves)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Cut biscuits into quarters and place in a medium size bowl.  Toss biscuits with 1 cup of sauce.  Add pizza toppings and half the cheese.  Toss until well blended.  Spray a 9" x 13" pan with cooking spray.  Pour biscuit mixture into pan and top with remaining sauce and cheese.  Bake at 375 for 25 - 30 minutes or until biscuits are done.

It is so good!

Tired Tuesday Dinner

I just want to say a big "THANK YOU" to Sarah and AJ at www.imagrownupnow.com for an easy, tasty dinner to make on one of those weeknights when work has been really tough.

Their recipe is called mac & cheese lasagna and it's wonderful. 

You need 1 lb. of ground beef, 1 package of macaroni & cheese, 1 jar of spaghetti sauce, and 1 package of cheese.

Cook the ground beef and mac & cheese like you normally would.  Preheat oven to 375.

Layer the mac & cheese, ground beef, spaghetti sauce, and cheese in a baking dish.  Repeat process until baking dish is full.

Bake, uncovered for 15 - 20 minutes.  Done!

It's easy and so delicious - just the right recipe after a long day at work.

Disorganized

Where did March go?  What did I accomplish?  Even with my "lists", I am still so disorganized!  I'm almost four months into a new year and my life feels like a complete mess!  Ouch!  My bathroom needs a good cleaning, I need to exercise, I need to cook some decent meals!  Does anybody else feel this way?  Maybe I should have titled this blog "undisciplined" because I don't finish anything I start.  You know, I don't want to go to bed at night feeling like I haven't accomplished SOMETHING that day.  And I'm tired of the excuse that I don't have time, when I do.  How do I get organized and disciplined?  How do I make time not only for the things that I have to do, but for the things I want to do?  That's the $64,000 question, isn't it?