First Week of Advent Readings

Sunday – Romans 13:11-14
Monday – Isaiah 1:16-18
Tuesday – Isaiah 60:1-3
Wednesday – Psalm 43: 3-5
Thursday – Isaiah 58:6-9
Friday – Jeremiah 33:14-16
Saturday – Isaiah 60:19-22

Second Week of Advent Readings

Sunday – Isaiah 40:1-5
Monday – Revelation 1:7-8
Tuesday – Matthew 22:41-45
Wednesday – Hosea 11:3-4
Thursday – Psalm 130
Friday – Micah 6:6-8
Saturday – Jeremiah 14: 8-9

Third Week of Advent Readings

Sunday – Isaiah 9:6-7
Monday – Isaiah 7:10-14
Tuesday – Isaiah 11:1-6
Wednesday – Isaiah 40:10-11
Thursday – Isaiah 52:7
Friday – Jeremiah 33:14-16
Saturday – Malachi 3:1-2

Fourth Week of Advent Readings

Sunday – John 3:16-21
Monday – Luke 1:1-25
Tuesday – Luke 1:26-38
Wednesday – Luke 1:39-56
Thursday – Luke 1:57-66
Friday – Luke 1:67-80
Christmas Eve – Matthew 1:18-25

1/3 C. liquid starch

1 C. soap flakes or detergent granules

1 to 2 T. water

Blue food coloring

Mix liquid starch into the soap flakes. Add the water and beat with a rotary beater until the mixture has the consistency of marshmallow fluff or thick meringue.

Beat in the blue food coloring drop by drop to achieve a white, icy effect. Using a clean paintbrush, dab the snow onto the tops of your green branches in various artistic patterns.

You can also sprinkle sequins, glitter or confetti over the Christmas Snow.

CAUTION: Make certain that children realize the snow is made of soap and should not be handled or played with.

1. Prescriptions: Always ask your physician for the generic equivalent, which can cost up to 40 percent less, then shop around.  Wal-Mart and Target offer the most popular generic drugs for as little as $4 per month.

2. Food: Make a weekly menu and shopping list based on what’s on sale and in season at your local grocery store.

Then go to CouponMom.com or MyGroceryDeals.com (both free, registration required). Click on your state and local grocery store, and the sites tell you specific bargains available that week so you can stock up.

CouponMom also tells you whether a coupon is available and exactly where to find it (i.e. “Smart Source insert 10/5″).

When you are in the store check the price of the sale/coupon item against the generic brand to make sure it’s really a deal.  Then use the store’s loyalty card for any more savings that may apply.

3. Dry cleaning: Wool, cashmere, silk, rayon, polyester, and spandex can all be laundered.  Manufacturers actually wash the fabric before they construct it into a garment and add the “dry clean only” label to avoid liability issues.

Hand-wash or use a mesh bag in the washing machine (delicate cycle on cool). Lay wool and cashmere flat to dry; everything else, including cotton and linen, can be thrown in the dryer on a low-heat/delicate setting, then pressed with a low iron if needed.

Hang up and air out suits immediately; use a lint-free cloth and a stain-removing product to eliminate perspiration or other stains on the inside lining, and spot clean exterior stains. Using this method means suits only need to be dry cleaned two to four times a season.

Makes about 4-6 servings.

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

1 1/4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast meat

2 cloves garlic

2 cans chopped green chilies

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp white pepper

Pinch of salt

Pinch cayenne pepper

2 cups chicken stock

1 15 oz can white hominy

1 cup sour cream

Garnish

1/4 cup fresh cilantro or parsley

In large saucepan over medium heat, heat half of oil; cook chopped onion for 5 minutes. Set aside. Heat remaining oil on other side of pan over high heat; brown chicken on all sides, about 5 minutes. Stir in minced garlic, peppers, cumin, oregano, salt, white pepper and cayenne; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add in cooked onions. Stir in stock; bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in beans and hominy (drained and rinsed); cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in sour cream. Simmer 5 minutes more. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Serve sprinkled with chopped cilantro or parsley.

Makes 6 servings

1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cooked and shredded

1 can (15 ounces) whole tomatoes

1 can (10 ounces) enchilada sauce

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies

1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups water

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) chicken broth

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn

1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

6 corn tortillas

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

grated parmesan cheese for garnish

In crock-pot, combine the shredded chicken, whole tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chilies, and garlic. Add the water, chicken broth, cumin, chili powder, salt, black pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in the corn, black beans and cilantro. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. (Remove the bay leaf before serving).

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush both sides of the tortillas with vegetable oil. Cut the tortillas into strips that are 2 1/2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. Spread tortilla strips onto a baking sheet. Bake, turning occasionally, until crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle tortilla strips and grated parmesan cheese over soup.

Have you ever had an appliance under warranty break, but because you didn’t keep the necessary warranty information you had to pay to have it fixed? Or have you ever searched high and low for an appliance manual but just could not find it? After these two situations happened to me over and over again, I decided that I needed a central location for all of my warranty and manual information. Hence, the “Appliance Binder” was born.

To make your own Appliance Binder, purchase a simple three ring, clear view binder and a set of alphabetical tabs. Place each warranty, along with the manual and the purchase receipt in a page protector under the letter that stands for the appliance. For instance my vacuum information is placed under “V”. Highlight the warranty expiration date so that you can quickly spot when a warranty has expired.

Next, slip a cover sheet with the title “Appliance Binder” in the plastic window of the front of the binder and another into the spine window so that you can easily find it on your book shelf.

My binder has gotten a bit large over the years so I recently divided it into two binders, one with sections A through M and the other with sections N through Z.

Now when your coffee pot goes haywire, you will confidently go to your bookcase and pull out your Appliance Binder with all the information you need to get it fixed. Doesn’t it feel great to be organized!