January 30th, 2012

Just wanted to share a trailer for a new movie coming out soon. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. The movie stars Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor. Check it out…

Written by Shana
January 21st, 2012

 

008General Tso’s Chicken

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, sliced into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 cups vegetable oil for frying
2 teaspoon garlic, minced

Marinade:
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 egg whites

Sauce:
1/4 cup chicken stock, or substitute water
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon Chinese hot chili sauce
1 teaspoons sesame oil/or vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch

1. Prepare the marinade: In a large bowl, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and egg whites. Coat the chicken to the marinade mixture and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, combine the chicken stock, tomato paste, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chili sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and the 1 teaspoon of cornstarch. Stir until the sugar and cornstarch are dissolved. Set the sauce aside.

3. In a large bowl or deep plate, toss the 1 1/2 cups cornstarch with the salt and pepper. Coat the marinated chicken in the cornstarch and shake off any excess before frying.

4. Heat the 3 cups of vegetable oil in your skillet or wok. Working in 2 or 3 batches add the first batch of chicken cubes and fry until golden brown on the outside and cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Repeat with the rest of the chicken.

5. Drain the oil into a heatproof container and save for discarding. Wipe the wok with a paper towel to remove any brown bits, but don’t wash.

6. Reheat the wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add another 1 tablespoon of oil and swirl to coat the base and sides. Add the garlic to the skillet/wok and stir-fry until just fragrant, about 20 seconds. Pour in the sauce mixture and stir until thickened, about 1 to 2 minutes.

7. Return the chicken to the wok and stir well to coat with sauce. After the chicken is coated you can also add steamed veggies if you would like. Garnish with white sesame seeds and scallions. Serve with rice or noodles.

I found the inspiration for this recipe on Pinerest and Appetite for China. I tweaked it a little using what products I could find at my local grocery store. And it turned out AMAZING!!! :)

Written by Shana
January 3rd, 2012

Another Pinterest find!!!

{How did I ever get by without this site?!?}

Homemade Hand Soap

Homemade Hand Soap

What you need:

1 cup of grated bar soap (I used Yardley Oatmeal & Almond) ($0.97)

1 table spoon Glycerin ($3.47)

10 cups of water

soap and Glycerin

You will need to grate the bar of soap using a cheese grater.

Grated soap
I grated the soap in a 9×13 pan. While making a batch of the  homemade Laundry Soap  with my mom today she showed me a trick that made the grating so much easier…lay the grater on its side! (OK maybe you already knew to do that, but I didn’t.) :)
Grating soap
You then add the grated soap and glycerin to a large pot with the water in it.
Soap n water
Heat it on medium high until the soap dissolves.
Watch it closely, stirring it and don’t let it boil.
Soap cooking
The mixture will become milky in color.
You will  have to let the soap mixture cool for a few hours or even overnight to thicken.
Fluffing the soap
I used my hand mixer to “fluff” up the soap.
I used a funnel and put the soap in an empty recycled hand soap bottle.
And I put the extra soap in an empty recycled milk jug. 
Super easy!!! Super cheap!!!
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TIP:
You will have left over grated soap since you just need one cup.  I just put what was left in a canning jar and I will have it ready for the next time I make a batch of hand soap.
Extra soap

Written by Shana
December 28th, 2011

Found this idea on Pinterest. (and FYI Pinterest  is absolutely addicting!)

The website where the recipe (would you call this a recipe since you don’t eat it?) is at says it will be enough for 9 months – year of laundry.  Not sure  if that will be the fact for us considering that we are a family of five but even if I get 4-6 months out of it, I will save tons of money using this instead of Tide or Era, heck even the store brand laundry soap.

I found all of the ingredients at Walmart except for the Borax. Not sure if they were out or they don’t carry it but I was able to find it at Chief, our local grocery store.

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1 4 lb 12 oz box Borax -($5.15)

1 4 lb box Arm & Hammer Baking Soda -($2.16)

1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda -($3.24)

3 bars of Fels-Naptha soap -($0.97 each or $2.91 for three)

1 3lb tub OxyClean ($7.52)

That is a total of $20.98

I grated the Fels-Naptha soap with the large side of grater then mixed everything (it is the whole box of each ingredients) in a large garbage bag.

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I found a really neat glass (2 gallon) jar at Walmart in the housewares department. It holds the whole batch perfectly! And the best part it was only $9.97! I also bought a scoop (package of 3 for $3.97). I will use the other two scoops in my flour and sugar canisters) and a cheese grater ($2.97), since I didn’t have one.

So the one time cost of getting what I need to make, store and measure was $16.91.

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We have wash several loads of laundry using this soap and I really like it. The clothes do not have much of a scent to them, they just smell clean.

Let me know if you try this out. :)

Source: {beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com}
Written by Shana
December 20th, 2011

While Caleb napped last night Brayden, Andrew and me had fun making a Gingerbread (sugar cookie) house.

Written by Shana
December 20th, 2011

Last night we crafted with wooden cutout shapes from www.craftcuts.com.  I was thrilled that craftcuts.com wanted to be apart of our Countdown to Christmas. They sent us snowmen, trees, and snowflakes that we painted and decorated with gems.

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This is a great site that has lots of  items to offer;  Wooden Letters, Greek Letters, Vinyl Wall Letters, Stencils, Craft Shapes, Home Decor, Seasonal, and Mounting Products.  I was pleased with the costumer support and the super fast shipment of my order.

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I am happy to let you all know that craftcuts.com is giving away a $30.00 gift certificate  to one of my lucky readers! I am going to make this one easy…just leave a comment in the comment section below.  If you LIKE this post you will be entered and if you Tweet about this giveaway you will get one too. Sorry US only.

Written by Shana
December 19th, 2011

Christmas will have come and gone by this time next week! Where did the month of December go? For that matter where did the year 2011 go?

We had a pretty busy week-end so I am going to combine the past three days in this one post.

Friday I went to Angie’s wedding, so Josh and the boys spent some male bonding time together. Josh took them to Burger King (their favorite place to eat) and then I think that they did some Christmas shopping for me. :)

We also took the boys to do their Christmas shopping for family and I helped them wrap their gifts.

Sorry no fun pictures of that stuff.

215px-Dolphin_Tale_Poster
*Last night we had a family movie night with popcorn, blankets and cuddle time! We watched the movie Dolphin Tale.  It was sent to us from Grace Hill Media to review and share about the DVD release on Tuesday, December 20th. Dolphin Tale is a wonderful family film that stars  Harry Connick, Jr., Ashley Judd, and Morgan Freeman.

Dolphin Tale is a true story about a boy finding an injured dolphin, caught in a crab trap on the beach.  The boy and the workers at Clearwater Marine Hospital nurse the dolphin, that they name Winter, back to health after she loses her tail.  Along with the help of another doctor that makes prosthetic’s for wounded vets, they are able to make a prosthetic tail for Winter.  This is a great story about compassion, family, and working together to help others, both human and animals!

Dolphin Tale is such a great movie and would make a wonderful last minuet gift for anyone on your Christmas list!!!

Written by Shana
December 16th, 2011

Caleb’s 7th grade band concert.

Written by Shana
December 13th, 2011

Last night we had fun making angels out of clay pots and a bag full of goodies that I picked up at Goodwill. This was such a fun project and I think that they turned out great!!!

 

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Written by Shana
December 13th, 2011

Hard to believe that we are at our halfway point already! Day 12 with 12 days left!

The boys and I made beaded candy canes and as we were making them I read them the following story.

The Candy Cane Story

A candymaker in Indiana wanted to make a candy that would remind people of the true meaning of Christmas; so he made the candy cane to incorporate several symbols for the candy canebirth, ministry, and death of Jesus Christ. He began with a stick of pure white, hard candy. White to symbolize the Virgin Birth and the sinless nature of Jesus, and hard to symbolize the Solid Rock, the foundation of the Church, and the firmness of the promises of God.

The candymaker then shaped his cane into the form of a “J” to represent the precious name of Jesus, who came to the earth as Savior. It could also represent the staff of the “Good Shepherd” with which He reaches down to to reclaim the fallen lambs who, like sheep, have gone astray.

Thinking that the candy was somewhat plain, the candymaker stained it with red stripes. He used three small stripes to show the stripes of the scourging Jesus received. The large red stripe was for the blood shed by Christ on the cross so that we could have the promise of eternal life.

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Written by Shana
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    picnikfile_FpPVQa
    I am a stay at home mom with three boys, and I have been married to my high school sweetheart since 1997. I love my family. I love to cook. I love to bake and decorate cakes. I love to take pictures. I love to spend time with my friends, which I have some of the best in the world! I love to laugh. I love the beauty of the seasons and nature, I feel like it is a gift from God. I love a good cup of coffee! I love to read a great book. I love to cuddle under a warm throw on the couch with my laptop. And above all I love the Lord. My goal is to live by this scripture...'Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.' Matthew 5:16 Which, as a friend pointed out, we need daily reminders of this.
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