If you’re like almost all families, you are continually on the lookout for yummy ideas for supper. As a busy mom, you need recipes that are quick to prepare, meals that your family will rave about, something a little different once in a while and something easy on the budget. Here are ten things you can do with hamburger to stretch that grocery budget is some new ways: 1. Waikiki Meatballs 1 1/2 pounds ground beef 2/3 cup cracker crumbs 1/3 cup onion, minced 1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1/4 teaspoon ginger 1/4 cup milk 1 tablespoon shortening 2 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 cup...

Thanksgivings were always held at my grandma's house, which was kind of funny because Nannie, as we called her, couldn't cook. She didn't know that, with the exception of her desserts, everyone avoided her cooking. Lucky for us, she had somehow managed to inherit the baking gene from her own mother, but the bus stopped at cooking any kind of real food. Every year that she insisted we all have Thanksgiving at her house, Mom desperately tried to convince her otherwise. But when Nannie was adamant, she was adamant. So Mom got the idea to have a potluck Thanksgiving. She phoned all th...

Every autumn, home owners rake up their leaves, place them in bags and put them out on the curb. Every autumn I gas up my mini-van, drive around my neighborhood and steal them. I'm a skilled leaf thief and can usually fill the van two or three times in a weekend. Unlike regular thieves, I don't fence the goods on the black market because the leaves are more valuable to me and to my garden. Leaves are a great ingredient for making compost and gardeners can't get enough of them. A person becomes a leaf thief because you can only produce so much yard waste on your own. You rake up your leave...

As parents we are concerned about every aspect of parenting our children. We worry about the amount of nutrients they consume daily, that they receive adequate amounts of exercise and that we’re raising healthy, happy kids. One area that is often overlooked or under-looked as the case may be, is the amount of sleep our children are getting each day. How much sleep do kids need anyway? According to a National Sleep Foundation report, one-third of children under the age of five and one out of four school aged children do not receive adequate hours of sleep. We all know what it feels li...

I recall this change happening at about the age of eight. At the time what my elders had to say really didn’t have an effect on me. I wasn’t tending to not listen, it was just that I was usually busy doing and thinking about other things, like why my parents had been getting a divorce, or why my cousin felt the need to pick on me all the time, and that led to me getting lost in the television every chance I got. Even to this day it is a family joke that my ‘Abuelo’ Thomas would call for me, “Ardy, could you help me with something?” and I would respond, staring at the television as if to be hyp...

Scrapbook is an essential haven for timeless memories. It can record your family history, celebrations and other gatherings. It is sometimes accompanied with journalizing. Through the same, additional memories will be recollected. A scrapbook can last a lifetime if you know what materials to use and what not to. Parents often resort to scrap booking when they wanted to personalize their photos. Aside from that, scrap booking is also resorted by parents to keep the artworks, cards, letters and other vital stuffs that their children are giving them. Hence, they preserve the memories and mat...

Are you a businessperson or chef planning to put up a restaurant? Are you an established restaurateur hoping to update and perk up your current style? As markets, tastes, and trends change, then so does restaurant business education. If you do go back to school and take a short restaurant business course, not only will you learn new things, you'll be able to tailor your restaurant to fit the needs and wants of the ever changing market. What can you learn in restaurant business education? • The Basics - Before going to the kitchen, you have to know why people eat at restaurants, ...

Catastrophe Survival Tips for You, Your Family and Your Business Whether it is a natural disaster like hurricane Katrina or an unnatural catastrophe like an upwind industrial chemical explosion, what you do now to protect yourself and your family can make the difference between life and death. After you survive, rebuilding your life and business quickly becomes critical. Please, do not for one moment think that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is going to be able to get to you in time, unless you have already taken these steps to rescue yourself. Tragically, even 10 days af...