Free for All Friday-Bath and Body Works Giveaway!

Time for another Free for All Friday! I visited the mall recently and picked up a couple of products from Bath and Body Works for today's giveaway.

One lucky winner in the United States will take home Bath & Body Works® Signature Collection CLASSICS body lotion in the Brown Sugar & Fig scent, and a matching body splash. Total retail value of this prize is $20.

You can fill out the Rafflecopter form below to enter. Good luck!

VeggieTales: Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men Coming to DVD

Our family is a huge fan of VeggieTales®. I also use these DVDs to supplement our Sunday school program. Our students, ranging in age from 4 to 12, love them!

Just in time for Easter, comes a new DVD for your family to enjoy. In, Robin Good and His Not-So-Merry Men, Robin Good has a mission - fundraising from the rich and giving to the poor! But when greedy Prince starts stealing the townspeople's hams, donations are down and Robin's band of friends desert him to give robbing a try. Can Robin overcome his hurt, show his friends what's right and restore the townspeople's hope?

This DVD offers several bonus features, including: "Fun"-Raising with Larry, the Singalong Song, "Things Will Get Better", and Robin Good's Guide to Handling Hurt Discussion Guide. It also has a brand new Silly Song. Run time is approximately 50 minutes.

You can pre-order the DVD from the VeggieTales website.
Does your family watch VeggieTales? Do you have a favorite Silly Song?  I think mine is a toss up between "His Cheeseburger" and "Oh Santa!"

Young Adult Giveaway Hop at Tribute Books Reviews & Giveaways

BLOG TITLE: Tribute Books Reviews & Giveaways

GIVEAWAY ITEM: The two latest young adult ebook releases from Tribute Books: Until Next Time by Amy Lignor and The Priest and The Peaches by Larry Peterson.

GIVEAWAY RESTRICTIONS: None

GIVEAWAY DATES: January 27 - 31, 2012

GIVEAWAY LINK: http://tributebooksreviews.blogspot.com/2012/01/young-adult-giveaway-hop.html

Saving Time in the Kitchen

As I mentioned earlier today, I love cooking and baking. I should have gone to culinary school. I think I would enjoy catering; though I sometimes wonder if you get sick of food after a while.

Over the years I've found ways to help me save time in the kitchen. Here are some things that work for me:

Gather all your ingredients and supplies first

By the time I am ready to make a dish, I have everything right at my fingertips. Whether it's a batch of cookies or stir-fried chicken, I take out all my ingredients, utensils, pans, and bowls first. If a dish requires vegetables like onions or garlic, I slice and dice first, so once it's time to cook I simply toss in what I need to add to the pan.

Put things back right away 

In my mind there is nothing worse than waiting until you're done cooking to put everything away. Put things away after you use them. While your dish is simmering on the stove, put away the ingredients you don't need anymore. When I make stir-fried chicken, I put vegetable oil in the pan, and add onions, celery and ginger. I put the used cutting board that held the vegetables into the sink right away, then the oil and ginger go back into the pantry. I continue this as I add the rest of the ingredients to the pan, so that by the time I'm done, the counter top is almost empty.

Clean up while things are cooking

One thing I despise is coming back into the kitchen after a good meal to a pile of dirty dishes. Just like I put the ingredients back right away, I try to wash the dishes dirtied during food preparation while I cook. The cutting board and knife from the vegetables I used in the stir-fry can be washed while waiting for the chicken to cook all the way through. The small bowl I use to mix the cornstarch and soy sauce can be washed while I am waiting for the rice to finish cooking. It might not seem like a big deal, but it is so much nicer to enter the kitchen to a handful of plates to wash than have an entire sink full of dishes to clean after eating.

I hope you find these tips helpful. Feel free to share some ways in which you save time in the kitchen.

Taking Time for Mom Thursdays

We're back for another Taking Time for Mom Thursday. I just put the finishing touches on a guest post for The Steady Hand Blog that will appear tomorrow. I'm one of those moms who enjoys her time in the kitchen and I love trying new recipes. My mother-in-law is kind enough to share her Greek recipes, but like me, she seasons to taste, so when asked for one of her recipes it usually looks like "a dash of this, a sprinkle of that."

Cooking and baking for your family can be relaxing if you enjoy it. Even if you don't like spending time in the kitchen, when you have a new recipe to try it at least makes cooking fun. Here is my mother-in-law's recipe for pork chops. If you try it, I would love to hear what you think.

Ingredients

4 - 6 bone-in pork chops
Olive oil
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
1 Clove of garlic, minced
Lemon juice

Step 1: Saute chops in large pan on the stove in olive oil and butter. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, oregano and garlic while browning.

Step 2: Sprinkle with lemon juice and cover tightly. Allow to cook on low until done. See recommended temperatures from the USDA here.

Like I said, "a dash of this, a sprinkle of that." When I make this, I use 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and a tablespoon of butter to saute the chops. I use very little salt because pork is salty anyway. I probably add a 1/2 teaspoon of oregano. I am liberal with the lemon juice and my husband usually adds more once they are cooked because much of it burns off. It's important to keep the chops covered tightly so they retain moisture.

I serve this with rice and green beans. I make rice at the beginning of the week in  my steamer and then just reheat what I need during the week. I use the microwave to steam the green beans, then add a touch of butter and salt.

Why I Love Ordering from Land's End

I just had the best shopping experience and I have to tell you about it. One of the last things I did yesterday was place an order at Land's End. Last year had I had bought my girls snow bibs from Land's End hoping I would get a couple of years out of them. Well, the Lil Diva has grown so much since the summer that when she put on her snow bib this past weekend she looked like a stuffed sausage. There's no way she was going to make it through the winter in them.

So, last night I broke down and picked up a new one. As you can see from the picture above, the seat is double layered--so are the knees. They are now on sale for $39.99 (regularly $69.50). I'm hoping by buying a size 14 I might be able to sneak two years out of these. Fingers crossed.

I also ended up buying a pair of Women's Snow Trekker Shoes in True Navy. I used to be the lady with a ton of shoes, but since I stopped working outside the house, I don't feel the need to have a plethora of shoes lining the closet floor. The last pair of shoe boots I bought are probably over a decade old, so I didn't feel bad about replacing them. I would never pay full price for new ones because I'm too thrifty and I don't spend money on myself very often. These were on sale for $28.99 (regularly $59.50). I think I'm going to love them.

But my sale purchases weren't why I was so thrilled with my order from Land's End. In today's email, I received a free shipping offer from them, which also included a free upgrade to 2-day shipping for only $5. I had paid $10.95 for shipping last night, so I figured I would contact them to see if I could take advantage of this special offer. Two things that impressed me when I chatted online with their customer service representative: 1) they had already shipped my purchase so they couldn't upgrade to 2-day shipping, and 2) they credited my account for the full cost of shipping, saving me almost $11.

Some companies might try to haggle with you over the shipping, but I'm glad they did the right thing. I couldn't believe my order was already shipped. I also think it's great that you can chat online with them or video chat with them instead of having to place a phone call. Every company should make this available on their website.


Land's End does not have prior knowledge of this post. I received no monetary compensation to share my experience.

WSJ Wednesdays - Second Edition

In this second edition of WSJ Wednesday, I read an article that concerns America's workforce. Found on the front page of the Marketplace section and continued on page B6, "Your Résumé vs. Oblivion," by Lauren Weber discusses companies using software to sift through job applications.

Applicant tracking systems seem to be norm these days. According to the article, Ed Struzik, an International Business Machines Corp. expert on the systems, says it would be hard to find a Fortune 500 not using one. Knowing that an application is being scanned for "keywords, former employers, years of experience and schools attended," and ranking qualifications solely upon that information, means a potential applicant might not even get a call for a job she could be qualified for if she doesn't craft her résumé in a way that has knowledge of how these tracking systems work. The article also mentions other flaws of these systems, though it also mentions they are not wiping out human screeners entirely, only narrowing a field that is flooded with people eager for work in a weak market.

I have two books here that I plan to review hopefully next month at The Book Connection:  Unbeatable Résumés by Tony Beshara and Cracking the New Job Market by R. William Holland. Scanning the table of contents on each, Beshara's book contains information on these tracking systems and keywords, and Holland's book mentions keywords. Now that I am looking for a job outside my home, I better brush up on how to attract a potential employer in this technology driven market.

How do you feel about the use of applicant tracking systems? How long has it been since you crafted a résumé? Are you afraid your qualifications could be overlooked if you submit an online résumé without knowing how these tracking systems work?