Book Reviews

I have somehow managed to find some spare time to read. Mainly, it's after the lil man goes to bed and my husband has his nose in a book also. On my quest to becoming frugal I have taken up reading finance books. Thanks to the library I am gaining this knowledge for free.

First up is "The Ultimate Cheapskate's Road Map to True Riches" by Jeff Yeager. His perspective is very different from all of the other finance books that I have had my hands on. His overall philosophy is, "A penny saved is a penny you don't have to earn again." He goes over what he calls the Money Step. Which is; we earn money, to spend money, to get what you want (or at least what you think you want). His "6 Gold Nuggets" as he calls them are; live within your means & stay there, never underestimate the power of NOT spending, discretion is the better part of shopping, do for yourself what you could have others do for you, anyone can negotiate anything, and pinch the dollars and the pennies will pinch themselves. His book is filled with insightful quotes like, "Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get." ~Dale Carnegie/ There is a lot of humor and personal experience in this book. His humor isn't to my liking but he does have some great points. My favorite quote from him is,

"Yes, we are cheap, but we are generous, kind, and happy because of it. We refuse to spend our time making money so that we can buy things we don't want or need, particularly when so many others have so very little. Our lives and our time are more precious than that."

The second book that I read skimmed this  morning is "How to Raise a Family on Less than Two Incomes" by Denise Topolnicki. I am feeling very opinoinated today and must say that the general idea of this book is a good one but overall it was not realistic for someone like me. Now, I highly suggest it if you are starting out with a combined income of $200,000 and decreasing to $100,000 and only have to give up going to the Opera and eating in upscale Manhattan Restaurants, and of course firing your nanny. Give me a break! I want to read a book from a real family where for example the husband has been a student while they are raising their young family or the husband is a blue collar worker not a lawyer, doctor, or engineer. Now those stay at home moms are smart and creative and there is a lot to be learned from them.

"Money 911" by Jean Chatzky (Financial Editor for Today) is a great guide book. It is broken up into topics that provide useful information and also include additional book titles and websites on each subject. So, now I have some additional titles to check out. I actually took about 2 pages worth of notes from her book that applied to our family specifically. One thing that I have learned about finances; there is not one book or only one idea that fits the needs of every family. To me finance books are like a buffet; you pick and choose what works for you, there is a variety to choose from, and like the buffet you keep going back for another plate. What makes this book gold to me is that it taught me how to get telemarketers to LEAVE ME ALONE! That in itself makes it invaluable. If you too are like me and are almost made hostile when called by a telemarketer here is the solution; http://www.donotcall.gov/ Place your phone number on their list and it stays there forever and doesn't expire (*sigh*)

Today lil man and I are peddling (well I'm peddling and he's riding) to the library for storytime and so I can visit the financial buffet and maybe check out a movie. If anyone has any good title selections please drop me a line at nestingmadesimple@yahoo.com

Happy Reading,

~Tabitha~

Did someone say chocolate?

So, I was blog hopping the other day and stumbled upon a seriously good looking recipe. Tonight my hubby and I made it and it's soooooo good that I'm going to share it. These 5 little words are going to make your mouth water and send you into the kitchen to make these little babies......Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles. Need I say more? I found the recipe here; http://www.smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/ . Here is a copy of the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles (makes about 5 1/2 dozen)
(Taste of Home)

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1 bar chocolate candy coating

Cream the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour, alternating with the sweetened condensed milk, beating well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate 1-2 hours.

In a microwave-safe bowl melt your candy coating following package directions. Take out your cookie dough mixture and roll into 1 inch balls. Dip balls into coating, drip off excess and let dry on a sheet of waxed paper, about 15 minutes.

Don't forget to wash it down with an extremely large glass of MILK. These little things pack a huge sweetness. My hubby was only able to eat one and that's saying something.

Enjoy your Truffles!
~Tabitha~

Abundant Market

Starting the second Friday in June Tuscola will be holding their Second Annual Abundant Market.  They will feature; "locally grown produce, flowers, baked goods, locally produced art, quality collectibles, crafts, and more." They also may be adding entertainment and some of the downtown shops may extend their hours for those evenings.

When: The second and fourth Fridays from June-September from 4pm-8pm

Where: Downtown Tuscola at the Festival Plaza across from Dollar General

If interested in becoming a vendor the fee is $10 and it goes to the featured charity or organization of that day.

I can't wait to see what's there!

Happy Marketing!
~Tabitha~

Garage Sales

Garage Sale season is finally upon us. Now if it would only quit raining for a while so we can get out and enjoy them. The classified section is pretty much the only section I read in the paper but, as I was scanning the rest something stood out. There is going to be the first ever Garage Sale Trail held locally. The towns participating are; Tuscola, Arcola, Arthur, and Sullivan. All of these towns will be holding their town wide rummage sales from Thursday, June 10th- Saturday, June 12th. So, grab some friends, bring your Minivans, SUVs, or a flat bed truck (for the true garage sale queen) and hit up these local communities for some awesome treasures. I know I'm not going to miss it.

Happy Hunting!
~Tabitha~

Mother's Day Gift

I wanted to personalize our Mother's Day gifts this year. All of our moms like flowers so, I bought 3 sets of terra cotta pots with their plates. Then, lil man helped me pick out beautiful flowers. He chose Impatiens. Then, we picked out some paint. Of course that weekend had to be freezing cold and super windy so, these gifts truly were a labor of LOVE! Here's the finished product.

First, paint your pot and base. I chose white because it goes with everything. You can get as creative as you want. I applied 4 coats. Then, comes the hard part. I painted lil man's hands and put them on the pots. They definitely aren't perfect but, I think that's what makes them special. After the handprints dry spray them with a clear coat paint sealer. After all of that then we planted the flowers and gave them a good watering. We had my husband's family over for Mother's Day and we used them as the centerpiece on the table during lunch. I think they turned out super cute.

Happy Crafting,

~Tabitha~

What's for Dinner?

I don't know about anyone else but, I get tired and bored with making the same ol' things for dinner. So, every once in a while I come across a new and exciting recipe that I just have to try. I came across one of those yesterday and as luck would have it I had all of the ingredients.

Santa Fe Chicken

(Taste of Home, Busy Family Cookbook p130)

1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp butter (or 1 Tbsp EVOO extra virgin olive oil)
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa
1 cup uncooked long grain rice (brown rice)
1/8 tsp garlic powder
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or mexican cheese blend)
chopped fresh cilantro, optional

In a large skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Add broth and salsa; bring to a boil. Stir in rice and garlic powder. Place chicken over rice; cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn chicken; cook 10-15 minutes longer or until meat juices run clear. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and let stand 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro if desired. Serves 4. Total time less than 30 minutes.

I added a couple of substitutions in parenthesis to make this dish a little more figure friendly. This is a very versatile recipe. If you leave out the chicken this makes excellent mexican rice that you could serve as a side dish. Another variation would be cutting the chicken into smaller pieces and then serving this on tortillas with a dollop of sour cream. Yum! Corn is a good side dish to serve with this. The corn makes the salsa taste sweeter. The best thing about this recipe is I only had to dirty ONE skillet. Less dishes for me!!

If you're like me and want to try new dishes head on over to your local library and check out some cookbooks or look online. I have a few links on my homepage that have wonderful recipes. Give them a try.

Happy Cooking

~Tabitha~

What's for Dinner?

It may look like plain ol' spaghetti but, it's nooooot! It's Spaghetti Squash and meat sauce. I got the recipe and fabulous idea from http://www.makeit-loveit.com/. Hers looked sooo good that I just had to try it.

Here's what the squash looks like after baking. You just dig it out with a fork and it looks like spaghetti noodles. It got an A+ from my family and added it to our menu. The hardest part was trying to cut the squash in half to bake it. If anyone has any suggestions or tips on how to make this easier I'd be glad to hear them.