I have a really cute giveaway going on over at FabGrandma Reviews right now thru 4/4/2011! If you have a granddaughter age 2-5, you gotta go take a look!
Adorable!
Reviews
I Have A New Review Up I Want Y’all To Go Look At
If you are like me and use zip lock bags for EVERYTHING in your kitchen, you will appreciate The Bag Holder. Just go over to my review blog and take a look. Please. I don’t ask y’all to go look at everything I talk about over there, but I like this product, and think it is so simple it’s a wonder no one thought of it before now.
I’ve Been Busy Writing
One of my friends sent me an email asking where the heck I’ve been, since I haven’t been writing much here at FabGrandma. Well, I’ve been busy! In addtion to still tweaking my new site here behind the scenes, I have contributed to a couple of other places. And, in case you haven’t noticed, I have that review site to worry about too. I’ve written a few reviews over at FabGrandma…Reviews and at MomGadget. If you want to look around at what I’ve been up to, just click on the links below:
Manischewitz Foods Gluten Free Products
Give Wink Children’s Furniture
About.com Grandparenting Technology
I have two more articles planned for About.com, and some other things in the back of my head. As if I needed another project, today I was invited to join a group called We Write For 10, which means we get a topic each day to write about for 10 minutes. Gaaaa! I know I can do it, but I am still asking myself why on earth I agreed to that. Maybe it is my ADHD, or my Gemini personality???
And that’s not all. I am almost finished with the baby quilt–I hope to be able to show the completed project by next week. All I really have left to do is the hand sewing on the binding, but that stinking arthritis in my hands has been bothering me for the last couple of days. When that happens, some days it feels like I have two useless clubs at the end of my arms–can’t do any sewing like that! I can type, but can’t hold that little needle.
I got orders for two men’s aprons, and have one cut out, and looking for a piece of fabric to match the one I have already to be able to get the other one cut. That project is next in line after the baby quilt. And then, I will start the machine sewing on my own quilt. It’s all cut, ready to go, just looking for time, hahahaha.
Here is a funny from real life: Today, FabGrandpa and I were in Wal-Mart. I was looking at pots and pans because I wanted a deep sautee pan. He said, “You need to get a new metal spatula for me to use when I cook.” And I looked for one but did not find it. And it did not really dawn on me until later, when we were almost home, and I started laughing out loud. He asked “What’s so funny?” and I said, “It just occured to me that you never cook!”
Let Me Tell You About My Week
Monday turned out to be the only slow day we had. On Tuesday, we had to drive over to Marion, about twenty five miles away, to take those little sample cards the doctor always wants you to take home, and, um, fingerpaint. You know the ones. For the stool samples. They didn’t give me a mailer envelope to send them back and when I called and asked what to do with them, they told me I had to bring them over there. It was a nice enough drive:
OK, so it wasn’t. It rained on us there and back. But the scenery was like this all the way. This is the Correta Scott King Memorial Highway. Marion is the county seat of Perry County, where she was born.
On Wednesday, the UPS guy showed up with a big box of goodies from Mixes From The Heartland. Since I write reviews for my own FabGrandma Reviews and for MomGadget, I often get things in the mail to try and review. But this was a big box! I couldn’t believe that she sent me all this stuff! I’ll be writing reviews of some of these next week.
Back in November I had entered a gluten free recipe contest. That contest was sponsored by Glutino, and the grand prize was a years supply of their gluten free pretzels. I happen to LOVE those pretzels. I eat them for a snack in the afternoons when I am working. I also use them crushed up as a topping for casseroles. I entered my famous squash casserole recipe, and I won that grand prize. When they say you win a years supply, that means they give you 52 bags of them. They are shipping them to me 12 bags at a time, one every twelve weeks for a year. So, on Thursday night, my new boyfriend, the UPS guy, showed up again, with the first box of pretzels:
FabGrandpa was not as happy as I was. He was asking me where the heck I was going to put all those pretzels. I told him not to worry about it, because I would find a place. I could put them under the bed you know. I also plan to send a couple bags to my daughter, Becca and a couple to my friend’s granddaughter who was just diagnosed with celiac a couple of months ago. I am quite sure I can eat them all up by the time the next case arrives.
On Friday morning, we had to drive up to Tuscaloosa for FabGrandpa’s eye exam. He has a cataract and needs surgery for it. After they looked him over, they told him he has to go to a specialist in Birmingham, so we are waiting for them to call us with the appointment date. Look at those peepers!
Friday night my boyfriend showed up again. This time, he had three huge boxes for me. I had been talking to a company about doing some reviews of their products, and I thought they would send me a couple of things, you know, like maybe a box of cookies or a can of soup or something. Well, they sent me a whole CASE of every item they make that is gluten free. And now FabGrandpa is about to poop a brick, because there is nowhere to keep all that stuff in our little travel trailer.
See those three humongous boxes? they were all full. It is a very good thing that there is a maintenance shop behind our camp host spot here. Ha, ha, ha, I was laughing, and feeling very blessed that I received all that stuff, and he? Well, let’s just say he wasn’t. I think he’s jealous of the boyfriend, he he he. So, I will be doing some reviews of those products too, next week at both FabGrandma Reviews and at MomGadget, and I’ll be having some give aways to kick off my new website. I guess I finished that just in time!
A Piece Of Heaven Arrived In The Mail
When the FabGrandpa picked up our mail at the lodge on Friday, there was the box we had been waiting for. It contained a package of lasagna from Food Matters. I had read about Food Matters over at Celiac Chicks, and again in a Celiac Disease group on Facebook, and was debating on whether or not to order some, when Vanessa emailed me and asked if it would be okay for her to send me one. Honey, y’all have got to get some of this stuff!
It arrived in a styrofoam cooler inside the cardboard mailing carton, and was still cold when I got it. It’s not frozen, but fresh and ready to heat up in your oven. As I am a curious old lady, I put it on my digital scales (Yes, I do just happen to have a digital postal scale just sitting around the house, thank you very much. I use it to measure my ingredients for my home made soaps). It weighed in at a hefty 2.o8 lbs, more than enough for two people to have a very filling dinner, or for one person to eat four servings.
The version Vanessa sent me was the meat and vegetable lasagna. It does have cows milk in it, but I do not have a problem with milk products, so it was good for me. If you can’t do dairy, she makes a version that is casein free. To see the ingredients better, just click on the picture below to make it bigger.
This is what the lasagna looked like out of the box. All I had to do was turn on the oven, put the package on a baking sheet, and set the timer for 40 minutes. (I always start with the least time the first time I cook something because my tiny little oven has strange temps sometimes.)
I made some of those yummy garlic cheese biscuits to go with, and if I had had some salad fixings I would have had that too, but I am out in the country miles from a store…
Which brings me to another thing I want to point out: If Vanessa can deliver this stuff to ME, out here in a travel trailer at a state park on top of a mountain in Georgia, she can deliver it anywhere.Ok, so about an hour later, I took it out of the oven, and served. See how delish this looks? I was very good, and the only clean-up I had to do was toss the pan in the trash.
FabGrandpa, who has no dietary restrictions other than the ones I impose on him because I am the cook and I only cook gluten free, enjoyed this dinner very much. He told me to e-mail Vanessa and tell her she didn’t send enough!
Oh, and (hint, hint) all you FabChildren out there: This would make a great birthday present or Mother’s Day Gift for your FabMother. Just click here to order.
