Cellfire Coupons

Don't miss the new Cellfire coupons!! Check it out on my left sidebar.
They are fun to load directly onto your grocery card.

Guest Blogger - Ali from Blessed Treehouse

Ali Hooper is a riot! I have been lucky enough to get to know her through this wonderful avenue we are working on right now..the internet. We went to Blissdom together even though we hadn't met in real life prior. Ali's writing will keep you laughing along with filling you with great info. She is the Editor of Homeschool Bliss at Blissfully Domestic too! Ali is a great green advocate and gives some good tips concerning organizing. (seriously, she won't harm you if you don't save all your butter tubs...I will give you her address so you can mail them all to her though, because we don't believe in hoarding here on my site!! ROTFL! But seriously, donation would be wonderful if you have too many extra plastic tubs. ) I can say this cuz I luvs The Ali!
We visited the Rainforest Cafe on our trip to TN. I'm on the left, Ali on the right. We had a great time, learned alot and even got stuck on an elevator for 45 minutes with 11 other woman. We called it Elevator 13. Ali was the pregnant one on the elevator (don't you always have to have a pregnant woman in the mist of a crisis?

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So you already know Organizer Sandy, the genius organizing guru who is slightly Sleeping-With-The-Enemy (she knows exactly if something has been moved out of its place) (actually, I don't think she's that way at all. We shared a hotel room at Blissdom, and though I can confirm that she is super organized in real life, my psycho sensors weren't alarmed).

But you might not know me. I'm Ali of Blessed Treehouse. I blog and vlog and spill the beans on the not-so-sunny-side of motherhood. Oh, and I try (and often fail miserably) to live green-ish. It's more of a sour shade of green that I live, but heck, every bit counts, right?

So sweet Sandy asked me (me? me! of all people) to share with her readers a few tips about Green Organization. Though I'm far from an expert, I do have a big, puffy green heart, and I often pretend that I'm organized, so that's close enough, right?

Let me begin:

* Before you whip out the plastic (pun intended) to buy some new-fangled organizer, look around your home and turn on your creativity cap. If you don't have a creativity cap (let's face it, some people are so far from being creative it's painful), find a creative friend and borrow theirs. Either way, look around your home and find 'organizational' uses for things that you might not think could be used to stay organized. For instance, I use flower pots for storing office supplies. It's a fun and attractive way to keep my desk clutter free. And who am I kidding - I kill plants, so only God knows what I am doing with flower pots in the first place.
* Don't throw away containers of any kind! I'm serious. Next time you think of tossing that yogurt carton or butt wipe tub in the trash, think about how you can reuse it. I'm not kidding. I will sniff out your garbage, hunt you down, and hurt you if you dare throw away another plastic container. And if you are concerned that someone will judge you for reusing a butt wipe tub to hold cotton balls, get over it (I suggest investing in large sticky labels to smack on containers so that no one is alarmed when they are looking for butt wipes and they actually discover your Valium - seriously, a butt wipe tub is the perfect size for storing medications).
* Become an eBay, craigslist, and freestyle whore. Excuse my language, but seriously, sell your soul to these websites. DON'T buy new if you can buy used! Ebay now even has a local site allowing you to search for things in your area. Next time you are in the market for a book shelf or storage unit, PLEASE check these sites first. Again, I can smell 'new'. I will hunt you down and hurt you if you buy new when you could have easily found something gently used.
* Become "that neighbor." Seriously, be the one who the neighbors talk about, saying things like, "oh, there she goes again, digging through our garbage searching for reusable plastic containers." Save your neighbors the gossip by letting them know that you will gladly take any of their plastic containers off of their hands. Afraid they will think you are weird? Who cares! They are probably the same neighbors having scandalous affairs and scheduling their next liposuction.
* Finally, organizing IS green. The more organized you are, the less likely you are to buy yet another fabulous lip gloss (okay, so this is what I tell my husband when he catches me spending $20 on another shade of pink gloss, "but honey, I've searched the whole house and car, and I cannot find that gloss!" Seriously, ladies, can you blame me?)

Being organized and living green go together beautifully. And with the wealth of resources, awareness, and digital information available to us, there is no excuse not to live a bit more green.

Don't make me hurt you.


ALI The Blessed Treehouse

Share My Recipe Sunday - Creamy Roasted Garlic Chicken Fettuccine

Heather from What's Cooking in Heather's Kitchen has joined Share my Recipe Sunday with this wonderful sounding recipe. She has won my Gem of the Week award for this week. You will have to go look at all the other great recipes she has on her blog.



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I'm preparing for next weeks Menu Plan, so I decided to add one of our favorite pasta dishes to the mix this week. My family can't get enough of this one.

CREAMY ROASTED GARLIC CHICKEN FETTUCCINE (The roasted garlic really adds a sweet, unique flavor to this dish)

6 (4 oz) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (pounded to ¼ inch thick cutlets)
1 cup flour + 1 Tbsp
Sea Salt and Pepper to taste
3 Tbsp E.V. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 red pepper, thinly sliced (julienne)
*6 cloves roasted garlic, crushed into a paste
½ cup White wine (one you would drink)
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1 good handful fresh Italian Parsley, chopped
Crushed Red Pepper
1 lb fettuccine, cooked according to package (reserve 1 cup cooking liquid)

Heat Olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Dredge cutlets in 1 cup flour that is seasoned with sea salt and pepper. Sauté cutlets until light golden brown (about 2 minutes per side)
Set cutlets aside and add butter to pan. Sauté red peppers then add 1 Tbsp flour. Slowly add wine, cream and garlic paste then cook over medium heat until bubbly. Add Parmesan and stir until melted in. Then add parsley and red pepper. Toss Pasta with Sauce (If pasta seems "dry", add some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid). Serve with chicken cutlets on top.

*Roasted Garlic – Place 1 or 2 whole heads of garlic (with just the top sliced off) in a large piece of foil. Drizzle E.V. Olive oil over the top and sprinkle a pinch or 2 of salt and pepper on them. Close up tightly and place in a 400F oven for about 20 to 30 minutes (depending on if you want whole cloves still or paste like). Remove from the oven and allow to cool. From the bottom of the cloves, squeeze the cloves out of the garlic skins.

Thanks to Sandy @ Organize with Sandy for hosting Share My Recipe Sunday. You can check out all the great shared recipes there this week.

Heather

Frugal Friday Organizing - Vlog on girls hair supplies.

Some simple tips on how to organize some of your little girls hair supplies.

To purchase these supplies:
Toilet paper roll - look in your bathroom trash can.
Empty bandaide box or tin or box - look in your junk drawer, desk drawer, child's room. (I'm sure you will find something laying around your house.)
Hair band cutie patootie handmade holder. - Polka Tot Boutique But watch for my upcoming review on my Review site Organize with Sandy Reviews to try and win a personalized one yourself!!

I'm a Guest Blogger

I have been having fun doing guest blogs for other sites as well as having guest bloggers on my site. Here are a couple of places that I have done posts for recently.

I was asked to be a guest blogger for Heather of Just Doing My Best. She had a contest on her blog asking mom's what their biggest problem was in their house. She said the Clutter and housekeeping were her big answers. Time Management was also on the list. I did an article which she is using in a 2 part series. The first part is "Does this Clutter make me Late?" that she posted today @ Just Doing My Best.

I also have a feature article in the newsletter for Organized A to Z for the month of April.

I had an article in Stretching a Buck on March 28th.

Organizing for a Vacation

Heading out of town for spring break? Taking a vacation this summer? Once you get to your destination it is great, but the days before your vacation can be headache filled and stressful.
Break it down.

Give yourself a schedule of what you need to get done and by when.

Make sure your laundry is all clean the day before you need to start packing.

Make a list of what you need to pack. Make up individual list so the kids can help. Write them out a list of the clothing items they will need. Just have them lay it out in their rooms, so you can check to be sure they really have the 7 pair of underwear you told them to pack, not just their one favorite pair! Use the list yourself to help keep you on track as to what you will need.
If there is a washer/dryer where you are going. Take advantage of it. You won't need to pack nearly so many clothes.
Be sure to check out the forecast of your destination site for conditions so you know what to pack.

If you are driving and have to stop part way over night on your way there, pack one family overnight bag. This way you won't have to unload the entire car to get everyone's bags out for the one night.

If you are flying or driving with children, be sure to pack them activities. If they can have their own backpacks or bags with things that can keep them occupied, it is much easier. If there is room for a little basket for them with their things, that would be ideal to keep everything within reach.
If you have a DVD player in your vehicle, be sure to pack something with the videos in it so they aren't all over the car which of course would probably end up with broken DVD's.

Pack lunches so that you do not have to pay so much for meals along the way.
Keep a trash bag in the vehicle so that trash doesn't build up in the car. Empty each time you stop for gas.

The more prepared you are before you start packing with a list of what you need to remember will help you in the long run. You won't have to worry about forgetting the camera or directions to Aunt Kathy's house. Preparation is the key to less stress in the pre-vacation week.

Have a safe trip and start those lists.