What I Saw: Rock Island State Park

I added this picture for perspective. In the picture below that little white dot toward the lower middle is my almost 6 ft tall son on the rocks toward the base of the falls.

Money Making At Home: Finding Your Niche

It is Money Making Monday at Crystal's blog. I've been wanting to write a post for it but just haven't had the time recently to sit down and compose my thoughts.

I have been fortunate to be able to be home with my kids since my son was born two years into our marriage. I did work for a couple of months during a very bad time, but decided then and there I wanted to avoid having to do that again. Leaving my children everyday was heartbreaking to me.

As a result I have done many different things at home for extra income. I have: stuffed envelopes for a friend, arranged flowers for weddings, provided daycare (7 years), did some design work and production of some accessory pieces for my friends quilting business, sold at craft shows and craft malls for about 5 years, that one lead to the home based business that my husband and I have run for the past 10 years.

My bit of advice for people looking for something to do out of their home is very simple.

First: Determine what your strengths and skills are. What do you have someone might need? Do you have a hobby you can turn into a business? Everyone has marketable skills whether they believe it or not.

Second: Make it known to your family and friends, even people you know casually, that you are looking for at home employment. They may know someone who needs someone to do at home work. We have used at home moms in our business. An added bonus is they can give you a reference.

I have a friend who got her part time job through the lady who did reading therapy for her daughter. She works 2 days a week and is paid the rest of the week to take calls for the business on her cell phone. Another friend takes customer service calls at her home and sets up appointments for repair men.

Third: After you evaluate your skills and talents and think about what you might like to do. Start looking for a niche that needs filling.

This is one of the most important things in my opinion to being successful. Find a need and fill it. When we started doing research into marketing our gift product to stores we noticed that though there were similar products they were much less expensive (and not as nice) items and much more expensive items. We decided to fill that gap between the two extremes with our product and I that is what helped us to stay in business long enough to start turning a real profit. Many of my friends who have had successful businesses have found success in doing the same thing.

Just remember, whatever you decide to do, you have to market yourself. You can't just start a business and sit back and wait for the customers. You have to let folks know you are there. Some people I have known in the past that have failed at businesses thought they could stick a sign in their front yard or put one ad in the paper and people would flock to them. It takes time.

I read somewhere that the typical entreprenuer starts and fails at an average of 5 businesses before they find one that is successful for them. So, just remember that whatever you decide to do, you are going to have to give it some time and some real effort to make it work. Motivation and a real desire to keep plugging along at building your business is a major factor in making it a success.

Pic: Backyard of my "office".

Saturday Savings: Free Stuff and Found Coupons

Since my last Saturday Savings post I've got quite a few free items. In the picture below I only put one of each just to show the items. At Walgreens I got 5 free Purell Gentle Foam. They were on sale for .99 and I used the $1/1 coupons. At Kroger I got 9 free Tennessee Pride Sausage gravy. They were on 10/$10 and I had .50/1 that they doubled to $1. The Nesquik was also 10/$10 and I had .50/1, so I got 10 of those free. Free Krispy Kreme donuts with coupon.

There were almost free items at CVS starting with the Soy Joy which I rolled over into the Crest Night Effects which I bought with a BYGO. I rolled those ECBs into the Mylanta deal where I used a $4/$20, 3- $3 off and ended up $2.26 after tax out of pocket with $10 ECBs back. My question...if you eat Sausage gravy, chocolate milk, Krispy cremes and then try adding something healthy like Soy Joys will your head spin around like Linda Blair in the Exorcist? Good thing I got the Mylanta!

At Ingles I got 14 packs of the Dannon Natural (and healthy) yogurt (56 individual) on sale 2/$3. I used $1/1 coupons. I also got 3 packs (18 individual) Swiss Miss pudding (OK, not as healthy but it does have milk in it...I think.) used .45/1 coupons that they doubled to .90. All of this was $12.35.

There were other deals but these were the best this week.

Several things I noted and wanted to share. At the pharmacy in CVS I looked for the booklet with the coupon for the Glucose monitor on sale and couldn't find it. I did notice though that they have many brochures that have $2/10 coupons that are good through the end of the year. Each brochure noted "Coupon Inside" on the cover.

I also had a Catalina print out at Kroger advertising the upcoming Post cereal deal. Nov 9-Dec2 they are having the deal where you buy Post cereal and get $ off your next order.

Buy 2 get$1

Buy 3 get $2

Buy 4 or more and get $3

All must be purchased at one time.

Time to stock up again, I'm almost out of the cereal I bought last time they ran the deal.

You have to love the coupon thing!

Halloween Blues

It is our first Halloween since 1983 without someone dressed up and going Trick or Treating. Usually we are running around finishing costumes and stressing up until the last minute.

Tonight we all decided since we hardly get any Trick or Treaters on our street (1 last year) we would go to the mall and costume watch. It really was fun. We ate and watched the costumed people parade by. We saw some adorable costumes and I was pleased to only see one gory looking costume. I know that isn't the norm but it seemed this year even the adults were more creative and interesting than usual.

1st prize has to go to the 6ft tall man dressed as a whoopie cushion! It was hilarious! I wish I had thought to take a picture with my phone.

My favorite kid costume was this adorable reproduction of an Anne Geddes photo. So original. Dad will probably have a sore arm tomorrow! Sorry it is blurry I took it with my phone. Anyway I thought I would share a few pictures from Halloween past.

Napoleon Dynamite. 2 years ago.

Crocodile Hunter, Pink Lady, Golden Girl (?) and our friend Chase as Harry Potter

Beauty and The Beast. I was really proud of the makeup job on the Werewolf. It was awesome in person. Laura made her Belle costume.

"You're our only hope Obi-Wan."

Baby Spice. Afraditie. Zorro and Terminator.

A Time For Everything

Autumn has finally arrived for real. When I step outside I can see it, I feel it, and I can even smell it. There is something so nostalgic about fall. Just a passing from one season to another, yet somehow more than just that. Summer days are filled with sunshine and blue skies, picnics, road trips and ballgames, evenings at the lake or on the shore of the river.

Somedays we just sit, swaying gently on the porch swing, watching fireflies. Summer is a season of light, a time of action. Now, Summer is fading, giving way to a different kind of light, a light that has a different angle. A light that lies lower in the sky and gives a different look to things. The sky is bluer, just in time to show off the color of the leaves against it. There is change you can feel. The air is different, the sky is different, and the landscape around reflects it all.

I feel the changes more this year than ever before. I can feel them in my body. I'm not so young anymore. Things ache that didn't. It takes longer to get going in the morning. It takes more effort to do things that were easy before. The saying " Life is like an hourglass glued to the table." has a meaning now it didn't have a few years back. Maybe all this melancholy over the seasons changing is because Jesse is leaving.

I remember when I left Laura at Berea. I thought I would never again be able to take a deep breath without crying. It was always right there, just below the surface, the pain of missing my child. But she was only 2 hours from home and we could see each other and talk often. I learned to cope with her absence. She shared her life as much as possible with us and we added layers to the connection we shared. She has continued to do so and I find nothing has diminished, only increased. The space we share in life is richer and more colorful.

With Jesse it is different. We haven't really shared such a strong connection as Laura and I since he was a preteen. Being the first teenager in our house could not have been easy on him. It certainly wasn't easy on me. I had no idea what to do. He pushed and I clung. He would be angry and I got mad back. I scolded and he stared defiantly. I was so afraid, he didn't care. I made so many mistakes. So did he.

I fell so in love with that boy from the second I found out that I was pregnant. I cannot explain how deeply I felt connected to him. He was the fulfillment of a dream. I was unprepared for how intense the feelings would be. I was petrified by the idea that something would happen that I couldn't protect him from. Losing him would be more than I could bear.

Everything about him was perfection in my eyes. The problem was I wasn't perfect and neither was he. I was so young. I had not become a person yet myself. And yet, here I was trying to nurture someone else when I was barely able to stand on my own. The truth is, just like my other three children, he came to me a little person already. He was there all along, and I was the one lucky enough to have the chance to find out who he was, all I had to do was be there when I was needed. The journey with my children has been an awesome one and I would do it all over in a heartbeat.

Now, just as I am getting to know the adult he has become, he is moving a thousand miles away and I am afraid again. Afraid of the same thing I was afraid of since the day he was born. Losing him. Losing him, means losing part of me, there is no way to separate the two. It makes me uncomfortable and I don't like to be uncomfortable.

I have built my little nest, got all warm and cozy, now a storm has come along and I have to repair all the damage.

It is a new season for me. There are new challenges, new experiences, new feelings to deal with. My job is done. I have to find a new path, a new way of being a mother.

I have to look deep inside and discover how to live this new chapter in life. What do I find? Someone else to nurture.

The truth may hurt, but the fact is I guess I'm not through growing up myself.

Recipe: Quiche

Crystal asked for ideas to use Spinach on her blog. Other than Spinach salad, Quiche is one of my favorite things to make with Spinach. I always seem to have the ingredients or at least a good substitute on hand.

I use regular frozen pie crust for mine and if I don't use the deep dish kind I usually get at least 4 quiche from this recipe. It really depends on how many filler ingredients you use. I can either leave these in the refrigerator for leftovers or freeze a couple for later use.

My recipe is from the cookbook More- With- Less by Doris Longacre. I love this cookbook! There are so many economical and easy to prepare recipes and many suggestions to "gather up the scraps" as Ms. Longacre calls it. Or in other words how to use any and all leftover food or ingredients. If you can get a copy I highly recommend it.

Her recipe includes a crust recipe which I am going to include, even though I use bought crust.

Mix as for Pie crust:

2c.sifted flour

1/3 t. salt

1/4 t. sugar

1/2 c. chilled margarine cut into 1/2" bits

3T. chilled vegetable shortening

5T. cold water

Roll out and fit into 2 9" pie pans. Prick pastry with fork. Bake 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Quiche Filling

6 eggs

2c light creme or evaporated milk (I use 1 can of evaporated milk and add just enough water to make 2 cups)

1t. salt

dash pepper

dash nutmeg

Add 2 cups grated Swiss Cheese.

Pour into pastry shells. Bake 350 for 45-50 minutes. Cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Now, this is what I do differently than the recipe.

As I said before I use frozen pie crust. I never pre-cook them. I usually cover the edges with foil to prevent over browning. I will slice tomato thin and line the bottom of the pie shell and then add some cooked spinach and cooked onion.(This is my favorite combo) Then I sprinkle my cheese over that. I use what ever cheese I have on hand, usually Cheddar or Jack.

I've experimented with all sorts of additions from bacon, ham, leftover chicken, broccoli, spinach, and tomato. Anything that would go well with cheese usually works.

You might need to adjust the cooking time based on your oven.

Show and Tell Friday: Pepper The Wonder Dog

What makes Pepper a wonder dog? Nothing really, except for the change she made when she came into our family after the loss of our one and only family dog, Toby.

Toby was in our family for 10, almost 11 years, before he had to be put down because of stomach cancer. I didn't think we would ever have another pet. I just didn't think we could find another we would care about as much. Then a year and a half after his death, my husband, youngest son and I attended a festival. As we were leaving we noticed there was an animal rescue group set up with animals for people to adopt.

I walked by, refusing to give more than a glance at the puppies. I just didn't want to get attached to another animal the way we had been to Toby. But my son and husband had other ideas. They stopped as I kept walking. I went on to our vehicle. After a few minutes my son came and begged me to come look at the puppies. I reluctantly agreed.

When I got there I saw my husband holding this tiny little polka-dot puppy. He looked at me and grinned, sat her down on the ground and she pranced, yes, she pranced over to me. My heart absolutely melted. We found out that her two brothers and she had been left in a cardboard box in the parking lot of a store.

To make a long story short. She came home with us that day. Now she is part of the family and I can't imagine her not being.

She will spend hours on the porch swing.

Here she is playing with my oldest son. She will come up to you and stand on her back legs like that when she wants to be petted or wants a treat. The kids love to get her to jump.

Check out Kelli's blog for more Show and Tell.

Frugal Friday: Souvenirs

Souvenirs are meant to remind you of the great places you have visited on vacations you have taken with family and friends. Pictures are the very best souvenirs of course. But sometimes you just want a little something to remind you of a vacation . Even so, the fact is that many souvenirs end up in garage sales and thrift stores instead of being displayed with pride in our homes. One way I have found to prevent this and end up with souvenirs that I display for years is to bypass the tourist shops and head for the thrift stores and antique stores in the area I am vacationing in. I also tell my kids when they travel that if they want to bring something as a gift I would rather have something for one of my collections than a typical tourist souvenir.

Rather than drive around looking for thrift stores in an unfamiliar town. I have a few ways to make the process simple.

Before I ever leave home I consult the web site Thrift Shopper.com to look up thrift stores in areas we will be visiting. It only takes a few moments to find and print out a list. The list of stores even come with a rating system, which makes, if you are on a tight schedule, choosing which store to hit even easier. Second, I like to ask people at the hotel we stay in if they can recommend a store. I've found some great little shops this way. Last, I check out the phonebook in the room, most have a listing of stores along with maps of the larger cities or I can call for directions.

To make my shopping easier I have specific things I collect. One is Christmas ornaments, or items that can be used as ornaments. It is great fun to reminisce about trips as we hang the ornaments. I like china, and green glassware. But mostly I like different, truly unique items that fit in with my decor and that I won't be able to find just anywhere.

On one trip we took across 7 states we found shirts that other people had bought on vacation from some of the states we were traveling through. Most were practically brand new and my kids didn't care, we ran them through the laundry that night and they wearing them before we got home. We got souvenir tee shirts for as little as 25 cents.

At one great thrift store in New Hampshire my daughter found designer clothes from stores in NYC, with price tags still on. She got a dress with the original price of $260.00 for only 69 cents!

So next time you go on vacation and want a souvenir, check out the thrift stores. You might find the perfect souvenir.

Check out Crystal's Site for more great tips

Pics: Examples of items I have bought. #1 The little candle holder that the pumpkin is on, I bought along with the painted oil can ring holder in Lancaster, PA. The frog trinket box came from our trip to Virginia. The other items came from trips to Ky.

*2 I got the plate in Lancaster and the frame in Missouri.

WFMW: Which Came First...The Meal Or The Menu?

I have never been good at making menus for our meals. I usually shop for deals and then cook what I have on hand. After standing in the kitchen one night, having a brain fart, unable to think of anything to cook, my husband came up with a solution that has helped me with this to a great extent.

I tend to cook a dish for awhile, get bored with it and move on forgetting about it. After cooking a meal now I make a quick notation in a notebook of what I cooked and what I served with it.

Eventually I'll add this to my master menu list. I have this divided into categories by meal and then by main dish. When I draw a blank I can refer to this list for ideas and reminders of dishes I have cooked in the past. Of course, it helps to look at the list before time to cook dinner, and to start dinner prep early, instead of 30 minutes before we need to eat. I'm getting there. I'm getting there.

Works For Me.

Picture: Pioneer Kitchen, Museum of Appalachia

What I Saw: Sunset At Clingman's Dome

Top Picture: The view from the bottom of the trail. Toward North Carolina I believe. This is why they call them the Smokies.

Middle Picture: The tower at the top of the trail. After a 20 minute hike to the top of the trail, we counted 200 steps up the ramp to the top of the tower. A great view of Mt. LeConte. We were above the haze and many of the clouds. The sky was beautiful.

Bottom Picture: Sunset at Clingman's Dome. What you see is what my camera was able to pick up on the setting I used. It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever witnessed. The sun looked huge and as it went behind the cloud layer turned a beautiful red. Clingman's Dome is the highest peak on the Appalachian Trail.

Show And Tell Friday: Hattie's Quilt

Hattie Lee Kervin holding Carrie Kervin sometime in 1901

John L. Kervin, Hattie's husband to her left

This is my first post to Show and Tell. I want to share a quilt made by my Great Grandmother Hattie Lee Kervin. Hattie made this quilt sometime in the late 1800s or the early 1900s. Hattie died, along with the baby, when she was giving birth to her third child. Hattie was only about 25 and my grandmother was only 6. The quilts that her mother made were one of the things she treasured most. She gave this quilt to me just before I got married. It has always been too fragile to use and I only take it out occassionally to check on it and to refold it. I treasure it as much for the fact that my grandmother wanted me to have it and trusted me to take care of it as anything.

Check out Kelli's blog for more Show and Tell posts.

What I Saw

Pictures: Museum of Appalachia