Time's Up!

Well folks, that's it for the giveaway. I'll be randomly selecting one lucky person from the comments to win their free $5 Starbucks gift card, and will announce the winner tomorrow, so be sure to check back! Thanks for participating :)

WOW.

I logged on this evening to a wonderful surprise - my blog has now received a page view count of over................

That's 5 zeros (and 5 exclamation points). WOW! You guys are amazing! I just want to express my sincere thanks to everyone who's visiting or is a regular. This little 'ol blog that was originally started as a hobby has turned into a real passion of mine, and all of you are the driving force behind that. 

THANK YOU!!!!  

A Trip to Lazy Five

One of our favorite "day-cation" locations is Lazy Five Ranch, about an hour from our home. Going there brings a real sense of peace with it's exotic animal exhibits, drive-through safaris, wagon ride tours, and exotic birds roaming all around you. It's beautiful! We usually pay a few extra bucks to do the wagon ride. Shy littlePrairie Dogs quickly run from their burrows to grab food, and if you're lucky you might spot one. Brightly colored Parrots sing from high above on their throne of branches and Peacocks wander about the trails you while you walk throughout the ranch.

Lemurs frolic in their naturally enclosed play area as kids surround their domain to sing, "I like to move it, move it!" at the top of their lungs. 

Cows slowly saunter over for a handful of food, and are eager to have a sweet caress or pat on top of their head.

Llamas look right into your eyes as though they're speaking to you right from their soul saying, "I'll be your friend, you can tell me anything". These two had a very sweet disposition.

Water Buffalo lug their large, sluggish bodies over to the wagon for a bite to eat, so patiently waiting for you to drop the food in their mouths, while their friends cool themselves in a large pond, content with having only their head visible to the crowd. 

Deer frolic and play without a care in the world, while the baby deer and piglets stare with an inquisitive interest of all there is to discover in their brand new world. 

The Zebras are absolutely exquisite with their intricate stripes. They keep their distance and go about their distance as if they know what a novelty they are.

A lone Rhinoceros relaxes in the shade after cooling off in a mud bath, oblivious the audience surrounding his enclosure.

Towards the end of the safari you come upon one of the most amazing exhibits of all - the Giraffes. The elegance that exudes their statuesque bodies is absolutely breathtaking. 

There's something about Lazy Five Ranch that brings a peacefulness to your mind, makes the world seem a little less chaotic, and helps you to really stop and think about all of the little wonders of the world that make up this big, big world. Every visit is a different experience, another chance to make more family memories that will last a lifetime.

What's been your most cherished family memory so far this year?

Dusty's Birthday & a Giveaway!

Yesterday was my sweet hubby's birthday. He turned 34. We celebrated with dinner at one of his favorite restaurants, Outback Steakhouse, where he managed to inhale nearly an entire Bloomin' Onion, a 9 oz. sirloin steak and two orders of french fries in 2 minutes flat. What can I say, you can get away with that kinda stuff on your birthday! Then we dragged our overstuffed selves home so we could stuff our overstuffed selves some more with some of my homemade yellow butter cake with chocolate almond buttercream, ice cream and his favorite part - presents! There's something about birthdays and holidays that really brings the kid out in my husband. He waits with (impatient) anticipation for the moment when he can rip open that first present. And the hardest part? He's a peeker! I've had to resort to hiding them all over the house and even camouflaged them with blankets in the back of my car. I was especially looking forward to watching him receive one of this year's presents. Dusty's been begging me to let him get a 4-wheeler for years. As much as I've wanted him to have one, it just hasn't been a feasible financial possibility - until now. You'll see his priceless reaction to his gift in the pictures below. :)


 I've always loved celebrating BIG, be it a birthday or holiday. His birthday means so much more to me than just any other day - it's the day the love of my life, an amazing Daddy to our girl, a patient man when it's tough for me to do the same, and the rock of our entire family came into this world -  and making him feel special, appreciated and loved is a high priority every day, but especially his birthday. Kenzie worked hard to make him the world's largest card out of a piece of scrap cardboard complete with her very own rendition of "The Happy Birthday Song", we laughed hysterically at his Larry the Cable Guy and Johnny Cash cards, overindulged on cake and ice cream and really just enjoyed each other's company. Now that's what a birthday's all about.

The End. :)




Oh, wait, I promised you a giveaway, didn't I? There's a couple of different ways you can win:
1.)  Follow my blog. Just scroll down the page and on the right side you can subscribe, follow by e-mail or become a member with Google Friend Connect. This counts as 1 entry.
2.) Share this post to Facebook, Twitter, or  +1 this post to let your friends know about the giveaway, too!  Just scroll to the bottom of the post and click the logo that coincides with how you'd like to share this post. This counts as 1 entry.
3.) Leave a comment telling me your favorite birthday memory, (or just any 'ol comment will do...as long as you're nice to me, heh heh heh). This counts as 1 entry. 
4.) Be sure to let me know in your comment which steps you've done so I'll know how many entries you have!
4.) Check back over the next week to see if you've won! 


This means that each one of these steps counts as 1 entry - so if you do all three, (and be sure to let me know in a comment), you will have THREE chances to win! One person will be randomly selected from the comments on this post to receive a Cup 'o Joe on me! Or a cup of tea....or a glass of  lemonade....or one of those fabulous, chilled Frappuccino's with tons of whipped cream... That's right, a $5 Starbucks gift card all to yourself. Exciting, huh? The giveaway will end at midnight on 6/30/12, so be sure to check back in on Saturday to see if you've won! Happy weekend!

Creamy Beef Stroganoff

This recipe originates from my great aunt, Maxine, and is still a family favorite around our house. Aunt Maxine referred to it as "Poor Man's Stroganoff", since it uses ground beef in place of thin-sliced sirloin or tenderloin. I love it because it has simple ingredients that I almost always have on hand and is a great throw together meal on nights that I just want something quick, easy and delicious. 

What you'll need:
1 pound lean ground beef (I use 97% lean)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 (8 oz.) block of cream cheese (I use the 1/3 less fat)
1 (10 3/4 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3/4 cup milk
A few good shakes of Worchestershire sauce to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1 (8 oz.) bag egg noodles, cooked and drained


Preparation:
Brown the ground beef with salt and pepper; add onion and saute until tender. Stir in cream cheese until well blended. Add the soup and milk; stir until well mixed. Add salt, pepper, and Worchestershire sauce to taste. Spoon sauce over egg noodles and serve, OR put the noodles in a 9x13 pan and pour sauce over the noodles, then bake at 350° for 35 minutes

Banana Nut Bread

This recipe is one that was passed on to me from my mom. She would make this recipe for me (and with me) all the time growing up, and it has always been one of my favorites. Now I'm carrying on that same tradition with my daughter, and hope that someday she will pass it on to her children as well. Whether you slather it in butter while it's still warm or enjoy it cold with your coffee in the morning, I hope you'll find this recipe becomes a tradition in your home just as it has in mine. 

What You'll Need:
3/4 cup sugar
3 large very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup butter flavored Crisco, melted 
2 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt 


Preparation:
Pre-heat oven to 350°. Grease a loaf pan with cooking spray. Melt the butter flavor Crisco in a large bowl in the microwave. To the melted Crisco add sugar, bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes. Loosen the sides of loaf from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing - if you can wait that long!

Homemade Febreze

When it comes to making your house smell good, there's nothing like some Febreze to do the job for you. It makes my stinky old couch that traps every odor imaginable smell like a spring meadow. I go through about a bottle a month, sometimes more if I'm being honest (What can I say, the couch really does stink). But at over $5.59 per bottle, my pocketbook isn't as fond of it as I am. Until now. So when a friend of mine stumbled upon a recipe for homemade Febreze awhile back, I was over the moon when she shared it with me. In fact, there's a little story that goes along with my first attempt at homemade Febreze. Would you like to hear it? You would? Great! *ahem*

Once upon time, I was all proud of myself for making my first batch of homemade Febreze. I was so excited to try it out that I was acting silly and skipping across the living room towards the couch. I get halfway across the room when the nozzle of my spray bottle separates from the bottom, flies across the living room with my homemade creation glugging out all over my clean floors. I run over to the bottle to scoop it up as quickly as I can, slip on the Febreze concoction and go into a full split eventually landing flat on my hiney. Then I got up (slowly, I was a little...er, sore) and made another batch. Because it doesn't cost $5.59 a bottle for me anymore. Instead it costs $0.15 cents. Yep, you read it right. $0.15 cents! If that isn't worth a slide across the floor and a sore hiney I don't know what is! 

What you'll need:

1/8 Cup of fabric softener (I used Downy April Fresh)

2 tablespoons Baking Soda

Hot tap water

Spray bottle (I used my empty 27 oz. Febreze bottle)

Preparation:

Using a funnel, pour fabric softener and baking soda into your spray bottle. Fill spray bottle with hot tap water and shake well. Don't forget to twist the nozzle over to the LOCK position if you're using a Febreze bottle, or you might fall on your hiney. Now go spray every fabric surface in your house and take a nap on your very comfortable and now un-stinky couch. :)

Store-bought Febreze: $5.59

Homemade Febreze: $0.15

Total Savings: $5.44 OR  97.3%!

Edit: I love and appreciate having my blog shared with anyone and everyone, I only ask that you credit the source of what you post back to my blog if you decide to share. Thanks! 

Original recipe from http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2011/07/fake-febreeze.html