E-Mealz

Don't know if this meal looks appetizing...but it sure was yummy when Justin and I had it last week. On top of that, it was VERY easy to make. All I had to do was cut up potatoes, onion, sausage and open a can of green beans, then cook in the crock pot all day. Easy...right?

Well this is an example of a meal that is provided by one of my new favorite websites...E-Mealz. It costs $15 every 3 months. You choose the store where you shop and the size of your family. The website does the work and creates meals and a shopping list for you based on sale items for that week.


Every week, the website publishes a menu with 5 meals paired with a shopping list that is arranged in the layout of the store you pick. I write all over my list b/c it only has what you need for the meals and I shop for other things at Publix. As I said before, the website uses the sales for your store to create the menu and shopping list which is also cost efficient. It's definitely worth a try, at least for 3 months ($15). Now...you do have to actually use it to get the bang for your buck. It does help you eat at home as a family more and brings variety to your diet.


I might only use two or three meals out of the list b/c even though we have picked the plan for 2, we can usually get 2 nights out of whatever I cook. Which I like b/c that means I don't have to cook every single night. Sometimes to save a little more, I might substitute a few ingredients with something I already have stocked up from sales.

Date Night

Can anybody guess why we might all be dressed in LSU clothes? That would be because Justin and I left our baby for a whole night...went to Tuscaloosa...and watched the Tigers barely pull out a win against Bama! It was a hard thing for me to leave Briggs for that long...but we left him in very capable hands. So, here we all are dressed in our LSU clothes...ready for the game (couldn't get my little buddy to smile b/c he had just woken up).


I have heard stories of when first time moms leave their babies...I tried not to be "that" mom...but there were a few things I couldn't help but do. To make it easier for our babysitters and then to give me piece of mind... so here was my prep work...


Dinner for Celeste and David (babysitters). Since they were going to be here all night, they had to eat...right?

All of Briggs food set out so all they had to do was mix it up and feed him...


Everything written down just in case they had any questions...which was a good thing I did b/c I DIDN'T HAVE CELL RECEPTION DURING THE WHOLE GAME!!!!!...stupid AT&T!


Entertainment for the night...what else...movie and popcorn


And original plan was for them to spend the night b/c it was going to be such a late one...so I had their bed all ready and a gift bag of goodies b/c they insisted we don't pay them...(they did get to go home though b/c we got home at 12:15, which was 11:15 since the clocks got turned back)


Here are Briggs' awesome babysitters. I can't even express how wonderful these precious friends are to us..."Uncle" David and "Aunt" Celeste. I wouldn't have left Briggs with just anybody and I honestly wasn't worried about him. I just hated leaving him for so long...but we did have a good time and it looks like Briggs did too. When I realized I wasn't going to get cell reception, I had a little FREAK OUT moment. But the fact that I knew Briggs was with these two smiling faces, and the friends we were with, were able to call out with their cells. I did call and check on him a few times...only 3 which I think was pretty good considering... :)

But when we got back to the car and my phone was able to receive messages...I had 21 waiting for me and Briggs' whole night documented. I didn't include all of them but here is a little glimpse of how much fun Briggs had while mommy and daddy were gone...

He had just gotten finished eating...and was just hanging out with Aunt Celeste and Uncle David.

Doing a little work with Uncle David...


Went for a walk around the neighborhood..his favorite thing to do. It was his naptime...so he fell asleep at the end and they laid him down for a little snooze.


Playing in his exersaucer...notice the cushion under him so he can touch the ground...GENIOUS!


And now I'm sure you can all see the sleepy eyes...he was ready for bed and all snuggly in his pj's.


And here are mommy and daddy at the football game. It was a fun night...I will say...the Alabama fans were, for the most part, really nice to us. Good thing...since we were surrounded by them for the whole game! We only had one guy get upset we were shaking our pom-poms and started yelling at us, and one thing got thrown at us when we won...but most of the fans genuinely congratulated us as we were walking out. We had good seats and got to do a few cheers and dances with the LSU band since we were sitting close to them.


And here we are...Ben and Jennifer...our friends we went to the game with (notice THEIR thumbs up and OUR thumbs down). It was funny...b/c the crowds were insane there...so there were many times we were all holding hands. Ben was leading (b/c he knew the way), Jennifer was holding onto him, we (me and Jennifer) were holding hands, and Justin was holding onto me. One Alabama fan asked me and Jennifer..."Are yall still going to be friends when this is over". OF COURSE!...IT'S JUST A GAME PEOPLE! But I am glad we won :)


And to finish off a fun weekend...Justin and I woke up and made a celebratory breakfast...chocolate chip pancakes and eggs...YUM!

Picture Project

Since Briggs has been here...it's gotten me motivated to get some pictures on the walls. I was in search of a cute mixture of frames that would look good in our living room. So after a few months I wound up with the frames pictured below. I didn't like the colors on all of them, but I knew I could change that.

And just a quick tip...I found these frames at lots of different places (antique malls, thrift stores and yard sales) and paid a total of $30 for all of them. I thought that was pretty good b/c most people would probably pay $30 for just one at a normal store. Just shows that being patient can pay off :)


To change the color of the frames, all you need is some newspaper, a brush and some paint as pictured below. It only takes a small amount of paint and these colors I already had from another project I had worked on. So I didn't have to pay anything for supplies (but just FYI...the paint is about $1 a bottle and brushes aren't much either)


Here are the final colors of the collage of frames. All I did was take the glass out of the frames, lay them on some newspaper and paint them with a dry brush. I left two of them the color they were originally and painted one blue and one green.


While I was painting the frames (above), I decided to update my other frames so thought I would give a quick little glimpse of all the progress I have made in the past week.


and more...
and a few more...


Finally...here is a pic of my finished project hanging on the walls...


For all of you overly observant readers out there...I am aware that the bottom picture is turned upside down...that's only because I put the pic in wrong and had company coming so had to get it on the wall. I'll get to it one day (but the backing I had to take off and put on with pliers, so not top priority on my to do list today). Oh well..it looks cute...even upside down :)


I am really pleased with the outcome and it was a relatively easy project. It's always good to remember...if you have a vision for a particular frame, piece of furniture, lamp, etc....you can always change the color, but it's much harder to change the shape of the actual object.

Tasty Tuesday - Hershey's Chocolate Cake

This is a cake that got named a few years ago..."crack cake" because my friend said it's so good, it's like crack...she couldn't stop eating it. So it kind of stuck and now when I have a request for "crack cake"...we all know which one it is.

Crack Cake

1 box Duncan Hines Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 Jello (chocolate) instant pudding mix
4 eggs
1/2 C warm water
1/2 C cooking oil
1 C sour cream
1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips
Note: I substituted caramel chips for chocolate chips and it turned out great. I have also used peanut butter morsels which are good too.

Cook 45-50 min on 350. Make sure to grease the pan really good so the cake will come out when it cools.

Making Baby Food

Well I'm not Martha Stewart or anything...but I did try and venture out to make some of Briggs' baby food. I'm not one of those really organic moms who is going to make everything that goes in his mouth. But...my neighbor has a garden and has given me some fresh veggies. Or if I have left over veggies from what we are eating, I might mix them up and freeze them for my little buddy.

In case any of you are interested in how to do that...thought I would share. Warning: lots of pics, but I thought that would be more fun than trying to type out how to do it.

First thing..if your gonna make your own baby food...gotta have one of these puppies...a Magic Bullet. I use this blender to make myself smoothies all the time and it also does a great job making baby food. I have seen and heard about the "Baby Bullet" but since I already had this one, I just used it. Works great for me so why go out and buy another contraption....just saying (this works for our family). And...from comparing the two...I think you get more bang for your buck by getting the Magic Bullet b/c it is more functional for more things than just making baby food.


Start by steaming whatever it is you're making. Below you can see chopped up apples. I peeled them first, cored and chopped into bite size pieces. I also went the cheaper route with the steamer...it's just a metal insert that fits into your pot. Fill the bottom of your pot with water, place the steamer insert into your pot, the chopped apples and steam for about 5-7 minutes (until tender).


Below you can see spinach leaves that I'm steaming (from my neighbor's garden).


Once your food is steamed, put into the magic bullet and blend until smooth. Some things require more water than others to make them smooth. I used the water from the bottom of the pot that I just steamed in.

When everything is blended good...pour into an ice cube tray and pop into the freezer overnight. Once all your cubes are frozen, transfer the cubes into a freezer bag (so they don't get freezer burn)...which is illustrated later.



Sweet potatoes are a little different. They just need to be cooked in the oven until very tender. I think I did read you can boil them as well...I just popped them in the oven while I was working on the other food.

Note: Be very careful when handling the veggies and transferring to the blender...THEY WILL BURN YOU!...ask me how I learned that tip.


Once the sweet potatoes are cooked tender, blend in the Magic Bullet until they are a smooth puree consistency. These required a good bit of water, but I added in small increments so the consistency didn't become too runny.


When the potatoes are blended to your desired consistency, transfer to the ice cube trays (the green cubes are green beans I had made...I didn't document doing those b/c they are the same process as apples and spinach with steaming, blending and freezing).



Last but not least...transfer your frozen cubes of baby food into a freezer bag. You have to use a little muscle to pop them out of the tray. Now they are in good serving sizes for your little one. I take a cube or two out of the freezer about 1 hour before Briggs eats. I might have to pop it in the microwave for a few seconds to knock the chill off.


Hope this little process helped somebody. Like I said...I don't make all his food, just when I have free veggies from my neighbor or leftover food from what we are eating. It's kind of fun if you have a little time on your hands.

Tasty Tuesday - Fruit Cake Cookies

Fruit Cake Cookies

2# dates (chopped)
1/2# candied cherries
1/2# candied pineapple
1# pecans
2.5 C sifted flour
1.5 tsp vanilla
1 tsp soda
1 tsp salt
1 C margarine
1.5 C sugar
2 eggs

Cut fruit and nuts in large pieces. Sift together flour, soda and salt. Scatter about 1/2 C over fruit and nuts. Cream shortening, add sugar gradually creaming until mix is light and fluffy. Beat in eggs.

To creamed mix, add fruit and nuts and remaining sifted dry ingredients. Mix well, drop from tsp onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake on 350 for 10 minutes (it took mine 11-12 minutes). Remove from oven, cool slightly.

Makes 150 cookies. These also freeze really well if you cook, package and freeze in an airtight container or freezer bags.

These are the cookies I made for the new play group in our neighborhood. Since the recipe makes so many...plenty to share. If you're looking for a good dessert to take to a holiday gathering or just something to share with friends, this is a good one. Just FYI...the candied cherries and pineapples are hard to find outside of the holidays, so if you think you might make these...best to get the ingredients now (they do have a pretty good shelf life).

My Favorite Things - Part 2

Just wanted to share some more of my favorite things again:

Since I went on bedrest with baby Briggs, I had cancelled my gym membership. I had every intention on going back but it's true when people say your priorities change when you have a kid. The money it costs for a gym membership, gas to get there, and loading a baby up to get 20 minutes away...we just decided to start our own workout at home. It was my goal to lose the baby weight quick and here is one of the tools I have used to do it. This workout video will seriously kick anybody's booty. It has 3 levels and she has good modifications for some of the hard moves. It's a 20 minute video...I mean who doesn't have 20 minutes a day. I have been known to do it twice to make a 40 minute workout.

Tip: If you're trying to lose weight...you need to do a 40-50 minute workout 4-5 days a week. Once you've met your goal, you can slow it down some to maintain with a healthy diet.

One positive...this 30 Day Shred video is only $6.87! That's a deal! I would have put a picture of my "shredded" results but didn't want to put Jillian Michaels to shame :)


This has been my new toy. It makes my heart pitter patter, brings a smile to my face and happy dreams in my sleep. I've been having some issues with our old vacuum cleaner and seriously...vacuuming is, in my opinion, one of the hardest (physical) jobs in the house. So when your vacuum cleaner doesn't work good...it's discouraging b/c you feel like your work is in vain. So...I broke down and got this lovely machine. Since it came in...I have been vacuuming every day (I'm serious), even made a demo video on how the attachments work and sent to my family. As J says...get the girl a new vacuum and everybody else has to wear earplugs the rest of the day. Oh well, sorry I can't help it, this piece of machinery takes me to my happy place.


Do you like your house to smell good? I LOVE these candles. I had discovered them when we lived in Baton Rouge and have recently only found one vendor who sells them in Birmingham. So, you can purchase them at Charming Charlies at the Summit, or you can go here and order them online. There are lots of different kind of candles out there but these are by far my favorite. They smell up your whole house and last a really long time. So even though they are a little pricier than most, I personally think they are worth it.

This Iphone app I just discovered, the Cozi App...has changed the way of life in the Poland household. Just a few of the features...it sinks our calendars and sends reminders via email and text of upcoming events and appointments, place for grocery list and to do list with options to email those as well. If I plug in a grocery list of things I need J to pick up...he can access my from his phone without me having to send it to him. Love it!


So those are just a few more of my favorite things I though I would share with you all.