Know When To Relax And Enjoy, Busy Productive Kids At Home, More Frugal Fun Ideas – HBHW Newsletter

June 23rd, 2010

Editorial

Summertime  is a delicate balancing act between rest, relaxation, and being industrious.  I know when summer comes around in the colder regions of the country, it is often looked upon as a time to get things done around the house.  But, there is a time to work and a time to play, and sometimes the two mix.

The article I chose to feature this week is about keeping kids busy with productive, useful things to create at home.   Kids need projects to do that are not only fun, but also provide creative and useful things that they can be proud of. Please take time to check out this featured article.

The inspirational quote and story just made me laugh a little.  I’ve been focusing quite a bit here (in the featured article, resource, and sponsor) on what to do to keep kids happy, entertained, and busy all summer.  But, what parents often long to do is sit back, relax, and let go a little.  I guess what I saw in both the quote and the story was an excuse for us adults to take it easy and not let our chores and tasks overwhelm us.

Those are my thoughts this week. As always, I welcome your comments and suggestions. Feel free to email me at susanne@hillbillyhousewife.com

Warm Regards,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife

Inspirational Quote

A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken.
~James Dent~

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News From The HBHW Club

If you haven’t heard about the Hillbilly Housewife Club, it’s a members only forum packed full of great information, resources, and friendly chit chat about the things we are all interested in – fun, frugal living. Come Join Us And See What All The Chatter Is About!

Keeping kids busy is one thing that my friend Ellen Braun from RaisingSmallSouls.com knows all about.  With our latest resource, FRUGAL SUMMER FUN, we explore all sorts of ideas to help keep your family entertained and happy all summer long.  Without having to take a big, expensive family vacation, you can fill your summer with great moments and great memories.

Frugal ideas which involve both day trips and projects to do right at home are discussed in this informative resource that’s free to our Club members.  If you’d like to have access to this resource, and many more like it, just click on the link and take advantage of our special offer to join the HBHW club. http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

You don’t want to miss any of our informative and valuable resources including meal planning, gardening, making money working at home, saving on utilities, creating a family budget, and a step-by-step plan for getting out of debt. Join the HBHW Club and grab your FREE resource today!

As a special to you, the HBHW newsletter subscriber, you can join for only $10 per month. Click on this link for all the details: http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Still not sure about joining the HBHW Club? How about if I make it real easy. I’ll let you try it out for just a dollar for the first 7 days.

How will you benefit from joining the HBHW Club with this offer?

• For just $1 you’ll have 7 days of access to over 400 great frugal recipes that are tried and true, with a new recipe every day.
• For just $1 you’ll have 7 days to ask your most puzzling frugal homemaking questions – and even get answers!

Join us now and enjoy 7 days of frugal fun. Click on the link here and come aboard! http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

Now, let’s just take a peek at what’s been going on at the HBHW Club Forum.

Healthy diet and hot weather cooking is a topic that our friends at the Club have been pondering.  We have been putting together salad recipes for dinner during the hot summer months, but one issue many of us have is trying to eat a healthy diet.  Even though we’re eating salads, not all salads are healthy.  We want to find ways to create healthy meals that are also on our diet plans.  Salads are a good place to start, but one of our friends suggested crockpot meals as a way to “beat the heat” of cooking and still have a filling, and healthy meal.

The Walking Challenge experiencing a bit of a lull.  I know the hot weather has something to do with that.  However, our friends have become rather resolute in their exercising and are pushing forward with other exercise options, like swimming, floor ball exercises, and biking.  When we can, we’ll get back out there and walk, but until then, we’ll keep up whatever we can to stay active.

The Daily Reflection was especially interesting to me with summer vacation upon us and a house full of kids.  Is your home a place of peace or chaos?  Can you walk in your door and relax?  Creating a peaceful home is important for families because we all need a place of sanctuary from the hectic, sometimes disturbing and frightening world around us.  I hope you’ll take a minute to look around your own home and see how you can make it more peaceful.

Along with these topics, we are discussing frugal ideas, homesteading, and gardening. If something has to do with keeping our homes and families happy, we’ll discuss it!

How would you like to join the conversation? As a Club member, you’ll be able to share your opinions, frugal tips, and ideas on topics most important to your life.

Why don’t you join us so you can get in on the conversation. I look forward to chatting with you in the member area.  Click the following link and try The HBHW Club for only $1.
http://www.hillbillyhousewifeclub.com/special.html

When you join us at the HBHW Club, you’ll want to be sure to take a stroll through the resources available free to Club members only. Popular resources include:

• Craft Blog For Fun And Profit
• Frugal Gardening
• Simple Summer Cooking
• Frugal Family Summer Fun
• Pantry Cooking
• Freezer/Pantry Challenge & Meal Planning
• Cleaning With Vinegar And Baking Soda
• Setting Up A Family Budget
• Getting Out Of Debt For Good
• Utility Bill Savings
• Meal Planning Guide – Simple Step-by-Step Method

Let me know what you think of the resources and if there are any topics we should explore further. As a Club member, your opinion is highly valued because it’s YOUR Club!

Join The Hillbilly Housewife Club for Just a Dollar

I’d like to share one of the recipes that was posted on the HBHW Club this past week.

Tuna Veggie Pasta Salad

dressing:

• 2 cups Italian salad dressing
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. paprika
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. salad oil (canola)

salad:

• 1 lb. spiral noodles, cooked and drained
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped radishes
• 1/2 cup chopped green pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 4 hard cooked eggs, chopped
• 1 large can white tuna, drained

Mix the dressing ingredients in a bowl until blended well.  In large salad bowl, toss all the salad ingredients together, then drizzle on the dressing and toss until coated well.  Cover and refrigerate until serving.

I like using the spiral noodles because they “hold” the dressing very well.  You can also use penne or shell noodles, or a mixture of a variety.

Listed here is a sampling of recent recipes added, making a total of more than 400 recipes currently available to our Club members.

• Easy 4 Bean Salad
• Marinated Broccoli Cauliflower Salad
• Cool Calico Rice
• Simple Summer Potato Salad

We welcome recipe submissions from our friends at the Club and are always happy to see what’s cooking in your kitchen. Our aim is to have six recipes posted each week. That’s a lot of recipes!

Featured Articles – Frugal Fun For Kids To Do At Home

Let’s face it – there are plenty of days this summer when you are not going to want to leave the house.  But, you’ve got kids at home looking for something to do, and you WANT them to do something.  “Busy hands are happy hands” and not just for kids, right?  Busy kids are less likely to squabble and complain about “being bored.”

It’s in your best interest as a parent to find ways to keep your little ones occupied and happy, right?  What kids need are projects that are productive, not just entertaining.  Check out this weeks feature article to see what you can do to provide creative, and useful, fun things to do around the house this summer.

Frugal Fun For Kids To Do At Home

Healthy Hillbilly Housewife

Here’s what’s new on the healthy hillbilly housewife section. You can also go straight to http://www.healthy.hillbillyhousewife.com

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Frugal Tips

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Do you have a tip to share? Fill out the submit a frugal tip form and I’ll be glad to add it to the site and share your tip in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.

Recipes

Here are some of the most recent recipes that have been added to the HBHW site. Enjoy!

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Do you have a recipe you would like to share? Click here to send it to me and I’ll be happy to add it to the website.

I’m Looking For:

This section is all about you. If you are looking for a particular recipe or a tip on how to do something, submit it here and I will post it in an upcoming newsletter. I’ll give you my input and other readers of the newsletter will have the opportunity to share their recipes and tips as well. So take a moment to post your questions and of course if you have a tip or idea for any question posted in this section feel free to leave a comment under the appropriate post.

I’m Looking For Requests
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I’m Looking For Responses
Below you will find some of the recent responses to the “I’m Looking For” Requests. You may also want to go directly to this section and browse through all the recent submissions and replies. To do so, click on “I’m Looking for” here, and start looking through them.
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Inspirational Story

The Problem With Dandelions
~author unknown~

A man who took great pride in his lawn found himself with a large crop of dandelions. He tried every method he knew to get rid of them. Still they plagued him.

Finally he wrote to the Department of Agriculture. He enumerated all the things he had tried and closed his letter with the question: “What shall I do now?”

In due course, the reply came: “We suggest you learn to love them.”

Final Thought

That’s it for this edition of the Hillbilly Housewife Newsletter. I hope you’ve had as much fun reading it as I had creating it for you. I also hope that you have found the information helpful and useful. And by all means feel free to forward the newsletter to family and friends or even better, encourage them to subscribe to it.

Do you have a question, a tip, a recipe or a story you’d like to share with us? Email it to me and I’ll include it in a future issue. Can’t wait to see what you have to say.

Warm Wishes,

Susanne – The Hillbilly Housewife