2009 July

What I Learned This Week: Strawberry-Blueberry Cream Trifle

July 28, 2009 By speppel 4 Comments

I learned that people LOVE strawberry trifle for a summer treat!

This last weekend, I promised to bring a dessert to a local picnic. I don't have a picture but the trifle I altered from a Pampered Chef recipe turned out great! It was the perfect light treat for a hot summer picnic and was devoured.

Here it is:

1 Large Angel Food Cake

1 Qt. Fresh Strawberries

2 Qt. Fresh Blueberries

1 container (16 oz.) frozen sliced strawberries in syrup, thawed (optional)

1 lemon

3 containers (8 oz. each) blended strawberry yogurt

2 pkgs cheesecake instant pudding

1 container (16 oz.) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided

Cut angel food cake into squares and set aside. Juice lemon and whisk with yogurt and pudding mix until smooth. Fold in 1 cup of whipped topping.

Set aside a few strawberries to decorate the top and mix the rest of the fresh strawberries with ones in syrup.

Put one-third of angel food cake into trifle bowl or clear bowl. Cover with one-half yogurt mixture. Sprinkle with a layer of blueberries followed by a layer of strawberry mixture. Repeat step to create second layer. Cover with final third of angel food cake. Use pure whipped topping to cover the top and then decorate with strawberries and blueberries as desired.

ENJOY!

For more What I Learned This Week, head over to Jo-Lynne's at Musings of a Housewife.

Filed Under: What I Learned This Week

BlogHop '09

July 23, 2009 By speppel 16 Comments

Nope, I won't be at BlogHer in Chicago this weekend SOOOO I'm not sitting here crying myself to sleep because I am officially joining the next BEST thing which is BlogHop09 hosted over at my dear friend Robin's blog Pensieve! I don't have to leave the house, deal with planes, hotels or even crowds of crazy bloggers! (Maybe next year . . .)

SO, if you are NOT going, kick back with a cup of your favorite Java brew and enjoy the online party! If you are going, have an absolute blast. I can't wait to hear all about it.

Robin is hosting contests galore with lotsa prizes, but you can click here to enter a double giveaway for a Trix Swirls art set here at Genesis Moments!

A little about me: I started Genesis Moments last year as a way to grow my writing practice and get to know other women in the blogosphere. I enjoyed it SOOO much I decided to keep this blog as my personal one and open a more "businessy" one to host the columns I write for the local paper. Those do go online but I thought I could categorize my topics and make them more user-friendly over time by putting them on one blog called DIYFrugal, my new blog baby.

Blogging has been a wild ride and I am ever grateful to my dear friend, Jo-Lynne, over at Musings of a Housewife for getting me started! She is my bloggee mentor!

To read 100 Things About Me (if you really feel like it -no pressure), click HERE!

So, what do you enjoy the most about the blogosphere? What do you think about it's the dramatic explosion?

Filed Under: blogging

What I Learned This Week: Motorcycle Riding

July 21, 2009 By speppel 11 Comments

I learned that I love riding on the back of my husband's motorcycle! Last week when I got home from our big trip south, everything I tried seemed to mess something else up – crashed the computer, clogged the sink, etc. – you get the picture. I called my husband at work and said I need to get out – that I wanted to ride his motorcycle. He had me at the cycle shop within the hour on his lunch break buying a helmet. What fun!

Here we are!

For more "What I Learned This Week" head over to Musings of A Housewife.

Filed Under: What I Learned This Week

Trix Swirls Art Set GIVEAWAY

July 18, 2009 By speppel

This Contest is Closed. Thanks for stopping by! Denise & Gina won! Thanks & enjoy.

This week I received the Trix Swirls^® which combines two mouthwatering fruity colors into every fun puff that will satisfy kids´ taste buds and spark their creativity! Immediately, my kids grabbed them from the box and said, "What are these?" Filling a bowl with the crunchy breakfast cereal, we poured on the milk and scooped up a spoonful. Hmm. . . let it linger on the tastebuds for a minute . . . YES, that same fun Trix taste I knew growing up but improved.

A good source of calcium and vitamin D, the Trix Rabbit won´t be the only one who can´t resist these fruity combos, which include lemony green, berry berry blue, and rasporangey orange!

This week, in partnership with MyBlogSpark, I am giving away not ONE but TWO Trix Swirls^® Creative Kid gift baskets that includes a VIP coupon for a free box of the product along with a colorful apron, a set of watercolor pencils, watercolor paints, brushes, a sketchbook, and an art supply box.

Just leave a comment here as many times as you want until Wednesday, July 29, 2009. In your comment, let me know how you or your kids think the colors got all mixed up!

Tweet it, blog it, yell it across the room for more entries (just come back and let me know!)

Winners will be notified via snail mail within 48 hours. Any unclaimed prizes will be given to another commentor after that time.

**I also learned that a fun video contest is going in conjunction with the Twix Swirl roll-out! Click HERE to learn more! Play games with your kids and the silly rabbit HERE at Rabbitropolis!

Filed Under: Contests & Giveaways

Lunch with Frank Lagudi, founder of the SOC Exchange

July 16, 2009 By speppel 1 Comment

Tired of E-bay fees or entries getting quickly buried on Craiglist? Selling products online just got easier. The SOC Exchange has arrived.

Sarah Freymoyer and Shannon Ott of Chester County Moms.com and I ate lunch with Franco Lagudi of the SOC Exchange, a new website for selling everything from jewelry to cars. We delighted in tantalizing entries at Roy's Restaurant in Philadelphia as we talked to Lagudi and enjoyed catching up with other mom bloggers from the area who were also invited to hear about the new, economical way to make money and offer resources in today's economy.

“Only one dollar a month or ten dollars a year,” said Lagudi, sharing his vision for a new site which eliminates the complicated fee system of E-bay and provides a free non-auction site like Craigslist. “It is straight selling but you can haggle.”

When asked the benefits of this new site, Lagudi adds, “You get your own website, blog, RSS feed and more. There are many value added tools that help you create your own store for selling items. This is E-bay for today's economy.”

For more of this article, hop over to my new site DIYFrugal. It will also be published on Chester County Moms which has many great local resources!

Filed Under: Frugal Living

Works for Me Wednesday: DIY Frugal

July 15, 2009 By speppel Leave a Comment

It works for me to participate in this carnival today BECAUSE I have been working this week on a new site called DIY Frugal to categorize and house the weekly articles I write for our local paper on Frugal Living. These articles will also be on Chester County Moms for Frugal Finds Friday.

But, the best part is that you can be of help! I am building a blogroll in the right sidebar of frugal bloggers, money-saving books, financial gurus, money-saving communities, and coupon sites. I will unabashedly say this is totally self-serving since I want one place I can find money-saving resources. BUT, the second best part is that you will have it at your fingertips too.

For a year, I have run Genesis Moments as a personal blog where I cover pretty much any and everything but I am excited to have a secondary "business" blog with a focus that is also a resource for YOU, the reader. I will continue to run this site so that my parents can see my kids and so that I can share inspirational moments as God blesses me with them. This will be my "homegirl" blog.

BUT, back on topic, I would love to hear from you: What have I missed? Where do you go online for great money-saving tips? Do you use twitter to find coupons and deals?

Hop over to DIY Frugal today and let me know what I can do to make this resource more effective for you!

Ohhh, I forgot to mention a big THANKS to Beth at Rolemommy for an opportunity THIS THURSDAY to meet Franco Lagudi, the founder of the SOC Exchange (think E-bay meets Craigslist). I'll be interviewing him for an upcoming frugal article.

NOW, click HERE to enter my Chex Mix Turtle Bar GIVEAWAY! And, of course, for more Works for Me Wednesday entries, head back over to We Are THAT Family for lots of good reads.

Filed Under: Works for Me Wednesday

Review: Nature Valley Nut Clusters

July 14, 2009 By speppel Leave a Comment

MyBlogSpark is sending me all kinds of goodies this summer! I received 4 bags of Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters – each with a slightly different mixture of nuts — and I have been taste-testing them daily for a couple of days now. The resealable bags make them so easy to dip into, throw in a pool bag or carry around in the car from errand to errand.

I have one problem with these little nut clusters — they are all so delicious, I can't decide my favorite. They are the perfect size for snacking. With 7-8 equalling a serving and only 140-160 calories/serving, they are perfect for a quick pick-me-up handful. You can't go wrong when you mix honey, granola and nuts. Nature Valley has manufactured just the right amount of crunch combined with the chewiness of the nuts to make you feel you are getting a substantial, taste-bud satisfying snack without eating a large proportion.

The Nut Lovers includes cashews, pecans, peanuts, granola and a touch of honey. Though they all taste a little alike, I could make out the pecan taste in these. (**Read below for info. on the recall on some of these bags.)

The Roasted Cashew bag included roasted cashews, granola and a touch of honey. I loved these for their milder and yet still crunchy taste.

The Roasted Almonds included roasted almonds, granola and a touch of honey. Again, very good and milder, making a delicious snack with no annoying aftertaste or need to run for a cup of water (not that this was true of any of these snacks but of other nutty treats I have tasted that were either too salty or sweet.)

The Honey Roasted Peanuts included honey roasted peanuts, granola and once again, a touch of honey. The peanut taste did stand out more than the nut flavors in the other clusters – but in a delicious, I-know-this-flavor way.

Overall, I give this new snack a THUMBS-UP! Go to the Nature Valley site HERE for a coupon for all of the nutty delights.

(**NOTE: If you heard about the Nut Lovers recall by General Mills, it is only for bags with the following "best if used by" dates: March 7, 2010; March 8, 2010; March 9, 2010; March 10, 2010; and March 11, 2010. No illnesses have been reported and consumers are asked to throw away the bags and contact the company for a refund.)

To be a MyBlogSpark product reviewer, click HERE and sign up today.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Turtle Chex Mix Bars GIVEAWAY CLOSED

July 12, 2009 By speppel

** This contest is now closed. Winners are Leslie and Joey from SC! Thank you so much for playing.

Enter NOW to win 2 boxes of Chex Mix Turtle Bars. MyBlogSpark has allowed me to offer these wonderful new treats to THREE of my readers. Please comment below for your chance to win this brand new product. Tell me what YOU enjoy as a special treat after a long day!

Here's a little about Turtle Bars: This delicious snack combines crunchy Chex pieces, pretzels and peanuts with chewy and indulgent ingredients like caramel and chocolate. And if that“s not enough, they have less than 150 calories per bar and provide at least 8 grams of whole grain per serving (48 grams recommended daily)! A great combination of the ingredients you love, Chex Mix Bars are a tasty treat that will leave you feeling satisfied and guilt-free!

But, what's the real deal? I found the bars to have an interesting salty taste as I first crunched down, followed by a sweet after-taste as each flavor crossed my tastebuds. It was a delightful sensation, ideal for a quick breakfast or afternoon snack!

The bars came in while I was on vacation and my dog (who has a nose for ANYTHING chocolate and gets into it despite our vain attempts to keep it from her) got into the box. Fortunately, it made her pretty sick so she didn't try to eat more than a couple bars – for which I was very grateful – both so that she wouldn't get more sick and so that I would still have a few to taste-test! These bars are definitely for human consumption and that's okay.

Twitter and/or blog this contest for more chances to win — just come back and let me know so I can add those entries in the drawing! Comment as often as you like through July 17.

Head over to MyBlogSpark to register to get your own products to taste test and giveaway!

Filed Under: Contests & Giveaways

Story of My Life: Ed Boyer

July 12, 2009 By speppel Leave a Comment

Here's my latest Story of My Life interview with one amazing and inspiring guy!

Punching in the emergency access code, Ed Boyer connected with his party across choked telephone lines. It was August 29, 2005 and Hurricane Katrina had just devastated the southern coast. Emergency personnel used a special phone number set up by the Federal Government to communicate during a national disaster. Representing the largest charitable air transportation system in America, Ed knew his team would be flying high on this mission and he needed to reach airline pilots and other service providers immediately.

To read the rest, click HERE.

Filed Under: Story of My Life

Frugal: Are Petroleum Prices Pinching Your Pocket?

July 12, 2009 By speppel Leave a Comment

New Phoenix Article:

Are rising petroleum prices pinching your pocket? Whether you are driving to the grocery store or headed out on a summer vacation, there are ways to lessen the impact of gasoline increases on your wallet.

For local gas savings, you hear from experts: carpool with friends to work, take turns driving on shopping trips, and use public transportation.

All of these options take planning ahead and sacrificing the tendency to hop in the car at a whim — something our fast-food generation struggles to give up. At a minimum, make sure to plan your errands to handle several stops in one circuitous route. Build in quick money-saving stops to or from work or other activities.

Read more by clicking HERE. I am sending you to the Phoenix but I am building a site for all my frugal articles over at DIYFrugal where you can sort by category! It is in the beginning stages and I will be looking for contributors so let me know of you are interested!

Filed Under: Frugal Living