Attention Cyclists

Check out the link to Routine Leg Works. If you cycle or know any avid cyclists, you will want to know more about them and their products. Maybe I am a little biased, Mike is my son!

Getting ready for summer

My friend Peggy suggested I read a book by Barbara Kingsolver...Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. It is about a family that set out to reevaluate what they ate and where it came from. I had some 'aha' moments. I had seen a discussion on 'Oprah' so I had already begun to wonder what extras were in the chicken we were eating. I was shocked at the additives ( specifically anitbiotics ) that the chickens are given. I haven't gone over the deep end but I am reading more labels. I am planning a small garden and have already started some seeds. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Funky Flannel Pants

Hi All
I was trying to come up with cute but inexpensive Valentine's Day gifts for the grandchildren. I was at the fabric store and happened by the remnant bin...lots of cool stuff. I bought a pattern for pants ($2.97) and it was for children sizes 6 to 16....perfect for Keagan, Fallon and me! The pattern was super simple. As it happened the store was having a huge sale on flannel so I splurged and bought some really cute stuff for the kids. BUT I found neat fabric for me in the bin so even I have new funky pants. Now Mark wants a pair....need to get a bigger pattern!
As I was wandering the store, I found some other bargains....thread, lace, ribbons..all in bins at the end of an aisle. I was glad I spent time walking around.

Kitty Beds

I fogot to tell you about our money saving cat project. Fallon and Keagan have new cats..Frosty and Ursula and they wanted new cat beds. We all went to the pet store to visualize the bed...boy are they expensive to buy. We came up with a design after checking many types of beds. Rene had a scrap fabric box and I was able to find enough to make both beds. The only things we needed to buy were batting and stuffing. We stitched the names in the bottoms of the beds (Rene outdid me by stitching Frosty's name in cursive). The children helped and that made the beds even more special. AND it was fun!

Granola

Just finished making a batch of homemade granola...so easy. We love it...in our house it is a staple. It takes me literally 5 minutes to assemble and 35 minutes to bake......and I know what is in it! I am sure everyone has a recipe but this is fast, good and inexpensive.

Homemade Granola

8 cups Quaker Oats
1 cup coconut
1 cup oat bran or wheat germ (or combination)
1 cup peanuts ( any nut you like)
cinnamon to taste
1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup honey
1 cup raisins, cranberries or any dried fruit you like

Mix together. Place in greased pan ( I spray Pam) and bake 30 minutes at 350. Stir and bake an additional 5 minutes. Add dried fruit and cool.

The Dollar Store

Crazy but I love the Dollar Store! In the past I would go in there when I needed cocktail napkins or gift bags. Now it is my go to store. It is truly amazing what they stock. I buy a lot of my disposibles there...body wash, bubble bath, candles, rubber gloves, cleansers, etc. in addition to the paper products. The grandchildren love it too. They certainly can get more for their dollars there. Give it a try...I think you will be surprised. Every time I shop there, it's a few more extra dollars I have in my pocket.

Nonie Hooch

Oops...forgot a main ingredient

8 ounces Eagle Brand Condensed Milk

need to proof before I post

Nonie Hooch

We love Bailey's Irish Cream! Back in the day, it was always in the cupboard. Mark loved it in his coffee. It seemed we were drinking it very quickly so I started buying knockoffs to use in our coffee....of course, the Bailey's was still there for sipping over ice. A few years ago our friend Deb gave me a recipe for home made irish cream but I had never made it. At the cost of Emmets etc.($13 a bottle), I thought now was the chance to give it a try. WOW...it really is good and so easy to make. Hope you enjoy. You might become addicted like we are!

Nonie Hooch...courtesy of Deb
(the original recipe has been tweaked a little..thanks to help from my testers)

14 ounces whiskey
3 eggs
3 t. chocolate syrup
1 t. vanilla
3 T. Irish Creme ( I use coffee creamer )
10 ounces whipping cream

Put all ingredients in a blender and blend. Bottle and store in the refrigerator.

Note: I am going to try Half and Half instead of whipping cream in my next batch....trying to cut down on a few calories. I will let you know if it works.

Bakery

Just a quick note this morning.....when I posted yesterday, I failed to tell you all the wonderful bakery where we had shopped for years is closing. I guess if you take our loaf and mutiply it by others in our situation, the result was inevitable. It makes me sad!

My first pink slip living well step

Well, here's my 1st entry to Pink Slip Living Well. With 2 incomes, Mark and I were living well. Every Saturday we went to the 'Y' and then treated ourselves to a latte and fresh baked bread from the bakery. At first we couldn't give up our lattes (our prize for exercising) so out went the $6 loaf of bread. Times 52 weeks it was going to save a few dollars. I searched for a honey whole wheat recipe to match the bakery and after many trials and much tweaking I found one just as good and very easy.
Here's the recipe and hope you like it.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

2.5 teaspoons yeast 1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup oat bran
1/2 cup honey 3 cups unbleached white flour
1 tablespoon canola oil 1 cup whole wheat flour

Preheat the oven to 325*. Dissolve yeast, salt, honey and oil in warm water. Let stand 5 minutes or until frothy. Place flour and oat bran in food processor. Add yeast mix and pulse until the dough starts to form a ball. Add more water if needed. Form into loaf and place in greased loaf pan; let rise until double in size. (I place the pan in the microwave where it is out of the way.)
Bake at 325 for 45 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool. This bread is delicious toasted!

New Ventures

This is my first time blogging. I am excited but a little nervous too. I wanted to do this because I am sure there are many in my same situation. My husband is unemployed and looking for work and the company I worked for closed its doors last January. We still want the good life but have to come up with creative ways to live it. Hence the name of the blog. Hopefully some of our ideas will be useful to you.