I have posted about Swagbucks before, how quickly they accumulate and all the wonderful purchases that can be made with them in the Swag Store. But, all this week, they are having a Back to School promotion to take away the blues!
If you are not familiar with Swagbucks it is a search engine which randomly awards Swag Bucks as you search. You get “paid” to do what you normally do! The bucks are then automatically deposited into your Swagbucks account to be redeemed for prizes. My personal favorite is the $5 amazon.com giftcard for 450 Swag Bucks. This may sound like a lot, but they add up quickly. I have bought a 17″ cast iron skillet ($68) and have an automatic delivery schedule for gluten flour set up (both through amazon) and I have paid nothing out of pocket!
This week’s promotion includes:
- Five one-of-a-kind Back-To-School themed Swag Buck bills in varying amounts – collect them all throughout the week and you’ll earn yourself a 50 Swag Buck bonus!
- Sales on all School Supplies and Cookie’s Kids items in the Swag Store
- Some special Facebook/Twitter specific promos
- Thursday they are having a Swag Code Extravaganza, a day in which there will be no less than 5 Swag Codes!
Sign Up Bonus! If you have not yet signed up for Swagbucks, enter the code BackToSchool while signing up and receive an extra 40 Swag Bucks (in addition to the normal 30) when you sign up, giving a grand total of 70 out of the gate. This code is valid until 11:59pm PDT on Sunday, August 15.
If you are already signed up – get to searching!
We had 1/2 inch of rain on Friday. It is good for the garden and the grapes. It also made one puddle at the end of our driveway. Here are picture clues as to how our 5 year old son entertained himself.
The first clue must be looked for closely. While I think it is obvious, I know what I am looking at!
Here is a closeup in case you missed it. I should have made a plaster mold – it will never be so small again!
And now, for the rest of the story:
Isn’t it a shame we lose the joy of such little things. I don’t necessarily see the joy in getting dirty and muddy but he sure did. He played for quite a while and was quite a mess when he was finished.
Have a wonderful Monday!
Puppies, beans, corn and peas … We have had an exciting couple of days around here!
The most exciting news first, our corgi, Sophie had her puppies – 3 tri colored boys and 1 red female. Born Wednesday, they are adorable and of course the children are thrilled. A couple of months ago, Sophie survived a coyote attack ( I am not sure who attacked whom) which really aged her. So, I am planning on keeping the red and white female. For now, we are contemplating names for her and Squiggles is in first place. At the present, there is no second or third place.
Sophie now has inside privileges again and is really enjoying all the attention. When she does leave, the box of puppies which is under a chair, is pulled out and examined. Sophie will never want for a puppy-sitter!
Earlier Wednesday, beans were picked. The same day, a friend blessed us with several plastic bags of corn. We shucked and cut the corn off the cob and creamed some. After the corn was done, we started snapping beans and did not finish until 12:30pm. The time went quickly with everyone working together. Of course, watching Oceans 11 helped too!
Some little people could not wait for the corn to be cooked and got right to eating. If you have never tried raw corn on the cob, it is really good.
Thursday was met with (in addition to vineyard work) peas to be picked and shelled.Whew, just relating all that has been done makes me tired! I am looking forward to a quieter weekend.
One of our family favorite delicacies is homemade doughnuts. You can not go wrong with them. Whether you glaze them, fill them with creme, use an icing, or eat them plain, they please everyone.
They are:
- fun to mix up
- fun to roll out
- fun to cut out
- fun to cook
- fun to eat
They are just a FUN food! They are a must for everyone to try! The following recipe reportedly makes about 2 dozen doughnuts. I am not sure about that because we triple and sometimes even quadruple it! And now, for the recipe …
Homemade Doughnuts
1 qt milk warmed
10 Tbs sugar
8 Tbs oil
1 Tbs salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg (opt. more or less to taste)
7 Tbs dry yeast
4 c all purpose flour
4 c whole wheat flour
Preheat deep fryer.
Pour milk into the bowl of your mixer. Add sugar, oil, salt and nutmeg. Add yeast last (the other ingredients help cool the milk so it does not kill your yeast). 
Add the whole wheat and all purpose flour and knead until well blended and dough does not stick to the sides of the bowl.
Place on oiled surface and prepare to roll the dough out to 1/2 inch thickness. You do not need much oil, just keep the dough from sticking. We place oil on our stone dining table. This makes easy access for all the little helpers.
Roll dough out to 1/2 inch thickness and cut out. See what I mean about the little helpers!
We use a plastic glass for the large round and a smaller container for the holes. Just use whatever works!
Deep fry in oil at 375F. We use a deep fryer so I don’t have to worry about the temperature – the fryer does that for me. The doughnuts will float, so, after a couple of minutes, turn them to cook the other side. You want a nice golden brown.
We use a utensil such as a plastic cooking fork – not the small white plastic ones!
Drain on paper towel. That is what the recipe says anyway, but we use a clean towel on a cookie sheet (emphasis on clean!). Use the icing or glaze desired. We dip the hot doughnuts into a warm chocolate icing allowing it to drip and then place on a platter. Unless of course, a quality control test must be done and then it ends up in a mouth. It is definitely a family affair!
Then again, who needs a doughnut to dip – fingers work great!
Mmmm! There is nothing like a freshly dipped finger!
My birthday is right around the corner, so, when my husband asked me what I wanted, I was not sure. Later for supper, I was scrambling eggs and thought that I would really like a big cast iron skillet. My largest skillet, which once had been a Teflon coated one, was now quickly becoming a tefl-off pan! When I mentioned it, he suggested that I check online for sizes and prices.
Now, when we have scrambled eggs, I use at least 20 eggs and a cup of milk not to mention the onions, peppers and whatever else strikes my fancy. I need a big skillet! It did not take long to find my dream! A 17″ beauty with loop handles. It is made by Lodge Logic and is pre-seasoned. Now taking out my ruler, I checked our stove to make sure it could handle such a skillet. It could!
The drawback was the skillet cost $69.00. Then, I had a revelation – why not check amazon.com, after all, I had redeemed my Swagbucks for amazon giftcards. What else would I use them for? Sure enough, they had it and it qualified for free shipping. I could get the skillet I wanted, without having to pay any money out of pocket. I ordered it and it was in in my greedy hands in 2 days!
Needless to say, I started using it immediately and love it! This may seem funny to some, to get so excited about a skillet I mean. But, after all, it is the little things in life isn’t it?
Well, I have my skillet. Now, I wonder what John is going to get me for my birthday?
You might be wondering what happened after the pouring of the slab for our new house which is to overlook the vineyard.
The answer – Nothing!
After pouring the slab and picking up the insulated concrete forms, the vineyard work picked up so much that we have not had time to work on the house. This is a wonderful problem to have (I mean, so much work as opposed to no work because the vines died!) and the work will probably slow down this month. At that point, we will get back to working on the house. In the meantime, the walls sit on the slab waiting.
How am I handling this?
Mostly, I am so thankful that the grapes are growing well and that there is work to do, that I am a big girl about it. But … there are days …
Have you ever watched your child throw a tantrum and then pout? Some days, I feel like throwing a tantrum! I am so ready to get out of this small rental and into a new place with a big kitchen. If it gets dirty (“if” is inappropriate here – “when” is more like it ), it is our dirt that must be cleaned and not years of other people’s dirt. But, thankfully this only happens sometimes and hormones are usually involved!
Mostly, I am being a big girl about it! When I stop and count my blessing (naming them one by one) this rental house is one of them. It is so convenient to be able to walk back and forth to the vineyard! The size has also been a blessing. We have not had a lot of house to clean and with the busy days of summer, that has been a blessing. We have also learned character through this. Especially, patience with everyone in such close quarters. Waiting for the bathroom is a good example. So, I do count this time as very valuable for our family. After all, if the Alabama house had sold immediately, we would not have had this opportunity to learn all we have.
That said, I ‘m tired of learning!
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Grab My Dime! 
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About Me 
God has amazingly blessed me, Dina-Marie, with a wonderful husband and 10 beautiful children. Moving from our "secure" life in Alabama to the "exciting" life of starting a vineyard in west Texas has been challenging to say the least. I have had the opportunity to take a crash course in frugal living and become a real farm girl - complete with milk cow and chickens. I have learned the importance of health from the inside out, "traditional" cooking and cod liver oil!
I hope to encourage you to make the most of where you are and what you have. |
