Suzie Homemaker

New Contest

2009-07-13T16:35:00.001-07:00

Up for grabs is 3 cookbooks. They include-

Better Homes and Gardens Favorite Time Saving Recipes (1988)

Avon Muffin and Quick Breads (1989)

Snack and Party Cookbook (1954)

To win-

You must be a follower. This gives you one entry.

Bonus Enteries(Please leave seperate comments for each entry)

Twitter about this contest. Leave us a comment with the link.

Write a blog about this contest. Leave us a link the the comments.

More Details

*Winners are chosen by Random.Org.

*Winner will be announced on this blog; be sure to check back to see if you are a winner.

*Contest ends August 10, 2009 at 8:00 p.m. EDT

*Open to North American and Canada addresses only

*Rules for each entry must be followed to be valid

Best of Luck to you!

We are trying to arrange monthly contest so check back with us for more!

Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

2009-07-13T15:21:00.000-07:00

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

1 reg. jar marshmallow cream (1 pt.)

Bring cream cheese to room temperature; cream and mix with marshmallow cream

Serve with fresh fruit as dip.

Mom, it was not me!

2009-07-08T07:58:00.000-07:00

Someone got into the flour........

No Bake Cookies or Pantry Cookies

2009-07-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

We were looking for something to make to take to the field to feed the harvest crew. My mother in law wanted to make Carter Cookies but we were out of a few key ingredients. My sister in law raided the pantry.

These cookies are a great way to use up small amounts of things like cereal, popcorn, marshmallows, dry fruit, granola, pretzels, nuts, and etc. Play around with the recipe and find your favorite combo.

1 lb. almond bark
1/2 cup peanut butter
4 cups of whatever you like. ( We used peanuts, popcorn, and pretzels)

Melt almond bark. Stir in peanut butter. Mix in your stuff. Let cool a little. Mix together. Drop on wax paper. Cool.

Yields: 30-40 no bake cookies

Other mix in

Oreo Truffle Balls

2009-07-01T12:33:00.000-07:00

These Delicious Oreo balls are rich and delicious. They are not at all hard to make but can be a little time consuming.

1 package OREO Chocolate Sandwich Cookies, crushed
1 1/2 packages(12 ounces) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
1 package almond bark, melted

Crush remaining cookies to crumbs; place in medium bowl.

Add cream cheese; mix until well blended.

Roll cookie mixture into 42 balls, about 1-inch in diameter.

Freeze for 45 minutes

Place the chopped coating chocolate in a large microwave-safe bowl, microwave stirring after every minute. Stop heating when most of the coating is melted, and stir constantly until the remaining chunks of coating have melted and the mixture is smooth and even.

Use a truffle dipper or two forks to dip a truffle in melted chocolate to coat. Remove the truffle, tapping the dipper handle or forks gently on the edge of the bowl to shake off any excess chocolate. Lay on wax paper.

Store in airtight container, in refrigerator.

A Few Summer Photos

2009-06-28T22:41:00.000-07:00

This summer has been a super busy summer. I have not had a ton of time to blog but I have been carrying my camera around. Here are a few of my summer photos. There will be more to come.

Coming very soon-

Photos and recipes for

Tuna Patties and Oreo Balls!

Tips for a Successful Yard Sale

2009-06-18T12:56:00.000-07:00

It is that time of the year. My annual yard sale is tomorrow. I am spending the rest of today going through all my junk hoping that someone else would like to take it home with them.

I am going to post some tips for having a successful garage sale.

Advertise, advertise, advertise!

Get an ad in your paper

Use free classified ads like Craigslist.com

Post on community Forums or message boards

Post signs in your area but be careful : some jurisdictions have limits and rules. (check those first)

Be specific about the place, date, hours.

List items for sale.

Get Ready

When you are looking through things you want to sale try to box them together according to the type of item. If all clothes are in one box it will be so much easier when it is time to set up your sale.

Save your plastic grocery bags. You will need them to bag the stuff people buy.

Know when to have your sale- when do most people in your area get paid? That would be a good time to have your sale.

Look through things you will be selling- Make sure that clothing pockets and purses are empty.

Save all those metal hangers from the cleaners. They are wonderful for sales. I do not use the cleaners so I ask my friends to save them for me. You can also buy them by the bundle at some thrift stores.

Clean items up. Clean all dirt off items that you have for sale. Things will sale better if they are cleaned up.

Bundle like items. If you have 25 pencils do not try to sale each one. Bundle them together and sale at one price.

Get Change. You will need lots of ones and fives.

The Day of the Sale

Expect early birds! If you do not want early birds say NO EARLY BIRDS when you advertise.

Make sure that every item is priced in view. You can lose sales by not pricing items. Try to put the price sticker on top of the item, not the bottom.

If the day of the sale is going to be super hot consider selling sodas or bottled waters.

Play some background music. It allows people to talk about whether they want an item without having to whisper.

Put your big ticket items near the road. It will help draw in more customers.

Be friendly and talk to people.

Have electrical outlets nearby to plug in electronics. Customers will want to make sure they work.

If you get an offer on an item that you aren't ready to come down on, offer to take their name and number in case you don't sell it.

Good Luck with your sale! If you have other tips please post them in the comments.

BIKE ACROSS KANSAS 2009

2009-06-09T23:14:00.000-07:00

Bike Across Kansas happens once a year. 800 Bikers spend 8 days in an amazing rise from Colorado to Missouri,covering over 450 miles. This year I was able to help out a little and get to see the action. I am a member of a group that held a pasta supper for the bikers. Let me tell you they can eat!

We had tents all over town and bikes leaned against every building. It was an awesome sight to see. I had the chance to get out and talk to some of the riders. This is an awesome group of people! I have been asked to do it next year, we will have to see about that!

Swiffer WetJet Product Review

2009-06-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

I purchased the All-In-One Swifter WetJet Starter Kit

The package contained 1 Power Mop, 2 disposable cleaning pads, 1 500 mL bottle multi-purpose cleaning solution, 1 scrubbing strip. This part cost about $30.

I also purchased an extra box of 12 pads and 4 AA batteries to run it.

According to the manufacturer-

The Swiffer WetJet Power Mop is an all-in-one mopping system that thoroughly cleans dirty floors quickly and easily. It is lightweight with a flexible swivel head that gets into hard-to-reach places. The push-button sprayer evenly distributes the pre-mixed cleaning solution which dissolves tough, greasy stains and sticky dirt. The disposable cleaning pads then pull in and trap the dirt, grime, hair and dirty water to keep it off your floors. Features a scrubbing strip on one side of the mop head for cleaning tough spots. Safe on virtually all floors, including finished wood.

I swept my floor first and went over it with my Dyson to get up all the loose dirt before using it.

PROS

*The WetJet is very convenient to use. I love the fact that you don't have to fill a bucket of water and lug it around with you to mop.

*It is faster than mopping. I can knock out my bathroom in minutes.

*It fits around toilets well.

CONS

* Solution left my floor streaky, dull floor.

* I have very high traffic floors! One bottle of solution was not enough to do my dinning room and kitchen. It even took 2 pads! That means it cost over $7 each time I mop them.

* You have to go over the floor several times to get it clean.

* The handle is way to short for taller people. It makes my back hurt.

* The smell of the cleaning solution is way too strong.

Overall-

Don't waste your money! I think you would be better off duct taping maxi pads to your feet and skating around the floor.

I refuse to buy any more solution to refill it. I am going to try to pry open the bottle and refill it just to use the other pads up. I know some people just love their Swifter WetJet but I am not one of them!

For now it has become a

Cat Toy!

Mock Iced Caramel Macchiato

2009-06-03T21:39:00.000-07:00

I found this posted by Xcookage on Youtube. I tried it (see photo above) and must say it is not too bad. See the video below on how to make one for yourself.

Make your own scented candles!

2009-05-30T23:36:00.000-07:00

If you're like me you've spent your fair share on those great smelling, yet some what costly scented candles and/or tarts.

I'm all for supporting work at home moms looking to make extra money by making and selling their own scented candles, however what if you can't afford those costly candles and tarts?

I recently purchased soy candle wax from Micheal's for $20 (they carry less expensive wax as well). I also purchased several 1 oz. bottles of candle fragrance (you can find these on eBay) for about $1.00 each. If I've estimated correctly, I should be able to make 25 small candles for less than $25!!

Following the directions provided on the wax box, I melted my wax in the microwave and slowly poured it into my previously used, but clean candle tins. I added the appropriate amount of fragrance and left it to harden.

It takes approximately 1-2 weeks for the candle (or in my case tart) to cure. They smell amazing and were super easy to make! They're now ready to rest on my candle warmer and scent my home!

Enter & Win a 4th of July Tutu!

2009-05-29T17:08:00.000-07:00

Enter and Win an adorable 4th of July tutu from Little Diva Tutus!

Your choice! Take the Freedom or Patriotic tutu for your Little Diva!

Ways to enter:

1) Leave a comment telling us which tutu you want, along with the size and your e-mail address.

2) Follow this blog (leave a comment)

3) Tweet about this contest (leave a comment with your link).

4) Write about this contest in your Facebook status

(leave a comment with your link).

5) Earn an entry for every dollar spent at Little Diva Tutus (leave a comment).

6) Follow Little Diva Tutus and Beauty From The Earth on Twitter

(leave a comment).

Your e-mail address must accompany your comments so that we can contact you if you are selected as the winner!

Winner will be picked June 30th.

Father's Day will be here before you know it...

2009-05-28T17:33:00.000-07:00

Father's Day...for me it's one of the most difficult "holidays" to buy for my husband. I'm not sure if it's because our anniversary is the same week or if it's just tough for me to come up with gift ideas.

I thought I'd compile some gift ideas for all ages and price range for everyone.

One of my favorite websites to get free gift ideas is DLTK. I have used their site for years and absolutely love it!

Some of my favorite Dad and grandpa gifts can be found there. A couple I really love are:

The giraffe pencil holder. This is a perfect gift for dad, grandpa, uncle and or friend!

You can find easy to follow instructions here:
www.dltk-kids.com/animals/mgiraffe_pencil_holder.htm

Another one of my favorites is the Hand prints poem.

It's a keepsake that lasts a lifetime. I wish I would have thought about projects like this when my kids were smaller. Watching them grow and through paper would have been awesome!

Find the instructions and poem here: www.dltk-holidays.com/dad/mhandprint.html

For the dad who enjoys chocolate I love shopping at Hersheygifts.com. They've got some really great Father's Day gifts for under $20!

For the huge sport fan dads out there, I recommend gifts from Dick's Sporting Goods.
They currently have a 20% off any single item sale. Use coupon code: APRS at checkout. Some restrictions apply.

Another favorite place of mine to shop for dad is X-treme Geek...seems I can always find something my husband doesn't need, but will love there!

Happy Father's Day shopping!

Product Review: Lysol 4 in 1 Mildew Remover

2009-05-28T10:50:00.000-07:00

All I can say is "Wow!"

Over the years I've tried everything on my showers and tubs...from home made products

to the latest and greatest on the market with no luck.

That is until I tried Lysol 4 in 1 Mildew Remover with Bleach. This stuff is fantastic!!

One night I decided to spray my shower down with the product...I sprayed every corner and inch with it. Needless to say the bleach smell was a bit over powering...which could bother or irritate some...for me, I simply closed the door and went on with my evening.

The next morning, I opened the bathroom door, and started a hot shower...I let it run for several minutes before shutting it off. I took a look around the shower and wa-la...it was nearly spotless! I can't believe just how well this product worked!

I highly recommend this to anyone dealing with old hard water stains in their showers or tubs!

I also recommend you follow the directions on the bottle. ;)

Gigantic ants take over a picnic!

2009-05-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

These photos are actually from last year. Our library did a bug theme for the summer reading program. Our awesome children's librarian made these displays for the kids. Could you imagine if these ants showed up for your picnic?

I am thinking about buying some balls and pipe cleaners and letting the kids make some bugs of their own.

Nonna cuts hair!

2009-05-26T20:21:00.001-07:00

Friday was the last day of school and my nephew was wanting me (Nonna) to cut his hair. I was glad to help him out! Check out his super cute before and after photos! He loves is new MOWHAWK!

My Coffee Bean Candle Holder!

2009-05-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

To create this candle holder take one of your favorite candles, a cheap bag of coffee beans and an old vase...combine and wa-la!

The smell is amazing and lasts longer than any candle I've burned.

Topsy Turvy Upside Down Tomato Planter

2009-05-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

I bought into the hype and purchased a Topsy Turvy. According to the website-

Topsy Turvy® tomato planter works in a simple yet ingenious way. As the sun warms the plant like a greenhouse, the root system explodes and thrives inside the planter. Because Topsy Turvy® tomato planter is upside down, water and nutrients pour directly from the root to the fruit, giving you up to 30 pounds of deliciously ripe tomatoes per plant!

I have been keeping photos to show how well it works.

I planted my tomato plant on April 10th.

This is today. Over a month later.

I expected it to be a little larger by now. It has grown some but not near as much as I thought it would. It is very plush and looks healthy. It has about 5 tomatoes on it already.

Strawberry Shortcakes

2009-05-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

(Not the best photo, sorry! My camera was going dead)

Strawberry season means it's strawberry shortcake time. This old fashioned, tender shortcake with strawberries topped with whipped cream is sure to please.

2 1/3 c. Bisquick baking mix

1/2 c. milk

1/4 c. sugar

3 tbsp. butter,melted

1 qt. strawberries, sliced and sweetened

Whipped cream

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix first 4 ingredients until a soft dough forms. Drop by large spoon full on a greased cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Split shortcakes, fill and top with strawberries and La Creme topping. 6 servings.

Solutions for small bathrooms

2009-05-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

I love our house but it has small bathrooms. I have had to come up with some solutions for storage. Here are a few of the things that I have found that help.

I picked this small rolling cart up at an auction for $1. It works great to store things in. It stays in the bathtub unless we are using the tub. It is nice to be able to put it in the shower and shut the curtain.

When you have a small bathroom it is best to keep the counter top clear. Cluttered surfaces in a bathroom will make the bathroom appear much smaller than it actually is. I purchased a rack from Celebrating Home which used to be Home and Garden Party. I love it! It holds all the things that I do not want on my counter tops.

Here are some other tips for small bathrooms-

***Paint the walls a light color if you can. Light colored walls will make the room appear both brighter and larger.

***Install with a simple pedestal sink. Bulky cabinets make the bathroom look smaller.

*** Hang a large over sized mirror over the sink. Mirrors reflect light making it appear to have more space in that area.

Winner is ......

2009-05-17T09:46:00.000-07:00

I had a contest and I have picked the winner. Sorry that I am running late. :)

The winner is Heidi- http://tried-and-truecookingwithheidi.blogspot.com/

My Mother's Day Gifts

2009-05-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

My husband took my kids and let them pick out Mother's Day gifts for me. They were very happy with their picks and so am I. I have the sweetest girls ever!

The 6 yr old got me a bird feeder and bird seed.

My 5 yr old picked a cute set of wind chimes and a can of room air freshener.

The two yr old got me this little ceramic pig which she quickly claimed as her own. If you ask her who it belongs to she says... ME!

No Trash Bowl for Me!

2009-05-10T20:28:00.000-07:00

I always liked how Rachel Ray used a trash bowl on the counter to hold all the trash while she cooked. I love the idea of not running back and forth to the trash can. The thing that I did not like was the fact that it left me one more dish to wash on top of the sink full I already have. My solution is to use grocery sacks. They hang nicely on my drawer pulls. When I am done cooking I just throw the whole bag in the trash can.

No Fail Fudge

2009-05-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

I got this easy fudge recipe from This Mommy's Spot. We like ours with nuts, cherries, and marshmallows.

You can find the recipe at

http://justamommyhere.blogspot.com/2009/05/no-fail-fudge.html

Cooking with kids- Pampered Chef Chopper

2009-05-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

My daughter using the Pampered Chef Chopper. It is really easy for kids to use. I do not have to worry about them cutting their fingers or not chopping the stuff small enough.

You can see photos of the veggies that my daughter chopped for our Mirepoix here.

Here are some things I love about it-

*Chop four to five make a rough chop.

*Fine dice takes eight to ten chops.

*Minced takes about fifteen.

Chopping that could have taken 30 minutes or more , can be completed in less than 10. Saving time is always on the top of my list. It is well worth the $30 it cost!

I shop from Pampered Chef using a local consultant. Her page can be found at

http://www.pamperedchef.biz/rewy