Everybody knows what's cooking today. . .

I am sure everyone is going to be fixing turkey today, getting ready for tomorrow.  I am very fortunate that I only have to fix a few side items and something sweet.  Can anyone guess what I will be fixing? 
Yep, bread, I am making beer bread for both houses.  I found a good recipe on Pinterest.  It is easy and not as expensive as buying those ready mix boxes.  I made homemade crackers last night with my sourdough starter.  They are good but could use more salt and I never say that.  My sister is the best, she gave me some of her sourdough starter.  It is wild yeast starter, which means you do not add yeast to get it started.   She is amazing in the kitchen, she makes most everything from scratch.  She also told me about the Pocket Farmer and that is where I got my cracker recipe, you can check them out online at www.thepocketfarmer.com.  These crackers are kinda like the ones that Daryl's used to serve with ranch dressing.  My starter had some whole wheat flour in it so mine are a little more brown than those that Daryl's used to serve.   

Lots of sadness this week, we lost a cousin suddenly and two teenagers were killed in a car accident from the high school.   It changes the way you look at things, how fleeting life really is.  You never really know how long you have on this earth so cherish every moment with those you love.   I am thankful we will be spending time with family tomorrow and will make every moment count.  Hope you all have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.   

Upgrade Tuesday

So I have had my desktop out of order for at least a year.  It was slow running and I think my kids had let in a few viruses.  When Microsoft went away from XP, which is what I had on this system, I shut it down all together.  Since I have been taking my computer classes I have learned a great deal about upgrades and have had a couple of projects where I have had to upgrade a system.  I decided there was no time like the present and I have been working on my desktop for about a month.   I took my case apart and cleaned it out.  Yikes! the dust bunnies.  

Because I am a student I was able to get a free copy of a newer version of Windows. 
I worked most of the day yesterday to get everything back up and running.  I ran my Free virus software, transferred files, and had to learn my  way around this new system.  It is up and running, so far with no problems. 
I changed a few things up with my upgraded system.  I loaded Google Chrome as my Internet browser, I do not trust the other one.   Mozzilla Firefox is also a good browser with good security, it is also free.  Chrome always has someone trying to load add-ons to the browser but my Free virus software catches it every time.   

With my old system I was not as diligent about updates as I should have been.  I have learned you must check for your Windows updates and make sure you are getting the security updates.  Don't skip those steps, they are important and help to keep your system running properly.  

One other tip for the day, if you have anything on your computer that you do not want lost should the unthinkable happen, back it up.   I took my sweet time implementing this one too.  I am glad I have done it now.  The one thing I did not want to lose was my pictures, my kids whole life was on my system I have just upgraded.   I purchased a small external hard drive, that I can connect via a USB cable, in order to back up anything I want on my computer.   I highly recommend this to anyone that keeps a lot of pictures that they do not want to lose on their computers.   You need more than a flash drive to keep those pictures safe.  

Mom on Monday. . .

A friend posted on Facebook she wanted someone to go with her  to Zumba to keep her motivated.  I have been wanting to try a zumba class so I volunteered.   What in the world was I thinking?  I love my friend and yes I want to help her, but zumba. 
Friday two weeks ago we went.   I have never felt so uncoordinated in my whole life.  I cheered all through high school and part of college and we had complicated routines and had to balance in the boys hands.  I guess all of your coordination goes away after giving birth.  That has to be the reason why I looked and felt so awkward these last two Fridays.    I am a trooper though, I shall not give up, I will defeat this beast of zumba.  I must say I did not know the classes were an hour either.  The time does go by fast, we have some great music to jam to. 
My sister always tells me working out  alleviates stress and she is right.  I do not feel as stressed and on edge after I have worked out.  It is kind of relaxing,  burning that nervous energy.  A big thank you to my friend for posting that request.  She asked for help and she is the one helping me.  Hmmmm I think this is the good Lord sending me what I need yet again.  
Moms, do not forget in all the rush of taking care of the family to take care of you.  Remember nobody can replace you in your family.   Take time to rejuvenate yourself so that you can be there when you are needed. 

Debt Snowball. .

How appropriate since we are experiencing crazy cool weather that we talk about the "debt snowball".   This snowball has nothing to do with cold though.  Yes, this is from Dave Ramsey.  It is an ingenious plan to get out of debt.  I am not judging anyone, remember,  I have made these mistakes and I know it is easy to get into debt.  In fact I got into debt in college with my first credit card, that I had no business having.  I had a modest job and was going to school and they gave me a crazy high credit limit.  Needless to say I let it go to my head and bam!! Debt.  I am sharing all of this because if my mistakes can keep someone else from making them or help them recover from them then it is all worth it.  You know the old saying, if I had known then what I know now.  Well here ya go.
Look at each of your credit cards and loans, list them  from smallest balance to the largest balance.  We are only going to think about the balance, the bottom line nothing else.   You want a quick win, that means paying that first balance off quick.  This means putting any extra money you have left after you; give, save, and pay bills.   Always give first, even if it is just a few dollars it will help someone else and will open doors for you that no man can close.   Then you pay yourself (save) and then take care of those bills.   Macy's should not get theirs if your house payment and power bill is not being paid.  Take care of your family first.  While you are pouring extra money into that one smallest balance try to keep up your minimum payments on all the others.   Once you have paid that first one off, shout wahooo and if it was a credit card cut it up.  As Dave says, do a little plastic surgery, it will do wonders for your bank account.  Now you take what ever you were paying on that balance plus the minimum you were paying and start paying the next smallest balance on your list.  This is called the "debt snowball" and it does work.  I am proof positive it does.   I kept a copy of my balances on my fridge and as I paid things off I took a red pen and marked through them.  It was a great feeling when we got down to just the house being on that list.  We are now dumping crazy money at the house to get it paid off so we will truly be debt free.   It took me two years and we were not in as bad a debt as some but we took things slowly and made sure we were giving and saving while we were paying off our debt.  

When I talk about giving I am talking about money, time, and things you may not need.  Especially this time of year there are so many that are in need that if you have things laying around that you cannot wear donate them to your local Samaritan Ministry, Church, Goodwill or the Salvation Army.  There is an old adage that when you give you get back ten fold.  This means when you give you get back ten times what you gave.  You may not see it immediately but it will come back to you.  Our family has been so blessed because we share generously.   If you have not realized, I am a very passionate person, about God and my family and what I believe in.  I truly believe in sharing and the blessing that we have received because we have shared.  I have gotten a little off track today, sorry about that but I do believe I needed to share.
So far we are trying the envelope system and working on that debt snowball.    Stay tuned who knows what I will tell about next week.  

A Little Something for the Kids

I know today is supposed to be crafty but, this is creative and pretty cool.   I am not sure where  I got this idea, it is not mine but like everything I do I have tweaked it. 
I have started writing notes/letters to my boys.  When I first read about this, they said write a letter every year.  I have been writting more often than that.   I started writing when they did good things, things I was proud of.   I also have been writing to tell them little things about their childhood.   Once I have written I also throw in some money, $10 or $20 and seal the envelope.  Keep them all together and you give them  the envelopes when they graduate high school. 
I thought it was a cool idea because you are giving them  your thoughts about them at particular times in their lives.  It is also nice for them to have a little extra cash maybe for that beach trip after graduation. 
The boys and I had a tiff yesterday and so I wrote about that and told them that I loved them no matter what.  Yes, they will not see these for a couple of years but, I still want them to know that even though I was angry with them that I did and do love them. 
I guess I just want my kids to know that even though I fussed and hollered that I always loved them.   This seems like a pretty neat way to let them  know how important they are. 

Chicken Taco Stew is in the Pot. . .

On these cold,  cold days I love some stew or chili.   Today it is chicken taco stew.  This has taco and tomato and chicken flavors and is so good and low calorie.
This is an easy yummy recipe for the crock pot.  I do not remember where I found this recipe for the first time but I have been making it way before Pinterest was in the picture.   As always I adapted the original recipe so this one is my own.
Here is what you will need:
4 chicken breast (frozen or thawed)add last.
1 can rotel tomatoes
14oz can tomato sauce
2 cup V8 juice
Packet of taco seasoning or your own spices for taco flavor.  I use 3tbsp pampered chef southwest seasoning.
1tbsp garlic powder
1tbsp cilantro
1tbsp cumin
2 cans black beans rinsed
16 oz frozen kernel corn
1 cup chicken broth
Stir all of this up then
I added a couple fresh peppers whole
Then lay your chicken on top.  They do not have to be covered with the sauce.  Do not stir!
Cook on high for 6 hours then pull the chicken out and shred it with a fork and add it back to the pot continue cooking for an hour on low.   This is the best chicken stew ever.  I serve mine with shredded cheese and sour cream with tortilla chips or crackers. 

Security, how secure are you on the internet?

I am sure you have heard numerous times you need to have a secure password and adequate virus protection.  Those are basic things you must do to be safe.  There are some other things you can do to stay secure.
I am sure you have heard to make your password at least 8-14  characters, alternate upper and lower case, do not use "words", do not use consecutive numbers or letters,  and don't use your logon name as a password.  Check out this site to test your password security.
https://howsecureismypassword.net
There are some other things you need to be aware of in our tech savy world.   Do you ever go to a coffe shop and while your there you check to see if that check went in the bank?   If you do, you are opening up your bank account and sharing your information with hackers and identity thieves.  Just because a wireless connection, like a coffee shop, requires a password does not mean that is a secure connection.   Anyone that is on that same wireless link could access your logon information to use later.  You also should be aware of shoulder surfers too.  You could run into this same thing when using your computer or phone at the airport.  Shoulder surfers are those people that linger over your shoulder to see you log into your bank account or Facebook.  I am not trying to make you paranoid but these are tactics used daily by hackers. 
If you travel a lot with work or just for the occasional vacation, have you noticed some hotels provide computers for your use either in your hotel room or in lobby areas?  These are great for looking up random things but, do not use these to check your email, bank accounts, or even Facebook.   These computers could have key logging software added to them and they could get all of your log on information this way.  I am not saying hotels do this on purpose but, how many times have you heard of friends having a camera and such taken out of their rooms while on vacation?  This is the same concept only it goes a little deeper.  You do not know who has access to those computers and what they may be doing with them. 

At home, keep your computer up to date with it's virus software and Windows updates.   You should virus scan at least once a week along with a malware scan.  If I have not shared this one with you before  www.malwarebytes.org  has free malware software you can download.     Do not click on pop up ads and do not open emails from people you do not know.  Be safe out there, it's a jungle.

My babies are not babies anymore. . .

I am feeling old and confused.   My oldest has only three more years before he will be off to college,  the youngest is in middle school.  Sprat has his permit and is driving occasionally.   I was a home body when I was younger.  I went out with my friends but I also did things with the family.   I guess I am afraid once he gets his license he will be gone and we won't ever see him again.   Big T may never leave home.  He is his mama's boy.  I see so much of myself in T, that is really scary.  I have apologized numerous times to both my mom and dad.  I must have been a nightmare.  I know I tested their patience.   Very thankful for understanding parents.  

As a mom you hope that you have instilled family values in your kids and that they will want to spend time with you.  You want so much for them to grow and be independent but I guess you want them to always need you, just a little.  They are just starting to get interesting and now they think they are too cool for you.  I guess you would not be a good parent if you didn't worry just a little about how they are going to turn out.  I pray daily for them and that they will grow into the people God intended.  I just hope I have not messed them up along the way. 
 

Feeling very excited about Financial Friday

I have told you some of the things I have done that I am ashamed of and I will tell you many more but today I am going to share something I am extremely proud of.  As of today we (my family) are Debt Free!!!!!! except our house.  Wahoooooo!!!
This is why I love Dave Ramsey.  I could not have done this without his class and my wonderful teacher that guided the class.  We paid off our car in 2 years with Daves' debt snowball plan, which is pure genius.  I will share that with you next week.    Today I would like to hash out the envelope system.  Dave gives credit to all of the grandparents for this system because that is how they managed money back in the day.   You were paid in cash and you divided it up into your envelopes to make sure your bills were covered.   I love this.  I told you last week that we started out with our Christmas envelope and we now have about 9 envelopes.   These are my categories, they work for us, you feel them out and see what works best for your family.  
Christmas, vacation,  restaurants,  groceries,  mad money,  entertainment,  clothes,  school, tuition, hair cuts, and prescriptions.  Most of these are self explanatory, mad money is money that I set aside just for me.  My hubby has his mad money too.  It is just for us to spend with no guilt on what ever we wish.  The entertainment envelope covers movies,  putt putt,  bowling, and football games.  School money pays for school fees, supplies,  lunch money, and field trips.  I put money in each of these every pay period according to what I have budgeted.  Just because it is summer does not mean I stop funding the school envelope, this is when I am saving for back to school supplies.   When an envelope is empty there is no more of that till next pay period, which for us is every two weeks.   It was hard for the kids to grasp that, when it came to eating out.  That was our big vacuum, when it came to spending.   Once I put a cap on what we would spend it was amazing how much we could save.  That is not to say we did not have our weak points, because we did.  Your budget is a living thing and it grows and changes just like your family does, that is why you need to look at it periodically to evaluate how it is changing.   The categories I picked for my envelopes fit our family, they may not fit yours.  You should evaluate what you want to pay cash for.   Some have a gas envelope to pay for their gas in their cars.  I do not like having to go in and pay for gas that to me is more trouble than it is worth.   

Dave says that when you pay with cash you feel that pang of the money leaving your hand.  When you swipe that debit card there is no feeling attached to it.   This is true, if you don't believe me pay for a meal at a nice restaurant with cash, you will feel it.  You can set your amounts that you put in your envelopes yourself.  Just be sure you are honest with yourself when you are setting up your budget, do not fudge on how much you spend in certain areas because that will just create a problem in the end.  Remember I have made most of the mistakes I warn you about.   If you are married you should set all this up with your spouse too, the system will never work if you do not work together.  I ask my hubby periodically if he is ok with our budget and normally he says he is fine but sometimes he points things out that I had not thought of and there is where we revisit our budget and tweak it.  He pointed out this year that we needed to re-evaluated our entertainment money during football season.  Both boys play football and going to games and concessions were expensive so the next pay period we upped our entertainment money amount to cover these things.  I love this system, it is ours and we can change it to suit our needs and so can you.  I would suggest that you pick one thing and try it out before you dive head first into all the envelopes we have.   I would love to know what envelopes you will have.   Good Luck and we will talk about Daves' debt snowball next week.  

All About Fiber. . Crafty Thursday

I love to knit and crochet.  I am an amateur at best but I do enjoy it.  Like everything else,  I have several projects going at the same time.  I have at least two scarves, two hats, a cell phone cover,  and a prayer shawl.  My Church has a prayer shawl ministry where the women knit or crochet shawls for those that have lost loved ones or are facing surgery etc.  I love this ministry because it allows our Church to reach out beyond our walls.  While knitting a prayer shawl you pray for whom ever might receive it.  My first shawl I made took several years to finish so it was well prayed over.  My new one I am working on is going much faster.  I am doing straight knit on this shawl.  My others I alternated knit and purl.  For a shawl you cast on 64 stitches and use three skeins of yarn.   Knitting is actually very therapeutic for me.  I am also trying my hand at loom knitting too.  You can find all kinds of free (my favorite) patterns online especially at Pinterest.   Here are some pictures of some of my unfinished gems.  The last picture is a black and blue lacy potato chip type scarf.  It is finished, I thought I still had some to go on it.   I love making scarves but, you only need so many scarves and I have given many away.  

Bread is Cooking again. . .

I promise I will be posting things other than bread but today, I am in a bread mood.  I found this copycat recipe for Subway bread on Pinterest.  It is easy and I love their bread,  I do hate watching them slap a sandwich together, that is another post though. 
In proper fashion I did not keep to the recipe.  Here are the ingredients: 
1cup warm water (110 F)
1 1/2 tbsp yeast (almost 2 pkgs)
1tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
4tbsp olive oil
3-3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
This recipe uses a mixer.  I do not use metal anything when making bread so I did this by hand. 
Add yeast to your warm water then sugar and salt.  Set aside, in another bowl put one cup of flour then slowly add your yeast mixture a little at a time,  alternating flour and yeast mixture till it is all incorporated adding the olive oil for moisture.  Knead 8 minutes till dough is smooth.  I put mine in a bowl covered with a dish towel to rise for about 40 minutes.  Once it has risen, turn it out and punch it down.  Divide into fourths and shape into long skinny loaves,  cover and let rise  for 1 hour.  Bake 350 for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  Take out of oven and rub with butter and cover with dish cloth to cool.  Per the recipe this last step keeps the bread soft.   This was posted on Pinterest by www.blessthismessplease.com  and she has the copycat recipe link.

As you can see I should have made my loaves a little skinnier.  Nothing I make ever turns out the way it is supposed to.  It is always good but never quite looks just so.   It smells absolutely wonderful!!  Cannot wait to try it tonight.  Until we eat again.

Tech Tuesday. . . Donating Computers. . .

It is great to donate your tech equipment if you are no longer using it.  Donating helps others but do be careful when donating computers and anything that contains your personal information.   The best thing to do is to wipe your hard drive clean.  This merely keeps an honest man honest.  You would not leave your house without locking your doors so, do not donate with out wiping that hard drive. Now when I say wipe I mean electronically wipe it not with a swifter.  There are lots of products that claim to erase files and erase your hard drive, do be careful some do not do all that they claim.
Here is a site to check out,  www.dban.org    This offers a FREE program to delete your hard drive, you know I am all about FREE when it comes to computer programs.  I am also very skeptical too.  The sites that I will recommend here are sites that my instructors have recommended and  I deem safe to use.
 I am always looking for used or old computers to work on so if you have one and would like to get rid of it and are local let me know.   I had one friend donate her old desktop to me to work on and I appreciate it so much.  I need the experience of taking them apart and putting them back together and I might also use them for parts.  Here is a picture of me with a motherboard I was working on in class.  Who knew I was a geek at heart?

Mom Monday. . . Thoughts on Thanksgiving

I have seen a great deal about stores contemplating opening their doors on Thanksgiving.   I remember working at my first job on Christmas Eve and praying people would go home so that I could go home to my family.  It was our family tradition to open our gifts to each other on Christmas Eve, because Santa came that night. 
I worked in a local drug store and our boss, around 5:00 or so, would say if nobody comes in in the next 30 minutes we could go home.  We usually were able to leave around 5:30.   We were never opened on Thanksgiving or Christmas day. 
I have shopped on black Friday but I don't much any more.  I do not agree with opening on Thanksgiving, that and Christmas day should be held sacred for family.  Not much about family seems important these days to large companies.  My hubby has many weeks vacation and if he does not use it he loses it.  He usually takes almost two weeks at Christmas and this year his company said he could not take it.  
It is all about the bottom line these days.  The employees do not matter it is all about what are you doing for me.  My hubby has been with his company for 22 years and they would not bat an eye if something were to happen to him and he could not work.   They would just hire someone else to fill that spot.  People/employees, have become a disposable commodity.  That is why these companies are so willing to open their doors on Thanksgiving, they do not care about their employees or if it puts them out to have to be at work.  Their only concern is their net profit.
I will not be shopping on Thanksgiving nor will I be shopping the day after.  These folks should be able to enjoy their families and not be schlepping to put money in some CEO's pocket.    

My first boss was a great man, he instilled in many a very strong work ethic.   He was very generous to the kids he employed and he did employ many kids from our local high school.  He was very stern and he expected a lot from his employees but you got a lot back from him too.   If more of these corporate goons would approach things the way the mom and pop stores used to our Country would be so much better off.   We need a time warp back to the days when an employee was valued as part of a company and the employee felt vested in the company.    I think that is what people really need to be encouraged to do a good job.  They need to feel valued and they need to feel they have a stake in the company they work for.  They do not need to be told do it or else, that is the wrong kind of mentality when dealing with people.   If you feel it is wrong for people to have to be open on Thanksgiving day then stand up and do not go shopping that day.  If they do no have big sales numbers they will not do it again.  I hope everyone will enjoy their loved ones on Thanksgiving, I know that is where I will be.  

Financial Friday. . . Background on Why. . .

If you are going to talk finances you should go to someone that has made lots of money because they are obviously doing something right.   My favorite financial person is Dave Ramsey, and just be warned you will see,  Dave says a lot on here.  I am not being paid by Dave or any other financial person, the things you will read here are my heart felt beliefs about money and some of my personal experiences along with what I have learned from Dave.  I do not have a background in finance but, goodness knows I have made enough mistakes to have learned what not to do.
I like Dave a lot, I like his Christian approach to handling money.  He is the only financial person that I have seen that lays out a budget with giving at the top.  
I was invited by my friend Beth to go to a Dave Ramsey class and I took her up on that opportunity.  It was one night and they were talking about investing, something I did but very minimally.  I was intrigued right off the bat and a big thank you to Beth for inviting me, this started my following of Dave with regard to finances.   I went to the Library and checked out one of his books, I loved it and I ended up buying it at our local used book store.  Notice I did not go out and buy his book without  checking it out at the Library first and when I bought it, it was used.   It was two years before I took Daves' Financial Peace University class.  During that two years I read everything I could get my hands on, from the Library and the used bookstore, about finances.   I was very intrigued by Dave's envelope system.   That was the first advice I tried and it helped.  I only used the envelopes for certain things, we started out with a Christmas envelope.  We put $20 a week in an envelope for Christmas.  Our first year we did this we got a little late start so we did not have enough money to pay for all of Christmas but it helped.  The next year we started earlier and that year we paid for Christmas in cash, with the exception of things we bought online.   The next year I was able to officially take the Dave Ramsey class.  I was so excited, I was like a kid at Christmas.
One of the first things we talked about in class was a budget, I am ashamed to say I had never done a budget before.  We did a "quick start" budget, this catches the major things, paychecks coming in and bills going out.  I always thought of a budget as being evil and very restrictive.  It is actually, you telling your money where to go rather than wondering where it went.  I was a wonder where it went kinda gal for many years.  Oh, I wish someone would have told me how to do this sooner.  I was actually relieved when I did that first budget and a little surprised at where we were spending all of our money.   I will tell another ugly truth about myself, I was not someone that balanced the checkbook either.  Now, I do a budget every two weeks and balance my checkbook every time my statement comes in.  Yayyy me!!  If you are a financial person you may think that is no big deal.  To someone that did not do either of these things for so many years it is a huge deal.   If you are doing both or just one of these kudos to you, you are already rolling in the right direction.   There are lots of places to go and find budget software or budget forms.  There are a lot of them on Pinterest.  I personally like Dave's forms for budget.  Check out his website www.daveramsey.com
Also check out your local used book stores and Library, they are full of good free information and I am all about FREE.   Here is something to think about for next Financial Friday:  what are some things that you could pay cash for?  Groceries, restaurants, clothes, school supplies or barber or salons.

Homemade Air Fresheners

Homemade air fresheners do not sound like much but, when you are trying to keep your car from smelling like a locker room,  it's big.   I have tried all the car air fresheners and they are so strong when you first put them in your car they take your breath.  That cannot be good for you.  I have been trying to find another alternative.  I am not sure where I read about this, just know this is not my idea.  I am borrowing it from someone else.  I looked back through my pins on Pinterest and I cannot find it. 
I love herbs and fresh flowers, so when I read about this I immediately thought this is a great idea.  Use a stainless steel mesh tea infuser.  I got mine at Wal-Mart.  Take fragrant herbs and put them in the mesh ball and hang it from your rearview mirror.   The sunlight coming in through the window will heat the herbs up and make them smell fabulous and your car too.  I am going to put Rosemary and mint in mine and I will post back to let you know how it battles the locker room aroma.  Who knows, I may start a new trend, instead of people hanging CDs from their rearview mirrors they will have tea infusers swinging.  

What's Cooking Wednesday. . . Beer Bread

My first official post for my new line-up.   I am trying a new recipe for beer bread.  I used to sell  kitchen products and we carried beer bread.  It was really good but expensive for what you get.  I found a homemade version, and homemade is always better than prepackaged.  
Not to brag or anything but bread is one thing I am very good at making from scrarch.  My bread making started out from necessity.   My dear hubby was diagnosed with severe food allergies and he could not eat anything that was prepackaged.   My mom used to make our bread when I was growing up, so I got her recipe, it was actually my grandmother's recipe, and I started making our bread from scrarch.  It was wonderful!   Everytime I made bread I felt a little closer to my mom and grandmother.   This recipe was white loaf bread and made several loaves at a time.  
Back to my beer bread.  Obviously I have beer left from my dear hubby's run to Wal-Mart and I am going to try this new recipe.   I found this on Pinterest at jwww.livingwellspendingless.com.   I used all purpose flour so I had to add the salt and baking powder and I added a little extra beer because my batter was dry.   Here is a little tip when baking bread.  Do not use metal utensils or a metal bowl.  The metal plays havoc with bread and its ability to rise.   I like to use bamboo or silicone utensils and I prefer glass or ceramic bowls for mixing.   

The end result, pretty darn good if I do say so myself.   I will keep this recipe close by.   It is easy, quick,  from scratch, and really good.

Changing Things Up. . .

I have decided to change things up with my blog.   My blog is all about me and the many facets of my life as mom, wife, student, sister, daughter, and friend.  I am going to try and organize my blog by day, so this is what to expect.  I will begin with What's cooking Wednesday,   Crafty Thursday,  Financial Friday, Mom Monday, and Tech Tuesday.   Obviously this is merely a guide and life changes, so don't  be surprised  if  Thursday gets thrown out the door and Friday is freaky.  
Since today was Tech Tuesday,  I will throw out a quick tech tip. 
Here is a great piece of free software, yes I said free, to check your computer for malware.   Malware is that pesky thing that can cause your computer to restart every so often or cause your browser to close at an inopportune time.  Malware can also steal your passwords and other information.   Check out www.malwarebytes.org.  This is a free service but, it does have upgrade capabilities that do cost.  I use the free part.  I am not receiving any kickbacks for this post.  This is my honest opinion.   All of my Tech Tuesday posts will offer some type of tech advice and I am not being reimbursed in any way for my posts. 
Check back tomorrow for What's cooking Wednesday.

Hubby Fixing Lunch

My hubby is actually quite talented when it comes to cooking.   He used to fix pumpkin cheese cakes for his offices  every year before the Federal government cracked down on what reps could do for their doctors.  Let me tell you they were the very best no bake cheese cakes ever. 
For lunch he fixed cheese steak with fresh peppers.  The steak was frozen but the peppers were the last out of our garden.  I am not a big meat eater and usually not red meat but these were really good.   I love that my hubby sees me struggling with my school work and offers to feed me.  I have been elbow deep writing discussion questions today and have not even thought about eating much less cooking anything. 
Usually his forte is most anything on the grill, however, he fixes a mean breakfast and can whip up some Martha White muffins in a minute.  The muffins are a staple around my house for Big T.  

Halloween is over. . .

I enjoy all holidays, especially those that involve chocolate.   My hubby kept asking me, do you have enough candy, you better get some more candy.  He was so afraid we would run out.  He thought because Halloween was on a Friday that we would be covered up with kids.  Sadly we were not.  We did not have very many trick-or-treaters at all.  We had a little rain and I was surprised with as many houses as we have in our neighborhood,  not many had their lights on.
On the upside I have about 5 unopened bags of candy, the good kind.  Now, here is the dilima, do I eat it all myself or do I share it with my kids.  This could last me a couple days if I am careful and don't share.  Heeheehee.  I guess I must share to keep my "best mom in the world" title. 
When Sprat was little (he is 15 now), on his first Halloween I don't think I let him have anything but a sucker.  On his second or third he got raisins and thought they were candy.  I tried my best to keep my kids away from candy for as long as I could.  I knew once that door was open there was no closing it. 
They did not want to go door to door this year so Big T was the only one that dressed up and he did it to scare everyone that came to the door.