I. Can't. Keep. It. A. Secret. Anymore.

Okay, I recently learned a new skill that I desperately wanted to blog about. However, Andrew asked that I wait until I see his siblings in person to surprise them. I tried, but it might be a year or more until we are all together again, and I can't wait. What is this secret skill? Well I learned to make manapua. Now if you are not from Hawaii you probaby have no clue what I am talking about and you are probably pronouncing it wrong. Here is a good definition from Wikipedia:

"Manapua is Hawaiian slang for the Chinese food cha siu bau (pork-filled bun). The word does not mean "chewed-up" (mana) "pork" (puaʻa) in the Hawaiian language, as its spelling suggests. Rather, the current form is a shortening of meaʻono-puaʻa, meaning "pork cake" (meaʻono = "cake"). In the US mainland, the Chinese term is commonly used. The Chinese brought this dim sum item with them when they were brought over as plantation workers. This food usually consists of a white bun with a red-colored shredded pork filling. The bun is occasionally baked, but is more frequently steamed when it is made."

Manapua is super yummy and a favorite treat in our home. Here is a picture of one that I made:



Now I can't take all the credit. I learned how to make this thanks to my friend Cristina. She is from Hawaii and actually knew Andrew in high school. Small world. She and I share a love of Asian and Hawaiian foods, so we are becoming fast friends. We made 80 buns and split it up between us. Sadly the 40 buns I took home barely lasted us a week and I will need to make more soon. We had a great time and the results were fab, even Andrew couldn't believe how authentic they were.

So to the Smith clan, the next time we are together I look forward to making this for you all. You can act surprised if you want to, hehe!

Frugal Gift Giving

Last night I taught a class on frugal gift giving and I thought I would post a little bit about it here. I love to give gifts. I love
the whole process, including the planning, shopping for (or making) the perfect gift, and finally giving the gift. It’s definitely one of the things that make me happy. Since I don't have a limitless supply of money to fund this gift giving love of mine, I have had to learn to be frugal. Now my definition of being frugal may be different than others', but the following tips that I have learned are valid no matter what your definition of frugal is.

The Four P's of Frugal Gift Giving Plan

One day a year, sit down and write a list of who you need to buy gifts for and when you need to give the gifts. Don't forget to plan for those birthday parties that your kids are invited to attend. Make sure to include all gift-giving holidays that you participate in. Also, when you plan, pay special attention to the date. It is very important to make sure that gifts are received on or before the special day, as this attention to detail is noticed and appreciated by the recipient. A late gift, especially an obviously frugal one, may end up conveying the wrong message.

Ponder

Now that you have your list, think about the people that you need to give gifts for. The less money you spend on a gift, the more time/thought you should probably spend on it. People recognize when thought has been put into a gift and they appreciate it. Find out their likes and dislikes, their favorite colors, hobbies, foods, places, music, brands, etc. Keep little notes if it will help you remember. When you are shopping, it will save you a lot of frustration and make it easier for you to select the perfect gift. It also increases the chances that the recipient will love the gift no matter how much you spend.

This master list will be key to your success as a gift giver and will enable you to make your purchases when its financially beneficial for you, not for the retailer.

Purchase/Prepare

Many people believe that frugal gifts are always homemade. While it’s true that you can often save money by making a gift ourself, it is not always true. I have handmade items that have ended up costing more than store bought gifts. Frugal gifts can be purchased or homemade. No matter what you decide, try to decide early. This gives your more time to find or make the perfect gift that fits your budget.

Now that you have a master list and some guidelines, carry the list with you. Every time you go shopping (especially at Target with their regular clearance deals) make sure to go through all the areas. If you don’t walk down that aisle, you will never notice the good deals that will fit in your frugal budget and be perfect to give as a gift. Doing this only takes an extra 5-10 minutes of your time, and it will help you find the perfect, frugal gift. Also, watch for sales in craft stores to save money on materials for homemade items. You can even bargain shop online, go to yard sales, etc. Be creative, be alert, and have an open mind.

Presentation

Although we are told never to judge a book by its cover, it happens all the time. A gift wrapped in newspaper just doesn’t have the same impact as an attractive, well-wrapped present. A beautiful presentation will show the recipient that you paid attention to the details. Nice gift wrap and packaging can be purchased inexpensively as long as you buy it ahead of time. Clearance deals of 50 – 90% off are not unheard of at end-of-season sales. Don't wait until the day you need to give the gift or you will likely discover that you don't have the wrap that you need, forcing you to spend more than you’d like to.

Finally, depending on the situation, the gift can be accompanied by a simple card (handmade or purchased on sale, of course) to let the recipient know how much you care.


So that was the quick version of my class. The ladies loved it, especially the examples that I brought in. The following item was probably the most popular and it may actually be an upcoming Enrichment project. It is a church activity book that I hope will keep the kids reverent during Sacrament Meeting, while helping them to focus on gospel topics. There are about 100 pages of gospel-oriented activities (crosswords, puzzles, games, coloring pages, etc), some that I came up with myself and others I printed from the online version of our Church magazine for kids. It took me about 2 hours to print all of the pages from lds.org. Once you print, make sure you keep the master copy for yourself to always make copies from so you get the highest quality copies.

Cover:


Inside:

Kazoo

On Monday I took Ty and Ella to the zoo with friends. Later that day I told Ty to tell Andrew what we did. He ran up to Andrew and said, "Daddy, Daddy, guest what? I went to the KAZOO!" Ha. Kids. Gotta love 'em because life just wouldn't be as funny!

Relief Society

My day was pretty crazy. All of us spent the day cleaning the house so that we could have guests over this evening. Andrew had invited a fellow BYU fan and his kids over to watch the football game. His wife and I then left to attend the broadcast of the General Relief Society meeting ( I know some of my readers aren't familiar with some of the terms I use, so let me clarify a bit. All the women in the L.D.S. Church are part of the Relief Society. This society of sisters, bound together under the motto Charity Never Faileth, has grown to become the largest women's organization in the world.)

When I first arrived for the meeting, I was assigned randomly to the pink table. One of the goals of the evening was to get to know the women from the other congregations. It was a little awkward at first but pretty soon we were chatting away. We were served dinner and then we watched the broadcast from Salt Lake City over the satellite. The talks were phenomenal and I was truly inspired to be more observant of the needs of others around me, so that I can provide more 'relief'. Relief can be given in big ways, but it was stressed that those little bits of relief that we offer others (providing a meal, giving a compliment, sending a note, babysitting in a pinch, etc) can be just as crucial. I learned many other things as well and it felt great to be inspired to live better.

One special thing that I want to note is the size of the group of women that met to night at the Stake center (An LDS Church with a larger floor plan so that bigger groups can meet together). The event was standing room only. There must have been 32-40 tables set up with 8 seats at each table. The chapel was also packed and we filled every inch of the pews, plus the overflow room. I was incredibly impressed with how many came when they could have watched the meeting at home on their own tvs. The best part though was when we sang the hymns, how powerful and beautiful this large group of ladies sounded.

Happy Birthday Unckie Dave

We want to wish Andrew's brother, David, a happy birthday. He is 23 today! The picture above was taken on his wedding day this past August.

Swing Smiles

Ella loves the swing, the higher you pusher the more she laughs. A little daredevil in the making, yikes!

On her own

Well, I am a little morose this weekend. Ella is walking pretty much all the time now and it all goes downhill from there. I tried to not show her the floor, and it worked well for a while, but I can only hold her so much before my arms give out. I have to admit it is wee bit fun to watch her walk, especially to see the huge smile on her face as she gets to her chosen destination. She is growing up too fast.

The Tuesday Ten

So I apologize for neglecting the blog lately. I have been soooo very busy lately and thought I would share 10 things that are going on.

1. I took Brianna, Arick and Ty for eye appointments last week with interesting results. Brianna's eyes have improved and she no longer needs glasses. Arick and Ty on the other hand did not fare as well. Arick's eyes are worse and the doctor thinks that is what is causing his frequent headaches. I only brought Ty in as just a precaution and it turns out the kid has the worst eyesight of the bunch. Poor little bugger. So now my boys need glasses. Pictures will follow soon.

2. My Primary calling at Church is keeping me plenty busy. Lots of meetings to go to lately and I have to plan our yearly program.

3. Organizing and cleaning. I have lost lots and lots of things and it is driving me nuts. So I have been organizing, which means creating a bigger mess first and then organizing. Such a long process. I have definitely thrown out lots of stuff but I have so much still left to do. I still haven't found those lost items yet which makes the process even more painful.

4. Participating in a children's clothing consignment sale. Hopefully I get some money from this to help pay for an external hard drive so I can get my old photos off of my PC and work on them. My PC is not a happy computer and I am scared it is going to crash and take all my stuff with it. I am scared to even turn it on, which it doesn't do well half of the time.

5. Preparing a class on "Frugal gift giving throughout the year". I will teach this to the ladies at Church and I am so excited since it is one of my favorite subjects. I am also helping to put together a class on stamping.

6. 9 doctors appointments in 3 weeks, I really miss our old doctor in CT. Even Ty says he wishes "Dr. Iogas" moved to Tennessee with us.

7. Playdates and story time for Ty.

8. I have listened to 5 Audiobooks in the last 2 weeks but I am missing having a book to read, so I checked out 10 books for the next 6 weeks. I am trying to figure out what book I will suggest for bookclub when my turn comes again. I am reading Plainsong now and have a few others on my list. I will review a few of them when I am finished.

9. Busy planning for the upcoming holidays. I have to start early so I can enjoy December.

10. Driving. I have been doing lots of driving. I am finally reaching that point that I am feeling like a taxi driver. We have signed Brianna up for Piano, Arick for guitar, and Brianna will soon be doing Girl Scouts. Plus there is Activity Days for Brianna.

I haven't even taken 1 picture in 2 weeks which isn't from lack of desire, just haven't had time. But I will tomorrow.

Have a great day!

Andrew's DVR list

Just so you don't think that I, Amy, hog the dvr, Andrew has his recordings as well.

NFL Football
Pimp My Ride
How it's Made
Rugby
College Football

With an occasional Formula One race in the mix.

DVR

Recently we had Dish Satellite service installed so that we could watch BYU football games. Part of that service includes a digital video recording device that records shows, pause live tv, etc. Let me just say wow! I admit I love watching tv but I hate the time it takes. Now I can watch a 1 hour show in 30 minutes and Andrew can watch a 4 hour football game in 1 hour. That is huge! Plus I have been able to record my late night shows and watch them in the morning so I don't have to stay up late. I love love love DVR!

Curious to know some of the shows I am recording? Here are my top five, at least until the new season starts:
Murder, She Wrote
Monk
Psych (can you tell I love mysteries/solving puzzles)
Hannah Montana (I record them for Brianna, at least that is what I tell myself)
Good Eats with Alton Brown on the Food Network (I love how he explains the science of cooking!)

OAMC

OAMC stands for "Once A Month Cooking". The premise is that you cook 30 meals over a 2 day period with shopping and prep on day 1 and cooking on day 2. I have always this was a great idea but I have never had the best freezer space. Well now I have a large freezer and I have been thinking of trying it. As I was talking to my friend, Cristina, about it, she told me that she has done it before, however, she and a friend did it together to cut down on the work. Instantly I knew that doing OAMC with a friend was the better way to go, so we made a plan to do so. Picking out the recipes was the most fun. Some recipes we chose included: beef chimichangas, apricot chicken, pizza rolls, chicken enchilada casserole, shredded barbecue pork, and hawaiian chicken. We decided only to do 22-24 meals the first time to ease into it and I am glad we limited it. OAMC is one of those things that become easier every time you do it. I did manage to do my 22 meals, although one meal was a bust and I had to throw it out. The cooking day was long although not as hard as I thought.

It was all worth it though. When I open my freezer and see all the foil trays lined up with healthy, homemade from scratch dinners, I get a little giddy. I even have each dinner marked on the calendar (I love love love iMac's calendar program!) so I don't have think about it. All I have to do is just look at the calendar, pull out the correct meal the night before, thaw and reheat in the oven. I will use 5 meals each week and the other two nights we will have a meatless dinner such as spaghetti, rice and beans, bean burritos, pizza, etc. 4 weeks of no dinner hassle, that rocks!

Labor Day Swim

Hello! I apologize for being so behind on my blog. Going from PC to Mac is harder than I thought. Old habits really die hard. Add the fact that I using software with icons so different than what I am used to and you can imagine that this is a slow going process. It took me longer than I should to figure out how to save my photos to a web-friendly format with my new software, whew. I love it all though.

Look for a big post from me on Sunday about my first adventure with OAMC. If you don't know what OAMC stands for, you will have to read my blog to find out.

In the meantime, here are some pics from Labor Day. We spend the day at the beach on the lake, it was wonderful. Perfect weather too. Click on the photo to see it bigger.



I love this photo!

Bento catch-up

Teriyaki Rice with Spam
Papaya
Edamame beans
Homemade mochi cakes with red bean in the middle



Spaghetti with parmesan cheese and butter
Fruit salad
Tomoto, black olive, and cucumber salad with dressing
Ham and cheese cubes



Sandwich
Plum
Carrots

As you can see in this last photo, bentos don't have to be made from exotic ingredients. It is totally adaptable to what foods you and your kids will eat.

Moonlight painting

Andrew had a little fun with long shutterspeed and a full moon. The 'A' is made from the moon. Cool.

Bird in hand

As part of Andrew's Father's Day gift we gave him a seed bird feeder and a hummingbird feeder (see below). Bird watching has become a family hobby, even the kids get excited to see the birds and they can identify many varieties. The hummingbirds are a big favorite of ours because they come close to our windows and we can see them better. We actual got a much closer view than we ever dreamed of yesterday. When Brianna went out to the garage to get something for me, she came running back to let me know a hummingbird was trapped in our garage. Andrew was able to rescue the bird and we all got a chance to see her up close. The bird had tired herself out trying to escape and this made her calm in Andrew's hand. Pretty cool!

Oh the anticipation!!!!

Tonight feels a lot like Christmas Eve to me. The kids have been tucked snugly in their beds and I have butterflies in my tummy, so excited for what tomorrow brings. Except tomorrow is about only one present . . . my new iMac. I saved my birthday money and then some for this darling. Now I do love pc, particularly Dells, but my photographry work just screams to be handled on a mac. I do believe that it is a perfect solution to my needs.

You, the reader, should be excited too since it means that I will back to my regulary scheduled blog posting with pictures! Woohoooooo!

440 and other blog happenings

What is so special about 440 you ask? Well that is the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop according to Arick. After church on Sunday he came up to us with a bright orange tongue and so excited to share his discovery!

As for other blog news, well you may have noticed that I haven't blogged as frequently lately. I have a good reason. You see, my computer has run out of memory. I can't download any new photos and I definitely can't edit my photos. So until I get my new computer (a new iMac woohoo!) I won't be able to work on the pictures to put on here. Unfortunately the computer won't be here for 7-14 days so you will have to be patient ... and so will I, ugh.

EDIT: Amazon's shipping estimate was WAY OFF, which is a great thing. It came on the 29th, woohoo!

Ty's first pony ride

Last Saturday we went to the fair near here. Why we ever thought that going to the fair would be fun in 100 degree weather, I will never know. We did try to make the best of it. I loved visiting the competition building and seeing the photo competition entries. My goal is to do this next year. Hopefully that goal will help me take my learning more seriously. As part of our short trip we let the kids each ride one ride. Brianna and Arick rode a Superman-style ride and they had a great time. Ty was too little so he decided to ride a pony. He loved it too! With one ride each and some yummy fair food (gotta have my gyro!) we left the fair. Hopefully next year we can enjoy the fair a lot more. This heat wave/drought is such a bother!

Ham and Cheese Bentos

Here are two bentos, the left one is from last week and the one on the right is from today.

Left: Pepperoni, Provolone and Canadian bacon with crackers, fruit salad and carrots
Right: Ham cubes with cheese cubes on toothpicks, green peas, rice with a nori star, and fruit salad

Assembly time for 2 of each bento was less that 10 minutes both days. All fruits/veggies had been cut earlier in the week and I bought the ham already in cubes. The cheese was actually cheese (the lower fat version to be healther) sticks that I sliced into 1/2 inch pieces. The rice and peas were leftover from dinner the night before. Easy peasy!

So do you like seeing bentos on my blog? I don't want to inundate you with all things bento. I could make a new blog for bentos only, but having just this one blog would be easier. Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Happy 1st Birthday Ella!

Yesterday Ella 'celebrated' her first birthday. The poor little bugger has a cold and wasn't feeling so great, that is why she isn't smiling in the photo. She did manage to enjoy the cake though as you can see in the picture below.

It is amazing so me how much Ella has changed in the last month. She is saying the words: mum, dada or daddy, hi, ooooh, uh-oh. She is also trying to say the words Nana (for Brianna), Arick, yum, and more. She can mimic the tone correctly but does not enunciate. She can wave hi and blow kisses which is just so cute! She is eating more and more solid food and is not picky about what we give her. She will drink juice from a bottle, but refuses to drink formula or milk. She has 2 teeth with 4 more on top coming through. She is getting more confidant with her walking as well and can stand alone for few minutes before sitting down. She is growing up too fast!