WFMW - Cooking with YouTube

My awesome little brother Matt is visiting us right now and showed me my favorite cooking tip for the week.

This is so simple - it's genius. If you are ever stuck trying to come up with something to make for dinner (me - almost every night), head on over to YouTube. You can do a simple search for whatever main ingredient you have, i.e. beef recipes, chicken recipes, etc. You can take it a step further and add adjectives like "healthy," "easy," "gourmet," or whatever to the mix. YouTube is full of short cooking videos . I'm a visual person when it comes to food so this is better for me than searching through recipe books.

For more great tips and ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

For more great tips and ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder
Toys Worth Buying - Board Games
Extending Battery Life

Fun Valentine Project

I saw this wreath on Little Birdie Secrets and thought it would be a fun one to try with Ella. So we headed to the fabric store and she picked out material that matches her Minnie Mouse costume.


It's super duper easy, all you need is fabric cut into two inch squares, Elmer's glue, styrofoam wreath, and a pencil (the remote is optional). The whole project cost less than $5.00 with coupons at Joann's. You can see step by step directions and pictures here. Basically you just put the tip of the pencil in the middle of each square of fabric, wrap the fabric around the tip, dip it in the glue, and stab it into the heart.

We worked on this here and there for a couple of days. She would put some squares on and then I would fill in around each square for her. We took turns putting the squares on and cutting the fabric.




(Sorry the pics are so dark, I'm too tired right now to go back and fix them in Photoshop)

I think it turned out really cute! We are going to hang it with a satin ribbon on her bedroom door. I think she has really liked watching the progress day to day. It is fun to see how proud she is of her finished wreath.

Need a Liahona?

Apologies in advance to my non-LDS readers, this post really won't make a lot of sense to you. Jump to the bottom of the post for a really brief explanation.

For New Beginnings last week, we needed a lot of Liahona's for our skit. We were trying to figure out how to make some that would look nice and still be cost effective. We thought of spray painting styrofoam balls, using christmas ornaments and attaching dowels, trying gold leaf on a round ball, etc. Nothing seemed just right. Our Young Women's president was in JoAnn's picking up supplies to try and make some when she found these decorative balls for 70% off (originally $6.99). It ended up being cheaper to buy these instead of making something ourselves.

I went to JoAnn's today and picked up one to have at home. For $2.00 it makes a great Liahona to have for lessons, family home evening, etc. If you want to go pick one up, they are in the world market section (I think that's what it is called). The whole section is clearanced.

The picture is not the best. If you can't tell, there are engravings around the top and bottom of it. Spencer points out that it is not technically accurate but I think it is fine for a visual. We were quite pleased with how they looked on stage.

Young Women's is the organization we have in our church for 12-18 year old girls. I am in the Young Women's presidency. We have 30+ girls in our group. Every year in January we have a program for the girls and their parents. The Liahona is an object that is talked about in the Book of Mormon.

WFMW - Extending Battery Life

Here's a quick tip I learned from my cousin when I became a real estate appraiser. The last thing you want to have happen on an appraisal is for your batteries to die. If that happens, you have to schedule another time to come out and take pictures and reinspect. So if your batteries ever die in your camera and you don't have replacements, here's what you do:

1. Take all batteries out.

2. Rub batteries between hands.

3. Put batteries back in camera.

4. Take 2-3 more pictures.

5. Repeat if needed.

This will give you a couple more pictures each time. I have done this four times back to back and was able to get 12 more pictures after my batteries died the first time. I wonder how long it would keep working, maybe I'll have to test that some time.

For more great tips and ideas head to Shannon's blog where she hosts Works for me Wednesday every week.

My previous WFMW posts:

Sweet Spinach Bread
Library Bags
Letterboxing
Curling Ribbon
Safe Plastics
5 Ingredients or Less
Laundry Tip
DIY Lip Gloss
Tips for Clothes Shopping with girls
How to teach a child to swallow pills
Removing old stickers, adhesive, etc.
Easy Hair Bow Instructions
Managing school papers
Fall Traditions
Coupon Binder
Toys Worth Buying - Board Games

DC minus 2.5 million

Here we are waiting for the inauguration to start.



Can you believe the awesome seats we got?

Nothing can beat sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial overlooking the mall.









Notice anything missing? How about 2+ million people? Okay so we weren't actually there today, these pictures are from our last visit to the Lincoln memorial just over a month ago when my sister was visiting.

Living in northern VA means that we often get to visit the monuments whenever we have company. But no matter how many times I've been to the Lincoln memorial, it never fails to inspire me. I don't think it is possible to be there without feeling such a strong sense of reverence and awe for such a remarkable man and an enormous sense of hope and pride for our country.



Spencer read every word of this . . .



and this . . .



. . . much to Ella's chagrin.


I couldn't get over how beautiful the sky was that cold day. It is amazing how many things have happened on those very steps.

We visited other monuments but I'll save those pictures for another time maybe.




One last look at the Washington monument before heading home:

Target - Sale is on!

Quick update - Looks like the sale is on almost everywhere now. Most stores started the 75% off yesterday, including my local Target. I'm so sad I didn't get a chance to go yesterday. We had New Beginning's last night at church and I was doing last minute things all day for that. I'm now going to brave the bitter cold to see what's left. Hope everyone got some great deals!

Target 75% off Toys!

So if I have any readers left after my hiatus from blogging, I have a great tip for you. Sources say that the huge toy clearance is happening either tomorrow (Jan. 14th) or the following Weds. (Jan 21st). Everything I have read points to tomorrow being the day. Target typically does this twice a year and I LOVE this sale. I buy almost all my birthday gifts for the year here. I plan on being there tomorrow at opening. If the sale is tomorrow I will update my blog and let you know. Happy shopping!

ETA: Baby and toddler clothes are 75% off right now!

One Big Helping of Mommy Guilt

Just as I was getting over bronchitis a couple of weeks ago - Ella came down with a cold. Her symptoms seemed different from mine and she was still running around nonstop so I didn't think much of it. One night as I was getting her ready for bed, Ella looked up at me and said "Mama I so sick, why you not take me to my doctor." She looked so pathetically cute. You have to understand that Ella is our resident drama queen. She will sit and search her body for little spots that need immediate band-aid attention. She LOVES to announce what is ailing her. So I told her she just had a cold and would be better in a few days. A couple more days go by and Ella was still running a low fever and had developed a cough so I debated whether or not to take her in. My kids somehow usually make a miraculous recovery on the way to doctors appointments and I'm always told they have a virus and to let it run its course. Ella still seemed fine (she was playing as usual) but something in the back of my mind kept nagging me to make an appointment. So I called and got her an appointment fully expecting to be told the usual "it's a virus, etc."

We got to the office and went back to do her vitals. The crazy thing is her oxygen sats were low. We had to stay their for hours while they did three different breathing treatments. This isn't a new thing for us. Ella has needed breathing treatments/inhalers before (back when she was under 2). But in the past, I would hear the wheezing, labored breathing, or the tightness in her chest. This time - everything sounded completely clear to me. It kind of freaked me out that her sats were low without me noticing a change. I felt so bad that I hadn't taken her in sooner - especially after she kept asking me to call the doctor.

We were sent home with a nebulizer which Ella loved. The doctor told her it was just like breathing clouds. True to her dramatic self, Ella loved recanting the whole story to anyone who would listen. When it was time for her next treatment at home she announced to Lance and Spencer that they must come watch. She then very ceremoniously put the mask on and would dab at her eyes every couple of minutes with a tissue. She is such a ham.

After six days of using the nebulizer and a couple more doctor visits, we were finally able to return it. Hallelujah - no more steroids.

We spent this past week with lots of cuddling on the couch. We are all finally healthy again and BOTH kids will be in school tomorrow. Now I just need to get my house cleaned . . .