4th of July

 I'm not entirely sure what we are doing for the 4th.  It depends on other family members. 
Atlanta on the Cheap has a great list of the big 4th of July events this year.
Last year we did a couple of things.  City of Marietta for day events, ate dinner at the Varsity, and then went to the fireworks in Alpharetta at Wills Park.  The fireworks last year were perfect!
This year the City of Marietta's parade and fireworks is on Saturday the 3rd.  The parade is at 10am.  Get there early so you can park and walk to the square.
Alpharetta's festivities start at 3pm on the 4th and end with the fireworks at Wills Park.  They do have a swimming pool at the park $3 admission.  But it seems that most of the other children activities are free. Bring a meal or buy from the vendors.

Let me know if you all have other places you like to go to for the 4th of July.

Yummy Strawberry Glaze

My favorite Aunt in Florida made this wonderful pork loin for us with a Guava Glaze. 
She took her recipe from a recipe from Bobby Flay.  Bobby's is Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Guava Glaze and Orange-Habanero Mojo.  But she does not do the Mojo or mint.  It is soooo good!

I in turn changed up this glaze to a Strawberry Glaze.

I will give you both recipes.

Guava Glaze

Heat grill to high. Brush pork with oil and season with salt, pepper, and cumin, to taste. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the tenderloins over and brush with guava glaze and cook another 4 to 5 minutes, brushing with the glaze every few minutes. Remove from the grill, brush with more of the glaze and let rest for 10 minutes.

Guava Glaze:
1 cup guava marmalade
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons orange juice or water
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Strawberry Glaze
Use on chicken or pork.  I used mine on Chicken.
Rubbed chicken with salt, pepper and cumin to taste. brush on glaze.  grill. brush on glaze as you turn. 
(I'm not 100% on quantities here since I just added and mixed things together. Sorry)
1 cup strawberry jam (mine is homemade... see freezer jam recipe)
1 1/2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lime juice
pepper to taste
 

All Natrual weed and bug Product

Really I need to to start on my back up of blogs, but that will happen later.
But for right now I will tell you about an amazing product(s) out there for gardening.
The product line is called

Pharm Solutions

Worlds First USDA / National Organic Program Certified Organic Pesticides
Non Toxic Weed and Grass Killer Organic Horticultural Oil Organic Deer Repellent; Organic Fungicide

http://pharmsolutions.com

When Smith & Hawkins stores were around I got this great product from them called Indoor Pharm. It is meant for your indoor plants to helps with fungus and spiders etc.  But I used it on my outdoor container plants.  It worked great for two year until I ran out.  I have tried the stuff they sold at stores and have not liked the results as much as this product.  That being said.  They have a whole line of products mainly all for gardening.

Not sure the shipping cost but the 1 Liter product ready to use is around $13.
I think that this next time I might get the Veggie Pharm. 

Other products they sell are Organic Weed Killer, Weed Pharm, Rose Pharm, Flower Pharm, Garlic Pharm, Oil Pharm, Deer Pharm, Fungus Pharm, and Fish Pharm.

Bedtime and Morning Routines

Recently I ask on Facebook about age appropriate chores, and did you have any favorite resources. I have gotten a few comments and am still doing a bit more research.  I really do believe that chores are essential in a child's development and many others do to, but alias the only thing most people can agree on.  And I will say this parenting can be so different for each child and family situation.  So what I am about to post may or may not work for you and yours.
My son did real well with the Bedtime Routine Chart that I made him while in preschool.  I needed to tweak and add to it since he will be going to Kindergarten and add a Morning Routine Chart.  I laminated it with contact paper and hung it on his wall in his bedroom.  I hung it low so he could take a dry erase marker and check what finished.  Now he will just go to the list and make sure he has done everything.
The charts I just put together quickly in word and added their clip art.  Feel free to copy, adjust, and change wording.

Trader Joe's: Now Accepting Coupons & Here are Some Coupon Matches

Trader Joe's: Now Accepting Coupons & Here are Some Coupon Matches

Here is a link to one of the blogs I follow. The Thrifty Mama.  This a great post about Trader Joe's!

Cellfire Cinderella Free Money on your Kroger Card

Thursday June 17 at 3pm eastern you can get your free money.  Last  week I got a $1 off my shopping.  Which is great for produce and milk. I believe you can win up to $10 dollars.  Just register your Kroger Card at Cellfire.

Lego Build at Toys R Us - Saturday

My son is just getting into legos and this look like it could be fun. Particicapting Toys R Us is having a Lego build.  It is this Saturday the 19th, 12-2pm.  There will be prizes and giveaways.

Run for Recovery 5k

Feeling nervous about saying I'm going to do this. It is for a good cause.. or should I say two good causes.   Helping those recovery from addiction and my health.

Date:	Saturday, September 11, 2010
Time:	9:30am - 12:30pm
Location:	Kennesaw State University
Street:	1000 Chastain Road
City/Town:	Kennesaw, GA

Run or walk this scenic 1 mile loop three times to complete this course; see the growth and progress on the third largest state campus in Georgia.

All proceeds benefit the KSU Collegiate Recovery Center where students in recovery from addiction can find a peer community of abstinence and academic support. 

Here is the Website and here is the Facebook page.

Balsamic Roast Pork Tenderloin

Balsamic Roast Pork Tenderloin
I don't remember where I found this recipe but it is quite yummy! I think I might try grilling this today.

Ingredients
1 lb. pork tenderloin
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon olive oil, plus additional for baking sheet

Directions
1. Rinse pork and pat dry. Stir together vinegar, garlic, and pepper in a cup. Place in a large heavy-duty resealable plastic bag with pork and seal, turning until coated well. Marinate at room temperature, turning bag occasionally, 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 450 degree F. Arrange rack in middle of oven. Lightly oil a baking sheet.
3. Remove pork from marinade and place in pan. Pour marinade over pork; season with salt. Roast, turning pork halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in center of pork registers 150 degree F and vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
4. Let pork stand in pan 10 minutes before carving into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Makes 4 servings.

Free Movie at the Y- East Cobb

McCleakey - East Cobb YMCA is showing
"Alvin & the Chipmunks the Squeakel" Saturday, June 19th at 7:00 PM

Bring your family, Friends and neighbors along with your blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy a fun evening of delightful enterainment and comaraderie.

Concessions will be available for purchase.

McCleakey - East Cobb YMCA
1055 East Piedmont Rd
Marietta, GA 30062
770-977-5991

Skinny Cow $1 printable

 Skinny Cow has a $1 off any product on their Facebook Fan site.  After you click the Like button go to Fan Exclusive tab.  Click the picture to print your coupon.  Don't forget to hit your back button to get a second coupon.  CVS had the one cupper on sale for $1 last week.  We will see if they or Walgreens will this week.

Veggie Garden

There is nothing like bumping around in the dark and stubbing your toes.  That is what I am doing with a veggie "garden" this year.  All of this was started from my son wanting to plant some things.  I don't think our crops will have a high yield this year.
(warning tangent) But if your like me and are experimenting with growing your own produce.  Not a bad idea. I've read several blogs about cost analysis about growing your own veggie garden (none of which I can find now) and it gets cheaper the longer you do it. The first year you still save but the amount is minimal. But it is a great way to eat healthy. (now back to point)
Since this is my first year doing more than a tomato plant I have been well bumping around in the dark as to when (and some hows) of growing veggie.  Thanks to my Aunt Sandy, here is a Vegetable garden calender for Georgia. It was done by UGA. It is a pdf. so print and put with gardening stuff.  I might just input stuff on my google calender (geek alert). Happy Growing!

$4 AMC tickets- KGB like Groupon

So I saw this on Southern Savers blog and I thought just in case you didn't see it there I would also post it since it is such a lovely deal.
$4 for a movie ticket instead of $12.50 at AMC on kgb. Sweet! I don't know about you, but we love going to the movies.  The catch, you can only get one ticket, it is only good for Atlanta and metro areas, and it will be mailed to you... allow 2-4 weeks of delivery. Last time I checked there were just under 2000 tickets left. and just over 3 days. 

Kraft Coupons... from First Taste

 This is a great website, Kraft first taste. They have coupons just for new Kraft products.  You can only print each coupon once. Here are the 6 coupons I just got.  They do like getting feed back on their products. And their surveys are short and to the point, usually 3 to 5 questions.

New KOOL-AID Fun Fizz Drink Drops. A fun and delicious way to get kids to drink water. Plus, it's just 5 calories. Each drink drop dissolves into a fizz kids will love to watch and then drink! Drop it! Watch it! Drink it! Get $1.00 off

New KRAFT HOMESTYLE DELUXE Macaroni & Cheese Dinner. Delivers homemade taste in every bite. Its rich and creamy cheese sauce finished with a crunchy breadcrumb topping will make it a new family favorite. Get $1.50 off.

New KRAFT 100 CALORIE PACKS CHEESE BITES. Lets you savor cheese bites with big flavor in perfectly satisfying, 100 calorie portions.  Enjoy this wholesome snack anywhere, anytime. Get $1.50 off.

New DIGIORNO® Deep Dish Pizza. Great at lunch time with a taste experience you'd expect from a restaurant. It's microwaveable with a delicious buttery and flaky crust and juicy toppings. Get $1.50 off.

OSCAR MAYER Deli Fresh Shaved Meats. Sliced, packed and sealed at the peak of freshness. Get $1.50 off.

Free Taco Bell Limeade Sparkler

I saw this and thought that other would like too! It is a free Taco Bell Limeade Sparkler your choice of cherry or classic.  It is a regular 16 oz drink and no other purchase required.  It is limited one per a person. You have 6 days to use and can print out 2. A little patience is needed it is a smartsource coupon and takes a little while to print. What a good way to cool down.

Vaca in Sunny Flordia

   So some of you may know that we have been on vacation in sunny Florida. Thanks to our gracious family giving us some of their timeshare point allotment.  And some of you may know that we used to live in the Tampa Bay area so it has been nice to see some old friends and family.  And some of you are saying and what is the point of this post.  Boy she is rambling and why do we care.  One.. that is the reason ... not so many post on the blog.  And mainly ...here is it is...  most of moms have to deal with "vacations" a time when really our work is doubled. And we need a quite hotel room for a day and night after our "vacation".  I've figured out that a lot of that is due that we feel like it is on our shoulders to make it a perfect experience for everyone else. (Cue "awh" music)
   This vacation was very impromtu and because most of the planning time that I had landed on the last several days of school, had to finish my cake decorating class, Dr visits and other errands time was not on my side.
   If I had one more day I think I would be coming home to a nice clean house, but oh well.  It looks more like a tornado hit. What really was a life saver was all my "stocking up" from my couponing and freezer meals. We still had to buy things while we have been here.  But meal planning has been supper easy and cost effective.   So to the relaxing part.  ( I know right three paragraphs later and she is finally making a point.) Keep meal time easy.  Frozen meals are great for this, just like at home. Get your family involved with meal time. It was so nice to grill out and let the boys do most of the work. Lunch was a couple of sandwich choice or leftovers. Also so many times we over plan things to do on our vacations. Which almost became the case here. Instead we are using our traveling days to double as "site seeing" (or people seeing) days.  I did do research on local parks.  That way if we needs times to stretch our legs some where else there was a quick inexpensive option.  My hubby loved being able to scope out some of the places just in case. 

Canning Adventure Plus Coupons for You

For the past couple of years I've been doing the freezer jam. Kind of like canning but not quite.

Today I went to a House Party Sponsored by Ball. (Thanks Tracey for the invite! Had a blast!)

We made Salsa and Pineapple Upside Down Cake Freezer Jam. With our wonderful goody bag that we got to take home we have $2.00 coupons for Ball New Canning Discovery Kit. It is $10.00 at Walmart.  There should be Coupons for this and other Ball products in the June 6th paper. I havn't gotten this yet.  I did get the utensil Set and the Blue Book guide to preserving. The book it great! It has information on every method of food preserving and recipes.

But here it is. I have 5 to 6 extra $2 coupons for those of you who think they want to start canning.  Let me know if you want them.

Product Description Foodies who love new cooking techniques will appreciate this low-cost starter set. A modern product design/ trendy recipes attract new consumers to trial using existing kitchenware. Kit Inclusions:

• Polypropylene rack with separate, fitted lifter that works in standard stockpot
• 3 Pint jars
• Illustrated, simplified canning instruction Recipe book
• Bounce-back coupons for additional jars

I think is it great. Grow your own tomatoes and have too many. Can 3 to 5 jars of salsa. Fresh all Natural. Careful. You might get hooked!