National Hot Tea Month

January is National Hot Tea Month.  Until a couple of years ago my hot drink of choice was hot chocolate. Then I stumbled on a series of books written by Laura Childs called the Tea Shop Mysteries.  Each book in the series had a title with a different type of tea.  I love this series and have read everyone of the books in the series and can't wait for the new one to come out in March.  Oops got a little off kilter there.  Anyway, after reading these books..I decided to try hot tea.  I have always been an iced tea drinkers but I never cared for it hot.  I'm not a fan of sweetened tea either.  I would rather have it without sugar.

I am now an avid hot tea drinker!  I love it!

After a trip to the Teavana store in the mall, I fell even more in love.  So many teas to choose from not to mention tons of tea gadgets and gizmos.  My favorite teas from Teavana are the White Ayurvedic Chai, the Maharaja Chai, and the White Chocolate Peppermint.  I really didn't know what to do with the loose tea leaves until a lady that worked there introduced me to the Perfectea Maker.  Everyone should have one of these!  It was so easy to make my tea that I started drinking it all the time.  It is my version of a morning cup of coffee.  My wonderful husband also bought me a Cherry Blossom cast iron tea pot and a set of 4 cast iron tea cups with saucers.

I tend to go a little overboard on buying more tea bags before I run out of the ones I already have.  I've noticed that I also lean more toward the spicy tastes rather than the fruity tastes.  Although, my husband bought me a set of 96 tea bags from Hickory Farms for my birthday last year and my new favorite tea is Earl Grey.  There is just a hint of orange that makes it taste so good.

I usually like to drink a caffeinated tea during the morning and afternoon and then a decaffeinated tea (green or herbal tea) in the evening.

I have not experimented with blending teas together.  Maybe someday when my life isn't so crazy.

 If you have never drank hot tea before and would like to start with one, I would either recommend the Earl Grey or a Vanilla Chai.  If you are a tea drinker, tell me what you favorite is, maybe I would like to try it too!

Now if I could just find a little tea shop like Theodosia Browning's Indigo Tea Shop where I can go for lunch and a nice cup of tea that would just be perfect!

My Perfectea Maker

My Japanese Cast Iron Tea Pot

One of my favorite book series

Fresh Thyme

We have a new store here in the Metro-East, it's called Fresh Thyme Farmer's Market.  It has only been open for 2 weeks.  I did go on opening day, but it was crazy and I didn't look around too much.  Today a new ad came out so I ran out there to purchase a few things.  Still busy but not as crazy.

This market is all about being healthy.  It carries organic products, gluten free products, dairy free products, good for the environment products, tons of fresh produce, as well as items you can purchase in bulk.

I love the way the store is laid out.  It looks so pretty and colorful.  Their meat department has the most awesome looking meat.  I haven't purchased anything from the deli yet because it is very crowded around there.  They even have a department where they may their own different varieties of juice.

My family has started eating better for the most part.  I think I am going to be that person that does 80% healthy food and about 20% regular food.  I still like some of the box food for convenience.  I don't see shopping at this store for all my grocery needs but maybe venturing out once a week when the ads come out seems like a good plan.

One cool thing about Fresh Thyme is that their new sales ads come out on Wednesday.  If you shop on Wednesday you get the sales prices for the week before and the current week. It's called "double ads Wednesday".  Yay for me since I scored those 97 cent strawberries again.

Today they had some really good prices for their meat.  This was the whole reason for the trip.  Their grass fed beef, chicken, and pork were all on sale.  I paid $15.00 for 5 lbs of beef and my local grocery store had 3 lbs for $21.00.  I bought some of their chicken breasts too.  They were huge!!!  I had to cut them in half.  I spent $10.00 on chicken and after I cut the breasts in half and put them in the freezer.  I figured I have 4 or 5 meals with chicken alone.  Not too bad!

The store does have some buy one get one deals too.  I took advantage of this deal and bought some organic salad dressing.

Another favorite of mine that this store carries is the Immaculate brand cinnamon rolls.  These are delicious.  They are huge and they don't have the yucky stuff in them. A little treat for the girls who don't have school on Friday.

Only bad thing that happened is I forgot the soy sauce.  :(

If you haven't yet, check out this store. The prices might be scary for some people but you have to have the mind set that it's better quality food for your body.  If nothing else, shop the ads only.  I really like it and hope it will help me stay on track with the healthy eating.

Eagle Days

Today our family did something we have never done before in the St. Louis area - we attended the Eagle Days on the old Chain of Rocks Bridge.

During the winter, the Middle Mississippi River Valley is home to the second largest population of Bald Eagles in the continental U.S.  

We saw the birds off the old Chain of Rocks Bridge that connects St. Louis County, Missouri to Madison County, Illinois.  The bridge was closed to traffic in 1968 and in 1999 was renovated to a pedestrian/bicycle bridge.  It also used to be part of the historic Route 66.

Being that I am both terrified of bridges and any type of fowl, I really surprised myself by wanting to take the girls to this activity.  The weather was perfect for spending time outside in January and getting the girls away from the T.V. and computer.  Even though my terror level was on red!

I think the girls were more excited to be walking across the Mississippi River rather than looking for Eagles.

They do have volunteers with high powered binoculars fixed on the Eagles so you can see them.  The girls brought their own binoculars along with daddy's and got to see two of the Bald Eagles.  They were perched up on the tree branches over on the Missouri side of the river.  We also got to see them fly over the river looking for food.

The girls also got a bunch of free things too!  They got a reusable bag, coloring book, bracelet, Eagle mask craft, and a water bottle.

It was neat to go and see the Bald Eagles!  I think they are a beautiful and majestic bird.  Just wish we could have seen them a little closer.  It's always fun making memories with the family and today was a new one to put on our list.

Days of the Year

A couple of days ago, while we were driving in the car, my youngest asked me "why don't we do the special days anymore?".  Two years ago, I decided to try to see what each day pertained to and have the kids go along with it.  I wrote it on a chalkboard in the kitchen each morning so the kids would see it when they woke up.  They were always eager to see what it was.  Unfortunately, my chalkboard fell off the wall and never made it back up, so we didn't finish out the year. I don't even think we made it to April. :(

Today, I decided to see what the day was about and start over with my kids.  I clicked on my usual website and thought, "I really don't want to write these down" and "I really don't want to have to remember to look it up each day".  The laziness in me coming out.  As I was going to exit out I saw a website www.daysoftheyear.com; funny days, weird holidays, and celebrations of 2015!  It was so cool!

At the top of their site, they have what is being celebrated that day! FYI today is Strawberry Ice Cream Day and/or Hat Day! I don't like hats so I may just have to run to the store for some strawberry ice cream.  They also have posted what is being celebrated for the upcoming days!  They had pictures for each day, too.  That way I can know what is coming up and not have to look it up everyday.

Better yet, they have a Facebook page!!!  Since I'm always on Facebook, I can now have the days right there on my post.  Anything that is easier for me is great!  Maybe this time I will keep up with it for the whole year.  

If you want to do something new and fun with your kids try celebrating these crazy days.  You don't have to do it everyday.  Some days may not have anything kid related to celebrate.  If after two years, my 7 year old is still remembering it, it must have been a good memory for them and one I need to keep up on.  

Just so you know, tomorrow is Appreciate a Dragon Day!  I think it might be a good time to have a family movie night and watch How to Train Your Dragon 2!

Ruler Food Store

A while back a new food store opened here in the area called Ruler Foods.  Ruler Foods is a division of Kroger.  The majority of the products sold there are an off brand or Kroger brand, but you will find a few name brand items throughout the store.  I never want to visit a new store right when it opens because there is usually many other people checking it out too and then it gets crowded and crazy. I don't really like crowded and crazy.  Today we were out of a few things and my hubby mentioned that I should try out the new store.

The parking lot only had a few cars in it when I pulled in so that was a plus already.  Of course, I'm sure people did all their shopping last weekend when they were calling for bad weather again.  That didn't happen.  Again.

You do have to pay for your cart, 25 cents, but you get it back when you return your cart.  Just like at Aldi's.  You also have to bring your own bags or you can buy theirs for 10 cents a piece.  They are plastic but they are big and can be reused.

The store was really clean and spacious.  The aisles were nice and wide.  I went up and down each and every aisle without ever having to get out of the way of someone. All the products on the shelves were nice and neat.

I thought they had a great selection of food.  I found some things there that Aldi's does not carry and I have to buy them at one of the major supermarkets.  Some of the things I found there that I can't get at Aldi's were unsalted Saltine crackers, canned sliced potatoes, colby/jack cheese squares for my daughters lunch box, and midget sweet pickles.  It was worth the trip just to get those few things for a cheaper price than at the supermarket. The prices fluctuated in comparison to Aldi's.  Some of the prices were the same, some were cheaper, and some were more expensive.  Some of the things I got that were cheaper were frozen mixed veggies for 89 cents and grapes for $1.99.  I bought apple juice for my youngest and it was the same price as Aldi's.

I have not tasted any of these products yet, but I'm sure they are just as tasty.  We used to shop at Kroger all the time when I was living at home and the store was in the area.  We had a lot of Kroger and Cost Cutter brands in my mom's kitchen cabinets.  My husbands first job was as a bagger at Kroger.

I will visit the store again and buy some other items to test out.  It was a nice experience and if you have a Ruler Foods in your area, I suggest you give them a try, too.

No Super Bowl Party for me....again

I am a huge football fan!  I have been watching football since I was in single digits.  Dad and I used to watch the games on Sunday afternoon when I was younger. Or listen to the St. Louis Cardinals on the radio while doing the dishes. (Yeah, now I'm dating myself by talking about the football Cardinals).  The only time I disliked football is when a game would run long and push back Walt Disney World on Sunday nights.  Don't mess with my Escape to Witch Mountain!

 My team of choice is the Dallas Cowboys.  They have always been my favorite.  I've been watching them since Tom Landry was the coach.  I had posters of Troy Aikman in my bedroom at home and in my dorm room at college. I even had my high school American History teacher nickname me Dallas.  I've seen them play a few times.  Once at Soldiers Field against the Bears, and a couple of times here in St. Louis against the Rams.  I got tickets to the Cowboys/Rams game for my Anniversary this past year!  Still need to get to Arlington, Texas to see them on the home turf.  That is a dream that I can hopefully fulfill on day.

Well, tonight Dallas lost to the Packers so my season is over. My family from Wisconsin is loving it though. Could blame the refs for a rotten call but then again Romo was sacked 3 times.  No Super Bowl party with gray and blue for this household.  They did have a good season and have gotten farther than they have in recent years but I was hoping for an all the way.  Sigh. Maybe next year.  I seem to keep saying those words every January.

Now that Denver is also out of the running for the Super Bowl, (one of my favorite Cowboys was traded to the Broncos this year Ware 94), I will be watching the Super Bowl for the commercials.  The one time of the year no one goes to the bathroom or talks during the commercials.

Only 97 days until baseball season!   I am a huge football fan but an even bigger Cardinal baseball fan!

Wednesday treat recipe

I've written a post about my Wednesday treat for the girls a couple of years ago.  For those of you that may not have read it:  Every Wednesday I try to make my girls a special dessert type treat because they get out a half hour early than normal days.  This way it's a fun something for them to look forward to mid week and it's a time when I get to bake.

I wanted to share this easy and yummy recipe that I found on pinterest.  They are called Nutella Crescent Rolls and they are perfect to make on a very cold and windy January afternoon.  The recipe can be found at www.partyfood2go.com, if you want to see pictures of each step. Or you can go to my Pinterest boards and look up Wednesday Snack Ideas for the link.

Need:
1 tube 8 oz. crescent rolls
Nutella
powder sugar

Instructions:
Place rectangles on cutting board and spread layer of Nutella.

Separate each rectangle into triangles and cut them in half.  You will end up with 16 very skinny triangles.

Roll each section up, starting from wide to skinny.

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375 degrees for 11-13 minutes.  Cool. Sprinkle with powder sugar.

They are so yummy, you will immediately want to make more.

Enjoy!

Throwing out the old

It's cold here today.  A perfect day to go get back in your bed and pretend you're hibernating.  At least until the kids come home at 3:00.  Even though I would have loved to do that, I decided to take some time and straighten up our food areas.  

I don't have a pantry in the kitchen to hide all of our food (and I'm not afraid to admit that I am jealous of some of the pantries my friends do have).  Most of our food sits on a baker's rack we have in the kitchen.  We store our cereal, crackers, peanut butter, canned food, boxed food, extra items that we bought double of, all on that rack.  One cabinet in our kitchen is designated a snack cabinet.  That way if the girls want a snack they go to the cabinet instead of searching high and low for something to snack on.  Then I have my cabinets above my stove that houses seasonings, spices, cake decorating supplies.  Today I decided to clean them out and get rid of food that was expired.  Also it was looking like a jumble upped mess and I was tired of looking at it.  

One thought that came into my head as I was cleaning, was how time flies.  I found a bag of whole wheat flour that I swore I bought not too long ago and the expiration date was 2013.  The fact that it was buried under many other items of food, shows that I more than likely did purchase it back in 2013.  I found a few cooking soups, some noodles, and other things that expired either the end of 2013 or early 2014.  I probably found a recipe that sounded good, bought the appropriate items to make the dinner and then promptly went out to McDonald's for a burger. 

After also getting rid of a ton of candy from various parades we attended and school parties for the last couple holidays, I ended up with a trash bag and a half of thrown away food.  Throwing away food drives me crazy.  I know there are people out there who don't have money for food and here I am throwing away a large amount of it.  How do I remedy that in this New Year?

First, I'm going to stick to mostly my tried and true recipes.  I like to try new things and sometimes the old comfort foods are just too comfortable and make me want something different.  Problem is that when I buy the ingredients the recipe calls for and I make it once and it's just blah, I don't make it again and then leftover stuff not all used in the recipe gets wasted.  My tried and true recipes are also fairly simple.  Some of the recipes I think sound good and I buy the stuff for, have a million steps that make me throw my hand's in the air and head for KFC.  I think I'll put a limit on two new recipes a month that are easy to make with ingredients I already keep on hand. 

Second, when I make out my menu page each week, I need to take an inventory of what I do have on hand already and how I can incorporate those ingredients into the menu.  Too many times I run to the store to grab the menu items only to come home and realize I already have 2 cream of chicken soups on the rack and I just bought 2 more. 

Third, tell the people that live in this house I will buy no more fruit snacks until the 100 packages shoved in the snack cabinet are all gone.  This is a problem when the girls come shopping with me. They like to ask for stuff and I usually buy each girl one treat which sometimes ends up as duplicates because I didn't check to see what we had first. Maybe I need to have the girls pick out their snack of choice before they hit the store and then that's what they get and no substitutions.  

I feel like I actually accomplished something today good for myself.  I will take the tips I wrote above and try to make my shopping/cooking/eating time less wasteful this year.  

Maybe tomorrow I will feel motivated to clean out the cup cabinet.  Gonna need a bigger trash can for that one.

2015 Reading Challenge

I love to read!  I would rather read than do most anything.  I just recently finished my first book of the year by Jan Karon (one of my favorite authors) called Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good, and at then end of the story one of the characters was quoted to say "That was his favorite thing about books - they took you off to other people's lives and places, but you could still set in your own chair by th' oil heater, warm as a mouse in a churn".  My thoughts exactly Coot Hendricks!

Last year because of my little bout with depression, I went back to bed and read a lot.  I would go to bed very early and read a lot until very late.  I finished a total of 121 books last year.  Some were very good, some were not so good.  I keep track of all my books I read on the Goodreads website.  I log in through Facebook.  It lets you rate the book, you can follow your friends and their reading choices, and you can write reviews.  My reviews are strictly for me and my friends only.  I don't write long and drawn out words just to see myself type.  If it's good, I write good and if not, I write not.  Simple as that.  If you would like to find a book to read check out my Goodreads page and scroll my books to see if there are any you may like to read.

This year I found a reading challenge on Pinterest.  It gives you a list of books to read.  You end up reading 54 books and you still get to pick out the books you want to read.  Some on the list include: a classic romance, a book with a one-word title, a book your mom loves, etc.  You check mark each box as you read your book until you are finished.  Usually my reading challenges are just finish the books stacked up on the side of your bed so your don't kill yourself getting out of bed.  I will still have to work on that this year too.  I did really good last year and got the books from 3 piles about 8 books high, to one pile of 3 books high.  Then my birthday and Christmas showed up and it's back to getting into bed from the bottom.  (It's not that bad, yet!)

I also would like to see how many Newberry Award Winning Books the girls and I can read together in a year.  I used to love to go to book sales.  I have slacked off a little due to my book reading back log but when I was book saleing, I loved to find the Newberry Winners that people were getting rid of.  WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT???  Anyway, your loss my gain.  I have a whole shelf full of Newberry Award Winning books for the girls to read.  Sometimes I like to read a book geared toward younger kids just to make me feel younger.  We will see how far we get.  I'll keep you posted.

Every once in a while ads pop up on Facebook and I very seldom click on them.  I did click on the one recently that said free books.  It wasn't for me nor was it really free but I got caught up in reading the comments and one mom commented that her kids don't need books in the house.  They get them from the library or bring them home from school.  WHAT???  What if they finish the books and need something else to read?  What if they only go to the library on your time frame, what are they going to read?  Books are everywhere in my house, living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, basement.  I even have a book in the kitchen and sometimes I take one in my purse when I leave the house.  No home should be without books.  You don't have to spend full price at the local book store to get books, check out the thrift stores (Savers has a lot of books), your library book sales, other books sales that are put on in your community.  If your child comes home with a book order from Scholastic, they have books in there almost every month for a dollar!

Please read.  Read for yourself. Read to your pet. Read with your children and to your children. Your children will be better students and adults.  You will find satisfaction in relaxing in a book or learning something new. I promise you will enjoy it!

Christmas is officially over

Christmas is officially over at our house.  On New Year's Day, my hubby took down the outside decorations (but left up two of my snowmen decorations) and today we took down the inside decorations.  In the past, this would have depressed me since I have decorations up in October for Halloween, November for Thanksgiving, and then in December for Christmas; then along comes January and BAM nothing.  (Insert cricket noise here)

So last year, I told my hubby I was going to need two new bins for snowman decorations.  I decided to leave up my snowmen through the month of January so that the house wouldn't seem so sad.  It is really nice to still have the house decorated.  I have just enough snowmen to decorate each room on the main floor of the house.  Now it looks wintery!

In the living room, I have quite a few snowman candle holders, a couple of snow globes, and a few snowmen figurines sitting on my shelf.  Last year I found 4 snowmen ornaments that spelled out SNOW, so instead of hanging them on my tree they are a decoration in January.  I also have a light up snowman that I bought at a craft fair and a light up snowman jar that my brother Michael bought me for my birthday one year.  Those along with my lighted twigs that have icicle ornaments hanging on them make it still look like a Christmas tree is glowing. Let's not forget the bucket of snowballs sitting by the fireplace.

In the dining room, I have a burlap lighted snowman that Megan got me for my birthday this year and a giant wooden snowman that my sister made me for my birthday last year.

In the kitchen, I bought new place mats that have a snowman on them and they say "Let it Snow". Nothing Christmasy about them.  They are great for January.  I left all my snowmen candles and candle holders I had up for Christmas.  For my table centerpiece I have a basket that hold something to correspond to each month.  It now holds 3 snowflakes and 2 snowmen ornaments. (Let's hope the cats don't take off with them like they did with two of my Christmas candles that were in there for December).  Of course, I also have dish rags and dish towels.

Let's not leave out the bathroom.  I have the cutest snowman night light I got from a dear friend at a gift exchange.  I also have some snowflake soap and a set of snowman towels that I got from my mom.

There are a few snowman upstairs.  We have a  huge mirror that hangs in the upstairs hallway and I always hang those gel window clings on it.  There are 3 snowman hanging there right now.  The final snowman in the house is in my bedroom.  It is a cute little light up snowman, that I use as a night light.

Most of my snowmen have come as birthday presents since my birthday is close to Christmas.  I think for my next birthday, I will ask for a wire light up snowman for outside so I can leave him up in January and have the outside decorated as well.

I love decorating my house for the holidays and seasons.  Not only for myself but for my family as well.

Sleepovers

The girls have been asking me to have a sleepover with their friends for some time now and I just keep putting it off.  I don't know why I put it off.  It could be that I never had sleepovers growing up. or that it just adds to the number of kids I have to keep track of during the day/night.  I would also start to get a little anxious knowing my girls would go to friends houses and I wouldn't be in control. I don't do well without being in control.  Then I remember even though I never had any sleepovers at my house, I did have some cool friends that still invited me to their house for sleepovers.  It was always fun to stay overnight away from your siblings and the craziness of your own house.  I have fond memories of my nights staying at my friend Deanna's house.  Her house was the first place I ever stayed over night and the first time I got to play the Atari.  I loved when her mom would make Jello Jigglers.  I still remember that taste!  Staying at Rachel's house was always fun because we could run around in the woods.  I always remember her mom being in the kitchen in the morning listening to country on WIL.  Going to Susan's house was fun because her mom and dad were so much fun to be around.  Loved being in her kitchen and of course swimming in the pool.  Heard my first Beastie Boys at her house.  Staying at Lisa's house was great because we could stretch out on the floor to watch movies and not be crunched by other people in the house.  Staying at Nicole's house was almost like being at home with all the siblings but she had her room in the basement away from everyone else.  I was always so envious of her canopy bed!  I also loved looking at and borrowing her Sweet Valley High books.  But I was not allowed to bend the covers!  Going to her grandma's, who lived right across the lane from her was always fun too.  Believe it or not, I can still remember the way her grandma's kitchen looked and smelled.  Staying at Michelle's house and discussing the latest happenings on the CBS soaps, Sweet Valley High books, or the boyfriends that ended up being our husbands, plus leg wrestling is also a great memory.

After remembering all the good times I had at sleepovers, I decided I needed to open up a little and let the girls have some wonderful memories to remember 30 years later.  I need to go out of my comfort zone and let them spend the night at their friend's houses.  Doesn't mean I will have a good nights sleep while they are gone.  I need to let them have their friends over to play and make those bonds of friendship that could last them their entire lives.

This week Megan had her friend Hannah over to spend the night.  The next night Wendy had her friend Mahkayla spend the night.  And today Ellie had her friend Gabriela over to play for a few hours.  Just listening to their laughter, screams, and over all excitement were worth it. And tonight I will worry because Wendy is staying at her friend Mahkayla's house.  Here's to finding time to have them spend more time with their friends this coming year.  Whether it be coming over to play, or them going over there, or taking their friends places, I hope to be able to do more this year.

Thanks you to the Smiths, the Bruggers, the Browns, the Childers, the Mavers, and the Gilleys for letting me be your child for a couple of nights and to make lasting memories that I still carry with me 30 some years later.

Welcome 2015!

I'm really looking forward to starting a new year.  Last year was a depressing year for me.  I lost my cat that I had for 18 years on New Year's Day 2014.  I lost my Mother-in-law on my 20th wedding anniversary in July. Our second car died in November leaving us wondering how we were going to be able to afford a car payment, and I have 3 parents that are fighting cancer: my father-in-law is fighting pancreatic cancer, my father is fighting prostate cancer, and my mom's boyfriend is fighting lung cancer.  We did have some good moments: friends that came to visit from Michigan, going on a scavenger hunt to find 250+ cakes around the St. Louis area, the girls entering items into the County fair and each coming home with 2 ribbons, and welcoming two new kittens into our home.  Despite the fun times we had, I think I got depressed over the year and would comfort myself by eating, or I would feel anxious or bored and would eat.  Sometimes I would even go back bed after the girls left for school and sleep all day until it was time to go get them from school.  I was mean, angry, and stressed out almost the entire year.  I was not a fun person for my family to be around and I would hide it from anyone else.

I am hoping that 2015 will be a different year for me.  I need to spend way more time taking care of myself.  Being a role model that my three girls look up to is really number one for me this year.  This includes eating better and exercising to lose some of this weight.  I have not been feeling well physically and I think my weight has a lot to do with it.  I am also going to be making a Dr. appointment to get a check up and see where I stand on my health.

I also need to spend more time with my family.  I love to help other people and volunteer my time but it is cutting into the time I spend with my family.  So I will be backing off a few things that I have done over the last couple of years and toning down the amount of time I spend on other things.  The girls are growing up so fast that I need to enjoy the time while they still want me to be around with them.  I also need to spend more time being a wife to my husband.  We need to start spending more time together too.

I am really going to strive to keep up this blog this year.  I didn't type one thing on here in the year 2014.  I don't look at writing on this blog as another thing to do but as a form of therapy for me to write down things that make me both happy and sad.

I am hoping that after this little hiatus I took, that you will still follow my blog and see how the year pans out for my family.  I am hoping that the New Year also brings many blessings to you and your loved ones.