A Fun, Creative Way to Serve up Dinner

I was catching up with some of my favorite blog feeds this morning, and came across a super-fun, kids-will- love-it tip on the Katie the Scrapbook Lady Blog

Muffin tin meals!

Basically, you serve up dinner in muffin tins to each family member--separating each type of food into one of the 6 available cups.

You can have different themes, such as:

Italian Night:
Pasta Shells
Mini Ravioli
Dipping Sauce
Meatballs
Bread
Salad

Lunch Box Special:
Sandwich
Carrot Sticks
Fruit, like grapes or cut apples
Goldfish Crackers
Chips
Mini Cookies

Breakfast Mix:
Cereal
French Toast Strips
Syrup
Eggs
Fruit
Yogurt

The possibilities are endless! This can even be fun for adults with hor d-oeuvres for a unique dinner party starter.

Have fun with it and let us know what some of your 6-cup muffin tin combinations were.

Permanent Marker on a Dry Erase Board

This weekend, I was tidying up the basement. I glanced over at the cute bunny drawing on my daughter's dry erase board, but then I noticed that it was drawn in a pink marker--not one of her dry erase markers. Oh no. I went to erase a small portion of it, and as I suspected, it would not come off. Permanent marker!

I tried to erase it with Magic Eraser. No luck. Goo gone? Nope? I never give up, however, without checking the multitude of information available on the Internet.

Lo and behold, with a Google search, I landed on The LifeHacker web site. It said that by tracing over the original image with a dry erase marker, and then erasing it, the the permanent marker image would vanish. Sounds odd, but after drawing over the bunny image once or twice with a dry erase marker, it worked!

Just goes to show you that with a little bit of patience to search for solutions, very often the answers are out there.

Make a Car Emergency Kit

Keep a car emergency kit in your vehicle for emergency situations on the road:

Glove Compartment

• Car registration
  
• Owner's manual
  
• Flashlight
  
• Tire Guage
  
• Insurance Card
  
• In Case of Emergency Card
  
  

Console Area

• Hands-free cell phone adapter
  
• Change
  
• Water
  
• Local and state maps
  
  

Trunk

• Spare tire (fully inflated)
  
• Bungee cords
  
• Duct tape
  
• Blanket
  
• Tire changing tools and jack
  
• First-aid kit
  
• Emergency gas container
  
• Jumper cables
  
• Triangular folding reflector
  
• Waterproof bag to store items
  
  

Source: AAA Magazine

Want to donate your books to a good cause?

I received a note from one of my newsletter subscribers the other day that I thought would benefit anyone who has extra books and magazines, and wants to donate them to a good cause. Here it is:

"I want to first Thank you for the work that you do. I have printed and go by your monthly calendars for years now and cannot begin to tell you how much they mean to me. I don't always get a chance to read the newsletters, but I keep them in a file on my computer for future reference.

"I wanted to let you know that people don't always know that books and magazines are always a wanted item of our soldiers. They are always looking for things to read and do.

"So the next time someone has books, they can visit http://www.anysoldier.com/ adopt a hero and send them some books. They appreciate all that they get."

Maria Martens
Proud Mother of HN Robert "Nathan" Martens
My Son, My Hero
Killed September 6, 2005 - Al Qaim, Iraq
Please Visit: http://www.fallenheroesazmemorial.com
http://nathan-martens.memory-of.com

Office Supplies: Drab to Fab

Do typical office supplies seem oh-so-drab to you? Do you say, 'Blah!' to plain metal paper clips, manila file folders, pale yellow sticky notes--so corporate? If you do, you're likely not going to be so excited about organizing.

So, what can you do to spice up your office supply collection and your spirits? It can be as simple as adding some color!

Many office supplies now come in a rainbow of colors to suit each individual. Yes, sometimes they cost a bit more than their more drab alternatives, but if you like them more, you're likely to use them more.

Don't be afraid to add more flair to your office supply collection with colorful binder clips, paper clips, file folders, sticky notes, pens and other fun colored supplies. It may be just the boost you need to get inspired to get and keep everything organized.