Family Recipe: Homemade Egg Noodles
Grandma Willa makes the best Egg Noodles! She received this recipe from her Mom, my Great Grandma Joedemann. If you are wanting some great tasting homemade egg noodles these are amazing. The ingredients are ones you typically have on hand and it is easy to make.
Egg Noodles:
- 4 Eggs
- 1 1/2 cup Flour
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
- Optional – dash of garlic salt or caraway seed
Mix and place on a floured pastry sheet roll out & cut. You may need a little more flour depending on the moisture of the dough. The dough should be pretty thick you want it just enough to roll it out. Use the noodles immediately or let them dry for a few minutes before using with your favorite dish.
Photo by msufal
Vacation: “Sky Safari Zip Lining ” – Basseterre, St. Kitts (Part 2, Pictures)
The following are some pictures from our day in Basseterre, St. Kitts!
We arrived in Basseterre, St Kitts! We had a fun time exploring the capital of St Kitts. Basseterre was a neat place to walk the streets and meet people. They had monkeys you could take pictures with after getting off the port, if you wanted a picture with the monkey you had to pay $20. You learn quickly to say “no, thank you” because there can be so many people asking for your attention.
Dad getting an aloe massage! While the rest of us were walking through the shops Dad sat down for a few minutes at a table and ended up getting an aloe massage. The guy said he looked 20 to 40 years younger after the massage, it was pretty funny to watch!
Sailboat Cruise Ship, really neat! There was a sailboat cruise ship at Basseterre, St Kitts. We encountered a lot of amazing boats during our vacation!
Coca Cola appeared to be a universal soda of choice in many of the islands! Coke was a popular sign no matter where we went. Here is one of their advertisements painted on the side of a building in St Kitts.
Building a house in Basseterre, St Kitts! A construction crew working on a home. Often times they would go ahead and run the pipes before building the next level that way they had a head start when they were ready to build again.
Beach at Basseterre, St Kitts St Kitts had beautiful turquoise water and white beaches. We didn’t make it to the beach that day because we went on the Sky Safari but we heard a lot of great feedback from other people on the ship.
Catch of the day, Basseterre, St Kitts! The catch of the day! The fish were almost as big as the fisherman carrying them. One of the big industries in St Kitts is fishing. These guys are rinsing off some of their fish they caught earlier that morning.
We made it to our Sky Safari Zip Lining Adventure! We arrived at our excursion. They took us by bus to the Sky Safari Zip Lining adventure! It was a beautiful place and soooo much fun going on the zip lines.
Standing in the Botanical Gardens overlooking the town and ocean! Amazing view while standing in the Botanical Gardens and overlooking the town and the ocean. It was a breathtaking site, absolutely beautiful!
Fresh coconut in Basseterre, St Kitts Fresh coconuts were hanging in the trees all over the island. They had a spot where there were so many coconuts they just couldn’t eat them all. Almond trees were in abundance as well.
Beautiful flower in the Botanical Gardens, St Kitts! Beautiful flowers in the Botanical Garden in st Kitts! They had interesting flowers, trees, and artists to see!
Fresh Fruit on the trees in St Kitts! A tree loaded with fresh fruit, I think these were the goya fruits. Very popular in the islands!
Local artist in St Kitts demonstrating how she uses wax, paint and canvas to create her paintings. A local artist showing us how she does her paintings with wax and canvas. Each color takes a day to paint and dry some paintings take days before they are complete. Very interesting to watch.
Flowers & Bench at the Botanical Gardens in St Kitts! Beautiful white bench with flowers peeking through at the Botanical Gardens on St Kitts! They had plenty for flowers, plants, and trees to see or you could just relax on one of their benches.
Neat "Wagon" Wheel Bench in St Kitts! I really thought this wagon wheel bench was pretty neat. The Botanical Gardens had great stuff to see or you can take a moment to relax and enjoy the surroundings while we were visiting.
A friend running past in the Botanical Gardens! We saw several lizard or iguana type animals during our excursions. Although it was neat to see them running around I was thankful they wanted to keep their distance from everyone. I think our guide called them ground lizards.
Old Sugar Mill in St Kitts Sugar Cane was once very popular industry on St Kitts (and many of the other islands). This sugar mill was no longer active but was very neat seeing how they use to make the sugar from the cane.
St Kitts form of Poison Ivy! This is St Kitts form of poison ivy, none of us volunteered to touch. We decided to take our guides word for it on that one. No one was wanting any type of poison ivy reaction on our vacation.
Apples growing in St Kitts This is a St Kitts apple growing in their tree. Almost everywhere you walked you could see fruit growing in trees. Even though the apples are not the same as ours I am sure they are delicious. They don’t eat the skin on their apples.
Very thorny tree in St Kitts! This tree was near the Sugar Mill in St. Kitts, in the past it was said that when slaves first came to the islands they were tied up to these thorny tree for several days. I didn’t even want to touch it because the thorns were so sharp, ouch!
Jake's all geared up for the Sky Safari zip lining adventure! Jake all geared up and ready to go. My handsome man helped me get all my gear on as well. The hats and harness were pretty comfortable and everyone had a blast on the zip line. Fun times together with family!
Basseterre, St Kitts Goodbye Basseterre, St. Kitts hope to see you again! It was wonderful spending a day with you and we enjoyed all the fun adventures on your island!
A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Life Simplified: No Grocery Shopping (February Update)
Now that we are almost through February 2011 you may be wondering how I am doing with my No Grocery Shopping Month Challenge. I am wrapping up week 8 of my “No Grocery Shopping” goal. This month has been harder because the pantry and freezer are getting lower but for the most part I have been doing well as long as I do my menu planning ahead of schedule. When I go over what I am going to make for supper that morning, check for the ingredients, and have a plan everything goes so much smoother. Here are my criteria for purchasing any grocery items over the last 8 weeks:- FREE – I don’t want to waste free grocery coupons that my family will use while doing this goal
- Necessity – Milk, Eggs, Bread, etc…
- For Someone Else outside of my household. For example I make meals for new Moms in our church and if I need to pick up an item for them on the way to deliver a meal that will be an exception.
Although with all that being said I did have to purchase a few items not really within my guidelines for one meal recently. I was in charge of making our Community Group meal at church last Wednesday, we have an average of 16 to 20 people on Wednesday night. While we still have plenty to feed our family of four, I did pick up a couple items from the store to make the meal last week since there are people in the group that have food allergies and I wanted to make sure I had items that they could eat. The extra items that were not in my guidelines were:
- Bananas which I bought at Save A Lot | Rite Aid for $0.19 a pound to make homemade banana pudding, it was delicious!
- 2 lb bag of Green Giant Potatoes for $2.49 to make homemade potato soup, my friends recipe! You can find more of her great recipes at Reflecting on the Simple Things in Life!
- 1 cup Heavy Cream for homemade potato soup
- 1 onion for $0.68 for the homemade beef stew
So now you know that I didn’t entirely hit my goal of no grocery shopping except for necessities. When I first set the No Grocery Shopping challenge I was hoping to get through the month of January, the fact that I plan to make it to the first few days into March with only a few extra purchases during the challenge is a huge win (at least for me). In the month of February the only other groceries I have purchased are:
- 5 gallons of Milk
- 2 packages of Cheese
- 1 Loaf of Bread
For the most part the No Grocery Shopping challenge went fairly well. I spent a little over $19 (including tax) for the month of February on grocery necessities. We even did extra activities during this time of cutting back. Doing this challenge may seem silly to some but it has made a huge impact on my way of thinking. It has been a wonderful learning experience and made me appreciate how many blessings we have in our lives. I hope to do a similar challenge in the future to help remind me of the importance of saving as well as using the items we have on hand. Even with the challenge we were still able to participate in several extra events in February while only using items in our freezer or pantry:
- Hosted Guests in our Home
- Made food for a Super Bowl Party
- Brought Treats to the Girls Valentine’s Party
- Brought Cupcakes and Drinks to the Girls Birthday Party for School
- Had Snacks for Girls Night
I do have to say that I had a hard time buying the few extra items that I purchased this month……I felt guilty buying extra food during this challenge especially when I know we still have plenty. I am grateful for an amazing husband and two wonderful kids who put up with me throughout this adventure. It is my plan to try and make it through the first few days of March (only 1 more week) with this goal, which will be 9 weeks of only shopping for the necessities (with a few hiccups in the mix). I want to thank everyone for all the support and encouragement along the way. One of the BIGGEST ways that helped keep me accountable is that I knew people were watching, reading and commenting on the blog. Thanks for being a part of my life and helping me at least feel like I touched a finger tip on my goal.
So what’s next!!!! In the next few days I will be sharing with you my next Grocery Shopping Goal, don’t worry it won’t be as extreme, however I want to continue to utilize the stockpile we still have and not waste what God has given us. With this new challenge it will allow me the freedom to Grocery Shop for the family yet stay within a budget, PLUS perks! Stayed tuned as I unveil what is coming up next and if your up to it you can join me in the next adventure!
Life Simplified is a series on getting rid of the extras in our life while learning how to enjoy what God has given us so we can continue to be a blessing to others. Our homes can quickly start are bursting with “stuff” and if you are like us we just have too much. I am doing a series on ways we are learning to simplifying our food, homes, and lives. When our hearts, lives, and homes get too cluttered we may start missing out on opportunities to serve and bless the people around us.
Photo by Little Blue Hen
Curious Kids: Swing Experiment!
Notice anything odd about the jungle gym? The girls are always asking questions and trying new things. As parents we get the privilege to answer these questions and teach them more about how things work. Occasionally, they come up with some interesting ideas on their own. I love how they use their creativity and are able to pull together some fun experiments. Not every creative moment ends up perfect but glad to see them thinking outside the box.
We were outside playing one sunny winter afternoon when I looked over at the girls playing on the swing set and noticed something a little odd. They had taken their cherry red lawn chairs from the front porch and put them on top of the swings on the jungle gym. It was hilarious watching them swing on the lawn chairs. A piece of me was thrilled that they figured out how to “invent” something silly yet not dangerous. They had a blast swinging on their “redneck” swings. It was great hearing their bursts of giggles as they watched each other swing.
They came up with this creative Redneck "swing" all on their own! 
They did pretty well swinging on their little red lawn chairs! 
Karlie and Brina Swinging on their silly swings! 
So proud of their little experiment! It was pretty funny watching them swing on those little red lawn chairs. They were so excited their experiment worked out so well. As Jake and I moved around in the yard the girls would just rotate their chair swings to face us. They make me laugh with some of the things they come up with but I am glad to see their imaginations running full throttle!
What started out as mere curiosity ended up being a fun new way to enjoy time swinging on the jungle gym. Encourage your kids to be creative and curious, you never know what you’ll see when you come around the corner!
Curious Kids is a series of posts on various questions kids ask as well as creative things they come up with on their own. If you have ever been around a toddler you know they will have a season when they start asking all the “Why” questions. Then as your toddler gets older you begin to see them start experimenting with objects, becoming even more creative, and trying to figure out new ways to make things work. As a parent of Twins my girls hit those stages at the same time! I was (and am) determined to not answer….”Because I said so” to their questions and allow them the freedom to be creative (as long as it isn’t dangerous) but there there are days when it is difficult coming up with all the answers to their questions and the mess behind their “creative” experiments sometimes gets a little too crazy for even Mom. Most days I love having the opportunity to teach my girls and encourage them to use their curiosity to be creative when they play!
Save A Lot: Deals for the week of February 23 – March 1, 2011
The deals from last week are continuing again this week, if you didn’t stock up on these great deals already you have another opportunity. Here are this weeks deals at Save A Lot. Sign up for the Smart Shopper Club, by doing so you will get a $5.00 off of $25.00 coupon!
Meats and Seafood
Hillshire Farms (Beef, Polska, Smoked Sausage) – $1.99
Use $1/2 coupon from 1/23 Red Plum (Expires 2/28/11)
$1.49 each after couponFast Fixin’ Chicken – $4.00
Pick 5 for $19.99 promo on going: Pick any 5 specially marked packages of your favorite cuts of fresh, frozen or smoked meats and pay just $19.99 (about $2 per pound).
Fridge and Freezer
Mr P’s Pizza (Supreme or Pepproni) – $0.59
Fisher Boy Fish Sticks – $0.99
Use $0.75/1 printable coupon from Fisher Boy
$0.24 each after couponOcean Market Fish Fillets – $0.99
Morning Delight Buttermilk Biscuits – $0.39
Home Churned Spread – $0.99
Fairgrounds Sliced Meat – $0.50
Armour Lunchmakers – $0.99
McClary’s Singles – $0.99
Deli Pride Sandwich – $0.99
Household
Luster Facial Tissues – $0.99
Ajax Liquid Dish Soap – $0.99
Pert Bath Tissue – $0.89
Produce
Red and Green Grapes – $0.99 per lb
Cantaloupe – $1.49 each
Vine Ripe Tomatoes – $0.99 per lb
Grocery
Frito Lay (Doritos, Cheetos, & Scoops) – $0.89
Maruchan Ramen Cups – $0.79
Red Gold Tomato Sauce – $0.50
Hungry Jack Specialty Potatoes – $1.00
Betty Crocker Hamburger or Tuna Helper – $1.00
Del Pino’s Canned Pasta – $0.69
Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix – $0.39
Portside Chunk Light Tuna – $0.53
Hargis House Vienna Sausage – $0.37
Hargis House Chili with Beans – $0.99
Hargis House Chili without Beans – $1.29
Sundia Fruit Cups – $0.89
Caskey’s Cream of Mushroom Soup – $0.59
J. Higg’s Classic Saltine Crackers – $0.89
J. Higg’s Cheese Bit Crackers – $1.49
Coburn Farms Hot Chocolate – $1.19
Portmann’s Tartar Sauce – $1.39
Kool-Aid Bursts – $0.99
Vista Sandwich Creme Cookies – $0.99
Chef Karlin Potato Pouches – $0.79
Ravella Swift Mac – $0.69
Remember you can use the $5/$25 printable coupon to sweeten these deals! Plus you can earn up to 5 additional $5 off $25 coupons for sharing the coupon with your friends.
For more information about Save A Lot’s coupon policies go here. If you find additional deals or savings please let me know and I will add them to the list.
Family Celebrations: Girls Birthday!
Happy Birthday Banner for Brina and Karlie!!! The girls had a blast celebrating their sixth birthday! We made the day special for them and had fun! It is still hard to believe that they are growing up so quickly. Here are a few shots from our adventures on their birthday!
Birthday Breakfast - Blueberry Bear Pancakes & Banana Pudding with Star Candles 
Brina and Karlie LOVE writing in their notebooks. At breakfast they got a pretty princess notepad with purple fluffy pen! Super exciting and cute! (Even better is I found them on clearance at Walmart.) 
Karlie playing with her little pony at TGI Friday's 
Brina playing with her little pony at the restaurant - TGI Friday's 
We celebrated their birthday dinner at TGI Friday's! 
Brina and Karlie enjoying their caramel & chocolate ice cream birthday sundae's at TGI Friday's!!! So delicious they got it all over themselves! 
Karlie and Brina using their gift certificates at Toys R Us! 
Brina picked out a pink & white puppy and baby doll supplies at Toys R Us! 
Karlie and Brina sharing their birthday goodies! 
Daddy helping Karlie putting together her Hot Wheels truck! 
Brina LOVES her horses, the stable, and books! We read one right away then put the horse and book back in the stable! 
Karlie so excited about her Stomp ROCKET! She even blasted a few off in the house that night! 
Brina and Karlie coming downstairs for some more birthday fun! 
Brina having a blast riding the go cart in the front yard! Peddle FASTER!!! 
Look Out MOM!!! Karlie's driving fast and you're in the way! Use the breaks!!! I have been very blessed with a sweet family. Even though I am still in shock that my baby girls are 6 years old I am thankful for them and the privilege of watching them grow up. Wishing them many more awesome years together!
Vacation: “Sky Safari Zip Lining ” – Basseterre, St. Kitts
Sky Safari Zip Lining Adventure in St. Kitts, our gear is on and training complete, whose ready for some fun..... The fourth day of the cruise we stopped at Basseterre, St Kitts. Basseterre is one of the oldest in the eastern Caribbean and was originally part of the French colony. Then in 1727 the British made Basseterre the capital of St. Kitts. The island is known for its rich volcanic soil, tropical climate, and almost 70 sugar plantations. Although the peek years for sugar plantations have past you can still see the old plantations, sugar cane fields, abandoned fortresses, city squares, and architectural structures. The volcanoes are dormant on St Kitts and the mountains are a great place to take a hike.
Our excursion today was AMAZING!!! The whole group went on the “Sky Safari Zip Lining” adventure. We went on a zip line that was 1,400 feet long, 25 stories above ground, and up to 40 plus miles per hour. There were four zip lines all at different spots on the mountain. On three of the zip lines we went one at a time and on the last line we raced a partner….I raced with Jake. We both thought that Jake won but when we got the pictures it looked like I made it to the platform first, interesting! The zip line clipped into a harness and was super easy to learn how to do. On the way down we were up so high the boats in the ocean seemed tiny plus our feet were hitting the tops of trees as we flew along the zip lines, it was awesome!
We had a blast in St. Kitts! If you have a chance to go sometime, we definitely recommend you check out the Sky Safari Zip Lining.
Facts about St. Kitts:
- Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II
- Governor-General: Sir Cuthbert Sebastian
- Prime Minister: Denzil Douglas
- Capital: Basseterre, St. Kitts
- Total area: 65 square miles
- Population: 49,898
- Monetary: East Caribbean dollars
A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Information on St. Kitts found on Info Please.
Family Celebrations: Valentine’s Date with My Man!
Winter Jam 2011 at Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, SC! Jake and I had the opportunity to celebrate Valentine’s Day on Friday, February 11, 2011. We had friends swap babysitting duties with us so we knew the girls would be in good hands while we were out for the evening. While we were brainstorming fun and unique ways we could spend our Valentine’s Date we realized that it was the same night that Winter Jam 2011 was coming to Greenville. Since neither of us had ever been to any concerts before we decided to give it a try since it only cost $10 per person to get in.
After deciding what to do we talked with a couple friends and realized that the concert usually sells out so we had backup plans just in case. That night Jake picked up Subway sandwiches and we ate while standing in line to get into the Bi-Lo Center. When we arrived the lines were pretty defined but after only a few minutes it soon became a crowd with standing room only. I am not a tall person and thankful that I don’t get claustrophobic in large crowds standing because every one was standing close together.
We made it into the Bi-Lo Center and managed to get front row balcony seats! When I went to the restroom Jake left a small pretty gold package on my chair…… I hadn’t realized it but he had saved up his money to buy me a necklace that I could wear with the other one he gave me for our 7th Anniversary for dressier events! He is so sweet and thoughtful! I share will with you in a later post a little more about the necklace!
We have never been to a concert much less a Christian Concert with so many people and artists! It was neat hearing their songs and testimonies throughout the night. The night starting off with Chris Sligh who is from Greenville, South Carolina. We also heard songs from Chris August, Sidewalk Prophets, NewSong, Red, Francesca Battistelli, Kutless, David Crowder Band and the NewsBoys. Tony Nolan gave an encouraging and challenging message and KJ-52 was an entertaining MC. Here are some pictures from our Date Night. It was a neat experience and moving to see so many people in attendance worshiping together.
Chris Sligh from Greenville, SC started the Winter Jam 2011 evening. 
Chris August at Winter Jam 2011 
"Sidewalk Prophets" started with their backs to us! 
"Red" had neat fire and smoke shooting through the air at various times. The speakers were blown on our side after their performance, it was pretty loud! 
KJ-52 was a great MC at Winter Jam 2011! 
"Newsong" at Winter Jam 2011! 
Francesca Battistelli at Winter Jam, neat songs and her husband plays the drums in her band! 
Tony Nolan sharing scripture & his testimony with everyone at Winter Jam 2011 
David Crowder Band at Winter Jam 2011 
Winter Jam 2011 - "Kutless" performing! 
"Newsboys" drummer at Winter Jam 2011! 
Newsboys singing at Winter Jam 2011 
Newsboys on risers at Winter Jam! 
Winter Jam 2011 was a sold out crowd at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, SC! Songs: “Welcome Home” by Brian Littrell
It is always good to come home! We want our home to be a place where family and friends can come be comfortable and relax. A hug of welcome is encouraging and uplifting.
Book: “God Gave Us So Much” by Lisa Tawn Bergren
I recently read the book treasury “God Gave Us So Much” by Lisa Tawn Bergren to my twin daughters. “God Gave Us So Much” is a limited-edition treasury of three books. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the depth into creation, love, and heaven the author went into for a children’s book. The author created a pretty steady stream of “Questions” and “Answers” dialogue between Little Cub, her parents, and grandparents.I read the books to my girls in three separate settings. The first book “God Gave us the World” which was a huge hit with the kids. One of my daughters is fascinated with earth, planets, traveling and science so she had a lot of wonderful questions about the story. It was neat hearing Little Cubs questions about all the different types of bears that live around the world and how God made each bear unique.
The second book was “God Gave Us Love” which I read to the girls on Valentine’s Day. It was a great reminder of all the people who love us in life and especially that God loves each one of us. It had practical applications on ways to show love to others. Ultimately I liked how the book encouraged the kids to know that God loved them.
“God Gave Us Heaven” was the third book in this treasury and it paints an amazing picture of heaven! Little Cub asked a series of common questions kids ask regarding heaven and the author did well in answering them. I especially liked the analogy of Jesus being our “bridge” to our forever home. She painted a pretty clear picture for children regarding heaven and salvation.
The books mention God and many of the questions little ones ask regarding God, the world, love and heaven. I really like how Lisa emphasized on how our world was designed by God, that he loves us and wants us to live in heaven with him. The only thing that caught me off guard was there is no mention of “Little Cub’s” gender until the end of books and all three of us assumed by the conversation that Little Cub was male so we were surprised to find out Little Cub was actually a female. These books had a good mixture of adventure and giving credit to God. Each book peaked the curiosity of my girls enough to allow us the opportunity to continue the conversation for several minutes after reading the book and answer their additional questions about life, love, and heaven.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from the publisher through the Waterhouse Multnomah. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
