MOTIVATION MONDAY

So as part of my renewed effort this year to be a better writer and live a better life I have decided to start a weekly companion post to Frugal Friday. Motivation Monday is going to give me a chance to talk about new ideas, new efforts and motivation. I hope to offer up some of my own personal thoughts, tips and advice but also I hope to have tips and tricks from experts, friends and even family.

I want to work toward living a better, healthier and happier life. In that life I hope to be writing more, saving more and making more and spending more time doing the things that I love. I hope to talk about books I am reading, articles that I am reading and writing and anything else that I come across that helps all of us live better lives.

I will add a new post on Motivation Monday every week, obviously on Mondays!
See ya next Monday and please, add your own ideas, tips and tricks,

FRUGAL FRIDAYS

So I think I am like a lot of people out there, I am hoping to cut my debt and start saving this year. I am hoping to track my progress and look for tips, advice and ways to have a healthier financial life this year. So I decided that every Friday I would publish a post called Frugal Fridays. I hope bring you some of my own ideas but also some ideas from friends, family and readers.

So for my first post I am going to touch on food. Since starting the new year I have consciously been preparing lunches to bring to work and trying to make sure that we are cooking and eating dinners at home. So last weekend we had friends over for dinner. It was a full turkey dinner with all the fixings. It is a dinner that we do with friends every year. This year was our turn to host and cook. It's great fun and we had some nice leftovers for the next day. Normally I would cut off the turkey and toss the rest. This year I am trying to be mindful of what we spend, eat and waste so I decided to get everything I could off that turkey. I cut as much meat off the bones and then I used the rest to make stock. I tossed the bones in a pot with onions, carrots and celery and a bunch of spices. I am a novice when it comes to doing something like that. It was an experiment that turned out pretty good. I got some great turkey stock out of it, stock that I used when I took all the leftover turkey and veggies to make a turkey pot pie for the next nights dinner. It was a success. I managed to use all the leftovers and the kids loved it too!

It didn't take much effort. We limited our waste and stretched our food dollars.

I plan to keep it up for the entire year. Look for more stories, tips and advice. I hope to post expert advice, articles and other news that you can use to help you cut your debt and save your hard earned money.

GRACO STROLLER RECALL

About 1.5 million Graco strollers sold at Wal-Mart, Target and other major retailers are being recalled after some children's fingertips were amputated by hinges on the products.  Approximately 28,430 were sold in Canada.

This is the second major recall in recent months of strollers that led to fingertip amputations and injuries.
In November 2009, about one-million Maclaren strollers were recalled after there were 12 reports of children's fingertips being amputated by a hinge mechanism.Strollers

RECALL INFORMATION

(information copy from Graco website http://www.gracobaby.com/)

2010 Passage™, Alano™ and Spree™ Stroller Recall Potential Problem:

The hinges on the stroller’s canopy pose a fingertip amputation and laceration hazard to the child when the consumer is opening or closing the canopy.

Injuries Reported: 7

Number of Units Affected: 1,500,000

Dates Produced: October 2004 through Feb 2008

MSRP: $80 to $90


Models Affected: 6303MYC, 6303MYC3, 6320IVY, 6320LAU, 6330CAP, 6330THR, 6330THR3, 6F00QIN3, 6F00RRY3, 6F03GLN3, 6G10CSE3, 7235GGA, 7235GGA2, 7236CDR2, 7237HOL2, 7237HOL3, 7240DNB, 7240DNB2, 7240MKL2, 7240MKL3, 7241DDH2, 7241DHO3, 7255CLP, 7255CLP2, 7255CRA2, 7255CRA3, 7255CSA3, 7255GPK3, 7255GRN, 7255GRN2, 7255JJB3, 7255ORC2, 7255WLO2, 7255WLO3, 7256CLO2, 7256SPM2, 7256SPM3, 7260BAN, 7260BAN2, 7260BAN3, 7260MRA2, 7260MRA3, 7260PKR, 7260PKR2, 7270BIA, 7270BIA2, 7E01JON2, 7E01JON3, 7F00LPE3, 7F00RSH3, 7F01FOR3, 7F02GLM3, 7F04TAY3, 7F07EMA3, 7F08DSW3, 7F08LAN3, 7G00DLS3, 7G00DLS4, 7G01CRL3, 7G04KRA3, 7G05GPR3, 7G06WSR3, 7G07ABB3, 7G07BAT3
Solution:

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled strollers and contact Graco to receive a free protective cover repair kit.

To order the free protective cover repair kit, click here.

A video demonstration for how to apply the hinge cover can be found here
For more information on this announcement,  contact us at (800) 345-4109.

CRIB RECALL

Heads up for parents tonight if you own a Dorel crib. Thousands of drop side cribs are being recalled after the death of a baby in Iowa.

 In the U-S, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recall of 635,000 Dorel Asia cribs  after the death of a six-month-old boy and multiple reports of injuries.  Nearly 7,600 drop side cribs are also being voluntarily recalled in Canada. The concern is the drop-side can detach, creating a space where a child can be trapped.

The infant from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, strangled after getting trapped in the crib when the drop-side hardware broke. In a  statement from Dorel Asia, the company described the circumstances leading to this death as ``highly unusual,'' because the crib was known to be broken and had been held together with duct tape.

The cribs were manufactured by Barbados-based Dorel Asia in China and Vietnam, and sold in Canada at Sears, Babies R Us and various other retailers.

Dorel Distribution Canada said today it had received three reports of the drop-side detaching from the crib and four other incidents were the slats on the crib broke. No injuries were reported. Health Canada said it had received two reports of incidents with no injuries.

A free repair kit can be obtained from Dorel Distribution that converts the drop-side of the crib to a fixed side.

For more information, contact Dorel Distribution Canada at 1-800-295-1980 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. EST,  http://www.dorelcanada.com/.

To receive a free repair kit to prevent this hazard, contact Dorel Asia at 866-762-2304. More information is available online at http://www.dorel-asia.com/.

NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Ok, so I am a few days late. Ok, so almost two weeks late.  I feel like I have been time challenged lately and so have not been posting on the blog. I know, no excuse. Well this year I am pledging to be better about updating. I am also going to try to put more news you can use on the blog, and less personal stuff.

I am planning to make some changes this year. I decided not to make any New Year resolutions this year, but rather life changes.

Read my article at www.amotherworld.com about tips and advice to make lasting changes

VISIONS OF BAKING DANCING IN MY HEAD

Tis the season to get baking. I love to bake but I don't have much time to do it  these days. I miss baking but it's nearly Christmas and that means I need to get my bake on.

You see we give baked goods as presents for all our friends and neighbours. We pack them all up in baskets wrapped in cello and a beautiful bow. The baskets are loaded with all sorts of cookies, sweets and cakes. The girls and I put Santa hats on and load up the wagon and hit the neighbourhood delivering our baked baskets.

I start thinking about what I am going to bake in November. I try to take notice of great recipes that look easy and tasty. Recipes that are kid friendly are also important to me. I have two little helpers, one that is really into cooking and baking. She wants to be a pastry chef when she grows up. If I have a couple of recipes that are easy for the girls to help with then things go a lot smoother in the kitchen.

Last year we made a few of our regulars. My grandmothers famous no-bake cookies, they are called Queenie's Quickies. They are quick to make, hence the name. I also did chocolate dipped pretzel sticks. Another one that was no-bake but easy for the kids to do almost entirely on their own. We had a great apple cake, another family favourite. And a couple of other cookies.

This year I am hoping to make a few of our traditional favourites, along with a few new finds. I am still looking for some great cookie recipes. If you have any I would love to see them.

I hope to get some baking done in the next week or so.  I promise to post pictures of our baking session, the finished product and as we head off to deliver.

I DID IT!

So I have been absent lately. There is a reason, it isn't because I was being lazy, just the opposite actually. I found out about this thing, it is a writing challenge. November was dubbed National Novel Writing Month. I have long dreamed of writing books, novels, children's books, you name it. I have spent my working career writing but nothing as interesting as a novel. I write news. So when I heard about this writing challenge I was intrigued. So I registered.

What did I register for you ask? Well, the challenge was to writing 50,000 words in the month of November. It is considered the equivalanet of a small novel. A whopping 50,000 words. A lot right. Right! It is a lot of words for anyone but when you factor in the fact that I am a Mom to two little girls, a wife and a full time radio news journalist and freelance magazine writer it is a seriously huge amount of words. I wasn't sure how I was going to find the time to write but I committed to doing it. I was up for a challenge. I love to write and heck I needed to put my money where my mouth was. I have long said I wanted to write a book, so what was stopping me. NOTHING. So, I just started to write.

It was hard. I found it difficult to get things going but once things got rolling the story just flowed. For a while anyway and then real life started to creep in. The writing stalled as my other responsibilties were calling. As the month continued I realized I was quickly running out of time. There was a deadline that was fast approaching, 50,000 words by midnight EST November 30th.

The last week of November was on top of me and I was no where near being done. I was only at about 20,000 words. I needed to haul ass. And I did. I got to work and just let the ideas flow, I would have to worry about quality later. It was all about quantity. I was worried that I wouldn't get it done but I did. Thirty thousand words in a week. Amazing.

It was hard. There were days that I struggled with what to say, or what to write rather. It was hard to make the time to just sit at the computer, uninterupted and just write. I loved doing it but there is no doubt that writing a novel is work. There are a lot of people who say they have always wanted to write a book, but that is certainly easier said than done. It is hard work.

What now? Well, I have a few other things that need my attention, things that I was ignoring while taking on this writing challenge. And then? I will revisit what I wrote and continue on the journey to write a novel. I will keep you posted