STOCKPILES

Well a bright and early Hello to all my readers! How are you doing this morning? I am well thanks. Got a bit of the allergy attack going on, so aside from the super sneezes I’m doing ok LOL! I hope you all had a fantastic Easter with your friends, family, etc.

Ok so as you see, I am up super early taking DD to band sectionals at 6am YUCK! I’ve got a good hour to kill before having to take the DS14 to school right? So, I’m reading this article on “How to Save on Big Ticket items” and something I noticed in the article made me chuckle.

Keep a grocery stash. By stockpiling groceries, you'll not only be able to purchase more items when they're on sale and save them for later (just stick meat and bread in the freezer), but you'll also be able to make use of Leamy's other big idea: Skip shopping trips. She says that many people can get by on the food they already have for a week, so why not skip shopping once a month or once a quarter? If you're used to shopping very week and spending $7,500 a year, then skipping the trip once a month could save you $1,800, or 24 percent of your annual grocery bill.

I have always believed in keeping a large amount of groceries in my house and now it seems the world is catching up to me! LOL! I just find it incredibly hilarious and wonder what those people who once told me things like “You have more food than Kroger” or “You have too much food” are thinking now! LMAO! But my 2 cents here… just make sure whatever you stockpile, you can use by the expiration date! Trust me, from experience, its painful to have to throw out food you can’t use… very sad… and its wasted money! So be careful and always inventory/know what you have!

And then I run across this in the odd news! LEAD STORY: Texas' nondiscriminatory justice system: similar penalties for murder, rape and possession of small amounts of drugs; More Texas Justice: In March, juries in Smith County and Matagorda County sentenced Henry Wooten and Melvin Johnson III to 35 years and 60 years in prison, respectively, for possessing small amounts of drugs (but enough under Texas law to allow jurors to infer an intent to distribute). Wooten, 54, had 4.6 ounces of marijuana (same penalty as for 5 pounds), and Johnson had 1.3 grams of crack cocaine (about half the weight of a U.S. dime). (Wooten's prosecutor actually had asked the jury for a sentence of 99 years.) [Tyler Morning News, 3-5-10] [Houston Press, 3-11-10]

I just think its crazy. We Texans are not ogres, but we are tough on crime LOL! I guess the old litter motto rings true for crime as well… Crime has a new slogan LMAO! Don’t Mess With Texas! LMAO……. I love the odd news!



Ok, so I have been searching the internet for a fabric to make a shopping bag that I had which was destroyed. I found it online late last night for almost $9 a yard! OUCH! And the sad part is, they are the only ones who have it that I can find! UGH! So do you think I should get it? Just one yard so I can remake this bag that I loved so much? See, I have a thing for fabric and if you saw my house, you would agree. I have this disorder where I can see a fabric and see all the cute things I could make with it LMAO! People tell me all the time that I will not be able to use the stockpiles of all my fabric before I pass… but I beg to differ! And so I set out to prove them wrong! As of today I am making another goal. I have 6 stray bolts of fabric that cannot fit in my cabinet or the numerous totes FULL of fabric that I have. SO by the first day of the kids new school year (in August), I want to have sewn enough things to have used all 6 bolts PLUS both the green crate and the “cause” crate under my table! That’s a LOT of fabric! I hope you are ready to watch me do some serious crafting LOL! Stay tuned… I accomplished the storage goal a month early… let’s see what we can do with this fabric shall we?

Ok so you are thinking… what’s today’s craft right? Well… This has been a very popular item I have ever made! Young children, teens, and even adults enjoy these pillowcases! This is an easy sewing project for a beginning sewer. Parental supervision is recommended. And you don’t have to just use holiday fabrics, you can use any fabric you would like… that’s why this craft is so awesome! Because it’s so versatile!



Holiday Pillow Cases

What you'll need:

1 yard of Holiday fabric (42" to 45" wide)
Sewing machine
Matching thread (match to background color)
Measuring tape
Straight pins
Iron

How to make it:

Match selvages together, right sides together. Pin sides and one end.

Sew, using 5/8" seam allowance, one end of the pillowcase closed.

Sew up the selvage end. Be sure to backtack all beginning and ending seams.

Fold over the open end 1/4" from the top (wrong sides together). Sew along this edge.

Fold over 3" from the top (again to the wrong sides). Sew along this edge.

Turn pillowcase right side out.

Press with iron.

Tip:
Watch the sales at your local fabric store. The sales on holiday fabrics seem to appear about 3 weeks before the holiday. If you wait until after the holiday, you can get even better prices! Those after-holiday sales is when I like to rack up the large quantities of fabrics! YAY! LOL!

Ok, now let me see a show of hands on how many of you did the traditional “ham” Easter dinner? Yep, I’m one of them and I was thinking of you all when I chose to share this recipe. Perhaps you have more ham left over than you thought you would… but you don’t want to eat the same boring meal over again. SOOO…. Here is something you can make with that delicious ham



Bean & Ham Soup

Ingredients

1 (20 ounce) package 15 bean mixture, soaked overnight
1 ham bone
2 1/2 cups cubed ham
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
5 large carrots, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 (12 fluid ounce) can low-sodium vegetable juice
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice
7 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Place the soaked beans into a large pot and fill with enough water to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low for 30 minutes. Drain. Add the ham bone, ham, onion, celery, carrots, tomatoes, vegetable juice, and vegetable broth. Season with Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, chili powder, bay leaves, pepper, parsley and lemon juice. Pour in enough of the chicken broth to cover the ingredients.

Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 hours. Add more chicken broth as needed throughout the day. Remove the ham bone and season with salt if needed. Continue to simmer for a couple more hours. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Ok ladies and gents, I am gonna get off here, maybe start another rack of seeds, and then do some super sewing marathon I think. Unless of course, something more exciting comes along LOL! The sky is looking pretty nasty over my house, so it might be a “stay-inside-and-entertain-myself” kinda day… yuck LOL! Anyway, be safe in whatever you find yourself doing today and I will see you again tomorrow! HUGS!