Fun Treat!

Bakerella, one of my favorite cooking blogs, has the cutest idea for kids in the kitchen! Most of her recipes seem a little difficult if you aren't experienced in fondant, chocolate, etc.... But, if you have kids, and allow them to come into your kitchen to cook, you are gonna love this! :)

Make chocolate "cups" by molding chocolate on the end of a balloon. Fill the hardened chocolate cups with whatever you want -- icecream or pudding (Bakerella has a great pudding recipe) -- or even a healthy alternative, fresh FRUIT! Strawberries & whipped cream would be great in a chocolate shell for Valentine's Day I think! Or, bananas and peanut butter in chocolate. The possiblities are endless!

You can find the pudding recipe, and the instructions for making these cute cups by going to Bakerella's site.

Let me know what YOU think would be a good combination! :)

New Uses for Old Things

Stumbled across this website today, thought she had some awesome recipes! But also, I loved this post about taking old things and making them new again. Very clever. :)

http://myhomemdelife.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-uses-for-old-thingswhy-didnt-i.html

Downloading Fonts: TUTORIAL

Digital nativity

Merry Christmas!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZrf0PbAGSk&sns=em

Thanksgiving Printable

Printable Thanksgiving printable from SilverBox Studio.

Tis' the Season

November and December are my favorite months!! I love the cool, crisp weather - the food - the smells - the lights - the nativity scenes - and the joy that often comes with the holidays. The joy of seeing a friend or family member open a gift....the joy of visiting with those you don't see all year....the joy of a surprise.....the joy of a slaved-over recipe turning out divine!
However, I know that this can also be the most depressing time of the year for some people.

So, let's all try to make this year joyful for everyone! Money is not the key here....at all. Here are a few things you could do to make this time joyful for someone, even a stranger... (taken from http://comfortablydomestic.com/):

• Make eye contact.
• Give a warm smile.
• Hold the door for someone.
• Hold the elevator.
• Let someone merge into traffic.
• Put change in an expired parking meter.
• Buy someone a cup of coffee.
• Invite someone to check out in front of you at the store.
• Listen to someone–hear their story.
  
• Bring someone a meal.
• Visit someone (I added this one....after discovering what a joy Ms. Brunie, at the nursing home is. My daughter and I visit her monthly since her family won't. She is such a joy to us, as we are to her)
  
• The possibilities are endless. Imagine how great it would be if everyone made it a point to pass on a little random kindness each day.

Kindness ripples.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas, my friends! :)

Love for the Color Wheel.

The color wheel.....

Who knew it had power. Really? In my Desktop Publishing class I teach a chapter on "colors", but really no one realizes that colors can be used in everyday living.....not just to design a flyer, brochure, newsletter, etc.

Here are some examples:
In fashion.....
Fashion 101: How to Combine Colors... we see this all of the time. Red and Green at Christmas....who know they were complimentary colors (colors across from each other on the color wheel). Purple and Gold for LSU.....or almost any team, will have complimentary colors.

In home decor....
Who said your house walls have to be tan? or white? YUK!!! I hate when people build new houses, and everything is dull. White walls are awful. Tan walls are becoming *almost* as bad, because everyone has them now days. Paint a wall a unique color, and you will love it. A chocolate brown, an orange, a purple.....whatever! In my house I have Bungalow Gold (kitchen/living area), Moss Green (bedroom), Powder Blue (bathroom: which I hate, and am changing soon), and Lime Green (daughter's room) painted on the walls.
Check out this site for some very cool interior designs: Color Inspiration for Homes

In makeup....
How do you make GREEN eyes, POP??? The answer is its complimentary color -- purple eyeshadow. Some browns and other shades work nicely, but purple will make them pop.













I could go on, and on, and on. I like to notice the colors around me. Like a Sunkist drink for example....how the blues/purple and oranges/yellows compliment each other. Marketers aren't stupid. They know what attracts the eye.

Also, colors have so many meanings.....but that's a different topic, for a different day.

Try putting on a shirt & accessorize with its complimentary color! Have fun! :)

I can see clearly now...

A few weeks ago I slept with my glasses. Rolled all over them, and broke them into pieces. :(
So, I have been on the hunt for some CHEAP glasses (since I only wear them at bedtime I don't need anything "designer"). I went to EyeMasters in the mall, and thought their $59 frames were a good price.....until they told me the total would be $200 after the price of lenses was added in. NO thank you.

So, today I decided to google "discount glasses." I came across this site. I found some frames that I liked (or think I like based on the printable PDF that I cut out and put on my face! ha!). I typed in my prescription, and ordered. I was impressed with the detailed instructions, and the printable ruler on the site -- I printed it out, and my friend Amy helped me measure my eyes. Easy as pie.

When ordering I noticed a spot to type in a PROMO CODE -- so I googled "promo code for 39dollarglasses" and came across the promo code: fatwallet20

When it was all said and done, I spent $19 bucks on glasses (frame and lens) -- plus $5 shipping. They should arrive in 3-7 days. I am excited. Saved some money, again! :)

Time's Up!

http://www.online-stopwatch.com/

This online stopwatch is the coolest thing ever (especially for teachers). I used it this morning to count down time for a group project in my Professional Development class. Of course it could be used to keep your kids on track, or whatever. :)

Eat!

Luke and I go out to eat every weekend - and one of our most visited restaurants is Salute! The food is TOP NOTCH! The service is great. The atmosphere is great for a date night too. I've been finding some deals lately, and thought I would share this one with you: http://www.saluteitalian.com/VIP_Cards/

Running into Deals

I have been running into some deals today!! :)

DEAL #1:
Luke and I have been wanting to eat at Kenny Ward's Steakhouse in Ocean Springs (which has RAVE reviews); however, it is a little pricey. So, we were waiting for a special occasion. Well, today a friend told me about http://www.restaurant.com/ -- where I could buy a $25 gift card to Kenny Wards for only $3. Yup, not a joke. Just use the Promo Code: DINE. It worked!! Hurry and get it today, I don't know how long it will last!

DEAL #2:
My girl has been beggggggging for an ipod touch for her birthday. Well, I wasn't sure if we could get her one, but then I ran across a Special Offer from Best Buy. Buy an ipod touch, and get a GPS FREE!!! Sounds like a win/win combo to me! I have been wanting a GPS badly! :)

DEAL #3:
Gonna go browse through my fav store Dirt Cheap -- I KNOW I will find my next deal there! :)

Rainy Mood

Came across this website yesterday, and it is wonderful. If you need something to help relax your nerves, or help you sleep, this is IT! www.rainymood.com plays a soothing rain sound from your computer. It plays 30 minutes, then loops -- so it doesn't stop until you tell it to! The cool thing is, you can play your favorite music simultaneously! Since I don't have much music at work, I went to www.mixpod.com --- which let me search and play songs for free! So, yesterday while grading papers I had Rainy Mood and Coldplay going.....what an awesome combo! Hope you enjoy! Leave a comment if you try it! :)