Happy Birthday Taz!

Today my puppy turns 8 yrs old. Yes, I have a New Years dog. This is not just a birthday celebration today it is also a celebration of him being a 1 year cancer survivor. It was this time last year our Airedale Terrier had a big knot on his left front leg. Several weeks before that we noticed him limping on his foot. We took him to the vet, the vet took x-rays and said the same thing we thought, he had just sprained his foot. Several weeks later a big knot appeared. I just thought it was a knot due to the inflamed tissues. The thoughts of cancer never crossed my mind. Within a week of the knot appearing, we took him back to the vet, to hear the words no one wanted to hear. Our dog had a fast growing bone cancer in his leg. As a family we had to make the hard decision. Was we going to have him put down or let him try to survive the cancer by removing his leg? We chose to give him the chance of survival, so he had the surgery. The surgery was very hard on him. But he rallied. We are so thankful to have him with us today.  Happy Birthday Taz!




Magical Santa Key

Since we will be celebrating our first Christmas in our new home. Our daughter has been very worried, that Santa will not find her, since our home does not have a chimney.  If she only knew..LOL. So where does a desperate mom go when searching for something? Pinterest it is. I looked at several different versions of Santa Keys and how people decorate them. There was some with a long story that I could have used, but I wanted to bring it down to a four year old perspective. I came up with a little poem, typed it up, grabbed the scrapbook acid free paper and hit print. I was also lucky to have red and white ribbon in my scrapbook supplies too.
As for the key, there is some sentimental meaning behind it. In our old house, we had some skeleton key locks that no longer worked and they were going to be replaced. Shhh.. I took one of the keys. One day I will tell my daughter that the key is from the first house she lived in. If you are not blessed to have old skeleton key doors in your home. I think you can pick up a key like this in any craft store or a key store.
On to the poem. If you like what your read please feel free to use the poem. All I ask is to not mass produce the poem without my consent.


On the night before Christmas
On the door it will be
A special key
For you and I to see

No worries or fears
Santa's reindeer's will see
The magical glow
Where the special key will be




I plan to have my daughters Elf (Isabella) bring it tonight. Along with having Isabella having the Bible open to the birth of Jesus.
Have a Merry Christmas!

Special ornaments

As a little girl I remember getting to help hang ornaments on the Christmas tree. One ornament that sticks out in my mind from way back then, was a little red cow bell. Every year I wanted to place that ornament on the tree. This year my little one was grabbing ornaments and placing them all over the tree. There is some ornaments that I have collected over the years and it made me very nervous when she touched them. Do you have any favorite or special ornaments?

This is my Lenox wedding ornament.

This ornament represents my husbands and daughters first trip to Walt Disney World.

We all need our Mommy to be ornaments.

This is one of my newest ornaments. Our new home.

My daughter started dance last year. The date is on the back of the shoes.

What tree would not be complete with out the family names.

This ornament celebrates my daughters first Christmas.

This is another new ornament on my tree this year. We just started basketball in the fall. I have not told you all yet, but I am her coach.

This ornament is for the first Christmas my husband and I was married.
The cow bell from when I was little.



I hope one day that some of these special ornaments that I have collected will hang on my daughters Christmas tree. What is some of your special ornaments?






More places Isabella the Elf on Shelf has been





This past week has been an adventure with our elf. My daughter went out of town to spend several nights with my parents and to be in a 2 night showing of Jesus The One And Only which is a Christmas play. While on this trip my little cousin who would be my daughters 2nd cousin, touched Isabella on the hat. She was not aware of the Elf on the Shelf and the rules. My daughter informed her really fast that if you touch the elf, she will loose her magic. Quickly thinking my daughter looked at her best friend and said you must apologize to Isabella and tell her what you want for Christmas, so she does not loose her magic. Thanks goodness problem diverted. So where has Isabella been at this past week?

Isabella looking over my daughters Ginger Bread House that she made the night before.
My daughter places her baby dolls in this basket and carries them around. Isabella wanted her to carry her around too!


Isabella ready to go on a road trip. I made sure my daughters bag was packed the night before, so Isabella could snuggle up in the suitcase. We found Isabella in this same spot the morning my daughter had to come back home.

While at Grandma's, Isabella hung out on the mantel. Isn't that a gorgeous mantel? I will have to show you all my Mom's decorations, they are awesome.

The morning we got home from our trip, we found Isabella in the tower of my daughters play house.


 With just a week left I have some great hiding places for Isabella the elf to hide. I can't wait.


I have posted this post to the following blogs:
Fox Hollow Cottage

Where has Isabella the Elf been lately?

Do to the Holiday's, I have postponed Recipe Monday until the New Year. Today I wanted to post about our Elf on the Shelf, named Isabella. Our Elf has not been mischievous yet. I am still letting my four year old get use to her. Isabelle has been in many places here lately. I am still amazed at how my daughter gets up every morning on the hunt for Isabella. It is so cute to watch my daughter go up to her and tell her what she wants for Christmas. I have even heard her tell Isabella to tell Santa that some of her friends need to go on the naughty list. I will not mention names, but my name has been said many times. So here is the top pictures of where Isabella has been lately.

This is my center piece on my kitchen table. Isabella is turned facing the chair where my daughter sits.

My daughter places many of her baby dolls in this basket and she carries them around. Isabella wanted to be carried too!

Isabella swinging on a Snowman tea light

I just love Instagram.

My daughter had her Thomas the Train toys in the Kitchen one night, so Isabella started playing with them.

Isabella hanging by the Barbie pool. If my daughter wants water in her Barbie pool, she must play on the tile in the bathroom.

This was the biggest hit. Isabella building marshmallow men with Frosty the Snow Man.

When my daughter saw this, she just had to make some marshmallow men too.
Hope you liked where Isabella has been these last few days. Stay tuned to see her latest hang outs. Merry Christmas. I have linked this post to the following blogs:

Top Pinterest Flop Comments




 It's been a tough week at my house, with Christmas around the corner and sickness. If your house is anything like mine last week, you might have not seen my Recipe Monday Pinterest flop. For those of you who missed it, I had my first Pinterest Flop and I asked for comments from anyone who had ever had a Pinterest flop, I wanted to hear about it. You could have placed a  link or commented about your Pinterest flop in the comment section. I also added that I would take the top ones and  preview them on the Nifty Thrifty Family Blog.

So Amanda from Life, Experience Needed had the top Pinterest Flop. Her Apple Fritters did not turn out like the Pinterest page directions said they would. To read about her Pinterest flop Apple Fritters, swing by her blog, Life, Experience Needed. The funny thing is that she said she tried making the recipe that was my Pinterest flop too and it did not work for her either. I take that as the recipe was bad and not the cook..LOL.

Thanks for leaving the wonderful comments everyone. If you ever have a Pinterest flop, I would love to hear about it.

Outside Christmas Decorations

I just love the Christmas Season. I love driving by homes and seeing all of the Christmas decorations in the yards and windows. Every year I wish that I could twinkle my nose and my Christmas decor would be magically in place outside. I just hate getting out in the cold  to string lights and stake down decorations. Last year my daughter kept saying we were the only house that did not have Christmas lights outside. It broke my heart so bad that I braved the cold and placed all of the lights out. She thought an Elf came and done it. This year the Christmas Decorations for the outside was in place outside before Thanksgiving. 60 degree weather equals Christmas stuff being hung. It was only the weekend before Thanksgiving, I am not that crazy! But boy did I love not freezing. Enough about me, on to the pictures.

Here is my Fiber Optic Santa. The two gnomes, my daughter placed and we just had to keep them there. I think it adds flair.

Frosty the Snow Man

What yard would not be complete with out a blow up?

Our sign telling Santa to stop.

The wreath on the door.
Well that is all of my outside decor. Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas.

Recipe Monday Pinterest Flop

I thought I was going to have a great crock pot chicken recipe to share with you today. But the recipe did not turn out, like I pictured or how it was pictured on Pinterest. I guess my recipe was one of those Pinterest flops. Here is what the picture looked like on Pinterest.

Looks yummy right? Looking at that picture makes my mouth water.

The ingredients that was used to make this gorgeous picture was
1 pack chicken breast tenderloins,1 cup pineapple juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/3 cup light soy sauce. Placed in the crock pot for 6 to 8 hours. I added chunks of pineapple too.

Here's what everything looked like in the crock pot at the beginning.



After 7 hrs of cooking, here's the finished result.








This looks totally different than what was pictured. The meal was not the best. You get the hint real fast, when the hubby does not go back for seconds and your child says this is nasty through the whole meal.

Have you had a Pinterest flop? I would love to hear about it. Please leave comments about your Pinterest flop or leave comments on the Nifty Thrifty Family Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/NiftyThriftyFamily). I will pick several of the top flops and post them Saturday Dec 8, 2012.
Can't wait to hear about your Pinterest flops.



Where is Isabella the Elf?

Isabella the Elf has been at our house for several weeks now. Buying the Elf on the Shelf was the best decision ever made. My daughter is excited every morning to get up and go look for Isabella. We did not want to scare our daughter, so for the first several weeks, we started off with simple placement of the Elf.
One mistake I have already made is that I forgot to move her one night. Usually my husband will pick up my slack, but both of us forgot that night. Our daughter woke up and found her in the same place. I had to think of something real fast, so I said to our daughter: I thought you walked by her last night and accidentally brushed her with your arm. My daughter was devastated. So I told her to go tell Isabella what she wanted for Christmas and that she was sorry that she accidentally touching her. When my daughter was eating breakfast and not looking I rushed to move the Elf.


Isabella on our Christmas Tree.
  We have noticed that Isabella has a thing for our living room and all the Christmas decorations.
Isabella must miss Santa. We find her by the many Santa's a lot.

She sometimes hangs out in the kitchen above the sink.

Isabella wanted to wrap up in a towel too.

 Here lately Isabella has been sorta silly.
Above the stove, she is watching to make sure our daughter cleaned her plate at supper.

She found a toy.


This was where Isabella sat the first day.


 I will post more as the of the spots Isabella appears in the weeks leading up to Christmas. This is so much fun.





I have linked this blog to following blogs:


Raising Imperfection

A full bodied parakeet barked

Good Evening everyone. I am trying to sign up for PayPerPost. I was told during the application process to create blog post using the sentence below to see if my blog is a real blog.

A full bodied parakeet barked

If a full bodied parakeet barked at me, I think I would run. I am terrified of birds and will not get near them.
So there would not be any parakeet barking at me.

Have a Great Night.

Mid Week Inspiration

Today the Nifty Thrifty Family turned 3 months old. I am still just a baby blogger in a big sea of bloggers, but I am thankful to make it to this milestone. Thank you for helping me make it this far. Today the Mid Week Inspiration comes from the book of 1 Thessalonians.  

In every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV

Utilizing your Smart Phone

I hope everyone got everything they needed for Christmas on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. I am almost done with my shopping. I just wished my husband would tell me what he wants for Christmas. If you are not done shopping, I hope this post will help you save money. I only try to buy items that are on sale. But sometimes the sale price in one store is not the best sell price out on the market. Instead of running from one store to the next looking for the best price, utilize your smart phone. There is some great apps that are awesome and free, that will show you where the best deal is at. I have four apps on my phone that I use and they are:

Snaptell
Lets you take a picture of the item, scan a bar code or enter a title or bar code number. This app will give you online prices and local prices.

Red laser
 lets you type the name or the bar code or scan the item.

Amazon app
allows you to scan the bar code  or type in the product. Here you can see what is selling for online.

eBay
is another great app. If the buy it now price and shipping is cheaper you can save some big bucks.

If you know of any other good apps please let me know. The above apps are for an IPhone. But I am sure if you have another phone there is apps that will do the same thing,

Please note I am not being paid or compensated in any way to talk about these companies. I am only sharing ways to help you save money.

Pat's Yummy Meatballs

Meatballs are the best thing to serve at parties. One of my friends gave me this recipe and it is the bomb. This recipe can be prepped in under 2 minutes flat. This recipe would make for a great addition to any Christmas Party or New Years Eve Party.

Home style meatballs from your local grocery store. I buy from Kroger and I purchase the ones that are made with Romano cheese
1/2 cup Smucker apricot preserves
1/4 cup Heinz chili sauce.

Place all ingredients in the crock pot on low until they are warm.



 I have linked this to the following parties:
http://raegunwear.blogspot.com/2012/11/what-we-wore-read-and-made-link-party_27.html

My Christmas Decor in my living room

This is my favorite time of the year. I love Christmas. This year has been more exciting for me than ever. I have a new home that I have never decorated before for Christmas. How exciting is that? Since I am a big Black Friday shopper and I have family that comes from out of town to go shopping with me, I try to have my Christmas decor out, so they can see it and enjoy it.

Check out our clip of Black Friday shopping that the Courier Journal newspaper took of us shopping at Kohls Thursday night. Yes my family was 2nd in line.
Louisville shoppers seek big deals in the wee hours

This year decorating was a challenge within its self. My previous home had 9 foot ceilings and I own a 9 foot Prelit Christmas tree. My new home has 8 foot ceilings. Since my husband and I are trying to become debt free, buying a new Christmas tree was out of the question. Thoughts of trying to cut my Christmas tree came to mind. But I was thankful this year, because my Mom had a 7 foot tree in her attic. She had not used that tree for years and after many weeks of begging, she finally gave it to me.
So no more waiting here is my inside Christmas decor in my living room.

My Christmas Tree
My Banister
Top of Banister looking down

Inside view of banister

Bottom of the Banister

My Daughter had to have her Christmas Tree in the Living Room with the big tree


I have a lot of Santas.

















My sofa table, that we will be hanging the stockings for Christmas Eve. 


That's it folks. This is my living room for Christmas.
Merry Christmas!

I have linked this post to the following Parties:
 http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/

http://www.mygirlishwhims.com

 http://www.houseontheway.com/deck-the-halls-party-featuring-christmas-trees/