Christmas Cash Giveaway Event!!

Tweet #1650ChristmasCashGiveaway

Thanks to some amazing bloggers we were able to come collectively together with a

 CASH PRIZE of $1650.  

Yes, you read it correctly, $1650!   

What could you do with a little extra cash 

this holiday season? 

 Enter our giveaway and good luck. 

Giveaway to run November 1st - November 22nd  with the winner receiving their cash on Black Friday so they can start shopping for the Christmas Holiday.

Meet your Host and CoHosts

 Sew Crafty Angel      Cuddlebug Cuties      God's Growing Garden                      

Epic Mommy Adventures      A Kitchen Hoor           Katherine's Corner

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 Far From Normal         A Peek Into My Paradise         What's Up Fagans

He Calls Me Grace          My Turn For Us      

Natalie Loves Beauty       VMG206          The Weary Chef                        

Crsytelle Boutique           100lb Countdown            Saving 4 Six

Love Bakes Good Cakes         An Alli Event         Let It Shine        Nap-Time Creations

bumblebreeblog             Magenta & Lime                  Everyday Hayley

Notes from the Nelsens              Second Chances Girl       My So-Called Chaos

Mommy Life After PhD           army wife to suburban life

Jessa Olson          Joyful Homemaking         Kelly's Kinda Crazy
Let's Write Life         Omnivor's Cookbook        A Proverbs 31 Wife
The Life of the Party        My Simple Kitchen        Mommy Like Whoa
Hope In Every Season          Lovely You Blog           Love in the Kitchen
    Diary of a Debutante        One More Time Events    Food Faith Fitness         
 Uplifting Love      West Street Story       Dreams and Colour       
    Interior Design Principles          Simple Nails and Beauty       Dancing with my Daughter

Heartbeats Soul Stains

Many THANKS to our Sponsors too!  
Please stop by and tell them hello.

Shake Bake and Party     I Dig Pinterest     Heidi's Wanderings       Ask Away 
 Yesterfood          Tiny Sidekick          F. Dean Hackett - Foundational
Raising Samuals       Crafts a la Mode     enjoy the view         Carlsbad Cravings
Till Then Smile Often      Lavender Likes, Loves, Finds and Dreams      Ya Gotta Have a Hobby

  I Choose Joy!       Tastes of Lizzy T      Life With The Crust Cut Off

A Little R&R         Take A Bite Out of Boca          Life Of Faith

Chronically Content         Living Better Together         Rachel  Beach         hoopla palooza

        

 
   

Part 1 a Rafflecopter giveaway Part 2 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Please read the rules of sweepstakes and contests held at Sew Crafty Angel.

Giveaway is open worldwide to participants with a verified PayPal account.

All entries will be verified. In the event an entry can not be verified participant chooses to forfeit that entry and another winner will be chosen.

Winner has 48 hours to respond to the winning email.

Giveaway will run from October 31st 11:59 PM CST to November 22nd, 12 AM CST

Any taxes or fees associated with the winnings of this contest are the sole responsibility of the winner according to their county, state and/or country laws.

Prize money to be distributed by Angel Allen from Sew Crafty Angel.

CASH prize is in US Dollars and will not be converted to any foreign currency.

Void where prohibited by law.

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A Glimpse from Our Vacation So Far...

Cruising the Caribbean is tons of fun!  Right now we are in Fort Lauderdale and I thought I'd show you a couple of images of our vacation.

Katy and The Mr. play in the incredible blue water and white sand at Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas.

(Confounded waterproof camera does not have the ability  to turn off the date/time stamp.  Also, is not entirely "waterproof" which is a bit of an issue.)

My Sis and I with the ship in the background.  I could stay on Half Moon Cay a while I think.

On the rocks!

We did not proceed beyond the sign.  Even though it didn't look that dangerous.

And Sheepy is enjoying so much great food!  Baked brie.  One of his favorites.

While in the Bahamas, Sheepy insisted on having a Bahama Mama.  That's a lot of drink for a little guy!

We're enjoying ourselves, relaxing and rejuvenating.  One more whole week to enjoy.  We'll be in Grand Turk, Puerto Rico and St. Maarten next week - check on back to see how we're doing!

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Pickled Grapes

I'm on a pickle kick this week.  Can you tell?

   

A couple of years ago, I made some pickled grapes.

Pickled grapes you say?  Ew!

I know, they do sound odd, but they really taste amazingly good.  The first time I made them, I followed a recipe exactly.  This time I branched out a bit.  I do that a lot.  The original recipe calls for red grapes and white wine vinegar.  See what I did:



Pickled Grapes with Cinnamon and Black Pepper

Ingredients:

• 1 pound seedless green grapes
• 1 cup white balsamic vinegar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
• 2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
• 1 (2 1/2-inch) cinnamon stick, cut in half (if using two jars, otherwise leave whole)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
Rinse and dry the grapes, and pull them carefully from their stems. Using a small sharp knife, cut the grapes in half.

Divide the grapes among 2 pint-sized clean, dry canning jars.

In a medium saucepan, combine the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat and then you have two choices. The original recipe has you pour the bring mixture over the grapes and let them cool together. A cold brine will take a bit longer to "pickle", but the grapes will stay more firm. Either way, these are yummy!  Once cool, chill the grape and brine mixture in their jars in the refrigerator for at least eight hours or overnight.  Note:  unlike the pickles I made earlier this week, these are not hot-processed and need to be refrigerated, and will last several weeks.

Serve cold with cheese and crackers.  People will love it.  And have no idea that they are eating pickled grapes.  (Yum!.)

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Important Question!

I made cupcakes for a pot luck with co-workers.

Honestly, if I had some of those snow cone cups from the Patriotic Snow Cone Cupcakes recipe, I would have made those.

But I didn't, and I needed to be a bit creative.

So I made some red and white striped cupcakes.

My questions is... how to decorate?  Ideas??

I'm half tempted to frost them in white and top them with these:

What do you think?

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Boy Scout Food

Last weekend, The Mr and The Boy went to new scout camp, so that The Boy could get some experience camping with the Boy Scouts.

It was not The Boy's first time camping, but it was The Mr's first time.

Things he didn't like:

• hard, rocky and root-covered ground
• loud night-time environment
• no shower facilities

Basically, the same reasons I don't like camping.  We're well matched.  :-)

Things he did like:

• spending time with The Boy
• having The Boy do all the work (which is what they are supposed to do for this overnight experience)
• eating the wonderful Boy Scout Dutch Oven food

Like these Boy Scout Baked Beans....

Which the dads made...

With many hands and many opinions..

Do many hands make quicker work?  Hmm...

The dads also made the desserts.  Apparently, the Russian Cherry Delight was unbelievable.

Butter and marshmallows on top.  Sounds good to me already.

Yum!

And then they got to enjoy a well-deserved campfire.

Great first camping trip guys!


Do you camp?  Or send your Boy to Scout Camp?

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In Our Backyard

We see quite a few hummingbirds in our yard.  They are among my favorite things to watch - they are pretty fearless, and will come right up to us.  I expect because they want us to get out of their territory.  They haven't learned much about sharing yet.

Hummingbirds are among the smallest of birds, most species measuring in the 3–5 inch range. They can hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 12–80 times per second (depending on the species). To conserve energy while they sleep or when food is scarce, they have the ability to go into a hibernation-like state (torpor) where their metabolic rate is slowed to 1/15th of its normal rate.  They are also the only group of birds able to fly backwards.  They can fly at speeds exceeding 34 mph!

Hummingbirds drink nectar, a sweet liquid inside certain flowers. Like bees, they are able to assess the amount of sugar in the nectar they eat; they reject flower types that produce nectar that is less than 10% sugar and prefer those whose sugar content is stronger. Nectar is a poor source of nutrients, so hummingbirds meet their needs for protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, etc. by preying on insects and spiders.

Hummingbirds drink by using protrusible grooved or trough-like tongues. Hummingbirds do not spend all day flying, as the energy cost would be prohibitive; the majority of their activity consists simply of sitting or perching. Hummingbirds feed in many small meals, consuming many small invertebrates and up to twelve times their own body weight in nectar each day. They spend an average of 10–15% of their time feeding and 75–80% sitting and digesting.

With the exception of insects, hummingbirds while in flight have the highest metabolism of all animals, a necessity in order to support the rapid beating of their wings. Their heart rate can reach as high as 1,260 beats per minute!  They also consume more than their own weight in nectar each day, and to do so they must visit hundreds of flowers daily. Hummingbirds are continuously hours away from starving to death, and are able to store just enough energy to survive overnight.

Hummingbirds are for the most part unsociable. In fact, the adjectives pugnacious and feisty are often appropriate. When more than one hummingbird is around, it is often a scene of repeated high-speed chases. In fact, male and female hummingbirds do not form a pair-bond after mating and the female is left to care for eggs and chicks alone.

Hummingbirds do not need the help of other hummingbirds, either to locate food or fend off predators. Other hummingbirds are competitors for the flower nectar upon which they thrive. The help that a male might provide a female does not outweigh the burden of having a male around competing for food.

What is all this fighting about? Plants take time to secrete nectar into their flowers. In an ideal world, hummingbirds should time their visits to flowers to take advantage of a full load. But they wait to feed at a flower at the risk of other hummingbirds beating them to the punch. It is therefore worth the effort for hummingbirds to chase away competitors so they have access and control of their favorite flowers.

In many cases, hummingbirds defend small territories around a favorite flower patch, and do so even during brief stop-overs for refueling during migration. Where many species live together, the large species attempt to dominate flowers and get the biggest drinks of nectar and smaller species try to sneak in for a few sips.


Do you attract hummingbirds to your yard?

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The Life of Riley

Riley likes to relax in this chair.

Sometimes Katy sits next to her. More often she tries to sit on top of her.

Riley has limited interest in having Katy sit on top of her.

Perhaps a rabbit chase is in order!

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