Creativity Reminder

It is that time of year when I've put tax season behind me and see the potential around me.  I'm always looking for new blogs to follow, creative ideas to inspire me and wise words to guide me.  I really enjoyed this post on the Simply Me blog.
http://donnadowney.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451929069e20163059e34c1970d-pi

Tax Day & PF Chang's

PF Chang's is helping take the edge off of Tax Day. The bistro is giving 15% off all dine-in and carry-out orders on Monday, April 18th. Even better? No coupons, codes or special passwords required. Just head to your local PF Chang's and enjoy your favorite entree!

Free Lays chips at Kroger

Need to get your grocery shopping done for the week? Try heading to Kroger between 3pm and 8pm this Friday, April 1st. You can get a free bag of Frito Lays chips - no coupon required. I have verified this is accurate for the DFW area Kroger stores. What a deal!

Deals, deals and more deals

I have bookmarks for some of my favorite sites for getting the latest and greatest deals. I thought I would compile a quick list to share with my readers. Note: I still do research to determine how good the deal really is and I deny all blame if approached by angry husbands.

• 1 Sale a Day features one item a day in each of five categories including wireless, family, jewelry and watch.


• Living Social features a limited time great deal on those little extras. This site is based on your area. I scored a great Picture People deal a couple of days ago!


• Freebies 4 Mom lets you know about all kinds of freebies. I love this site for free ereader books, music downloads, and great coupons.


• GiftCardRescue sells gift cards at discounted rates and buys your unwanted gift cards for cash. Free shipping is standard!


• Woot! is an oldie, but a goodies. The deals recently have been better though there are still days that I shake my head. Of course, that is half the fun of a treasure hunt!

Food Banks, Coupons & a Challenge...Join Me

It is no secret that the economy is tough right now and that more and more people are needing to take advantage of local food pantries. Some of the newest "customers" were donors just a couple of years ago. We've all made adjustments here and there. Some of those adjustments have necessitated reducing our charitable giving.

A woman from the DFW area has a suggestion that will make it easier to help stock our local food pantries. She uses coupons to purchase food that she then donates to her local pantry. This does require some of your time, but has a big benefit. Matching grocery ads to available coupons can significantly increase the savings. I've been able to get several items free each week. It does become easier once you discover the system that works best for you.

This is a great way to get your kids involved. They can clip coupons, match coupons to weekly ads, make shopping lists, assist with the shopping and help deliver the groceries to the food bank. What an excellent way to teach our children to be generous!

You could also get a group of friends together to clip, list and shop (maybe share a glass of wine and some good snacks). You could even split up the shopping by store. They can also be an additional source of coupons. In fact, you could collect coupons for clipping from multiple sources by asking friends, family, and co-workers to save their unused coupons for you. Remember, a variety of items are needed.

Please answer the challenge and join me to help stock our local food pantries and ensure that no one has to go hungry!

Baking in the Spring Season

It's spring!!!! I'm so happy to welcome Spring this year! The winter was much colder in this area than normal, so sunny, warm weather is lovely.

For me, the daffodils and dogwood blooming herald spring. They also lead me to the kitchen...and the garden...and the yard....and the local nursery. (I have flowers to plant right now.)

I love looking for a great new recipe that says spring. This year, it was easy - the cover of Southern Living caught my eye. I'm a big fan of pound cakes, so when I saw the strawberry swirled beauty on their cover I knew it was my first spring recipe of 2011. I was even more certain when I read the name - Strawberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake.

The recipe seems a little long at first glance, but don't let that deter you. The cake is very good. I do want to give you a couple of helpful hints that I feel they left out of the recipe.

• Reduce the oven temperature if you are using a dark pan. This will prevent the outside from over browning. I baked it at 335F with the rack on the second space from the top.
• The recipe calls for strawberry glaze which is very sweet and high in sugar. Substituting all-fruit strawberry preserves works wonderfully. This gives it a fresher taste and saves some calories.

I hope you will give it a try! It is an excellent dessert to welcome the spring. May your first day of spring be full of daffodils and dogwoods!

Springing Ahead an Hour

I keep trying to find more hours in my day. Today, was one of those gotcha days where I lost yet another hour. Okay, so we all lost that hour. It seems to get harder to acclimate ourselves as each year passes. I am thankful for small blessings though. It is Spring Break so the kids can adjust before school starts again!

I really did blink and the day was gone. I harvested morning glory seeds and cut back the dead growth, fertilized and watered the yard, baked birthday cakes (celebrating the month's birthdays at work), folded laundry, did some grocery shopping, added more items to my 8th box, and took a couple of minutes to chat with a girlfriend. Then it was time to gather myself for Monday.

I'm looking forward to a very blessed and peaceful week even with one less hour. I have to admit that patience is not my strength. I recognize that I need extra help, so I've been starting my day in prayer asking for that help. His grace is truly amazing and the days have gone so much smoother! My son even noticed and told me that he started his day with the rosary. Here's wishing that each of you spring ahead into a prayer filled and blessed week!