As you recall, here are my goals: 1. Build a new squidoo lens each week as well as update at least 2 others.
2. Post at least 3 things a week to redgage.
3. Post 2 things a week into my etsy store and continue to move other things to my zibbet store.
4. Keep up with the reviews and regular postings to my blog.
5. Sew at least a little bit each day. (this goes with accomplishing goal 3) I made goal #1 building a new lens and updating at least 2 others. I did nothing with redgage---thought about it, never got around to it. I just posted my 2 new things on etsy to make that goal for the week. Actually 3 things since I have 2 of the fabric bags.
I kept up pretty well with my reviews and regular posting to my blog. I still have several book reviews that need to be written though.
I didn't sew every day of the week, but pretty close! I was able to finish the fabric bags as well as the quilt. I'm working now on getting 2 more quilts started. I have 2 more fabric bags to sew. I have a baby size quilt and pillow set in mind.
I also listed 6 more books over on half.com.
Don't forget about the Christmas Celebration coming up! Early bird entry ends Tuesday Nov. 8 if you are interested in presenting as a vendor. You can sign up through Nov. 22 as well for the full price. I have to get in and get my times set.
I'm happy with what I accomplished this past week :)
Please click the button and follow along with us each week.
Product Description Music in Motion continues off of the success of the critically acclaimed first release, The Wheels on the Bus. This time around, Lee and his team of top L.A. musicians recorded an album designed to get children moving to the beat while simultaneously learning about musical concepts and instruments.
Through groovy soul tracks, this mostly original set draws kids into the action with specific instructions on what to do from funny dances, to playing air guitar, to responding to musical cues, to simply nodding their heads to the beat.
An entirely new band of feline characters known as the Kool Katz guide the fun, and the enclosed 10-page booklet features colorful illustrations of each Kool Kat playing their own instrument.
Ten percent of the wholesale price of Music In Motion will be donated to CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting poverty.
My review:
We had so much fun with this CD! We've listened to it 10+ times. Each time the kids are singing and dancing. This CD may be directed for toddlers but all 5 grandchildren who live in my house have had a good time with the music. Their ages are 2, 4, 6, 7, and 10.
Familiar tunes on some songs with different words. Familiar words set to music in other tunes.
The little ones loved the pictures in the 12 page illustrated booklet included with the CD.
These Kids Songs are definitely approved in our family.
I caught my 2 year old grandson dancing to the music. He noticed me with my camera and then started to get a little wild LOL
More info on Groove Kid Nation:
Visit their official website here. You can listen to the songs and order your own copy(ies). You will also learn more about the producers and musicians.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
I made my goal! I finished another quilt today. It took me all day, but I did it! I have 2 more quilts planned to make. No, neither will be done by next Friday---in fact, I will be lucky to have the material ironed and cut for them.
On another note--as long as it's not cancelled, we have sewing club at church next Tuesday. Chances are that one of the quilt tops that I completed, will be completed into a quilt by the other lady's at club.
I am not a master quilter, nor will I ever be....in fact, only one quilt I've ever made came off without a hitch. On this one, as I was ironing the top, I found a small rip (or cut if my grandson is guilty) in a strip piece. It was in such a place that I couldn't fix it with my machine so I hand stitched it together. Then, the blanket wasn't quite big enough to go from side to side.....then, when I went to take the photo and folded the corner over, I had sewn in a pin! It was a pin with a small ball top. We got the pin part out but the little ball is in the edging. Despite flaws, it's being listed for sale in my etsy shop.
We've made it to Friday again. I don't have any posts to put in this week's linky of my own. I never got around to my weekly mail call post even! One thing that I am doing right now is tearing up newspapers to use in the litter box. We had to do this when we had Rev declawed and it actually worked well. It's just one thing I am doing in order to spend less money. I have some things I am atempting to save up to buy. This week's list from the 99 Cent Solutions book is 5 uses for coffee:
1. Freshen a fridge. If something is soured in your fridge or freezer, first clean it out, then fill a wide shallow bowl with fresh coffee grounds. Leave these in overnight. The strong coffee scent will permeate the space, getting rid of any hint of something gone wrong. 2. Feed your plants. Used coffee grounds are full of nitrogen. Coffee is especially good for acid loving plants like camellias, evergreens, rhododendrons, azaleas, and rosebushes. (Coffee shops like Starbucks bag up their used coffee grounds, free for the taking)
3. Grow longer stronger carrots. Carrot seeds are tine to sow, and the beds require a great deal of cultivation so the soil is loose enough for the carrots to shoot downward as they grow. Work leftover coffee grounds into the soil as you prepare the plot. Mix the seeds with damp grounds just before sowing them. The scent will help repel pests, and the added bulk of the grounds help space out the tine plants. The extra hit of nitrogen as the seeds sprout will give you a bumper crop.
4. Tamp down the ashed. Sprinkle the ashes in your fireplace liberally with moist coffee grounds and then sweep away. The dampness and weight of the grounds will prevent clouds of dust from dancing around your living room while you clean. 5. That takes the bait. Don't forget to bring those coffee grounds with you on that early morning fishing trip. Stir the grounds into the soil in your bait container. Worms love coffee grounds and will stay alive and lively all day.
jenkins jellies, committed to producing delicious jellies made with organic ingredients, is hosting a November giveaway for its gourmet and handcrafted Hell Fire Pepper Jelly.
Just post, “I’m Addicted!” on their Wall and you’ll
automatically be entered to win. They will be giving away one free jar a
week for the month of November.
A unique marriage of fresh pepper heat and jelly sweet, the Hell Fire Pepper Jellyis
made with organic ingredients and contains no preservatives, artificial
flavors, food coloring or high fructose corn syrup. Delicious paired
with a variety of cheeses; used as a marinade or glaze for steak,
chicken, salmon, or pork; smothered atop burgers, hot dogs or meatloaf;
or used to spice up a turkey or peanut butter sandwich, the product has
already received celebrity recognition from ChefMario Batali, actor Ed Begley, Jr. and actress/cousinGwyneth Paltrow. Hell Fire Pepper Jelly, which is also vegan and naturally gluten free, can now be purchased at select Dean & DeLuca locations across the country or online at www.jenkinsjellies.com for an SRP of $12 per 11.9 oz jar. A percentage of jenkins jellies’ profits go to the Bruce Paltrow Oral Cancer Fund and Green Wish.
We're no puritans, but there are certain words and word patterns that often indicate a type of lens content or topic that we can't support on Squidoo. Our system has found a few of these topic or word patterns on this lens. Read a brief set of guidelines about SquidDon't topics: http://www.squidoo.com/squiddont.
P.S. It's possible your lens is in good standing, yet one of your readers has posted spam content in a Guestbook or Duel module. Try reviewing the comments published on this lens. If you find spam there, chances are good that's why your lens is flagged.
There is a limit to the number of links to the same domain that you can have on any single lens. We consider more than 9 links to the same domain to be overly promotional. Read more about the outbound link limit at http://www.squidoo.com/outboundlinklimit.
http://www.squidoo.com/earnwithmarsha is the lens in question. There are loads of other lenses just like my own of people pushing for referrals in websites they do online to earn money. I don't think, or hope it isn't, the reason--the spam part listed.
I posted in the forum and was told there is an outlink 10 times...it goes to Cafepress and looks like a sign up page. So, how do I get rid of it? I don't even know how you look to see what outlinks there are there. I really want to keep this lens up as I have gotten a couple of referrals through it. (when I am reading, Cafepress is on the whitelist anyway of allowed outlinks?)
Otherwise, I did keep my promise to myself to build a new lens and to update at least 2 this past week.
I built Learning About Greece. This will be an ongoing lens as I will update after we finish each book. It should do well in the ranks for bit anyway. (well for me is under 200,000)
I updated both Online Craft Mall and Online Parties to include the banner for the upcoming Christmas celebration. I'm ashamed it's taken me so long to get it in there though---early bird sign up is almost upon us! I have my 2 spots, but haven't chosen them yet.
Crazy for CAKE POPS by Molly Bakes (as she is known in the kitchen) ISBN 978-1-61243-0447 Published by Ulysses Press
Just out October 2011, this craft cookbook is packed with 50 cake-on-a-stick designs and 70 stunning color photos. A few of the fun examples are: Birthday party clowns Halloween Jack-O'-Lanterns (see these below) Holiday bauble balls Valentine's Day sweetheart pops Game night poker chips and dice Monkey pops Rattle pops and Snowmen pops
Included in the front of the Crazy for CAKE POPS is the Introduction, equipment needed, 6 cake recipes along with frosting recipes. (such as the Toffee cake recipe below) Basic instructions are included. Next up is step-by-step instructions with photos to make the 50 designs.
Toffee Cake Give your cake pops a traditional English twist with this mouthwatering toffee cake and creamy toffee frosting. Makes enough for approx. 20 medium cake balls 200 grams (1⅔ cups) self-rising flour, plus more for the tin 1 teaspoon baking powder 150 grams (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for greasing 150 grams (½ cup) light muscovado sugar 2 eggs, at room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 160 milliliters (⅔ cup) milk Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Lightly grease and flour a 10-inch (25-centimeter) round cake tin or an 8-inch (20-centimeter) square cake tin. Sift the flour with the baking powder and set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract. Add half the dry ingredients and then half the milk. Add the remaining dry ingredients, followed by the rest of the milk, and mix until combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 35–40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Once baked, leave to cool in the tin for 20 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. Toffee Frosting 60 grams (¼ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature 60 grams (3½ tablespoons) dulce de leche 200 grams (2 cups) powdered sugar Cream the butter and dulce de leche together until well combined. Gradually add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before using.
My review: Before receiving Crazy for CAKE POPS, I hadn't even heard of cake pops. I was excited when I got the book and started looking through it. Right away I knew with Halloween coming up that we wanted to try making the pumpkins. Here is a photo taken from the book along with the instructions for making them:
Halloween Pumpkin pops I love Halloween because it means I get to carve a pumpkin. Make these pumpkin pops in seasonal toffee flavor (see the Toffee Cake recipe on page 29). Makes 20 pops Ingredients 20 medium cake balls, chilled 1 (14-ounce) bag orange candy melts 2 tablespoons green candy melts 1 bottle white cocoa butter 1 tube black edible dusting powder Equipment Thin paintbrush Artist’s palette Disposable piping bag Melt the orange candy. Dip the end of each lollipop stick ¾ inch deep into the candy and insert a stick into each cake ball. Leave to set. Dip each cake ball fully into the candy and shake off the excess. Place on a sheet of parchment paper with the sticks facing up. Leave to set. Melt the green candy, then pour into the piping bag and cut a small piece off the tip of the bag. Pipe a green stalk on each cake pop around the stick. Leave to set. Melt the cocoa butter and tint 1 teaspoonful black with the dusting powder. With the paintbrush, paint black triangles for the eyes and nose, then paint a thick zig-zag line for the mouth. Place the pops back on the parchment paper and leave in the fridge for 10 minutes until the cocoa butter has set.
My daughter and I had a great time making the pumpkins. We learned---#1 read the instructions first. We had trouble with the candy melts as neither of us had used them before.My other mistake was getting carried away with the frosting. I just had to put that last large spoonful of frosting in with the cake, which made it too moist. (Don't worry, we plan on making more of these in the future and can only get better at it!)
Here are the pictures of ours. Let's start with the cake and frosting mixed and ready to be refrigerated. Then we move on to the balls ready to be chilled. Finally to the pumpkins. I didn't have what was needed to make the faces. I tried using the candy melts with a paint brush and didn't like how it looked. We decided to leave them plain. We've share the pops with family and friends. We even passed one out to everyone at Bible study. They are yummy!
There are several designs in the book we want to give a try like the Sweetheart Pops and the Marble Pops. My middle daughter would love the Zombie Pops! Now on to the fun! Ulysses Press and Beth Cook Publicity is allowing one of my lucky blog readers to receive their own copy of Crazy for CAKE POPS.
Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of the cookbook for the purpose of this review by Ulysses Press and press contact Beth Cook. I was not compensated in any other way. All opinions are my own.
November already, which means Christmas is right around the corner. I'm not sure I will really get much made for gifts. I want to, maybe need to, but at the same time I want more items up for sale to help me earn money.
Speaking of up for sale. I did complete 2 fabric bags this past week that will be listed in my etsy store. I also finish the quilt for my grandsons birthday gift as well. You can find my blog post about it if you are interested.
I didn't get any more work done on the rug I started....no more work done on the quilt top for church.
However, I did work some on my quilt top. I put the edging on. Now I have to figure out what I'm doing for the back. I'm in hopes of finishing it by Friday.
Sewing club at church is next Tuesday, so as long as it doesn't get cancelled there will be progress on other quilts I am working on.
Alas, I have no photos to show this week. I've got to get myself together on those.
We had a good week. We pushed to make sure we had good days. All subjects were covered. In math I brought back out the overview book. I had been using this in the past as a way to keep some concepts fresh in her mind with a few problems on the dry erase board each day. It's a great addition to the day, especially those busy days since she can work on the board on her own time.
We are still reading the books about Greece. I plan on starting a squidoo lens tomorrow sharing some of what we are learning and the books we are reading. The Introduction to Business is proving to be very interesting. She had to ask me though, "Why does this book have so much math in it?" Silly girl--business and math go together. I'm glad I happened across the book in my books for sale!
I'm glad that she is taking the time on her own for physical activity. She is making a point on her own to get out and walk, ride the bike, etc for a set amount of time each day. We are heading out the door right now for our weekly Bible study class at church.
Starr’s sixth album, the much anticipated “The World Will Follow,” is
her most electrifying to date. Starr’s trademark beautiful haunting
vocals, poetic lyrics, flat-picking guitar playing and moving piano
pieces are backed by the electric and lap steel guitar work of seasoned
player/producer Jesse Seibenberg (of Supertramp) and by the synth
guitars of engineer/producer Jordan Richter (Sixpence None the Richer,
Jars of Clay). For several months, the first single, “Little Bird,” sat
at the top of the ReverbNation charts for California.
Over a decade and six albums later, the resulting music reflects not
only the ambiance and dynamics of her classical upbringing but has
garnered comparisons to The Cranberries, Joni Mitchell, and Tori Amos.
As a traveler of the inner world, Starr’s particular gift is in turning
difficult subject matter into heartfelt, sometimes haunting, and always
beautiful compositions. Culturespill Magazine states: “Andi Starr hits the right notes: the notes that hurt, the notes that know you, the notes that make you meet yourself.”
Album Tracks:
The World Will Follow
Little Bird
Already Gold
A Song that Never Dies
Delilah's Response
el amore (Song for Sylvia)
Fake Plastic Trees
Ticket Taker
Happy Ballad
The World Will Follow (acoustic version)
Water Rising
When I first listened to this album my first thought was this would be good music to sit and relax to at home--alone or with company. To me, the songs are ballads.
Enjoy this video of Already Gold:
I enjoyed listening to the album again and again.
Enter below for your chance to win a copy of The World Will Follow by Andi Starr.
Disclaimer: I was sent the downloadable album courtesy of LaFamos for the purpose of this review. LaFamos has graciously offered to send a hard copy of the album to one lucky reader of my blog.
