Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution

Reminder: the show debuts on ABC tomorrow (Friday) night. Larry King interviewed Jamie Oliver, Ryan Seacrest and a Baptist pastor from Huntington Beach tonight on Larry King Live.

We will be driving home from the education fair so we set the DVR to record all the episodes, beginning tomorrow night, so we can watch them when it works for us. Tomorrow night's debut is 2 hours long (7:00 p.m. Central time)

Thrifty Thursdays - Reuse

One of the things that I always try to do is to reuse packaging that comes into my home. This can take various forms:

Paper grocery bags

Plastic sacks

cardboard boxes

Bubble Wrap

Packing Peanut

Glass Jars

These are just of the few items that I can think of off the top of my head. I will try to list a few of the ways I reuse these items to give some food for thought. I hope you will add in your comments of ways you reuse these items and others that you reuse.

Paper Grocery Sacks -

• use it to hold recyclable papers, cardboards
• to hold items you are donating to charity
• cut them apart and turn inside out to wrap boxes for mailing
• use them to create a pattern for sewing or other item where you need a pattern for cutting

Plastic Sacks -

• use these for your small garbage can liners (bathroom, bedrooms, etc) - I have never bought garbage bags for these small garbage cans
• use them for additional packaging when mailing books
• use these to fill space in a box when mailing something fragile or that you don't want moving around in a package
• put a wet or soiled diaper in these till you can dispose of it (if you are away from home)
• line mud boots that might have a small crack in them
• use this to transport dirty clothes or muddy shoes or boots
• wet swimwear and towels/coverupss
• sandy blankets, shoes, etc.

Cardboard Boxes -

• use to mail items/particularly books and gifts
• use to sort outgrown children's clothing by size and gender to pass along to others so you know exactly what you have and can pass it on to the person who can use it
• group like items for your own storage (ie. camping dishes, etc)
• holding items you plan to donate to charity (they can be labeled for easy sorting - to various charities or by item) and stacked till you are ready to transport them

Bubble Wrap -

• wrap photo frames when moving
• wrap fragile gifts before shipping
• entertain your kids :)

Packing Peanuts -

• Fill extra space in packages that you are shipping
• Use extra packing peanuts to beef up the stuffing in your bean bags that have gone flat over time
• Use in the same way for the neck pillows that are full of beads

Glass jars -

• Store grease from frying foods to dispose of later
• Store bulk staples - sugar, spices, grains, honey, etc
• Store leftovers - and you won't need tupperware
• Use to store your homemade sauces, marinades
• use for cotton balls or cotton cosmetics pads
• Q-tips
• paint brushes
• pencils/pens
• hardware - screws, nails, etc

I am sure that I will think of tons more things. Please share your uses for these common household items that continually come into our houses, as I am sure we can all learn something from one another. Please add other items that you reuse in your comments as well.

Wordless Wednesdays - aren't working for me right now

It seems that my camera likes to give me fits, so while I always have lots of pictures, my battery on the camera isn't holding a charge well and the cheaper one that the Walmart employee told me would work in my Kodak camera (instead of the name brand) won't fit. So it takes hours to recharge the camera. By the time it is charged, I don't have time to upload pics to the computer.

Hopefully I will get a new battery soon and resume putting more pictures on my blog. I have blog posts on hold for Homeschool Day at the Capital, the christian concert we attended Saturday night and others. This week we have the education fair and a baby shower for my sister, so I am sure to take lots more pictures. I just hate having to fork over $40 for a battery. Especially since I wear it out in less than 18 months (a rechargable).

So instead of being wordless, I am having Wordy Wednesdays.

Tasty Tuesdays - Oatmeal Cake

This recipe was my Grandma Judy's recipe. It is especially delicious warm with some powder sugar frosting. I think of her every time I make it. Enjoy! I am sure you will.

Oatmeal Cake

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 cups boiling water

1 cup oatmeal

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

Cream sugars, butter, salt and eggs. Mix oatmeal with boiling water and add to sugar mixture. Stir dry ingredients and add last with the vanilla. Pour into a greased and floured 9 x 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

I haven't disappeared....

Just been a little busy. I promise to post some photos from our Homeschool Day at the Capital and the rest of our activities through the week and weekend. Not sure if I will get to it this weekend or not, but stay tuned. I have lots of blog post ideas swirling around in my head.

Tasty Tuesdays - Orange Julius

Orange Julius

1 - 6 oz. can frozen orange juice

1 cup water

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

ice cubes

Put all ingredients in blender. Add ice cubes until blender is full. Blend until smooth and frothy.

I have had this recipe for a long time. We recently started making them again and my girls have taken that over. We all love them and it is so easy. Enjoy. We have been branching out and trying Peach Julius as well.

Tasty Tuesdays - Will be Late today

We are attending our state's Homeschool Day at the Capitol as a family tomorrow. So we will be leaving at O'Dark Thirty in the morning to make the 3 hour drive to the Capitol, and make a much-needed stop at the chiropractor's office on the return trip. I plan to post a recipe later tomorrow night and perhaps some pictures from our trip.