3 Things That Need To Be Done Before Moving

We finally sold our house! Read my post A House For Sale to read about that adventure. Anyway when it comes down to it, there are only a few items that I think really need to be done before moving, besides the changing of addresses, etc.

Pack up the small stuff ahead of time. I started moving the small stuff out of the house way back when I originally moved out. My situation was different though and that helped a whole lot! This would include extra linens, books, etc. Leave the bigger items to be moved out such as beds, dressers, etc. at a later date, the day you actually need to sleep in your new house. Get your drawers and closets cleaned out so that nothing is left behind. I've left "stuff" before in closets that I thought I cleaned out.

Rent a truck, hire some help, or do it yourself. I don't always advocate renting a truck or hiring help but at this juncture of my move, but that may be a possibility this time around. It seems that everyone is busy that I normally could count on. So that means other means. I can't believe that a 30 day time frame has almost come and gone! Maybe I will have to consider renting that truck. Does it come with helpers?

Clean for the next tenants. This may be obvious but I've actually moved into a place before that wasn't ready for us to move in. It was gross! When I moved into another house, not only did I have to clean after the previous owners, but after moving in, I felt like I needed to clean again after we moved in. That was not efficient to say the least. Save this job for the very last, after everything has been moved out.

3 Weird Foods I Like To Eat

When it comes to eating food, there are some strange and interesting food combinations that I rather like. For some reason, these certain combinations taste really good to me. Now don't get grossed out when I tell you what I like to eat together:

Cottage Cheese and potato chips

Now with eating this combination I just use the potato chips in place of the spoon. Weird huh? Yeah, I know. Try it though, you may change your mind.

Apples and peanut butter

This is a really good and somewhat healthy snack. So maybe it's not that strange to some people but it's not what I eat all the time. Sometimes I just have this craving for something healthy...the apple, and something salty...the peanut butter.

Cantaloupe and ice cream

And not just any ice cream. It has to be a scoop of Breyer's Natural Vanilla-the one with the whole vanilla bean thing going for it. I got hooked on this funky combination by a family member. Let's just say they are a bit strange anyway.

See, I told you they were weird. I don't have any pictures for this post mainly so that your imagination can run with it. Just for curiosity's sake, I bet you that you too will try any one of these too. Go ahead, I dare you!

Mothering At A Distance-A Care Package Timeline

My son has been serving a church mission for the last two years and will be returning home November 7th. So to honor his last days I will be sending him a care package, but not jut any care package, a birthday care package since his birthday is in October. While I'm not a pro by any means, I've sent out a few in my lifetime (having sent out a few to my husband in Taiwan 30 years ago), I do have a thing or two to tell you about the timeline. Thankfully, sending care packages now is much faster than it was 30 years ago.

1. I usually start with a target date to send, marking that down in my calendar. I then know that I have a certain amount of time to start gathering things or making food items, such as cookies, to put inside the care package.


2. I like to have a theme. It makes it easier for shopping. For example, this time the care package will be centered around a birthday-his birthday.


3. Make sure that when you send the care package, to send it so it arrives around the birthday. It would be very sad that something does not arrive near or on a birthday.

So with a birthday theme in mind, this year I've planned on making my son a Rice Krispie Pizza. I saw this recipe and thought that he would love it. One thing I need to do is find some cardboard that is round, or make it myself.

Then I will need to buy the "pizza toppings" , aka candy, and the other ingredients. I will look for sales about a week prior to this so that I can maximize my money. I know that sending a care package is not cheap, but definitely worth it!

About a day before I get ready to send the care package, I will make the Rice Krispie Pizza. After refrigerating the "pizza", the next day I will prepare it for packing. Add more fun items if you want. I will add a birthday card as well.

The last thing I will do is go to either a UPS store or another shipping facility and send the care package, and pray that is makes it to its destination on time, and in tact. I get a tracking number so that I can at least know when it has arrived and not have to hold my breath one day more. UPS guy...the clock is ticking!

I will take a picture of the results the night before I pack this Rice Krispie Birthday Pizza so you'll know how it turned out. I will post it on one of my recipe posting days. Stay tuned...

Photo: http://freedigitalphotos.net/

3 Ways to Use Apples

We've all heard how an "apple a day keeps the doctor away", well, with the arrival of apple season, it's hard to stick to the one-a-day rule. Having had my apple cravings this month, here are three ways I've come across to use apples.

Use in Food:

Apple pie comes to mind. Need I say more?

Also Caramel Apples are a favorite this time of year. These are one of my favorites. Yum!!

Use in Activities:

Bobbing for apples can be a fun activity especially around Halloween. Take a bunch of apples and place in a container full of water. Without using your hands try and get an apple out of the container. This is a fun activity!

Have a Johnny Appleseed Birthday Party (born 9/26/1774) with apple snacks, such as applesauce, apple slices, dried apple rings, apple cookies, apple cake, apple pie, apple juice. Consider going to an orchard and picking your own apples then making your own treats. Plant some apple seeds and observe.

Make applesauce with the kids. Children can use plastic knives to chop up the apples. They will love this.

Make prints, cards or wrapping paper. Turn apples into decorative stamps by slicing the fruit horizontally, exposing the inside star shape. Or create more elaborate designs -- hearts, moons, Hitchcock's profile -- with a small knife. Then stick a fork in the rounded side of the fruit, dip it in paint and press the stamp on paper. Sounds fun!

Use in Beauty:

Whip up a facial mask. Treat your skin to an apple mask.

Combine one grated apple with honey, smooth the mixture on your face, then rinse it off after 10 minutes. For a pastier consistency, add some uncooked oatmeal.

Photos: courtesy by cardcow.com and kaboose.com

5 Things To Do With A Library Card-Check It Out

Celebrate September by signing up for a free library card. September is National Library Card Sign Up Month. What better way to celebrate libraries than to do just that? There are many things you can do with your own library card. Take a look below.

Check out books:

This month has been an interesting one with the hurricanes and the presidential campaigning underway. If this is what you want to learn about, look for books about weather or hurricanes. If you want to learn about Government at the local and national levels, why not check out a book about just that. There are so many books to read and just as many subjects to learn about. If you're anything like me, I could spend hours in a library just wandering through the vast aisles of information.

Activities:

A public library has activities for the very young up to the elderly alike. Some of the these activities include baby storytimes, toddler and school-aged programs. There are game nights, crafts that you can do with your children or for yourself, films to watch, and musical performance groups to listen to. Check with your local library to view their activities for the month.

Computer Access:

Having access to a computer can be valuable if you don't have one at home. Children can do their homework at the library and if they need to look for reference books, etc., they can do so right there without having to drive back to the library. Adults too can have access to a computer at the library.

Movies & DVD's:

Have you every watched a movie or DVD from your local library? You can while saving money at the same time. It doesn't cost anything to check out any movies or DVD's. They usually have quite a selection to choose from. Think of all the money you saved instead of renting them from a nationally recognized store.

Workshops & Lectures:

Learning something new is always a good thing, even presented at the library. There are local and sometimes even national speakers that you can listen to for free. These classes are educational and informative as well. There are book discussion groups and also, book authors sometimes have book signings at the library.

So take the time this month to sign up for your library card if you havent' done so. Take advantage of this wonderful service that is provided to you. You never know what you might read, watch, have fun doing, or listen to. You might even learn something. Check it out!

Reasons to Celebrate Grandparents Day

There is a day celebrated every year called Grandparents Day. It is an annual observance that honors grandparents and other seniors, seeking to strengthen relationships between the generations. I don't have any living Grandparents anymore but I will try and honor them by remembering them and the heritage they left. They have a lot to offer us and we can learn from them. Below is the history about Grandparents Day and ways to honor them:

When is Grandparents Day?

Grandparents Day is celebrated each year on the first Sunday after Labor Day, although the specific day changes from year to year. This year it is on September 7th, 2008.

How did Grandparents Day begin?

It began in 1970 by Marian Lucille Herndon McQuade, a mother of 15 children as a way to honor her Grandparents. After much campaigning and attracting the support of businesses, churches and political leaders, National Grandparents Day was created by then President Jimmy Carter in 1978, after passing Congress.

Why was Grandparents Day created?

According to an excerpt from the National Grandparents Day Proclamation:
"As we seek to strengthen the enduring values of the family, it is appropriate that we honor our grandparents. They are our continuing tie to the near, the past, to the events and beliefs and experiences that so strongly affect our lives and the world around us...our senior generation also provides our society a link to our national heritage and traditions."

What is the purpose of Grandparents Day?

1. To honor our grandparents
2. To give grandparents an opportunity to show love for their children's children.
3. To help children become aware of the strength, information, and guidance elderly people can offer.

What ways can you honor your Grandparents?

You can show them your love by visiting them wherever they may be. In nursing homes, their own homes, putting flowers on their grave site, reading their journals, reading family histories, just spending time talking to them, writing them a special note or letter, or buying them a special gift. Also family reunions are a great way to remember our Grandparents. Our family will be doing this not on Grandparents Day but in November when most of us can be together at one time. There is a website I've found for buying special gifts. It is at personalizationmall.com . We all need to remember where we came from and honor our Grandparents in our own special way.

A Recipe For A Perfect Day

I was reading a section today out of a book titled "How To Help Your Missionary" by Raymond E. Beckham about having a perfect day. All of us experience days where everything was perfect, life went well, life was wonderful. Those days stand out in our minds. Here's a bakers dozen of basic ingredients that will guarantee a perfect day, every day, if they are applied. While my son is serving a church mission, these "ingredients" can be applied to everyone in our everyday lives, no matter what your religion or beliefs. That is why I tweaked this a little.

1. Today I will adjust myself to what is and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my challenges and adjust myself accordingly.


2. Today I will strengthen my mind. I will study or read as I have time for. I will learn something new and useful.


3. Today I will solve today's problems and will not tackle my whole life's problems at once or worry about those of yesterday. Good one!


4. Today I will be happy. Abraham Lincoln once said, "Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." I will make up my mind to be happy and will not let anything interfere with it.


5. Today I will take care of my body. I will exercise it, care for it, nourish it, and I will not abuse or neglect it.


6. Today I will exercise my soul in three ways: I will do somebody a good turn and not let him know about it; I will do at least two things I do not want to do but that I should do; and I will not show anyone that my feelings are hurt.


7. Today I will be agreeable. I will look as nice as I can, dress as smartly as possible, talk low, act courteously, be flattering to others, criticize no one and find fault with no one.


8. Today I will have a plan and will follow it. I will set down realistic goals and priorities, and I will accomplish every one of them.


9. Today I will spend a few moments in meditation and will pray at least morning and night.


10. Today I will be unafraid. I will have courage as I go about my activities.


11. Today I will forget myself and will do things for others. I will enjoy the spirit of sacrifice and service.


12. Today I will have a positive mental attitude. I will not be discouraged. I will look for the good in everything and goodness rather than be a reflection of the moods of others.

Photo by FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The Business of Paperwork

So I got down to business today. The business of filing that is. It has been about two weeks since I filed all the paperwork that was sitting in a basket, in its respective folders. These are papers such as bills, receipts, letters, and other documents. I usually do this on a weekly basis, however, time just slipped away from me this past week and it was starting to become out of hand. So here I've listed my usual 3 rules for filing:

• File your papers on a weekly basis

If you do this, paperwork will not start to pile up making it harder to just sit down and file them.

• Have a "home" for each piece of paper

Create folders for each bill, subject, etc. in a file cabinet.

• See if it's tax deductible.

If it's tax deductible, file right away in that folder so you will be ready come tax season. I make a tax deductible file in January.

Keeping your papers organized, you will feel a sense of relief knowing that you can go to where it's filed and it will be there when you need it.

Naturally Reducing High Food Costs

Want to reduce the high cost of food prices? Did I get your attention? I sure would like to. It seems that as of lately, due to the high cost of food, we are needing to get back to the basics in order to feed our families. I came across an article in a local newpaper regarding seeds. It got my attention. I'm talking about saving seeds from vegetables grown in your own family garden. Now my brother does this and at first I thought he was crazy! He has a garden and he saves (or recyles) the seeds. Why not just go and buy another vegetable plant instead? Good solution I thought. He not only saves money by doing so, he has become self-sufficient. Well, as it turns out, this article shows you how to make the most of your garden seeds. For example, did you know that the large seeds produced by melons, peas, squash, beans and corn are simple to gather and clean? For the most consistent results from seed collecting and saving, try these tips:

1. Steer clear of hybrids and other varieties such as broccoli and radish that tend to cross-pollinate with other plants.
2. Look at your calendar for your hardiness zone.
3. Gather seeds from your hardiest plants in your garden rather than those that are earliest to mature.
4. When you harvest your seeds, label and store them in either dry envelopes, plastic containers or glass canning jars. Keep them cool and dry.

If you would like to learn more about gathering and saving seeds, there is a book called "Seed Sowing and Saving: Step-by-Step Techniques for Collecting and Growing More than 100 Vegetables, Flowers and Herbs by Carole B. Turner. Click on the Amazon.com button below on my site if you would like to see or purchase this beautiful book. Happy harvesting!

I Put My Foot Down!

As I am writing this I have my foot propped up with an ice bag (mine's a frozen vegetable bag) around my ankle. I must have done a lot of walking lately... This last Saturday I went to the mall with my daughter and grandson, and while I was walking along, one of my ankles suddenly became extremely painful! I hobbled over to a chair and rested awhile after which it became easier to walk again with this rest. Now my daughter has the same problem every now and then so I decided to look towards the internet for any information and here's what I found on http://webmd.com/. From reading the articles I probably had a high ankle sprain. In a "high" ankle sprain, a less common type of injury, the ligaments that join the two lower leg bones together above the ankle, called the syndesmosis, are injured. This usually happens if the foot is forced up, or if the leg is forcefully twisted while the foot is planted. This injury can occur either by itself or with an inversion or eversion sprain. If the ligaments of the syndesmosis are injured, the sprain is more severe and takes longer to heal. I don't know how I caused this painful ankle situation but I do know that it sure hurt to put my foot down. The symptoms range from extreme pain at the site first, such as I had, to feeling better soon thereafter. The treatment for an ankle sprain is to use is the PRINCE approach:

• Protection-Use a brace of some sort, or wrap it for 24-36 hours.
• Rest-Do this until the pain subsides
• Ice it-Use an ice pack every 10-20 minutes until swelling goes down.
• NSaids (acetaminophen)-These include ibuprofen (such as Advil, Motrin, or Nuprin) Commmon types of acetaminophen include Panadol, Tempra, or Tylenol.
• Compression. Use an elastic compression wrap to help decrease swelling. This should be worn for the first 24 to 36 hours. with an elastic bandage. Compression wraps do not offer protection, except by reminding you to be careful of your ankle.
• Elevation. Raise your ankle above the level of your heart for 2 to 3 hours a day if possible to decrease swelling and bruising.

So I rested my ankle on Sunday, and kept off of it for most of the day feeling much, much better thanks to the information I found. I still have some tenderness in my ankle today though, hence the need for the "ice" bag.

Tomato Plant Support

My 1 tomato plant (out of 3 I bought) is in need of support soon. So I turned to the internet in hopes of finding some help. I had forgotten I recently subscribed to a gardening club. I wanted to get more exposure on the how-to's of gardening, especially vegetable gardening. I came across an article about how to support your tomato plants. Here are some good ideas that members sent in that I'd like to share.

Rack it:
One woman uses old wooden clothes-drying racks. She plants 2 or 3 tomato plants at the center of the racks, and ties the tomatoes to the racks as they grow. Then in the winter, the racks fold flat to store.

Don't fence me in:
You can use welded-wire fencing (although where you live, you will have to be careful not to burn the plants in the summer). Roll into a cylinder and place over the plants. Harvesting of tomatoes is a breeze with large cut openings in the wire.

Climbing over:
Use an arbor that normally is used for a dramatic entrance. This makes an impressive addition to your garden.

Frame it up:
Another member used an A-frame type of support. Here's what he did. String twine from the center ridgepole of the frame to the ground. As the plant grows, wrap it around the twine.

Fencing lessons:
One way of saving space and picking tomatoes is to use staple basic fencing (looks like plastic chicken wire) to the fence and train the tomatoes to grow up the fencing. They get plenty of sun by growing up instead of out.

The stakes are high:
Cut (1) ten-ft. horizontal piece of electrical conduit and (2) 7 1/2-ft. vertical pieces. Attach them and push the vertical pieces into the ground, approximately 18 inches. Hang (6) cords across the 10-ft. crosspiece. Tie them to the stakes and anchor the stakes next to the tomato plants. As the plants grow, pinch off the suckers and wrap the plants around the cord.

As you can see, these are just a few examples I've read, about how-to take care of your tomato plants. Can you think of different ways to support your plants?

Ten Excuses To Not ...

Listed below are some of the excuses I've found to not (drumroll please)... exercise.


1. I'm too tired


2. It's too hot outside


3. I'm too sore from the last time I exercised


4. Don't want to use any more gasoline to get there


5. I have "better" things to do today


6. Too crowded in the gym


7. Clothes not in fashion


8. Not coordinated enough


9. Did that class already this week


10. Rather watch t.v.


We all have excuses why we don't want to exercise. Even Oprah says she hates to exercise, but if you just DO IT, you will feel much better afterwards. What is your excuse?

Keepers of the Flame

I was sitting in church today listening to the various speakers about the topic of families. Now I don't know about you, but I've heard some of these comments hundreds of times. So I will make a list of a few things I heard today to share with you. Some of us may need a little reminding.

1. Make time for your family

2. Making time is verb. It's an action word.

3. Establish a pattern to put your family first.

How you make time is just schedule it. Schedule it on your calendars so nothing else can take you away from this important time. For instance, make 1 night a week a priority with your family. Go to a movie together, play board games, or just sit and talk with each other. These are of course just a few examples of what you can do as a family. The action word here is schedule. When you establish a certain night for family time, you have created a pattern. We as parents are responsible for this decision to put our families first. And just as the Olympic torch is touched by one person at a time, we also can touch the lives of each individual in our families by making time with them. We are the "keepers of the flame".