Thousand Word Thursday

My favorite time of the year!

It's one of my favorite times of the year - FALL! Make sure to click the link on the left at least once a week - now that the busy Farmer's Market and show season is almost over I'll be adding new items to the store for the fall and winter. And it's getting to be...MAGIC SLIPPER TIME! If you have any great ideas for items you'd like to see just let me know.

Tutorial Tuesday - Understanding Thread

I found a helpful blog post last month by Jenna at Sew Happy Geek all about thread - understanding it's weight and uses! I really appreciate her taking the time to help us all out by typing it so well, very clear and easy to understand. Thread is one of those things that we think we can get by with using whatever we have or whatever is least expensive - and it isn't always the best choice to do that. Here's the link - I hope you learn as much as I did!

Understanding Thread (weights and uses)

World Smile Day!

Back in 1963, a commercial artist named Harvey Ball designed the now-classic smiley face. You know the one:


Harvey became worried that his smiley face was becoming too commercialized and was beginning to lose its meaning. So Harvey declared that the first Friday in October should be World Smile Day, a day to smile!

The theme of this holiday is "Do an act of kindness. Help one person smile."

What a fabulous holiday, don’t you think? We could all use a few extra smiles, and we could all benefit from performing a few more acts of kindness. I found this cute list of ideas from (who else?) Oprah.

These would be great way to celebrate World Smile Day:

Say "Good morning" to a person standing next to you in the elevator.
Pay the toll for the driver behind you.
Write a letter to a child who could use some extra attention. Kids love getting mail.
Offer to pick up groceries for an elderly neighbor, especially in extreme weather.
Say "I love you" to someone you love.
Out of the blue, send flowers to a friend.
Say "please" and "thank you"—and really mean it.
Let a fellow driver merge into your lane.
Offer to baby-sit for a single mom.
Call or write to a teacher who changed your life.
Bring a box of doughnuts to share at the office.
Write a note to the boss of someone who helps you, and explain how great a job that person is doing.
Throw away your trash—and someone else's—after a movie, picnic or visit to a park.
Help a friend pack for a move.
Before a friend moves away, give her your favorite recipe or quote and a photo of the two of you together.

So what will YOU be doing for World Smile Day?

Motivation Monday

“A book is not only a friend, it makes friends for you. When you have possessed a book with mind and spirit, you are enriched. But when you pass it on you are enriched threefold.”
— Henry Miller
The Books In My Life (1969)


---- Make sure to click the link to BookCrossing.com if you love books.

What a great program and shows us all what a little motivation and a great idea can accomplish!

Snacks - No Bake Energy Bites

I am always searching for quick healthy snacks to make for the house. We have such a wide age range it can be difficult trying to please everyone - but smashed peas and carrots always has wonderful ideas that she shares! We LOVE the no bake energy bites, they not only taste wonderful they are quick and easy to make too - can't get any better than that.

No Bake Energy Bites

Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe Maggie!

Once a month cooking, well maybe...

You all know I love Once A Month cooking ideas and recipes, but I've found something else I love too! Easy recipes and a Once a week cooking method. A few days ago I was flipping through the TV channels (during our recent yucky heatwave...grrrr) and happened upon a cooking segment on a show called The Talk. I heard the word chicken so my ears perked up! It was a great idea about Sunday long cooking and how to use that cooking for things most of the rest of the week. Took me FOREVER to find the information on the Talk website, of course I had no idea it was a re-run. But here's the link to the information -

Recipes and Shopping Lists - Family Food Makeover

This of course led me to more research, where I found the blog! YEAH!

BLOG

It's got recipes and tips and loads of great information. I can't wait to hear what YOU think. We've already shopped and started on the chicken food makeover talked about on the Talk, because I work from home I actually cooked yesterday (Thursday) and we had the soup last night. We are excited to cook and eat the rest of the week's plan! I'll follow up and let you know how it went next week.