There are so many things that compete for our attention – work, finances, chores – that inevitably we lose sight of all the precious moments and wondrous beauty that fill our lives on a daily basis.  So, as I snuggle in to dream about plum fairies, I recall with great joy some of my favorite winter blessings.

Photo: Corin@ 2008

The Beauty of Winter

• The glistening of icicles delicately dangling from the rooftops.
• The peaceful beauty of new-fallen snow.
• The view of little ones enveloped in cuddly, footed jammies.
• The crackling fire flickering its soft, brilliant light in the fireplace.
• The tracks left in the snow by wildlife reminding us that we share this special place and time with other creatures.

Photo: Tiffany Washko

The Joy of the Cold

• Watching the kids play… and play… and play… in the snow until we force them to come in to warm themselves with delicious hot cocoa and mini-marshmallows.
• The warmth of my favorite mug warming my hands while sipping steaming hot cocoa.
• Cuddling on the couch with my husband to watch a movie after our children are asleep.
• The crispness in the air and the crunch of snow under your feet as you traverse through a world where the ice and snow have changed the landscape and life seems new.
• Snuggling with the little ones while discovering new worlds and revisiting beloved ones through the pages of marvelous books.
• The warm kitchen with the scrumptious smell of brownies baking in the oven wafting through the house.

Photo:  Michael Wade

Self-Indulgences

• The excuse that it is simply too cold to go outside allowing me to pursue my indoor pleasures while enjoying the beauty of the outdoors through the windows sheltering me from the frigid temperatures outside.
• My familiar, old, flannel nightgown protecting me from the chill of the cold, dark night.
• Thick, soft, warm socks caressing my feet and keeping my tootsies toasty.
• Being curled up in a cozy cocoon of my favorite throw while reading a great book.

Some of these pleasures are available year-round while others are truly wintry treats.  Even when our funds are scant, our hearts can be overflowing with joy and love as we delight in the wonders and beauty of the season without spending any money.

What do you enjoy during the special time of winter?

This post is linked to Finer Things Friday and Frugal Fridays.

Today, more than 12 million children in the United States do not know when their next meal will come.  Unfortunately, this number continues to rise as these difficult economic times times are leaving more and more people jobless, without homes, and unable to provide food for their families.  What can you do?

1. Sign-up to host a bake sale: http://www.GreatAmericanBakeSale.org/vgabs
2. Buy the virtual Great American Bake Sale eBook: http://StolenMomentsCooking.com/virtual-gabs
3. Post a ChipIn widget or banner on your blog: http://www.GreatAmericanBakeSale.org/bloggers

Make a difference in a child’s life by signing up and purchasing a virtual cookbook today! 100% of the proceeds from this eBook will benefit Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale, which is a national effort that encourages Americans to host bake sales in their communities to help end childhood hunger.  Funds raised support summer and after-school feeding programs in your community that thousands of kids depend on.

Once you have purchased your virtual Great American Bake Sale cookbook, double your impact and use the recipes to host your own Great American Bake Sale! Hosting a Bake Sale is a fun and easy way to make a big impact!  To register your Bake Sale or for more information, please visit http://GreatAmericanBakeSale.org

Welcome to the Virtual Great American Bake Sale. 100% of the proceeds from the sale of these ebooks will go toward Share Our Strength’s Great American Bake Sale program. Funds raised through Great American Bake Sale are donated to after-school and summer feeding programs–food programs that many kids depend on when school is not in session. Great American Bake Sale is a program of Share Our Strength, a national organization working to make sure no kid in America grows up hungry.

The ebooks are a compilation of recipes from submitters across the blogosphere and beyond. The ebooks are available for purchase based on any donation amount of the buyer’s choosing.

The following recipes were my contibution to the Virtual Great American Bake Sale.

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Peanut Butter No-Bake Cookies

2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup milk
1 pinch salt
3 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan bring sugar, margarine, milk, and salt to a rolling boil.  Let boil for 1 minute.***

Add quick cooking oats, peanut butter, and vanilla; mix well.

Working quickly, drop by teaspoonfuls onto waxed paper, and let cool.

Note: Stirring too much with make the cookies have a dull finish instead of a shiny luster.

***To make the regular chocolate no-bake cookies, add 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder in the first step.

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Neiman Marcus Brownies

18 oz. box plain yellow cake mix
1 stick butter
4 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese
16 oz. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease bottom and sides of 9×13 pan/dish.

In a large bowl, mix together:
18 oz. box plain yellow cake mix
1 stick butter
2 eggs, beaten

Mix well; it will be rather dry.  Press into the bottom of greased pan.  (Greasing your hands will help the batter from sticking to your fingers and keep it in the pan better.)

In bowl, mix together:
2 eggs
8 oz. cream cheese
16 oz. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Spread on cake mixture layer – do not mix the batters.  Bake for 35 minutes or until lightly browned.  Recommend making day before and refrigerated.

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 Russian Tea Cakes

1 cup butter (salted)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar
2 cups minus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar for decoration

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, cream butter and vanilla until smooth. Combine the 6 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar and flour; stir into the butter mixture just until blended.  Mix in the chopped walnuts.

Press dough into 1 inch balls and place them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 12 minutes in preheated oven.  When cool enough to handle but still warm, roll in remaining confectioner’s sugar.  Rolling a second time is optional.

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Hummingbird Cake

3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1-1/2 tsp vanilla
8 ounce can crushed pineapple (undrained)
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups bananas, chopped or mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 325 degrees for dark pan).  Grease Bundt pan or 9x 13 inch cake pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Add eggs and oil, stirring until moistened.  Do NOT beat.  Stir in vanilla, pineapple, pecans and bananas.

Bake for 50 – 60 minutes.  Cool.  Frost cooled cake with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup butter or margarine (softened)
1 pound powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat ingredients until fluffy; then frost cooled cake.

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 The Complete 2009 VGABS Recipes Ebook

Features all 170 of the submitted recipes. Many of the recipes include pictures.

On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Shopping cart courtesy of E-Junkie.

Because we know file size may be an issue for some, the below ebooks have split the 170 recipes into 4 categorized ebooks so that you can choose just 1 or 2 of your favorites, if you’d prefer. Just like for the Complete ebook, many of these recipes include pictures. And again, they are available for purchase based on any donation amount of the buyer’s choosing.

Muffins & Breads

Features 24 recipes.

On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Cookies, Candy, Cakes, Bars & Brownies

Features 50 recipes.

On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Desserts

Features 49 recipes.

On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

Beyond Baked Goods (Appetizers, Breakfast, Main Dishes, etc.)

Features 47 recipes.

On the checkout page, manually change the amount (USD) field to your donation amount.

I love my home, but you wouldn’t be able to tell it from looking at the piles of paper clutter than have accrued.  (I have a hard time letting go of papers as they represent information and knowledge to me.  I am working on internalizing the fact that most information is readily available on the internet thus I don’t have to keep physical copies of articles and such.)  So, today, I am going to show my family and my home just how much I love them by clearing all of the piles of paper clutter.  I am going to be vicious!  Can I live without it?  Yes!  Great – meet the recycle bin!  My home will be singing by dinner as it won’t be littered with papers!

Check out how others are making their home’s sing at momstheword.

Have you ever been out and noticed that you had deodorant on your top from when you pulled it over your head to put it on? Or what about when your lunch gets away from you and lands in your lap? When I worked in the corporate world, my appearance was very important.  I certainly couldn’t walk around the office with remnants of breakfast stuck to my clothing or deodorant on my top.  And, since most of my career cloths were “dry clean only,” washing the spot in the washroom was out of the question.  But, I had secret stashed in my desk – and in my car – to handle such situations.  What was it???  Baby wipes!  They are great!  They work wonders on most “dry clean only” clothing and aren’t so wet as to drench your clothing so the spot dries off rather quickly.  The only problem that I have run across is that if the article of clothing is dark (like black which I wore alot), you have to be careful on how hard you rub as some of the white fibers can transfer from the baby wipes to your clothing leaving you with a fuzzy whitish spot.

For more tips and tricks, visit Works-For-Me Wednesday.

We all want to have fun, but we shouldn’t have to spend tons of money to enjoy ourselves.  Here are ten ways to have fun as a family that are free:

1. Play a game in the backyard such as catch, tag football, soccer, Frisbee, croquet.  Getting out and running around together really helps to bond families.  The exercise is great for everyone!  The laughs and giggles are even better!
2. Go on an discovery hunt. Decide what you want to look for – triangles, green items, things that look out of place in their surroundings, frogs, different types of flowers, etc.   Then, take a leisurely walk in your neighborhood to see what treasures you can find.  It is amazing all of the beautiful items that surround us that we never take the time to notice.  Sharing such discoveries with your family is great way to support an appreciate of the world around us.
3. Swing at the local park. You are never too old to swing – I know I still enjoy swinging on a strong swing set!
4. Create your own Movie Night at home. Put in your favorite family movie or borrow one that you haven’t seen from your library or a good friend.  Then, pop some popcorn and turn down the lights.  Not only is this frugal, you can stop the movie for potty breaks and can control the calorie content of the popcorn and snacks!  Something you can’t do at the theater!
5. Camp out in your living room. Pretend that you are camping out while still enjoying the conveniences of home by setting up camp in the living room.  Pull out the sleeping bags.  Turn off the lights and pull out the flashlights.  Take turns telling stories and signing campfire songs.  And, if your children are still small, let them sleep in their “play tent.”
6. Make a meal together. Does your clan love pizza?  Or maybe your family prefers a more gourmet meals?  Decide on the menu and make the meal together as a family.  It is fun to create something as a family, and if you are able to eat it afterward, even better!!
7. Host a Game Night. What could be more fun than game night?  Maybe game night with another family!  Invite another family to join in the fun and have fun sharing your favorite board or card games.
8. Participate in a library program together. Check with your local library to see if they offer any activities that you can participate in as a family.  Our library hosts all kinds of wonderful programs such trained dogs who perform and Family Story Time.
9. Build something together. There are so many mediums that you can use to build things together: wood, metal, clay, material (as in sewing), food, paper, play dough, blocks, cardboard, just to name a few!   Here are some ideas to start you thinking: a keepsake box for your child’s treasures, a washer game, a bird house, a gingerbread house (you don’t have to wait for Christmas!), a sculpture, a scrapbook, an apron & chef hat, an outfit for the Barbie or baby doll, a cape for your little super hero (yes, boys can sew too!), a planting box, a ramp to drive their trucks down, a skate ramp (for older kids!), and sock puppets.
10. Listen to a story together. You can either take turns reading aloud or listen to audiobooks.  Most libraries carry a good selection of audiobooks or you can download free audiobooks.  You can even take turns making up your own stories to share with each other.

No matter what you choose to do as a family remember that being together and enjoying each other’s company is what is important, not the activity that you are participating it.  Even grocery shopping can be fun if done together as a game!  Now, go and enjoy your family!!

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You can find other frugal ideas at Frugal Fridays hosted by Life as Mom and Frugal Family Fun hosted by Cents to Get Debt-Free.