Sunday Project

This is my best project today. My friend Amy trusts me with her floral arrangements. I LOVE to make them. I would like to do something like this and earn extra income for the family. I keep saying one of these days. Maybe all you crafty girls with Etsy shops will inspire me to stop dreaming and start doing! My aesthetic is usually fairly simple and something that you might find in nature. Every now and again I do something over the top. I'm very picky about the materials I choose, too. A lot of people ask me if the fakes in my home are real. That always makes me happy!

Better perspective of today's project - I thought it turned out really cute. I hope she enjoys it!

Ever had Jello Mess?

As long as I can remember, my mommy has made Jello Mess for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is such a yummy treat. I have no idea where she got the recipe and as best as I know it isn't written down. We've just carried it around in our heads all these years. So now I'm sharing it with you all - doesn't that make you feel special?

Jello Mess

1 large pkg jello (any flavor, I prefer lime or cranberry)
2 cups boiling water
1 8 oz bar cream cheese
1 cup mini marshmallows
8 oz can crushed pineapple and juice
1 cup pecans (we're nutty, so I add more)
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream

Pour boiling water and jello into bowl and stir until fully dissolved. Then add cream cheese and stir until it is broken up into small bits (I like the chunks that are left the best). Stir in the marshmallows - they will mostly dissolve. Then add pineapple and pecans. Cover and chill until set (I usually chill overnight). Just before serving, whip heavy cream with electric mixer in large bowl. Pour jello mixture into center of whipped cream and gently fold together. Serve immediately.

Leftovers will keep well a couple of days in the fridge - they never last longer than that around here!To carry on the tradition, I make it at Thanksgiving and then I usually have to make it a few more times between then and Christmas because we all love it so much.

You may be skeptical but I encourage you to give it a try. To give you an idea, the lime mess reminds me of the lime Yoplait Whips. Let me know what you think...

Three Musketeers No More

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and I pray that you all did as well. We had a house full of young ones and they always keep things lively! In past posts I referred to the cousins as the Three Musketeers - but they are no more because...

There's a NEW Big Boy in town!

So I guess going forward they'll be the Fantastic Four. That is until...

Lil Man (born October 28th) gets a little older - isn't he sweet???

OK - so we tried to get a blog-worthy picture of the newly formed Fantastic Four.
Pretty picture, Princess! Now if only those boys would cooperate!

Looking good BBC...

Perfect, Lil Red!

Well, I guess this is as good as it gets! Pretty stinking cute, eh?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Serenity Now

Ever have one of those days where you have a million things you need to do but for some reason can't get started doing one of them? I had one today.

Tomorrow my brother and his family will arrive for Thanksgiving.
So I could have spent the day getting the guest bedroom ready but I didn't.

Then on Thursday, my mom, step-dad, granny, step-sister, and niece will be here. I love to cook and entertain so I usually end up cooking quite a spread for about 12-15 folks each year. So I could have spent the day cooking and planning for the meal but I didn't.

I need a few more sales to promote the team to Director status this month. So I could have spent the day working on building the business but I didn't.

My preschooler needs to practice his handwriting and letter recognition. So I could have spent the day working with him on these skills but I didn't.

My DH worked hard all day and then served on the security team during the Thanksgiving service at church tonight. So I could have prepared a nice home-cooked meal for him but I didn't.

I'm helping some friends decorate their doors for Christmas this year. So I could have gathered supplies for this but I didn't.

And the list could go on and on. So what did I do all day, you ask? Something that could have gone undone and no one but me would have known. I reorganized my shelves in my kitchen.


Some people shop when they are stressed. Some people drink when they are stressed. Some people cry when they are stressed. I organize. Serenity now...

A Few of My Favorite Ideas - Christmas Past

I'm getting out my many bins of Christmas decor and trying to formulate my plan for this year. I have always taken pictures of my decor so I can review each year and keep or tweak the things I liked and scrap or reinvent those I didn't. I love that I get to add the blog element to this year's plan. You all have some great ideas that I will be borrowing! I hope to be able to contribute some fun ideas, too! So this post is a quick walk down memory lane to look at some of my favorite ideas over the years. Some of these will be recycled in this year's decor. So off we go...

2007 - Snow Globe

2007 - BBC's Tree

2007 - Da Boot

2006 - Nutcracker Suite

2005 - Angels We Have Heard on High

2004 - White Christmas

Gooey Turtle Bars

I'm excited to be back in action on this blog. Life seems to be slowly getting back to normal. I've got lots of exciting posts lined up for the month of December and I promise to be more faithful to posting!

A great way to get this party started is with a tasty treat! This is another recipe that I recommend to my hostesses because it is SIMPLE and has WOW factor! I've seen this or a version of in several of my Southern Living cookbooks. Please enjoy!

Gooey Turtle Bars
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 cups (12 oz) semisweet chocolate morsels
1 cup pecan pieces

1 (12 oz) jar caramel topping

Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter in an ungreased 13 x 9 inch pan; stir and press firmly into bottom of pan. Sprinkle with chocolate morsels and pecans. Remove lid from caramel topping; microwave on high 1 to 1.5 minutes or until hot, stirring after 30 seconds. Drizzle over pecans. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until chocolate morsels melt; cool in pan on a wire rack. Chill at least 30 minutes then cut into bars.

Life Happens - Give Thanks

Oh wow - has it really been since Friday when I last posted? What a week! My son had a random fever, I had to take my DH to the emergency room on Saturday, and we have a wrecked car thanks to a three car accident yesterday.

Thankfully, BBC is well. Likewise, DH is well and we found his heart is in great shape! He does have a couple of stress-related conditions that were causing pressure on his chest and he will have to take medicine to get everything back under control. And lastly, we are thankful that no one was seriously injured in the accident!

I will admit I've been a bit down but very prayerful to the ONE who is in control! I know I have vented to some of you and I'm thankful for your gift of listening and encouragement. The message at church tonight was a simple and much needed reminder to give thanks at all times! We were challenged to look back over the past 12 months at all the blessings in our lives. I didn't have to go any farther than this month (or even really this week) to know that we are blessed even in the midst of what we see as trying moments! God is, has always been, and will always be on the throne! And that is something for which we can all be thankful!!! If you are going through a challenging time right now, I pray that you find hope and peace knowing this simple truth.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6 (NIV)

Mega Savings!

I've now found another fun and exciting (and fruitful) reason to give blogging a portion of my time. I'm sure I'm way behind the curve with some of you but if I can just help one person with this post then it was well worth my time. Through my Komen Fundraiser (update coming in couple of days) I made great contacts with bloggers that focus on helping others save money.

In October I decided to give the coupon game a try. I decided to start small at Walgreen's. I Heart Wags was extremely helpful! I saved a ton of money and really got the hang of the game. I didn't do a good job of capturing my savings last month so I decided I would start documenting my savings this month.

This month I was really itching to apply it to our grocery budget. It seems harder and harder to keep the grocery budget under control these days. I was originally inspired by The Coupon Game. I found Mommy Snacks via Deal Seeking Mom. Mommy Snacks covers Kroger! And finally, I found Coupon Cravings via Deal Seeking Mom to be very helpful as well!

OK - so I wanted to share some of my fabulous finds this week. First stop: Target.

Purchased 5 Kellogg's Cereals at $2.75 each plus 4 Glade Holiday candles at $2.50 each.
Used 5 -$1 off Kellogg's coupons plus 2 BOGO Glade coupons.
Paid: $14.85 (out of pocket)
Received: $10.00 Target Gift Card

In second transaction, purchased 5 Kellogg's Cereals at $2.75 each.
Used 5 -$1 off Kellogg's coupons.
Paid: $9.45 (with Target Gift Card)
Received: $5.00 Target Gift Card

So basically, I got everything in both pictures for $14.85 and I still have over $5 left to spend!
Thanks to Deal Seeking Mom and Coupon Cravings for finding these deals!

Next stop: Kroger

Got everything in this picture (minus the basket with pumpkins - ha) for $41.73! I saved $77.14 total with manufacturers coupons ($31.35), bonus coupon savings from Kroger ($4.85), and Kroger Plus Card savings ($40.94)!

There are 39 products on this table. That is an average of $1.07 for each item! I can't believe I saved so much! You can, too! Thanks again to Mommy Snacks for helping me organize these fabulous savings at Kroger this week with the Mix and Match Mega Event!

We will absolutely use everything on this table. And the thing that makes me totally excited is that I was able to pick up supplies that I can use in the candy I make for gifts at Christmas. Those grocery bills are always pretty big because I need lots of butter, sugar, chocolate chips, etc.

My husband has been a little leery of me doing this. For some reason he was sad that I was clipping coupons. I had to reassure him that I was trying to be the best steward of God's money. I think after he realized how much I was saving he was a little excited, too. So I hooked him up with some mega savings today, too! His birthday was in October and he is gamer. (Don't get me started. I now have my blog to counter-balance to a degree - ha! )

He was going to use his birthday money to purchase a new game that came out today. It retails for $59.95 and he was willing to pay the full price. UNTIL his thrifty wife found a way for him to get the game AND 1600 Microsoft Points valued at $19.99 for the same price as the game alone!

I think he may become a fan of my thriftiness, yet!

Please check out the great blogs recommended in this post and please be sure to leave them a comment to let them know that Southern Fried Gal sent you to them! Now go forth and save! Oh, and please let me know how you do and if you run across any other awesome deals!

Out of the Mouths of Babes

A couple of Sundays back we went to Carinos for lunch. We had a bit of a wait and luckily there were seats available for our wait near the hostess. It just so happened to be next to a display of fake grapes and empty wine bottles.

BBC (keep in mind he is 4) was studying the display and he pointed to the grapes and asked DH, "What are these?" DH promptly replied, "They are fake grapes." BBC was satisfied with that answer but then his attention turned to the empty wine bottles. "What are these?", he asked? DH replied, "They are empty wine bottles." BBC, "Hmmm, what is wine?" DH, "A drink." BBC, "Can I have some?" DH, "No." BBC, "Why?" DH, "Because it has alcohol in it." BBC sat there a minute with a perplexed look on his face and then he said, "Well, Jesus and his disciples drank wine." [hee hee] DH, "Hey, look at that picture over there..."

Hey, at least he's paying attention to what we are trying to teach him...

New Greeter - Let's Talk Turkey

I'm so excited to share my new greeter with you all today! I actually bought him a couple of months ago for myself as a birthday gift. It was also before I even had this blog and when I got him I wished I had a blog so I could show him off! So over the weekend I stripped the pumpkins back out of my wreath and added him. (I don't use hot glue on my wreaths or flower arrangements because I'm constantly changing them up.) I absolutely love it and I'm so happy to see him when we come and go! Of course BBC loves him, too!