Farewell Blog World

I'm leaving the blog world indefinitely. The Lord has put it in my heart that I need to focus more on my family. I feel like I've been spending too much time online and not enough time nurturing my relationship with Christ, being a wife, and being a mom. So, I'm going to get back to what is most important in my life. Even though I don't post that often, I do spend a lot of time surfing through other blogs and reading them.
I'm leaving my blog website up in case anyone would like a recipe from it or would like to read any other posts. But I won't be posting anymore after this and probably won't be reading other blogs either.
Also, for those of you who email me, I won't be checking email as often as I used to, so you might want to call me if you need to tell me something pressing.
I pray anyone who has stumbled across my blog has been encouraged by it and hopefully has taken something away from it.
God Bless!
~Beth

Recession Fashion

Kelly over at Kelly's Korner is doing a Mister Linky post on recession fashion. So, here are my tips for dressing for less in today's tough economy.

1. Shop consignment sales. We have two great children's consignment sales in our area twice a year: Rhea Lana and Duck Duck Goose. I went to both this year and got some great things for the kids. For my 7-year-old: 2 nice button-down Abercrombie shirts for $10 each, several pair of jeans for around $8, nice brown leather shoes for $8, and a lot more! For my 4-month-old: Lots of cute outfits for around $4 and some adorable brown sandals for this summer for $2!
It's also a good idea to clean out your old stuff and put them in the consignment sales. Then, you make back the money you spend, so the stuff is basically free! And you usually get to shop earlier than the public if you consign, so you get the first pick of the cutest stuff!

2. Shop e-bay. I love Gap jeans, but they usually run around $60. I know exactly what size I wear in them, so I go to e-bay and find Gap jeans in my size for around $8 plus shipping. I end up spending less than $20 on $60 jeans! And even if they're used, Gap makes great jeans that last forever. You can also usually find "lots" of cute tops in your size at a good price. And for the kids, my pastor's wife says she buys most of her baby's clothes on ebay and saves a ton of money.

3. Join Yahoo Groups. Yahoo has some great groups out there. One I love is freecycle. You give away stuff you don't use anymore (including clothes) to people in your community and you can also get stuff. I've gotten some great things from there. It's usually a really great place to find maternity clothes. There are also coupon trading groups. Someone might get a 15% coupon to JC Penney in the mail that they aren't going to use, so they offer it in the group and you can get it. This is a great way to save on new clothes.

4. Yard Sales. Especially if you go to the fancy-shmancy neighborhoods. They always have great stuff!

Do you have any recession fashion tips? Post a response here, or post them on your blog and participate in the Mister Linky at Kelly's Korner!

Fizz Keeper

This:



Is the "Fizz Keeper"

I got this the other day when I bought the Chef'n Palm Peeler. I wanted to give it a fair shot before posting my opinion on it. I've used it several times now and here is what I think:

We drink a lot of 2-liters. They always do fine until I get down toward the bottom of the bottle and then it always seems to lose it's fizz. So, I end up pouring about a glass and a half of the soda down the drain. I bought the Fizz Keeper, hoping it would solve my dilemma. Unfortunately, it did not. It did great at keeping fizz in the soda. But when I got to the bottom of the bottle, I poured a glass and there was fizz, but it looked different than the usual carbonation fizz and the soda was still flat. Also, the fizz keeper wouldn't make a good, tight seal on the bottle of Barq's Rootbeer.

So, when it comes to the Fizz Keeper, I say don't waste your money. It kept the soda from going flat until the bottle got low, but so does the bottle cap for me. Maybe if you take a little longer to drink your 2-liters it might work better than the regular bottle cap for you. But I don't know for sure because I didn't test it that way. We drink 2-liters pretty quickly.

Hope this helps!

Chef'n Palm Peeler

I got one of these the other day and used it last night. It is AWESOME! It slides right onto your finger, tucks into your palm, and peels anything. It even has a convenient potato eyer at the tip and is top rack dishwasher safe. I hate peeling potatoes and sometimes cut a little too much of the potato with the peel. Not with this thing. It peels the potato perfectly and it's soooo easy. It makes peeling potatoes a snap! I got mine at Kitchen Island in Cabot. You can also get them online at The Kitchen Store here: http://www.thekitchenstore.com/chpape.html

I got another goodie at Kitchen Island and I'll be posting on it once I use it and see how well it works.

Gray Areas

Ever come across a gray are in life that the Bible doesn't specifically speak of? If you are wondering whether you should or should not do something, and the Bible doesn't specifically talk about that particular subject...ask yourself these four questions to make your decision.

1. Does it promote edification? (will it unite or divide the saints?)
2. Can it lead to bondage or addiction?
3. Do you have an uneasy conscience about it? (probably a good indication you shouldn't do it)
4. Can it cause someone to stumble? (1 Cor. 8:9)

Our pastor gave us these four questions last Wednesday night. I know I'll be using them for the gray areas in my life. Will you?

Strawberry Coconut Cake

This cake was adapted from another type of cake I make. The other cake was made with a boxed cake mix, though. This one is from scratch and so much better! The other cake had pudding in it and had to be spooned out, but I needed a cake that could be sliced, so I changed a few things and came up with this and it's sooo delicious. And if you don't like the texture of coconut, don't worry, it's made with cream of coconut so there is no gritty texture and just the right amount of coconut flavor to compliment the strawberry.

Strawberry Coconut Cake

Yellow Cake Recipe from Better Homes & Gardens:
3/4 cup butter
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups milk

other ingredients you will need:
one box fresh strawberries
one can cream of coconut (found near the mixed drink stuff in the grocery store)
1 tub cool whip


1. Allow butter and eggs to stand at room temp. for 30 minutes. Grease and flour one 13/9/2 inch baking pan; set aside. In a bowl stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 375. In a mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, beating until well combined. Beat 2 minutes more. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Alternately add flour mixture and milk, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Spread batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cook cake for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and place on serving platter.

4. While the cake is still warm, using a butter knife, cut several small slits about an inch into the top of the cake all around (about 10 slits). Spread about 1/2 cup of cream of coconut all over the top of the cake. Allow cake to cool completely.

5. Once the cake is cool, slice strawberries into thin slices and cover the top of the cake with them. Then, frost the entire cake with the cool whip. Serve.

Store in Refridgerator.

Make sure and leave me a comment if you try this and tell me how you like it!

Hollywood

For a list of movies that use blasphemy, click on Hollywood and God to the left.