There is pretty much only one thing that will get me out of bed before 6 am.

A news segment.

(Or a teething baby!  Tyler decided to cut his first tooth on our weekend away in CO…made for many sleepless nights!)

I had to get up super early, as I needed some extra time to apply enough makeup to cover the dark circles!!!

Above, my segment with Nina on Fox, featuring my Grammy’s Pasta Salad from The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook.

Below, my segment with Angie on the CW, featuring Grilled Chicken and Avocado Wraps (from The $5 Dinner Mom’s Breakfast and Lunch Cookbook).

Enjoy!

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I was just at Home Depot the other day…getting a few more goodies for the garden! And boy was I thankful that I had my garden club coupon with me!  Every bit helps, right!!!

If you are not yet a Home Depot Garden Club member, I highly recommend it! Not only do they send you great offers, but garden tips and tricks as well! And who knows, maybe we’ll get grilling tips in our next newsletter!

Joining the Garden Club is simple and easy!

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Updated…this offer has expired!

Click on the image above to sign up for your Free Kitchen Ideas Book from Kraftmaid!  Click on “Request Literature” at the top.

Fun to peruse to get new ideas for your kitchen! And while some of the products may be expensive, you might be able to recreate some of the ideas for little to nothing using what you already have!

Don’t delay…this offer usually doesn’t last more than 2 hours!!!

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Dirt, GLORIOUS Dirt.

Digging in the dirt is so therapeutic.

I spent the better part of Thursday afternoon playing in the dirt.  And I wasn’t the only one getting DIRT-y!

(There’s an outfit below that you’re not gonna want to miss.)

First, I picked off all the dead leaves to find some parsley growing underneath.  I have no doubt this parsley will take over the pot this summer.

Then there was the mint.  Completely hidden under the dead leaf layer.  If I’m not careful, this stuff will take over the entire garden.  I plan to move the pot with the mint away from the square foot planters to keep any “airborne” transplants away!

Next I found a few of these little critters working their magic in the dirt as I pulled off the layer of straw that lay atop the planters through the winter.  The boys were quite enthralled with these guys.

And I had to pull up quite a few onions.  Poor little things.  They tried their hardest to survive the winter, but they didn’t make it.  I commend them for their valient efforts!

And lastly in the planters was this EXTENSIVE root system.  I’m thinking it was from the snap peas from last year.  I pulled.  And pulled. And pulled.  And it just kept coming!  Shook off the dirt and tossed aside.

And with that, the square foot planters are ready.  I will add a little more manure and dirt to fill in a few spaces.  Then we’ll plant.  First up, spinach and lettuce!

The New Garden Space

This is where we’ll expand our garden.  It’s the LAST spot of full sun space in our yard.  So we’ll utilize it.  The plan is to remove the grass, till the dirt that is there and then add some of Mel’s soil mix to the top.  Our dirt is VERY “clay-ey,” so we’ll need to give it a decent layer of “growing soil” so the plants can thrive.  I’m thinking this space will be for squash of all types.

Steve digging out some grass patches.

And Ryan trying doing the same. Like father, like son.

A grass patch, ready for a new home.

And our other VERY SERIOUS little helper.

Yes. He dressed himself. Yes. I let him out of the house like that. No need to judge him. Or me, for that matter!

What’s missing from his outfit?  Steve’s gray ski hat…which he had on for the first half of the day.  But took off when it warmed up!

The Tiller

While the guys were busy getting rid of the grass, our neighbor shows up with this bad boy.

Ah. Much better!

This getting rid of the grass task doesn’t seem quite as daunting.  Steve tilled the top layer, raked off the grass pieces, then tilled the dirt. In just 30 minutes. (We originally thought this could take days!)

So the new garden patch is ready for a new layer of dirt.  And some wire fencing.  We’ve got rabbits, chipmunks and a resident groundhog to keep out!

I’ll be spending part of the weekend doing a load of “mud laundry,” and scrubbing mud tracks off the kitchen floor.

If you’re interested in learning more about Square Foot gardening, I recommend getting a copy of Mel Bartholemew’s Square Foot Gardening book.

How’s your garden coming along?!?  Do share.  Link up or leave a description in the comments!

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One thing I like about freebies…not only are they great for traveling, but they often come with a high value coupon as well!

Here are a few freebies worth checking out this week:

Tide Detergent Sample

Free “Busy Mom’s Bible” - first 5,000 entries!

Healing Soak – Free 3 oz. Sample – details half way down left sidebar

Coffee Recipes E-Book – contains 53 recipes

Thanks Free Stuff 4 Free!

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Dearest Readers,

If you get a strange spammy/antispyware/virus notification type screen while on the site, I APOLOGIZE! I believe I have found the root of the problem and am waiting for a response and fix to the problem. I’m sorry…at the moment it’s beyond my control!

I have learned what the cause was…one of the ads that came through my ad network was infected with a virus. The ad network has removed that ad from the rotations. I will not be putting ads from that network back on the site.

If you accidentally have installed the malware and need assistance removing it, please have them contact networkcare@glam.com directly and they will work directly with you to assist in removal.

I’m TERRIBLY sorry if your computer was affected!!!

Erin

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I wanted to THANK each of you who linked up and left comments (over 200!), to help raise funds that will be donated to relief efforts. I’m honored to be able to participate with some many fabulous bloggers to raise money as part of the Help for Haiti campaign.

Steve and I plan to give $500 now to Kids Alive International, an orphanage and  ministry we have supported for many years.

We are thrilled that our church will be sending teams down over the next several years to work with local missionaries and to help with reconstruction efforts. We also plan to set aside another $575 for his (our???) trip down to help with the rebuilding later this year or next year.  Based on what we know and what we saw in terms of construction in the Dominican Republic, we believe the need for construction teams will be ongoing for at least the next decade, if not longer!

Also, I went on a little rampage yesterday.  I went through all of the boys’ closets, pulling out light, summer clothes and shoes to be sent down to the kids who need it.  We’ll send it with one of the teams from our church.  If you can’t donate monetarily right now, please look around your home and see what you could part with.

What sticks out most in my memory of the poor Dominicans and Haitians that we worked with and lived near, shoes and clothes were scarce…especially for children, even babies.  Every article of clothing or pair of shoes helps!

It’s so encouraging to see so many come together and help those with greater needs than our own!

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UPDATED!

The funk is still there. But at least there is a way to help.

My first instinct is to “go”. But that is simply not a reality.

So we shall give instead.

And if the Lord calls us, in a year…or two…or three…we shall go and be the hands and feet that we can’t be in this moment now.

I know many people here are hurting financially.  But you can still help. I’ve read of others planning on just eating rice and beans, and using that extra money they saved to donate.  Skip going out to eat this month.  Stay inside for date night…make a nice meal and rent a movie from the library…and donate what you would have spent.

We are SO blessed in this country, and I have no doubt that each of us can find a creative way to give to those who so desperately need it!

What can you do…

1. Pray. For those hurting.  For those rescuing. For those mourning. For those separated by distance.  For those waiting for news. Pray.

2. Give. We will be giving money directly to a Christian ministry, yet to be decided.

A complete list of ministries who will directly help the people of Haiti.

Let’s get those dollars flowing to those who NEED them. Desperately need them.

If you plan to blog about ways you are helping, be sure to link up at Money Saving Mom and let us know you’ve joined in the Help for Haiti campaign.  I’ll be dropping links and comments all over the place today…and I encourage you to do the same.

Let’s raise some $$$$!!!!!!!

$5 feeds our family dinner.  I know that $5 would feed AT LEAST 10, maybe 20, Haitians!  That being said…

For each link or comment left on this post, Steve and I will donate $5, up to $500, for the relief efforts in Haiti. Simply tell us in what ways you have given, or plan to give to those in Haiti.

UPDATED!  We’ve already hit the $500 goal…thank you!  Please keep leaving comments and linking up, as Steve and I will discuss and plan how we can give long term to the relief efforts!  Perhaps earmarking $ for a trip to help rebuild, or to give again in 6 months, as the need will still be great, long after the media coverage wanes.

Keep linking and commenting on others’ posts…the more comments…the more $$$ raised for those in need!!!

So link up and comment away…

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One of my blogging goals for this year is to write 2 “how to” posts a month…

And I want to know what YOU want to learn how to do…

Cooking…

Shopping…

Couponing…

YOU NAME IT!

And I’ll see what I can do!

Mkay, thanks!  Your requested “how to’s” coming soon…

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UPDATED! Offer has reached it’s CAP!

Get your FREE Kraftmaid Kitchen Ideas Book!!! This offer goes FAST…so don’t delay!!!

Offer has reached it’s cap. It should be available again at the beginning of next month…so keep your eyes peeled!

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