New Year's Day Fish Traditions

Cheese ball with crackers

 New Year's Day has always been a big cooking day for me.  I cook a large variety of our favorite appetizers and of course New Year's Punch.  We feast at lunch and supper with our spread of goodies.

Today we've had sickness plaguing us since Christmas.  It seems to be the flu.  Thankfully not many folks have lost their appetite and the traditional meal was still very much anticipated. 

Star Anise Waffle Cookies - reminds me of our days in Singapore

Hummus and veggies

Asparagus Beef Roll Ups - my favorite!!!

Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts - DELICIOUS!

Lime Fruit Dip with fresh fruit

New Year's Punch

 Here's my recipes in case you want to try some!

May your year be filled with lots of quality family time around the table!

Blender Jar

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, but close to it. 
This blog hasn't been what I had intended it to be and I've dropped the ball in many areas. 
Right now, I'm contemplating closing shop over here at Feeding the Fish Sticks and just focusing on our family blog.  Still not sure yet, but thinking....

So in the mean time since it's been over a month since I've posted, here's a post I planned a while back but never actually wrote.

My blender jar was broken by a Fish Stick putting dishes away.  The company that I ordered the replacement from sent the a jar with no lid that my old lid didn't fit.  Then they sent another jar with no lid instead of just the lid.  Then they finally sent the lid.  During all this rigamarole that I had to deal with, we were without a blender for a LONG time.  Too long for this family.

My son remembered that a long time ago we had seen on Pinterest that you can use a Mason jar as a blender jar.  The mouth is the same size for most blenders. 

It was perfect...especially when I was making a 1 serving smoothie.  I just drank straight from the jar.

So just in case your blender jar breaks and the company messes up your replacement order....now you know you can just use a Mason jar.  You're welcome.  :)

Plucking and Waxing

I'm almost embarrassed to write this post, but I'm getting over it.  :)

There are several things I have figured out to do on my own so we don't have added expenses by paying professionals to do it.  One is cutting hair.  I learned how to cut hair in high school and have given all the male haircuts in our family and trimmed the girls hair since marriage.

This post is about the other skill I've taught myself.  Waxing eyebrows.  Now I realize that some of you women were born with naturally, pretty, defined eyebrows.  Others of us were not so fortunate and sport caterpillars above our eyes.  Interestingly enough is that it took me years to even realize I had big, bushy eyebrows.  When I was a young mom of 2 babies I got into a conversation with 3 friends over plucking/waxing/threading eyebrows.  (If you don't know what threading is, google it.  It's fascinating!)  Up until then I don't think I had ever noticed eyebrow shape.  Then I got paranoid.  Were my eyebrows defined or bushy?  My good friend (because only a good friend would do this) plucked my eyebrows for me and I was hooked!!  Wow - I did have huge, bushy eyebrows and now they looked so much better.

So for a few years I was a regular plucker.  Then another friend told me about waxing.  I went to a salon for the first time to have my eyebrows waxed and realized how much easier it was to wax them.  $12 later though.  My second eyebrow waxing didn't turn out near as good as the first and it was then that I decided I could do just as good of a job.  I bought my first Sally Hansen waxing kit and have never looked back.

For only $5 you can easily wax your own eyebrows over and over.  I will tell you that in my 11 years of waxing my own eyebrows, only once have I waxed one of my eyebrows almost entirely off.  It really was awful but became a funny joke with my close friends and family whom I disclosed this to....as if they couldn't notice I only had one eyebrow for a month!

First buy your waxing kit (sorry it's sideways but you get the picture).

Here's what the wax looks like.  Microwave it until it's pasty and warm, not runny and too hot.

Here's my beautiful "before" photo.  They don't look that bushy because over time of waxing, they actually never come in as bushy as they once were.  It's more touch-up waxing after a long time of waxing.

Using a popcycle stick, spread the warm wax just where you want it - CAREFULLY!

Cringe and yank in the opposite direction of the hair.  Then use tiny tweezers from the box to get any scragglers.  It also comes with a nice lotion that has some pain reliever in it.  Put your make-up on and voila!  You've saved yourself over $10!!  So easy!  Wanna see a photo of my bushy eyebrows?  I'll consider posting it....maybe.

Using Up Those Boxes of Cereal

After I got so many good cereal deals, the Fish Sticks were kind of getting tired of the same ole ones.

I had the idea to make rice crispy treats out of the Cocoa and Fruity Pebbles that we had in plenty.

They are more sweet than regular rice crispies but didn't stay around long.

I used the entire box of cereal, the whole bag of marshmallows and 3 Tb. butter.  

Melt the butter and marshmallows in a big bowl in the microwave, add the cereal and stir well.

Press into a 9x13.  That's it - the 5 minutes snack.  I stick my hand in a plastic sandwich bag like a glove to press it into the pan so it won't stick all over me.  Try it!

Yummy Chicken Dish

Sorry it's not the best "food photo."  It tastes better than this photo looks.  :)

Since we are so busy right now with eating on the road or needing meals to be ready when we walk in the door late from a ballgame, I have dreamed of making a cookbook just for busy moms during the sports seasons.  I find myself really having to look thoroughly through recipes to find something that I can cook easily, package well and try to keep it hot (but it still tastes good if it turns lukewarm) to take on the road and eat during this busy season of 2 football teams and cross country.  

I made this last week in the crock pot and love it although I would like to change the name to Taco Chicken because that's more what it tasted like.  It's easy.  It's inexpensive and everyone loved it.  Give it a try!

recipe

Deals & Steals

I took a break from couponing for a few weeks just to limit my running around.  Yesterday I picked it back up and swung by CVS and Walgreens while my daughter had dental work done.  I was pretty happy with the deals that I got.  I didn't separate my photos based on stores like I normally do but I will separate telling you about the deals!

Walgreens:
3 Edge Shaving Gel for $1.25 each
3 Purex detergent for $1.50 each
Nice Water bottles for $2.49 (we use these to take to ball games)
Skittles for 50 cents each (I plan on passing these out to my kids at the football game today and saving from the concession stand)
Softsoap for 99 cents a pump (we were out of soap!  Need to stock up!)
Large Softsoap refill BOGO for $7.79 for both
Dial Foam Soap BOGO for $3.29 for both (this is a larger bottle than the regular pumps and foam usually lasts much longer - trying something new)
3 Capt. Crunch Cereal (a favorite) for $1.76 a box
Cornflakes for $2 a box (saw a recipe for cornflake cookies on Emeals blog this week that I plan on trying.  Only peanut butter, corn syrup, cornflakes and sugar - no bake!)
2 Domino 4 lb. sugar - $1.61 each

CVS:
3 boxes Cheerios for $1.38 each
3 boxes of Truvia for $1 each
Ajax for 49 cents
Charmin for 2 for $9 (we were out of TP!)
Nestle spring water for $2.49

I found these at CVS in the 90% off bin.  They are little cosmetic purses, coin purses, mirrors and notebooks.  I got enough for 8 stockings for girls!  The notebooks were 19 cents each and the bags were 49 cents each.  A steal!!

Call Me Mean

I am a broken record.

I tell my kids this but that means nothing to them in the age that they are growing up in.

My Disney Peter Pan record had a big scratch right when the Indians captured Wendy.
"And a band of indians....
And a band of indians....
And a band of indians.....
And a band of indians...."

Over and over until we knocked the needle a bit to get past the scratch.

I don't know if they will ever understand that analogy but I find myself repeating myself over and over.

Pick up your clothes off the floor.

Put your shoes in the mudroom bench.

Who left their socks scattered in the kitchen?

Put your school folder in your backpack.

Don't forget to clear off your cereal bowl.

I drive myself crazy so I'm SURE I drive my kids crazy.

I know what my problem is.  Say it once.  Expect obedience.  Punish disobedience.  Obedience the 2nd time is disobedience.  It sounds so simple, but for me....well, I must be hard-headed or just extremely merciful which is coming back to bite me.

I'm the queen of new systems to maintain order in my home.  Charts.  Stickers.  Reward systems.  Prizes.  Praise.  Ask the Fish Sticks.  (Rolling of the eyes...."Mom's got a new chart, everyone.")  They are fleeting and it's because of me.  I just can't seem to keep them all up.  OR they lose their motivation with my Fish Sticks.
 
So what's new in the Fish House?  The Lost and Found Box.  New Rule:  Every night after kids are tucked away, I pick up the house....all over....bedrooms included.  Anything OUT OF ITS PLACE gets put into my Lost and Found Box.  No daily reminders.  No repeated directions.  No mercy.  I'm not nagging.  I'm not aggravated.  Just a happy sweep of the house at 8:30.

So how do they redeem their prized possessions that they neglected to put where they belong?  They have a choice:  pay 25 cents per item (that would be 50 cents for a pair of shoes) OR do a chore that is equivalent to 25 cents (I keep a list of pay-worthy chores in my home management notebook.).

This is week 2.  I think 95% of the things you see in this box were collected on Days 1-4.  I think that means its working.

Call me mean, but the needle has been pushed off "And the band of indians...." and I think I've become sweeter because of it.  And what's better than a sweet Mama.....with a picked up house?  :)

Lost and Found Box