Free download- Martha Stewart Grilling Cookbook.

 

 

Is anyone grilling out this weekend? If you are looking for some inspiration, you can get a free download of Martha Stewart's Grilling ecookbook. http://www.siriusxm.com/martha

The Royal Wedding- William and Catherine DVD

On April 29, 2011 the world was mesmerized by one special wedding.  Millions watched on TV,  as Prince William and Kate Middleton got married. My daughter and I both got up early to watch the wedding together.   This video captures all of the beauty and elegance of their wedding ceremony.   If you love history, the Royal Family, or even just a great wedding story, you will love this new DVD from the BBC. 

Synopsis: The royal wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton was the event of a lifetime. BBC Video is making available this beautiful, commemorative DVD of the event on sale on May 24^th! This wonderful keepsake will capture all of the pomp and pageantry of the historic occasion like no other memento.  The DVD will include the complete ceremony plus highlights from the official BBC pre- and post-wedding coverage.  Also included is the special bonus program, “William and Kate: A Royal Engagement,” presenting the story of William and Kate’s relationship via interviews with colleagues, friends and family.  Lovers of the crown will want to own this special, commemorative DVD of this most delightful of events, the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

This DVD is available May 24th from the  BBC America Shop

Sunday Scavenger Hunt

 These are my picture for the Sunday Scavenger Hunt.  If you would like to join in on the fun, visit Ramblings and Photos: Sunday Scavenger Hunt. 

 My Passion-  This one was hard for me this week.   I wanted to do some pictures with my children, but I just don't  feel comfortable posting pictures of them on my blog.    So I went with this picture, I think it has a sweetness about it. 

Inner Beauty-  I took these playing with our new camera.

Sharp- This one is a stretch, but I thought about the pointed ends of the toothpicks.

Sound of Music-  This one is from my phone from a concert.  Not the greatest, but the sound of music was very loud!

Ethereal

I saw Pirates of The Caribbean last night

Everybody at our house has been super excited over the new Pirates movie.  We spent a small fortune to see it in 3D last night.  Which I was not wild about, because most of the movies we have seen in 3D always disappointed me.  We could have saved a few dollars and just watched the regular version.

The plot has Captain Jack looking for the Fountain of Youth.   When he meets up with Angelica (Penelope Cruz).It turns out that she is a former love interest and the first mate aboard Black Beard's ship.  Of course, Black Beard is also looking for the Fountain.   Barbossa has become a captain in the British Navy , he is in pursuit of Black Beard for some personal revenge.  And don't forget the Spanish who are also looking for the fountain.    The Spanish almost seem like an after thought to the plot.  They only appear a few times in the movie and it really isn't until the fountain is found that they do anything. 

One of the highlights for me was that Kieth Richards is back for another cameo appearance as Captain Teague Sparrow.   

The story left a lot of loose ends in my opinion.  Captain Jack sails away, Angelica  is marooned.   Barbossa gets a ship and takes to pirating again heading for Tortuga. 
The mermaid and the missionary?  What happened?  Did he become a merman or did she eat him?   They clearly have left room for another movie. 

The pace of this movie seemed slower compared to the others.  But, it is certainly an improvement over the third movie in the franchise.  Still it lacks some of the adventure and thrill that the first movie captured so well. I am not wild about pirates turning into archeologist. They loot and plunder treasures.    But Captain Jack is Captain Jack.   How can you  not love him?

All in all, the kids loved the movie and it was a great night out with the family.

Sunday Scavenger Hunt

Give Me Flowers

Friendship- I liked this picture from Spring Fling.   Friends will want their picture with Darth Vader and Boba Fett.   And it helps to dress as Darth Vader when you have a great friend to dress up with you. 

Contrast

Before and After - These are the hands for my costume before they were airbrushed.

Dark- statues in the dark

My little boy graduated Kindergarten today!

I am so proud of my little boy, he graduated Kindergarten this afternoon! He has had an amazing school year. His teachers, is retiring at the end of this year. She has been teaching for 40 years!

I had a lot of reservations when we moved him to a public school. He had been attending a private school that goes all the way up to 9th grade. I would have loved to keep him there, but it was purely financial. The school he attends now is good. Of course, with public education there are some gaps, but I can fill those in.

I think that we both are looking forward to 1st grade.

Wordless Wednesday

This is a living statue from a local street festival. 

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strangers Tides Giveaway !!!

Yo Ho, Yo, Ho.....  You know what that means!   Captain Jack is backing sailing the high seas and living a pirates life!!  Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides sails into theaters on May 20th, 2011 .   At my house, we can not wait to see this new movie. 

 Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in an action-packed adventure. Crossing paths with the enigmatic Angelica (Penélope Cruz), he’s not sure if it’s love—or if she’s a ruthless con artist who’s using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the “Queen Anne’s Revenge,” the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesn’t know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or Angelica, with whom he shares a mysterious past. The international cast includes franchise vets Geoffrey Rush as the vengeful Captain Hector Barbossa and Kevin R. McNally as Captain Jack’s longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs, plus Sam Claflin as a stalwart missionary and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey as a mysterious mermaid. 

To celebrate the release of this film, Disney has graciously offered me the opportunity to host a pirate themed giveaway.   One lucky winner will receive: 

               PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES
                t-shirt  (in adult sizes)

             PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES bandana

              PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES              temporary tattoo

Mandatory Entry: 

Tell me which of the Pirates of the Caribbean is your favorite.  

Extra Entries: 

Follow The Squeaky Grocery Cart in GFC 

Become a fan of Pirates of The Caribbean on Facebook. 

This is giveaway is open only to US and Canadian residents.  The giveaway will end on June 5, 2011.  The winner will be selected using random.org.   

disclosure:  I did not receive any monetary compensation for this post.  All opinions expressed are my own. 

I am starting another blog

I have decided with summer coming up, now will be a great time to start a blog devoted to the Montessori method.  I have been a Montessori teacher and teacher trainer for 9 years.  A friend of mine encouraged me to start it, she is like you are always making materials and presenting workshops share it online.  So if you are interested in learning more about Montessori, please check out http://www.montessorifromtheheart.blogspot.com, posts will be coming soon. 

The power of social media, raw wrestlemania, and a good deed

Last week, I got a facebook message from my friend Pam.  She said that she had entered a contest and needed votes.   She was trying to win her boys tickets for wrestling.   So the campaign for votes was on.   We rallied every possible vote we could: husbands, husband's friends, family, more friends, not so close friends, and complete strangers.  You name it!  If you had a facebook page, we were stomping for votes.

Then out of the blue, the family in 3rd place started voting for Pam's picture.  They felt they were so far behind that they wanted to help. They were awesome and such good sports.  With their help, we rallied 336 votes in total for the win.    

Big Show

The prize was 18 tickets to Raw Wrestlemania Revenge and a suite! So the wrestling was today of all days!  I guess mothers can like wrestling too.   I have to say it really was a lot of fun.  My little boy is totally into it now!  He had never really seen or knew anything about wrestling until today.  Several of the really popular wrestlers were there today.  One of them was Big Show, which he was just on an episode of Supah Ninjas on Nickelodeon.   OMG!! Big Show is huge!!!  He weighs like 500 pounds and is well over 6 feet tall.

The other, of course, being John Cena.   Which the entire arena went nuts over.

But the best part of this story is Pam repaying kindness and paying it forward. 







She gave out all of her tickets to family and friends, but still had 2 left.   Those last 2 tickets went to the third place family who gave their votes.




It was awesome to meet them, they seem like really nice people.

Spring Fling (picture post )

Yesterday, we dressed up for the 33rd annual Spring Fling.  It is a street festival where we live.  It was a lot of fun yesterday! We signed lots of autographs for all of the kids who participated in this year's scavenger hunt.  It was really hard to stay in costume for long periods of time, because it was on the warm side.  But, we made it through the day and congratulated ourselves with some awesome Chinese food and doughnuts. 

The National Frisbee Dog team was there entertaining the crowds as well.   It was a lot of fun to watch their program. 







This is another street performer.  She was a living statue that would randomly play the drum.  It was really fun to watch her and the way people reacted to her.   I heard a lot of people ask if she was real. 

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

 These are my picture for this week's Scavenger Hunt Sunday.  If you would like to join in on the fun, visit Ramblings and Photos: Scavenger Hunt Sunday. 


SOOC - This one was taken by accident, but I thought it look kind of cool.  It is the back of a neon sign.   I was actually going to delete it, but I thought I would use it for this.

Sprouting 

Isn't that ironic- Both of these pictures are from my archives, but i think they fit this theme perfectly.

This sign we found at the beach.  I personally have no intention of harassing an alligator.  I found it kind of ironic that a sign like this would need to be posted.

Swamp People can be seen on the History Channel 

But, I guess it applies to these guys--->

Then there is this one.  I took this picture a few weeks ago. I happened to look over and see this as my sub was being made. Then glanced back to the person making my sub.  He was wearing a band-aid under his glove.  hmmmm.......






Lazy-  I would love to have a lazy afternoon at the beach. 

smells like spring

I want to give a big shout out to lazy husbands!

I want to give a big shout to lazy husbands! 

Thank you for all the things you don't do.  I can't tell you how much easier my life is when you walk by the giant pile of laundry that STILL hasn't gotten folded because of baseball games, PTO meetings, and late nights at work.

Thank you for forgetting that we have a yard that would rival the Amazon Rainforest.  I guess since they are losing acres at astonishing rates, you are doing your part to keep it alive in our yard. 

Thank you for feeling like you are the champion of the world when you grill meat on Sundays.   But you seem to forget that dinner has to be made 6 other nights of the week.

Thank you for allowing us to only watch ESPN and ESPN2.   We don't really have worry about the troubling stories of the world.  We only have to worry, "Will there be a football season???!!!!" 

Thank you for sleeping all day.  You snoozing lump in the bed or on the couch just warms my heart.  And the sound of your snoring can not compare to any melody. 

Thank you for forgetting we have children.  You seem to manage to sleep through countless feedings, sick children, all the arguing and bickering.

Thank you for just being lost.  Everyday, you walk in and act like you don't live in the same house.  Buy a clue and listen when there are important dates, events, and other social occasions. 

Thank you for cussing in front of our children.  Your shining example really shines through when you get a call from the preschool teacher, saying your little precious angel said "Oh shit!" when they dropped their crayons.

Lazy husbands make the world go'round.  Without you, we wouldn't have ANYTHING else to take care of. 

Spring Fling (live post)

Hey everybody!! This morning I am doing a live blog post from Spring Fling. Spring Fling is an annual street festival event in our community. This year marks its 33rd year! We are here getting set up for the day. My husband, myself, and several others will be out entertaining the crowds in our Star Wars costumes. This year Spring Fling will be hosting a scavenger hunt for the kids. We are one of the stops! The kids will have to get an autograph from one of us in costume. This should be a lot of fun this year. I will follow up later with a recap and picture post! If you are a local reader please come out, stop by and say hello.

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Sweepstake

DISNEY AND JERRY BRUCKHEIMER PRESENTS “A PIRATE’S LIFE FOR YOU” WITH WORLD PREMIERE GIVEAWAYS

Pirates’ fans can help celebrate the 5/7 Disneyland World Premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger tides by connecting nationwide on Mobile, Twitter and SCVNGR to win a trove of treasure, including a Disney Cruise to the Mexican Riviera!

WHAT: Pirates fans across the country have 3 ways to connect to the Disneyland World Premiere and win Pirates of the Caribbean Prize Packs including Hot Topic T-shirts, Xpand 3D Glasses, Pirates of the Caribbean Blu-ray™ Box Sets, Pirates Booty, a Disney Cruise to the Mexican Riviera and more!

WHEN: Saturday, May 7, 2011 from 9AM PST – 9PM PST

HOW:

1.      Grand Prize Disney Cruise Giveaway

a.      WHERE: Follow Pirates of the Caribbean Producer Jerry Bruckheimer on Twitter (@BRUCKHEIMERJB) all day on 5/7

b.      HOW: Jerry Bruckheimer will tweet special instructions to enter the sweeps.

c.      WHAT: A cruise to the Mexican Riviera on a Disney Cruise line and access to exclusive Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides content!

d.      No purchase necessary.  Void where prohibited by law.  Open to legal residents of 50 United States and the District of Columbia, age 18 years and older.  Sweepstakes starts at 4:00 PM Pacific Time (PT) on 5/7/11 and ends at 11:59 PM (PT) on 5/8/11.  For official rules go to www.facebook.com/piratesofthecaribbean

2.      SCVNGR Hunt for the Fountain of Youth

a.      WHERE: Los Angeles; New York City; Chicago; Washington, DC; Boston; Dallas; Philadelphia; Seattle; San Francisco; Miami

b.      HOW:

                                                              i.      Download the free SCVNGR app for iPhone & Android at www.scvngr.com

                                                            ii.      Tap 'Treks' and search for "Pirate's Life"

                                                          iii.      Go to the places in the trek and do the challenges there to earn points

                                                           iv.      All participants are automatically entered for a chance to win Sponsor selected prize packs.

c.      WHAT: Chances to win prize packs including Hot Topic T-shirts, Xpand 3D Glasses, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Soundtracks, Pirates Booty and the Pirates movie poster

d.      No purchase necessary.  Void where prohibited by law.  Open to legal residents of  Los Angeles; New York City; Chicago; Washington, DC; Boston; Dallas; Philadelphia; Seattle; San Francisco; Miami age 18 years and older.  Sweepstakes starts May 7, 2011 9 a.m. EDT and ends May 7, 2011 when Participating Locations close for business.  For official rules go to:   www.facebook.com/piratesofthecaribbean      ;

3.      Twitter Prize Pack Giveaways

a.      WHERE: Follow @DisneyPirates between 9AM PST and 9PM PST on 5/7

b.      WHAT: Chances to win prize packs including Hot Topic T-Shirts, Skull decanters, Pirates of the Caribbean Blu-ray™ Box Sets, Pirates of the Caribbean Soundtrack Treasures Collection Box Sets and Pirates Booty!

c.      No purchase necessary.  Void where prohibited by law.  Open to legal residents of  is open only to legal residents who are physically located in one (1) of the fifty (50) United States or the District of Columbia (void in Puerto Rico, all U.S. territories and possessions and all overseas military installations) who are at least 13 years of age or older at the time of entry.  Sweepstakes starts May 7, 2011 6 p.m. PDT and ends May 7, 2011 9 p.m. PDT.  For official rules go to: www.facebook.com/piratesofthecaribbean

ABOUT THE MOVIE: Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Rob Marshall, “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” captures the fun, excitement and humor that ignited the hit franchise—this time in Disney Digital 3D™. Johnny Depp returns to his iconic role of Captain Jack Sparrow in this action-packed adventure that finds him crossing paths (and swords) with the enigmatic Angelica (Penélope Cruz). When she forces him aboard the “Queen Anne’s Revenge,” the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard (Ian McShane), Jack finds himself on an unexpected journey to the fabled Fountain of Youth. Along the way Jack must use all his wiles to deal with the barbarous Blackbeard and his crew of zombies, Angelica, the ravishing pirate with whom he shares a dubious past, and the beautiful, enchanting mermaids whose masterful cunning can lure even the most seasoned sailor to his doom. The international cast includes franchise vets Geoffrey Rush as the indestructible Captain Hector Barbossa and Kevin R. McNally as Captain Jack’s longtime comrade Joshamee Gibbs, plus Sam Claflin as a stalwart missionary and Astrid Bergès-Frisbey as a mysterious mermaid.

Walt Disney Pictures’ and Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is presented in Disney Digital 3D™, with screen story and screenplay by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, based on characters created by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert, and suggested by the novel by Tim Powers.

“Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” is rated PG-13 and opens in theatres on May 20, 2011. For more information on the film, please visit www.disney.com/pirates.

Journaling??!!

I recently was selected by All You magazine to take part in a 12 week health makeover.   The first week of the program is to get started journaling.   We are supposed to focus on recognizing our bad habits.    

I know what my biggest bad habit is:
I over eat.
I am an emotional eater. 
I eat to cope with stress, which doesn't work, because I just get more stressed because I over eat.   

I honestly can not be in the same room with food.  If I see food sitting out, I will nibble.  And I will keep nibbling until it is gone.  Food makes me nervous.   I don't want anything to go to waste.  It has been drilled into my head for years, that there are starving children in the world.  I have been eating for these poor kids for 30 years.  I really haven't done them again, but I honestly can't get them out of my mind. 

I guess my biggest struggle is how to break free from the guilt of eating for starving children and how do I control my emotions.  

Coupon and Freebie Roundup 5/5/11

Celebrate National Public Garden Day, Better Homes and Gardens is offering FREE admission coupons to get into a local public gardens on May 6th http://npga.bhg.com/?ordersrc=rdbhg100989

 Celebrate Cinco De Mayo! You can download a simple Mexican recipe book from RecipeLion http://www.recipelion.com/Mexican-Recipes/27-Simple-Mexican-Recipes-eCookbook#

new Pampers code: YIYY9Y6DPDPD6DT , good for 5 pts.

If you are a nurse, be sure to stop by Cinnabon between May 6th and May 12th and show your Healthcare Badge. You will get a FREE Cinnabon Roll.

I won a blog award!

                               The rules of the Versatile Blogger Award are as follows:

-Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.







-Tell us seven things about yourself.


-Award fifteen recently discovered new bloggers.

I would like to thank Shannon at Coupon Savings In The South for giving me this award.  I am always very thankful and surprised that people actually read my blog.   

Seven Things About Me: 
1. I am a huge Food Network junkie
2.  I am a Star Wars costumer. 
3. I have been married for 7 years
4. I love to cook and bake
5. I just started blogging last year
6. I am addicted to Cityville on Facebook
7.  I practice yoga 

15 New blogs: 
I will have the links for this up soon!

 

Video: Captain Underpants cake send off

For those of you that have been following my blog the last couple of days.  I entered a cake competition over the weekend.  My cake didn't place but I was ok with that.  So instead of just dumping the cake in the trash, we stuffed it with firecrackers.  Here is my Vlog of the whole event. 

.

Follow Us Monday Question

      Question of the Week                                                      
                        ***
  What is your favorite thing about May?


                          I love the month of May, because as a teacher it is the end of the school year!!!!!!!! Yes,  I am counting the days!  I  love having the summer off to spend quality time with my children.   


If you want to join in on Follow Us Monday visit Frugality Is Free 

Projec Host BBQ Cookoff

Last week, I shared that this weekend would be crazy busy!  My husband and I both participated in competitive cooking events.  You can read about my cake event here.   

My husband and his friend Morgan participated in the Project Host BBQ Cook off.   Project Host is a group in Greenville, SC that help to feed people in need.  They also have a culinary program that helps people who are unemployable and underemployed to prepare them for careers in the food service industry by teaching them culinary arts and life skills.

This is Project Host second year hosting this BBQ Cook off as a fund raising event.   This year there were 25 teams competing in the 2 day event.  Friday night was the Best Chicken Wings Ever Night.   Saturday featured ribs and pulled pork. Guests could purchase tickets for $10 and sample all of the wings and bbq. 

This was my husband's first time doing anything like this.  Morgan has competed in several BBQ events so we consider him the old pro.   Andy was in charge of chicken wings and Morgan was in charge of ribs and pork butts.    My husband has been practicing for months to get his wings and sauce just right.     Needless to say, after this weekend, we are chicken winged and BBQ'd out!

The guys set up Friday morning and by around 3:30 they were cooking wings! 


Then the crowds showed up. We served chicken wings from 6-10!   It was pretty intense serving all of those people and it seemed like just as a rush would hit, we would have some sort of delay.   Those darn chicken wings just wouldn't cooperate.  It takes about an 1 1/2 to 2 hours to smoke the wings, but it seemed like it take 5 hours to cook the batches.

While the guys maned the smoker, I served somewhere in the neighborhood of 800 chicken wings and lobbied hard to get the fan favorite vote.   We didn't win fan favorite, but we were thankful for those who did vote for us. There really were a lot of great teams, so it made all of the hard work  worthwhile. 


The guys stayed after the chicken wing tasting to get the ribs and pork butts on the smokers.  They were real troopers staying up all night to tend the smokers.   At 10 am Saturday, they turned in the first tasting box to the judges.  Then at 11am the second box went to the judges tent.   The crowds were great, with lots of live music in the background. 

The judging results were announced at 5.  Again, we weren't in the top 3, but we did place well in both events.   We placed well in the top 10 teams for both meats.  It was a great learning experience and I think my husband really has the BBQ bug.   I am sure that he will be next year for this event. 

Cake Competition Update

Yesterday, was the day for the cake competition I entered.   I dropped it off bright and early yesterday morning at 9:00.  This was my finished project, it was inspired by one of the Captain Underpants book covers.  

The Judging took place around 10:30.   Sadly though, I did not place.    I am a little disappointed but not terribly.   

One thing that I think was against me, was that it doesn't depict a book that a younger child would read.   Since the program sponsoring the event, gives books to children ages birth to 5, I think my subject matter should have been  geared for a younger group. 

Another things was that  I decided to try working with fondant, which is something that I have never used.    So, I know it was not done as well as it could have been.  I need more practice with that.   If this had been Food Network Challenge, Kerry Vincent would have ripped me a new one on my fondant.     Still overall, I think that it turned out really well.  I took a risk and that is what I am the most proud of. 

Since Captain Underpants was a loser, I have decided that instead of just dumping it in the trash.  He deserves a spectacular send off.   I am going remove it from the base and stuff the figures with firecrackers. 

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

 These are my picture for this week's Scavenger Hunt Sunday.  If you would like to join in on the fun, visit Ramblings and Photos: Scavenger Hunt Sunday. 


architecture

rimmed in light

toes and feet 

this is my favorite- These are my favorite picture I took this week with my phone.  I entered a cake competition this week, and this is Captain Underpants.  The cake theme was children's books

shade- for this one, I am doing something a little different.   It never fails that I always lose my sunglasses.   
So this missing picture, represents my missing sunglasses.

Bop It Bounce Reivew

Product Description: 

You’ve got to bounce your best to win in this awesome BOP IT Bounce game! This ball bounce game features an electronic voice command to cue you through six different challenging games: Max Bounce tests how fast you can bounce in 30 seconds, Infinite Bounce tests how long you can keep bouncing, Hang Time tests how high you can bounce, Right Height challenges you to match the shots called by the electronic voice, Little-Middle-Big challenges you to bounce at exactly the right height and Free For All lets you bounce it out freestyle. Build your skills on your own or compete against your friends to find out who’s the ultimate “Bounce Master”!
Includes game unit, ball and instructions.
Requires 3 “AAA” batteries (not included). For 1 or more players.
Ages 8 and up.

Our Thoughts: 
My family absolutely loved this game!!  I do have to caution you that it can become very addicting because you constantly want to beat your highest score.    The game is recommended for ages 8 and up, I think it really depends on the child.  My 6 year old is able to play it fairly easily.  Now, my 3 year old had difficulty with the game. But she still tries and has actually bounced it a few times.   I think it is a great way to help children improve hand/eye coordination.   This is a game that my family will really grow into.

The great thing about this game is that adults also love it.  I think my husband is really addicted to it!   He is constantly trying to improve his score.   His favorite game mode is Max Bounce.  In this mode, you have 30 seconds to bounce the ball as fast as you can.   His top score, so far,  is 140 in 30 seconds.  

This is a game that you will want to have!  This game will keep your family entertained on rainy days, parties, and family game nights.    Bop It Bounce is available nationwide at stores like Target.