Shot Glass Snack Tip

Here's my shot glass snack tip:

Put a single serving of a salty dipping snack, such as pretzels in a small bowl around a shot shot glass filled with your favorite dip.  Now you can eat your snack in front of the tv without having the bag of pretzels and a separate bowl for your dip.  It's ingenious, I think.

Sharing tips and ideas are fun for me and I'm collecting  many various ones on Pinterest.  You should follow me there, I've scoured the site for tons of tips.  But I must warn you, I've gathered so many ideas I could never implement them all.  It's somewhat overwhelming to have more tips than time or energy.  But yet I still continue to surf and fill my pin boards.

I must admit the snack bowl idea is something I've been using for a while, because I love dipping salty snacks into creamy dips.  The small pretzel sticks work better than the ones shown, but you get the idea.

About dips, I'll never forget what my UT Motivation Class  professor told us.  He said the best parties have three or more different tasting dips, because it keeps people at your party longer.  Why?  It's because your taste for the each dip satiates, or gets bored,  after a few bites of it.  

On that note, I want to point out that all of our senses satiate.  For instance, have you ever noticed we stop smelling the sinky skunk musk after a few minutes of being exposed to it?  Same thing with our husband or wive's nagging, we tune out our families voices; like our kids stop hearing our reminders.    God made us so the familiar gets desensitized.  We get accustomed to things and stop appreciating them...it's in our DNA.  So, it takes work to not be desensitized in our world.  Like appreciating the beauty of the Texas hill country when we drive past it every day.  It takes work to listen after we hear the voice of our loved one tell us the details to a story.  It takes work to be amazed at the wonders  of nature around us after living in it for a while.  

Reading blogs of busy women

I'm really fascinated by reading blogs in my extra time.  As I send off my daughter to school I have time to surf the web for pleasure and company.  Here are a few of my favorites...

Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman.  You can see her on the food channel or read her blog at http://thepioneerwoman.com/.  She is a wonder woman who illustrates her life thru photos and blog on a routine basis.  She has a busy life and seems to glide thru it with ease. She really inspires me to cook, love my husband and family and enjoy being a country girl at heart.

Three sisters, Jamie, Jodi & Jen,  who blog their fun (and busy) family lives together.  One sister is inspiring me to bake.  I am more of a cook, but she bakes a pie a week.  It reminds me of my friend, Dawn, who shares a meal with her mom and boys and they always have a different pie each week.  http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/

Then there is Kristen, who writes about marriage.  She is a thought provoking woman who spends more energy into her husband than most I know.  She also has written a book encouraging busy moms.  I like shopping her blog ads too.  http://wearethatfamily.com/

I'd love to hear what your favorite blogs are.

Retipping

I am such an internet info junky. I love to research tips that can help me or help someone else. You've heard of the term "regifting," so I've titled this post as "retipping." Passing along wisdom about saving money by shopping for stocking stuffers in February-December. It doesn't just happen, it has to be planned.

Like, I just found this list of stocking stuffers online and it reminded me how much money I spend on stuffing one Christmas stocking...about $20-30. I know that's crazy, but I remember loving the stocking more than the gifts under the tree. Maybe it's because there were lots of little items.

Action to take:

Make a list (or a mental list if you can do that) of who's stocking you fill at Christmas. Use the list below as a starting point, pick items from the list and plan a time to buy the gift, incorporating it into your weekly grocery shopping list or look for them when you are shopping sales, endcaps, and bargain bins at your favorite retailers in Feb, March, April--throughout the year. Create a storage place (hiding spot) for the collected items and shop with purpose.

I've added a few personal ideas in all caps to this list, and below is the original website for reference.

I've also mocked up a list for my daughter below. Happy Shopping and Saving, because your thinking ahead!!

Emily's Stocking Stuffer Idea List:

Bobby Pins & Hair Clips

Gel Pens & Markers-look for during school supply sales

Lanyard Charms/Key Rings

Makeup Brush Set

Admiration Note from Parents-jot down notes thru out year of prideful moments

Chocolates-Halloween sale items?

Journal

150 Stocking Stuffer Ideas from Jenn's Blog:

1. $5 gift cards (Starbucks, McDonalds, Amazon, Borders etc).

2. A favorite candy (my mom always got us those plastic candy canes filled with M&M's)

3. Decorative cupcake liners (I found some great ones here)

4. A favorite magazine

5. Camera strap cover (like the one I gave away here) - note, that giveaway is closed!)

6. Packets of flower or herb seeds for planting

7. Personalized stationary

8. Slipper socks

9. Silly putty (another thing I always got as a kid)

10. Rubber coated paddle attachement for a mixer like this one

11. Monogrammed iPhone Case

12. Nail polishes

13. Sharpie Pens

14. Chapstick

15. Hair bands --(BOBBY PINS, FROM CLEARANCE AT WALGREENS, CVS, TARGET, ETC)

16. Small crosswords puzzle book

17. Crayons--(GEL MARKERS, DURING SCHOOL SUPPLY SALES)

18. Body wash

19. Piggy Bank with coins

20. Personalized M&M's that say Merry Christmas

21. Clip on book reading lamp

22. Measuring spoons or cups

23. Cute wine stopper

24. Scarf - this is a great site for fashionable accessories

25. Stickers

26. Monogrammed coasters (there's a great how to here)

27. Lottery tickets

28. Deck of playing cards

29. Rubix cube

30. Loofa

31. Hair clips--(SHOP SALE BINS AT ULTA, WALMART AND GROCERY STOREs, ETC)

32. Cuticle set

33. Jewelry

34. Batteries

35. Cooking extracts - vanilla, mint, orange etc.

36. Mittens

37. Scented candles (this site always has things like that & you get a credit for signing up)

38. Bookmarks

39. Fishing lures

40. Knitting or Crochet needles

41. Lotion

42. Play Dough

43. Golf tees or balls

44. Matchbox cars

45. Memory card

46. Cd's

47. Tools

48. Wash/Dish rags

49. Diaper genie refills (you laugh, but I would love those in my stocking!)

50. Specialty olive oils such as this one

51. Eyeshadow

52. Unusual pastas like this red chili linguini

53. From the Kitchen of labels like these

54. Gardening gloves

55. Tickets to the aquarium

56. Address book

57. An orange - to shape out the toe of the stocking!

58. Ice scraper

59. Small digital camera

60. A teasing comb for all the southern girls

61. Cookie cutters

62. A good book

63. Retractable ID or key holder--(CHARMS FOR HER SCHOOL ID LANYARD)

64. Makeup bag

65. Nice wooden spoons

66. Gift card to go see a movie

67. USB Drive

68. Small photo frames

69. Wallet

70. Personalized water bottle like this one

71. Speciality teas - here is one of my favorites

72. Garden markers (for herbs etc)

73. Scented antibacterial kitchen hand soap

74. Pumice stones

75. Travel sized games (connect four, uno, etc)

76. Gourmet spice mixes

77. Small sketchbook

78. Fridge magnets

79. Stencils for crafting

80. Tickets to go see a musical performance

81. Kid paint set

82. Extra Wii controllers

83. Small calendar for your purse/backpack

84. PJ's

85. Wristlet to hold a small digital camera like this one of mine from one of my 1st blog posts!

86. Wine glass charms

87. Freezable teether's

88. Osis Dust It click here

89. Monogrammed onesie or tee

90. Money clip

91. Set of markers

92. Gourmet hot chocolate like this one

93. Ring holder

94. Wine aerator

95. Cufflinks

96. Pedometer

97. Personalized purse mirror like this one

98. DVD's

99. Cell phone car charger

100. Child sized harmonica

101. Luggage tags

102. Personalized coffee cup

103. Travel alarm clock

104. Baby legs

105. Personalized mom bracelet or necklace with children's birthstones

106. Perfume/Cologne

107. Speciality chocolates such as See's

108. Mini tripod

109. Cute umbrella

110. Earbuds

111. Flower bulbs

112. Monogrammed baby wipes case (this site always has unique kid gifts on sale - you have to sign up for free, but it's a great resource!)

113. Passport holder

114. Raw honey like this

115. Small digital picture frame

116. Webkinz

117. Snow cap

118. Digital luggage scale: here's one

119. Chalk

120. iTunes giftcard

121. Digital measuring tape

122. Bubbles

123. Watch

124. Wine thermometer

125. Tickets to the zoo

126. Speciality coffee such as this one

127. Bath toys

128. Monogrammed burp rags

129. Makeup brush set

130. Binoculars

131. Barbies

132. Child "character" flashlights

133. Jewelry box

134. Recipe cards

135. Swiss Army knife

136. Belt

137. Small lint roller

138. Key chain

139. Baby rings to attach toys to a carseat

140. Coloring book

141. Birthstone earrings

142. Throwback candy - Pez dispensers, pop rocks, nerds, fun dip.

143. Kindle

144. Scrapbooking supplies

145. Personalized fortune cookie (you can have your own message put into them)

146. Universal remote

147. Hand sanitizer

148. Silly Bandz

149. Family Christmas ornament

150. A handwritten note from Santa (OR PARENTS SAYING HOW MUCH THEY ADMIRE THE CHILD)

http://jennasjourneyblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/150-stocking-stuffer-ideas.html

How to keep your home tidy.

Some of my friends think my house is always clean, but it's not.  It's tidy.  Like most housewives, I struggle to stay on a cleaning schedule.  But I pick up and put away daily, no problem.

Is it an OCD thing for me or was I just trained right?  Everything has a home and put it back in it's place...was the rule at my parents house.  But they didn't have nearly the number of items in their home in the 70s and 80s as we do in the 00s.

I try not to over-buy.  I love the days I drop off a garbage bag full of  unwanted items at Goodwill, but then I head to Target to get more!  We live in an over-advertised, "must have it" society.  And we rationalize buying more than we need because our friends do it.  And those of us with a child or children are even worse at making sure our kids have what their friends have, plug-in or wear.

So how do we break the "cycle of acquisition," so we CAN keep our homes tidy?

Dave Ramsey, Suze Ormon, and my husband, Greg,  suggest we don't spend it if we don't have it.  But then the ad comes on for the newest time saver product.  Or something we've been admiring goes on sale.  It gets in our head and it's only a matter of time before we rationalize buying it and head to the store.

It becomes one more new item that needs a home in our home.  And if it never find a proper place to be, it will float around the house and land in open spaces where it becomes clutter.

We know what it means to "Go Green," but may I suggest we also "Don't Go Get."  How about we learn to be content with less.  Go on a "materialism" diet.