Gumball

I've got dresses I bought on clearance last year for my daughter in sizes for the next 2 or 3 years. LOL Same with chenille (sp?) sweaters for her.

I think the store here still has some in their dollar spot. Last time I looked they still had lots of the chopsticks, diffusers, sake sets and the other stuff.

Disney is releasing the original Jungle Book movie on DVD on October 2nd. My DD & I can't wait for that one, I remember it from when I was a kid.

I did find a set of the National Geographic books on eBay for a starting bid of $19.95 - is that a good price? http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290163710179&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=019

She turns 8 next week and she reads at a grade 5 or 6 level. Tonight she informed me she wants some books on science. Oceanography, biology, botany, and any other similar subjects. She wants to know how everything works and asks me questions all the time. I can't afford a set of encyclopedias right now and don't really have room for them anyway. Does anybody know of some big books with pictures as well as lots of info that I could get for her for Christmas? I'd like to find at least 3 or 4 books minimum but would love to get around 6 of them so I can cover more territory. 4 years ago it was easy, she was only interested in Tweety Bird. I bought her a Tweety music box. Now she's so smart I don't know what to get for her.

I've made candles before and you have to be very careful about putting them in thin glass like in a wineglass because it could shatter from the heat of the flame. Heavier glass works best, it won't shatter as easily as the other can.

Meijer & Big Lots are open on T-day and if you have a Super Walmart near you, they are supposed to be open then too.

Easy Frozen Peppermint Cheesecake 1 1/4 C. chocolate wafer cookie crumbs (about 24 wafers) 1/4 C. sugar 1/4 C. margarine or butter, melted Combine crumbs, sugar, and margarine. Press on bottoms and halfway up sides of two 9-inch springform pan or pie pan. 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk) 1 C. crushed hard peppermint candy Red food coloring, optional 2 C. whipping cream, whipped (or nondairy whipped topping) In a large mixing bowl, beat cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk. Stir in crushed candy and food coloring if desired. Fold in whipped cream. Pour into prepared pan, and cover. Freeze 6 hours or until firm. Garnish as desired. Yield: Two 9" pies. ****************************************** Peppermint Balls 2 T. cream cheese 1 t. milk 1/2 C. powdered sugar 2 T. finely crushed peppermint candies 1 drop red food coloring 1 C. butter 1/2 C. powdered sugar 2 1/3 C. flour 1 t. vanilla Combine cream cheese and milk. Add 1/2 C. powdered sugar slowly. Stir in 2 T. crushed peppermint candy & food coloring, set aside for filling. Cream butter and 1/2 C. powdered sugar. Mix in vanilla, then flour. Knead dough into balls, make a deep well in center of each ball. Fill with 1/4 t. of filling, shape a scant 1/4 t. of dough into a flat round, lay on top of filling; press gently to seal. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, bake 350° F for 12 minutes. Roll cookies while warm in a mixture of: 1/4 C. powdered sugar 6 T. finely crushed peppermint candies ****************************************** Peppermint Pretzel Canes 6 oz. vanilla flavor candy coating, cut into pieces 2 T. shortening 2/3 C. peppermint candy; finely crushed 12 pretzel rods Line cookie sheet with waxed paper. Melt candy coating and shortening in a medium saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Pour into 11 x 7 inch or other shallow baking pan. Carefully set baking dish in hot water to keep coating soft carefully, so that you do not to get any water in coating. Sprinkle crushed peppermint candy over separate sheet of waxed paper. Roll pretzels in coating, allowing excess to drip off. Roll in crushed candy. Place on lined cookie sheet; let stand until set. ***************************************** Holiday Mints 2 C. powdered sugar 2 T. butter 1 egg white 1/2 t. mint flavoring Mix powdered sugar and butter together. Add egg white and flavoring, as well as any food coloring desired. Mix well, adding extra powdered sugar if needed to make a soft dough. Roll into balls the size of large marbles and press with a fork to flatten and add ridges. ***************************************** Peppermint Meringue Kisses 2 egg whites 1/4 . salt 3/4 C. sugar 1/2 t. vanilla extract 1/4 t. peppermint flavoring 1/2 C. miniature chocolate chips 4 T. finely chopped peppermint candy red or green food coloring (optional) Beat egg whites and salt at high speed until stiff but not dry. Add sugar gradually. Beat 5 minutes or longer until very stiff. Fold in vanilla, chocolate chips and peppermint. Add drop or more of food color, depending on how much color you want in the cookies. Drop by teaspoon onto greased cookie sheet. Bake at 250° F. for 45 minutes. Makes about 6 dozen. ******************************************** Santa's Favorite Cane Cookies 1 C. butter 1/2 C. powdered sugar 1 t. vanilla extract 1/2 t. salt 2 C. flour 1/4 t. baking powder Peppermint frosting (see recipe below) Preheat oven to 350° F.. Cream butter. Add sugar gradually. Blend in vanilla, salt, flour and baking powder. Shape level teaspoonfuls of dough into pencil-like strips. Turn one end to resemble a cane and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake in preheated oven about 10 minutes. Remove to cool on racks. Peppermint frosting 3 T. whipping cream, about 1 1/2 C. powdered sugar 1 t. vanilla extract 1/4 t. peppermint extract Red food coloring Add enough cream to sugar to make frosting of spreading consistency. Add vanilla and peppermint. Divide frosting into two equal parts. Color one part red. Meanwhile, prepare peppermint frosting. Use to decorate the cooled cookie canes with alternate stripes of red and white. Makes about 6 dozen cookies. ************************************ Candy Cane Cookies 1/2 C. butter 1/2 C. shortening 1 C. confectioners sugar 1 egg 1 1/2 t. almond extract 1 t.. salt 2 1/2 C. flour 1/2 t. red food color 1/2 C. crushed peppermint candy 1/2 C. sugar Heat oven to 375° F. Thoroughly mix butter, shortening, confectioners sugar, egg and flavorings. Blend in flour and salt. Divide dough in half. Blend food coloring into one half and add half of the crushed peppermint candy. Shape 1 t. dough from each half into 4 inch rope. For smooth even ropes, roll them back and forth on lightly floured board. Place ropes side by side. Press together lightly and twist. Complete cookies one at a time. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Curve top down to form handle of cane. Bake about 9 minutes or until set and very light brown. Mix remaining peppermint candy and sugar. Immediately sprinkle cookies with candy mixture. Remove from baking sheet and cool. --------------------- http://www.razzledazzlerecipes.com/christmasfun/candycane.htm

Here's a Kodak Easy Share in pink - http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=5715927

I was in the Anderson IN store today and there were several team members back in the school supply clearance area. I didn't get the chance to ask them but it looked like they were changing the 30% off to 75% off on what was left.

The Sears here has clearance but at only 50% off. I was there this morning and I couldn't find a single thing that wasn't still overpriced. I saw a girls High School Musical tank top that looked almost exactly like one I saw at Walmart for about $7.00. THIS one was clearanced at $9.00 and originally was $18.00!

For Kindergarten my daughter gave her teacher an apple shaped jingle bell tree ornament. Looked pretty and it was cheap - $1.00 from the dollar store. She just gave Christmas cards to the rest of them.

I've done Big Lots, Kmart and Meijer on Thanksgiving before. This year we have a new Super Walmart so I can shop there on Thanksgiving as well as BF.

When my DD was in Kindergarten they didn't really have a gift exchange but I decided to do something cute but cheap anyway. (It was either that or bring in more cookies & cake - something they had plenty of already.) I bought a couple of packages of small silver colored plastic ornaments and wrote each child's name on them plus what grade and the year. That way they all had a small souvenir they could keep for years. I had my DD hand out each ornament along with a Christmas card that she had wrote out herself. I was a big hit with the parents there because the ornament was one less sugar-filled piece of food their kids would be eating before supper. LOL They were also impressed that she could read every name on the cards and ornaments without help. I took a disposable camera with me and got pics of everyone I could, all the kids were competing to see who had the cheesiest grin whenever they saw me turn their direction.

I'd love to get her one but I don't have the room for it. I live in a small 2 BR duplex and there's almost no storage space in here as it is. She has a lot of Thomas the Tank Engine little metal trains and lots of track for it that she can put together. The best part of it is that it can get put back in it's case and it's off the floor and out of the way. :)

My daughter wants some of those toy playmats they have at the store here. I thought I might get a couple extra in case they rip or she wants to expand her play areas. I'm debating on whether or not I should get any of the little train sections (she loves Thomas and other trains) or the wooden tracks because it would be my luck that if I got any of them, they would get recalled right after Christmas.

Oh wow! I have to go over there now that I've seen this, but it'll have to wait until Monday or my DD will see it.

Was the package marked that it had a coupon inside? I bought one the other day and it didn't have a coupon in it.

Jacket doesn't come in my size.

Here's a site that gives detailed info on making those rice packs - http://www.reddawn.net/quilt/hotpads.htm

I don't think it would be practical. Usually if you set a hot pan on something, you want a flat, level surface so it won't tip over and spill.

Nope, never seen one there either. Kmart is pretty much the last one around to have a lay-away left.

You can also make cold packs with rice.:) COLD PACK:Just fill a large freezer bag about half way with uncooked rice and freeze. The rice will retain the cold and make an efective ice pack when you need one to cool an injury. HOT PACK:Just fill the bottom of a cotton sock (old tube sock will do) with uncooked rice and tie off the top. Microwave until hot. It may only take 30 seconds to 1 minute to reach your desired temperature so keep a close eye om it the first time you heat it up. It can burn you if you leave it in too long. You can also add fillings like coarsely broken cinnamon sticks, lavender buds, whole cloves or whole allspice to the heat packs for a nice aroma. These rice bags can be made in different sizes depending on their intended use. Make a longer shape to lay over the shoulders and neck, or a square one to be laid on arms or legs, or applied to the lower back. http://www.reddawn.net/quilt/hotpads.htm

I don't know where you're located but the Meijer store here in Anderson got rid of their layaway when they did their major remodleing last year.

He brings however many she doesn't already know about by Christmas. LOL