Looking for a way to earn some extra money? Being a TSG Consultant allows you to take your passion for food and share it with your friends while having fun. You can earn extra income with a flexible schedule and enjoy discounts on fabulous TSG products. With TSG, you can grow your business at your own pace. You decide how much you want to earn. The more you do–and the higher leadership level you pursue–the more you earn. Since Two Sisters Gourmet is a fairly new company, this is a great time to get in on a ground-floor opportunity.

Two Sisters Gourmet offers you five ways to earn:

• Lead party experiences
• Conduct Fundraisers
• Collect reorders personally or through your website
• Sponsor and support new Consultants
• Develop a team and become a Two Sisters Gourmet Leader

I would love to help you build your business. Two Sisters Gourmet offers great hostess and customer incentives that don’t come out of the consultants’ pockets. Additionally, consultants earn business credits on party sales. The business is really easy; everything is laid out for you through online training and in the Welcome Kit. Although Two Sistes Gourmet is a new company, it offers many of the benefits of a more established company–benefits like fabulous incentives (trips, cars, jewelry), 24/7 ordering on your very own website, and fabulous training and support.

If you’re interested in this ground-floor opportunity, feel free to check out my website. I’d love to have you on my team!

If you are looking for a way to bring a little gourmet to your everyday cooking, look no further than Two Sisters Gourmet!  Many of us are looking for ways to cut costs; by purchasing just a few items from Two Sisters Gourmet, you can cut your fast food and restaurant expenses.  Many people make a run for the drive through or reach for their carryout menus when they’re too tired to cook.  Two Sisters Gourmet enables you to take a few items from your pantry and whip up a delicious, quick, and easy homemade meal for far less than you’d spend at the local takeout place.

For example, just the other night I was feeling a bit tired and didn’t want to go to a lot of trouble for dinner.  So, I pulled out some thinly cut pork chops, rubbed them with a little of Two Sisters Gourmet Peppery Herb Rub, threw them in the pan and cooked them ’til done.  While they were cooking, I put a little of the Blackberry Cherry Pepper Conserve into a microwave safe bowl and heated it just a bit.  I threw together a salad (thank goodness for those bagged salads!), and voila, dinner was done.  I plated the pork chops with a bit of the conserve on top as a sauce.  Sooo good, let me tell ya!  And it tasted like I went to so much trouble.

Another quick and easy dinner option is to whip up some Asian noodles.  Boil up some spaghetti, defrost some frozen stir fry veggies and toss in some chicken (in a pinch, use rotisserie chicken, or those chicken strips that come already cooked).  Pour over some of Two Sister’s Island Ponzu Dipping & Grilling Sauce, or some Peanut Ginger Marinade.  Your family will think you were in the kitchen for hours; no need to tell them it took all of 10 minutes and cost very little!

I am currently planning an Easter playdate for a variety of ages. I thought I’d share some of the activities we’ll be doing. I thought I’d start out easy with a coloring page or two while we wait for everyone to arrive. Jan Brett has the most adorable coloring pages. If you’ve never been to her site before, be sure to check it out.

Once everyone has arrived, we’ll do some type of craft. Family Fun (as usual) has some great craft ideas. I am leaning toward these eggs that use tissue paper as the dye. The younger kids can easily make a marbled effect, while the older kids can do some type of actual picture.

Next, we’ll go out in the yard for an Easter Egg hunt. We’ll be looking for sticker and toy filled eggs that we’ll be getting from Oriental Trading. We have a few food allergies, so the toy and sticker filled eggs will work for everyone.

After we finish egg hunting, we’ll head back inside for a snack and a fun game of Bunny Bingo. For the snack, I am leaning towards these cute bunny cupcakes…but I am a bit worried about those pesky food allergies. Perhaps I can have another mommy bring a back up snack…

For the bingo game, I’ll be using this board from the Kaboose site. I will use jelly beans as the markers and the kids can eat them when we’re all done playing.

It’s that time of year…Spring, bunnies, chicks, lambs.  Time to start thinking about how to fill those easter baskets and what to get for that special teacher.  Here are some great items to get you started.

Up first are a couple of items from one of my favorite online stores:  HearthSong…  Both of these retro items will be the highlight of any child’s Easter basket:  

Each of the old fashioned papier mache eggs are filled with 14 German chocolates…yum!  The hollow candy eggs are made using HearthSong’s Peek Inside Eggs Kit.  Each kit makes two eggs.

Plum Party has a couple of items for those of you who would like to make Easter cookies, but aren’t necessarily the baker-type.

How cute is that Easter Cookie kit in the little painter’s can?  It comes with cookie mix, frosting mix, special Easter sprinkles, and a paintbrush for applying the icing. The Easter Cookie Coloring Kit comes with 4 cookies and 2 edible ink markers.  Fun!

Finally, if you’re in a crafty mood, Family Fun is the place to be.  I took a look at their Easter crafts, and my favorite is shown below.

I have to admit, I’m totally guilty of going overboard when it comes to holiday themed clothing. When I was teaching, I had an excuse to buy those goofy holiday themed sweaters for myself…said I was dressing up to make the kids smile. Really, I just love the holidays! Now that I’m staying home, I dress the girls up for the holidays. Let’s face it…kids can wear that stuff and still look adorable. Not so much for me… Here are some of my faves:

The Gap has quite a few different looks. Here are a couple…

The Children’s Place has a few cute options too.

Target doesn’t disappoint with a variety of adorable choices.

Last up is Gymboree. The outfits at Gymboree are by far my favorites, but are also quite pricey. Each outfit is around 80 bucks. Maybe there will be some left on the sale racks after Valentine’s Day and I can score some cute looks for less for next year…just buy a size up from this year and we should be good to go.

A few more ideas for Valentine’s Day.

If you have a toddler, check out this Valentine’s set from Fisher Price’s Little People. It’s $15 and includes 3 figures, a table and chairs, flower stand fence with removable flowers, a mailbox (it really opens!) and some pretend valentines to put inside. The set also includes 6 Valentine cards.

Next up, a gift for the ladies. Check out the Key to My Heart key chain. You choose how many dangles you’d like, what words you’d like on each dangle (maybe your kids’ names?), a Swarovski crystal for each dangle, as well as a charm for each dangle. You can select little picture frames as your charms for an extra charge. There are tons of combinations available (math has never been my strong point!). It comes in a pretty heart-shaped box, ideal for gift giving. The two dangle key chain is $56.

Finally, what would Valentine’s Day be without candy? Head over to Hershey’s. They have a variety of personalized gift options available. My favorite was the Sealed with a Kiss Tower. It comes with Reese’s hearts, kisses, miniatures, and a personalized chocolate card. Yum! And if you’re tired of Conversation Hearts, check out Jelly Belly’s new Conversation Beans. Jelly Belly’s sour flavors come with romantic sayings printed on them…how sweet!

I can’t say enough great things about Carole Peterson’s music. I originally found out about her from a friend who lent me a CD. After listening to it, I immediately went to the website and ordered a copy of Sticky Bubblegum. Unfortunately, I then lent my copy to a different friend and never have gotten it back. Grandma saved the day by sending us Tiny Tunes and Highly Usable Music, All Year Long. And Vivian received Stinky Cake for her birthday this year. So now we just need to replace our copy of Sticky Bubblegum to have the complete Carole Peterson set.

So, what’s the big deal, you may be asking….kids’ music is kids’ music. So wrong! This is fun music that TEACHES! The songs are kind of old school in that they are just her and some simple accompaniment and sometimes you can hear kids singing along with her. It’s kind of like having a really fabulous preschool teacher right in the room with your child. As she sings, your child will learn to follow directions, develop his or her gross motor skills, play with phonics, and just have a good old fashioned good time. If you click on the link to one of the CD’s, you’ll be able to hear samples of the songs. I guarantee you’ll be hooked. She’s just great. So pick some up for yourself, or give a few as a gift. That just gave me an idea…I think I’ll pick up a few copies to have on hand as birthday gifts. Also, if you have a child in preschool- first grade, any of these CD’s would make a great teacher gift. Happy listening!

Today I’ll be writing about some items that I’ve found that have made my life easier or simpler in some way.

SAVE SOME SPACE!

My mom bought me this set of collapsible measuring cups…I love, love, love them! They fold down completely flat, thus taking up far less space than your average measuring cups. Yes, it’s the simpler things in life that make me happy. I plan to get the colanders next. What will I do with all that extra cabinet space?

SAVE ON STYLE

I got a set of Temp-tations ceramic ovenware for Christmas and I can’t wait to use it. I really don’t need to save it for a special occasion…it’s affordable ovenware designed to go from oven, to the table, to the freezer. It’s even microwave and dishwasher safe! It looks like a million bucks and most pieces come with their own rattan trivet and iron serving basket. This set has 16 total pieces and is less than $45.

SAVE YOUR NECK

I don’t own this yet, but saw it today on QVC (do we notice a trend here?). It’s a mirror that opens out from both sides so that you can see all the way around your head without holding up an extra mirror. It means you can see what you’re doing back there while drying or styling your hair. Hubby can see his neck and shave it easily. It also has two lights and a 5X magnifying mirror. It attaches easily to most surfaces with suction cups or mounting tape (included). It folds fairly flat when not in use. It’s $31.10.

SAVE YOUR SANITY

The Magellan RoadMate has to be one of the nicest presents my husband has ever bought me. We recently moved to a new city, and this little baby has really helped me find my way around. In addition to your run-of-the-mill directions, it also provides points of interest. For example, while on the road, I could search for the nearest restaurants. I could even type in the name of a restaurant and it would tell me where the next closest one was and how to get there. Best of all, it recognized the traffic jam we were in on I-95 and offered us a detour. Although I doubt we saved any time, we felt better because we were actually driving instead of sitting on the highway. I’d say I use my RoadMate at least 2-3 times a week. I love it! If you belong to Costco, check their site for prices. They currently have a special on these.

SAVE YOUR SOLES

I have had problems with dry feet ever since my first pregnancy. Something about the whole baby process has taken its toll on my tootsies. I tried many creams and lotions and was disappointed in them all. Until I found Kerasal. It rocks! My feet are back to their old pre-baby condition (if not their pre-baby size….sigh…). I love this stuff and I think you will too.

Hey all! Gotta keep this short…I have a new show to watch. Please, oh please, let it live up to my freakishly high expectations…

Anyway, I thought I’d share a few of my very favorite Valentine’s related books.

If you’re looking for books for the 3 and under set, try one of these board books. The first is written by Kevin Henkes, one of my all time faves. It features Lily as she hunts for the perfect hiding place for her Valentine chocolate. The other is by Sandra Boynton, another favorite author. Both of my daughters ask to have this one read to them over and over again.

If you’re hoping for books for ages 4-8, here are a couple of fun reads. In Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink, the main character writes not-so-nice Valentines for a couple of his classmates and then deals with the consequences. And you really can’t go wrong with any of the Junie B. Jones books. Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentime is a great read.

I’m off to watch TV and veg out.  Happy reading everyone!

I love Family Fun Magazine and have subscribed forever. Their website has tons and tons of ideas for Valentine’s Day. Here are some of my favorites.

This Candy Airplane is sooo cute. I am thinking about making them to hand out to my daughter’s class for Valentine’s Day. Check the site for directions. Materials needed include a rubber band, smarties, life savers, stick of cinnamon gum, and some heart stickers.

These also look really cute, fast, and easy. You just need a small bag of candy, toy shovel, twist tie, ribbon, and pain pen. Check out the directions at the Family Fun site.

Finally, I saw this method for making heart-shaped cupcakes without having to buy a special pan. You simply take a regular cupcake pan and add a marble or ball of aluminum foil outside the liner to make the heart’s notch.