Thursday, December 29, 2016

Tip for Making Peanut Butter Cookies

A great baking tidbit from a dear friend of mine!
Used by permission



As I was cleaning my sewing room tonight and tossing out close to empty spools, a memory was triggered.  My sister LONG ago showed me how these plastic spools with spokes can be used for pressing cookies (like peanut butter)....to make the cutest little flowers on top!  If you come across a spool....wash it up and toss it in your baking drawer for next time!  I just did.

Friday, December 23, 2016

The Perpetual Calendar

by Lois Breneman

This is the time of year when we try to have an ample supply of calendars for our home.

Years ago I bought more calendars than I really needed because they were super cute and very inexpensive.  Not a money-saving tip!  I thought I would use them as gifts, but then I changed my mind.  So I hung onto them, which IS a money-saving tip, because of the following information! Some of the nice calendars that we had used were not marked up, so those can be recycled.

I have four very nice specialty calendars with lovely pictures that I'll need to pass on to a younger person though.  Why? Well, because the next year they will match up, I will be one hundred years old!  I doubt I'll be needing them.  If I'm still alive, I probably won't know what day it is, even with a calendar!  Although I do enjoy saving money, sorry to say, this was *not* a money-saving measure!

Thanks to the perpetual calendar chart, we can find out other years that those calendars can used! http://www.vpcalendar.net/20th_21st.html


For the following five years in red, a calendar from those previous years listed will work, which means you don't need to buy more calendars if you have any from these corresponding years!

This link works even better when searching for a specific year so you can find out how it can be used again if not marked up:
http://www.whencanireusethiscalendar.com/

2017 - 1978 - 1989 - 1995 - 2006
2018 - 1973 - 1979 - 1990 - 2001 - 2007
2019 - 1974 - 1985 - 1991 - 2002 - 2013

2020 - 1964 - 1992  (Leap Year means less corresponding years)
2021 - 1965 - 1971 - 1982 - 1993 - 1999 - 2010


So don't toss out your old calendars.  Simply refer to a perpetual calendar.  I plan to label my old calendars to use in the future, since they're in perfect condition.

Friday, December 2, 2016

Encouragement for the Mom Who Regrets What She Said





When I learned my second pregnancy was with a little girl, I immediately had visions of tutus and hairbows. Parenting up to that point had consisted of Tonka trucks and John Deere tractors, so the thought of dressing up a little girl fascinated me. I left the ultrasound and went straight to the store, needing to buy something pink and prissy to hang in her closet.

Today, that little girl is nearly 10 years old, and although I dressed her in pink and placed the biggest bows I could find on her tiny baby head, she did not turn out to be a prissy girl. She is athletic and strong, and she would rather wear running shorts and t-shirts than dresses and tights.

Her dark brown hair cascades down her back, and a ponytail has become her signature look. But that dark brown ponytail has become the biggest argument-inducer between the two of us. She hates to condition it, hates to dry it, and hates to brush it. If she had her way, her hair would always air dry and be full of tangles and knots. We’ve gone around and around about it, and every night I find myself asking, “Have you brushed your hair yet?” I always know the answer.

After a busy night recently of her gymnastics practice and her brother’s football activities, we rushed to eat dinner, make lunches, take showers, and get everyone ready for bed. It wasn’t until I tucked her in that I noticed her hair. Unbrushed. Wet. Tangled.

I wish I could say I handled it calmly, but I didn’t. I was tired and harried, and I let my frustration over her actions direct my handling of the situation. I fussed. I criticized. And I made her cry.

“I’m sorry,” she tearfully apologized, adding, “I’m so mad at myself.”

And in that moment, I became mad at myself, too.

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