grandma

Grandma's are such special people in a person's life, no matter how old you are.

Today, I am thinking of my grandma... see, she is pretty ill and well, they don't give her much time. BUT, she is one tough lady.
Over the last few months, I have spent a lot of time reminiscing and remembering all the fun we had together... like sitting in the shopping mall watching people and laffing our butts off till we cried. We never went to the mall to shop really, but more to enjoy ourselves by walking, talking and laffing. I remember racing her to the only restroom on a vacation only to have her pull trump on me by saying she was older than me and I should respect my elders. LOL I have to admit, I learned to bake from the best darn baker in the world, Grandma Hazel!
My grandma was like a second mom to me... she helped my mom to raise us after mom and dad got divorced. She taught me to tie my shoes, she taught me to clean house, she taught me some good life lessons - but most of all, she taught me how to remember to laff once in awhile. She was an incredible woman...and still is.
I love you grandma!

Crockpotting 365

Oh my! This blog is absolutely a crockpotter's paradise!

Stephanie of Crockpot 365 has vowed to use her crockpot every day for A WHOLE YEAR! And the best part of the whole deal.... she is GLUTEN FREE!! Which makes this fish a happy happy momma!

See, I am gluten free and I LOVE my crockpot. So, by default Stephanie and I should just be the very bestest friends -- she totally makes you feel that way when you read her blog. She not only gives you an awesome recipe to try, but also posts the "verdict" of her cooking as well. It ROCKS!

I already use my crock probably 3-4 days of the week, because I enjoy coming home and not stressing over getting dinner ready. Since I work from 2-5pm 5 days a week plus the 20 minute drive, Crockpot is simply... the way to go! I have gotten a lot of GREAT ideas from Crockpot 365 and for this I say, "Thank You Stephanie!!! My new bestest friend " LOL

My only problem now is that I need to buy another crockpot, one just does not seem to be enough!

Webkinz craze invades our home

So, my newly turned 8 year old son has gotten this really cute little stuffed animal for his birthday. I think it is really sweet and I dismissed it as "just another stuffed animal" ... boy was I wrong!

This is the biggest thing among his friends Webkinz

WEBKINZ are these cute little stuffed animals that come with a little "tag" attached to them. This tag contains a code, which you enter online to officially "adopt" your little pet. After adoption, you are given a room for your pet and a vehicle. Mr. Tiger has this screamin' cool convertible. LOL Mr. Tiger has arcade games, rooms that you can buy and decorate, an academy, a clubhouse to meet your friends, a job center and so so much more!! It's an entire Webkinzworld out there in cyberspace - haha! You can grow a garden, play games, dig for gems... the list seems endless.

My son is now concerned about doing his daily "chores" online to care for his adorable Mr.Tiger. This really works well as a tool for Mom to encourage him to 1- do his schoolwork, 2- to be diligent about his work, 3- to do his 'real life' daily chores and oh so many other things LOL.

Thing is......... IT WORKS!! He will happily and joyfully do his 'real life' chores in order to be able to care for hisWebkinz later. It really is fun. BUT, now he wants another Webkinz so Mr. Tiger won't be so lonely. UGH, I see his money jar dwindling soon.

I guess this adventure will lead to a much bigger lesson in handling money. Which is good, as up to this time, he hasn't really wanted to spend his money on anything. We really aren't the type to just hand out cash to our children... when they receive money either as a gift or for doing little things here and there (we sometimes will just reward him for a job well done, but it is not an allowance per se', that day is coming) he will divide his rewards into 3 piles. Saving 10%, tithe 10% and the rest is his "spending" money. He has been really diligent about following the plan and his "spending" pile has grown .... So, I guess we are off to find a friend for Mr. Tiger. ... let's go shopping!

A new Gluten Free Resource!

I just have to share a very cool new site Gluten Free Network. It is a lot of fun and is a great resource for gluten free friends, recipes, ingredients, finding recipes and more!!

This new Gluten Free community is even throwing a contest in order to get noticed. Just by writing a simple review like this one you are entered in the contest to win 2 new gluten free cookbooks they are giving away!

So, give em a visit and blog about the site to earn yourself a coupla' cool cookbooks — FULL OF GF RECIPES!!