High Fructose Corn Syrup

Recently, I mentioned to my mother in law about how we try not to eat anything with corn syrup--or at least minimize our consumption of it as much as possible.  She asked why.  At the time, I couldn't remember the answer.  Then I was reminded in my Simply in Season cookbook yesterday.

Basically, high fructose corn syrup is not processed by our bodies as well as sugar.  Over the years, the increased percentage of high fructose corn syrup in our foods has correlated to an increase in the obesity rate in our country.  Basically, since high fructose corn syrup isn't processed as well, it sets off a series of reactions in our body (the liver releases enzymes) that tell our body to store fat.

The correlation is disputed by some.  But, high fructose corn syrup is highly refined and so much sweeter than sugar.  What I remember from so long ago about sugar is that the more sugar you eat, the more sugar you crave.  So, it is very logical that high fructose corn syrup would make you crave more.  Something less sweet just isn't going to satisfy the craving.

My logic has always been that it isn't just high fructose corn syrup's fault.  I think as a society we started eating more when we craved more.  As a culture, we are taught to question everything and everybody and essentially to be cynical.  One of the downsides of cynicism (thinking you can see the truth when everyone else is bamboozled) is that you feel more right and it feeds into the feeling of being justified to have the freedom to do whatever you want--and that also means eating whatever you want.  That may sound like a strange line of thinking, but as adults we don't want to be told no and we don't want to tell our bodies no.  And if we really want to do something we (as a society) are good at being cynical and not believing the other person who tries to warn us that it isn't a good idea.

High fructose Corn Syrup makes things taste good--really good actually.  Super sweet.  But, that doesn't mean that it's good for us or that we should eat a lot of it.

It's very interesting to me that studies are now coming out saying that diet soda won't help you lose weight.  The artificial sweeteners change your metabolism and your body so that you gain weight actually.  http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/OnCall/story?id=4271246&page=1

So, I think that's the long or the short of it =)

Berry Picking

If you're in Maryland, here's some helpful info about berry picking.  We went blueberry, blackberry, and peach picking today.  It was far easier than I expected!  Honestly, it was a lot easier than strawberry picking.  I have been a bit intimidated to do it before, but I'm glad I finally did it this year.  It went well.  I picked 4 1/2 pounds of blackberries, 5 pounds of blueberries, and a bucketful of white and yellow peaches.  The kids picked a few, but they enjoyed themselves.

We went to Spring Valley Farm on Rte 1.  The website is here:  www.springvalleyfarm.com  If you go north on rte 1 and go over Conowingo Dam.  Pass Rte 222, and then it's just a little bit farther up on your right.  There is a good sign, but start watching for it once you pas rte 222.

The prices for this season are:
$2.65/lb for blueberries
$2.50/lb for blackberries (and they were sweet, not tart)
$1.00/lb for peaches (white and yellow cling varieties)

Easy Chai from scratch

I was reviewing a cookbook this week on microwave cooking.  In the cookbook was a recipe called Chai for One. I googled it to see if I could find it online.  I did, or at least one very similar.
Here's the recipe link:  http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/drink_chai.html
The spices in the recipe in the cookbook were halved.  So, I would start with them halved and then try them doubled and see which you like better.  The cookbook also used evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed.  I think that's why the spices were doubled in the recipe online.  I have a cup in front of me (made with have the spices and evaporated milk) and I added 3 Tbsp of the mix to a cup of tea plus two spoonfuls of sugar since I like it sweet.  Keep the mix in a jar and it should keep for up to a month according to the cookbook I read.  I think next time I'm going to try the recipe I linked to online with the sweetened condensed milk.

I'm so glad to find a good recipe to make chai from scratch!  I like decaf chai and it's been hard to find a good decaf mix.  The powdered mixes have extra stuff in them and are usually caffeinated.  I think it will also end up saving me a lot of money =)

Flower Girl Dresses

My brother is getting married in September and their wedding is straight out of a bridal magazine.  The challenge I recently faced was finding (more) affordable flower girl dresses and shoes.  The dresses my future sister in law first suggested were $150 each--which times two is $300!  Plus shoes, shawls, tights, etc....

So, I emailed the two homeschool networks I'm a part of and one person emailed back a great website to me.  I  found two dresses that I thought would look good on the girls and emailed a picture to my future sister in law.  She liked the more expensive of the two ($55 vs. $45), but $55 is still so much better than $150!  I am very thankful for this.  I ordered the dresses and they arrived a few days later.

This is the dress I found:
http://www.girlsdressline.com/ivory-flower-girl-dresses/ivory-flower-girl-dress-with-waffle-shaped-bodice.html
The website is:
www.girlsdressline.com

I did google and look for a coupon code for the website and found one at the time for 5% off.  It saved me $5 so I was thankful for every little bit.

The one downside if you have questions is that if you try to call them by phone, they won't answer.  They will however return your email, if you email them.  At first, this made me anxious, but the dresses arrived just fine and they fit the girls perfectly!  The girls are thrilled (and so am I) for God's provision!

I also found white glittery shoes at Target (that are really ivory) on clearance for $6.50 a pair.  I bought 2 sizes for each of the girls since the wedding is 3 months away.  Even so, the total for the shoes was $26 instead of $30 for one pair of ivory dress shoes online.

The other little blessing the Lord helped me find was 4 rolls of ivory ribbon and a yard of ivory fleece for $2.  I plan on making shawls for the girls.

I was very apprehensive about how much it would all cost and though it is still expensive, it is far better than it could have been!  My estimate is that if the dresses were $150 and the shoes $30, the total would have been  about $400 instead of the $132 that we spent. =)  Thank you Lord for your provision!

Applesauce Muffins

Yesterday, I made Applesauce Muffins for breakfast.  I've been using a cookbook called The Ultimate Muffin Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough.  So far, we've had the carrot, banana, and applesauce muffins and have loved them all.

I altered the recipe quite a bit yesterday so I'm going to write it here =)

Applesauce Muffins

1 lg. egg
1/2 cup packed brown sugar

Cream egg and sugar for 3 minutes till mixed well.  Then add:

1 1/4 c. applesauce (preferably unsweetened)
6 tbsp. butter melted
1/4 cup milk

Mix well. Then add:

2 1/4 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour (or 2 cups white flour)--if using store bought wheat flour I'd use 1 cup wheat and 1 cup white since storebought is hard red wheat which is very wheaty =)
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp bkg powder
1 tsp. bkg soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Mix well.

I place the muffin papers in the muffin pan and then spray them with Pam to help them come off easier.

Fill the muffin cups to your liking.  I usually fill them 1/2 to 2/3 full eventhough it's recommended in most recipes to fill them 3/4 full.  I think it's a better size muffin for my kids =)

Topping (I use this on a lot of muffins now):

1/4 cup white sugar

1 Tbsp flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp melted butter

Mix thoroughly and then sprinkle on the muffins

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes.  They may have a few crumbs on the toothpick when you pull them out, so just let them sit for 10 minutes in the pan to finish up cooking.

My girls and Eli gobbled up 3 each (though we're not sure how they all fit in Eli's small tummy!).  So, I think they were a big hit in our house!

Fish and Chips without the Chips =)

Two weeks ago, my husband made some incredible fried chicken.  A couple he met at a wedding showed him how.  He dipped the chicken strips in milk, then flour, then milk again, and then flour again.  The flour was salt and peppered.  Then he fried up the chicken.  It was the best I'd ever had =)


The other day I found a similar recipe in Better Homes and Gardens.  I tried to find it online so I could link to it, but I couldn't.  So, here's the gist of it...


Dip the strips of white fish in 3/4 c. butter milk and 1 egg mixture, then dip in flour (w/whatever seasoning you want or just salt and pepper).  Then REPEAT!  Egg once more and flour again.  Heat oil in deep skillet and fry.  The coating sticks =)  Yahoo!  And it's awesome.   Cook 3-5 minutes on a side.  It's similar to how my husband did chicken two weeks ago.   


I did fry it in the cast iron chicken fryer pan that I bought at a garage sale last week and it was great.  It was like a deep dish skillet.  


Serve with lemon wedges and tartar sauce (mayonaise, pickle relish, and lemon juice all mixed to taste).


I was a little skeptical of how well it would fry before I did it, but the flour on the outside keeps it from sticking to the skillet or the other pieces.  It was amazing!  I've friend a lot of things over the past 10 years and I've had a horrible time with sticking.  I do suspect the nonstick cast iron skillet chicken fryer pan helped too =)

Different way to fill tacos

In my house growing up, we had tacos once a week for dinner.  Tacos were ground beef, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sour cream.  Tacos are also my husband's favorite meal, but in his house, tacos were:  shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream, shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, peppers, red or green bell peppers diced, green and red onions, and even olives.

In my house, tacos were either eaten in corn tortillas that my mom had fried or flour tortillas.  In my husband's house, tacos were served in the corn shells that you buy at the store.  My husband just discovered that Trader Joe's is now selling the shells (which is wonderful since Sami will eat them!).

So, we ate them for the first time tonight.  First, I put in the beans and then the other stuff in the taco in layers.  My husband, on the other hand, put all the stuffings on his plate, mixed it up together with his fork and then scooped it into the shell.  Wow!  I'd honestly never seen anyone do this before (it's not the way we eat tacos in LA), but it makes a lot of sense and then you really get to taste everything together!

Interesting explanation

I received notice of a book today available for review.  Although I don't think I'm going to review it, it was very interesting to me what the author had to say about why he writes about crime and evil in the world...
http://stvjames.blogspot.com/2009/11/why-i-write-about-evil.html

Trying the sandal trick

So, I'm trying the sandal trick today.  I'll let you know if it works!  (a few days ago I posted a suggestion that someone gave me in the store about how to shrink leather sandals when they dry out).

Laughing at myself

Sometimes it dawns on me that there are things I do unconsciously to save money.  One of them is that we only buy cheese pizza or we buy pizza with one topping if there's a special.  I think if I absolutely loved pizza, I would want to pay for extra toppings, but the kids love cheese pizza.  So, if we get extra toppings, then it just means that I will have to take them off for the kids =)  I suppose I got used to buying cheese pizza and foregoing the toppings.

But, now that I think about it, my mom never got many toppings for pizza when I was growing up.  She is a very frugal woman.  And as she told me this weekend--frugal to a fault =)  We didn't get pizza very often and when we did it was a big treat.

I wonder if it would be more of a treat for my kids if we didn't eat it as regularly as we do (probably 1-2x a month). =)

Restaurants we love

I decided to post it as an ongoing page instead of as a post.  When we try a new restaurant and love it, then I can just add it to the list =)

Good, Great, and Exceptional Restaurants IMHO in Harford County

Last night, my husband and I went to dinner at the Laurapin Grille in Havre de Grace, MD.  We have a lot of friends that have loved it so I really wanted to try it.  As we were eating, my husband and I started discussing the restaurants we love and began to rate them as if we were restaurant critics.  We decided we'd rate them based on a moderate, good, great, and exceptional scale.  Of course there's poor/bad, too.  But, we try to avoid those restaurants.

Our verdict on the Laurapin was that it was good, not great, and not exceptional.  There were a couple of reasons why.  The biggest was that it felt overpriced for the food and the ambience.  It wasn't very romantic, which was what I was hoping for on my birthday.  Our bill came to $75 for 2 dinners (and I had the deal of $20 for salad, dessert, and entree).  If our bill had come to $50, we would probably have a more favorable opinion of the restaurant.  The meat was cooked perfectly.  That was the best part of the meal.  But, mine was served with grilled bread.  And there wasn't any sauce to dip it in.  When I asked the waiter for some butter--I didn't want dry bread--he brought me 2 little pats of butter wrapped in foil.  They actually weren't even on a plate.  He just set them on the table.  When my husband's dish was $24, I would expect a little more than that.  At Panera, they come in little pats like that, but not typically at expensive restaurants.  My dessert according to the menu was supposed to be a chocolate creme brulee.  I had checked it several times when I chose which restaurant, because the dessert was a deciding factor for me.  When my dessert arrived, it was a regular creme brulee.  Unfortunately, we had ordered my husband a regular one for $6 because we thought mine was going to be chocolate.  When they arrived, I was disappointed.  I explained it to the waiter.  I wondered if he would take it off the bill.  But, instead, he told me I was wrong and that the chocolate creme brulee was not on the price fixe menu that I ordered from.

At the time, I wrote on the comment card that I was given good service.  For some reason, I gave it a 9 of 10.  But, the more that I've thought about it (which I need to stop thinking about), his service really bothered me.  I wouldn't go back to the restaurant, nor would I recommend it, simply because I don't think it's the best value or meal for the price.  If you go, you'll get a good meal made with local ingredients, but it will be expensive.

Basically, it's a good restaurant.  It has the potentional to be great and maybe even exceptional, but at this point it is a good restaurant.  If the salad had been included in the price of my husband's dish and if they had taken the dessert off our bill and not told me I was wrong and if they had served the butter in dishes and if they had cloth napkins instead of paper...  I think these changes would have been nice.  At such an expensive price for a meal, my expectations are higher than what we experienced last night.

I hope this entry doesn't sound too critical.  My next entry is going to be the other restaurants we discussed and what we love about them. =)   We love food a lot and when we go out to eat, I know that we do hope to enjoy very good food!

Leather Sandals

During the spring, summer, and fall, I love to wear slide style sandals.  This summer I started wearing what I grew up calling thongs, where they go between your toe.  Anyways, I was standing in Marshalls looking at the plastic sandals and pondering what you do when they stretch out.  So, I asked the lady next to me who was wearing sandals.  

She had this suggestion, which she said always works.  If they're leather, get them wet and then stick them out in the hot sun.  The leather will shrink back up.  Obviously, it will stretch out again, but then you just shrink them again too!  

I have 2 pairs of leather Doc Marten sandals and I'm going to try out this trick as soon as we have a hot sunny day =)

Corn on the Cob

My kids love June because it means that corn on the cob season is coming!  It's funny how many things we all cook the way our parents do.  I wonder if you're like me in that I will often assume that others do things the same way that I was taught to do things.

One of those things is corn on the cob.

I grew up growing corn in our backyard every summer.  We had a big garden for Southern California, I suppose.  As an adult, I appreciate it a lot more than I did as a kid.  I had no idea how much work a garden requires.  But, anyways, back to corn on the cob...

My mom would take the husk off the corn and wash it and then tear off a piece of wax paper and wrap it up in the wax paper and fold over the ends.  Then, she'd stick it in the microwave for 5 minutes.  (5 minutes is a good amount for 1 or 2 ears at a time--I never cook more than 2 at a time.)  When it came out it was ready to put corn pokes in and butter and salt it up!

We never boiled or steamed the corn in a pot.  We never grilled it either.  We always, always microwaved it.  It always came out right and never soggy =)

I still fix our corn on the cob this way.

My husband's family didn't.  His mom boiled corn when he was growing up.  So, he was surprised when he discovered how I fixed it.  I think he balked the first few times.  But, on Saturday when I was out of wax paper.  I figured I would just boil the corn.  I made a quick comment to my husband and said something about it being okay.

His reply was--"no".  No, it wasn't okay.  He preferred it cooked in wax paper.  So, I called up my dear good friend and neighbor and borrowed her wax paper.

On the following Monday, I made sure to buy an extra roll of wax paper to keep around =)

Eating out on the go

Yesterday, the kids and I had a lot to do.  I often find myself in this situation.  What do I do?  Should I push them to wait to eat till we get home?  Or do I grab something on the way?  This question for me involves two things for me--money and healthy food.

Here are a few of the things I do if I'm out and can't get home.
McDonald's:  Split 2 $1 chicken sandwiches, some fries, and cups of water among the kids.  Cost: $4
Burger King:  $1 chicken nuggets and a small fries split, with cups of water. Cost: $4
Target:  Pick up cups of Yoplait as a snack and get spoons from the snack area.  My girls think this is a big treat and it's a cheap one to tide them over.  Yesterday, I also picked up juice boxes at the same time that they could drink in the car.  The snack for the three of them cost $2.50.

But, the tricky part is that everything else I've found is pretty expensive.  One day two weeks ago, we went to the grocery store, we bought sandwich makings, juice boxes, and bananas.  When all was said and done, I think it cost about $6 or $7.  Not too bad and at least they didn't eat McD's.

Do you have any good ideas for inexpensive meals/snacks that you can grab on the go?

Rhubarb Muffins

It sounds a little strange to make rhubarb muffins, but these muffins are truly yummy!  I've made them twice within 5 days because I really, really liked them.  And my kids ate them too!  I did finely chop the rhubarb and mince the nuts to make them smaller and more palatable for the kids.

Rhubarb-Buttermilk Muffins

Ingredients:

3/4 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup salad oil
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk or plain yogurt or 1 cup. milk soured with 2 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups finely diced rhubarb
1/2 cups pecan pieces, minced
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can do 1 1/2 cups white flour and                                   1 cup wheat flour)

1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Topping:

1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp melted butter                                                    1 tsp flour

 Procedure:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease 15 medium-sized muffin cups.
• Combine in large bowl: brown sugar, oil, egg, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Stir dry ingredients into mixture.
• Then add rhubarb and nuts.
• Fill prepared muffin pan 3/4 full with batter.
• Quickly combine topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of batter in each muffin cup.
• Bake in preheated oven on center shelf 15 to 20 minutes. (closer to 20)

I copied this recipe from:  http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/  and then added alterations similar to the recipe in Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert.

Internet Security

I just posted an entry on my other blog about internet security.
http://lovetopaint.blogspot.com/2010/05/internet-security-and-facebook.html

At the beginning of this year, there was an article in the paper that said that social networking sites were predicted to be the biggest source of identity theft this year.  I was glad for the warning at the time.  I had no idea that digital copiers would be a risk as well!

The struggle of saying No

There is a constant struggle of saying no to ourselves.  I am realizing this.  Sometimes I'm good at it and sometimes I'm horrible at it.  I have realized today that I need to limit my computer time.  I am going to check in the afternoon during naps and rest time and maybe at night time.  Other than that, I need to step back.  


None of us like being told no.  Our budgets are one big No!  I think that's the hardest part about sticking to a budget actually--saying no to ourselves and things we want.  I'm great at justifying things =), but I know this about myself so I try to face up to it.


A few things I don't always say no to myself about...
Going out to eat near the end of the month
Garage Saling--I've really been working on buying the things first that we need and not just what I want.
Time on the computer--I take too much time and I get on the computer too often during the day.
Desiring Quiet
Holding my tongue when I'm angry
and I'm sure there are many more, but I wanted to share a few examples.


So, how can we say no?
Here's the ideas I have right at this moment:
1)  Get into a routine.  A routine can help me avoid the temptation that I need to say no to.
2)  Doing things we don't like to do early in the day before the things we really like to do
3)  Praying!  We need to be in the Word and trusting God for strength
4)  Take our eyes off ourselves and put them back on our families, work, or homes.  
5)  Setting boundaries--like my internet one I'm going to try and get back on track with.  These things are both boundaries and habits.   We make habits of avoiding things that we know aren't good for us.
6)  Stay out of stores (if money is the issue).
7)  Stay off the computer for shopping (if money is the issue)
8)  Make a list or a plan for the day of what you want to get done.  Planning a day can take away the time that we were being flexible with, when in reality we use it for the things we want to do and we fritter away the time.
9)  Write God's Word on our hearts.  We need to know and believe that God is working in all things.
10) We need to choose to be grateful and focus on the yeses in our lives and let go of the nos.


I think 10 is a good place to start.  I'm going to start working on these things.  Please know that I made this list for myself.  I have been convicted the past few days about this and I don't think I've been listening very well--because I have been resistant and haven't wanted to say no to myself.  But, I believe that this is what God desires of me.  I need to begin saying no to myself more.

Homeschooling

I read a book 9 years ago called Feminism: Mystique or Mistake by Diane Passno.  It had a huge impact on me and changed my thoughts about a lot of things, since I was probably what you might call an evangelical feminist at the time.  But, that's a story for another time =)  Anyways, at the end of the book was a chapter about moms. Though I wasn't a mom at the time, the lessons in that chapter have always stuck with me.


The basic gist of the chapter was that moms who are working should show grace to the moms who stay at home and vice versa.  Moms at home often desire the affirmation at work and the break from their kids.  Moms at work are jealous of the time stay at home moms get with their kids.  There can be a mutual situation of envy and there are pros and cons to both sets of shoes.  The author's point is that what's most important is that we are where God wants us to be.  We don't have to feel guilty if we are where God wants us to be.  If we feel called to work, then we should lay that before our husbands and submit to them--if they think we should or shouldn't.  Many women have to work because their families need the second income.  Some don't need to work, though they desire to for the extra income.  More often than not, I think choosing to live on one income does involve making choices that will save money and saying no to ourselves about things we want.


A moment ago, I was reminded of this chapter when I thought of a conversation I had on Saturday about homeschooling.  I enjoy homeschooling, but it is hard.  Many moms who are homeschooling often wish their kids were in school and many moms whose children are in school wish their kids were homeschooling.  I don't think homeschooling isn't the wisest choice for everyone and friends who are veteran homeschoolers have told me this over the years.  It is the wisest choice for some though.  In the end, I think that what's most important is that our children are where God wants them to be--whether that is in public, private, or home schools.


Just a thought =)

All-in-one Book of Tips!

When I've watched DIY shows and home organization shows on television, they always seem to be geared towards people that have a great deal of extra income that they can spend on materials to organize their homes with.  Every time I open up Better Homes and Gardens, I check how many children the families in the magazine have.  Usually, I find they have 0 or 1 child.  Once in a while, they'll feature a home where 2 children live.  But, again, the families typically live at an upper middle class income level.  But, I think the reality for many of us is that we can't afford to live that way--our homes don't look like the ones in the magazines and tv shows--especially if we've made choices and sacrificed a second income so that we can stay home with our kids.


When I requested this book for review, I was curious, but expected it to be pretty impractical.  Instead, I discovered that it is a wonderful book packed full of very practical tips.  Kathy Peel and her husband raised 3 boys who are now grown adults.  She says early on that she gleans tips and advice from all the women she has known in her life and come across.  I liked that.  (A few months ago I reviewed a book by a woman who wrote a book of advice for working moms though she hadn't been one when she wrote the book.)  Sometimes it seems that advice givers can come across as very prideful as if they have all the answers.  There is a blessing that comes from learning from one another!

In the book, Ms. Peel tackles seven areas of home management:  time and scheduling, home and property care, menus and meal planning, relationships with family and friends, finances, special events (including holidays and birthday parties), and taking care of yourself.

For the most part, her tips are practical and useful no matter what the income of your family is.  A few of them are only practical if you do have extra disposable income, but it's a relatively small number of things (ie. in the section about yourself, she mentions both getting a massage and a facial in a questionnaire).  Most of her tips are realistic and frugal.  For example, she mentions washing the area where ants are coming in with straight white vinegar.  She also lists cleaning tips that can be done overnight with regular household items like vinegar and baking soda.  A lot of books like this include tips that are very labor intensive and the time used outweighs the money saved.  This book, on the other hand, includes tips that are very doable and wise, in my humble opinion.

I know that I will be coming back to this book again and again.  She has organized lists of what to do to care for your home each season.  She also has lists about appliances--how long their life expectancy is and even advice on how to choose new ones.

The section I am usually most curious about is menus and meal planning.  Her tips are especially practical for moms who work outside their homes.  I agreed with most of her advice, though I don't do as much freezing and cooking ahead.  My family likes a lot of variety and I cook breakfast 5 mornings a week since my kids are not fans of cereal.  But, that's how it is with any book--you are the best judge of advice that will work for you and your family.  There is no one size fits all solution to organizing your home and life.  But, I love to read new ideas because they renew my hope that I can get on top of things or be successful tackling something I've  been struggling with.

Here's a sample of tips that really stuck with me from the book...
On Time Management...
"When you say yes to something, you're saying no to something else.  Don't let it be your family." p.3
On Cleaning...
"Use a wide, soft-bristled paintbrush to remove dust from blinds and pleats in a lamp shade." p.48
On Cooking...
"Boil a few slices of lemon in a pan of water for 20 minutes to clear the air of burned food odor." p.57
On Baking...
"When coating a baking pan with flour, use an empty spice jar (the kind with holes in the lid) to shake it neatly into the pan." p. 123
On Celebrating...
"Don't wait until you have enough money to plan the perfect party.  If something is worth celebrating, it's worth celebrating no matter how simple the event." p. 219
On Finances...
"Everything you have is a gift from God.... Managing money is not about the money.  It's about how you view money...The joy of a purchase made on credit usually doesn't outlast the payments."  p.195

This sample is just a smidgen of the great ideas I read in this book.  Kathy Peel truly has packed this book with lots of great advice.  It's perfect for someone starting out on their own, newlyweds, or people that love ideas about how to manage life better.  It's full of good reminders even if you are a pretty organized person.  I do highly recommend this book!

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.