Edible Arrangements Birthday Surprise

My sweet brother surprised me with this over the weekend for my birthday. Edible Arrangements. Mmmm.... My favorite are the chocolate dipped orange slices.

Edible Arrangements

Edible Arrangements

My brother and me last year.  Love him so much.  :)

Movie Recommendation: A Measure of Faith

Just saw a touching family movie Friday night called A Measure of Faith. Love, tragedy, forgiveness... A sweet Christian movie with a message for families and teens filmed in Orlando with some local actors in it as well. Check it out.

A Measure of Faith

A Measure of Faith Movie

On our way there, we saw this gorgeous fall sunset. Wow!

Fall Sunset Orlando

Rewards Cards : Staples

I love getting Staples Rewards since I often need card stock, tape, gluesticks, etc., primarily for my Ebay store home business.  Just got an email from them for $10.00.  Recycle those ink cartridges!!

Staples Rewards

Decorating with Fall Leaves

Here was a fun project yesterday... I don't really do crafts so much anymore but couldn't resist these.  I wrote a letter to my little 5-year and 3-year-old nephew and niece who live in Missouri and asked them to gather some colorful fall leaves for me.  You know how young ones LOVE getting mail addressed to them.  :)  Their mom said they didn't want to stop gathering leaves which arrived in the mail yesterday.  I spent about 30 minutes gluing and arranging and came up with a  few little ideas for decorating with them. We don't have many fall leaves in Florida so this was fun and makes our home look more like fall!  Thanks, AJ and Lilli!  Love and kisses, Aunt Tonya

 They did a good job collecting them, didn't they?

Decorating with Fall Leaves

I can't take credit for this.  I found the idea on Pinterest.  

Who would have guessed that fall leaves could look so elegant?   I love this in our living room.

Decorating with Fall Leaves

Applied them to some short candles with glue.

Decorating with Fall Leaves

Decorating with Fall Leaves

Decorating with Fall Leaves

And of course, scattered a few  on tables.

Decorating with Fall Leaves

I'll use some of the others for fall cards.

Quick, fall decorating!  

Homemade Macaroni & Cheese Casserole

Forget that boxed mac & cheese (well, maybe in a pinch)...  Here is a homemade version that my mom used to make that is very tasty.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of penne or curly macaroni
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• 2 eggs
• 2-3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 stick of butter
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• Dash of garlic pepper
• Dash of salt

Cook the pasta as directed in a LARGE pot and drain.  Return to pot.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Pour into casserole dish.   If desired, top with more cheddar cheese and bread crumbs.  Cook at 375 degrees for 35 minutes. Delicious!!!

FlyLady Tip: Paper Clutter

I found this in my FlyLady newsletter.  Love her tips although the newsletters can get pretty long. I usually just skim them and thought this was a clever idea. Thank you, to Helen.

http://www.flylady.net

Here is a tip for safely getting rid of personal documents like bank statements and so on: Soak them! After a few hours in water they'll be unrecognizable. Then you drain the water off. Dump the mush in the bin, wrapped in something OR use that mush for paper-mache modlling. 

You can make a face-mask for Halloween by plastering it over a balloon. When it has dried, paint it to taste. There are lots more things to be made from paper-mache, and they can all be beautifully decorated. 

Not into crafts? Make paper bricks to burn on your fire. 

For other FlyLady posts on this blog, click HERE.

Aldi Product Review : Q Tips Cotton Swabs

I try something new at Aldi just about every week and have posted many product reviews from there.   We were just about out of Q-Tips and I had seen them there on a previous shopping trip.  Bought this package for about $1.29.  The Q-Tip brand is about $3.00+.    These are exactly like them.  I don't like the flexible blue kind and there is usually not enough cotton on the ends on other brands.  These have flexible, sturdier white sticks with plenty of cotton.  375 per package.   These are just what I wanted and at a cheaper price.

Healthy Eating : Steel Cut Oats "Pie"

In my constant effort for good health, I started eating TRADITIONAL  steel cut oats rather than the instant or quick kind.  I use 4 cups of water per 1 cup of oats to make a batch for several days.  (Proportions are 4:1, if you want to make one serving.)  Add a tbsp. of olive oil to the water and bring to a boil.  I add a generous helping of cinnamon,  a dash of salt and chop up a fresh apple (or add raisins or cut up dates or figs if no apples are on hand) and add  to the boiling water.  Reduce the temperature to simmer while adding the oats and stir for one minute.  (Keep a cup of ice handy in case it starts to boil over.)    Simmer uncovered for 30-40 minutes.  

I bought these steel cut oats at Aldi but you can probably find them in most grocery stores.

After cooking, pour the still runny oats into a pie shell or other bowl  (you could also have a serving at this point if you want). After cooling completely (45 minutes or so), I cover and put in the refrigerator. When I want a serving,  I slice the bowl of oats into four sections, and then slice again so there are 8 pieces of "pie").  Serve out one section for breakfast or snack or even for a dessert.  

Steel Cut Oats for Breakfast

I top the oats with a teaspoon of raw honey and a few walnuts / pecans...no milk.  Less than 200 calories per serving.   I really love the taste and texture and it fills me up because steel cut oats are minimally processed and retain the fiber and most of their nutritional value.

Steel Cut Oats 

Try this healthy dish for yourself and/or your family.

How To Give Up Caffeine

I've been telling my friends lately that I "accidentally" gave up caffeine.  I really did not intend to do so but after a few weeks of substituting water in the mornings, I realized that I had.

I've enjoyed 1-2 cups of regular coffee in the mornings and usually one cup at night before bedtime for many, many years.  No, it has never kept me up at night and I love the taste.  Well, in an effort to be healthier I started drinking a large glass of water when I first get up, sometimes with lemon.  I prepare a glass with ice at night and put it on my bedside stand so that as soon as I arise, it's there waiting for me.  After drinking water regularly each morning I really did not feel like drinking coffee or even caffeinated tea (which my husband drinks every morning).

Avoiding Caffeine Water with Lemon

Later in the morning I'd still want a hot beverage, so I drank a cup or two of herb tea and found that very satisfying.  I had lots of it in boxes from Christmas.   By drinking the water I did not have headaches like I've experienced before when I had to skip the morning coffee for whatever reason and since the tea was a hot beverage I really didn't miss the coffee.

Avoiding Caffeine Herb Tea

I hate to waste anything and when I ran out of regular coffee, the only instant coffee on hand was decaf.  I really cannot tell the difference.  Some people can, however.   I'd been drinking decaf in the evenings for awhile and then one evening we had coffee at Panera with a friend. I had REGLAR coffee. Two cups of it.   I was awake ALL night long.  This has happened 3x  now and I finally realized that I have "accidentally" kicked the caffeine habit.  It's healthier for sure, no headaches, and no cravings.  Once in awhile I'll have a cup of the real thing but only in the morning now.

Try this method if you are inclined to quit drinking caffeine and see if it works for you.  :)

HERE are some myths and facts about consuming caffeine.