Laura Williams' Musings: 10/1/11

at 5:00 AM

Restocking the pantry takes on different ideas from one person to another because of the needs, likes/dislikes,etc.

I am constantly restocking the pantry though whether it’s through home canned items or store bought good deals.

For instance…

I buy (read… stock up on) baking supplies such as brown sugar, chocolate chips, etc. during November and December and usually again around Easter as that’s when the best baking deals are. I also have been known to buy after season chocolates and candies and put them in the freezer for baking with later too. You can break up chocolate candied snowmen, bunny rabbits, etc. to use in baking in place of milk chocolate pieces in cookies, etc. and yes, melt them down to use too. Cinnamon candies, colored candied chocolates, etc. are good to use for baking as well and can be found at Christmas, Easter, valentines, halloween, etc.

In addition to stocking up on seasonal and after-holiday sales, I home can fruit, veggies, and meats. We do grow a garden but I also am blessed to live near a lot of farms… some of which offer U-Pick. We have been blessed by friends and neighbors as well with fruits and vegetables. I don’t ever say no. God knows what we need before we do and HE sends something our way I’m sure.

I also will buy things in bulk and home can those too. Dried beans is a good example of this. I home can jars of pinto beans, black beans, kidney beans, etc. I buy big bags (25lbs usually) and can get quite a few jars from those. I try to keep at least 7 jars canned up of each type of bean at a time. Sometimes I do a few more up as space permits. We use these for pint beans with cornbread, to make refried beans, in chili, etc. etc. Convenience food the old timey way – home canned!

In addition to home canning and buying during seasonal buys, I buy in bulk … not just beans but rice, wheat berries, big bags of regular sugar, rolled oats, etc. etc. I’ve talked about Bulk Food Buying & Bulk Food Storage before and Buying in Bulk – When it’s smart to do so. I’ve also talked about having a Price Book so you will know when a deal is a good deal.

I also don’t pass up markdown bins on meat and produce either. I may be able to freeze it when I get home (such as the meat) or be able to can it or dehydrate it if I can’t use the produce quickly or if it’s fruit, I can puree and dry to make fruit leather.

I make many of my own mixes using items I have own hand. These books are a blessing to be able to stock my pantry with homemade mixes and forego many pre-packaged store items:

** (click on either of those to go to the Amazon page for that book)

Stocking your pantry for day to day use is wise. Learn how to cook from scratch and forego the frequent meals out, the convenient pre-packaged foods from the supermarket that are laden with preservatives and other ingredients you can’t even pronounce. Yes stocking your pantry for the day to use is wise, BUT stocking it for the unexpected is smart! With today’s economy like it is, people have lost their jobs, homes, etc. and unfortunately are continuing to do so, it’s smart to have a stocked pantry to feed yourself and your family in lean times.

A pantry doesn’t just have to consist of food though. Stock up on health and beauty items as well when you find a good deal. Match coupons up where possible to make that good deal an even better one.

Stocking up when the prices are the lowest, will free up more money for you to apply elsewhere… maybe a bill you’re trying to pay off, a car repair or tires, etc.

Even if you don’t home can or buy in bulk, you can still stock up. When you see those cans of green beans go on sale, instead of buying one… buy 3 or 4 (or more if the store permits and there’s no limit). Green beans will go on sale around Thanksgiving along with other ingredients for making green bean casserole.

So think ahead and stock up!

Head on over to the The Homestead Revival Barn Hop #34

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at 5:00 AM

One of our all-time favorite magazines has to be the Countryside & Small Stock Journal.

This little gem of a magazine has interesting articles, sometime recipes, and most definitely tips plus more to delight any homesteader or wanna be homesteader.

If you have never seen a copy of this magazine, you are seriously missing out on great resource for country living!

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at 5:00 AM

With my garden put to bed for the winter, my canning season on the slow burn (still canning things here and there – dried beans, meats, etc.), it’s time to start pulling out the crafts.

I am sooo far behind on scrapbooking it’s not even funny. Once, I was caught up. I can’t even remember how long ago that way.

I haven’t made handmade soaps or candles in a while or done any real sewing other than mending things here and there.

I ran across this book in the Lehman’s catalog and found it also online at Amazon:

It looks to be like an interesting book. I thought I’d see if the library has a copy of it by chance.

Do you make homemade soaps, candles, or do other crafts in the Fall and Winter more than you do during Spring and Summer?

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at 5:00 AM

If you are like us, we like using real butter… margarine (or as we call it “fake butter) …. the real deal. You know REAL butter – just cream and salt. Sometimes I buy the unsalted butter but prefer the salted butter.

Well if you use real butter, you know very well that cold real butter does not spread well. It will tear your piece of toast or pancake up as well as that biscuit or cornbread muffin.

Did you know there is a solution to having soft butter all the time?

It’s called a butter bell.

I had been wanting one for some time but just couldn’t decide on which one I wanted and really didn’t want to pay almost $30 for it after shipping, etc.

My family and I were at an antique store and I spied one that looks just like the one in the picture below for $6! I snatched it up, clutched it to my chestm and prayed I wouldn’t trip and break it. lol

The other side of the butter bell says Buerre on it (French?? no clue. – Was told it is indeed French. So I guessed good).

You can keep butter in it on your counter up to 30 days without spoiling. You just change the water out every few days to put in fresh cold water and of course you have to refill it with butter when you run out.

I usually wash mine out when it gets empty, then dry it good and refill it. I do have to let the butter sit at room temperature for about an hour or so though so I can smoosh it down into my butter bell and fill it up. The bell opening is just the right size for a spreader to be used or butter knife.

I love this thing!!!

Edited to add just a picture since Amazon was being weird with the link:

Hop on over to…

Farmgirl Friday Bloghop #30

and

Farm Friend Friday Blog Hop

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at 5:00 AM

adapted from the Never Fail Pie Crust found in The Amish Cook cookbook.

Never Fail Pie Crust (whole wheat version)

2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup of shortening (recipe calls for lard but I don't buy lard so I opt for vegetable shortening)
2 tsp of apple cider vinegar
1 egg
3 1/2 TBSP ice water

Mix the flour and salt in a medium size bowl. Cut the shortening into the flour until it's fairly coarse.

In a separate small bowl, combine the vinegar, egg, and ice water and whisk with a fork to blend.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the vinegar mixture into the well. Using a fork, mix the flour mixture into the well until all is blended.

With your hands, work the dough into a ball (or in your mixer if you decided to use that instead).

Divide the ball into two smaller balls.

Press one of the balls with your hands to form a circle and smooth the edges.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the circle to the size pie crust desired -- usually 1/8" thick and slightly bigger than your pie pan about 1-1/2" (this is per the recipe directions in the cookbook)

As with any pie crust, when you are rolling it out, make sure to start from the center otherwise, you're going to have an oblong or other oddly shaped pie crust.

Once rolled to the desired thickness and size, transfer to the pie pan working from the center to the edge. A trick is to fold it over your hand/wrist and then place your hand/wrist over the center of the pie pan with the one edge where you want it on the pie pan and then you can just flip the other side over. Press down into the pan and cut off the excess dough around the outside of pie pan then crimp the edges is so desired.

Pre-bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes if your pie recipe calls for a prebaked shell.

This makes 2 pie crusts.

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at 5:00 AM

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at 5:00 AM

I found this recipe one day when I was looking to use up some cherries that were given to us: Cherry Rhubarb Skillet Pie | Dianasaur Dishes It is delicious!!

Well one night I didn't feel like making the crust to go with that so I melted brown sugar and butter in the skillet first, then poured in the cherry rhubarb mixture then topped that with rolled oats (regular oatmeal but quick oats would work as well) and made a cherry rhubarb crisp.

Tonight, we had Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp in the skillet. Similar to the crisp I made above but changed up and put blueberries in it, only spices I added where cinnamon and some all spice. Just sprinkled over the blueberries on top of the melted brown sugar butter mixture and topped with oats again. Once it started baking, I stirred in the oats to soak up the liquid. Topped it with some cool whip we had on hand. It was a quick and easy dessert and DELICIOUS!

Do you make skillet pies or crisps similar to this? Share some recipes or ideas please.

Don’t miss the $15 free credit at One Kings Lane!!

Check out these wonderful sites:

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at 1:29 PM

There are some NICE candle trios for $15… but if you don’t like those there are some single candles for $16. There are some NICE candle trios for $15… but if you don’t like those there are some single candles for $16. (Click the ALL SALES link and then in the left hand column choose the LUX Embellished Candles link)

Whether you like those candles or not, be sure to SIGN UP NOW because They will only issue the credit for a limited time!!

1. Sign up and get your $15 credit HERE
2. Fill out the information, your credit will appear instantly.
3. Find an item you want and add it to your cart.
4. Check out using your credit. The credit CAN be applied to shipping but I didn’t see things marked for less than $15 this go around. The last time they did this they had bamboo serving spoons that were less than that.

The shipping on the candle trio is about $6.95, I think it was.

I had some credit leftover from something else and that took care of the shipping for me.

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at 5:00 AM

I make this quite often now. Easy to make and no caffeine! I leave out the club soda most of the time as it's just there to give a fizzyness (carbonation). The children don't care and it still tastes good. Honestly, I like it better without the club soda in it. I do substitute 4-1/4 cup of water in place of the club soda.

I have some Swingtop Bottles that I bought here and there at thrift stores, as well as at a local grocery store with French Lemonade “soda” in them. After making the root beer, I pour it into these and store in the fridge. I have 6 of the bottles and need to more so that all of us would have our own bottle of rootbeer but anyways, here’s the easy way to make it.

Root Beer

1 1/2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. McCormick® Root Beer Concentrate
1 bottle (1 liter) cold soda water, seltzer or club soda

BRING water to boil in medium saucepan. Stir in sugar until dissolved. Add Concentrate; stir until well mixed.

REFRIGERATE until ready to serve. Slowly pour soda into root beer mixture until well blended; serve.

Makes 6 cups.

recipe source

There is another variation to this that makes 5 gallons and calls for yeast as well as letting the mixture sit 4 to 6 days: recipe source.

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at 5:00 AM

Autumn Leaf Placemats

Supplies Needed:

dried Autumn leaves in a variety of colors and shapes
you can purchase the artificial leaves in a variety of colors from craft stores if you wish
brown paper the size of a placemat or any color you would like to use for the background
clear contact paper, stick glue

Instructions:

Glue the leaves onto the paper with a stick glue so as to not add too much moisture if you are using real leaves.
After the glued leaves have completely dried, cover both sides with clear contact paper, trimming any excess.

These are a pretty addition to the Fall Themed or Thanksgiving table.

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at 5:00 AM

This post over at The Morris Tribe blog got me to thinking about how we as a family have cut back on what electrical items we had. How we got rid of them for various reasons and chose a non-electrical approach or did away with all together.

So what does that mean for our household…

We don’t have a dishwasher. Our house didn’t have one when we bought it nor a place for it. I kept wanting one and picked up second hand one and hubby installed it in a cabinet that really wasn’t getting used. It worked for a little while but washing dishes by hand did a better job so back out it went. Hubby then converted that old cabinet area to have two pull out drawers / shelves that houses my Bosch and accessories as well as the Vitamix on one drawer and my much loved Excalibur dehydrator on the other shelf.

We don’t have a microwave. Had one, it broke. Had another and it broke. We just stayed microwave-less after that and really haven’t missed it.

We don’t own very many electrical small appliances now. My small kitchen items consist of:

a manual hand-crank coffee grinder (thrift store $5).
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A Bosch I mentioned above that has food processor and blender attachment (love this thing!! Holds 20 cups of flour – enough for 6 loaves of bread and will knead it for me) This replaced a mixer with two bowls, a stand alone blender, and a stand alone food processor. I think I donated them to a local thrift store or oldest dd acquired some (if not) all of them).
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A Vitamix that dh JUST HAD TO HAVE. Ok, I confess I like using this baby to puree tomatoes up for sauce as it will even heat up soup.
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A large and a small old percolator that you can use on a wood stove or reg. stove (one was my parents and one was my grandparents). When the Gevalia coffee maker died, we just opted not to get another one and I dug out the old percolators (these are not electrical ones) and just make coffee in one of those.
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Hubby has a small French press (bought on clearance) he uses for tea and herbal coffee sometimes too.
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After my comment on the aforementioned blog post, we got rid of the 2 toasters (1 – 4 slice and 1 -slice) as they were just taking up space. The 4 slice went to oldest dd and the 1 slice went to the thrift store. I don’t miss them either. We didn’t use them very much anyway.
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I do have my large crockpot hubby bought me when our old one of many years of age gave up the ghost and smaller one that was given to me. I use those a lot during the summer to keep the kitchen cooler as well as during canning season so I am freed up to work on putting food in jars, etc.
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Oh and I have a hand-cranked pasta maker that I found at a local trading post store for $30 and still in the box.
I almost forgot the Foodsaver. It is electrical but I use it more in the summer/fall to put up home dried fruit, etc. I actually used gift cards I received for Kmart years ago and bought mine (a 550) brand new.
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Oh and I have a small meat grinder that came with a handheld jerky maker. I think the grinder is electric but can’t remember as I don’t use it a whole lot. It was a bought on clearance spur of the moment. And on 10/14/11 I found a vintage Maid of Honor meat grinder food chopper still in the original box with original pamphlet. Just missing one of the disk(grinder) but still working great with the others for $3.99. So that small electric meat grinder may be on the chopping block next. Just need to see how the vintage one does with meat first.

All of those except the toasters are stored away off the counters. I have my mother’s pie safe I keep many of the items in except the percolators and French press (those are in the designated drink cabinet over the stove).

We used to have an electric griddle that I could make 8 pancakes at once on … it died a few weeks ago and I refuse to replace it. Instead I opt to use the stove (or the wood stove this winter) along with my cast iron griddle. I can only make about 3 pancakes on it at a time but I am not getting another electric griddle to take up space.

We have had an electric waffle maker (a mess to clean up) and a sandwich maker (nice for making hot sandwiches and pocket pies but what a mess and hassle to clean) --- those were gifts and after frustration with them… they ended up being handed off to others who wanted them.

Some of our other non-electric gadgets consists of:

We have a hand cranked “whirly pop” for making popcorn. We use it on the wood stove as well as the regular stove.
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I gave up my electric alarm clock for my side of the bed for a good battery powered clock but it doesn’t have an alarm on it… just a regular clock. No worry when electric goes out though, it still works. We have a battery clock in the living room too. I am thinking of getting an old wind up alarm clock like I remember Papaw and Daddy having. (Updated to say I found one on Amazon and used my g.c. earned through Swagbucks to get it and I found the boys one for their bedroom too ... my old battery clock went to the girls' room)
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We got rid of the cordless phone because if power went out… so did it. I went back to the old corded phone. It’s not the old rotary dial from years ago but it still works even if the power goes out. The phone is just a plain ol’ phone. Nothing special at all. We don’t have an answering machine (no phone company answering service either), no caller ID, etc. and honestly I don’t care if we don’t have those things.
an battery or electrical (optional) weather radio

It’s funny, I’m sitting here thinking of each room and there’s not a whole lot of stuff plugged in but our electrical bill is still ridiculously high in my book. It’s worse in winter even though we use wood heat a lot. I just don’t understand it.

Still plugged in throughout the house (or at least occasionally in some cases):

internet router
an alarm clock in boys’ room
monitor with dvd and stereo in living room (it’s a tv but not hooked up for reception – we use it to watch movies or use with educational dvd’s)
my desktop computer and printer
one lamp at my sewing desk
lamp over the piano
sewing machine and my serger (I would love an old treadle sewing machine like my Granny used but alas that is a wish)
two lamps in master bedroom
hubby’s alarm clock
stove and fridge
large chest freezer
washer and dryer
hubby’s cell phone plugged up to charge occasionally
my netbook plugged up to charge occasionally
hubby’s work laptop plugged up to charge occasionally

I had to come back and edit the post as I forgot about these electrical items as they rarely get used or used about once a month:

hair dryer – I couldn’t tell you the last time I used it. I have natural curly and wavy hair that does not do well with blow drying unless I’m going for the “finger stuck in a light socket” look, which my hair can do without any help from this thing. I hold on to it though as it has other purposes of drying things like glue, or whatever. I also have two little girls at home who don’t blow dry their hair either.
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curling iron (actually 2 I think in different sizes) again – I couldn’t tell you the last time they were used.
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flat iron – I used it probably last year sometime before I cut my hair to cut all the dead, dry color treated mess off to make me my now natural salt and pepper color. I’m 42 but am mostly grey haired. I started getting grey when I was 16.
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a power toothbrush for two people (2 sep. heads) that we plug in when we need to sanitize the brushes. Most times I just opt for my manual toothbrush
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hair clippers that I use about once a month or every other month to cut hubby’s and the boys’ hair with.
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oh and there’s a light up World globe that was my mother’s that sits in our school room aka dining room but it’s not plugged in.
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Looking back over that list, we could really do away with all those but the hair clippers. I can cut hair with those a whole lot better than I can with scissors. Buzz, zip, it’s gone. lol

We use ceiling fans in Summer until it’s unbearable aka I’m literally melting into a puddle of sweat and everyone is cranky… then we turn the A/C on and everyone is calmer and cooler. It can get really horrible with heat and humidity here in the South. I utilize the clothes line weather permitting from Spring to early Fall. We opt for wood heat when we have the wood to heat with. Last year we didn’t have enough. This year, we bulked up a little more.

So even with those things, I still can’t understand how our electric bill can go from $130/150 in Spring and Fall to close, if not over, $300 in Summer and Winter.

Ok, back to topic and off my little electric bill tangent…

Not only does having less electric gadgets keep your electric bill down (or at least I hope so and it’s not like our scenario) it is also smart to have items on hand that don’t use electricity. In a power outage, you’re not going to be able to use them anyway unless you have a generator (we don’t).

So have you “downsized the electrical gadgets” in your home?

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at 8:57 AM

Go here: http://www.pizzahut.com/trickortreat.html

register and then choose a door.

I won a single order of Cinnamon Breadsticks and can pick them up at my convenience. I even was able to order online through the confirmation of my win email they sent.

Thanks to my oldest dd for letting me know about this one yesterday.

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at 12:00 AM

I stumbled across this video on youtube on Using a Bosch to Shred Chicken

I was a little afraid I was going to mess up my French whips for my Bosch since my chicken was cooked but it was cold (leftovers). I added a bottle of bbq sauce and a little hot water and the mixer shredded it perfectly. No more 2 fork-shredding method for me unless the power goes out. lol

Now another idea for easy shredded chicken is home can your boneless skinless chicken breasts first so you will have cooked, ready to go chicken in an emergency or at a moments notice. I can the chicken breasts in pint jars and they make for quick chicken salad, quick cooked chicken when making Chicken & Dumplings, as well as you can use kitchen scissors to cut or shred the chicken up right in the jar. The chicken shreds so nicely in a Bosch or with two forks as well for making shredded barbecue chicken. Just add some bbq sauce to the chicken and let it shred it and mix it for you.

Here’s an idea for an Emergency (or non-emergency) Meal Kit Idea:

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

in a box or plastic tote put:

1 quart of home canned chicken broth or 32oz container of chicken broth
1 pint of home canned chicken breasts– shred with 2 forks or scissors right in the jar
1 14.5oz can of cream of chicken or the equivalent of homemade cream of soup mix (The Complete Tightwad Gazette) - If using the homemade soup mix make sure to have a bottle of water on hand and a measuring cup
either keep a tube of biscuits on hand or what I prefer, the ingredients to make biscuits and you could make a baggie up of the dry ingredients with a copy of the recipe put onto the bag and keep the wet ingredients on hand (usually shortening and water). Another bottle of water added to the box with a little plastic storage container with enough shortening in it would suffice to stick into the box).
baggie or packet with salt and pepper

To prepare:

Put all ingredients in a stockpot and heat to boiling. While mixture is boiling, if making homemade biscuits – mix your dough and roll it out (rolling pin but can or glass works in a pinch – even the pint or quart canning jar you just opened for this) and then you can either pinch off the dough to make dumplings, use a knife or scissors to cut them out, or turn the can from the cream of chicken down over it and use as a biscuit cutter. If using store tube of biscuits, just pinch off however big you want your dumplings to be or use scissors and cut them into 4 triangles.
Drop dough into boiling pot and allow them to cook and float to the top. Stirring gently to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pot and allow them to cook.
Serve while hot and enjoy!

That’s it. A simple recipe for Homemade Chicken and Dumplings that you can grab for a quick meal, unexpected supper guests, as well as a quick meal when an emergency arises. This can be made in the crockpot, in a stock pot on the stove, wood stove, rocket stove, or gas grill burner. You can even put it in a cast iron dutch oven over a wood burning fire.

By the way, home canning as well as home dehdyrating, etc. is a great way to make sure you have items on hand and ready to go for everyday meals, quick meals, as well as emergency meals. I put up a lot of jars of food this year that can be used to make many meals and dishes at the ready. Visit my Home Preserving Tally 2011 post to see what all I put up this year. I’m still stocking my pantry with home canned goodies too.

Ok, here’s how to use your bosch to shred chicken providing you haven’t had a power outage.

If you don’t have a Bosch and are interested in one, here’s the one I have:

One of my favorite appliances is the Bosch Universal Mixer. Mine looks like the top picture but they redesigned it and it now looks like this one.

Bosch Universal Plus Mixer with Blender attachment

I like the style I have better.

I have the blender, the food processor, cookie paddles, and whips for it. There is also a meat grinder and some other attachments for it but I don’t have those (yet).

This one of mine holds 20 cups of flour!!! I can mix and knead enough dough in it to make 6 loaves of bread at a time!! Oh yeah baby! Homemade, whole wheat, bread!! YUM YUM YUM!
The food processor is a little smaller than I like but it definitely gets the job done.

Click on any of the following links to see the books at Amazon:

Make A Mix
More Make A Mix
and Make A Mix Revised (has some recipes the others don't and vice versa).
Just found out they now have a Complete Make-a-mix Cookbook : How to make your Own Mixes but I don't have that one so not sure what all is in it.

and: The Complete Tightwad Gazette

Visit the FarmGirl Friday Blog Hop,

Visit the Emergency Meal Kit Challenge.

Visit the Fall Farm Friend Friday #7

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at 5:00 AM

My family was blessed to be given the opportunity to see this movie before it premiered.

It’s rare to find a movie that has little or even better NO curse words, etc. unless you look for the older black and white movies and even then sometime a word or two is in those… which shocked me watching an old Jimmy Stewart movie, but I digress. There were no curse words but a couple of words that are deemed profanity in our book. Other than that, though it’s really a rather clean movie compared to most of the stuff out today. This movie was a hit with my children especially. They loved it! I admit I did too and it made me cry as well. Even dh said it was a good movie.

It’s a great movie of friendship, courage, and determination.

I highly recommend you seeing if this movie is in your area tomorrow on it’s premiere day. I think you’d enjoy it. We sure did!

Watch the trailer:

My opinion/review of the movie:

Snowmen Movie Synopsis

SNOWMEN is a humorous and heartfelt coming-of-age story about three unlikely heroes and the winter that changed their lives forever. After a surprising discovery in the snow catapults three small-town boys into the spotlight, the best friends hatch a plan to be remembered forever by setting a Guinness World Records^® title. Along the way, the trio battles schoolyard bullies, unites their community and discovers that - while fame may be fleeting - true friendship lasts forever. The film stars Bobby Coleman (Last Song), Ray Liotta (Wild Hogs), Bobb’e J. Thompson (Role Models), Josh Flitter (Ace Ventura Jr) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future).

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Snowmen is a true story, but all the facts have been changed.

The finished film, which celebrates what matters most in life, began as the most depressing script ever. The first draft, written a decade ago, read like a tragic memoir of growing up on the Canadian prairies. Childhood highlights included my father’s battle with leukemia and the loss of our Jamaican neighbors’ son, Howard.

That grim story seemed like an injustice. I realized those childhood tragedies drew my family and community closer together, and I was inspired to ask profound questions about my purpose in life. I think many children and adults struggle with wanting to matter, and I wanted to make a movie for them that reflected the hope I found as a child.

I rewrote the script.

This time, I wanted to show the innate ability of children to find joy in all circumstances. I considered the people and events that most inspired me, then rearranged, combined, and tweaked those memories to guarantee a happy ending. Events are presented as they seemed to me as a child: dangers exaggerated, victories sweeter, and adventures amplified.

And yet, despite all these radical changes…it feels exactly the way I remember.

You can learn more about Snowmen by visiting www.Snowmenmovie.com.

Follow SNOWMEN MOVIE on:

Press Release for the movie:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARC ENTERTAINMENT & MPOWER DISTRIBUTION TO ROLL OUT SNOWMEN

Award-Winning Family Comedy Will Open
in Theaters October 21, 2011

LOS ANGELES (TBD) – ARC Entertainment and Mpower Distribution have joined forces to release the heartwarming family comedy SNOWMEN nationally on October 21, 2011. Starring Bobby Coleman (The Last Song, Martian Child), Ray Liotta (Wild Hogs), Bobb’e J. Thompson (Role Models), Josh Flitter (Ace Ventura Jr.) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future 1-3, Who Framed Roger Rabbit), the film tells the story of three small-town boys who find adventure and purpose through their attempts to set a Guinness World Record.®

SNOWMEN won the Audience Award at the 2011 Dallas International Film Festival, was named Best Feature Film at the 2011 SPROCKETS Toronto International Film Festival for Children and Youth, and won the Heartland Film Festival’s Truly Moving Picture Award. The Dove Foundation and the Parents Television Council also gave the film their seals of approval.

Robert Kirbyson (Red Line) wrote and directed the Mpower Pictures production. Stephen McEveety (The Passion of the Christ, Braveheart), David Segel and John Shepherd produced the film. Bill O’Kane, Diane Hendricks, Tina Segel, and Ray Liotta served as executive producers. ARC Entertainment CEO Trevor Drinkwater and Mpower Pictures COO Todd Burns announced the deal today.

“SNOWMEN is an inspirational family movie that has touched the hearts of film festival audiences around the country,” said Drinkwater. “The film deserves to be seen by a wide audience, who will find themselves cheering for the three young heroes in their remarkable quest to set a Guinness World Record.”

“The film captures the fun and excitement of being young and fearless in courageously going after your dreams,” McEveety said. “Mpower looks forward to partnering with ARC and leveraging each of our companies’ relationships to ensure the success of this film across various platforms.”

Recent ARC Entertainment releases include Ironclad, John Carpenter’s The Ward and the upcoming martial arts action film Bunraku and the Sundance documentary Knuckle. Past Mpower Pictures productions include The Stoning of Soraya M. and Bella.

ABOUT SNOWMEN

After a surprising discovery in the snow catapults three small-town boys into the spotlight, the best friends hatch a plan to be remembered forever by setting a Guinness World Records® title. Along the way, the trio battles schoolyard bullies, unites their community and discovers that - while fame may be fleeting - true friendship lasts forever.

# # #

ABOUT ARC ENTERTAINMENT

ARC Entertainment (www.arc-ent.com) provides brand marketing, retail strategy, physical distribution and sales services for consumer products, with an emphasis on entertainment-based products.

ARC Entertainment is a “solutions based” distribution company. ARC Entertainment’s unparalleled relationships with national retailers, coupled with strong sales and marketing expertise, enables the Company to explore unique programs and business models for its content partners.

The Company develops creative and profitable retail marketing programs by connecting Intellectual Property and Content owners directly with retailers. This enables ARC Entertainment to truly align content development, investment and distribution with the requirements of retailers and their customers.

ARC Entertainment monetizes Content in multiple revenue streams including: Theatrical Distribution, DVD, Blu-ray, Digital, Electronic Sell-through, Streaming, VOD, PPV, Pay and Free TV.

ABOUT MPOWER PICTURES

Mpower Pictures is a film production company that specializes in the financing, production, distribution, and marketing of motion picture and television content.

For more information visit: www.mpowerpictures.com.

Disclosure: I received a special online preview of this movie for the purpose of reviewing same. No other compensation was received for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal and honest opinion. Your experience with product may vary.

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at 5:00 AM

Use this code SOG232 at www.iHerb.com to get $5 off your order (no minimum purchase amount required and does not apply to shipping).

They have essential oils and more.

I have ordered tea tree oil from them several times with great service!

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at 10:54 AM

AWESOME DEAL FOR All You (6-month)

This magazine has a LOT of coupons in it each month in additon to great articles and recipes.

Special Offer: Through October 25, this magazine is on sale for just $6 for 6 issues

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at 5:00 AM

Trunk or Treat Sale and Freebie Event!

October 18th through October 31st, customers can search for 8 FREE education products hidden all over CurrClick.com.

And even better, fall themed titles will be discounted by up to 75%! You will not want to miss the earning potential of this exciting and fun event.

So click on over and get in on the savings!

places I found the freebie image that looks like the car trunk in the image in first post

Under my account -- click VIEW MY LIBRARY (you'll need to be logged in)
under my account -- click View all products awaiting my review.
under my account -- Change newsletters and 'Follow Your Favorites!' settings. (scroll down a little)
Click on the FREE STUFF button (left hand side) and scroll all the way to the bottom of that page
contact us page
About CurrClick page
Home page of CurrClick (got all the way to the bottom)
and at the bottom of the Trunk or Treat Sale page

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at 7:12 PM

I ordered myself a copy of the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving from Amazon the other day (used Swagbucks I earned for the gift card) and it arrived today.

I've been looking through this big book and already dreaming of stuff I want to make and put up... if not this year, next.

There are over 400 recipes in this book!

In addition to the recipes, there's tips, troubleshooting charts for things such as jelly, etc. and more.

I'm glad I invested in a copy of this one.

Here's the Amazon link and info if anyone else is interested.

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Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Trunk or Treat Sale and Freebie Event!

October 18th through October 31st, customers can search for 8 FREE education products hidden all over CurrClick.com.

And even better, fall themed titles will be discounted by up to 75%! You will not want to miss the earning potential of this exciting and fun event.

So click on over and get in on the savings!

Monday, October 17, 2011

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