Thrifty Thursday: Making reusable shopping bags out of old tshirts

It is easier then you think to make reusable shopping bags out of things that you already have around the house.  Don't you have a few shirt that shrank in the wash, never fit the same way on that you thought they would or were given to you for some freebie from work (or ugly shirts from someone else's vacation....am I the only one that has those)?

I have shirts that I don't wear that have been sitting in my drawer because I don't know what else to do with them.  Who would want the shirt that my husband brought home for bowling in a charity tournament at his friends work place?  Umm, no one and it is black which we don't wear in the summer heat because it is would be like an oven.  I also have shirts that I used to wear that have good memories that I don't wear anymore. There are others that I had fond memories of and didn't want to get rid of so what better then to smile when you get out your bags at the store.

They recently went into pile which sat in the same place reminding me that I needed to make these nifty and thrifty reusable bags.  I finally grabbed one when I had a second and cut the arms and the collar off.

I took the sleeves and cut them open and put them into the rag bucket so that I could pull them out for cleaning next time I needed a rag.  Never let anything go to waste when you don't have to, right?

The first one didn't go extremely well because I followed the path of the collar.  See how the back is a little higher than the front.  Well, it was an easy fix and I just cut a little more off.  I did a second one and I made one cut through both sides and it looked much better on the first try.

I have a sewing machine in the basement which is piled under a bunch of things (which I insist doesn't work and my mom strongly disagrees with me so it has yet to be replaced) so I sent these two shirts home with my mom to be sewed on her really nice quilting sewing machine that gets serviced every year and is nice and strong.  She sewed the bottom seam in seconds and I had bags.... well, not until she came down to visit again but I did have them.  She sewed above the seam at the bottom while the shirt was inside out and then turned them the right way so that there aren't any seams showing.

I couldn't believe how big the bags were.  I decided that I might need to change the bag design if I was going to hold anything too big but I thought that they would be perfect for chips or diapers (not in a box) which are both big and lightweight.  I ended up trying it out at the store when I got tissues.  The bag fit 10 boxes!!!  Way easier then carrying lots of bags.  I was going to use the other one for the toilet paper but they ended up fitting in another bag so this was the only one that I got to try out.

I think that they would be perfect to carry beach toys and balls in the summer and I did see one that had little cuts in the fabric to let air in and dirt out that might be a great idea.  I know that I currently have a bag with the beach toys in them and it is is never big enough for all the toys so I might have to try it without holes first and then see if I need to change the design.

There are tons of great ideas with these neat bags and I am sure that you can make lots with old t-shirts that you have already around the house.  Go looking in closets and drawers and see what you find to try to make one for yourself!  If you want a smaller bag for getting stuff from the drugstore or other places, start looking through your kids clothes and let me know what you come up with!!!  I hope that you try to make your own and see how neat these bags are to add to your collection of reusable bags.

Kid Reading and Math: 100 Days of Cool

 100 Days of Cool (MathStart 2) by Stuart J. Murphy was on my list of books that I wanted to read so I reserved it at the library.  I was super excited when it came in because I thought that this would give me a chance to do some math and talk about school.  Little did I know how much my son would enjoy the book.

In this book, Toby walks into school to see a group of his classmates dressed wild.  Maggie, Nathan, Yoshi and Scott  told him that the new teacher, Mrs. Lopez, is going to celebrate 100 days of cool.  Toby told them that misunderstood that it was 100 days of school, not COOL!  They decided that they were going to go to school as they were and for the next 99 days.  They wore crazy socks, decorated their bikes, wrote jokes on the board, and dressed in 70s clothes.  It was hard to be creative for that long and soon the class jumped in to help with ideas.  When, the four kids got to school on Day 100, they were covered from head to foot so that no one could see and then they revealed their crazy outfits together and had a party.  During the party, Scott worried what they would do when the fun was over!!

When I got this book, I thought it would just be a fun math book that we could read.  My son declared that they were counting the days at school and they were going to have a party at a 100 days.  I guess this is a thing that I didn't even know they did but he was super excited to read all of the funny ways that the kids dressed up and acted silly.  It introduced a lot of math things like a number line and subtracting big numbers without the kids even knowing it was in there.  There were even fractions but they were all in with the story so it went with the flow of the story so it was a great introduction to terms that kids might learn about later.  I would recommend this silly story because I think that most kids would love to see how other kids act silly!  I hope that you pick it up at your local library or bookstore.

At the end of the book, there is a section with information on different activities that you can do along with the book.  Point out the number line to the child and talk about how many days remain until the 100th day of school.  Make a number line similar to the one in the book and fold it so that you can show fractions.  Make a necklace with 100 Froot Loops or other cereal (and group colors by 10s if you are more advanced).  Look at the calendar and find the 100th day of the year after making an estimate of when you think it is going to be.  Count how many days to the next big event of the child's birthday.

In addition, they also suggest starting a collection of 100 things like pennies, marble or buttons.  Make a domino train with exactly 100 dots (I like dominos but this seems like it might be for older kids).  Take 100 pennies and collect them into groups between 3-15 and see how many different ways you can group the pennies so that none are left over.

While, they listed out all of these activities, none of them sounded like they would be in my son's interest.  I did give him an old calendar that I found that had no writing in it and asked what he wanted to do with it.  I asked him if we could go through the months and the days of the week (because he was doing it in school).  He said that he already knew all those and he wanted a marker.  I grabbed the marker and he wanted me to start spelling things for him.  He was writing a menu plan!  I was laughing on the inside but tried really hard not to crack a smile. 

The days of the week were different but he decided that he wanted to have spaghetti for dinner that night.  A few days later he said he needed his calendar and he took all of the meals and checked them off!  That is why there is a check in the middle of the picture.  I don't check off my meals but he thought it was important to do it and he was excited to have control over his menu.

We also decided to take the calendar and count what was 100 days from the beginning of the year.  I brought the calendar with me while we waited in line at school so that we would have time that we didn't have anything else to do because when I suggested we do it after he did his meal plan, he said that was silly.  I try to go along with things that my son wants to do when he wants to do them because it is the only way that I see his creativity.  He was much more interested in counting the days when there weren't any distractions.  I asked him to guess what month 100 days would fall into and he said that I had to go first so I guessed April and he guessed August (maybe just because it started with A because we are still working on the months in order and he doesn't know them).  I pointed and he counted and we got to day 100 and he cheered.  It was in April and he asked me how I guessed that.  I told him that I estimated that there were 30 days in a month and it would have to be four months and April is the fourth month.  Then, we counted how many days of school that he has been to and the day that I was dropping him off for was day 39 which he cheered.  So if you decide to count on the calendar, make it while you are stuck in the car and have your child's undivided attention because it really works!

If you are still working on the days of the week and the months of the year, it is a great opportunity to work those in as well since you are already looking at the calendar.  My son did this activity at school and I am going to work on the months at home just like this one!

I hope that you check out this book and incorporate a few activities to make it even more fun for the kids!  Any time of the year is good but the end of the year and the beginning of the year are particularly good because you can introduce how the new year starts!  I hope that you pick this up at your local library or bookstore soon!

Shared at 12 Fun and Easy Kids Crafts at Pounds for Pennies

White Chocolate Raspberry Pound Cake

My mom wanted to have a pound cake with strawberries that she bought so she asked me to picked one up at the store.  Really??  I don't pick up baked goods at the store, I bake them.  I asked her if she would be okay with me making one.  I checked to see if there was one at the store but there wasn't....I got to make one but it took a few days for them to give me enough time to make it.

I had two recipes that I was trying to decide between and I went with a new one that I hadn't made before.  It was a risk but one that I was willing to take in order to try something new.  The recipe that I had was for Almond Joy Pound Cake (gotten from a blog that seems to have shut down) which was a little different then what I was looking for so I decided that I would just change it a little.

I pulled out all of the ingredients and figured out if I needed anything else but luckily I had everything I needed to make this including a white chocolate raspberry coffee creamer that I got for free at Harris Teeter a little while ago.

The first step was to cream the butter and shortening in the mixer.  My son decided that he needed to help with this so he showed Daddy how good he was at baking.  Then, we added the sugar and eggs taking turns in between to allow them to mix completely.  My son was eager to get to the next ingredient but I told him that we needed to wait for it to full incorporate.  See even baking can be a vocabulary lesson for 5 year olds!

Luckily, my son gave up on the adventure of baking the pound cake.  The next step was to add 3/4 cups of flour and alternate with the water and creamer.  I finally added the remaining ingredients.

My husband picked out the mum bundt pan (because I have a serious bundt pan addiction and we have a lot).  He used the cake release which can be found at AC Moore to coat the pan with a brush.

Here is what it looks like after it is painted.

I poured the batter into the pan and realized that I had way too much batter.  I put some into another greased bowl.  I put them in the oven to bake which was a little challenging because the mum has weird points that have trouble sitting flat on the oven rack.

I learned quickly that I didn't take enough out of the pan because both the small bowl and the bundt pan overflowed!!  Oops!  I had to put aluminum foil under the pan so that there wasn't any more mess in the oven.... might need to clean my oven soon.  UGH!

We got out the smaller test cake and my mom, dad, husband and I all got a taste and agreed that it was super tasty.  It was also really fragrant when it was hot but not as much when it cooled off.

We waited patiently for the full cake to come out of the oven.  When it did, it had a great crust on the top (which would soon be the bottom when it was flipped out of the pan).

It came out cleanly and looked beautiful.

There was a nice crust on the outside of the cake and it was so soft and moist inside.

My husband decided to have a slice plain which he really enjoyed.

My father decided to have one with strawberries.  Since he is messy, I put his in a bowl so that he wouldn't loose strawberries all over the table.

I hope that you try some for yourself which ever way you like your pound cake but this is amazing cake.

White Chocolate Raspberry Pound Cake

Ingredients:
1 cup margarine
1/2 cup shortening
3 cups sugar, divided
5 eggs
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
3 cups flour, divided
3/4 cup liquid flavored creamer (I used white chocolate raspberry)
1/4 cup water

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour (or use cake release) in a Bundt or tube pan. Cream together margarine and shortening. Add 1/4 cup of the sugar and stir; add one egg and stir again. Repeat this process until all the remaining sugar and eggs are stirred into the creamed mixture. Mix in salt and baking powder; add 3/4 cup of the flour. Continue to mix adding creamer and water alternately with remaining flour.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Reduce heat to 300 degrees and bake for 15 – 20 more minutes. Cool completely. Invert onto serving plate.

Shared on Homemade Monday at Frugal by Choice 

The Hero Book Review

The Hero (Thunder Point) by Robyn Carr was on my reserve list at the library and it took forever to come in but I knew that I had to read quickly since I wouldn't get a renewal so I picked it up as soon as I was done with the previous book.  It was a fast read and I really enjoyed it (as I did all the other books in the series).

In this book, Devon McAllister is picked up on the side of the road with her young daughter, Mercy, after escaping the strange cult where she lived.  The older stranger, Rawley, that picked her up offered to bring her to Thunder Point and give her some help to get on her feet.  He becomes almost like a grandfather to her and Mercy by providing a place to live and help with food and clothes.  With the help of the whole town, she got a new job, a new place to live, and a new lease on life.  She enjoyed the safety she felt in this small town even though she was very secretive about her previous life.  When her past was discovered, she realized that this small town was the perfect place for her to start over with great friends and a budding romance.  Make sure you pick this up at your local library or bookstore and check it out!!!

I really enjoyed this book and was so excited to see the characters again.  It was great to meet a new character and follow how she was accepted into the town.The people in the town make Devon realize that she isn't the only one with problems and a past.  It is great to understand that you aren't the only person with problems.  When you are in the middle of problems, it seems like you are the only person in the world who is going through things but this book really helps you to see that everyone has different issues to overcome. Check out the whole Thunder Point series when you get a chance because there are some great characters and plots!  I can't wait to see if there is another one coming soon :)

Menu Plan Monday 12/2

Monday- Fried Rice for my husband and baked potato for me
Tuesday- Chicken Paninis
Wednesday- Salsa Sloppy Joes on homemade rolls
Thursday-  Breakfast for Dinner
Friday- Homemade Pizza
Saturday- ???
Sunday- ????

What???  December???  Wasn't it just Thanksgiving?  I was just trying to get through the holiday but I totally missed that it was the end of the month until there wasn't anymore calendar and I had to flip the page.  I had to quickly work on the menu for the month and try to get organized but it was already December when I realized that I had to flip the calendar and get busy.  Luckily, we have lots of food in the house so I guess we will see what plays out for the month!!  Crossing our fingers and hoping to not have to get much this month since last month so so crazy :)

Weekly Goals 12/1

I can't believe how much we tried to fit into this week but my parents don't like to sit still. I told them that I needed a break and sent them all out to Legos at the library on Saturday and barely got anything done.  I wrapped a few presents and took a shower.  Of well, at least I was spared chasing after them because they love to shop and my feet are so tired that I can barely stand.  I have never had my big toe hurt so much but I think that it is done holding me up!  It seems like this has been two weeks but I am trying to keep up the best that I can. 

I spent some of the time later on Saturday getting some more of the presents wrapped and under the tree for lots of my son's friends.  He seems to look at the gifts and think that they might not like them and that they would be better for him :)  Does anyone else have this problem? Obviously, I get things for other peoples kids that my kid would like but they really need to make them out of the house.  We had a discussion about how it was time to pick out things for friends that they would like and he declared that no one ever gives him presents except in December.  I love his drama especially since grandma and grandpa have been here all week lavishing presents on him!! 

How did you holiday week go??

This week:

Family Goals

• Spend time with family and extended family- Lots and lots of time since it seemed that every time we were turning around, we were piling in the car and going somewhere else.  It was exhausting but my son had fun.
• Get to preschool on time the one day- Yup, it was tough because we were loosing track of what day it was but we made it out of the house and too school....well, my son did and then we all had to make it to the program.
• Thanksgiving program at my son's school- We got to go to the Thanksgiving program on Monday for my son's friend and then again on Tuesday for my son.  It was fun to see all the kids and talk to the teachers.
• Storytime at the library- We went to storytime and crafts at the library and got to make a turkey puppet after listening to a turkey story.  It was fun and really well organized.  They even started with the hello song to each kid.  Then, my little man had to take grandma and grandpa to all of the kids books and show them where they all were.

Personal Goals

• Cut coupons- I finally got to cutting the coupons on Saturday and cut one of the two inserts before realizing that my husband didn't hear me ask if he could pick up the papers and I should have reminded him while he was at the library!  UGH!  Off to the library to see if they have the papers for this week or if it wasn't done because it was a holiday so the coupons were not finished.
• Get coupons on Friday- Libraries were closed on Friday so I was trying to figure out what to do but I decided to go on Saturday...sadly, my family forgot to look when they were at the library so I went at closing and got the few that were left.  Here is hoping that I can pick up a few more next week.
• Organize and back up pictures on computer- Done and excited to have a new computer without all the clutter.
• Teaching new couponer the basics- YEAH!  It went really well and I covered lots of information so I am hoping for a second meeting to go over more to get her started.
• Go to Jazzercise on Thanksgiving- UGH!  I didn't go because I was still trying to recovering from shopping with my parents and I was having horrible pains so I decided that it was best not to push it.  Sadly, didn't make it this week at all because of the company.
• Shut off computer 6 nights to save energy- I left it on one night because I kind of lost track of things with the shopping and more shopping but I got it off all other nights.
• Finish reading The Hero by Robyn Carr- Finished and review should be coming soon.
• Start reading the new Nicholas Sparks book from the library- I started reading it but I didn't get very far but I was hoping to finish it before the end of the month.  There was too much company to spend that much time reading :(

Home Management Goals

• Clean dishes, counters and floors at least 5 days of the week- The kitchen was disgusting this week but I tried my best to keep it clean.  It took a lot more times of cleaning it especially because I don't think that my mom has a sense of germs and frequently uses things that I consider dirty to clean the counters so I spent a lot of time following after to clean or sucking it up and dealing with dirty counters (per my definition, not hers). I guess that I am a little compulsive.
• Clean dishes one night and not wait until the morning- I cleaned dishes and cleaned dishes and cleaned dishes.  We ran the dish washer every day and emptied and refilled.  It was never ending but we got the kitchen cleaned up almost every night before going to bed but it was still slow going and never ending.

Blog Goals

• Post one post everyday (schedule 7 posts so that can spend more time with family)- I barely got them up but I luckily did!!
• Review book reviews completed during the week (if done)- Got them done!
• Work on a few posts to work ahead for the coming week- Not nearly enough work done but I made it through and will have a lot of work to do next week to make up for it after my parents leave.  My mom was very negative about doing work on the blog so I tried to avoid as much as possible.
• Post Sunday Weekly Goals, Menu Plan Monday, Kid Wednesday and Thrifty Thursday Tip- I got them up but it was close!

This week:

Family Goals

• Spend time with family (and extended family on just Sunday)
• Get to preschool on time every day
• Music program at the library

Personal Goals

• Cut coupons
• Get last weeks coupons
• Get coupons on Friday 
• Shut off computer 6 nights to save energy
• Wrap the rest of the Christmas gifts and get them under the tree
• Get back to Jazzercise
• Call the doctor to follow up on appointment
• Finish reading the new Nicholas Sparks book from the library
• Start reading the next book in the pile from the library

Home Management Goals

• Clean dishes, counters and floors at least 5 days of the week
• Clean dishes one night and not wait until the morning

Blog Goals

• Post one post everyday (schedule 7 posts so that can spend more time with family)
• Review book reviews completed during the week (if done)
• Work on a few posts to work ahead for the coming week
• Post Sunday Weekly Goals, Menu Plan Monday, Kid Wednesday and Thrifty Thursday Tip 

Rosemary Garlic Chicken

I decided that I was going to finally use the wine chicken broth that I had in the freezer to make some yummy Rosemary Garlic Chicken (and try to clean up the freezer which is a loosing battle).  It is a simple recipe that you can use to make chicken with any flavor you would like but I chose rosemary and garlic because those are super tasty together.

First step is putting a little oil in a pan and put on low to heat.  Make sure that there is enough to coat the bottom because it is hard to have the chicken stick to the bottom and try to fix later but just in case leave the olive oil bottle near the stove.

Here is the messiest step but the important one- coating the chicken with breading.  I like to use Bisquick because it makes a little thicker coating but if this isn't something you have around the house, flour also works or cornstarch.  Pour the Bisquick in a bowl and add a little bit of ground black pepper to taste.

I coated the chicken in the breading and putting it in the oil in the pan.  Make sure you turn the oil up to medium heat when you add the chicken.  I left the chicken in while I was breading the other chicken tenders and cooked them until the bottom was browned before flipping them.

Cook all of the chicken on both sides until completely cooked through.  Remove from pan and keep on a plate to rest.  Add the garlic and rosemary to the pan until they are fragrant.  I use the microplane to grate my fresh garlic into the pan because it blends right into the sauce.

Add the chicken broth (or other broth of choice) to the pan.  I used one that had wine and herbs in it so that it had lots of flavors already in it but all chicken broths would be great.

Cook until thickened (or the people at the dinner table are too hungry to wait anymore).  Add the chicken back into the pan to heat through.

Serve over egg noodles or other pasta or rice of choice.  We used No Yolks Egg Noodles which were on sale at Harris Teeter so I stocked up when they were really cheap.  They are quick and easy and really filling.  About half a bag was plenty for us.

Here is what our plates looked like when we served it all up.  The noodles got lots of the flavorful broth and so did the chicken so it was really tasty!!  I hope that you try this for yourself soon.

Rosemary Garlic Chicken

1/4 c Bisquick (or flour with a little salt)
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
Ground black pepper
4 thinly cut chicken tenders
3 tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 c chicken broth
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon or True Lemon powder
Pat of butter

In a shallow bowl, mix Bisquick and 1/2 tsp pepper.  Dredge chicken cutlets in seasoned flour; shake to remove excess.

Warm 2 tbsp oil in large skillet over medium heat (can add rosemary stalks for more fragrant cooking but remove when making sauce). Add breaded tenders and cook until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side.  Remove to a plate; cover loosely. 

Place skillet over low heat (add 1 tbsp oil if there is none left).  Add garlic and 1 tbsp rosemary; stir for one minute.  Add chicken broth and lemon zest and juice, scraping up browned bits in the skillet.  Raise heat to medium, boil until sauce has thickened, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper and add a pat of butter.  Return chicken to skillet, turning to coat.  Serve hot over noodles or rice.

Shared on Homemade Monday at Frugal by Choice