Showing posts with label Friday Favorites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friday Favorites. Show all posts

CSN Stores Giveaway

Well, I'm finally back to give you the sequel to my Shopping, Shopping, Shopping post. I finally decided to purchase a Hamilton Beach 4-quart crockpot. I had a 6-quart, but thought the smaller one would work better for certain dishes and certain occasions.


I ordered the crockpot on a Monday and had it by Thursday of the same week. I put it into use that weekend. I've used it several times since then and am very happy with it. It is just the right size to feed our family and not have too many leftovers. I also love the little gasket around the lid. Some dishes like to sputter as they cook and this prevents that. Oh, and it has clamps to hold the lid on if you want to transport the crockpot. It only has low, high, and keep warm settings. There is not an automatic timer, but I'm usually around to turn it down or off. 


I'm still cruising around the CSN Stores sites to see what else I like. Right now, I have my eye on one of these upholstered headboards.  I think that leather is a great decorating accessory for The Cow Queen.


I'll keep my eye on that one. For now, it is your turn to pick out what you like. The nice people at CSN Stores are going to give one lucky reader of the The Cow Queen, a $35 gift certificate to use at one of their more than 200 stores.


Here is how to enter: (leave a separate comment for each method of entry and make sure I have a way to contact you)

  • Just tell me you want to win
  • Go to CSN Stores and tell me one thing you'd get with your certificate
  • Follow The Cow Queen (or tell me you already do)
  • Post this giveaway on Facebook
  • Tweet about this giveaway
  • Tell me your favorite post from The Cow Queen (This is worth two entries -- leave a separate comment for each entry)



This giveaway will end Friday, November 5, 2010. The winner will be announced Saturday, November 6, 2010. I will used random number generator to select the winner.


I love giveaways so I am linking to I'm Lovin' It, Feature Yourself Friday, and Friday Favorites. 


Disclosure: CSN Stores sent me a gift certificate to try their site and review a product for them on that site. The review on this site was not required or affected by their generosity. CSN Stores is providing the giveaway prize offered above.   



The grass is green. It’s good to be

date Saturday, October 30, 2010
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Mommy World

I've been dying to show you my new office. Well, it's not really an office and it's not really new. (I've had it since September/October 2009) It is really just a corner of the living room, but is sectioned off by a couch. I call it "Mommy World" because it is my space and anyone under 5 feet tall is not suppose to enter ... theoretically.


We have been in our house for almost 7 years. I know, because I gave birth three days later. With a new house, farm, and baby, the finishing touches were put off for a while. That was until last fall. For my birthday, I got an office re-do.


Here's the "before":

Not much of a room. Not much style. Not much fun!


Kids stuff to the left of me ...                                       


Supplies and an attempt at greenery on my right.



Then, 6 years later, Prince Charming invited The Duke of Pearl to come and be creative. (Prince Charming and The Duke of Pearl were diaper buddies. They have known each other that long!) The Duke measured, he sketched, he returned to measure and sketch some more. He matched the current desk color twice and got it to a "T."  Then, for my birthday, I got ... (drum roll please...)




SHELVES!!! SHELVES!!! and MORE SHELVES!!!




There is still kid stuff to the left of me, but it is homeschool-related and organized.


I have a place for books. Not that I ever get a chance to read them, but they have a place.


There are still office supplies to the right of me, but they are more organized ... somewhat.

And I have a place for some of my cows. The cows on the desktop are hand-carved wooden- figures from a 4-H trip to Switzerland, the ceramic cow on the shelf and the one in the print on the wall are Jerseys. See the little silver jug next to the cow on the shelf. That's my Jersey Jug! One of my items of proof that I am The Cow Queen.

One of my favorite things in this space is:
This is a painting of the royal dog, Buckaroo. He turned 13 this spring. He is amazing. I often say that he listens better than the royal children. Prince Charming has had Buckaroo longer than he has had me. We don't know how much longer he will be with us, but he is immortalized on canvas. I know it is probably kind of "redneck" to have a painting of your dog, but I knew it would be a great anniversary/Valentine's Day present. A friend of mine made it from a snapshot of Buckaroo sitting in a field of dead grass. I think she did an amazing job, right down to the white clover.

I'm linking to I'm Lovin' It, Feature Yourself Friday, Make Mine Beautiful, and Friday Favorites.

The grass is green. It's good to be The Cow Queen.

date Friday, June 11, 2010
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Marble Run on the Cheap

Before we get to the matter at hand. I just had to share some of my excitement with you. If you have been following me very long -- well, you couldn't have been for too long -- I've only been at this gig for about 7 weeks. So, if you've been reading some of my Friday posts, you'll see that I link up to other blogs that are hosting blog parties. Well, Rachelle at the Feature Yourself Friday party contacted me last night. She FEATURED ME on her blog today. O.K., so maybe it is not a FEATURE FEATURE, but she mentioned me and used one of my pictures. I'll take that for now! If you're curious, jump over there to see.

Now, on to what you came for ...
The prince has always loved marble runs. You know the little pieces of wood with grooves so the marble will roll down to the next piece and keep going until it reaches the bottom.

Now, being the tightwad that I am, I couldn't see shelling out the big bucks for the fancy schmancy store-bought ones AND ... I thought about all those little pieces scattered on the floor. Well, I held out and never bought one.


My patience (and stinginess) paid off when I found an idea for how to MAKE ONE very cheaply. Here is what you need:
toilet paper roller and/or paper towel rollers, magnet strips, and tape or other decorative materials (if you so choose)


The first thing to do is decorate your tubes. You can use colored tape, markers, stickers ... whatever cranks your tractor. If you are using the rolled magnets like I did, you might want to unroll them and let them relax before the next step.







Cut the magnet strips to the length of the tubes and peel the back off .



Smoosh (it's a technical term!) the sticky side of the magnet against tubes.

When you have all the tubes complete, place the magnetic edge against a metal object. (Our refrigerator was full, so we used the inside of the front door.) Arrange them so the marble can roll down from one tube to the next. We also had a tissue box at the bottom of the run to try to "catch" the marble.

I'm loving my cheap marble run so much that I am linking it to I'm Lovin' It, Feature Yourself Friday, and Friday Favorites. Click over to them to see what other people are doing.


The grass is green. It's good to be The Cow Queen.


date Friday, April 16, 2010
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Picture Perfect

O.K. The pictures may not be perfect, but they are getting better.

Have you ever missed the greatest picture because you had to get so close that the subject left or stopped doing whatever cute thing they were doing? Kids and critters are notorious for this.


Well, I got a new Canon Zoom Lens (70-300mm 1:4-5.6 IS USM) for my birthday last fall. It is amazing. I think the color is more intense and the images seem to be clearer. It has an Image Stabilizer system. That means, I can hold the heavy (relative term) thing in my hand and not have to use a tripod. I've even taken pictures while I'm walking and they come out with no shake! 

We took a hike to the river yesterday. I was able to take pictures of my fellow hikers without needing the tripod. And, I was able to "sneak" the pictures from a distance. Take a look:

They never even knew I was taking the pictures. The little one would have changed what she was doing, and the big one would have been making faces. It was so much easier to capture the moment from a distance.

Here are some other pictures from the farm ...
That would have been one dusty photo, if I had gotten close enough with my other lens!


Some mama cows are like some mama people. If you get too close to their babies, they will get you! This was just close enough!

If I had been any closer to these cows, I may have spooked them and missed the shot.

I'm really loving my new lens!

I'm linking up to I'm Lovin' It, Feature Yourself Friday, and Friday Favorites.  Hop on over to see what other people are loving.

Disclaimer: This is just a blog post about my lens. Canon has no idea who I am. If I dropped off the face of the planet, they would go about business as usual. I wrote this because I love my new lens and am having fun with it. I received no compensation from Canon or anyone else. 

date Friday, April 9, 2010
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Resurrection Cookies

The Queen made cookies similar to these while growing up. We called them "Forgotten Cookies" because you put them in the oven and "Forgot" them overnight. A few years ago, I saw a slightly different version of the recipe and a lesson to go along with them. You can make them any night during Holy Week for Easter preparation.


What you'll need:

pecans (The prince has nut allergies, so we use mini chocolate chips), vinegar, egg whites, salt, sugar

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. DO IT NOW. Don't wait.


Place the nuts (or chips) in a zipper baggy and let children beat them with a wooden spoon. (If using nuts, you want them broken into small pieces. The mini chips are fine if left whole.) Explain that Jesus was arrested. He was beaten by Roman soldiers. (save these for later in the recipe)


Let each child smell the vinegar. Put the vinegar into the mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.


Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.


Sprinkle a little salt on each child's hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers.

Add the sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12-15 minutes until stiff peaks form. Explain the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.


Fold in the nuts (or chips). Drop by teaspoons onto waxed paper lined cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.



Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and TURN THE OVEN OFF.

Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.


You may have to tell the children that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus' followers were sad when the tomb was sealed.

The next morning, open the oven and give each one a cookie. Take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.

Edited to add: This was a basic level of discussion for the prince and princess. You could add scripture study to the discussion for older children ... or even adults.

Resurrection Cookies
1 cup pecans or mini chocolate chips
1 tsp. vinegar
3 egg whites
a pinch of salt
1 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. NOW!
Place nuts or chips into zipper bag and crush with wooden spoon.
Put 1 tsp. vinegar, 3 egg whites, pinch of salt and 1 cup sugar into a mixing bowl. Beat with mixer on high speed for 12-15 minutes until stiff peaks form. Fold in nuts or chips.
Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper-lined cookie sheet.
Put cookie sheets in oven and TURN OVEN OFF!
Leave in oven overnight.

I'm sharing this recipe on Tidy Mom I'm Lovin' It, Bake at 350, Strut Your Stuff, Foodie Friday, and Sweet Thursday. Stop by and see what other recipes and ideas you can find.

The grass is green. It is good to be The Cow Queen.

date Friday, April 2, 2010
comments 6 Comments
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