Path Publishing: Review and Giveaway!

Disclaimer: I recently purchased a blank recipe book to help me get organized. The publisher, Path Publishing, has also provided me with two blank journals for review: Happiness and Kidisms. Path Publishing is sponsoring this giveaway, in which you can win your own blank book of your choice, however, the information contained is purely my own opinion. There are several blank journals available, so read on for the details of the giveaway!


My home is filled with little scraps of paper on which I have written down assorted things that I need to keep track of for everyday life and future reference. I like to write things down so I don't forget them: recipes, cute things my kids have said, stuff that made me smile... Problem is, it's getting out of control. Sound familiar?

A recent goal during spring cleaning time was to get the paper clutter under control! (Even just a little bit of paper decluttering makes a HUGE difference for me.) One area of my life that was a complete disaster was my recipe organization (read disorganization). I had tried a couple different ways of doing this over the years and most recently, I had two overflowing file folders stuffed with loose papers of assorted sizes -- some were computer printouts, some were torn from magazines, others were on index cards, and still more were scribbled on any scrap of paper I had handy at the time. Chaos masquerading as "organization" because, hey, they were in folders, right?

Needless to say, this was not working very well for me. Yet I kept using this chaotic "system" -- rifling through each folder EVERY time I wanted to cook or bake, which pretty much meant several wasted minutes. EVERY. Single. Day. Who has time for that?!

{Recipe Book Table of Contents in Action}

I'm happy to tell you that this is improving! Here is my work-in-progress recipe book from Path Publishing. I've already transcribed 61 of our favorite family recipes (several days worth of work), and there's room for 43 more! This gives me plenty of space for those stragglers that are still hanging out in the file folder (I have it pared down to one much skinnier folder instead of two massive bundles!) and room to grow -- because I am sure to find more good recipes that I simply must save. (The desserts alone take up more than one page in the table of contents, and I don't see my love of sweets dwindling any time soon.)

The pages are just the right size for listing all of the ingredients and directions, even for my more complicated recipes. There is also a spot to note where you found the recipe. (I've already retraced my steps once since I accidentally omitted an ingredient, so this made it handy to find the website again.) My favorite part is that I don't have to rifle through a huge folder or check the Internet for a recipe. They are all contained in one book, organized the way I want them to be. Soups and stews are at the beginning because I look these up weekly for "Crock Pot night" (a.k.a. Wednesday, when Mia has dance class). Next, I listed chicken dishes and other family favorites, followed by those much-loved desserts.

{Recipe Book in Action}

Since it's a blank book, YOU make it completely personalized to your own preferred method of organization! I didn't alphabetize anything because I thought that would take too long, but maybe that's what works best for you. List your recipes and note which pages they are filed on. Put like items together, if you wish. For example, I wrote my favorite sugar cookie recipe on the left side of the book and a frosting recipe on the corresponding right side. This made it so simple when we wanted to make cut-out frosted cookies for Easter. However, you don't have to categorize your recipes if that's not your thing; just jot each one down as you acquire it. Do whatever works for you.

 {Blank Books from Path Publishing}

More Blank Book Options from Path Publishing:

• Kidisms -- All parents need this for all those cute and clever things the kids say. Give it as a gift, too, because what grandparent wouldn't love getting a journal filled with all of the funny things that the grandchildren have said? Write down the who, what, when, where, and why so that you don't forget! Normally, I write these all in my notebook and then do a blog post when I have several. (Lately, that is at the end of each month! Here's the most recent of my kids' quote posts.) This is quite entertaining to look back on. Now, I'm finding it convenient to keep this little green journal in my van, for when they say their little witticisms away from home! This would make a nice baby shower gift, too. (Those little booties and onesies only fit for so long. Eventually parenting becomes quite the ride, and you don't want to forget the goofy things they said along the way.)
• Happiness Journal -- This year, I've had the goal of writing down little things that I feel joy or gratitude about. Then, I slip the scraps of paper (more paper scraps, geesh!) into a small jar. Even though I don't come up with something every day (and truly, it seems like there is something to be thankful for each day), my jar is quickly overflowing, and it's only April! This journal is the perfect clutter-free solution to noting these small bits of happiness, and there is NO pressure to do it each day. It would make a nice gift for moms, dads, grads, and teachers.
• Gardening -- Okay, I will admit that this really isn't my "thing." I pretty much botch every gardening attempt. I like to remind my children that I don't sew and I don't grow, whenever they get the mistaken notion that Mommy can do everything. That said, if I do decide to get serious about gardening (because, after all, we only improve with practice, right?) this journal is just the thing for keeping track of what is planted in each location, when it was planted, where it was purchased, guarantees (if any), and notes on progress. That should help take away some of the guess work! And, if you're not much of a gardener (join the club!), this would be a very thoughtful gift for someone who is.
• Advice -- I love this idea! Give a blank book to the grandparents and have them share words of wisdom with your children. Or, take the time and fill it in yourself. This would make a nice gift for kids of any age, but I think it would be really special to give as a graduation present or as a baby shower gift -- offering all that acquired wisdom to people who really can use it!
• Usernames and Passwords -- Handy place to note all of those things that are getting increasingly difficult to keep track of. And it's certainly smarter than using the same password for everything! Perfect for the tech-savvy graduate on his way to college.

Now, here's what you've been waiting for...

Two Ways to Get Your Own Blank Books:

1. Head to Path Publishing right now and order one (or more)! With Mother's Day, Father's Day, and wedding and graduation season upon us, you probably need some gifts for all the important moms, dads, grads, brides, and teachers in your life. Surely one of these affordable blank journals will be just the thing for helping them keep track of all the important memories. You could even choose to fill them in yourself and make that part of the gift. For example, the recipe book would make a nice bridal shower gift!
2. Enter my giveaway! (For residents of the United States only.) For an entry to the giveaway, first check out the different blank book options on the Path Publishing site. Choose your favorite one and then come back here and leave me a comment on this blog post letting me know which one you like the best. For additional entries, please share the love by linking to your favorite social media sites!

• Share this blog post on your Facebook page. Come back and leave a comment here letting me know that you shared -- for one additional entry! (Please make a separate comment letting me know you did this.)
• Share this blog post on Twitter. Come back and leave a comment here letting me know that you tweeted about the giveaway -- for one additional entry! (Please make a separate comment letting me know that you did this.)
• Share this blog post on your own blog. Come back and leave a comment here letting me know that you shared on your blog -- for one additional entry! (Please make a separate comment letting me know that you did this.)

That's a total of 4 ways to win a blank book of your choice! The giveaway will run from Monday, April 21, 2014 through midnight (Eastern) on Monday, April 28, 2014. I will draw a winner on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 and share the results on the blog. Stay tuned for the results!

A "Tweet" Mother's Day Gift

I love when I discover that I can do something new. Don't you? I'd had seen this kit for making birds nest earrings (so cute!) in the Oriental Trading Company catalog a handful of times and each time I thought I really like those. I wonder if I could make them? But, why would I buy a kit to make 6 pairs? Then, I decided they would be perfect for Mother's Day gifts, so I went for it!

I'm glad I decided to give it a go. These were not at all expensive and both my mom and mother-in-law were impressed by them, saying, "You made those!?" Yep. That's me. I can make earrings, apparently. (I'm smiling while I type this because I am so pleased.) Each pair only took between 20 and 30 minutes to make, I think, and it took less time as I went along because I got the hang of it. All I needed to make them was a wire bending tool-thingy, which I already owned for some reason. (In case you couldn't tell from my lack of proper terminology for the tool, this is my first attempt at jewelry making -- outside of the little "class" I took at our library in the fall -- where I made a couple of necklaces that are sort of falling apart.) I'm pretty sure I bought this tool some years back when I was making beaded wire flower pot decorations in the shapes of butterflies.

How will I use all 6 pairs of earrings? Well, I made one pair as a gift for myself. Remember, I mentioned that Mother's Day this year also happened to be my birthday? So, of course, I needed a little something special for myself. The remaining three pairs will be perfect for end-of-the-school-year teacher gifts for Mia's kindergarten teacher, para-pro, and her tap teacher. Yay for advanced planning and having that taken care of! (I'm mentally patting myself on the back, here.)

I think the card turned out cute, too. I used some pre-made beige card stock cards. Ordinarily, I just make my cards from scratch, because I am cheap resourceful, but I found these on clearance and put them aside for when I needed a quick card. (Since this month is sort of kicking my butt with exhaustive things that I trying my best to keep up with, I was thankful for that foresight!) Next, I found a pretty bird-themed clear stamp in my collection and used my scrapbooking markers to ink the bird in teal, the branch in brown, and the leaves in green. I gave it a quick "huff" to add some moisture back to the pigment in case it had started to dry out while I was finishing my coloring, and then stamped it in the lower right corner of the card. I used my ProvoCraft Silent Setter tool (I got this a few years ago at either Jo-Ann's or Michaels, using a coupon, of course!) to make two holes in the front, using the smallest size punch tip. First, opening the card and placing the cutting mat on the inside of the card prevented me from making the holes go all the way through when I only wanted them on the front of the card. Then, I slipped the earring through the holes and added a small piece of tape to the inside to secure them. I scrawled a quick note, and the card was finished, wishing both grandmothers a "tweet" Mother's Day. I have since made 3 more quick and easy cards for the teachers with "a note of thanks" stamped in brown below the bird in place of the words "Happy Mother's Day!"

Nature is full of elegant designs. I just love the color of the robin's egg blue paired with the twisted silver wire. It's very organic and simple. Plus, I love the symbolism of nesting, which I thought was perfect for some of our favorite nurturing women. I think this makes a nice tribute to the moms, grandmas, and teachers in our lives, who deserve to have a "tweet" day on Mother's Day. I hope that you, too, had a "tweet" and restful Mother's Day.

Dyed Pasta Beads: Speed-Dry Method

In the past, I used this method for dying pasta for bead crafts, and I still would do it this way in a pinch if I didn't have rubbing alcohol available. Recently, however, I found this way of doing it from Totally Tots. After dying pasta with rubbing alcohol, I have to say that the tremendous increase in the speed of drying outweighs the smell of the alcohol and the fact that you need to purchase it if you don't have it on hand. (Unlike vinegar, which is always readily available at our house. It has many, many practical uses, but that's a whole other post.) Rubbing alcohol is inexpensive and one bottle should last you quite awhile. The rubbing alcohol evaporates quickly, taking the yucky smell along with it, which I think makes it reasonably safe to have little ones use pasta that has been dyed with it. This is assuming that they are not allowed to consume large amounts of the pasta, which I am certain that no parent would find acceptable in the first place. 

You can dye any type of pasta, and you certainly don't need to use name brand. This is just what I happened to have. I have done this with bowties, corkscrews, tiny stars, and Ditalini to name a few. I like the Ditalini pasta because it is about the size and shape of pony beads, but costs a small fraction of what I would pay for actual beads. In the past, I have tried gel food coloring for dying, and I can say that liquid food coloring definitely works better. It is also very inexpensive, and most stores should even have it on sale right now since Easter is approaching. Liquid food coloring is versatile. You can mix your colors any way you want, or use them straight from the bottles. The neon colors, of course, are slightly more vibrant, however, there is not much of a difference between neon pink (on the right) and red (on the left). Also, blue and neon blue were only slightly more defined than pink and red.

{Dyed Pasta Beads -- shown while drying}

Materials:

• zippered baggies (1 per color)
• pasta (any kind with a hole will work for beads)
• rubbing alcohol
• food coloring
• measuring spoon/s
• flat surface for drying (cookie sheets work well)
• wax paper or similar for covering cookie sheets (optional)

Directions:

1. Separate the pasta into zippered baggies according to how many colors you would like to make. Tip: If you don't have any zippered baggies, you can also use regular plastic bags, but this could be messier, and I would not suggest having little helpers. (This is a good way to use up old bags that weren't too messy, but you still may not want to use them for foods that will be eaten. I like to wash and re-use my bags from other stuff, but that's just me. Once they have food coloring in them, I usually pitch them because it's not worth it to me to wash them again at that point.)
2. Add a small amount of rubbing alcohol (I used a teaspoon) and a few drops of food coloring. A little goes a long way so start with just a couple drops, and then add more if you want.
3. Close the bag, and shake to cover the pasta to the desired saturation.
4. Once the pasta is coated with food coloring, open the bags and spread the pasta out to dry. Cookie sheets work for this but you could also use plates. Tip: I first covered mine with the empty baggies that come in cereal boxes, which I had removed and opened up to make flat sheets of very cheap "wax paper." This keeps the cookie sheets clean and helps make sure that no pasta sticks to it. It is not essential, but I find it to be convenient for me.
5. Let pasta dry completely. Ours took no more than 2 hours, I believe. Enjoy!

Some Uses for Dyed Pasta:

• When letting kids work with pasta, you may want to first give them a cookie sheet to contain the beads since they often like to roll away and make a mess.
• Make necklaces. I like to take a small piece of tape (Scotch or masking) and wrap one end of a piece of yarn so that it resembles the end of a shoe lace. This makes it easier for little hands to string the beads. Also, the prevent beads from slipping off one end, I suggest tying a bead onto the opposite end that you used the tape. You can always remove the bead later, if you leave a bit of extra yarn for knotting once the necklace is complete. This is an oldie but goodie Mother's Day gift idea.
• Make bracelets. The simplest way to do this is the thread the beads onto a pipe cleaner, fit it to the child's wrist, and then twist off the ends. Cutting excess pipe cleaner is optional. You can always save the left over bits for other projects.
• I have also packaged up some of the dyed pasta beads along with some pipe cleaners and prepped yarn for necklaces, and Mia has given this as a birthday gift to friends.
• Make a spring Butterfly Garden Collage using dyed bowtie pasta butterflies and corkscrew pasta caterpillars. This is an idea for a Mother's Day gift.
• Make a spring bouquet of Pasta Petals from dyed corkscrew pasta. This could also be a Mother's Day gift.
• Make S'ghetti Skeletons for a Halloween craft.
• Make Beaded Indian Corn Mosaics for another fall craft option. 
• Use colored pasta in a plastic bin, cake pan, or similar container as a sensory bin. Kids can use bowls, spoons, cups, funnels, and their hands for scooping, pouring, and sorting the pasta. 

Best.Weekend.Ever.

I am having a beautiful, blessed weekend. On Friday evening, Mia and I attended our first Mother/Daughter banquet at church. It was so fun to have Mommy/Mia time, and the theme was cupcakes, which we love.

Yesterday was my birthday. I'm 33 in case you are wondering. I would love to tell you I am 29, but I fear that those little "crinkles" (I'm not ready to admit that they are wrinkles...) that have cropped up in the past couple of years will give away my little white lie, so what's the use? To start off my day, I got to sleep in!! Then, Brett made me blueberry pancakes for breakfast. Heaven on a plate. After that, he gave me a super-sweet and amazingly thoughtful gift:

{I am not sure I did it justice, but the shoe is super cute!}

These are some shoes I found at DSW last year... They were so cute and amazingly comfortable, but not so practical, and being a full-time mom meant that I couldn't justify spending the money for something I didn't need. We waited and waited for them to get down to an acceptable sale price. Sadly, they never did and I was bummed at the end of the season when we lost out on the price-is-right-waiting-game. Enter Brett. A couple of months ago he informed me that a box would be arriving from Amazon, and that I was NOT allowed to open it. Do you know how hard it was not peaking into that box on the top shelf of the closet, especially when he told me it was my birthday present? My curiosity was heightened since I have not received a birthday present from him in about 3 years. (Okay, the back story there is he got me a lovely emerald heart shaped necklace on my 28th birthday, which like this year, fell on the day before Mother's Day -- my first Mother's Day. The problem was that the gift caused stress for us because he kept talking about how he shouldn't have spent so much money. However, I can't really wear it much. If you have little ones you know that they love to pull on jewelry. I have lost plenty of costume jewelry to little hands, and I definitely do not want anything to happen to something I will always treasure. I still don't know how much money he spent, and I don't want to know. All I know is that the necklace is beautiful and I love it. So, I think that this is why he has avoided giving me gifts for my birthday and/or Mother's Day since then.) Now, you can imagine my surprise when I found out what the contents of that box were.

I wore my new shoes to church today, and I felt so pretty. (Plus, I was relieved to discover that they continued to be comfy throughout the morning, and I didn't have any problems with my hip. I'm not able to wear heels any more sine it aggravates the bursitis in my hip -- yet another reason I probably can't get away with claiming to still be 29. However, I can apparently get away with wedge sandals. Hooray!) I think that he has resumed gift-giving at the perfect time, when I needed to be reminded that I am not just a mom; I'm a woman, too. And sometimes, moms need pretty things, even if they aren't all that practical. Now, if Logan will just out-grow the pulling phase, I can get back to wearing that emerald necklace.

After getting my fantastically impractical gift, it was time for me to pack up my gear because I headed off for an entire day of scrapbooking -- 8 whole hours to myself to do what I enjoy!! Oh, yeah, I even accomplished a few pages. One or two more sessions, and I should be able to finish the 2011 album. On a side note, while scrapbooking, my parents called to wish me a happy birthday. My mom asked if I felt "older and wiser." I told her, "Well, I definitely fell older, but I'm not sure about wiser." (It turns out that eating the fried chicken at the Mother/Daughter banquet wasn't a wise choice. I haven't had it in years, and there's a reason for that. It doesn't really agree with me, and it has been that way for awhile now. Oh, the joys of getting older. Do you see why I am in a bit of denial?)


Now, all joking about getting older aside, this was the icing on the amazing cake that was my weekend, a sweet hand-made Mother's Day card from a sweet little five year old. Brett must have patiently told her how to spell each word and I am sure it took awhile for Mia to write this message: "DEaR MaMa I HOPE YOU HaVE a HaPPY MOTHERS DaY." (Don't you love the backwards "S" in "Mother's?") The drawing on the left is a self-portrait of Mia walking her stuffed dog, Browna. So cute! 

Mia gave me another Mother's Day card that she made during Sunday School. Okay, this one wasn't really a surprise since I am the Sunday School teacher, but it's nice that she still wanted to make one for me.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Brett got me a Mother's Day present, too. I got $30 in iTunes gift cards. Oh, to splurge on music for myself -- what a foreign concept! I am sure I will love it once I get over the shock and uncertainty. I don't know how many years it has been since I have bought a CD for myself, and the tiny little iPod I own (which I am sure is hopelessly obsolete as it has been sitting in a cupboard for quite awhile) never really got much use. I have never even downloaded my own music before. (Maybe doing so will help me to not feel so old.) Seriously. All the music I listen to is kid-friendly stuff I play in the mini-van while driving kids to and fro. It's either kids' music CD's, Disney soundtracks, or the Christian station, not that there is anything wrong with those. I enjoy them all, but sometimes Mommy misses country music and 80's rock, for example. (Another side note about how old I have apparently become: Do you know that they play 80's music on the oldies stations now? How can it be possible that the music I grew up listening to is now considered "oldies?")

So, now I need to back to my point that I really want to remember: My weekend was fabulous. I received beautiful, thoughtful gifts from my amazing family. But the best gift was the one I gave myself, the gift of some downtime (and not feeling guilty for taking it). I thoroughly enjoyed letting myself relax and celebrating the fact that I am a person, too. I went for a walk in the warm sunshine with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, and this is the best part: there was no dog tugging on her leash or needing to have her poop cleaned up, there were no children whining that they were too hot/too cold/too tired/too whatever, there was no need to turn around and tell anyone to get his fingers away from the wagon wheels or to sit down or we'll have to go home... It's interesting that I know that I need to get to church each week in order to feel centered once more, but after 5 years of being a parent, I still struggling to understand how important it is to have me time. It really does make such a huge difference. Good thing I happened to have read this blog post recently, aptly titled, "Mommy Is A Person." Sometimes we need gentle reminders. Other times we need to be bombarded with the same message over and over. I think this weekend was cathartic for me in this way because it really helped drive home the message that even though I am all of this stuff to my kids, Mommy is also a person!