Mouthwatering Deliciousness

Hey readers!  I just wanted to share a great food blog that I came across today:

Mel's Kitchen Cafe

She has so many amazing recipes to try and I am positively drooling over the way she organized everything!  

I put a link to her blog on my Follow These Blogs tab above and will also be adding some of the recipes from her blog to my Google site (which has been going through some renovations of it's own!).

WARNING: You could get stuck browsing her blog for hours.  So unless the kiddos are napping and you have an endless amount of time on your hands, leave it for later.  Because once you start looking, it'll be hard to stop.  ;-)

Homemade Granola

I found the easiest homemade granola recipe.  There are only five ingredients and it takes about half an hour to make, including prep time.  And I had everything in my kitchen so I didn't even have to run to the store!

There are a few things to remember when making granola:

• It's only good for a week so make a little at a time!  You can always make more later!
• You can add anything you want to this recipe: nuts, cranberries, raisins...the options are endless!
• Always store in an airtight container!  I think a glass one you could set on your counter would work perfectly (and it would look cute too!)!

Homemade Granola Recipe

Need:

     2 cups Old Fashioned Oats

     1/4 tsp cinnamon

     1/4 tsp salt

     2 tbspn unsalted butter

     1/4 cup plus 1 tbspn of honey

Directions:

     1.  Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

     2.  In a medium bowl combine oats, cinnamon, and salt.

     3.  In a small saucepan heat honey and butter over medium heat and cook until butter has just       melted.  Pour over oat mixture and cover well.

     4.  Pour granola out onto a baking sheet (if you leave it slightly chunky bigger chunks of     granola form).  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until mixture is golden brown.  

     5.  Cool to room temperature before storing it in an airtight container.  Remember, it's only good for one week!

Strawberry Granola Smoothie

I love smoothies.  I honestly could eat one for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and be completely happy.  Ever since we got our blender I've been searching Pinterest for some delicious recipes and I'm happy to report I've found a breakfast one that I just love!

For this smoothie I make my own granola because it's very hard for me to find granola at the grocery store because of my nut allergy.  I also use frozen strawberries from Costco and omit the bananas from the original recipe (I'm slightly allergic to those too).

I'm slightly adapting the recipe from this site.

Need:
     8 frozen strawberries
     1/2 cup granola
     1 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt (I use Greek)
     1 cup 1% milk
     1/2 cup ice cubes
     2 tbspn honey (optional)

Directions:
     1.  Blend all ingredients together in blender.
     2.  Pour in a cup and enjoy!


Don't worry!  If you have leftovers and you're too full to eat them there are some easy ways to store it for later consumption!

• You can freeze the leftover smoothie in ice cube trays to save for later! 
• Put the smoothie in a thermos to keep it cold if you want to take it to work with you.  Put it in the refrigerator once you get there and go back for it when you're ready for some food!
• Instead of a thermos, you can put the smoothie in a glass jar or pitcher.  Make sure to fill it to the brim otherwise you could have a large quantity of air that comes in contact with the mixture.  Seal the jar or pitcher with with a lid or cling wrap.

Categorizing Your Blog Posts

I had a question yesterday on how to label (or categorize) blog posts.  I went online looking for great tutorials but I couldn't find any with pictures.  I'm a visual person myself and do much better when I see how something is done rather than trying to imagine it.

Whether you're just starting your blog or you already have one the ideas on how to categorize your posts are pretty much the same.  It will definitely take a little more time if you have to go back and edit previous posts but the time and effort will be well worth it (it really doesn't take that long either).

When starting out, your blog will look like this:

On the right side you will see a sidebar that says Post Settings.  You'll want to click on the word label and a white box will appear beneath it.

Now, you'll want to take a few minutes to think of how you're going to categorize your posts.  I found that when first starting out I used any and every word that came to my mind.  That is not necessary!  The best advice I can give is to think of one Main category and two or three Sub categories!  This will make it much easier for your readers to find your posts and they won't have to scroll through hundreds of keywords to find what they are looking for.    

As you can see from the above picture, Blog Updates is my Main category while Powerpoint, and Tutorial are my two Sub categories.  When you're finished typing in the categories you want click the done button and then publish your post!

Congratulations!  You've just finished adding labels to your posts!  Now, lets put it on your blogs home page so that your readers are able to utilize this feature!

The first place you'll want to go to is the Layout tab under the My Blogs section.  You can find this on the left sidebar of your overview page.

Next, you want to click on the Add Gadget link.  This allows you to be able to add different things to the sidebars of your blog (pictures, labels, etc).

Clicking on the Add Gadget link will pull up a separate page that gives you a list of all the gadgets you can add to your blog.  Scroll down a little ways until you see the word LABEL, then click on it.

Once you click on the word LABEL another page will pop up.  This will let you decide how you want your categories to look on your homepage. 

This is the standard layout that Blogger provides.  You can hit save and then the preview button on the top of the page to see if you like how it looks.  If you want to customize it, please continue reading!

When I customize this gadget, I change the name and the layout.  I choose to display all of my labels but you can also hit the Selected Labels button and choose which ones you want to display for your readers.  I also choose to display the gadget in the Cloud format instead of the list because it takes up less room on my home page.

After you hit save you will be brought back to your Layout page and you'll see the new gadget you just added (mine is right above the Old Blog Posts gadget).  

If you hit the Preview button (located at the top right of the page) you'll be able to see how the new gadget looks on your blog.  If you do not like the fact that you have empty white space to the left of your labels, then you can fix that easily.  

You're almost done....just a few things left!  

Go back to the layout page and find your Labels gadget again (mine is called Take a Peek).  Use your mouse and place it in a spot that covers both the left and right side.  I held my gadget over the Old Blog Posts button until it moved down so I could put my Take a Peek gadget in it's place.

Then, hit the Preview button again to make sure you like the way it looks on your blog.  If you do, hit save!  

Congratulations!  You're done adding a new and user friendly way to find posts on your blog.  If you have any questions sound off in the comment section below!

A Chilling Tale from Theater 9

I stumbled across this blog today and was so blessed by the author's words.  She was inside Theater 9 with her two daughters when the shooting started and threw herself over her 14 year old daughter who was in the aisle seat.  Her account of the events of that night is chilling and sad but definitely worth the read.  

SO YOU STILL THINK GOD IS A MERCIFUL GOD?!

(Maybe, just maybe God spared my life because He loves YOU and wants you to hear this..He wants you to believe that He loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son that if you would believe in Him you would have eternal life.)

“So, you still believe in a merciful God?”  Some of the comments online are genuinely inquisitive, others are contemptuous in nature. Regardless of the motive behind the question, I will respond the same way.

Yes.

Yes, I do indeed.

Absolutely, positively, unequivocally.

Let’s get something straight: the theater shooting was an evil, horrendous act done by a man controlled by evil.  God did not take a gun and pull the trigger in a crowded theater. He didn’t even suggest it. A man did.

In His sovereignty, God made man in His image with the ability to choose good and evil.

Unfortunately, sometimes man chooses evil.

I was there in theater 9 at midnight, straining to make out the words and trying to figure out the story line as The Dark Night Rises began. I’m not a big movie-goer. The HH and I prefer to watch movies in the comfort of our own home…where I can use subtitles and get a foot rub. I don’t like action movies. And I don’t like midnight showings.  But, as I wrote in my last post, parents sometimes make sacrifices for their kiddos and I decided I would take my fourteen year old and sixteen year old daughters who were chomping at the bit to see this eagerly anticipated third movie in the Batman Trilogy. Twice I had the opportunity to back out and twice I was quite tempted. But something in me said just go with your girls. I did.

So I was there with them, fidgeting in my seat, some forty or  fifty feet away from the man with the gun. It’s still a bit surreal, but I do know that when the seemingly endless shooting started, as my girls were struggling from whatever gas or chemical had been released, and we figured out what was happening, we hit the floor. I threw myself on top of my fourteen year old who was on the end of the row, straight up the aisle from the shooter.  In that moment, as the rapid-fire shots continued, I truly thought I was going to die. And I realized that I was ready. I have put my faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the redeemer of my soul, and there wasn’t the slightest doubt that I would be received into heaven, not because of any good thing that I have done but because of His merciful nature and the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Still, as I lay over my daughter, I began praying out loud. I don’t even remember what I prayed, but I don’t imagine it really matters. I’m sure it was for protection and peace. It drew me closer into the presence of God. When there was a pause in the shooting, people began to clamor for the exits. The girls and I jumped up and joined the masses. We had to step over a lifeless body, not knowing where the shooter was. We raced to our car and I dumped my purse, frantically searching for keys, looking all around, prepared to hit the ground. I yelled at Michelle to call Matthew and find out if he had made it out of the theater next door. She did. He did. We booked on out of there.

Why would you think such a tragedy would make me question the goodness of God? If anything, both of my girls said it made Him a much more real presence to them; the youngest shared this verse: Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your feet from being caught.

He is not the cause of evil, but He is the one who can bring comfort and peace in the midst of evil.  It’s been amazing to see the outpouring of love from so many people after this unthinkable act.  Yes, there was one evil act, but it is being covered by thousands, possibly millions of acts of kindness.

We have not yet slept, so the girls and I are overtired and a bit emotional.  But overall, we are praising God and resting in His Goodness.   I love this word of wisdom and encouragement from a former pastor of mine:

Up to this point I haven’t had words to say that would matter. Of course we are all glad that you and the family are safe. Of course we would all state the obvious that this is horrific and senseless. But those words still don’t carry weight that remain in the midst of the questions. Then it hit me… Do you know what the difference was between Job and his wife in their response to the tragedy of losing everything… Job 1:20 Job was the only one that worshiped in the midst of it. Marie, I know your heart and I’ve seen your worship lived out before your family. Before the weight of this becomes unbearable… worship. Your profile pic was not coincidence, not by accident that you changed it on July 15th, but a beautiful foreshadowing of your need to hear the cry of your heart and give Him praise.  

Though we don’t have all the answers, we do indeed listen to the cry of our hearts: When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You. In God, whose word I praise, In God I have put my trust; I shall not be afraid. What  can mere man  do to me? Psalm 56:3-4

God is always good.

Man is not.

Don’t get the two confused.

We will continue to praise and worship our mighty God, anticipating that He will bring beauty from ashes, as only He can do.

If you want to know how to pray for us: first and foremost, we need sleep. Somehow our bodies seem too wired. We also want the life that God has graciously allowed us to continue to live to not be a gift given in vain, we want our lives to draw others closer to Him. We do not want fear to dominate, for God has not given us a spirit of fear. We want His joy to be seen and experienced in all that we do.

Pray for the families who lost loved ones, and for young people who witnessed such horror. Pray for this to be an opportunity for God to manifest Himself in mighty ways.

As for you…we will pray that YOU might know His goodness.

Still grateful for this wonderful life,

Marie

My Heart is Aching

When something bad happens we tend to come together as a nation.  Our hearts ache, we cry, and we feel a sense of community.  We hurt as one and we heal as one.  It's sad that it takes a tragedy to make us feel that way, but it does.

Tonight, my heart aches.  I have been crying periodically as I watched the news updates on the movie theater massacre in Aurora Colorado.  I grieve for the people who lost someone in the shooting.  I hurt for all the people who lived through the massacre and had to watch people sitting in the theater with them be shot or die.  I can't imagine the panic, terror, and fear that coursed through them as they tried to do everything they could to escape that nightmare.  

Sometimes, as less-than-perfect human beings we wonder and ask God why.  Why does he allow these things to happen?  Why do innocent people have to die like that?  But we will never get an answer.  We will never truly understand why God does things the way he does.  God calls people home when their time on Earth is over and who are we to question that?  We need to remember that those who go home to live with God are no longer in pain and they are happy.  But we cannot erase the people's pain that are left here on Earth and we cannot pretend to understand it unless we've been there.  All we can do is ask God to heal those who are hurting.  We can ask what we can do to help.  And we can just be there.  

Incidents like this always make people realize how lucky they are and how life on Earth can be taken away from us in a second.  We never know when we will take our last breath or where we will be when it happens.  That is all up to God and there is nothing we can do to change it.  We just have to remember not to take anything for granted.  We can't be afraid to live our lives and love with everything we have.  And we must always thank God for all the blessings and the life He has given us. 

So, tonight, I will be sure to hug my loved ones a little bit harder and longer.  I will remember to be thankful for every moment I have on this Earth and to be grateful to God for everything He has ever given me.  

Life is precious.  We should never forget that.  

God Bless all those affected by the movie theater massacre.  

And God Bless America.

Adding a Signature to Your Blog

I have been wanting to add a signature to my blog for a long long time.  I could never figure it out though (I tried at least two or three times before) and would get frustrated then quit, figuring I could always try again another day.

To make your own signature, open up PowerPoint (you can also use paint.net (a free program) or Photoshop) and make sure you are working on a blank slide.

Next, I found an online embellishment that I downloaded on the internet.  I clicked the Insert tab at the top and then on the picture tab.  (the tab I clicked on is highlighted in yellow)

The next step was the upload the picture onto Powerpoint.  

After that I re sized it to what I wanted then inserted a text box inside of the embellishment so I could start to write my name.

Remember that once you're done getting the exact font, size, and color you want that you need to  select your entire picture and group it together.  Then you need to save it as a picture so you can use it on your blog!

Yay!  You're done with part one!  Now lets apply your new signature to your blog!

Go to your blogs Layout page and click on Settings then Posts and Comments.

Go back to your photobucket page, click on the signature picture you uploaded and then click on the HTML button (this will copy the code automatically for you).  

Then, click on your blog and paste the HTML code in the blank box beside the words Post Template.  It's near the top of the page.  Click on save settings.

The next step is to remove the box around your picture.  You can find the tutorial for that here but since it didn't work for me I'm not highly suggesting it.  If anyone knows how to do that step I'd greatly appreciate any information you can give me!  And once I figure it out I'll do a quick update on this post to let you guys know how to do it too.  It shouldn't be too big of a deal unless you have a colored background (mine is white so it's not too noticeable).

I hope this tutorial helps!

Encouraging Your Husband for 30 Days

I always seem to start a 30 day challenge in the middle of the month.  Don't ask my why, I just do.

When I came across this 30 day challenge, I knew I had to share it so others could participate too!  The focus of this challenge is to bless your husband one day at a time.  Each day is based on a scripture lesson that provides a simple challenge that you carry out the entire day.

I hope that many of my readers will accept this challenge along with me.  Even the strongest of men need a little encouragement sometimes!

Google Site

Hello friends!

I want to update you on a new feature I have for my blog.

I had been looking for ways to share my recipes on this blog for a long time but wasn't finding anything I liked.  Then, I found out that google has a program that lets you make your own website that will let you upload files from your computer to share.  You can find out how here!

I had originally intended to just use it to share recipes that Chris and I love but I'm thinking of expanding it to include printables and other things.  With this site, you are able to download all of my files to your own computer to save or do whatever you want with.

Click on the Downloads and Printables tab at the top of my blog and let me know what you think!

Gown Preservation and Other Options

How many of you decided to preserve your gown after your wedding?  Did you ask for opinions before you did it?  Did any of your already married friends tell you where they went and what they had done?

Well, I asked a few of my friends where to go to clean my dress (most suggested a dry cleaner) because we got married in April and had a reception a little less than two months later.  But, I never thought to ask about getting my gown preserved.

Why?  Well, I figured David's Bridal has been preserving gowns for years and that meant I could trust them to do mine too.  Right?

Yes, I could!  But, what I didn't expect was for them to charge me out of my butt for other "little" things.

Included in the price of the kit was the standard preservation and free shipping.

What was not included was veil preservation ($15 extra), premier preservation (which includes gown insurance, lifetime guarantee, among other things - $50), and if you need to fix your dress due to rips or other minor things (these charges started at $15 and went up from there).

I have to say I was very disappointed by this whole process.  While I am excited to have my dress preserved so that I can keep it for when we have kids (I have a few plans for it if we have a girl!), I am not so excited that I had to pay that much for it.  Especially when you sit down and think of how much your dress was in the first place!

But, I guess I can't complain too much.  I made the choice to go with David's Bridal and also made the choice to get some of the extras done to my dress.  I just want other people to be aware of what they're paying for if they choose to go this route.  I would've found it helpful to know beforehand and I'm hoping someone else will find this helpful as well.

However, if you decide you don't want to keep your dress after your wedding (after doing research I found that a lot of brides feel this way) there are some great ways to get rid of it.  

Brides Against Breast Cancer is a wonderful organization that takes used bridal gowns and sells them at a much cheaper price to other brides.  You can find out more about the donating process here.  If you want to keep your gown but still help out this organization you can click on this link and give however much money you can.  A little can go a long way in making a brides dream day come true.

If the first option is not something you're interested in you can always give your gown to goodwill or try to sell it on the internet.  Also, if someone in your family likes a part of your gown (perhaps you wore lace) you can always let them incorporate pieces of your dress on theirs for their special day.  

Whether you want to keep your dress, donate it, or sell it there is definitely an option for everyone!  

   

A Little Bit of Gratitude

I just wanted to write a quick post thanking everyone who came out to celebrate our marriage at the reception in California.  I'll have a more detailed post once we receive the professional pictures from our awesome photographer (we loved her!), so please stay tuned for that!

Chris and I would also like to thank everyone for the thoughtful gifts and heartwarming cards.  We are overwhelmed by all the love and gifts our family and friends have given us and are so very thankful for each and every one of you.  Words can never express how grateful we are.

Thank you all!

Walt Disney World: Places to Stay

This post took a lot of research and a long time to write.  I had to wait for Chris to put in his opinions before I could publish it and we're both such perfectionists we read and re-read a hundred times before we felt it was good enough.  We're pretty happy with how it turned out and we hope that this will help people plan a memorable and less expensive trip for their family!

(Chris's comments are in blue and mine (Teresa's) are in purple)

If you've ever looked into a Disney Vacation you will know that hotels are expensive.  Sometimes, even their "value resorts" don't really seem like a value with the money they charge.  But if you know when to go and where to stay you can definitely get the biggest bang for your buck!  Let me give you some hints!

Getting Started:

1.  Start planning your vacation at least three months in advance.

If you are looking for time of year to go this can help as well. 

2.  Check this Disney website to find deals for your trip!  They usually put them on the site two to three months in advance!  And you'll want to jump on the deals...20-30% off of a hotel can mean huge savings for you and your family!  You can also find (sometimes) great dining deals too!  

3.  Start looking at airline deals right away!  If you live in VA (or anywhere south of there), you may find that driving down to Florida is cheaper (make sure you bring plenty of snacks and toys for the little ones!).  However, you may also find some really great deals on airfare if you start looking early enough.  And there are some airlines who will give you a credit if they drop their prices after you've booked!

4.  Disney always has promotions for a family of four.  Keep a lookout for that deal!  I've seen it on tv and heard it on the radio before.  The cheapest one that has ever caught my eye is $79 per person per day.

Why Stay on Disney Property?

1.  If you fly, Disney transports your bags from the airport to your hotel room free of charge!  They also have a free shuttle service (their Magic Your Way bus) that will take you directly from the airport to your resort (no rental car fees!).

These things are really the biggest discriminators when it comes to selecting your hotel when flying to Orlando. If you have to pay for a taxi or rent a car to get to your hotel you might find you might save money by staying at the park. There's no price value associated with the transport of your bags, it's really how much you value your time.

2.  By staying at a Disney Resort, you are also eligible for each parks Extra Magic Hours that either means the parks open early or stay open late. 

Chris and I love that Disney offers this because we always visit the Magic Kingdom during their nighttime Extra Magic Hours.  You don't have to deal with all the strollers, young kids, and crowds that they have during the day and you can go on all the rides you want with only (usually) a 10 minute (or less) wait time.  It's awesome.
This is another really hard thing to put a value on. During Summer/early Fall you can exhaust yourself pretty easy being out in the heat and this may not be worth it. You might also find it easy during these months to head back to the hotel to take a nap during peak heat hours.

3.  If you buy a souvenir early in the day, you can have the store send it back to your room.  It'll end up getting there two days later but you won't be carrying around a ton of shopping bags while trying to keep up with your kids!

I believe you can also have the bags sent to the front guest services area for later pickup. However, I believe this has to be done by a set time well before the park closes. I know most people will want to experience the park, then towards afternoon/evening they might go shopping, you will either have to wait until you are ready to leave or carry bags around for the rest of the day without this service.

4.  Disney offers shuttles to and from the parks all day long!  You don't have to worry about remembering where you parked your car at the end of the day and you also don't have to pay for parking at the parks!  All you do is hop on the bus and it'll take you wherever you want to go.

Again, this can save you money if you would otherwise have to rent a car or bring your own (and have to pay for parking everyday)

What Disney Resort is Right for You?

There are many different options for where to stay at Disney.  

There are the:

Deluxe Villas

Deluxe Resorts

Moderate Resorts

Value Resorts

Disney Campgrounds

Other Select Deluxe Resorts

Chris and I have stayed at a few different ones in each category.  They are:

Animal Kingdom Lodge - Deluxe Resort

Grand Floridian Resort and Spa - Deluxe Resort

Caribbean Beach - Moderate Resort

Pop Century - Value Resort

Contemporary - Deluxe Resort

We really liked staying at the Caribbean Beach because not only is the price somewhat reasonable but the rooms and nice and comfortable.  There are also private beaches with hammocks and chairs that you can sit at during the day, numerous pools in the vicinity, and one huge pool for the kids to play in (complete with water slides and other features!).  This resort is located near Epcot and Hollywood Studios.

The only "issue" I have with it is that it takes a while to get the the parks if you're taking the resort buses.  Since the resort is so big there are six different stops so if you're at one of the last stops before it heads out to the park, there may not be any room for you and you'll have to wait for the next bus (which can take a while).
I like this one the most. I tend to like rooms that are cold, icebox cold. Of all the resorts we've stayed at (Pop Century, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Animal Kingdom) this was the only one that had air conditioning without a temperature setting with the lowest setting of 68.

Both the Grand Floridian and Contemporary Resorts are very expensive.  If you do not book a room at the Contemporary at least five months in advance they will not have a spot for you.  Both of these resorts are on the monorail system and are extremely close to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot Parks.    

I loved staying at both of these resorts and can not complain about either of them.  If you can swing it, stay on the club level because you'll get free breakfast, snacks, and (adult) drinks later on in the evening.  There is also water, juice, and coke drinks available all day and night.  It's a little more expensive but definitely worth it!
The club level is nice but the perks for staying there aren't typically worth the price unless you are staying for a unique occasion, we did for our engagement and wedding, but if you're looking to save money, the price of snacks and drinks is probably not worth the difference.

We did not like the Animal Kingdom at all.  We thought we'd be able to see different animals from our windows (what a disappointment!) and it was a very long bus ride from the resort to the parks.  This resort is close to the Animal Kingdom park but very far away from Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios.

If you're looking for something cheap the Pop Century isn't a bad option.  They have three pools on their lot and different sections of the hotel represent different eras (1950's - 1990's).  This resort is usually very crowded (it's the biggest resort on Disney Property) and that means you may or may not get a seat on the buses when traveling to the parks.  It also means you may have to wait through two or three buses until you can actually get a spot to go back to your hotel after the park closes.  This resort is located near Epcot and Hollywood Studios.        

There were a few things I did not like about this resort.  (1) It was overcrowded.  I hated having to wait so long to get on a bus to get back to the resort at the end of the night.  Especially when I was tired from being out all day and all I wanted to do was sleep.  (2) The beds and pillows were extremely uncomfortable!  I had a really hard time sleeping because everything was so hard.  (3) The beds were full/queen sized and it made it extremely hard to share a bed with Chris.  Maybe this wouldn't be a problem for anyone else but it was very uncomfortable for us.

Staying off Property

If you'd rather stay off property there are a few hotels that would work.  Some do have the park buses that will take you to and from the Disney Parks (free of charge).  These hotels are: 

Holiday Inn 

Double Tree Suites

Hilton

Buena Vista Suites

You can find more hotels at Marriot, Hilton, and other sources.  Just make sure they have complimentary shuttles to and from the parks!  Also, most of the above hotels are right beside Downtown Disney.  

There are downsides to staying at an off property hotel though.  (1) You pay daily for parking on their lot (you will not be charged for that with Disney).  (2) You have to get yourself to the hotel from the airport on your own which means you'll be paying daily for a rental car.  (3) It's a bit of a drive to the parks.  Be prepared to sit on the bus for a while!  (4) If you decide to stay at a hotel without shuttle service to and from the parks, you'll be paying to park your car at the park (which, I think, is about $12 a day).  (5) You'll be spending a small fortune between rental car costs and all the parking expenses from the parks and hotel.   

So there you go.  Chris and I compiled all our wisdom from the past three years on where to stay and this is what we came up with!  We hope that this information will help people who are trying to plan a trip to Disney but didn't know where to start.  

Stay tuned for more Disney posts! 

Smoothie Heaven

White Gummi from Jamba Juice

Whenever Chris and I go to California we always visit Jamba Juice.  They have the best smoothies I have ever had in my entire life!  The first time Chris took me there he bought me the White Gummi which is on their secret menu.  Do you remember what the white gummy bear tastes like?  Well, that's exactly what this smoothie tastes like!  

If you like smoothies at all try this recipe!  Seriously, you won't regret it. 

Ingredients:

   

8oz peach juice

4oz soy milk (I used whole instead)

1/2 cup pineapple sherbet

1/4 cup raspberry sherbet

1/4 cup orange sherbet

1/2 cup frozen mangos

1/2 cup ice

**Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until you get a "smoothie" consistency**  

**Fills 4 (8oz) glasses

I used the Kitchen Aid Blender from Bed Bath and Beyond and we love it!  I did a lot of research on what blender to get and this is one of the best reviewed ones.  A few people have had problems with the container leaking but we haven't had any problems with it so far!  So far, I give it an A+  

Meal Planning

How-To: Monthly Meal Planning Guide

For the past few months I've been using a homemade calendar to plan our meals for the month.  I usually go out and buy most of the ingredients (the ones I can freeze or are canned) and then go out every week and a half and buy the perishable items needed for my recipes.  This has worked out fairly well and it helps me keep a low grocery budget every month.  I go to Costco once a month and buy the bigger things that we'll need along with most of the meats I'll need.  When we get home, I'll divide up the meat (mostly ground beef) into ziploc bags consisting of either one or two pounds.  We also buy the big bags of Perdue chicken (my favorite)  and one bag can usually last us between 45 and 60 days.  

Most of our monthly grocery budget comes from my trips to Costco.  Since I buy in bulk I pay a little more, but the food I do buy lasts me a lot longer than going to the regular grocery store.  And it's nice to go to the grocery store and only have to buy a few things at a time.  I used to coupon (and sometimes I still do if I find a really great deal), but I found that I don't really save that much doing it.  Maybe it's because I go to Costco and buy in bulk or maybe it's just because I'm not that dedicated to couponing.  Whatever the reason, I've found that it's just not for me.  I can keep our monthly budget low without them and I'm happy with how little money I spend on food.

Below is our July Meal Planning Calender.  Most of these recipes are new to me (I'll let you know how they turn out) but I try to do at least a few new ones each month.  My husband is a bit of a picky eater so when I find a recipe he likes, I usually jump on it.  

All the recipes in green are cooked in the crock pot.  There are also recipes that have a red star next to them which means they are new to us.  I always run the recipes by Chris to make sure he'll actually eat them (this can get frustrating sometimes) but in the end we're both happy with what we'll be eating.  I also try to give us one or two days where we budget for eating out.  I know that at least one day this month we'll be going out with our friends.  I also have a lot of blank days during the week because we always have leftovers after I cook and we do not like to waste anything.  So...we usually eat something for two days before moving on to the next meal.  But if we don't have any leftovers, I just skip to the next recipe and continue from there.  We're pretty flexible.  

I'm going to leave you with a few of our favorite recipes.  Please visit this site to find them and feel free to use the recipes for your own family!  

UPDATE: You can only view the files if you have a google account.  If you don't have one, you can download it to your computer and view it that way!

Vacation on a Budget: Walt Disney World

When Chris and I were on our honeymoon we had an idea for the blog.  We've been to Disney World (and Land) at least once or twice a year since 2009.  Wouldn't it be fun if we did a mini series on the best times to go, what to do while you're there, and where to stay?

A lot of people think a trip to Disney World is an expensive luxury, and sometimes it can be.  But if you know the right times to go, when to look for deals, and where to stay you could end up saving hundreds of dollars!  And who doesn't like saving that kind of money?

So, stay tuned for future posts from Chris and I.  We can't wait to share all that we know with you!

At Hollywood studios with my family!