Stamped bag tutorial, aka: CRIKEY! It is Teacher Appreciation Week and I forgot!!!

Yeah...so. I totally dropped the ball this week. last Thursday we got the kids Thursday Communicators with all kinds of info in it. Thursday is also Nate's gymnastics AND Eric was on call.  Totally forgot to look inside....until last night...when the school called for the weekly updates and they mentioned Teacher Appreciation Week.

Our school gives us "ideas"  Sweet/Salty snack Monday, Flower (real or made) Tuesday, etc. They give ideas for every day except Friday and then they threw a little blurb at the bottom "Don't forget the other teachers that help out!"  Speech, gym, art...

So-I panicked.  I needed a quick idea that I can make for the additional teachers. I typically try to get them just for holidays. I figure they get forgotten since they don't have their own assigned class.  I started googling, found a picture with no link. No tutorial. Just a picture. And ran to Hobby Lobby.  I also lost the link for the orginal post. It was on some "round up"  So....thanks to whomever posted it!  I will try to find you and tag you!

 For this tutorial you need:

• Something to do the printing on. (I got 3 canvas totes at Hobby Lobby for $7.99 plus a 30%discount this week. So $6.39 for three... $2.13/bag)
• Acrylic paint in the colors you want.  (I already have a ton of paint.No additional cost)
• Textile Medium (Anita's-Hobby Lobby $1.99) This makes the acrylic permanent on the fabric.  You can find it with the normal acrylic paints at Hobby Lobby.  If you want to skip this, you can just skip the acrylic paint  and this all together and buy fabric paint. I used the weekly 40% off coupon so total cost $1.19
• Paint brushes,something to mix paint in
• apples-1 cut in half for 2 colors-I did 3 bags, so three apples.  Already had-no cost today.

Collecting was the hardest part. Now comes the easy part.  The textile medium says you do a 2 parts paint,1 part medium mix ratio.I eyeballed it. Mix it up.  

At this point, I would also recommend putting something inside the bag to protect the other side from leak through.  I didn't.  The paint didn't leak through to the other outside, but it did get onto the inside a bit.  A piece of parchment paper would work wonderfully.

Cut the apple in half, cover half the apple in paint, and press down onto the bag. If you have a stem, make sure to paint that as well! It ends up adding to the design.

 Sometimes you pick it up and you LOVE it.

Other times you don't. Don't fret!  Just add more paint to the apple, line it up, and press again. I found that sometimes I needed to do counter pressure on the backside to get a good print.

Have fun and play with colors! I did two colors per bag and only decorated one side. The top right was made using a smaller apple, so more fit into the pattern.  

These bags took me no time at all. MAYBE an hour for all three including set up, stamping, and cleaning. Total cost was $7.58 plus tax  ONLY $2.53/Teacher gift!!!  And something useful! Who doesn't need a resusable bag!

Why I am obsessed with zulily and why you should be too!

I admit it.  I am a Zulily addict.  I guess with three kids, I kind of have to be obsessed with savings.

Here is a basic run down of what Zulily is all about.  They post sales of REALLY cute stuff.  Could be kids clothes, could be toys, could be musical instruments, could be kitchen items!  They really have a large assortment of items.  Definitely not a site for only people with kids, but if you have kids it is awesome.

So anyway, they post a sale.  They purchase in bulk so the sale may last a few days.  After that time is up THEN they order from the distributor.  So it is easily 12-16 days before your items ship.  This is not a last minute gift buying site.   If you plan ahead though, it is AWESOME.

A lot of my kids Christmas gifts are coming from here this year.  I MAY or may not have bought myself a ukulele as well.  :)  They seriously have everything.  

They take PayPal which is an added bonus and once you buy something you get free shipping for the rest of the day, or even the weekend!

I bought V's Christmas outfit from there and it just came in today.  This adorable outfit was $28.  Probably  more than I would normally spend, but PERFECT!!!

I can not WAIT for my other items to get here!  If you want to check out the sales for yourself click this link HERE

OH!  One more cool thing.  You get referral bonuses.  So if you click my link up there and sign up, when you purchase something for the first time and it ships I get a bonus. (Currently a $20 store credit)  You share your private link and get people to sign up and YOU get a bonus.  Awesome huh?  And they don't have a cap on it!  You can get TONS of bonuses!!

So...go click the link!  You still have time for Christmas gifts!!

Day 3, 4, and 5 Recap

What...me slack at blogs?  So I am still on the cleanse.  It actually gets easier as time goes on.  I am now starting day 6.  I am not sure WHAT I did to my back, but it has not been happy the past few days.  That is why I have not been around.  It hurts to sit...anywhere.  So I have not really wanted to post anything because it would require me to sit for an extended period of time.  I decided I needed to update this, so I am standing at my laptop.  Gotta do what you gotta do.

Anyway. A few things I have learned the past few days.  Wednesdays the middle child has speech and OT.  We get out at 12pm and by the time we get in the car and everything it would be close to 1pm before we get home.  So Wednesday's are McDonald's days.  Has been for years.  So I was like crap...what can I have there?  Ohhh....french fries.  They are just potatoes right?  Ohhh....no.  Here is the ingredients directly from the McDonald's website:

 French Fries:
Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*, citric acid [preservative]), dextrose, sodium acid
pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to
preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.
CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK.
*(Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients).

Why, oh why is there beef flavor, wheat, and milk in their fries?  That is just rather unsettling.  So I went to Harris Teeter and got some Kettle Chips and ate some apple slices from McD's.   I have been feeling rather funky for a day or so, kind of a nauseous feeling.  I think I needed some grease.  Like when you go out drinking and drink a LOT, the best thing in the morning is hash browns from a fast food place.  At least for me.  :)

Anyway, I have done good and stayed on the cleanse.  My hubby is doing it as well.  I think we have both realized that this cleanse is more about seeing IF we can do it, more than anything.  Testing our will power.  So far, so good!

Cleanse Day 2 Recap

This REALLY is not as hard as I thought it was going to be.  My poor husband had a headache all day yesterday from the caffeine withdrawal.  I had a headache as well, but I think it was due to my headband.  I took it off and started feeling better.

I can say that I was exhausted by 8pm last night.  I went to bed, watched tv, and passed out by 9:30pm.  That is odd for me.  Normally I can NOT get to sleep.  Maybe this anticaffeine thing is good for me.  I also slept through the night and had rather vivid dreams.  Not nearly as sluggish today.

SO...we have been eating lots of beans in this house.  It has been rather "loud".  Things have also been going rather smoothly if you get my drift.  I know, I know.  TMI.  BUT I did say I would give an accurate description of what goes down in the cleanse for me.  Plus I am 90% sure that no one really reads this thing but me, so there ya go.  :)

Sunday night I made some Blueberry Coconut Bars which were amazing.  They were from the book.   I changed the recipe around a bit.  It called for cherries, but the only cherries I had were sweetened and I am trying SUPER hard to be strict with this.  I think now it is more about can I do this.  

V really liked it too.  :)

 So.  I still get a bit tired throughout the day, but today I feel more energized.  I actually cleaned the house this morning.  Yesterday was good until about 6pm when I was making dinner.  I started to feel the crash then.  Dinner was AMAZING.  And then all I wanted to do was lie down and watch My Big Fat American Gypsy Wedding.  That show is hi-larious.

 Dinner was Cuban Black Beans and Brown Rice with Roasted Squash and Gluten-Free Crackers. This was taken directly from the Quantum Wellness book as well.  SO good.  No substitutions necessary.

Well...that is all.  If you have any questions let me know!  Stay tune for installment #3 tomorrow!

Cleanse Day One recap

I am shocked.  I was expecting this to be a bit harder.  We have lots of cake left over in our kitchen from the big kids birthday this past weekend.  It kinda stares at me every now and again and taunts me.  Other than that, not too bad!

I will admit to wanting a big cup of coffee though.  I have not had any headaches yet, so that is good.  I felt rather sluggish around 3pm.  My poor husband was about to pass out and fell asleep MUCH earlier than I did.  Somehow I convinced him to go on this crazy ride with me.

So here are my meals from yesterday.  For breakfast I had...

 Tofu scramble and a bowl of fresh pineapple and raspberries!  Looks yummy, right?  It was.  Super yummy.



Lunch was a collection of salads I made for the big kids birthday, a bean salad and a potato salad.  

Then dinner was a repeat of the salads and half a butternut squash.  If you haven't had one, you need to.  Just slice the  squash in half, scoops out the seeds.  Put in a glass dish with a blob of vegan butter and microwave that sucker for about 20 minutes.  You need to make sure the fork goes in easily.  SO GOOD.

Another challenge I had yesterday was, I wanted ice cream.  And I wanted it bad.  We had a bunch of free ice cream from my son's party and I never even opened some of it.  SO I have QUARTS of unopened Blue Bunny Ice Cream screaming from my garage freezer.

The solution....frozen banana pureed with some natural peanut butter thrown in.  SO GOOD.  Tastes like soft serve, but vegan.  

Well...gotta get my beans cooking for dinner tonight!  See you tomorrow morning for installation #2 of the saga.

21 day Quantum Wellness Clease here I come.

So...it begins today.  21 days of no alcohol, caffeine, refined sugars, animal products, or gluten.  I might go INSANE or this might be the best thing I do in my life.  Time for a change.  Good...bad...who knows.  All I know is that I plan on challenging myself the next three weeks.

How did I get the idea for this cleanse you ask?  It is the Kathy Freston "Quantum Wellness Cleanse" That link goes to the book I got on Amazon.  Here is a link to Kathy Freston's actual page.  Worth checking out.  

Another way I plan on challenging myself is by ACTUALLY keeping up with my blog, both of them.  This one to journal how the cleanse is going and my other blog,  Not a Short Order to post the recipes I use.  This actual page will be a day behind.  I want to make sure I have recipes and my insights into the cleanse all worked out for the day before I start typing.   The other link will have recipes posted as I go.

So...see you back later for my thoughts and recipe links.  FYI...so far so good.  Tofu Scramble and mixed fruit for breakfast.  YUM.

Feel free to cleanse along with me, leave insights you may have, or even some yummy recipes to try.  Just remember the rules!  

No: alcohol, caffeine, animal products, refined sugar, or gluten.

Quinoa with black beans, corn, and avocado.

Say it with me.  KEEN-wah.  Not Ca-no-a like I pronounce it in my head.

This recipe is vegan AND gluten free, so safe for the cleanse!  I feel this might be come a regular recipe regardless.  Gluten is what given stuff the "chewy" feel, like bagels.  This has not gluten, but a nice texture to it.

This is rather easy to make.  Check your quinoa before you start cooking.  Some need to be rinsed before you cook it.  It is rather small so make sure you have a strainer with TINY openings or you will loose it all.  Or, you can go the quick route like me.  Mine was organic AND prewashed.  Just read the bag to find out.  I think a few cents more is well worth the hassle.

This would be lovely with fresh corn, but I forgot to get some at the farmers market this past weekend.  If you forgot as well, go with frozen.  When you use canned vegetables there is always a bunch of salt thrown in there.  With frozen vegetables, the vegetables are picked and frozen right away so the nutrients stay in.  Some frozen vegetables could even be fresher than your fresh vegetables!

If you notice in the picture the quinoa starts out like LITTLE dots, but when you cook it, it has weird squiggly threads coming out of it.  Perfectly normal.  :)



Ingredients:

• 1 cup uncooked quinoa
• 1 cup frozen, or fresh corn cut from the cob
• 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 cup lime juice (about 3 limes for me)
• a handful of chopped cilantro
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 or 2 avocados (I am an avocado junky.  I used two)

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa according to package and set aside.
2. Saute the corn and black beans.  If you have green peppers that would be lovely.  I did not.
3. Once softened, add the lime juice and the cilantro.
4. Add quinoa to this and toss.
5. Top with the avocado and enjoy!  

This is yummy warm as is, or chilled in the fridge.