Monday, April 27, 2009

My-Kaps for My Keurig: A Way to Reuse K-cups

I have a Keurig coffee maker and I'm loving it. It makes great coffee and I like that my next cup can be a different brand of coffee. Generally though, I only drink one cup a day.

I've been looking for a way to use up the loose coffee that I still have. Keurig does make a reusable coffee filter but I haven't wanted to pay the money to get it. I've been waiting for a sale and a coupon before I purchased one. But I might not get one.

My mom was browsing the internet and came across a really great site that makes little Kaps for spent K-cups. You open up the K-cup and empty out the used grounds. Rinse the cup and let it dry. When your ready for a new cup of coffee, you fill up the empty K-cup with your choice of loose coffee and place the My-Kap (tm) on the cup. There you go. A refillable K-cup.

Are you interested in these as well? They are called My-Kap (tm). They are little plastic Kaps. You can buy one or many of these My-Kaps and prefill youf K-cups or just fill and use as needed. I think I'd like at least 2.

Off to brew a cup of coffee.

Reuse your Keurig K-Cups!

Prizey 3.0 has Launched

Make sure to stop by and check out the new Prizey 3.0. There are some great new features and now anyone who signs up to be a member (it's free), can add a giveaway to the listing (also free).

Friday, April 24, 2009

Vinegar is Not Just for Pickles

Parent Bloggers Network and How I Clean Now want to know your tips and tricks on keeping your house clean.

In our house when a cleaning day comes around, we turn on some ABBA and start at one end and work or way to the other end. Or sometimes we split up the house into rooms and each tackle a section. Or sometimes one person does the picking up, one person does all the dusting, and another does all the vacuuming. Okay, I guess we don't have a set way we clean. But one thing some good music keeps the pace of cleaning going.

One trick I've learned recently is how to make my own all purpose cleaner. It saves money and uses all natural products like vinegar which isn't just for pickles (you should look up all the uses for vinegar. It's amazing what the stuff can do.) I'll walk you through the steps I use to make my cleaner.

Gather your ingredients:
  • empty spray bottle
  • white vinegar
  • water
  • tea tree oil (or other essential oil of choice. This is an optional ingredient)



Mix together: a 1:1 ratio of water and white vinegar into the empty spray bottle. I used 1 cup water and 1 cup white vinegar.





*Optional* Place 10-15 drops of essential oil into your cleaner. You could probably use less. I used tea tree oil because that's what I have on hand. Tea tree oil is a natural antibacterial, antiviral, and anti fungal oil and I happen to like the smell of it.



Make sure to label your new cleaner and start cleaning.



There was some paint on the door that had been put there by Pony and hadn't been cleaned up through the winter. It's probably been there since last fall. We don't use that door much so didn't remember that it was there until we are starting to open the door to let the nicer weather in. Any way it's been there for a while.







The paint came right off! And the door is much cleaner. No more little finger prints, face prints or paint.

I use this cleaner all over the house. Some people don't like the smell of the vinegar but I don't mind it. I like knowing that if Pony wanted to see how the windows tasted and went up and licked them, she'd not get a tongue full of nasty chemicals.

Now go and clean your house. And if you want, you can come clean mine as well.

________________________________

This post was written for a Parent Bloggers Network and How I Clean Now Blog Blast

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Jeans Issues

Does anyone actually have a pair of jeans that fit them like their supposed to?

My current supply consists of jeans that are:
  • too tight in the waist but fit great everywhere else
  • too long and I walk on them
  • fits great for 5 minutes and then they increase in size throughout the day until I could practically pull them down without undoing them
  • have holes in them so I don't wear them

I want a pair of jeans that:
  • fit great everywhere
  • continue to hold their proper shape/size throughout the day
  • are comfortable
  • dark washed
  • and under $50 preferably in the $20-$30 range

Who makes these jeans and where are they?

Monday, April 20, 2009

Happy Birthday Connor



The Party has begun. Make sure to head on over to Seven Dogs and a Baby to wish Connor a Happy second Birthday.

There are party games like the Scavenger Hunt with door prizes, giveaways, and plenty of great reviews (maybe you'll find something you like for a birthday party you might be attending this year).

I'd love a pair of Pedipeds (door prize) for the girls.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Leftover Easter Eggs, Now What?

A few things I learned about eggs this past Easter:

Did you know that if you don't buy your plastic eggs early there won't be any left in the stores at 10pm the night before Easter? None absolutely no fillable eggs.

Did you know that if you have a really nice Christian Education Leader at your church, he'll let you borrow the eggs from the church for your egg hunt later in the day?

Did you know the week after Easter is Egg Salad Week? Found out from Parent Bloggers Network about that little bit of trivia.

We wanted to color hard boiled eggs this year but did not get the chance. I was looking forward to trying some natural dyes. I guess I'll attempt it at another time. So no hard boiled eggs here.

What do you do with all your hard boiled eggs after the celebrations have calmed down?

Here are a few options:
  • eat them with salt and pepper for breakfast
  • make a chef salad with leftover ham, hard boiled eggs, cheese, ranch dressing, and greens of your choice
  • make egg salad
  • make potato salad
  • dice them up and add to empanada meat for a traditional Argentinian empanadas
(I'd really like to post a recipe for Rice Salad that uses hard boiled eggs but I don't know the recipe. I basically know how to make it but not quantities of ingredients. So instead I'll post the recipe below)

Here's an interesting recipe I found in my Paula Deen's Kitchen Classics cookbook:

Pickled Beets and Eggs

one 15 oz can whole beets, drained, juice reserved
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup malt vinegar
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon salt
6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and rinsed

Combine the reserved beet juice, sugar, vinegar, cloves, and salt in a saucepan and heat until the sugar has dissolved. Place the eggs in a large bowl, then add the beets. Pour in the juice, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

Sounds kind of interesting. I like hard boiled eggs. I like pickled beets in salads. Do I like them together? Not sure yet. I haven't tried the recipe but I'm thinking I'm going to have to try them (maybe). I'm sure the eggs are going to turn a lovely deep pinkish color.

Need some more ideas for your leftover hard boiled eggs? Check out the American Egg Board for great recipes. I think I'm going to have to try this Tomato & Avocado Egg Salad. Sounds wonderful. And make sure to stop by The Parent Bloggers Network as well and see what other bloggers do with their leftover hard boiled eggs.

And for those leftover plastic eggs? We let the girls use them in their play kitchen (not this year though, we have to return them to their rightful owner).

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Get Fit

Kidazy is having a giveaway for wii fit. I'd love to win this. We've been trying to get in shape lately by walking and doing some videos. I'd love to mix it up and add some fun to the routine as well. The wii sure looks like fun. I've played a few times at friends houses and had fun. The girls would love it as well. Ends April 10.

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Mommies with Cents and LoveSac

Mommies with Cents and LoveSac have teamed together to offer an amazing giveaway. A SuperSac in the standard cover of your choosing. This is such a fun and wonderful giveaway but you better hurry if you want to enter, it ends tonight.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Comment Moderation On (until further notice)

I'm really getting hit with spam comments right now even with the word verification on. You won't see your comments until I approve them.

Sorry about that.