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

In my constant effort for good health I started eating steel cut oats for breakfast almost each morning.  I put a generous helping of cinnamon, slice up a fresh apple and add it to the cooking water.  Takes about 30 minutes to make a batch but that lasts for four days.   I bought these Quaker oats at Publix for about $5.00  but sometimes Aldi has them.  Next time I'll stock up on them when I see them there.  I think they were about $2.79. [Click HERE for more Aldi product reviews.]

Steel Cut Oats for Breakfast

When it cools, I slice the bowl of oats into four sections and scoop out a section for each breakfast.

Steel Cut Oats for Breakfast

I top the oats with a teaspoon of real honey and a few walnuts...no milk.  Less than 200 calories per serving.   I really love the taste and texture and it fills me up until lunch time.

Steel Cut Oats for Breakfast

Try this healthy breakfast 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.