Quick Foodie Post

Alrightly then!  Had big hopes to get posted what I got for Christmas and how our Christmas went.  I also wanted to post what we are having doing for New Years, but with the kids and Christmas clean-up......no time.  I did find myself, in the only moments I had in between running one to work, the other to Target to spend the gift card on yet another Zombie video game, looking for a really great food blog.  Something out of the ordinary and I think I found it for us folks!  It may have been brought on by my middle daughters love of Korean sitcoms.  Sheesh, she has 3 years of French, a year of Japanese and what does she do?  Watches Korean TV.  Well at least she has a love of languages.
So now that you know what kind of food it is, you have to check out Maangchi, this is real Korean food, done in front of you with the videos you can follow along with!  I am amazed and can't wait to try a recipe or two.  I am only pondering which one first?  I have my own dumpling (pot sticker recipe) that I love...so I am thinking....Dakkangjung or Japchae.  Which do you think?  I will let you choose.  Remember, I have small children who will complain if served the marinated squid, but all suggestions are appreciated!
If you make something let me know how it went.  Remember, if you have an H-mart nearby, they take coupons, have a great vegetable selection and a lot of the veggies 3 for the price of one.  I shop there all the time for produce in the winter, best selection around and great prices.  They also have the ready made Kim-chi if you don't want to make your own and they make it there so it is yummy.
Shall we try some of Maangchi's recipes together?  I can smell the Crispy Chicken (Dakkangjung) now.  imagine what a hit you would be if you served that for a New Years get together?  With some peoples peanut allergies, I would put them on the side in a crowd, but I can smell it now!

Dakkangjung or Crispy Chicken Yum!

Lots of attention, but no one even mentioned the blog, lol.

So it started when a reporter from the Wall Street Journal found the blog and wanted to interview me on how I was keeping Santa alive for my son.  Then after that was written, contacted by a radio station in Seattle.  Interviews are below.  Really wanted to thank everyone who is following the blog!  Hope your holiday season is and has been wonderful so far!

Zombie Proof Homemaking A reporter with KIRO radio in Seattle named Alex contacted me about the interview with the wall street journal. So I called and spoke with another reporter (Alex had gone home) now I will probably be heard on air Christmas Eve morning. Wow, crazy stuff! Go Zombie Proof Homemaking!

News Talk 97.3 KIRO FM Shows - News Talk 97.3 KIRO FM - MyNorthwest.com

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News Talk 97.3 KIRO FM Shows - News Talk 97.3 KIRO FM at MyNorthwest.com

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  Yvonne Swayze likes this.
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    Zombie Proof Homemaking Well that was a nice little story. Still never mentions my blog.....sigh. Maybe next year, lol.
    

    34 minutes ago · 
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    Zombie Proof Homemaking Here is the print version:http://www.mynorthwest.com/category/local_news_articles/20101223/High~tech-tools-keep-belief-in-Santa-alive/
    

    14 minutes ago · 

Zombie Proof Homemaking Well, at least Tigard is famous for a minute, if not the blog: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703395204576024141664067226.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsFifth

Parents Use Technology to Create Proof of Santa - WSJ.com

online.wsj.com

Video and photo editing, smartphone apps, email and other digital tools are gaining popularity as parents try to persuade their 21st-century kids that there is a Santa Claus.

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  April Jae Lambert likes this.

The Rush IS ON! Part 2 of 2

Wow, so many pics they would not fit in one blog.  That will teach me to make more "blog" time and not leave until it gets big.  Okay, so, Mark was hard to make things for.  Sheesh, what do you get your man for free or at little cost?  Well, Devin and I will be making this tomorrow.  http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/2006-12-01/Make-A-Firewood-Tote.aspx  Have not been able to get into the shop to make it yet, Mark has been hogging.  I can't wait to see what he is making me!  I made him some coupons for massages, car washes, breakfast and dinners.  He should like those.  We made him a seed vault.  We are putting in a big garden this year and that should be fun.  Will also download Google Sketch-up for him so he can design the garden.  Fun program if you haven't tried it: http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/ and I made everyone the rice heat bags.  Love those things, we have had one I bought for years and everyone fights over it.  Now everyone will have their own.

This is the lid of the seed vault.  We made it from a huge pickle jar!

We got a bunch of seeds.  Still have more to get, but this is a great start!  The tomatoes will be fun, which ones will come up?

One of Devin's old cotton shirts sewn into a bag, filled with rice.  You add a ribbon to hand it from a door.  This gets heated in the microwave for a minute to a minute and a half and soothes aches and pains.

The crochet/sewing mess!

The wrapping sewing mess.  Please notice the zombie for my son,, too funny.

The it really would not fit anywhere else mess!

Okay, so today I will clean up the mess and finish the projects.  Everything was just too numerouse to photo or blog.  Next year I will do better, I hope.  Here are a few other things; Naelyn is getting framed artwork I made, Devin an indoor knuckle mat with marbles.  I made the mat.  Meyaka gets food!  Things we canned and also fun stuff we bought her at H-mart and some dishes from Cost Plus. Somethings cannot be made.  Crochet stuff will be divided up.  It is going to be a wonderful Christmas!  Hope yours is wonderful too!

The Rush IS ON! Part 1 of 2

Part 1 of 2

Well folks the Christmas rush is on.  We have a few days to finish up and then it is over until next year for most of us.  A few things I learned this year while trying to do a cost free Christmas. 1.  Not cost free.  Even if you make the gift there is some cost involved.  Example, paint costs money, then you have to buy frames for the art.  Many more examples of that type of thing were had.  2.  I will make things all year for Christmas next year.  Having just a month or two to make gifts means a some of them did not get finished.  A lot did, but the ones that did not will get finished and given next year.  3.  We will do this every year from now on no matter how much money we make. I think we have all really enjoyed it.  Here are a couple sites for this type of thing, just in case you need some ideas.  http://www.buynothingchristmas.org/alternatives/index.html  http://www.favecrafts.com/  4.  Some things will always be bought and paid for, not sure I can make a totally homemade Christmas.  I gave it a real go though and am proud.

Here are some of the highlights:
Drunken Pie Night (night before Thanksgiving)

Devin likes eating the apple peels!

The creek flooded, but managed to stay on the other side of the fence.

Can't get this one to rotate.  Anyway, this is Devin and Jorge working on ornaments made from last years Christmas tree.

I think they did well!

Ebates Reminder

Just a little reminder to use Ebates this year on the on-line purchases you would make anyway.  My daughter just got a check today for $12.24.  This is free money back on things she would have bought anyway.  Different stores offer a different percentage back, but their are tons of stores you would regularly buy from, including e-bay and other large retailers.  Give it a try, they give you a $5 credit just for signing up and more credits for people you refer.  http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=CiLVww1WEtTo1ijnf0O8xQ%3D%3D

A few great things FREE

Posting these from Facebook!  Try them out!  Too much fun!

Zombie Proof Homemaking Gonna try this one this year and see what happens. I think it will be fun to get a call from Santa! It is FREE!

Send A Personalized Call From Santa Claus

www.sendacallfromsanta.com

This Site uses Macromedia Flash and Javascript. Please enable Javascript in your browser, and then click Santa. If you need Flash, you can install the latest version free from:http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/

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Zombie Proof Homemaking This is the greatest Christmas tool for parents and grandparents! You can track Santa Christmas Eve through Norad and Google Earth. The children can actually see where Santa is, so you can get them tucked in bed before he gets to your house. We have been doing this for years and it works! Also great games on the site.

Official NORAD Santa Tracker

www.noradsanta.org

Follow Santa as he makes his magical journey!

On the Cheap

Alright, told everyone we are trying to do Christmas for free or very little money, well with a ten year old who still believes in Santa, sorta hard.  But we went on a hunt today, Mark and I.  First, we wanted to get him marbles.  Went to Goodwill, ended up with 4 brand new books, and two funny presents for Marks Christmas party.  We got the whale character from Dr. Seuss's If I Ran with the Circus, brand new, with the tag on, for $1.99 this is http://www.amazon.com/Dr-Seuss-Circus-Plush-Whale/dp/B0034EKU90  $ 12.67 wow, savings of $10.50.  Also got a High School Musical game, with the DVD, it was the original and never opened for $3.  Can't wait to see the guys he works with faces when they try and pass that on to the next person in the white elephant exchange!  Now the BIG news for those of you who have a Bi-mart.  We got the last two of these at the Tigard Bi-mart, but if you have one near, jump on it.  http://www.amazon.com/Amazing-Marbles-Deluxe-Collectors-Players/dp/B003J9D6DM  $25.00 on Amazon.  $5.99 at B-mart, THAT IS WHY WE GOT TWO, that was all they had, or I would have bought more. One hundred and fifty one marbles for that price, crazy.  We are making a marble mat, instruction book and a bridge to go with his marbles for Christmas, total for his Christmas, $11.98.  We had the makings for everything else in the craft closet or wood shop.  Will post the book and instructions on tomorrows blog !  ENJOY!

Holiday Mail for Heroes

Please send holiday cards thanking our service men and women if you can. The Red Cross is happy to receive them and pass them along! All the information can be found here: Holiday Mail for Heroes

FREE Personalized Santa Video Sent to Your Child!!!!!

Thank you Freebies 4 Mom for letting me know about this.  Made a video for my son Devin and he is going to love it!  Santa talks directly to your child.  Make as many as you want.
Magic Santa Video

Homemade Christmas

This year we are choosing to have a Homemade Christmas.  Yes, it is motivated by budget, but truly, finding creative ways to spend little or no money is FUN!  Devin is making Christmas ornaments for people.  He and Mark came up with the great idea of slicing up last years Christmas tree.  We have a wood stove, so they had stored it on top of the woodpile to be burned later.  Now it will be part of our Christmas celebration forever.  I am not really showing many finished products, since some of the people who read this are on my list, but here is the beginnings of their project.  Should be fun to see what they come up with.

I am working on some paintings and crocheting.  Have a few other things under our belts that include granite and other fun stuff.  Here are some of the crotchet projects.

But the thing I found that I want to share with you I am really excited about.  With my children, some kind of electronic gift is what the two youngest really want, 10 and 18.  Well check this out, you may already know, but I didn't, Amazon has a free Kindle download for your PC.  Plus, they have a huge amount of free books for the program.  I just got the program and 15 books for the kids for FREE.  Not only that, I did not even touch on all the free books, they offer a ton.  Classics and new books, even games.  Some of the games will not download to the PC version, but hey, I am happy.  Here is what I suggest,  for family members you can put this on their computers without their knowledge and tell them on Christmas day in a card, or if you are giving as a gift to a college student, copy the program to a CD and include a word doc with written instructions.  It was super easy though.  I already had an account, so you may have to open one if you don't.  Click on the link below, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, on the right side on Amazon there is a BUY NOW WITH ONE CLICK button, you will see Get Kindle for PC below that.  Click there and follow the directions.  Then, just shop at the Kindle Book Store.  So great to get The Wizard of Oz, The Secret Garden and the Junglebook for free along with some new titles.  You can also buy titles for the PC version.  My children LOVE to read, so they are going to like this!  Okay, so today is Pay it Forward day, so here you go!  As for me, I downloaded a few titles I think I might enjoy, so I am taking a break and reading a little!  Enjoy!