Something Special Tuesday: 12/21 edition

2010 is almost over, so here's Something Special Tuesday highlights of the year.  Wow, is it Wednesday already?  Sorry.  What would Something Special Tuesday be if not posted on Wednesday...?

Something yummy:  When my husband came home from Costco with a box of these, I completely underestimated how incredibly tasty they could be.  A perfect blend of crunchy and sweet, it's the perfect snack.  And - it's parve (neither meat nor milk)!!!  Really, I look forward to the moment each day when I unwrap the goodness...

Something crafty:  This was a year where I stretched my crafty muscle, with my kids 100% at fault.  By far, this is my favorite crafting tool since I've used it for so many applications.  If you only buy one thing, buy this.  Find a 40% off coupon for Hobby Lobby and grab one.  You'll thank me later.

Something financial:  Thanks to Kosher on a Budget for informing the world about a new daily deals site - jdeal!  Yes, Jews finally have a daily deal site of their own!  But wait Houston Jews - this site is for NY deals and for a few other towns...although there are plans to expand to other Jewish communities.  Why don't we start a campaign to bring jdeal to H-town?  We certainly have a few eateries to choose from (more on that in a future post) and there are plenty of business owners who I'm sure could use a boost to their business, so why not?  Let me know if you're interested in starting a grassroots campaign.
 

Something spiritual:  Thanks to Creative Jewish Mom for posting these beautiful posts about Jewish parenting and how we can bring down the lessons of the weekly parsha into our homes and apply them to our lives as parents.  The posts are short and to the point and as usual, there is always something in the weekly parsha that speaks to something that has happened to us this past week (how does that happen??).  I should also read them more often and hopefully you will enjoy them too.

Something Special Tuesday: 12/1 edition (I know, late again...)

Ok ok ok  - I'm sorry.  Time has been running away from me.  Alright - lets get to it:

Something yummy:  We make our own cream cheese!!!  All we do is strain the yogurt for a VERY long time (like, all day) in a cheesecloth bag (picked up this one) and at the end, we have beautifuul creamy goodness.  Easy?  Definitely.  Tasty?  You bet.  Just like Philadelphia cream cheese?  No, but it's very tasty and we haven't bought cream cheese in a while...Next up, homemade mozzarella.  That's right.  We received a gallon of raw milk, so what else to do with it but make homemade mozzarella....will let you know how that goes (it can be done!!).

Something crafty:  I'm so excited that I found this site.  I already found several projects I'd like to do, and I love that they are relatively easy and designed by a non-crafter like me!!  Ok - yes - the site is written by a very Christian person, but that's ok!  Crafts are crafts!!

Something financial:  Read, enjoy, save, become rich.  Easy, right?

Something spiritual:  I found this essay to be incredibly moving.  I love learning new things!  I never thought about the significance of oil.  Thank you Rabbi Jacobson!!

Something Special Tuesday - on Wednesday...

Yes yes yes, I know - it's Wednesday.  But - here's what I've got for you:

Something yummy:  Last Friday night was our Tex-Mex Shabbat.  This was the menu:
taco soup - devoured - obviously, I highly recommend
chips & salsa & guacamole
brisket tacos - made up of warmed tortillas, Sour Supreme non-dairy cream cheese, cilantro, diced tomatoes
Mexican rice - courtesy of a friend who shared her family recipe
Fajita veggies - peppers and onions sauteed with a whole lot of taco seasoning
I also made chicken drumsticks and chicken breast with taco seasoning in case someone wanted chicken.
And - watermelon for dessert.
It was - AMAZING!!

Something crafty:  I still need to make those Shabbat counselor tags for my synagogue's Mini Minyan, but for Thanksgiving, we're going to do some fun Thanksgiving-related crafty edibles.  Hopefully I'll snag some pics and post them.

Something financial:  Well - I just WON a giveaway on a blog!!!!  That rocks!!!  Thanks Kosher on a Budget!!

Something spiritual:  It's Thanksgiving, and I love seeing people get together with family and friends and share a special meal and memories.  But - what makes me sad is that apparently people do this so infrequently?  We are so fortunate to celebrate Shabbat every week, with its Thanksgiving-style meals, and we do surround ourselves with family and friends every week, so while I love Thanksgiving and how fun it is and all of the food, personally, I give thanks that I do this every week no matter what, and I don't have to wait for a special date on the calendar to give thanks for what I have.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Something Special Tuesday: 11/15 edition

Ok - sorry that I haven't posted anything recently.  There were some other things in my life I had to attend to (like sleep, for example, since a certain son of mine recently decided that 5 am is a good time to wake up).

In honor of Tuesday, here are some special things:

Something yummy:  Here's a personal confession.  Tonight was Manwich night, and there was nothing gourmet about it!  I took the easy way out and knew that it would make my husband happy, so I sauteed some yummy ground beef and poured in the can.  Didn't even make any vegetables to go along with it (although the can does promote the full serving of veggies inside the sauce), although I did serve the saucy beef with brown rice and sliced up a tomato.  Could I have done better?  Probably.  But I was in and out of the kitchen and everyone was just happy tonight.


Something crafty:  My synagogue is starting a new Shabbat morning children's program and we have a few older kids who may find the program itself too "baby-ish" for them, but may instead want to help out.  The committee named them "Shabbat counselors" and I volunteered to make large name tags for them.  I need to go to a shop to find some pretty paper.  I'll post a photo once I'm done with it.  I hope the girls like them!

Something financial:  This is semi-financial - I discovered (courtesy of Orthonomics) a new blog that is RIGHT up my alley!  Please welcome KosheronaBudget.com!!  This is THE blog I would write if I could, so I am thrilled that someone else did!  I am adding this one to my blogroll!

Something spiritual:  I haven't read anything online that is particularly spiritually moving but I did start learning a how-to book on keeping kosher with a long-distance friend of mine.  The process of learning with her by phone has been spiritually motivating for me, and it completely lifts the rest of my day.  It's also a great way to catch up with her that email and online chat can't really fit the bill.

The Return of Something Special Tuesday

It's been a while but I haven't forgotten about you, dear readers of Something Special Tuesday.  It has returned.

Something yummy:  We've been making our yogurt for a while now, so we're going to step it up a notch.  We're going to try to make homemade cream cheese because we go through cream cheese like it's...water.  We'll try it soon (need to get a draining bag first) and I'll let you know of our results!  We're going to try this recipe first.

Something crafty:  My daughter celebrated her 3rd birthday on Sunday and we had a zoo party.  My husband put together awesome favors consisting of a zoo-theme lunch box, animal sunglasses, animal stickers, an animal whistle, and the actual food.  Lunch, which I took care of, consisted of alligator- and frog-shaped sandwiches (cream cheese + cucumber and peanut butter + banana), baggies of veggie sticks, a juice box, fruit skewers (strawberry + pineapple cube + kiwi on a stick) and yogurt dip (with homemade yogurt of course), and the piece de resistance: marshmallows decorated with pink sprinkles + strawberry cupcakes with pink frosting all skewered together. 

The idea for the dessert portion came from this blog post.

It was totally awesome.

Something financial:  As always, I Will Teach You To Be Rich has a great post about the invisible scripts that rule our lives.

Something spiritual:  There are so, so many things that require our attention: work, children, significant others, interesting tv shows, the dishes, our friend's current problem, a new recipe to try.  Usually, in the midst of all this chaos we call life, we forget our center.  Yoga focuses a lot on "finding your center".  So does Judaism, actually.  The Shema prayer helps us to find our center.  It helps us to focus, take a step back, and re-calibrate to what is most important.  Here is a good article to learn more about the Shema.

9/14 Something Special Tuesday update!

Thanks to my husband, I have a new Somethng Crafty for this week.  This just might win the recycling craft award.  This brings Jewish crafts to a whole new level.

If you do this, please send me pictures and I'll post.

Something Special Tuesday: 9/14

Sorry that I missed Something Special Tuesday last week; with all of the Rosh Hashana prep + work, there was just no time allotted for it.  But - we're back this week!  Check it out below:

Something yummy:  When life returns to normal and I won't be cooking Thanksgiving-style meals on a regular basis, I plan on making this taco casserole (kosher, of course!).  And possibly instituting taco night on a weekly basis.

Something spiritual:  Well, check out the Ten Questions for Ten Days posts.  Or anything else on Aish.com or Chabad.org.  Or, and I found this interesting since I have children of my own, read this post about making these holy days meaningful for kids at Beyond BT.

Something crafty:  Ok, all of my creative energy is now being spent in the kitchen.  Sorry.  Come back next week for Sukkah decorations.

Something financial:  Some friends and I initiated a coupon swap.  The idea is that we contribute coupons to an envelope which we pass around to everyone and everyone takes and contributes as much as possible  We're through week 1, so we'll see how this progresses.

Something Special Tuesday

Time for another edition of Something Special Tuesday.  Enjoy!

Something yummy:  I think these Instant Oatmeal Packets are a great idea and I hope to make these in the very near future.

Something crafty:  Find inspiration for Rosh Hashana and Sukkot crafts here.  You won't believe the creativity of this lady!

Something spiritual:  Think you can never turn your life around?  Think again.  Remember this young man's story, thanks to Aish.com for another moving article.

Something financial:  With Rosh Hashana approaching, it's a good time to take stock of your finances.  This article provides advice and inspiration.

Have a great Tuesday!

Something Special Tuesday

Wow, I can't believe it's been a whole week since my last Tuesday post and I haven't added another post.  Bummer.  Where does the time go.

Sorry this is late but here is today's edition of Something Special Tuesday:

Something yummy:  The ladies over at Gourmet Kosher Cooking have posted their best Rosh Hashana recipes.  If you are feeling daring in the epicurean sense, try one of the chefs' posted recipes.  Time to start the meal planning!

Something crafty:  I found this blog that has a bunch of activities geared towards toddlers, the age group of my children, and if you're like me, you're always looking for creative ways to occupy the kiddos.  I haven't perused the entire site yet but I like what I've seen so far.  Of course, crafts are included...

Something spiritual:  As Rosh Hashana approaches, we need to remember that it is never too late to turn towards Hashem, no matter what your background may be.  Read Rebbetzin Heller's inspiring Rosh Hashana article.

Something financial:  I wrote a post about this topic a long time ago, and it's nice to see it repeated by someone else.  Speaking of ethnic, two nights ago I made rice and beans for dinner (with leftover chicken).  I was surprised at how tasty it turned out, and it was very filling.  Not to mention an inexpensive dinner!

Something Special Tuesday: 8/17

Welcome to Something Special Tuesday!


Something yummy: I stumbled onto a blog that has fantastic recipes and gorgeous photography - the best of both worlds!  I made this summer veggie soup last week and I can't wait to make more; trust me, this soup will make you love veggies. 

Something crafty: Rosh Hashana is right around the corner and I love to enhance my holidays with some sort of craft, and this centerpiece from Creative Jewish Mom doesn't seem too difficult to do.

Something spiritual: Need inspiration?  Find it in a 23-year old martyr.  May his memory be a blessing forever more. 

Something financial: For those of you who have always inspired to something greater (monetarily speaking), consider this blog I found and after about 3 months, let me know if you've followed any of the author's tips and how it's worked out for you.

Drop me a line and let me know what you think!  Have a great Tuesday!

Something Special Tuesday

Welcome to Something Special Tuesday!

Something Special Tuesday is devoted to 4 subject areas: yummy, crafty, spiritual, and financial.  Whether or not I add more to the list is yet to be seen.  I will present to you my favorite posts from the blogosphere related to these subject areas and I hope you enjoy the posts as much as I do, and perhaps even get inspired from them.

Caveat:  since I do have a full-time job and 2 little ones under the age of 3 at home, I cannot absolutely promise that I will stick to this schedule every single week, but I will certainly try.

Of course - I would love to hear suggestions!  So here are my picks for this week:

Something yummy:  I made homemade yogurt last Thursday in my crockpot!  Yes, it can be done!  The result is a very creamy plain yogurt with a fresh, tangy taste.  I made it with 1% milk (my first attempt was with whole milk and that got rave reviews).  Now I need to make some homemade granola to go with it...

Something crafty:  Even though I moved in to my office about 6 months ago, I really haven't decorated it much (and the addition of a dry-erase white board last week got me very excited).  I saw this gorgeous mirror and I really plan on making it, especially since it looks super-easy, so even though I totally don't sew, I just love the idea of the colorful rainbow.  And it will really brighten up my office.

Something spiritual:  I get a lot of my inspiration online - there are so very, very many beautiful stories out there - and since we are now starting the month of Elul and the countdown to Rosh Hashana, when this essay landed in my inbox yesterday I knew I had to share it with everyone.

Something financial:  When it comes to saving money, I can't think of anything easier than clipping coupons.  You don't have to be all obsessive about it, and you don't need to spend a lot of time on it, and there are lots of blogs that do all of the work for you so you can just print the coupon or grocery list and go.  Those few minutes spent gathering those coupons, those several dollars saved with each trip to the grocery store, all of that can really add up.  Right now I am averaging a savings of about 30% on my grocery bill.  NOT BAD AT ALL.  This site is a great place to start for coupons and terrific deals.

Let me know what you think!  Have a great Tuesday!