Give-Away

Don't forget to leave a comment HERE to enter my give-away this week :-)
Just scroll down past the 'soup' to read about it.

All about books...

A few months ago I joined in the challenge for 'Fall Into Reading'. You can read my post about it HERE. The challenge finished sometime in December, but to be honest I was so busy with Christmas by then that I didn't go back to Katrina's blog or even bother to do any kind of 'wrap-up-post' That's ok though, it was really all just for fun and for me to list a few of the books I wanted to read over the coming months.

It's book club tonight, I'm a member of a neighborhood book club (this is the neighborhood I used to live in) and have been for about 4 years now, so I thought I'd write a post about the books I read last year and mention a few that we plan on reading this year. Katrina will also be starting up a Spring Reading Challenge again soon (she does two a year, Fall and Spring) so I will watch out for that and it will probably inspire me to write more about my books - because if you haven't gathered by now "I love to read" :-)

So, back to my list from last year. When I wrote a post on the challenge I listed these books:

The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society
Julie and Julia
Home to Holly Springs
Shopaholic and Baby
Comfort Food
A Dog Named Christmas
Skipping Christmas

And here's how I did..... I read The Sweetgum Knit Lit Society, Home to Holly Springs and Shopaholic and Baby. I tried to start Comfort Food (by the author of The Friday Night Knitting Club) but I just couldn't get in to it at the time! I might try to read that one at a later date. I started reading Julie and Julia and same thing, totally couldn't get in to it, so I just rented the movie instead ;-) Never got around to reading A Dog Named Christmas, and although I've read Skipping Christmas before, never got around to reading that one again like I had wanted to.

One book I added to my list was Neta Jackson's 'Where Do I Go' a new book from the Yada Yada series. I really liked this one and have ordered her next one in the series from Amazon (I should get it this week) called 'Who Do I Talk To'.

I read quite a few others over the course of the year mainly for our book club but I didn't make a list of them. I want to start keeping better track of what I read and when. I joined Shelfari.com sometime last year which helps me a little, but it can't help if I don't go in there and update it! I am also planning on keeping a list here on my blog of what I've read... you can see it over on my right side menu.

The book we've been reading this month for book club is Same Kind Of Diffenent as Me. I actually read this book a couple of years ago, so I got it out of the library again just to refresh my memory but didn't read it all the way through.

I'm not very good at writing reviews on books, so I'll just say I really enjoyed this one ;-) Next month's choice is My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor. This one might be a 'hard' read for me, I usually stick with easy fiction! But that's what's great about a book club, it makes you read books you never thought you would.... and sometimes you actually enjoy them.

If you're reading a book right now, or have any book recommendations I'd love for you to share with me. Is anyone else in a book club? What have you read lately?

Tempt My Tummy - and a Give-Away

I did it myself! I mentioned on my Facebook page last week that I had made some yummy soup that had 0 points in it. Usually for lunch I will open a can of Progresso 'light' soup that has 0 or 1 pt per cup. I thought about making my own and looked on line for some recipes but the amount of ingredients in some of them just overwhelmed me! So, I thought I would try making my own with what I had on hand.

We used to shop at Costco a lot so I have a lot of canned foods on hand. This is what I 'threw' together to make this soup :

2 cans fat free Vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can green beans
1 can garden peas
1 small onion diced
2 stalks celery chopped
2 large carrots diced (I actually used frozen carrots I had in the freezer that were from our garden).

Put all of the above ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes. Until the fresh veggies are tender.

You can change up the veggies to suit your taste. If you're using canned veg check the label for point value (if you want to follow WW). I'm really the only one that eats this but I've already gone through one pot and made another one over the weekend. It's great for a quick lunch, and a perfect way for me to get extra vegetables :-)

I'm linking this post to Tempt My Tummy Tuesday and also Do It Yourself Day at a Soft Place To Land.

And now a give-away....

A recent survey conducted for Old El Paso
Green Chiles found that the majority of
Americans will be gathering around the TV to watch the Big Game at home with friends and family on February 7, 2010.

Whether you´re planning a huge party or you´re just looking forward to kicking back at home with your friends and family, Old El Paso Green Chiles can help you spice up the festivities!

Old El Paso Green Chiles, which come in 4.5 and 7 oz cans, are a simple way to liven up your go-to favorites. Fat-free and with only 10 calories per serving, Green Chiles are not spicy, but will add a unique flavor to your dishes that the whole crowd will love!

Recently I was offered a chance to try out Old El Paso's green chilis and was sent a great 'Tackle The Taste' gift pack from Old El Paso through MyBlogSpark.com

I also have one Tackle The Taste Gift Pack to give away ..... the gift pack includes two free cans of Green Chiles, as well as a football-shaped ceramic serving platter, two sets of football-themed plates, cocktail napkins, and a themed table runner.

You can also CLICK HERE for a coupon to save $0.55 on one can of Old El Paso Green Chiles

I'll make this super easy.... just leave a comment on this post and you will be entered in to the drawing. I will announce the winner on Sunday evening (Jan 24th). For an extra entry post about this give-away on your blog and make sure you leave a second comment to let me know.

Menu Plan Monday... and some White Castles ;-)

After seeing these little 'White Castle' burgers HERE and HERE last week I just had to give them a try this weekend.

Not very 'healthy lifestyle' friendly really but I only had 2 so I think after a week of eating well they were a well deserved treat. Thankfully Jason ate the rest of them over the weekend. I won't make these often, but they are a great little party platter, so next time we have a get together with our neighbors I think I'll make more.

I have made my Menu Plan again for this week. I didn't get it done before my grocery shop on Friday but I know what's in my freezer and pantry, so this is what I've come up with....(bearing in mind I'm still counting points and trying to eat healthy options)

Monday: Enchilada Casserole w/salad (I calculated the points per serving for this and it's only 7pts)

Tuesday: Chicken Tenders w/mashed potatoes and green beans (w/salad for me)

Wednesday: Chicken Taco Chili w/rice (I don't want things left in the freezer for too long so we're having this again this week).

Thursday: This is piano day and we don't get back home til 5.30pm so I'm just gonna do us a quick 'frozen' meal from the freezer (probably a Smart Ones for me)

Friday: Chili Cheese Fries w/salad (I don't want to feel like I'm eating diet food all the time, so these will be another yummy 'low fat' treat).

Saturday: ??? can't think what to have yet!

Sunday: Spaghetti and meatballs (our family favorite)

It's a no school day today for MLK day. I didn't get out of bed til 8.45am this morning! Feeling rather lazy because of it too. It's already 11.30am and all I've done is put the dish washer on and a load of laundry, and if I'm honest I don't plan on doing much more than that either. It feels like another Sunday so I'm going to indulge in it and be lazy ;-) I did make the effort to get out of my pj's though and get dressed

7 things about me

I've been blogging for some years now and love all the friends I've made. I've been lucky to even meet some of them face to face and feel that we are long time friends, sending cards and gifts to each other.

What I love about blogging is that you never know when you might meet a new friend. Someone who you 'connect' with, someone who makes you feel that if you had just moved in next door to them they would be such a great neighbor, and soon become a great friend too. I met someone like that last week when I surfed in to Melanie's blog:-) Melanie has recently moved from Florida to Kentucky and is experiencing her first 'winter' there. I love the snow and miss it sometimes but I know it can be tedious sometimes too, and hard to get used to when you're so used to warm weather.

I especially loved this post from Mel this week where she shared some things that will help her make it through the winter :-) She makes me feel like I want to just pop in for coffee and sit a while and chat.

Melanie kindly awarded me the Kreative Blogger Award this week. I'm to list -7 things about myself and nominate 7 other bloggers. If you've been reading my blog for a while some of these things may not be too new to you, but I'll list them anyway (they will be new for my 'new' friends) ....

1. I love knitting (my mam taught me when I was 8 yrs old)
2. I have a twin brother (he's older than me by 20 minutes)
3. I wore contacts since my early 20's but had lazik eye surgery 18 mths ag0
4. I still need glasses to read (it's an age thing!)
5. I'm a home-body and would rather stay home than go on vacation
6. I love surfing blogs and meeting new bloggers :-)
7. I am very punctual, and hate when others aren't!

I love all the blogs I visit so if you read this consider yourself a 'Kreative Blogger', I'll leave this open and if you feel like posting 7 things about yourself just let me know when you do so. If this is your first time visiting, or you 'lurk' and don' t usually leave a comment, I just want to say hello and thanks for stopping by. I'd love it if you left a note to say you'd stopped by. If you have a blog I'll be sure to return the visit.

The never-ending saga....

... of trying to keep my kitchen clean! Is it just me, or do you suffer with MKS too?

MKS? that would be 'messy kitchen syndrome'. I clean and declutter, then I clean again and declutter but every time I turn around it looks like this....

and this....

So, I clean - AGAIN, and I declutter - AGAIN, then I breath a sigh of relief, when I see this.....

and this......


ahhhhh, that's better. Now, do you think it will look like that for long?

I 'heart' Kirklands!

I think I've mentioned before that I just love Kirklands. My nearest store is about 15 minutes away (the opposite way to the mall, and Super Target) so even though it's close I don't really go as often as I like. I went on Monday though ;-)

I am trying to be good and stay home most days (I tend to spend less money that way, don't you? ;-) but on Monday I could not get it out of my mind that I just needed a wander around Kirklands. I think it might have been because I'd stayed home all weekend while it was cold. Anyway, I couldn't settle so I hopped in the car at 9.30am and figured I could get back to housework after I got my 'fix'. Of course I bought a few things..... wanna see?

First up, I think this is the cheapest thing I've ever bought there, but don't ask me what it's called .... I'm just calling it my 'tassel holder' - it cost me 77c! I definitely need some thicker ribbon for my tassel, but I'll get that later.

I was mainly looking for some 'nik-naks' for my hallway table. Remember I just got this table at Ikea before Christmas so I could but the buffet that was in the hallway in the dining room. I had my nativity on this table over the holidays but now it held nothing (see why I was itching to get to Kirklands)

The lamps I bought at Kirklands a couple of months ago (with my birthday gift card) but nearly everything else on top is what I got on Monday... here's a close up

the silk plant was on sale for just $10, which was a nice surprise cos the tag said $14.99 and it didn't have a sale sticker on it! The 'friends' picture frame was from my neighbor at Christmas. I bought the other frame (both need pictures putting in them) the little mason jar and .... I couldn't resist getting the 'Dorothy' sign that Melissa also has. I bought a stand for mine cos I didn't have a wall I could put it on.

It's difficult getting good pictures... the lighting in the hallway is, well, non-existent really! I'd eventually like a storm door so I can open the main door and let the glass door shed light in to the hallway.

Here's a view looking toward the front door. I'm thinking of taking the 'thing' above the door (I don't know what you call those either) and putting it above the mirror (which by the way still needs painting black and may be replaced with a nice picture (from Kirklands) at a later date :)

Oh, and see my topiary there... it was meant to be outside the front door but I've had it inside for weeks now, every time there is the slightest wind it would fall over and the leaves kept coming off. My front door is kind of covered but I guess it's like a wind-tunnel out there when it's windy. So for now, I'm leaving it where it is.

I also bought another small picture but I haven't hung it yet so didn't take a picture of it. Finally, one last thing to show you... my 'fall' bargains from Kohl's, also bought earlier this week (hey! I said I was TRYING to not go out, I didn't say I was doing that well at it)....

The tablemats were on sale for $2, previously 6.99 each and the dish towels were $2 something too I think. I'll enjoy getting these out come the fall when all the decorating really starts again. I don't really decorate much the other times of the year - do you?

Until next time...