Christmas Breakfast Flatbreads

Struggling with what to make for breakfast Christmas morning? Wants something that looks like you spent a long time in the kitchen but in reality you only spent 10 minutes preparing it and 15 minutes baking it? Then these should be your go to:

Cinnamon Walnut Flatbread

Savory Breakfast Flatbread

Silhouette Decorated Santa Oven Mitt and Towel

We have a tradition of making some of our Christmas gifts, including the kids. These are Santa themed kitchen accessories that I had my son help with. not a bad idea to teach them how to use an iron when they are younger. 😃

This was a super simple design made on the silhouette software with the silhouette machine. All I did was use different size rectangles to create the sizes I needed, cut them out and iron them on. It was actually a good way to use up some black and gold scrap pieces.

Prepper Chili for a Crowd

2 large cans of crushed tomatoes
2 cans of chili beans (kidney beans in chili sauce)
1 can corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes with chilies (Rotel)
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1 packet of chili seasoning
1 1/2 pounds hamburger, browned & dehydrated

Directions: Mix everything together and cook over a heat source until hot. In the case of this not being a prepper situation, put in the slow cooker for 8 hours on low.

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If you recall, I told you about how we were Becoming Prepared and reading the book 52 Prepper Projects  by David Nash for book club, well, one of the projects in there was dehydrating hamburger. I have a dehydrator and thought, "Why not?!?!"

So, I decided to make the dehydrated hamburger (I've done jerky before so I wasn't concerned) and then make chili with it since I typically usually mostly canned items for this anyways. I was interested to see how the hamburger rehydrated and if there was any texture issues, which there was not. It went over very well and I received compliments on it. I was asked for the recipe as well, so I decided if I was going to type up what I did I might as well make a blog post about it.

I did cook it in the slow cooker, in case you are wondering.

Savory Breakfast Flatbread

Savory Breakfast Flatbread
1 Flatbread (Aldi's has a 2-pk)
2 T butter
4 oz softened cream cheese
1-2 T bacon crumbles
1 green onion, sliced
1-2 T parmesan cheese
1/2 c halved cherry tomatoes
3 eggs
Season with salt, pepper and parsley

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together butter and cream cheese and. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over Flatbread. 
Sprinkle bacon, onion, cheese and tomatoes over the top.
Create 3 divets in the topping and crack an egg in each.
Season the top with salt, pepper and parsley.
Bake 14-15 minutes, until egg has set.

Cinnamon Walnut Flatbread

Cinnamon Walnut Flatbread
1 Flatbread (Aldi's sells a 2-pk)
4 oz softened cream cheese
1/4 C cinnamon sugar
1/4 C chopped walnuts

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spread cream cheese evenly over Flatbread.
Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar and walnuts.
Bake for 14-15 minutes.

Silhouette Machine Creations

Since I had just shared a my newest creation with the Silhouette machine, thought maybe I would make a compilation post of all the items I have made and shared.

Heat Transfer

• Silhouette Heat Transfer Gifts Created for Tweens (Headbands, pants, pillowcases)
• Silhouette  Heat Transfer Creations (headbands with various titles)
• Road Trip T-Shirts
• Silhouette Teacher T-Shirts
• "I FLY! What's Your Super Power?" Sweatshirt
• Basketball Coach Personalized T-Shirt
• 4-H T-Shirt with the Silhouette Machine
• Silhouette "Swim Mom" Shirts
• DIY Concert T-Shirts
• Girls Weekend Beach Tank Tops
• Personalized Beach Bags (End of the Year Teacher Gift)
• EAT. SLEEP. SWIM. REPEAT. T-Shirt
• SWIMMING Flannel Pajama Pants
• State Swim (Headbands and Hats) Silhouette Creations

Vinyl

• Harry Potter Golden Snitch Valentine Box
• After School Snack Wine Glass - Teacher Gift
• RETIREment Gift Idea
• Fall and Christmas Reversible Blocks
• Easy Vinyl Lettered Cups for Teachers and Bus Drivers  
• DIY Cabin Sign

And these are just the things I have shared with you on my blog. You probably noticed I haven't posted on here as much lately, but have been trying to post in other places. So, please Follow my FB page or Follow me on Instagram to see more Silhouette items I have created.

Thanksgiving Craft and Book (3rd grade AR level)

I'm excited to be back volunteering in my son's classroom. Next week I will start volunteering teaching them the Junior achievement curriculum as well as go in one day and read them this Berenstain Bears book, which is a 3.5 accelerated reading level, and do a craft with them.

They idea for this craft came from another mom. She told me they used pom poms to stamp the paint on, so that is what we will do as well.

DIY Headbands using your Silhouette machine

Just finished making our "Shop with Santa" gifts. If you don't know what it is, it is an event coming up on Saturday, December 1st where kids can shop for homemade gifts (made by 4-H families) with assistance from a 4-H member and have them wrapped by an adult. Most gifts are priced around $1-2. This allows kids to pick out affordable presents for their family and have it be a surprise.

My daughter and I made these together. You can see the other (Name) headbands I created in the post Silhouette Heat Transfer Gifts Created for Tweens. There are some other fun ideas there too.

Free Holiday Events at Cabela's

It all starts this weekend! So, check it out! We are lucky to have one very near us and since I still have one left who is a believer we will be participating in some of these as our schedule allows. The age of my son now is the age my daughter was when she stopped believing, but I got through Christmas and Easter that year. This may very well be the last year. I am not sure how things change for us, but I want to take in all the "magic" I can this year.

FREE Entrance Day at National Parks

Coming up on Veterans Day on November 11th is the next FREE Entrance Day at our National Parks.

The above pictures are mine from Death Valley National Park.

Becoming Prepared

Don't let the word proper in the title scare you. You aren't collecting food and water and supplies to live off of for 6 months. In fact it is only helping you get set up for being 72 hours. With that being said you do need a lot of items especially if there is more than one person in your household.

This book gives you 52 different proper projects that you can learn to do so that you are more prepared if something does happen for longer than 72 hours. Think of these 52 different projects as Pinterest of survival ideas that you can access in case of a power or internet outage, which is why you need to buy the book.

Each week there is a new prepper project for a year but for the first 20 weeks there is a shopping list that has you buy items incrementally as to not overwhelm your budget.

In the case of a power outage you will want to have pre packaged and canned foods available so that you are not required to open up your refrigerator and freezer so that you can hopefully salvage most of it.

I actually picked this book for my book club to read this month as I am hosting. I willing to bet that none of them would have normally picked up this book or considered it, but I am hoping that even if they don't starts becoming more prepared it gives them some ideas and plants a little nugget in their brain for the future.

So while other book clubs are reading some New York Times bestseller that probably features a natural disaster or the end of the world I have picked a book that helps them think about how to become more prepared for when we have our next tornado or some other kind of disaster.

Zipper Pull Hack

The zipper on these jeans kept coming down and I suddenly remembered the hack I had seen at one time where you put one of these rings through the pull and around the button to keep the zipper from going down and it works like a charm!

FREE Entrance Day at National Parks

Coming up next week Saturday is a FREE Entrance Day at National Parks for National Public Lands Day!

The above picture is one that I took at the Grand Canyon National Park.

Target 3rd Free Sunday at MN Children's Museum

Mark you calendar, because next Sunday is the third Sunday of the month and you can get in free to the MN Children's Museum (normally admission is $12.95/person.)

Free admission hours are 9am-5pm.

Target FREE 3rd Sunday at the MN Children's Museum

Mark you calendar, because next Sunday is the third Sunday of the month and you can get in free to the MN Children's Museum (normally admission is $12.95/person.)

Free admission hours are 9am-5pm.

Here is the full list of Free Admission left for 2018:


July 16
August 20
September 17
October 15
November 19
 December 17

Happy Independence Day!

Have a safe and fun July 4th!

Quick Vacation Workout (no equipment needed)

Are you on vacation for the next week like I am and unable to I turned your regular exercise classes or don't have access to your equipment. This is just a series of quick workouts so that I get in 15 to 20 minutes of exercise each day and targeting my whole body and working on some stretching. After being gone all week, I don't want to go back to my classes and have fallen out of shape. We all know how quickly that can happen and how far you can be trying to get back into the swing of things.

The asterix next to the yoga poses are just indication to me that these are part of an Instagram yoga challenge that I need to post a picture of.

Nine Nights of Music is FREE!!!

You can check out Nine Nights of Music for FREE in July and August at the Minnesota Historical Society! Check out the website for free parking ideas too!

Check out the website so you can add these dates to your calendar!

FREE MN Fishing Weekend June 8-10

June 8-10  MN residents 16 and older fish free with children younger than 16.

Review:

I know I don't do reviews too often anymore. I want to be sure that a product that I'm going to review is something that fits with my blog and with our family's lifestyle, which is why I am doing a review for Dr. Jacobs castile soaps.

Castile soap is very mild and works well with most skin types. I have to admit that I do wash my face with bar soap in the morning which I am sure many dermatologists would gasp at. But along with that confession I have to also add that I use a Castile soap which is different than using traditional soap.

 For the purpose of the review I tried out the almond honey liquid Castile soap right right away at home and I absolutely adore the scent. And it left my skin feeling so clean. I do intend to bring this soap because it has a pump bottle up to our cabin to use in the bathroom. There we don't leave out any bar soap which could attract unwanted visitors.

Some things I wanted to tell you about Dr. Jacobs Naturals Castile soap is that it contains no parabens, no petrochemicals, no sulfates, no phthalates (what kind of word is that with 4 consonants in a row), no gluten, is 100% vegan and is made in the USA.

The scent base gave me to try out in the bar soap is minty cucumber mojito. The scent is refreshing. I really like using bar soaps. There is something ritualistic about lathering up the bar and your body.

Last week they sent me a large bottle of charcoal liquid soap that would be great for putting in your own pop bottles that you need to refill. I have been seeing a lot more beauty products made with charcoal as of late. It seems to be a new Beauty Trend because the charcoal is supposed to be detoxifying and purifying. The label reads that it is a three-in-one product that cleanses, softens, and sense. The scent is definitely more musky than the other two. There are directions on the bottle of how to use it as a body wash, shampoo, and shaving lather. 

Too Cute Not to Share -- Our Dog Trained to Ring a Bell for a Treat

The kids spent some time working with our dog Ace to teach him to ring a bell in order to receive a treat. He is a very food motivated dog, so he learned this rather quickly.





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Kids Bowl FREE!

 

It's that time of year again where parents are looking for ideas for things for their kids to do so they aren't just sitting around home all day or complaining of boredom.

Kids Bowl Free is a program in which many bowling alleys participate and kids can come bowl for free all summer long. Here is the list of participating MN bowling alleys.  You can also go through that link to access the website and find the list available in your state!

Moms Fish FREE in MN May 12-13

May 12-13  MN residents moms fish free.

FREE GOLF LESSONS at Cuyuna Rolling Hills (BOTH KIDS & ADULTS!)

I was super excited to learn about these FREE Golf lessons at Cuyuna Rolling Hills. This is near our cabin up north in Minnesota.

The kids will each be able to take a free lesson in June and July. Perhaps I will get my first lesson in June.

I just randomly stumbled across this when I was looking up golf courses and driving ranges near the cabin.

Last FREE Concert at the Landmark Center for the Season!

There will be 1 last FREE Courtroom Concerts presented by the Shubert Club in May. All of thee concerts are at the Landmark Center in St. Paul, MN and are at noon on Thursdays. For more information and to see the full concert lineup, check out the Courtroom Concerts.

Youth on Course Minnesota Golf Membership - play for as low as $1

For only $15, your child (ages 6-18) can get a membership to the Minnesota Golf Association Youth on Course program and golf for as low as $1. Yes! I did type ONE DOLLAR!!!!

That cheapest rate is at the Crosswoods Gold Course on their Par 3 course in Crosslake, but all other rates at participating golf course are only $3-$5 including Brooktree Gold Course in Owatonna and the Faribault Golf Club.

Included with that membership is a bag tag and the ability to start recording their USGA Handicap.

I wish my daughter knew of friends that golf. How fun would it be to drop her off and let them go golf 9 holes.

FREE Class on Deck & Patio Staining

Spring time is upon us and it is time to spruce up our home's exterior. Perhaps your deck needs to be brought back to life but you aren't sure just what products to use and how to do it, then you certainly need to check out this FREE CLASS at Home Depot about Deck and Patio staining this weekend!

End of the Year Teacher Gift - Personalized Beach Bags

This was last year's end of the year teacher gift for my kids teachers. I used my Silhouette machine to make iron on letters for their names to make personalized Beach Bags. We filled the bags with a wet/dry bag, sunglasses, lotion and bottles of water with drink mixes. I thought this was a fun end of the year gift to give them to help them get ready for summer.

DIY Basketball Coach Personalized T-shirt

Remember how I mentioned one of the things I really liked about using the silhouette machine was that I could personalized things and this is a perfect example.
This was something my daughter's basketball coach had said several times during practice and she commented she was going to make him a shirt that said this. He didn't think she was serious but at their end of the season basketball party she presented him with this.
Again I had used the tinsel font that I bought from the silhouette design store and this basketball is also an image I purchased from there as well.

Ladies Night Out Idea!! FREE Class on Making a Modern Wall Planter

Get some friends together for this Do-It-Herself FREE class at Home Depot to Build this Modern Wall Planter. The class is in one week, on April 19th, so you have a week to gather your squad. They will have the supplies for sale and show you step by step how to create this project. SIGN UP TODAY!

Where Did We Go Wednesday? Mammoth Dig Site in Hot Springs, SD

This is the man of the dig site in Hot Springs South Dakota. It is an active archaeological dig site. There was no digging going on when we were there because it was a weekend and the digging is done by professionals who volunteer their time to do that.

Of course because this is the mammoth dig site most of the bones that have been found here are of different mammoths but they have found other Bones from other animals as well.

We had never been to any type of archaeological dig site before so this was our first experience. Someday I hope that we can go to an archaeological dig site for some type of dinosaur.

This top picture is of a tooth of a mammoth. Their teeth are Mashers.

They have but this dig site is only partially been excavated and they anticipate in finding many many more.

Here is one skeleton that is relatively complete that they are still working on digging out.

Here you can see one of the most complete Mammoth skulls that they have found at this dig site.

Here is a picture of my son who is about 54 in and if you look at the top of the pole there are so scratch marks those are the scratch marks that the bear that lived during that time would have made. The skeleton of that bear is and the picture below.

Teacher Appreciation Week Gifts

Since it is Teacher Appreciation Week in a month, I thought I would share some of the things that we did last year.

I tried to remember each one of their teachers at least once during the week and often more than that, especially their main teachers.

I hope this helps give you some ideas and you show your appreciation to the teachers and your kids lives in some way or other, even an email or note of thank you is very appreciated.