Pub Crawl for a Great Cause

As a volunteer with Hospice Care of America, I have already registered to walk on October 25th in the Beaufort County Walk to END Alzheimer's.

TONIGHT, we kick start our fund raising efforts with a Pub Crawl -
PAINT THE PROMENADE PURPLE, in Bluffton, South Carolina.  I am so excited to be a part of this wonderful event. Come out and join us!

Calling All Peanut Lovers!

There will plenty of fun for all the family at the 2014 Annual Bluffton Boiled Peanut Festival 

 Saturday, August 23rd from 12 - 5 pm

on State of Mind Street, Bluffton, SC!

Activities include:

• A Peanut Cook Off & Peanut Dish Competition
• Boiled Peanut Eating Contest
• Ms Peanut and Little Goober contest (for the under threes)
• Live Music
• Vendors providing refreshments along the Promenade
• Kids activities including a bouncy house & more!

For all the details and to sign up for the Cook Off go to the event website at http://www.blufftonboilers.com/

Do you or your teens have a hard time getting out of bed in the morning?

Here's a neat trick if you or your teen need some extra motivation to get up. I’m doing this on an iPhone, but I’m sure other smart phones have similar capabilities.  

Determine how much time you need to comfortably get up and ready and even have breakfast.  Lets say you need to be out of the door at 8 am and it will take 45 minutes.

Set four separate alarms on your iPhone - turn off snooze and turn the volume to the highest setting.

iPhone Alarm Feature

1st Time: 7 am 

Label:  “Good Morning Beautiful, 

nearly time to get up” 

Sound: Something easy on the ears

like Chimes or Slow Rise

2nd Time 7.15

Label: “Get up now if you want a

shower & breakfast”

Sound: Still gentle like Ripples

or Waves

3rd Time 7.30

Label: “No time for breakfast!”

Sound: Attention getting from the

Classic menu like 

Old phone

Final Time: 7.45

Label: “Only time for a lick and a promise now, GET UP!”

Sound: Something annoying from the Classic menu Bell Tower

Play around with the alarm labels and sounds.  If you are still having trouble try putting the phone in an empty mug, as it amplifies the sound!

Planning a Weekly Dinner Menu for Your Family

Mean Planning Template

Why plan ahead?   

• It Saves Time - at the grocery store because you have a shopping list and at home because you know exactly what you are cooking every night.
• It Saves Money - You buy what you need and what's on sale.
• It Saves Waste - You use everything up that you have in the fridge and freezer.
• It Reduces Stress - Saving time, money and waste in itself reduces stress.

What you'll need

• Your calendar or schedule
• Access to your fridge, freezer and pantry
• Grocery store weekly flyer, online or paper copy.
• Recipe cards or cookbooks.
• Note pad & pen
• Attitude - Put on your Domestic Diva crown!

Here's How

Using the template that I have designed, fill in the top line of boxes Monday - Sunday with your families plans for the week around dinner time.  Will you be eating out, working late, coming from an after school activity? Is it someone's special day?  This will establish what kind of meal you need to prepare, from none at all, a crock pot meal you can start in the morning, a freezer to oven meal or a special treat for someone.  Ask the family for requests, then try to work them in, if not this week, then next. If someone has a birthday, make their favorite

Next, check in your freezer to see what main ingredient you have in terms of meat, fish and vegetables.  Same goes for the fridge, what needs using up? Write this down in the boxes provided.

Decide on meals you can make with what you already have and fill in the appropriate daily meal plan box by choosing which day it makes sense to make that meal.  

Weekly Flyer

How many more meal ideas do you need? Check your local grocery stores weekly savings flyer (available online and in paper print - offers usually run from Wednesday thru the following Tuesday).  Look for savings in the fresh meat, fish and produce sections first.  Try to vary the type of protein each day by selecting a meat or fish not already featured on your weeks menu.  

Family Treasures!

Still need meal ideas? Go through your recipe cards or cookbooks for inspiration or to be reminded of a dish you haven't made in a while.  Once you have decided on a meal for each day, check your pantry and fridge for any other ingredients you will need to make them.  Now you plan is complete, write your grocery shopping list.  Add additional items you need (see grocery list below)

Reminder to get foods out of the freezer!

Share with your family What's for Dinner by posting the weekly menu on a dry erase board in the kitchen.  

Tips for a speedy supermarket trip

• Never leave home without : Your list, Re usable bags, Your Loyalty card
• Write your shopping list in the order groceries are displayed in your store, or like with like.
• Shop the edges of the supermarket first - Deli, Meat, Fish, Dairy, Fresh Fruit and Vegetables. Buy the essentials first before moving into the aisles, so you won't be so tempted to buy unnecessary products.
• Stock up on sale and BOGO (buy one, get one free) deals, for items you use regularly, if you have room in your budget.  
• Download your grocery store app and link it to your loyalty card to get e-coupons for further savings in store.  
• Let your children know before going into the store, that they can earn a treat at the end of the trip, if they have behaved and have been helpful.  
• Consider letting them choose the cereal or cookies for the week. (Albeit from a list of products you approve of). Give older children their own list of items you know they can find and reach.

Grocery List - Check weekly flyer for sale items

Want a good reason to purge your shoe collection?

Your old shoes could be someones first pair ever.

From August 16 - 30

Trade in your new, used and unwanted shoes for special discounts at the Outside Hilton Head retail location, right here on Hilton Head Island, to benefit the non-profit organization Soles4Souls.

“Customers are encouraged to bring in donations of new or used unwanted shoes, and in return, receive special discounts on in-stock footwear in the store. Merrell Footwear and Outside Hilton Head fund the program’s overhead. Donated shoes are distributed through the non-profit organization Soles4Souls.”

Location:  The Plaza at Shelter Cove, 50 Shelter Cove Lane.

Call (800) 686-6996 or visit www.outsidehiltonhead.com

To find out more about the organization Soles4Souls and to find a shoe drive near you, visit http://soles4souls.org/

Er, kids, before you go, help me with my End of Summer To Do List, please :)

Thank you kids, for your help!

My kids are leaving soon to head back to college.  In the beginning of the season we cleaned out the garage and checked over all our beach and pool equipment and toys, then never gave the garage another thought, until now.  It’s been pretty much a dumping ground for bikes and beach chairs and so what, it was summer.  While I have the extra hands to help, I want to have a quick tidy up, purge and hose down.  It won’t take long to do now, if we all chip in.  If and when we have to bring our outdoor furniture in, the garage will be clean and organized for us to do so.

....... followed by this!

This is what's for supper!

Donate Your Summer Paperbacks! Buy Cheap Textbooks!

Summers Paperbacks

Would you like to find a new home for the books you read this summer and buy cheap textbooks? Rather than putting your summer paperbacks on your (already full) bookshelves, take a moment to consider if you will ever read them again. Gently used books are in demand, if you can just find the right home for them.  

When asked most people would suggest:

• Selling them online.  
• Exchanging them with your friends.  
• Donating to local Hospitals, Hospice and Assisted Living Facilities
• Donating to Thrift Stores and Charity Shops
• Donating to local libraries

For a far reaching solution, you might be interested in

An organization that sells used books online in order to donate books worldwide, raise money for literacy programs and libraries and recycle books keeping them out of our landfills.

“Better World Books uses the power of business to change the world. We collect and sell books online to donate books and fund literacy initiatives worldwide. With more than 8 million new and used titles in stock, we’re a self-sustaining, triple-bottom-line company that creates social, economic and environmental value for all our stakeholders.”

Textbooks: Save up to 90% when buying used textbooks. Plus get free shipping!

"With about 60,000 textbooks on our website, reducing the price of each and every one of them is a serious undertaking. Fortunately, we had the great foresight of building an advanced AI to do the number crunching for us, and bring you the best new and used textbook prices on the web.

But that's not all, even the smallest book order you place with us helps unlock reading materials for schools around the globe who otherwise wouldn't have them."

They offer free shipping, world wide, to buyers and donors alike.  Just fill in the information to download a free shipping label.

The numbers are impressive.  As of August 2014 they have donated over 13 million books, raised over $18 m and re used or recycled over 140 million books!

Check out their website to find out how it all began and the different ways you can share your books and make a difference!

http://www.betterworldbooks.com