Too bad this is so far away...

I saw this and IMMEDIATELY wished they had something like this here in the United States. Teaching my kids about budgets, cost effective vs. cost prohibitive items, etc... has been difficult. I really wish there was something like this "miniature city" here so I could show my teenaged son what real life is like. Watch and see what you think.

Here is the link if you can't see it here.

Vote for us!

Hi Genius Georgia Gals,

Pardon me for self-indulging on this blog . . . but thanks to this great GGG blog, I learned about a recipe contest called Jif's Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest. My daughter Elisabeth and I entered it and she's been selected as one of 10 semi-finalists! It was Jenkinson Family who posted a recipe last fall, and when I visited the site she mentioned, I learned all about the Jif contest. So thank you!

Elisabeth needs your vote so she can become one of the 5 semi-finalists where we'd get to go to New York City in March and compete for the grand prize of a $25,000 college scholarship, (redeemed when Elisabeth turns 18). No kidding!

Vote here for Elisabeth's Peanut Butter Kabob. You can vote once a day, and it ends Feb. 27th. You enter your email address, but you don't have to sign up for any mailing list, etc.

Jif notified us in December about being a finalist, and swore us to secrecy (I even had to sign an affidavit!) They sent a film crew to my kitchen and filmed us making the kabob and interviewed us.

And now we can finally share this exciting news with you all! Online voting starts today and ends next Friday, Feb. 27th, so vote for her Peanut Butter Kabob now!

Healthy Banana Bread

I had a bunch of bananas that were going brown and decided to make banana bread. I knew all the banans would make a lot of banana bread and I wanted to be able to give some to my mom (who really tries to watch what she eats). I found this healthy recipe and decided to give it a try. It turned out really well. My mom came over and we gobbled up a bunch of it. I used the excess batter to make mini-muffins and the kids have been eating them up. It is hard to get them to eat anything healthy, but they both love these. Jake calls them cupcakes. Well, he can have all the cupcakes he wants. Here is the recipe. I doubled it and it made 2 loaves plus about 18 mini-muffins. I had 7 bananas and threw them all in. They turned out so moist.

Ingredients
1/3 c. natural applesauce
3/4 c. brown sugar
3 egg whites
2-3 bananas
1/3 c. water
1 2/3 c. wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix applesauce and sugar.
Stir in eggs then bananas then water.
Stir in dry ingredients.
Pour mixture into a loaf pan and bake 55-60 minutes or until knife comes out clean. (I baked mine for about 50 minutes)

Here are some pictures of how mine turned out.

February Girls Night Out!

Click the video for info.

Details: Friday, February 13 at 7:15. Meet at the Olive Garden in Newnan. Then we are going to see 'New in Town' at the Georgian (by Olive Garden) at 9:40. So come for dinner and a movie. (or one or the other) Leave a comment if you plan on coming so I know how many to expect for dinner. I will try to get there early to get a table for our group. If we have extra time, we can grab some dessert at Cold Stone.

Nails/Waxing?

Does anyone recommend a place or person who does their nails and does eyebrow waxing too? A place in PTC is preferred, but I am looking to treat myself before I have this baby on Monday. I went to a place across from the PTC chapel (Linda's nails) once and it wasn't very good so I am shopping for a new place or someone you go to because they are fantastic. THANKS!!! :)

Help Save the Children's Product Industry

I KNOW THIS IS LONG, BUT WELL WORTH IT.

MY FRIEND MELISSA NASH IS THE OWNER OF KNUCKLEHEADS CLOTHING (knuckleheadsclothing.com) and she posted this to her blog and asked for us all to post this to our blog to help spread the word. PLEASE SUPPORT AND HELP!!!

"As most of you know I own and manufacture a children's clothing business, and as of February 10, myself and thousands of others in the children's industry will be deeply affected financially or will be out of business.Remember the outcry last holiday season over lead in imported toys? In order to combat such safety issues, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has passed legislation called the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA). The law sets stringent guidelines for children’s products containing lead and phthalates (a chemical used in some vinyl products). It is supposed to go into effect February 10th, 2009, and after that date any product intended for children ages 12 and under must meet these guidelines, and have a certificate of compliance from a CPSC-accredited laboratory. This includes not just toys, but clothing, jewelry, blankets, sheets, books, bibs, strollers, carriers, and anything else that a child under 12 might come in contact with.
Sounds great, right?In theory, maybe. But in actuality the law is so far reaching that it may succeed in turning the economy upside down. For starters, the CPSIA requires end unit testing on every product intended for use by children under 12. It is the responsibility of the manufacturer to do this testing, regardless of how small the business. That means that manufacturers (like myself ) will have to pay to get every different product they offer tested. These tests have to be done at a CSPC accredited lab, and cost tens of thousands of dollars. For example if you offer 3 different types of dresses. Each dress contains 2 different fabrics, as well as buttons, and thread, so that's potentially $600 to test one dress. But if you have 3 or more styles, that's $1800. And when you get a new bolt of fabric, you need to start all over again.
At present, there are no exemptions for small businesses and "micro" manufacturers and most handcraft artisans. There is no exception for quantities made, where the garments/products are made or anything else. Nor is there an exception for unadorned fabric components, unfinished wood components, materials which, by their nature, are free of lead and phthalates.Also, the Act takes a "guilty until proven innocent" approach, which would treat a handmade, unfinished wooden toy that doesn't meet the certification deadline of 2/10/09 as a "banned hazardous substance" which would be illegal to distribute in this country. Each infraction carries a $100,000 felony charge. This legislation is also retroactive for any pre-existing inventory as of February 10th, 2009. This means that everything on the shelves in those big (or small) stores will also be "banned, hazardous substances" - contraband.
Larger corporations that can afford testing will incur thousands, maybe millions of dollars in fees, and this expense will be handed down to the consumer, probably making the prices for children's products go through the roof.This also means that after that date, even selling your kids old things on eBay or Craigslist will be illegal. Charities will not be able to accept donations without a certificate of compliance either.
February 10, 2009 is being dubbed “National Bankruptcy Day” by many people in the apparel and toy industry. If this legislation is not amended, it will affect everyone from port workers to parents looking for legal products. Billions of dollars worth of children's products will have to be destroyed because they can’t be legally sold, and this will cause major environmental problems.While I am all for higher safety standards and keeping our kids safe, this law is so overreaching as to put thousands on manufacturers of children's products out of business -hurting our economy and causing even more loan defaults. Though this legislation was well-intentioned, it cannot be allowed to stand as is.Please help us defend the American dream and our entrepreneurial spirit! This law affects every stay at home mom trying to help put food on the table and every grandmother knitting blankets for the local craft fair. It makes the thousands of us who have found a niche in the burgeoning handmade market have to make a tough decision - continue to produce items illegally and possible incur a $100,000 fine, or close up shop and maybe not be able to pay the mortgage this month. Please help us!

Contact your Congressperson using this link: http://capwiz.com/americanapparel/issues/alert/?alertid=12274476
It only takes 30 seconds!If you have an extra minute send a hard copy of the letter as well! To sign the online petition: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA/index.html
Read more about it here: http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/
Please copy and paste this on your blogs, we need all the help we can get!

Say "I Love You" with a FREE 8x8 Photo Book

Shutter fly is offering a FREE 20-page 8x8 photo book (just pay shipping & handling). Simply add your digital photos and journaling for a professional-quality coffee table book sure to touch your valentine's heart. Creating Keepsakes and Shutterfly have teamed up to create an exclusive series of celebrity-designed scrapbook style photo books. These photo books are the perfect way to share heartfelt sentiments with loved ones. Plus, once you have created your photo book, you can order as many as you would like.

To enjoy your special offer:
Visit http://ck.shutterfly.com/inspire/?cid=CKMDJANSVFB
Sign up for your free Shutterfly account (or sign in if you’re already a member)
Upload your photos
Create an 8x8 photo book
Enter promotion code CK47-5YNU-0V0M-DP5ZKV at checkout to redeem your FREE* photo book offer

*Offer expires February 28, 2009. Free 8x8 photo book includes initial set of 20 pages. Offer good on all Shutterfly 8x8 photo books with photo cover. All incremental pages will be charged on a per page rate. Premium licensed photo books (including Martha Stewart Photo Books & Adventure Photo Books), as well as leather and padded photo books are not included in this offer. Taxes, shipping and handling charges will apply.

6 Free Valentines Cards

My friend, Julie, emailed me this deal. Scrapbooksetc.com has an offer where you can design a valentine photo card and order 6 of them for free. Shipping is also free. You don't need to enter any credit card info. Coupon code: valentine. Offer ends Feb. 1.
http://stories.scrapbooksetc.com/shop/cards/valentines/

Slick Deals at Justice For Girls Online

I thought I'd mention that Justice just for girls has their clearance/sale items REALLY cheap online at ShopJustice.com. Plus, if you use coupon code 649 at checkout, you'l get an additional 50% off. I'm not sure how long it will last...so go online today and check it out! We found this (and you can find many more) on http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?t=1138071. Also, the Limited, Too! shop at the Avenues has some great deals on the Limited, Too! brand right now. As of Feb. 1st, they will officially become Justice just for girls. So shop now to get the best deals. Happy Shopping! ~~Jen

Girls Night Out! - This Friday

Some of you already know about this, but I wanted to put the info on here for everyone.

This Friday, January 23rd, we are having a GNO! I have been coordinating this with Jen Schaefer. We are going to La Parilla in Newnan at 7:00. Afterwards, for those interested, we are going to see 'Bride Wars' at 9:30 at the theater by the bowling alley in Newnan. Let me know if you are in so I know how big of a table to get for dinner. (You can just reply to this post and I will get it) Hope to see you there!

Triple Coupons at Ingles

Triple coupon week at Ingles this week. To find what coupons you can use on sale items, you can go to couponmom.com and then go to the online database. You can type in all of the sale items and coupon mom will tell you where you can get the coupons, whether online or in the papers.

Sunday activity for kids

Hi Y'all,

You may already know, but the church has made The Friend interactive online. There are interactive games, coloring (with primary music playing in the background), slide shows, scripture stories, Matt and Mandy, etc. It makes for a fun Sunday afternoon activity for my kids.

Free admission to Callaway

Hi Gals,

During the months of January and February, Callaway Gardens is offering all guests free admission!

Click here for more information.

V8 is great!

Okay, I made this shake today. It was so good and so many options. Here is the basic recipe: 1/2 c. juice, 1/2 c. ice, 1/2 c. fruit, 1 c. yogurt. Blend! I used the Diet V8, and a banana. It tastes really good. You could add in a little wheat germ as well. Lowfat and lite.

Winter Gear Organization

Just a small idea: Gloves and hats and mittens had taken over my coat closet, so I saw a tip in a Julie Morgenstern book and tried it out. An over-the-door shoe rack has helped me keep everything tidy....

This Has To Be a Sin

Another post on Laura's festive treats......

On Christmas Eve I was introduced to a new and irresistable foe: the delicious Oreo Ball. Holy fatness. I curse them! So, I was told that you mix crushed Oreo with cream cheese and shape small balls. Then refrigerate them until firm so the ball will hold its shape when dipped in chocolate bark.

Laura, tell us the recipe in the comments or delete this and do another post. I am stealing all of your ideas here.... Where's that cooking blog of yours?

These were very, very bad. I mean good. But oh so bad.

Cheers!!

I have been out of the blogosphere for a while, but here is a cool thing that Laura did for the Plauche Christmas Eve get-together. When we walked in, the adults were greeted with a festive holiday drink that had layers of red, green, and clear (thus no colored drinks for the spillin' chilluns). It was very cute and can be done with other colors for other holidays. The drink with the highest sugar content is the densest and goes on bottom and layered with the least dense on top (can be a diet drink). I think Laura's was cranberry juice, green G2 Gatorade, and Diet Sprite. The drinks should be poured slowly over ice to disperse them so they do not flow too quickly and mix with the other colors. You could have red, white, and blue on the Fourth. Any other tips, Laura? Anyway... it was very cute. I took pics b/c Laura wasn't even going to blog about it but I thought it Genius Georgia Gals worthy.

Eat out for cheap!

This blog has been dead for a while, so I figured I would share a recent deal that lasts for a couple more days. Restaurant.com is offering a deal for 80% off restaurant gift certificates. If you buy $11 worth of certificates, you get one $25 voucher free. I got $175 of gift certificates for $12. You can buy $25 (normally $10) for $2. This site used to not have hardly any restaurants in the local area. However, when I checked it out again, there were several new restaurants that had been added that are in the PTC/Newnan area. I got $25 gift certificates for Asian Chef Hibachi (Newnan), Grinds and Wines (PTC), Maxwell's (PTC), Marshall's (PTC), Georgia Shrimp Co. (PTC), Sundried Tomato (Tyrone). We already used the one for the hibach place in Newnan and were pleasantly surprised. The place did not seem all that great, but we had the best chef that I have ever had at a Japanese steak house. Note: these gift certificates dictate that you have to spend at least $35 to use the gift certificate. When we went out the other night we ended up spending $25, including gratuity. It was great deal for the meal we got. This is good til the end of the month. It makes dates nights a lot more fun/affordable and encourages you to try new places. The code to get the deal is CELEBRATE. The gift certificates are good for a year after the purchase date. You really can't lose for $2 each.

I am sure now that Christmas is over that there are a ton of deals out there right now. Share the deals you find.

Cool Christmas Lights

There's a house in our neighborhood that has a really cool Christmas lights display, which is animated and set to music. It was featured in the Newnan paper the other day. I recommend taking your family to see it. The family that does it is awesome and has a mailbox set up for food pantry donations while you're there. It's about 5 minutes north of the church in Newnan, off Hwy. 29.

The Yarbrough family has a website about their lights display: http://www.brightonbrittain.com/

Here's the article:

Published Saturday, December 06, 2008

Christmas display has radio music broadcast

The Times-Herald

At the Yarbrough residence in Timberidge subdivision off U.S. 29 North, Christmas begins in March.

"That's when my husband, Loren, starts programming the lights and the Christmas music," said Jenny Yarbrough, 205 Brittain Way.

The Yarbroughs have 50,000 lights set to 128 computer-controlled channels, all set to music. This year's playlist includes "Carol of the Bells," "Wizards in Winter," "Music Box Dancer," Crazy Frog's rendition of "Jingle Bells," "Silent Night" and a nativity narrative.

"We've had Christmas lights for 13 years, but this is our fourth year of animation," said Yarbrough.

The show lasts 15 minutes and has proven to be a big hit, she said.

"Oh gosh, we probably have 300 to 400 cars a night," she said. "Last night was our first night this year and we had 30 to 40 cars, but it really heats up as we get closer to Christmas," she noted last week.

"Thank goodness we live in a cul-de-sac!" she said.

Although she admits she's "never asked the opinion" of their close neighbors, no one has complained. In fact, she said, they try to go out of their way not to inconvenience anyone.

"I think if our neighbors close their blinds, they won't even know we're here," she said.

There is no loudspeaker system, she said. Instead, the Yarbroughs have a tiny broadcast radio station in their home, and they send out the signal to anyone who cares to listen.

"We tell them what station to tune to, and it's on a continuous loop," said Yarbrough.

This year the Yarbroughs opted for professional voice-overs, which make for a more thoroughly entertaining program, she said.

"It says, 'Welcome to the home of the Yarbrough Christmas Light Spectacular!'" she said.

The display is red and green this year and consists of driveway arches, leaping arches, and a "mega-Christmas tree surrounded by 12 mini-Christmas trees."

The Yarbroughs are raising money this year for the Coweta Community Food Pantry.

"We've set up a donation box," said Yarbrough. "Last year we did one night for ACE. This year we decided, times are tough, the shelves at the Food Pantry always seem to be bare -- if people can afford a few dollars to try and help some people out, why not?"

People often want to donate to offset the costs of making the display, she said, so it seemed like a natural thing to do.

"We don't want to make any money off of it. This is our hobby," she said. But some of her husband's friends have collected as much as $15,000 in past years with their light displays, so they're hopeful they can raise some badly-needed funds for the food pantry.

"If we collect even a few hundred dollars, we'll be happy," she said.

It takes about 300 hours of programming time to set up the light display, she said, "and we started carrying up lights from the basement on Nov. 1."

The whole house is now in LED, she said, which saves on electric costs.

"But since we're a programmed display, very rarely are all the lights on," she said. "So our power bill is way less than you might expect, because they're always moving."

The Yarbroughs have no intention to slow down, she said.

"We're already talking about what we're going to do next year."

---

Nights of Lights

Other displays on the list so far:

• Brian Todd and Harris Smith’s families combined displays at 1331 and 1341 Bethlehem Church Road. The lights surround a lake.

• Hugh Nash and family, 50 Canterbury Drive, Grantville. Lights are on from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. or “until about 10” on the weekends.

Linda's Playhouse

Okay so Peachtree City has its own "Hands on" children's musuem. The website is http://www.lindasplayhouse.org It is $5.00 a visit for child, mom is free or you can join as a member. It looks like fun. They also have a calendar of events. It's located in the white house diagonal from Publix just before you enter Fayetteville on Hwy 54.