Wonderful Wednesday Leap Year Hop

Welcome to our  Leap Year Blog Hop!

For the next few weeks we are going to do something really special.  

We are going to randomly pick one of the wonderful blogs to SPOTLIGHT from those who linked up the week before!

This week's spotlight is on a blog called Enjoying the Journey, whose theme-song is "Having Fun With Our Kids" 

This lady has dedicated her site to just that, lots of fun activities for kids!

  

The post she linked was a how-to on making your own 
GLOWING PLAY DOUGH. 

Check it out...and leave her a really nice note of congrats in the comments! 

Who knows? Next week it could be YOU!

This week's hop: add your family-friendly links below.

Visit others.

Leave a nice comment.

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Daily Routines

Daily routines--don't they feel good? Yes they do! Daily routines are essential to our overall productivity but not every day is going to be a perfect fit. "Things" have a habit of happening and can get in the way of a perfect plan.


What time of day is your best time of day? Mine is a mixed bag. I love to write at night but I don't like to clean at night. I do the household chores best earlier in the day.


Do you compartmentalize? Home routine, work routine, separate routine for kids or pets...or is yours a lifestyle where you can blend your routines as the day goes on? 

My former daily routine fit so nice and snug. 

• First, walk the dog. 
• Go to work...work there from 9 to 5. 
• Back in the door? Check the mail. 
• Dog: potty and food.
• Make dinner. 
• Eat with the fam. 
• Get a little light housekeeping done afterward (throw in a load of laundry and clean up the kitchen). 
• Watch TV, get things ready for the next day, go to bed.

Grocery shopping was always done on Saturdays. Church and a nice nap with hubby on Sundays.

That's it, honey! We'll teach the dogs to walk themselves! :) 

Then, "life" happened. Husband's job went-away and he got sick, too. Full-time work no longer was a consideration.

My job changed, too,  and another $7k per year went out the window. That's when I started writing. I LOVE writing and am so grateful for it but it is a second job which takes time and energy.

To add to it, both our moms died in one year and my dad became sick. All of these things put a major demand on time, emotions and routine. So, what's a girl to do? Get flexible real fast, that's what!


I'm still feeling my way through establishing some kind of routine that "works". I've been experimenting with grocery shopping on my way home from work on Friday nights and doing take-out for dinner. Not the healthiest or cheapest meal plan but it is a time-saver and I love not shopping on the weekend.  

Less things are getting done in the fashion that I prefer but sometimes you have to look at the higher priorities. 

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Like yesterday afternoon. Normally Saturday afternoons are writing-time for me. But yesterday was my great-granddaughter Madalyn's 5th birthday. That was a much higher priority. So, I went to her party and swept everything else aside to be done at another time. Unfortunately, that other time became Sunday, done along with housework, grocery shopping (Friday night didn't work this week) and getting our tax info together for our appointment--so, ouch, church got squeezed out. Note to self: gotta do this better!

Daily Routines: So, how about you?  Are you a morning person? Evening? What kind of routine works best for you?  Better yet, what ISN'T working? Let's brainstorm and come up with some ideas!

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Can Soup Help You Break Through "The Broccoli Barrier"?

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Question: What tastes better than a hot cup of soup on a cold winter's day? Answer: A hot cup of soup and freshly baked bread, of course! Here is a great soup recipe for you to make at home that may prove to be a secret weapon! Stealth Soup!


Having a hard time getting your family to eat broccoli? 
The resistance can be so great--I call it the "The Broccoli Barrier"--why do we even try? 

• Maybe it's the challenge? No, it's not the challenge. 
• A need for power? No, can't be that. We keep losing the broccoli battle. 
• It must be that we really believe it is power-packed with health benefits. 

Yes, that's it!  Broccoli can lower cholesterol, adds fiber and fills us with vitamins & minerals including Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin K, calcium and on and on. Health Benefits of Broccoli and More Health Benefits of Broccoli

So, since raw broccoli tends to taste bitter and steamed broccoli, well, it looks like TREES--- disguise it! 

Broccoli looks like TREES!
Photo credit: Freedigitalphotos.net

Make them homemade Cream of Broccoli Soup but DO NOT CALL IT THAT! This recipe has cheese in it so I would call it "Cheesy Creamy Soup".  See if you can slip it by them. And do NOT make it while they're looking, either. Remember, this is stealth soup. Stop back and let me know how it goes.

Best Cream of Broccoli Soup Recipe

By Barb Getz on Food.com

Photo by Simon Howden on Freedigitalphotos.net

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter 

1 onion chopped

1 clove of garlic chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

2 (14 ½ ounce) can of chicken broth

4 cups fresh broccoli

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups whole milk (or 1 1/2 cups milk and 1/2 cup evaporated milk)

Ground pepper

½ to 1 cup Velveeta Cheese

Directions:

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sized pot, and sauté onion, garlic and celery until tender.

Add broccoli and broth; cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Purée soup  in a blender or mash with potato masher.

Return to heat.

In small saucepan, over medium heat melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir in flour and add milk. (roux)

Stir until thick and bubbly, add to soup.

Add cheese; stir until melted.

Season with pepper and serve.

Source: Cream of Broccoli Soup 

Question of the Day: Why do creamy soup recipes taste so good? The secret is in the "roux"! 
Back to the broccoli challenge. 
Lots of moms almost gave up when the first President Bush openly admitted that he didn't like broccoli. How could you tell your little ones "eat your broccoli and you could be President someday" when he let the cat out of the bag?  Who knows, if they'd tried Cream of Broccoli Soup on him maybe he would have liked it! Click here for  NY Times President Hates Broccoli story.


Have you had a broccoli breakthrough in your home? Tell us about it!


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E-book for Bloggers and Blog Hop

Welcome to our Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!

 Link up your favorite posts below...whatever you'd like!

Please visit other sites and leave a nice comment.

Before you go, please subscribe to Ducks 'n a Row (email or RSS) and 

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The E-book: This new e-book is for anyone building an online business...especially bloggers. It is called "YOUR BLOGGING BUSINESS ...Tax Tips from a Bookkeeper Turned Blogger" written by Nikki Hughes. 

Tax Talk Tips E-book

Its 87 pages include:

Section I: The tax side of things

• Do you need to file a tax return?
• Understanding income and deductions
• Business vs. Personal
• Expense vs. Asset
• Home Office and “Business Use of Home”
• How to calculate your “Business Use of Home”
• A word on estimated tax payments and calculations

Section II: The bookkeeping side of things

• Introduction to bookkeeping
• You know what you need to track so how do you track it?

Section III: The tax-prep side of things

• How to file your return

Section IV: Behind the scenes

• About the Author
• Special Thanks (Behind the Book)
• Disclaimer &Disclosure

Section V: Resources

• Continuing Education for bloggers
• Professional Activity Codes (Sch C)
• Sample reports, forms and instructions

And all of this for a mere 
$4.99
That's it! 
I bought my copy the day I first saw it. 
.
Get yours right here!

Click to get "Your Blogging Business" NOW.

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Theme Parties for Kids

  

Reprint of an article by Sinea Pies 

from Genesee Valley Parent Magazine   

By Sinea Pies
Look Whose Cookin'! Throw a Chef Party for Your Kids

Theme parties have become the rage for families with young children.  Princesses, pirates, sports themes, cartoon characters, luaus, western theme…the list of possibilities goes on and on


I am kind of partial to cooking parties!  Your child and his/her guests can play chef, restaurateur and restaurant diner all at the same time.

Children love to help in the kitchen. What fun it would be to pretend to be real chefs! You can put on a super Chef Party for your kids and make the refreshments also be the entertainment!

Things you will need:

• Invitations
• Favors:  chefs hats, aprons, bandanas scarves, goodie bags
• Utensils
• Menu
• Ingredients and other refreshments
• Birthday candles
• Recipes
• Table cloths
• Plates, napkins, cups
• Centerpieces
• Games
• Movie:  Disney’s Ratatouille
• Prizes: Ratatouille coloring books
• Helpers:
• Photographer
• Assistants (adults or older children)
• Thank you notes
• Pens (Have parents address one to themselves. Also ask them to write their email addresses on a card.  You will email photos of the party to them soon as they are ready.)

Invites: Buy or make invitations that look like chefs hats, cooking utensils or even the finished product: pizza, cake, cupcakes. Entice the guests with the description of elegant dining in a warm, friendly atmosphere where THEY will be the cooks.  

Invite them to come learn the art of pizza and cake baking and give the essentials:  day, date, time and, of course, the event.  Your child’s birthday.  Be sure to enlist the help of other adults, perhaps even a local expert who can teach the finer techniques.

Shopping and Setup: Set up your house with an eating area bedecked with cloth covered tables and floral centerpieces, just like in a real restaurant.  
Plan the time to include: 

• pizza making
• cake or cupcake baking
• cake or cupcake decorating  

You will need to incorporate some time-fillers to keep your party goers occupied while the baking is taking place. If you have two ovens to use, that is ideal. If not, to save time you may want to have cooled cakes that you pre-baked in advance for your little guests to decorate. 

Party Timeline:

• Guests arrive and are given their chef apparel.

• Play a short game or do a craft while waiting for others to arrive.

• Junior chefs wash their hands and make PIZZA!

• Play a game or two while the pizza bakes.

• Take the pizza out of the oven and slice.

• Escort your cooks (now diners) to the restaurant.

• The maître d' (namely you) will check each guest's name on the list and a waiter or waitress will bring them to their table.

• After lunch, return to the kitchen to experience baking a cake.

• While the cake is in the oven, the birthday girl or boy opens gifts.

• Cake decorating lessons begin. To save time, prebake some cakes or cupcakes to use for decorating. Teach the children how to adorn the cakes with frosting and decorations.

• Light the candles, serve the cake with ice cream, and watch Ratatouille on DVD until the other parents arrive.

• Pack up leftovers in doggy bags for party guests to take with them.

Find Help: As you can see, parties of this kind will needs some assistance.  Needs might be: a photographer, pizza baking help, cake baking help, game playing help, set up, clean up. Enlist the help of other adults to keep the party moving along.

Supplies: Children’s chefs hats, aprons and baking paraphernalia can be purchased from Growing Cooks.com or kidsfoods.com  . Disney’s official Ratatouille website includes downloadable coloring pages and activities to go with the movie. 

Make your own chef hats! Yes, you can make them even cuter than the ones in the stores. Check out this tutorial by Busy Mom's Helper: Kids Chef Hats

Resources:

Genesee Valley Parent Magazine:  How to Host a Chef-Themed Party  by Sinea Pies

Disney Movie: Ratatouille

Cooking Costumes and supplies:

• Chef Dress up Costumes
• Growing Cooks
• Kids Cooking Parties    

Other Great Posts:

• Easy Cake Recipe
• Free Birthday Cards
• Kid Recipes - Recipes Your Kids Will Love

Cupcake Photo credit: by Digitalart on freedigitalphotos.net

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Cheesecake Brownie

By Sinea Pies

Cheesecake Brownies

Cheesecake brownies are a favorite easy-to-make dessert in our household. It satisfies two sweet-cravings at the same time! Cheesecake and chocolate. Can it get any better than that? (Maybe when it's slightly warmed up with some rich, creamy vanilla ice cream on the side!)


There are quite a few recipes out there for "marble brownies" or "cheesecake brownies" but this Duncan Hines version-- straight from their website and brownie mix boxes-- is one that I prefer. 
Any of the Duncan Hines brownie mixes work fine in this recipe.

Cheesecake Brownies Recipe

Ingredients

1 pkg Duncan Hines® Double Fudge Decadent Brownie Mix

1 (3 oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

3 tbsp butter or margarine, softened

3 tbsp granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 tbsp all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 ºF. Grease bottom of 8x8-inch pan.
• Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth in medium mixing bowl. Stir in sugar, egg, flour and vanilla. Beat until smooth; set aside.
• Prepare brownie mix according to package directions for cake-like brownies. 
• Spread half of brownie batter in prepared pan. Spoon cream cheese mixture over batter. 
• Spoon dollops of remaining brownie batter over top. 
• Swirl brownie and cream cheese batter together with a knife or spatula.
• Bake at 350 ºF for 36 to 39 minutes or until set. Cool completely. Chill 2 hours.

Source: Duncan Hines Brownie Recipes

More Dessert Recipes...

• Easy Cake Recipe
• Pumpkin Bread (the best recipe EVER)
• Chocolate Cheesecake (two great recipes)
• Recipes for Cheesecake

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Wednesday Blog Hop and Special Links

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Welcome!

Blog Spotlight: from a linky party of one of my favorite sites, Nifty Thrifty Things.

When bloggers participate in blog hops or link parties, we love to share links to our most recent posts and hope that others will enjoy them, too.  
However, many of us don't actually take a look each others' posts. Some of the link lists are très-long (French for "VEEERY Long") and we feel good if we visit one or two. Sometimes that doesn't happen at all. We "link and run"!

So, to correct some of my own blog-hop failures, I decided to take a good look through the beautiful links I was seeing on Nifty Thrifty Things and feature three sites that I particularly fancied.  
Here they are: View from Carol Ann's Camera, Sew in the City and Talking Dollars and Cents.

View from Carol Anns Camera

Simply Elegant!
Photo source:  http://viewsfromcarolannscamera.blogspot.com/  

Carol Anns Camera is an elegant website. The gorgeous photography is true "eye candy". A breath of fresh air for the soul. Take a moment to stop by and enjoy the view! The post that she shared on Sunday is entitled "Color Personality".

Sew in the City

Photo: Summer Dress in February 

How can you resist this? What a professional, crisp summery dress and what great colors! I had to click on the link and loved everything I saw. 

It's been years since I've done any significant sewing but I had to join this site anyway! I want to see what she's going to make next! Sew in the City doesn't stay exclusively with sewing projects, btw. She also has some great craft and recipe posts. Stop by and take a look!

Talking Dollars and Cents

Sweet Temptations -Lemon Squares

Photo: talkingdollarsandcents.com

I was really craving sweets when I saw this and I LOVE lemon squares! This picture looks so delicious, doesn't it?

 Talking Dollars and Cents is a great site dedicated to sharing wisdom on saving money, attaining financial freedom, great recipes and link parties, too! 

Stop by and check them out!

Be sure to visit Nifty Thrifty Things, as well.

Join our Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop below.

Rules: add your family friendly link and visit at least one other site. Leave a nice comment and if you really like what you see, follow them and subscribe!

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Craft Buttons - Create Unique Greeting Cards They'll Cherish for a Lifetime!

By Sinea Pies

Button, button, who’s got the button? Where’d that saying ever come from anyway? If you really want to know, Click HERE for ANSWER!

I've always loved beautiful, decorative buttons. They are more like jewelry than buttons. And, to combine them with crafts is even better. 

How about greeting cards? Don’t you love to give and receive unique greeting cards…something original? Have you ever seen a button greeting card? They have that artsy flare! 

Button Baby Announcement
Photo by June Campbell  Flickr.com

 Making a craft button greeting card:

• Is a great outlet for the craft-genius in you!
• Is inexpensive. Especially if you have a great assortment of buttons at home already
• Is so personal. No one else has one like it!

I have a writer-friend, “Random Creative”, who wrote a great article on craft button greeting cards with lots of beautiful photos. 
Check it out here:

Button Greeting Cards: Ideas for Handmade Homemade Card Making

Mother's Day Card
Photo by Etsy Ketsy on Flickr.com

If you want to try your hand at it, here is a guide for making valentine button greeting cards...which really works for any occasion. And some links to supplies plus a cute video tutorial "how to".

DIY Craft Button Greeting Card Guide

How to Make Valentine Button Greeting Cards 

Get Your Supplies Here

Martha Stuart Button Punch and more… 

Craft Buttons 
Blank Greeting Cards

"Cute as a Button" 

Video

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